40 leaves (the final blank). Small folio (332 x 210 mm.), orig. paste-paper boards (spine & extremities somewhat worn), uncut. [Clausthal?: ca. 1815].

A fine and legible manuscript instructional manual on techniques and problems of mine surveying. The text is divided into five chapters: “Von der Vorbereitung zum Markscheiden” (“On preparations for measuring the area in which mining may be carried out”), “Von Bennenung der Gänge und Klüfte” (“On the naming of seams and fissures”), “Vom Observiren” (“On Observations”), “Vom Vermaß oder Verbestimmung eines Grubenfelds” (“On measuring and defining a mining claim”), and “Von Wasserfällen, Wasserleitungen und Tiefbau” (“On waterfalls, water conduits and underground mining”)... More

Title within ornate woodcut architectural border. Woodcut printer’s device on title. 26 unnumbered leaves. Small folio, cont. pigskin-backed wooden boards, spine & boards stamped in blind, orig. brass catches on upper cover, one (of two) orig. clasps. Paris: N. de La Barre for E. Le Fevre, 6 October 1515.

[bound with]:

—. Arithmetica Speculativa…duodecim libris demonstrata. Title within ornate woodcut architectural border which is printed in red & black. Woodcut printer’s device on title. Several woodcuts in the text. 100 unnumbered leaves. Small folio (some foxing). Paris: N. de La Barre for E. Le Fevre, 18 December 1515. More

Printed throughout in italic. 197, [1] pp. Small 4to, cont. blind-stamped panelled goat-skin over wooden boards (upper joint with some careful repairs, first six leaves a little dampstained in upper section), orig. catches & clasps. Florence: L. Torrentini, July 1548.

First edition, and a nice copy, of this important work in historiography. Mylaeus (d. 1570), Swiss humanist, travelled in Germany, Turkey, and Italy and was a professor at Lyon. “The first scholar to attempt a compendium of the whole world seems to have been the Swiss humanist Christophorus Mylaeus [in the present work]…He discarded the traditional wisdom of the schools and rebuilt the system... More

Finely engraved frontis. port., two engraved plates, & two engravings in the text. Title within ruled borders. 7 p.l., 108, [7] pp. Small folio, cont. blind-ruled calf (neat repairs to ends of spine, faint dampstaining towards end), spine ruled in gilt, red morocco label on spine. London: Printed by H.L. & R.B. for T. Basset, 1670.

First edition and a fine and large copy of the standard 17th-century English work on mining, valuable for giving an account of the state of mining in England during the period. The glossary at the end is the first attempt in English at a dictionary of mining... More

Folding printed table in Vol. I. (with a short tear). 9 p.l., iv, [17]-364 pp.; 4 p.l., [5]-368 pp. Two vols. 8vo, cont. sheep (rubbed, occasional browning), spines gilt, red leather lettering pieces on spines. Philadelphia: Printed for the Author, 1785.

First American edition of the most substantial agricultural text yet published in the United States; it was published during Varlo’s unsuccessful sojourn in America (see below). Varlo (ca. 1725-ca. 1795), was an agriculturist and inventor of a number of agricultural machines. The present book was first published in York in 1770.

“In 1784, while he was living in Sloane Square, in London, Varlo became involved in a somewhat ludicrous episode. He had bought papers and charters supposedly granted by Charles I to Sir Edward Plowden, entitling him to colonize New Albion (later New Jersey) in America. This attempt at colonization had failed and in Charles II’s reign the charter was superseded by a new grant to the duke of York. Armed with his papers (which were probably forgeries), Varlo went out to the American colonies in 1784 hoping to be recognized as governor of the province of New Jersey and to take over one-third of the territory. The case was tried before the colonial courts, but Varlo’s claim was dismissed…Before returning to England he travelled for a year through New England, Maryland, and Virginia (where he met George Washington).”–ODNB. More