Aeschyli tragoediae VII

[Geneva]: Henri Estienne (Stephanus), 1557

FIRST COMPLETE EDITION OF AESCHYLUS. With the editio princeps of the Agamemnon.

“An excellent and beautiful edition... It is a much more valuable impression than either of its precursors.. what enhances the value of the edition is, that the Agamemnon is published in it, for the first time, complete.” -Dibdin, An introduction to the knowledge of rare and valuable editions of the Greek and Latin Classics

Quarto. Early full tree-calf skillfully rebacked, spine in six compartments, red leather label. Gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Text generallly clean throughout; repaired tear to the lower portion of title page. A handsome copy of an important and distinguished edition.

$7,500

offered by

The New and Complete Book of Martyrs, Now Revised, Corrected and Improved By Paul Wright

Folio. Full blind-paneled reversed calf, 6 raised bands on spine, hinges weak, engraved frontispiece, 81 fine engraved plates, subscriber's list, double-column text, clean and tight.

$1,250

Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis: non illae quidem Romanae, sed totius fere orbis summo studio... conquistae

FIRST EDITION of the first comprehensive collection of Latin inscriptions from the press of Apianus. Inscriptiones Sacrosanctae was commissioned by the German banker Raimund Fugger whose own collection of antiquities, together with the collection of Peutinger, provide the basis of the majority of Apianus's study. This work gathered inscrptions from all over Europe and, for the first time, arranged them geographically. Folio. Contemporary full vellum. Title printed in red & black, with large woodcut after Durer. Woodcut arms of Raimund Fugger (dedicatee), approx. 180 woodcuts in the text, most pages with ornamental woodcut borders, printer's device at back. Elegant early owner inscription on title. A lovely copy with only very minor occasional spotting. Rare.

$7,500

Histoire De l'Art Chez Les Anciens

FIRST EDITION IN FRENCH of this most important work in art history and criticism.“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. ButlerOctavo.Two volumes bound as one. Recent crushed morocco, rebacked with the original spine laid down, marbled endpaper. Illustrated throughout. A handsome copy.

$1,000

An Examination of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Chapters of Mr. Gibbon's History, BOUND WITH: Gibbon's A Vindication Bound w/Davis' "Reply"

FIRST EDITION. With 'Advertisement' after the title page. BOUND WITH: Davis, Henry Edwards. A Reply to Mr. Gibbon's Vindication of Some Passages in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Chapters of "The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." London: J.Dodsley, 1779. First edition. Octavo, bound in recent 3/4 calf over marbled boards preserving early spine. Internally clean and sound throughout; a very attractive volume of this rare edition. In 1778 three people, including Henry Edwards Davis, a tutor of Balliol College, Oxford, wrote treatises publicly attacking Gibbon in hysterical terms for the anti-Christian remarks in the fifteenth and sixteenth chapters of his 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', which contain remarks condemning the rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire. The philosopher David Hume had warned Gibbon that this might happen. It gave Gibbon the opportunity to overmatch Davis with a public reply (here included) which was quite devastating in its superior learning, and its contrasting coolness. Gibbon had it printed in octavo so that it could not be bound with his (quarto) 'History'. Davis' further reply is also included here.

$3,500

The Man in the High Castle

FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING of what is considered to be Dick’s finest work and winner of the 1963 Hugo Award. A beautiful copy in the original dust jacket.First printing with D36 of page 239. Pringle, Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels, 37. Octavo, original black cloth, original dust jacket. Book with slight bump at heel of spine and a hint of edgewear to dust jacket. A beautiful, bright copy.

$2,600

Half of Paradise

FIRST EDITION OF JAMES LEE BURKE'S FIRST BOOK, WITH A LENGTHY INSRIPTION TO HIS FRIEND AND FELLOW WRITER, JAMES CRUMLEY. "To the Crum and Charlie with best wishes from Jim Burke. Notice that the pages are bound loosely if you ever need anything to wrap your coffee grinds in or if needed for other purposes while reading in the bath" –– Your friend, J.B. 8/27/66" "In this era of 'awakening' for the hard-boiled genre, many post-Vietnam works confronted the traumatizing effects of the Vietnam War head-on by employing detectives openly characterized as Vietnam veterans in order to reveal the disillustionment and frustrations concerning the legality of the war and the subsequent treatment of American veterans. James Crumley, James Lee Burke and, to some extent Newton Thornburg, employ characters who are private investigators or characters attempting to unravel mysteries. These writers in particular expose a society ignorant of individual trauma and direct their anger toward a government that abandoned its soldiers upon their return from combat." – Sarah Trott, The Detective as Veteran Octavo, original cloth, orignal dust jacket. A near-fine copy in an excellent example of the original dust jacket. Lengthy inscription from Burke to Crumley on front free endpaper. Additionally signed and dated (8/8/96) by Burke on the title page. A superb association. Custom cloth box.

$4,500

Laughter in the Dark

FIRST U.S. EDITION; the first book to be published by Nabokov in the United States and the first appearance of Nabokov's English translation (from the Russian). The first English-language edition of Laughter in the Dark appeared in England under the title Camera Obscura in 1936 but Nabokov so disliked the translation (by Winifred Roy) that he decided to produce his own translation for the U.S. edition. "Laughter in the Dark is one of the finest works of Vladimir Nabokov's early Russian-language period, a dazzling, cinematic masterpiece, beautiful, cruel and horribly funny. Written in 1932, it displays the thirty-three-year-old genius in the full enjoyment of his powers. It is the least self-consciously 'literary' of his novels--never again would he write with such meticulous delicacy and dash--and perhaps the most directly enjoyable" (John Banville). The story of a middle-age man falling in love with a young girl would later be revisited (to much greater notoriety) in Nabokov’s Lolita.Octavo, original green cloth, original dust jacket; custom half-morocco box. Book fine, dust jacket with creasing at edges and chips to spine ends and corners. With none of the usual fading that typically affects this dust jacket.

$3,500

The Red Badge of Courage

FIRST EDITION, first issue of one of the most influential works of American literature.  The Red Badge of Courage, Crane's "most popular work, and the classic American treatment of the Civil War... interprets military experience through the perspective of an untried volunteer who receives his wound-badge while fleeing from a battle but eventually proves himself by fighting bravely. The book was so convincing that a Union colonel said he recalled serving with Crane at Antietam. The epic sweep of the novel arises in part from Crane's ability to convey a common soldier's rite of passage from fear to confidence. It also arises from Crane's ability to blend a variety of literary modes, including irony, the mock-heroic, comedy, and the grotesque. Crane's strikingly original use of colors, partly inspired by Goethe and already on display in Maggie, became a trademark, as did his penchant for offbeat insights and arresting turns of phrase. The autumn 1895 publication of The Red Badge of Courage in the United States and England brought Crane international fame as the book went into fourteen printings within the year" (American National Biography). BAL 4071.  Octavo, original buckram stamped in red, black, and gilt; early custom box. Book with foxing to cloth edges and toning to spine. Text exceptionally clean. With Appleton ads in rear.

$4,500

Thirty-Four Parking Lots

FIRST EDITION OF THIS SEMINAL WORK. Octavo. Original wrappers, original glassine. Wrappers clean and fresh; original glassine with a few small chips; generally an excellent copy.

$2,000

The Photographic History of the Civil War

"The grandfather of pictorial histories, this mammoth work is a necessary part of any Civil War library. The work contains 3,389 images that constitute an important source on the war's appearance—its battlefields, common soldiers, officers, forts, diseases, camp scenes, army movements, and materiel." Eicher, The Civil War in Books 771."The greatest single collection of Brady illustrations" (Allan Nevins). The Mathew Brady photographs represent the first instance of a comprehensive photo-documentation of a war. New York: The Review of Reviews, 1911. Quarto, original blue cloth gilt. Ten volumes. An exceptional set, gilt uncommonly bright. Only occasional trivial wear to bindings. Very rare in this condition.

$1,250

Outlines from the Figures and Compositions upon the Greek, Roman and Etruscan Vases

1804 edition of Hamilton's celebrated Outlines from the Figures and Compositions upon the Greek, Roman and Etruscan Vases, illustrated with 62 engraved plates. Quarto. Half-title, 62 engraved plates by Kirk (uncoloured). Handsomely bound in quarter calf over vellum boards. Text and plates clean, small split at half-title (holding). Nice copy.

$950

The History of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of Antonio Solis' exceedingly popular and quite romantic version of the conquest of Mexico. "It has been translated into the principal languages of Europe; and such is the charm of its composition, and its exquisite finish as a work of art, that it will doubtless be as imperishable as the language in which it is written..." – William H. Prescott. Folio. 18th century panelled calf, elaborately gilt spine in 7 compartments, red spine label. Armorial bookplates on front pastedown. Engraved portrait of Cortes by G. Vertue, 8 engraved plates and maps including the folding panorama of Mexico City. Sabin 86487.Joints cracked but firm; corners lightly bumped. Light paste-action in margins of first and last leaves; engraved portrait lightly toned. A fresh and appealing copy, clean throughout. Provenance: Henry Duke of Kent (bookplate); Thomas Philip Earl de Grey (bookplate).

$4,000

AESCHYLUS