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RARE BOOKS JUST IN PAGE 5


Lexicon Technicum: 1708-1710
by John Harris 
​
 Price £15,000 Buy now


     Lexicon Technicum: Or, An Universal English Dictionary of Arts and Sciences: Explaining not only the Terms of Art, but the Arts Themselves was in many respects the first alphabetical encyclopaedia written in English. Although the emphasis of the Lexicon Technicum was on mathematical subjects, its contents go beyond what would be called science or technology today, in conformity with the broad eighteenth-century understanding of the terms "arts" and "science," and it includes entries on the humanities and fine arts, notably on law, commerce, music, and heraldry. In contrast, the Lexicon Technicum neglects theology, antiquity, biography, and poetry.
   The Lexicon Technicum was the work of a London clergyman,  John Harris.  Its professed advantage over French dictionaries of the arts and sciences was that it contained explanation not only of the terms used in the arts and sciences, but also of the arts and sciences themselves. Harris issued a three-page proposal for this work in 1702, and the first edition, in one  Folio volume, was published in London in 1704. A second edition appeared 1708. Volume 2, separately alphabetised, was published in 1710.
  The first volume contains 1220 pages, 4 plates, and many additional diagrams and figures within the text. Like many early English encyclopedias, the pages are not numbered; numbering may have been thought unnecessary as readers could search by its alphabetical arrangement. In his preface, Harris stated that he got less help from previous dictionaries than one would expect. While acknowledging some borrowing, Harris insisted that "much the greater part of what [the reader] will find here is collected from no Dictionaries, but from the best Original Authors I could procure." Harris's preface justifiably touted his coverage of mathematical subjects. He admitted the imperfection of his data on stars, noting that Flamsteed had refused to assist him, but he vaunted his coverage of astronomy, especially his full coverage of Newton's theories of the moon and of comets. In botany he claimed to have given "a pretty exact botanick lexicon, which was what we really wanted before," using Dr. John Ray's  method. To describe the parts of a ship accurately, he supposedly "often" went on board himself. In law, he wrote, he abridged from the best writers and had the result "carefully examined and corrected by a Gentleman of known Ability in that Profession."
  The specified aims of the book did not prevent Harris from including some highly opinionated asides, for example this definition conveying the poor view he took of lawyers: "Sollicitor, is a Man imploy'd to take care of, and follow Suits depending in Courts of Law, or Equity, formerly allowed only to Nobility, whose Menial Servants they were; but now too frequently used by others, to the damage of the People, and the increase of  Champerty and Maintenance.'
  John Harris wrote that he had wished to supply an index for each art and science as well as more plates on anatomy and ships, but the undertakers could not afford it, "the Book having swelled so very much beyond the Expectation."
  A review of his work, extending to the unusual length of four pages, appeared in the Philosophical Transactions for 1704.
A second volume, 1st.  Edition of 1,419 pages and 4 plates appeared in 1710, with a list of about 1300 subscribers. A previously unpublished treatise on acids by Issac Newton was included, perhaps without the latter's permission or encouragement. A large part of the volume consists of mathematical and astronomical tables, since Harris intended his work to serve as a small mathematical library. John Harris provided tables of logarithms, sines, tangents, and secants, a two-page list of books, and an index of the articles in both volumes under 26 heads, filling 50 pages. The longest lists are for Law (1700 articles), Surgery, Anatomy, Geometry, Fortification, Botany, and Music.
The Lexicon Technicum was very popular, enduring through at least to 1744 as the main rival of  Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia. A third edition was published in two folio volumes in 1716-23; a fourth edition was published in one folio volume in 1725; and a fifth edition was published in two folio volumes in 1736. Lastly, an anonymous one-volume supplement appeared in 1744, with 996 pages and 6 plates. This work was allegedly "not well received," being perceived by contemporaries as a mere "booksellers speculation."In any case, no new editions of the Lexicon Technicum were published thereafter.2 Vols. 1708 -2nd edition. 1708-1710
        John   Harris, Lexicon Technicum: Or, an Universal English Dictionary of aArts and Sciences: Explaining not only the terms of art, but the arts themselves. 2 vols., folio. Engraved portrait frontispiece of John Harris by G. White after R. White in Vol. I, 14 engraved plates, text woodcuts. London: Dan Brown, Tim. Goodwin, John Walthoe [etc.], 1708-1710. 320 x 205 mm. Panelled calf ca. 1708-10, re-backed spine, with gilt lettering within a red label, endpapers renewed. First Edition of the first English dictionary of arts and sciences, and the earliest modern encyclopedia of science. Harris was the first to make the distinction between "word-books" (dictionaries) and "subject-books (encyclopedias), and his Lexicon Technicum is the first English encyclopedia to be arranged in alphabetical order. Harris relied heavily on the writings of Isaac Newton as a source, quoting lengthy excerpts from them under such headings as "Attraction," "Colour," "Fluxions," "Gravity," "Light," and "Motion." The introduction to Vol. II contains the first printing (in Latin and English) of Newton's "De natura acidorum," his only published work on chemistry; and the articles "Quadrature" and "Curves" give the first English translations of the "Two treatises" from Newton's Opticks. The subscription list in Vol. II has Newton down for a large paper copy of the Lexicon. Complete sets Lexicon Technicum are Rare/Scarce….


A Dictionary of Chemistry
by William Nicholson
Price $1,550 Buy Now

  A Dictionary of Chemistry, exhibiting the present state of the theory and practice of that science, its application to natural philosophy, the processes of manufactures, metallurgy, and numerous other arts dependent on the properties and habitudes of bodies, in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms. By William Nicholson;-  Published in London;-  by G.G. and J. Robinson, 1795.
   1st. Edition of Nicholson’s 2 volume large dictionary of chemistry, the first dictionary of chemistry by an Englishman. Beautifully rebound in three quarter dark brown leather with marbled brown speckled paper to both front and back of both volumes, gilt lettering and date of 1795 to both volumes to labels to the spine, with leather tooling to the edging of both spines. Both Volumes have 1,132 pages including 4 full page engravings, with two of the engraving as large fold-out plans. Slight foxing to the engraved plates, old repair sellotape to page 363, back of 364, but no loss of text. The alphabet is used from volume one starting with ABS for Absorbent to Zaf- Zin for Zaffre— followed by a one page Appendix and then Table of Binary Compounds, followed by Additions, Acids, of Tartar, Empyreumatic.  Then Index of Names..Four Engraved plates.. all to the back of Volume 2. 
    William Nicholson was at the time a renowned  man of science and inventor, an English Chemist and writer on "natural philosophy" and chemistry, as well as a translator, journalist, publisher, scientist, inventor, patent agent and civil engineer. William Nicholson gave much attention to the construction of various machines for comb-cutting, file-making, cylinder printing and other uses, he also invented an areometer. William Nicholson invented a machine for printing on linen, cotton, woollen, and other articles, by means of ‘blocks, types, plates, and originals, which were to be firmly imposed upon a cylindrical surface in the same manner as common letter is imposed upon a flat stone.’ ‘From the mention of “colouring cylinder” and “paper-hangings, floorcloths, cottons, linens, woollens, leather, skin, and every other flexible material” mentioned in the specification, it would appear,’ writes Dr. Smiles, ‘as if Nicholson's invention were adapted for calico-printing and paper-hangings, as well as for the printing of books. But it was never used for any of these purposes. It contained merely the register of an idea, and that was all.’ The scheme was never in practical operation; Nicholson's patent with produced an entire revolution in the mechanism of the art. Nicholson's next published‘A Dictionary of Chemistry, exhibiting the Present State of the Theory and Practice of that Science, its Application to Natural Philosophy, the Processes of Manufactures … with a number of Tables,’ 2 vols. 4to, London, 1795; and two years afterwards he commenced his well-known ‘Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts.

Pacata Hibernia
by Thomas Stafford;- 1633
Price $40,000 Buy Now

 THE RARE 1633 PACATA HIBERNIA;- ONE OF THE IMPORTANT SOURCE BOOKS OF THE HISTORY OF TYRONE’S REBELLION, CONTAINING THE EARLIEST ILLUSTRATIONS OF MANY IRISH TOWNS--
by Thomas Stafford;- Pacata Hibernia, Ireland Appeased and Reduced; Or, an Historie of the Late Warres of Ireland, especially within the Province of Mounster, under the Government of Sir George Carew, Knight, then Lord President of that Province.. Wherein the Siege of Kinsale, the Defeat of the Earl of Tyrone…and many other remarkable passages of that time are related. London: Printed by Aug. Mathewes for Robert Milbourne, 1633. Folio (9 by 13 inches), contemporary full brown calf expertly rebacked with original elaborately gilt-decorated spine neatly laid down, raised bands, marbled endpapers. First edition, second issue of this rare and important account of the conclusion of the Nine Years War in Ireland, also known as Tyrone’s Rebellion; one of the best and most accurate sources of the events that transpired during the conflict, seldom seen complete. This copy contains the two finely engraved frontispiece portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Sir George Carew by Robert van Voerst and 17 engraved maps and plans, all but two folding or double page, including the original folding map of Munster by John Speed. The List of Plates calls for 17 maps only;- The present copy has an additional plan of Carigfoyle Castle at page 66. The views represent the earliest illustrations ever printed of many Irish towns.
One of the greatest and most tragic events in the history of Ireland was the Nine Years War, a rebellion which occurred between 1594 and 1603 between England and the forces of the Irish chieftains Hugh O’Neill and Hugh Roe O’Donnell. The rebellion was fostered by the encroachment of English interests throughout Ireland and spread to every part of the country, inspired by Irish victories at Yellow Ford and other engagements. After disastrous expeditions under the command of Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex, in 1599 and 1600, Queen Elizabeth appointed Lord Mountjoy as commander along with two veterans of Irish warfare, George Carew and Arthur Chichester. Pacata Hibernia is the account of the actions of these men during the final years of the rebellion, published in 1633, several years after Carew’s death, and based upon his massive collection of papers relating to the early history of Ireland—one of the most valuable collections of materials from this period. 
“It is owing to Carew’s vigilance and care that we are so well informed as to the course of the Munster Wars. He instructed Thomas Stafford, his nephew, a young officer in his army, to record what he saw during the campaign and himself supplied him with valuable correspondence. The result was his remarkable book Pacata Hibernia. It takes us behind the scenes and reveals the motives of the chief actors in an amazing way, containing besides masterly pieces of description” “By his vigor and decision [Carew] succeeded in completely crushing within a short space of time the insurrection in the south of Ireland. He was somewhat regardless of the means by which he effected the pacification of the country, and on more than one occasion negotiated for the assassination of Irish leaders”. Included in the Pacata Hibernia are accounts of the Battle of Kinsale, the decisive loss for the Irish which signaled the end of the rebellion, and the siege of Dunboy Castle, “one of the saddest and most picturesque incidents in Irish history.” Dunboy Castle was the scene of the one of the final, valiant stands of the Irish rebels, who were overcome after a lengthy siege by Carew’s violent assault, resulting in the destruction of the castle and the execution of most of the combatants. The rebellion was over by 1603, leaving an estimated 100,000 Irish dead (including the 60,000 who died in the Ulster famine, caused by the English “scorched earth” policy) and the country and population devastated.
   As Standish O’Grady put it in his preface to the 1896 reprint, “We are in the presence of actualities, face to face with real and actual men, can almost hear them speak, and feel around us the working of ideas and purposes so characteristic of that age… The book deals with the stormy conclusion of a stormy century, the lurid sunset of one of the wildest epochs in our history… It is the work of a soldier, not a civilian; of one to whom war was a trade, and who treats of it with a soldier’s downrightness and grim hard emphasis. Also, it was written shortly after the events… The battle-smoke still clings to the pages.” Many of the plates are the earliest illustrations known of those Irish towns. Plates include Cahir Castle, Asketon Castle, Limerick, the Shannon and Cork. First issue, with the original title page with a mention of “the benefit of the children of J. Mynshew, deceased.” The folding map of Munster is original Speed map, uncoloured. There is nothing missing in this very Rare Copy. Rebounded in  1845 in London, notes to front flypaper.

The History of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards;-
by Don Antonio de  SOLIS ;-
Translated by Thomas Townsend;- 1724
Price $2,500 Buy Now

The History of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards;- by Don Antonio de  SOLIS ;- Translated by Thomas Townsend;- 1724, Published in London: by T. Woodward 1724. 1st. Edition in English. Mexico--History--Conquest, of 1519-1540;- A Folio. Translation of: Historia de le conquista de Mexico; 1st. Spanish Edition, of Madrid, which was published in 1684 and Translated into English by Thomas Townsend 1724;- In five books; books I-II, III-IV, respectively, paged continuously; one plate printed on double leaf. Title Page, followed by Dedication Page, then The Preface, then List of Subscribers;- followed by Five Books in one volume. Original brown leather binding with faded gilt lettering and decorations along the spine, both cover hinges are weak but holding, an Errata Page to the last page. 


1. A large Fold-out Map of the Gulf of Mexico, showing Mexico or New Spain;- 
2. A full page engraving Map of The Lake of Mexico and Part Adjacent;-
3. A very Large Fold-out Map of the City of Mexico, with a Panoramic View from the Mountains, covering its immediate Environments;-
4. A Small Fold-out Map of  the City of Mexico;-
5. A Small Fold-out Map of the Great Temple of Mexico;-
6. A very Large Fold-out, an engraving of Spanish Soldiers and Native Americans meeting The Emperor, Cuauhtemoc and Hernán Cortés;-
7. A Small Fold-out Map of The Engagem  between the Spanish Brigantines and the Canoes of the Mexicans.
8. A Small Fold-out Map of Guatimozin taken in his Retreat by Holguin. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire which begun in in mid-February in 1519, was one of the most significant events in the Spanish colonisation of the Americas. Christopher Columbus establishment of permanent European settlements in the Caribbean, the Spanish authorised expeditions for the discovery, conquest, and colonisation of new territory, using existing Spanish settlements as a base. Many of those on the Cortés expedition of 1519 had never seen combat before. In fact, Cortés had never commanded men in battle before. However, there was a whole generation of Spaniards who participated in expeditions in the Caribbean and Tierra Firme (Central America), learning strategy and tactics of successful enterprises. The Spanish conquest of Mexico had antecedents with established practices.
The Spanish campaign began in February 1519, and was declared victorious on August 13, 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Hernán Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the Emperor Cuauhtemoc and his City of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire at the time.


Analise des Infiniment Petits Comprenant le Calcul Integral;-
1735 by M. Stone
Price $1,500 Buy now

FRENCH;- 
​Analyse des infiniment petits, pour l'intelligence des lignes courbes. Par Mr. le Marquis De L?Hospital. Seconde Edition. 1715 / Relié avec - bound-up with:2) M. (Edmund) Stone: Analise des infiniment petits, comprenant le calcul intégral dans toute son étendue, avec son application aux Quadratures, Cubatures, Centres de Gravité, de Percussion, & de toutes sortes de Courbes. Servant de suite aux infiniment petits de . L?Hôpital (sic): Traduit en François par M. Rondet, Maître de Mathématiques. (avec une préface de P. Castel) 1735. L'HOSPITAL, G(uillaume)-F.-A. de (1661-1704) / STONE, M. (Edmund, about 1700-1768)

Published by A Paris, Chez François Montalant, / 2) A Paris, Julien-Michel Gandouin et Pierre-François Giffart, 1715 / 1735, (1735)


ENGLISH;-
    The book was written and published in Paris, French by M. Stone;- Analysis of infinitely small, for the intelligence of curved lines. By the Marquis de L? Hospital. Second Edition. 1715 / Hardcover with - bound-up with: 2) M. (Edmund) Stone: Analise of infinitely small, including integral calculus in all its extent, with its application to Quadratures, Cubatures, Centres of Gravity, Percussion, All kinds of curves. Serving in succession to the infinitely small ones. The Hospital : Translated into French by M. Rondet, Master of Mathematics. (With a preface by P. Castel) 1735.
Published by A Paris, Chez François Montalant, / 2) A Paris, Julien-Michel Gandouin et Pierre-François Giffart, 1715 / 1735, (1735)
    Two very rare Mathematical Treaties in the French Language.  2nd. Edition of this textbook (1st. Edition was printed in 1696: the influence of which dominated most of the 18th.Century. The «Analyse des infiniment petits» was the first textbook of the differential calculus. The existence of several commentaries on it attests its popularity. . L'Hospital was a major figure in the early development of the calculus on the continent of Europe. He advanced its cause not only by his scientific works but also by his many contacts, including correspondence with Leibniz, with Jean Bernoulli, and with Huygens. Fontenelle tells us that it was L'Hospital who introduced Huygens to the new calculus. 
    Re-bound in three quarter light brown leather and speckled marbled paper to front and back of the binding;- 4 large fold-out engraved diagrams of Mathematical Treaties to the back pages, a few neat ancient hand-written notes in the margins of page 44, some damp stains to the inside pages to the spine area, otherwise a good copy of a very Rare /Scarce Book. 

    The «Analyse des infiniment petits» includes the original publication of ideas originated and developed by Leibniz and the Bernoullis. . (for example) the ninth chapter of this textbook contains what is now know as L'Hospital's rule for finding the limiting value of a fraction whose numerator and denominator tend to zero; however, this rule was actually the work of Bernoulli, who included it in his letter to L'Hospital of 22 July 1694. Very rare 1st. French Edition, first published in 1730 in the English language. 

    Practically nothing is known about the life of Edmund Stone. He was the son of the gardener of John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll. He learned reading, Latin, French and mathematics by himself. According to his contemporary Andrew Michael Ramsay,
    Edmund Stone was born sometime around 1700, the son of a gardener of the Duke of Argyll. He first learned to read at the age of eight and was completely self-taught. He mastered both French and Latin in order to read mathematical works. At the age of eighteen, Stone came to the attention of the Duke when the latter found Stone's copy of Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica, in his grounds and assumed that it had been removed from his library. Impressed by the young man, the Duke "placed him in a position which afforded him opportunity to pursue his studies”.Edmund Stone translated works of the Marquis de l'Hospital on conic sections (1720) and M. Nicolas Bion, on scientific instruments (1723). In 1725, he was admitted as a fellow of the Royal Society in 1725 and published A New Mathematical Dictionary. In 1730, he published The Method of Fluxions, both Direct and Inverse: the first part is a translation and reworking in Newtonian notation of De l'Hospital's Analyse des infinement petits (in fact, written by Johann Bernoulli), and the second part is Edmund Stone's own work. In 1736, Edmund Stone independently found two species of lines of the third order which had been overlooked by Newton and Stirling, but these had been discovered by others a few years earlier. He also published some other mathematical works.Following the death of the Duke of Argyll in 1743, Edmund Stone's situation deteriorated and he spent the latter part of his life in poverty.


A short sketch of the evidence delivered before a committee of the House of Commons for the Abolition of the Slave -Trade. 1792

A short sketch of the evidence delivered before a committee of the House of Commons for the Abolition of the Slave -Trade.

“ To which is added, a recommendation of the subject to the serious attention of People in General”

   By  the writer W.B.C. (William Bell Crafton);- The writer and humanitarian William Bell Crafton;- This Pamphlet by William Bell Crafton, Favoured abolition on the grounds of morality and Justice. Published in London, 1792.. 1st. Edition with 24 pages stitched, as issued. A Pamphlet  or Tract is a small booklet or leaflet containing information or arguments about a single subject. A Pamphlet or Tract is also an unbound sheet of paper without a hard-cover or binding It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a leaflet, or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddled stabled (staples into the spine ) at the crease to make a simple booklet. The pamphlet form of literature has been used for centuries as an economical vehicle for the broad distribution of information. Also due to their low cost and ease of production, Pamphlets have often been used to popularise political or religious ideas. Ephemeral (Pamphlets or Tracts) and to wide array of political or religious perspectives given voice by the format's ease of production, Pamphlets are prized by many Book Collectors, Research Libraries, Private Institutions such as Universities. Substantial accumulations have been amassed and transferred to ownership of academic Research Libraries around the world. Also Pamphlets or Tracts were printed on scarce paper at the time, so when finished were more often then not used as toilet paper, (toilet paper at the time was non existent,) or also used to start a home fire, so paper Pamphlets or Tracts rarely survived, hence there greater value. 

 This 24 page Pamphlet is a very good topic on the Slave-Trade in the 18th. century. The Pamphlet is in its original state, untrimmed, wrapped in marbled paper wraps. 1st. Edition thus. “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye ever so to them” Matt. chap. vii. ver. 12 …Original 1st. Edition Pamphlet of 1792, with a few antiquarian notes to flypapers covers, a brown stain to the title page, otherwise in fine collectible condition of an exceptionally collectible Pamphlet in its unbound state as originally issued. Rare and scarce as is always the case with any early Pamphlets. No other 1st. Edition of this Pamphlet on the Slave-Trade to be found anywhere on the internet nor auction house records, a very unique copy of an early anti-slavery Tract, $2,750.


    Little is recorded about William Bell Crafton, we know he was a prolific writer on abolitionist Pamphlets about the Slave-Trade, we have many of his Pamphlets and Tracts that survived to this day.  William Bell Crafton was it would appear that is called a Pamphleteer, a writer of Pamphlets, especially ones of a political and controversial nature. He was friends with wide range of fellow travellers in and around London, like, the printer and Published Martha Gurney of Holborn, William Fox, William Pitt, and William Wilberforce, leading light of the anti-slavery movement. Martha Gurney, unusual for a woman at the time, a female printer and Publisher, Martha Gurney, her name appeared as printer and seller on more than 130 titles, including twenty-five editions of state trials and other court proceedings transcribed by her brother between 1781 and 1813. Besides printing and selling sermons, court trials, and abolitionist Pamphlets. 


    This “A short sketch of the evidence  delivered before a committee of the House of Commons for the Abolition of the Slave -Trade Pamphlet, was probably Printed and Published by Martha Gurney together with William Fox, William Bell Crafton, and William Wilberforce all were against the Slave Trade. William Fox was among the most prolific radical Pamphleteers of the 1790s. Between 1791 and 1794, he collaborated with the Baptist bookseller Martha Gurney in publishing sixteen political Pamphlets on topics ranging from the abolition of the slave trade to the perversion of national fast days, from England’s war with France to the government’s selective redefining of the word ‘Jacobin.’ His most famous work, An Address to the People of Great Britain, on the Propriety of Refraining from the Use of West India Sugar and Rum (1791), solidified the abolitionist forces in Great Britain and America by focusing their energies on a boycott of West Indian produce, a boycott that served not only as a viable economic solution to ending the slave trade but also, as Charlotte Sussman argues, provided through the power of ‘consumerism’ a kind of universal suffrage for its advocates, resulting in a political campaign that bypassed Parliament and granted power directly to the people, many of whom were of the lower and middle classes. William Fox operated a bookshop at 128 Holborn Hill, appearing as a bookseller on at least fifty-six titles, although usually as a member of a consortium of sellers. In 1782 he entered into a business arrangement with Martha Gurney (1733-1816), who that year moved her bookshop from 34 Bell-yard into his quarters in Holborn Hill, where she would remain until her death in 1816. She was the only daughter of Thomas Gurney (1705-70), a High Calvinist Baptist who served for many years as a shorthand writer at the Old Bailey. Her brother, Joseph Gurney (1744-1815), was also a bookseller before succeeding his father as shorthand writer for the Old Bailey and later for Parliament. Joseph Gurney may have introduced his sister to William Fox, for the two men, besides being printer/booksellers only a short distance from each other in Holborn, were also subscribing members to the Humane Society, founded in 1774 by Dr. William Hawes, a close friend of Joseph Gurney. 

Picture

The Debate on a Motion for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade, In the House of Commons on Monday and Tuesday April 18th. and 19th. 1791

The Debate on a Motion for the Abolition of the Slave-Trade, In the House of Commons on Monday and Tuesday April 18th. and 19th. 1791;-  
    Published in London, by James Phillips 1792, 2nd Edition. Pamphlet form 134 pages, dark red marbled paper wraps as covers. Untrimmed papers which is normal for any Pamphlet or Tract published at the time. One or two contemporary hand written names in the margins with the Pamphlet, a few light brown stains also within, does not effects text, otherwise fairly clean throughout. Title page a little grubby, second page with a “Table of Reference” list of 29 people starting with William Wilberforce, other names Pitt, Fox Burke, etc…Page 133 the Vote numbers, plus again  list of 29 people starting with William Wilberforce, other names Pitt, Fox, Burke, etc…who voted. This even as a 2nd Edition Pamphlet is very rare and scarce in this fine collectable condition, with 134 pages stitched, as issued. The 1st. Edition was the debate which took place on the Monday the 2nd. of April 1792. My Pamphlet was the debate the year before in 1791, Monday and Tuesday April 18th. and 19th. So really a 1st. Edition of 1791, but printed in 1792. Title page in situ, with a newspaper cutting of 1792, “a Poem” on the subject of “Sugar”, pasted to the back blank page after the main title, also the last blank page another newspaper article, “a Poem”, printed in 1793, also pasted on the last blank page of the booklet. A Rare and very Scarce Pamphlet with the debate by William Wilberforce, a historical document in its original form…$3,875 as is.
    A Pamphlet or Tract is a small booklet or leaflet containing information or arguments about a single subject. A Pamphlet or Tract is also an unbound sheet of paper without a hard-cover or binding It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a leaflet, or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddled stabled (staples into the spine ) at the crease to make a simple booklet. The pamphlet form of literature has been used for centuries as an economical vehicle for the broad distribution of information. Also due to their low cost and ease of production, Pamphlets have often been used to popularise political or religious ideas. Ephemeral (Pamphlets or Tracts) and to wide array of political or religious perspectives given voice by the format's ease of production, Pamphlets are prized by many Book Collectors, Research Libraries, Private Institutions such as Universities. Substantial accumulations have been amassed and transferred to ownership of academic Research Libraries around the world. Also Pamphlets or Tracts were printed on scarce paper at the time, so when finished were more often then not used as toilet paper, (toilet paper at the time was non existent,) or also used to start a home fire, so paper Pamphlets or Tracts rarely survived, hence there greater value. 
    William Wilberforce supported the campaign for the complete abolition of slavery, and continued his involvement after 1826, when he resigned from Parliament because of his failing health. That campaign led to the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery in most of the British Empire. Wilberforce died just three days after hearing that the passage of the Act through Parliament was assured. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, he was a close to his friend Prime Minister William Pitt. 
    On 12 May 1789, William Wilberforce made his first major speech on the subject of abolition of Slavery in the House of Commons, in which he reasoned that the trade was morally reprehensible and an issue of natural justice. Drawing on Thomas Clarkson's mass of evidence, he described in detail the appalling conditions in which Slaves travelled from Africa in the middle passage, and argued that abolishing the trade would also bring an improvement to the conditions of existing slaves in the West Indies. Wilberforce moved 12 resolutions in the House of Commons condemning the slave trade, but made no reference to the abolition of slavery itself, instead dwelling on the potential for reproduction in the existing slave population should the trade be abolished. With the tide running against them, the opponents of abolition delayed the vote by proposing that the House of Commons hear its own evidence, and Wilberforce, in a move that has subsequently been criticised for prolonging the slave trade, reluctantly agreed.
    On 2 April 1792, Wilberforce again brought a bill calling for abolition. The memorable debate that followed drew contributions from the greatest orators in the house, William Pitt, Charles James Fox, as well as from Wilberforce himself.

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An Essay on Man in Four Epistles by Alexander Pope;- ​ 1771

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An Essay on Man in Four Epistles by Alexander Pope;- 


To which are added Grey’s Elegy in a Country Church - Yard and 


A Poem in Praise of Britain by Thompson, author of the Seasons. 


Published in London by Charles Aven in 1771. An early edition of 1771 of the three great English Poets;- Pope, Grey, and Thompson. A Published Pamphlet with 60 pages, in red and blue marbled paper wraps. Antiquarian Signature of J. Jones to the right top side of the title page, untrimmed brownish paper, in fine collectable condition, rare and scarce in Pamphlet form. $350   
 An Essay on Man is a poem published by Alexander Pope in 1733- 1734 Pope's Essay on Man and Moral Epistles were designed to be the parts of a system of ethics which he wanted to express in poetry.  The essay, written in heroic couplets, comprises four epistles. Pope began work on it in 1729, and had finished the first three by 1731. They appeared in early 1733, with the fourth epistle published the following year. The poem was originally published anonymously; Pope did not admit authorship until 1735. On its publication, An Essay on Man received great admiration throughout Europe. Voltaire called it "the most beautiful, the most useful, the most sublime didactic poem ever written in any language". In 1756 Rousseau wrote to Voltaire admiring the poem and saying that it "softens my ills and brings me patience". Kant was fond of the poem and would recite long passages from it to his students. Later however, Voltaire renounced his admiration for Pope's and Leibniz’s optimism and even wrote a novel, Candide, as a satire on their philosophy of ethics. Rousseau also critiqued the work, questioning "Pope's uncritical assumption that there must be an unbroken chain of being all. 
Grey’s Elegy in a Country Church - Yard  was completed in 1750 and first published in 1751. 
The Poem in Praise of Britain by James Thompson, author of the Seasons. James Thompson also wrote "Rule, Britannia!" and it was set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740

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The Oeconomy of Love by Dr. Armstrong;- 1771

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    The Oeconomy of Love by Dr. Armstrong;- 1771
    This 26 page Pamphlet was Published in London by Edward Even 1771- Dr. John Armstrong was a Doctor, Poet, and Satirist . The Oeconomy of Love, a poetical essay; with directions how best to improve the genial joys, and how to shun the Snakes that under flow'ry pleasure lurk. Dr. Armstrong greatest poem was "The Oeconomy of Love"The "Oeconomy Of Love" has been described as an eighteenth-century guide to sex and is particularly interesting in that the lines:
"To shed thy blossoms thro' the desert air, And sow thy perish'd offspring in the winds" are thought to be a possible inspiration for the more famous lines by Thomas Gray contained in his "Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard" as follows:
"Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
However John Armstrong's use of floral metaphor in the "Oeconomy of Love" refers to the unnecessary shedding of semen whilst the author cautions young men against sexual practices that he condemns in his role as poet and physician.
    1st. Edition Pamphlet edition, is scarce. Dr. Armstrong was a doctor by profession, and published serious medical works “The Art of Preserving Health”. But he was also a poet, best known for the explicit verse sex manual The Oeconomy of Love first published in 1736, and the rather more respectable The Art of preserving Health 1744. He was a friend of fellow literary Scots Tobias Smollett and James Thomson, and also of the young rake and rising politician John Wilkes. 'On 18 April 1760 Armstrong sailed from Harwich as physician to the English Army in Germany, a post he perhaps owed to Wilkes's patronage. Armstrong return to London early in 1763. He died in 1779





The New Handmaid to Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, 1790

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The New Handmaid to Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, 1790


    The New Handmaid to Arts, Sciences, Agriculture, &c. Containing 1. Prognostications for the weather 6. The most rare secret how to catch fish; also the method to make bird-lime. Together with the whole art of limning and painting, in oil and water colours. Also the art of gilding ... The method of colouring maps ... The curious art and mystery of japaning [!] ... with many other things worthy of note 


    Published in London, by W. Clements, and J. Sadler, 1790. This 118 pages 1st. Edition Pamphlet by Multiple Contributors. The new handmaid to arts, sciences, agriculture, &c. in nine booklets,  to which is added the complete farriery or rules for the management of horses and  various articles on the Arts, Sciences, and Agriculture subjects. The other subjects are “Observations in the Orchard”, the Mystery of Dying Silks. Original 1st. Edition Pamphlet with green and gold marbled paper covers. Title-Page present with an old contemporary hand-written signature to the very end of the Title-Page. Some slight wear and creases on the pages otherwise in fine collectable condition, rare and scarce in Pamphlet form. $350 


    A Pamphlet or Tract is a small booklet or leaflet containing information or arguments about a single subject. A Pamphlet or Tract is also an unbound sheet of paper without a hard-cover or binding It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a leaflet, or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddled stabled (staples into the spine ) at the crease to make a simple booklet. The pamphlet form of literature has been used for centuries as an economical vehicle for the broad distribution of information. Also due to their low cost and ease of production, Pamphlets have often been used to popularise political or religious ideas. Ephemeral (Pamphlets or Tracts) and to wide array of political or religious perspectives given voice by the format's ease of production, Pamphlets are prized by many Book Collectors, Research Libraries, Private Institutions such as Universities. Substantial accumulations have been amassed and transferred to ownership of academic Research Libraries around the world. Also Pamphlets or Tracts were printed on scarce paper at the time, so when finished were more often then not used as toilet paper, (toilet paper at the time was non existent,) or also used to start a home fire, so paper Pamphlets or Tracts rarely survived, hence there greater value. 

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The Laws of Parliament in the present situation of Great Britain, considered. 1788

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The Laws of Parliament in the present situation of Great Britain, considered. 1788


"Ne quid detrimenti respublica capiat, cavete.”


    Original 58 pages, 2nd. Edition Pamphlet, Published by J. Debrett , opposite Burlington House, Piccadilly, London 1788;- On the question of a regency, occasioned by the insanity of George III; prefers making the Prince of Wales Regent to having a council of Regency. Two pages of Ads to the last two pages of the Pamphlet by the Publisher by J. Debrett. Red and Blue marbled paper wrappers, very clean throughout, last page brown stained with age. There are a very few surviving copies of the Pamphlet of 1788, in Universities, National Libraries in Great Britain, in their Pamphlet, the last two pages of Ads are missing, in this Pamphlet the last two pages of Ads are present. Highly collectable, rare and scarce in Pamphlet form, no other complete copies to be found. 


    A Pamphlet or Tract is a small booklet or leaflet containing information or arguments about a single subject. A Pamphlet or Tract is also an unbound sheet of paper without a hard-cover or binding It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a leaflet, or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddled stabled (staples into the spine ) at the crease to make a simple booklet. The pamphlet form of literature has been used for centuries as an economical vehicle for the broad distribution of information. Also due to their low cost and ease of production, Pamphlets have often been used to popularise political or religious ideas. Ephemeral (Pamphlets or Tracts) and to wide array of political or religious perspectives given voice by the format's ease of production, Pamphlets are prized by many Book Collectors, Research Libraries, Private Institutions such as Universities. Substantial accumulations have been amassed and transferred to ownership of academic Research Libraries around the world. Also Pamphlets or Tracts were printed on scarce paper at the time, so when finished were more often then not used as toilet paper, (toilet paper at the time was non existent,) or also used to start a home fire, so paper Pamphlets or Tracts rarely survived, hence there greater value. 

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The Blessedness of those who are Persecuted for Righteous Sake, A Discourse 1792 ;- by  Rev. J.  Edwards

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The Blessedness of those who are Persecuted for Righteous Sake, A Discourse 1792 ;- by  Rev. J.  Edwards


    The blessedness of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake; a discourse, delivered at the first meeting of the congregation at Kingswood, subsequent to the riots: ... In the Union Chapel, in Livery-Street, Birmingham; The Sunday before——and in the Chapel, in High -Street, Warwick, The Sunday after, the Assizes at that Place. By the Rev. J. Edwards. (Rev. John Edwards)
    With 48 pages, the final advertisement leaf with Publisher’s Ads. 1st. Edition Pamphlet, Published in Birmingham 1792 by John Thompson; and sold by J. Johnson, London, 1792. The Title of the Pamphlet “The blessedness of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake; is from the King James Bible, and reads “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Matthew 5:10
    The Priestley Riots (also known as the Birmingham Riots of 1791) took place from 14 July to 17 July 1791 in Birmingham, England the rioters' main targets were Religious Dissenters, most notably the politically and theologically controversial Joseph Priestley, Priestley engaged in numerous political and Religious Pamphlet wars.Joseph Priestley entered each controversy with a cheerful conviction that he was right, while most of his opponents were convinced, from the outset, that he was wilfully and maliciously wrong, Priestley rarely ever altered his opinion. Priestley wanted to return Christianity to its "primitive" or "pure" form by eliminating the "corruptions" which had accumulated over the centuries. Also Priestley believed that the Corruptions was "the most valuable" work he ever published. In demanding that his readers apply the logic of the emerging sciences and comparative history to the Bible and Christianity, he alienated religious and scientific readers alike—scientific readers did not appreciate seeing science used in the defence of religion and religious readers dismissed the application of science to religion.
    Both local and national issues stirred the passions of the rioters, from disagreements over public library book purchases, to controversies over Dissenters' attempts to gain full civil rights and their support of the French Revolution. The riots started with an attack on Birmingham’s Royal Hotel, the site of a banquet organised in sympathy with the French Revolution. Then, beginning with Priestley's church and home, the rioters attacked or burned four Dissenting chapels, twenty-seven houses, and several businesses. Many of them became intoxicated by liquor that they found while looting, or with which they were bribed to stop burning homes. A small core could not be bribed, however, and remained sober. The rioters burned not only the homes and chapels of Dissenters, but also the homes of people they associated with Dissenters, such as members of the scientific Lunar Society. Joseph Priestley's founder a new Christian denomination, called Unitarianism, with his friend Theophilus Lindsey. In 1780 the Priestley moved to Birmingham and spent a happy decade surrounded by old friends, until they were forced to flee in 1791 by religiously motivated mob violence in what became known as The Priestley Riots.
    A Pamphlet or Tract is a small booklet or leaflet containing information or arguments about a single subject. A Pamphlet or Tract is also an unbound sheet of paper without a hard-cover or binding It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a leaflet, or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddled stabled (staples into the spine ) at the crease to make a simple booklet. The pamphlet form of literature has been used for centuries as an economical vehicle for the broad distribution of information. Also due to their low cost and ease of production, Pamphlets have often been used to popularise political or religious ideas. Ephemeral (Pamphlets or Tracts) and to wide array of political or religious perspectives given voice by the format's ease of production, Pamphlets are prized by many Book Collectors, Research Libraries, Private Institutions such as Universities. Substantial accumulations have been amassed and transferred to ownership of academic Research Libraries around the world. Also Pamphlets or Tracts were printed on scarce paper at the time, so when finished were more often then not used as toilet paper, (toilet paper at the time was non existent,) or also used to start a home fire, so paper Pamphlets or Tracts rarely survived, hence there greater value.

The Plays of William Shakespeare, Editor Dr. Samuel Johnson 

The Plays of William Shakespeare, Editor Dr. Samuel Johnson 

in Eight Volumes with the Corrections and Illustrations of Various Commentators; to which is added Notes by Sam. (Samuel) Johnson. 1768
The great Samuel Johnson  Edition;- Published in London, by H. Woodfall in 1768 C. Bathurst, J. Beecroft, W. Strahan, J. and F. Rivington [and 22 others] - 7 volumes of 8 Volumes, (Volume 4 is missing). The  First Johnson Editions. With Portrait frontispiece of William Shakespeare and Samuel Johnson's Preface to the beginning of Volume 1. This 1st. Edition by Samuel Johnson was the variorum edition of William Shakespeare and the foundation was laid for hundreds of subsequent issues over the many years since Samuel Johnson published his edition in 1768. In Volume 1 is Mr Pope's Preface: Mr Theobald's Preface: Sir T Hanmer's Preface: Dr Warburton's Preface: Some Account of the Life of Mr William Shakespeare written by Mr Rowe : Shakespeare's Will: ending with a poem Memory of my beloved the Author, Mr William Shakespeare, and a Poem “What He Hath Left Us” by Ben Johnson.
Full period brown leather to all volumes with the use of gilt, to all the spines,  tooled extensive in blind and in gold gilt decorations which is  profusely used along all 7 spines and the gilt decorations is used again as an elaborate border to all volumes, the front and back of each volume. Volume 4 is sadly missing. Samuel Johnson's Shakespeare: - A Landmark of Literary Scholarship, Adam Smith is said to have called it "the most manly piece of criticism that was ever published in any country".  These works of William Shakespeare were published, and presumably distributed to Subscribers, on 10 October 1765, at 2 guineas a copy ... The reception was almost uniformly favourable” A nice 7 Volume set of Eight in stunning original bindings. The Bookplate inside the front covers  to all 7 volumes of John Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley 1766 – 23 October 1850. The Stanley Family were probably one of the Subscribers who ordered a set of Samuel Johnson's Shakespeare, probably John Thomas Stanley’s, Father, Sir John Thomas Stanley, 6th Baronet. The Samuel Johnson's Shakespeare was used for reading at their stately home for both of his sons, John Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley of Alderley younger  brother was Edward Stanley, the Bishop of Norwich. A great clean collectable set, Rare and Scarce,  even with volume 4 missing... A fair price, including postage and insurance free worldwide... $2,850 



It was known that Samuel Johnson had been working on this edition of Shakespeare, on and off, for over twenty years. But his most important preliminary work was really the English Dictionary. In the late 1740s Johnson read the complete works of William Shakespeare in Warburton's 1747 edition, and marked out over 20,000 words, the meanings of which he found well illustrated in their Shakespearean contexts. In the "Preface" to his edition, Johnson justifies trying to determine the original language of the Shakespearean plays. There are four components to Johnson's Preface to Shakespeare: a discussion of Shakespeare's "greatness" especially in his "portrayal of human nature"; the "faults or weakness" of Shakespeare; Shakespeare's plays in relationship to contemporary poetry and drama; and a history of "Shakespearean criticism and editing down to the mid-1700's" and what his work intends to do.
To benefit the reading audience, he added explanatory notes to various passages. Later editors followed Johnson's lead and sought to determine an authoritative text of Shakespeare. Samuel Johnson came to believe that there was a problem with the collections of Shakespearean plays that were available during his lifetime. He believed that they lacked authoritativeness, because they: “were transcribed for the players by those who may be supposed to have seldom understood them; they were transmitted by copiers equally unskillful, who still multiplied errors; they were perhaps sometimes mutilated by the actors, for the sake of shortening the speeches; and were at last printed without correction of the press:  Samuel Johnson also says in the Preface to the English Dictionary that he took 'the diction of common life' from Shakespeare and Mr. William Tyndale; by arranging it and defining it, Johnson gave us, 'a diffused and unheralded but major work of Shakespearean scholarship'. This Edition of Shakespeare is not merely a spin-off from the English Dictionary, but it belongs to the same series of projects on the history of learning. Samuel Johnson thought that there was an uncanny power in Shakespeare's supernatural scenes and wrote, "He that peruses Shakespeare looks round alarmed and starts to find himself alone”.

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