General History

Amsterdam: Pierre Mortier, Librarie, 1708. Hardcover. Very Good. 16mo, 4 x 6.5, 165 pages, bound together with "Les Avantures d'Apollonius de Tyr" by Mons. Le Br., 130 pages. Tightly bound. Full Leather binding is intact, but needs treatment (appropriate oils/leather treatments? mostly on the spine). Pages are foxed, but supple (remarkably well preserved for something that has existed for more than 300 years).

Wellesley, Mass / Viet Nam:: C. David Thomas,, 2001.. Edition of 100. 13.25 x 11.25 x 2.25"; 118 pages: 59 text pages, 59 image pages. Images printed from a Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 970Cse using archival ink. Letterpress printed in Monotype Bembo by Wolfe Editions in Portland, Maine. Printed on Vietnamese Do (mulberry) paper handmade in Dong O Village in northern Vietnam. Text pages varnished to make the paper translucent. Laid in a lacquer box handmade by craftsmakers in Thanh Tri Village near Hanoi. Box laid in a handmade silk slipcover also custom made in Vietnam. Copy edited by Gloria Lee. Numbered and signed by C. David Thomas and Charles Fenn. Colophon: "Each lacquer box is made in the centuries-old method of using wood covered with a coarsely woven silk followed by thirteen coats of lacquer. Between coats of lacquer the box is hand sanded with very fine water sandpaper until the final layer, which is done by using charcoal powder and bare hands". Prospectus: "In spite… Read More

First Edition - 1989, Authentic looking book from the Pacific Egg and Poultry Assoc, Rare printing, Very Good condition, No creases, only small mark from thumbing textblock, from private collection COLLECTIBLE BOOK [08F]

London: Printed for Robert Clavel, 1698. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. 8vo (12.5 X 19.5cm). Each work with with separate title page, but paginated continuously; pp. 276 (Pages 47 and 265 misnumbered 46 and 253 respectively); NOTE: the general title and license pages are not bound in, in this copy. The six title pages either dated 1698 or 1699. Titles as follows: An Essay Concerning the Multiplication of Mankind: Together With Another Essay in Political Arithmetick Concerning The Growth of The City of London (1698); Further Observations Upon The Dublin Bills (1698); Two Essays in Political Arithmetick Concerning The People, Housing, Hospitals etc of London and Paris (1699); Observations Upon The Cities Of London And Rome (1699); Five Essays in Political Arithmetick (1699) [printed both in French and English, on facing pages with two title pages - in French and English]; Political Arithmetick, or A Discourse Concerning The Extent and Value of Lands... (1699). Contemporary panelled sheep,… Read More

London. Jer. Batley at The Dove. 1725-1726. Bound in full period calfskin. Elaborate gilt ruled spine compartments with gilt-tooled fleural motifs. Red and green morocco labels.All edges marbled. 8v0. 5"x8". The First Edition in English - the First Edition having been published in Madrid 1601-1615. Here, translated into English by Capt. John Stevens. Illustrated by 3 folding engraved maps,12 folding engraved plates and 2 single,full page engravings. Lacking the third single full page plate of 5 small portraits (Vol.5). Renowned primary account of the early Spanish conquest of the New World. "A grand chorus of writers, from Nicholas Antonio down to Thomas W. Field, unite in their testimony as to the fidelity of this Prince of Historians. He was successively employed as historiographer by Philip II, III, and IV, and having access to every available source of information, made free use of many original documents which had never before been printed, and which no longer exist in MS. His… Read More

Paris: Jacques Vincent, 1730. First Edition. Hardcover (Full Leather). Good Condition. 5 volumes in contemporary gilt calf, worn, dry, hinges and joints split, boards attached but precariously in a few cases. Scattered browning internally and occasional creased pages, spine labels, bookplates and old embossed theological library stamps to title, but generally clean and unmarked otherwise. 36 plates, many folding, and 4 maps hand colored in outline. Published 1730-1745. Size: Folio. 5-volume set (complete). Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Over 3 kilos. Category: History; Antiquarian & Rare. Inventory No: 043619.

The Woman In White (1860 Harper & Brothers 1st Edition) BY WILKIE COLLINS. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1860.[2], 260, [4, ads] pp. Publisher's brown stamped heavy cardboard boards with elaborate blind stamped Harper and Brothers cartouche on front and back boards. Ads state B. Miss Mulock spelled correctly. Used. Good- Condition. Our copy lacks it's spine. Some water-spotting noted. Please see our photos. States 1860 on the title page. In-text illustrations by John McLenan. Both pairs of chocolate brown endpapers are in good shape. Please see our photos. First American edition, second state, with first page of rear ads headed "By Miss Mulock," listing eleven titles, and verso advertising The Mill on the Floss [Gasson p. 160.] A Haycraft Queen Cornerstone, a smash success upon publication. Has become rare, like the author's gift for spellbinding tales. This book is acknowledged as creating and popularizing the detective/mystery genre in Victorian Great Britain. Will ship from Oregon.

This rare book from the year 1675 has been professionally rebound in tan leather with the title in gold on the cover, with gold decor on the spine, and with gilded corners. The marbled endsheets are also not original. There are a few very old margin notations.The entire text of the book is original and complete. and in Good Condition, while the binding is in Very Good Condition. On the leading page edges the words "Charles of London" are embossed, and this, too, appears to be original.This is a unique item and will make a fine addition to the library of the British historian.

A Paris, chez Durand, Libraire, Rue Du Foin, 1758. Avec Approbation et Privilège du Roi.
Large 4to [253 x 193 mm] of (2) ll., xxii pp., 643 pp., (1) p. Full bronze green morocco, triple gilt fillet around the covers, spine ribbed and decorated, inner roll-stamp, gilt edges. Contemporary binding in morocco.
First edition, seized and condemned to be burned immediately upon publication.Copy from the issue C.
"De l'esprit had a huge scandal success. It is considered today as one of the most systematic and absolute forms of French materialism of the 18th century." (Jacques Guérin).
Diderot considered that this book was "a furious sledgehammer blow worn on prejudices".
"This famous work was censored by La Sorbonne as containing all the scattered poisons distilled in the different modern books, that is contemporary ones" (Tchemerzine).
The work dedicated to the royal family, was rejected by the latter, and on August 10, a few days after that of the publication, the privilege, given on May 12, was… Read More

A New and Complete System of Universal Geography; Describing Asia, Africa, Europe, and America; with their Subdivisions of Republics, States, Empires and Kingdoms; the Extent, Boundaries, and Remarkable Appearances of each Country; Cities, Towns, and Curiosities of Nature and Art. [1798, 1800, 1799, 1799 sequentially]Also giving a general account of the Fossil and Vegetable Productions of the Earth, the History of Man, in all Climates, Regions, and Conditions; Customs, Manners, Laws, Governments, and Religions; the State of Arts, Sciences, Commerce, Manufactures, and Knowledge...To Which is Added, A View of Astronomy, as Connected with Geography; Of the Planetary System to Which the Earth Belongs; ...with a Copious Index annexed to each volume, Being a large and comprehensive Abridgement of Universal Geography.By John Payne. with Additional Corrections and Improvements from the Latest and Best Authors. by James Hardie, A.M. Author of Principles of Latin Grammar, the American Remembrances, and… Read More

Frankfurt: Theodor de Bry and Johann Saur, 1598. First Latin translation of the author's "Brevissima Relacion" Seville : Sebastian Trugillo, 1552. Also the first illustrated edition. Small quarto (7 3/16 x 5 7/8 inches; 195 x 150 mm). [8], 141, [1, blank] pp. Bound without the final blank. With engraved title-page and seventeen half-page engravings by Theodor and Johann Theodor de Bry; after Joost van Winghe. This edition is the first appearance of these plates which all illustrate the cruelties practiced upon the Indians by the Spaniards, as related by Las Casas. According to Sabin, this edition of Las Casas, "is much sought for in consequence of the beauty of the first impressions of the plates." Bound to style in full modern paneled calf. Boards ruled in gilt and blind. Boards with gilt central lozenge. Spine stamped and ruled in gilt. Top edges dyed brown others speckled red. Title-page and plates on pages 12 and 95 trimmed close at fore-edge, barely affecting illustration. Some occasional light… Read More

London: Printed by H. H. Jun for Hen Herringman and R Bentley.., 1695. London: Printed by H. H. Jun for Hen Herringman and R Bentley..., [N.d.c.a. 1695]. The first of the undated editions according to Bartlett. Small quarto. [1]- 64 pp. Complete but mispaginated as follows, Pp. 1, 4-18, 91, 20-40, 33-48, 57, 50, 51, 60, 61, 54, 55, 64. There is some confusion as to the priority of the undated quartos. According to Bartlett's 'Census of Shakespeare's Plays in Quarto' (1916), this present copy conforms to what she called the "Second quarto edition" based on catch words and pagination. However, in her revised edition of the Census in 1939 Bartlett's view had changed stating: There were four undated editions of this play issued after the first edition, 1684, and the second, 1691. This would place the undated quartos after the second edition and make this the third quarto edition. Bound by J. Kulesho in full red smooth morocco. Front board and spine lettered in gilt. Board edges gilt. Gilt dentelles.… Read More

London: T. Warner, 1727. First edition, second issue without the words "Conjugal Lewdness" in the main title. Daniel Defoe (ca. 1660-1731) published this essay under the original title of "Conjugal Lewdness or Matrimonial Whoredom" (1717) before being asked to rename it for the sake of propriety. This copy shows the cancel title mounted to a stub (as it should be!) Contemporary full calf, gold-tooled filets, fleurons on boards and coat of arms of Earl Stanley on upper board, ribbed spine with gold-tooling, inner filets in gold-tooling, all edged gilt. Boards have been repaired and the spine re-laid onto the back. Internally clean and tidy throughout, with just a touch of foxing to the pages. vi, [2], 406 pp. 195 x 125mm (7¾ x 5 inches). Despite changing the title, Defoe's text is unchanged. In this essay "concerning the Use and Abuse of the marriage bed", Defoe deals with contraception and compares it with infanticide, "the diabolical practice of attempting to prevent childbearing by physical… Read More

Great Salt Lake City: Elias Smith, 1862. Two nearly complete bound volumes of the venerable Salt Lake City paper, 104 issues in all: Volume XII, Nos. 1 - 52, July 2, 1862 to June 24, 1863 and Volume XIII, Nos. 1-52; July 1, 1863 to September 21, 1864. By this time, the paper had settled in Salt Lake City after the 'Utah War', news was arriving by telegraph, and the paper was issued regularly, except when paper shortages or other unexplained problems caused brief interruptions, as when No. 22, December 16, 1863 jumps to No. 23, March 2, 1864. Scarce original documentation of LDS history & commentary, including local, national, and international news, disasters, agricultural ideas, human interest stories, Presidential addresses, Civil War accounts, local ads, correspondence, LDS notes & lectures. Volume 12 is bound in hardcover, worn half black calf over pebbled boards, corners chipped & frayed, loss to spine ends, rear board creased - not a period, I think, but perhaps later… Read More

Paris, Jacques du Puys, 1580.
4to of (14) ll, 255 ll. numbered 252. Handwritten ex libris on the title. Bound in granite calf, large arms gilt-stamped in the center, spine ribbed decorated with gilt stars, red speckled edges. Armorial binding of the 17th century.
225 x 168 mm.
Rare original edition of this famous work of Jean Bodin which "had a great vogue in the time and was translated into Latin from 1581".
Brunet, I, 1025; Caillet, I, 182; Tchemerzine, I, 720; Obadia, Bibliographie française de la sorcellerie, n°842.
Often reprinted, translated into Latin as early as 1581, it quickly imposed itself at the time as a "breviaire des juges dans les actions pour malefice" (F. Renz, Jean Bodin, p. 73) and constitutes today one of the best documents on 16th century witchcraft trials.
"True first edition of the epoch-making treatise on demonology and witchcraft of the French lawyer Jean Bodin (1529-1596)".
"I think in contrast to Bodin" says Montaigne (Essais, II, 32) and "In fine and in conscience, I… Read More