24,927 results
1950ref. 87868Mazenod Basutoland Lesotho: Catholic Centre N.d. ca. 1950s. No statement of edition or printing. Quarto; stapled sheets with cloth tape spine 46pp. Slight dusting to covers else Fine. Text entirely in Sesotho. A fictional text for juvenile readers likely written with pedagogic intent. From our admittedly amateur attempts at translation the tale revolves around the adventures of Mahlasinyane the son of a farmer who one day in a fit of adolescent pique runs away from home so that he may "do as he pleases." We have not read further but given the source of publication one may infer that a series of Christian moral allegories follow. OCLC notes three copies in North America and one other in South Africa; UCLA cataloguing gives the dates as "1970" almost certainly in error as Basutoland was officially renamed Lesotho in 1966. Catholic Centre unknown books
1899ref. 47658Chicago: Tiskem a Nákladem Aug. Geringera 1899. First Edition. Octavo 26cm.; original color lithograph wrappers; 240pp.; double frontispiece illus. throughout. Wrapper extremities chipped and a bit dog-eared with loss at both spine ends slightly affecting upper cover extremities a bit toned else Good to Very Good. Text entirely in Czech. Czech-American literary almanac including a daily calendar cartoons poetry jokes short stories and articles on major events of the year in this case the ongoing Dreyfus Affair and the Philippine-American War. Short stories includes tales set among the early Czech settlers of Texas Nebraska and Chicago. Uncommon item in the lovely color lithographic wrappers signed "Nádherny" in image. Tiskem a Nákladem Aug. Geringera unknown books
1913ref. 47660Chicago: Nákladem a tiskem Aug. Geringera 1913. First Edition. Octavo 25.5cm.; original color lithograph wrappers;33826adspp.; illus. throughout. Wrapper extremities chipped with shallow one-inch loss to fore-edge of upper cover spine crown chipped a few interior leaves dog-eared else Good to Very Good. Text entirely in Czech. Czech-American literary almanac including a daily calendar cartoons poetry jokes short stories and articles on major events of the year among these the Great Dayton Flood of 1913. Literary content includes tales set among the early Czech settlers of Texas and the Czech upper crust in New York. Uncommon item in the lovely color lithographic wrappers signed "Nádherny" in image. Nákladem a tiskem Aug. Geringera unknown books
1888ref. 37326Cleveland: Lauer & Mattill 1888. First Edition. Octavo 20.5cm.; publisher's blue-green decorative cloth stamped in black; 4492pp.; frontispiece pictorial ads bound in at front and end of textblock. Boards rather rubbed and worn textblock uniformly toned due to poor paperstock childish pencil scribbles to preliminaries frontispiece starting to separate. Overall an About Very Good only copy. Text entirely in German blackletter. Lauer & Mattill unknown books
1876ref. 5677Bangkok: Royal Publishing House 1876. Together good plus. Two volumes. 448; 442pp. Large quarto. First volume in contemporary quarter sheep and pebbled boards; second volume in later library buckram. Even tanning heavier to second volume. Scattered chipping small closed tears worming and moisture damage to second volume. A substantial and complete two-year run of the Royal Gazette a rare landmark Thai newspaper. "The Royal Gazette was first published in 1858 during the reign of King Rama IV. It was launched because ‘the traditional practice of manually copying various announcements was slow’. The content included government announcements legal regulations and statements that countered misinformation in relation to government news as well as notifications of births and deaths. It was distributed to various ministries and provinces coming to be regarded as the first newspaper published by the Thai people" -- Suveeranont. The first version of the gazette lasted for about a year before it was discontinued but the paper was revived in 1874 by King Rama V also known as King Chulalongkorn. The present volumes represent the first two years of this second incarnation of the Royal Gazette complete with forty-eight issues each. Royal Publishing House unknown books
1921ref. 226251921. Indigenous Language Tozzer Alfred M. A Maya Grammar with Bibliography and Appraisement of the Works Noted. Cambridge Massachusetts: Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Harvard University 1921. First edition first printing. Issued as Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Harvard University Vol. IX. Original printed wrappers. 301 pages. 8vo. A foundational study in Maya linguistics by Alfred Marston Tozzer 1877-1954 Harvard archaeologist anthropologist and one of the earliest U.S. scholars to systematically study Maya language and culture. Drawing upon his fieldwork in Yucatán Chiapas Tabasco and northern Guatemala during the early 1900s Tozzer compiles and analyzes Maya grammar in a structured form comparable to Latin models with extensive sections on phonetics syntax and verb classification. His preface acknowledges the assistance of leading anthropologists including Franz Boas and F.W. Putnam as well as the support of Charles P. Bowditch described as "that greatest of all friends of Maya research." The text includes not only grammar and syntax but also a comprehensive bibliography with appraisal of earlier works positioning this as both a reference and historiographical study of Maya scholarship. The work remains a cornerstone in the field of Mesoamerican linguistics particularly for its attempt to codify Maya languages using comparative methods. Tozzer's systematic treatment reflects the early 20th-century intersection of archaeology and philology and the book is still cited in modern scholarship for its detailed documentation of dialects and grammatical processes. The volume embodies the Peabody Museum's central role in shaping American anthropology and the academic study of Indigenous cultures of the Americas. Wear to wrappers and some pages frayed or uncut some pencil markings to cover and first few pages otherwise clean. Overall very good condition. An important first edition of a landmark in Maya studies scarcely found on the market crucial for institutions collecting in linguistics anthropology and Latin American history. unknown books
1943ref. 105501943. War Department. Japanese: A Guide to the Spoken Language 1943 was prepared for American military personnel during World War II as the United States expanded operations across the Pacific. Rather than anticipating an imminent conquest of Japan the guide belongs to the War Department's broader wartime program of practical language instruction for servicemen operating in regions where Japanese was spoken or where communication with Japanese military personnel and civilians might be required. Its publication in June 1943 places it during the campaigns that followed Guadalcanal and preceded the major Central Pacific offensives of 1943-1944 when language training had direct military value for interrogation field communication occupation duties and contact with local populations. War Department. Japanese: A Guide to the Spoken Language. Washington D.C.: War Department June 19 1943. Approximately 60 pages. 4 x 5 inches. Paperback. Marked "for military personnel only." The compact manual provides basic spoken Japanese for servicemen and incorporates cartoon illustrations to support instruction and memorization. Its small format suited field use and places the booklet among the portable language aids produced for American troops during the war. The restriction "for military personnel only" identifies the booklet as an official wartime instructional publication rather than a commercial phrase book. Produced more than two years before Japan's surrender in August 1945 it records the War Department's effort to give American servicemen functional language skills while combat operations against Japan were still underway. The earlier suggestion that the guide was intended for B-52 crews is chronologically impossible: the Boeing B-52 did not enter service until the 1950s. Minor expected handling to the paperback format; otherwise very good condition. unknown books
1869ref. 332990Mexico: Tip. de la V. de Murguia e hijos 1869. First Edition. 122 of 124pp missing title-page which is replaced by facsimile. 12mo. Quarter green morocco and boards spine partially perished. First Edition. 122 of 124pp missing title-page which is replaced by facsimile. 12mo. Tip. de la V. de Murguia e hijos unknown books
1892ref. List3029Indian Territory: N.p. 1892. Folio of eleven unbound sheets forty-four pages measuring approximately 6 x 8 inches. Marginal damage and fading to text; excellent. Amory Nelson Chamberlin 1821–1894 was born on Brainerd Mission in what is now Chattanooga Tennessee the son and grandson of missionaries. Fluent in both English and Cherokee Chamberlin worked as an interpreter and served under General Stand Watie in the Confederate States Army.1 After the war Chamberlin established the Pheasant Hill Mission near Vinita Indian Territory with Reverend Hamilton Balentine preaching in Cherokee and English.2 Offered here is a Cherokee-language version of the Shorter Catechism translated by Chamberlin. The Cherokee written language is a syllabary—a writing system in which symbols represent whole syllables—developed in the early 19th century by Sequoyah a Cherokee leader and inventor. It was one of the first writing systems for an Indigenous American language and significantly increased Cherokee literacy within a short time of its adoption in the 1820s.3 We find fifteen copies of Chamberlin’s catechism in OCLC. Of interest to historians of the Cherokee nation its language and its Christian missionaries. 1 Lon H. Eakes “Rev. Amory Nelson Chamberlin 1821–1894” Chronicles of Oklahoma 12 no. 1 1934: 97–102. 2 O.B. Campbell Vinita I.T.: The Story of a Frontier Town of the Cherokee Nation 1871–1907 The Oklahoma Publishing Co. 1909. 3 Willard Walker and James Sarbaugh “The Early History of the Cherokee Syllabary” Ethnohistory 40 no. 1 Winter 1993: 70–94. N.p. unknown books
1944ref. 010291New York: Thomas Y. Crowell company 1944. Book. Near Fine. Cloth. 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. First Edition First Printing no additional printings listed of this important American slang dictionary uncommon in dust jacket and in the First Printing. Near Fine small rubs to cloth at tips 3 pages with small top corner creases. In a Very Good dust jacket 1" closed tear top edge front cover small chips and light wear at edges. . Thomas Y. Crowell company Hardcover books
1831ref. 007946Paris: Crapelet 1831. Book. Very Good Minus. Morocco. First Edition. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. SCARCE. In full contemporary red morocco signed "Lebrun Relieur" the back covered with repeating gilt decoration the covers with triple gilt rule outer border and triple gilt rule inner border around gilt tooled floral band and with gilt decorations at corners all edges gilt marbled end papers a lovely example of early 19th century fine French binding. Very Good mInus old dampstain mostly to margins and where in text not affecting legibility rear end page edge chipped small chip to morocco at head of spine. With two fold-out facsimiles at rear one in color. Crapelet Hardcover books
1935ref. 006562New York: Columbia University Press 1935. Book. Very Good Plus. Printed Wrappers. First Edition Thus. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. RARE extract. Paginated 389-515. Very Good Plus from the collection of noted anthropologist linguist and ethnomusicologist George Herzog his signature last name in ink top edge front cover sticker shadow front cover wrappers toned at edges. Printed on cover and title page as coming from Vol. IV pencil corrected to Vol. III. Columbia University Press Paperback books
1820ref. 1153London: Printed for the Author. 1820. First Edition; Second Issue. Original blue paper boards with paper label. Very good; some spine abrasion. 8vo viii 1 - 149 1 - 159 1 - advertisement engraved frontispiece This appears to be a remainder issue of two works issued by the author in 1819 and 1820. Under directions to the binder the title and prelims. of vol. 2 were to be cancelled the case in this copy when bound up together. Smart was a prolific author in the field of language and philosophy. He describes himself as a public reader of Shakespeare who is offering a new principle that guides every speaker. The second volume is devoted to the examples of how his new theory operates in the theatre. DNB XVIII 385. Printed for the Author. hardcover books
2011ref. 70038Lanzhou China: Gansu Ethnic Publishing House 2011. Third edition 16mo 5¼" x 4" pp. 4 968; lexicon in double column; original maroon cloth-backed decorative paper-covered boards; fine. Tibet entries and Chinese equivalents. Gansu Ethnic Publishing House unknown books
1999ref. 66114Seoul: National Institute of the Korean Language 1999. 4to 3 large volumes; text in triple column limp tan boards; spines of dust jackets soiled else fine/very good in original slip cases. The official dictionary of the Korean language produced by the state regulator of language. National Institute of the Korean Language unknown books
2008ref. 66158Elizabeth NJ and Seoul: Hollym 2008. Second printing 8vo pp. 197 11; printed paper wrappers; text clean and unused a little musty else fine with original CD in pocket untested. Together with: Writing Korean for beginners. Elizabeth and Seoul: Hollym 2007. Second printing 8vo pp. 311 15; printed paper wrappers; text clean and unused fine. Together with: Reading Korean for beginners. Elizabeth and Seoul: Hollym 2008. First edition 8vo pp. 223 1; printed paper wrappers; text clean and unused fine. Without the Listening Korean for beginners volume. A set meant for the self-study of the language. Hollym unknown books
2007ref. 66161Paju: Darakwon 2007. Second printing 8vo pp. 223 1; pictorial paper wrappers; text clean and unused; fine with CD included not tested. Darakwon unknown books
1863ref. 12138Utrecht: J.G. Broese & Ghent: Willem Rogghe 1863. First edition 2 volumes 8vo; both volumes in contemporary red morocco a.e.g. gilt gilt decorations on covers and spines some staining inside back cover of Vol. I some rubbing light staining on covers and spines else fine. Proceedings from the fourth and seventh Dutch language scholars' congress held in Utrecht. The discussions include lectures on rewriting the Dutch grammar tautology education Dutch and Flemish dialects plus some original poetry. J.G. Broese & Ghent: Willem Rogghe unknown books
1945ref. 008507New York: Alfred A. Knopf 1945. Book. Near Fine. Cloth. SIGNED BY AUTHOR. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on presentation bookplate "This book is especially Autographed by the Author signed H.L. Mencken in ink Kroch's Bookstores Chicago". Near Fine small corner bumps toning from bookplate glue at front end pages in a Very Good dust jacket small chips at spine ends and corners. Alfred A. Knopf Hardcover books
1810ref. 009881London: Printed for F. C & J. Rivington et al 1810. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. SCARCE OCLC locates only two copies of this edition worldwide in institutions no copies found in current commerce. viii 643 p. Bound in contemporary quarter calf over cloth boards Very Good the armorial bookplate of H. B. Stuart front paste down and later from the collection of noted medieval scholar and polyglot James W. Marchand with his name stamp front end page the boards rubbed moderate toning throughout German institutional stamp front end page. Printed for F. C & J. Rivington et al Hardcover books
1879ref. 009933Leipzig: Breitkopf and Hartel 1879. Book. Fine. Hardcover. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. xxiv 485 1 pages. The First Edition of this classic study of Sanskrit grammar handsomely bound in 20th c. full blue pebbled morocco silver lettering at spine. With distinguished provenance the name stamp of Clyde Pharr noted American classicist at title page and the ownership signature in ink and name stamp of James W. Marchand noted medieval scholar linguist and polyglot at front end page. Fine with marginal notations and some underlining in red ink noted in only the first 33 pages of text likely in Pharr's hand as Marchand did not typically mark in his books. SCARCE in commerce and no auction records found for 1st ed. copies at RBH. Breitkopf and Hartel Hardcover books
1961ref. 009932Wiesbaden Germany: Otto Harrassowitz 1961. Book. Fine. Cloth. SIGNED BY EDITOR. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Association Copy SIGNED BY EDITOR Milton Cowan at front paste down -"For Big Jim to help him get the nodding acquaintance. Milt Cowan Feb. 1966". With the name stamp front end page of James Marchand noted medieval scholar linguist and polyglot. Fine in Fine dust jacket. In publisher's original plain brown cardboard slipcase with slight wear at corners also bearing Marchand's name stamp. Otto Harrassowitz Hardcover books
1929ref. 009950Cambridge MA: The Mediaeval Academy of America 1929. Book. Very Good. Printed Wrappers. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. ix 585 pp. Original printed wrappers Very Good small chips and tears and light edge wear to wrappers. Uncommon in current commerce. The Mediaeval Academy of America Publication No. 2. The Mediaeval Academy of America Paperback books
1919ref. 009683Chrisitania: Jacob Dubwad 1919. Book. Fine. Cloth. First Edition. Tall 8vo. RARE from the libraries of two notable linguists with the ink name of John M. Echols and the name stamp of James W. Marchand front paste down and end page respectively. Fine in original paper wrappers bound in dark green cloth the cloth Near Fine with top corner bumps. With gilt titles front cover. 4 preliminary leaves 172 pages text in French. Carl Johan Sverdrup Marstrande was a Norwegian linguist best known for his work on the Irish language. Jacob Dubwad Hardcover books
1889ref. 009692Boston: D. C. Heath & Co. 1889. Book. Very Good. Cloth. Second Edition Revised and Enlarged. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Very Good light soiling to cloth several pages yet uncut. lxxviii 90 pages : facsimile. Uncommon in either the 1st or 2nd eds. D. C. Heath & Co. Hardcover books
