Rare books from Nicholas D. Riccio Rare Books & Prints

Folio, recently rebound in calf, consists of 7 books in one volume, folding map (linen-backed), [30], map, 38, [2], 75, 238, [2], 128-222, 100, 88, 118, [4] pp. As usual, lacking errata leaves, and first two blanks, left half of map made up in facsimile, first signature A (AN ATTESTATION, which should be bound after the title page is placed before the map) is bound incorrectly after D (per Church and Holmes). All preliminaries are present. Minor marginal annotations, dampstaining affecting upper inner quarter of the first three books, some chips and folds in corners, occasional soiling, and wax remnant on title, leaves 6L2 and 6L3 with smaller margins, apparently taken from another copy; modern bookplate tipped in on front pastedown. First ad leaf out of register and trim, the other worn and extended at the inner margin, both with slight loss of text. Handsomely rebound in full panel calf, sewn endbands, title label on spine. The first edition of Cotton Mather's (1663-1728) Magnalia Christi Americana… Read More

12mo (6 ¾ x 3 ¾), period sheep, rebacked with modern leather, old spine label, two wood engraved frontispiece portraits, 326 pp. Housed in custom made half morocco folding box. Covers a little worn and scuffed, contents foxed with some browning and soiling; lower corner of pp. 29-30 torn off, affecting a few words, and a tear on pp. 81-82; otherwise very good. Some sources suggest there are one or two other plates in this title, but only the portraits are bound in this volume.The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806) was the first overland expedition by the United States to go to the Pacific coast. This was an extremely important expedition because it laid the groundwork for the Western Expansion, and gave our government a first hand account of the resources we picked up with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The expedition was led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, but was greatly assisted by Sacajawea, their Native American guide and translator. This work was published because of the growing… Read More

2 volumes, folio, period three quarter green morocco, spines gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt, 74 plates (39 in color) illustrated by Archibald Thorburn, O. Murray Dixon, H. Gronvold and the author. Limited to 450 copies (this set is number 232). Spines faded a bit, a few small scuffs, some marginal foxing and staining, repaired tears to two leaves. Overall a nice set John Guille Millais (1865-1931) was an English naturalist and artist who specialized in wildlife and flower painter. He was also a highly respected ornithologist, and produced a few important bird books between 1890 and 1914, including British Diving Ducks.This is a beautifully executed work that provides wonderful illustrations of birds and eggs. Extra postage required.

8vo, original bull sheep with four raised boards, iii-viii, 280,168, 16pp. Benezet title is bound at the end (16 pp.). Binding very worn and rubbed, hinges weak, binding slightly warped, missing endpapers, pages 53-56 are torn, page 5 and 6 is torn in half in Harley’s A Discourse on Mistakes Concerning Religion, last page chipped and folded a bit, but with no material impact on text, internally somewhat, soiled, foxed and aged. Anthony Benezet (1713-1784) was born into a French Huguenot family that moved to London when he was two years old. At seventeen, his family moved to Philadelphia, and he became a Quaker. He became a teacher and established the first public school for girls in America, and along the way he managed to teach slave children from his home. In 1770, with the help of the Quakers, he set up the Negro School at Philadelphia, which he taught at until his death. The current work has the distinction of being one of the earliest and most important anti-slavery efforts printed in America… Read More

8vo, contemporary cloth, illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Boone, and 9 full page illustrations, 252pp. Binding shows some wear, and book has slight tilt. Frontispiece somewhat faded, the usual foxing, and a little staining. Has been rebacked, and overall is in very good condition. This is a first edition, second issue of Flint’s (1780-1840) popular biography of Boone. This work appeared in some 14th editions, and did much to establish Boone as a frontier legend. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of exaggeration in the work, which is illustrated with several illustrations showing Boone, in a coonskin hat, shooting panthers, fighting bears, and exploring the ‘wild frontier’. In reality, Boone (1734-1820) did live a colorful life, even if he didn’t shoot panthers off the backs of buffaloes. He was an Indian fighter, an explorer, and even fought in the French and Indian War. While Boone will forever be linked with the early settlement of Kentucky, he did live in West Virginia for ten… Read More

8vo, full leather, morocco label on spine,, 55; [1], [2], 38, [1]; iv, 115 pp. Handsomely rebound in leather, with new endpapers. Internally a little browned but pretty clean, however one leaf is bound in backwards. George Whitefield (1714-1770) was born in Gloucester England in 1714. Although he was the son of an innkeeper, he did manage to get an education and graduated from Pembroke College at Oxford in 1736. He went on to become a very important religious leader in the 18th century, and he, not John Wesley, is believed to be the real founder of Methodism. During his career he made several trips to America, and became an important religious leader on both sides of the Atlantic. He had excellent oratory skills, and would often attract thousands at open air sermons. Benjamin Franklin in his autobiography refers to these skills, and mentions that after vowing to give Whitefield nothing because of a disagreement, ended up emptying his pockets completely after listing to Whitefield preach. His journals… Read More

Original illustrated wrappers, tall 8vo (7 1/4 x 9 3/4), includes 12 full page illustrations in addition to wrapper illustrations. Notes and musical score on inside covers. Wrappers are chipped, and there are a cople of pieces missing from the top of the back cover, but don't appear to be affecting text. Spine is split but holding, thanks to tape spine; some minor soiling. The song 'Ten Little Niggers' emerged from the minstrel shows in the South shortly after the Civil War.These shows became increasingly racist as time went on. They were known as Jim Crow shows and then became coon shows. While 'Ten Little Niggers' would appear in Children's nursery rhyme books, there real purpose was to present blacks in demeaning ways. Tffany M.B. Anderson: "Ten Little Niggers": The Making of a Black Man's Consciousness.

3 volumes in 2, folio, full brown crushed morocco, covers and spine decorated in gilt (bound by Riviere), illustrated with three folding genealogical plates in volume 1, title pages in black and red, [x], 790, [2]; [viii], 312, 361-488, [3] pp. Pagination as issued and complete. Rubbed at joints and corners, some neat period ink notes in the page margins, scattered light foxing, library plates on pastedowns; overall very good. Sir William Dugdale (1605-1686) was born in Warwickshire, and became a noted antiquary, herald, and historian. He would study at the libraries of Oxford, which would lay the foundation for the information in the present work. However, before his Baronage of England would be published, he would produce his massive Monastican Anglicanun. The first volume of the Latin edition was published in 1655. The Baronage of England first appeared in 1676, and was a history of English aristocracy from Saxon times. It is considered an important work of genealogical scholarship.
Sir William… Read More

Pamphlet, 12mo, original printed pale blue wrappers, stapled, 40 pp. Very slight aging; near fine and an exceptional copy. Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was one of the most influential black leaders of the early 20th century. Unlike other black leaders, Garvey felt for blacks to really gain equality they would be better off going back to Africa. He was a strong champion of black separatism, feeling it was the only way to overcome racism, he even went as far as to propose alliance with white power groups, including the Ku Klux Klan (see An Appeal to the Soul of White America...). He felt the ends of the two groups were actually very similar. In 1914 Garvey founded the Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League, typically referred to as the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). This organization would probably have close to 75,000 members and would be dedicated to black advancement and uplift. Garvey was inspired by the ideas of Booker T. Washington,… Read More

Engraved map, 35.6 x 28 cm (11" x 14"), uncolored. Faint soiling, repair of centerfold with archival tape; near fine with crisp impression. Mathhaus Merian (1593-1650) was a well known engraver that would run a publishing house in Frankfurt. This very attractive map of the Americas is based on maps by Blaeu and Hondius (see Tooley & Goss). Part of the charm of this map is the somewhat primitive arrangement of the subject. North America is shown with a prominent Virginia, but with an odd New England coastline. Florida is basically a stub, and the western coastline above California makes the continent look too wide. The Great Lakes have little presence, but the map does feature a large island lake in equatorial South America. The map also includes an inset of Greenland, and you can actually see part of Europe. A rather plan title cartouche, a sea monster and Spanish Galleons decorate the map. Merian's engraved signature can be seen in the lower right. Tooley: The Mapping of America (p.299). Goss:… Read More

Double-page hand colored engraved map, 350 x 445 mm (18" x 14", decorative cartouche. Coloring likely done at a later date, but attractively applied, wide margins, very minor aging; a bright and clear impression. Guillaume Delisle (1675-1726) was a French cartographer who was considered one of the best of his age. He has even been referred to as the father of modern geography, and was appointed Premier Geographer to Louis XV in 1718. According to Tooley and Bricker his 1700 map of Africa added a level of accuracy that would hold value for decades to come. This map of Africa is map number 84 in Norwich's Maps of Africa. The coloring was probably done at a later date, but there is an attractive cartouche with several figures, including a man spearing a crocodile. The map is from an Italian edition of Delisle’s Atlante Novissimo. Tooley & Bricker: Landmarks of Mapmaking. Norwich # 84.

Letterpress broadside, 18 7/8" x 11 3/4", bold black type for highlighted words. Paper evenly toned, some wrinkling, considerable archival conservation and restoration with archival paper repair; despite the imperfections it is still a decent copy with a nice impression. This appears to fall into the political dirty tricks department in an election between John Brodhead and Henry Bumm for city treasurer in Philadelphia. The broadside is supposed to highlight a letter from John Brodhead to Jefferson Davis in 1860. It has strong racist overtones, as Brodhead supposedly requests a position in Nicaragua, so he can "help open it up to civilization and Niggers." He goes on to state he is "tired of being a white slave at the North, and long for a home in the sunny South." These kinds of political tricks were not uncommon during the Civil War period (perhaps that's still true today), and the racist overtones would certainly not help one's chances in a Northern election.

Copper engraved, double page, map, hand colored, cartouche uncolored, 49 x 59 cm (19 1/2" x 23"). Some minor soiling and aging; otherwise very good and quite colorful. Valk (1651-1726) was born in Amsterdam, and was also known as Valck. He was a fairly well known engraver and publisher, and would eventually go into partnership with Peter Schenk (1655-1718), and would produce an atlas and maps together. In fact, it seems they brought the property of the Blaeu firm, which gave them material for their maps. This is a very attractive map of Britain, and includes an inset of Orkney, Shetland and Faro islands. The map also contains a large cartouche that depicts angels and Poseidon. Bagrow p. 276.

Pamphlet, 8vo, original wrapper, illustrated, 30 pp. Slight dark ring on cover, minor ink spot, some notations and pencil marks within, small stain on rear cover, normal aging and browning; otherwise very good. Romine lived in Pulaski, Tennessee for many years, and was an intimate acquaintance of members of the original Klan. According to Romine, the original KKK used its powers to protect "superstitious Negroes" and "the ignorant lawless white element, both being rendered unruly by atrocious political influences." He adds that in the Klan's original objective was to have fun. They did this with their "farcical imitation and ceremonies attending the reception of their new members." Interestingly, it is doubtful that subsequent Klan members understand that the practices of their group were started as a joke. Romine states that the Klan started to get serious when "carpet baggers" started stirring up the Negroes. According to Romine, while the majority of Negroes remained the kind hearted folk they… Read More

Folio (12" x 15"), publisher's leather, somewhat crudely rebacked, gilt title on front cover, illustrated with engraved frontispiece and 119 chromolithographed plates with tissue guards, 182, [8] pp. Binding shaken, top cover and spine and front endpapers partially separated from text block, back joint cracked, but still attached, significant wear to covers around extremities, bookplate on front pastedown; contents clean and bright. Published in several editions, the plates are extremely attractive. Studer (1840-1904) was born in New York City, and would become a printer and lithographer. He was also an ornithologist, and seems to have been active in this field in the Columbus, Ohio area after the Civil War. However, it is believed that the plates were based on drawings by Theodore Jasper. The plates while very attractive, are believed to be designed to help with identification. Size of book will require extra postage. online Cornell library website.