Digitization and online presentation of selected rare books

Aim of project.

Digitization and online presentation of selected rare books from Felix Rare Books personal library in Ireland.

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Here are some images from our selected rare books to convert to eBook format, enjoy and please share.

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The Commentaries of Caesar by William Duncan.

Published in London: By Tonson, Draper, and Dodsley, 1753. 1st. Edition Elephant Folio, full contemporary calf with elaborately gilt-decorated spine, with worn contemporary brown leather binding. 1st. Edition of Duncan’s famous translation of Caesar’s Commentaries, sumptuously illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Caesar, this copy with the famed double-page bull plate, often not present, in the the magnificent "Duncan Caesar", the most beautiful and celebrated edition of Caesar’s Commentaries in English, complete with 50 superb double folio engravings, and 6 fold-out maps and 21 full folio page engravings, with a frontispiece of Caesar, and 5 foldout double engravings.  Most of the engravings are by Andrea Mantegna (1431 – September 13, 1506) was an Italian painter. A stunning folio book in a fine collectable condition, Scarce/Rare.  

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An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti: by Marcus Rainsford;

 Published in London: Albion Press : Published by James Cundee, 1805. 1st. Edition.  plates as called for at the back of book are present;- Frontispiece and engraved plates by J. Barlow after drawings by the author, letter facsimile, Fold-out Map of the island of St. Domingo, Fold-out Plan of the City of Cape Francois as it existed before the revolution. Includes A Succinct historical View of the Colonies of Hispaniola and St. Domingo, Origin of the Revolutionary Spirit of this Period in St. Domingo, Account of the Progress and Accomplishment of the Independence of St. Domingo, State of Manners on the Independence of the Blacks in St. Domingo, View of the Black Army, and of the War between the French Republic and the Independent Blacks of St. Domingo, On the Establishment of a Black Empire, the Black Army, a very particular military force, created for the sole purpose of the Revolution-, both in very particular attires, a map of Santo Domingo, a plan of the city of the French Cape and nine plates with military and costumes views,  some folding-, made by J. Barlow after the drawings of the Author. This is a Scarce/Rare Book.

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Garter & Statutes 1521 by Henry VIII

 The Statutes and Ordinances of the Order of the Garter of St. George 1521?;- Henry VIII’s own copy, With the Tudor Rose of Henry Tudor. hand coloured to the opening pages. Honi soit qui mal y pense circles the shield of the French Crown, altered the Royal Arms of England by quartering his paternal Arms of Plantagenet with the fleurs de lys of the Royal Arms of France, and Crowned Armorials coat-of-arms; with the letters E R on both sides of the coat of arms;- Dedicated to Henry VIII the Defender of the Faith, Lord of Ireland. 

    Henry VIII own copy, bound for Henry VIII by Thomas Berthelet; later owned by Edward VI and Elizabeth I, all Sovereigns of the Order. These are the original Statutes founded by King Edward III who founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne.1344;- In 1530? The Statutes themselves were revised by Henry VIII in the consequences of the English Reformation. 
            This is the only copy of a hand-written Manuscript Book of “The Rules of the Order of the Garter” ordered and dedicated to Henry VIII. The hand-written Manuscript has 44 Vellum Pages x2=88 of hand-written Rules of the Order of the Garter. The script is Black Lettres Batardes, Bastarda was a Gothic script used at the time in Manuscript writing.

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Of Monsters and Prodigies: ​1550

  In the 16th. century, a time of religious and social upheaval, naturalistic theories of generation were joined to ideas that monstrous births were divine signs.The original illustration are by Ambroise Paré, including an early illustration by Dürer, Dürer's Rhinoceros is the name commonly given to a woodcut executed by German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer in 1515. Original the book was called Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine;- being an encyclopedic collection of rare and extraordinary cases, and of the most striking instances of abnormality in all branches of medicine and surgery, derived from an exhaustive research of medical literature  Ambroise Paré, is considered one of the fathers of surgery and modern forensic pathology and a pioneer in surgical techniques and battlefield medicine, especially in the treatment of wounds. He was also an anatomist and invented several surgical instruments.
Paré's 15th century text is, however, much more a compendium; he collects tales from afar, gathers anecdotes from ancient manuscripts and compiles accounts from myth and local legend. Parts of the book actually discuss strange animals from foreign climes, and there is a fairly accurate depiction of what we now know to be a skate or sting ray. To his readers, these accounts of marvels would be mystery as much as medicine. Rare/Scarce. Beautifully rebound of this rare book in English. 1550