Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

[CURZON, Henry.] The Universal Library: Or, Compleat Summary of Science Containing Above Sixty Select Treatises… with Divers Secrets, Experiments and Curiosities Therein. London: for T. Warner, 1722. 2 vols., second edition, 8vo (194 x 114mm.) A folding pedigree of the family of Curzon in volume 2. (Browning and spotting throughout.) Contemporary panelled calf, brown morocco lettering pieces to the spines (rubbing to extremities, some surface loss). Note: a compendium of contemporary knowledge, with sections on metaphysics, astrology, and 'Mathematical Magick'. - And a further forty related volumes (including John Trusler's 'Chronology: or, the Historian's Vade-Mecum', 1792, 8vo) (42).

[TUTCHIN, John.] [A New Martyrology, or the Bloody Assizes: Now Exactly Methodized in One Volume. London: for John Dunton, 1689.] Third edition, 8vo (173 x 97mm.) Title supplied in contemporary calligraphic manuscript hand on a front blank, 1p. publisher's advertisement to rear. (Newspaper article mounted on front pastedown, name erased from front blank, browning throughout, minor soiling, small paper repair to Hh2.) Contemporary calf (lacking lettering piece, rubbing, upper cover weakening). Provenance: William Whitchurch (name inscribed to front blank); Gulielmus de Albo Monasterio (name inscribed to front blank); M. Collins (name inscribed to front pastedown); W.E. Collins (name inscribed to front pastedown). - And a further two volumes (including 10 parts of 'The Whole Proceedings on the King's Commission of the Peace, Oyer and Terminer, and Gaol Delivery for the City of London', 1787-1788, 4to, and a defective copy of Nicholas Cox's 'The Gentleman's Recreation', 1697, 8vo) (3).

BINDING. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments. London: George E. Eyre and W. Spottiswoode, 1847. 24mo (138 x 78mm.) (Toning, minor spotting, marginal creasing.) Near contemporary black gutta percha binding (upper hinge broken). Provenance: Arabella Williams (name inscribed to title-page). - And a further six unrelated volumes (including the first edition in book form of Charles Dickens' 'Little Dorrit', 1857, 8vo) (7).

HALL, Michael (editor). The London Mystery Magazine. London: Hulton Press and Norman Kark, 1949-1981. 125 vols. 8vo (187 x 129mm to 176 x 100mm.) Numerous illustrations by various artists, including Austin Spare, Mervyn Peake and Ronald Searle. (Toning, occasional spotting, browning.) Original card covers (some volumes with wear to spine ends, browning, some spotting). Note: a near complete run of the magazine, lacking numbers 2,3,7,11,15,28 and the last one, number 132. The Magazine changed its name to 'The London Mystery Selection' from volume 36 onwards. For the first 15 issues the address of the magazine was the famous 221b Baker Street. The Abbey Building Society - who were working from that address at the time- allowed Michael Hall to use it as the address for his new magazine on the basis that he answered all the mail that arrived for Sherlock Holmes, something that a Building Society employee, the worthy Samuel W.G. Morton, had been doing until that time (125).

LEWIS, Wyndham (editor). The Enemy. [London:] The Arthur Press, January [February] 1927. Vol. 1. 8vo (281 x 186mm.) Several illustrations by Wyndham Lewis, including 1 in colour. (Toning.) Original wrappers (lacking lower cover, spine worn, chipped). Note: the first volume of Lewis's new magazine. The second and last issue of 'Blast' was published in 1915. The Enemy lasted for two years. But like 'Blast', its publication was delayed. Lewis explains this is in a note: 'The Enemy' was to have appeared in January, as indicated on the cover; but owing to a miscalculation as to the time required to prepare it, it is appearing in February instead'. - And a further twenty-four volumes of literary magazines and poetry pamphlets (including the 2nd and 7th issues of 'Transition', May-Oct 1927, small 8vo, and the first three issues of Jon Silkin's poetry magazine, 'Stand', 3 vols., 1952, 8vo) (25).

CHAMBERS, Copthall. The Cricket Match, a poem. [London:] John Such, Budge Row, 1859. 8vo (178 x 114mm.) (Toning, some corner creasing and minor soiling.) Original green card covers (fading, abrasions). - And a further ten volumes relating to cricket (the John and James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Companion, 5 vols., for the years 1878, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885, and also James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Annual, 5 vols., for the years 1882, 1883, 1886, 1887 and 1898) (11).

WISDEN, John (publisher). Cricketers' Almanack. London: John Wisden and Co. and Sporting Handbooks, 1888-1967. 34 vols., 8vo (158 x 94mm.) Advertisements, numerous illustrations, photographic plates for the earliest volumes (up to 1915). (Toning, lacking plate for 1904, occasional spotting.) Later cloth, original cloth for 1946 onwards, original card wrappers for 1955 (discolouring to spine of 1903 and wear to 1913, fading), dust-jacket for 1965. Note: comprises almanacks for the years 1888, 1892, 1900, 1902, 1904-1915, 1920, 1922, 1924-1933, 1946, 1950-1951, 1955, 1965, 1967. - And two related volumes ('An Index to Wisden 1864-1943', 1944, 8vo, and a duplicate of the 1928 volume) (36).

BIBLE, In Greek. - Robert HOLMES (editor). Vetus Testamentum Graecum cum Variis Lectionibus. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1798-1827. 5 vols. in 4 vols., folio (343 x 266mm.) Text in Greek, notes in Latin, elaborate presentation plate in gilt to the front pastedown of volume 1, includes Apocrypha in volume 5. (Toning, occasional minor spotting.) Near contemporary purple morocco, blind-tooled with Bishop's mitre in gilt to all covers, gilt turn-ins, g.e. (rubbing to all extremities, some discolouring). Provenance: Samuel Butler, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry (presentation plate to the front pastedown of volume 1) (4).

MARTIN, John (illustrator). - John MILTON. Paradise Lost. London: Septimus Prowett, 1827. 2 vols. Limited edition, being one of 50 'Imperial' quartos with 'Proof' plates, 4to (363 x 255mm.) Half-titles, 24 mezzotint plates with touches of drypoint, each one lettered 'Proof', tissue-guards, section title-pages to the poem with 'Argument' verso. (Spotting to most plate margins and to all tissue-guards and preliminaries, 2 plates heavily browned, occasional spotting to text.) Near contemporary straight-grain morocco, scrolling foliate gilt borders, g.e. (heavily rubbed, surface loss) (2).

BONAPARTE, Lucien. Charlemagne; ou L'Église Délivrée. Poème Épique en Vingt-Quatre Chants. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1814. 2 vols., folio (383 x 235mm.) Engraved portrait frontispiece, 1 engraved plan of Rome. (Spotting to preliminaries and all margins.) Contemporary calf, g.e. (covers detached, worn). Provenance: Samuel Butler, novelist (bookplate to front pastedown, pencil name to initial blank). - And a further five volumes (including the English translation of the same work, 2 vols., 1815, folio, and 'Choix de Gravures A L'eau Forte, d'Aprés Les Peintures Originales et les Marbres de la Galerie de Lucien Bonaparte', 1812, folio) (7).

LONDON. - A. Keith JOHNSTON. Handy Royal Atlas of Modern Geography. Edinburgh and London: W. & A.K. Johnston, 1879. New edition, folio (364 x 235mm.) 46 engraved double-paged plates with hand-coloured outlining, 102.pp index to rear. (Lacking rear blank, toning, spotting to preliminaries and lightly verso the plates.) Original green half morocco over buckram-covered boards, gilt lettering to upper cover, g.e. (sunning to spine, rubbing to all extremities).

SALKELD, William. Reports of Cases Adjudged in the Court of King's Bench: with Some Special Cases in the Courts of Chancery, Common Pleas and Exchequer. London: In the Savoy by Henry Lintot, 1742. 2 vols. in 1. Fourth edition, 4to (298 x 193mm.) (Toning, damp-stain to rear blank, a few corner creases, lacking front blank.) 20th century half brown calf, red morocco lettering piece to the spine (endpapers replaced, minor soiling). - And a further six volumes (including, without the maps, Malachy Postlethwayt's 'The Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce', 2 vols., 1766, folio) (7).

L'ESTRANGE, Roger (translator). The Works of Flavius Josephus: translated into English… I. The Antiquities of the Jews, in Twenty Books. II. Their Wars with the Romans, in Seven Books. III. The Life of Josephus written by Himself. IV. The Book Against Apion. V. The Martyrdom of the Maccabees. As also; VI. Philo's Embassy from the Jews of Alexandria to Caius Caligula. London: Richard Sare, 1702. Folio signed in 4s (384 x 238mm.) Engraved frontispiece, 2 engraved plates, 2 folding engraved maps, irregular pagination. (Frontispiece loose, heavily chipped and creased, damp-staining throughout, last leaf torn, initial blank loose.) Contemporary calf (worn). Provenance: Charles Hamerton (name inscribed to title-page); Dorking Museum (small stamp to front pastedown). - And a further three related volumes (Anthony Farindon's Sermons, 3 vols., 1647-1672, 4to) (4).

TRAVEL. - Edward IVES. A Voyage from England to India, in the Year MDCCLIV. And an Historical Narrative of the Operation of the Squadron and Army in India. London: Edward and Charles Dilly, 1773. First edition, signed by the author, 4to (264 x 207mm.) 2 folding engraved maps, 12 engraved plates. (Textblock wholly split in several places, many loose leaves, some spotting and soiling.) Contemporary calf (lacking spine, covers detached). Provenance: 'Mr. Stocker' (gift inscribed to by the author on the front pastedown). - And a further three unrelated volumes (including a Liberty catalogue 'Dress and Decoration', [1905], folio) (4).

FREEDMAN, D.N. (editor). The Leningrad Codex… a Facsimile edition. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: William B. Eerdman, 1988. 4to (324 x 275mm.) Numerous photographic illustrations. (Toning.) Original cloth, mounted illustration to upper cover (some warping of upper cover). - And a further eight volumes of related books, mostly 18th century (including 'The Book of Common Prayer', published by John Baskett, 1715, folio) (9).

JARDINE, William. British Salmonidae. London: Decimus, 1979. Limited facsimile edition, this being number 90 of 500 copies, large folio (620 x 465mm.) 12 coloured plates, 4pp. introductory booklet loosely inserted. (Mild toning.) Original brown morocco-backed green cloth, morocco lettering piece mounted to upper cover (slight rubbing to spine, some discolouring to cloth), original green cloth-covered slipcase (a few marks, marginal staining, rubbing).

CHAMBERS, E. Cyclopaedia: or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences containing… Figures, Kinds, Properties, Productions, Preparations, and Uses of Things Natural and Artificial. London: W. Innys et al., 1751-1753. 2 vols., seventh edition, folio (397 x 245mm.) Titles in red and black, 14 engraved plates, 10 folding. (Lacking blanks, preliminaries loose, frontispiece large tear with major loss, creasing, spotting, damp-staining.) Contemporary calf (worn). - And a further four miscellaneous volumes (6).

FORGERY. - [Icilio Federico JONI. A pair of book covers in the Renaissance style, or 'Tavolette di Biccherna'. N.p.: circa late 19th century, early 20th.] Italian giltwood and tempera, one panel with scrolling foliage surrounding seven Sienese shields, a Latin inscription dated '1475', the other with matching foliage around a courtly male figure holding a feather and a shield, joined with a leather binding, steel mounts, glazed in a giltwood frame. Note: by the year 1459 the Commune of Siena had begun binding their accounts in leather, so Joni's dated inscription of '1475' reveals his deception. In selling these as original Renaissance book covers, Joni also failed to recreate contemporary stitching. Nevertheless, he enjoyed some celebrity when he was unmasked, and continued to receive commissions for his bindings. Provenance: J.P. Hartley, writer (mounted paper label to verso).

WALKER, George. The Costume of Yorkshire. Leeds: Richard Jackson, 1885. Limited edition, this being the large paper edition, number 11 of 100 copies only, folio (443 x 221mm.) Chromolithographed frontispiece, 40 chromolithographed plates, text in French and English, 4pp. of 'Notes' to rear. (Spotting to the limitation page and to margins of first leaves, some offsetting, spotting to 'Notes' leaves.) Original black half morocco over green cloth-covered boards, gilt vignette and lettering to upper cover, t.e.g. (a few marks to lower cover, spine panel bumped). Note: this large paper edition on 'Japan' paper was published in a run of 100 copies, a further 500 copies were published on plate paper. The work is based on the aquatint version that was published in 1814. Provenance: C. Stacey (armorial bookplate to the front-free endpaper).