Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

LE FANU, Joseph Sheridan. The Fortunes of Colonel Torlogh O’Brien. London: Downey and Co., Ltd., 1896. 8vo (200 x 141mm.) Plates by ‘Phiz’ [Hablot Knight Browne]. (Toning.) Original blue cloth, gilt lettering to upper cover and spine (spine and covers darkened, slight warping to upper cover). – And a further four volumes by Le Fanu (including ‘The Wyvern Mystery’, 1889, 8vo, and ‘Wylder’s Hand’, 1899) (5).

BEATTIE, William. The Castles and Abbeys of England. London and New York: George Virtue, [circa 1850.] 2 vols., second series, 4to (277 x 183mm.) Titles in red and black with engraved vignettes, 38 steel-engraved plates. (Mild toning.) Near contemporary blue half morocco over marbled paper-covered boards, foliate gilt to four spine compartments, brown and red morocco lettering pieces to the rest, t.e.g. (lightly rubbed extremities). Provenance: L. Bartlett (bookplates to front pastedowns). – And a further six volumes (including ‘A General History of the County of Norfolk Intended to Convey all the Information of a Norfolk Tour’, 2 vols., 1829, 8vo, and Gilbert Abbott A’Beckett’s ‘The Comic History of England’, illustrated by John Leech, 2 vols., 1847-1848, 8vo) (8).

GILBERT, Stuart (editor). The Letters of James Joyce. London: Faber and Faber, 1957-1966. 3 vols., 8vo (232 x 144mm.) (Toning, gift inscriptions to front-free endpapers, light spotting to fore-edges.) Original grey cloth (lightly bumped), dust-jackets (toned). – And a further nine volumes (including James Joyce’s ‘Giacomo Joyce’, 1968, 8vo, and Anthony Burgess’ ‘Joysprick’, 1979, 8vo, and George Orwell’s ‘The English People’, 1947, 4to) (12).

WALLER-BRIDGE, Phoebe. Fleabag, The Scriptures. London: Sceptre, 2019. Limited edition, this being one of 5000 copies signed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, 8vo (216 x 150mm.) (Mild toning.) Original black cloth (lightly rubbed extremities), original pink wrap-around.

KING, Stephen. Rose Madder. New York: Viking, 1995. First edition, first impression, signed by Stephen King, 8vo (233 x 150mm.) Mounted colour photograph of the author on the half-title signed in silver ink. (Mild toning.) Original black cloth-backed boards (spine ends lightly bumped), dust-jacket.

MANUSCRIPT. [A journal of an English soldier, E.L. Cook, of the 9th Armoured Division, Royal Army Medical Corp of the British Army in India. Bombay, n.p.: 1942-1945.] 151pp., manuscript, 8vo (205 x 163mm.) 75 leaves of clearly legible hand-written journal entries describing the experiences of an English soldier as his regiment journey through India towards Burma, list of cities visited, and of those that died from disease to rear. (Some spotting, one loose leaf.) Original boards (spine lacking, worn). Note: the 9th Armoured Division (C.S.S.) arrived in India via Cape Town in June 1942. The 9th didn’t see military action and, indeed, the only reference to battle is a brief glimpse of Japanese aircraft overhead. For twenty minutes the sound of gunfire was ‘like music to my ears’. However, the journal has its own fascination. Lots of whiskey and gin is drunk, days of alcohol in Calcutta, seeing Lou Costello in ‘Rio Rita’, playing the gramophone with ‘Len and Busty’ at the military stop-point. They insist he stays over a few days (‘the best friends anyone can have’), cycling through the jungle and finding a waterfall (‘the fourth largest in the world’). But he is changing, ageing. He enjoys the hard graft of taking all the cargo downriver in a sampan. The Padre is asked to give a service. There’s a need for meaning when soldiers are ‘singing hymns with all their hearts and soul, men who had never seen inside a church’. The Padre, too, notices this need, and prolongs the service. Towards the end, he writes movingly, perhaps drunkenly, a section on ‘Fleeting Thoughts’. He wonders if his wife Mary will ‘notice the change in me’, but ends with valediction to the company: ‘all the fellows who I have lived daily with for three solid years here in India, worked with, sweated and toiled, and many a time been drunk with, we have cussed each other mercilessly, argued over trifles, had queer moods all of which has brought us closer together’.

WILLIAMS, James. The Footman’s Guide: Containing Plain Instructions to the Footman and Butler, for the Proper Arrangement and Regular Performance of Their Various Duties… Including the Manner of Setting-Out Tables, Sideboards, &c. London: Dean and Munday, [1835.] First edition, 8vo (168 x 98mm.) 2 folding engraved plates, 7 illustrations showing laid tables, 8pp. publisher’s advertisements to rear. (Browned, moderate spotting throughout, inner hinge weakened.) Original green cloth (minor staining to covers, residue of paper label to spine). Note: scarce.

GOLDSMITH, Oliver. A History of the Earth and Animated Nature. Edinburgh and London: A. Fullarton and Co., [1853.] 2 vols., 8vo (254 x 160mm.) 72 hand-coloured plates, including 2 hand-coloured vignettes on additional titles. (Toning, occasional light spotting.) Contemporary full calf, red morocco lettering pieces to the spines, blind-stamped and pictorial gilt to upper covers (lightly rubbed). Provenance: Mary Elizabeth Bland (ink name inscribed to both initial blanks) (2).

CHEMISTRY. – [Joseph ROBERTSON.] An Essay on Culinary Poisons. Containing Cautions Relative to the Use of Laurel-Leaves, Hemlock, Mushrooms, Copper-Vessels, Earthen Jars, &c. With Observations on the Adulteration of Bread and Flour. London: G. Kearsley, 1781. First edition, 4to (204 x 126mm.) (Marginal damp-stain to title, browning, last leaf F3 with outer margin cut, blanks replaced). Late 20th century brown calf-backed marbled paper-covered boards (endpapers replaced). Provenance: Edward Braxton Reynolds (bookplate to front pastedown). – And a further fifteen volumes, mainly relating to chemistry (including Sheridan Muspratt’s ‘Chemistry, Theoretical, Practical, and Analytical. As Applied and Relating to the Arts and Manufactures’, 2 vols., [1860], 4to) (16).

SOWERBY, James. British Mineralogy: or Coloured Figures Intended to Elucidate the Mineralogy of Great Britain. London: R. Taylor & Co., 1804-1811. 4 vols. (only, of 5). 8vo (228 x 137mm.) 400 hand-coloured engraved plates, some heightened with gum arabic, tissue-guards, titles, indices to rear of each volume. (Toning, occasional light browning, first leaves up to C1 of volume IV loose.) Contemporary half calf to volumes ll-lV (spine lacking and boards detached to volume IV, upper cover of volume lll detached, worn), 20th century cloth-backed boards to volume l, paper label mounted to spine (endpapers replaced, finger-marks to spine). Note: a very influential source of information in the early study of geology. Sowerby drew all the plates from specimens in his collection and they were beautifully hand-coloured by himself and others (4).

DEVON. – Thomas SHAPTER. The Climate of the South of Devon and Its Influence Upon Health. London: John Churchill, 1862. Second edition, signed by the author on the half-title, 8vo (224 x 135mm.) Engraved hand-coloured map frontispiece, 32pp. publisher’s advertisements to rear. (Toning, marginal damp-stain to first leaves.) 20th century blue morocco-backed marbled paper-covered boards, gilt lettering (endpapers replaced). – And a further eight volumes (including J.G. Bartholomew’s ‘Handy Reference Atlas of the World’, 1912, 8vo, and Tristram Risdon’s ‘The Chorographical Description or Survey of the County of Devon’, 1811, 8vo) (9).

ENTOMOLOGY. – W.E. SHUCKARD (editor). The British Coleoptera Delineated, Consisting of Figures of all the Genera of British Beetles. London: W. Crofts, 1840. First edition, 8vo (213 x 134mm.) 94 engraved plates. (First two and last plates heavily spotted, thereafter light to moderate spotting to all plates.) Contemporary half calf, red morocco lettering piece to the spine (extremities rubbed). – And a further seven related volumes (including F.O. Morris’ ‘A Natural History of British Moths’, 4 vols., 1872, 8vo) (8).

RUPERT THE BEAR ANNUALS. – [Alfred BESTALL et al.] Rupert the Bear. London: Daily Express Publications, 1944-1953. 7 vols., 4to (243 x 175mm.) Numerous illustrations. (Names inscribed in 1905 and 1953, toning, occasional corner crease.) Original pictorial card covers (wear to spine of 1944, and to the spine ends of 1945, lacking spine to 1952, extremities rubbed) (7).

FISHERIES EXHIBITION. The Fisheries Exhibition Literature. London: William Clowes, 1883. 12 vols. (only, of 14). 8vo (216 x 128mm.) Folding plates, including one for ‘A Scheme For a Central Fish Market in London’ and a U.K. map of the fishing population, illustrations in the text, indices and advertisements. (Small tears to the map, toning, scattered light spotting.) Original pictorial vari-cloth (extremities rubbed, paper reference labels to base of spines). Note: lacking volumes 13 and 14 which are the ‘Official Report’ and the ‘General Index’ (12).

DICKENS, Charles. The Adventures of Oliver Twist, or The Parish Boys Progress. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1895. Limited edition, this being one of 500 copies only, large 8vo (286 x 195mm.) 26 colour plates after George Cruikshank, tissue-guards. (Half-title heavily spotted, light scattered spotting thereafter, uncut leaves.) Original brown half morocco (some spotting to margins of covers), dust-jacket (spine sunned, some loss to spine panel, tape repairs verso). – And a further eighteen volumes relating to Charles Dickens (including Kyd’s [Joseph Clayton Clarke] ‘The Characters of Charles Dickens’, [1890], 4to) (19).

CLARENDON, Edward Hyde. The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England Begun in the Year 1641. Oxford: at the Theatre, 1707. 3 vols. in 6, first octavo edition, 8vo (220 x 132mm.) Half-titles to volumes 1, 3 and 5, 6 engraved portrait frontispieces, 75pp. ‘Index’ to rear of volume 3. (Toning, volume l, part 2 with marginal insect-damage to preliminaries and first twenty leaves, occasional browning.) Contemporary speckled panelled calf, red and green morocco lettering pieces to the spines (rubbing to spine ends). Provenance: Lydia Weston (ink name to front pastedown of volume I); Joseph Crosswaite (ink name to title-pages); Edward Herbert, Viscount Clive, M.P. (bookplates to front pastedowns) (6).

BEAUMONT, Francis and John FLETCHER. Comedies and Tragedies… Never Printed Before. London: for Humphrey Robinson and Humphrey Moseley, 1647. First collected edition, folio (316 x 202mm.) Woodcut initials and head and tail-pieces, text in double-column, 7 lists of ‘Speakers of this Play’ in manuscript verso last leaf of preceding play. (Lacking portrait frontispiece, insect-damage to margins and within some text, title and initial blank with paper-repairs and numerous leaves with marginal paper repairs, some leaves text-affected, Qqq2 with corner loss.) Contemporary boards (rebacked, endpapers replaced, extremities heavily rubbed). Note: involving the work of eight different printers, the publication of this work was the third great folio edition of Elizabethan drama, after Shakespeare in 1623 and Ben Jonson in 1616. It contains twenty-two leaves of poetry dedicated to the two dramatists, including first printings of work by Ben Jonson, Richard Lovelace, Milton, Herrick, Shirley, Waller, and Roger L’ Estrange. Provenance: Car. I. Taboris (ink stamp to initial blank).

HERBERT, Edward. The Life of Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Written by Himself. London: J. Dodsley, 1770. Second edition. Engraved fold-out portrait frontispiece. (Browning, offsetting to title, toning.) [Bound with:] Edward HERBERT. A Dialogue Between A Tutor and His Pupil. London: W. Bathoe, 1768. (Title browned.) 4to (228 x 179mm.) Contemporary calf, red morocco lettering piece to the spine (heavily rubbed, some loss to upper cover). Note: Edward was the elder brother to the poet George. But unlike his brother, Edward was a noted deist, as can be seen by the louche pose he adopts in the frontispiece, lying beside a flowing stream and with the words ‘Magica Sympathia’ on his shield. Provenance: A.L.S. (bookplate to the front pastedown); E. Richmond Swales (ink inscribed verso the front-free endpaper). – And a further two volumes (Michael Bryan’s ‘A Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers’, 2 vols., 1816, 4to) (3).

LOUDON, [Jane Webb.] The Ladies’ Flower-Garden of Ornamental Greenhouse Plants. London: William Smith, 1848. First edition, 4to (269 x 206mm.) 42 hand-coloured lithographic plates, some heightened with gum arabic, tissue-guards, 3pp. ‘Index’ to rear. (A few plates with light spotting, toning.) Near contemporary green half morocco, g.e. (extremities rubbed, some scuffing and fading, minor stain to upper cover). Provenance: ‘Napier’ (pencil name inscribed to initial blank). – And a related volume (‘The Florist’, Vol. 1- January-December, 1848, 8vo) (2).