A Select Collection of Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions, with Anecdotes of Distinguished Extraordinary Persons Epitaphs [and other volumes] Ipswich J.Raw: 1806. Four epitaph titles bound together. In addition to the first (anonymous) work, this includes- "Church=Yard Gleanings, and Epigrammatic Scraps: being a collection of remarkable Epitaphs and Epigrams..." by William Pulleyn (London: 1830) "[Epitaphia], or, A collection of memorials, inscribed to the memory of good and faithful servants, copied on the spot, in various cemetaries throughout the counties of Berks, Buckingham, (etc)." by J.W. Streeten (London: 18260 "Church-yard Gleanings, or, A Collection of Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions" (Derby, no date, c.1840). This last title has a nice folding frontispiece showing a churchyard, although it is somewhat strongly (though not unpleasantly) colored, and in trimming the pages to make them fit into the binding with the rest of the books, the edges have been trimmed right up to, and in some cases into the text (in these case nicking off small parts of the outermost letters). Hardcover. 4"x6.5", xv + 230 pages + engraved frontispiece xxiii + 264 pages xii + 312 pages 24 pages + folding colored frontispiece. Bound in 19th century plain quarter leather with marbled boards. Covers somewhat worn and rubbed spine head chipped at one corner a little internal soil and spotting.

Inventory #: 9744 Price: $ 250.00

The Little London Directory of 1677. The Oldest Printed List of the Merchants and Bankers of London. London John Camden Hotten: 1863. "Reprinted from the exceedingly rare original with an introduction pointing out some of the most eminent merchants of the period". Hardcover. 4"x5.5", xxii + about 150 pages bound in the publisher's full gilt-decorated black cloth with rules, emblems and rampant gryphons marbled endpapers all edges gilt spine head and base slightly chipped, blank preliminaries spotted, else a very handsome copy indeed.

Inventory #: 30743 Price: $ 175.00

[Audot, Louise Eustache]. Figures pour l'Almanach du Bon Jardinier... Paris Audot: nd (ca.1817). A charming gardening manual by a prolific and popular French horticultural author. Audot's manual, first published ca. 1813, went through several editions and offered the serious gardener complete nuts and bolts advice and diagrams for such advanced operations as cross-pollination, grafting and air-layering and espaliering trees. The plates include details of the leaves, flowers and sexual systems of various types of fruits and flowers, as well as examples of tools, shovels, rakes, scythes, pruners, barrows, and also several plans for greenhouses and cold frames. The plates are delicately engraved and very attractive. Hardcover. 4.5"x7.25", 56 pages plus 27 copper engraved plates bound in the (probably) original or at least contemporaneous blue boards, quite rubbed and scuffed now, with the top portion of the spine lacking lacks front and rear blank endpapers, scattered offsetting from the plates two plates with very minor attempts at hand-coloring, a bit of spotting and toning here and there very minor wormhole in the gutter margin of several pages institutional stamp, but not actually ex-institutional overall internally a very nice copy in period boards.

Inventory #: 35472 Price: $ 350.00

Audran, Gerard. Les Proportions du Corps Human, Mesurees sur les plus belles Figures de l'Antiquite. Paris Chez Joubert: 1801. A reissue of the 1683 edition. Gerard Audran [1640-1701] came from an artistic family in Lyon and was taught engraving by his father, Claude. He worked for Le Brun in Paris, and gained favor with the patron J. B. Colbert, through whose efforts he was appointed engraver to Louis XIV. This work is an interesting study of ideal human proportions for artists, based on ancient sculpture he studied while in Rome. Hardcover. 10.5"x16", title page, 4 pages of text, 1 page advertisement, and 30 engraved plates. Bound in old marbled boards with a plain leather spine, covers with some wear. Pages lightly age-toned, title page with some soil, a small hole near the margin. Some 2 chips to the edge of Plate 27 (not affecting text or image), light stain runs across the top of most of the plates.

Inventory #: 33452 Price: $ 375.00

[Besancon] Ordonnances Reglemens et Statuts des Arts et Metiers de la Cite Royale de Besancon. Besancon Louis Rigoine: 1689. A good source of information on trade regulations and practices in 17th century France. This compilation of rules, regulations and laws concerning the crafts and trades was published in the important eastern city of Besancon in 1689, just 11 years after it had formally been ceded to France as part of the peace of Nijmwegen. The first section includes general information and regulations, followed by sections for masons, carpenters, roofers, launderers, metalsmiths, farriers, pavers, gold & silversmiths, pewterers, cabinetmakers, hatmakers, tailors, shoemakers, weavers, tanners, saddlers, harness-makers, apothecaries, surgeons, bakers & pastry makers, and butchers. Each section runs five or six pages and touches on the details of apprenticeships, trade regulations, succession at the death of the master, and other nuts and bolts aspects of the trades and professions in a 17th century French city. A valuable source of information. Subsequent editions were published in 1698 and 1784. None are common OCLC locates only 4 copies of this edition. Hardcover. 7"x10", 146 pages, [2] leaves, woodcut device on the title page, woodcut head and tailpieces and initial letters bound in full contemporaneous calf with giltwork on the spine covers rubbed, some light internal browning.

Inventory #: 22593 Price: $ 1800.00

Bowles, Carrington (??). The Self-Instructor, or, Young Man's Best Companion.... Liverpool printed by Henry Fisher, Caxton: nd (ca.1817). "Being an introduction to all the various branches of useful learning and knowledge, containing writing, grammar, arithmetic, astronomy, geography, chronology, and miscellaneous articles. To which is added the Artist's Assistant comprising the arts of drawings, perspective, etching, engraving, mezzotinto scraping, painting, dyeing, colouring of maps, etc. A brief account of Naval and Military affairs. Also, various useful medicinal receipts". OCLC lists several editions, none of which are common- 1807 (2) 1808 (1) 1810 (4) 1815 (1), 1837 (3). This edition, which seems from internal evidence* to be ca 1817, is not found at all. (*Several plates are dated 1817, and George III, who died in 1820, is still listed as being alive.) Hardcover. 5.25"x8.5", 593 + (3) pages folding map, engraved decorative title page plus 6 engraved plates illustrating the various arts and trades, and a plate of geometric forms. Bound in full period mottled, polished calf with gilt spine bands and medallions marbled endpapers some cover wear, hinges beginning to separate some internal browning and spotting, but overall a nice copy in a handsome period naive binding.

Inventory #: 2819 Price: $ 450.00

Bruckmann, Urban Friedrich. Abhandlung von Edelsteinen. Zweyte Verbesserte und Vermehrte Auflage. Braunschweig Verlag dur Furst. Waysenhaus-Buchhandlung: 1773. Bruckmann [1723-1812] was the court physician to the Duke of Brunswick, a professor of anatomy, a mineralogist, gemologist, and prolific writer. Of the first edition of this important book, first published in 1757, Sinkankas says "it is not a formal gemological treatise but rather the record of his personal observations on gemstones in which are incorporated numerous quotations and citations of the opinions of others...as such, it provides an invaluable 'status report' on gemological knowledge at the time". This, the second edition, was greatly enlarged, and reflected the information gathered in the 16 intervening years during which Bruckmann had been corresponding with other European gemologists and visiting important collections. It also features a "most valuable appendix concerning the 'largely unknown so-called gemstones' of older writers, becoming, in effect, a glossary of same as employed by Pliny and Boetius De Boodt, among others. This glossary is unique and deserves to be translated...there are hundreds of terms and I know of no other place in the literature where a similar glossary of ancient gemological/mineralogical terms exists" (Sinkankas). A major and important work, now uncommon. Hardcover. 5"x8", 415 pages, decorated title page, woodcut headpiece and tailpiece. Bound in early 19th century speckled boards. Spine rubbed, a very small amount of very light internal spotting on a few pages, otherwise a fine, wide-margined copy. At one time part of the noted collection of gem dealer and gemstone-reference collector Henry Polissack, with his label on the front pastedown.

Inventory #: 32733 Price: $ 3750.00

Cajola, Germano. Istruzione Sulla Morte-Apparente. Mantua Dalla Tipografia di Francesco Agazzi: 1809. "Sul mezzo piu sicuro di impedire la tumulazione dei vivi". A fascinating and rare guide to recognizing "false-death". The myth of false death, and the allied fear of being buried alive, grew rapidly in the 18th and especially the 19th century amidst a general misunderstanding of the processes the corpse undergoes after burial. These misunderstandings of such natural occurrences as corpse movement, preservation of tissues, and bloating and "reddening" (which also gave rise to the vampire legends) were combined in this period with a greater ability to recognize the few cases where "false-death" did actually occur. This study includes several case histories. Rare- no copies are listed on OCLC. Hardcover. 5.5"x8.5", 112 pages. Bound in old paper-covered boards with a parchment spine. Spine head and base worn and chipped, general cover rubbing and a little soil. Contents with some spotting to the title page, but overall a very nice copy.

Inventory #: 32980 Price: $ 750.00

Caldwall, Thomas. A Select Collection of Ancient and Modern Epitaphs, and Inscriptions to which are added some on the Decease of Eminent Personages. London Thomas Caldwall: 1796. The author notes in the preface: "The Compiler of the following sheets, having for many years made it a favourite amusement to collect from the various churches, church-yards, and burial-places (in those situations where business or pleasure induced him to go), such inscriptions as might be useful or entertaining, has been persuaded to form such selection of them as might be pleasing and instructive, and present them to the Public". A second edition was printed in 1802. Hardcover. 4.5"x7", iv + 416 pages, portrait frontispiece. Bound in old period marbled boards with a calf spine. Covers rubbed and somewhat worn. Spine largely perished through rubbing and the hinges are loose. Some scattered internal soil and a few marks a little browning and spotting.

Inventory #: 9737 Price: $ 150.00

Diderot. Miroitier Metteur au Teint (&) Miroitier. Paris: ca 1770. An exceptionally interesting section, illustrating the art of mirror makers. The plates include several workshop interiors, one illustrating the metallic backing being poured on and buffed, the other showing the plates being sized, polished and stacked. There are also several plates illustrating the various tools of the mirror-makers craft. 10"x16", 2 pages of text plus 8 engraved plates, disbound.

Inventory #: 16796 Price: $ 175.00

[Duval Dumanoir & Duval d'Espremenil] Memoire a consulter et consultation, pour le sieur Duval Dumanoir, & M. Duval d'Espremenil, Avocat du Roi au Chatelet, Heritiers du feu Sieur Duval de Leyrit, Gouverneur de Pondichery. Avec les Lettres que les Sieurs Duval de Leyrit & de Lally se sont ecrites dans l'Inde, pour servir de pieces Justificatives. Paris De l'Imprimerie de Michel Lambert: 1766. Bound with- "Arrest de la Cour de Parlement, qui prive Thomas Artur de Lally..." dated May 6th, 1766 and "Arrest de la Cour de Parlement qui condamme Armand-Antonin-Francois Fretard de Gadeville, & Jacques-Hugues de Chaponnay..." dated May 10th, 1766. A sad chapter in the history of the Seven Years War, ending with the French loss of India and the May 9th, 1766 beheading of General Thomas-Arthur, comte de Lally, [1702-1766]. This volume is the most complete of two collections of records published relating to the loss of French India, compiled from the official records by the heirs of the late French Governor of India. It ranges from the first action in which General Lally's troops were engaged through the withdrawal of the French from India. Lally was the son of an Irish Jacobite and a French noblewoman who joined the French army while still in his teens. In 1744 he was put in command of the "Irish Brigade" at Fontenoy, and was awarded a field promotion to brigadier. Following several more years of distinguished service, in 1756, General Lally was given command of the French expedition to India at the outbreak of the Seven Years War. It would have been better had he stayed home. Lally reached Pondicherry, the capitol of French India, in 1758. Following initial successes he met a series of defeats and setbacks, including a failed siege at Madras. Capable as a soldier but proud and disdainful as a man, Lally was roundly disliked by his men and officers, as well as the local Indian citizenry, a situation which cannot have helped the military campaign. The end came when he retreated to Pondicherry, was besieged there by a British army, and finally surrendered the city, and French presence in India, in 1761. The stage was set for almost two centuries of English rule in India, and General Lally was shipped back to England as a prisoner of war. Again, it would have been better had he stayed put. France had just lost the entirety of India, a scapegoat was needed, and Lally didn't have enough friends at court to avoid being charged with treason. A more moderate man would have stayed put, safe in England, but Lally demanded to be paroled so that he could return to France and defend himself. The resulting trial reached its predictable end after almost two years and on May 6th, 1766, Lally was sentenced to be beheaded, a sentence which was carried out three days later, on May 9th. Bound at the end of this copy are two very rare pamphlets- the official text of the Court's condemnation of Lally, dated 6 May, 1766, annd a four page official act of the courts levying fines against some officers in General Lally's regiment, dated May 10th, 1766, the day after the General was beheaded. A scarce book -no copy appears in the US auction records in the past 25 years. 7.75"x10", viii +579 + 8 + 4 pages. In a nice period binding of full mottled calf, with a gilt decorated spine featuring floral motifs. Marbled pastedowns but this copy has evidently had the matching endsheets removed. Some light cover wear, the outer hinges are split and the hinges themselves are a bit tender.

Inventory #: 29757 Price: $ 1500.00

Flechier, Esprit & Jacques-Benigne Bossuet. Recueil des Oraisons Funebres de M. Flechier, et de M. Bossuet. Nismes Chez Pierre Beaume: 1782. Corrected Edition. An important collection of the best 17th century French funeral orations by Esprit Flechier (1632-1710), Bishop of Nimes and Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1627-1704) Bishop of Meaux. Flechier may be best remembered for his account of the "curious" Claremont Assizes of 1665, when Louis XIV brought his Auvergne nobles to heel, and which Flechier recorded for posterity. He was also a poet and historical author, but he was best known in his own time for his funeral orations which have been described as ingenious and often even witty. Bossuet, a child prodigy and an extremely important theological writer and theorist, was also simply the best orator in 17th century France, and he created the form of the "Orasion Funebres" of which he was undisputed master, not even rivaled by Flechier. Hardcover. 5"x8", cxxxvi + 209 + 321 [2] pages, with several nice decorated head and tailpieces bound in full period mottled calf, with marbled endpapers. Covers somewhat soiled and worn, especially the spine which is flaking a bit. A little internal soil and a bit of toning.

Inventory #: 9726 Price: $ 150.00

Frobisher, [Nathaniel]. Frobisher's New Select Collection of Epitaphs Humorous, Whimsical, Moral & Satyrical London Printed for Nath'l Frobisher, in the Pavement, York: no date (1790). A pleasant, well-chosen selection of mostly 17th and 18th century epitaphs, indexed by name and by the first line of each epitaph. The title page contains a pleasing vignette of a mourner in a churchyard by moonlight. Not a common work, with only 9 OCLC listings. Hardcover. 4.5"x7", 216 pages, title-page vignette. Period polished speckled calf with gilt border rules and gilt rules on the spine, separating little gilt harp emblems label perished covers with some scuffing engraved 19th century armorial bookplate of Francis Freeling, the famed book collector, Secretary and reformer of the English Post Office, fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and original member of the Roxburghe Club. Some minor internal spotting and a little toning, but overall a nice, clean, tight copy.

Inventory #: 9551 Price: $ 400.00

Furst, Paul. Neu Flarengesichter und Comperlimentbuchlein fur Bildhauer, Schreiner, und dergleichen Kunstler. Nurnberg Paul Furst: 1654. An absolutely wonderful suite of engraved designs for craftsmen -sculptors, cabinet makers and metalworkers. Facial grotesque seems the best way of describing these ornaments -the heads of satyrs, Bacchian-types, demons and (I swear to God) Jay Leno, all make appearances, smirking, scowling, howling or laughing in churlish abandon. I can see these modeled in silver or gilt-brass or bronze. Not in the Berlin Catalog or NUC. 11.5"x7.25", engraved titlepage and 15 engraved figures mounted on contemporaneous sheets and sewn now disbound, but with a minor spine remnant hanging on to show it was bound at one time. Also included are two similiar sheets with floral-inspired vignettes. A little minor soil and, as I said, disbound and the last 2 sheets detached, but overall a very nice suite.

Inventory #: 29439 Price: $ 1850.00

Grollier de Serviere, Gaspard. Recueil d'Ouvrages Curieux de Mathematique et de Mecanique, ou Description du Cabinet de Monsieur Grollier de Serviere... Lyon David Forey: 1719. A descriptive and illustrated catalog of the marvelous and curious mechanical models and ivory turnings constructed by Nicholas Grollier de Serviere, a soldier, turner, inventor and the author's father. Nicolas Grollier de Serviere (1596-1689), a descendant of Jean Grolier, was indeed a multi-talented man. In his youth he was a soldier and engineer, serving in Flanders, Germany, Italy and Constantinople. As a military engineer he specialized in moveable bridges and other such inventions, and when he retired to his estates in Lyon he constructed numerous fantastic models, which included floating bridges, water pumps, fantastical regulator clocks, his famous "reading wheel" machine, artistic machinery for rendering perspectives, and all sorts of other devices. His "Cabinet" fast became a wonder to be visited by, among others, Louis XIV, as well as a host of politicians, scholars, and other inventors and craftsmen. In addition to being a skilled model-maker, de Serviere was also amongst the leading turners of his time, constructing inexplicably intricate and unlikely forms in ivory on the turning lathe. After his death his son, the Grand-Prieur de l'Abbaye de Savigny, kept the Cabinet up and published this volume dedicated to illustrating and describing its objects. Amongst those who visited and marveled was the young Monk Charles Plumier, who wrote the first book on the subject of turning, "L'Art du Tourner", in 1701. The plates in this book begin with examples of de Serviere's intricate workmanship on the lathe, starting with a plate of very delicate and intricately carved ivories, followed by "pieces excentriques", a series of Escher-esque carved balls within balls and sharp, pointy things sticking out of carved balls, followed by more spheres within spheres, and then some marvelously turned and carved "pieces hors du rond", wooden tower-like pieces of great ingenuity and delicacy these are followed by a plate of carved rosettes. But this is more than a book of lathe-work (interesting as that may be). The second section illustrates a series of ingenious clockworks invented by de Serviere, many with an elaborate series of rails winding down the frame there are also clocks with carved serpents, an hourglass, and one with Atlas holding up the Earth. The third section features elaborate machinerey invented or envisioned by de Serviere, such as devices for raising water from streams, watermills, water wheels, and other water related apparatus, including several paddle-wheeled boats there follows a group of bridges, including pontoon bridges and other sectional works there are also gates and portable ladders for military use. Interestingly, in retirement Grollier de Serviere did not limit his tinkering to miniatures- he constructed a full-sized pile-driver in his gardens, powered by a water wheel held steady by two boats. The book ends with some ingenious plans for furniture, including the reading "wheel, where the sitter sits in front of a ferris wheel device of shelves, on each of which in an open book a wheeled chair a portable screen device for accurately sketching buildings, and something having to do with lamps which looks fairly lethal. As a collection of designs and inventions, the Cabinet of Nicholas Grollier de Serviere is as awe-inspiring and fanstastic today as it was in 1719, and it remains an important record of the work of one of the 17th century's most accomplished turners. This book was reissued in 1733 and 1751. Hardcover. 7.5"x10", (28) + 101 + (8) pages, plus 85 copperplate engravings (numbered 1-88 nos. 39, 48 and 76 were never issued) with several woodcut head and tailpieces and decorative vignettes in the text title page printed in red and black. Bound in old full calf with appropriate wear, with a new spine label hinges tight and apart from some minor soiling and several minor marginal dampstains, a very nice, wide margined and clean copy.

Inventory #: 20741 Price: $ 3000.00

Hackett, John. Select and Remarkable Epitaphs on Illustrious and Other Persons, in Several Parts of Europe, with Translations of such as are in Latin and Foreign Languages. And Compendious Accounts of the Deceased, Their Lives and Works. London Printed for T. Osborne and J. Shipton, in Gray's Inn: 1757. One of the early English compilations. In his dedication to James Bruce, Hackett notes that this collection of epitaphs was "the Fruits of leisure Hours, when, somewhat grave, and sensible of a Deficiency in that Part of a Man's Cloathing that has so great a Sympathy with the Animal Spirits, I have left Mirth for the Church-Yard, and deserted Folks all alive and merry, for a pensive Hour with the Dead". Hardcover. 2 volumes. 4.25"x7", [ii], 288 245, [xxi] pages. Volume 1 with an engraved frontispiece showing the interior of a crypt with an open coffin, several skeletons, Muses, cherubs, etc. Bound in 19th or early 20th century full gilt-ruled leather with leather spine labels. Handsome engraved bookplate of Hans Sloane. Covers with light rubbing, a little internal soil and toning.

Inventory #: 9739 Price: $ 350.00

Henniker, John. Two Letters on the Origin, Antiquity, and History of Norman Tiles, Stained with Armorial Bearings. London printed by John Bell...Bookseller to His Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales: 1794 [mistakenly noted as 1796 by Solon]. The earliest work in English located by Solon dealing specifically with tiles, and now very uncommon. The author's brother, a Captain in the English military, had been a resident of Caen and sent the first description of the armorial tiles to the author, who then tried to interest British antiquarians in them, with apparently limited success. The tiles are described here, quoting a Dr. Ducarel- "The floor is paved with tiles...each near five inches square, baked almost to vitrification. Eight rows of these tiles running from east to west are charged with different coats of arms, generally said to be those of the families who attended Duke William in his invasion of England. The intervals between each of these rows are filled up with a kind of tessellated pavement the middle whereof represents a maze or labyrinth, about ten feet in diameter, and so artfully contrived, that were we to suppose a man following all the intricate meanders of its volutes, he could not travel less than a mile before he got from one end to the other". Solon further notes- "The armorial-bearing tiles described in these letters belonged to a pavement, now partly destroyed, which adorned the state-rooms of St. Stephen Abbey or 'Abbaye aux hommes' at Caen, built in 1077 by William the Conqueror. Although local traditions and ancient chronicles agree in considering these tiles as containing the scutcheons of the noble families which accompanied William, Duke of Normandy, in his expedition, the date of their making cannot correspond with that of the building of the Abbey. One of these tiles bears the Royal Arms of France, adopted by St. Louis, and it is well known that the armorial bearings were not in use before the crusades the pavement cannot be, therefore, anterior to the thirteenth century". Ah, modern stuff... But still, a scarce and desirable tile book. Hardcover. 5.5"x8.5", 114 pages plus 3 engraved plates reproducing twenty tile designs bound in period marbled boards with a new leather spine and new endpapers boards worn and scuffed. Very minor internal toning and a few light pencil notes but overall internally a very nice copy with wide margins.

Inventory #: 34149 Price: $ 600.00

Hofer, Philip. Baroque Book Illustration. A Short Survey from the Collection in the Department of Graphic Arts, Harvard College Library. Cambridge Harvard University Press: 1970. 2nd edition. An influential and informative survey of great book illustration of the 17th century. There are chapters on England, France, Italy, Spain & Portugal, Germany & Switzerland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and the Netherlands. Hardcover. 8.5"x11", 43 pages of text plus 149 b/w illustrations, dj. Bookplate, else a fine copy.

Inventory #: 30933 Price: $ 50.00

Kingsbury, Benjamin. A Treatise on Razors in which the Weight, Shape and Temper of a Razor, the means of keeping it in order, and the manner of using it, are particularly considered and in which it is intended to convey a knowledge of all that is necessary on this subject. London W. Blackader: 1802. 3rd edition. Kingsbury was in the trade himself, and apparently at least a little controversy ensued after he first published this pamphlet in late 1797- "I could wish to reflect on the number of contradictory opinions... I wish them to consider the many unpleasant feelings they have experienced, the many bitter complaints they have uttered, in consequence of bad razors". The pamphlet was republished several times, but all editions are scarce. Softcover. 5.5"x9", 44 pages, with an advertisement for Kingsbury's retail and wholesale razor and shaving shop on St. James Street on the rear cover a little soil and chipping at the extremities, a few page corners folded the spine has split and is coming away for about 3.5" inches from the bottom. Overall a nice copy in the original, unsophisticated state.

Inventory #: 31283 Price: $ 500.00

Lair, Pierre-Aime. Essai sur les Combustions Humaines, produits par un long abus des liqueurs spiritueuses. Paris Chez Gabon: 1800. An early discussion of Spontaneous Human Combustion, citing various cases such as that of the Countess Bandi. Lair appears to have drawn much of his material from period journals such as the Annual Register and the Memoirs of the Royal Society he also quotes from Le Cat. He supports the then-prevalent view that the phenomena was linked to excessive, prolonged alcohol abuse. There was another edition in 1823. Scarce in the marketplace. Softcover. 4.5"x7", 100 pages, bound in newer plain paper covers a nice, clean, wide-margined copy in a new clamshell case.

Inventory #: 31278 Price: $ 1200.00

Mairan, Jean Jacques d'Ortous de. Traite Physique et Historique de l'Aurore Bore'ale. Paris l'Imprimerie Royale: 1733. The first edition of a classic and beautiful work on the Aurora Borealis.Mairan (1678-1771) believed the phenomena to be attributable to "zodiacal light" and an extension of the Sun's atmosphere into our own. The plates, which were engraved by Philippe Simonneau, illustrate declinations as well as a number of views of the lights, with views of the lights at Giessen on the 17th of February, 1721, and Brevillepont on the 26th of September, 1726, the 19th of October, 1726 and the 6th of September, 1731. The problem of illustrating light with the engraver's tool is a daunting one, but Simonneau has created a series of evocative, vivid impressions. Mairan was an interesting man, a member of the Academie Royale des Sciences, and a fellow of the Royal Society in London, with a wide circle of correspondence. He wrote a popular treatise on the formation of ice, and became interested in ancient China and Egypt, theorizing that the ancient Egyptians had established a colony in China. This book, the first major study of the Aurora, was reissued in 1754 with two additional plates. Hardcover. 8"x10", [8] 281, [i] pages, 15 engraved folding plates bound in full period polished calf with gilt spine decorations, marbled endpapers. With a handsome engraved armorial bookplate (unidentified) and a small, modern label. Some separation along the front hinge, but the cords are tight.

Inventory #: 2628 Price: $ 1500.00

Monteith, R[obert]. An Theater of Mortality: or, A Further Collection of Funeral Inscriptions over Scotland... Edinburgh Printed by the Heirs and Successors of Andrew Anderson: 1713. 2nd Edition. First published in 1704, one of the earliest English-language collections of epitaphs. Monteith dedicated the first edition to the worthy burghers of Edinburgh, and wrote that he hoped that "This Treatise may serve as a Monitor, to whisper you in the Ear, that you are Men And tho' you be called Gods, you must die. This sets before you the Memoirs, of those Excellent Worthies, whose Steps you tread and whose Vertues you imitate and whose (following) Inscriptions, changing only the Names, may be thought just Delineations and Descriptions of your selves, your Way and Walk". Robert Monteith, A.M., was the son of a merchant in Edinburgh. He took his degree as Master of Arts at the University there in 1662, and was appointed minister of Borgue in Kirkcudbright. In 1682, while serving at Carrington, he was accused of "sundry very gross miscarriages," and eventually deposed for drunkenness. Monteith then made a precarious living by publishing books and writing funeral elegies, and became noted especially for his book "Theater of Mortality". He died in Edinburgh on the 6th September 1719. Hardcover. 4.5"x7", [i] [vi] 280 pages. Bound in full period polished calf with gilt spine decorations handsome engraved bookplate of William Nisbet of Dirleton. Covers with some wear, spine rubbed. Text a little browned.

Inventory #: 9738 Price: $ 375.00

Nixon, Rev. John. A Dissertation on the Antiquity of Glass in Windows. In a Letter to the Rev. Tho. Birch, D.D.Secret. R.S. London The Royal Society: 1758. A pane of opaque glass excavated at Herculaneum causes the author to ponder the antiquity of glass windows. A transcription of an 18th century letter which appeared in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, in, 1758. Bound into new cloth. 6.5"x9", 10 pages.

Inventory #: 34153 Price: $ 150.00

Nobbes, Robert. The Compleat Troller, or, The Art of Trolling, With A Description of all the Utensils, Instruments, Tackling, and Materials requisite thereto: With Rules and Directions how to use them. As Also A Brief Account of most of the Principal Rivers in England. By a Lover of the Sport. London printed by T. James for Tho. Holder at the Angel in Little Britain: 1682. 1st edition. A popular early work. Although not the earliest English work on fishing, Nobbes' work is one of the most popular, and Nobbes has been called "the Father of trollers". Republished in 1770 and again in 1805, the 1770 edition is especially troubling as it was a "facsimile". However, a comparison of copies at the Houghton Library at Harvard confirms this as a second issue of the first edition. Hardcover. 3.5"x6", [17] 78 [2] pages several woodcut illustrations in the text. 1 page list of other books published by Helder on the last page. Bound in old full leather with gilt dentelles and an elaborately blindstamped spine engraved bookplates of James Walsh and Henry A. Sherwin ownership label of H.S. Smith another ownership label removed from the endpaper. Covers with some wear and rubbing contents a bit browned, with a small stain running down the upper portion of the outer margin pages pressed newer endpapers front endpaper detached but present title page supplied with neatly inked light red/brown rules around the margins and underlining the title which acutally looks quite handsome.

Inventory #: 1017 Price: $ 2500.00

Rodlich, H.F. Praktische Anweisung zur Verfertigung der Venezianischen Estriche. Berlin C.H. Platen: 1810. A very lovely book on the art of making Venetian crushed-stone floors which illustrates the tools and the step-by-step processes involved. Venetian crushed stone floors are a rather difficult subject -very little material about them is available in the literature. Certainly the neo-classic elements are unmistakable, and the influence of recently excavated Roman ruins must have played a part in their popularity in Italy and, as this book illustrates, Germany. The plates show the stone being prepared and colored, the floor surface being planned, laid-out and prepared, and the stone being applied and smoothed. The workmen are all stylishly dressed for such a dirty job, and appear very happy at their tasks. Young boys help with the work in a number of plates. Obviously a labor and time-intensive task, the laying of a stone floor is chronicled here in hand-colored plates that can only be described as jewel-like, and yet are also fairly realistic. A rare book, with only a single OCLC listing (in the Netherlands). Hardcover. 8.5"x10.5", 28 pages of text plus 24 hand-colored engraved plates on 12 leaves. Bound in new quarter leather with marbled boards. Very slight stains in several places, several very discreet remnants of old institutional stamps, but overall an exceptional copy of a rare work.

Inventory #: 30821 Price: $ 8500.00