Rare & Out of Print Books

Back

Rare Books Page 1.

1. George Culley,
Observations on live stock
Price: $300 Buy now

Observations on live stock; containing hints for choosing and improving the best breeds of the most useful kinds of domestic animals. London: printed for G. G. and J. Robinson, 1807. vii(1), 222 pp. + two engraved plates;- the fourth edition, "altered and enlarged;" first published in 1786, and reprinted in 1794. The best-known work by a farmer from Fenton, in Northumberland. The longest chapters here are on sheep and pigs, but there are remarks as well on horses, cattle, rabbits, mules and asses, goats, deer, and poultry. Culley acquired international fame. "Crowds used to visit his farms to see his experiments, which made an epoch in the agricultural history of Northumberland, and his name was given to a celebrated breed of cattle."  With two engraved plates of a ram, one other plate of a Bull, with an Appendix & Index.  stunning rebinded in half tan leather. with gilt label to the spine. Rare in such fine condition.

2. Silva, John Evelyn 
Or a Discourse of Forest-Trees, and the Propagation of Timber.; Terra, A Philosophical Essay of the Earth . To Which is Annexed Pomona, or an Appendix Regarding Fruit Trees; Acetaria: Or, a Discourse of Sallets, With Kalendarium Hortense.
Price: $700 Buy now

London: for Robert Scott; Richard Chiswell; George Sawbridge; and Benj. Tooke,, 1706. and the Propagation of Timber In His Majesty's Dominions... Together with an Historical Account of the Sacredness and Use of Standing Groves Terra, A Philosophical Essay of Earth, being a Lecture in Course. To which is annexed Pomona: or, an Appendix concerning Fruit-Trees, in relation to Cyder... Also Acetaria: Or, a Discourse of Sallets. With Kalendarium Hortense; or the Gard'ners Almanack... All which several Treatises are in this Fourth Edition much Inlarg'd and Improv'd, By the Author... Folio (310 × 203 mm). Rebound to half tan leather;- A good clean copy. First edition, published the year of Evelyn's death. Though this is styled as the fourth edition of Sylva (1st ed., 1664), in fact this volume gathers together for the first time all Evelyn's various published treatises arising from the composition of the Elysium Britannicum, an encyclopaedic history of gardens and gardening practices that occupied Evelyn for most of his life. Evelyn's enthusiasm for horticulture in particular, both in his own garden at Sayes Court and in his correspondence and publications, translated continental ideas into England and laid the groundwork for the English landscape garden of the 18th century.

3. Bram STOKER
The Lady of the Shroud
Price : $500 Buy now

William Heinemann, London 1909 - First edition. Red leather re-bound. A lovely copy of this uncommon horror novel.1909. Bram Stoker wrote numerous novels, short stories, essays, and lectures, but Dracula is by far his most famous work. Stoker coined the term undead, and his interpretation of vampire folklore continues to this day to shape the portrayals of legendary monsters. Contents: From The Journal of Occultism; The Will of Roger Melton; Vissarion; The Coming of the Lady; Under the Flagstaff; A Ritual at Midnight; The Pursuit in the Forest; The Empire of the Air; The Flashing of the Handjar; and Balka. This Novel is very Rare in 1st. London Edition of 1909

4. Observationum Medicinalium
Price : $700 Buy now

Observationum Medicinalium Haud Trivialium, Libri Quatour. In Quibus Variae Morborum, Interiores et Exteriores Corporis Humanivartes 1st. Edition of 1651, byUlmae, ( i.e. Ulm). Sumptibus Johannis Gerlini Bibliopolae;- 4to. (16) 368pp. (24) Contemporary vellum, yapp edges, lettered in manuscript. stunning condition of this rare early medical book...Ink Stamp of Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland to title and occasionally to text. Printed in Latin;- Augustin Thoner 1567-1655, practising Physician and Director of the College of Ulm, Unpublished until well into his seventies. This Rare Book comprises Four Book of Medical Observations and anther two of Specific Consultations & Medical Index to the back pages;- Rare in this fine condition...

5. 
Compositions from the Works, Days, And Theogony of Hesiod;- by John Flaxman, William Blake;-
​Two Volumes in One
Price ;-$850 Buy Now 

Compositions from the Works, Days, And Theogony of Hesiod;- by John Flaxman, William Blake;- Designed by John Flaxman, R.A. P.S.;- Published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown. London Jan 1. 1817;- - a very scarce volume of plates relating to Hesiod's Works and Days. Designed by John Flaxman and originally engraved by William Blake. With 37 plates included;- 
        
    Part two of two in one volume is Titled “ Compositions from the Tragedies of Aeschylus” Designed by John Flaxman, Engraved by Tommaso Piroli, and Frank Howard, with 36 engraved Plates;- Published in April 15th. 1831, by Mrs. Flaxman & Mrs. Maria Denman;- Maria Denman was a publisher/printer; printmaker; painter and Female draughtsman; The two Women published after John Flaxman’s death his unpublished drawings from there home at 74, Upper Norton Street, Fitzroy Square, London. Anne Flaxman  was the wife of John Flaxman nee  Anne Denman, Maria Denman, was John Flaxman’s sister-in-law. The Neo-classical sculptor John Flaxman was known throughout Europe for his innovative drawing style and for his sculptures. The style and design is Flaxman’s own invention, derived from Greek vases; superfluous detail is suppressed in favour of pure outline. A two in one volume of Large landscape format, oblong folio, approximately 10.5" x 17" inches, some foxing on all pages, which is to be expected considering the way paper was made at the time, otherwise the engravings are in very good condition. Marble end papers, full morocco red leather binding, with gilt & blind filet borders, blind decorations, roll borders outside a large tooled gilt border of shamrocks, acorns, oak leaves and foliage. Spine in panels, decorated in gilt bands. In good collectable condition.​

    In 1792, whilst on his seven-year sojourn in Italy, with his wife, Anne, John Flaxman was commissioned by the art collector and connoisseur Thomas Hope to produce 109 illustrations of Dante's "Divine Comedy" to be engraved. Concurrently Flaxman was commissioned and worked on illustrations for Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by other important Patrons. The latter works were by far both the most lucrative and significant for Flaxman's immediate status, as Hope commissioned the Dante illustrations for his own private consumption. He had the drawings bound as a volume and the engravings, by Tommaso Piroli, circulated only within a very limited group of his friends and acquaintances. By contrast the Homer illustrations were published publicly first in Italy in 1793, the "Iliad" in England in 1795 and new editions of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey", with an additional new eleven plates between them, in England in 1805. Hope later sold Tommaso Piroli's copper plates of the Dante engravings to the publisher Longman & Co in 1807 who then printed and publicly circulated an English edition. John Flaxman’s drawing shows the influence of early Italian art in the monumentality of the figures - Dante especially - and the schematic draperies. This drawing of the apparition of the blessed shows more lights and is more complex than the final engraving, which is much simplified. This composition engraved by Tommaso Piroli and published May 1st, 1807, London, from drawings in the possession of Thomas Hope.

---

​6. John Flaxman, William Blake;- 
“The Iliad of Homer”
Price: $1,250 Buy now

John Flaxman, William Blake;- “The Iliad of Homer”
      Published in  London by Longman, Hurst, Rees, & Orme,  1st. Edition in England of 1805. An Oblong folio. Engraved title and 75 full page outline engravings. Large landscape format, oblong folio, approximately 10.5" x 17" inches, some foxing on all pages, which is to be expected considering the way paper was made at the time, otherwise the engravings are in very good condition. Marble end papers, full morocco red leather binding, with gilt & blind filet borders, blind decorations, roll borders outside a large tooled gilt border of shamrocks, acorns, oak leaves and foliage. Spine in panels, decorated in gilt bands. In good collectable condition. Plates 1, 2, and 5 Engravings are by William Blake. Plate 1, Homer Invoking the Muse,. Plate 2, Minerva Repressing The Fury of Achilles, Plate 5, Thetis Entreating Jupiter to Honour Achilles;-  Most copies of this book, have only 39 plates this 1st. edition has a 75 full plates, including Title-page. Designed by John Flaxman R.A.; Some Plates Engraved by Tommaso Piroli; William Blake; and James Parker;-

    A revered artist in both his home country of Britain and continental Europe during the early 17th and late 18th centuries, John Flaxman was a prolific artist who created works of sculpture, illustrations and designs for the world-famous potter Josiah Wedgwood. The Neoclassical period occurred during the late 18th and early 19th century in England and continental Europe. It developed in a decorative and artistic sense as a reaction to the over-zealous decoration and often fussy compositions of the Rococo and Baroque styles of the first half of the 18th century. There was a heavy influence from Ancient Greco-Roman art which was entering England from Italy and Greece through archaeological excavations. Such material was commonly collected by members of the British upper classes or 'Grand Tourists', who travelled around the continent for both pleasure and education. Neoclassicism as an artistic style consisted of clean lines and uncomplicated designs, whilst sculptures copied the realistic nature of their Roman counterparts, producing beautifully ethereal figures in marble. John Flaxman used sparse composition, with a great deal of symmetry and balance. The almost two-dimensional aspect of the artist's illustrations and the stilted way in which objects far away are portrayed suggest that John Flaxman preferred working with objects close to the viewer. Almost like a snapshot in time, with the viewer witnessing the action first hand. John Flaxman was heavily influenced by a range of factors surrounding his upbringing and life in Britain at the turn of the 19th-century. They include the artistic reaction to the complicated Rococo style which dominated the early 18th century with the influx of Greek and Roman artefacts brought to Britain by the wealthy Grand Tourists of the age. Objects coming into Britain from Italy and Greece from archaeological excavations started to become highly collectable pieces for the British upper classes and Flaxman took inspiration from what was known as this "pure" form of art. In many cases, John Flaxman himself admits simply copying the compositions on ancient pottery. Certainly for some of his designs for Wedgwood, they were supposed to be close replicas of one-off pieces which most people could not get hold of. Red and black-figure-ware pottery from classical Greece certainly seem to be the basis of Flaxman's classic illustrations and Jasper-ware designs.
    In 1792, whilst on his seven-year sojourn in Italy, with his wife, Anne, John Flaxman was commissioned by the art collector and connoisseur Thomas Hope to produce 109 illustrations of Dante's "Divine Comedy" to be engraved. Concurrently Flaxman was commissioned and worked on illustrations for Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" by other important Patrons. The latter works were by far both the most lucrative and significant for Flaxman's immediate status, as Hope commissioned the Dante illustrations for his own private consumption. He had the drawings bound as a volume and the engravings, by Tommaso Piroli, circulated only within a very limited group of his friends and acquaintances. By contrast the Homer illustrations were published publicly first in Italy in 1793, the "Iliad" in England in 1795 and new editions of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey", with an additional new eleven plates between them, in England in 1805. Hope later sold Tommaso Piroli's copper plates of the Dante engravings to the publisher Longman & Co in 1807 who then printed and publicly circulated an English edition. ​

7. Boerhaave, Herman
Price : $2,000 Buy now

Boerhaave's Aphorisms: Concerning the Knowledge and Cure of Diseases. Translated From the Last Latin Edition. With Useful Observations and Explanations;-

Exceedingly Rare.  London: Published for W, Innys at the West End of St. Paul... 1742. "Herman Boerhaave The Netherlands One of the most influential clinicians and teachers of the 18th century, Boerhaave spent almost his entire life in Leiden, which became a leading medical centre of Europe. Like Thomas Sydenham (1624-1689) he helped to revive the Hippocratic method of bedside instruction; he further insisted on post-mortem examination of patients whereby he demonstrated the relation of symptoms to lesions. Boerhaave's syndrome, the spontaneous oesophageal rupture, was named so because of his description of a Great Admiral of the Dutch Fleet who overate and experienced a spontaneous rupture of the oesophagus following vomiting. He thus instituted the clinico-pathological conference still in use today. Boerhaave's fame was enormous, extending far beyond Europe to China. Skilled as physician, botanist, chemist and anatomist, he adhered to no single tradition but combined the best features of the mechanistic and chemical schools in his own brand of eclecticism. His methods of instruction were spread throughout Europe by a host of students. Two of his writings, the Institutiones Medicinae (1708) and the Elementa Chemiae (1732) remained standard textbooks for decades.

A scarce early edition of Dr. Herman Boerhaave's third work, originally published in 1709. Herman Boerhaave (1668 1738) was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. With useful observations and explanations, Boerhaave's Aphorisms cover everything from fever and inflammation to pleurisy and ulcers. A Table of Matters or Index to the back of the book..a clean tidy copy of an exceedingly rare book;-

8. CULPEPER, Nicholas.
A Physical DIRECTORY
Price: $2,500 Buy now

or a Translation of the London Dispensatory Made by the Colledge of Physicians in London. Being that Book by which all Apothicaries are strictly commanded to make all their Physick with many hundred additions ... Also there is added the use of all the simples ... London: Peter Cole, 1649. 1st.Edition, a translation from the Latin of the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis (1618) of the College of Physicians. Small quarto.  A frontispiece portrait ( facsimile of Culpepper and extensive index to back pages. A stunning rare book in  Contemporary calf binding, rubbed and a little worn at extremities,  otherwise a fine copy of a very collectable book. 

Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) was a Parliamentarian, wounded in the Civil War. He studied at Cambridge and apprenticed with two different apothecaries. In 1640 he began practice as a physician- astrologer, a practice not unusual for doctors of his day. He often treated the poor without charging for his service, and felt that everyone should have access to information about materia medica. The College of Physicians, feeling it held a monopoly on the official dispensatory, was angered when he published this unauthorized English-language translation of the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis and attacked his character. In spite of his astrological leanings, he was considered a competent physician and was a prolific writer of medical manuals. A rare title, it is offered as is.

CULPEPER, NICHOLAS (1616–1654), writer on astrology and medicine, was son of Nicholas Culpeper, a clergyman beneficed in Surrey and a kinsman of the Culpeper family settled at Wakehurst, Sussex. He was born in London 18 Oct. 1616; went to Cambridge in 1634 for a short time; obtained a good knowledge of Latin and Greek; studied the old medical writers; was apprenticed to an apothecary of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate; and about 1640 set up for himself as an astrologer and physician in Red Lion Street, Spitalfields. He supported the parliamentarians and the religious sectaries, and is reported to have engaged in at least one battle in the civil war on the parliamentary side, where he was seriously wounded in the chest. He does not appear to have relinquished his medical practice for any length of time during the war, and acquired a high reputation among patients in the east of London. In 1649 Culpeper brought himself into wider note by publishing an English translation of the College of Physicians' ‘Pharmacopœia’ under the title of ‘A Physical Directory, or a Translation of the London Dispensatory. By Nich. Culpeper, gent. (London: Printed for Peter Cole).’ A portrait of the translator is subscribed ‘In Effigiem Nicholai Culpeper, Equitis.’ This unauthorised translation excited the indignation of the College of Physicians, which was fully reflected in the royalist periodical, ‘Mercurius Pragmaticus,’ pt. ii. No. 21 (4–9 Sept. 1649). The book is there described as ‘done (very filthily) into English by one Nicholas Culpeper,’ who ‘commenced the several degrees of Independency, Brownisme, Anabaptisme; admitted himself of John Goodwin's schoole (of all ungodlinesse) in Coleman Street; after that he turned Seeker, Manifestarian, and now he is arrived at the battlement of an absolute Atheist, and by two yeeres drunken labour hath Gallimawfred the apothecaries book into nonsense, mixing every receipt therein with some scruples, at least, of rebellion or atheisme, besides the danger of poysoning men's bodies. And (to supply his drunkenness and leachery with a thirty shilling reward) endeavoured to bring into obloquy the famous societies of apothecaries and chyrurgeons.’ The translation has none of the defects here attributed to it, and the abuse was obviously inspired by political opponents and the societies whose monopolies Culpeper was charged with having infringed. In 1652 a broadside was issued entitled ‘A Farm in Spittlefields where all the knick-knacks of Astrology are exposed to open sale. Where Nicholas Culpeper brings under his velvet jacket: 1. His Chalinges against the Doctors of Physick; 2. A Pocket Medicine; 3. An Abnormal Circle,’ &c. Second and third editions of the ‘Directory’ appeared in 1650 and 1651 respectively. In 1654 Culpeper renamed the book ‘Pharmacopœia Londinensis, or the London Dispensatory. Further adorned by the Studies and Collections of the Fellows now living of the said Colledge, by Nich. Culpeper, gent., student in physick and astrology, living in Spittlefields, near London. Printed by a well-wisher to the Commonwealth of England,’ 1654. In September 1653 Culpeper again trespassed on the monopoly claimed by the recognised medical writers by publishing (with Peter Cole) a book entitled ‘The English Physician Enlarged, with 369 medicines made of English Herbs that were not in any impression until this. The Epistle will inform you how to know this impression from any other.’ This work, like its predecessor, had an enormous sale. An edition of 1661 was edited by Abdiah Cole. Five editions appeared before 1698, and it was reissued in 1802 and 1809. Other books which appeared in Culpeper's lifetime were: 1. ‘Semeiotica Uranica, or an Astronomicall Judgment of Diseases,’ based on Arabic and Greek medical writings, 1651. 2. ‘A Directory for Midwives,’ 1651. 3. ‘Galen's Art of Physic,’ 1652. 4. ‘Catastrophe Magnatum, or the Fall of Monarchy,’ 1652. 5. ‘Idea Universalis Medica Practica,’ Amsterdam, 1652, (in English) 1669. 6. ‘An Ephemeris for 1653,’ 1653. 7. ‘Anatomy,’ 1654. 8. ‘A New Method of Physic,’ 1654. Active medical practice and the composition of these works, all of which embodied much research, ruined Culpeper's health, and he died of consumption.

9. The English Physician
Nicholas Culpepper
Price: $300 Buy now

  Enlarged with Three Hundred and Sixty-Nine Medicines, Made of English Herbs, That were not in any Impression until This. Being An Astrologo-Physical Discourse of the Vulgar Herbs of this Nation.

Early Edition. 1806  Small octavo, rebound in half-leather binding, leather spine label. Continued from the title: "containing a complete Method of Physic, whereby a Man may preserve his Body in Health, or cure himself, being Sick, for Three-pence Charge, with such Things only as grow in England, they being most fit for English Bodies. Herein is also shewed, 1. The Way of making Plasters, Ointments, Oils, Poultices, Syrups, Decoctions, Juleps, or Waters, of all sorts of physical Herbs, that you may have them ready for your Use at all Times of the Year. -2. What Planet governeth every Herb or Tree (used in Physic) that groweth in England. Rare copy of a very eary book on english medical. Condition clean and complete with The Table of Diseases to the back pages.

10. Tales of the Great St. Bernard, George Croly
Price $500 - Buy now

   Published in London:  by Henry Colburn, 18281828 1st. Edition in 3 hardcover volumes;  Published by  "Volume I": The Squire's Tale and The Wallachian's Tale. 336 pages. "Volume II": The Wallachian's Tale continued, and The Captain's Tale. 336 pages. "Volume III": The Captain's Tale continued, The Augustine's Tale, The Englishman's Tale, The Spaniard's Tale, and The Italian's Tale. Original paper-boards uncut. In original cardboard box. fine condition, with the 3 pages list of Just Published Works by Henry Colburn, Publisher to the back of volumne 3. Rare in this collectable condition.

Rev. George Croly (1780-1860) The son of a physician, George Croly attended Trinity College Dublin (B.A. 1800, M.A. 1804, LL.D. 1831); he held a curacy in Ireland before coming to London in 1810. Croly contributed to Blackwood's and a variety Tory papers; after moderate success as a poet he achieved popular success with his novel Salathiel (1828). Preferment came late in life and from an unexpected source: in 1835 Lord Brougham secured him a London parish, St. Stephens Church, Walbrook.

11. James Smith
Price $650 Buy now

The Panorama of Science and Art; Embracing the Sciences of Aerostation, Agriculture and Gardening, Architecture, Astronomy, Chemistry, Electricity, Galvanism, Hydrostatics and Hydraulics, Magnetism, Mechanics,Optics and Pneumatics; Etc Etc.

 Published by Caxton Press by Henry Fisher, 1813-1815 - 3 volumes complete. Illustrated by one Hundred and Eight Copperplate Engravings; with a Copious Analytical Index.engraved plates including many foldout plates in the 3 vol. Beautifully rebound in half dark brown leather with a red label with gilt lettering to each of the Volume’s spine. Containing two hundred and thirteen articles, selected and original, arranged under the following heads: I. Manufactures and Trade, II. Philosophical Apparatus and the Fine Arts, III. Rural and Domestic Economy, and Miscellanies. Illustrated by one hundred and six copperplate engravings; with a copious analytical index. With numerous fold-out plates  a wide variety of inventions. This work provides a fascinating insight into early 19th Century technology and innovation. This is a stunning and very Rare collection of books.

12. Henry DENNY
Monographia Pselaphidarum et Scydmænidarum Britanniæ:
or An Essay on the British Species of the Genera Pselapus, of Herbst, and Scydmænus, of Latreille:
 in which those Genera are Subdivided, and All the Species Hitherto Discovered in Great Britain are Accurately Described and Arranged, with an Indication of the Situations in which they are Usually Found: Each Species Illustrated by a Highly Magnified Figure.1825
Price $2,000 Buy now

Monographia Pselaphidarum et Scydmænidarum Brittanniæ or etc.. With 14 hand-coloured engraved plates, each with tissue guard.   Published by  S. Wilkin, in Norwich, 1825. Stunning life size illustrations, hand-coloured. Original brown leather spine & corners with gilt lettering alone the spine. A very fine copy of a very rare book. Highly Collected. A List of Subscribers to the front pages. Scarce in such fine condition.

Henry DENNY, (1803–1871), entomologist, was for forty-five years curator of the museum of the Literary and Philosophical Society in Leeds. Before his appointment he had published at Norwich in 1825 a monograph on the British species of the genus Pselaphus of Herbst. The peculiar direction thus given to his studies was followed for the rest of his life, and Denny, while duly performing his modest duties of curator, made himself a leading authority on the subject of the parasitic insects which infest man and beast. He was the first salaried curator of the Leeds Museum, and thoroughly identified himself with the interests of that institution. The well-known entomologist Kirby, to whom Denny dedicated his first monograph, endeavoured to secure for the latter employment on a serial publication projected by him for the illustration, by means of coloured plates, of his ‘Introduction to Entomology.’ The negotiations with the publishers on this subject, however, came to naught. The British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1842 made a grant to Denny of fifty guineas for the purpose of assisting him in the study of British Anoplura.

Denny died at Leeds on 7 March 1871, at the age of sixty-eight, and a fund amounting to £883l. was raised by subscription for the benefit of his widow and younger children. His published writings are: 1. ‘Monographia Pselaphorum et Scydmænorum Britanniæ; or an Essay on the British species of the genera Pselaphus of Herbst, and Scydmænus of Latreille,’ Norwich, 1825, 8vo. 2. ‘Monographia Anoplurorum Britanniæ; or an Essay on the British species of Parasitic Insects belonging to the order Anoplura of Leach,’ London, 1842, 8vo.

13. 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.
 

14. Robert Heath (1650) Poems and Songs
Price $200 Buy now

   Published by   J. R. Tutin, 1905. First Edition. Softcover. Fair Condition/Jacket & Ephemera Covers;- Published in a limited edition of 666 copies. bound together with others. A very fine copy of a very scarce book with all the Poets in one...

 Including in this First Edition are Works by Henry Reynolds;-(1632) ‘ The Tales of Narcissus’;- 1906;- Anne Countess of Winchilsea;=(1713) ‘Selected Poems’;- 1906;- ‘Poor  Robin’s Almanack’ ‘Selected Poets’= and ‘ A Calendar of British Poets’ 1906. Rare & scarce.

15.Mémoires pour servir a L'Histoire de la Guerre entre la France et la Russie, en 1812; Avec un Atlas Militaire. Par un Officier de L'État-Major de L'Armée Francaise. 2 vols. (1. Contenant les Mémoires - 2. Contenant L'Atlas Militaire). by General Frederic-Guillaume Vaudoncourt. 1817
Price : $2,650 Buy now

Memoirs for a History of the War between France and Russia, in 1812; With Military Atlas. By an Officer of the General Staff of the French Army. 2 vols. (1 Containing Memoirs -. 2. Container Atlas Military, Battle plans some outlined in red of attacking Armies and opposing Armies). 
Published in Paris;- by Barrois L’Aine, 1817;- 2 Volumes ;- Second Volume calls for 14 Maps; but this Scarce / Rare Volume has 15 Fold-out maps in perfect condition;- Bound in fine original antique parchment with old hand-written script to front and back of the binding, the hand-written notes on the binding parchment are in English, the name Brownlow, Bishop of Winchester at the time, a date of 1817 is on Volume 1, and George IV and the Bishop of Winchester, 1823 on Volume 2, the Russia Campaign Maps. 
General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt was one of the best informed officers that ever had written books on Military Affairs. Guillaume de Vaudoncourt was born in Vienna, Austria of French Parents, in 1772; and educated in Berlin, in The Kingdom of Prussia . After this Military education, Guillaume de Vaudoncourt went and lived in France in 1786. He entered the French Army in 1791, and gradually rose to the grade of General. General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt served with great distinction in various Campaigns of Napoleon Bonaparte who made use of his talents including political affairs. General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt missions were various under Napoleon Bonaparte, whenever he was sent by his Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt behaved and served with great honour, and on elf the few Army Officers who abstained entirely from obtaining or enriching himself or family. Because of General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt training in Germany as a Military Officer , he was well received when he had to leave France after the restoration of the Bourbons. General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt had written numerous books, some of which appeared in London at the time. General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt most famous woks were “Histoire des Campagnes d’Annibal en Italie,” a 3 volume set with a few maps, published in Milan in Italy at the time. This work was very well received for his facts and research, what was extraordinary was General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt precise route Hannibal had taken was considered by many experts as masterly. General Guillaume de Vaudoncourt other extraordinary book was his first hand book on the campaign in Russia with General Bonaparte. “Mémoires pour servir a L’Histoire de la Guerre entre la France et la Russie, en 1812; Avec un Atlas Militaire. Par un Officier de L’État-Major de L’Armée Francaise. in 2 volumns, plus the campaign military maps used by General Bonaparte in Russia, considered one of the best military book’s with their original Maps on the campaign in Russia used by General Bonaparte and his Generals. The two Books are in French;- 1st. Edition;-Highly collectable with the campaign in Russia used by General Bonaparte and his Generals, the maps intact and very fine condition. Fine collectable set of 2 books;-








​
​

16. Justinian LAW
Digestum Vetus seu Pandectarum Juris Civilis…
Tomus Primus. Commentates Accursii..Antonii Persii..
Editio Postroma. Venice 1575.
Price $25,000 Buy now

Large 8vo. Re-Binded in full dark leather; Printed in red and black. 2 folding woodcuts. Very Rare. This edition not found in The British Library Catalogue or COPAC.;- A must for any serious collector. The collections of laws and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from ad 529 to 565. Strictly speaking, the works did not constitute a new legal code. Rather, Justinian’s committees of jurists provided basically two reference works containing collections of past laws and extracts of the opinions of the great Roman jurists. Also included were an elementary outline of the law and a collection of Justinian’s own new laws. The Justinian code consists of four books: (1) Codex Constitutionum, (2) Digesta, or Pandectae, (3) Institutiones, and (4) Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem. Work on the Codex Constitutionum began soon after Justinian’s accession in 527, when he appointed a 10-man commission to go through all the known ordinances, or “constitutions,” issued by the emperors, weed out the contradictory and obsolescent material, and adapt all provisions to the circumstances of that time. The resultant 10-book Codex Constitutionum was promulgated in 529, all imperial ordinances not included in it being repealed. In 534 a new commission issued a revised Codex (Codex Repetitae Praelectionis) containing 12 books; the revisions were based partly on Justinian’s own new legislation. The Digesta was drawn up between 530 and 533 by a commission of 16 lawyers, under the presidency of the jurist Tribonian. They collected and examined all the known writings of all the authorized jurists; extracted from them whatever was deemed valuable, generally selecting only one extract on any given legal point; and rephrased the originals whenever necessary for clarity and conciseness. The results were published in 50 books, each book subdivided into titles. All juridical statements not selected for the Digesta were declared invalid and were thenceforth never to be cited at law. The Institutiones, compiled and published in 533 under Tribonian’s supervision and relying on such earlier texts as those of Gaius, was an elementary textbook, or outline, of legal institutions for the use of first-year law students. The Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem (or simply, in English, the Novels) comprised several collections of new ordinances issued by Justinian himself between 534 and 565, after publication of the revised Codex. Latin was the language of all the works except the Novels, which were almost all published in Greek, though official Latin translations existed for the western Roman provinces. Justinian achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of all Roman law, something that had not previously been attempted. The total of Justinian's legislature is known today as the Corpus juris civilis. It consists of the Codex Justinianus, the Digesta or Pandectae, the Institutiones, and the Novellae. Early in his reign, Justinian appointed the quaestor Tribonian to oversee this task. The first draft of the Codex Justinianus, a codification of imperial constitutions from the 2nd century onward, was issued on 7 April 529. (The final version appeared in 534.) It was followed by the Digesta (or Pandectae), a compilation of older legal texts, in 533, and by the Institutiones, a textbook explaining the principles of law. The Novellae, a collection of new laws issued during Justinian's reign, supplements the Corpus. As opposed to the rest of the corpus, the Novellae appeared in Greek, the common language of the Eastern Empire. The Corpus forms the basis of Latin jurisprudence (including ecclesiastical Canon Law) and, for historians, provides a valuable insight into the concerns and activities of the later Roman Empire. As a collection it gathers together the many sources in which the leges (laws) and the other rules were expressed or published: proper laws, senatorial consults (senatusconsulta), imperial decrees, case law, and jurists' opinions and interpretations (responsa prudentum). Tribonian's code ensured the survival of Roman law. It formed the basis of later Byzantine law, as expressed in the Basilika of Basil I and Leo VI the Wise. The only western province where the Justinianic code was introduced was Italy (after the conquest, by the so-called Pragmatic Sanction of 554), from where it was to pass to Western Europe in the 12th century and become the basis of much European law code. It eventually passed to Eastern Europe where it appeared in Slavic editions, and it also passed on to Russia. It remains influential to this day.

17. Stellarum Compositarum Mensurae Micrometricae 
by Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve
(Russian: Vasily Yakovlevich Struve) 
(April 15, 1793 – November 23, 1864
Price $25,000 Buy now

Book Description: Stellarum Compositarum Mensurae Micrometricae;- Published in St.-Pétersbourg, 1837. folio, complete with the half-title, some foxing at beginning and end, original boards with paper spine labels, the labels and extremities of boards with areas of wear. A very good copy;- First edition. One of the scarcest of Struve's scientific publications and in a sense a study ancillary to his principal work of astronomical observations. Struve (1793-1864) is remembered by scientific historians for his contributions to geodesy and double-star astronomy. Stellarum Compositarum Mensurae Micrometricae was published in 1837. Struve organised and became the first Director of the Pulkova Observatory in 1839, appointed to the post by Emperor Nicholas I. He remained in post until 1858, when his son Otto succeeded him. It was while there that Struve, in addition to his stellar work, left new and accurate determinations of the constants of aberration, precession, and nutation. He also carried out fundamental geodetic measurements from the Danube to the Arctic Ocean. The present study is a scientific contribution to a better resolution of chronometric accuracy. He notes that, although for at least 20 years there had been rapid advances in chronometric accuracy, there were still technical obstacles to overcome. His Pulkova-Altona expedition was devised to advance the study of time and longitude measurement and to begin to resolve the complexities of absolute time. He used a range of clocks and mobile chronometers and set up temporary testing stations. This is indeed a very Rare Book, and I offer this copy for $25,000. It has three illustrated charts to the back. The book has been restored, but still a rare copy of a famous work. No other copies are available on the world-wide web.

Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve (Russian: Vasily Yakovlevich Struve) (April 15, 1793 – November 23, 1864 (Julian calendar: November 11)) was a Baltic-German astronomer from a famous dynasty of astronomers He was born at Altona then part of Denmark, in what is now Germany, the son of Jacob Struve (1755–1841), and was the second of an entire family of astronomers through five generations. He was the great-grandfather of Otto Struve and the father of Otto Wilhelm von Struve. He was also the grandfather of Hermann Struve, who was Otto Struve's uncle. Struve's father Jacob moved the family from French-occupied Germany to Livonia in Imperial Russia to avoid military service. In 1808 he entered the University of Tartu in Estonia, where he first studied philology, but soon turned his attention to astronomy. From 1813 to 1820, he taught at the university and observed at Dorpat Observatory in Tartu, and in 1820 became a full professor and director of the observatory. Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve remained at Tartu, occupied with research on double stars and geodesy until 1839, when he founded and became director of the new Pulkovo Observatory near St Petersburg. Among other honors, he won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1826, and was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1833. He retired in 1862 due to failing health. The asteroid 768 Struveana was named jointly in his honour and that of Otto Wilhelm and Karl Hermann Struve and a lunar crater was named for another 3 astronomers of the Struve family: Friedrich Georg Wilhelm, Otto Wilhelm and Otto Struve's name is best known for his observations of double stars, which he carried on for many years. Although double stars had been studied earlier by William Herschel and John Herschel and Sir James South, Struve outdid any previous efforts. He discovered a very large number of double stars and in 1827 published his double star catalogue Catalogus novus stellarum duplicium. Since most double stars are true binary stars rather than mere optical doubles (as William Herschel had been the first to discover), they orbit around one another's barycenter and slowly change position over the years. Thus Struve made micrometric measurements of 2714 double stars from 1824 to 1837 and published these in his work Stellarum duplicium et multiplicium mensurae micrometricae.[3] Struve carefully measured the "constant of aberration" in 1843. He was also the first to measure the parallax of Vega, although Friedrich Bessel had been the first to measure the parallax of a star (61 Cygni). In an 1847 work, Etudes d'Astronomie Stellaire: Sur la voie lactee et sur la distance des etoiles fixes, Struve was one of the first astronomers to identify the effects of interstellar extinction (though he provided no mechanism to explain the effect). His estimate of the average rate of visual extinction, 1 mag per kpc, is remarkably close to modern estimates (0.7-1.0 mag per kpc). He was also interested in geodetic surveying, and in 1831 published Beschreibung der Breitengradmessung in den Ostseeprovinzen Russlands. He initiated the Struve Geodetic Arc, which was a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km. UNESCO listed the chain on its List of World Heritage Sites in Europe in 2005. What I offer here is his famous book 

18.
William Camden’s Cornwall and Devonshire 1806;-
Price $350 Buy now

William Camden’s Cornwall and Devonshire 1806;-  With two fold-out Maps of the County of Cornwall and the County of Devonshire. In contemporary green cloth binding, gilt lettering along the spine, “ Camden’s Cornwall and Devonshire 1806. The two Maps are in fine condition an dare by J. Carey. The fold-out Map of Cornwall includes The Scilly Islands. the large folio has several woodcuts throughout it’s 67 pages. With a full page, between page 16 and17 with numerous engravings on the single page. At the end of the  section on the County of Cornwall are “Rare Plants found in Cornwall” pages 29 to 32. And “Rare Plants found in Devonshire” start at pages 66 to 67. A fine clean copy of a rare book on the County of Cornwall and the County of Devonshire. 

19. Delle Allvsioni, Imprese
Delle allvsioni, imprese, et emblemi del Sig. Principio Fabricii da Teramo sopra la vita, opere, et attioni di Gregorio XIII pontefice massimo, libri VI : nei quali sotto l'allegoria del drago, arme del detto pontefice, si descriue anco la uera forma d'un principe Christiano 1588
Price $5,000 Buy now

Delle allusioni, imprese, et emblemi del Sig. Principio Fabricii da Teramo

Author Principio Fabricii 16th cent.-

Other Authors;-Bonifacio, Natale, 1538-1592.

Published In Roma by Appresso Bartolomeo Grassi 1588

by Pope Gregory XIII 1502-1585, & Christian Art and Symbolism;- Emblems;-

Text in Italian, Colophon; Romae, Apud Iacobum Ruffinellum;- to the back page with a list of the signature of the book title within monumental border. 1st. Edition of this Scarce and Rare book;-the only problem is it’s missing pages beginning at 67/79 about 6 pages. Other than that the book is complete.

re-bound in three quarter red leather & red marbled paper, with gilt lettering and decorations to the spine.  A large Index to the back pages..A clean tidy copy of a highly collectable book. No other copies to be found on the world wide net...

back to rare books