Fine Bindings and Sets

Linnaeus, Carl

Philosophia Botanica: In Qua Explicantur Fundamenta Botanica Cum Definitionibus Partium, Exemplis Terminorum, Observationibus Rariorum. [In Which Are Explained the Foundations of Botany, Together with Definitions of the Parts, Examples of Terms, and Rare Observations].

Vienna : Printed by Johann Thomas, Nobleman of Trattner, 1783.

Rare second edition of this foundational text of modern botany. Octavo, written in Latin, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within gilt bands, illustrated at the rear. In very good condition. Bookplate to the front pastedown and front free endpaper.

Armorial Binding.

[France] c. 1690.

Rare original armorial binding in gold and silver thread bearing a coat of arms reminiscent of the Durazzo family of Venice. Small octavo, empty, white silk with pink silk pastedowns, the outer border decorated with floral repeating motives in silver and green foil leaves, and the escutcheon crowned by a pink hat with six tasselsContinue reading "Armorial Binding."

Scopoli, Giovanni Antonio [Carl Linnaeus]

Flora Carniolica: Exhibens Plantas Carnioliae Indigenas et Distributas in Classes, Genera, Species, Varietates, Ordine Linnaeano. Volume I.

Vienna : Johann Paul Krauss, 1772.

Second edition, enlarged and revised, of one of the most important 18th-century botanical works documenting the flora of Carniola following Carl Linnaeus’s system of plant classification. Octavo, written in Latin, bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards, rebacked with cloth labels, marbled endpapers, all edges red, illustrated throughout. In good condition, bookplate to theContinue reading "Flora Carniolica: Exhibens Plantas Carnioliae Indigenas et Distributas in Classes, Genera, Species, Varietates, Ordine Linnaeano. Volume I."

Linnaeus, Carl

Oratio, qua Peregrinationum Intra Patriam Asseritur Necessitas. [An Oration on the Necessity of Travels within One’s Own Country].

Uppsala : Carolino Majori, 1741.

First edition of Linnaeus’s inaugural oration at Uppsala. Octavo, written in Latin, bound in half morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and elaborate tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, top edge marbled, marbled endpapers. In very good condition. Rare with only a handful of copies appearing at auction since 1950.

Brothers Grimm

Household Stories from the Collection of the Brothers Grimm.

London : Macmillan and Co, 1882.

Finely bound edition of this collection of classic fairytales. Octavo, bound in full dark blue morocco by Kelliegram with gilt titles and floral tooling to the spine, floral ruling to the front and rear panels with pictorial inlays of Red Riding Hood, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, silk moire endpapers, all edges gilt, silk ribbonContinue reading "Household Stories from the Collection of the Brothers Grimm."

Jefferson, Joseph

Rip Van Winkle: As Played by Joseph Jefferson.

New York : Dodd, Mead and Company, 1899.

The Dodd, Mead and Company trade edition of Joseph Jefferson’s play adapted to text. Octavo, original green cloth over boards with gilt-stamped lettering and illustration of the Catskill Mountains, top edge gilt, frontispiece, title page vignette, with black and white illustrations throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To Ms SadieContinue reading "Rip Van Winkle: As Played by Joseph Jefferson."

Linnaeus, Carl

System Naturae. Book I Part III: Amphibia.

: Caldwell, c. 1788.

Later edition of this influential work. Octavo, written in Latin, bound in three quarters morocco over green cloth boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands. In very good condition.

Medieval Gregorian Chant Book.

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Rare Gregorian chant book. Elephant folio, bound in half leather over cloth boards, with sixteen pages of beautiful calligraphy of Gregorian chant on vellum. In very good condition. An exceptional presentation.

Yefremyan, Z.S. [Armenia]

Patkerazharp Bnashkharhaki Bararan. [Illustrated Geographical Dictionary].

Venice : A. Ghazaryan, 1903-05.

Rare edition of volume one of this Armenian geographical reference work. Thick quarto, written in Armenian, bound in three-quarters morocco with gilt titles to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, floral endpapers, title page vignette, illustrated throughout. In very good condition with light toning.

Gordon, Thomas [George Washington]

Another Cordial for Low-Spirits. [George Washington’s Copy].

London : R. Griffiths, 1751.

From the library of George Washington of this compilation of political and religious essays regarding contemporary issues in Great Britain. Small octavo, volume two, bound in full contemporary brown calf with a gilt number two and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels,Continue reading "Another Cordial for Low-Spirits. [George Washington’s Copy]."

Austen, Jane

The Works of Jane Austen.

London : Eveleigh Nash & Grayson, 1927.

The Georgian edition of the works of Jane Austen. Octavo, five volumes bound in three quarter contemporary calf by Riviere & Son with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers, title pages in red and black. In very good condition. Housed in a custom slipcase.

Dickens, Charles

A Tale of Two Cities. [with] Charles Dickens Autograph Note.

London : Chapman and Hall, 1859.

First edition, mixed issue of one of Dickens’ most enduring works. Octavo, bound in three quarters modern half calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, all edges marbled, marbled endpapers, illustrated with sixteen plates after H.K. Browne including the frontispiece and title vignette.Continue reading "A Tale of Two Cities. [with] Charles Dickens Autograph Note."

Chosen and Edited by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900.

London : Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1926.

Finely bound edition of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch’s The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900. Duodecimo, bound in full contemporary dark green levant morocco by Bayntun with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, front panel with morocco inlays depicting aContinue reading "The Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1900."

Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de

El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.

Madrid : Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1782.

The illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes’ masterpiece “which is to Spanish literature what Shakespeare is to English” (Bloom). Quarto, 4 volumes, written in spanish, bound in full speckled calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spines in six compartments within raised gilt bands, red and black morocco spine labels, gilt ruling to the frontContinue reading "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española."

Hardy, Thomas

Far from the Madding Crowd. [and] The WoodLanders. [and] Two on a Tower.

New York : R.F. Fenno & Company, .

Finely bound editions of Hardy’s classic novels filled with themes of love and social constraints. Octavo, original pictorial cloth with gilt titles, top edges gilt. In very good condition. Ownership signature to the front pastedown.

Dickens, Charles

The Selected Works of Charles Dickens: Sketches by Boz Illustrative of Every-Day Life and Every-Day People, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Master Humphrey’s Clock, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times. For These Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, The Uncommercial Traveller, The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

London : Chapman and Hall; Bradbury and Evans, 1838-1870.

Finley bound collection of the selected works of Charles Dickens. Octavo, 15 volumes finely bound in full straight grain morocco by Carss & Co. with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and double gilt-ruled inner dentelles,Continue reading "The Selected Works of Charles Dickens: Sketches by Boz Illustrative of Every-Day Life and Every-Day People, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Master Humphrey’s Clock, The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, Dombey and Son, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Bleak House, Hard Times. For These Times, Little Dorrit, A Tale of Two Cities, The Uncommercial Traveller, The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Our Mutual Friend, The Mystery of Edwin Drood."

Campan, Jeanne Louise Henriette [Marie Antoinette]

Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette to Which Are Added Personal Recollections Illustravtive of the Reigns of Louis XIV, XV, XVI.

New York : Brentano's, 1917.

Finely bound example of this personal firsthand account of the French queen’s domestic world written by her first lady-in-waiting. Octavo, two volumes, bound in full dark blue morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling and elaborate gilt tooling to the front and rear panels,Continue reading "Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette to Which Are Added Personal Recollections Illustravtive of the Reigns of Louis XIV, XV, XVI."

Dickens, Charles

The Personal History of David Copperfield.

London : Bradbury & Evans, 1850.

First edition of “the most perfect of all the Dickens novels” (Virginia Woolf). Octavo, original publisher’s variant olive green cloth with gilt titles to the spine, panels and spine with stamped in blind decorations, illustrated with 40 plates designed & etched on steel by Hablot K. Browne (Phiz), including frontispiece and additional pictorial title. InContinue reading "The Personal History of David Copperfield."

Dickens, Charles

Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Edited by “Boz.”

London : Richard Bentley, 1838.

First edition of Dickens’ popular retelling of the memoirs of celebrated English clown Joseph Grimaldi. Octavo, two volumes bound in full polished calf by Root with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt titles and tooling to the spin in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt rulings to the panels, gilt turn-ins andContinue reading "Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Edited by “Boz.”"

Carroll, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

London : Macmillan and Co, 1885.

Finely bound early printing of Carroll’s beloved children’s classic. Octavo, bound in full dark green crushed levant morocco by Kelliegram with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, yellow silkContinue reading "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland."

The Author W. P. [Penn, William]

The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Once More Briefly Debated & Defended, by the Authority of Reason, Scripture, and Antiquity.

[London] 1670 [i.e. 1671].

Rare second edition of one of the most persuasive defences of liberty and “the free and uninterrupted exercise of our consciences”(William Penn). Quarto, bound in full modern morocco, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, inner dentelles elaborately stamped in blind. A powerful argument for toleration and against the intrusion of civil authority into religiousContinue reading "The Great Case of Liberty of Conscience Once More Briefly Debated & Defended, by the Authority of Reason, Scripture, and Antiquity."

Dickens, Charles

Bleak House.

London : Bradbury Evans, 1853.

First edition of this Dickens’ classic. Octavo, bound in full calf by Sangorski & Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge marbled, marbled endpapers, illustrated with tissue-guarded frontispiece, engraved title page, and 39 engraved plates by H.K. Browne. With three key typographical errors calledContinue reading "Bleak House."

Austen, Jane

Pride and Prejudice.

London : Ruskin House, 1894.

Large paper limited edition of Jane Austen’s masterpiece, her bestselling book during her lifetime which remains a landmark of English literature. Imperial octavo, bound in full brick red niger with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, multi-colored leather pictorial onlay on the front panel depicting Elizabeth BennettContinue reading "Pride and Prejudice."

Dickens, Charles

The Personal History of David Copperfield.

London : Bradbury and Evans, May 1849-November 1850.

First edition in the original parts of “the most perfect of all the Dickens novels” (Virginia Woolf). Complete set of the original parts, with all of the etched plates and most of the advertisements. Octavo, original blue-green illustrated serial issue wrappers being twenty parts in nineteen, 624 pp. plus xiv pp. of preliminaries, errata leafContinue reading "The Personal History of David Copperfield."