"Before a book is offered for sale, we rare book dealers record its physical attributes. Is it bound in cloth? Leather? Does it have any damage? Signs of previous ownership? We also write a brief summary of its importance, drawing on the work of other experts in our field and surrounding fields--not just literary critics and biographers, but also book historians, or scholars who study the history of the book. We call the result a catalog description, which becomes our official documentation for that rare book."
-- Rebecca Romney, Jane Austen's Bookshelf (Simon & Schuster, 2025)
Browse the latest catalogs, newsletters, and e-lists of rare books, fine bindings, incunabula, print ephemera, and much more from the members of the ABAA below. (Also includes podcasts, blog posts, and other digital formats.)
*New* indicates any catalogs brought to our attention since early-July 2025.
AARDVARK BOOKS/EZRA TISHMAN BOOK APPRAISALS
Featured item:
Rochester, NY: Stecher Lithograph Co., [@1880]. First Edition. Black pebbled cloth (5-3/4" x 8-3/4") with "No. 3" stamped in gilt on the front cover. Illustrated with a color title page and 55 chromolithographs, printed on rectos only, mostly of fruit. Plates clean with a few small closed tears; hinges reinforced with binder's tape. Small losses along spine edges. Very Good.
Offered by Charles Agvent and found in "Summer Miscellany 2025."
ANTIPODEAN BOOKS, MAPS, PRINTS
- E-list #44 ~ W.W.I., Americana, Australia, Photographs, Maps, Ephemera
- E-list #43 ~ Antipodean Books at the Brooklyn Virtual Book Fair
- Electronic List 148: A Holiday Selection
- Artists' Books and Exhibition Catalogues: Electronic List 146
Featured item:
BROWN, Thomas. Lectures on the Philosophy of the Human Mind.
Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for W. and C. Tait; and Longmans, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, Edinburgh, 1820. Volume 1: 1 blank leaf + TP + [v]-viii = Contents + [1]-587 + 1 blank leaf; Volume 2: 1 blank leaf + TP + [v]-viii = Contents + [1]-607; Volume 3: 1 blank leaf + TP + [v]-viii = Contents + [1]- 638 + 1 blank leaf; Volume 4: 1 blank leaf + TP + [v]-viii = Contents + [1]-615 + 1 blank leaf; Octavo. First Editions.
Containing seventy-five lectures in four volumes that were published posthumously in the year of his death. One of two principle works by Brown – the other being his defense of Hume’s causal relations in Inquiry into the Relation of Cause and Effect which was first published in 1804, later revised in 1806 with the final enlargement occurring in 1818. “His lectures were published shortly after his death, and excited an interest wherever the English language is spoken, quite equal to that awakened by the living lecturer among the students of Edinburgh. They continued for twenty years to have a popularity in the British dominions and in the United States greater than any philosophical work ever enjoyed before. During these years most students were introduced to metaphysics by the perusal of them, and attractive beyond measure did they find them to be. The writer of this article [James McCosh] would give much to have revived within him the enthusiasm which he felt when he first read them… His reputation was at its greatest height from 1830 to 1835, from which date it began to decline, partly because it was seen that his analyses were too ingenious, and his omissions many and great; and partly because new schools were engaging the philosophic mind…” (McCosh, The Scottish Philosophy, pp. 324-5) Absolutely lovely contemporary ¾ calf with marbled boards. Spine with title and volume number in gilt lettering and designs on each of the five raised band. Small, neat contemporary signature to upper right corner of each title page: “D. Maclean”. A beautiful and almost flawless set.
Offered by Athena Rare Books and found in "Catalog 26."
W. C. BAKER RARE BOOKS & EPHEMERA
Featured item:
Wescott, Glenway
A Calendar of Saints for Unbelievers [Association Copy Artist Inscribed to Edith Sitwell]
Haarlem, Holland, Harrison of Paris, 1932. Illustrations by Pavel Tchelitchew. Brown-red half-leather strap with two gold-embossed spine plates. Top edge gilt. Leather spine label. A limited edition of several styles.
This is out of sequence signed ‘not for sale’ of 40 copies on Pannekoek white pure rag paper. Signed with inscription by the author and the artist to Edith Sitwell. Tenth publication with Harrison of Paris. Designed by Wescott's partner Monroe Wheeler and is the first one printed in the Krimpen's twelve-point Romanée type. Illustrated with 12 signs of the Zodiac and tailpiece by Pavel Tchelitchew; printed by Joh. Enschedé en Zonen, Haarlem
The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean; light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear, the lower edge with rubbing. A former owner’s notes on the front pastedown in pencil. Very Good / No Dust Jacket, As Issued.
Glenway Wescott, known for his introspective and poetic prose, crafts a collection that reimagines saints' lives through a secular lens. Each narrative challenges traditional hagiographies, offering humanist perspectives on faith, doubt, and the quest for meaning. The stories resonate with existential themes, exploring moral dilemmas and the complexities of spirituality in a modern context.
Harrison of Paris, renowned for its meticulous craftsmanship, enhances Wescott's narratives with bespoke bindings, exquisite typography, and evocative illustrations. This collaboration between author and press results in a book that not only engages intellectually but also captivates aesthetically. It appeals to collectors of literary rarities and those interested in the intersection of literature and visual art. [Adapted from Reviews]
Pavel Tchelitchew (1898–1957) was a Russian-born artist whose work traversed multiple styles and disciplines, leaving an indelible mark on 20th-century art. His significance lies in his innovative approach to surrealism, his integration of anatomical studies into art, and his contributions to stage design.
Edith Sitwell (1887–1964) was a prominent English poet and writer, known for her distinctive voice in modernist literature. Coming from an aristocratic family, she was one of the most outspoken and unconventional literary figures of her time. Sitwell’s poetry, marked by its bold use of language and rhythm, often explored themes of individualism, modernity, and the impact of war.
Offered by Blind Horse Books and found in "New Fine Press Listings from the Monroe Wheeler Press / Harrison of Paris."
BLUEMANGO BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS
- Summer Clearance Sale (July Only)
- EAT, READ and be MERRY
ANDREW CAHAN, BOOKSELLER, LTD.
- From the library of John Henry Nash -- list available on request from info@carpediemfinebooks.com...
- New Arrivals
Featured item:
Greene, Vaughn M. Astronauts of Ancient Japan
Millbrae: Merlin Engine Works Publishers, 1978. First Edition. Good. Wraps generally toned, bumped and with some light creases at the corners and down the spine. Square, bound with some reading wear, ownership signature of Tom Benson on the first page, clean otherwise.
Greene's work arguing that ancient aliens influenced the development of Japanese culture and continue to monitor the island nation to the present day. From the collection of ufologist Tom Benson.
Offered by Carpetbagger Books and found in "Ufology List #1."
BRIAN CASSIDY, BOOKSELLER AT TYPE PUNCH MATRIX
- E-list: Photographic Archives, Latin-Americana, African-Americana, Lincoln Conspirators, American Indian History, and More -- Joint catalog with Auger Down Books
DE SIMONE COMPANY, BOOKSELLERS
- New Arrivals (July 14, 2025) *New*
- Shaker Books, Ephemera and Photography
- e-list 108 - Women: Domestic Arts, Work, Causes, Home Front, Medicine & Of Course, the Female Children
- e-list 107 Miscellany
EDITIO ALTERA RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Comic collection of William "Gatz" Hjortsberg -- Details available upon request from info@elkriverbooks.com...
- Highlights from the ABAA Virtual Book Fair
RODGER FRIEDMAN RARE BOOK STUDIO
Featured item:
Darwin, Charles. The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex.
London: John Murray, 1871. 2 volumes octavo (20 cm). Original green cloth. Spine cocked somewhat on volume 1. Both volumes well-read, but quite good. Owner's name in pencil on title page of volume 1. References: Norman 599; Garrison-Morton 170. Corrections to the text in volume 1 mark this printing as the second issue of the first edition. Volume 2 is the first restriking (“seventh thousand.”) It is noted that the word "evolution" occurs here on page 2 of volume 1 for the first time in any of Darwin’s works.
Offered by Rodger Friedman Rare Book Studio and found in "Darwin."
- OCCASIONAL LIST 22: A Miscellany: Original Art Work; Small Archive of Major English Watercolourist; Interesting Theatrical Pieces; Manuscript Material, Etc., Etc. -- available on request from fgrare@fgrarebooks.com...
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THOMAS A. GOLDWASSER RARE BOOKS
DAVID A. HAMILTON AMERICANA BOOKS
JONATHAN A. HILL, BOOKSELLER, INC.
- Catalogue 250
- Japanese Woodblocks, June 2025
- elist 273 New Arrivals in Photography, Art, Poetry, Literature *New*
- elist 272 New Arrivals in Photography, Art, Poetry, Literature
- Paintings, Prints, and Illustration
- New Acquisitions, April 2025
Featured item:
SP4 MILITARY OFFICER EDWARD JACKSON
US MILITARY in SOUTH KOREA AFRICAN AMERICAN 1978-1988 PHOTO ALBUM LOT
These two photo albums comprise about 240 photographs formerly the property of African American military officer Edward Jackson. One (11 3/4” x 13 1/4”) album possesses 218 photographs across 40 leaves/80 pages. This spiral-bound album is in good shape, and all pages are in use. The second album contains 22 photographs on 8 leaves/13 pages with an additional 6 leaves and 17 pages which are not used. This (11 3/4” x 13”) second album is in less than perfect shape with loose photographs, and loose cover, the front cover is detached and the internal workings of the spine is visible. Items that are not loose are contained behind plastic sheaths. A few photos appear to be missing from the pages of both albums.
During the continued presence of the U.S. Military in South Korea well into the later part of the 20th century, Edward Jackson was a Keypunch Operator at home at the Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia for the Division Material Management Center 24th Infantry , for which he received a letter of appreciation enclosed here. Later, he was a SP4 specialist of the 2nd Army Guard Company (AG CO) in Korea. According to the military’s website this was the U.S. Army’s last permanently forward-stationed division present in South Korea.
In this collection there are photographs of “Bro Jackson”, and fellow black military officers, many of whom are named in captions beside the photographs. Many of these photos have wonderful color backdrops, and one photo is a trick photo or Bro Jackson shown twice in one image. A Korean woman appears in many photos, it is assumed this was Jackson’s lover. Other images include family photographs of youth and elders, etc. Further, many pictures of the military’s recreational baseball teams are pictured here in snapshots. One image of two helicopters flying over a pyramid in Egypt has marker indications and writing. The helicopter cabin is circled pointing to a handwritten note that reads: That’s me! Flying high above Egypt (April 23, 1987)”.
Newspaper clippings include nearly seventeen articles and photographs detailing the assassination of the former President of South Korea Park Chung Hee and his five bodyguards (Oct. 26, 1979). One article details the plot leading up to the assassination, and the following images provide a look into the ceremony and burial sites of the former president.
Three newspaper clipping photographs of the “Battle of New Orleans”, the boxing event televised on September 15th, 1978 showcase the rematch fight between Leon Spinks and Muhammad Ali for the WBA and The Ring Championships. Two of the images are provided with neat handwritten script, one reads: “Leon Spinks appears terrorized as Muhammad Ali slams terrific right to his mug, sending a shower of water from the Champ’s head at close quarters in the New Orleans ring.”.
Offered by House of Mirth Photos and found in "Late Spring 2025."
- Boston Book Fair 2024
- Archive of Hope Savage -- Details available upon request to james@jamesjaffe.com. Institutional inquiries only.
- Short List 35: 19th century Eastern American Newspapers 1803 -1892 from Maine to South Carolina
- Short List of Travel, Exploration, & Tourism in Latin America
JOHN W. KNOTT, JR., BOOKSELLER
- Catalog #74: 100 Rare Books -- with an emphasis on history and military affairs. Please request from mail@kubikbooks.com...
- ABAA 75th Anniversary Virtual Book Fair
- Claude Shannon's Library Catalog 1: Papers he wrote or co-authored
MICHAEL LAIRD RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Recent Acquisitions: English, American & Continental Law, 1484–1936 (July 15, 2025) *New*
- Portraits, Prints, Drawings & Caricatures (July 8, 2025)
DAVID M. LESSER, FINE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS
LIBER ANTIQUUS, EARLY PRINTED BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
Featured item:
Development: A Novel. With a Preface by Amy Lowell.
Bryher
New York: Macmillan, 1920. First American edition. 8vo, xvi, 186 (1)pp; maroon cloth. Lightly shelf-rubbed; edges dusted; very good in the rare dust jacket, dampstained, with a fingernail-sized chip and a small snag to the front panel and cellotape reinforcements on the underside.
The American edition of Bryher's first novel, made up from sheets printed for the London edition with a cancel title page and the additional pages containing Amy Lowell's preface, which did not appear in the first English edition but was included in the second. This copy warmly inscribed and signed by Bryher on the front flyleaf to Chester Page, wryly noting the misspelling of her name on the jacket (it reads "Bryther).
Offered by Locus Solus Rare Books and found in "Bryher - Icon of Queer Modernism."
Featured item:
ROY, Arundhati
Listening to Grasshoppers: Field Notes on Democracy
(New Delhi), Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, (2009). Essays by the Booker Prize winning author of The God of Small Things, an examination of rising wealth disparity, corporate power, religious majoritarianism, cultural nationalism, neo-fascism, and an unaccountable judiciary, in India. Inscribed by the author in New Delhi in the year of publication. In recent decades Roy has been known at least as much for her writings and activities as a political and social activist as for her literary writing. She was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 2004, and her two most recent volumes prior to this one were both nonfiction. This is the first Indian edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a small (Indian) bookstore label at the lower edge of the rear panel.
Offered by Ken Lopez Booksellers and found in "e-list 207: New Arrivals."
J. & J. LUBRANO MUSIC ANTIQUARIANS
- CATALOGUE 110: Rare Printed and Manuscript Music, Musical Autographs, Iconography - June 2025
- Catalogue 109: MUSICAL MANUSCRIPTS, FIRST & EARLY EDITIONS OF PRINTED MUSIC, MUSICAL AUTOGRAPHS - 16th - 20th Centuries
STUART LUTZ HISTORIC DOCUMENTS
Featured item:
BEALE, James.
Battle Flags of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, Penna. July 1st
BEALE, James. The Battle Flags of the Army of the Potomac at Gettysburg, Penna. July 1st, 2d, & 3d, 1863. Phila.: James Beale, 1885. 1st ed. 4to. 35 leaves. 32 color plates. Very good or better copy. Dornbusch I, Mass-161. Nevins I, p.4. Nicholson, p.69. One of 125 numbered copies signed by the author. Beale has written in the owner's name on the subscribers list. A cornerstone work in any major Civil War collection. This rarity consists of 32 color plates of the various flags utilized by Union troops at Gettysburg. Each plate is accompanied by a leaf of descriptive text. Beale served in the 12th Massachusetts Regiment.
Offered by George S. MacManus Company and found in "Special E-list: Pretty Shiny Things."
MAIN STREET FINE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Summer Fare (Cocktails and Cooking)
- Beyond the Board Book: Contemporary studies in literature for young readers and their companion examples
- Rare Book Chat (Podcast) Latest episode: "Dining with Dali, Computer Liberation, and Bidding Against Yourself (an AI story)" (Apple / Spotify) *New*
- New Arrivals
- Hip Hop, Black Panthers, Leather, LGBTQ+, OSPAAAL and More (July 2025) *New*
- Ten Every Two Weeks (June 2025 #3)
- Crossing Borders & Breaking Boundaries: A Community Alliance List
- Men & Women Behaving Badly: Historical Materials on the Contradictions of Gender Performance
Featured item:
Collection of original hand-colored fashion sketches pulling inspiration from the Regency Era.
Collection of 10 sheets of original watercolor and ink sketches of womenswear with accompanying descriptions in a single hand. Sheets measure approximately 11x15 inches with some variance based on hand-cutting. Three sheets signed "J.H. Hulme" to the upper
right corner. A unique collection of designs blending Regency and early Victorian era details with practical modern elements, it will be of interest to those researching the role of femme-driven popular culture in shaping fashion.
While we've been unable to identify the specific designer, the sheets' textual content suggests J. H. Hulme's identity as a woman or femme actively engaged in the reading of popular romance novels and in contemplating how women's clothing can be used for expression and function. The midi-length of skirts, the cinched and belted waists, and the lapels and pockets of these designs clearly mark them as mid-late 1930s. But the incorporation of fichus, veiled tophats, equestrian jackets, and the belts carrying watches and fobs all come from the Regency period. The blend is striking, and the explanation for it comes via the handwritten notes alongside the "Cocktail suit inspired by the morning dress worn by The Regency Bucks." This note reveals the simultaneously backward-and-forward looking nature of this collection. The collection was inspired by one of the most popular and groundbreaking romance novels of the moment: The Regency Buck.
"In March 1934, Georgette Heyer began what would become her nineteenth novel. It was also be her first book set in the period of history known as the English Regency...although it lasted only nine years, from 1811 to 1820, the Regency was a dynamic and hugely influential period...Heyer did not know it at the time of writing The Regency Buck, but the novel would mark the beginning of a new genre of historical fiction" (Kloester). The historical romance novel had been born. Heyer had approached her creation with aplomb. "She had found a wealth of inspiring new material relating to the period and was reading widely. Living in Sussex meant she was in easy reach of London by train and would sometimes visit the city," and her library subscription at St. James' gave her access to a "wide ranging collection that yielded a rich crop of Regency related subjects" (Kloester). Critics have noted the rich and accurate space through which her characters moved; and the publisher's sale of the rights in 1935 to allow its serialization in the prestigious Woman's Journal ensured that it was "widely
read by women...and an excellent way to achieve greater exposure to the reading public" (Kloester). Hulme's designs are in some sense fantasy-fulfillment for women and femme readers of The Regency Buck. Some of the sketches are drawn directly from the 19th century -- likely as inspiration and as practice in executing some of the period details in clothing. Most others, though, present her creative blending of 1930s cutting edge design, modern benefits such as buttons, zippers, and machine embroidery with 1810s waistcoats, veils, kid gloves, and corseting. Menswear touches are sometimes cheekily added (such as in the depth or inclusion of pockets, or the suggestion of incorporating men's hats into outfits). Others are more than playful, as they overtly reference the cross-dressing popular among some of the courtesans of the period, and suggesting the use of men's attire as being adaptable to women's eveningwear.
A rich visual and literary collection deserving further study and context.
Offered by Marginalia Rare Books and found in "Crossing Borders and Breaking Boundaries."
- MEXICAN ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. 50 YEARS OF ILLUSTRATED BOOKS PUBLISHED IN MEXICO -- catalog available to institutional buyers by request from mmbooks@comcast.net
- Illustrated Catalog on Carlos Merida (1891–1984) -- Mexican painter, sculptor, writer and graphic designer -- available by request from mmbooks@comcast.net
MARTAYAN LAN RARE BOOKS & MAPS
BRUCE MCKITTRICK RARE BOOKS, INC.
- Louis M. Jason's book Literary (and Other) Celebrity Doodles II is now available. Contact the store at info@mysterypierbooks.com to order...
- Father's Day Gift Offerings
"Printed catalogues give the potential buyer time to contemplate the item on offer, read through sometimes lengthy descriptions at their leisure, and consider buying a book.... A print catalogue is more like browsing the shelves of a well-managed bookshop."
-- Adam Douglas, head cataloguer at Peter Harrington.
- Catalog 53 -- featuring Fine Books and Manuscripts from 1641 to 1930, with special emphasis on High Spots in English and American Literature, Fine Bindings, Illustrated Books, 1890’s, Press Books and early, scarce children’s books.
- Catalog 52
- Catalog 69, July 2025 -- by subscription only. Contact oldwestbooks@earthlink.net for details about obtaining a copy.
Featured item:
Illustrated letterhead of Lincoln University, with manuscript letter by its founding president to Senator Edwin D. Morgan
John Miller Dickey
Published by Philadelphia, 1866.
Handwritten letter by founding president of Lincoln University, one of the first African American institutions of higher education, on engraved letterhead featuring an illustration of the Lincoln campus. Single bifold sheet, with two pages of letter text and recipient's docketing to final page. Sent in 1866 by John Miller Dickey to New York Senator Edwin D. Morgan, the letter notifies Morgan of his appointment as a trustee of Lincoln and goes on to detail the importance of the university in educating African Americans in the wake of emancipation. Founded by Dickey as the Ashmun Institute in 1854, it was renamed as Lincoln University, and served as the first degree-granting institution specifically for African American scholars in the United States. This bookseller has been unable to locate any other copies of the illustrated letterhead, either in commerce or in institutional holdings.
Offered by Open Boat Booksellers and found in "RBMS."
- Occasional List: Pictorial
- Occasional List (April 2025)
- Before AI: Early Experiments With Computer-Generated Art
- A short list on theology and devotion, 1519-1826
PHILLIP J. PIRAGES FINE BOOKS & MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
PRIMARY SOURCES, UNCHARTED AMERICANA
Featured item:
New Orleans, Louisiana, March 4, 1808. Letterpress funeral invitation, 9 1/2 x 7 in. (24 x 18 cm). English and French text in parallel columns, surrounded by decorative frame. Woodcut devices in margins around frame. Old folds, some ink smudging, docketed on verso. About fine.
John Ward Gurley was struck dead in New Orleans on March 3, 1808, at the tender age of twenty-nine. At the time of his death, he was serving as attorney-general for the newly established Territory of Orleans, as registrar of the land office, and as aide-de-camp to the governor, William C. C. Claiborne, who had appointed the young man--holding a degree from Yale--attorney general four years earlier. By most measures, Gurley’s future in frontier politics, and perhaps even at the national level, seemed preordained. Yet to his constituents in New Orleans, among whom he was as well known for his hot temper and quickness to duel as for his political acumen, it must have come as no surprise when pistol and ball sent him to his grave. Early the next day, his parents and friends issued a hastily printed notice in English and French, inviting guests to the funeral at four that afternoon, adding that “The corpse is deposited at the house of Wm. Simpson, Esq., Dauphin street [son Corps sera exposé chez M. Wm Simpson, rue Dauphine].” This remarkable imprint is surely among the most haunting such notices in the genre, especially for its time and place. It also appears to be the earliest surviving specimen of New Orleans job printing.
Offered by Primary Sources, Uncharted Americana and found in "Catalogue 8" (item #4).
- eList, American Ephemera, Broadsides, Pamphlets, and more
- Janus Press, Artist's Books, Design Bindings
Featured item:
Van Vliet, Claire (lithographs)
Newark, VT: Janus Press, 2013. Original Wrappers. Fine binding.
6-1/2" x 7." Limited edition, one of 120 copies. Accordion fold with 8 panels, 4 of them are fold-down pages. Each of the four page-spreads include letterpress text in various typefaces and colors which fold-down, expanding the canvas of words, sayings, and accusations (including a catalog of U.S. Senators and Representatives of the 111th Congress who became lobbyists—a list that fills the fold-down page in a small font); these opposite a lithograph by Van Vliet, each lithograph is titled by the top word on the opposite page: Propagandist, Lobbyist, Banker, Joe Public. Bound in gold paper repeated printed with the word "Greed," and all housed in gold slipcase. A fine copy.
In a contemporary newspaper article in the Burlington Free Press, Candace Page relates an interview with Van Vliet: "[She] picks up dummy of GREED, a slim volume that will sit inside a glittery cover of gold paper. It opens like an accordion to display four Van Vliet black-and-white lithographs of distorted faces: A banker, a lobbyist, a newscaster, she says, 'and this one on the end, the sap, John Q. Public, us.'"
Van Vliet continues in the Page interview: "The word 'greed' will be printed multiple times on the cover in heavy, unevenly inked type, as though it were printed contemptuously, by some greedy person with no respect for the written word. The paper is not handmade — that would be too good for the book. Instead it is 'slick, nasty machine-made paper,' she says. The edges of the gold cover will be sharp 'because greed is not a comfortable subject.'" There is a wonderful irony that the lithographs employed in Greed were originally drawn for an edition of Kafka decades before that just weren't quite right for the project. Here, they are perfect!
This is a striking book, a political book, one might say, an angry and defiant book. Van Vliet's politics being informed by the McCarthy era during which she was a student, she admits to having distrusted the powerful ever since. This edition sold out very quickly and is now rare in commerce. A book that was, is, and will always be relevant.
Offered by Michael Pyron, Booksellers and found in "Janus Press, Artist's Books, Design Bindings."
- Inspired by History (Podcast) Latest episode: "Thomas Jefferson's Powerful Words on Democracy and the Right to Bear Arms" (Apple / Spotify) *New*
- The Raab Collection Celebrates 35 Years
RABELAIS BOOKS ON FOOD & DRINK
RICHARD C. RAMER, OLD & RARE BOOKS
ROOTENBERG RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Catalogue #64: The I.W.W. & 20th Century Radical Politics
- Metaphysics, Hermetica & the Occult – Part 2
- List: 150th Anniversary of Mendeleev's Periodic System
- California Book Fair 2019: 130 Items on Science and Medicine is now available on request from scientiabk@gmail.com...
MARC SELVAGGIO, BOOKS & EPHEMERA
MICHAEL R. THOMPSON RARE BOOKS
- Summer Miscellany 2025: Education, Science, Illustration, Culinary Arts, Pioneering Women’s Fiction, and More *New*
- Richard Wagener Printer & Engraver
- E-List #7.25 - African Americana, Women's Rights, Popular Culture and more
- The manuscript archive for Myra Friedman's Janis Joplin, Buried Alive
Featured item:
By Frances Burney, Madame d'Arblay
First edition of this celebrated courtship novel by one of Jane Austen's favorite novelists — including the first appearance of Austen's name in print. Fine.
London: Printed for T. Payne [...] and T. Cadell Jun and W. Davies, 1796. Full title: Camilla: or, a picture of youth. Five octavo volumes, 6.75'' x 4'' each. Early twentieth-century full dark brown morocco by Birdsall, raised bands, spines elaborately stamped in gilt, triple-gilt rules. Gilt dentelles, all edges gilt. With subscriber's list in vol. I including "Miss J. Austen, Steventon." xlviii, 390; [4], 432; [4], 468; [4], 432; [4], 556 pages. Lengthy ink inscription to flyleaf of vol. I; early ink owner inscriptions to title pages.
"She took up a Book; it happened to be a vol: of CAMILLA. She had not Camilla's Youth, & had no intention of having her Distress,—so, she turned from the Drawers of rings & Broches repressed farther solicitation & paid for what she bought." — Austen, in her unfinished novel SANDITON
By 1796, Burney was one of the most famous English writers of the era. When her third novel CAMILLA was published by subscription, Jane Austen signed up. Subscribers paid in advance for a book in order to defray its publication costs or more directly benefit the author, much like our modern crowdsourced projects. And just as in many of today's productions, those who contributed saw their name recorded in print: Austen's name appears as "Miss J. Austen, Steventon" in the list of subscribers included in the first edition.
Austen was eager for another Burney novel, and this one didn't disappoint; in writing a letter to her sister about a new acquaintance, she remarked: "There are two Traits in her Character which are pleasing; namely, she admires CAMILLA, & drinks no cream in her Tea." At around the same time, Austen had just started drafting what would eventually become SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. CAMILLA is a comparative study of two heroines, a format that Austen also used in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY — only one of many examples of how Burney's work influenced Austen's. According to Claire Harman, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE "has so many resonances with CAMILLA as to constitute a form of elaborate homage" (17).
Offered by Type Punch Matrix and found in "Jane Austen's Bookshelf."
Featured item:
EDO. Shogunke Edo Junkou-zu. [Edo]: n.p., [1697-1774].
This rare and innovative portable strip-map scroll provides a street-by-street, turn-by-turn route around central Edo, navigating the intricate layout of Edo's streets as one would encounter them while walking or riding through the city. It has been proposed that this map may have functioned as a city "inspection map" for the Shogun. A practical tool for navigating the densely structured and strategically designed city, its scroll format allows the 27 foot long map to be easily referenced when on the road.
Offered by Ursus Rare Books.
- Economic & Political Studies from Charles Goldsmid, Bookseller
- E-List 20, Sales, Marketing & Merchandising in the United States 1886-1973
- Catalogue 332: George Ellery Hale Library pt 3 - History of Science & Astronomy *New*
- Catalogue 331: Francois Forel Library & Additions
Featured item:
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and other Sketches (Presentation copy)
Mark Twain
New York: C. H. Webb, 1867. First edition. Presentation copy, inscribed on the blank recto of the advertisement leaf: "With compliments of Mark Twain New York, May 9, 1867." The original recipient's name has been torn away (and the advertisement leaf has been repaired with a section from another first edition copy). The novel was published in April 25, 1867, making this one of the earliest presentation copies known. The copy Twain presented to his mother was dated May 1st, and two other copies were dated May 10th (the day Twain gave a lecture at the Brooklyn Athenaeum). This copy last sold in 1991 at Christies in the Chester L. Davis sale. Another early presentation copy for John Stanton (Cory O'Lanus) sold in 2004 for $114,000.
First edition, first issue of Mark Twain’s first book. This copy features the gilt stamp of the leaping frog in the lower left corner, rather than centered on the board; it has all of the points of a first issue as delineated by BAL, including the leaf of ads by the title page and unbroken type on pages 21, 66 and 198. The book has been carefully restored with a new spine (with the original spine laid down) and new endpapers. There is faint dampstaining throughout and the dampstaining to the inscribed leaf matches up with the rest of the book. Pencil notations to verso of final blank, including what looks like a name: C. Wood. And while it is not the only known presentation copy of Jumping Frog, this is undoubtedly one of a handful of copies of the first issue extant and the first to hit the market since the auction result in 2004. Housed in a simple, quarter-leather slipcase with chemise. A Good copy.
Mark Twain, with his account of the jumping frog, produced the most famous tale in California history – if not the history of the American West. This little gem of humor propelled the author and his first book to international prominence. As his publisher, Charles Henry Webb, noted, "By his story of the Frog, he scaled the heights of popularity at a single jump." Twain’s compilation of tales, along with those of Bret Harte, continues to romanticize and popularize the Gold Rush. The story of the lead-loaded frog (named Daniel Webster) made Angels Camp one of the best-known tourist attractions in the gold country. Twain first learned of the story of the jumping frog when he prospected in the vicinity of Jackass Hill in Tuolumne County. On a rainy January day in 1865 Twain and a friend, James Gillis, went into the bar at the Angels Camp Hotel in nearby Calaveras County and heard a gentleman by the name of Ben Coon tell the amusing story of the trained frog. He repeated the story to Artemus Ward, who in turn encouraged him to write it up and send it to Ward’s publisher, Carleton, in New York. The tale’s popularity spread across America and Europe until it was collected in the present volume.
Offered by Whitmore Rare Books and found in "'Tom Sawyer' Presentation Copy and More Twain Treasures."
JOHN WINDLE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLER
Featured item:
Grabhorn, Robert
San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1949. Folio, [vi], 15, [2]pp. Quarter cloth over decorative floral paper boards. Paper label to spine and decorative paper label to front board. A fine copy in the moderately worn original plain paper dust-jacket which is unevenly sunned and has some chips to the spine panel.
375 copies printed by the Grabhorn Press. The leaf is folio CCCXIX The Lyfe of Saynt Alexis and is particularly nice for having an annotation in a 16th or 17th century secretary hand in the upper margin. Wynkyn de Worde was Caxton's right-hand man and successor, who, after Caxton's death, ran the press for another 40 years, expanding the range of books published and producing over 400 titles. The Golden Legend is a compilation of the lives of the saints made in the 13th century and translated into English by Caxton himself.
Offered by John Windle Antiquarian Bookseller and found in "Private Press Books of the San Francisco Bay Area."
- Portland & Environs -- catalogue issued in conjunction with the Rose City Book & Paper Fair
- Dreaming of the Open Road: Automobile Dealer Literature, Catalogue Two
Featured item:
Gilt-paper-porcelain-and-velvet Trinket Box with a Paper Doll Set
S. l.: s. n., n. d. (mid-19th-century [?]). $350.00 Trinket box, housing a paper doll with outfits; box – 4” x 5 ½” x 1”, heavily-embossed gilt paper over card stock, die-cut to show hand-painted porcelain- and velvet- inserts with four miniature cameos; a faint crack to porcelain (not affecting integrity); one of the cameos replaced; remnants of a silk ribbon to inside walls; mild wear to corners; doll - 4 ½” x 1”, with a small "stand" folded at feet; engraved, with hand-colored accents; four dresses (and one just the back half), a scarf, and a head-piece - engraved and hand-colored; small rubbed spot to arm of the doll; outfits with mild wear; overall in very good condition. A stunning box housing a Victorian girl's prized paper doll, the latter obviously cut and lovingly assembled at home, most probably from fashion magazines, or possibly from a commercially-sold kit.
Offered by ZH Books and found in "19th-Century Americana."
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