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A Dozen Items For the NYC Book & Ephemera Fair, March 6& 7, 2020 at 980 Park Ave.

Click here for hours, a map, and $5 off your entry fee!

First extensive work on the comparative anatomy of vertebrates  

Valentini [Valentinus], Michael Bernhard [Michaele Bernhardo] (1657-1729).  Amphitheatrum Zootomicum Tabulis Aeneis Quamplurimis Exhibens Historiam Animalium Anatomicam … è miscellaneis S. R. I. academiæ naturæ curiosorum, diariis Societatum Scientiarum Regiarum, Parisiensis, Anglicæ & Prussiacæ, actis Hafniensibus & Lipsiensibus, zootomiis anatomicorum celeberrimorum aliisque scriptis rarioribus collectam. : Accedit methodus secandi cadav. humana cum enchiresibus iniiciendi ceram, hydrargyrum & stannum in vasa sanguisera & lymphatica, ut & ars dealbandi ossa pro sceletopoeia, cum osteologia, tabulis myologicis aliisque mss. Rauianis, hactenus summoperè expetitis. Frankfurt: Zunnerianorum et Joh. Adami Jungii [Published by heirs of Johann David Zunner and Johann Adam Jungen], 1720. Pagination: [16] 231, [1], 231, [1], 114, [4]. Complete, and retaining 102 of the 105 plates (missing 30, 43, 66), plus engraved title. 4to (33 cm). Hand-lettered vellum spine, over raw boards (covering material having fallen by the wayside with the exception of a few fragments here and there). Boards heavily worn, some tattering, engraved title laid-in loose, a handful of plates are on paper wider than the text block which has caused the edges to be a bit tattered, occasional worming and spotting, but clean and bright overall, text block sturdy and sound. Vellum. Generously illustrated with engravings, presumably the more exotic created from descriptions, in that they are not *quite* right but more or less accurate: i.e. a heavily anthropomorphised elephant face, a camel with more of a tuft than a hump, and some proportional inaccuracies, which lend no small amount of charm thereto. Stunning depictions of the animals which would have been more familiar in the region, such as the horse. Including depictions of animals, their skeletons, organs, partial dissections and the like. Text in double columns. Printed on rag paper, by Zunner, who is noteworthy for being the first Christian publisher to become a partner with a Jew, bookseller Meyer Abraham Beer. “First extensive work on the comparative anatomy of vertebrates” – Casey Wood. By the author of “Museum Museorum” (Sabin 98357), considered one of the great illustrated books of the era, a repertory of all of the then-known cabinets of curiosities. OCLC Number 1114793608; Garrison & Morton 303. (#061414)        $3,000.00 

 

The inspiration for Macbeth 

Boece [Boethius], Hector (1465-1536).  Scotorum Historiae [The History and Chronicles of Scotland]. Paris: Quae Impressa Sunt Typis Iodoci Badii: & impensis Hectoris Boethii / Josse Badé [Jodocus Badius Ascensius], ca. 1527. Pagination: Index K-Z; engraved title page; Table of Contents; Description; Catologus; Letter of Alexander Leo (dated 1527); Text: Lib I Fo. I – Lib. XIIII, Fo. CCCIIII. Missing prelims (first page present being Index “K”), and some pages at rear. Folio (321 x 210 mm). Utilitarian 20th century rebind: red buckram with gilt lettering to spine. Newer endpapers with original pastedowns laid-on. Engraved title featuring Badé’s device “Prelum Ascensianu“, with illustrated borders. Historiated initials. Wide margins. Index and Table are in two columns. Annotated in contemporary hand, in Latin. Occasional water damage, ink spills, dogears, etc., about 20 pages missing the lower portion of the page – in about half of these cases the loss doesn’t extend into the text.  Hardcover. “Boece’s fame rests on his history of Scotland, Scotorum historiae a prima gentis origine… Boece’s history is a glorification of the Scottish nation, based on legendary sources, and is more interesting as romance than as history. It had wide currency abroad in a French translation, and the plot of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is ultimately traceable to it.” – Britannica. Provenance of this copy: ink name to margin of first present page (suggesting the prelims have been missing for hundreds of years): “Tho’s Gordon / Hum. Lit. P. Kings College Aberdeen”: possibly the Thomas Gordon (1714-1797) who was King’s College Professor of Humanity and co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Marginalia throughout, in multiple hands, consisting mainly of summaries of adjacent content; occasional corrections or criticisms; some notes dated 1572; some handwriting-practice, mostly the name “Elizabeth”. (#059789)        $2,000.00 

 

L. M. Montgomery Photos, etc.

Montgomery, L. M. [Lucy Maud].  L.M. Montgomery Collection. Inscribed copy of Anne’s House of Dreams; photos of the author; postcards from Stuart MacDonald; related ephemera. Anne’s House of Dreams: Toronto, McClelland, Goodchild & Stewart. 1917. First Canadian edition. pp. 346. 8vo. Bound in lilac cloth, frontispiece by M. L. Kirk, and matching pastedown to front board. Sunning, spine slant, fraying to edges, endpapers split at hinges (mull intact but exposed),frontis., tissue and title page a bit foxed, some spotting and dogearing here and there. / Two of three photos are affixed to black paper backing, the third shows evidence of adhesive to the edges, and some rippling; some fingerprinting / Postcards are in good condition with one showing discoloured corners and cancelled stamp; ephemera is in good condition excepting the Guild Program which is split along the fold. Purchased from a descendant of Mrs. [Fanny Margaret, nee Colwell] Warner, a neighbour of the [Montgomery] MacDonald family in Leaksdale, Ontario, who furnished a simple family history as pertaining to these materials. Book boasts an early and warm inscription to front free endpaper, “To Mrs. Warner with the author’s compliments, Very sincerely yours, L. M. Montgomery Macdonald, Sept. 1917”. Accompanied by three photos featuring L. M. Montgomery: in one she is standing outdoors with her family, this one inscribed “Greetings from the Manse” (likely by Montgomery); in another canoeing with four others; in the third holding a baby, reportedly the granddaughter of the Mrs. Warner, Helen Margaret Luke. Also included are two postcards from Stuart MacDonald to the Luke family; an invitation to Mrs Luke to an unveiling of a plaque of L. M. Montgomery in Uxbridge; a program from the unveiling ceremony commemorating the Leaksdale residency of LMM and family, and a newspaper clipping about the same; a booklet biography entitled “L. M. Montgomery as Mrs. Ewan Macdonald of The Leaksdale Manse 1911-1926″; and a Leaksdale Presbyterian Guild Program for 1926 naming Rev. E. MacDonald and Social Vice-Pres. Mrs. MacDonald. (#061090)        $4,000.00 

 

Customs of the American Indians 

Lafitau [La Fiteau], Joseph-Francois.  De Zeden der Wilden van Amerika (2 volumes in one). The Hague: Gerard Vander Poel, 1731. First Dutch edition. pp. (14), 36, (18), 300 (4), 301-555; some erroneous numbering of pages (as is often noted regarding this edition; text is complete and continuous notwithstanding). Both half titles and title pages are present, with titles in red and black; also the map, and 41 of the 42 called-for engraved plates (missing plate 29). Folio (330 x 200 mm). Contemporary vellum binding with blind-tooled central arabesque to boards, rules to boards and spine, title hand-written on spine, rubbed but legible. Some discolouration and wear to boards, corner torn from front pastedown, first signature loosened, tear to title page (from gutter into centre, about 10 cm in total), occasional spotting; very good copy in contemporary binding. Vellum. Lafitau (1681-1746) was a French Jesuit missionary who worked amongst the Indigenous tribes of Canada (chiefly the Iroquois) from 1711-1717, carrying out an unusually scientific study of their customs; “a voyageur in the mainstream of empirical ethnography” – DCB. This first Dutch edition followed the 1724 French edition titled “Moeurs des Savages Ameriquains”; the English-language edition was published in 1974 as part of the Champlain Society’s General Series. “Gives very extended and very exact details of the customs, manners, and religion of the Savages of North America, though principally of the Indians of Canada” – Sabin. Sabin 38598; Howes L22; Streeter I, 121; DCB III p.334-338. (#060639)        $2,500.00 

 

Pair of David Jones Items 

Isaacs, J., ed. [David Jones, engravings].  The Chester Play of the Deluge. Waltham: Robert Gibbings at The Golden Cockerel Press, 1927. Limited edition. pp. 15. 4to. Bound in raspberry cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Hand-laid paper. 10 wood engravings by David Jones. Tissue guards. Spot of sunning to spine, light edgewear, minor bump to one corner, slight bow to rear board; very good. In aqua coloured pictorial dustjacket featuring one of Jones’ engravings: showing some discolouration at edges, half-inch chips to spine ends, four closed tears to top edge, minor spotting/soiling. Hardcover. Limited edition, number 254 of 275 copies. (#061767)        $1,250.00 

Jones, David (Illust.).  Ten Wood Engravings by David Jones for the Chester Play of the Deluge No. viii of twenty-five sets, numbered i to xxv printed on japon by Will Carter at the Rampant Lions Press, Cambridge for Clover Hill Editions and published by Douglas Cleverdon. London: Douglas Cleverdon, 1977. 4to. Ten Engravings in a green card-stock portfolio. Black and white wood-cuts depicting the biblical flood. Lightest rubbing to edges, sunning to top edge and spine of portfolio. Contents clean and bright; very good+. Portfolio. Limited run of prints published simultaneously with the 1977 Clover Hill edition of The Chester Play of the Deluge. The Original 1927 Golden Cockerel Press edition did not dampen the engraving paper prior to inking resulting in poor quality reproductions. Unhappy with the result, Jones took back the original plates which were then used to produce these illustrations, more to his standard, in the second edition. (#059558)        $1,000.00 

 

Fore-edge scenic view of Winnipeg 

“View of Winnipeg from St. Boniface” ca. 1880’s [On the book “Lives of Eminent Naturalists”]. 1840: W. H. Lizars, Edinburgh. Small 8vo. Lovely black leather binding with Art-Nouveau style gilt decoration to boards, and gilt rules and lettering to spine. Page edges gilt. A few scuffs and abrasions to binding, occasional light foxing, contents unmarked, binding tight and sound. Leather Bound. A lovely binding with a hand-painted scenic view on the fore-edge, most likely of Winnipeg from the St. Boniface ferry landing, ca. 1885. The painting bears a striking similarity to an engraving of this location drawn by George Munro Grant, which appeared in the classic book “Picturesque Canada” in 1882. Fore-edge paintings have a mystery about them which leaves collectors intrigued: they are hidden treasures awaiting discovery.It’s possible that a wealthy patron had commissioned the work at a critical juncture during the city’s history: Winnipeg was incorporated as a city in 1873, and with the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway to Winnipeg in 1881, mass migration to the prairies could begin in earnest. As the population in Winnipeg began to grow, the bustling metropolis became the commercial hub between Canada’s east and west. Conversely, one could argue that if the image was painted in the country of its publisher, a British artist could have used a contemporary image of an exotic North American outpost to adorn the book. Naturalists were drawn to North America for its pristine nature and the attendant possibilities for research and exploration: perhaps the artist fancied Winnipeg as the outpost where civilization meets nature. We may never be sure of the story behind this piece, hence the allure. (#061852)        $2,000.00 

 

England’s Recovery 

Sprigge, Joshua.  Anglia Rediviva; or, England’s Recovery. London, 1647. 1st edition. Pagination: [full page engraved armorial crest of Fare Fac (Fairfax)], [large folding engraving of Fairfax mounted showing placement of Parliamentary troops on battlefield], [title page], [blank], [ii-iv ‘Epistle Dedicatory’], [blank], [vi-viii ‘An Apologie‘], [blank] [x-xiv ‘To All True English-Men’], [blank], [xvi-xix ‘The State of the Kingdome, when His Excellencie Sir Tho. Fairfax marched forth, May. 1645. Exhibited in Two Tables.’], [blank], [errata page], pp. 1-335, [i-iv Table of Contents]. Note: Between pp. 334/335 is a large folding ‘Table of the Motion and Action of the Army under the Command of His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, from April 15, 1645. To August 19, 1646.’ Note: the Streeter map of the placement of troops is not present in this copy. Tall 4to. Professionally re-cased with new spine and endpapers. Original boards. Contents occasionally foxed, but o/w in vg condition. Leather Bound. Joshua Sprigge (1618-1684) was educated at Oxford University. He became rector of the Church of St. Pancras before the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, at which time he became a retainer of Sir Thomas Fairfax (1612-1671), the general of the parliamentary army. After the war, he became a Fellow of All Saints College, Oxford, and appears to have opposed the execution of King Charles I. The title to this book continues’ ‘Being the History of the Motions, Actions, and Successes of the Army under the Immediate Conduct of His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, Kt. Captain-General Of all the Parliament’s Forces IN ENGLAND.’ ‘Compiled for the Publique good by Joshua Sprigge, M.A.’ ‘Printed by R.W. for John Partridge, and are to be sold at the Parot in Pauls Church-yard, and the Cock in Ludgate-streete. 1647.’ (#9900031474)        $5,000.00 

 

Pickwick Papers 

Dickens, Charles.  The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club. London: Chapman and Hall, 1837. 1st edition. pp. xiv, 609. Thick 8vo. All 43 plates are present, as described in Smith, ‘Charles Dickens in the Original Cloth’, although five of the plates are placed one page earlier than called for, and one plate is placed ten pages later. Seven of the plates are by Seymour, two by Buss, and the remainder by Phiz. Vignette title page plate shows ‘S. Veller’ and ‘Phiz fecit‘. As is always the case with a bound first edition of this title, each of the plates is a ‘mixed bag’ of first state, first plate, second plate etc. varieties of the plates. Our copy contains at least 33 ‘matches’ to the status of plates found in most first edition copies, as stipulated by Smith; but it also contains 10 plates where the points are different, the majority of the differences suggesting a first plate, first state status. See also Eckel, ‘Bibliography of the Original Writings of Charles Dickens; Fitzgerald, ‘The History of Pickwick’; Hatton and Cleaver, ‘Bibliography of the Periodical Works of Charles Dickens’; Clendening, ‘A Handbook to Pickwick Papers’. The contents of our copy show foxing, and there are a few very small (less than one inch) closed tears to the margins. The binding is tight and the contents are untrimmed. Overall, a very good copy with a highly desirable number of first state ‘points’. Leather Bound. Recent rebind in full brown leather with gilt rules to spine and red morocco spine label. A most handsome presentation. (#9900038308)        $4,250.00 

 

Early tract on genetics 

de Maupertuis, Pierre-Louis Moreau.  Venus Physique /with/ Varietés dans l’Espece Humaine Two Parts in One Volume. [Paris], 1751. Sixieme Edition. pp. [6], 240. 12mo. Bound in brown leather with wine-red spine label and gilt lettering and decoration. Marbled endpapers, ribbon page marker. Edgewear, superficial cracking to spine leather, joints starting, contents clean, binding sound. Old fountain-pen notations opposite title page. Leather Bound. In “Venus Physique”, Maupertuis makes a case for his pioneering theory of genetics and evolution: his “argument against the then dominant biological theory of the preformation of the embryo. Maupertuis argued convincingly that the embryo could not be preformed, either in the egg or in the animalcule (spermatozoon), since hereditary characteristics could be passed down equally through the male or the female parent. He rejected the vitalistic notion that some “essence” from one of the parents could affected the preformed fetus in the other parent, or that maternal impressions could mold the characteristics of the offspring. A strict mechanist, although believer in the epigenetic view of the origin of the embryo, he looked for some corporeal contribution from each parent as a basis of heredity.” – DSB. (#061770)        $350.00 

 

Luxurious Aesop’s Fables 

Phaedri [Phaedrus / Fedro] [Aesop].  [Aesop’s Fables] Phaedri Aug. Liberti Fabularum Aesopiarum Libri V. Notis illustravit in usum serenissimi principis Nassauii David Hoogstratanus. Accedunt ejusdem opera duo indices, […], quae observatu digna in notis occurrunt. Amsterdam: Typographia Francisci Halmae (F. Halma), 1701. 4to. Original vellum, hand-laid paper. Engraved half-title, letterpress red & black title page with allegorical engraved vignette. 18 full-page copper-engraved plates by Jan van Vianen (1660-1703), each featuring six circular images; plus 38 in-text reproductions, engraved decorative initials, and many head- and tailpieces. This copy includes the oft-missing fold-out engraved portrait of Joannes Gulielmus, Prince of Nassau. Front board slightly bowed; overall in excellent condition. Leather Bound. Phaedrus (15 BC – AD 50, Italy), was a “Roman fabulist, the first writer to Latinize whole books of fables, producing free versions in iambic metre of Greek prose fables then circulating under the name of Aesop.” (- Britannica). Rare and luxurious 1701 edition, specially made for the Prince of Nassau, and profusely illustrated with sharp, charming, exquisite engravings. Dibdin: “I have always considered this as a correct and very sumptuous edition. It is ornamented with a great number of small plates, or medallions, in which the subject of the fable is very ably and spiritedly executed. The type is peculiarly rich and bold, and is hardly equalled by any Dutch edition of a classic.” (p 285); OCLC, 2519971. (#042853)        $1,000.00 

 

Estienne’s Medical Lexicon 

Estienne, Henri.  Dictionarium Medicum Vel, Expositiones Cocum Medicinaliu, ad verbum excerptae ex Hippocrate, Aretaeo, Galeno, Oribasio, Rufo Ephesio, Aetio, Alex. Tralliano, Paulo Aegineta, Actuario, Corn. Celso. Cum Latina interpretatione. Lexica duo in Hippocratem huic Dictionario praefixa sunt, unum, Erotiani, nunqua antea editu: alteru, Galeni, multo emendatius quàm antea excusum. [Geneva]: Henri Estienne for Ulrich Fugger, 1564. First edition. pp. 608 [28]. 8vo. Bound in contemporary pigskin over pasteboard. Raised bands to spine, blind-tooled foliage and cameo decoration. Partial slice to leather at rear joint, edges worn; minor marginal foxing, early inscription to title page, restoration to corner of second page, lacks free endpapers. 19th-century bookplate of Albert Forbiger; Rush Medical College Library stamp on title and in text. Leather Bound. Henri Estienne II (Henricus Stephanus) was the grandson and namesake of the founder of the esteemed Estienne printing press and succeeded his forebears as Printer to the King. Henri II distinguished himself by improving upon prior Latin translations of major Greek authors and newly translating others, likely influenced by his tenure under Aldus in Venice. This is the first edition of his Greek-Latin medical lexicon, including content Estienne translated from classical Greek authors, introducing classical medical concepts into Renaissance medical literature for the first time, and generating an enduring influence on anatomical terminology. Renouard 121-3; USTC 450520. (#038832)        $2,000.00 

 

Speeches of Churchill  

Churchill, Winston [Randolph S. Churchill, comp.].  Arms and the Covenant. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1938. First edition. pp. 466. 8vo. Navy cloth with gilt lettering to spine. Publisher’s topstain. Portrait frontispiece. Some general shelfwear, a couple of bumps, spine dry, offsetting to half-title and rear endpaper (often seen in this edition and presumably from binder’s glue). Ink name, contents otherwise unmarked. In the original, unclipped pale blue dustjacket which shows discolouration to the spine, some scuffing, and chips and tears at edges. Hardcover. “Each speech is preceeded by its individual divisional half-title and diary of events”. Only 5000 copies of this edition were printed. Woods A44(a). (#053959)        $2,000.00 

  *Prices in USD; guaranteed as-described; subject to prior sale.