6 618 résultats
1844réf. ST18420aFirenze Florence: David Passigli 1844. 85 x 53 mm. 3 3/8 x 2 1/8". 3 p.l. 326 2 section title 327-659 pp. Contemporary stiff vellum charmingly gilt covers with graceful gilt frame of volutes and flowers central ornament formed by similar tools smooth spine tooled with gilt volutes and flowers forming central panel with gilt lettering a small gilt bird of paradise above and below this marbled endpapers all edges gilt. WITH SPLIT FORE-EDGE PAINTINGS visible when the book is open at the section title for part II the painting on the first half of the leaves A SWEEPING CITY VIEW OF JERUSALEM that on the second part featuring THE DOME OF THE ROCK ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT. With engraved frontispiece portrait of the author and two engravings depicting scenes from the poem all with original tissue guards. Front pastedown with engraved armorial bookplate of William Dunville see below. Doris Varner Welsh A Bibliography of Miniature Books 6611. Corners lightly bumped one spot of light rubbing to gilt on upper cover isolated spots of faint foxing but A VERY FINE SPECIMEN clean and bright inside and out the fore-edge paintings well preserved. This delightful miniature edition is adorned with two fore-edge paintings showing different views of the title city both visible when the book is open to the title page of part II of Tasso's Crusader epic "Jerusalem Delivered." Given the restricted area available for a "canvas" our artist has done a remarkable job both in the level of detail and the sense of space and grandeur the scenes evoke so it is not surprising that this volume was in the Irene Winterstein Collection of Important Miniature Books Christie's sale of 10 March 2000 lot 277 fetching $1455 all in. This is a rare miniature edition: Welsh records only one copy in her bibliography. Our copy belonged to Irish bibliophile and philanthropist William Dunville 1812-1874 who was also a whiskey magnate and magistrate. After its first founder John Dunville died William Dunville his only surviving son became the next chairman of Dunville & Co Belfast who are still famous for their whiskey today. He headed the company from 1851 to 1874. David Passigli unknown books
1965réf. D21157Watertown MA: E. Helene Sherman 1965. Paperback. Near Fine. Miniature Book. 2 7/8 x 2 1/4 inches. Unpaginated. 14 pp. Frontispiece and title page in gilt and two colors of red each opening hand-written and illuminated in a variety of colors; text clean unmarked. Stiff paper wrappers front cover illuminated in red and gilt green tibbon holds the text block to the binding and ties at the spine laced through slits cut in the spine metallic-flecked Japanese-style endpapers; binding square and tight. Housed in a balsa wood box that has a ms. front cover label of masking tape masking tape for spine with hand-lettered title torn. Bookplate of Raymond A. Smith inside the lid of the box. A fine specimen of Ms. Sherman's work as a calligrapher and illuminator. Rare. E. Helene Sherman paperback books
réf. 979524 color-printed panels with 12 illus. & 12 panels of love poems on verso on reverse 20 erotic color-printed panels pasted-in. Miniature book 48 x 50 mm. orig. color-printed pictorial boards with color-printed endpapers. Japan: n.d. A very rare example of a miniature shunga book color-printed on the one side with a conventional but rather "suggestive" series of love poems and on the reverse with a series of 20 erotic prints pasted-in. Each of these erotic prints has a medallion with a gently erotic title. There is no author title place of publication or date for this rare object. We suspect that it was printed in the late Edo period. Fine copy a little thumbed. unknown books
1865réf. 00258FAMOUS MEN OF BRITAIN Clark Austin & Smith N.d. ca. 1865 first edition some light scattered foxing slight wear to the lower corner tips else vg in the publishers original red cloth binding with gold-gilt lettering and decorative stamping to the spine and gold-gilt page edges. Profusely illustrated. Part of the Tom Thumb miniature series. Clark, Austin & Smith hardcover books
2005réf. ST20505-13Santa Cruz California: Peter and Donna Thomas 2005. No. 37 OF 126 COPIES. 75 x 50 mm. 3 x 2". 2 p.l. 23 1 pp. 1 leaf. Tan paper with a paper label over a 17th century printed fragment. WITH THREE LEAVES FROM MINIATURE BOOKS: one leaf from the "thumb Bible" "History of the Bible" New London: W & J Bolles 1831; one from "The Shakespeare Glossary" Glasgow: Bryce Stokes 1904; and one from "Dew-Drops" New York City: American Tract Society ca. 1847. With an additional fragment of a larger leaf tipped in at the front. As new. This delightful entirely handmade production features a list of miniature leaf books and three original leaves from miniature books published between 1831-1904. Since the 1970s our collaborating husband-and-wife book artists Peter and Donna Thomas have been making paper printing with a hand press and hand binding books. The present book was assembled between 1997-2005 and then printed the Thomases humorously tell us "on a cranky old Pearl treadle press" using Joe Halton's linotype and Neuland types. All paper was handmade by Peter Thomas; as an artistic choice by the bookmakers the endpapers include fragments of paper from the 1686 book "Keble's Reports" the same work from which the fragments on the cover and frontispiece originate. The three leaves included here provide an excellent representation of the charming miniature books of the 19th century. They include a leaf from a "Thumb Bible" the miniature volumes containing biblical excerpts that enjoyed considerable popularity during the period; a leaf from an "Ellen Terry" book issued by Glasgow printer David Bryce Jr. who produced these books using the relatively new technology of photographic reduction and named them after the most famous actress of the day; and an American example produced by the non-denominational American Tract Society which published several miniature religious books through the mid-19th century. This publication is made especially charming by its size which of course is entirely appropriate for the volume's contents. Peter and Donna Thomas unknown books
1904réf. 71377London: Henry Frowde 1904. Oxford India Paper Edition. Leather Bound. 5 cm tall by 3.5 cm wide. Flexible leather wraps with a decoratively embossed metal front cover and a gilt stamped title on the spine. Rose-gilt text block edges. Metal of front cover tarnished. Rear cover bent. Title page adhered to the opposite page along the inside margin partially obscuring a couple of words in the title. With Eight Illustrations. A charming miniature edition of the second in Charles Dickens' series of Christmas books. Dickens' story is an attack on selfishness cowardice and cant. Henry Frowde unknown books
1965réf. 197677New York: Kalmus 1965. Very Good. First thus. Very good minus. Browned minor rubbing. Kalmus unknown books
1965réf. 197679New York: Kalmus 1965. Very Good. First thus. Very good minus. Browned minor rubbing. Kalmus unknown books
1965réf. 197678New York: Kalmus 1965. Very Good. First thus. Very good minus. Browned minor rubbing. Kalmus unknown books
1930réf. ST20235London: Harrods Ltd 1930s. FIRST EDITION. 76 x 51 mm. 3 x 2". 100 pp. Original green or orange paper wrappers side stitched titling on front cover and imprint on spine. In a custom-made folding buckram box with book wells for the three books and gilt-stamped marbled paper label inset on spine of the box. Consisting of three bound sets of 50 sequential photographs that when flipped either from back to front or front to back generate a stop motion animation of Bobby Jones demonstrating the proper form for executing a shot with various golf clubs see below. Advertisements on inside wrappers. Donovan & Murdoch 22610. One volume with portions of spine gone at either end with partial loss of imprint wrappers inevitably somewhat soiled corners a bit rounded as expected but still remarkably well preserved especially considering its inevitable hard use being entirely sound and with the photographs in excellent condition. This is a scarce grouping of some of the most charming sports as well as miniature books we've ever offered for sale. In the 1930s the famous London department store Harrods published a series of so-called sports "flicker" books of which these three are perhaps the most famous other sports books involved cricket tennis lacrosse soccer badminton swimming and greyhound racing. Our three "flicker" books when the pages are riffled with one's thumb or fingers show the famous smooth-swinging American golfer Bobby Jones executing shots with various clubs. The first book #11a in the Harrods series features the driver and the mashie. The modern equivalent for this latter piece of equipment is slightly elusive but the "mashie" is an iron club with considerable loft meant to hit a golf ball a relatively short distance with a high trajectory Jones' "driver" has the same meaning today as it did 90 years ago. The second book features shots with a "brassie" roughly equivalent to today's 3- or 4-wood and an "iron" also called a "driving iron" which is like today's 1- or 2-iron. The third book shows Jones putting and escaping from heavy rough with a high-lofted club like today's sand wedge. It is great fun--not to mention still instructive--to riffle through these photographs watching one of the world's most celebrated golf swings come to life complete with Jones' knickers white shirt and flapping tie. It is also a fact of some interest that this English series would feature an American player at a time when British dominance in golf was beginning to erode. Given the physical use to which these items have been subjected it is difficult to believe that they are still intact let alone that they are solid enough to be handled without worry. Harrods Ltd unknown books
1515réf. ST19567-062Venezia Venice: Alessandro Paganini 1515. 98 x 50 mm. 3 7/8 x 2". 3 p.l. CXXXII leaves. Early 19th century olive brown calf decorated in blind raised bands gilt lettering red morocco label marbled endpapers. Front flyleaf with mostly effaced ownership signature. Brunet II 21-22 "very rare"; EDIT16 CNCE 14575; USTC 822101. Two very small portions of lost patina minor signs of wear to the leather gilt on label not especially bright but the binding entirely solid and perfectly inoffensive. The first three leaves a little browned and with a dampstain in the top few lines other trivial imperfections but the text generally very clean and fresh. Small enough to fit into the palm of a hand this printing of five popular treatises by Cicero exemplifies three of printer Alessandro Paganini's innovations: the vigesimo-quarto or 24mo book a typeface that's a blend of italic and roman and the concept of a publishing series. The son of Venetian printer Paganino Paganini Alessandro fl. 1509-38 sought to outdo rival Aldus Manutius in the production of small format versions of classics as well as cursive-style typefaces. In 1515 he began producing a series of books in 24mo beginning with Dante and Petrarch and continuing with a mix of Classical and Italian authors. The Oxford Companion to the Book declares his books "visually splendid if not always easy on the eye"; that seeming contradiction is demonstrated by the text here a very elegant semi-italic that perhaps is not as easy to read as a simple roman serif--but worth the effort for the beauty. Offered in the most portable form available in the 16th century our volume contains Cicero's essays on moral responsibility friendship old age paradoxical Stoic aphorisms and the dream vision of Scipio. The diminutive size that makes this edition--and other books in this series--so appealing also makes them scarce since small books like other objects no bigger than a mouse tend to be easy to lose. Works from Paganini's series of 24mos are quite scarce in the market and we could trace no copies at all of the Cicero in RBH or ABPC. OCLC and USTC between them find just seven copies of the Cicero in libraries none in North America. Alessandro Paganini unknown books
1903réf. ST20237New York: The Gorham Manufacturing Co 1903. FIRST EDITION. ONE OF 500 COPIES. 102 x 64 mm. 4 x 2 1/2". 4 p.l. 9-148 pp. CHARMING PUBLISHER'S LIMP SUEDE illustrated covers with a rotund golfer on front and a long-suffering caddy at rear top edge gilt other edges untrimmed. In a later glassine wrapper. Housed in a very sturdy custom-made buckram folding box with inlaid marbled spine label. Color floral and foliate headpieces tailpieces and title page and 16 DELIGHTFUL MOUNTED COLOR PLATES BY JOHN HASSALL. Front endpaper with the ownership inscription "W. P. Rockwell November 1905." Murdoch 888; Donovan & Murdoch 19030. Trivial smudges to the suede but A NEARLY PRISTINE COPY of this delightful little book an item that is simply never found this well preserved. This is a diminutive golf manual with immense charm and offered in the most immaculate condition possible. In a small-pocket format the book provides the golfer with the game's rules etiquette technical terms names of golf clubs and their various uses a list of American champions since the organization of the United States Golf Association and a roster of the "leading players in the United States." Accompanying the text are a group of quite charming colored plates done by John Hassall 1868-1948 an active and celebrated watercolorist poster designer and illustrator from 1895 onwards. Houfe calls him "an original and versatile designer." As can be seen in the present volume Hassall seems to have been influenced by "the flat colors and two-dimensional decorative quality of Japanese prints which he adapts to his own work with thick outline and careful patterning." Whatever the influence one can't help but smile when looking at his work. Hassall depicts golf costume through the ages here including golfers in kilts trousers cloaks knickers and other attire; he also shows us a pair of disarmingly shabby young caddies two women and a boy incongruously dressed in Napoleonic greatcoat and tricorn hat. The most memorable thing about this item is its condition: as a book intended to be put in one's pocket and as a volume that was never sturdy to begin with there is absolutely no explanation for how our copy has survived to the present day in its remarkable state of preservation. When this copy without its box was sold in 2004 at PBA Galleries the most prominent auction purveyor of golf books and equipment the catalogue called it "the finest copy we have ever offered of this exceedingly scarce and fragile book.". The Gorham Manufacturing Co unknown books
1976réf. 207745Japan: Shumposha Photo Print Co 1976. 4th Printing. Hardcover. VG. Slipcase has rubbing. Name penned to front end paper. Quarto. Hardcover in illustrated slipcase. Glossy illustrated boards. approximately 240 pages : illustrations chiefly color portraits ; 31 cm. Persian text of the quatrains translated by Fitzgerald with English and French versions. E'tessam-Zadeh's French version ; 50 plates in color by . Hossein Behzad Miniatur ; edited by Hossein-Ali Nouri Esfandiary. Shumposha Photo Print Co hardcover books
1490réf. ST20853France ca. 1490. 144 x 99 mm. 5 5/8 x 3 3/4". Single column recto with 14 lines in a gothic book hand. Attractively matted and framed. Rubrics in red two two-line initials one painted pink on blue ground with flowers the other painted blue and inhabited by a rampant lion on pink and gold ground recto with a panel border featuring long-stemmed flowers and owls on a pink ground verso WITH A HALF-PAGE ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURE DEPICTING PENTECOST WITH A FULL BORDER featuring a plethora of different flowers berries greenery songbirds an owl and a butterfly all ON A RICHLY PAINTED GOLD GROUND. Trimmed close on one side and just grazing a border on the opposite side very minor chipping to faces trivial signs of rubbing or wear otherwise a fine leaf--colorful bright and very pleasing to the eye. This leaf contains the customary Pentecost miniature associated with the Hours of the Holy Spirit but with several attributes that set it apart from other examples we have encountered. The miniature here depicts a densely crowded scene with the Virgin at the center surrounded by the apostles each of whom wears a burnished gold halo. Packed tightly together they gaze up at a white dove who emanates small red tongues of fire above their heads. According to biblical tradition this visitation by the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove enabled Christ's disciples to start preaching marking the beginning of the Christian Church. The artist favors an unusual pastel palette choosing pale pink for the walls and eggshell blue for some of the floor tiles as well as bright yellow muted lilac rose and lime green for the robes of the apostles. Looking more closely at the figures we see that each face is carefully individualized each with its own features and expressions. Although most crane their necks to get a view of the miracle unfolding one of the apostles looks directly out at the viewer as if surprised by our presence. Moving outside the miniature we note that the leaf features a particularly exuberant border with tangles of flowers fruit acanthus leaves and several birds including an owl in one corner. There is additional interest on the verso with another bright border painted an intense pink and filled with more flowers and owls. unknown books
1821réf. ST16814London: William Pickering 1821-31. 85 x 45 mm. 3 1/2 x 1 7/8". 12 volumes. VERY PLEASING CRIMSON MOROCCO ATTRACTIVELY GILT BY CAPÉ stamp-signed on verso of front free endpaper covers with central gilt fleuron enclosed by blind-ruled frame with oblique gilt floral tools at corners raised bands spine panels with gilt bellflower tool gilt titling turn-ins densely gilt with multiple decorative rolls marbled endpapers all edges gilt. One volume recently placed in a remarkably faithful replica binding. Engraved frontispiece in all but three volumes the second volumes of Dante Tasso and Homer. Virgil with errata slip bound in between pp. 282-83. Keynes 45 47 51 61 72 79 80 81; Bondy pp. 86-90; Spielman 83 93 113 198 205A 407 473 476 502. Isolated tiny rust spots or faint foxing but A SPLENDID SET with no signs of use the text clean fresh and bright the bindings lustrous and unworn. This is an exceptionally fine rarely seen complete collection of Pickering's famed miniature Diamond Classics series elegantly bound in red morocco by Capé. William Pickering began his career as a bookseller before turning to publishing in the late 1810s. In 1820 he issued the first in the popular series of "Diamond Classics" miniature books set in tiny 4-1/2 point "diamond" types. Bondy who set aside his arbitrary three-inch limit on size in order to include these books says "Due to the great editorial care and the superb printing and binding which went into their manufacture combined with the importance of their contents these little volumes are now very eagerly collected by minibibliophiles and even more generally by lovers of finely produced books." A number of collectors had their volumes rebound by leading artisans like Charles-François Capé 1806-67 one of the most distinguished binders in France in the middle years of the 19th century and especially well known for the delicacy of his work. He was the binder to the Empress Eugénie and Béraldi calls him "the Bozérian of the second Empire." The present set includes the Pickering Catullus 1824 Cicero 1821 Dante two volumes 1822 Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" two volumes 1831 Horace second printing 1826 Petrarch 1822 Tasso two volumes 1822 Terence 1822 and Virgil 1821. Spielmann singles out the Homer for special praise noting that with its "clear easily legible type" printed by Charles Whittingham it is "one of the best-printed Greek miniature books ever produced." And the Virgil is especially rare: Spielmann and Sheringham aver that all but 100 copies were destroyed by a fire at the offices of printer C. Corrall. The condition here is simply outstanding. William Pickering unknown books
réf. 53484Mainz. Hardcover. Good. Three works bound in one volume 48mo: an amulet and two devotional manuals printed in the late 17th/early 18th century. Contemporary calf. Well-thumbed with two clean horizontal tears at leaves B6 and B7 in the third work affecting one of the woodcuts. A good complete set of scarce ephemeral works: 1 A-B12 = 24 leaves. 48pp. Geistlicher Schild gegen geist- und leibliche Gefährlichkeiten allzeit bey sich zu tragen darin sehr kräftige Segen und Gebethe so theils von Gott geoffenbaret von der Kirchen und h. h. Vätern gemacht und von Urbano VIII. Röm. Papst approbiret worden: zum Trost aller Christglaubigen sonderlich deren so zu Wasser oder Land reisen damit sie durch die Kraft dieses bey sich tragenden Schilds vor vielen Gefahren erhalten werden. Cum licentia Ord. Cens. Trevir ibidem An. 1647. impressum. Gedruckt zu Maynz. A note on the final page suggests this was printed in 1674 or later: "Ex libello de effectu Numismat. S. Bened. Fuldae impress. A. 1674." This work is plainly advertised to offer protection by means of "powerful blessings and prayers" against mental and physical dangers especially for travelers. 2 A-B12 = 24 leaves. 48pp. Andächtige Weis dem Amt der H. Mess nützlich beyzuwohnen. In Betrachtung des bittern Leidens und Sterbens unsers Herrn und Seeligmachers Jesu Christi. Samt beygefügten Morgen- und Abend-Gebetlein. Das thut zu meiner Gebächtnus Luc. 22. no place or name of publisher; undated. Contemplation of the Passion of Christ with morning and evening prayers. 3 A-C12 = 36 leaves. 72pp; 24 woodcut vignettes including the first title-page Main title: Geistliche Schild-Wacht darinnen der Mensch ihm für eine jegliche Stund sowohl des Tags als bey der Nacht einen besonderen besondern Patron aus den Heiligen Gottes auserwehlet. Welchen er mit einem Gebetlein anruffet daß er in der Stund seines Absterbens gleich aufstehen und wachen wolle damit er nicht von den arglistigen Anfechtungen des bösen Feindes überwunden werde. Gedruckt im Jahr Christi 1705 no place or name of publisher. A briefer title precedes with a large woodcut vignette in a format similar to the illustrations appearing throughout the rest of the work. The 24 woodcut illustrations of saints provide the chance for prayer at each hour of the day. The first work has been attributed to Martin of Cochem 1630-1712 who was a professor of theology and priest in the Archdiocese of Trier who worked with plague victirms and wrote many popular religious books in German on church history the lives of saints and contemplation during the mass. A discussion appears on A11v and A12r of the first part in which the Blessing of Saint Zacharias in the form of symbols cross and letters which represent the lines of the blessing is said to prevent the plague when worn on the body. hardcover books
1962réf. ST15816-74Chicago and Skokie Illinois: Black Cat Press 1962-77. All works measuring 49 to 75 mm. about 2 to 3" tall. Seven separately published works in eight volumes. All in their original bindings see below. Binding of "A Testament of Freedom" somewhat worn including a short crack to upper joint; "A Christmas Parable with a little rubbing to extremities and tail of lower joint; all other works in mint condition inside and out. Printer and press founder Norman Forgue said in his bibliography that the Black Cat Press "has had a long and prolific life. Founded in 1932 at the height of the Depression its only assets were an empty pocketbook and a burning desire to do fine printing and make beautiful books and hopefully find employment." Although Forgue had printed several "little" books and keepsakes early in his career the first true miniature book was not produced by the press until 1961. The titles in the present collection include: 1 BEWICK THOMAS Illustrator. "VIGNETTES FROM BIRDS QUADRUPEDS AND FABLES." 1971 ONE OF 200 COPIES. Red leather gilt French fold. With illustrations printed from original blocks. "This is probably the only miniature book partly printed by hand and part on modern automatic presses." Forgue 2 EISENSCHIML OTTO. "THE CIVIL WAR IN MINIATURE." 1962 ONE OF 275 COPIES. Dark blue leather gilt crossed sword design on upper covers French fold. 3 FORGUE NORMAN. "A CHRISTMAS PARABLE." 1964 ONE OF 200 COPIES. Red leather gilt French fold. With decorations by Gerald Whalen. According to Forgue this is "Basically a true story and an experience I will long remember." 4 FORGUE NORMAN Compiler. "A TESTAMENT OF FREEDOM." 1966 ONE OF 200 COPIES BOUND IN LEATHER. Red leather gilt French fold. 5 J. B. H. Jr. "A CHRISTMAS STORY." 1961 ONE OF 300 COPIES of which 50 were for sale. Brown paper boards with rows of gilt stars backed with green leather. 6 LEVITAN KALMAN. "MINIATURE BOOKS RELATING TO POSTAGE STAMPS." 1983 Two volumes. ONE OF 250 COPIES. Red leather gilt. Volume I with a USPS mini-stamp as a frontispiece; recto of title with an ink gift inscription; volume II with a "keepsake for friends" dated 1978 bound in with a place for a postage stamp to be added. 7 NICHOLS DALE. "LET THERE BE LIGHT." 1969 ONE OF 250 COPIES. Turquoise leather gilt. Black Cat Press unknown books
1991réf. ST20505-14Los Angeles: Printed and bound by Pall Bohne for Dawson's Book Shop 1991. ONE OF 60 COPIES. 65 x 45 mm. 2 1/2 x 1 3/4". 20 pp. 1 leaf. Quarter red leather over patterned paper boards flat spine lettered in gilt Dutch gilt endpapers. With a leaf from the Kleine Print miniature bible containing an excellent engraving of Jezebel and Jehu from 2 Kings 9. DeHamel and Silver "Disbound and Dispersed" 196.5. See also: Welsh 938; Spielmann 280. The book in mint condition the inserted leaf just slightly browned at edges but fine and fresh. This charming little leaf book pays tribute to a very rare miniature Bible published around 1750 in The Hague. Composed entirely of engravings printed on one side only the work is a masterpiece of small-scale printing. In the words of the Spielmann Catalogue "Many of the scenes depicted in the original Bible are of astounding beauty considering the tiny scale upon which the artist had to work." The genesis of the present leaf book was the acquisition by the noted miniature book collector Ruth E. Adomeit 1910-96 of a fragment of 61 leaves from this Bible which she obtained during a European trip in 1953. Our copy contains an engraving showing the meeting between the military commander Jehu and the wicked Queen Jezabel which ends with Jezebel's being thrown from a window by her eunuchs. We see her mid-fall and upside down in the present image while Jehu watches triumphantly from his chariot. Not surprisingly given its small print run this item is not commonly seen for sale. Printed and bound by Pall Bohne for Dawson's Book Shop unknown books
1980réf. ST20505-15Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop 1980. EACH ONE OF 125 COPIES. 47 x 38 mm. 2 x 1 1/2". 18 pp. 1 leaf. Two copies of the same work sold separately. Deep brown half morocco over marbled paper boards flat spine lettered in gilt. WITH A LEAF FROM the Newberry Bible. De Hamel and Silver "Disbound and Dispersed" 168.5. As new; one copy with the inserted leaf a bit browned with a small open tear to the margin not affecting the text but still excellent; the other with a very fine leaf just a bit browned at the edges. These two copies of this delightful publication feature a leaf of the famed 1780 Newberry "Thumb Bible" accompanied by an essay written by one of the 20th century's most noted collectors of miniature books. It is a charming tribute on the bicentennial of the publication of one of the world's smallest Bibles. The Newberry Bible fully titled "The Bible in Miniature or a Concise History of the Old & New Testaments" was produced by Elizabeth Newberry the niece of John Newbery pioneering children's book publisher and the namesake of the Newberry Medal. Ruth E. Adomeit 1912-96 was a lifelong miniature book enthusiast: along with being known for her personal library she wrote the leading bibliography of thumb bibles was editor of "The Miniature Book Collector" from 1960-62 and was active in the Miniature Book Society. This publication is made especially charming by its size which perfectly fits the tiny leaf it contains. Dawson's Book Shop unknown books
1796réf. 108121796. Approx. 40 brush & ink drawings in black & white. Scroll 180 x 1440 mm. central core roller. At end in rough trans.: “Many generations of SÅami bonsan 100 rules & styles. Extremely secret. All the information passed down by mouth is listed here. Handle this information with great care and keep it close. Given by Ishioka Seisaku 石岡正朔 in September 1796 to ZuihÅken no Yahiroko 瑞芳軒之八尋å.” Bonsan miniature mountain gardens is a sub-category of bonkei 盆景 tray-garden landscapes. Created to fit into small containers good bonsan convey the texture color and form of natural mountainous scenery. These small tray or pot landscapes have their origins in 10th-century China. The text in our scroll is a distillation of the teachings of SÅami ShinsÅ 相阿彌真相 1472-1525 painter art critic and artistic adviser to the Ashikaga shoguns in Kyoto master of the tea and incense ceremonies and landscape gardener. He established rules for and a school SÅami ryu of garden design and flower arrangement as well as the rules and styles for bonsan. “As a landscape gardener he designed two of the most celebrated Zen temple gardens in Japan: the RyÅan Temple garden in Kyoto an outstanding example of kare sansui a dry landscape technique in which combinations of stones and sand are used to suggest mountains and water; and the Daisei-in garden a miniature reproduction of a natural landscape also in the kare sansui style. It is believed that he also planned the garden of the famed Silver Pavilion Ginkaku Temple in Kyoto the villa built by his major patron Ashikaga Yoshimasa.”–Encycl. Brit. online. The author begins by extolling the pleasures of bonsan and offers advice on how to observe and enjoy them. He continues with descriptions of the materials used miniature trees sand rocks etc. seasonal variations the kinds of trays square rectangular circular and colors red white blue yellow brown and black and advice on where how and when to display them. The text also discusses the styles created over the centuries and famous sites that could be replicated on the trays. All of this is finely illustrated in a series of about 40 fine black & white brush drawings illustrating the many varieties of bonsan design. Ishioka was a resident of Kyoto and gave instruction on creating miniature gardens. He left another manuscript on miniature gardening see WorldCat 1451711637. In fine condition. Some worming mostly marginal. Preserved in a modern wooden box. unknown books
réf. ST17060VFrance probably Besançon 3rd quarter of 15th century. 239 x 165 mm. 9 3/8 x 6 1/2". Single column 15 lines in an elegant gothic book hand. Rubrics in dark pink line-enders in dark pink and blue with a gilt bezant several one-line initials in burnished gold on dark pink and blue ground with white tracery one three-line initial in blue with white tracery filled with flowers painted pink or blue all on a gold ground verso with panel border of delicate hairline vines terminating in gilt bezants and ivy and with a spray of blue flowers and a red bud recto with A FULLY-REALIZED HALF-PAGE MINIATURE OF A BURIAL in an arch-topped gilt frame with two laymen lowering a shrouded corpse into the ground a small group of hooded monks to the left and two ecclesiastical figures reading from a book to the right all in front of a gothic church painted pink with a blue roof SURROUNDED BY A FULL BORDER consisting of hairline vines terminating in gold bezants and ivy colorful acanthus strawberries and blue flowers the text below the miniature further framed with a thin "U"-shaped line extending the full height of the miniature. A very few trivial imperfections quite minor wear to paint on clothing a little insignificant smudging one small light stain in the blank margin of verso but these defects not the least distracting and overall the miniature in fine condition with rich well-preserved color. This is a splendid miniature from a particularly large Book of Hours showing a detailed rendering of a scene from contemporary Medieval life--that of a burial in a churchyard involving clergy mourners and laymen. Apart from those relatively few copies with illustrated calendars the miniatures found in Books of Hours are almost entirely devoted to retrospective Bible scenes that are obviously outside the experience of the illuminator; it is only in the present kind of scene at the beginning of the Office of the Dead that we can see a contemporaneous image that would have come directly from the Medieval experience. While our painting is fairly typical in subject matter and design it offers a number of interesting details about the Medieval rites and rituals surrounding death. The present scene represents the final stage preceded by the funeral procession Requiem Mass prayers Absolution and the procession into the graveyard in which the body is actually laid to rest in the ground. Though the corpse would have been encased in a coffin during the aforementioned rites and processions it was customary to bury the dead in only a shroud in the present example the artist has even thought to show the stitching along the length of the shroud. Three groups of people each serving a different function appear in this miniature: in the foreground are two laborers lowering the body into an earthen grave a small group of mourners in black cloaks stand off to the left and a duo of clergy members stand to the right. The latter have tonsured heads and each wears a black cope donned prior to administering Absolution to the deceased; together they hold a manuscript containing the Rites for Burial. The background is composed of a grand church or cathedral containing a number of fine architectural details including several windows including a clerestory level an arched entrance a dome and decorative touches. Stylistically this leaf can be localized to the Franche-Comté region in eastern France and is closely related if not directly attributable to an atelier specializing in Books of Hours made for the Use of Besançon and most likely situated in that city see Avril and Reynaud p. 197. The similarities are especially apparent in the figures' faces which are slightly puffy in appearance and have distinct slit-like eyes. As noted by Avril and Reynaud the unnamed master of this atelier was deeply indebted to the Master of Morgan 293 a talented Burgundian illuminator active in the second quarter of the 15th century whose name derives from a particularly lovely Book of Hours made for the Use of Besançon. Whoever the artist responsible for the present miniature this work is an excellent representation of a distinct regional style extremely attractive and replete with interesting details that connect us to the Medieval experience. unknown books
réf. B286164-1Various imprints 1907-1992. 1. America's Pledge of Allegiance. San Fernando Nut Quad Press 1992 commemorate Zamorano & Roxburghe Clubs. 2. Bela Blau Bookbinder 1914-1993 Reg. ed. 3. Keepsake from Bela & Mariana Blau.The Magic Kingdom. Los Angeles 1985. 350 copies. 4. Bliss Carey S. Bibliography of Cheney Miniatures. Dawson's Book Shop 5-6. Friend John. Captain Jack: Being the Reminiscences of a Sea-Going Bookseller.1963. 300 copies. 2 copies. 7-8. Kate Greenaway's Alphabet. World Publishing Company. 2 copies 9.Jacobs Lewis. Jewish Festivals. Worcester 1961. Clear plastic case. 10.Kochan Bernice. Little Book of Hawaiian Flowers. Cleveland Kinoike Press 1964. 11.Kornblum Allan. Threshold. Toothpaste Press 1976. 12.Los Angeles. Portraits of Some Famous Printers. Los Angeles Zamorano Club 1992. 13. Los Angeles.Clark Memorial Library. Retrospective Printing by William M. Cheney. 14. Los Angeles. Hand-Press Printing. Second International Antiquarian Book Fair Los Angeles 1967. 15-17. Los Angeles. Jake Zeitlin and the Big Red Barn 3 copies: 150 copies printed from the Hong Kong edition. 2 copies. Dawson's Bookshop. 1972. Printed by Cathay Press Hong Kong. 18. Robinson W.W. Little History of a Big City. Los Angeles Dawson's 19. Weber Francis J. Farmer's Market. Junipero Serra Press 1991. 300 copies. 20. Inaugural address of John Kennedy. 21. LCP's Desert 22-23. Los Angeles. Book Shops by LCP. 1965. 2 copies. 24. San Xavier del Bac. San Fernando Junipero Serra Press 1985. 25. General Sebastian Vizcayno 1602. Jornada Principal de las Californias. Mexico1963. 25. Dictionaries in the Midget Series. Spanish-English. 26. Dictionaries in the Midget Series. Italian-English. 27. Dante. La Vita Nuova. Venice. Rosen. 1907. Leather binding partly disbound. 28. Marti Jose. 105 Pensimientos Sustanciales. La Habana 1961. 29. Cangiullo: 30 proverbi napoletani. 30. Rigotti Giuseppe. Proverbi francesi. 31. Big Type Book. 139 copies for Dawson's Bookshop 100 signed by printer Wm. M. Cheney. 32. Some Minor Book Plates.Introduction by Audrey Arellanes. Los Angeles 1975. 33. Churchill Winston. Speech June 4 1940. Printed for Franklin and Judy Murphy Los Angeles 1964. Various [imprints], 1907-1992. hardcover books
2007réf. 13119Santa Cruz CA: Suzanne Thomas 2007. Hardcover. Miniature Book. 6 cm by 9 cm. Bound in hand made paper that is dyed pink and light green with a paper label attached to the front panel. Volume consists of four leaves that are held together with a wooden peg. There are two envelopes one each at the verso of the front and rear cover and both contain paper cards with lip illustrations. Paper hand made by Peter Thomas. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.Thy lips o my spouse drop as the honey comb: honey and milk are under thy tongue. And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved that goeth down sweetly causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak." - Song of Solomon. Fine. Suzanne Thomas hardcover books
1942réf. BB114MINIATURE BOOK "Unknown Country" the Story of Czechoslovakia by Preston Benson. London: Lincolns-Prager 1942. With diagram map inside front cover 16pp photographs. 32mo 95pp; pictorial printed wrappers. Fine copy. First edition. On the history and anti-Nazi resistance of Czechoslovakia. Measures 3-1/4 x 2-1/4 inches. No other copy in commerce besides a 1943 revised version printed in the USA. Lincolns-Prager paperback books
1982réf. 6735Seattle: Jane Dehn 1982. Number 130 of 1000 copies. Miniature book 4x3cm single sheet folded accordion style with 10 panels attached to two boards with printed paste-ons and a brown string tie. Color illustrations throughout by Jane Dehn and signed by her on the rear board. A few stray smudges to boards nearly fine. Beautifully made miniature illustrating an inspirational quote: "he who cannot appreciate the little things in life. can never attain the greater ones." Jane Dehn 1924-2006 was a Northwest artist working in fabric metal and print including miniature books. Jane Dehn unknown books
