réf. 10716All sheets with woodblock diagrams. Ten woodblock-printed sheets each ca. 1045 x 580 mm. Korea: 18th or 19th century A very rare woodblock-printed broadside edition of the influential SÅnghak sipto by Yi Hwang 1501-71 “Korea’s greatest philosopher.”–Pratt & Rutt Korea. A Historical and Cultural Dictionary Curzon: 1999 p. 517. Yi a child prodigy was a scholar and government official. He served four kings in a number of high positions but his integrity and stand against corruption caused him to be relieved of his posts and sent into exile a number of times. “Yi Hwang better known by his penname T’oegye is generally reputed as Korea’s foremost Neo-Confucian thinker. From the very beginning of the Yi dynasty 1392-1910 the Neo-Confucian doctrine of the Ch’eng-Chu school was the officially sanctioned ideology but with T’oegye it arrived at its full maturity on the peninsula for he was the first to present it with a fully sophisticated and integral grasp of its scope unity and implications. Consequently his teaching became a constant reference point for subsequent generations of Korean Neo-Confucians and his understanding of Chu Hsi’s Zhu Xi’s vision exercised a profound and lasting influence… “One of his last and most important works was the Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning SÅnghak sipdo which he composed for the instruction of young King SÅnjo reigned 1567-1608 in 1568 two years before his death. Considered the summation of T’oegye’s lifetime of learning the Ten Diagrams became one of the classics of the Korean Neo-Confucian tradition: during the course of the Yi dynasty it was reprinted at least twenty-four times and it now circulates in three modern Korean translations… “‘Sage learning’ is a phrase that appears frequently in Neo-Confucian works meant for the instruction of rulers reflecting the view that the essential duty of a ruler is to learn from and emulate ancient sage kings. In terms of its origin the Ten Diagrams is certainly such a work. But T’oegye’s title is ambiguous for ‘sage learning’ also means ‘learning how to become a sage’ that is a fully perfected human being. This is a kind of learning that has to do with not only kings but every human being. Thus the provenance of this work is universal and through the centuries it has served as a basic handbook for generations of serious Neo-Confucians in their endeavor to understand and cultivate the full perfection of their humanity… “This kind of ‘sage learning’ in its full scope is a distinctively Neo-Confucian development. With the Neo-tradition revival of the tradition in the Sung dynasty Confucians finally developed a metaphysical psychological and ascetical framework that could fully describe the status of sagehood and delineate it. Sagehood became a practical goal rather than a theoretical ideal. T’oegye’s object in the Ten Diagrams is to present that framework and path… “Doing this of course amounts to presenting a structured summation of the essence of Ch’eng-Chu theoretical and practical learning. One could devote a large book to this topic; T’oegye compressed it into ten chapters each brief enough to be mounted on a single panel of a ten-paneled screen. Each chapter begins with a diagram and is followed by a text. T’oegye’s own remarks are only a short portion of each chapter. As far as possible he tried to make this a compilation of diagrams and words from other authoritative sources so that the work would clearly represent the cumulative wisdom of the Confucian tradition not just his own private opinion… “The compressed format is not a concession to hasty readers or beginners needing a simple introduction. Quite the opposite; whether as a short book or a screen placed in one’s quarters T’oegye intended this as a work to be lived with and absorbed slowly through repeated reading and leisurely reflection. In that way its compressed contents would unfold gradually and become a part of oneself through the lengthy and personal effort of apprehending its full meaning. The diagrammatic format he chose is ideal for such use for the categories correspondences and relationships suggested by spatial arrangement offer food for reflective thought far beyond the content of the words themselves. T’oegye could expect that the Ten Diagrams would be approached in this way because the Neo-Confucian approach to texts emphasized this kind of repeated reading prolonged reflection and personal assimilation. The theory was that reading should be a process of self-transformation not mere information gathering. T’oegye designed his Ten Diagrams precisely as a tool to be used in such a process.”–Michael C. Kalton “T’oegye’s ‘Ten Diagrams on Sage Learning’: A Korean View of the Essence of Chu Hsi’s Teaching” in The Journal of Korean Studies Vol. 7 1990 pp. 97-99–& see the rest of this wonderful article for the importance of this text which was influential in both Korea and Japan. The titles of the ten chapters are: The Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate The Western Inscription The Elementary Learning The Great Learning The Rules of the White Deer Grotto Academy The Mind Combines and Governs the Nature and Feelings Diagram of the Explanation of Humanity Diagram of the Learning of the Mind-and-Heart Diagram of the Admonition of Mindfulness Studio and Admonition on Rising Early and Retiring Late. As mentioned in Prof. Kalton’s essay these broadsides were intended to be made into a ten-panel standing screen. Fine condition and a remarkable survival. A few minor stains and a little dusty at extremities. We find no broadside edition in WorldCat. unknown books
1546réf. 5968Venice: Cornelio Adelkind for Daniel Bomberg 1546. First edition. Very Good. Folio 32 cm; 93 leaves. Text in Hebrew. Title within architectural border reproduced in Amram "Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy" p. 215 also in the Jewish Museum's 1989 exhibition catalogue "Gardens and Ghettos: the Art of Jewish Life in Italy" page 50. Some section headings within ornamental borders. Bound in c19 or c20 dark red crushed morocco ruled in gilt and decorated with arabesques on both boards; spine with raised bands and compartments tooled and titled in gilt; green polished leather doublures with red crushed morocco dentelles bordered in pointillé accented with arabesques; green moiré free endleaves. Edges gilt. Binding not signed. Joints and crown adroitly reinforced with Japanese paper; corners somewhat worn down. Occasional contemporary notes in manuscript in text; brief stain on leaf mem-tet and lightly along the bottom edge of leaves nun-bet and nun-gimmel. Text otherwise pristine. Title page light possibly washed. Old library ink stamps from an institution in Warsaw on title page. Red morocco ex-libris of mining magnate and philanthropist Adolph Lewisohn 1849-1938. References: Adams T-766; BM Italian 674; Steinschneider 7304 #1; Amram 215 illustration and 222. First printed edition editio princeps of the 11th century commentary on portions of the pentateuch by the Bulgarian poet and Talmudist Tobiah ben Eliezer. Published by the house of the seminal printer of Hebrew books Daniel Bomberg under the supervision of his scholar-in-residence extraordinaire Cornelio Adelkind. Venetian law at this time limited Hebrew publishing to Gentile printers. Bomberg a protestant from Antwerp entered this lucrative market and with Adelkind's help became its prime exponent until his death in 1549. Cornelio Adelkind for Daniel Bomberg hardcover books
1862réf. 4120Rome: Tipografia delle Scienze Mathematiche e Fisiche 1862. Very good. 2 vols. folio. Numerous diagrams; occasional light spotting and foxing. Modern brown morocco uncut. In slipcases. EDITIO PRINCEPS OF THE WRITINGS OF FIBONACCI THE GREATEST MATHEMATICIAN OF THE MIDDLE AGES STILL THE ONLY COMPLETE EDITION PUBLISHED. IN THE HISTORY OF MATHEMATICS THIS UNABRIDGED EDITION OF THE LATIN TEXT IS ESSENTIAL AND WAS THE VEHICLE BY WHICH FIBONACCI'S WORKS WERE DISSEMINATED THROUGHOUT MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. Rare in private ownership. This copy which sold at Sotheby's forty years ago is the ONLY copy that has ever appeared at public auction according to Rare Book Hub which currently lists more than 15 million records in the Rare Book Transactions database; furthermore it is the only copy currently available on the market. Leonardo of Pisa ca. 1170-1250 a.k.a. Fibonacci is justly considered to be the most important mathematician of the Middle Ages if only for being the first Christian mathematician to systematically explain Arabic numerals. Indeed the mathematical renaissance in the West began with him according to George Sarton. The first volume contains the the 'Liber Abaci' devoted to problems of computation including algebraic quadratic problems; here Fibonnaci here introduces Arabic numerals the fraction bar and the numerical approach to square roots and cube roots. The second volume contains the 'Practica Geometriae' devoted to the application of algebra to geometric problems; 'Flos' written for Frederick II in answer to a number of mathematical problems posed by Magister Johannes; "Letter to Magister Theodorus" developing a general method for the solution of indeterminate problems; and finally the great "Liber quadratorum" described by Vogel as "a first-rate scientific achievement and showing Fibonacci as "a major number theorist." Vogel continues to assert correctly that Fibonacci was far ahead of his time without a successor until 1621 when Bachet made the text of Diophantus available which in turn stimulated Fermat in founding number theory. "In addition to the antique manuscripts there also undeniably exists however a vehicle that notwithstanding the inadequate and problematic access to the manuscript sources has spread the text of the Fibonaccian treatise throughout modern and contemporary culture: the well known Italian mathematician and historian of science Baldassarre Boncompagni Ludovisi in fact in his brilliant far-reaching project which brought into focus the personality of Fibonacci as well as his surviving works realized and published in Rome in 1857 i.e. THIS EDITION what can with ample justification be defined the editio princeps of the entire treatise." Germano. Despite the flaws in Boncompagni's work "it of course was a noteworthy editorial operation especially as it made available in print to a vast number of interested parties a work which had almost fallen into oblivion and that up to that time could be consulted only from its manuscript sources with all the difficulties and inconvenience which this could entail." Germano. It is fair to say that Fibonacci's contributions to mathematics languished unappreciated until the rediscovery of his texts and their presentation in the present -- surprisingly rare -- volumes. Despite its flaws Boncompagni's edition serves as the basis for only complete translation of the Liber Abici made into a modern language thus far namely Lawrence E. Sigler's "Fibonacci's Liber Abaci. A Translation into Modern English of Leonardo Pisano's Book of Calculation" 2002. Whereas Sigler corrected some errors he introduced many others usually on account of inability to understand and effectively translate the Renaissance Latin text. Before Boncompagni's edition only the "Prologus" and Chapter XV of Fibonacci's Liber Abaci had received a respectful circulation in print that was due to G. Libri's "Histoire des sciences mathématiques en Italie dépuis la renaissance des lettres jusqu'à la fin du dixseptième siècle" Paris 1838 vol. II respectively pp. 287-290 and 307-476. REFERENCES: Giuseppe Germano "The Modern Dissemination in Print of the 'Liber Abaci' and its Pitfalls" Part 3 of his New Editorial Perspectives on Fibonacci's Liber Abaci in: Reti Medievali Rivista 14:2 Firenze University Press 2013 pp. 161-163 and passim. George Sarton Introduction to the History of Science II p. 611 et seq. On Boncompagni see V. Cappelletti's in DBI XI pp. 704-709. M. Mazzotti "For Science and for the Pope-King: Writing the History of the Exact Sciences in 19th-century Rome" in: British Journal for the History of Science 33 2000 pp. 257-282 especially pp. 259-265. On the strengths and weaknesses of Boncompagni's edition see R.E. Grimm "The Autobiography of Leonardo Pisano" in: The Fibonacci Quarterly 11 1973 pp. 99-104. John D. Stanitz Sources of Science and Technology: an Exhibit of One Hundred and One Books and Documents Kent State 1972 no. 14 this copy. PROVENANCE: John D. Stanitz his sale Sotheby's New York 25 April 1984 lot 268 with with Sotheby's label on the slipcase of vol. II --> Messrs. Bernard Quaritch June 1984 Mathematics list $3000 --> James M. Vaughn 1939-2022 enigmatic American philanthropist and bibliophile who assembled the finest mathematics collection ever formed by a private individual: 125 rare and foundational books in the history of mathematics were donated to the Harry Ransom Center in 2021; our volume was kept in Vaughn's home in River Oaks Houston and sold to us by his estate. Vaughn funded the Mathematical Association of America and helped support the solution of the 300-year-old math puzzle Fermat's Last Theorem; it is therefore meaningful that he owned this copy of the Editio Princeps of the complete works of Fibonacci. With J.M.V. bookplate in each volume. Tipografia delle Scienze Mathematiche e Fisiche unknown books
réf. 6759Numerous fine woodcut initials diagrams tables & maps in the text. Woodcut printer’s device at end. 14 p.l. 18 leaves 6 leaves 30 xxxi-cxxvi leaves 4 leaves. Folio cont. Flemish blindstamped calf binding over wooden boards rather well rebacked a few unimportant stains rolls of medallion heads & foliage forming a double panel orig. clasps and catches metal corner guards. Cologne: J. Prael for P. Quentel 1537. bound after: ANSELM ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. In Omnes Pauli Apostili Epistolas enarrationes. Title within fine woodcut border by Anton Woensam of Worms. Some fine large woodcut initials. 8 p.l. 531 pp. Folio. Cologne: E. Cervicornus for G. Hittorp 1533. A most attractive sammelband of two well-illustrated books in an attractive contemporary blind-stamped binding probably made at the Stavelot monastery in Belgium. I. First collected and illustrated edition of the scientific writings of the Venerable Bede including De Natura Rerum dealing with cosmology and natural history and De Temporum Ratione a work on chronology that still exercises a considerable influence over our daily life today. This edition was edited and commented upon by Joannes Noviomagus i.e. Jan van Bronchorst of Nijmegen 1494-1570 philosopher and mathematician then a professor of philosophy at the Collegium Montanum in Cologne. It would appear that he used the manuscript at the Dombibliothek no. 103 of Cologne to prepare this edition. The De Temporum Ratione is a significant book in several ways. Most notably “this book helped to establish the custom of counting years from the birth of Christ. When we say that Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926 not ‘in the 16th year of the reign of George V’ or ‘in the year 2678 after the foundation of Rome’ or in the ‘2nd year of the 481st Olympiad’ we are indebted to the Venerable Bede.”–Printing & the Mind of Man 16n. “Bede’s greatest practical effect was on the Western calendar. His decisions beginning the year calculation of Easter names of days and months calculations of eras and so forth in most instances finally determined usage that was only refined not changed by Gregorian reform.”–D.S.B. I p. 565. “The De Ratione Temporum first published in 1505 is particularly important. It contains a remarkable theory of tides based upon Pliny but also upon personal observation; first mention of the establishment of a port i.e. the mean interval between the moon’s meridian passage and high water following; this interval is different in different ports.”–Sarton I p. 511. Pierre Duhem described Bede’s establishment of a port as the only original formulation of nature to be made in the West for some eight centuries. Also contained here is the De Natura Rerum 1st printing: 1529 which contains such physical science as was then known. It collects the wisdom of the ancient world on these subjects and has the special merit of referring phenomena to natural causes. It contains a particularly important section — the “De Comptu vel Loquela digitorum” — which is “our main almost our only source for the study of mediaeval finger reckoning or symbolism.”–Sarton I pp. 510-11. See also Smith History of Mathematics II p. 200. The rest of the book contains further treatises by Bede on arithmetic astronomy and the calendar and chronology. II. Very rare. PROVENANCE: Early inscription of “Antonius abbatis a Sancto Remaclo” on front flyleaf; Benedictine monastery of Stavelot Belgium inscription “Liber Monasterii Stabulensis” on title-page of Anselm; auction sale of the monastery library Catalogue d’une belle Collection de Livres et Manuscrits précieux sur vélin du VIIIe et du IXe siècle Ghent 26 April 1847 lot 42; Michel Chasles 1793-1880 the mathematician with bookplate his sale Paris 27 June-18 July 1881 lot 28; Robert B. Honeyman 1897-1987 his sale Sotheby’s 30 October 1978 lot 265. BINDING: Stavelot had its own bindery at this time and it is quite likely that this binding was executed there see Goldschmidt Gothic & Renaissance Bookbindings no. 90. Fine large copies preserved in a box. ⧠I. Adams B448–calling for two additional preliminary leaves but no other collation calls for them. Smith Rara Arithmetica p. 159n. Zinner 1657. II. Adams A1174. unknown books
réf. 6952Scroll 420 x 12000 mm. with elaborate silk brocade endpaper at beginning. Japan: 1880-86. This beautifully rendered scroll of natural history paintings was executed with one exception by Akio or Keigu Yamamoto 1827-1903 Confucian scholar doctor botanist and highly gifted artist. He was born in Kyoto the son of the prominent doctor and botanist Boyo Yamamoto 1778-1859 the direct disciple of Ono Ranzan 1729-1810 the famous professor of botany who wrote a series of classic botanical books. Keigu “continued his father’s work in his private school in Osaka and spent his time organizing meetings that were regularly attended by both honzogaku amateurs and Japanese biologists.”–Federico Marcon The Knowledge of Nature and the Nature of Knowledge in Early Modern Japan p. 301. Keigu travelled widely throughout Japan drawing plants and animals. He gave botanical instruction to the Meiji emperor and other members of the royal family. Keigu also wrote several standard works on materia medica and left many sketch books and scrolls which entered the Kyoto rare book trade in 1932; some of these were published only in the 1980s. All of his sketch books and scrolls offered valuable and unique information regarding native plants and animals as well as those that had been introduced into Japan. Our scroll contains 14 very finely executed color paintings of plants birds and animals. The paintings are quite unique in their remarkable spaciousness. For instance the image of the octopus is 1410 mm. long. The images include a most unusual morning glory three joined sheets and 1190 mm. long; an edible yellow lily two joined sheets 800 mm.; an ungei flower two joined sheets 795 mm.; a magnificent red toki a now-endangered crane species three joined sheets 765 mm.; a large akowa tsuru another species of crane three joined sheets 815 mm.; a young white crane three joined sheets 935 mm.; a sea lion umiuso painted in many shades of delicate black two joined sheets 545 mm.; a carp two joined sheets 597 mm.; an octopus four joined sheets; a chameleon three joined sheets 844 mm. dated “1880”; a deer antler two sheets 545 mm.; a “Dutch” dog two sheets 545 mm.; a lion seen at exhibitions in Tokyo and Kyoto two sheets 640 mm. with a seal and note stating this was the work of “Ariyoshi” dated “1886“; and two camels two sheets 545 mm. long. Four of the paintings have the signature and seal of Yamamoto and another painting — the final — has the seal only. Three of the paintings have additional text by Yamamoto regarding where seen and painted alternative regional names date etc. Very fine condition preserved in a new wooden box. All but the penultimate painting are the work of Yamamoto. unknown books
1905réf. 247478New York: Dodd Mead and Co 1905. First edition one of 200 large paper sets on Van Gelder paper. Seven volumes bound in fourteen parts plus atlas volume atlas with 56 maps & plates on 62 sheets. 15 vols. Large 8vo. Original gilt green cloth. Bookplate on front pastedowns. Spines lightly worn several lightly faded. Internally fine much of the text unopened. A very good set. First edition one of 200 large paper sets on Van Gelder paper. Seven volumes bound in fourteen parts plus atlas volume atlas with 56 maps & plates on 62 sheets. 15 vols. Large 8vo. "The most elaborate work on this expedition" - Howes. A cornerstone of modern historical research printing for the first time many major primary documents which did not appear in the Biddle edition including the Floyd and Whitehouse journals and material from the Clark-Voorihis papers along with facsimile manuscripts maps portraits and other illustrative matter. Also valuable is Victor Paltsits' bibliography of the Lewis and Clark expedition in the first volume. "This edition is notable for its thorough Introduction covering the history of the expedition and earlier exploration and a detailed account of the original journals and their various editions.In its maps and numerous illustrations the Thwaites edition is an outstanding source of visual materials relating to the expedition" - LITERATURE OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION. Graff 2485; Howes L320 "b"; Wagner-Camp 13:7 note to 1842 Harpers ed.; Tweney Washington 76; Literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 5d.1 Dodd, Mead and Co unknown books
1800réf. 52601Canada 1800. Graphite pen-and-ink and grey wash on wove paper watermarked "W. Elgar 1796". 13 5/8 x 20 inches. Corners clipped outside the image verso toned. Graphite pen-and-ink and grey wash on wove paper watermarked "W. Elgar 1796". 13 5/8 x 20 inches. Along the falls of a tree-lined river two First Nations men are pulling a canoe into the water directed by another in an elaborate feather headdress; a wigwam with mother and child is on the same shore to their left; across the river a longhouse and structure for smoking fish with another group of native people can be seen; at the far left a First Nations man is standing in his canoe fishing with a pole in the water just below the rapids. Although the 1796 watermark on the paper is consistent with drawings by Heriot the unfinished quality of this work make attribution difficult. However it is somewhat reminiscent of a smaller grisaille watercolor signed by Heriot titled FALLS OF THE POQUISQUE ON THE RIVER ST JOHN on verso sold at Waddington's March 15 2018 lot 137. Furthermore this scene is reminiscent of one described by Heriot in his Travels in the Canadas 1807 in which he describes Native American fishing on the cacasdes of St. Mary nine miles below the entrance to Lake Superior: "It is at the bottom of the rapids and even among their billows which foam with ceaseless impetuosity that innumerable quantities of excellent fish may be taken from the spring until the winter; the species which is found in the greatest abundance is denominated by the savages atticameg or white fish; the Michilimakinac trout and pickerell are likewise caught here. These aflford a principal means of subsistence to a number of native tribes. No small degree of address as well as strength is employed by the savages in catching these fish; they stand in an erect attitude in a birch canoe and even amid the billows they push with force to the bottom of the waters a long pole at the end of which is fixed a hoop with a net in the form of a bag into which the fish is constrained to enter. They watch it with the eye when it glides among the rocks quickly ensnare it and drag it into the canoe. In conducting this mode of fishing much practice is required as an inexperienced person may by the efforts which he is obliged to make overset the canoe and inevitably perish." Trained by Paul Sandby at the Royal Military Academy Woolwich London Heriot worked as a clerk for Board of Ordnance. "In 1792 Heriot was posted to Quebec and promoted clerk of the cheque in the Ordnance department. Heriot was to remain in Lower Canada until 1816 except apparently for two periods of absence in 1796-97 and in 1806. His first years at Quebec are not well documented. Sketches record visits in and about Quebec and Montreal perhaps on Ordnance business. In November 1792 he published a sketch of Jersey in the Quebec Magazine and the following year he prepared a view of Quebec perhaps also intended for publication. When he returned to Britain in 1796 he resided in London travelled to the south coast and made at least one sketching foray into Wales . A watercolour prepared from his sketches of Wales and two Canadian views were accepted by the Royal Academy of Arts for exhibition in the spring. Heriot probably sailed for Lower Canada soon afterwards taking notes and making sketches on the voyage. The impact of his visit to Britain was considerable. While there he had been stimulated by the art he had seen and by his success as an artist. He returned with a fresh enthusiasm for the Canadas; he began to read about their past and to make elaborate notes and numerous sketches of the places he visited and the peoples he encountered. His sojourn abroad had affected his artistic vision of the Canadas; his drawings and water-colours assumed a new confidence and his landscape forms developed a new strength and grandeur. In London he had probably studied the simply handled and remarkably strong water-colours of younger British artists such as Thomas Girtin Joseph Mallord William Turner and John Varley. Either in Britain or in Lower Canada he had also become familiar with Lieutenant George Bulteel Fisher's Six views of North America . London 1796. He was influenced by this work especially by Fisher's use of the Picturesque in depicting Canadian landscape" Dictionary of Canadian Biography. unknown books
1598réf. 4299London: By Arn. Hatfield for Bonham and Iohn Norton 1598. Hardcover. Fine. Bound with as issued: The End of Nero and Beginning of Galba. Fower Bookes of The Histories of Cornelius Tacitus. The Life of Agricola. The second edition. London: By Edm. Bollifant for Bonham and Iohn Norton 1598 Folio: 30 x 20.7 cm. 8 271 1 p. 1st 2 p. blank Collation: par.â´ A-YⶠZâ´1st leaf blank save sig. mark; 6 12 227 3 p. last 3 p. blank Collation: par.ⶠA-SⶠTâ´ Vâ¶las leaf blank. FIRST EDITION of the "Annales". SECOND EDITION of the "Histories". The "Histories" and "Agricola" were translated by Richard Greenwey. The translations of the "Annales" and "Germania" are the work of Sir Henry Savile first ed. 1591. Bound in contemporary English calf scuffed moderate wear; skillfully rebacked original spine elements preserved boards ruled in gold and blind gilt ornaments at the corners large ornate gilt arabesque at the center of each board. Text is excellent condition with a few trivial marginal tears a few minor stains and a closed tear to one leaf not affecting the text. Complete with the first leaf blank except for sig. mark and the final leaf blank. Woodcut initials large schematic engraving of a Roman military camp. Contemp. price in ink at head of title. Provenance: Viscount Mersey Bignor Park bookplate. Tacitus witnessed both the horror of Domitian's tyrannical reign -a reign that ended with the emperor's murder- and the benevolent rule of Trajan. The former marked the lowest point of corruption to which the principate had fallen. The latter brought with it the promise of a restored system of adoptive emperors a model that Tacitus himself offered the greatest promise of maintaining a stable and cohesive empire. Tacitus' two historical works the "Histories" and "Annales" cover the years 69 to 96 A.D. the years from the death of Nero to the death of Domitian and the earlier reigns of the Julio-Claudian emperors beginning with the death of Augustus respectively. Their tone is rather dark; the "Annales" begins with a discussion of whether or not Augustus' wife had poisoned him. The "Histories" opens with the chaotic power-grab that followed Nero's murder the so-called "year of the four emperors". The picture that emerges is one of violence dishonesty and injustice. In contrast to this dark tone Tacitus' "Agricola" in which he recounts the noble honorable and heroic deeds of his father-in-law Julius Agricola stands as a testament to all that is positive and good in a true leader. Agricola an imperial officer under Domitian was responsible in large part for the conquest of Britain. In praising Agricola's character Tacitus emphasizes how as governor of Britain and head of an army at war he had been able to serve the state faithfully honorably and well even under a terrible tyrant such as Domitian. "Tacitus' historical work began while he was in the midst of public activity. The 'Agricola' whose subject is his father-in-law's life and work especially in Britain with some ethnographical detail seems to have been 'published' in 98; and the 'Germania' a primarily geographical and ethnographic work on that important area on the fringe of the empire shortly thereafter. "Of the major works of Tacitus 'Historiae' and 'Annales' as they are now called the former was perhaps already in progress when the minor works began to appear. The subject of the 'Historiae' is the years 69 to 96 and may have been completed by 110 in 12 or 14 books of which only I-IV and part of V covering the year 69-70 survive today. The end of Tacitus' life was devoted to the writing of the 'Annales' in 18 or 16 books in which he went back and began annalistic treatment 'ab excessu divi Augusti'. Of this work there survive only Books I-VI and XI-XVI. Ulery 'Tacitus' CTC VI "Tacitus' plan for a long historical work was already present in the Agricola where in one of the early chapters Tacitus expresses his intention to narrate the years of Domitian's tyranny and then the freedom recovered under the regimes of Nerva and Trajan. In the Histories the project appears modified. Although the extant part narrates the events of the years 69-70 from the reign of Galba to the Jewish rebellion the work in its entirety was to extend to 96 the year of Domitian's death. In the preface Tacitus expressly says that he is saving for his old age the treatment of the principates of Nerva and Trajan 'richer and less risky material'. The Histories thus dealt with a gloomy period one disturbed by civil wars and finished by a long tyranny." Gian Biagio Conte "Latin Literature A History" A Machiavellian Tacitus: Savile's additional texts: In addition to the Tacitean texts the second volume includes two Elizabethan works Henry Savile's "End of Nero and Beginning of Galba" praised by Ben Jonson and "A View of Certain Military Matters for the Better Understanding of the ancient Roman stories" one of the first contributions by an English scholar to the study of classical antiquity Sandys. In the first of these two works Savile bridged the void between the "Annales" and "Histories" a void created by the loss of the final two and a half books of the "Annales". "The period of time that Savile had to cover in 'The Ende . . . ' is of the order of two years. But since those two years contain the successful rebellion against Nero they are years crowded with incident and character. Thus Savile's subject poses obvious problems of narrative. The events he must narrate occur in various theatres. He must keep his reader abreast of the happenings in all these locales and also show the influence events in each exert on those in the others. It is not the least of the literary virtues of 'The Ende . . . ' that Savile managed to bring off this narrative juggling act and produced a clearer account of this confused period than can be found in any of his classical sources. Savile's main sources for the years 66 to 69 A.D. are Suetonius' lives of Nero and Galba Plutarch's Life of Galba and sections of Cassius Dio largely Bk. LXIII. Savile confined himself to these authors. but when one looks more closely one can appreciate that 'The Ende." is much more than a mosaic from classical writers. In writing 'The Ende.' Savile used wit conjectures and a profound knowledge of Machiavelli's 'The Prince' when filling the blank spaces left by his sources." Womersley Sir Henry Savile's Translation of Tacitus and the Political Interpretation of Elizabethan Texts in The Review of English Studies Aug. 1991 Vol. 42 No. 167 Aug. 1991 pp. 313-342. By Arn. Hatfield, for Bonham and Iohn Norton] hardcover books
1576réf. 65511576. Numerous woodcut illus. in the text. Largely printed in black letter. 7 p.l. first leaf blank except for signature mark 63 1 pp. Small 4to early 20th cent. polished mottled calf by Riviere triple gilt fillet round sides spine richly gilt red morocco lettering pieces on spine dentelles gilt a.e.g. London: H. Denham 1576. Second edition “nowe newly corrected and augmented” of the first English book on hops. The first edition appeared two years earlier; both editions are very rare. This is “an eminently practical treatise illustrating the various methods of setting the roots making the hills and ramming the poles tying the bine and its pulling up and preservation with a number of curious cuts. It was the work of a practical man written for practical men and in this respect is far in advance of most of Scot’s contemporaries who were still much interested in the superstitions of the time and the traditional pseudo-science of the Middle Ages.”–Fussell I p. 12. Clinch in his English Hops a History of Cultivation and Preparation for the Market from the Earliest Times 1919 states that in many respects “the information is as useful today as it was nearly three-and-a-half centuries ago when it was published.” Scot d. 1599 is most famous for his The Discoverie of Witchcraft 1584 in which he attacked the general belief in witchcraft and other forms of credulity and superstition including astrology alchemy and Catholicism. For more on Scot and his fascinating life see ODNB. Fine copy. Signature of T. Barling on first leaf. ⧠Henrey I p. 64 & no. 338. McDonald Agricultural Writers from Sir Walter of Henley to Arthur Young 1200-1800 pp. 34-36. unknown books
réf. 6775Eight columns per page 17 characters per column. Three sizes of type. 42; 41; 38; 40 folding leaves. Four vols. Large 8vo 280 x 195 mm. orig. dark wrappers dyed with persimmon juice shibubiki new stitching. Enryakuji Temple Mount Hiei: mid-Kan’ei ca. 1626-30. An unrecorded moveable type edition of the commentary and subcommentary of Zongmi 780-841 on the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment. This is a rare example of an Eizan-ban a book printed with moveable type at the temples on Mount Hiei outside of Kyoto where Enryakuji Temple one of the most important monasteries of Japan and the headquarters of the Tendai sect of Japanese Buddhism is located. Printing began there in the 13th century. “There were few of these printed books in the medieval period perhaps due to the dominance of Kyoto itself as a printing centre…Eizan printing came into its own on a large scale only from the end of the sixteenth century with the introduction of movable-type printing. Typographic printing flourished at various temples on Hieizan from the Keicho to Kan’ei periods 1596-1644 and with the publication of Chinese works as well as Tendai scriptures publication and distribution at Hieizan began to develop into the beginnings of a commercial enterprise.”–K.B. Gardner “Centres of Printing in Medieval Japan: Late Heian to Early Edo Period” reprinted in Brokaw & Kornicki eds. The History of the Book in East Asia 2013 p. 450. The writings of Dushun 557-640 Zhiyan 602-68 Fazang 643-712 and Zongmi are considered by many as the “crowning glory of Chinese thought… marking the maturation of a process by which the Chinese made Buddhism their own.”–Bowring The Religious Traditions of Japan 500-1600 p. 104. Zongmi was a Tang dynasty Buddhist scholar monk; he was the fifth patriarch of the Huayan school as well as a patriarch of the Heze lineage of Southern Chan. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment was the scripture that led Zongmi to enlightenment in 808; he resolved to prepare a commentary and subcommentary on the text which he accomplished fifteen years later. As stated above this moveable type edition is unrecorded. Kawase in his bibliography of Japanese moveable type editions records another printing of this text dated 1626 but with ten columns per page and 20 characters per column Vol. I p. 304. Sorimachi in his amazing 40th anniversary catalogue of moveable type books issued in 1972 describes what appears to be yet another moveable type printing of this text with the same number of columns and characters as the Kawase example but using three different sizes of type they might be the same printing. It is described as four parts in two volumes in their original bindings printed in mid-Kan’ei ca. 1630 and with a slightly different title. The NIJL records no moveable type editions and only the woodblock-printed Seihan edition of 1644. On the printed title-labels of the second and fourth volume covers the title is given as Engaku ryakusho chu. The labels on Vols. I and III are no longer present. As mentioned above the wrappers have been dyed with persimmon juice which serves a dual purpose: to strengthen the paper and act as an insect repellent. Nevertheless the wrappers are somewhat wormed. Each volume has some worming but this set is in rather fresh and appealing condition. unknown books
réf. 773260 double-page two have flaps & several single-page illus. using brush & washes of many colors. 30; 31.5; 31 folding leaves. Three vols. Large 8vo 308 x 210 mm. orig. decorated semi-stiff boards manuscript titles on upper covers new stitching. Japan: Author's Prefaces dated 1699 & 1709; Postfaces by Nobutomo Ban dated 1813 & 1841. A most interesting and attractively illustrated manuscript. In the late 17th century the brother of Kotaku Hosoi Chimei d. ca. 1697 a samurai in service to the Koriyama fiefdom visited the Nara area and was saddened by the disrepair of the many mausoleums tombs and tumuli of former emperors. Chimei began a survey of grave sites and his work came to the notice of the shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa 1646-1709 who in 1697 ordered a series of fences to be built around these sites in Yamato no kuni including Nara Kyoto Osaka Hyogo and other areas. These fences - pictured in many of our manuscript's illustrations - were designed to protect the sites from further ruin and robbings. Upon Chimei's death his brother Kotaku 1658-1735 calligrapher and Confucian scholar took over the survey which is contained in the first two volumes of our manuscript. At the beginning of the first volume is a list of all the mausoleums recorded by the Hosoi brothers with the names of the emperors and the locations arranged not chronologically but by region. Also included are descriptions of the grave sites and the existing structures. Each volume includes an attractive series of double-page brush and color-wash illustrations of the 35 actual sites. In the second volume two of the illustrations contain flaps under which are shown the interiors of the stone burial chambers. Measurements are given along with details of ownership. Most notable is a fine double-page illustration of the famous Takamatsuzuka circular tomb. The third volume is an addendum written by Nobutomo Ban 1773-1846 Confucian scholar of kokugaku the study of Japanese history and samurai retainer who was famous for the quality of his historical research especially in archeology and religious studies. In this volume there are 25 fine double-page illustrations in brush and color wash and some black & white diagrams of more mausoleums tombs and tumuli mostly outside of Yamato no kuni including the former provinces of Ise Sado Harima Satsuma Osumi Kawachi and others. Ban's explanatory text accompanies the illustrations. In the first two volumes Ban has added further notes in red ink regarding other archeologists' researches and reports from local governments. Fine copy preserved in a chitsu. Some worming occasionally touching a character or illustration. ⧠Edgren Catalogue of the Nordenskiöld Collection 1980 490. The Imperial Household Agency Library Shoryobu owns a rather similar manuscript. unknown books
1598réf. 66701598. 22 leaves including some blanks or pages ruled in ink for entries. Agenda format 315 x 100 mm. stitched as issued uncut. Nuremberg: 1598. A fascinating document of a type that rarely survives: the manuscript account book for the spring 1598 Leipzig fair of Hans Straub I or the Elder 1541-1610 the prominent Nuremberg gold- and silversmith alderman and son-in-law of Wenzel Jamnitzer the best-known German goldsmith of his time. The first leaf bears Straub’s hallmark interwined initials “HS” over an arrow pointing upward within a plain shield & also containing the inscription “No. 72”. Our manuscript sheds important light on the business relations in the late 16th century between the Nuremberg goldsmiths and their trade at the Leipzig fairs. Our account book is a list of sales orders and expenditures of Nuremberg goldsmith Hans Straub the Elder during the Leipzig Easter fair held in May 1598. While Straub is not expressly named he can be identified by his hallmark on the first leaf. At the fair trade was done in goblets rings knife-sheaths cutlery jewelry gemstones etc. Several business partners are named including the Nuremberg goldsmiths Heinrich Hahn Haan David Lauer and Paulus Koch. As an example of a transaction we see that the council of Halle paid over 33 florins for a goblet. In 1596 Straub was elected Alderman of the Artisans the most elevated and honorable office to which a Nuremberg artisan could aspire. Straub retained this position until his death in 1610. In 1569 he married Anna daughter of the famous goldsmith Wenzel Jamnitzer. On his father-in-law’s death in 1585 Straub inherited his casting molds and used them extensively in his own creations. Despite his long period of activity relatively few pieces made by Hans Straub have survived see Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541-1868 2007 ed. by Karin Tebbe et al. Vol. I p. 409. In fine condition. ⧠The mark is similar to Marc Rosenberg Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen Frankfurt 1925 Vol. III no. 3969. unknown books
1828réf. 006534New York City 1828. Hardcover. Cloth spine. Marbled pastedown on boards. Leather centerpiece label on front board. Good. Original watercolors of rural Manhattan as it appeared in 1828. Among these and captioned are a farmhouse on Broadway and 8th Street; Kips Bay showing a boy sailing a small craft with a farmhouse in the background; a house in Bloomingdale the location of an early village now the Upper West Side along the river between 96th and 106th Streets; and a stately mansion surrounded by fields and less important buildings we would conjecture in or around Bloomingdale but captioned surely incorrectly the Battery. Most of the paintings are uncaptioned. Of these some are surely the Upper Hudson area or are scenes that we can't tell whether they are upstate or in the present day city. The artist also ventured away from the New York areas. Among the non-New York paintings are a depiction of the Cape Pogue Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard which still stands; Fowey Harbour which is in Cornwall; and a few scenes which look very much like Scotland. Oblong 14 by 19.5 cm. 55 watercolors generally fully finished. Although the sketchbook has a label on its front board bearing the name of Walter Oddie who was a listed artist we believe a good amount of the artwork contained in this sketchbook is of his father-in-law Henry Meigs. Meigs had been a U.S. Congressman from New York and also held a number of other political positions in the city over the course of his career. More pertinently Meigs was known to be an amateur painter and as such an inspiration to Oddie. Given Oddie's youth at the time -- he was 20 or 21 years old - and from his diary for the years 1828 and 1829 now housed in the Winterthur Library we know he was just starting to paint we find it inconceivable that he would have had the skill yet to produce the sensitive and fine renderings of nature and buildings that typify this sketchbook. Further underlying our thinking about attribution is that some of captioning only makes sense if Meigs were the primary artist. We do consider it quite likely that Oddie may have done some of the sketchier work contained herein as well as contributing in bits and pieces to his father-in-law's work as well as perhaps copying some of it in this sketchbook. To us it isn't really so important who was responsible for particular paintings in the sketchbook. Rather the significance lies in the recording of New York City and its surroundings at the time - we suspect that there may be no recording anywhere of some of the buildings and locations at this time. And of course not to be minimized is the beauty of the better paintings contained in the sketchbook. Whatever the degree of Oddie's contribution the sketchbook does have something to say about his career and visa versa given that it contains the type of artwork for which he became known later. Oddie was born in Maryland Washington D.C. or possibly New Orleans but spent almost his entire life in New York and more specifically New York City Brooklyn or Long Island. In 1828 the year most of the watercolors in the catalogue were executed Oddie was spending much of his time in the city. Once Oddie's interest in painting was sparked he was believed to have been largely self-taught but he did come to study art with Hudson River School painter Robert Walter Weir and Anthony Lewis De Rose a portrait and historical painter. From the diary we know that Oddie did work with De Rose in 1829; we believe that his tutelage with Weir came later. From the diary we know that Oddie was regularly going to art exhibits and critiquing what he saw. The diary also discloses or corroborates our prior sense that Oddie sometimes would work off of engraved prints. To what degree he was merely copying the prints as opposed to using the prints as a spur to his own imagination we can not determine with certitude. We tend to think the views of Scottish and Welsh castles contained in the Sketchbook were done by Meigs not Oddie and so they might well have been done from life. From the diary we know that Oddie had some day job that occupied him during the week and so he did most of his painting at that time on the weekends when he would often go for long hikes along the Hudson. Oddie also refers in the diary to having been in Hudson then and now the county seat of Columbia County and so it is very plausible that some of the upstate scenery is from around there. Again we think some of these paintings may have been done by Meigs. Oddie would become an associate member of the National Academy of Design where he frequently exhibited his artwork. One further note - we spoke of questioning one caption referring to the Battery. In 1828 the urbanized part of the city didn't even reach 14th Street but the Battery as the oldest part of the city was thoroughly urbanized. Thus the painting could not be of the Battery. But the landscape is very consistent with the topography of Upper Manhattan. hardcover books
1615réf. 67051615. 14; 13 folding leaves. Two parts in one vol. Large 8vo cont. or later dark wrappers dyed with persimmon juice shibubiki new stitching. Japan probably Kyoto: printed with moveable types ca. 1615-40. A very rare edition printed with moveable types apparently unrecorded in the standard bibliographies of the story — or legend — of the creation of the first statue of Siddhartha Gautama or Gautama Buddha the founder of Buddhism. The statue executed while Buddha was still alive was commissioned by King Udayana of Kaushambi a contemporary of Buddha. It was the very first image of Buddha and is especially important as it was carved from life. Copies of this statue made their way to China with the spread of Buddhism and later as we shall see to Japan. The text provides a history of the creation of the first statue of Buddha which is perhaps the most famous of all Buddha images. King Udayana commissioned the statue “so that he could gaze upon the sacred form of the Buddha while the latter was off preaching to his mother in the heaven of Indra. Buddha’s disciple Maudgalyayana transported thirty-two craftsmen up to the heavenly realm so that they could observe the special marks of the Buddha firsthand thereby insuring the representational accuracy of the image they created. When the Buddha eventually returned to the earth King Udayana’s statue rose into the air to greet him of its own accord and the Buddha proclaimed that it would one day help to transmit his teachings.”–Brown ed. The Oxford Handbook of Religion and the Arts p. 371. We learn that the statue was carved out of sandalwood and that later copies were made of gold silver bronze lead tin or iron as well as of wood. This text was translated by the Khotanese monk Tiyunbanruo d. 691 or 692 whose original Sanskrit name was Devendraprajna. Khotan was an ancient Iranian Saka Buddhist kingdom on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert near modern-day Xinjiang. Tiyunbanruo came to Luoyang the “Eastern Capital” of the Tang dynasty of China in about 688 with a considerable reputation as a Buddhist missionary and set up a bureau to translate Buddhist texts into Chinese. An earlier edition of this text was published in Beijing in 1593 and only one copy is known at the BnF. This book was probably printed and issued as a way to reinforce the legitimacy of the famous Buddha statue of the temple of Seiryoji in the Saga fields of Kyoto. It is one of the chief objects of religious veneration in Kyoto. A copy of the original statue also commissioned by King Udayana was brought from the castle at Kaushambi in north-central India to China by Hsuan-tsang in 645. The statue moved many times and ultimately arrived at Kaifeng the Sung capital. The Japanese monk Chonen 938-1016 who spent the years 983-86 in China studying and collecting texts had worshiped the statue in Kaifeng and commissioned men in 984 to carve a copy to bring back to Japan. The copy was ultimately installed at Seiryoji and according to Japanese tradition the Chinese “original” and Chonen’s copy had miraculously changed places — the Seiryoji Buddha was actually the authentic example commissioned by Udayana. The Seiryoji Buddha is “probably the most important best-documented and best-preserved sculpture now existing which represents the school and tradition of Buddhist sculpture connected with the sacred Udayana image of the living Buddha of which Hsuan-tsang brought a copy to the court at Ch’ang-an.”–Henderson & Hurvitz “The Buddha of Seiryoji: New Finds and New Theory” Artibus Asiae Vol. 19 No. 1 1956 p. 43–and see the whole fascinating article. As mentioned above this rare work is printed with moveable types. It was at one time owned by the great Japanese dealer Shigeo Sorimachi. The chitsu has the characteristic handwriting on the label of Sorimachi’s assistant Mr. Mori who has written: “Zozo kudoku kyo. Genna kan’ei chu kan. Kokatsu ban” “Creation of the Statue a Pious Act. From Genna to mid-Kan’ei edition ca. 1615-40. Moveable type”. It is not cited by Kazuma Kawase Kokatsuji-ban no kenkyu Study of the Early Typographic Editions of Japan 1967 the definitive bibliography of Japanese moveable type books. There is no copy in WorldCat nor the Union Catalogue of Early Japanese Books. In very good condition. The first ten folding leaves which are a little stained have some repaired worming and strengthening. The following leaves have some worming some carefully repaired and others as the worming lessens not repaired. Several characters affected by the worming. As mentioned above the wrappers have been dyed with persimmon juice which serves a dual purpose: to strengthen the paper and act as an insect repellent. ⧠Wang Zhenping “Chonen’s Pilgrimage to China 983-986” Asia Major Third Series Vol. 7 No. 2 1994 pp. 63-97. Martha L. Carter The Mystery of the Udayana Buddha Naples: 1990. unknown books
1945réf. 006923Saki Crimea U.S.S.R.: Privately compiled 1945. Album. This singular and compelling Second World War album was painstakingly compiled decorated and annotated by Royal Air Force Group Captain Walter J. Pickard. Full of mementos documents and photographs the album chronicles the staging preparation and flights which conveyed Winston Churchill as well as other British and American delegates to the Yalta Conference in 1945 earning Pickard the accolades of his commanders the appreciation of his Prime Minister and the Order of the British Empire O.B.E. Not least among the albums contents is the dated inscription of Winston S. Churchill and signed correspondence from Churchills private secretary confirming that Churchill personally received examined and inscribed this album and conveying Churchills appreciation to Pickard. The album is 100 numbered pages bound in leather-covered boards with a hand-labeled title Saki affixed diagonally on the front cover. Saki refers to the Crimean airbase built by the Soviets in the 1930s that served as the landing point for the aircraft bearing Churchill Roosevelt and the rest of the British and American delegations to the Conference. The boards show wear to extremities and the leather-covered spine is gone. The boards and contents nonetheless remain tenuously connected the mull and overall binding structure quite fragile but still holding. The binding has done its job of preserving the treasure trove within; the contents are generally clean only lightly toned with scattered stains and occasional creasing and appear complete as originally compiled. The contents of the album include the following: - A September 9 1947 typed letter signed by Winston Churchills Private Secretary addressed to Pickard acknowledging that Pickard sent the album to Churchill expressing Churchills thanks and confirming that Churchill inscribed the album which was returned with the letter. - Pickards title page in elaborate multi-hued calligraphy: The Story of 150 Staging Post and the Airlift to the Yalta Conference February 1945. - Personnel list of those under the command of Group Captain W. J. Pickard. - 10 typed pages marked SECRET comprising Pickards detailed REPORT ON OPERATION ARGONAUT dated 26th February 1945 and signed by Pickard. - Five letters of appreciation from senior military commanders including letters signed by U.S. Brigadier General James S. Stowell and General Lord Hastings Lionel "Pug" Ismay. - TOP SECRET CYPHER MESSAGE of 24th JANUARY from 150 STAGING POST to TRANSPORT COMMAND that according to Pickards elaborate calligraphy annotation nearly stopped the Conference. - 50 photographs from the conference 13 featuring Churchill Roosevelt or both. - Seven currency notes including Soviet American and Greek five signed by a bevy of people including pilots. - A TOP SECRET MOST URGENT typed 1st February 1945 letter signed by Air Commodore Whitney Straight to Group Captain Pickard conveying the Flight Plan and Passenger Lists as well as the fighter escort and other details for transport of VIPs to the Yalta Conference. - The Friday February 16th 1945 farewell dinner menu signed on the blank verso by the members of Pickards command. - Pickards original Yalta Conference passes both British Delegation and Soviet. - A contemporary Observer clipping that specifically refers to this Pickards remarkable autograph book - A 24th January 1945 typed and hand-annotated TOP SECRET CYPHER MESSAGE from Pickard regarding critical communication and transport difficulties preceding the Conference. This album with all of its annotations and embellishments has the look and feel of both military precision and treasured story book the adult manifestation of a seasoned commander and pilot recording his actual experience of every lads dream to fly to dare and to overcome. Please note that additional images and a considerably more comprehensive description are available upon request. Privately compiled unknown books
1542réf. 55061542. 4 p.l. 162 leaves. Small 4to cont. blindstamped panelled pigskin remains of two deerskin ties. Zurich: C. Froschauer 1542. First edition of a very rare book on the market; this is a lovely fresh copy in contemporary blind-stamped pigskin. This Gesner’s second botanical work is “an alphabetically arranged catalog of plant names in four languages the first of its kind and an indication of the growing interest in botany beyond purely philological investigations into the writings of the classics. The Greek names are based on the works of Dioscorides. This early work is already characteristic of Gessner’s life-long endeavour to arrange scientific topics in alphabetical or systematic order; it also show his proficiency in languages and his interest in their comparative treatment.”–Wellisch 8.1. A fine copy. Signature at foot of title of “Lucas Schröck M.D.” Schröck 1646-1730 was a professor of medicine at Jena and president of the Deutschen Akademie der Naturforscher see Hirsch V pp. 139-40. Early inscription on front free endpaper stating this is a duplicate from the Royal Library of Munich. Engraved armorial bookplate dated 1744 of Franziskus Topsl 1711-96 prior of the Polling Abbey in Upper Bavaria. Modern booklabel of D. Henry. Some minor worming to upper inner corner of first seven leaves touching a few letters of the first two leaves. ⧠Pritzel 3298. unknown books
1916réf. 99921916. Several thousand double-page & full-page color-printed woodcuts many with embossing. 95 vols. 8vo 256 x 174 mm. orig. tan patterned semi-stiff wrappers orig. title slips on upper covers orig. stitching occasional stitching a little loose. Tokyo: HonzÅ Zufu KankÅkai 本è‰åœ–èœåˆ‹è¡Œæœƒ 1916-22. The definitive and complete edition of the "the greatest illustrated botanical work of nineteenth century Japan.This monumental work the HonzÅ zufu briefly describes and splendidly illustrates in full color some 2000 plants. It is considered to be one of the two most important works on systematic botany in the Tokugawa period 1603-1867."-Richard C. Rudolph "Illustrations from Weinmann's 'Phytanthoza iconographia' in Iwasaki's 'HonzÅ zufu'" in Huntiana Vol. 2 15 October 1965 p. 1. Iwasaki 1786-1842 was an important natural historian who studied with Ono Ranzan the "Linnaeus of Japan." Iwasaki learned Western botanical theories from Yoan Udagawa one of the most celebrated rangakusha Dutch scholars of the period and from Philipp Franz von Siebold the German physician and scientist. Iwasaki also made many field trips throughout the main island of Japan collecting botanical specimens which he brought back to Edo and cultivated in a garden the government had given him. The publication history of the editions of HonzÅ zufu is long and complicated and there are several conflicting bibliographical accounts. We give Prof. Richard C. Rudolph's account cited above based on Kotaro Shirai's history of the work which appeared in Vol. 93 1921 of the modern edition of HonzÅ zufu 1916-22. We believe Prof. Rudolph's account is the best and most accurate in English. "Early in 1828 Iwasaki founded a botanical society. The first meeting which was held at his own home was attended by the most prominent scholars in this field. In the autumn of the same year after a long period of collecting illustrating practical gardening and study of most of the available botanical works Iwasaki completed the compilation of a comprehensive illustrated flora. "Iwasaki planned to issue this large work in twenty-four series of four volumes each. It seems obvious from the preface that the illustrations were to be printed in black and white and then were to be colored by hand. Shirai in his history of this project says that in this first attempt to reproduce Iwasaki's compilation only four volumes were printed in 1830. "This first attempt to print the HonzÅ zufu was a commercial failure.income was insufficient to finance the printing of so large a work.printing was abandoned but reproduction of his compilation was continued in manuscript with colors brushed in by hand. How many copies were made of each volume in this manner is not recorded but four volumes were produced yearly until his death in 1842. His family carried on with the work and completed the manuscript volumes of HonzÅ zufu in ninety-two volumes in the latter part of 1844 and they are incredibly rare. "It is obvious that a printed edition of such an important work would be produced sooner or later. Several attempts made in the late 19th century ended in failure. In the early years of the present century the HonzÅ Zufu Kanko Kai or Society for Publication of the HonzÅ zufu was organized and a successful printing of the work in color by woodblocks was completed after five years of labor in 1921. This edition is composed of ninety-three volumes.The first ninety-two volumes contain illustrations of about 2000 plants in color and a very brief text and the following volume is composed of an additional text by Iwasaki together with Shirai's biography of him and history of the work. Another two volumes containing Japanese Chinese and Latin binomial indexes compiled by Shirai were published in the same format in 1922. Moreover each of the ninety-two volumes of plates has its own Chinese Japanese-binomial index. "In projects of this kind the publisher deserves a share of credit along with the author.it would take a man of considerable courage to undertake the printing of this great flora by woodblocks. Such a person was the Tokyo publisher Iwamoto YonetarÅ a man of little capital and poor health but rich in the courage required to produce a work of this kind.The rise in the cost of materials and labor due to World War I almost caused the project to end in failure as had others before it.To obtain the necessary funds he sold his personal library and cut down on the size of the staff.Iwamoto personally went over each printed page correcting faults in blockcutting and in coloring. "Either because Iwamoto published a small edition of the HonzÅ zufu or because it suffered destruction during World War II as did early Japanese books in general it is now almost impossible to locate a complete copy of this work."-Rudolph ibid. pp. 4-6. The plates are superbly color-printed and often exhibit subtle embossing. In very fine and fresh condition. Covers a bit discolored or spotted. unknown books
réf. 86003001Edo c.1700-50 n.p. Brown & silver covered boards very clean 7 double-page b.w. erotic woodblock illustrations mounted on mica flecked paper 18 x 25 cm. accordion folded illustration size: 31 x 12 cm. FIRST & ONLY UNRECORDED COPY! . . . . A VERY RARE UNRECORDED EARLY BOOK . . . A BIZARRE & UNIQUE EROTIC BOOK . . . UNSIGNED BUT CLEARLY THE WORK OF A MASTER ARTIST . BY SUKENOBU OR HIS :SCHOOL: . A unique and hitherto unfound odd and most unusual erotic book of the early-mid-18th century. One of the most bizarre erotic books ever done in Japan. . The graphically explicit work portrays men and women with genitals on their foreheads engaged in heterosexual and homosexual intercourse. There is no other book with such unusual and strange illustrations. . . THE TITLE: THE LEGEND OF AMANJAKU or AMAN NO JAKU: Chinese Title: TIAN XIE GUI YUN . THE MEANING OF AMANJAKU: Japanese Buddhist literature is abundant with variations on the theme of "Aman-No-Jaku" aka. "Amanjaku" "Manojaku" commonly understood to be a "Heavenly Evil Spirit." . This spirit or demon-like creature in Japanese folklore is usually depicted as being a male during the day and female at night. The demon is usually depicted as a kind of small Oni devil and is thought to be able to provoke a person's darkest desires and instigate him into perpetrating wicked deeds. . Amanjaku is also depicted in Chinese and Japanese mythology the AMANOJAKU is a changeling a water spirit that infiltrates the human world to play cruel tricks on people by reading their minds and twisting their requests or desires to be used against them. . The "AMANOJAKU" is also known the "Lord of the River" and in Japan serves Bishamonten one of the four Deva kings of Buddhism as a minor demon. See Wikipedia below. . In Japanese the term "Amanojaku" also refers to a person who is deliberately contradictory someone who argues for the sake of arguing or can be used in common Japanese conversation to refer to someone who is a "Perverted Demon." . THE ILLUSTRATIONS: THE BUDDHIST THEME:. This work is unusual in that the genitals of common people are located on their foreheads. A symbolist meaning can be in Buddhist concept that sex and sexual hedonism is openly on the minds of 'lay' people. The Buddha and his disciples on the other hand do not have sex organs on their foreheads meaning their organs are covered and in a different usual location. This can symbolize 'self control' over such biological energies. Devout Buddhist disregard sex as a pleasurable pastime and devote themselves to monastic focus. By contrast "lay" people are distracted with hedonistic pleasure a path away from rather than towards the Dharma or teachings of Buddhism. . In a sense this work illustrates the overwhelming force of evil or the "Amanojaku" and how it distracts people from the "Righteous Path" towards the Dharma and the ultimate goal of attaining Nirvana. It can be posited that this work is designed to give understanding to "lay" people by way of visual example of what forces direct their energies away from the Buddhist teachings in an effort to redirect them towards the "Righteous Path" and life style. . EXCEPTIONALLY RARE UNIQUE WORK: . The work is exceptionally RARE unusual and erotic there are no other example showing genitals on the foreheads of any other Japanese book cited anywhere in the bibliographic literature or record. . This work is certainly RARE in subject content and quantity. Though it was woodblock printed and unsigned which was usual for Japanese erotic works which were banned by the Shogun we have not found anything similar or recorded anywhere in the bibliography. Being woodblock printed one assumes there are other copies in existence. The average printing from woodblocks were somewhere between 100-200 copies. However in this instance no others exist. We have the strong feeling the book could have been the production of a famous Japanese illustrator and perhaps financed by a Buddhist temple again there are no known facts about this rarity. . THE EROTIC ILLUSTRATIONS: . Number 1: This work begins showing the Buddha flanked by two of his disciple monks. The title is written in four Japanese Kanji in Kambun & Chinese characters. The Buddha and his two disciples listen to two elderly Buddhist believers: one is a male he has and erect penis on his forehead. The other is a woman she has a vagina on her forehead. Neither the Buddha nor his two disciples monks show genitals on their foreheads. The couple have come to consult with the Buddha about their grievances. . Number 2: Shows a man and a woman in a Tatami matted room both wear lovely 18th century decorated Kimono. They embrace each other and are engaged in making love from their foreheads which show an erect penis and testicles inserted into the woman's forehead where her vagina is located. Adjacent to the young couple is an older woman who has become aroused by the adjacent couple's making love. The old woman uses a dildo tied to a post which she hugs while inserting the dildo into the vagina on her forehead. . Number 3: Shows a couple laying on a blanket their Kimono pulled down and opened and used as a top cover. They engage in love-making and kiss. The man has an erect penis on his forehead the woman a vagina on hers. There is some used Chirishi toilet paper just above her head on the floor used to wipe the love fluids. There is a folded package of yet unused Chirishi in readiness. Chishiri shown in Japanese Shunga erotic prints prints & paintings is an 'erotic symbol' indicative of sexual excitement with lots of love fluids flowing. Ergo the need for paper to clean up the results of erotic love-making. . Number 4 shows an adult man with an erect penis on his forehead penetrating the anus of a younger man who's smaller but erect penis is seen on his forehead as he faces his lover. The younger man has no pubic hair yet indicating his youth. . Adjacent to these two men is a woman in the next room. The door is open she is a secret voyeur of the two men. Her vagina is also on her forehead. A Shogi board and two bowls for stones is located in the front left of the illustration. Gay activities in Japanese society were accepted as a norm and were not especially unusual. However to find graphic examples in Japanese erotic books are exceptionally rare and seldom found. . Number 5: Depicts a fully clothed man on his knees he bends over a sleeping woman. He has a very large erect penis and begins to penetrate a woman with her vagina on her forehead. She is fully clothed and sleeping on a wooden "pillow" which supports her elaborate hair coiffeur. . Number 6: Depicts a lively scene of two men and a woman. One man with a very large and erect penis pulls the woman's arm toward him while she fends him off with a straight arm to his head. A second excited man also with a large and erect penis on his forehead masturbates and ejaculates in ecstasy. The woman has a vagina on her forehead. The scene is likely an intended rape of a young girl. She looks away in an effort not to allow him to pull her close enough to insert his penis into her exposed vagina. . Number 7: Illustrating a lonely old man in bed. He has an erect penis on his forehead and holds a kind of pot with a large opening. He faces down and inserts his penis into the pot for gratification. . THE TEXT: The text in Shunga erotic Japanese books & prints is often an erotic dialogue describing the erotic action. Often these words are onomatopoetic mimicking the sounds of people in orgasm or making comments about making love or the pleasure and good feelings. The size and hardness of the penis or the flavor and the juices of the vagina and its supple feelings of euphoria when engaged in love-making. All wear 18thcentury period Kimono. . MODE AND FASHION OF THE MID-18TH CENTURY: The room furnishing and Kimono of the participants in this work all wear 18th century period Kimono with period decorations. The style of Kimono and room screens reflect this period. . BINDING AND MOUNTING: Binding: The book has probably been rebound sometime after the 1750's with a more recent thin brown decorated paper with a silver chrysanthemum and a Mon family crest with gold and black on both front and rear covers. Each cover has a distinctly different kind of illustration but of the same theme. The corners and edges are a bit worn some loss to the paper as usual for a work from this period. . Mounting: At an earlier time each page was expertly mounted on a stiff Washi hand-made Japanese paper into an accordion folded book. Each illustration is bordered with a rare and stunning crushed oyster-shell powder mixed with rice-glue and overlaid on the border paper. The stunning effect is a rare shimmering pearl-like color and hue with a remarkable effect. This rare and largely unknown effect has been used for print backgrounds by some of the later masters. . This was no ordinary mounting and appropriate for an exceptionally and most unusual RARE book ! . Contents: By and large the contents are clean solid with a two old worm holes for the first 6 of 7 pages. These are small and towards the edge and does not detract from the overall quality of the illustration. On page 7 there are a few center margin old minor worm holes. All of these have been restored when the prints were laid down on the thick Washi paper creating book format. The work is otherwise solid and firm. There are a few 'rubs' on the old Washi paper which was made from very soft Kozo fibers common to any item of this period on this on handmade papers of the period. . CONDITION OF THE WOODBLOCK PRINTS: . These are very early black and white woodcut prints. Each print has an excellent and vivid impression key blocks are black and superbly printed with strong images. The paper is old and has the patina of paper from that age the usual minor mild surface rubbing or thumbing in the lower corners which is common. . We tend to be overly critical of any flaws found on our books and believe it is better to overly describe rather than avoid such discussion any imperfections. Suffice to say by and large this is an excellent item in very nice condition something that any collector or museum would be proud to own. Please review photos posted to our website. . R A R I T Y OF SUBJECT: The placement of the genitals on the forehead gives one a lot of room to theorize on the meaning of such artistic expression. In our 50 years of experience in dealing Japanese woodblock printed books and painted original art this is the first and only example with such imaginative and symbolist expression. With the beginning of the work showing the Buddha and his two disciples lacking any genitals on their foreheads one can simply assume that in a Buddhist way they have given up carnal desire as represented by common people who's foreheads display genitals perhaps meaning that sex is on their minds or they simply view others as sexual objects eager to make love and engage in carnal thoughts and activities. Obviously seeing an erect penis on some man whiles others see what he thinks and feels is an insight to his innermost thoughts and desires. In all cases in this book the men all show an erect penis. The women are a bit more difficult to fathom. Their vaginas are simply visible on their foreheads and no fluids are visible or other evidence of their carnal desire or sexually excited stated. All of the men have public hair adjacent to their sex organs while all women are lacking any pubic hair completely. This is an erotic symbolism giving full view to women's genitals. . "BANNED" or "PROHIBITED" BOOKS: Shun Pon Haru Bon: In the case of this item it is very likely that it was printed in a much smaller discreet quantity than the 200 copies possible off the blocks. Due to the "banned" nature of such books there is no date publisher nor place cited. One is simply left to determine the date and artist by stylistic analysis. It is well-known that during the Tokugawa period 1603-1868 erotic prints and books were "BANNED" or "PROHIBITED" by decree of the Shogun. One of the influencing factors was that during this period some Shoguns were changing their views and being influenced by Christians who entered Japan during this period. The Shogun did not want foreigners and Jesuit missionaries to think that Japan was a crass and base nation. Naturally foreigners soon learned that prostitution was rampant and so this strange logic from the Shogun never had much affect on the Christians and surely not on the Japanese. . The Shogun enforced severe punishments for persons involved in drawing printing carving blocks and publishing erotic books and prints. With out the "Kiwame" or censor's approval seal all such items were "Banned" outright by the Shogun decree. . While these "Prohibited" books and prints were widely circulated in an "underground" society there are ample examples of famous artists taking on commissions to produce erotic books and prints fun or profit. The record and bibliography is loaded with these examples. "Banning" such erotic works simply meant that the number printed were limited to smaller numbers and distribution was done under the table discretely circulating such books privately among collectors. During these times it was not necessary for artists to sign their such artistic creations by-and-large the population had a very good idea who the artist was by being familiar with their style and other works it was simply a "public secret" who the artist was. Often the artist poked fun at the Shogun with political jokes and assumed names to confound any chance of being discovered by the authorities. . Over the centuries this knowledge decreased and is now the domain of the art historian or scholar to identify and determine the actual artist. Stylistic analysis remains the standard method for unsigned works. . THE ARTIST/SCHOOLS: While there are no signatures or seals indicating the artist's name or even his alternate Go studio name we believe this work is part of the "Primitives and First Century of Ukiyo-e School 1660-1765" period. See Lane below. The women's coiffeur is very similar to those found in this period as well as the drawing style technique and genre. It is this cataloger's opinion that this work was likely the creation of one of the Moronobu School masters. Perhaps done by Sukenobu Yoshikiyo Morishige Sugimura Moronobu Kiyonobu Masanobu or others from this period. We believe this work was likely done from around 1710-1750. It was also likely that it was done by one of the artists listed below. . LIKELY ARTIST ATTRIBUTION: . MORONOBU SUKENOBU SCHOOL: Nishikawa Sukenobu 1671 -August 20 1750 often called simply "Sukenobu" was a Japanese printmaker from Kyoto. He was unusual for a Ukiyo-e in being based in the imperial capital of Kyoto. He did prints of actors but gained note for his works concerning women. His Hyakunin Joro Shinasadame: Appreciating 100 Women in two volumes published in 1723 depicted women of all classes from the empress to prostitutes and received favorable results His Hyakunin Joro Shinasadame: Appreciating 100 women in two volumes published in 1723 depicted women of all classes from the empress to prostitutes and received favorable results Leading members of this school were: Nishikawa Sukenobu the founder; Nishikawa Suketada; Kawashima Nobukiyo; Nishikawa Terunobu; and Takagi Sadatake. . NISHIKAWA MORONOBU SCHOOL: Nishikawa Moronobu 1618-July 25 1694 was a Japanese painter and printmaker known for his advancement of the Ukiyo-e woodcut style starting in the 1670s. Leading members of the MORONOBU school were: Nishikawa Moronobu the founder; Hishikawa Morofusa; Hishikawa Moroyoshi; Hishikawa Moronaga; Hishikawa Moroshige; Hishikawa Morohira; and Tamazaki Ryujo. . BIBLIOGRAPHY: . This title is NOT listed in any of the below resources: SHIBUI Kiyoshi. UKIYO-E NAISHI. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAPANESE EROTIC ILLUSTRATED WOODBLOCK PRINTED BOOKS. H. KERLEN. CATALOGUE OF PRE-MEIJI JAPANESE BOOKS & MAPS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS. Richard Lane: IMAGES FROM THE FLOATING WORLD THE JAPANESE PRINT; pages 28 40-60 show examples of the Ukiyo-e primitives 1660-1765 especially the Moronobu school pp.60-88 et al. . NOT LISTED IN: . KSM SHIBUI Kiyoshi: UKIYO-E NAISI. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF JAPANESE EROTIC ILLUSTRATED WOODBLOCK PRINTED BOOKS. Modern Reading: UKIYO-E NAISHI KERLEN H.: CATALOGUE OF PRE-MEIJI JAPANESE BOOKS & MAPS IN PUBLIC COLLECTIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS. Not in any other usual bibliographies on Japanese E-hon woodblock printed books. . See: WIKIPEDIA:. unknown books
1634réf. 107041634. Several woodcut illus. in the text. 25 vols. Folio 346 x 230 mm. orig. wrappers rubbed & several with some wear three vols. with some staining occasional minor foxing orig. stitching. HansÅng: colophon in Vol. 2 dated 1634. Second edition 1st ed.: 1613 of a very great rarity “the greatest of all Korean medical treatises which devotes its last chapters to acupuncture and moxibustion.”–Lu & Needham Celestial Lancets p. 263n. It is considered to have one of the finest classification systems in traditional East Asian medicine. HÅ Chun 1539/46-1615 was a court physician of the Yangcheon HÅ clan during the reign of King Seonjo 1568-1608 of the Joseon dynasty in Korea. During the Japanese invasion of Korea 1592-98 HÅ faithfully accompanied the king through numerous difficult campaigns. Following the conflict the king commissioned HÅ to write a medical book for his citizens who suffered from post-war famines and epidemics. In 1610 HÅ completed his masterwork which was first published in 1613 an even rarer book. The Tongŭi pogam is divided into five broad sections: internal medicine four vols. external medicine four vols. miscellaneous diseases 11 vols. herbal remedies three vols. and acupuncture one vol. all preceded by a most useful two-volume Table of Contents. In the first section on internal medicine HÅ describes the interdependence of the liver lung kidney heart and spleen. The section on external medicine explains how the skin muscles blood vessels tendons and bones allow for movement and maintenance of posture. The part on miscellaneous diseases describes the symptoms diagnoses and treatment methods of various diseases. HÅ’s remedies rely on readily found medicinal herbs and plants and he provides impressively detailed instructions on how to extract maintain and consume the herbs. The last section explains acupuncture strategies. The work spread to other East Asian countries like China Japan and Vietnam and is still regarded as one of the classics of Asian medicine. “The Treasured mirror of eastern medicine was in fact one of the very few non-Buddhist works written outside China that achieved a wide circulation within China. It was written by HÅ Chun 1539-1615 as a summation of Korean medical knowledge and was printed in Korea in 1613. Copies were sent directly to China in 1721 and 1728 and a copy reached Japan in 1681. A revised edition was printed in Japan with glosses in 1724 and again in 1799; copies of the 1799 edition were sent to China via Nagasaki in 1811 and 1837. The Treasured mirror of eastern medicine was reprinted in China in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries either from the Korean edition or from one of the Japanese editions with the glosses removed. This was a rare sign of high esteem for a book written outside China.”–Peter Kornicki Languages Scripts and Chinese Texts in East Asia Oxford: 2018 p. 144. HÅ Chun remains famous in Korea today: there are several recently created television series and films about him and his achievements; a best-selling novel about him was published in 1990; and a museum in Seoul is devoted to his life and works. A very good “married” set with the first volume of miscellaneous diseases coming from another set. One volume has a hole to about ten leaves touching a few characters. ⧠For an extended and excellent discussion of the contents and importance of this work see Yeonseok Kang “History and Characteristics of Korean Medicine” in Routledge Handbook of Chinese Medicine 2022 pp. 507-08. unknown books
1494réf. 55951494. 148 leaves including the final blank Roman letter except for the two-line title in gothic type 51 lines & headline capital spaces with guide letters. Folio 290 x 188 mm. late 17th-cent. panelled English speckled calf rebacked with the orig. spine laid-down minor staining to a few leaves in blank upper margins. Basel: J. Amerbach 1494. First edition of the “first bibliography to be compiled as a practical work of reference.”–Grolier Club Bibliography 7. Tritheim 1462-1516 one of the leading polymaths of his age was appointed the 25th abbot of the monastery at Sponheim in 1483. “One of the first of his many self-imposed tasks was the reorganization and cataloguing of the monastic library if one can call reorganization the process of transforming forty-eight mongrel volumes into a splendid collection of 2000 printed books and manuscripts many of great importance and rarity… “It was during the progress of this work no doubt as his exceptional knowledge of books caused inquiries frequently to be addressed to him that he conceived the notion of compiling a new and ambitious bibliography of ecclesiastical writers. He began work in 1487 and by the spring of 1492 he was able to send the complete manuscript to the bishop of Worms. He then revised it and in 1494 the Liber de scriptoribus ecclesiasticis a folio of nearly 300 pages issued from the Basle press of Johann Amerbach… “From Alexander bishop of Cappadocia down to himself Tritheim sets out in chronological order nearly a thousand writers largely but not exclusively ecclesiastical giving a short account of each followed by a list of his or her writings. Nor are these lists merely perfunctory: it is obvious from such a heading as that for St. Augustine under which he enumerates 277 works that Tritheim must have lavished an immense amount of genuine research on his bibliography. In all about 7000 books are recorded. An alphabetical index of authors arranged of course by Christian names is added. The contrast between the feeble theological bibliographies of the manuscript age and this first attempt in the printing era is very striking.”–Besterman The Beginnings of Systematic Bibliography pp. 7-8. The title of the book is somewhat misleading since the work is not restricted to ecclesiastical writers but also includes authors such as Dante Poggio and Sebastian Brant. A fine and crisp copy of a book which has become uncommon on the market preserved in a box. Bookplate of the Society of St. John the Evangelist Cowley Oxford. With a note on the rear paste-down referring to “Derby” the Earls of Derby and a shelf-mark. ⧠Goff T-452. unknown books
réf. 7036Printed in Chinese with Japanese reading marks. 11 columns per page 21 characters per column. 79; 59; 51; 49; 67 folding leaves. Ten parts in five vols. 8vo 240 x 149 mm. orig. brown wrappers new stitching. Japan: mid-Muromachi ca. 1440-50. An extremely rare and important “mid-Muromachi” Gozan-ban edition of The Blue Cliff Record in Chinese: Pi yen lu a collection of Chan Buddhist koan. These were verbal tests used to practice or test a student’s progress in Zen compiled in the Song Dynasty and expanded by the great Northern Song Chan master Yuanwu Keqin 1063-1135 abbot of Tianning Wanshou Chan Monastery in Beijing. The text was first printed in China in 1125 or 1128 and has long been celebrated for both its startling beauty and profound complexity. Around 1140 one of Yuan Wu’s successors Ta Hui destroyed the printing blocks and copies of the Pi yen lu because the work’s rapid and widespread popularity made him fear that its beauty of expression would distract its readers from seeking enlightenment directly within themselves. The text was brought back from China by Dogen 1200-53 the Japanese Buddhist priest who was a founder of the Soto school of Zen in Japan. He had studied in China for four or five years and returned to stay at the Kenninji temple where he introduced many texts. This text was first printed in Japan about 1336-50 early-Nanbokucho by Gyokuho Shorin at the Kenninji; there is a copy at the National Diet Library. Our edition is a reprint of that first Japanese edition using the same woodblocks with minor changes. A later edition appeared in the Donald and Mary Hyde sale lot 65. “For some time Chan monks had been in the habit of extracting snippets from the ‘records’ yulu of past masters isolated them as ‘ancient precedents’ and commenting on them sometimes in verse sometimes in prose. By the mid-eleventh century the core situation was known as a ‘case to be investigated’ or a gong’an. The process was incremental and difficult to stop. Yuanwu’s Emerald Cliff Record for example took a previous eleventh-century collection entitled Master Xuetou’s verses on a hundred old cases and added an introduction and extensive commentary to each ‘case’ sometimes also dropping in comments on the appositeness or more usually inappositeness of the relevant verse so becoming in his turn ‘magistrate.’ A gong’an collection therefore reveals many layers all of them dedicated to undercutting the stability of language while at the same time playing a complex game of competing authorities. Herein lies their fascination.”–Richard Bowring The Religious Traditions of Japan Cambridge U.P. p. 301. “Gozan-ban is a general term embracing all those books published by monks of the Zen sect chiefly at the five Zen monasteries at Kamakura and the five at Kyoto over a period of more than 200 years between mid-Kamakura and late Muromachi. The appearance of the printed page in most Gozan editions follows a distinctly Chinese style. The effect is somewhat dense and crowded caused by packing the Chinese characters tightly together with more regard for economy of space than for aesthetic effect. In this the Gozan editions differ markedly from all other early Japanese printed books which are more generously spaced. The reasons for this are twofold: the books tend to be chiefly reprints of Chinese song and Yuan editions and during the fourteenth century many Chinese blockcutters came over from the continent and practised their craft of a semi-commercial basis and on a fairly large scale.”–K.B. Gardner “Centres of Printing in Medieval Japan: late Heian to early Edo period” in British Library Occasional Papers 11. Japanese Studies ed. by Yu-Ying Brown London: 1990 p. 164. PROVENANCE: This copy has the seals of Hirokata Yashiro 1758-1841 “Shinobazu Bunko”; Awa no Kuni Bunko; and Goroza Uchino b. 1873 “Kyotei Bunko”. It later belonged to the great collector and bibliographer of early Japanese books Kazuma Kawase 1906-99 and has his seal. The chitsu has Kawase’s manuscript title label stating in trans.: “Gozan-ban. Hekiganroku. Mid-Muromachi edition. Shinobazu Bunko provenance. Kazuma put the title on this label” also with his seal. There are four Prefaces: the first is undated the second dated 1300 the third dated 1305 and the fourth is dated 1304. Two leaves of manuscript probably written by Yashiro have been inserted at the beginning of Vol. I. They provide a commentary and a sort of title-page the work was issued without a title. Following Part I there are another two leaves of manuscript relating to this text. Following the tenth part are five Afterwards dated 1125 undated 1302 1317 and 1317. In fine condition all contained in a modern wooden box. The top of the box has been covered in a most attractive silk brocade. A few natural paper flaws and minor staining. Berkeley has an edition of this text but because of the very vague WorldCat cataloguing it is impossible to tell which exact edition it is. ⧠Kornicki Language Scripts and Chinese Texts in East Asia p. 245. unknown books
1630réf. 5226Bracciano: Privately Printed by Andreas Phaeus 1626 to 1630. SOLE EDITION. Hardcover. Fine. An excellent copy. Bound in contemporary vellum lacking ties a few wormholes to the lower cover small puncture and a little rumpling along the fore-edge of the upper cover. Complete with the errata leaf and blanks F4 R6 & 4I6 b3 bound after c2 few small tears a some scattered toning and foxing a few inconsequential blemishes. With an early German manuscript shelf label - "M.W." 19th-century bookplate with coronet. Illustrated with an engraved allegorical frontispiece fine engraved portrait of Paolo Giordano Orsini Duke of Bracciano with dedication engraved vignette on printed title & many fine engraved illustrations in the text many full-page depicting the author's observations of sunspots his observational platform with his assistants busily working his telescopes and helioscopes of his own design. Scheiner's greatest work. This magnificent book along with Hevelius' lunar atlas "Selenographia" is one of the two most richly and superbly illustrated astronomy book published in the first half of the 17th century. It describes and depicts Scheiner's observations of sunspots and showcases his instruments including his Keplerian telescope and his helioscope. In 1611 Scheiner constructed a telescope with which he began to make astronomical observations and in March of that year he detected the presence of spots on the sun. Scheiner's claim to the discovery of sun spots independently of Galileo was the origin of one of the most famous and heated controversies in the history of science. This book contains the summation of Scheiner's observations of the sun the fruit of many years of observation and study. He confirmed his method and criticized Galileo for failing to mention the inclination of the axis of rotation to the plane of the ecliptic. Yet he finally agreed with Galileo that sunspots are on the Sun's surface or in its atmosphere rather than satellites that they are often generated and perish there and that the Sun is therefore not perfect. Scheiner further advocated a fluid heavens against the Aristotelian solid spheres and he pioneered new ways of representing the motions of spots across the Sun's face. Because shortly after the appearance of Rosa Ursina sunspot activity decreased drastically the so-called Maunder Minimum ca. 1645-1710 his work was not superseded until well into the eighteenth century. Scheiner was responsible for many advances and innovations in the design of telescopes and related instruments. Of great importance is Scheiner's creation of a special helioscope described here the first Keplerian telescope in use consisting of two convex lenses; it was also the first to use colored glass in the eyepiece Kepler himself had only considered the telescope theoretically. Scheiner is also known for having invented the pantograph and for establishing the retina as the seat of vision. The quality of the engravings in this book is exceptional. Not only the complete instruments but also their component parts lenses fittings etc. are depicted in these engravings. Rosa Ursina sive Sol was costly to produce. Scheiner originally sought the support of Cardinal Alessandro Orsini 1592-1626 who was close to the Jesuits and after Alessandro's death that of his brother Paolo Giordano II Duke of Bracciano a great patron of astronomy. Rosa Ursina sive Sol was thus published at Bracciano on the Duke's private press though over several years 1626-30 due to financial difficulties. The book starting with its title is replete with references to the Orsini family whose heraldry included the rose and the bear orsus = ursus = bear. Given the strained relations with Paolo Giordano II who was unwilling to pay for the book these references to the Orsini family quickly became obsolete. Depicting the Astronomical Observatory and Methods of Observing Sunspots: On page 150 there is a remarkable full-page engraving with two scenes of astronomers at work. The first shows a viewing terrace outfitted with two obelisks and a number of figures using astronomical instruments including a helioscope and a telescope. Three figures may be identified as Jesuits from their distinctive birettas. One is at the foot of the obelisk measuring the position of the reflected sunspot against a plumb line at M with a compass. The second image an interior scene shows Scheiner and his assistant at work in his study which has astrolabes and a quadrant on the walls. This plate illustrates seven methods of observing sunspots: 1 the simplest and most natural way of observation is to let the Sun at F shine through a bare opening of a ball at G into a dark place where a paper is held perpendicularly and on which a figure is formed at H. 2 another simple form of observation is to let the Sun at Q shine through a convex glass at R onto a chart at S. 3 the simplest and most natural way of observation is with the naked eye at P when the Sun is at the horizon at I. 4 observation of the Sun at E through a helioscope at D. 5 observation of the Sun at B behind a cloud at C through a telescope at A. 6 observation of the Sun at I by a reflection at LN by a plane mirror at K. This is a method that Scheiner initially used at Ingolstadt. 7 observation of the Sun where its ray V through a helioscopic tube at X is projected onto paper in the circle Y contained in the perimeter cfdg. This method is described as 'the most excellent the most secure and the easiest' method of observation which Scheiner used at Ingolstadt from 1612 as well as at Rome. The Christogram 'IHS' adopted by the Jesuits as their emblem may be seen at the top of one of the obelisks and the rose of the Orsini family may be found on the edge of the roundel and elsewhere. On the side of a stool on which a telescope and sundial rest is the signature of the engraver Daniel Widman. The quotation at the top of the image is from Pliny the Elder's Naturalis historia II.112 where Eratosthenes's estimate of the circumference of Earth is described as 'an audacious venture but achieved by such subtle reasoning that one is ashamed to be sceptical.'. [Privately Printed by] Andreas Phaeus, 1626 to hardcover books
réf. 8663Trans. by Xuanzang 玄奘 in 650 CE. 70 pages six columns per page 30 columns per sheet 17 characters per column. 14 sheets average sheet length: 570 mm. five pages per sheet. Accordion format 305 x 7980 mm. print surface from top border to bottom border: 245–250 mm. Single woodcut borders at top & bottom of text. Orig. sutra binding of semi-stiff paper wrappers. Woodblocks carved by Ge Fang & Ma Qing & others in Sixi present day Huzhou printed between 1110s/40s–1276. This fascicle in its original sutra binding was printed in the 12th or 13th century in northern Zhejiang China as part of an extremely rare edition of the Buddhist canon variously known as the Yuanjue Canon Zifu Canon or Sixi Canon. Examples very rarely appear on the market. This edition of the Buddhist canon was for a long time largely unknown in China until the famous Chinese book collector and scholar Yang Shoujing 1839-1915 brought a set back from Japan in the late 19th century. Now in a Chinese library this is the only near-complete set as far as we know the rest being single sutras. Yuanjue Zifu or Sixi Canon: The three names refer to some or all of the imprints of the Chinese Tripitaka made from a set of blocks that were carved in a place called Sixi present-day Huzhou in what was then Songting township Guian county Hu prefecture part of the Circuit of the eastern and western Zhe of the Southern Song. Sixi one of the names retrospectively used for this edition was the location of Yuanjue Meditation Hall founded in 1119-25 where the printing blocks were housed and perhaps carved. Sometime after 1239 the hall’s name may have changed to Fabao Zifu lit. “Dharma jewel supplying happiness” Meditation Temple whence Zifu Canon. Bibliographic scholarship has dated certain imprints of this canon to either the period of Yuanjue Meditation Hall or that of Fabao Zifu Meditation Temple calling imprints dating from the earlier period Yuanjue Canon or “first Sixi canon” qian Sixi jing and imprints from the later period Zifu Canon or “second Sixi canon” hou Sixi jing. On the basis of a comparison of two catalogues of the canon — one claiming to be of the Yuanjue Canon and one of the Zifu Canon — it was believed that a substantial amount of re-carving had taken place between the Yuanjue and Zifu canons. However the catalogue purportedly of the Zifu Canon has been shown in fact to have been based not on an inventory of a set of the Zifu Canon but on another unrelated catalogue. Thus there is no reason to assume that a substantial amount of re-carving of the blocks took place after the temple changed its name and ipso facto there is no reason to posit the existence of two Sixi canons. Printings ascribed to the Yuanjue and Zifu canons belong to the same edition of the Chinese Tripitaka printed at various times during a period that stretched over a century. Blocks were repaired and replaced during this period but not to the extent that would justify calling them two editions. The Timing of Carving and Printing: The sources are ambiguous as to when carving of the blocks began. Li Fuhua and He Mei state that the carving began in 1126 whereas Wang Chonglong says it began before 1110 and thus not at the Yuanjue Hall which had not yet been founded and agrees with others that it likely had finished in 1132. It has also been proposed however that carving only began in 1132. Finally 1140 has been proposed as another completion date. Therefore we can say with confidence that the initial set of blocks was carved sometime between the 1110s and 1140s. Once the blocks were carved they were used for printing for a long time. Some printings can be dated because they contain colophons. Liu Yuantang has documented three instances of blocks being mended buban: in 1238 1248 and 1250. The blocks were burned by the invading Mongols in 1276 which is thus the terminus ante quem for prints from the Yuanjue Canon. Our Copy and the Yuanjue / Zifu Canon: Benshi jing is marked with the ordinal character shen 甚 in five editions of the Chinese Tripitaka. Of these five only the Yuanjue Canon also known as the Zifu or Sixi Canon is a possible candidate. More precisely our copy appears to be from a late printing of the Zifu Canon dating from sometime in the latter portion of the period 1110s/1140s-1276. The vast majority of extant sutras from this edition of the canon are late printings. They have the following characteristics: 1. Sheets folded into five pages with six columns per page 30 per sheet and 17 characters per column. 2. Glosses appended to the end of the volume. 3. Single woodcut borders at top and bottom of text. For earlier printings of this edition one source specifies that the borders go around on all four sides but for the later printings the same source simply says “single-lined margin frame” danxian biankuang 單線邊框. This would appear to suggest borders also at the beginning and the end of each sheet. 4. No empty column before the beginning of the text on the first page. 5. Small-script numerals marking the number of the sheet are printed at the beginning of every sheet as opposed to in the crease between pages for example except for the first sheet. 6. Printed area of roughly 570 mm. long and 250 mm. wide. The sutra has a total of seven fascicles juan of which we have fascicle six. The upper cover and the first line of the first page both have the character shen in manuscript on the cover which is here used as an ordinal drawn from Qianzi wen åƒå—æ–‡ The Thousand Character Essay to arrange the sutras of the Chinese Tripitaka. Layout and Appearance of Our Copy: Unsurprisingly for a very large printing project that took many years not all the sutras of the Yuanjue Canon have the same appearance. Yet the dimensions of our copy agree with other known copies: five pages per woodblock six columns per page 17 characters per column. Other non-official Song editions of the Buddhist canon Chongning and Pilu have six pages per block but the same number of columns per page and characters per column. The measurements of our copy accord with copies of other sutras from the same edition of the canon held by the Gansu Provincial Library in Lanzhou the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the Gotoh Museum outside of Tokyo. The layout of our copy accords with that of a different sutra from the same canon that has been reprinted in facsimile in unknown books
