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Rare Books from Five Centuries: A Miscellany

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1776 AMERICAN ALMANAC WITH A FULL-PAGE MILITARY PLAN OF BOSTON

1. (AMERICAN REVOLUTION). Hutchin's Improved: Being an Almanack and Ephemeris ... for the Year of our Lord, 1776 ... By John Nathan Hutchins. New York: Hugh Gaine, [1775]. [48] p. Stitched as issued. Minor gnawing in bottom margin of first few leaves, costing several letters, else a remarkably nice, clean copy. $3500.00

One of the great Revolutionary War almanacs. This unusually large almanac (at 48 pages, one of the largest American almanacs up to that time) contains much practical information for the American patriot as the war spread through the colonies. Following the standard almanac fare is the full text of a law signed by John Hancock promoting the manufacture of saltpetre. Next is a several-page essay on the methods of making saltpetre, including an account by Benjamin Rush. This is followed by a page of instructions on making gunpowder. The next leaf contains a full-page woodcut "Plan of Boston," followed by a half-page key to the locations, fortifications, troop encampments, battle sites, &c. Wheat & Brun 235; Nebenzahl, Printed Battle Plans of the American Revolution, 9-9a; Reilly 1768; Evans 14125; Drake 5860; ESTC W32498, recording five copies.

 

COLORED VIEWS AND PLANS OF VILLAS

2. (ARCHITECTURE). Lugar, Robert. Villa Architecture: A Collection of Views, with Plans, of Buildings Executed in England, Scotland, &c. London: J. Taylor, 1828. Folio. [2], x, 34 p. 42 plates, of which 26 are handcolored aquatints and 16 floor plans. Modern half red morocco. Margins of first two leaves a bit soiled and with a few tiny chips, two leaves of preface moderately foxed, an occasional spot of foxing, but the plates clean and bright and fine. Signature of H. LeRoy Newbold, New York, 1836, on half title. $4500.00

First edition. The 26 beautiful handcolored plates depict villas executed by Lugar (1773?-1855) in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Each view illustrates the building in the context of the surrounding landscape. Facing each view is a letterpress description, and either beneath or following each view is a detailed floor plan. Abbey, Life, 33; Archer 195.1.

 

BACON'S TWO BOOKES: FIRST EDITION, 1605

3. BACON, FRANCIS. The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Advancement of Learning, Divine and Humane. London: For Henrie Tomes, 1605. 4to. [1], 45, 118 [i.e., 121] leaves. Lacks final blank 3H2 and, as always, the rare two leaves of errata at the end. Late eighteenth-century half calf and marbled boards (extremities of boards worn), very skillfully and imperceptibly rebacked retaining entire original spine. Small worm trail in the bottom margin of quires 2D-2F, occasional minor marginalia in an early hand, else a lovely copy. Early signature of Row'd Wetherald on title, signature of Horatio Carlyon, 1861, on front pastedown. Sachs bookplate and a modern leather book label. In a calf-backed clamshell box. $7500.00

First edition. The Two Bookes is Bacon's preliminary statement of his massive plan to survey all human knowledge and to reorganize scientific method, as he later propounded in Instauratio Magna and De Augmentis Scientiarum. Pforzheimer 36; Gibson 81; Grolier, Langland to Wither, 12; Grolier/Horblit 8a; Norman 97; STC 1164.

 

BARCLAY'S EXPOSITION OF THE QUAKER THEOLOGY: THE VERY RARE FIRST EDITION

4. BARCLAY, ROBERT. Theologiae verè Christianae Apologia. Amsterdam: Jacob Claus, for Benjamin Clark (London), Isaac van Neer (Rotterdam), and Heinrich Betke (Frankfurt), 1676. 4to. [24], 374, [25] p. Contemporary sprinkled calf, blind fillet around covers and run twice along spine, gilt sawtooth roll on board edges, spine with gilt fillet above and below each cord, old paper ms. title label. Hinges split but held securely by cords, corners bumped and tips worn through, spine with very faint white-ish cast. Internally there is a slight dampstain at the top margin, some slight, sporatic foxing and browning, and the edges of the endpapers are discolored from the leather turn-ins. A very good copy. $8000.00

The rare first edition of the classic exposition of the Quaker theology, in a very attractive contemporary binding. Following the founding of the Society of Friends by George Fox in 1647, its adherents issued a large body of minor polemical pamphlets and tracts. Barclay, the descendant of an ancient Scottish family, possessed "a degree of learning and logical skill very unusual amongst the early Quakers" (DNB), and was the first to rationally set forth the tenets of the Society. In 1675 he published his Theses Theologiae, a series of 15 propositions spelling out Quaker beliefs. The Apologia, which Barclay had printed in Amsterdam during a period of travel or voluntary exile, is a reasoned defence of each of the 15 theses set forth in the earlier work. As expressed by Barclay, the essential principle of the Quaker philosophy is that each human being possesses an "inner light," by which the soul perceives the truth of divine revelation; it follows from this that outward ceremonies and sacraments are irrevelant. Barclay's "recognition of a divine light working in men of all creeds harmonises with the doctrine of toleration, which he advocates with great force and without the restrictions common in his time" (DNB).

Barclay's Apologia is one of the great theological works of the seventeenth century, and it remains remarkable for the clarity and logic of its exposition. It was first published in English in 1678, widely translated, and remains in print today. The original Latin edition is very rare, and was probably printed in a very small number. The present copy, in a simple but lovely contemporary binding, is most desirable. Wing B736a.

 

ONE OF THE EARLIEST PRINTED AMERICAN JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS: A MAYOR OF NEW YORK IS SENTENCED TO BE HANGED, DRAWN, AND QUARTERED IN 1701

5. (BAYARD, NICHOLAS). An Account of the Commitment, Arraignment, Tryal and Condemnation of Nicholas Bayard Esq; for High Treason, in Endeavouring to Subvert the Government of the Province of New York in America, by his Signing and Procuring others to Sign Scandalous Libels.... London: Printed at New York by order of his Excellency the Lord Cornbury, and reprinted at London, 1703. Fol. 31, [1] p. Modern calf-backed marbled boards, very skillfully executed in period style. Final leaf H2 supplied from another copy, title lightly browned, else a very attractive copy. $4800.00

The first English (and earliest obtainable) edition of one of the earliest printed American judicial proceedings. Nicholas Bayard (1644-1707), nephew of Peter Stuyvesant, was a mayor of New York and a member of the governor's council. When Jacob Leisler seized control of the government of New York in 1689, Bayard was a prime target, and he fled to Albany, where he was seized, brought back to the fort, and imprisoned. Finally Governor Sloughter arrived from England and had Bayard released. In 1697 the new governor, Bellomont, accused Bayard of complicity with the previous governor in the encouragement and protection of pirates. Bayard was removed from office and later accused of encouraging sedition and mutiny and of being a Jacobite. Tried for high treason, he was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. The present work contains the entire text of the 1701/2 proceedings. The unobtainable American edition, printed in New York by Bradford in 1702, is known by only a few copies, in the usual old institutions; this English edition, which contains additional text (pp. 27-32), is almost as scarce. Howes B256; Church 809; Sabin 53436; European Americana 703/12; Ritz, American Judicial Proceedings, 1.05(2c).

 

SIGNED BY BECKETT: HIS FINAL WORK OF FICTION

6. BECKETT, SAMUEL. Stirrings Still. New York and London: Blue Moon Books and John Calder, [1988]. Folio. Illustrations by Louis le Brocquy including one original duotone lithograph. Linen-covered boards, vellum spine. As new, in the publisher's slipcase. $3800.00

One of 200 numbered copies (of a total edition of 226 copies), signed by Beckett and by the illustrator, Louis le Brocquy. Beckett's final work of fiction, written for his friend and U.S. publisher Barney Rosset. A beautiful livre d'artiste, in flawless condition.

 

THE EXTREMELY RARE SECOND AMERICAN COLOR PLATE BOOK

7. BIRCH, WILLIAM R. The Country Seats of the United States of North America, with Some Scenes Connected with Them. Springland near Bristol, Pa.: W. Birch, enamel painter, 1808 [i.e., 1809]. Oblong folio (225 x 285 mm.). 4 letterpress leaves, 20 hand colored engraved copper plates (complete). Marbled paper-covered boards, leather title label on front board, straight-grain red morocco gilt spine and corners (very skillfully rebacked). Light marginal foxing on the first letterpress leaf and a light dampstain at the extreme fore-edge of the last three letterpress leaves, else a remarkably fine, fresh copy, with the plates clean and bright and lovely. Contemporary ownership signature of Ann Rouse on title leaf. $100,000.00

First edition of the second American color plate book, and a considerable rarity, missing from most institutional and private collections of early American color plate books. In 1800 William Birch had produced the first American color plate book, The City of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania North America, as it Appeared in the Year 1800. The work was a great success, in spite of its high price, and it gave Birch the encouragement he needed to continue. Sadly, Country Seats, issued a little over eight years later, was a commercial failure. While the Philadelphia work captured the civic pride and enthusiasm of a young nation, Country Seats, argued Philadelphia iconography authority Martin Snyder, "was much more a work born of Birch's individual background, ambitions, and failures. It was, in fact, the product of a desire to raise the prevailing levels of taste in homes and of a desire to identify himself with the leisurely and wealthy life externally portrayed in his pictures."

The twenty color plates, a combination of line and stipple engraving and delicate coloring, depict gentlemen's country estates in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Louisiana. Relatively few complete copies of the book survive. The last copy sold at public auction was the Martin Snyder/Jay Snider copy, Bloomsbury New York, 2008, $90,000 all in. The present copy has remained in a private Philadelphia collection for the last seventy-five years. Most copies of the book suffer from considerable offsetting of the images onto the facing leaves. In this copy the offsetting is negligible. M. Snyder, "William Birch his Country Seats of the United States," Pennsylvania Magazine of History & Biography 81 (3); Howes B-460; Reese, Stamped with a National Character, 2.

 

FIRST BOOK BY THE FIRST FEMALE PHYSICIAN IN THE UNITED STATES

8. BLACKWELL, ELIZABETH. The Laws of Life, with Special Reference to the Physical Education of Girls. New York: George P. Putnam, 1852. 180 p. Slate-gray cloth, edges stained red. Spine a bit faded, a few very tiny spots, else a remarkably fresh, tight copy, as close to fine as one could hope for. Contemporary signature of E. H. Cressey on front endpaper. $12,000.00

First edition of the first book by the first female physician in the United States. Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) was refused entrance into the medical schools in Philadelphia and New York, but in 1847 she was accepted by the Geneva Medical School in western New York State. She succeeded in overcoming the prejudices of her fellow students and her instructors, and in 1849 she received her medical degree--the first ever conferred on a woman. The event attracted international press attention, and she was generally regarded as "either mad or bad." Unable to find appropriate employment in America or in England, she finally obtained a job in a maternity hospital in Paris. She soon returned to the United States and settled in New York, where she hoped to establish a practice. Patients were initially hesitant to come, and she described "a blank wall of social and professional antagonism." In 1857 she opened the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children, a full-scale hospital whose purpose was not only to serve the poor. but also to provide positions for women physicians and a training facility for female medical and nursing students. The institution exists today as the New York Downtown Hospital. This is her first book, published just three years after receiving her medical degree. It advocates physical fitness for women and girls and stresses the importance of a healthy diet. The book is very scarce, only two copies having sold at auction in the last thirty-five years. This is a lovely, near-fine copy. Cushing B421.

 

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, IN THE ORIGINAL BOARDS

9. BRONTË SISTERS. Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1848. iv, [1], 13-176, [24] p. Original brown paper-covered boards, printed paper spine label. Outer brown paper worn from along hinges and at tips of spine revealing lighter paper underneath, scattered foxing, else a very nice, very tight copy in the fragile original boards. With an 1848 ownership signature of A. G. Trafton on the front endpaper. $2800.00

First American edition of the Brontë sisters' first book. An unusually nice copy, as most surviving copies are in rough condition or have been rebacked. The book's original owner, A. G. Trafton, was a resident of Alfred, Maine, and the district schoolmaster. Smith, The Brontë Sisters, pp. 14-17.

 

BURTON EXPLORES HARAR

10. BURTON, RICHARD F. First Footsteps in East Africa; or, An Exploration of Harar. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1856. xxxviii, [2], 648 p. + 24-p. publishers cat. 4 color plates and 2 maps. Bound without the suppressed fourth appendix, as usual. Publisher's red cloth. Neat early restoration of spine ends and repair of front inner hinge, one lead adhered the next in the gutter, slight darkening of the spine and light overall soiling. A very good, tight copy. $3250.00

First edition, second issue binding. Burton's first expedition to explore the interior of the Somali country and particularly the forbidden city of Harar, which no European was thought to have seen. Penzer pp. 60-63.

 

HUDIBRAS: FIRST EDITIONS OF ALL THREE PARTS

11. BUTLER, SAMUEL. Hudibras. The First Part. London: By J. G. for Richard Marriot, 1663. [4], 268 p. [with:] Hudibras. The Second Part. London: By T. R. for John Martyn, and James Allestry, 1664. [2], 216 p., lacking imprimatur leaf. [With:] Hudibras. The Third and Last Part. London: For Simon Miller, 1678. [2], 285, [2] p. incl. errata leaf. 3 vols. Washed and rebound in uniform simple full brown levant, edges gilt, by Zaehnsdorf for A. C. McClurg. Some residual soiling, vol. 2 with closed tear in title and front hinge cracking slightly and cropped a bit closely cutting into a few running heads and shoulder notes. $2200.00

First authorized editions of vols. 1 and 2, first edition of vol. 3, being Thorson's editions A, N, and R. The date in the imprimatur leaf of v. 1 reads "Novemb. 11. 1662." Wing B6300, B6309, and B6313.

 

PRESENTATION COPY FROM THE PUBLISHER, WITH THE RARE "FOLIUM RESERVATUM"

12. CATLIN, GEORGE. O-Kee-Pa: A Religious Ceremony: and other Customs of the Mandans. London: Trübner and Co., 1867. Small 4to. vi, [2], 52 p. plus iii-p. "Folium Reservatum." 13 chromolithographed plates after Catlin by Simonau & Toovey. Publisher's purple cloth, gilt, all edges gilt. Binding lightly soiled and faded, extremities lightly worn (spine ends more so), occasional minor foxing. A very good copy of a fragile book difficult to find in fine condition. $15,000.00

First edition, with the rare "Folium Reservatum" bound in at the rear. A presentation copy inscribed by the publisher, Nicholas Trübner ("N. Trübner"), to Thomas Scott. O-Kee-Pa was a religious ceremony practiced by the Mandan tribe that lived on the upper Missouri. It included frenzied dances and highly charged sexual pantomines, followed by barbaric torture and mortification of the flesh. Pioneer Indian bibliographer Thomas Field described the remarkable color plates as depicting the ceremony in "horrible fidelity." Catlin's text is an important survival, as the Mandans were wiped out by smallpox in 1837, shortly after Catlin's visit. The explicit details of the sexual elements of the ceremony, involving a large artificial plallus, were considered too shocking for the general public and were included in a separately issued three-page "Folium Reservatum," purportedly issued in an edition of approximately 25 copies. It is particularly desirable to have it bound together with the main text in an original publisher's binding. Nicholas Trübner was a distinguished bookseller and scholar with a great interest in publishing scholarly works. His publishing house, established in 1851, still exists. Howes C-244 ("b"); Field 262.

 

CHAUCER'S WORKES, 1602

13. CHAUCER, GEOFFREY. The Workes of our Ancient and Learned English Poet, Geffrey Chaucer, Newly Printed. London: By Adam Islip, 1602. Folio (315 x 205 mm.). [23], 179, 178-350, 353-376, [13] leaves. Title surrounded by woodcut border. Lacking initial blank [a]1, as always, and errata leaf 3U8. Copperplate portrait of Chaucer surrounded by the arms of his progeny by John Speed. Woodcuts of Chaucer's arms and of the knight, woodcut initials. Black letter. Late nineteenth-century dark brown morocco, blind panel on covers, edges gilt. Small worm track in the margin of the first several gatherings, two very minor repaired tears, one blank corner torn away. A very clean, attractive copy. 1882 gift inscription on front endpaper. $9000.00

Edited by Thomas Speght, revised with the aid of Francis Thynne. According to Pforzheimer, this edition is "the earliest in which thorough punctuation was attempted, and in many other ways it is a distinct improvement upon Speght's first edition [of 1598]." Virtually every early copy of Chaucer that becomes available has been repaired, cleaned, rebound, &c., and the portrait is usually missing. This is quite a lovely copy, wanting only the errata leaf at the end. STC 5080; Pforzheimer 178; Grolier, Langland to Wither, 44.

 

FIRST QUAKER TO REACH PENNSYLVANIA: 1658

14. COALE, JOSIAH. The Books and Divers Epistles of the Faithful Servant of the Lord Josiah Coale.... [London]: Printed in the year, 1671. 4to. 28, 33-104, 152, 269-343 [i.e., 344] p. Complete as issued. Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked and recornered, later (but old) endpapers. Modern bookplate. $3000.00

First edition. Pages 14 through 19 contain a testimony by William Penn, most likely written while Penn was in prison. The testimony expresses great love and admiration for Coale. Josiah Coale was one of Penn's intimate friends during Penn's first years as a Quaker. Coale had been one of the early missionaries to the New World and was likely the first Quaker to touch Pennsylvania soil in 1658 (Bronner & Fraser p. 131). The text, erratically paginated but complete and conforming to the other known copies, contains several different essays and testimonies, including "An Epistle to Friends in New-England," "To the Flock of God, Gather'd out of the World in the Province of Maryland," "To all People in Jamaica," &c. "The VVhore Unveiled" has a separate title page dated 1667. European Americana 671/82; Wing C4751; Bronner & Fraser (Penn) 13; Baer (Maryland) 68; JCB(3) III:215.

 

COCKBURN'S TRAVELS IN CENTRAL AMERICA, 1735, WITH THE MAP

15. COCKBURN, JOHN. A Journey over Land from the Gulf of Honduras to the Great South-Sea. Performed by John Cockburn, and Five other Englishmen.... London: For C. Rivington, 1735. viii, 349, [3] p. Folding map. Contemporary sprinkled calf, very skillfully rebacked with entire original spine and label retained. A lovely copy, the text clean and fresh and entirely unfoxed. Wolfgang Herz copy, with his small book label. $3500.00

First edition. Cockburn was an English seaman who had sailed to the coast of Central America in 1731. His ship was boarded off the coast of Honduras by the Spanish authorities and the crew taken to Puerto Cavalho. From there, accompanied by five other seamen, he made his way across Central America to the Pacific coast. The journal, highly popular at the time, was reprinted three more times before 1800. It was originally thought to be fictitious because of the excessive privations Cockburn described. Today it remains one of the few accounts by foreign travelers through Central America in the first half of the eighteenth century. Annexed to the work is a quaint account of the travels of Nicholas Withington. Hill 324; Sabin 14095; Griffin 2530.

 

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST FIVE ABOLITION CONVENTIONS

16. CONVENTION OF DELEGATES FROM THE ABOLITION SOCIETIES. Minutes of the Proceedings of a Convention of Delegates from the Abolition Societies Established in Different parts of the United States, Assembled at Philadelphia.... Philadelphia: Zachariah Poulson, Junr., 1794. 30 p. Accompanied by the proceedings of the second through fifth conventions (Philadelphia: Poulson, 1795-1798; 32, 32, 59, 20 p.). All removed. Final leaf of final pamphlet damaged in the margin, with the loss of several letters, else all fine copies. The five items, $3000.00

In January 1794 representatives from the major state abolition societies held their first convention in Philadelphia. Joseph Bloomfield was elected president. The printed minutes record the names of the individual delegates, the state societies they represent, and the proceedings of the convention. Each succeeding year a similar meeting was held in Philadelphia, and the proceedings of the first five conventions are offered here. The minutes of the fourth meeting contains a lengthy and detailed appendix of the activities of the local societies, with local laws relating to slaves and slavery. Evans 26533, 28146, 29947, 31686, 33264.

 

FIRST EDITION OF MARY KETTILBY'S RECIPES AND REMEDIES: 1714

17. (COOKERY). [Kettilby, Mary]. A Collection of above Three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick and Surgery; for the Use of all Good Wives, Tender Mothers, and Careful Nurses. London: For Richard Wilkin, 1714. [16], 218, [13] p. Contemporary paneled calf, neatly rebacked. Light overall toning, minor marginal foxing and dampstaining, upper margin of A3 clipped and neatly restored, just grazing running head on verso. Three leaves of early owners' recipes bound in at end. Early ownership signature of Tho: Tipping, dated at several locations in Hertfordshire, 1714-1739; later signature of Elizabeth Randall, 1771. Modern cookery bookplate. A very nice copy, in a portfolio and leather-backed slipcase. $2800.00

First edition of Mary Kettilby's collection of cookery recipes and medicinal and home remedies, from a tasty "green-pease soop, without meat" to gooseberry wine. While the title page states that the work is "By several hands," there is little doubt--from evidence in later editions--that Kettilby was the principal author. Maclean pp. 79-82; Bitting p. 258; Oxford p. 54; Cagle 789; Wellcome II p. 389.

 

THE SPENCER CATALOGUE COMPLETE WITH ALL SUPPLEMENTS

18. DIBDIN, THOMAS FROGNALL. Bibliotheca Spenceriana; or A Descriptive Catalogue of the Books Printed in the Fifteenth Century ... in the Library of George John Earl Spencer [with:] Supplement to the Bibliotheca Spenceriana [with:] Aedes Althorpianae; or An Account of the Mansion, Books and Pictures, at Althorp [with:] A Descriptive Catalogue of the Books Printed in the Fifteenth Century, Lately Forming Part of the Library of the Duke di Cassano Serra, and now the Property of George John Earl Spencer. London: For the author, by Shakespeare Press, 1814-1815, 1822-1823. 7 vols., 4to. Profusely illustrated with engraved plates, hundreds of facsimiles of early woodcuts and type, some printed in color. Modern full tan morocco, richly gilt, covers with central arms and cornerpieces within a two-line fillet, board edges and turn-ins gilt, spines fully gilt in compartments, by Edmund Worrall of Birmingham, with his ticket in each volume. Engraved plates mostly toned and offset to facing pages, some minor text offsetting, a few random gatherings (maybe 12-15 leaves in all) very heavily foxed, else a very good set in very fine, fresh bindings. $2800.00

The complete Spencer catalogue, with all supplements, in a very handsome matched binding. The greatest library catalogue of its time, and a major work on fifteenth-century books.

 

DIXON'S VOYAGE

19. DIXON, GEORGE. A Voyage Round the World; but more particularly to the North-West Coast of America: Performed in 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788, in the King George and Queen Charlotte.... London: Geo. Goulding, 1789. 4to. xxix, [3], 360, 47 p. 5 folding maps, 16 engraved plates (some folding), leaf of engraved music. Modern half calf, very skillfully executed in period style. One of the natural history plates is quite foxed, a few others lightly foxed and/or offset, else a very good, clean copy. $5500.00

First edition. Dixon, along with Nathaniel Portlock, both of whom had been with Captain Cook, made this voyage to the northwest coast of America to collect furs for a group of London merchants. They arrived at the Sandwich Islands via Cape Horn in the spring of 1786, reached the mouth of Cook's River in Alaska by July, then sailed down the coast as far as Nootka Sound. The winter was spent in the Sandwich Islands, and in early 1788 the ships sailed to Prince William Sound. The two vessels then parted, with Dixon returning to Nootka Sound, where he named the "Queen Charlotte Islands." The account of the voyage, except for the introduction and the appendixes, was actually written by William Beresford. Streeter calls the work "an excellent authority for the early days of fur trading on the northwest coast." Streeter Sale 3484; Forbes 162; Howes D365; Hill 118; Lada-Mocarski 43; Wickersham 6574.

 

LEADING AUTHORITY ON THE HISTORY OF FLORIDA

20. (FLORIDA). [Barcia Carballido y Zuniga, Andres Gonzales de]. Ensayo Cronologico para la Historia General de la Florida ... desde el Ao de 1512 ... hasta el de 1722 ... Escrito por don Gabriel de Cardenas z Cano [pseud.]. Madrid, 1723. Fol. [40], 366, [56] p. Folding table. Title in red and black. Contemporary limp vellum. Endpapers discolored and a bit wrinkled, very faint dampstain in the margin of the last several leaves, else a near fine, crisp copy. $2800.00

First edition. A chronological history from 1512 to 1722, and the leading authority on Florida's first two centuries. It includes a detailed account of French attempts to establish a colony, and the text of the memoir of Solis de las Meras, an eyewitness to the massacre of John Ribault and his companions. The work actually covers the early explorations of North America north of Mexico and east of the Pacific, including De Soto, La Salle, Cabeza de Vaca, and others. European Americana 723/10; Servies and Servies 291; Streeter Sale 1177; Howes B130; Wagner, Spanish Southwest, 84; Field 80; Graff 181.

 

MOST IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC BOOK OF 18TH-CENTURY AMERICA

21. FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN. Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America ... To which are added, Letters and Papers on Philosophical Subjects.... London: For F. Newbery, 1774. 4to. v, [1], 514, [16] p. 7 engraved plates, several woodcut text illustrations. Lacks half-title. Contemporary marbled paper-covered boards, calf spine, very skillfully rebacked in period style. Later endpapers. Occasional foxing of both text and plates, some offsetting from a few plates, light stains on H3-4 and 2M3-4. Withal a very good copy. $8500.00

The fifth and final edition of the book that PMM calls "the most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America." "English editions one, two, and three had been published carelessly ... he edited the fourth edition in person [and] introduced footnotes ... Other notes corrected faults of early ignorance. In some cases the actual text was revised ... The most outstanding difference ... is of course in content."—I. Bernard Cohen, Benjamin Franklin's Experiments. In addition to the famous kite and key experiment, Franklin's work with Leiden jars, lightning rods, and charged clouds is summarized. The fifth edition is essentially a reprint of the fourth edition with several small corrections. PMM 199 (1st edn.); Wheeler Gift 367b; Ford 307; Howes F320 ("b").

 

WITH FULL-PAGE HOLBEIN WOODCUTS

22. FREIBURG IM BREISGAU. Nüwe Stattrechten und Statuten der Statt Fryburg im Pryszgow gelegen. [Basle: Adam Petri, 1520]. Folio. [12], xcvii leaves + terminal blank leaf. 2 large Holbein woodcuts, with the illustrations repeated a second time. Modern full calf. Light old ink stain in the bottom blank margin of two leaves, scattered foxing on a few leaves, else a clean, very attractive copy with wide margins. $4500.00

The statutes of the city of Freiburg, compiled by Ulrich Zasius—humanist, jurist, and friend of Erasmus. The book contains two important early woodcuts by Hans Holbein the younger, each of which is repeated a second time. Occupying virtually the entire title page is a grandiose woodcut of the arms of Freiburg (Basel 346), repeated on B1r. On the verso of the title page is a full-page woodcut, signed "H H," of the Madonna and child enthroned with St. George and Bishop Lambert (Basel 347), repeated on B1v. The text also contains 6 historiated and 32 ornamental initials. BM, German, 319.

 

GERARD'S GREAT HERBAL: 1633

23. GERARD, JOHN. The Herball or Generall Historie of Plantes. London: By Adam Islip, Joice Norton, and Richard Whitakers, 1633. Folio. Engraved title, [36], 30, 29-30, 29-1630, [48] p. Illustrated with over 2500 woodcuts of plants. Early nineteenth-century panelled calf, neatly rebacked retaining original fully gilt spine. Title lightly soiled but complete and free of any repair, blank fore- and bottom edges of A4-5 neatly extended, a few marginal tears neatly closed, intermittant faint dampstain in top margin becoming a bit more noticeable toward the end of the text, marginal repair to 7A1 (index) costing several page numbers, blank lower corner of 7B5 replaced. A very good and most attractive copy, without the extensive repairing and sophistication that nearly always comes with early English herbals. With an ownership inscription and cost dated 1634. $8000.00

The first printing of the second and "best" edition of John Gerard's great English herbal, very extensively corrected and enlarged by Thomas Johnson from the original edition of 1597. John Gerard (1545-1612) was a barber-surgeon and horticulturist who based his work on Rembert Dodoens' earlier Stirpium Historiae Pemptades Sex and on his own extensive gardening experience. Thirty-six years later, when a new and more accurate edition was called for, Thomas Johnson, a well-known apothecary and botanist, was chosen for the task. Johnson wrote a lengthy new preface, "corrected many of Gerard's more gullible errors, and improved the accuracy of the illustrations by using Plantin's woodcuts." (Hunt) Johnson's improvements were so great that "Johnson's Gerard" quickly became the desired edition, and a second printing was done in 1636. Early English herbals have always been keenly sought by collectors, and they are normally found either imperfect or heavily repaired and sophisticated. The present copy is complete and with relatively minor restoration. Hunt 223; Henrey 155; Nissen 698; STC 11751.

 

GIBBONS' EXTRAORDINARY HANDBILL CHALLENGING ODGEN TO A DUEL

24. (GIBBONS v. OGDEN). To Col. Aaron Ogden, Sir, As you refused to receive a letter that I sent you by General Dayton yesterday, I will give it publicity through another channel. For like Nicanor upon Judas you made war upon me on the Sabbath Day .... I was this day arrested in a Suit at Law, in your name .... As we reside within half a mile of each other, and you never intimated to me, nor any of my friends, any claims, or cause of Action against me, I pronounce your conduct RASCALLY. I don't regard your Suit in terrorem, but I must teach you to proceed with decency .... I understand that you have interfered in a Dispute between Mrs. Gibbons and myself which has been brought on by John Trumbull .... My friend General Dayton will arrange with you the time, and place, of our Meeting. Th. Gibbons. Elizabeth-Town, 26th July, 1816. [Elizabethtown, N.J., 1816.] Broadside. 28 x 24 cm. In very fine condition, fully untrimmed. $4500.00

The steamboat in New Jersey and New York had a long and litigious history, beginning with the controversies between John Fitch and Robert Fulton, through the granting by the state legislatures in 1808 of exclusive navigation privileges, to the landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824. Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden were originally partners in a steam ferry operating between Elizabeth-Town Point and New York City. In 1814 a dispute arose over a lease renewal. Soon other arguments ensued, and Gibbons established a rival ferry. The two became bitter antagonists. Meanwhile, Gibbons was embroiled in a nasty domestic quarrel involving John Trumbull, who had seduced Gibbons' daughter before marrying her, and each side publicly circulated the foulest stories about the other. Ogden's legal advice was solicited by the Trumbull faction, and Gibbons, in a rage, had this handbill struck off, and, horsewhip in hand, went to Ogden's house to challenge him to a duel. Ogden escaped over the back fence, and immediately sued Gibbons for trespass. The details of the case are reported in 2 Southard, 598. Gibbons' rival steamboat, with young Cornelius Vanderbilt as captain, continued to challenge Ogden and the monopoly interests. With Daniel Webster and William Wirt as his attorneys, Gibbons finally appealed to the Supreme Court, and in one of the most famous decisions in American Constitutional law, Chief Justice Marshall ruled that navigation was commerce and Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce. The steamboat monopoly was struck down. This is one of the most dramatic broadsides we have handled.

 

HEYRICK'S POEMS: 1691

25. HEYRICK, THOMAS. Miscellany Poems. Cambridge: By John Hayes, for the author, 1691. 4to. [2], xxii, 112, [4], 67 p. Woodcut alma mater device on title. Late nineteenth-century half morocco (hinges lightly scuffed). Some foxing and light browning, chiefly on the first and last few pages and largely confined to the margins; small piece torn from upper corner of title page, short marginal tear on K1. Signature of Rd Habgood 1774 on title page. $3000.00

First edition of a very scarce book by a seventeenth-century poet-angler. One of the commendatory verses at the beginning of the work is addressed by Theophilus Judd of St. John's College "To my ingenious friend and brother angler," and one of the poems in the Miscellany is "A Pindarique Ode in Praise of Angling." The work ends with a long Pindaric poem, "The Submarine Voyage," with its own title page. In it, Heyrick "not only praises angling but abuses those who do not angle, in vehement fashion." Hayward 134; Westwood and Satchell p. 118; Wing H-1753.

 

THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT OF AUSTRALIA

26. HUNTER, JOHN. An Historical Journal of the Transactions at Port Jackson and Norfolk Island, with the Discoveries which have been made in New South Wales and in the Southern Ocean.... London: For John Stockdale, January 1, 1793. 4to. [16], 583 p. Port., engr. title, and 15 plates (incl. 2 folding maps). Neat modern antique-style half calf. Faint sporatic dampstain in the top and bottom margin, title a trifle dust-soled, the two folding maps a bit tightly bound in, else a very good and full-margined copy, retaining the deckles on many leaves. $5500.00

First edition of a key book in describing the early settlement of Sydney, Australia. Hunter was vice admiral and governor of New South Wales following Arthur Philip. The handsome engraved plates include the first published view of Sydney and "A Family of New South Wales" by William Blake. Hill 857; Ferguson 152; Wantrup 13.

 

JEFFERSON'S NOTES ON VIRGINIA

27. JEFFERSON, THOMAS. Notes on the State of Virginia. London: For John Stockdale, 1787. [4], 382 p. Large folding map hand colored in outline, folding table. Modern antique-style calf, very skillfully rebound in exact style of the original binding and retaining the original spine label. Gutter and top of title leaf soiled and darkened, second leaf lightly soiled and verso with offsetting from the adjacent map, else a very attractive copy with almost no foxing. The map has one neat and very early short repaired tear on the verso else is clean and largely free of foxing and offsetting. $28,000.00

First English edition of one of Jefferson's most important printed works. Largely written in 1781 and first published in Paris, in French, in 1785, this London edition is the book's first appearance in English. The very handsome map, engraved by Samuel J. Neele, is based on the Joshua Fry and Peter Jefferson map of Virginia and, like that map, depicts parts of the surrounding states. The evolution of Jefferson's text, and its publication history, is told in considerable detail in Millicent Sowerby's catalogue of Jefferson's library. Howes J78; Clark I, 262; ESTC T147402.

 

LA SALLE'S EXPEDITION TO THE MISSISSIPPI

28. JOUTEL, HENRI. A Journal of the Last Voyage Perform'd by Monsr. de la Sale, to the Gulph of Mexico, to Find Out the Mouth of the Missisipi River.... London: For A. Bell, B. Lintott, and J. Baker, 1714. 8vo. [2], xxi, [9], 191, 194-205, [5] p. Engraved folding map (short closed tear). Contemporary calf. Extremities rubbed, top of spine a bit worn, else a lovely untouched copy, the text clean and fresh and entirely unfoxed. Peter A. Porter bookplate and Wolfgang Herz label. $15,000.00

First edition in English; originally published in Paris the previous year. The map is entitled "A New Map of the Country of Louisiana and of Ye River Missisipi in North America..." and depicts the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, parts of Texas, and the eastern coast of America. In the upper corner is a lovely vignette of Niagara Falls. Joutel's journal is one of the best accounts of La Salle's ill-fated expedition to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi River and the short-lived colony in Texas which the party used for two years as a base for further exploration. La Salle was eventually assassinated by some of his own men, and Joutel and others succeeded in returning to Canada. European Americana 714/40; Church 859; Howes J-266(b); Wagner, Spanish Southwest, 79b; Streeter Sale 112.

 

LARGE-FORMAT KOLLNER CHILDREN'S BOOK

29. (JUVENILE--KOLLNER ILLUSTRATIONS). Country Sights for City Eyes. Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1122 Chestnut St., [not before 1858]. Obl. 4to. (9 x 12 in.) 12 pages of text and 12 full-page lithographed plates by Augustus Kollner of charming country scenes. Illustrated lithographed wrappers by Kollner. Quarter-sized hole in front wrapper and front flyleaf skillfully repaired, small skillful repair at spine, else a remarkably fresh, near-fine copy. In a cloth clamshell box with leather label (unevenly faded). Ex coll. S. Robert Teitelman. $4800.00

The handful of large-format children's books designed and illustrated by Augustus Kollner and published by the American Sunday School Union are among the rarest and most desirable of mid-nineteenth-century American children's books. Few have survived intact. Nicholas Wainwright, in his 1960 study of Kollner, says: "These books, with their delightful everyday scenes, were so popular that few have survived the hands of the children for whom they were designed. As a group, they constitute one of Kollner's most attractive and important efforts." The American Sunday School Union was first located at 1122 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia in 1857, and Country Sights for City Eyes first appeared in an ASSU catalogue in 1858 and continued to be listed for the next thirty-plus years.

 

THE KELMSCOTT GOLDEN LEGEND

30. (KELMSCOTT PRESS). Voragine, Jacobus de. The Golden Legend of Master William Caxton done anew. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1892. 3 vols. Edited by Frederick S. Ellis, two illus. by Edward Burne-Jones. Blue paper-covered boards, linen spines with printed paper labels. Spines rather worn at the extremities and splitting along some hinges, one-inch tide line along the bottom edge of several boards (not affecting pages). Internally lovely, and in need only of conservation of the spines, as is often the case with this book. $5500.00

One of 500 copies printed by William Morris at the Kelmscott Press.

 

EARLY WORK ON MUSIC THEORY: 1551

31. LEFÈVRE D'ETAPLES, JACQUES. Musica libris quatuor demonstrata. Paris: Guillaume Cavellat, 1551. 4to. 44 leaves. Cavellat's large woodcut printer's device on title. Text diagrams, tables, woodcut initials. Early 19th-century calf, gilt; neatly rebacked retaining original spine. Title very slightly soiled, faint marginal foxing. Modern book label. $4800.00

First separate edition, and first illustrated edition, of one of the earliest printed music theory books. Lefèvre (ca. 1460-1536; also known by his Latin name Faber Stapulensis) was one of the great French humanists. He developed a close working relationship with Henri Estienne and contributed, in one way or another, to a great many Estienne productions. Lefèvre's work on music theory first appeared as one part of a larger collected work printed in Paris in 1496. That edition is now essentially unobtainable, and a subsequent 1514 Estienne edition, Elementa musicalia, is very rare. Neither is illustrated. Lefèvre was a staunch defender of ancient music and played a key role in transmitting early Greek music theory to the sixteenth century. Adams F-27; BMC, French, p. 259; Renouard, Cavellat, 32.

 

THE ELABORATE THWAITES EDITION: ONE OF 200 COPIES

32. (LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION). Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 ... Edited, with Introduction, Notes, and Index, by Reuben Gold Thwaites. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1904. Large quarto. 7 vols. extended to 14, plus atlas volume. With a profusion of plates, facsimiles, folding maps, &c. Green cloth. Bindings moderately worn at the extremities, cloth lightly discolored as usual, but a very good set, with the text largely unopened. $8,000.00

One of 200 numbered copies on Van Gelder handmade paper. The elaborate Thwaites edition, incorporating the original manuscript journals owned by the American Philosophical Society together with notebooks, letters, maps, and other primary source material including the journals of Charles Floyd and Joseph Whitehouse. With a chronological bibliography of printed Lewis-and-Clarkiana by Victor Hugo Paltsits. A very good copy of a work usually found in very worn and faded bindings. Howes L-320 ("c").

 

PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY LISTER

33. LISTER, MARTIN. Conchyliorum Bivalvium utriusque aquae exercitatio anatomica tertia. Huic accedit dissertatio medicinalis de calculo humano. London: Sumptibus authoris impressa, 1696. 4to. xliii, [1], 173 p; 51 p. 10 engraved plates (4 folding). Complete with the terminal blank Z4 in the first work. The Dissertatio has its own title page and pagination. Contemporary sprinkled calf, very skillfully rebacked in period style. Small early shelf mark in red ink on endpaper and on title, minor paper flaw in S2 just grazing catchword, very faint foxing in fore-edge. A very lovely copy, with the text and plates clean and fresh. Armorial bookplate of "A. Gifford D.D. of the Museum." $10,000.00

First edition. A presentation copy from Lister, inscribed on the front flyleaf "For Mr. Dalone by his most humble servant M Lister." Lister's beautifully illustrated privately printed treatise on bivalves, which is the third part of his Exercitatio Anatomica. Each part was issued as a separate imprint. Lister (1639?-1712) was an English physician who made important contributions to medicine as well as to natural history, and zoology in particular. He was also an antiquarian and an avid shell collector. Nissen 2526 (3 parts); Osler 3253; Wellcome III p. 529; Wing L-2516.

 

MASSACHUSETTS SESSION LAWS 1692-1726

34. MASSACHUSETTS. LAWS. Acts and Laws, of His Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England. [Bound following:] The Charter Granted ... to the Inhabitants of the Province of the Massachusetts-Bay in New-England. Boston: B. Green, for Benjamin Eliot, 1726. Folio. [2], 14, [2], 347, [1], 17 p. Contemporary panelled sheep, the panel formed in blind by a two-line fillet enclosing a single ornamental roll with an ornament stamped diagonally at each corner, the whole enclosed within a blind two-line fillet around the perimeter of the covers, spine undecorated. The title page of the Charter is mounted and with the upper three lines and upper part of the border in early pen facsimile, F3 with a tear at inner margin (no loss), few short marginal tears, free endpapers wanting, otherwise very good and clean. The period binding is well worn and chipped at the extremities, there is an early library blindstamp in the upper corner of each cover, and the front hinge is split but the cover is very solidly held by the cords. Several signatures of Elkanah Leonard, the earliest dated 1727. $3000.00

The session laws of Massachusetts passed between 1692 and 1726, as issued with the charter of the province, in a period binding. Cushing, Massachusetts Laws, 343, 344; Evans 2762.

 

THE GREATEST AMERICAN CONTRIBUTION TO MEDICAL SCIENCE

35. (MEDICINE). Beaumont, William. Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice, and the Physiology of Digestion. Plattsburgh [N.Y.]: Printed by F. P. Allen, 1833. 8vo. 280 p. 3 woodcut illustrations. Original tan paper-covered boards, purple-brown linen spine. Rebacked, retaining 95% of the original spine but largely obscuring the original printed paper spine label. Gathering 2L browned, as always, the usual scattered foxing, else a very good copy of a fragile book. $3000.00

First edition of perhaps the greatest American contribution to medical science. Alexis St. Martin, a French Canadian trapper, had sustained a severe gunshot wound of the abdomen. To keep the stomach's contents from spilling out, Beaumont initially capped it over with compresses. But as healing progressed, the stomach lining hypertrophied and grew some extra thickness at the opening, so that, by pouting outwards, or prolapsing, it acted as a partial stopper (as shown in the detail of plate III). The remainder of the closure was maintained by the natural muscular elasticity of the stomach walls. As a result, the stomach opening could be manipulated, the pouting-out mucosa compressed or moved aside or pushed inwards, and, for the first time in medical history, Beaumont could actually observe the processes of human digestion. In several years of studying St. Martin, Beaumont established the chemical nature of digestion, recorded the comparative rates of dissolution of foods, and noted the effects of emotions on gastric secretion. All of these observations were the basis of Pavlov's experiments a century later. Beaumont had his studies printed by a country printer in Plattsburgh, New York, a town where he had once practiced medicine. The book was neither elegant nor well-bound, and copies that have survived in good condition are rare. Grolier American One Hundred, 38 ("a book that pushed back the frontier of the mind"—preface); Grolier, Medicine, 61; Howes B-291 ("Most important American contribution to medical science"); Wellcome II p. 123; Garrison-Morton 989; Grolier/Horblit 10; Dibner, Heralds of Science, 130; Norman 152; Cordasco 30-0056.

 

FIRST SCIENTIFIC ACCOUNT OF THE EAR

36. (MEDICINE). Du Verney, Joseph Guichard. Tractatus de organo auditus, continens structuram, usum et morbos omnium auris partium. Nuremberg: Johann Zieger, 1684. 4to. [12], 48 p. 16 engraved folding plates. Nineteenth century paper wrappers. Plate 16 neatly backed, title very lightly soiled, else a very good copy. Joseph Friedrich Blumenbach's copy, with his signature on the verso of the title page. In a fine morocco-backed clamshell box. $4800.00

First edition in Latin, following the original edition (in French) published the previous year in Paris. Garrison-Morton calls Du Verney's work the "first scientific account of the structure, function and diseases of the ear." Du Verney showed the true function of the Eustachian tube, and correctly explained the mechanism of bone conduction, giving an accurate account of the bony labyrinth. Joseph Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) was an influential zoologist and anthropologist. Wellcome II p. 506; Krivatsy/NLM 3591.

 

THE SURGICAL SYDENHAM

37. (MEDICINE). Wiseman, Richard. Eight Chirurgical Treatises, on these following heads, viz. I. Of Tumours. II. Of Ulcers. III. Of Diseases of the Anus. IV. Of the King's Evil. V. Of Wounds. VI. Of Gun-Shot Wounds. VII. Of Fractures and Luxations. VIII. Of the Lues Venerea. London: For B. T. and L. M. and sold by W. Keblewhite, and J. Jones, 1697. Folio. [14], 563, [14] p., including the half title A1. Eighteenth-century paneled calf, very skillfully rebacked retaining original gilt spine, period-style label. Tiny (half-inch) repaired tear in lower margin of third leaf, else a remarkably fine, fresh copy. With the contemporary ownership signature of Stewart Sparkes on half title. $3200.00

Third edition of an important medical text first published in 1676. "Wiseman is our surgical Sydenham. He by his skill and personality helped to raise the whole status of surgery. He was the first of the great British surgeons." (Power, 198-201, quoted in ONDB) This is Wiseman's chief work, based on his experiences tending the Royalist armies. "For each topic Wiseman examines the anatomy, pathology, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis and management, adding selected case histories or observations from his vast experience. These personal observations, some brief and some in extensive detail, concern 660 individual patients, a weight of evidence which contrasts sharply with the absence or plagiarism of case histories in many contemporaneous publications. These case histories constitute a rich and unique historical record of surgical reality in seventeenth-century Britain...." (ONDB) NLM/Krivatsy 13087; Wing 3106A. See G-M 5573 and Norman 2253.

 

A CLASSIC OF AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY, WITH 277 HANDCOLORED PLATES

38. MICHAUX, FRANÇOIS A. The North American Sylva; or, A Description of the Forest Trees of the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia ... [with:] THOMAS NUTTALL. The North American Sylva ... Philadelphia, 1857. 5 vols. 277 handcolored plates. Bound in contemporary ornately blindstamped full dark brown morocco, spines lettered in gold, all edges gilt. Light to moderate foxing on some plates, very light rubbing to the extremities of the binding. A very attractive set. $6500.00

A classic of American natural history. Though originally published as separate works, with Nuttall's being a continuation of that of Michaux, the two works were combined in one edition in 1851, and reissued several times thereafter. The beautiful color plates, many of which are after Redouté, were engraved in France for Michaux, while Nuttall used the more modern method of lithography. The Michaux contains 156 handcolored plates, and the Nuttall contains 121 handcolored plates. The plates depict the leaves, nuts, and flowers and berries of trees throughout the continental United States and Canada. Sabin commented: "Of the two works united, it is no exaggeration to remark that it is the most complete work of its kind, and is a production of unrivalled interest and beauty, giving descriptions and illustrations of all the forest trees of North America...." Sabin 48695, 56351.

 

THE SECOND AMERICAN BOOK OF ROAD MAPS

39. MOORE, JOSHUA J., and THOMAS W. JONES. The Traveller's Directory: or, a Pocket Companion, Shewing the Course of the Main Road from Philadelphia to New York; and from Philadelphia to Washington: With Descriptions of the Places through which it Passes, and the Intersections of the Cross Roads ... By S. S. [sic] Moore and T. W. Jones. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1804. 8vo. [4], 37, [1], 19 [i.e., 17] p. 38 engraved strip maps on 22 plates. Modern full calf, correctly done in perfect period style with original spine label (slightly chipped at edges) remounted and original endsheets relaid. Front free endsheet chipped at fore-edge, name clipped from top blank margin of title page, intermittant light browning of text and foxing of maps, as is usual with this book. A very good copy of a book never found in fine condition. $8500.00

Second edition of the second American book of road maps, following Christopher Colles' exceedingly rare Survey of the Roads of the United States (1789), and the first road map book to provide detailed maps of the road from Philadelphia north through New Jersey to New York, and from Philadelphia south through Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia to Washington.

Joshua John Moore and Thomas W. Jones were young surveyors in the employ of the Philadelphia publisher Mathew Carey. From several letters they wrote to Carey during the course of the survey (Lea & Febiger papers, PHi), a clear picture emerges of the extremely difficult task they had undertaken. On June 29, 1801, they wrote from New York: "We should have written to you before this, had not fatigue of our daily Journies rendered repose indispensable after the finishing of our Notes and Traverses. After twelve days driving our way through an immense multitude of Questioners, Observers, laughters, & Critics, who generally thronged around us at every place, to our great discomposure at first ... we are at length arrived here. If astonishment would ensure success to a work, we may entertain strong hopes indeed of ours; but it has nearly exhausted our health, as every violent effort naturally must...."

Upon completion of the surveys, the maps were drawn by the surveyors. They locate crossroads, streams, taverns, churches and other public buildings, and occasionally private houses. Carey employed four engravers to produce the plates: William Harrison, Jr., and Francis Shallus, who did the bulk of the work, and John Draper and James Smither, Jr. The text, also assembled by Moore and Jones, describes the various towns through which the roads pass, including sites of interest to the traveler. In this second edition, published two years after the first edition of 1802, the descriptive text has been extensively corrected and expanded. The maps are identical to those in the first edition and are printed from the same plates.

The book is scarce, particularly in the nice condition of this copy. Most copies are browned and considerably foxed. For a highly detailed account of the production of this important early American map book, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 886. Howes M-778; Streeter sale 3970; S&S 6815.

 

THE FIRST AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY: 1789

40. MORSE, JEDIDIAH. The American Geography; or, A View of the Present Situation of the United States of America. Elizabeth Town: Shepard Kollock, 1789. xii, 534, [3] p. 2 folding maps. Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in correct period style, rear endpaper sympathetically replaced. Light foxing and occasional browning throughout, as usual with early American paper, a few short splits and one map tear skillfully mended. Twentieth-century owner's stamp at the foot of the dedication page and on the verso of one map. Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes bookplate. $5500.00

The first American geography, and an important early American cartographical work. Jedidiah Morse was a congregationalist minister who in 1784 published a school text, Geography Made Easy. Two years later, he began work on a comprehensive American geography. He sought assistance from many distinguished Americans, including Washington and Franklin. Governor William Livingston of New Jersey took considerable interest in the work and made numerous contributions to the text. Morse returned his thanks to Livingston by dedicating the book to him. The maps were engraved by Amos Doolittle, who compiled the map of the northern states. The map of the southern states was compiled by Joseph Purcell and depicts the "New State of Franklin" between present Tennessee and North Carolina. This copy is complete including the errata leaf and directions to the binder, leaf 3X4, and the leaf "Corrections respecting France" tipped in at the rear. For a detailed essay on the compilation and publication history of this important book, see Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800: A Descriptive Bibliography, 528. Evans 21978; Howes M840; Wheat & Brun 149, 491; ESTC W31207.

 

NEW YORK'S SONS OF LIBERTY PULL DOWN GEORGE III: 1776

41. (NEW YORK--AMERICAN REVOLUTION). Die Zerstörung der Königlichen Bild Säule zu New Yorck | La Destruction de la Statue Royale a Nouvelle Yorck. Augsburg, [ca. 1776]. Hand-colored reverse etching. 11.8 x 16.4 in. Neatly framed and glazed. One minor tear into caption at bottom, light dampstain at bottom extending slightly into image, else very good, with original hand coloring. Neatly framed and glazed. $3800.00

A famous Revolutionary War print, drawn by François Xav. Habermann for Collection de Prospects, depicting the Sons of Liberty pulling down the statue of George III in New York. Two crude ladders hold several young men swinging heavy hammers, while a group of men on the ground, with ropes around the neck and body of the statue, pull it to the ground. A large crowd of people, in the street and at windows, witness the spectacle. "A statue of the King had been erected on the Bowling Green after the repeal of the Stamp Act ... in the excitement engendered by the Declaration of Independence and its adoption by the Provincial Congress of New York on 9 July 1776 the royal statue was pulled down. The statue of the Earl of Chatham, a strong advocate of reconciliation, was not touched. This destruction was both a gesture of patriotic triumph and one of defiance, in a city politically divided and threatened with occupation."--BL, War of American Independence, 97; cf. Cresswell 263. For recent scholarship, see Christopher Pierce, "Practicing Peeping! New Notes and Comments on the Collection des Prospects of New York City," Imprint 32 (2007), pp. 10-24.

 

NEWTON'S TREATISE ON OPTICS: 1721

42. NEWTON, SIR ISAAC. Opticks: or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light. London: Printed [by William Bowyer] for William and John Innys, 1721. 8vo. [8], 382, [2] p. 12 folding engraved plates. Contemporary paneled calf, skillfully rebacked in period style. Light dampstain on front and rear endpapers, else a very good, clean copy. $4500.00

Third edition, considerably enlarged from the original edition of 1704. Babson 135; Wallis 177; ESTC T131541.

 

LAWS OF NORTH CAROLINA, 1715-1790

43. NORTH CAROLINA. LAWS. Laws of the State of North-Carolina. Published ... by James Iredell. Edenton: Hodge & Wills, 1791. Folio. [4], 712, xxi, [3] p. Modern calf-backed marbled boards, very skillfully executed in period style. Short marginal tear on 6L2, edges of title darkened from leather turn-ins, expected light foxing and toning, but a very good copy, in a correct period-style binding. $3500.00

A compilation of all the laws of North Carolina from 1715 through 1790, assembled by the noted North Carolina jurist James Iredell. Includes an extensive index. Evans 23641; Tower 639.

 

ONE OF THE GREAT ARCHITECTURAL LITHOGRAPHS OF NEW JERSEY

44. NOTMAN, JOHN. State Capitol of New Jersey at Trenton. Built, 1794. Altered & Enlarged 1845 & 46. Philadelphia: T. Sinclair's lith., [ca. 1845]. Large folio (42 x 61 cm. plus full original margins). Professionally cleaned and very skillfully colored. One very light crease in the sky and a few very small marginal tears very neatly and unobtrusively repaired. Correctly framed in a period-style, leaf-gilt antiqued frame, acid-free fillets under the rabbet, by one of America's leading museum framers. A beautiful example. $3000.00

By 1845 New Jersey's State House--built in 1794--had become both inadequate and in need of considerable repair. Philadelphia architect John Notman was retained to prepare a set of drawings, which were accepted, that dramatically altered and enlarged the original structure. Construction began in 1845 and was completed the next year. See C. M. Greiff, John Notman, Architect (1979), pp. 82-90. At some point in the process drawings by Notman were provided to the Sinclair firm, which produced three lithographs: one depicting the original 1794 structure, and two depicting the Notman alterations and addition, one a northeast and the other a southeast perspective. All three are very rare today: in over forty years of handling New Jerseyana, this southeast view is the first of the three that we have ever offered for sale. This is a lovely copy, on a full uncut sheet, tastefully colored, and beautifully and correctly framed. Felcone, Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, 109. Cannot be shipped.

 

FIRST PRINTING OF BLACKSTONE IN AMERICA

45. PARKER, JAMES. Conductor Generalis: or, The Office, Duty and Authority of Justices of the Peace, High-Sheriffs ... Constables, Gaolers ... To which is added, A Treatise on the Law of Descents in Fee-Simple: By William Blackstone.... Woodbridge, in New-Jersey: Printed and sold by James Parker; sold also by John Holt ... in New-York, 1764. 8vo. xvi, 592 p. Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in period style retaining original spine label. Edges of front free endpaper neatly guarded, the usual light foxing inherent in colonial American paper, else a lovely copy. With the contemporary signature of "Wm. Smith" on front flyleaf. $2800.00

First edition of the first legal treatise printed in New Jersey, the first printing of Blackstone in America, and one of the most substantial books both written and printed by a colonial American printer. James Parker was a justice of the peace in New Jersey as well as the colony's first printer, having established his press at Woodbridge in 1754. His legal manual was based upon earlier English works of a similar nature, chiefly Burn, but was considerably altered to suit American needs. Blackstone's treatise on descents was the first work of that author to be printed in America. Parker's Conductor Generalis was a shared edition and exists with three varying title page imprints. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 90; Bristol B2507; ESTC W38802.

 

PORTLAND MUSEUM CATALOGUE: 1786

46. (PORTLAND MUSEUM). Skinner & Co. A Catalogue of the Portland Museum, Lately the Property of the Duchess Dowager of Portland ... which will be sold by auction, by Mr. Skinner and Co. ... 1786. London, 1786. 4to. viii, [3]-194 p. Engraved frontis. Neat modern quarter calf. Lightly foxed throughout, and a bit heavier on the first and last few leaves, but a very good copy. $5500.00

An important auction catalogue consisting chiefly of natural history specimens, many of which had been collected by Cook from New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, &c. Just over 4000 lots were dispersed in the course of 38 sessions. "Shells, Corals, Petrefactions, Minerals, eggs of Birds &c." were on the block. The frontispiece is a wonderful view of highlights of the collection, formed by Margaret Cavendish Bentinck, second duchess of Portland (1714-1785), with pride of place given to the monumental vase today known as the Portland vase and now in the British Museum. Many of the natural history specimens were given to the duchess by Sir Joseph Banks. This copy is numbered 267 in a contemporary hand. Forbes 116.

 

MOST DESIRABLE LITHOGRAPH OF PRINCETON

47. (PRINCETON UNIVERSITY--PRINT). View of Nassau Hall, Princeton, N.J. Drawn by F. Childs. Lith. & Printed in Colours by Robertson, Seibert & Shearman ... N.Y. [Princeton]: Published by George Thompson, [ca. 1860]. Colored lithograph. 15.5 x 19.5 in. plus 3/4 in. (sight) margins. A few small and entirely unobtrusive foxing spots, else a fine, fresh copy. Correctly and tastefully matted and framed in a modern gilt-style frame. A lovely example, ready to hang. Cannot be shipped. $2800.00

The most desirable lithograph of Nassau Hall, depicting a front view of the building immediately after its 1855–59 restoration by architect John Notman. To the left and right of Nassau Hall are shown other college buildings; in the foreground, on the sidewalk and street just outside of the iron fence, are several gentlemen and a lady conversing; in the center, an elegant barouche drawn by two high-stepping horses carries three handsomely dressed passengers. The lithograph is after a painting by F. Childs and was published by George Thompson, a bookseller, stationer, and publisher on Nassau Street opposite the college. The print has become quite rare, particularly in nice condition. Felcone, Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, 99. See also H. T. Peters, America on Stone (1931), pp. 336–337, and H. L. Savage, ed., Nassau Hall, 1756–1956, (1956), pp. 159–161, 175, and plate VII.

 

THE REVOLUTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA

48. RAMSAY, DAVID. The History of the Revolution of South-Carolina, from a British Province to an Independent State. Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1785. 2 vols. xx, 453 p.; xx, 574 p.). 5 folding maps. Contemporary calf, rebacked retaining original spine labels. Large map neatly backed, dampstaining in both volumes. A good-plus copy. $7500.00

First edition of one of the classic accounts of the Revolutionary War in the South, written by a participant who was also a fine historian. Ramsay conceived the idea of writing the book while a British prisoner in Saint Augustine, Florida, in 1780 and 1781. Once the book was completed, it was almost certainly Ramsay's father-in-law, John Witherspoon, who suggested that it be printed by Isaac Collins in Trenton. Most copies were bound by Robert Aitken in Philadelphia. The five maps were engraved by Thomas Abernethie in Charleston. In an effort to reach the widest possible market, Ramsay had copies sent to London publisher Charles Dilly. However, Dilly was concerned that Ramsay had been pointedly critical of several army officers who still enjoyed the esteem of the British public and that to advertise the book for sale would expose him to attacks by the crown lawyers and perhaps to personal violence. He sold only a few copies, and the book was, in effect, banned in England. Poet Philip Freneau responded with a poem, "On prohibiting the sale of Dr. David Ramsay's history of the revolution of South-Carolina, in London." In April 1789 Ramsay petitioned Congress to have his work protected by a federal copyright, and it became the first book so protected when the first copyright act was passed by Congress in May 1790. For a detailed essay on the printing, publishing, and distribution of the book, see Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800: A Descriptive Bibliography, 418. Evans 19211; Wheat & Brun 545, 593-597; Streeter Sale 1135; Howes R36; ESTC 20465.

 

LAWS OF RHODE ISLAND, 1745-1752

49. RHODE ISLAND. Acts and Laws of His Majesty's Colony of Rhode-Island, and Providence Plantations, in New-England, in America. From Anno 1745, to Anno 1752. Newport: J. Franklin, 1752. Fol. [8], 110 p. Contemporary marbled paper wrappers, recently bound in lovely full calf, antique. A fine, fresh copy inside and out. $2800.00

Laws of the Rhode Island colony from 1745 through 1752, being a continuation of the compilation of 1745. The printer was Benjamin Franklin's nephew, James Franklin, Jun. Alden 128, Evans 6919.

 

THE RARE FIRST EDITION

50. SCHAEFFER, JACOB C. ... Elementa Entomologica.... Regensburg: Gedruckt mit Weissischen Schriften, 1766. 4to. [186] p. 140 hand colored engraved plates on 72 leaves (of which 4 are printed on one side only). Text in Latin and German. Modern full calf, antique. Margins of first few leaves stained from turn-in of original binding, very minor occasional foxing, light old mildew stain on upper corners of binding, else a very good copy, with beautiful, clean plates. $6000.00

The rare first edition of this important German insect book. The beautifully engraved and colored plates include images of the collector's cabinet as well as his collecting apparatus. Only two imperfect copies of the first edition have sold at major auction within the last 35 years. Nissen, ZBI, 3626.

 

IN QUITE REMARKABLE CONDITION

51. SCHOOLCRAFT, HENRY R. Historical and Statistical Information, Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States.... Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. [et al], 1851-57. 6 volumes, thick folio. Approx. 330 lithographed and steel-engraved plates, many tinted, some hand colored or chromolithographed, largely after artist Seth Eastman. Original half dark green morocco, marbled paper sides, reddish-brown endpapers, in remarkably fine condition--bright and fresh. Engraved fore-titles moderately foxed; black-and-white plates and tissue guards range from entirely unfoxed to moderately foxed with most lightly foxed in the margins; color plates largely unfoxed, a few lightly foxed in the margins. $20,000.00

First edition of the most extensive nineteenth-century study of the Native American tribes of North America, compiled under the direction of Henry R. Schoolcraft, longtime Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and profusely illustrated, largely from paintings and drawings by artist Seth Eastman. The six massive volumes were issued both in cloth and in half morocco, as here. Because of their weight, the volumes almost never survived in fine condition, and nearly every copy is either in a worn and shabby original binding or has been rebound. All exhibit varying degrees of foxing. The present copy appears to have had little if any use, and other than very light wear along the bottoms of the boards, the binding is remarkably fine and bright. A lovely collector's copy. Howes S183.

 

FIRST GAZETTEER OF THE UNITED STATES: 1795

52. SCOTT, JOSEPH. The United States Gazetteer: Containing an Authentic Description of the Several States, their Situation, Extent, Boundaries ... their Respective Counties.... Philadelphia: F. and R. Bailey, 1795. 12mo. [iii]-vi, [294] p. Engraved title, large engraved folding map of the U.S., and 18 smaller engraved folding maps of states and territories. Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked retaining the original spine label, endpapers neatly replaced with period paper. Usual light offsetting on the maps and on the facing text pages, a few stray spots, else a very good, very attractive copy. Early signature of J. McKnight. $8,000.00

First edition of the first gazetteer of the United States, with nineteen maps drawn and engraved by the author. Included are maps from Maine to South Carolina and Kentucky, as well as important early maps of the Northwest Territory and the Southwest Territory. Scott introduces his work in a short preface: ". . . what was but a few years ago, a pathless region, is now become a rich, and flourishing settlement; interspersed with pleasant towns, and thriving villages." Evans 29476, Howes S237, Rink 225, Wheat & Brun 125 (U.S. map, plus all state and territory maps).

 

SOURCE FOR THE BOOK OF MORMON?

53. SMITH, ETHAN. View of the Hebrews; Exhibiting the Destruction of Jerusalem; the Certain Restoration of Judah and Israel; the Present State of Judah and Israel; and an Address of the Prophet Isaiah Relative to their Restoration. Poultney, Vt.: Smith & Shute, 1823. 12mo. 187 p. Contemporary mottled sheep. Usual scattered foxing, else a very good, tight copy. $3000.00

First edition. An argument that the American Indians were descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel. This argument reappeared in Joseph Smith's (no relation) Book of Mormon published seven years later, and many have attempted to establish a connection between the two works. However Ethan Smith's argument was a popular one, advanced by many theological writers over the years. Smith (1762-1849) was a Congregationalist minisher in Vermont. The book was reprinted and slightly enlarged in 1825 and copies are seen on the market with some frequency, but this first edition is quite rare in trade. Rosenbach 252; Pilling 3655; Shoemaker 14138.

 

FIRST EDITION, FIRST STATE, IN A LOVELY CONTEMPORARY BINDING

54. SUCKLING, SIR JOHN. Fragmenta Aurea. A Collection of all the Incomparable Peeces, Written by Sir John Suckling ... Printed by his owne Copies. London: For Humphrey Moseley, 1646. [6], 119, [7], 82, 64, [4], 52 p. Engraved port. by William Marshall. Contemporary calf, gilt fillet and cornerpieces, red morocco spine label. Portrait and first two leaves with two very tiny holes at the gutter, worm trail in lower margin of first three gatherings, else a very nice copy in a lovely contemporary binding. Bookplate of C. Pearl Chamberlain and book label of Abel Berland. Fine red morocco pull-off case. Accompanied by an A.L.S. of John Suckling (1569-1627), father of the poet, Goodfathers, 29 July 1625, to an unnamed recipient, seeking information on his election as a burgess in Yarmouth. $6000.00

First edition, first state of the title, with "FRAGMENTA AVREA" in upper case, a period after "Churchyard" in the imprint, and the rule under the date; A3v:16 reads "allowred." Second state of the frontispiece, re-incised with heavier lines around the leaves of the garland and the bulge in the left sleeve. According the Beaurline and Clayton, the plate was most certainly re-incised in the course of printing and is fairly evenly distributed with the various states of the title. Suckling is perhaps best remembered for the fine lyrics in his dramas, including the famous line "Why so pale and wan, fond lover?" (in Aglaura). D'Avenant called Suckling the greatest gallant and gamester of his day. He is also remembered as the inventor of the game of cribbage. L. A. Beaurline and T. Clayton, "Notes on Early Editions of Fragmenta Aurea," Studies in Bibliography 23 (1970), pp. 165-170; Greg III, 1130; Hayward 84; Pforzheimer 996; Wing S-6126.

 

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: ONE OF THE FOUNDATION DOCUMENTS

55. THOMSON, JOHN. An Enquiry, Concerning the Liberty, and Licentiousness of the Press, and the Uncontroulable Nature of the Human Mind: Containing an Investigation of the Right which Government have to Controul the Free Expression of Public Opinion, Addressed to the People of the U. States. New York: Johnson & Stryker, for the author, 1801. 84 p. Removed from a bound volume. Some foxing and spotting, marginal stains on the first few pages and one or two internal pages. A good-to-very good copy. In a neat cloth folding box with leather label. $2800.00

First and only edition of one of the classic early American texts on freedom of the press and individual freedom in general. "Let the whig and tory, the royalist and aristocrate, the republican and democrat, or by whatever other name the partizans of political parties are designated . . . be allowed to express their opinions, whether by speech or press, with the same unconstrained freedom with which men of science discuss their subjects of investigation. No more danger will result from one discussion, than arises from the other. . . ." Little is known about Thomson though he appears to have been, at times, a hair dresser and the proprietor of a placement office for domestic help. S&S 1409; McCoy, Freedom of the Press, T102.

 

VIRGIL ENGLISHED, 1562

56. VIRGIL. The Nyne fyrst bookes of the Eneidos of Virgil converted into Englishe vearse by Thomas Phaer. London: By Rouland Hall, for Nicholas Englande, 1562. 4to. [220] p. Woodcut on title. Text in black letter. Nineteenth-century morocco, ruled in gilt, edges gilt. Extremities lightly worn, minor scuffing. First quire washed and neatly extended at top edge, possibly supplied from another copy. A few internal repairs, else a very good copy with excellent full margins. Rubislaw House bookplate of John Morgan. $11,000.00

A rare early edition in English verse of Virgil's Aeneid, translated by Thomas Phayer (1510?-1560). Edited by William Wightman. STC 24800.

 

HISTORY OF VIRGINIA

57. (VIRGINIA). [Beverley, Robert]. The History of Virginia, in Four Parts ... By a Native and Inhabitant of the Place. London: For F. Fayram and J. Clarke, and T. Bickerton, 1722. [8], 284, [24] p. + [4] p. ads. Engraved fore-title, 14 engraved plates. Slightly later calf. Spine rubbed, front hinge begining to crack but held firmly by the cords. Some light marginal foxing, but a very good, very attractive copy. $2800.00

The revised and enlarged second edition of the first history of Virginia written by a native. Beverley was a planter who spent most of his life in Virginia, and his work is a reliable contemporary account of life in that colony. The work first appeared in 1705. Howes B410.

 

RARE 1874 WYOMING PROMOTIONAL WORK

58. (WYOMING). Wyoming (Territory). The Territory of Wyoming. Its History, Soil, Climate, Resources, etc. Laramie City: Daily Sentinel Print, Dec. 1874. 83, [1] p. Blue printed wrappers. A long diagonal tear in the lower corner of the title page has been neatly closed with a strip of cellophane tape on either side (touching one letter of type), spine ends a bit chipped, else a very good, clean copy, with the wrappers in lovely condition. $4500.00

The first book printed at Laramie, Wyoming, written only five years after the territory was organized. Compiled and issued by the territory's board of immigration, the work was written to attract settlers to an area that was still largely unexplored. The text includes detailed information about cattle and sheep ranching including costs of starting a ranch and projected profits. The territory's commissioner of immigration was J. K. Jeffrey, who Howes credits as the text's author. The book is quite rare: only one copy appears in the auction records in the last 40 years (Swann, 1995). Howes "b" J85; Streeter Sale 2244; Adams, Herd, 2638.

 

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