22 pp., 1 leaf of “Approbation.” Small 8vo (160 x 95 mm.), 19th-century calf-backed marbled boards (joints a little rubbed), red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Prault & Barrois, 1748.

A rare sale catalogue of the Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Gallic antiquities amassed by Valois (1671-1747), an early connoisseur of ancient objects, who was named antiquaire du roi. This was one of Gersaint’s final sales.

“Valois was the son and nephew of great 17th-century scholars, Adrien and Henri de Valois; antiquary of the king and pensionnaire de l’Académie des inscriptions, he accumulated sculptures, ancient bronze and more than 6000 medals... More

8 p.l., 164, [12] pp. 8vo, 19th-cent. red pebbled morocco (minor foxing), a.e.g. London: W. Pearson for T. Osborne, 1730.

First edition in English of Behrens’ Hercynia Curiosa (1703). “Very scarce. A personal narrative of an excursion through northern Germany. The book is interesting for its account of the geology and fossils of the region, and also the author took a special interest in the mineral wealth of the region. Therefore, this work is principally a description of the various mines, quarries, and caves he chanced to visit. Of great value for reporting the state of the mining and metallurgy... More

Five plates each with a mounted orig. salt print within gilt borders forming lancet windows. One leaf of printed text in German, French, and English. Folio, orig. publisher’s printed boards (extremities a bit worn), cloth spine. Cologne: F.C. Eisen, 1854.

First edition of this early photographically illustrated book depicting the new stained-glass windows, created by J. Fischer and Hellweger, and donated by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. In the mid-19th century there was a great effort to complete the Cathedral of Cologne, begun in 1248 and finally finished in 1880.

“From the mid-1850s the photographically illustrated books, with widely differing... More