Antique & Collectible Books

Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1832. 1st Edition . Half leather. Very Good. First edition (published 1832-38), octavo, three volumes; xii, 388; 409; 509pp. In contemporary half calf (lightly worn), spines divided into five compartments with gilt rolls and double fillets, gilt lettered titles and volume numbers to second and fourth compartments respectively. Early ownership labels to front endpapers, neat early ink ownership names to head of each title page, early pencil ownership inscription to opening blank of volume three, half-titles present in all three volumes. Clean attractive copy in first edition of Warren's often macabre tales that have received considerable scholarly attention as a source for Edgar Allan Poe's works of mystery and the supernatural.

And pocket stable-directory; in which the management of horses generally, as to health, dieting, and exercise, are considered, in a series of familiar dialogues, between two Grooms engaged in Training Horses to their Work. With notes, and an appendix, including extracts from the receipt book of John Hinds. Second edition, with considerable additions. xii+298 pp.+ a color plate h.t. 19,5x12 cm. Printed for the author. London, 1830.
--- Cloth-bound. Very sensitive hinges. Wear to the corners of the covers and the spine (see photo). Spine is cracked but repaired. Occasional light foxing. Notes written on endpapers and there is a small piece of newspaper inside front cover.

Amsterdam: Chez Henri Desbordes dans le Kalver-straat, pres le dam, 1697 Book. Fair. Full-Leather. [iv], 566, [30] pages. The first 4 unnumbered pages are detached. Pages are soiled and lightly browned throughout - a well used volume. In what at first glance appears to be old full leather but according to a printed bookseller's description which is loosely inserted, is a fish skin binding. Lower outer corner torn off from pages 475/476 - this affects a few words. Loss to the lower outer corner of the front free end paper..

Original 1852 Near Fine Green First Edition Blind Stamped Hardcover. Clean 224 pp. Color Frontis. NOT a library copy. Nineteenth Century Bookplate of Warren B Middleton. Except for rear endpaper toning stain ( see scan) this rare Arthurian and Scilly folklore treasure is in handsome Near Fine condition if not better. Tight binding.The opening sedtion on Mordred's rebellion and the death of Arthur and the loyal Guinevere (I agree with this unique pro-Guinevere portrayal) is so poignant and moving. Also Lyonesse and Scilly Folklore. Please see all seven of our Three Geese in Flight Book Scans, Table of Contents, Endpaper stains, Spine, Cover, A sample of the Arthurian story.

Green calf spine with red title plate, gilt banding and lettering. Green textured boards. All edges gilt.

Tan cloth spine with gilt title. Blue patterned boards. Dimensions are for one volume.

Tan leather spine, tan and black marbled boards. Gilt banding and title.Volumes I, II and III. Dimensions are for one volume.

Paternoster Row: John van Voorst, 1877. Illustrated with 20 mounted original photographs, octavo, pp ii, 65, inner gutter margins are stained throughout, a small light stain to the lower outer margin for the first eighteen pages or so, pages slightly waved due to the mounted plates, an early inscription on the front blank, original green decorated cloth, slightly worn and marked and a little bowed. RARE. [This book is one of the earlier horticultural books to be illustrated with actual photographs. Sydney Courtauld JP (1840-1899) was a Crêpe and Silk manufacturer, and part of the Courtauld family empire in Great Britain. He was a keen horticulturalist and was the first person who managed to get the orchid Masdevallia costaricensis (now renamed Masdevallia marginella) to flower in England. He donated the Braintree and Bocking Public Gardens to the people of Braintree on 26 November 1888.]. First Edition. Cloth. Fair.

Brown calf spine with brown cloth boards. Black title plate with gilt lettering and banding on the spine.
Loidis and Elmete; or, an Attempt To Illustrate the Districts Described in Those Words by Bede; and Supposed To Embrace the Lower Portions of Airedale and Wharfdale, together with the Entire Vale of Calder, in the County of York, England. 404 pages plus 2 pages of directions to the binder and plates. In one volume. Width: 11.5" Height: 17.5". Bound in full contemporary leather with raised bands and stamped gilt lettering to spine panels. Binding is firm and text solid, with reinforced hinges. Marbled endpapers and edges. Very occasional (light) foxing. This lavishly illustrated work contains an engraved frontispiece portrait of the author, title vignette, as well as many additional plates, textual illustrations and decorative initial letters. Book also presents a number of double-page and fold-out family trees.

Black leather spine with greenish marbled boards. Boards worn. Maroon title plate with gilt lettering and raised banding on the spine. Dimensions are for one volume. An immense catalogue of the works held at the Royal Dresden Gallery, or, Gemaldegalier Alte Meister. The gallery contains many major works of the Italian Renaissance, as well as Dutch and Flemish paintings. Containing tales and biographies of many of the artists included in this work, such as Berchem, Caravaggio, Raphael, Rembrandt, and more. Edited by Albert Henry Payne.

Boards worn. Tan calf spine with gilt banding. Title plate missing. Blue and tan marbled boards.
A lovely and very well kept example of this famous book. View the pictures and see for yourself the quality of this fine book.
John Anderson FRSE FRS FSAScot (26 September 1726 – 13 January 1796) was a Scottish natural philosopher and liberal educator at the forefront of the application of science to technology in the industrial revolution, and of the education and advancement of working men and women. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and was the posthumous founder of Anderson's College (later Anderson's Institution), which ultimately evolved into the University of Strathclyde.
Anderson was born at the manse at Rosneath, Dunbartonshire, the son of Margaret Turner (d. 1784) and Rev James Anderson. His father and grandfather were prominent ministers of the church. After his father's death he was raised by his aunt in Stirling, where he attended grammar school.
He graduated with an… Read More

In original dust sheet. Blue cloth binding with gilt title on the spine and front board.
Helen Layfield Bradley MBE (20 November 1900 – 19 July 1979) was an English artist born in Lees, Lancashire, England. Her paintings, mostly in oils, typically depict life in Lancashire in the Edwardian era. She was born Helen Layfield at 58 High Street, Lees, a village on the outskirts of Oldham, Lancashire. She was educated at Clarksfield School, and from age thirteen at Oldham Art School, having won the John Platt scholarship. Despite this, she did not begin to paint seriously until she was in her sixties. In the 1960s she met fellow painter L. S. Lowry who encouraged her in the creation of a narrative style based on her own childhood memories. From 1965 she became as popular in the United States as in the United Kingdom and her paintings now sell at auction for tens of thousands of pounds. Many of her paintings feature a character called "Miss Carter", a woman who always wore pink. In 1971 Jonathan Cape… Read More

Full brown leather. Gilt edge line on both boards and gilt banding on the spine. No title visible.
A lengthy and well considered assessment in which Campbell argued that the balance of power was not just a device for political order, but also an aspect of the commercial system that was particularly necessary for trading powers such as Great Britain. It 'must continue to be the object more especially of trading countries, so long as they preserve their commerce and freedom'
John Campbell (8 March 1708 – 28 December 1775) was a Scottish author. He contributed to George Sale's Universal History, and wrote a Political Survey of Britain (1744). He was both prolific and well paid: according to James Boswell, Samuel Johnson spoke of Campbell to Joseph Warton as 'the richest author that ever grazed the common of literature.'

Red cloth binding with gilt title and decoration.
In a 'Boots the Chemist' dust sheet.
A good copy in the original red cloth binding with 16 tipped-in colour plates and 35 full page black and white illustrations by W Heath Robinson. This issue with Heath Robinson's work - the black and white illustrations are particularly memorable. The binding is in fair condition, with pulling to the top and bottom of the spine and bumping and wear to corners. The spine is faded. The dust cover is in superb order. Internally the contents are in very good clean condition.The book is sound.
Hans Christian Andersen (2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogs, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisting of 156 stories across nine volumes, have been translated into more than 125 languages. They have become embedded in Western collective consciousness, accessible to children as well as presenting lessons… Read More

Tan leather half binding with blue and white marbled paper boards. Raised banding with gilt title on the spine. Dimensions are for one volume.
A very clean and readable edition of Gil Blas Gil Blas is a picaresque novel by Alain-René Lesage published between 1715 and 1735. It was translated into English by Tobias Smollett. Gil Blas is born in misery to a stable hand and a chambermaid of Santillana in Cantabria and is educated by his uncle. He leaves Oviedo at the age of seventeen to attend the University of Salamanca. His bright future is suddenly interrupted when he is forced to help robbers along the route and is faced with jail. He becomes a valet and, over the course of several years, is able to observe many different classes of society, both lay and clerical. Because of his occupation, he meets many disreputable people and is able to adjust to many situations, thanks to his adaptability and quick wit. He finally finds himself at the royal court as a favourite of the king and secretary to the… Read More