24 pp. 8vo (198 x 125 mm.), modern aubergine cloth, title on upper cover. Paris: Félix & Regnault-Delalande, 1819.

A very scarce auction catalogue marking the dissolution of Pierre Blaizot’s inventory; WorldCat records no copy in North America. Despite the lengthy interval between his death and this sale, we can identify the seller as Pierre Blaizot (1740-1808) due to the offerings in the present catalogue — prints, maps, and luxury paper — that match the description of his business on the BnF Data site. Blaizot’s page on the site notes that he was orphaned at age 9, but managed to set up an office... More

99 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering-piece on spine. Paris: Joullain, 1778.

The uncommon sale catalogue, fully priced throughout and with buyers’ names, of a noteworthy collection devoted primarily to Italian art and sculpture. Bourlat de Montredon (d. 1777), was an influential amateur and collector who resided in Constantinople for forty years.

The catalogue thoroughly describes 695 lots, many of which are composed of numerous items. Lots 579-671 are Bourlat de Montredon’s impressive group of books of prints, mostly focused on the architecture and decorative arts of Italy, including a number of works by Piranesi. The descriptions... More

10 pp. Small 8vo, orig. printed wrappers (wrappers detached), partially stitched. Paris: F. Schayé, Me. Boulouze & Vignères, 1859.

82 lots. Pencil annotations throughout in a contemporary hand with nearly all prices and buyers’ names. Possibly F. A. Rapilly’s copy. Rapilly purchased a majority of the lots in this sale.

Good copy, with valuable provenance information; largely disbound. From the library of Jacques Fryszman (1909-98), the great historian of art and collector of drawings, who wrote the Lugt number in the top right corner of the wrappers (or first leaf of text) on nearly all of his catalogues. See Lugt, Les Marques... More

1 p.l., 288 pp. Large 8vo, orig. printed wrappers bound-in cont. dark green half-morocco, cloth sides, spine gilt, t.e.g. London: 1874.

A handsome copy, ruled in red with prices in a contemporary hand. Tite was a noted architect whose principal work was the remodeling of the Royal Stock Exchange (1844). He was a strenuous opponent of the Neo-Gothic style as practiced by Sir George Gilbert Scott (see D.N.B.). “Among the contemporaries of Henry Huth was a notable bibliophile, the enthusiastic architect Sir William Tite (1798-1873), whose fine and valuable library brought nearly 20,000 pounds, a large sum for the early... More

62 pp. 8vo, blue sheep-backed marbled boards (extremities rubbed), flat spine gilt. Paris: Bachelin-Deflorenne, 1864.

[bound with]: (COMBETTE). Catalogue de Livres rares et précieux…provenant de la Bibliothèque de M. de C....tte. xii, 100 pp. 8vo. Paris: Bachelin-Deflorenne, 1864.

[bound with]: More

Engraved allegorical frontis. 1 p.l., vi, 93 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed marbled boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. N.p.: 1751.

First edition. Bachaumont (1690-1771) was an influential noble who grew up at the court of Versailles during the height of its significance as the political and cultural nucleus of France. He frequented the salons of Paris and was entangled in several controversies, one in particular regarding a journal filled with gossip ascertained at the salon of Madame Doublet de Persan, for which he may have been partially responsible. By the end of his life, he was known... More

99, [1] p. Small 8vo (160 x 107), cont. calf (joints a little worn), red morocco lettering-piece on spine, spine gilt. Paris: C.A. Jombert, 1754.

First edition of this uncommon book, which contains an essential lecture given by Blondel at the opening session of the fifth Cours Publique in his independent Ecole des Arts. This school was founded in 1743, and was able to provide an exhaustive curriculum to a larger and more diverse audience than the Académie. Leading figures of the neo-classical such as Chambers, Patte, Wailly, Desprez, Boullée, and Ledoux all took classes at the school.

This work represents the first appearance of Blondel’s famous lecture in print. To replicate the experience of an actual lecture, the text is supplemented with footnotes, some of which take up several pages. An extensive and most interesting list of important architectural works recommended by Blondel is found on pages 83-89. More

Numerous woodcuts in the text. 35 parts in 16 vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers, new stitching. [China]: Xue ku shan fang, 1890.

Second edition (1st ed.: 1880) of the compiler Gu’s collection of writings by Zewei Bu and Bingzhong Liu (both Tang dynasty, 618-907) on feng shui, divination, geomancy, and Chinese astrology. Both the 1880 edition and our edition are very rare. The texts, which first appeared in the 17th century, have remained very popular, and there is also a 1970 (quite wretched) reprint.

Our edition was edited by Zhimo Xu, who lived in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). The texts include Bu’s Xue xin fu, which... More

Ten folding engraved plates. viii, 368 pp. Large 4to, orig. paste-paper wrappers (a bit frayed), printed paper label on spine, uncut. Paris: Bachelier, 1821.

First collected edition and quite scarce on the market. “Coulomb’s collected memoirs on mechanics. The first of these deals with simple machines and won the Academy prize of 1779. The second is a study of friction at pivots, and the third deals with torsion and the elasticity of metal wire. In the fourth memoir Coulomb discusses man’s ability to perform work, quoting Daniel Bernoulli and d’Alembert. The fifth memoir is devoted to windmills and the force of their... More

83 engraved plates. xxvii, 100 pp.; 175 pp.; 61, [2] pp. Three parts in one vol. Large 4to, cont. sheep-backed marbled boards (headcap & one corner a little worn), flat spine gilt, red leather lettering piece on spine. [Paris]: l’Auteur, la Veuve Hérissant, & T. Barrois, 1782.

Final and best edition of one of the standard introductory textbooks of architecture of the time; it went through four earlier editions (with different titles) in 1762, 1766, 1768, and 1773. Dupuis (1733-92), was a practicing architect who wrote several other works on various aspects of the subject. He served as architect to the Elector of Cologne for many years.

Very nice copy. More

Numerous fine brush-and-wash drawings in rich colors of about 149 castles, their fortifications, floor plans, & approaches. 64; 50; 49; 62; 67 folding leaves. Ten parts in five vols. 8vo (277 x 200 mm.), orig. patterned wrappers, new stitching. [Japan]: on the final leaf of the final vol. (in trans.): “9 April 1737 copied by Tadataka Sakai [and] Minamoto.”

The third Tokugawa shogun, Iemitsu (reigned 1623-51), the first born to the rule, spent much of his reign centralizing power in Edo, with the bakufu growing in importance as administrators and setters of policy. In 1645, the bakufu ordered all fiefdom lords who owned castles to make a shiro ezu, a detailed... More

Many fine full-page woodcuts. 56; 51; 42 folding leaves. Three vols. Large 4to (337 x 260 mm.), orig. yellow wrappers, orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (labels a bit frayed), new stitching (a little loose). [China]: from title-page in trans.: “woodblocks owned by Yi xue xuan, 1801.”

An important and uncommon large-format edition of the “first of all Chinese encyclopaedias, containing so much botanical and zoological terminology.”–Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 6, Part 1: Botany, p. 191. This edition of the Er Ya contains the enlargements and commentary of Guo Pu (276-324), considered “the greatest commentator of the Erh Ya” (Needham, p. 188).

Guo, Chinese historian, poet, and writer, is best known as one of China’s foremost commentators of ancient texts and was a notable natural historian. Considered the most learned man of his age, he was also the first to define feng shui. Today, his edition of the Er Ya is considered to be authoritative and definitive, and without his glosses and commentaries, large portions of this text would be unintelligible. More