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“I Was Born in the Year 1632 . . . ”

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•  Illustrated late 18th-century rendition of this classic tale: The Stockdale edition of Defoe's most-read novel contains a frontispiece and engraved title-page in each volume, along with an engraved portrait of Defoe and 12 engraved illustrations done by Medland after drawings by Stothard. Chalmers’s Life of Defoe appears in this edition for the first time anywhere; another interesting addition is“A List of Writings, which are considered as undoubtedly De Foe’s.”

A handsome edition of a great, indeed landmark English novel.

•  ESTC N47632; Lowndes, III, 613; NCBEL, II, 900 (first few eds. only). Contemporary half calf over marbled paper–covered sides, bindings overall worn and rubbed with leather lost over corners and front joint of vol. I cracked though holding; now housed in a handsome clamshell case of quarter calf with marbled paper sides, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label and gilt-stamped decorations. Front free endpapers with pencilled ownership inscription (dated 1875 in vol. I); front pastedowns with 20th-century collector’s bookplate. Light to moderate foxing to pages in proximity to plates, with occasional small spots to other pages; plates spotted and browned although not beyond expectable degrees. Worthy.

HER! Bookselling Reminiscences

•  First American edition of the first volume of reminiscences of Percy Muir's widow: Much on the bookselling firm of Elkin Mathews and life on home front in WWII England. A good sequel to Muir's Minding My Own Business, above. In print for $35.00.

•  Fine in original dust jacket.

Collectors generally fond of BIOGRAPHY, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, & MEMOIRS
may enjoy our page devoted to them — click here.


 

With theVery Striking Folding Plate

•  First printed work to give instructions on producing mezzotints, and a most curious account of the development of "sculpture." Evelyn (1620–1706), whose occupation the Dictionary of National Biography cites simply as "virtuoso," published popular works on gardening, politics, and education. His roughly chronological history of illustrative arts, divided primarily by significant figures, is sprinkled with a number of languages (Greek, Hebrew, and German all in their respective typefaces, along with Latin in italics), and also contains a detail from the first mezzotint print ever created, here reproduced as an oversized (and dramatic) folding plate. A "Life" of Evelyn is also supplied.

The work first appeared in 1662, with a second edition published in 1755; the present copy is a reissue of the 1755 with a cancel title-page. A handsome engraved portrait, in which Mr. Evelyn is wearing a most dashing cape, opens the volume.

•  Wing E3513 (first ed.) On Evelyn, see: Dictionary of National Biography, XVIII, 79–83. Contemporary speckled sheep with red gilt-stamped morocco spine label; some little chipping to edges, with joints and spine lightly abraded and cracking (not disastrously). Early inscription reads "Evelyns Sculptura compiled originally the elder Faithorne." Pages unspotted for the most part, and plates in good condition save for slight offsetting to frontispiece. A pleasing book!

NEW JERSEY BOOKS, 1801–1860

Felcone, Joseph J.

•  This second volume of the catalogue of the Felcone library describes the books and pamphlets printed from 1801 through 1860. There are over 1400 bibiographical entries in this volume. The contents, binding, provenance, and historical context of each book or pamphlet is described in rich detail. An indispensable guide for anyone interested in the history of New Jersey.

•  Publisher's red cloth, stamped in gilt on the spine. New.

GOOD forBoth Reading & Reference

•  English and Flemish panel-stamped bindings of the 16th century are damned similar in appearance. Fogelmark adds depth to our knowledge of each, and of which are which, picking up where Oldham's work on English blind-panel bindings left off with guesses and hints. We have a copy of this in our reference library, and you should too.

•  New, in publisher's gilt-stamped green cloth.

For the Shelley Fan, a Revelation & a Fine “Read” . . .

•  Vol. I: “Shelley's own books pamphlets & broadsides posthumous separate issues and posthumous books wholly or mainly by him.” Reprint of the 1886 first edition.

•  Publisher's green cloth, spine with black-stamped title; minor wear to corners and spine extremities. Pages clean and crisp.  (26152)

BIBLIO–BEDTIME READING — WOOLLY WHALE

•  The Whale's very handsome edition of one of the most substantial treatments of this famous and elaborate auction hoax. Including bibliographical descriptions of the catalogue, its subsequent printings, and the literature on the affair, it is limited to 200 copies, printed in Centaur types on rag paper, and bears a title-page decoration by Fritz Kredel.

The Fortsas hoax is legendary for having fooled many renowned collectors and dealers near the mid-point of the 19th century (1840, to be precise) into travelling to the small town of Biche, Belgium for an auction of unique books that were bibliographically unknown!

•  Publisher's quarter cloth and decorated boards; top edge gilt, fore-edges untrimmed. Map endpapers. A copy not quite perfectly fresh but very nice.  (26977)

You'll Wish You'd Been Buying THEN . . .

•  Catalogue 45 offers books on voyages, navigation, and geography, and is priced in Swiss francs; Catalogue 52 proffers “Incunabula, woodcut books, Renaissance, humanism, Reformation, geography, history & chronicles, history of science and medicine,” with many illustrations, and is priced in both Swiss francs and dollars. Click the image for an enlargement.

•  Both in original wrappers, one (52) glossy and larger, one (45) smaller and “matte”; the larger one one with pencilled note on front cover.  (26154)

Classic — Invaluable

•  Marvelously inclusive and detailed encyclopedia of book, printing, and binding terms. A classic, and Donald Farren's introduction is a welcome addition.

•  Publisher's cloth, dust jacket, and contents as new. (6107)

For more “GIFTABLES” — mostly $150
      & UNDER,  click here.


 

Ars Typographica

•  The final number (volume I, #4) of Goudy's distinguished periodical, published 16 years after the first number, and the intervention of McMurtrie's periodical of the same title. A total of 514 copies were printed.

•  Cary 216. Printed wrappers. Collotype plates and illustrations. A fine copy. (17734)

One of the Special Copies

•  No. 156 out of 200 special numbered copies (out of a total edition of 650) containing “an extra page of supplementary information identifying the work to which Mr. Goudy has assigned those serial numbers which are missing from the chronological table.”

•  Publisher’s quarter tan cloth over black paper–covered sides, front cover with black- and red-printed paper label, in original glassine dustwrapper; clean and unworn. An elegant book.

NEW Illustrated "ABC" of Bookbinding

•  A major illustrated glossary in the field of bookbinding, this work contains over 1000 binding-related terms and 700 drawings, coupled with clear outlines of the various periods in the historical development of book structure and style.

•  New. Complete with printed dust jacket.

Book of Armagh — Limited Edition — Signed Binding

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mouse-over, for an enlargement.

•  Ninth-century Irish manuscript, here transcribed and edited with an introduction and appendices by John Gwynn, professor of divinity at the University of Dublin. The volume is illustrated with six plates reproducing leaves of the original manuscript.

This is no. 186 of 400 copies printed.

Binding: Publisher's brown suede, front cover with embossed Celtic designs, signed by Galwey & Co. of Dublin (with their ticket on the front pastedown).

•  Binding as above, minor discoloration to central portions of covers, leather of back joint cracking but joint firm. Title-page and one other institutionally pressure-stamped; lower edges rubber-stamped; first preface page with inked provenance notation and stamped numeral; back pastedown with adhesions from card pocket once present. Binding “going to red” as is the wont of this material; still, however, handsome.  (21062)

Printed @ Hoorn

•  Blue cloth, as issued.

TO Part III

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