18th Century Literature

Kehl, Baden: Imprimerie de la Soci�t� Litt�raire-Typographique, 1784. Leather Bound. Very Good. L 8vo 7.75 - 9.75'' tall. Leather Bound. Condition: Very Good. Imprimerie de la Soci�t� Litt�raire-Typographique, Kehl, Baden 1784. In French. Famous first posthumous collected edition of Voltaire's [1694-1778] works known as the 'Kehl Voltaire', produced by Beaumarchais, who created a print foundry at Kehl to carry out this great work. Set contains 69 of the 70 Volume 8vo edition (smaller 12mo 90 volume edition was also produced). Volume 23 (Histoire de Charles XII) missing. Volumes 10 and 27 printed 1784, summary volume 70 printed 1789, all other volumes printed 1785. Uniform 18th century calf full brown leather. Spines decorated in gold floral designs, titles, volume numbers, within 6 boxed compartments. Boards have a natural brown mottled leather finish, slanted gold lines on the narrow board edges. All page ends stained a very light yellow finely bespeckled with green. Green silk reading ribbons.… Read More

First ed. complete with, vesilet ut tiba'aa by Ibrahim Muteferrika, and the Imprial order. contemporary full leather bindings with flap. (VOL.1) 2p., 6p. 1p. blank, 5p. wasilat ut tiba'aa, 2p. author's biography, 2p. blank. 9p. index and errata. 1p. blank. 666p. (VOL. 2) 7p. index and errata, 2p. blank. 756p. mint condition

1791. 1st Edition, Limited Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. Complete in 2 volumes. Illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Johnson by J. Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds, and 2 additional engraved plates. All 3 plates with imprints dated April 10, 1791. Frontispiece with the original tissue-guard intact. 4to. Bound in contemporary (circa 1800) speckled calf with gilt armorial supralibros on all 4 covers, spines with raised bands; red morocco gilt-lettered labels; small black morocco circular volume-number labels. Printed by Henry Baldwin for Charles Dilly, London, 1791. First Edition. Limited to 1750 copies. Printed on light blue paper. Vol. I has the correct give reading on page 135, line 10, generally considered the second state (although, as Pottle notes, booksellers have given this rather uninteresting point more attention than it deserves.) The copies printed on light blue paper were presumably reserved for members of the nobility: When Boswell published his The Life of Samuel Johnson, the King… Read More

London: S.n., 1703. Full-Leather. Very Good/No Jacket. In two volumes. 8vo., full cont. calf, rebacked with a later spine, raised bands, leather spine labels, (28), 381, (17) index; vii, 391, (16)pp. index. Frontispiece. Front board of volume two reattached with archival tape, chip to spine head of volume one, wear to extremities, a very good set. Scarce. Pieter de la Court [1618-1685) was a dutch economist who believed in the early economic importance of free competition. De la Court published his works anonymously on the Dutch Republic, politics, and the history of Holland. Some of these works having been attributed to his brother Jacob. This book contains a series of moral fables, followed by explication of the tale as an interpretation of the economy and politics in Holland and the Netherlands on topics of taxes, the Republic, and Commonwealth.

Lausanne & Geneva:: Chez Marc-Michel Bousquet, 1744., 1744. 8vo. [2], 308 pp. Title printed in red and black, woodcut title vignette, woodcut headpiece, initial letter, 1 folding table (p. 166), 2 double-page folding tables of lunar observations (between pp. 266(a), 267(b)), 6 folding engraved plates, errata; small repair on verso of title, 2 leaves with waterstaining. Tiny manuscript note on title, recording the author's death date, larger ink ms. also on foot of title: "1744". Original full mottled calf, leather gilt-stamped spine label, raised bands; joints cracked. Very good. Extremely rare. First edition. Cheseaux was a Swiss astronomer who was the first to observe a number of nebulae. Loys de Cheseaux "earned his European reputation as an astronomer thanks to his Traite de la Comete (1744, in which he defends Newton's physics and discusses Olbers' Paradox." – Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. / Halley, having banked his reputation on the predicted return of his comet's return in 1758… Read More

1723 Scheuchzer SWISS ALPS Voyages Illustrated Switzerland Zurich Bern Travel

Johann Jakob Scheuchzer was an early 18th-century Swiss scholar who is best remembered for his incredible travelogues. Beginning in 1702, Scheuchzer traveled to nearly every corner of Switzerland focusing his excursions on natural studies, mountains, and glaciers. And while most of the work was scientifically accurate, he does include anecdotal evidence of dragons! According to Fischer, Scheuchzer was the first to make the nature of Switzerland be the focus of any comprehensive research.

This report was published under the title 'Itinera Alpina' – an itinerary of his adventures in the Swiss Alps. This 1723 Leiden edition was published by Vander Aa, and is notable for its exquisite full-page illustrations of cities views, natural bridges and waterfalls, and Swiss relics. This example is the first two volumes of Scheuchzer's famous travel work.

Item number: #9594
Price: $2950
SCHEUCHZER, Johann Jakob
Ouresiphoitēs… Read More

SADE, Donatien-Alphonse-François, marquis de (1740-1814)
Autograph letter signed "de Sade" to his aunt Gabrielle-Eléonore de Sade
N.p, 22nd April [1790], 3 pp. in-8vo
Long and powerful letter from the Marquis de Sade, just after his release from the hospice of Charenton. He shouts with rage the injustice done to him by his in-laws, these "monsters", and mourns the loss of his precious manuscripts – including The 120 Days of Sodom – during the storming of the Bastille the previous year.
"My room was searched and I lost everything... precious works, the fruit of fifteen years' work, I have saved nothing... and all this through the fault of those wretched rascals whom I hope God will one day avenge me"


" Je manquerais au plus cher et au plus sacré de mes devoirs, ma chère tante, si je ne vous informais pas que je viens d'obtenir enfin ma liberté ; il ne manquerait à mon bonheur que la satisfaction de pouvoir vous embrasser tout de suite et j'y volerai sans doute, si des affaires majeures ne… Read More

Paradise Lost was originally published in the year 1667. Early editions such as the one being offered here are very scarce and valuable. This fifteenth edition from 1738 is completely original inside and out. The leather covers show some scuffing, and the gold decor on both front and back covers is still good. There is a former owner's name on the front endsheet, and a few pages have some edge spots. The binding is tight, and the book is mostly as it was when it was published almost three centuries ago.This will make a fine and unique addition to your library of classic literature.

1785 ENORMOUS Works of VOLTAIRE French Science Physics Newton Kehl ed 60vols
"Let us read and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world."
― Voltaire
Voltaire was a versatile and prolific writer, producing works in almost every literary form, including plays, poems, novels, essays, and historical and scientific works. He wrote thousands of books and letter and frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma, and the French institutions of his day.
This enormous set of 60 volumes was published in Kehl and contains many of Voltaire's most famous works. It also contains his physics studies and correspondence, much of which had never been published.
Item number: #17869
Price: $3500
VOLTAIRE
Oeuvres completes de Voltaire
[Kehl]: De l'imprimerie de la société littéraire-typographique, 1785-89.

Details:
· Collation: complete with 60 volumes (of 70)
o Wanting volumes 52-61
o 15 engravings + 3 portraits of Voltaire
· Language:… Read More

1742 1st Astronomy by Roger Long ZODIAC Planets Comets Navigation Newton Physics
Roger Long was an 18th-century English astronomer from Cambridge. While little is known of his life, he is certainly best-known for his book 'Astronomy' – a thorough treatise studying all aspects of astronomy. In this treatise, Long covers the surface and phases of the moon, planetary orbits, the rings of Saturn, comets and meteors, behavior of sunlight, the zodiac and astrological signs, as well as the importance of astronomy on navigation.
While the contents of this book are extensive, the full-page and folding engravings set this work apart from other astronomy texts of this era.
Item number: #18660
Price: $2950
LONG, Roger
Astronomy : in five books
Cambridge: printed for the author: 1742-1764 (i.e. 1784). First edition.

Details:
·
Collation: Complete with all pages; 5 books in 2 volumes
o
Vol. 1 (Books 1-2) – xvi, [8], 356
o
Vol. 2 (Books 3-5) – iv, 357-728, [14]
o Illustrated with 97 full-page… Read More

[THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.]
True first edition. Mémoires De La Vie Privée Écrits Par Lui-Même, Et Adressées À Son Fils ; Suivis D'un Précis Historique De Sa Vie Politique, Et De Plusieurs Pièces, Relative À Ce Père De La LibertéThis book is the first edition of the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Printed in French. Printed in 1791. The first edition was in French. This book is printed in French. This is correct.
The first English edition of 1793 is the first English edition, it is not the first edition. It was directly translated from this 1791 French book. The American Edition from 1793 was translated from this book. The true first edition of the Autobiography was in French. The binding is original.
Leather supple. Hinges sound. Quality rag paper.
Title page margin was professionally conservated, not affecting text.
First few pages have ink stains at the top as shown in the pictures.
Binding is original. Text is complete. The blank end papers look like they were… Read More

Though experiencing somewhat of a critical comeback, Phebe Gibbes remains a relatively obscure author about whom little is known, despite having published a good deal in her lifetime. Her works were published anonymously, and she explained this in a letter of appeal for financial support to the Royal Literary Fund - her family "rejected every species of Literature, except devotional" and she herself was of a "withdrawing turn of temper." She claimed to be the author of several anonymous pieces; in her letter, she also enclosed an attestation by Joseph Johnson, one of her publishers, that she was the author of Elfrida, or Paternal Ambition, which had been published anonymously. Despite her withdrawing nature, Gibbes' writings were full of pronounced views on freedom of marriage choice, lack of educational opportunities for girls, women's role in society, and the evils of gambling. Indeed, the financial difficulty that led her to write to the Royal Literary Fund was due in part to her father-in-law's… Read More

Charles L. Webster and Company. 1885. First Edition; EARLY First Printing. Hardcover. One of the finest copies to ever hit the market. Contains the three first printing points: P.143: First word, the letter "L" missing from "Col"; "Huck Decided to Leave" on p. 9; "Him and Another Man" listed on p. 87; "with the was" rather than "with the saw"; and P.155: With the final '5' MISSING COMPLETELY indicating this is one of the very first. First Printings, to come off the line which perhaps made it out into retail before the errors were caught and corrected with the last "5"; A much nicer, more presentable copy than usually seen. Slight rubbing to spine head and tail. Absolutely zero markings on any pages along with no bookmark nor any signs of there being one. An extremely handsome, very rare, tight copy.

First edition, first issue (imprint of J. J. Arakelyan on copyright page). Octavo. xi,470 pages. Handwritten letter signed by author. Extremely rare.Original gray cloth with titles stamped in black on spine and front cover and with decorations in gilt on spine and front cover. Very light rubbing to covers. The first issue of one of the most important - and most socially influential - Utopian novels of the 19th century.

Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels - 2 volumes, octavo (190 x 115mm). Third issue - Teerink B. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the author in the second state, 6 engraved plates (occasional extremely faint and insignificant spotting and browning). Contemporary speckled calf (extremities fractionally rubbed with a little wear to head of spine of vol. II, upper joints to both vols just starting to crack, otherwise a very good copy). In bespoke solander box. Teerink 291. Provenance: Robert Bristow (either 1688-1737, MP for Winchelsea, 1708-1737, or his son, also Robert, 1712-1776, also MP for Winchelsea 1738-1741; 18th-century engraved armorial bookplates) – Frank Graham (of Newcastle on Tyne; 20th-century bookplate).
Gulliver is one of the most famous English books of all time, and also the greatest work of literature associated with Australia. It is a key work in the imaginary voyage tradition, particularly for its use of a series of realistic framing devices which include maps, an editorial… Read More