Antique & Collectible Books

1693 1ed Life Louis of Bourbon Prince of Conde Huguenot v Catholic France Coste

Louis of Bourbon was a notable 16th-century Huguenot military leader who was the first Prince of the House of Conde. His life was led by much controversy including a Protestant conversion, secret plots against Francis II of France, and frequent skirmishes with the Catholic Church – which led to his arrest. The events of his life were best written by French author Pierre Coste in his book 'Life of Louis of Bourbon', more than 100 years following Louis's death.

This rare 1693 English first edition of Coste's account was translated out of the original French by Nahum Tate.

Item number: #9344
Price: $550
COSTE, Pierre
The life of Lewis of Bourbon, late prince of Conde digested into annals, with many curious remarks on the transactions of Europe for these last sixty years / done out of French.
London: Printed for Tim. Goodwin, 1693. First edition.

Details:
·
Collation: Complete with all pages; 2 parts in 1
o… Read More

1795 1ed Warwickshire River Avon England Illustrated Castles Picturesque Views

Samuel Ireland was an 18th-century English author whose "Picturesque Views" books were some of the most desirable and impressive illustrated works of the era. Ireland, known for his engravings, published numerous volumes in his 'Picturesque' series focusing on London, Holland, the Brabant, France, River Medway environs, and Westminster. But perhaps his best volume was 'On Warwickshire Avon'.

First published in 1795, 'Picturesque Views on Warwickshire Avon' was the first work dedicated solely to illustrating the environs of the River Avon and the small village of Naseby. The 32 engravings depict quaint scenes, bridges, landscapes, castles, mansions, cathedrals, and portraits of famous figures.

Item number: #21645
Price: $750

IRELAND, Samuel

Picturesque views on the upper, on Warwickshire Avon, from its source at naseby to its juction with the Severn at Tewkesbury

London: R. Faulder, 1795. First edition.

Details:… Read More

1750 1ed Jacob Cats Marriage Trou-Ringh Poetry Adam & Eve Dutch ART Engravings

One of the most prominent Dutch 'Golden Age' authors was Jacob Cats, known for his emblem books. His 17th-century masterpiece 'Trou-Ringh' (or Wedding Ring) is a treatise in verse on marriage, conjugal relationships, and fidelity based on iconic marriages from the Bible and works of classical literature. Cats identifies the relationship between Adam and Eve, David and Abigail, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, and makes connections of these marriages to Christ's relationship to his church.

Other topics include marital abuse, rape, divorce, adultery, and the marriage traditions from around the world.

This 1750 Dutch first edition was published by Kannewet in Amsterdam and includes numerous in-text emblematic illustrations.

Item number: #21882
Price: $550

CATS, Jacob

's Waerelds begin, midden, eynde, besloten in den Trou-ring, met den proef-steen van den zelven

Tot Amsterdam: by Joannes Kannewet, [1750]. 1st edition

Details:… Read More

1724 1ed Life of Cardinal Georges Amboise Catholic Papacy Italy France Gendre

Georges d'Amboise was a celebrated 15th-century Catholic French cardinal known for his influence in Italy and the papacy. In fact, his political power often superseded any religious impact he had, much in part to the numerous treaties his signed. Author Louis le Gendre published perhaps the best and most thorough account of the life and political prowess of d'Amboise. Published in 1724, this first edition is not only a biography of Amboise, but serves as an important history of the political climate between France and Italy in the 15th-century.

Item number: #21872
Price: $499

GENDRE, Louis le

Vie du cardinal d'Amboise, premier ministre de Louis XII, avec un parallèle des cardinaux illustres qui ont gouverné ces Estats

A Rouen: Chez R. Machuel, 1724. First edition.

Details:
• Collation: Complete with all pages
o [6], 564
• Provenance: Handwritten – De Thesigny
• Language: French
• Binding: Leather; tight… Read More

1858 Japanese Samurai Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi Tokugawa Osaka Castle Illustrated

This is a rare 19th century Japanese woodblock print of "Taikouki," a biography of Taihe Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a renowned samurai and daimyo considered the second "Great Unifier" of Japan following Nobunaga and preceding the Tokugawa Shogunate. Hideyoshi's legacy includes Osaka Castle, the Tokugawa class systems, and the construction of many temples still visible in Kyoto. The classic Edo era picture book is illustrated by Utagawa Kuniyoshi and depicts Hideyoshi's life and military achievements with detailed accuracy on armor, weapons, and interiors. This book is highly prized for its combination of storytelling and artistry.

This 1858 biography is written in a column handwritten format with furigana for easier reading and includes illustrations of samurai duels, siege battles, castles, court meetings, and more!

Item number: #30357
Price: $950

Utagawa Kuniyoshi

Illustrated Biography of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Ehon Toyotomi… Read More

1671 Diocese of LYON 1ed Ecclesiastical History of France Montbrison La Mure

Jean Marie de La Mure was a relatively unknown 17th-century French theologian who, aside from his service at church in Lyon and Montbrison, left very little by which to be remembered. However, he did write an interesting ecclesiastical history of the Diocese of Lyon, the diocese by which Montbrison is mostly closely associated. This 1671 first edition was published in Lyon. A rare work!

Item number: #23611
Price: $599

LA MURE, Jean Marie de

Histoire ecclésiastique du diocèse de Lyon, traitée par la suite chronologique des vies des ... Archevêques ... de Lyon

Lyon: M. Gautherin, 1671. First edition.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o [20], 408, [16]
· Provenance: Armorial bookplate – J.-Vital de Valous
o Jean-Vital de Valous (1825-1883) was a French historian and librarian. After unexpectedly going deaf at the age of 19, he devoted himself to recording the history of Lyon,… Read More

1796 Early America Thomas Paine Peter Porcupine Cobbett Rights of Man Washington
A collection of short political treatises written against Thomas Paine. Paine's political activism throughout the 18th-century caused many politicians to attack Paine through various literary means. One such figure was English radicalist William Cobbett who published under the pseudonym of Peter Porcupine who published works such as "Antidote to Tom Paine's Poison" which offered rebuttals and answers to Paine's famed "Rights of Man". This tome includes the following works:
· "Antidote to Tom Paine's Poison" by Cobbett
· "An Answer to Paine's "Rights of Man" by Makenzie
o Includes Cobbett's (Porcupine) letters regarding the same
· "An Apology for the bible in a series of Letters to Thomas Paine", by R. Watson Bishop of Landaff
o Philadelphia: James Carey, 1796.
· "A Letter to the Infamous Tom Paine, in answer to his letter to George Washington", by Cobbett
Item number: #23380
Price: $950
PORCUPINE, Peter [pseud of… Read More

1857 South Carolina Historical Society SIOUX Catawba INDIANS Henry Laurens 2v

A rare pre-Civil War edition of the collected reports from the South Carolina Historical Society. This two-volume set from 1857 contains state abstract papers, orations delivered to the Society, and other essays and treatises. Two of the more interesting found in this set includes:
· "A Narrative of the Capture of Henry Laurens"
o Founding father who was charged by the British for treason, transported to England, and imprisoned in the Tower of London. The only American to have ever been held there.
· "Vocabulary of the Catawba Language"
o Language construction and pronunciation guide for this Western Sioux language.

Item number: #23541
Price: $499

South Carolina Historical Society

Collections of the South-Carolina Historical Society

Charleston, S.C.: S.G. Courtenay & Co., 1857. 1st edition

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages – 2 volumes
o Vol 1: vi, [2], 307, [1]
o Vol 2:… Read More

1791 Leicester 1ed History of England Cathedrals Architecture King John Throsby

John Throsby was an 18th-century English historian known for his surveys of Leicester. Throsby served as Mayor of Leicester and gained was privy to much of the history and political growths of the English town, so much so, that he wrote numerous books on Leicester, most notably "History and Antiquities of the Ancient Town of Leicester". This work, first published in 1791, describes the establishment of Leicester under King John, the building of churches, cathedrals, and hospitals, as well as biographies of Leicester earls and mayors.

This impressive, full-page engravings in this 1791 first edition make it one of the best 18th-century histories of Leicester.

Item number: #23717
Price: $599

THROSBY, John

The History and Antiquities of the Ancient Town of Leicester

Leicester: printed by J. Brown, 1791. First edition.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o [6], 423, [1]
o 47 plates
·… Read More

1658 Imitation of Christ 1ed Thomas a Kempis Elzevier Dutch Rosweyde Classic

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be."
― Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

Thomas à Kempis's most famous and important work has, for centuries, been The Imitation of Christ. This important 17th-century Elzevier printing contains a life of Thomas a Kempis by Heribert Rosweyde, a Dutch hagiographer. This particular 1658 edition, according to Willems, was published in Amsterdam instead of Lyon, based on the signatures and decorative lettering; however, traditionally, Elzevier devotionals sold better in France than the Netherlands so they put a false publisher on this edition. The correct publishing city was later added to the 1674 edition with no other changes made to the edition.

Item number: #23994
Price: $750

KEMPIS, Thomas a

Th. à Kempis canonici regularis Ordin. S. August. De imitatione Christi libri quatuor

Lugduni: [i.e.… Read More

1669 Martyrdom of Saint Aquilina 12 Year Old Girl Martyr Byblos Milan Relics

Saint Aquilina was a 3rd-century Christian child from Byblos known for being martyred at only twelve years old. After leading her friends to Christ and not denouncing him in front of Volusian, Volusian ordered her to be tortured to death. After her body was disposed of, her body was miraculously raised and she denounced paganism and Governor Volusian before she was ultimately decapitated.

The story of her life was recorded by numerous historians of the time. In the 17th-century, Italian author Angelico Canevese prepared an edition life of Aquilina published in Milan, where the relics of Saint Aquilina resided in the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

Item number: #24128
Price: $599

CANEVESE, P. Angelico

L'idea del sacerdote overo vita del glorioso s. Aquilino martire le cui sante reliquie s'adorano nella Chiesa vicino all colleggiata di s. Lorenzo della citta di Milano.

In Milano: Nella Stampa di Francesco Vigone, [1669]. 1st… Read More

1870 Origin of Species EVOLUTION Thomas Huxley Essays Darwin Philosophy Science

"Life is too short to occupy oneself with the slaying of the slain more than once."
– Thomas Huxley

Charles Darwin is unquestionably the most prolific evolutionist of the 19th-century; however, biologists such as Thomas Henry Huxley were important advocates for Darwin's studies. Huxley was best known for his studies on evolution, moral philosophy, and scientific ethics.

This rare 1870 printing of Huxley's reaction to Darwin's 'On the Origin of Species' fully supported many of Darwin's evolutionary theories.

Item number: #30749
Price: $499

HUXLEY, Thomas Henry

On the origin of species: or, The causes of the phenomena of organic nature. A course of six lectures to working men.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1870. 1st American edition

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o 150, [6]
o 5 in-text figures
· Provenance: Bookplate – James P. Marsh
· Language: English
·… Read More

1564 Saint Athanasius of Alexandria Egypt 1ed Holbein Durer Style Bible Woodcuts

Athanasius the Great of Alexandria was a 4th-century church father who was known as being one of the greatest Egyptian leaders in Christianity. He is often best remembered for his opposition to Arius and Eusebius of Nicomedia which ultimately relegated him to exile multiple times.

Athanasius's works mostly include letters, though the letters are greatly in defense of Christianity. He sought to defend the Holy Trinity, as well as decrees made at the Council of Nicaea. This Nicaean defense (367AD) is one of the first-known written examples of the listings of the New Testament books.

The writings of Athanasius serve two purposes – attack paganism and defend teachings of Christian redemption. This mindset is fulfilled throughout his works, including his Old Testament exegeses, where he defends the truth of the Holy Spirit.

This 1564 Basel edition was published by Nicolas and Eusebius Episcopios in an impressive… Read More

1871 BEAUTIFUL World History ILLUSTRATED Rome Greece Persia Caesar Bible Turkey
Evert Duyckinck's "History of the World" is an absolutely fascinating 19th-century history! As expected, a book like this would contain countless topics; however, Duyckinck focuses on the histories of countries – big and small – beginning with foundational topics found in the Old Testament. It contains descriptions of Persia and Arab lands, the Holy Land, Greece and Macedonia, Turkey, Rome and the Roman Empire, and much more!
This impressive four-volume set was published in New York by Johnson and Fry with fine engravings!
Item number: #23702
Price: $750
DUYCKINCK, Evert A
History of the world from the earliest period to the present time
New York: Johnson, Fry, [1871-73]. 1st edition
Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages; 4 volumes
o Vol. I – [2], iv, 5-640
14 steel-engraved plates (including engraved frontispiece and title page)
o Vol. II – [4], 640
17 steel-engraved plates (including engraved… Read More

1823 Diary of Tour in EGYPT South INDIA Palestine MAPS Voyages Digby Mackworth

Digby Mackworth's "Diary of a Tour" was the English military officer's travelogue of his voyages in India, Egypt, and Palestine. This journal offers a first hand, yet accurate account of Egypt, Southern India and the Middle East as it was during the early part of the 19th-century. Mackworth includes impressive illustrations of the things he encountered – bridges, desert homes, and landscapes. Though, without question, the most desirable aspect of this work is the highly coveted folding maps of Southern India and Egypt near the Red Sea.

Item number: #24601
Price: $499

MACKWORTH, Digby

Diary of a tour through southern India, Egypt, and Palestine, in the years 1821 and 1822

London: Printed for Messrs. J. Hatchard and Son, 1823. 1st edition

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o [8], 372
o 2 folding maps
o 2 engraved plates
· Provenance: Handwritten – [Valeri Siddall]
· Language:… Read More