17 painted scenes, using brush and colors, on 63 pages. 34; 25; 22 folding leaves. Three vols. 8vo (270 x 187 mm.), orig. wrappers, modern stitching. [Japan]: late Edo.

This handsomely illustrated manuscript, written by Tsuki Shirai, describes and illustrates the famous hot springs of Atami (“hot ocean”), which have been known and appreciated since the 8th century. Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), believed the springs of Atami were so beneficial to his health that he had quantities of the water transported to Edo.

These volumes are really a travel guide to Atami and the surrounding area. The first volume begins with an index to all three volumes... More

Woodcut arms on title. xvi, 352 pp. 8vo, attractive antique half-calf & boards. Paris: Nyon, 1782.

This scarce sale catalogue describes the notable collection of voyages formed by Courtanvaux; it was one of the largest collections on the subject ever formed and practically amounts to a bibliography of the subject. The sections on natural history and the sciences are also very rich.

Courtanvaux (1718-81), a member of the Académie des Sciences, performed research in chemistry, geography, natural history, physics, and mechanics. A man of considerable wealth, he sponsored the voyage made in 1767 by Pingré and Messier during which Pierre Le Roy’s marine... More

Four engraved plates (one folding). 4 p.l., 296 pp., 3 leaves of ads for the author’s other works; 2 p.l., 514, [8] pp. Two vols. Small 8vo, cont. orange-brown speckled boards (spines a little rubbed), orange leather lettering pieces on spines. Düsseldorf: J.H.C. Schreiner, 1811-12.

First edition of a scarce and appealing work. Benzenberg (1777-1846), professor of mathematics at the Lyceum in Düsseldorf, performed many original scientific investigations in the fields of astronomy, physics, and geodetics. He was the first to demonstrate that the earth revolves, a problem which had perplexed scientists since Copernicus (see D.S.B., I, pp. 615-16)... More

3 p.l. (lacking the first leaf, a blank; title a little soiled), 143, 152-66 pp. Small 4to, cont. English limp vellum. London: N. Okes for N. Bourne, 1623.

First edition of one of the great early English accounts of the exploration of the interior of Africa and the first to be published separately (others appear in collections); it is a classic account of the search for gold.

Ghana, the earliest known empire of the western Sudan, first entered the historical consciousness of North Africa near the end of the eighth century but probably originated long before. Famous to North Africans as the... More

12; 27; 16 folding leaves with erratic foliation. Three parts in one vol. Small 8vo (142 x 193 mm.), orig. decorated covers embellished with mica, new stitching. [Japan]: after 1808; after 1817; & after 1818.

A remarkable discovery, the mock-up for an unpublished illustrated work by Kitao (1739-1820), a master of book illustration, with 16 pages of his exquisite drawings. From this manuscript, we learn a great deal about the creative process leading up to the publication of illustrated books in the mid-Edo period. This work’s religious contents also would have been a departure for Kitao, who was celebrated for his bijin-ga and yakusha-e. We have found no other... More

Double-page frontis. map. 1 p.l., xxxiv, 332 pp.; xxiv, 358, [3] pp. Two vols. 8vo, cont. mottled calf, floral fillet round sides, flat spines gilt, red & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. London: G. Nicol et al., 1796.

First edition and a lovely set of the penultimate survey undertaken by Marshall of the farming practices of six different regions of England.

“Modern agricultural historians have generally held that Marshall’s works on English farming are superior to those of his rival, Arthur Young, as they are more systematically arranged and based on a more thorough knowledge of a district by personal residence there. Unlike Young... More

Three parts in two vols. 139; 86 folding leaves. 8vo (235 x 165 mm.), cont. patterned covers (extremities a little worn), new stitching. Edo: ca. 1863.

A fascinating compilation of contemporary reports chronicling the first 11 years of the turbulent Bakumatsu era, 1853-67, the period between Commodore Perry’s first visit to Japan and the establishment of the Meiji government. These two volumes consist of manuscript copies of high-level official documents in the years 1853 to 1863, describing pivotal moments in Japan’s history that fundamentally shaped its relationship to the rest of the world.

Heralding the end of the Edo period and a Tokugawa-controlled government, the Bakumatsu period saw Japan end its policy of strict isolationism. The shogun reluctantly accepted that interactions with the rest of the world were unavoidable; however, sizable factions steadfastly and violently resisted opening Japan to the world. The influx of Americans, British, Russians, French, and Dutch in several port cities instigated numerous crimes against foreigners. In one notable incident in January 1861, a group of samurai assassinated a Dutchman named Henry Heusken, who was serving as secretary and interpreter for the American embassy. That summer, at the British legation in Edo, a band of ronin (masterless samurai) attacked ambassador Rutherford Alcock and several other diplomats, killing two. More

Five head-pieces, one tail-piece, two folding maps, three folding plates (all engraved), & three folding printed tables. 4 p.l., xix, 302 pp., one leaf of errata. 8vo, cont. marbled sheep (head of lower joint a little split), flat spine richly gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Bossange, 1806.

First edition of an important book on the Crimea; it also contains descriptions of previously unrecorded coins and medals from the area. Reuilly (1780-1810), man of letters and diplomat, traveled extensively in eastern Europe. In 1803, Reuilly joined the staff of the Duc de Richelieu, the recently named governor of Odessa. Befriended by... More

“Hishu” [today Saga Prefecture]: 1841-45.

A very rare Japanese manuscript sea chart of the sea routes from Saga Prefecture, a major trading area in the west, to Osaka through the Inland Sea, which is more than 400 km. long and includes in excess of 3000 islands. The Inland Sea, one of the main trade routes for the Japanese in the Edo period, has numerous areas of turbulence and navigating through the numerous islands and rocky outcroppings presented enormous problems in the era before modern navigation systems. In the early 1840s, the central government in Edo ordered each fiefdom to prepare... More

28 engraved plates (many are folding) & six folding printed tables. Four vols. 8vo, cont. polished calf (each lower joint with a slight crack, head of one spine with the slightest chip), spines finely & richly gilt, red & green morocco lettering pieces on spines. London: W. Strahan et al., 1770.

First edition, and a lovely set in attractive contemporary bindings. “On this tour Young travelled 2,500 miles from Bradfield to the northern boundary of England, across country westward, and so in a wide sweep back home, and he collected statistical data from some 250 farms of all sizes and descriptions. These data he attempted... More