Highlights
Each year our exhibitors bring extraordinarily rare, beautiful and unusual items for sale.
Leading up to the fair, you will find here, highlights, selected by our exhibitors, of the wide range of items that will be on exhibition and for sale at this year's fair.
Bookmark this page and visit again as our exhibitors will be adding highlights over the next two months
If something is of interest, please contact the exhibitor directly. They will welcome your enquiry.
![[Flemish Book of Hours]. Book of Hours (use of Rome).](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/mpeche@inlibris.com/img-bn61059-c.jpg)
[Flemish Book of Hours]. Book of Hours (use of Rome).
$267000
An outstanding, unpublished Book of Hours with 14 high-quality illuminations, produced around the year 1500, at the apogee of Flemish book illumination. The quality of illumination is remarkable, both in the borders and the full-page miniatures. The execution is neat and flawless. At least three different miniaturists worked on the illumination cycle of this precious Book of Hours. One main hand, however, executed almost all of the images, even the small ones, excepting only the Holy Face at the beginning and King David in Prayer towards the end of the book.
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"THREE ABORIGINAL CHILDREN", B. E. MINNS.
$330
BENJAMIN EDWIN MINNS
(Dungog, 17 November 1863 – Taronga Zoo, 21 February 1937)
"THREE ABORIGINAL CHILDREN"
1926
ETCHING & AQUATINT
DESCRIPTION: Original etching by B.E. Minns depicting 3 indigenous Australian children sitting on their knees in the outdoor with an arrow and a boomerang at right.
Signed by the artist in pencil lower right and on the plate.
NOTE:Etching and aquatint on copperplate printed on cream laid paper
Signed by the artist in pencil lower right and on the plate.
SIZE: 124mm(H) x 173mm(L) [plate]
202mm(H) x 254mm(L) [sheet]
CONDITION:
In perfect condition.
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Harry Potter Bundle (First Editions) | JK Rowling
$2450
This is a very rare complete set in perfect new condition. A magnificent gift for the dedicated Potter enthusiast. In slipcase volumes, the box set is also still sealed in the publisher's cling wrap cellophane.
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A Selection of Gollancz SF Classics
Victor Gollancz, the publishing house, strongly associated with Science Fiction and Fantasy literature was originally founded in 1927 and became a prominent UK publisher, particularly through its imprint Gollancz Science Fiction. Notable authors published under the imprint include Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, J.G.Ballard and Ursula Le Guin.
Strugatsky, Arkady & Boris, The Snail on the Slope. 1st UK edition, 1980, $350
Heinlein, Robert A., Time for the Stars. New edition, 1985, $50
Mitchison, Naomi, Memoirs of a Spacewoman. 1st edition, 1962, $250
Dante Alighieri: La Commedia. Comm. Jacopo della Lana.
$445000
"La prima edizione commentata della Divina Commedia" (Mambelli), published only five years after the editio princeps (Foligno 1472). An exceptionally large and crisp copy, completely unsophisticated in its first binding
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Hobart Town
$2450
Rare c.19th detailed hand coloured engraved panorama of Hobart published in 1879. From the original edition of the Australasian Sketcher.
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Keynes (John Maynard) THE GENERAL THEORY OF EMPLOYMENT INTEREST AND MONEY.
$15000
Macmillan and Co., Limited, London, 1936. First edition. Printing and the Mind of Man 423. *Landmark work by the most influential economist of the twentieth century: 'the work on which his fame as the oustanding economist of his generation must rest' [Dictionary of National Biography].
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Salvador Dali, Hidden Faces
$150
1st thus, revised translation, 1973. London: Peter Owen.
8vo. Original black boards gilt in dustjacket; pp. i-xiv, 15-320 (last blank), with illustrations by the author. A near fine copy.
The famous surrealist artist’s only novel, written in 1944, describing the intrigues of a group of eccentric aristocrats whose extravagant lifestyle symbolises the decadence of the 1930s
COOK, James - SAMWELL, David. A Narrative of the Death of Captain James Cook.
$365800
First edition of this black tulip in the history of Cook. Samwell sailed with Cook as surgeon on the Discovery and his is the “fullest, most detailed and most objective” account of Cook’s death, scrupulously gathered from eyewitnesses (Holmes). We have traced five copies only at auction in the last 50 years, including the present copy.
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![[Meiji Period Japanese Moveable Type].](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/books@asiabookroom.com/220081_01_hr.jpg)
[Meiji Period Japanese Moveable Type].
$3500
411 examples of Japanese wooden moveable type. The moveable type include kanji, hiragana, katakana and numbers both Japanese and Arabic. The pieces of wooden type shows some signs of use but overall a very good collection.
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Alasdair Gray, Lanark
$750
Gray, Alasdair. Lanark. A Life in 4 Books. 1st thus ‘Definitive Edition’,1985. Edinburgh: Canongate. 8vo. Original black cloth gilt in dustjacket; pp. [viii (last blank)], 562 (last blank), illustrated and decorated throughout by the author. No. 747 of a limited edition of 1000 copies, numbered, signed and additionally inscribed by Alasdair Gray. A little sunning and spotting, a very good copy.
The author’s first book, a novel written over a period of almost thirty years, combining realist and dystopian surrealist depictions of his home city of Glasgow. First assembled in one book in 1981.
"THE GREAT COLORPLATE BOOK OF THE NORTH PACIFIC" (Forbes). CHORIS (Louis). Voyage Pittoresque autour du monde ...
$250000
First edition. Rare coloured issue. 105 lithographed plates, folding map & 2 further maps. Folio. Contemporary diced calf with gilt border, rebacked, lightly worn, some toning and spotting to plates & pale dampstaining to final six, repaired tear one plate. Paris,1822.
“One of the very valuable and fundamental works on Alaska, California, and the Hawaiian islands” (Lada-Mocarski).
Manners and Customs in Manchoukuo
$2000
A detailed and thoroughly illustrated guide in English to life and culture in Manchuria. Published at the height of WWII, depicting a completely normal world inside the Japanese puppet state with chapters on races and tribes, costumes, residential houses, food and drink, salutation and etiquette, tastes and pastimes, annual festivals, religions, symbols of religious faith, and happy and unhappy affairs.
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Signed, First edition of The Book Bag
$1000
MAUGHAM, W.S.
The Book Bag
The Lungarno Series No.9. Florence: G. Oriolo, 1932. First Edition.
“Though I said that affection was the greatest enemy of love, I would never deny that it's a very good substitute.” — Maugham.
No. 29 of 725. Maugham's tale of the too-close relationship of a brother and sister has gained a reputation as one of Maugham's more unsettling works. With its themes of obsession, isolation and taboo relationships, it was first published by G. Orioli, a publisher unafraid to issue controversial works, albeit for a niche market.
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![さいころ独楽. 日本酒附録. [1930s Sake Advertising Campaign].](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/books@asiabookroom.com/sake_highres.jpg)
さいころ独楽. 日本酒附録. [1930s Sake Advertising Campaign].
$450
Sixteen delightful small porcelain spinning tops measuring 2.0 x 1.7cm in size each accompanied by ten handsome colour printed product labels heightened in gilt with soft purple cord ties (8.3 x 6cm).
These sake promotional giveaways and accompanying die-cut cards in the shape of the Order of the Golden Kite are advertisements associated with Meiyo-gura, a sake brand sold in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
The advertisement describes a koma (spinning top), attached beneath the bottle top, which could also serve as a small entertainment item.
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Bradshaw Art of the Kimberley By Grahame L Walsh
$2300
Bradshaw Art of the Kimberley
By Grahame L.Walsh
Toowong. 2000.
Oblong folio. Profusely illustrated in colour with ancient Aboriginal rock art.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI, "VEDUTA DI PIAZZA NAVONA SOPRA LE ROVINE DEL CIRCO AGONALE", from "VEDUTE DI ROMA".
$6800
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PIRANESI
(Mogliano Veneto 1720-Roma 1778)
"VEDUTA DI PIAZZA NAVONA SOPRA LE ROVINE DEL CIRCO AGONALE"
[THE PIAZZA NAVONA WITH S. AGNESE ON THE RIGHT]
1751
Etching
DESCRIPTION:
Original etching from the series "Vedute di Roma".
"Veduta di Piazza Navona sopra le rovine del Circo Agonale" with Santa Agnese church at right.
Piranesi first general depiction of one of the most emblematic corners of Rome, Piazza Navona, built on the ruins of the ancient Circus of Domitian (or Circus Agonale).NOTE:
Life-time Rome edition on thick laid paper, fourth state of six, with address..
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![地球儀. [Globe].](https://rarebookfair.com/assets/catalogues/books@asiabookroom.com/globe_highres.jpg)
地球儀. [Globe].
$1850
A charming Japanese late Meiji period globe mounted in a metal semi-meridian and wooden base. The globe measures 20cm in circumference, the wooden base measures 6cm in diameter, while the total height measures 15cm. Although the majority of landmasses and borders are relatively close to reality, European holdings in Africa have been loosely demarcated at best. Japan and her freshly-acquired territories in Taiwan and Sakhalin have been highlighted in red. Though Korea was not yet a formal possession of Japan, the peninsula has also been marked with a touch of red.
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The Karla Trilogy | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley's People | John Le Carre
$1800
All First editions and First UK impressions. Together, the trilogy is in a near-fine state overall. Arguably the greatest works of fiction dealing with the Cold War ever written, unified by the ubiquitous Smiley and his Russian equivalent Karla.
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Andy Pollitt, Punk in the Gym
$250
Pollitt, Andy. Punk in the Gym. 1st edition. 2016. Sheffield: Vertebrate Publishing.
8vo. Original black cloth in dustjacket; pp. 318, with illustrations. No. 107 of a limited edition of 200 cloth-bound copies signed by the author. A fine copy. The life story of highly talented British climber, Andy Pollitt, and his relationship with Wolfgang Gullich’s 1984 test piece Punks in Gym, an exceedingly difficult rock climb at Mt Arapiles, in Western Victoria, at the time the hardest climb in the world. Publisher, Jon Barton, rates this book his personal favorite among the Vertebrate list.
Peppermint Trees, Melbourne c1860 by William Strutt
$5500
Pencil and wash with measurements of 18.5 x 26.3 cm.
Signed and inscribed Peppermint Trees, Melbourne. Provenance: Private Collection, North Wales, part of a collection of works by William Strutt and Alfred William Strutt sold at Sotheby's, Chester, March 1991: John Ness Barkes & Edward Barkes
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