Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

DARWIN, Charles, Robert FITZROY, and Philip Parker KING. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, Between the Years 1826 and 1836, Describing their Examination of the Southern Shores of South America and The Beagle's Circumnavigation of the Globe. London: Henry Colburn, 1839. Vol. 2 only (of 3), first edition, 8vo (230 x 142mm.) 2 folding maps in front inner sleeve, 25 engraved plates with tissue-guards, index, addenda. (Frontispiece loose, spotting to plates and maps, a 75mm closed tear to the map of 'Chilóe'.) Original blind-tooled blue cloth, gilt lettering to spine (sunning to spine and wear to spine ends, front free endpaper loose). Note: a separately published appendix to this volume was also published in the same year. This volume is Robert FitzRoy's account of the second voyage of the Beagle and the one he undertook with Charles Darwin. Between 1831 and 1836 they visited, among others, the Cape Verde Islands, Brazil, Argentina, the Falkland Islands, the Galapagos, Patagonia, the west coast of South America, New Zealand and Australia. Darwin wrote the third volume and Philip Parker King the first. Provenance: I. R. Minnitt (bookplate to front pastedown).

BELL, Thomas. A History of British Quadrupeds, including the Cetacea. London: John van Voorst, 1874. Signed by the author's assistant E.R. Alston to Captain H.W. Feilden, second edition, 8vo (219 x 133mm.) Numerous illustrations, a 4pp.extract from 'Mammalia of Norfolk' by Frank Norgate tipped-in. (Mild toning, pencil annotation to p.247.) Original blind-stamped green cloth (wear to spine ends, and fading). Note: the inscription on the half-title from E.R. Alston reads 'Captain H.W. Feilden, with E.R. Alston's kind regards, Feb 1874'. Underneath this, the recipient, polar explorer Henry Wemys Feilden has written in pencil 'I took this book to the Polar regions on boards H.M.S. Alert 1875-76'. The pencil annotation on p.247 is also by Feilden and refers to the sighting of seals on that expedition. Provenance: Captain Henry Wemys Feilden (bookplate to front free endpaper). - And one more volume by Thomas Bell, 'A History of British Reptiles', 1849, 8vo' (2).

[WITHERING, W]. Botanical Sketches of the Twenty-Four Classes in the Linnaean System. London: J. Hatchard and Son., 1825. 8vo (192 x 114mm.) 50 hand-coloured plates. (Browning.) Original blue cloth (label residue to upper cover, wear to top of spine, damp-stains to pastedowns). - And one other related volume (Dr. J. Scoffern's 'Outlines of Botany', [n.d. but circa 1855], 8vo) (2).

CRUSTACEANS. - G. Stewardson BRADY. A Monograph of the Free and Semi-Parasitic Copepoda of the British Islands. London: the Ray Society, 1878. 3 vols., 8vo (213 x 131mm.) 91 plates, 7 hand-coloured, 15pp. list of subscriber's to rear of volume 1. (Occasional spotting.) Contemporary tree-calf, five raised bands to spine, original black morocco lettering pieces onlaid to the second and third compartments, scrolling gilt to covers, Wellington college crest gilt-blocked to upper covers (rebacked, lightly rubbed). Provenance: Wellington College (bookplates to the front pastedowns). - And one related volume (John W. Douglas and John Scott's 'The British Hemiptera', 1865, 8vo) (4).

[CHAMBERS, Robert]. Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. London: John Churchill, 1860. Eleventh edition, 8vo (198 x 118mm.) Numerous wood-engraved illustrations. (Spotting to preliminaries and margins.) Original blind-stamped cloth (bumped to extremities). Note: scarce. An early work on evolution which Charles Darwin believed prepared the public for the introduction of his own works. Due to the controversial nature of its subject matter the author, Scottish geologist Robert Chambers, remained anonymous for many years after first publication in 1844.

NAPIER, John. A Plaine Discovery of the Whole Revelation of St. John. London: John Norton, 1611. 4to (172 x 123mm.) Title and text with black borders, italicised annotation within borders, engraved initials and ornaments. (Some gatherings loose, some leaves torn, lacking initial blank, rear blank and Bb8 with loss). Contemporary calf (lower cover detached, worn). Note: known mainly as a mathematician, this was Napier's first published work and the one of which he was most proud. Napier believed he could discover the date of the apocalypse by close analysis of the Book of Revelations.

WHISTON, William. A New Theory of the Earth… wherein the Creation of the World, the Universal Deluge, and the General Conflagration as Laid Down in the Holy Scriptures, are shown to be Perfectly Agreeable to Reason and Philosophy. London: R. Roberts, 1696. First edition, 8vo (186 x 111mm.) Engraved frontispiece of the 'Systema Solare', 7 engraved plates (1 folding), engraved illustrations, 2pp. publisher's advertisements to rear, errata leaf. (Browning, small tear to p.281, text affected.) Contemporary calf blind-tooled to upper and lower covers (front board detached).

[VIRGIL]. Publius Virgilius MARO. The Thirteene Bookes of Aeneidos, the first twelve being the worke of the divine Poet Virgil Maro, and the thirteenth, the Supplement of Maphaeus Vegius… translated into English by Thomas Phaer. London: Thomas Creede, 1596. Small 4to (172 x 128mm.) Engraved headpieces, initials, black letter, printer's device to title, dedication by Thomas Twyne. (Publisher's date to title trimmed, some catch words trimmed to lower margins, L2 and S3, faint underlining to A3, front and rear blanks replaced.) Early 19th century calf, triple fillet gilt borders, five raised bands with brown morocco lettering piece to the second compartment, g.e. (upper joint split, minor rubbing). Provenance: Francis Freeling (bookplate to front pastedown). [STC 24803].

ALDINE PRESS. - Marcus Annaeus LUCANUS. Civilis Belli. Venice: Aldus, April 1502. 8vo (132 x 84mm.) Italic type, title, dated to colophon at rear, two rear blanks, with colophon at S4. (Marginal damp-stain a1-G4, text mostly unaffected, the date '1502' in a contemporary hand on the title.) 18th century speckled calf, five raised bands, red morocco lettering piece (neatly rebacked, old spine label laid down). Note: Aldus published this a few months before adopting the dolphin device. Provenance: Jacob Weinberg, composer, (bookplate to front pastedown); Peter Cary (ink name to front free endpaper).

ALDINE PRESS. - EURIPIDES. Hecuba and Iphigenia in Aulide Euripidis tragaediae in latinum tralatae Erasmo Roterodamo. Venice: Aldus, December 1507. Small 8vo (159 x 86mm.) With preface from Aldus and another from Erasmus, Aldus device to title, colophon to last leaf, i8. (Mild toning.) 19th century brown morocco, double fillet with serrated gilt borders, five raised bands, lettering to the second compartment, intricate foliate gilt to the rest, g.e. Note: rare. The first Aldus edition of a translation of Euripides.

ALDINE PRESS. - [LUCRETIUS]. Titus Lucretius CARUS. De Rerum Natura. Venice: Aldus, January 1515. Italic letter, the woodcut Aldus device to title and to verso of last leaf, q8, and with the penultimate blank q7 and blank at *8. (Very minor, occasional spotting.) [Bound with:] C. Valerii FLACCI. Argonautica. Venice: Aldus, 1523. Aldus device to title and to rear at t4, the colophon at t3 reads 'Venetiis in Aedieus Aldi et Andreae Asula ni Soceri Mense Maio M.C XXIII'. (Very minor, occasional spotting, the t5 blank is present but loose.) 8vo (154 x 93mm.) Contemporary vellum, hand-written lettering to spine (minor soiling). Note: De Rerum Natura was the second book published by the Aldine press, the first edition coming out in 1500.

XENOPHON. - Gentian HERVET (translator). Treatise of Householde. London, in Fletestrete: Thomas Berthelet, 1537. Small 8vo (141 x 92mm.) Black letter, title within an architectural woodcut border with date '1534' in the sill, dated by colophon to rear, woodcut initial. (Marginal paper repair to A2, A3 and between E-F1, text unaffected, rear blank replaced, browning.) 19th century calf, five raised bands to spine, gilt lettering to the second compartment (surface rubbing). Note: originally translated by Cicero into Latin, this work ('Oeconomicus'), being principally about household management, can be viewed as one of the earliest works on economics. It also refers to wider social issues in Classical Athens, such as the relationship between men and women, slavery, religion and education. Provenance: Charles Butler, Warren Wood, Hatfield (nameplate to front pastedown); Thomas Jolley (bookplate to front pastedown); Ronald Coates (ink name to front free endpaper); Frederick Perkins (bookplate to rear pastedown).

OCCULT. - Hermes TRISMEGITUS. The Divine Pymander… in XVII Books, translated formerly out of the Arabick into Greek, and thence into Latine, and Dutch, and now out of the Original into English by that Learned Divine, Doctor Everard. London: by Robert White, for The Brewster, and Greg. Moule, 1650. First English edition, 8vo (138 x 84mm.) Title with decorative woodcut borders, engraved initials, head and tailpieces. (Small corner loss to initial blank, lacking errata leaf, browning to rear blanks.) Contemporary calf, blind-tooled borders, later black morocco lettering piece to spine (some loss to leather at top of spine, surface wear, two worm holes to lower cover). Note: one of the great esoteric works. This English translation by Everard came from the Latin translation by Ficino and is the first rendering into English of part of the Corpus Hermeticum. Though the original dating is uncertain, the hermetic texts formed the basis of the Renaissance interest in alchemy, astrology and magic.

HOBY, Edward. A Counter-Snarle for Ishmael Rabshacheh. London: for Nath. Butter, 1613. 4to (194 x 134mm.) Title with black borders, engraved initials and head-piece. (Large paper repairs to title and dedication page, text affected, lacking initial and rear blanks, minor loss to margins, text unaffected, spotting.) Near contemporary boards (rubbing, soiling). Note: early references to tobacco on pp.39-40 ('I confesse in my time I have not been an enemy to that Indian weede, and perhaps have spent some-what that way, which had bin better given to the poore...'). Written as a response to John Floyd's 'The Overthrow of the Protestant's Pulpit-Babel'. Provenance: Thomas Hearne, English diarist, editor and antiquary (name inscribed to front free endpaper); Joyce Cary, novelist (name inscribed to front pastedown).

POLAR EXPLORATION. - John ROSS. Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of North-West Passage and of a Residence in the Arctic Regions during the years 1829, 1830, 1831, 1832, 1833. London: A.W. Webster, 1835. First edition, 4to (318 x 237mm.) Frontispiece of Victoria Harbour with tissue-guard, errata leaf, 28 engraved and lithographed plates and maps (8 hand-coloured) only. (Frontispiece, errata and title-page loose, 1 plate loose, spotting to plates, browning, rear leaves loose.) Original blue cloth (lacking spine, boards detached).

MORRIS, Francis Orpen. A History of British Birds. London: John C. Nimmo Ltd., 1903. 6 vols., fifth edition, 8vo (252 x 168mm.) 400 hand-coloured illustrations of different birds on 399 plates. (Spotting to front and rear leaves.) Original green cloth, gilt lettering to spine, pictorial gilt to upper covers (lightly bumped to extremities) (6).

MORRIS, Francis Orpen. A Natural History of the Nests and Eggs of British Birds. London: Groombridge and Sons, 1853. First edition, 8vo (250 x 147mm.) 225 chromolithographed plates only (of 232). (Spotting to preliminaries and pastedowns.) Original blind-tooled green cloth with decorative gilt to upper covers and spines (slight fading) (3).

PRATT, Anne. Ferns of Great Britain and Their Allies, the Club-Mosses, Pepperworts, and Horsetails. London: Frederick Warne and Co., [n.d. circa 1860.] 8vo (236 x 149mm.) 41 chromolithographed plates. (Small stain to front pastedown, mild toning.) Original cloth blocked in gilt, red and black, g.e. (rubbed to extremities). Provenance: Sarah Thornton (ink name on front free endpaper); Agnes Macgrew (dedicatation to half-title). - And seven more volumes relating to ferns (including Shirley Hibberd's 'The Fern Garden', 1870, 8vo) (8).

CURTIS, John. British Entomology; being Illustrations and Descriptions of the Genera of Insects found in Great Britain and Ireland containing Coloured Figures from Nature. London: printed for the author, 1824-1839. 16 vols., 8vo (234 x 141mm.) 761 hand-coloured engraved plates only (of 770), indices, subscribers' lists. (Lacking 9 plates to the rear of volume 16, lacking the prefatory text at rear of same volume, occasional minor spotting.) Contemporary green morocco blind-tooled with gilt borders to covers (volume 16 with front cover detached and loss to top of spine cover, volume 15 front cover loosening, gilt titles fading) (16).