An Institution of General History, or The History of the World

London: Henry Herringman, 1680-1685

SECOND EDITION, very significantly enlarged and expanded. The first edition appeared in 1661 and was shorter than just the first volume of this four volume second edition.

"History-writing itself was changing. Renaissance philologists had pioneered the recovery, editing and scholarly study of documents, while in the seventeenth century headway had been made in the use of inscriptions, coins and archaeological evidence. These traditions continued, but the preoccupations of such mere 'antiquarians' were challenged in the Enlightenment by a new breed of philosophic historians... Innovative features distinguished the outlooks of this new history. Sir Walter Raleigh's History of the World (1614), Wiliam Howell's History of the World (1680-85)... and other standard texts, were 'God's eye' narratives, beginning at Creation and tracing the providential handing down of civilization by God to His chosen people."–Roy Porter, Creation of the Modern World: The Untold Story of the British Enlightenment

Four volumes bound in five. Large folio, handsomely rebound in half calf over marbled boards. Lacking preliminary blanks to vol. I, title and A2 to volume I mounted. Generally a sound set; some mildew stains at rear of Vol. III, occasional light dampstaining at margins. An attractive set.

$2,000

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Abregé Chronologique ou Extraict de l'Histoire de France

First Edition. A history of France from 418 (king Faramond) to 1589 (Henry IV). Three volumes. Quarto. Superb full page engraved portrait of Louis XIV the Great at the beginning of Vol. I, engraved portraits of each monarch at the beginning of most chapters. BINDING? CONDITION? Original calf rubbed and scratched, especially at edges of boards and along backstrips; front covers of Vols. I and II very slightly detached; lower portion of backstrip on Vol. III missing. Paris, 1678.

$450

The Paramount Book of Blues

First Edition. 16mo. Original Wrappers. 40p., 6.25x9.25 inches, 30 blues songs with musical transcriptions and lyrics, 6 photos of the artists with short biographical sketches. A fine copy in original stapled pictorial wraps.

$500

Le antiche lucerne sepolcrali figurate

FIRST EDITION of this beautifully illustrated work on clay oil lamps discovered in ancient Roman catacombs. Folio, contemporary blind-panelled vellum, early ink title on spine. Three parts in one. Half-title, 116 fine copper engraved plates and 3 engraved sectional titles. Bowing to boards; upper joint split but holding.

$2,500

Rhetorica divina Guillermi Parisie[nsis]

THIRD EDITION of William of Auvergne's meditation on the subject of prayer. This work was first published in 1491 and again in 1492.Octavo. 152 printed leaves. Beautifully rebound in (early) printed leaf over boards with vellum manuscript leaves on paste-downs. Printers device on title and verso of final leaf; rubricated in red and blue. Small hole to margin of first few leaves; occasional light dampstaining to margins; a superb and quite desirable copy.

$3,750

De Sesteritiis sev Subsecivorum Pecunia veteris Graecae & Romanae

FIRST EDITION. A key work on the monetary systems of ancient Greece and Rome. "Gronovius entered the University of Leiden in 1634 and completed his academic studies at Groningen. Upon matriculation he travelled throughout Italy, France, and England. During this period, he undertook extensive manuscript research which supplied him with abundant material for later editions of the Latin classics. While at Leiden he had studied with luminaries such as Daniel Heinsius, Vossius, and Grotius. Like many of his contemporaries, Gronovius had a preference for first-century Latin prose, and his editions of Livy, both Senecas, Tacitus, and Gellius met with much acclaim" (The Berlin Collection: Being a History and Exhibition of the Books and Manuscripts Purchased in Berlin in 1891 for the University of Chicago, 1979). 12mo. Bound in contemporary full polished calf, ruled in black on boards and spine, contemporary paper spine label. Title printed in red and black, woodcut printer's device on title; the text with some passages printed in Greek letter. A clean copy with only very minor occasional spotting and a few dampstains.

$500

Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums

FIRST EDITION. "With the publication of his masterpiece, the 'History of the Art of the Ancients', his fame had become widespread. This was indeed the first work in the German language to achieve universal acclaim. Winckelmann had drawn attention for the first time to the importance of Greek ideals for the modern world, and, with his unique acquaintance with the surviving examples of classical art, amplified by wide and specialized reading, his authority was unquestioned" (PMM). “Winckelmann’s History had a remarkable impact for a scholarly antiquarian publication. It presented a comprehensive synthesis of available knowledge about the visual artefacts of the ancient world... Four main sculptural traditions were discussed in detail – the ancient Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman. What particularly caught the imagination of Winckelmann’s contemporaries, however, and still assures the book a place among the classics of art history, is what Winckelmann himself envisaged as its core, the eloquent and hugely ambitious attempt to redefine the history and aesthetics of the ancient Greek tradition. –Alex Potts, Flesh and the Ideal: Winckelmann and the Origins of the History“[Winckelmann’s] magnum opus is in a class apart, for it completely revolutionized the study of art by treating it organically (Winckelmann was the first to do so) as part of the growth of the human race” –E.M. Butler Quarto. Beautifully bound in recent full sprinkled calf, elaborate gilt tooling to boards, elaborately gilt spine in 6 compartments. Title skillfully mounted, occasional toning and scattered foxing throughout. [With:] Anmerkungen ber die Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums. Dresden: Waltherische Hof-Buchhandlung, 1764 and 1767. 2 works in 4 volumes bound in one. (The text of Anmerkungen ber die Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums is quite toned, much more so than the primary volume.)

$4,500

Osservazioni Istoriche Sopra Alcuni Medaglioni Antichi

FIRST EDITION.“Buonarroti, the great-nephew of Michaelangelo the Younger who was himself the great-nephew of the artist, was born in 1661 and at the age of twenty left his native Florence to go to Rome, where he spent the next eighteen years or so devoting himself largely to antiquarian studies. He filled notebook after notebook with sketches, some rapid and some very careful, of coins, medals and other small objects, and he quickly earned the reputation of being one of the greatest antiquarians of his day... Through his membership of Queen Christina’s circle and later of the Arcadian Academy, he met many of the leading figures of the intellectual community and became closely involved in some of the most important scholarly enterprises of the time... In 1698 Buonarroti published his first book, which was devoted to medals belong to Cardinal Capegna, his principal patron... As might be expected from an author coming from such a cultivated background... he shows a greater feeling for quality than was usual among numismatists.” —Francis Haskell, History and its images: Art and the Interpretation of the past. Quarto. Early vellum. Engraved title vignette and additional title, 33 engraved plates, 3 folding, numerous engravings in text, wood-engraved initials. Wear with loss at spine head; generally clean throughout. A very attractive volume.

$1,200

Television (Seeing by Wire or Wireless)

Dinsdale's Seeing by Wire or Wireless was the first book entirely devoted to subject of television. Dinsdale gives and account of the demonstration of John Baird's successful television system in January 1926, details similar previous experiments, and describes the mechanics of television. Overall, the history of television is well-documented in Dinsdale's work, and Baird's system paved the way for future developments in television, leading to the first high-definition broadcasting system in 1936. First edition. Original wraps, no dust cover; in clamshell box.

$1,700

Roma Sotteranea, or an account of the Roman Catacombs

"New Edition, Rewritten and Greatly Enlarged". Two volumes. Octavo. 23 chromolithographs, folding plan of the Cemmetary in pocket of rear board, numerous wood-cuts (1 folding); Woodburytype frontispice in volume II. Includes Northcote's EPITAPHS OF THE ROMAN CATACOMBS. A superb set: cloth clean, gilt bright, occasional trivial to extremities.

$650

The Works of the Learned Sr. Thomas Brown

FIRST EDITION. "Seventeenth-century readers approached Thomas Browne as an encyclopedic polymath with wide-ranging opinions of general interest in science and religion." –Claire Preston Reid Barbour, Sir Thomas Browne: The World Proposed Folio. Bound in full early calf, skillfully rebacked. Small repair at top margin of title, generally a sound, attractive copy.

$950

Some Famous Sailing Ships and their Builder, Donald McKay

FIRST EDITION. "McKay's skills as a shipbuilder were only exceeded by his chutzpah. He was the Stradivarius of clipper ships. McKay started the race to build ever bigger clippers and gave his ships such chauvinistic names as Sovereign of the Seas and Great Republic. In the first four years of the California gold rush, McKay's yards turned out 160 examples of what became known as "extreme clippers". His ships quickly dominated the trade to Hawaii, China, Australia, and the East Indies." –Richard F. Selcer, Civil War America, 1850-1875 Octavo. Deluxe original half morocco over marbled boards, marbled endpapers. With 10 color plates and 48 additional illustrations. Minor rubbing at corners. Neat contemporary inscription (frontispiece verso). Clean throughtout. An attractive volume.

$275

Ulysses S. Grant: Vellum Document Signed

SIGNED BY ULYSSES S. GRANT AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.Partly-printed vellum document signed, “U.S. Grant,” as president. Military commission appointing H. Schuyler Ross a First Assistant Engineer in the Navy. Countersigned by George M. Robeson as Secretary of the Navy. Washington, 1873. Approximately 19 1/2x16 inches; slightly faded signature, usual folds, minor soiling, seal intact.