Browse the latest catalogs, newsletters, and e-lists of rare books, fine bindings, incunabula, print ephemera, and much more from the members of the ABAA below. (Also includes podcasts, blog posts, and other digital formats.)
*New* indicates any catalogs brought to our attention since late-September 2022.
AARDVARK BOOKS/EZRA TISHMAN BOOK APPRAISALS
- E-List #24: Women Sci-Fi Authors from Easton Press
- E-List #23. Put N' Take: A Collection of Gambling Sheet Music Scores, 1889-1987
ANTIPODEAN BOOKS, MAPS, PRINTS
- E-list #44 ~ W.W.I., Americana, Australia, Photographs, Maps, Ephemera
- E-list #43 ~ Antipodean Books at the Brooklyn Virtual Book Fair
- Electronic List 135: LAWRENCE WEINER (1942-2021)
- Electronic List 134: Fin-de-Siècle to Art Déco: World War I in Its Artistic Context, French Illustrated Books and Print Portfolios
-
19th Century Decorated Paper Bindings, Decorated Cloth Bindings and Historic Works New York Book & Ephemera Fair Catalog
- E-list #27 *New*
- E-list #26
Featured item:
Memoirs of a Tattooist: From the Notes, Diaries and Letters of the late 'King of Tattooists'
Burchett, George (1872-1953). Compiled and edited by Peter Leighton.
London: Oldburne, (1958). First printing. Black and white frontispiece and photographic plates. Cloth over boards. Octavo. 222 pages. Bound in red cloth over boards with gilt-stamped spine titles. No significant wear to book Jacket has a couple of short, cleanly closed edge tears, a few tiny rubs, and a hint of browning to edges of rear panel. Fine in a fine unclipped dust jacket.
George Burchett was kicked out of school at age 12 for tattooing his classmates. After a stint in the Royal Navy--from which he absconded--he became a full-time tattoo artist in 1900.
He served a broad clientele, including the wealth upper class and European royalty. Burchett pioneered cosmetic tattooing in the 1930s with innovations such as permanently darkening eyebrows.
Burchett died suddenly in 1953, but left a trove of documents, pictures, annotated appointment books, a diary, and even a draft of a memoir. These are the basis of the present work--a rich resource on the history and practice of tattooing.
Uncommon in such nice condition.
Offered by Back of Beyond Books and found in "E-list #27."
Featured item:
BROOKS, Gwendolyn
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1953. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (19.75cm); yellow and green cloth-covered boards, with titles stamped in brown on spine; dustjacket; x,180,[2]pp. Signed by the author on the title page. Hint of foxing to upper edge of textblock, touch of offsetting to endpapers, with lower corners gently tapped (though still sharp); Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $2.50), gently spine-sunned and lightly edgeworn, with a few tiny nicks and tears, two clear tape mends and two old tape ghosts on verso, with two faint splash marks on rear panel; Very Good+.
An attractive copy of Brooks's first novel, comprised of 34 interconnected vignettes which provide a realistic portrayal of Black life in Chicago, as seen through the eyes of a sensitive girl growing up and into marriage and motherhood" (COAN, p.186). BLOCKSON 5845.
Offered by Lorne Bair Rare Books and found in "African American History & Culture."
W. C. BAKER RARE BOOKS & EPHEMERA
- Sixty Books About Love -- Just in time for Valentine's Day, an offering of books about true and not-so-true love and its consequences, together with paeans and complaints to those beloved, and advice to aspiring lovers.
- Books by, for, and About, Women 1649-1877
- The Black Panther Party & Related Material from the Collection of Samuel L. Brooks
- The Early Modern Civil Rights Movement: 80 items from 1917 to 1953
- Summer Miscellany
- Spring Sale -- 30 first and limited editions
- Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series: Roger Duvoisin (Blog)
- Five Facts About Romantic Adventure Writer Janet Evanovich (Blog)
- Latest Acquisitions: Chronologies, Infographics, and Cartographic Data-Vizualization
- Reformers & Visionaries, Scoundrels & Incendiaries: 250 Years of Persuasive Mapping
- Brattlecast #135: Big Book Hauls (Podcast)
- Brattlecast #134: A Signing by Hancock (Podcast)
- Catalogue Two: Not Fair
- New Publication Announcement: Paul Theroux's Facing Ka'ena Point
Featured item:
Massive Archive of Fanzines from the Golden Age of Science Fiction [Day, Don] et al.
[Various Places]: [Various Publishers], 1930s-1970s. An immense archive of over 3,000 original fanzines and ephemera, mostly from the late 1930s to mid/ late-1950s-- the years when scifi fandom was a closeknit group of correspondents, before the scifi boom expanded its audience. A small percentage of later fanzines (from mid '50s to the 1970s) are included, but the collection is primarily rooted in the Golden Era of Science-Fiction, from the late 1930s and 1940s.
This archive shows the highly-organized and sophisticated world of mid-20th century fandom fandom, made up of far-flung individuals who had found one another by reaching out to into the ether, united by their love of dreaming of the future, while using present day printing technology and speaking to each other through DIY-publishing. While mostly published in America, some fanzines hail from the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and Mexico.
Ephemera includes convention programs, polls, notes and circulars from fanzine editors, ballots and constitutional papers of associations, and original illustrations....
PROVENANCE
As trading was a large part of scifi fan culture, many of the fanzines bear different owners' names but a large percentage of the collection accumulated by Don Day. Donald Byrne Day (1909-1978) was a singular force in Pacific Northwestern fandom during the Golden Era. By day he was a postal worker in Portland, Oregon but in his spare time he also managed to edit the influential fanzine The Fanscient, found the Portland Science-Fantasy Society and independent publisher Perri Press, chair NorWesCon (the 1950 World Science Fiction Convention or Worldcon), and become “perhaps the greatest of the early bibliographers of sf” according to no less an authority than The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
Offered by Burnside Rare Books. Extensive details available here...
ANDREW CAHAN, BOOKSELLER, LTD.
Featured item:
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: LOUISIANA STATE RICE MILLING CO., INC, 1919. 2 Octavo, pictorial wrappers, 48 pp. Promotional cookbook by a Louisiana rice manufacturer. The first 28 pages print a discussion of the advantages of rice as well as text on rice culture and rice cultivation. This section prints many illustrations from drawings, mostly showing the cultivation and consumption of rice in China. It discusses the nutritional and economic advantages of rice, the crop’s benefits to infants and to the sick, the history of rice culture, and its methods of production, including "primitive" Asian methods and advanced modern methods. The rest of the book prints rice recipes, including many recipes for gumbos and jambalayas, as well as recipes for rice with tomatoes Mexican style, Greek rice, rice tortillas, and Vienna rice custard. An attractive copy with mild tearing, chipping, and creasing to wrappers, bit of foxing to pages.
Offered by Caroliniana and found in "Southern Cookery."
- Inhabited by Winston (January 2022)
- Winston for Your Walls
- New catalog available — Contact clarebooks@roadrunner.com (716) 688-8723 to request…
Featured item:
by Ivy Compton-Burnett
London: Gollancz, 1937.
First edition. 320 pp. 1 vols. 8vo. Blue cloth. Fine in fine yellow printed dust jacket (slightest fading).
Offered by James Cummins Bookseller and found in their recent catalog "A Fall Miscellany."
- THE LUNAR VOYAGE FROM THE 17th CENTURY TO THE PRESENT -- In conjunction with the RBMS and the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing -- Offered jointly with John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller
- Popular Fiction 1814-1939: Selections from the Anthony Tino Collection -- Offered jointly with John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller
- E-list: Photographic Archives, Latin-Americana, African-Americana, Lincoln Conspirators, American Indian History, and More -- Joint catalog with Auger Down Books
DE SIMONE COMPANY, BOOKSELLERS
Featured item:
BISHOP, Isabella Bird. Among the Tibetans
London: Religious Tract Society, (1894). First edition, Small Octavo. 159, [1] pp. including 21 full page illustrations. Publisher's green cloth with gilt spine lettering. gilt lama figure on front. In the exceedingly rare dust jacket (albeit
with large chunks missing from spine and upper front). A spotless copy in a printed dust jacket.
Isabella Bird Bishop (1831-1904) was an English traveler who made a remarkable series of journeys at the end of the 19th century. She is what we would call an inveterate traveler and explorer. Her first journey was occasioned by an illness; she set sail for Canada and the U. S. in 1854 to recover. She must have gotten the travel bug for she did not stop traveling for many decades (and mostly alone). Her next stop was Hawaii and she chronicled that in her book Six Months in the Sandwich Island published in1875. On to Japan and finally to the locale that she was most fascinated by; Northern India and Tibet. She traveled to Kashmir and Ladakh in the far north on the border with Tibet. During her travels one of her horses lost its footing while crossing a river. The horse drowned and Bird suffered two broken ribs. On her return to Simla in northern India she met up with Major Herbert Sawyer who was on his way to Persia. The two traveled together through the desert in midwinter and arrived in Tehran half-dead. After depositing the major at his new duty station, Bird set out alone and spent the next six months traveling at the head of her own caravan through northern Iran, Kurdistan, and Turkey.
Offered by Nat DesMarais Rare Books and found in "Tibet."
- New Arrivals (September 22, 2022) *New*
Featured item:
Optimistic Boxes 1-5 [Complete]
Robert Filliou
Remscheid, Germany: VICE-Versand, 1968-1981. Three wooden boxes, a stone, and a pink ceramic pig, each in varying dimensions, with affixed labels, each initialled by the artist.
A rare complete set of Filliou's most infamous, linguistically canny series of multiples, issued in numbers over a 13 year period. Each of the the multiples conveys a sentence broken into two parts, which in their division gain a suprising or ironic meaning. The first three numbers each present boxes, with printed labels on the top of each which bear the first half of each sentence.
Optimistic Box No. 1 bears a pink label on the top panel, which states "thank god for modern weapons..." The inside contains a hefty, roughly boxed shape rock, with the second title label inside the top panel finishes the sentence; "we don't throw stones anymore."The inside label is initialled by the artist.
Boite Optimistie No. 2 states "VIVE LE MARIAGE" on the upper label. The box opens to display an initialled spine label inside, which comples the phrase with "A TROIS." Inside the lower portion of the box is pasted a pornographic photograph of a threesome.
Optimistic Box No. 3 is a small wooden box that unfolds into a chess set. The silver title label on the upper panel reads "so much the better if you can't play chess" and opens to show a silver paper label inside the top cover, which reads "you won't imitate Marcel Duchamp." The box is empty.
The final installment of the series is a double number, and materially quite different from the previous numbers, taking the form of a glazed pink porcelain piggy bank, approximately 6 inches long and four inches wide. The pink color of the pig echoes the pink labels of Optimistic Box No. 1. There are labels on two sides of the pig. One label states "one thing I learned since I was born" and the second "that i must die since i was born."
Near fine to fine, with some minor bubbling to the labels of no. 1. The upper label also shows a short nick to upper margin. The labels of No. 2 show some apparent discoloration, similar to all examples we've handled. The labels of the final number are somewhat toned, with the signature largely faded.
Scarce in commerce, particularly the final number.
Offered by Division Leap and found in "Fall New Arrivals."
- Catalog #88, Medical Books from the Fifteenth to the Twentieth Centuries -- This catalog is print-only. To request a copy, contact MedBks@aol.com...
- E-list No. 88 Miscellany: Hints for Smokers, Airport Design, Animalysis & Of Course, the Children
- E-list No. 87 Miscellany: Slips of Speech, Veils of Charm, Suffrage, WWII
Featured item:
Temperance Pledge Political Cartoon
United States. 1880s. Handcolored political cartoon in the style of a Penny Dreadful in support of the Temperance movement. Subtitled "Shake Him Off and Sign", the image depicts a poor drunken fellow in the shape of a whiskey bottle, about to sign a "Temperance Pledge" with the devil looking sadly on. Measures 9.5" by 7.5", verso blank. Very good. Short tears and chips, creased where previously folded.
Offered by Eclectibles and found in "E-list No. 88."
- Comic collection of William "Gatz" Hjortsberg -- Details available upon request from info@elkriverbooks.com...
- Highlights from the ABAA Virtual Book Fair
RODGER FRIEDMAN RARE BOOK STUDIO
- CATALOGUS LIBRORUM SAECULO XVI IMPRESSORUM (Books Printed in the 16th Century) *New*
- 32 Books from the 16th Century
Featured item:
Belli, Silvio.
In Venetia: Appresso Giordano Ziletti, MDLXVI [1566]. 206 x 157 mm (8.125 x 6.25 in). Quarto. [8], 108 pp. In Italian. Modern binding with a vellum spine over boards covered in printed waste, sourced from an antiphonal sheet printed in black and red.
Binding very good plus; interior very good with some light soiling and exceedingly light foxing.
Second edition of a manual on measuring by sight. Instructions on how to measure distance, height, and depth each have their own section and are further broken down into multiple techniques. Each method has a textual description of the process and is accompanied by a crisp woodcut illustration. The book opens with instructions for building a geometrical square, an illustration of which is also provided. The final two methods discussed are for measuring the depth of the ocean and the circumference of the Earth.
An artifact of the practical uses of humanist knowledge. In the introduction, Belli remarks that measuring by sight is a marvel because of its apparent impossibility to those lacking the right know-how. Let’s be honest, would you know how to “eyeball” the height of a church tower? Cosgrove has argued that although measuring by sight may have inhibited the development of scientific tools, the illustrations show how rationality and sight were linked through geometry and the European Renaissance concept of perspective. Through manuals like Belli’s, written in the vernacular, the method of sight measurement circulated among the emerging merchant class who would have applied this knowledge to assessing literal stockpiles of goods in the absence of standardized measurements. This likely contributed to the popularity of this work; four editions appeared between 1565 and 1570, and it was included in a posthumously published anthology of Belli’s works.
Belli was an architect, mathematician, and friend of the influential Renaissance architect and fellow Venetian Andrea Palladio. Belli and Palladio were among the intellectuals associated with the Accademia Olimpica in Vicenza, established in 1555. The dedicatee of the present work is Velario Chiericati, a noble from Vicenza who sponsored the Accademia and is said to have encouraged Belli to author the treatise whose first edition appeared in 1565. Valerio was the son of Giralomo Chiericati, for whom Andrea Palladio designed a palace, construction of which began in 1550.
Offered by Mark Funke, Bookseller and found in their recent catalog "CATALOGUS LIBRORUM SAECULO XVI IMPRESSORUM."
- OCCASIONAL LIST 22: A Miscellany: Original Art Work; Small Archive of Major English Watercolourist; Interesting Theatrical Pieces; Manuscript Material, Etc., Etc. -- available on request from fgrare@fgrarebooks.com...
- Has the following lists available: California, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, Louisiana, Colorado, Ohio and New York. Will email to interested parties. Contact info@ginsbook.com to request...
THOMAS A. GOLDWASSER RARE BOOKS
- Hart Crane (Forthcoming) -- for more information, contact mail@goldwasserbooks.com...
- Walker Evans - 35 items
DAVID A. HAMILTON AMERICANA BOOKS
JONATHAN A. HILL, BOOKSELLER, INC.
Featured item:
Illustrated manuscript on paper, signed “Yashiro Nakagawa” on the first leaf.
One full-page & three double-page brush drawings in black & gray. 12 leaves, mostly folding. 8vo (243 x 160 mm.), orig. hand-drawn pictorial wrappers (a little stained & worn), stitched as issued, label on upper cover “Soba narabini kendon no yurai” (“Notes on Soba & Origins of the Word Kendon). [Japan: at end “copied 1833”].
A fascinating and nicely illustrated manuscript on soba noodles, with a history, recipes, and related stories. The illustrations are finely and expressively drawn.
On the first leaf of text, we learn this was written by Yashiro Nakagawa and edited by Tainotei. The fine full-page drawing at the beginning depicts a man kneading soba dough surrounded by all the ingredients and tools of his profession. Behind him is a woman tending the fire underneath a large boiling pot of water. The beginning text describes the materials used to make various soba noodles.
The text transitions to a moral story of a Chinese woman with kendon (selfish) qualities who does not want to share her food. In the first double-page illustration, she is shown sitting in a Chinese-style room and is approached by a Buddhist priest, Pindola Bharadvaja (or, in Japanese, Bindora osho), one of the Sixteen Arhats, Buddhist practitioners who had taken vows of poverty. Pindola is shown practicing takuhatsu, the act of going house to house asking for food and donations. This illustration is entitled (in trans.): “Pindola asking a selfish woman for a food donation.”
The story shows a deep knowledge of Buddhism and is filled with witty puns, kyoka poems, and parodies of ethical behavior. The next double-page illustration depicts the rotting corpse of Pindola being dragged away by disciples, who are holding their noses because of the odor. The text returns to the subject of soba and tea ceremony in Japan. There is a discussion of the famous Grand Kitano tea ceremony hosted by Hideyoshi in 1587, during which soba noodles were served. The text also states that soba is good for health.
The final double-page illustration shows the woman being punished for her stinginess.
This is followed by a series of kyoka poems about soba. It is stated that the entire text was edited in 1713 and was copied in 1833. This manuscript presents many mysteries, and we have only suggested the possibilities of research.
In very good condition.
Offered by Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc. and found in "Illustrated Japanese Gastronomic Manuscripts."
- E-list 207 New Arrivals in Poetry Photography Art Literature *New*
- E-list 206 New Arrivals in Poetry Photography Art Literature
- Illustration and Design
- 12 New Acquisitions (June 2022)
Featured item:
Bruno Munari. Uomini sulla Luna.
Milan: Sugar Editore, 1962. First edition of Bruno Munari’s science fiction panorama depicting a colony on the moon, accompanied by two discs containing audio of the imaginary lunar settlement. A single paragraph at the beginning of the panorama sets the scene, introducing space captain “Bill Ventura” in his spaceship, followed by Munari’s stunning color-printed lunar panorama, which can be viewed in two-panel sections or as an unbroken landscape. Viewers encounter a space station above the moon, with windows revealing the activities of the astronauts inside, followed by the bustling lunar colony itself, built under a protective dome, featuring decorative trees, a theater, a tennis court, and a swimming pool.
The flip side of the panorama offers a rough timeline of missile developments from the 1940s to the 1960s, ending with the United States Army’s Nike Zeus of the early 1960s. In the front and back folds of the panorama are two discs from outer space: the first contains messages from the space station to the lunar settlement, and the second the sounds within the first city on the moon. Text in Italian. OCLC records one holding, at Stanford. A near-fine example of popular space race iconography in the years just before humans set foot on the moon.
Double-sided panorama, measuring 7.75 inches square, 93 inches fully unfolded. Printed in color on both sides, with pockets in first and last panels holding flexible white 33-rpm records. Lightest edgewear.
Offered by Honey & Wax Booksellers and found in their recent catalog "12 New Acquisitions."
- Rare Books Santa Monica
- Fine Press & Wood Engravings (October 2021)
- Catalog 417: A Note from the Editors -- New Catalog Series w/Recent Acquisitions
- Catalog 416: Amusing Things of Little Consequence: Letterheads
Featured item:
Akhmadeeva, Ioulia
Libro de botones / Book of Buttons
Aguascalientes, Mexico: National Engraving Workshop, 2017. Hardcover. Special digital edition of 5 copies. This digital edition is printed on acid-free paper from the artist's original watercolor lithographs. Bound in tan linen covered boards by Alternativa Grafica in Russian linen with silkscreened title and decoration. This book "is about some moments of the life of Antonina Sidorova (1924-2013), the artist’s grandmother. Each page is a story told by Antonina to the artist. About how at the age of five a horse took her into the woods. About how she sewed her first garment destroying a new dress and hair styled her rag doll with her own recently styled hair. Difficulties at an orphanage in Leningrad with Spanish children, while her mother was imprisoned in 1936. Her marriage at age of 17 with captain Vasily Voloshin, in the first year of the Patriotic War against German fascism in 1941. About when she went with her husband to live in the Far East of the USSR and helped the Army of the Soviet front sewing military coats. The book ends with the birth of her eldest daughter Valentina, mother of the artist. The button is a conductive element in the lives of the Voloshiny women, just because Antonina was a wonderful seamstress. The fabrics that are presented on the pages are pieces of clothing made by her and her daughter" (book artist). Created by Russian born book artist Ioulia Akhmadeeva, who has resided and worked in Mexico since 1994. She is a full professor of the book arts at the university in Morelia, Michoacá. Fine.
Offered by Kelmscott Books and found in "Artists' Books."
- New York Book Fair 2022
- Manuscripts, Letters & Art (New York Book Fair)
JOHN W. KNOTT, JR., BOOKSELLER
- Catalog #74: 100 Rare Books -- with an emphasis on history and military affairs. Please request from mail@kubikbooks.com...
MICHAEL LAIRD RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- New York Book Fair 2022
- Fifty curious items published on the occasion of the California Book Fair / Virtual Book Fair
- Manuscripts, c.1350-1910 (October 4, 2022) *New*
- British Monarchy, 1574-c.1840 (September 20, 2022)
DAVID M. LESSER, FINE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS
LIBER ANTIQUUS, EARLY PRINTED BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- New Arrivals (June 2022)
- A December Miscellany
- On Our Shelves No. 27 – Beast and Man in India (Video)
- Rare Book Moment 26: Look for relationships in your collection (Video)
- Gorey Christmas
- E-cat featuring Anti-fascism, racial stereotypes, mid-century folk and propaganda and more
- Food History *New*
- Women
- The Papers of Russell Edson
- Short List of Periodicals: First Issues, Complete or Extended Runs from Inception
Featured item:
by John Berger
London, BBC/Penguin, (1972). Berger's influential art text, based on the BBC series of the same name, which popularized the deconstruction of art and advertising, particularly as applied to the ways that women are seen, and are subjected to what would later come to be called (by Laura Mulvey) "the male gaze," i.e., "...Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves." Ubiquitous in reprints; the true first is scarce. Very light wear to covers; near fine in wrappers. No hardcover edition was done until the U.S. edition a year later.
Offered by Ken Lopez Bookseller and found in "E-list 192: New Arrivals."
J. & J. LUBRANO MUSIC ANTIQUARIANS
- The Mozart Research Collection of Professor Neal Zaslaw -- Offered en bloc only -- Enquiries to info@lubranomusic.com... *New*
- New Acquisitions (September 2022)
STUART LUTZ HISTORIC DOCUMENTS
Featured item:
Baskin, Leonard. Round Crow Etching [Artist Proof, Second State].
1958. Unnumbered State Proof. Bright and clean. Sheet 13x12.5"; image 13.5" in diameter. Etching. Notation, inscription and signed by artist. Near Fine. Original Print.
Never mounted. From the Gehenna book Capriccio. Inscribed by Baskin, "For Jeanne& Robert from Leonard”. From the collection of Robert & Jeanne Quigley, both friends of Baskin. Robert was a superb woodworker and made woodblocks for Leonard’s prints and sculpture.
Offered by Lux Mentis Booksellers and found in "Leonard Baskin Prints & Proofs."
- List of 77 Mark Twain First Editions and Ephemera available by request from info@macdonnellrarebooks.com (specify elist or paper copy).
MAIN STREET FINE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Firsts of de Saint-Exupery & Hemingway
- Selection of Historic Editions of African-American Magazines from the 1940s-1970s
- Illustrated Catalog on Carlos Merida (1891–1984) -- Mexican painter, sculptor, writer and graphic designer -- available by request from mmbooks@comcast.net
- Latin America
MARTAYAN LAN RARE BOOKS & MAPS
BRUCE MCKITTRICK RARE BOOKS, INC.
- London Firsts *New*
- Paris Salon *New*
Featured item:
Dean's New Scenic Books No. 3: Cinderella
London: Dean & Son, [1866]. 9-3/4 x 7 inches. 8pp printed recto only, each with a three-layer pop-up illustration affixed to it that can be pulled upright by a silk ribbon that runs through the layers. Illustrated paper-covered boards backed in green cloth. Color lithographs. Professionally rebacked, with six leaves discretely reinforced along gutter; neat repair to verso of first leaf. Boards rubbed and worn, with long crease to paper only on front board (possibly a byproduct of the rebacking); light soiling to leaves and folded-down versos of outer pop-up layers; minor soiling to a few illustrations; nicks to edges of most leaves. Front layer of pop-up on p. 7 partially loose at fold. All pull ribbons appear to be original; illustrations overall remarkably clean and bright. Good.
A presumed first edition copy of this early moveable book, issued in an edition of 5,000 copies in October, 1866, as per the code printed on the corner of the rear endpaper. The illustrations ingeniously pull up, rather than pop up, by the reader gently pulling on the silk ribbons running through all three layers of the illustrations, causing them to rise to a vertical position and create three-dimensional views of figures and scenes from the story.
Dean & Son capitalized on the popularity of moveable books and technological advances in lithography early on, becoming the first publisher to issue moveables in large print runs. Nevertheless, few copies of any of their publications have survived, much less in good condition and with fully operational illustrations, repaired or otherwise.
Offered by Kate Mitas, Bookseller and found in"E-list #18."
- Louis M. Jason's book Literary (and Other) Celebrity Doodles II is now available. Contact the store at info@mysterypierbooks.com to order...
- Father's Day Gift Offerings
- Catalog 58 May 2022 -- by subscription only. Contact oldwestbooks@earthlink.net for details about obtaining a copy.
PHILADELPHIA RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
PHILLIP J. PIRAGES FINE BOOKS & MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
- The Bunker Hill Archive (Newsletter)
- New Historical Documents (Newsletter)
RABELAIS BOOKS ON FOOD & DRINK
RICHARD C. RAMER, OLD & RARE BOOKS
- Americana E-list - Presidential Letters & Manuscripts *New*
- Picture This: Recent Acquisitions in Illustrated Americana *New*
Featured item:
Quincy, [Ma.]: November 24, 1813. [2]pp. Quarto. Old fold lines. A few small spots of foxing, faint stain from wax seal. Very good. In a folio-sized half morocco and cloth clamshell box, leather labels. Item #WRCAM42352
A warm letter from former President John Adams to his dear friend and writer, Mercy Otis Warren, with whom he had been recently reconciled after their long falling out. Throughout the Revolutionary period, historian, poet, and dramatist Mercy Otis Warren actively corresponded on political matters with numerous leaders, including Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and especially John Adams, who became her literary mentor in those early years of unrest. In 1805 her literary career culminated with the publication of THE HISTORY OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND TERMINATION OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. The book's sharp criticisms of Adams - that his passions and prejudices often debilitated his judgment and that he had demonstrated a distinct leaning toward monarchy during his sojourn in England - led to a heated correspondence and a breach in their friendship in 1807. After nearly five years Elbridge Gerry managed to effect a reconciliation between Mercy and Abigail and John. It was Mrs. Adams who sent word to Mercy on Sept. 15, 1813 that her daughter, Nabby, had died of breast cancer a month earlier. Adams' opening salutation in this letter likely refers to condolences sent by Warren, and suggests that Nabby's death prompted an invitation to visit her:
"I am very much obliged to you for your civilities to my wife, my son, Coll Smith and my granddaughters. My girls have long expressed an earnest desire to see Madam Warren, and have been highly gratified by their visit and very grateful for the kind hospitality, the social enjoyments and instructive conversations they experienced. I congratulate you Madam on the happy marriage of a granddaughter who once obliged us with a very short visit. I was delighted with her manners and accomplishments, and found her visit much too short. May every blessing attend her and all your family, in whose prosperity I take a constant interest."
Adams moves beyond the opening exchange of family pleasantries to discuss Thomas McKean's comments on Mrs. Warren's late brother, the brilliant but erratic James Otis, Jr., at the 1765 Stamp Act Congress. "Governor M.Keans notice of your brother I thought worth preserving in your family. The oddity of the dialogue and the particular moment of its composition were the circumstances that made it rather an object of curiosity than use. I think however the traits of character are correct." In a letter from McKean to Adams dated Aug. 20, 1813, McKean reminisces about the Stamp Act Congress that convened in New York on Oct. 7 to elect a president of that body: "In the Congress of 1765, there were several conspicuous characters. Mr. James Otis appeared to be the boldest and best speaker. I voted for him as our President, but Brigadier Ruggles succeeded by one vote, owing to the number of the committee from New York, as we voted individually" (THE WORKS OF JOHN ADAMS, X, pp.60-62). Adams then moves on to further reflection on the rest of her family of ardent patriots: "I know not madam what your father [James Otis, Sr.], your husband [James Warren] or your brother would think of these times." Adams, however, is reluctant to conjecture about what the future might hold for America. "A mighty effort of nature is in operation that no understanding below that Providence which superintends and directs it, can comprehend. An entire separation, in government at least, between America and Europe seems to be commencing: but what will be its course when and how it will terminate; and what influence it will have upon Asia and Africa, no living man, I believe will pretend to foresee." Nevertheless, Adams believes that he, Mercy, and their fellow patriots had long since laid the necessary groundwork for the political sanguinity of America, but whose fate no longer lay in their hands, due to advanced age. "We have acted our parts. The curtain will soon be drawn upon us. We must leave the future to that Providence which has protected us in the past. This sentiment of duty and interest I doubt not, Madam, will be approved by you; as I hope it is reallized [sic] with gratitude, and entire confidence and submission by your old friend and respectful humble servant."
A cordial letter to an old friend, showing a more mature and philosophical John Adams. Warren was eighty-five at the time - she was older than Adams - and she died less than a year later.
Offered by William Reese Company and found in "Presidential Letters & Manuscripts."
- Catalog 49 (2022)
- Catalog 48 (2021)
ROOTENBERG RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
Featured item:
Harris Lewine
Plate of eight stamps created in 1957 to promote the release of The Unique Thelonious Monk, the second album in Thelonious Monk’s legendary tenure with Riverside Records. One of what are likely only a few existing examples. The design for the initial release (Riverside 12-209, 1956) was decidedly bland, and the label decided to reissue the album in 1957 with a revised (and now legendary) design. The new cover idea was conceived by Riverside's Harris Lewine and Paul Bacon using a photograph taken by Lawrence Shustak, designed and hand-lettered by Ken Braren, and executed in a lined philatelic version by Weber Processing in Philadelphia. Upon seeing the finished product, Lewine had the idea of producing plates of actual stamps to promote the record, complete with adhesive backing and standard stamp perforation. Lewine notes that the promotional effort was more than a little stifled when letters began turning up in mailboxes with the promotional stamps being used as actual postage (complete with cancels from the post office). Riverside was contacted by the FBI and advised to cease and desist or face legal action, at which point nearly all the stamps were destroyed. Monk’s second album for Riverside presented a collection of standards by a variety of composers, and importantly, utilized a new rhythm section consisting of Art Blakey and Oscar Pettiford, who would go on to become key players in Monk’s various efforts with Riverside and beyond. Near Fine on philatelic paper stock.
Offered by Royal Books and found in "Catalog Seventy-Six."
BARRY LAWRENCE RUDERMAN ANTIQUE MAPS, INC.
- Recent Acquisitions (Oct. 4, 2022) *New*
- From the Library of Don Shelby: Part 1: The Arctic and Antarctic Regions *New*
- A Handfull of 19th Century American Books
- Wines and Viticulture - 17 items from 4 centuries
- List: 150th Anniversary of Mendeleev's Periodic System
- California Book Fair 2019: 130 Items on Science and Medicine is now available on request from scientiabk@gmail.com...
- Catalog 43, "Made the Machine Crack" -- available by request from garrett@bibliophagist.com...
- Catalog 42, Shake Up Open Your Eyes -- available by request from garrett@bibliophagist.com...
MARC SELVAGGIO, BOOKS & EPHEMERA
- Newish Arrivals: a FS List (October 2022) *New*
- Antiquarian Children's Books, A FS List *New*
Featured item:
STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE From WARD 2. A Mystery for Girls
by Dorothy Deming, R. N.
New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1956. 1st edition. [10], 243, [3] pp. 8vo. 8-1/4" x 5-1/2". Pink cloth binding with white lettering to spine & front board. Rose colored dust jacket. VG+/VG+. A nice copy.
An uncommon title from this author, primarily known for her nursing-themed Dodd-Mead Career Books.
Offered by Tavistock Books and found in "Newish Arrivals: a FS List."
MICHAEL R. THOMPSON RARE BOOKS
- Etiquette, Homemaking, and the Domestic Arts
- Late Summer Miscellany: Education, Early Books, Women’s Studies, Science, and More
Featured item:
NISSEN, Claus. Tierbücher aus fünf Jahrhunderten.
Zürich: L’Art Ancien S.A.,Antiquariat; München: Robert Wölfle, Antiquariat; Olten: Weiss-Hesse, Antiquariat, 1968. Large folio, 19½ x 14¼ in. Illustrated zoological leaves from sixty different books with engravings, woodcuts, and lithographs of a variety of animals, including two incunable leaves and others, some of which have been hand-colored, each matted, fully labeled, and laid into a linen slipcase. This item is accompanied by a quarto text volume, 108, [+1, colophon] pp., with errata slip. It has black-lettered orange wrappers and is placed in a pocket on the inside of the case. Occasional minor foxing, light toning and offsetting to leaves. A fine set of leaves in a very lightly foxed case.
Offered by Michael R. Thompson Rare Books and found in "Late Summer Miscellany" (item #29).
- 2022: Catalog 1 -- print copies available at the upcoming California Book Fair!
- E-list #63: African Americana, Feminist Comix, LGBTQ...
- E-list #62 GLBTQ, Women, Art Exhibitions, Music and more...
Featured item:
Butcher, David.
Andover: Whittington Press, 1992. Two volumes. 9 x 12 1/2. Photographic frontis, xvi, 225 pages, 2 photographic plates, 8 tipped-in original leaves, original wood engraving, and honey label. Quarter vellum & marbled boards. A separate cloth & boards portfolio holds 20 original specimens of Stanbrook Abbey printing (both ephemera and leaves from books). Both volumes housed in slipcase. Fine. Item #13157
One of 50 special copies (of 350), signed by the authors. Butcher's illuminating discussion of the Press is followed by a complete bibliography. A Century for the Century 98.
Offered by The Veatchs Arts of the Book and found in "Leaves and Leaf Books."
- Catalog 278: THE PERSONAL LIBRARY OF GEORGE ELLERY HALE
- Catalog 277: More Books from a Private Collection
- New York Book Fair 2022 -- a joint NY Fair catalog with Konstantinopel Rare Books
JOHN WINDLE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLER
- July 2021: Mostly Private Press
- New Arrivals: Mostly Literature (May 18, 2021)
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