19.040 Ergebnisse
1828Best.-Nr. 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
1550Best.-Nr. 5044Rome: ca 1550. SECOND STATE of three with the addition of "Romae" incised at lower right. Hardcover. Fine. A very fine example with high contrast of this rare print. This is the first published engraving dedicated to Michelangelo's Moses and one of only two made in the 16th century. The funerary monument of Julius II occupied Michelangelo in various phases from 1505 to the 1540s. Prints of the entire monument are few. In them the figure of Moses is necessarily reduced in size and imperfectly executed. Later prints of the statue in isolation such as that by the Netherlandish artist Jacob Matham 1571-1631 in which the figure is shown in reverse fail to match the standard set by this early engraving. The inscription reads: Moysis ingens ex marmore simulacrum in Julij Secundi/ Pontificis Maximi ad petri in Exquilijs uincula sepulcro / præstanti Michaelis Angeli Bonarotae manu fictum. The immense marble statue of Moses in the Church of San Pietro in Vincoli on the Esquiline Hill sculpted by the hand of Michelangelo Buonarroti for the tomb of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo's design for the tomb of Pope Julius II with the master's iconic figure of Moses was originally intended for St. Peter's but was ultimately installed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The work was commissioned by Pope Julius in 1505 at which time Michelangelo received an initial payment of 100 gold ducats but was not completed until March 1545. Michelangelo re-worked his initial design numerous times first in 1513 after Julius' death and again in 1516 1525/1526 1532 and 1542. The final monument includes three figures carved by Michelangelo: the aforementioned Moses and Leah and Rachel symbols respectively of the active and contemplative life. Michelangelo's sculptures of the dying and rebellious slaves now in the Louvre and the Genius of Victory Palazzo Vecchio Florence were not used in the final design. On the second tier of the monument as it stands is an effigy of the reclining Julius II attributed to Tommaso di Pietro Boscoli 1503-1574 but with the face possibly the work of Michelangelo watched over by the Madonna and Child carved by Alessandro Scherano di Settignano after a model by Michelangelo and flanked by a sibyl and a prophet; these last two sculptures were carved by Michelangelo's pupil Raffaello da Montelupo ca. 1504-ca. 1567. "The engraving reproduces accurately in the same direction and without substantial variations the sculpture of the tomb of Julius II identifying the light source at the top left. The work attributed by Bottari to Beatrizet Heinecken 1768 was treated as anonymous by Heinecken in the Nachrichten of 1768 but later included by him in the list of Beatrizet's works Dictionnaire 1788. Nagler recorded it both under the monogram of Cornelis Bos and as the work of Beatrizet. Appearing in the Hollstein repertoire as Bos it was subsequently treated among works of doubtful attribution both of Bos Schéle 1965 and of Beatrizet Bianchi 2004. "Due to the fact that copies of this print are found in volumes of Roman composition on the model of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae El Escorial; Madrid Biblioteca Nacional; both datable between the mid-1580s and the 1590s one would be led to believe that the plate was engraved in Rome where in the last decade of the 16th century it was acquired by Van Aelst. This does not however exclude Cornelis Bos as a possible author since more than one of his plates is known to bear a Roman address in late editions even if it makes it more likely -in our opinion- the identification with a Flemish engraver active in Italy. In the sparse and luminous texture and in the clean geometries one could also perceive the burin of Niccolò della Casa."Alberti Rovetta and Salsi "D'après Michelangelo"2015 p. 219 ff. ca hardcover books
1630Best.-Nr. 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
2001Best.-Nr. 58644London: Sceptre Hodder & Stoughton 2001. First Edition first printing. Signed by Gold on the title page. Thick tall 8vo. gray boards in dust jacket; 563 pages. Very Good would be fine but top of spine is bumped; fine d/j. Sceptre (Hodder & Stoughton) unknown books
1900Best.-Nr. List3888Dawson North West Territory sic Yukon Territory 1900. A long 1900 letter from Frank S. Bell in Dawson written shortly before navigation closed for the winter. Bell explains that if he does not write at once he may not be able to send another letter for quite a while: "as the time is short before the boats stop running I will have to write tonight or I will not be able to send a letter for a month or six weeks for we can not send out or receive any mail after the boats tie up for the winter until the river freezes sufficiently hard to make it safe for the dog teams." Bell writes from an unfinished cabin; he and his companions had spent the day carrying in fifteen cords of wood and still needed to prepare the cabin for winter: "The boys have gone to bed to get warm. I have drawn a box up to the stove for a table filled the stove full of wood and am now very comfortably fixed for writing. We have not yet got our cabin lined for winter so it gets pretty cold nights and mornings." He gives a good account of Dawson under Canadian police regulation. Sunday labor required a permit public houses were closed gambling was allowed only if conducted fairly and "sure thing games" were not permitted: "It is against the law here to work on Sunday without getting a permit & if the police catch you at it they take you in the police regulations are very strict almost too much so sometimes but then it makes Dawson a pretty orderly place to all outside appearances. All gambling must be done on the square no sure thing games are permitted." Bell notes that Dawson where "Saloons & all public houses are closed on Sunday" is a "much more orderly town than it would be if it were on the American side." The letter also anticipates further gold rushes in Alaska likely the Fairbanks rush as Bell mentions activity in "Tanana country": "I think there will be a stampede into the Tanana country this winter & next spring; prospectors have been in there this summer and staked some claims but there was no way to get provision in there until the snow comes when they can sled it in with dogs . We may go down in the spring if we make money enough this winter for a grub stake." Bell is also unusually reflective about the psychology of the Klondike. He calls this his "last chase" but immediately admits the pull of the country: "There is a fascination about this Klondike country. People that leave here & go outside only remain away a short time before they want to get back. There is always that ripple of excitement & any day may bring tidings of another rich discovery somewhere. Everyone is here for the one purpose to get rich quick." He closes with practical comments on Dawson travel hospitals trained nurses and his hope to make enough money to enter business in Seattle. A good Dawson letter from the late Klondike period with content on winter travel and mail cabin life Canadian police regulation gambling Sunday laws theaters hospitals Seattle and Skagway travel and coming gold rushes. . unknown books
1850Best.-Nr. BK0017Sacramento City California 1850. Autograph letter signed "Sam'l Locke" to his wife in Belfast Maine. 6 pp. Stampless folded letter with clear circular "SACRAMENTO CITY / CAL." postmark and "40" rate handstamp; manuscript notation recording receipt in Maine on December 19 1850. Light soiling; very good. A bleak California Gold Rush letter written during the 1850 Sacramento cholera epidemic by Samuel Locke a Maine emigrant suffering from prolonged fever and unable to regain his strength. Surrounded by sickness failed mining ventures violent crime and men too poor or ill to return home Locke plans to seek recovery in the Sandwich Islands while relying upon his religious faith for consolation. Locke had been ill since August and was now so weak that ordinary work exhausted him: "My limbs or legs are very weak short breath and no appetite at all. I have no desire to eat anything not one thing I can think of. I have no strength to go into any business or to do any. I do a few little chores round or about the store occasionally but to sweep the store it beats me all out . O how I long to get out of this place. Can't get any strength don't know as I can anywhere but I long to try." Friends advised him to spend the winter in the Sandwich Islands. He expected to travel first to San Francisco and then make the fifteen- to twenty-day passage to Hawaii though he feared that continued illness might leave him unable either to support himself there or return to Maine. He states that he will "trust in providence yes trust in God who I feel is my only refuge". Locke gives a grim account of California's climate and the spread of cholera through Sacramento claiming that the climate in California prevented the sick from recovering their strength as the "air is very light & bad middle of the day very hot and nights very cool." The previous week's report had stated forty dead but "nothing near all the cases were reported" with Locke himself knowing of several unreported cases personally. A local blacksmith died overnight after his companions borrowed Locke's syringe and "We can hardly see a healthy looking individual in the streets." The letter also records the uncertain fortunes of men from Locke's home region scattered through the mines. William Beckett and his partners had spent the summer constructing a mining dam had struck gold on the first day and then immediately "the dam was washed away so they lost all their summer's labor." Other acquaintances had moved to Kelsey's Bar the southern mines or Oregon or were preparing to return east by way of Panama. Some remained convinced that California would reward perseverance while others had "seen enough" after accomplishing nothing. Locke regarded success as largely accidental: "Thousands are here and in the mines who want to get home and cannot-not able to do seamen's duty and no money to pay but they have got to stay in the mines and do the best they can. Some it is true have been lucky. It is all luck. If they happen to hit a good place they do well." News that cholera had entered the mining districts increased his alarm. Locke feared especially for men living in tents as the rainy season approached with poor food and little protection from exposure. Sacramento itself was marked by nightly violence: "There are murders or robberies about every night. One man killed in front of our house a few nights ago. We heard him holler and heard the blows. Next morning he died. His head was dreadfully mangled." Locke closes with an emotional message to his wife and children. His health finances and prospects all appeared uncertain and he repeatedly asked his family and church to pray for him: "Tell the dear Children to be good and if they never see me again when I am gone they will have the satisfaction . of knowing they acted as thy Father requested . Pray for me ask the Church to pray for me indeed I know I have your prayers and you have mine often." A particularly bleak account of the human cost of the California Gold Rush documenting epidemic disease physical collapse failed mining schemes violent crime religious faith and the predicament of emigrants unable to escape California after their health and resources were exhausted. . unknown books
1849Best.-Nr. BK0028Fort Gibson Cherokee Nation 1849. Autograph letter signed "Benj. Wingate" three pages with integral address leaf to Arba L. Hardy Lexington Scott County Indiana bearing manuscript "Fort Gibson C.N." postmark dated January 8 and manuscript "Paid 10." 7 ¾ x 10 inches. Light toning and edge wear otherwise very good. A substantial letter by Benjamin Wingate Mexican-American War veteran and future namesake of Fort Wingate New Mexico written during his frontier service at Fort Gibson in the Cherokee Nation. Responding to news that the execution of a man named Clark had been delayed Wingate launches into a lengthy and forceful rejection of capital punishment: "You speak of Clark's execution in your letter that it did not take place at the appointed time but to express an opinion on the subject I hope that it never did take place; do not understand me to say that I want him to go unpunished. I should be very sorry to hear that there has been a man hanged in old Scott. I know but little of the circumstances concerning the case but if indeed he be guilty of murder he should be punished and that punishment should be such as to not take his life as there is doubtless many other ways of inflicting punishment besides taking life . I hold the opinion to be a sound one that man should not take the life of his fellow man except in self defense and then not if it could be avoided. I look upon the law of punishing capital offences as being barbarous and savage in the extreme. It is a subject that the attention of the law making or legislating power should be called to act on." Living amid the Indigenous nations of Indian Territory Wingate makes a comparison with the customs around him: "The present law is more barbarous if possible than the laws and customs of the Indians in this part of the country. If a rich Indian kills a poor Indian he can make atonement for the crime by paying a certain sum of money but if one Indian kills another Indian and is not able to pay for him they kill him in return." Fort Gibson established within Cherokee country was one of the principal U.S. military posts in Indian Territory and Wingate's comments come from a young Army officer living within that environment. The comparison is striking precisely because he uses what he understands as Native retaliatory justice as the measure by which to criticize American law. The letter then turns to family gossip and politics. Wingate jokes that the election of Zachary Taylor meant "that the Whigs are as badly whipped as they was when they elected J. Tyler" anticipating that Taylor would "doubtless have to take a trip up salt river if he is not burnt in effigy by the Whigs before that time." More appealing personally was the news then pouring out of California. In January 1849 with the Gold Rush only beginning to transform American migration westward Wingate was already considering abandoning the Army: "I have been thinking very strong for some time of resigning and going to California but I am not off yet nor I don't know that I will get off soon if at all. But whether I should or should not go it is certainly a very great opening for a young man to make a fortune in a short time if there is any confidence to be placed in reports." He remained instead in military service. Wingate had fought in Mexico at Cerro Gordo and subsequently served on the frontier in Oklahoma Texas Utah and New Mexico. He was mortally wounded at the Battle of Valverde during the Civil War; Fort Wingate established in New Mexico later in 1862 was named in his honor. The Filson Historical Society preserves correspondence of Wingate and the allied Hardy family including Arba L. Hardy the recipient here.1 An appealing early Wingate letter combining an extended argument against capital punishment with observations from Indian Territory and the immediate lure of California at the opening of the Gold Rush. 1 "Wingate Hiram 1778-1875 Papers 1833-1914" Filson Historical Society Mss. A W769. . unknown books
1855Best.-Nr. 5250London: May 19 1855. About very good. 2pp. on a bifolium. Previously folded. Light wear along top edge; short closed tear at right margin. Scattered faint foxing. With original mailing envelope. This two-page printed circular dated May 19th 1855 from the Anglo-California Gold Mining Company in London offers to convert "unissued shares" of company stock into "preference shares." The first page of the circular reads in part: "You will observe from the enclosed report not present of the adjourned General Meeting that circumstances have arisen in California rendering it imperative that the Director should immediately have at his command a further sum of £6600. You will also observe that the Board have power to convert the unissued shares into preference shares at par to be offered in the first instance to the present holders of shares. The advantage offered to persons taking those Shares is that they are guaranteed a dividend of 25 per cent per annum before any dividend is paid on the other Shares." The second leaf of the bifolium prints a blank form for recipients to purchase said preferred shares. During the first years of the California gold rush approximately 120 companies formed in Great Britain to offer mining shares in the booming goldfields to the public. Many saw these companies as an opportunity to invest in the boom without facing the expense or the danger of traveling to California. Most however ended in failure and investors collectively lost almost £2 million at the time. The Anglo-California Gold Mining Company formed by Luke Williams in March 1849 was one of the first and largest of these British ventures and it sold thousands of ten shilling shares to the public. Williams sent a former Royal Navy Captain Henry Vere Huntley to the Calaveras River in early 1850 to start the operation. When he failed Williams arranged a deal with Fremont's Quartz Rock Mariposa Gold Company to crush and refine their ore and the ore of smaller ventures. To that end the company sent two steam-powered crushing mills to California and when those proved useless to the task the company failed. May 19 unknown books
1849Best.-Nr. 5043Paris: Typ. Schneider Rue d'Erfurth 1 1849. Very good. Broadside approximately 18 x 13 inches. Matted and framed. A pair of short closed tears repaired at lower edge. Even toning and light creasing. Contemporary manuscript annotation under caption title. A wonderful illustrated faux news broadside published in Paris as gold fever coursed through Europe in 1849. The headline promises "nouveaux détails" of the gold mines in California but the text is in fact a humorous description and light-hearted admonishment of the multitudes thoughtlessly giving up their livelihoods for the hardscrabble life of a gold digger in the California wilderness. The first section runs through a litany of types who are abandoning their lives for adventure and advises them not to consider the difficulties of the journey: "En route pour les mines d'or de la Californie! Partez! Il n'est pas néccessaire que vous preniez de lourds baggages : une cassette et une bonne pioche vous suffriont. Ne vous laissez pas décourager par la peur d'une navigation de cinq mois. elle sera peut-être périlleuse. mais le résultat est si consolant : de l'or!. toujours de l'or!. Qu'importent la colique et les fièvres doublées d'un mal de mer brutal. de l'or!. toujours de l'or!. Qu'importe d'être noir ou jaune en mourant du moment qu'on se repose dans un linceul d'or pour l'éternité! Partez!" The remainder of the text somewhat sardonically describes life in California and warns prospective travelers not long for the comforts of home but rather to concentrate on their sought-after riches: "Par example ne vous attendez pas à jouir de toutes les douceurs de la vie. Vous n'y trouverez ni biftecks au beurre d'anchois ni dinde truffées; car les aliments y sont rares. Mais les racines y sont en grande abondance. Vous vivrez un peu à la manière des anachorètes pour un temps. seulement vous déterrerez de l'or. ce qu'ils ne faisaient pas que l'on sache." The illustration which occupies approximately the top third of the broadside depicts men and women from all walks of life carrying pickaxes on their shoulders and racing for a ship about to depart. The image carries the printed signature of "B. Netter;" a contemporary manuscript note under the caption identifies the publication date as February 17 1849. The Bibliothèque Nationale de France estimates that as many as 40000 French men and women made their way to California between 1848 and 1856. The present broadside is an excellent document of California gold fever in France and the pervasive interest in gold rush news in Europe during the mid-19th century. Rare we locate just four copies at Berkeley UCSD California Historical Society and the BNF. Typ. Schneider, Rue d'Erfurth, 1 unknown books
1887Best.-Nr. LV1834London & New York:: Macmillan 1887. 1887. 8vo. xiii 3 515 pp. Index. Original dark green blind and gilt-stamped cloth. INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR to "Prof. J.J. Thomson F.R.S. with the Author's kind regards Ap. 20th 1887." PROVENANCE: Harold I. Levine 1922-2017 Stanford University Dept. of Mathematics. PROVENANCE: 1 Sir Joseph John Thomson 18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940 was an English physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906. 2 Harold I. Levine 1922-2017 Stanford University Dept. of Mathematics. Ibbetson B.A. F.R.A.S. was associated with Clare College where he was a Senior Scholar who worked at the Cavendish Laboratory in 1885 placing him in contact with J.J. Thomson. See: A History of the Cavendish Laboratory 1871-1910 London 1910. Macmillan, 1887. hardcover books
Best.-Nr. 11558Three full-page engraved illus. by Taeuber-Arp. 28 pp. 8vo orig. printed thick paper wrappers & orig. pictorial dust-jacket a trifle worn staple-bound. Grasse France: Self-published 1941. A rare poetic artist's book jointly created by the Arps from a numbered edition of 150 ours is no. 72; according to WorldCat there are only five copies in North America. The couple had escaped Paris before it fell to the Nazis and headed to Vichy France in the South. One of their stops was with Peggy Guggenheim in Veyrier. They settled in Grasse in 1941 and established an artist colony with colleagues Sonia Delaunay and Alberto Magnelli. Taeuber-Arp's short time in Grasse was very formative and she experimented with overlaid undulating lines that created appealing geometric compositions which are featured here in the book paired with her husband's poetry and on the dust-jacket. Within a year Arp 1886-1966 and Taeuber-Arp 1889-1943 decamped for Zürich following Grasse's takeover by the Germans. In near fine condition; edgewear to the dust-jacket. From the edition of 150 the first ten copies were accompanied by a drawing. W. Summerfield "The Modern Artists Who Made the Most of Isolation" April 2020 Apollo Magazine website accessed 10 September 2026. We recommend visiting the Sophie Taeuber-Arp Research Project website's illustrated database to see the artist's work from this period. unknown books
1864Best.-Nr. 42016Boston: Press of Geo. C. Rand & Avery 3 Cornhill 1864. 31 1 blank pp. Stitched in original dark wrappers with gilt lettering and decorative border. Fine. The Company property consists of about fifty acres in the Waverley Gold District "about twelve miles from Halifax N. S." A quarter mile away is excellent inexpensive housing for miners in the town of Waverley. "This mine will yield a large per cent. upon a capital of one million dollars." Accompanying reports fully justify this optimism. Not in TPL or Sabin. Not located on OCLC. Press of Geo. C. Rand & Avery, 3 Cornhill unknown books
1894Best.-Nr. 33580np 1894. Framed photograph 10-1/2" x 13-1/2" matted behind glass within ornate gilt frame 21" x 23-1/2". Light wear to surface of photograph. Matting has some spotting. Some wear to frame and small chip to frame edge. Else Very Good. The squad is dressed in various football uniforms including laced smock vests over long sleeved shirts caped sweaters and knee length pants. Each of the two young men wearing military style uniforms has a small billed cap. unknown books
1882Best.-Nr. 28712California 1882. 62 2 blank pp. Original printed wrappers lightly dustsoiled stitched. Rubberstamp at head of front wrap: "McKee J. Filed Feb. 25 1882." Text clean. Very Good. offered with NO. 8072. . POINTS AND AUTHORITIES FOR APPELLANT. MASTICK BELCHER & MASTICK ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT. 41 1 blank pp. Original printed wrappers lightly dustsoiled stitched. Ink correction on front wrapper changing "Appellant" to "Respondent." A few question marks in ink written in margins. Very Good. offered with NO. 8072. . RESPONDENT'S REPLY TO APPELLANT'S BRIEF. ESTEE & BOALT AND RAMON E. WILSON ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT. 23 1 blank pp. Original printed wrappers lightly dustsoiled stitched. Light creasing of a few later leaves. Very Good. offered with NO. 8072. . RESPONDENT'S POINTS AND AUTHORITIES. ESTEE & BOALT AND RAMON E. WILSON ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF AND RESPONDENT. 42pp. Original printed wrappers lightly dustsoiled stitched. Text clean. Very Good. The complaint charged that the plaintiff and defendant were owners of adjoining gold quartz mines near Plymouth California in Amador County the birthplace of the California Gold Rush; and that Defendant Empire had unlawfully entered Plaintiff Pacific Gold Mining Company's mine and taken ores of the value of $250000. Plaintiff brought suit in the Superior Court of Amador County for compensation. unknown books
1878Best.-Nr. 28959Boston: Frank Wood Printer 1878. 34pp plus portrait frontis and original tissue guard of John Everitt who "sailed for Valparaiso from New York.to be associated with the General Superintendent at the Mines"; and large Bird's-Eye View 32" x 16" and Topographical Plan of the mines. Original printed wrappers stitched. Wrappers chipped at edges and reinforced at the spine with tape. Some chipping to several blank margins. Good. The Company based in New York issued this Prospectus which includes a detailed report from its Mining Engineer W.A. Holcomb. Flagler its President was a major capitalist during the last half of the 19th century; he formed the National Tube Company and owned one of the predecessors to U.S. Steel. OCLC 1013744777 1- U IL as of November 2020. Frank Wood, Printer unknown books
1872Best.-Nr. ST17640-G121872-1921. 60 different editions in 61 volumes. Most items in their original publisher's bindings mostly cloth or wrappers and a few in limp suede; one in half morocco. Condition ranging from very good to very fine; many of the cloth items with light shelfwear rubbing to edges mild soiling fraying to head and tail of spine and minor condition issues internally light scattered foxing and browning a handful of items with more noticeable condition issues spine partially lost rubbed joints moderate browning etc. but on the whole an excellent group. Amassed over the course of many years by a passionate collector of the Rubaiyat this is a very substantial and wide-ranging group of 60 works that attest to the work's enduring popularity more than 150 years after Edward FitzGerald introduced it to the West. Son of a wealthy Irish landowner FitzGerald had enough money to pursue a rather desultory literary career as a "genteel gipsy" in Terhune's words before beginning to study languages in middle age. He started his translation of the quatrains "rubáiyát" in Persian attributed to "Umar Khayyam" in 1856; according to DNB about half of FitzGerald's final work paraphrases rather than directly translates portions of the 11th century poem while the rest is original verse inspired by Omar. "The result is generally seen as being in some ways an original English poem one that is much better known than Omar's poem is in Persian." DNB In Jewett's opinion it certainly earned FitzGerald "a prominent place among the immortals of English literature." In 1858 FitzGerald submitted 25 of the "less wicked" verses to "Fraser's Magazine" only to be rejected. He had 250 copies published anonymously at his own expense but had no luck selling them. Admitting defeat he gave 200 copies to Quaritch; these sold so poorly that they were relegated to the penny bin where Potter says they were discovered--and soon celebrated--by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Algernon Swinburne. Those copies that remained unsold when Quaritch moved to Piccadilly in 1860 were either lost or destroyed but by 1861 Rossetti and his Pre-Raphaelite brethren along with Celtic scholar Whitley Stokes were evangelizing for the work embracing the lush lyrical verse that would move English poetry away from Victorian orthodoxy and convention. According to Day by the end of the 19th century "a copy of the 'Rubaiyat' upon an Oxford table was a symbol of sophistication. Today . . . it remains the most popular single poem of the Victorian era." The present collection is especially strong in illustrated editions with more than 25 artists represented including Edmund Dulac Elihu Vedder Willy Pogany Adelaide Hanscom Gilbert James Edmund J. Sullivan Arthur Szyk René Bull and Abanindro Nath Tagore. Notable text editions in this group include a Third Edition of FitzGerald's translation; a First Published American Edition; and a signed and inscribed copy of Eben Francis Thompson's translation. There is also a small group of fine press printings including examples by the Gregynog Press Thomas Mosher and Elbert Hubbard. There are no duplicated editions in this collection and there are no trade paperbacks. A full list of the collection's contents is available upon request. unknown books
1866Best.-Nr. 1416935London: Dorrell and Son 1866. Hardcover. Octavo viii 262 pages. In Fair minus condition. Spine is brown with gold print. Boards in brown cloth; tattering to spine caps and corners tears to hinges toning to spine cocked spine. Text block has red tinted edges; cracked hinges intermittent spine breaks tear to edge of rear flyleaf. Illustrated: b&w drawings. NOTE: Shelved in Netdesk Column K ND-K. 1416935. FP New Rockville Stock. Dorrell and Son hardcover books
1840Best.-Nr. 14089Philadelphia: not published ca 1840. Unique. Original wrappers. Very good; only a handfull of samples are missing parts or have damage. Folio. There are appx. 165 identified mounted samples in their original collection folios. A varied herbarium of 165 samples in their original folio collection folders. Each specimen is grouped according to the Latin genus 21 distinct groups in this collection; separate specimens are then individually identified. This herbarium has the feel of being a remnant of a larger collection. Individual samples are dated and cluster around two separate dates: those collected about 1833 and again around 1858. There are occasional notes or a printed label that identify the collector e.g. J C Booth or John H Balfour who were professional collectors. Many of the samples bear the intials 'H.C.' on the mount. This may correspond to Henry Carson the brother of Joseph Carson the noted medical botanist and author or possibly though not likely Hampton Carson Joseph's son. The geographical range is broad encompassing Montgomery County PA and Cassel Germany. Most of the collected specimens are uncommon plants. Alas the collection originated in an auction of the remainder of the Carson family estate and there is no further information available as to its original form or purpose. See DAB for Joseph Carson medical botanist; see Mears Guide to Plant Collectors. not published unknown books
1890Best.-Nr. 4872New York: For the Author ca. 1890. First Edition. Somewhat later neat cloth. Very good; remains of small white label on the title. 8vo 32pp. 81 leaves of plates. An unusual privately printed atlas of microscopic diatoms. The OCLC entry is not clear about the author and lists it under two distinct authors. This copy traveled form New York to Germany. It is bound with a 19th century Berlin bookseller's ticket Friedlander on the front pastedown. The plates are photo-lithographic renderings of hand drawn illustrations of the diatoms seen through lens of a microscope. For the Author hardcover books
1718Best.-Nr. 42045Amsterdam: Chez les Freres Wetstein 1718. 2 volumes small folio. 13 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches. Half-title in volume I titles printed in red and black. Vol 1: engraved portrait of the author by G. Valck after G. Kneller engraved allegorical frontispiece by B. Picart dedication with engraved headpiece 3 engraved double-page maps 111 engraved plates numbered 1-110 plus 1 unnumbered on 52 sheets 29 double-page 7 folding 24 engraved illustrations within the text illustration on p. 164 pasted on slip as issued. Vol 2: 162 engraved plates numbered 111-262 plus 10 unnumbered on 56 sheets 33 double-page 9 folding 20 engraved illustrations within the text. Quarter calf and marbled paper boards spines with raised bands forming six compartments tooled and lettered gilt. Uncut Provenance: Princes of Liechtenstein bookplate "Ex Libris Liechtensteinianis" of Franz Joseph II 1906-1989 on front paste-downs A fine clean uncut copy of the First edition in French of Le Bruyn's important illustrated account of his voyage to Russia Persia India and Java. From the library of the Princes of Liechtenstein. In his first expedition of 1674 Dutch traveller and painter Cornelius Le Bruyn remained in the Levant for seven years travelling principally in Asia Minor Syria the Holy Land and Egypt. On his return he published his Voyages au Levant and encouraged by its success undertook a second more far-reaching expedition. "In 1701 Le Bruyn started on the second of his journeys taking a ship to the country of the Samoyeds . and then proceeding to Moscow. Travelling by way of Asia Minor he arrived in Persia where he remained for the years 1704-05. Leaving Persia he proceeded by ship to India stopping at Cochin Ceylon and the East Indies i.e. Batavia. He returned by much the same route residing in Persia between 1706 and 1707 and describing the ruins of Persepolis and Pasargades" Howgego. The numerous finely engraved illustrations include large folding panoramas of Moscow and Isfahan views of Astrakhan and the antiquities at Persepolis and many of the forts encountered on his journey as well as portraits of native peoples and depictions of the flora fish birds animals etc. Of particular note are Le Bruyn's description and images of the Samoyeds and their country among the earliest for the region. Le Bruyn also gives an account of an encounter with William Dampier in Batavia and describes the route taken by Everard Ysbrants Ides the Danish Russian ambassador to China. Brunet III:911 calls for 262 plates based on the numbering of the plate list which does not include the unnumbered plates; Chadenat II 5085; Chahine 2078; Cohen-de Ricci 610; Lipperheide Kaa 6 calls for 128 plates and 45 engraved illustrations; Howgego B177. Chez les Freres Wetstein unknown books
Best.-Nr. 10340Many fine woodcuts throughout. Four parts & appendices in five vols. 8vo orig. semi-stiff wrappers a little frayed old stitching orig. title slips on covers. Tokyo: Yamasakiya Seishichi 山崎屋清七 et al. 1852. First printed edition of this artillery manual from the bakumatsu period. In the early 19th century Japan came under increased pressure from Western nations that wanted access to Japanese ports. “The Shogunate government issued the Order to Drive Away Foreign Ships in 1825 and commanded that foreign ships appearing along the coast of Japan be fired upon so the domains along the coast began building gun batteries and installing cannons. This is when the gun batteries and emplacements were built at Odaiba in Edo Bay and at Uraga Nakaminato Tahara Maiko Dannoura Uwajima Kagoshima and elsewhere. Dutch coastal artillery books were referred to when building these gun batteries” NDL Japan-Netherlands Exchange in the Edo Period online. Our book was published in this historical context. The book had already been translated by Motoki Masahide 1767-1822 who had left it unpublished at his death manuscript copies exist. Nunokawa Tsūboku 布å·é€šç’ž who edited Motoki’s translation and brought it to print in his Preface referenced the order that the domains build coastal defenses as one justification for publication. Motoki had studied not only Dutch but also French Russian and English. He published an English-language primer in 1811 and an English-Japanese dictionary in 1814. The Dutch original from which the book was translated was titled Het Nieuwe Licht Der Bosschieterye 1699 and was written by Gerrit van der Tollen fl. 1721-23 who worked for the Dutch East India Company. Our book is richly illustrated with a series of fine single- and double-page woodcuts of many kinds of cannons and mortars cannonballs and Western warships along with diagrams of problems in ballistics. Sections include illustrations and explanations of the structure and dimensions of cannons the measurement of gunpowder and lists of Dutch terms translated into Japanese. Some sections are written in a question-and-answer format “Which countries produce cannons Is there a difference in the making of light and heavy cannonballs”. The book begins with a history of artillery a topic that is treated further in the appendices which were not written by Motoki. The appendices treat the history of artillery both in Europe and in China. Note that Google Books presents the copy at the Bavarian State Library as being published in 1825 but the digitized title page says Kaei mizunoene which corresponds to 1852 and is the same date as seen in our book. Very fine set. ⧠Motoki: Christopher Joby The Dutch Language in Japan 1600-1900 Leiden & Boston: 2021 pp. 74 121 186 191 196-97 276 285 & 320. unknown books
1683Best.-Nr. M14555Lugduni Batavorum: Apud Petrum vander Aa 1683 -1685. 1683. 12mo. 24 84; 4 44; 24 44 8 39 1; 94 2 pp. 1 figure showing the eyes p. 52 pt. I. Complete with all five parts seldom found together. With added engraved title pages showing a contemporary surgical scene repeated. Modern full brown morocco raised bands gilt-stamped spine edges ruled in blind. Bookseller's ticket: Masson & cie.; rubber stamp: Doctor Mario E. Spada. BOUND WITH: MUYS. Podalirius Redivivus sive Dialogus inter Podalirium & Philiatrum. In quo juxta normam philosophiae Solidioris multa Medico-Chirurgica illustrantur & examinantur. Lugduni Batavorum Apud Petrum vander AA 1686. 12mo. 16 137 1 pp. The complete text with all five parts bound together published from 1683-1685. This is a collection of case reports. Among those are an ophthalmological fungus of gangrene a leg problem erypelate ulcers eye wound tumors swelling tibia fracture dislocation of the humerus puncture of the neck pain in the head tendonitis bleeding ulcer contusion of the arm ganglion of the hand canker sore of the mouth punctured nerve head pain arm wound arm contusion urinary infection scurvy gingivitis bad gums hernia gonorrhea from impure intercourse a child with a raging cold 'but how did it happen that this evil has already returned several times this winter' V: p. 81 tonsillitis the hare-lip etc. The final section contains a dialogue between 'Philiater' one interested in medical science and 'Podalir' meaning in obstetrics in birth where the fetus is turned so that the feet emerge first in delivery. / Joannes Muys was a Dutch medical doctor. Mettler the medical historian called Muys one of the chief early writers on spina bifida and hydroachitis. Muys later became mayor of Leiden. REFERENCES: Krivatsy NLM 8223 Decas prima & secunda only. Apud Petrum vander Aa, 1683 [-1685]. hardcover books
1759Best.-Nr. 137120Paris: J. Barbou 1759. Full period French binding in Calf five raised bands gilt ornamentation on spine author and title in gilt on red leather spine label in second compartment. 8vo. Full period French binding in Calf five raised bands gilt ornamentation on spine author and title in gilt on red leather spine label in second compartment. 263 pages. First edition Bigmore and Wyman p.228. Minor soiling to the text block else a fine copy. In this volume Fournier sets out to prove that Gutenberg was not the inventor of the printing press by examining the history of printing. He believes that the technology Gutenberg made popular existed long before the German printer's work. "Peter Simon Fournier a French engraver and letter-founder was born at Paris 1712 and died 1768. He studied under Colson painter of the Academy of Saint Luc and devoted himself first to the art of wood-engraving; he afterwards as an engraver on steel rendered himself famous in all countries. In some of his works he seeks to prove that Gutenberg is not the inventor of printing and maintains that long before Gutenberg engraving on wood had been employed for printing images and inscriptions; that during his residence in Strasburg Gutenberg attempted the application of this art to the printing of books and that on his return to Mayence he first printed the Donatus and the Catholicon of Johannes de Janua with engraved and solid blocks. Fournier's ingenious theories were ably refuted by Baron Heinecken in his "Idée Générale d'une Collection complette d'Estamples" Leipsic: 1771" Bigmore & Wyman p 229. J. Barbou unknown books
Best.-Nr. 90223Rai KyÅhei 頼京平 aka ShunsÅ or Manshiro artist. Kakemono 掛ã‘物 - Hanging Scroll Landscape. N.p. n.d. Landscape painting of a mountain scene with pine trees. Hanging scroll kakemono 掛ã‘物 beautifully mounted on brocade with black wooden jiku handles. Image size 44.7x18.4cm with 49.5cm silk fabric at top 26.5cm at bottom and borders of approx 5-5.5cm on either side. Rai KyÅhei 頼京平 c.1756-1834 was an influential Confucian scholar and the uncle of the famous kanshi poet Rai SanyÅ. Sanyo was known for TÅjun KagetsuchÅ å旬花月帖 Journal of Flowers in 100 Days/ A Few Brief Moments Describing Moon and Flowers a collaborative work of poetry with floral and landscape paintings created after a three month walking tour through central Japan with his nephew and mother in the 1820s. The three poets and their entourage were influenced by the lyrical scenes of nature observed in Kyoto and Nara during their travels. This scroll is likely inspired by that period of travel and reflection in nature. Slight foxing on the image. Encased in a wooden scroll box 40.7 x 6.4cm with artist’s name brushed on label laid down on end of box. unknown books
1851Best.-Nr. 28441New York: Nagel & Weingaertner 1851. Hand-coloured lithograph after Hanson titled below the image. Expert restoration closing tears. The first America's Cup: a rare hand coloured lithographed view of the winning yacht which gave its name to the cup. In 1851 the Royal Yacht Squadron proposed a race around the Isle of Wight. A group of New York Yacht Club members led by Commodore John Cox Stevens built a yacht designed to compete in such races. Designed by Steers and Co. and captained by Richard Brown the yacht America would win the race by eighteen minutes giving its name to one of the oldest and best-known trophies of the sport: the America's Cup. This lithograph and lithographer are not recorded by Harry T. Peters; we find no other extant examples of this rare print. For Nagel and Weingaertner see Peters America on Stone pp. 291-294. Nagel & Weingaertner unknown books
