Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

BYRON, George Gordon Noel, Lord. The Complete Works of Lord Byron. Paris: Baudry's European Library, 1835. 4 vols., 8vo (198 x 116mm.) Steel-engraved portrait frontispiece with tissue-guard. (Toning, occasional spotting and browning.) Near contemporary brown half calf over purple cloth-covered boards (fading to cloth, occasional mark, rubbed to extremities). - And a further fourteen volumes relating to Byron's work (including, in the publisher's original binding, 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage', 1853, 8vo) (15).

KIPLING, Rudyard. Letters of Travel (1892-1913). London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1920. First edition, with mounted signature of Rudyard Kipling, 8vo (196 x 121mm.) 4pp. publisher's advertisements to rear. (Toning, mark to title-page, browning to initial blank.) Original red cloth (bumped to spine ends). Note: the mounted signature reads 'With all our greetings, most sincerely, Rudyard Kipling'. Provenance: Olivia Boddam (bookplate to front pastedown).

G.G. and J. ROBINSON (publisher). The Lady's Magazine; or Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated solely to their Use and Amusement. London: for G.G. and J. Robinson, 1799. Vol. 30, 8vo (203 x 114mm.) Engraved frontispiece, numerous folding engraved plates, 4pp. index to rear. (Browning, occasional creasing.) 20th century brown half morocco over marbled paper-covered boards. - And a further related volume ('The Englishwoman: A Continuation of The Ladies' Gazette & Penny Novelist', 1834-1835, 8vo) (2).

ACCOUNT BOOK. [The account book of Lieutenant Streatfield. N.p.: 1843-1854.] 8vo (176 x 112mm.) 143pp. of hand-written accounts, mainly relating to 'wages', 'waste-paper', 'pigeons,' 'police', 'cabs' and 'lawn billiards' and signed off by a 'John Enock', with a 24pp. 'Wine Account' to the rear. (Toning, minor soiling to margins.) Near contemporary vellum with bronze clasp and boss (minor staining).

DARWIN, Charles. The Origin of the Species… forty-third thousand. London: John Murray, 1892. Sixth edition, 8vo (188 x 122mm.) Half-title, 1 folding chart. (Toning, browning to endpapers.) Original green blind-stamped cloth, spine lettered in gilt (rubbing to spine ends, small mark at top of spine, minor soiling to upper cover). - And a further volume by Charles Darwin (the second edition of 'Insectivorous Plants', 1893, 8vo) (2).

BINDINGS. - James Anthony FROUDE. History of England from the Fall of Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1864-1867. 10 vols., mixed editions, 8vo (215 x 132mm.) (Toning, spotting to first and last leaves). 20th century brown half morocco over marbled paper-covered boards bound by Tuckett (binder to the Queen) (light rubbing, slight fading to the spines). - And a further eight volumes (including, bound by Zaehnsdorf, Leopold Ranke's 'The Ecclesiastical and Political History of the Popes of Rome', 3 vols., 1841, 8vo) (18).

BINDING. - Algernon Charles SWINBURNE. Poems and Ballads. London: Chatto & Windus, 1899-1905. 3 vols., mixed editions, 8vo (187 x 123mm.) (Toning, offsetting to endpapers.) Near contemporary red half morocco bound by Sotherans, t.e.g. (some rubbing and sunning to spines). Provenance: the property of Michael Godfey (3).

MOORE, John Hamilton. The Practical Navigator, and Seaman's New Daily Assistant. Being a Complete System of Practical Navigation, Improved, and rendered easy to any common Capacity, the Whole Exemplified in a Journal kept from London to Madeira. London: B. Law, 1784. Eighth edition, 8vo (210 x 126mm.) 4 engraved plates, 1 folding, numerous woodcut diagrams within text, tables of latitude and longitude to rear, 2pp. advertisements to rear. (Toning, some creasing to rear leaves.) Contemporary calf (heavily rubbed, some surface loss). Note: John Hamilton Moore was born in Edinburgh, educated in Ireland, and joined the Royal Navy at Plymouth and became a teacher of navigation. In 1770 he established a Nautical Academy in Brentford but is perhaps best known as the publisher of Blueback Nautical Charts.

ONORATI, Marsilio. Vita di Giesv Christo Redentor Nostro, Cauata da gli Euangelisti e da quell oche ne scriuono i sacri Dottori. Roma: Francesco Caualli, 1641. First edition, 4to (211 x 150mm.) Engraved frontispiece with architectural design, colophon to rear, 63pp. 'Indice'. (Browning throughout, light to moderate spotting, creasing to frontispiece.) Contemporary vellum (heavily browned, rubbed to extremities).

SARRATT, J.H. A Treatise on the Game of Chess. London: William Miller, 1808. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (209 x 126mm.) (First blank loosening in vol. 1, toning, lacking half-titles?) Contemporary mottled calf (lacking lettering pieces, one present but detached, upper cover of volume 2 loosening, extremities rubbed). Provenance: 'Allsopp' (name inscribed to second blanks). Note: known as 'the Professor of chess', J.H. Sarratt was a pupil of Verdoni and became renowned as a player and teacher in London in the early 19th century, and the first great English writer on chess (2).

MACPHERSON, James. The Poems of Ossian. London: W. Strahan, and T. Cadell, 1784. 2 vols., new edition, 8vo (220 x 128mm.) (Toning, occasional browning, marginal damp-staining to first leaves of volume one and last leaves of volume two.) Contemporary calf (rubbing to all extremities and wear to spine ends, minor staining, scuffing). Provenance: Robert Sherson (armorial bookplates to front pastedowns) (2).

BOWDLER, Thomas (editor). The Family Shakespeare… in which nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1823. 8 vols., third edition, signed by the editor, 8vo (214 x 131mm.) (Toning, occasional light spotting.) Near contemporary red calf, two black morocco lettering pieces to the spine, gilt borders and blind-stamped emblem to covers, gilt turn-ins (some surface loss to covers, rubbing to extremities, sunning to spines). Note: signed 'from the author' but it was Bowdler's sister Henrietta Maria Bowdler who did most of the editing. Provenance: E. Hardwick (ink inscribed on the initial blank); the property of Michael Godfrey (8).

SMOLLETT, Tobias. A Complete History of England, from the Descent of Julius Caesar, to the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle, 1748. London: James Rivington and James Fletcher, 1758-1760. 11 vols., second edition, 8vo (207 x 123mm.) Numerous engraved plates, including the folding map frontispiece of England and Wales. (Some repairs verso the folding plates, browning, occasional spotting and creasing, marginal insect damage to volume eleven.) Contemporary calf, red and black morocco lettering pieces to the spines (some joints splitting, rubbing to extremities). Provenance: Elizabeth Haynes (name-plate to the front pastedowns). - And a further five volumes by Tobias Smollett ('Continuation of the Complete History of England', 5 vols., 1760-1765, 8vo) (16).

MANUSCRIPT. - Harold LISTER. [Notes of the daily life in diary form of the heavyweight boxer Harold Lister. Bournemouth: N.p.:] 1938. 49pp., manuscript, 12mo (118 x 66mm.) Unnumbered pages in a single legible hand relating the daily activities and feelings of Harold Lister as he trains and begins his boxing career, several colour maps. (Toning, browning.) Original printed paper covers (marginal losses, minor soiling). Note: based in Bournemouth ('fed up and far from home') the young Harold Lister starts off the year fairly depressed, notes how often he goes drinking with or without others ('had a few convivial beers, solo'), but as the year goes on he trains regularly and goes to the pictures with Kathleen - during 'Mad About Music' there was an 'amorous interlude'- and while there are some trips to local sites (Studland Bay, Sandbanks, Corfe Castle) and an Evelyn Waugh novel ('Vile Bodies'), it's the training that matters. He has his first professional fight on July 1st, fights in Yeovil and the Isle of Wight and wins these first bouts. But on 9th November he suffers defeat, to Dick Weller, and notes that 'he felt down in the mouth' but vows 'I am going to train hard… [underlined]... I am going to get to the top'.

MINIATURE BOOKS. - William SHAKESPEARE. [The Works.] London: Allied Newspapers Ltd., [n.d. circa 1930.] 40 vols., 12mo (49 x 31mm.) (Toning.) Original black cloth (some extremities bumped), all contained within a three-tier plywood miniature bookcase (40).

BIBLE, In Ge'ez. [A hand-written Ethiopian Coptic Bible in the Ge'ez script. N.p.: circa early 19th century.] 478pp., manuscript, 8vo (149 x 98mm.) 239 leaves with manuscript text in red and black, 3 initials in blue, red and yellow and 5 marginal decorations. (Soiling, some leaves adhering, marginal paper-repairs and numerous leaves with some textual loss, three leaves loose.) Contemporary blind-stamped wallet-style calf (lacking ties and strap, rubbing).

BINDINGS. - Thomas de QUINCEY. The Works of… Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1862-1871. 16 vols., mixed editions, 8vo (179 x 118mm.) 9 frontispieces, folding facsimile of de Quincey's hand-writing, includes the supplement. (Toning, occasional spotting and to fore-edges.) Near contemporary brown half morocco, t.e.g. (fading, minor staining to spines). Provenance: 'A.C.O.' (bookplates to front pastedowns) (16).

POTTER, Beatrix. The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse. London: Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., [circa 1920.] Later printing, 12mo (139 x 112mm.) 27 colour plates by Beatrix Potter. (Toning, hinges reinforced with tape.) Original boards with hexagonal pictorial onlay to upper cover (damp-staining to spine, browning). - And a further seventeen volumes by Beatrix Potter (18).

CRIME. - Billy HILL. Boss of Britain's Underworld. London: The Naldrett Press Ltd., 1955. First edition, 8vo (214 x 137mm.) Photographic illustrations. (Toning.) Original black cloth (spine ends bumped), dust-jacket (some loss to extremities). Note: a mentor to the Kray twins, Hill organised the £254,000 mailbag robbery of 1952 and the bullion robbery of 1954. During this time his bodyguard was 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. In the 1960's, after the publication of his autobiography, he worked with John Aspinall at the Clermont Club to fleece wealthy patrons at the gaming tables. He retired in the 1970's. - And a further three volumes relating to crime (including Leslie Payne's 'The Brotherhood', 1973, 8vo, and Henry Ward and Tony Gray's 'Buller', 1974, 8vo) (4).