Highlights

First edition of the author's first book.

Extensive, vibrant illuminations on a manuscript French Book of Hours leaf, c.1440. Surrounding the text on three sides are illuminations in a style called rinceaux. A bar border in burnished gold, black and white has coloured buds at its top, centre and bottom from which sprout delicately coloured & gilded acanthus leaves. Other flowers, real and imagined, ivy leaves and foliage in colours and gold are borne on swirling black tendrils. Within the tendrils in the bottom margin is a strawberry, a symbol of a drop of Christ’s blood. Verso has almost identical illuminations.

The Shepherd Press Sydney 1947 Roy4to. Hardcover, in dark blue morocco, a little worn at head and tail of spine, gilt vignette on front cover, decorative gilt edge around inside of cover, edges uncut, interior in excellent condition. A deluxe edition of 200 copies of which this is numbered 164, 24 coloured reproduction tipped in plates, 8 tipped in plates of drypoints.

A LEAF FROM THE FIRST WESTERN BOOK PRINTED BY MOVABLE TYPE, THE GUTENBERG BIBLE. Folio 148 from Volume I, comprising the entire text of Chapter 3 of the Second Book of Samuel (II Samuel 3: 1-39), with the closing verses of Chapter 2 and opening verses of Chapter 4.

CARY, John (c. 1754 - 1835) Cary’s pocket globe agreeable to the latest discoveries. [London : J. & W. Cary, c. 1791]. Terrestrial pocket globe, 3 1/2 inches in diameter, engraved gores over plaster and wooden sphere, two metal pins, housed in the original publisher’s shagreen case, interior map The world as known in Caesar’s time agreeable to D’Anville; and A table of latitudes & longitudes of places not given on this globe, bright original colour, metal eye hooks (one lacking), the case slightly contracted as commonly found, a very good example of a rare pocket globe.

Harper and Brothers Publishers NewYork 1866 (Ist US Edition) 8vo, 638pp + 6 adverts. Professionally rebound in half green morocco, twin coloured labels, gilt, raised bands and marbled boards, new endpapers, minor spotting in text which otherwise is in excellent condition.

A late 11th century. Bible leaf, Italy, 1075-1125 with an archetypal Carolingian script. Hair follicles from the animal used for the parchment are clearly visible. The leaf's margins have been cropped to become a flyleaf in a slightly smaller volume at a later date and the four brown marks, one near each corner, were caused by the rusting of metal bosses in the new volume’s binding. The text is from the First Book of Samuel, chapters 24 & 25. A remarkable example of large, very early Italian monastic Bibles with clear, rounded and generously spaced late Carolingian minuscule script.

[Copenhagen] Denmark, Politikens Forlag, December 2006 and 2007, Hardcover illustrated pictorial boards FIRST EDITION, first printing in English together with Danish third impression, SIGNED and with laid in ephemera Both editions were privately published by Noma in very small print runs. Laid in are the receipt for the purchase of the books at Noma dated 6 September 2007; a menu and two table cards.

London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, at Shakespeare's Head in the Strand, 1720. Complete in two volumes : Quarto : pp. (12) 590 (13); (8) 527 (1, blank) : cream endpapers : portrait frontis of Milton to both volumes (G. Vertue sculp.), and numerous elaborate head- and tailpieces and historiated initials : contemporary calf boards with gilt tooled edges : five raised bands to spines : red leather title panels and green leather volume panels lettered in gilt : foliated gilt decorations to the other panels : vol. two with armorial bookplate to front paste-down.

London, J. M. Dent, 1927 (revised and enlarged edition). A very detailed and scholarly account of the fashion and modes of living in the years 1819 to 1914. 4 volumes

We are bringing a large collection of Wisden's. Although some have had repairs to the spine, examples of early Wisden's are becoming quite hard to find in any condition.