List 103 - Recent Acquisitions
association Copy
1. [AFRICA.] Baines, Thomas. The gold regions of south eastern Africa. By the late Thomas Baines, Esq. Accompanied by a biographical sketch of the author. London: Edward Stanford; Cape Colony: J. W. C. MacKay, 1877. $1,350
First edition, 8vo, pp. xxiv, 240 (pp. 189-240 ads); mounted photographic frontispiece portrait of the author, 2-p. folding facsimile, 4 mounted photographic plates of Baines’ paintings, other wood-engraved illustrations in the text, and a folding map in the rear cover pocket; minor rubbing at the spine ends, else about fine in original pictorial green cloth, stamped in gilt and black on upper cover and spine.
This copy is inscribed by Baines’ friend Robert White, possessor of Baines’ paintings, and possibly also the book’s superintendent: “T. W. Smith with Rob White’s best regards, Jany. 31 / 77.”
Mendelssohn I, p. 71: “Mr. Baines was one of the earliest pioneers in that part of Africa now known as Rhodesia (i.e. Zimbabwe), and he obtained an important concession from Lobengula. Unfortunately his backers in Europe failed to procure the necessary working capital for the exploitation of the venture, so the author missed making a large fortune … The volume is a most important work, and contains full information of every description upon the subject of the gold discoveries in Matabeleland and Mashonaland, with much curious knowledge of the inhabitants … The book also contains an account of the gold discoveries in the Transvaal [and] gives details of no less than nineteen routes from the various places in South Africa to the newly discovered goldfields…”
WITH 20 HAND-COLORED AQUATINTS
2. [AFRICA.] Burchell, William J. Travels in the interior of southern Africa. London: Longman, Hurst [et al.], 1822-24. $15,000
First edition, 2 volumes, 4to, pp. viii, [4], 582; [8], 648; uncut; large engraved folding map with author’s track hand colored in red, plus 20 hand-colored aquatints (5 folding), and 96 beautiful wood engravings in the text (see below); slightly later half brown calf, black and tan morocco labels on spine; front joint on vol. I just starting, likewise the lower joint on vol. II; title label on vol. II slightly chipped; bookplates of James Edward Moxon and Edward Talber; Moxon’s ownership signature on both title-pp.
This copy with both half-titles. The Abbey copy in original boards had neither. See Abbey, Travel, 327 for a discussion of this, and the possibility that two different issues of the book exist, viz. the appearance of “Hints on Emigration” at the back of vol. II in some copies, and as part of the preliminaries (as here) of vol. I. Adding to the confusion is the British Museum copy which has both half-titles, but no “Hints.”
Mendelssohn I, p. 244: “The most valuable and accurate work on South Africa published up to the first quarter of the nineteenth century, and embracing a description of a large part of the Cape Colony and Bechuanaland at this period … The illustrations in the volumes are characterized by great beauty and accuracy … The work is now extremely scarce, many copies having been broken up in the middle of the nineteenth century for the plates.”
Adding to its scarcity is the fact that while 750 copies were printed of the first volume, only 500 were printed of the second. The author was an easy writer, precise in his descriptions and a well-trained and skillful zoologist and botanist, and he made important collections of the flora, fauna, and natural curiosities of the region.
“An important feature of the book is the series of wood-engraved vignettes in the text, 50 in Volume I and 46 in Volume II. Burchell says of these in the Preface ‘in order to ensure greater correctness in the vignettes, the author has made all these drawings upon the blocks themselves.’ Burchell certainly emerges as a better artist than another missionary-traveller in South Africa, Campbell, a slight dispute with whom is mentioned in Volume II … and is discussed in the note to Campbell’s Travels in South Africa, 1815” (Abbey).
ORIGINAL BOARDS
3. [AFRICA.] Paterson, William, Lieut. A narrative of four journeys into the country of the Hottentots, and Caffraria … Illustrated with a map and seventeen copper-plates. London: J. Johnson, 1789. $5,000
First edition, large 4to, pp. vi, ix-xii, 171, [1], iii (index), [1] errata (lacking pp. vii-viii, as always — see Mendelssohn, 2nd ed.); large engraved folding map showing the extent of Paterson’s travels, 17 engraved copper-plates; original blue paper-covered boards neatly rebacked in cream paper with new printed paper label on spine; bookplate removed with a resulting stain on the front free endpaper, else a very nice copy. The book was also available with color plates.
One of the first English descriptions of the interior of South Africa. Paterson, later the governor of New South Wales, studied botany in London. His journey was patronized by Lady Strathmore, who had sent him to the Cape of Good Hope to collect plants for her estate.
Mendelssohn II, p. 143: “Mr. Paterson accompanied Colonel Gordon (Commander of the Troops of the Dutch East India Company in South Africa) and Jacob van Reenen in several trips to the interior … In the course of his travels the author penetrated as far as Namaqualand on the west, and the Great Fish River on the south-east. Although the principal feature of the work is a description of the botanical specimens collected and noted by Mr. Paterson, there are many interesting notes respecting the natives, with a few remarks on the Dutch colonists.”
4. ALASKA STEAMSHIP CO. My Alaska cruise [cover title].[Seattle]: Alaska Steamship Co., n.d., [ca. 1920s]. $150
Shape book, in the form of a circle approx. 6 3/4” in diameter, pp. 11, [10] blank pages for diary entries, [1]; long folding map at the back; original pictorial color wrappers die-cut in the shape of a globe, showing the northwest portions of North America, from Seattle to the Bering Strait. Small tear at spine, otherwise very good.
Contains a detailed account of the voyage north telling “of every outstanding bit of beauty to be seen along the routes.” Includes a brief history of the region.
2 copies in OCLC, both in Alaska.
5. ALFRED, GEORGE. The American student’s guide, containing a compendious system of theoretical and practical arithmetic, compiled for the use of schools and private students … By … a schoolmaster in Virginia. Winchester, [VA]: printed at the Republican Office, 1834. $325
Only edition, 12mo, pp. xi, [1], 312; original brown cloth, printed paper label on spine; some staining and foxing, else very good.
Contains mathematical instruction and problems throughout, and “Promiscuous Questions” at the end.
American Imprints 22895.
6. ALLESTREE, RICHARD. The ladies calling in two parts. By the author of The Whole Duty of Man… fifth impression. Oxford: at the Theatre, 1677. $350
8vo, pp. [24], 270, [1]; engraved frontispiece, engraved vignette title-p.; contemporary full red goatskin, triple gilt-ruled panel central on both covers, with fleurons in the corners, spine in 6 compartments alternately stained red and black, morocco label in 1, a.e.g.; extremities rubbed, spine a bit worn and darkened; a good copy or better. Early owner’s inscription: “Ann Agutters book.”
7. ANDREWS, LORRIN. A dictionary of the Hawaiian language, to which is appended an English-Hawaiian vocabulary and a chronological table of remarkable events. Honolulu: Henry M. Whitney, 1865. $1,750
First edition thus, being a second and much expanded version of Andrews’ earlier A Vocabulary of Words in the Hawaiian Language, Lahaina, 1836 which is the first dictionary printed in the Pacific; 8vo, pp. xvi, 559; text in double column; full contemporary sheep, worn, and with restoration at the extremities; good and sound.
The Hawaiian press was first established in Honolulu in 1822 and later at Lahaina in 1834 by Lorrin Andrews, a missionary who claimed some experience in printing. In June of 1834 it was voted by the mission that Andrews prepare a vocabulary of the Hawaiian language. He drew upon a manuscript vocabulary of words collected by Elisha Loomis, one of the first colonizers of the islands under Hiram Bingham; and, a manuscript vocabulary of words was “arranged, it is believed, in part by Mr. Ely, at the request of the Mission, and finished by Mr. Bishop. A copy of this was received and transcribed by [Andrews] in the summer of 1829 ... In using this manuscript, the same method was taken as with the vocabulary of Mr. Loomis. New words, new definitions of words before collected, increased the size of the book to a considerable extent” (compiler’s Preface to the 1836 edition, reprinted herein). A further revised edition appeared in 1922.
Vancil, p. 8; this edition not in Zaunmuller.
8. [ANTOINETTE, MARIE.] Authentic trial at large of Marie Antoinette, late Queen of France, before the Revolutionary Tribunal at Paris, on Tuesday, October 15, 1793… to which are prefixed, her life, and a verbal copy of her private examination previous to her public trial. With a supplement, containing the particulars of her execution. London: printed for Chapman & Co., 1793. $850
First edition, 8vo, pp. 92; engraved frontispiece portrait (with some neat reinforcement in the fore-margin); a very good copy in contemporary half calf over marbled boards, neatly rebacked with old spine laid down.
THE WOODBLOCKS PRINTED BY GAYLORD SCHANILEC
9. ARMAJANI, SIAH. Bridge book. [Minneapolis]: Walker Art Center and Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1991. $750
Edition limited to 329 copies, this one of 300 of the regular edition, numbered and signed by Armajani, small oblong folio, frontispiece on translucent paper, 3 preliminary leaves plus 7 sections, each descriptive and illustrative of a particular bridge designed by Armajani, and each consisting of a colored folding woodblock print, and a half-sheet leaf of text containing a description of the bridge in question, plus a photograph of it (3 of the photographs in color).
Original cloth-backed printed paper-covered boards, publisher’s die-cut slipcase. As new.
The woodblocks were printed by Gaylord Schanilec, and the endsheets by Kent Aldrich.
Inspired by his commission from the Walker Art Center to design a pedestrian bridge connecting the Walker Sculpture Garden with Loring Park (spanning “sixteen lanes of roadway”), the book “pays homage to seven of Armajani’s bridge designs.”
JOHN RYLAND'S COPY WITH A MANUSCRIPT ACCOUNT OF BENNET
10. ASCHAM, ROGER. The English works of Roger Ascham, preceptor to Queen Elizabeth … with notes and observations, and the author’s life. By James Bennet. London: printed for T. Davis and J. Dodsley, n.d., [1767]. $2,800
First edition, second issue, 4to, pp. [2], 4, [4], xvi, 395; recent brown calf-backed marbled boards; very good and sound.
John Ryland’s copy, with his dated (1768) signature on the title-p., and with a 1¼ page quarto manuscript account by Ryland of James Bennet tipped in (33 lines, approx. 350 words), beginning “The venerable editor of this work devoted a long life, very affectionately and successfully, to the education of youth in Hertfordshire … Dr. Johnson furnished the Life of this Author…”
Ryland (1717?-1798) married the sister of John Hawkesworth. He “was acquainted with Dr. Johnson for many years, and was the last surviving friend of his early life. He belonged to the old club that met weekly in 1749 at the King’s Head in Ivy Lane and was broken up about 1753, and he was one of the four surviving members that dined together in 1783. He also belonged to the Essex Head Club, which Johnson formed at the close of his life. He constantly visited the doctor in his last illness, he supplied Nichols with several of the particulars which are inserted in the article in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1784 (p. 957), and attended the funeral. Several of Dr. Johnson’s letters to him are included in the correspondence edited by Dr. G. B. Hill, but he is seldom mentioned by Boswell, possibly because these letters were withheld from publication in Boswell’s Life” (DNB).
The dedication “To Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftsbury,” and the “Life of Roger Ascham” were written by Samuel Johnson. “Tom Davis stated that Johnson was “in reality” the editor, and that he (Johnson) gave the work to Bennet for his advantage” (Courtney).
With the 4-page list of subscribers to whom the book was originally issued in January, 1762. “This issue is distinguished by the new half-title and undated title, and by the absence of the single leaf of ‘Additional Subscribers’; in all other respects it comprises the sheets from the first issue of 1761” (Fleeman).
Chapman & Hazen, 144; Courtney & Smith, 100; Fleeman 61.8BA/1b.
11. [ASTRONOMY]. Emanuelli, Pio. L’eclisse totale di sole del 28-29 aprile 1911 … Estratto dalle Memorie della Pontifica Accademia Romana dei Nuovi Lincei - Vol. XXVII. Roma: Tipografia Pontificina nell’ Instituto Pio IX, 1911. $850
8vo, pp. 30; maps and graphs in the text; original printed wrappers, inscribed by the author;
bound with: Farman, M. M. Maurice, Em. Touchet, and H. Chretien, Les Leonides en 1903, et determination de leur hauteur par des observations simultanees, [Paris, 1904], pp. 3; original plain blue wrappers, inscribed “De l’auteur, Juli 21, 1911”;
bound with: Emanuelli, Pio. Le spedizioni che osserveranno il prossimo eclisse totale di sole del 28-29 aprile 1911, [Roma: Pontifica Accademia Romana dei Nuovi Lincei, 1911], pp. 7, [1]; original plain yellow wrappers, inscribed by the author to Dr. J. H. Worthington who is mentioned in the text of this offprint;
bound with: Perrotin, M., Sur la planete Mars, as contained in Observatoire d’astronomie physique de Paris, sis a Meudon (Siene-et-Oise). Paris: Gauthier-Villars et fils, 1897, pp. 8; 4 illus. in the text; front and back page browning, original pink printed wrappers, ownership signature of James Worthington trimmed by the binder;
bound with: Wade, E. B. H. & J. I. Craig, The determination of local time in sub-tropical latitudes … reprinted from the “Cairo Scientific Journal,” Cairo: National Printing Dept., 1908, pp. 17; tables and equations in the text, original printed wrappers;
bound with: Christie, William, Sir, Total solar eclipse of 1905, August 30. - Preliminary account of observations made at Sfax, Tunisia … from the Proceedings of the Royal Society, [London], 1905, pp. [14]; tables and diagrams in the text; original printed wrappers;
bound with: Emanuelli, Pio, I tre prossimi eclissi totali di sole, Torino: G. U. Cassone, 1910, pp. 11; 3 maps in the text; original printed wrappers, inscribed by the author;
bound with: Chretien, M. Henri. Un nouveau modele de spectroheliographie. Extrait du volume des Comptes rendues, Paris, 1908, pp. [12]; diagrams and equations in the text; original yellow printed wrappers, inscribed by the author;
bound with: Chretien, M. Henri. Nouvel abaque du probleme de Kepler. Extrait des Comptes rendues, Paris, 1907, pp. 4; diagram and equations in the text; original blue printed wrappers, inscribed by the author;
bound with: Chretien, M. Henri. Pendule libre extretenu electriquement, sans contact. Extrait des Comptes rendues, Paris, 1907, pp. 8; manuscript corrections in the text; original blue printed wrappers, inscribed “De l’auteur, Juli 21, 1911”;
bound with: Chretien, M. Henri. Determination photographique pendant les eclipses partielles de la distribution du rayonnement sur le disque solaire. Extrait des Comptes rendues, Paris, 1907, pp. 10; diagrams and equations in the text; original blue printed wrappers, inscribed “De l’auteur, Juli 21, 1911”;
bound with: Turner, H. H. Preliminary report on the expedition to Aswan to observe the total solar eclipse of August 30, 1905. From the Proceedings of the Royal Society, [London], 1905, pp. [18]; tables in the text; original gray printed wrappers;
bound with: Antoniadi, E. M., L’aspect physique de la planete Mars … Extrait de Ciel et Terre, Bruxelles: Societe Belge d’Astronomie, 1911, pp. 16; 2 plates (1 a beautiful one in color of Mars from a photograph), original blue printed wrappers, inscribed “from the author / Mendon Sept. 27, 1911”;
bound with: Rossi, R. On a possible origin of the spectrum lines near the poles of a metallic arc … reprinted for private circulation from the Astrophysical Journal, Chicago, 1912, pp. 7; 1 plate; original green printed wrappers, inscribed “J. Worthington Esq. from the author”;
bound with: Duffield, W. G. & R. Rossi, The emission of spectrum of silver heated in a carbon-tube furnace in air … reprinted from the Astrophysical Journal, Chicago, 1908, pp. 8; tables in the text, original gray printed wrappers;
bound with: Rossi, R. The effect of pressure on the arc spectrum of vanadium… reprinted from the Astrophysical Journal, Chicago, 1911, pp. 5; 2 plates; tables in the text; original gray printed wrappers;
bound with: Rossi, R. The effect of pressure upon arc spectra. - Titanium. From the Proceedings of the Royal Society, [London], 1910, pp. [7]; tables in the text; original gray printed wrappers;
bound with: Rossi, R. The effect of pressure on the band spectra of the flourides of the metals of the alkaline earths … From the Proceedings of the Royal Society, [London], 1909, pp. [6]; tables in the text; original printed gray printed wrappers.
Together 18 offprints, largely astronomical, bound into a single volume of white cloth (soiled and moderately stained), red morocco label lettered in gilt on spine (“Pamphlets”); occasional browning of the various texts, ownership signature on front free endpaper of “James Worthington, 1913.”
For Emmanuelli, Perrotin, Turner, Christie, and Antoniadi, see DSB.
JOHN EVELYN'S COPY
12. AUBIGNE, THEODORE AGRIPPA D’. Histoire universelle … comprise en trois tomes. [?Geneva]: Heritiers de Hier. Comelin, 1626. $2,000
Second edition, revised and augmented; folio, pp. 20, 1189 columns, 744 columns (so paged), pp. [40]; top of spine chipped, 3 small worm holes through the upper cover and into the first few leaves; occasional light foxing, but generally a clean, sound copy in full contemporary calf, gilt.
D’Aubigne (1552-1630) was the son of a zealous Huguenot who instilled in him an abiding Protestant sympathy and an almost reckless disregard for personal safety in the Protestant struggle. He was present at the siege of Orleans where his father was killed. He soon after went to Geneva to study under Beza. From there he attached himself to the Huguenot army under the command of the Prince of Conde. Eventually he joined the retinue of Henry of Navarre, and proved himself of great service to the future king, both as a soldier and a counselor.
After Henry’s elevation to the throne, the king found d’Aubigne’s rough manner and caustic criticisms tiresome (in his literary works he freely exercised his gift of sarcasm with regard to the king and his family) and the rift between the two widened when the king converted to Catholicism. By the time he published the third volume of the present work, it was ordered to be burned by the common hangman, so free and unguarded was its satire. He fled to Geneva in 1620 where he lived the rest of his life.
The Histoire Universelle is the work for which d’Aubigne is best remembered, “a lively chronicle of the incidents of camp and court life, [forming] a very valuable source for the history of France during the period it embraces” (EB-11).
This copy has the place of printing (Amsterdam) neatly excised and patched, and “a Geneve” printed by hand above and below the printer’s imprint on the title-page, presumably indicating an issue from the author’s city of refuge.
This copy from the library of John Evelyn, with the latter-day Evelyn bookplate, Evelyn’s accession number of the front flyleaf (which itself is partially loose), and the ownership signature on the title-p. of [Sir] Robert Offley, whose daughter married Evelyn’s brother, George.
Brunet I, 545.
13. AYMONIER, ETIENNE. Dictionnaire khmer - français. Saigon: autographie par Son Diep, 1878. $950
First edition of the the Khmer-Français part only (without the Francais-Khmer volume, 1874); large 4to, pp. [2], xviii, 436; litho printed throughout, text in double column; probably original black calf-backed marbled boards, gilt-lettered spine; marbled paper peeling on both covers, several signatures extended, extremities rubbed and worn, but still good and sound.
Zaunmuller 218; Trubner’s Catalogue of Dictionaries & Grammars (1882), p. 28; not found in the Astor Catalogue.
14. BARRERE, ALBERT. Argot and slang a new French and English dictionary of the cant words, quaint expressions, slang terms and flash phrases used in the high and low life of old and new Paris… London: privately printed at the Chiswick Press, by C. Whittingham and Co., 1887. $375
First edition, square 8vo, pp. lxxxiv, 495, [1]; engraved frontis by Godefroy Durand; text in double column; recent black cloth, red morocco label on spine; half-title a little chipped at the edges, else fine in a new binding. Printed in a small but unspecified edition at The Chiswick Press. Entries in French with English equivalents. The frontal matter is extensive, with a list of authorities consulted, historical introduction, canting samples from the 15th to the 19th century, and the long “Autobiography of a Thief in Thieves’ Language.” The book was reprinted in 1907.
15. [BARRETT, ROBERT LE MOYNE & Katharine Ellis Barrett.] The Himalayan letters of Gypsy Davy and Lady Ba. Written on pilgrimage to the high quiet places among the simple people of an old folk tale. With maps. Decorations by the Ballard Singer. London: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd., 1927. $150
First edition, 8vo, pp. xii, 269; 4 folding maps (1 large one in pocket at the back); extremities a little rubbed, else a good, sound copy in original pictorial green cloth stamped in black and white.
A curious book steeped in the music and lore of the Himalayas, told in letters on a trek from Leh to Srinagar in 1923-24. The maps, accomplished by the cartographer to the Royal Geographical Society, show glaciers as dragons and other Tibetan monsters and Buddhist symbols. At the back is a 5-p. “caravan vocabulary” in double column.
16. BASKERVILLE, HAMILTON M. My cruise diary. North Cape and Russia cruise 1931. [Richmond, VA]: privately printed by the author for distribution among his friends, n.d. [ca. 1932]. $125
Edition limited to 200 copies, 8vo, pp. 134; frontispiece, 4 full-p. maps, and 43 illustrations on rectos and versos of 15 plates, plus 1 other full-p. illustration; spine slightly dull, else a very good copy or better in original pictorial green cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover and spine.
Presentation copy inscribed by the author in 1958.
WITH 2 MANUSCRIPT WARRANTS FOR ARREST
17. BAYLEY, JOHN. The history and antiquities of the Tower of London, with memoirs of royal and distinguished persons, deduced from records, state-papers, and manuscripts, and from other original and authentic sources. London: T. Cadell, 1825. $2,250
2 volumes, folio, pp. [iii]-xiv, [2], 272, xxxiv; [iii]-vi, [2], [273]-671, [1], [xxxv]-cxxviii, [18]; 27 engraved plates including one folding plan of the Tower; contemporary half pebble-grain green morocco, gilt-lettered direct on gilt-paneled spines; occasional spotting of the text, minor rubbing; very good or better.
This copy extra-illustrated with 4 engraved plates and 2 folio manuscript warrants for arrest, dated November 28, 1662 (for Thomas Chapman, for treason and seditious practices) and November 11, 1662 (persons of Serjeant Spriggs, Roberts, Phillips, & Styles, for treasonable and seditious designs), tipped in at the front of each volume.
CONSIDERED AN ACCURATE AND THOROUGH WORK ON THE SUBJECT
18. BAYLEY, JOHN. The history and antiquities of the Tower of London, with memoirs of royal and distinguished persons, deduced from records, state-papers, and manuscripts, and from other original and authentic sources. Second edition. London: Jennings & Chaplin, 1830. $125
8vo, pp. vi, [2], 627, [1]; title-p. and dedication-p. printed in red and black; 10 engraved plates, all bound in after the preliminaries; original green floral-patterned cloth, rebacked, old spine and red morocco label laid down; good and sound, or better. First published in 1821-25 in 2 vols., 4to.
UNCOMMON WORK ON UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
19. BECK, CAVE. The universal character, by which all the nations in the world may understand one anothers conceptions, reading out of one common writing … which character is so contrived, that it may be spoken as well as written. London: printed by Tho. Maxley, for William Weekly, 1657. $4,250
Only edition, 12mo, pp. [2] (‘The Mind of the Frontispiece’), inserted engraved frontispiece (a Turk, a Puritan, a Native American, and a Native African in conference at a table), [20], 9-35, [1], [138], plus one leaf of ads; contemporary full calf, spine dried and worn.
Also issued in the same year with title: Le charactere universel.
Alston VII, 286: “There is an important section (pp. 9-35) concerned with grammar and the principles of universal grammar. The rest of the work is arranged in dictionary form.”
Wing B1647.
20. BEECHEY, F.W., Capt. Narrative of a voyage to the Pacific and Beering’s Strait, to co-operate with the polar expeditions: performed in His Majesty’s Ship Blossom … in the years 1825, 26, 27, 28 … A new edition. London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. $1,850
Second edition, 8vo, 2 vols., pp. [22], 472; iv, 452; 23 engraved plates and 3 maps (2 folding, 1 double-p.); bound without the half-titles in quarter blue calf antique over marbled boards by Phil Dusel, red morocco labels on gilt-paneled spines, a.e.g.; the folding frontispiece map is bound in upside down, else this is a nice copy.
“Beechey’s book is one of the most valuable of modern voyages and relates to extensive visits to Pitcairn Island, the Tuamotu Archipelago, the Society Islands, and Tahiti, Alaska, Hawaii, Macao, Okinawa, and the coast of California. His book provides an important account of Monterey and San Francisco before the American conquest … Beechey describes the Eskimos of the north, and relates his meeting with John Adams, last survivor of the mutiny on the Bounty, who gave Beechey a lengthy account” (Hill).
Howes B-309; Cowan II, p. 42; Hill, I, p. 19.
STUNNING BINDING
21. BERROW, CAPEL. A lapse of human souls in a state of pre-existence, the only original sin, and the ground work of the Gospel dispensation. London: J. Dodsley … B. Whiston and T. White … and G. Kearsly, 1766. $5,000
First edition, 8vo, pp. vi, [1], 8-189; engraved vignette of an eagle feeding her young on title-p., 6-line errata on verso of title-p., but without the extra errata slip pasted in at the back of some copies, 6 small ink corrections in the text (authorial?); a stunning (presentation?) binding of full red goatskin, elaborate gilt filigree borders on covers, gilt-decorated spine in 6 compartments, green morocco label in 1, gilt rolled edges and turn-ins, a.e.g., green silk bookmarker; bookplate of the Fintray House library; fine copy.
Capel Berrow (1715-1782), was a divine whose work “was a farrago of ill-digested learning” (DNB). This is his last and best book. Samuel Johnson was one of the subscribers to his collected Theological Dissertations, 1782.
22. [BIBLE IN DUALLA, N. T., Epistles.] Kalati e ta e loma na miemba. Na Kalati ya Bebiisedi. Epistles to the churches, and the Book of the Revelation. [Translated by Alfred Saker.] [Cameroons], Western Africa: Mission Press, 1861. $1,250
4to, pp. 193; the last 2 pages are a table of weights, measures, and coins, in English; running heads also in English; 2 wood-engraved plates (a schoolroom and a river baptism scene), vignette title-p., text in double column; contemporary quarter black calf, black cloth sides, peeling at corners, the binding rubbed and worn, spine chipped at extremities, but internally fine.
Darlow & Moule, African Supplement 569.
23. [BIBLE IN SAMOAN, N.T.] O le Feagaiga Fou a lo tatou Alii o Iesu Keriso, ua faasamoaina. Cambridge: printed by C. J. Clay at the University Press; for the British and Foreign Bible Society, 1868. $500
Small 4to, pp. [2], [524], [134]; original diced black morocco, gilt lettering direct on spine, a.e.g.; front free endpaper with name snipped away at the top, early ownership signature on the title-p. of “W. Lloyd, Samoa, ‘97”; extremities rubbed, else very good.
“An edition (5,000) copies) of the N.T. and the Psalter printed in large type (suitable for old people with failing sight), under the supervision of T. Powell” (Darlow & Moule). The translation was by G. Pratt, et al.
Darlow & Moule 7965
PICKERING'S PICTORIAL MOROCCO
24. [BINDINGS.] Shakespeare, William. The plays of Shakespeare, in nine volumes. London: William Pickering, 1825. $6,500
9 volumes, 48mo, heraldic device on title-pp.; woodcut vignette on verso of last leaf where last leaf would be blank; fine set in original full pictorial morocco, with double vertical gilt borders, fan-shaped horizontal borders incorporating feathers and leaves, the whole enclosing an image of The Bard at a classical pedestal, with books and a manuscript, the spines in 5 gilt-decorated panels, gilt-lettered direct in 2, a.e.g., original blue cloth bookmarkers. This set bound without illustrations.
“Issued with a portrait and 37 engraved plates after Stothard; heraldic device on title-pp., printed in the publisher’s Diamond Classics series and printed in diamond type by C. Correll; the set was issued in red cloth with paper labels, at £2 17s., or in morocco at £4 7s.; also issued without engravings; the illustrations might be had separately for £1 1s. (Proofs £2 2s.)” (Keynes).
Jaggard, p. 516: “Printed on India paper. One of the smallest sets of the poet ever printed.” Keynes, p. 88.
25. BISSEL, JOHANNES, S.J. Joannis Bissilii … Argonauticon Americanorum, sive historiae periculorum Petri De Vitoria… Monachii: Lucae Straubii, 1647. $800
First edition, small 12mo, 13 p.l., pp.480, [12] including engraved title-p. (signed “Wolfg. Kilian. 1647 fecit.”), printed title with a woodcut vignette, and a full-p. engraved map of the western hemisphere; full contemporary vellum recased and rebacked; a good, sound copy.
JCB II, p. 360; not in JFB Catalogue; Sabin 99443; European Americana 647/28: “Though conventionally described as a Latin version of the Ingolstadt, 1622, German translation of Pedro Gobeo de Victoria’s Naufragio y peregrinatio, 1st publ., Seville, 1610, Harold Janz points out that this is in fact a novel for which Gobeo’s account was ‘merely … raw material’.”
26. BOCKING, REGINALD. Guildford to Southampton via the Cape of Good Hope. [London: printed by Ash & Co., Ltd., n.d. ca. 1950.] $125
Only edition, 12mo, pp. [6], 85, [2]; folding color map of Africa; original maroon cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover; lettering dull, else very good and sound. With a 2-p. epilogue by Sidney G. Clarke. Includes chapters on Nairobi National Park and Mombasa. Not found in OCLC.
RARE BOER WAR BROADSIDE
27. [BOER WAR.] Roberts, Lord, Frederick, Commander-In-Chief in South Africa. Lord Roberts has ordered the following proclamation to be circulated in English and Dutch: Proclamation. Mr. Kruger, with the archives of the South African Republic, has crossed into Portuguese territory, and arrived at Lourenço Marques, with a view for sailing to Europe… Lourenço Marques: A. W. Bayly & Co., 15 September, 1900. $1,750
Folio broadside, approx. 22½ x 17½ inches, previous folds, loss at the central fold causing partial loss to three words, substantial paper tape repair and reinforcement on verso. A good copy of a rare broadside (we’ve been unable to locate this bibliographically) announcing the departure of Transvaal President Paul Kruger and his desertion of the Boer cause, and inviting his followers to surrender unconditionally.
The British attempt to annex first the Transvaal in 1880, and then in 1899 both the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, was their biggest incursion into southern Africa, but it wasn’t until 1902 that the conflict was finally resolved due to the persistant guerilla tactics of the Boers.
In this broadside - propaganda as much as anything - Roberts states that “if any further doubts remain in the minds of the Burghers as to Her Majesty’s intentions, they should be dispelled by the permanent manner in which the country is gradually being occupied by Her Majesty’s forces, and by the issue of the Proclamations signed by me on the 24th day of May, and the first day of September, 1900, annexing the Free State and Transvaal respectively in the name of Her Majesty.
“I take this opportunity of pointing out that, except a small area occupied by the Boer army, under the personal command of Commandant Botha, the war is degenerating, and has degenerated, into opertaions carried on in an irregular, irresponsible manner, by small and, in many cases, insignificant bodies of men.”
The text of the broadside is co-signed by Fritz Pincus, agent for the Reuter’s Telegram Company.
28. [BOER WAR.] Cummings, A.A., Trooper, South African Constabulary. Five page autograph letter signed to Mrs. E. Williams, Reading.Heidelberg, Transvaal: February 3, 1901. $850
Folio, 178 lines, approx. 2000 words; previous folds, else fine.
Cummings details the final actions of one Mr. Elton, Cummings’ comrade-in-arms, from Dec. 15, 1899 to his death on June 10, 1900.
“In reference to Mr. Elton I shall gladly write anything I can remember in reference to him and our sojourn together with General Bullers’ column through part of the campaign. Mr. Elton joined Colonel Thorneycroft’s regiment whilst we were lying at Chieveley, shortly after the first battle of Colenso - Dec. 15, 1899-; a comrade introduced us to one another, and Elton laid down his kit along side of mine, and until he went into the hospital at Ingogo, we rode side by side…”
Cummings cannot precisely remember the first action they saw together, but “it must have been one of the many small skirmishes we had with the Boers along the Lugela river to the west of Colenso … Leaving Chieveley - Jan. 10 - we rode on to Trichardt’s drift on the Lugela … We had to swim our horses over the river which was deep and strong, Elton’s horse swam deeply, but well, and so did mine, and we got across safely, but one of our men was nearly drowned - Southey - whose horse rolled over and over with him … and one of the 13th Hussars - Guilor - was drowned…
“We camped on the north side of the river in a corn field: very seldom did Elton complain, but he did grumble that afternoon when we had to carry boxes of biscuits for about two miles on our backs … at a time when we were hungry and tired.
“On the afternoon of the 19th Thorneycroft’s rode out to a big hill, near Bastion-hill to find out the Boer position; we found the latter and the Boers found us! We were drawn up in a line whilst the officers searched the hills in front for signs of the enemy, the latter then poured in a heavy mauser fire, hitting two men, and we retired at a gallop. On Jan. 20 we advanced in a single file at a gallop across the plain, bound for Bastion hill, each man being about 20 yards apart. A big gun of the Boers shelled us all the way … Elton was some distance behind me, but we both reached the foot of Bastion hill and climed it. The whole of that afternoon, and all night we fought the Boers who were entrenched on top of the hill in front of us; we had good cover, and only lost a few men. On retiring to allow for fresh troops to take our place, the big gun again shelled us, and as we were riding round a hill for cover … a heavy shell burst amongst several of us…
“Mr. Elton went through the Battle of Spion Kop, the most terrible battle of the campaign - he was shot on the thumb by a mauser bullet, and a shell struck his rifle dashing it from his hand and smashing the stock to small splinters. Should you care for a description of the above-mentioned battle I would send you one. Mr. Elton had pretty good cover behind stones but the ghastly sights, the moans, and screams of agony, and the pitiful imploring for water, shook him up a good deal…”
Other descriptions follow: the three-day battle at Lugela Heights; repelling the Boers at Hussar Hill; the second, 12-day battle at Colenso; the march for the relief of Ladysmith. By early April Elton was complaining of his liver and bowels, and he was informed that his liver was enlarged. Elton continued to fight with his men but shortly afterwards, he was so sick that he had to be taken to the hospital. Cummings saw him there but once afterwards, and Cummings learned subsequently that he had died on June 10th.
This is a letter likely written to a member of Elton’s family. Cummings describes Elton’s personal belongings (spurs, a bandolier) and relates details on the numebr of engagements in which Elton saw action so that he might receive, posthumously, medals and clasps.
Cummings is likely a New Zealander or a Canadian as many of those who fought in the Boer war were. In a P.S. he notes: “I thank you for your invitation. Should I visit England, I shall endeavour to call and see you.”
29. [BOER WAR.] [Kruger, Paul, Transvaal President.] Funeral notice. The friends of the late state president Kruger are respectfully invited to attend his funeral … John Swift, undertaker. [Braamfontien, Transvaal]: Transvaal Leader, n.d. [ca. December, 1904]. $250
Octavo broadside, approx. 8¾” x 6”; previous folds, a few short splits and tears (no loss) good.
Commercial broadside advertising the business of John Swift, undertaker, who here uses the obsequies to hawk his services and sell wreaths and flowers. With a large vignette of his premises at the top, the whole within a black border.
Although Kruger left South Africa in 1900, and died in Switzerland, he was buried in Pretoria December 16, 1904. He was still much revered in South Africa where he had many friends and acquaintances.
30. BOWE, JOHN. With the 13th Minnesota in the Philippines. [Minneapolis: press of A. B. Farnham, 1905.] $125
First edition, square 16mo, pp. [2], 215, [1]; title within ruled border; original pictorial blue cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover and spine; spine slightly darkened; very good.
“Written from the diary of a private soldier … who has tried to write facts as they were rather than smooth over and make more readable the harsh incidents of the soldier’s life” (Preface).
RARE ST. LOUIS IMPRINT
31. BOWMAN, S. M., Esq. Across the ocean: or letters from a traveler, during a flying trip through the United States, England, and France. St. Louis: Chambers & Knapp, 1848. $950
First edition, 8vo, pp. 122; text a bit dampstained; recent red cloth, black cloth label lettered in gilt on spine.
The text of 20 letters written home is mostly reprinted from the Missouri Republican.
Tulane and U. Missouri only in OCLC. AII Missouri, 555 (locating only the U. Missouri copy); not in Smith, American Travellers Abroad; not in Sabin, not in Howes.
32. [BRIGHTLAND, JOHN.]. A grammar of the English tongue, with notes, giving the grounds and reason of grammar ... to which is added a new prosodia; or, the art of English numbers. London: printed for John Brightland, 1711. $1,500
First edition, 12mo, pp. [12], iv, 180 (i.e. 176), [1] Approbation of Isaac Bickerstaff; engraved folding table of alphabets; contemporary full paneled calf, red morocco label on gilt-decorated spine; small crack starting at the top of the front joint, mild dampstain to rear endpaper and flyleaf; all else fine
Alston I, 42, cataloguing this under “[Anon] ... Attributed at different times to John Brightland, Sir Richard Steele, and Charles Gilden. In all issues except the second (second issue) the dedication is signed ‘The Authors’, but in a reissue of the second edition it is signed ‘John Brightland’.”
The book was into its ninth edition by 1782.
33. BROCKETT, JOHN TROTTER. A glossary of north country words in use. From an original manuscript, in the library of John George Lambton … with considerable additions. Newcastle upon Tyne: for E. Charnley, 1825. $750
First edition, 12mo, pp. xxxvi, 243, [1]; engraved dedication-p. dated Dec. 31, 1824; 19th century marbled boards neatly rebacked in calf, preserving the original red morocco label on gilt-paneled spine.
Only 632 copies were printed (32 on large paper). Among the subscribers are Sir Walter Scott (3 copies), Robert Southey, Lord Cornwallis, the Scottish lexicographer John Jamieson, William Pickering (4 copies), and Thomas Frognall Dibdin. A second edition was called for by 1829.
Vancil, p. 34.
34. BROWN, J[onathan], M.D. The history and present condition of St. Domingo. Philadelphia: William Marshall and Co., 1837. $650
First edition, 2 vols., 12mo, pp. iv, [2], [5]-307; [4], [3]-289; dampstain to the bottom half of the early leaves in vol. I, light to moderate foxing throughout; each volume in original cloth (vol. I: green; vol. II: brown), printed paper labels on spines; rebacked, old spines laid down; a good, sound set, contained in a new cloth folding box, printed paper label on spine.
A second edition appeared in Boston in 1839.
35. BRUFFEY, GEORGE A. Eighty-one years in the west. Butte, Montana: The Butte Miner Co., 1925. $150
First edition, 8vo, pp. [3]-152; frontispiece portrait; original brown cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover; some edge wear else very good.
Howes B-891; Graff 451; Adams, Six Guns, 307: “Scarce … Material on the Montana vigilantes and outlaws, the hanging of Slade, and the Plummer gang.”
36. BUDGELL, EUSTACE. Memoirs of the lives and characters of the illustrious family of the Boyles; particularly of the late eminently learned Charles Earl of Orrery … With a particular account of the famous controversy between the Honourable Mr. Boyle, and the Reverend Dr. Bentley, concerning the genuineness of Phalaris’s Epistles … With an appendix containing the character of the Honourable Robert Boyle … By Bishop Burnet. Likewise his last will and testament. London: Olive Payne, 1737. $950
Third edition, “carefully corrected,” 8vo, pp. xl, 258, 38; engraved frontis portrait, title-p. printed in red and black, dedication-page with engraved headpiece, woodcut initials and ornaments; contemporary full speckled calf, gilt-decorated spine in 6 compartments, red morocco label in 1, edges stained red; a fine copy, with the early ownership signature on the front pastedown of Cottrell Dormer.
The first two editions of 1732 did not contain the appendix. Just after this edition was published, Budgell drowned himself in the Thames because of financial irregularities that had just been uncovered.
CBEL II, 1712.
37. BURCHFIELD, ROBERT, ed. Studies in lexicography. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987. $125
Advance review copy with printed slip laid in, 8vo, pp. xiv, [2], 200; 8 tables and figures in the text; a near fine copy with boards very slightly bowing and faint brown spotting to top edge of textblock.
Ten essays on English dictionaries, from the OED to the Australian National Dictionary, brought together by the editor of A Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary (1972-1986). Though held in many public institutions, this Studies is difficult to find in the trade.
38. BURNET, GILBERT, Robert Parsons, & Samuel Johnson. Some passages in the life and death of John, Earl of Rochester, with a sermon, preached at the funeral of the said Earl, by Robert Parsons. To which are prefixed two criticisms on the writings of the Earl of Rochester, by Dr. Samuel Johnson. London: printed by W. Nicholson for W. Baynes, 1805. $100
12mo, pp. 144, 12 (List of Books printed for W. Baynes); engraved portrait frontispiece; contemporary full sheep, gilt fillets on spine; rear joint cracked, else very good. With an early owner’s inscription, “Bought at Plymouth Dock, June 1816, JG.”
39. BUTLER, CHARLES R. A cruise diary, reprinted from a series of travel letters written to the Mankato Free Press. Mankato, Minn.: [privately printed for the author by the Free Press], 1926. $85
16mo, [3]-106, [1]; a number of illus, mostly from photographs; map endpapers; near fine in orig. brown cloth lettered in gilt on upper cover. Trans-Atlantic, Madeira, and the Med in the spring of 1926. Not found in OCLC.
40. BUXTON, THOMAS FOWELL. The African slave trade and its remedy. London: John Murray, 1840. $500
First complete edition, 8vo, pp. 14 (Prospectus of the Society for the Extinction of the Slave Trade and for the Civilization of Africa, instituted June, 1839, containing a list of members of the Provisional Committee listing Buxton as chairman), viii, [3]-273, [2], vi, [277]-582, [1]; engraved folding frontispiece map of Central Africa; original brown cloth lettered in gilt on spine; spine a bit rubbed, front hinge starting; a good, sound copy, or better. Tipped to the front free endpaper is an 8-p. publsher’s catalogue of Duncan & Malcolm.
The Prospectus is present, as issued. The first part of this work, “delineating the extent and the horrors of the African Slave Trade,” was published early in 1839, and it is now here republished with the added “Remedy” which constitutes more than half the book.
Sabin 9686.
41. CAMPBELL, DONALD. A narrative of the extraordinary adventures, and sufferings by shipwreck & imprisonment, of Donald Campbell, Esq., of Barbreck; with the singular humours of his Tartar guide, Hassan Artaz; comprising the occurrences of four years and five days, in an overland journey to India … Second American edition. New York: printed [by John Tiebout] for Evert Duyckinck & Co, 1798. $175
12mo, pp. 417; engraved frontispiece, contemporary full calf, red morocco label on spine; joints cracked, spine rubbed; good copy.
Ascribed to Stephen Cullen Carpenter (on what authority is not clear) by Allibone, Dictionary of Authors, no.1858; and by Cushing, Initials and Pseudonyms, 2nd Series, 1888.
Evans 33487
42. CARRILLO Y PÉREZ, IGNACIO. Pensil americano florido en el rigor del invierno, la imágen de María santísima de Guadalupe, aparecida en la corte de la Septentrional América México, en donde escribia esta historia Don Ignacio Carrillo y Pérez … año de 1793. Mexico [City]: M.J. de Zúñiga y Ontiveros, 1797. $2,500
First edition, small quarto, pp. [16], vi, 132; woodcut vignette on title-p., engraved plate of Maria, the Virgin of Guadalupe by the master Mexican engraver Tomás Suria; contemporary full Mexican mottled calf, gilt decorated spine, sprinkled edges, morocco label (slightly defective); the spine has a 1” burn hole in the middle, barely singeing the innermost gutter of several leaves, otherwise this is a very good, sound copy.
Palau 45601; Sabin 11057.
FREKE'S COPY
43. CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, MIGUEL DE. The history of the valorous and witty knight-errant, Don-Quixote, of the Mancha. Translated out of the Spanish; now newly corrected and amended [by Thomas Shelton].London: by Richard Hodgkinsonne, for Andrew Crooke, 1652. $12,500
Second complete edition of the first English translation; folio, pp. [16], 274 folios, plus the final blank (often lacking); 2 small woodcut devices on title-p., woodcut initials and ornaments;
bound with: Gayton. Ed-mund. [Pleasant Notes upon Don Quixot, London, William Hunt, 1674], pp. [12], 290; woodcut initial and ornaments, this copy bound without the printed title-page, otherwise complete.
The first edition of Shelton’s translation, published in 1612, is very rare; the second part was added in 1620 along with the second edition of the first part.
Gayton’s book is the first commentary on Don Quixote, “a four-part miscellaneous volume in verse and prose. It includes humorous anecdotes and quotations from little-known contemporaries. Though Shakespeare is thrice mentioned, Gayton regarded Ben Jonson as his intellectual father” (Eduardo Urbina Cervantes Project, Texas A&M, p. 11).
Together, 2 volumes in 1, bound in contemporary full calf, triple blind rules on covers, nicely rebacked by Phil Dusel, new endsheets, new morocco label on spine; the inside of the rear cover with the names of Raufe Freke, Thos. Freke, and William Freke of Hinton St. Maryes, and also Francis Bishop, 1711. The last leaf with the name ‘Raufe’ in ink.
William Freke (1662-1744) is the mystical writer of a dozen books or more, 1687 to 1711, including two volumes of essays, a Divine Grammar, and Lingua Tersancta, a dictionary of dreams. “His subsequent writing show an increased craziness, and there is more revolting grossness in his dreams which constitute the autobiography of a diseased imagination” (DNB). Raufe and Thomas were two of his 12 offspring.
Wing C-1776 and G-415; see also STC 4915-17.
ORIGINAL PICTORIAL WRAPPERS
44. CHASE, C[harles] M[onroe]. The editor’s run in New Mexico and Colorado. Embracing some twenty-eight letters on stock-raising, agriculture, territorial history, game, society, growing towns, prices, prospects, &c. [Montpelier, VT], 1882. $500
First edition, 8vo, p. 233, [3]; prospectus tipped in; frontispiece and 10 small wood-engravings in the text; original pictorial blue paper wrappers (lower wrap stained); very good.
Twenty-eight letters from growing towns between Denver and El Paso, by the editor of the Vermont Union, in Lyndon. In a green cloth clamshell box with gilt-lettered morocco label on front.
Howes C-315; Adams, Herd, 450: “Scarce.” Graff 652.
MOUNTED PHOTOGRAPHS
45. [CHINA.] Hubbard, Gilbert Ernest. The temples of the Western hills. Peking & Tientsin: La Libraire francaise, 1923. $1,750
First edition, square 12mo, pp. [8], 76, [4] ads; folding map, drawings in the text, and 10 mounted silver photographs (including one on the front cover); original brown printed wrappers lettered in black on spine; a near fine copy, contained in a new blue clamshell box, black leather label lettered in gilt on upper cover.
The photographs are credited to the author’s acquaintances, J. Paterson, Mrs. Calhoun, and Mr. Wetherall, and the professional photo studio, Messrs. Hartung, Peking. The photographs depict temple interiors and exteriors, a portrait of the Abbot of Chieh-t’ai-ssu, and a temple orchestra. The text contains descriptions of the surrounding countryside as well as detailed descriptions of the temples themselves in the mountainous regions west of Peking, “a record of personal impressions... aim[ing] at giving a general idea of the character and atmosphere of the temples and their surroundings rather than a tabulated series of facts in the manner of a guide book” (Preface).
GORGEOUS COPY
46. [CHINA.] Medhurst, W. H. China; its state and prospects, with especial reference to the spread of the Gospel; containing allusions to the antiquity, extent, population, civilization, literature, and religion of the Chinese. New York: Crocker & Brewster, 1838. $2,000
First American edition, small 8vo, pp. xv, [1], [13]-472; folding frontispiece map, 6 wood-engravings by G. Baxter on 3 plates; a fine, bright copy in original brown cloth, gilt-lettered spine.
OCLC locates over 100 copies but I don’t remember ever having seen the book before. And this is a stunning copy.
Walter Henry Medhurst (1796-1857) was an English missionary who served an apprenticeship in the printing trade before joining the Missionary Society. He was sent to Malacca in 1817 where he spent almost 20 years doing Protestant missionary work in what is now Indonesia. It was in Batavia (Jakarta) that he printed on his lithographic press the first English-Japanese dictionary in 1830. After the Opium War he moved to Shanghai in order to assist in a translation of the New Testament into Chinese, and remained in China until his return to England in 1856.
Medhurst’s long career in the Far East made him familiar not only with Malay and Chinese, but also with Japanese, and he is not only one of the most reliable, but also one of the most informed of the Western sinologists. He also went on to publish a Chinese dictionary and conversation book.
47. [CHINA.] Montalto De Jesus, C.A. Historic Shanghai. Shanghai: Shanghai Mercury, Ltd., 1909. $500
First edition, 8vo, pp. [4], xxviii, 257, [6]; 2 folding maps, 26 plates; some spotting of the spine, else a good, sound copy, or better in original green cloth, gilt lettering on upper cover and spine.
This is the first book in English on the origins and history of the great city of Shanghai, and it is one of the best histories and guides to that ancient port. The book covers the beginnings of Shanghai, its trade and commerce, its ethnic populations, its position as a treaty port, its history under the rebels, fiscal and municipal shortcomings and reform, the Opium Wars, and General Charles Gordon.
48. [CHINA.] Pollard, Samuel. In unknown China. A record of the observations, adventures and experiences of a pioneer missionary during a prolonged sojourn amongst the wild and unknown Nosu tribe of western China. London: Seeley, Service & Co., 1921. $450
First edition, 8vo, pp. [4], 11-324; 3 maps, (2 folding), 22 plates; spine slightly discolored else a very good copy in original yellow cloth stamped in black.
Pollard was a Methodist missionary working in the then little-known interior of southwestern China.
49. [CHINA & SIAM.] Semler, Johann Salomon & Siegmund Jacob Baumgarten. Ubersetzung der Algemeinen Welthistorie, die in Engeland durch eine Geselschaft von Gelehrten ausgefertiget worden … Unter der Aufsicht und mit einer Vorrede herausgegeben von Johann Salomon Semler der heil. Halle: Joh. Justinius Gebauer, 1762. $950
4to, pp. 38, 660; engraved frontispiece, engraved vignette title-p. printed in red and black, very detailed folding map of China, 3 engravings in the text; contemporary brown speckled paper-covered boards, vellum label lettered in ink on spine; a very good copy.
This is the 24th volume in Semler’s great universal history, this volume covering Siam and China.
OCLC locates 2 copies in Europe only. See Lust, 389.
PUBLISHER'S VELVET
50. [CHURCH OF ENGLAND.] The Book of Common Prayer, and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the church … together with the Psalter or Psalms of David…. Oxford: University Press, 1844. $1,650
24mo, unpaginated; text within a ruled border; separate title-p. for A New Version of the Psalms of David, 1843; together and uniformly bound with: The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, Oxford: OUP, 1845; together 2 volumes, bound in original black velvet, applied brass edges, with small brass shield on upper cover of each reading “Common Prayer” and “Holy Bible” respectively, brass clasps and hinges; both volumes fine throughout and contained in a compartmentalized folding black morocco case, the brass latch decorated with butterflies and flowers, insides of white satin (satin a bit soiled); the box is very slightly rubbed.