Rare books from Classic Books and Ephemera

Chester, England: J. Fletcher, 1804. Hardcover. Fair +. Printed by J. Fletcher; and sold in London by E. Williams, Bookseller of Wales. xxiii, [i], 62, [2] p.; 17 cm. Original brown paper spine and grey paper over boards. Wood-engraved head pieces and tail pieces. First edition. The author, Richard Llwyd (1752-1835), was a Welsh poet known as the "Bard of Snowdon." In Fair+ Condition: paper over spine is lacking; covers are soiled and faintly dampstained; tail of spine and lower corners of boards and pages have rodent damage, without affecting text; pages are clean and bright. An extremely scarce work.

London, Eng: Darton and Harvey, 1806. Hardcover. Good +. iv, [4], 424 p.: folded engraved frontispiece map, 3 folded leaves of engravings; 18 cm. Full calf with six spine compartments between gilt rules. Front fixed endpaper bears former owner's name: E.J. Deane. At head of title page is inscription: G.A. Finch 1807. In Good+ Condition: one vertical crack down spine; front board detached but present; back joint starting, but stitching is solid; small amount of leather lacking at ends of spine; frontispiece map and one other engraving each have a small repair; otherwise plates are clean and solid; text is clean and bright. A scarce copy of this fictional "tour" of Asia Minor and the Greek islands, based by the author on actual travel accounts of the area.

Philadelphia, Pa: Conrad Zentler, 1813. Hardcover. Very Good. viii, 538, [24] p.; 18 cm. Signatures: pi4 A-3A6. Full calf with clasps; six spine compartments between raised bands. Printed in two columns. Wood-engraved title vignette, wood-engraved head-pieces and tail-pieces. Includes indices to names of tunes and titles. Ownership inscriptions on front endpapers of Joseph Keinbach, 1857, and ? Schneider, 1867. First Century of German Language Printing in the U.S., 1988, which states that this is a revised edition of the Schwenkfelder hymnbook printed in 1762 in Germantown, Pa., by Christoph Saur. Early Am. Imprints (Shaw & Shoemaker), 29737. Hymnal without music, as was typical of German-language hymnals of this period. In Very Good Condition: leather is rubbed; a few page corners creased; foxing and darkening of paper throughout; otherwise clean and tight. A solid copy with intact clasps.

Napoli [Naples, Italy]: Michele Stasi, 1779. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good. 2 volumes bound together ([2], vi, 307, [1] p.; [2], 264 p.): engraved frontispiece portrait of Redi by A. Zaballi; 21 cm. Contemorary full vellum with gilt-stamped spine title. All page edges marbled. Both fixed endpapers are hand-decorated. Red ribbon book mark. Woodcut title vignette (printer's device?), initial letters, and headpieces. Francesco Redi (1626-1698) was a poet and court physician to Ferdinando II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his successor, Cosimo III. His series of experiments, published in 1668 as Esperienze Intorno alla Generazione degl'Insetti (Experiments on the Generation of Insects), helped to refute the theory of spontaneous generation. In Very Good Condition: ends of spine and corners are rubbed; shadow on title page of vol. 1 from frontispiece; discoloration on pp. 223-230; pp. 262-290 are heavily foxed; otherwise scattered foxing.

Paris: Durand, Pissot, 1752. Hardcover. Very Good. Title page continued: "Un Mémoire sur la Maniere de faire le Saffre; Le Secret des Vraies Porcelaines de Chine & de Saxe. Ouvrages ou l'on trouvera la maniere de faire le Verre & le Crystal, d'y porter des Couleurs, d'imiter les Pierres Prétieuses, de préparer & colorer les Emaux, de faire la Potasse, de Peindre sur le Verre, de préparer des Vernis, de composer des Couvertes pour les Fayances & Poteries, d'extraire la Couleur Pourpre de l'Or, de contrefaire les Rubis, de faire le Saffre, de faire & peindre les Porcelaines, &c. Traduits de l'allemand, par M. D***." [4], lv, [1], 629, [3] p., 16 leaves of copperplate engravings, including the frontispiece (most folded); 26 cm. Contemporary full calf with six spine compartments between raised bands. Orange leather spine label in second compartment with gilt-tooled title; gilt-tooled decoration in other… Read More

Philadelphia: David McKay Co, 1931. Hardcover. Very Good +/fair. Wyeth, N. C.. [4], 163 p.: color frontispiece and 7 additional leaves of color illustrations; 25 cm. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt-stamped spine title; color front cover pastedown. White dust jacket repeating the front cover pastedown illustration on the front section. Illustrated endpapers. Dedication page bears an inscription by the author, along with a separate gift inscription dated Christmas 1931. The illustrations by N.C. Wyeth were the result of a commission by the Unitarian Laymen's League. Presents 29 Parables of Jesus, grouped in three categories: Parables of the Kingdom, Parables Illustrating the Grace of God, and Parables of Moral Instruction and Warning. Book is in Very Good+ Condition: spine slightly soiled and sunned; both boards are clean and bright; minor soiling on p. 13; otherwise pages and illustrations are clean and bright. Dust jacket is in Fair Condition: old repairs on inside; sections of dust… Read More

Hamburg, Ger: T.C. Felginers Wittwe und Joh. Carl Bohn, 1739. Hardcover. Good -. Title continued: "Wobey zugleich die Eigenschaften der Geister überhaupt mit erörtert." Zweytes Stück, Dritte Betrachtung. [8], xvi, 543, [1] p.; 21 cm. Signatures: )(4 a-b4 A-Y4 (4to). Original brown cloth spine and marbled paper over boards. The four-leaf dedication to a former mayor of Hamburg, Johann Anderson, (signed )(4 and dated May 4, 1740) is inserted following the title page. Woodcut title vignette printer's device signed C. Fritzsch sc [Christian Fritzsch (1695-1747)]. Woodcut head- and tailpieces. Druckfehler on final, unpaginated, page. In Good- Condition: the original binding is quite worn: most of cloth lacking from spine and fore-edge of front board partially lacking; pp. 193-240 (signatures 2B-2G) are detached from text block as a unit; occasional light foxing and faint dampstain at upper edge or fore-edge; otherwise clean and complete.

Budissin, Ger. [Bautzen, Ger.]: George Gotthold Monse, 1801. Hardcover. Good -. xii, 676, [4] p.; 20 cm. Contemporary full calf with six spine compartments between raised bands. Black-tooled title and decoration in second compartment. All page edges red. Woodcut headpiece on p. 1. Writing in an old hand at foot of title page. First edition. The author, Georg Heinrich Loskiel (1740-1814), was a Moravian minister from Latvia who came to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in 1801 to head the Moravian community. This collection of daily spiritual meditations was published in Budissin (now Bautzen, Ger.) shortly before he left Europe for the United States. In 1802 he was appointed presiding bishop of the Northern district of the American province of the Moravian Church. Very scarce. In Good- Condition: leather is rubbed with slight loss at ends of spine and corners; front joint is partially separated; back joint is starting at head of spine; lacking the second and third leaves of the index; lacking… Read More

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1904. Hardcover. Very Good -. 4 volumes (published 1904-1908): 891 in-text illustrations, 3 leaves of folded charts; 25 cm. Maroon cloth with gilt-stamped spine title. Includes indices. Garrison-Morton 5947. Bookplate on front fixed endpapers of Raymond C. Warner. Small blue bookseller's label at lower edge of front fixed endpapers of Henry Kimpton, medical bookseller and publisher, London. The monumental contribution to the field of opthamology which made its author, Sir John Herbert Parsons (1868-1957), a recognized world authority. In Very Good- Condition: spines are faded; edges lightly rubbed; vol. 4 head of spine frayed, on others just starting; vol. 3 hinges are starting; pages are clean.

Harrisburg, Pa: Board of Commissioners for the Second Geological Survey, 1883. Hardcover. Very Good -. Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania: 1883. xx, 574, 5, [1] p., frontispiece map and 54 leaves of plates: 60 in-text illustrations; 23 cm. Original grey cloth with gilt-stamped spine title. Without the separate atlas containing 25 large plates listed on p. [vii]. Whitpain Library Co. stamps on front endpapers. Printed slip attached to front free endpaper stating that the volume was "Compliments of Theodore M. Harrar, House of Representatives." The Whitpain Library Company was a subscription library established in 1817 in Broad Ax, a village in Whitpain Township, Pennsylvania; in 1884 it contained 2,000 volumes. Theodore M. Harrar (b. 1846) represented Montgomery County in the Pennsylvania House in 1883 and 1884. In Very Good- Condition: cloth is rubbed and faded; most of gilt is lacking from spine; three small splits in cloth; one plate is detached but present; otherwise, clean and tight.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic: Fotografía Manon, 1916. Very Good. 15 5-x-7-inch black-and-white photographs: 8 of the USS Memphis (wrecked by a tidal wave on the coast of the Dominican Republic on 29 Aug. 1916); 1 of the memorial service for sailors who drown when the Memphis was wrecked; and 6 of American military personnel in camp. Four of the USS Memphis photos have "Foto: Mañon" on the front. Fotografía Mañon was located in Santo Domingo. In Very Good Condition: a few small scrapes; no writing on front or back.

Philadelphia: Printed by James Kay, Jun. & Brother, 1837. Near Fine. [1], 250-296 p.: tables; 29 cm. Disbound from a larger volume. "Communicated to the American Philosophical Society, 6th March 1835." Includes Errata on p. 296. Father Najera (1803-1853) was a linguist who was in exile in Philadelphia from his native Mexico in the 1830s when he presented his important study of the Otomi language. the study was first published separately in 1835, prior to its appearance in the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. In Near Fine Condition: disbound from a larger volume; clean and bright.

1776. Near Fine. 56 x 75 cm. Attractive calligraphy on vellum. Christopher Gullett of Exeter, gentleman, grants to the Rev. Saint Andrew Saint John of Somerly in Southampton Co., John Burton of Jacobstow in Devon Co., esq., and Ambrose Hall of London, administrators and assigns, the property known as Hayton in Sampford Spiney, Devon Co. With an ebossed grey-and-gilt one shilling stamp affixed to one side and an engraved stamp on the reverse; and the signature of Christopher Gullett at the lower edge with a red seal. Sealed and delivered in the presence of Wm. Kirkby and H. Hall. In Near Fine Condition: exterior when folded slightly soiled; otherwise, clean and bright.

Stratford, Ont: McLagan Furniture Co, 1915. Paperback. Very Good -. [1], 31 leaves: illustrations; 31 x 45 cm. Brown card covers with gilt embossed cover title; stapled. No date of publication. George McLagan established his furniture business in Stratford, Ontario, in 1905. This catalog features suites for the dining room and bedroom, and funiture for the hall, parlor, living room, study, and office. Allthough 4 "record cabinets" are included, no photograph cabinets are shown, which were introduced by McLagan in 1916. Scarce. In Very Good- Condition: cover is lightly rubbed and soiled; creasing and minor loss at corners; closed 6-cm. tear from lower edge of back cover; 3 closed tears of 2 cm. or less from upper and lower edges of front cover; light soiling of upper corner on some leaves; otherwise, clean and solid.

Washington, D.C.: Office of the Vice President, 1953. Near Fine. 1 typed letter on Office of the Vice President letterhead with eagl watermark, signed by Richard Nixon, dated 7 July 1953. Nixon was sending forms to Bryan F. LaPlante, Chief, Washington Area Security Operations, Atomic Energy Commission, to obtain a "Q" clearance for Christian A. Herter, Jr., who was to join Nixon's staff. Bears stamp of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission in lower corner. Christian A. Herter, Jr. (1919-2007), had served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives until his father, Christian A. Herter, Sr., was elected governor in 1953. Later that year he became an aide to Vice President Richard Nixon, travelling to Asia with him. In the 1960s he joined Mobil Oil, becoming Vice President in 1967. In 1970, then President Nixon appointed him deputy assistant secretary of state for environmental and population affairs. In Near Fine Condition: lightly creased; one small spot near left-hand edge; otherwise, clean… Read More