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ref. 04875Paris: Maison Martinet 1856. Three of Cham's Greatest Rarities Three Complete Hand-Colored Albums Bound Together Sixty Superb Hand-Colored Lithographs by the Great Master of French Comic Illustration CHAM pseudonym of Charles Amédée de Noé 1818-1879. L'Art d'Engraisser et de Maigrir à Volonté. & Mr. Papillon ou L'Amour Autour du Monde. & Pincez-moi à la Campagne!! Paris: Maison Martinet 1856-ca. 1860. Three complete first editions bound together in one folio volume. Folio 12 11/16 x 9 7/8 inches; 326 x 251 mm. Three magnificent pictorial hand-colored lithograph title-pages and sixty superb hand-colored lithograph plates all heightened with gum arabic and containing more than two hundred individual comic scenes. Plates lithographed by Fernique and Destouches. Late nineteenth-century olive-green buckram over boards marbled endpapers. Spine lightly rubbed. An exceptionally bright fresh copy the original hand-coloring remarkably vibrant throughout and beautifully heightened with gum arabic. Few artists captured the humor absurdity and quiet eccentricities of nineteenth-century French life more brilliantly than Cham. During a career spanning more than forty years Charles Amédée de Noé became one of the principal illustrators of Le Charivari producing thousands of caricatures that chronicled bourgeois society with inexhaustible wit and extraordinary graphic invention. While Daumier supplied biting political satire and Gavarni revealed the elegance and vanities of Parisian society Cham excelled in transforming the comic mishaps of everyday life into irresistibly entertaining visual narratives. His finest work appeared not only in newspapers but as luxurious hand-colored lithographic albums published by Maison Martinet. Intended for the fashionable drawing room rather than the newsstand these beautifully colored folios represent the highest achievement of French comic lithography during the Second Empire. Complete examples are today among the rarest survivals of nineteenth-century illustrated publishing. The present volume unites three of Cham's most elusive albums each complete and preserved with exceptionally rich contemporary hand-coloring. Together they comprise sixty large folio lithographs whose sparkling color and delicate gum arabic highlights remain remarkably fresh. The Art of Gaining Weight and Losing Weight Cham's wonderfully absurd satire on Victorian health fads follows the fortunes of two inseparable friends whose greatest ambitions could scarcely be more different. Monsieur Lesec painfully thin longs to become stout while the enormously overweight Monsieur Legras dreams only of becoming slim. Their increasingly desperate attempts at self-improvement lead them across Europe North Africa the Crimea Turkey and India where every new adventure - from lion hunting and camel riding to exotic diets and improbable medical cures - produces precisely the opposite effect. Cham transforms what begins as a parody of fashionable diet manuals into a wonderfully sustained comic novel in pictures culminating in a delightfully macabre conclusion worthy of the finest nineteenth-century satire. Only four hand-colored institutional copies are recorded worldwide. Mr. Papillon or Love Around the World Among Cham's rarest productions Mr. Papillon recounts the romantic adventures of an incurable optimist whose search for love carries him from country to country. Everywhere he encounters unfamiliar customs impossible misunderstandings cultural mishaps and romantic disappointment each episode providing Cham with fresh opportunities for gentle social satire. The album is one of Cham's most elegant narrative works combining graceful draftsmanship with an effortless sense of comic timing. Beneath its humor lies a sly parody of both sentimental romance and the fashionable travel literature of the period. Only a single institutional copy appears to survive. Pinch Me I'm in the Country!! Perhaps the rarest of all Cham's albums Pincez-moi à la Campagne!! is a masterpiece of observational comedy. Convinced that life in the countryside promises peace simplicity and healthy recreation an urbane Parisian eagerly exchanges the capital for rural France. His idyllic expectations collapse almost immediately. Instead he encounters uncomfortable lodgings impossible furniture sleepless nights aggressive livestock disastrous hunting expeditions endless insects suspicious villagers and every conceivable rural inconvenience. Each attempt to embrace country life merely compounds his misery producing one comic disaster after another. More than a century and a half later Cham's observations remain strikingly modern. His humor derives not from exaggerated caricature alone but from universal human experience - the city dweller discovering that nature is far less accommodating than imagined. The album anticipates the gentle observational comedy of Jacques Tati and possesses a timeless quality rarely found in nineteenth-century caricature. In more than one hundred years of recorded auction results we have been unable to trace another copy. Only eight institutional examples are known worldwide. Cham's comic albums occupy a unique position in the history of French illustration. They bridge the gap between the early Romantic lithographers and the mature social satire of the later nineteenth century combining sophisticated narrative structure with some of the most attractive hand-colored lithography ever produced in Paris. As Gordon N. Ray observed: "Among the most attractive. is Amédée de Noé known as Cham. of whom it was said that he had 'an idea a day' for Le Charivari. A good proportion of his thousands of lithographs were gathered into albums." The Art of the French Illustrated Book pp. 155-156. Three complete hand-colored albums by Cham are seldom encountered together. Preserved in such fresh condition with unusually brilliant original coloring and comprising three of the artist's rarest publications this volume represents one of the finest surviving monuments to the golden age of French comic lithography. Paris: Maison Martinet, 1856 unknown
1828ref. 846261828. WEBSTER Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language. New York: Published by S. Converse 1828. 1st ed. 2 vols. 4tos. Unpaginated. Introductory material in 2 columns definitions in 3 columns. Engraved frontis. of the author in vol. 1. With the "additions and corrections" leaf in vol. 2. Contemporary full leather red and black morocco spine labels. Minor foxing to endpapers some wear and scratches to boards else a very good set housed in custom cloth slip cases. Grolier American 100 36. PMM 291. Sabin 102335. Webster 1758-1843 began work on an American dictionary in 1800 determined to celebrate the country's independence from the British in every sense including establishing distinctively American spellings of words like "color" and "center." "Webster was "an ardent nationalist and he wanted to stress the political separation from Britain by the cultivation of a separate American language" - PMM. His focus on usage set a new standard for accuracy of definition. The dictionary includes some 70000 words far beyond the previous record of 58000 and Webster wrote every word of the manuscript himself. "There were 2500 copies printed in boards uncut or full calf at $20 for the two volumes" - Grolier. unknown
1828ref. 10730New York: S. Converse 1828. First Edition. Three-quarter leather. Very Good-. 4to. 11-3/4 x 9-1/2 Two volumes unpaginated. Vol. I frontis. portrait engraved after Samuel F. B. Morse painting lacking tissue guard. With Preface Introduction Grammar of the English Language. "Additions and corrections" leaf following "zygomatic." Printed by Hezekiah Howe New Haven. Collated: A B-K including I and J1-113 in 4s 114 in 2; 2 first leaf is a blank 1-115 in 4s 116 in 2. Uniformly bound in mid-nineteenth century three-quarter brown morocco re-backed with the original spine preserved TEG other edges untrimmed. Covers lightly stained corners gently bumped leaves moderately foxed two leaves expertly repaired. Both volumes with neat name signed on front free endpaper and gift inscription in the same hand on a blank preliminary. Edition of 2500. Grolier American 100 36. Sabin 102335. Skeel 583. Printing & the Mind of Man 291. S. Converse unknown
1828ref. 69555New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe. 1828. Full Description: WEBSTER Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to exhibit I. The origin affinities and primary signification of English words as far as they have been ascertained. II. The genuine orthography and pronunciation of words according to general usage or to just principles of analogy. III. Accurate and discriminating definitions with numerous authorities and illustrations. To which are prefixed an introductory dissertation on the origin history and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe and a concise grammar of the English language. In two volumes. New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe. 1828. First edition. Two large quarto volumes 11 5/16 x 9 inches; 287 x 230 mm. Engraved frontispiece portrait the portrait of Webster painted by S.F.B. Morse by A.B. Durand printed by J.R. Burton. Tissue guard for portrait. With the final leaf of "Additions" and "Corrections" at the end of Volume II which is often lacking. Bound by W. H. Talcott & Bro in full nineteenth-century morocco. Boards ruled in blind. Spines ruled in blind and lettered in gilt. Board edges stamped in blind. Edges speckled red. Marbled endpapers. Some mild rubbing to boards and corners. A bit of foxing and toning to frontispiece and title-page. Small dampstain to top margin of portrait leaf not touching engraving. Overall an excellent copy very clean. "'The most ambitious publication ever undertaken up to that time upon American soil.' Webster began work on his Dictionary in 1800. Along the way his produced his fat duodecimo Compendious Dictionary of the English Language New Haven 1806.and an abridgement of this for schools in 1807 and by 1813 he had learned twenty languages seven of which were Asiatic or dialects of the Assyrian to which twenty he later added Portuguese Welsh Gothic and the early dialects of English and German. He spent a year abroad in 18234-25 to perfect the work and began printing May 8 1827.Webster set a new standard for entymological investigation and for accuracy of definition 'a born definer of words'-Sir James Murray and included 70000 words as against the 58000 of any previous dictionary. There were 2500 copies printed in boards uncut or full calf.Webster wrote every word of the manuscript of the dictionary himself" Grolier 100 American. "This dictionary which almost at once became and has remained the standard English dictionary in the United States was the end-product of a stream of spelling books grammars readers and dictionaries which flowed from the pen of the industrious Noah Webster.Webster's great dictionary all the 70000 entries of which he wrote with his own hand has been reprinted and brought up to date innumerable times.the book marked a definite advance in modern lexicography as it included many non-literary terms and paid great attention to the language actually spoken. Moreover his definitions of the meaning of words were accurate and concise Sir James Murray editor of the Oxford English Dictionary called him 'a born definer of words' and have for the greater part stood the test of time superbly well" Printing and the Mind of Man. Grolier 100 American 36. Printing and the Mind of Man 291. Sabin 102335. Skeel 583. HBS 69555. $16000. Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe.. unknown
1828ref. 143614New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe - New Haven 1828. First edition of pioneering lexicographer Noah Webster's monumental American Dictionary arguably the most popular American book ever published and one of only 2500 copies printed. Thick quarto bound in three quarter polished calf over marbled boards with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt engraved portrait of Webster after Samuel F.B. Morse unpaginated text in triple columns pages untrimmed and hence a copy once in boards the 44 preliminary leaves in Vol. I containing Webster's preface on the history of the dictionary his introductory dissertation "on the origin history and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe. With the additional leaf in Vol. II "Additions and Corrections" which is often lacking and without the "Advertisement" lead as issued. Copies in boards did not have the "Advertisement" leaf bound in as did many copies in calf. In the copies in boards the leaf was laid in to some but was never originally bound in. Only 2500 copies were printed. With some spotting to the text and dampstain entering the margin of the frontispiece. In very good condition. A sharp example. In 1807 Webster began compiling a fully comprehensive dictionary An American Dictionary of the English Language; it took twenty-eight years to complete. To evaluate the etymology of words Webster learned twenty-six languages including Old English Anglo-Saxon Greek Hebrew and Latin. Webster completed his dictionary during his year abroad in 1825 in Paris France and at the University of Cambridge. His book contained seventy thousand words of which twelve thousand had never appeared in a published dictionary before. As a spelling reformer Webster believed that English spelling rules were unnecessarily complex so his dictionary introduced American English spellings replacing colour with color substituting wagon for waggon and printing center instead of center. He also added American words like skunk and squash that did not appear in British dictionaries. At the age of seventy Webster published his dictionary in 1828 registering the copyright on April 14. Webster did all this in an effort to standardize the American language. “This dictionary which almost at once became and has remained the standard English dictionary in the United States was the end-product of a stream of spelling books grammars readers and dcitionaries which flowed from the pen of the industrious Noah Webster.Webster’s great dictionary all the 70000 entries of which he wrote with his own hand has been reprinted and brought up to date innumerable times.the book marked a definite advance in modern lexicography as it included many non-literary terms and paid great attention to the language actually spoken. Moreover his definitions of the meaning of words were accurate and concise.and have for the greater part stood the test of time superbly well” Printing and the Mind of Man. "As a whole Webster’s American Dictionary was a scholarly achievement of the first order richly deserving of its great reputation at home and abroad” DAB. With definitions for “some 70000 words—15000 more than any previous English lexicon… Although only 2500 copies of the first edition were printed the work established Webster as a lexicographer of international repute” Lathem 76 United Statesiana 9. Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe - New Haven hardcover
1828ref. 375728New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe-New Haven 1828. First edition. Engraved frontispiece portrait. 962 ff. signed: A B-K including I and J1-113 in 4s 114 in 2; π2 first leaf is a blank 1-115 in 4s 116 in 2. 2 vols. Large thick 4to. Half-bound tan calf and marbled paper boards stamped in gilt on spines; front and rear boards rubbed at centers with light overall shelf wear to edges; exterior spines cracked along edges and split at top rear of vol. 1 and bottom front of vol. 2; tissue guard at frontispiece foxed with some transfer to facing pages; interiors otherwise clean. First edition. Engraved frontispiece portrait. 962 ff. signed: A B-K including I and J1-113 in 4s 114 in 2; π2 first leaf is a blank 1-115 in 4s 116 in 2. 2 vols. Large thick 4to. Webster's landmark achievement the most important American dictionary of prime importance as an early effort toward mass education eventually placing correct spelling and usage at the fingertips of the ordinary American citizen. This two-volume quarto unabridged dictionary represents the culmination of Webster's indefatigable dedication to providing his country with its first comprehensive modern dictionary. "Webster set a new standard for etymological investigation and for accuracy of definition 'a born definer of words' - Sir James Murray and included 70000 words as against the 58000 of any previous dictionary. The edition was 2500 copies and the price $20.00" Carpenter. "Webster was an ardent nationalist and he wanted to stress the political separation from England by the cultivation of a separate American language" PMM. Skeel 583; Grolier American 100 #36; PMM 291; Sabin 102335 Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe-New Haven unknown
1828ref. 140938425New York: S. Converse Printed by Hezekiah Howe New Haven 1828. First Edition. Very Good. First edition first printing. Complete in two volumes. Contemporary mottled calf with black morocco spine labels lettered in gilt with the "Additions and Corrections" leaf bound at the end of Volume II; November 28 Advertisement absent as is nearly always the case. Engraved frontis provided in sympathetic facsimile lacking tissue guard. Internally Very Good with offsetting and several instances of penciled marginalia. Previous owner name in light pencil on title page. One of only 2500 copies. An extremely important early declaration of American cultural identity which heralded the nation's linguistic independence from Britain inspiring the many dictionaries that to this day carry Webster's name. S. Converse, Printed by Hezekiah Howe, New Haven unknown books
1828ref. 140938425New York: S. Converse Printed by Hezekiah Howe New Haven 1828. First Edition. Very Good. First edition first printing. Complete in two volumes. Contemporary mottled calf with black morocco spine labels lettered in gilt with the "Additions and Corrections" leaf bound at the end of Volume II; November 28 Advertisement absent as is nearly always the case. Engraved frontis provided in sympathetic facsimile lacking tissue guard. Internally Very Good with offsetting and several instances of penciled marginalia. Previous owner name in light pencil on title page. One of only 2500 copies. An extremely important early declaration of American cultural identity which heralded the nation's linguistic independence from Britain inspiring the many dictionaries that to this day carry Webster's name. S. Converse, Printed by Hezekiah Howe, New Haven unknown
1828ref. 102755New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe 1828. Rare first edition of Webster's monumental American Dictionary one of only 2500 copies with frontispiece portrait of the pioneering lexicographer in full contemporary calf. Quarto two volumes bound in full contemporary calf marbled endpapers illustrated frontispiece tissue guard present. In near fine condition light toning to the text. Most rare and desirable bound in contemporary calf. An exceptional example most rare without any restoration. In 1807 Webster began compiling a fully comprehensive dictionary An American Dictionary of the English Language; it took twenty-eight years to complete. To evaluate the etymology of words Webster learned twenty-six languages including Old English Anglo-Saxon Greek Hebrew and Latin. Webster completed his dictionary during his year abroad in 1825 in Paris France and at the University of Cambridge. His book contained seventy thousand words of which twelve thousand had never appeared in a published dictionary before. As a spelling reformer Webster believed that English spelling rules were unnecessarily complex so his dictionary introduced American English spellings replacing colour with color substituting wagon for waggon and printing center instead of center. He also added American words like skunk and squash that did not appear in British dictionaries. At the age of seventy Webster published his dictionary in 1828 registering the copyright on April 14. Webster did all this in an effort to standardize the American language. "This dictionary which almost at once became and has remained the standard English dictionary in the United States was the end-product of a stream of spelling books grammars readers and dcitionaries which flowed from the pen of the industrious Noah Webster.Webster's great dictionary all the 70000 entries of which he wrote with his own hand has been reprinted and brought up to date innumerable times.the book marked a definite advance in modern lexicography as it included many non-literary terms and paid great attention to the language actually spoken. Moreover his definitions of the meaning of words were accurate and concise.and have for the greater part stood the test of time superbly well" Printing and the Mind of Man. "As a whole Webster's American Dictionary was a scholarly achievement of the first order richly deserving of its great reputation at home and abroad" DAB. With definitions for "some 70000 words--15000 more than any previous English lexicon. Although only 2500 copies of the first edition were printed the work established Webster as a lexicographer of international repute" Lathem 76 United Statesiana 9. Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe unknown books
1828ref. 69678New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe. 1828. Full Description: WEBSTER Noah. An American Dictionary of the English Language: Intended to exhibit I. The origin affinities and primary signification of English words as far as they have been ascertained. II. The genuine orthography and pronunciation of words according to general usage or to just principles of analogy. III. Accurate and discriminating definitions with numerous authorities and illustrations. To which are prefixed an introductory dissertation on the origin history and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe and a concise grammar of the English language. In two volumes. New York: Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe. 1828. First edition one of only 2500 copies. Two large quarto volumes 10 3/4 x 8 7/8 inches; 274 x 226 mm. Engraved frontispiece portrait the portrait of Webster painted by S.F.B. Morse by A.B. Durand printed by J.R. Burton. Tissue guard for portrait. With the final leaf of "Additions" and "Corrections" at the end of Volume II which is often lacking. Together with Rare autograph leaf from the original draft of Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. One leaf with manuscript in brown ink on recto and verso 8x 10 inches; 250 x 200 mm. This rare manuscript page from his work presents definitions from "Biped" to "Bird." Other words present include "Bipedial" "Bipetalous" "Biquadrate" "Biquintile" "Biradiated" and "Birch." This leaf from Webster's draft manuscript shows his processes of careful editing. For "Birch" he wrote out and then crossed off an entire paragraph that read in part: "This word is probably the same as bark; from the great use of birch barks among savage nations the name was transferred to the tree as was the name of beech to another species of tree." Webster substituted this deleted passage with text nearly identical to what saw print in 1828: "A genus of trees known technically under the name Betula of which there are four or five species; as the white or common birch-the dwarf birch-the Canada birch of which there are several varieties & the black birch." The Pierpont Morgan Library holds most of Webster's manuscript which runs some 450 leaves; however early on leaves from the "A" and "B" sections were separated. All leaves that ever appeared for sale came from A & B. Two volumes uniformly bound in contemporary full dark brown sheep. Spines ruled in gilt with original black and red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. Marbled endpapers. Edges speckled brown. Some rubbing and scuffing to boards. Corners have been renewed on each volume. Some light dampstaining to portrait leaf just barely touching the engraving. Some dampstaining to endpapers. Overall a very good set with a wonderful manuscript leaf. Each volume housed in a chemise and blue quarter morocco clamshell box. "'The most ambitious publication ever undertaken up to that time upon American soil.' Webster began work on his Dictionary in 1800. Along the way his produced his fat duodecimo Compendious Dictionary of the English Language New Haven 1806.and an abridgement of this for schools in 1807 and by 1813 he had learned twenty languages seven of which were Asiatic or dialects of the Assyrian to which twenty he later added Portuguese Welsh Gothic and the early dialects of English and German. He spent a year abroad in 18234-25 to perfect the work and began printing May 8 1827.Webster set a new standard for entymological investigation and for accuracy of definition 'a born definer of words'-Sir James Murray and included 70000 words as against the 58000 of any previous dictionary. There were 2500 copies printed in boards uncut or full calf.Webster wrote every word of the manuscript of the dictionary himself" Grolier 100 American. "This dictionary which almost at once became and has remained the standard English dictionary in the United States was the end-product of a stream of spelling books grammars readers and dictionaries which flowed from the pen of the industrious Noah Webster.Webster's great dictionary all the 70000 entries of which he wrote with his own hand has been reprinted and brought up to date innumerable times.the book marked a definite advance in modern lexicography as it included many non-literary terms and paid great attention to the language actually spoken. Moreover his definitions of the meaning of words were accurate and concise Sir James Murray editor of the Oxford English Dictionary called him 'a born definer of words' and have for the greater part stood the test of time superbly well" Printing and the Mind of Man. Grolier 100 American 36. Printing and the Mind of Man 291. Sabin 102335. Skeel 583. HBS 69678. $40000. Published by S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe.. unknown
