Rare books from Archives Fine Books

London: Bradbury and Evans, 1857. First Edition in original parts. Very good. (20 Parts published in 19). Housed in a custom made silk solander box with leather labels. All plates present including the dark plates and the frontispiece and vignette title. Includes Rigaud for Bladois at Part 15 (ten times as per Smith 1:12), errata slip in Part 16, and the Preliminary Leaves in Parts 19 & 20. For the most part an internally clean set with occasional foxing and soiling. The wraps are generally just a little edgeworn and several have had small expert repairs to the spines. Several wraps have the ownership signature "Thos. Bostock Esq." either above or just below the top border. Some advertisements and slips are lacking in 10 of the 19 parts (often the case), but only Part One is lacking all of the preceding advertisments. Four small sections of advertisements have been excised.A very good set, neatly repaired and beautifully presented. (Smith 1:12; Hatton and Cleaver pp. 305-330). One of Dickens'… Read More

Paris, 1642. Folio: Three blanks, the third with what appears to be a Strasburg lily watermark, Engraved title by Claude Mellan, verso blank. Text, not divided into verses but with verse numbers in the text, 422pp; Variae Lectiones, pp 423-453, 1p. bearing ornament [1 f. blank]. Twenty engraved headpieces and initials, twelve vignettes including final ornament. Signatures in fours [A - Iii3]. Printed on large laid handmade paper giving a very wide margin; Full leather tan calf binding. A separate watermark appears to consist of a cardinal's hat and an anchor. Sympathetically re-backed; Lacks half title; Title has been cleaned but is still stained; First page (A) professionally repaired with some loss of text; age toned through out with some soiling. A reprint of the first of the Elzevir editions (1624), this magnificent folio is sometimes known as the 'Mazarin edition', since it appeared under the auspices of Cardinal Mazarin. The engraved title page represents an angel writing on an obelisk, which… Read More

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this collection contains images of people who have died.Small collection of thirteen photographs relating to the first crossing by a non-indigenous man (with the help of an indigenous man) of Australia's Simpson Desert, together with a few images of his home and its inhabitants in the remote southeast corner of Northern Territory. Includes three photographs of indigenous Australians at Colson's homestead.Eight 150x160mm images (seven desert crossing images and one Blood Creek homestead image), four smaller images taken at and around Blood Creek (one 10x75mm, two 80x60mm, one 55x55mm) and one 120x80mm colour photo taken at the Colson memorial in Birdsville (circa early 1980s). All but two images have hand-written notes on the verso to Val and Jean, Ted Colson's nephew and niece. One 2cm open tear to top left corner of one of the larger prints; one 2mm open tear to another (border only); rust marks along rhs of a third; light foxing to two… Read More

Softcover : pp. (6) 7-216 : colour photo of Aggie Grey to top cover, lettered in white; white spine lettered in black; back cover with two more photos, lettered in black : INSCRIBED by Grey on half title : two colour photographs of Aggie in her hotel and a photocopy of her obituary loosely inserted. Corners lightly softened; two creases to spine; some notes to glossary (p.7) in ballpoint.The biography of Samoan businesswoman Aggie Grey who rose to prominence during and after WWII and is remembered for her generosity of spirit and local philanthropy. This copy is inscribed by Agnes to Bill Douglas and dated 1984 and one of the two photos is dated 1986. Agnes Grey passed away in 1988.

Hardcover : unpaginated : mould made paper : 7 woodcuts : marbled e.p.s : half green leather over gray paper covered boards (top board illustrated by Parry) : no. 45 of 90 : SIGNED by the translator and artist. Small smudge to centre of lower board.Milos Radnoti was a Hungarian poet who fell victim to Hitler's "final solution" just before the end of the second world war. This selection follows the poet from 1933 until just before his anticipated death in 1944; the last ten poems found by chance in a communal grave.

Livre d'artiste : unpaginated : 12 bifold leaves, each with a poem and accompanying print, with further two bifold leaves, one containing title and frontis and the second the limitation : extra print on single sheet : all within a folded paper wrap printed on the upper and lower sides in purple with lettering in black to the upper wrap and spine : SIGNED : of this first edition of three hundred, twenty five copies numbered 1-25 were printed on marais pur fil. This is copy no. 16. The lino blocks were cut by A. Sarrès from original drawings by the author. The cover wrap is toned and soiled with a vertical tear to the tail of the spine. An English painter of Irish and Hungarian descent Rakoczi was one of the White Stag painters in Dublin in the interwar years. After WWII and the death of close friend and fellow painter Kenneth Hall he resettled in Paris. During this period he, "...studied briefly with the influential sculptor Ossip Zadkine (1890-1967), working in stone and wood as well as painting.… Read More

Alice Springs: Yipirinya (Yeperenye) School Council, 1988. Near Fine. Softcover (stapled) : 12pp : text in Western Arrente : illustrated colour drawings : illustrated covers. Corners of covers slightly soft.

Paperback : 52pp (unpaginated) : apple green paper wraps with title in black : black crow on lower wrap : signed by Baatz at the colophon : Baatz rubber stamp on verso of the colophon.This is no#18 of 30.

Small poetry book , unpaginated (28pp) : Haiku by Ronald Baatz : book design and relief prints by Leonard Seastone : Illustrated soft card covers : blue endpapers : Titling hand set in Monotype Bold and letterpress printed on a Vandercook number 4 : Limited edition : signed at the colophon by the poet and the artist : Ever so slightly sprung : very minor crease at base of front joint.Number 87 of 100.

Small octavo : pp. 4 blank (28) 436, 2 blank : new eps : gilt dentelles with floral motif : polished calf boards with triple gilt ruled border surrounding a floral and foliate border : rebacked with red leather title panel lettered in gilt and the publication year in gilt to tail of spine. Long note in small hand to first blank detailing the purchase of the volume in 1840 and some notes on the poet : trimmed at the head of the leaves : corners slightly rounded and gilt worn in patches but mostly bright. Thomas Randolph (1605-1635) was a poet, playwright and wit of great promise who was expected by many to become poet laureate after his mentor Ben Johnson. His early death at 29 (two years before Johnson) prevented this ambition from being realised.The note at the first blank reads, "Purchased at the sale of J. Abbot's Library Dublin 1840, for 15/6. Priced Bibl. Ang. Poet. 1/15/ : Randolph was greatly admired in his day, and, high in favour with Ben Johnson, who considered him and Cartwright his "dear… Read More

Hardcover : pp. x (1, blank), 120 plates as called for : Blue cloth boards with gilt blocked border and title : top edge dye (yellow) : textured dustwrapper : small square bookseller sticker on front of jacket under the word "Woman" and again on the foot of the front pastedown near the gutter : in blue custom made clamshell box The dust wrapper is lightly scuffed and soiled and with a 3cm vertical tear at the head of the spine; boards and top edge dye a trifle faded.First printed in Germany in 1925 this collection of sepia tone photographs features women from around the world. More than twenty six nationalities are represented along with a few "mixed race" examples.

Woolbridge, Suffolk: The Antique Collectors' Club, 1984. Limited Edition. Three uniform oversize hardcover volumes : (Vol I) 61pp., 110 plates, 271 photographs; (Vol II) 52pp.,121 plates, 277 photographs; (Vol III) 59pp., 107 plates, 173 photographs : each volume with photographic frontispiece and pale green eps : green boards lettered in gilt to spine : light green dust wrappers illustrated with images of buildbings to the front and architectural plans to rear. Top board of volumes one and three slightly bowed; hint of edgewear to jacket at the head of the spine on volumes I and II and lower corner of top cover Vol I; small smudge to ffep of Vol I; previous owner name in b.p.to tail of each ffep (near the gutter); the spines of the jackets are slightly sunned. NB This is an oversized and extremely heavy item (12.68kg) and will require extra postage. No. 557 of 1500. Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens OM KCIE PRA FRIBA (1869 - 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional… Read More

London: Thomas Davison, John Hunt, John and H.L. Hunt, 1824. First Small Paper Edition. Good. Six volumes bound in three : (2, blanks) (iv) 227; (iv) 222 (6, colophon & blanks); (4, blanks) x, 184 (2, advertisements); 151 (3, colophon & blanks); (4, blanks) 170; 130 (4, blanks) : marbled endpapers : a.e. marbled : full brown leather : double gilt ruled borders surrounding decorative blind border on boards : gilt lettering to dark brown title and volume panels, gilt borders and decorations to other panels : gilt dentelles. Moderate shelf wear and rubbing to leather; very minor to minor splitting at joints except for 2cm split at crown to lower board of volume one; 3.5cm indent to lower board of same; water stain to final few leaves of volume one, otherwise only occasional soiling and foxing. Early printings of the first two volumes and the rest being first printings of the small paper edition that according to Randolph is scarcer today than the large paper format. [WISE, Byron II, pp.3-8; RANDOLPH,… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1956. First Edition, first printing, first state. Good/good. Hardcover : pp. (8) 11-257 : plain e.p.s : publisher's blind stamped black cloth in repeating diamonds with diamond in gilt foil to centre of top board and lettering in silver foil to the backstrip (Binding A) : first state dust jacket design by Pat Marriot showing price 12s6d. Tape repairs to jacket at the head and tail, edges rubbed and verso of jacket spine is spotted; e.p.s lightly spotted and edges of text block are marked; smaller bookseller ink stamp to last page. With the first edition points as described by Gilbert including publisher's device under the author's name on the title page, "Boofy" on p.134 [Gilbert A4a (1.1)].

Edinburgh: William Paterson, 1878. First thus. Complete in six volumes, uniformly bound : Volume I pp. xvi [6] 349 [3]; nine illustrations : Volume II pp. xviii [2] 351 [1]; five illustrations : Volume III pp. xx [2] 362 [2]; four illustrations : Volume IV pp. ix [1] 435 [3] four illustrations : Volume V pp. xii [3] 463 [3]; five illustrations : Volume VI pp. xxiv [2] 391 [3]; four illustrations : red marbled endpapers : triple ruled turn-ins : a.e.g. : red morocco double gilt ruled with gilt thistles to each corner : five raised bands to each spine with each panel double gilt ruled and embellished with thistles ; dark brown leather title panel and light brown volume panel lettered in gilt : Initials W.S.S. to tail of each spine : blue and gold silk head bands : armorial bookplate of William Strange Steel to each volume. Some light rubbing to leather; lower corners of volume one bumped; "Case D/Shelf 2" sticker to each paste-down; Steel's signature together with "88 Lancaster Gate / 27th March 1886"… Read More