back

Rare Books Page 8

1. Lucretius Carus, Titus,
Titi Lucretii Cari
De rerum natura libri sex
Price : $500 Buy now

 Published by Johannis Baskerville / John Baskerville;-  in Birminghamae, 1773, - LUCRETIUS. Titi Lucretii Cari De Rerum Natura, Libri Sex. Birminghamae: typis Johannis Baskerville, MDCCLXXIII. Baskerville Edition. 214 pages;- 541 of 1,000 [Lucretius / Baskerville / Birminghamae / 1773] original tan leather binding, with gilt decorations and lettering to spine;-  All edges gilt. A lovelyLatin edition of Lucretius's epic Epicurean poem "On the Nature of the Universe". A Rare/Scarce copy of a famous Printer;- Fine collectable condition;-

2. Pharmacopoeia Nosocomii Regalis Sancti Bartholomei. 
(Latin Edition) 1793
Price : $1,500 Buy now

Published in London;- 1793;- 1st. edition;- No Info. on the Publisher. Scare/Rare;- St. Bartholomew's Hospital A system of materia medica and pharmacy;- Original brown leather binding, with gilt decoration, both on the covers and spine. No other copies to be found anywhere on the world wide web..

Medical theory and practice of the 1700s developed rapidly, as is evidenced by the extensive collection, which includes descriptions of diseases, their conditions, and treatments. Books on science and technology, agriculture, military technology, natural philosophy, even cookbooks, are all contained here. fine collectable condition;-

3. Aaron Penley, , 1807-1870.
A System of Water Colour Painting :
Price : $100 Buy now
Being a Complete Exposition of the Present Advanced State of the Art, As Exhibited in the Works of the Modern Water Colour School. By Aaron Penley. LONDON : 1869
Bound in with
Half-Hour Lectures on Drawing and Painting;-
by Henry Warren;- 
2 books in one.

Both books Published in London:  by Windsor and Newton, 38 Rathbone Place, 1850;- 1st. Edition;- Second Book is Third Edition;- Second books has 17 full page Illustrations within; 1st. books has an Index;- Original brown leather spine with leather corners; purple cloth covers, Gilt decorations and lettering to the spine 7 gilt lines to the borders of the spine and the corners;- A fine collectable book on Art. The illustrations are stunning and all present;

4. John Brown;-
Arthur H. Hallam.
Price : $50 Buy now

Published by  Edmonston and Douglas,;- in Edinburgh 1862 - First Separate Edition. Blue morocco grain cloth, stamped in gilt to front cover, Black leather spine and corners, with gilt decorations along the spine. Engraving of Clevedon Church within title page;- “I hold it true, whate’er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; ‘Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all.’

The first extended notice of Hallam, published in periodical form in 1851 and later in Brown's Horae Subsecivae, so not a scarce text, but certainly very uncommon in this form, with only the National Library of Scotland and Harvard copies in NSTC. A fine copy of a good book;-

5. M. Saint- Pierre.
The Indian Cottage
or
A Search after the Truth
Price : SOLD

Published by  William Lane;- London 1791;- 1st. English Edition - Original tan binding, slightly worn;- 87 pages, with an Preface & extensive Introduction to the front pages;- a fine copy of a collectable book;- Translated from the French;-

With what " sense then ought a man to investigate truth. if " that of his intellect be ... With singleness " of heart therefore we should pursue our re- " searches after truth ... shall " shall we find it, if those who surround us are The INDIAN COTTAGE .

6. W. Enfield;-
Scientific Amusements
in Philosophy and Mathematics.
Including arithmetic, acoustics, electricity, magnetism, optics, pneumatics; together with amusing secrets in various branches of science:
Price :SOLD

Published by A. K. Newman & Co.;- London 1821;- Originla dark brown leather binding with gilt line borders to both front & back covers;- A black label with gilt lettering within to the top of the spine;-  An engraved illustration as a frontispiece;- 276 pages; A rare/scarce book; in fine condition and highly collectable;-
Some foxing to the frontispiece, otherwise a fine copy of a rare/scarce book;-

Published in London: by C. Kegan Paul 1879 - 8vo, Original black cloth covers, with gilt lettering to the top of the spine;-121 pages;- & 34 pages of New Books by the publishers to the back pages;- A fine copy of a good book;-

8. Peter Mark ROGET;
Animal and Vegetable Physiology;-
IN 2 Volumes;-
Price : $300 Buy now

FIRST EDITION. ROGET, Peter Mark. Animal and Vegetable Physiology Considered with Reference to Natural Theology. Published in London: by William Pickering, 1834. Two volumes. Thick octavos, Original bindings, with brown leather spines and corners to both volumes;- Gilt lettering & gilt decorations to both spines;- Marbled paper covers ruled with gilt lines.;- 1st. Edition of this presentation of facts of Natural History "as afford manifest evidences of design [and] subordination to the general plan of creation," with 463 in-text wood-engravings, being the fifth title in the popular and influential Bridgewater Treatises. The eccentric Francis Henry Egerton, eighth Earl of Bridgewater, bequeathed 8000 pounds for the best work on "The Goodness of God as manifested in the Creation." The disposal of this money was left to the president of the Royal Society, who divided it among eight persons—Dr. Chalmers, Dr. Kidd, Dr. Whewell, Sir C. Bell, P.M. Roget, Dean Buckland, Rev. W. Kirby, and Dr. Prout—as authors of eight essays, since known as the Bridgewater Treatises. Famous for his Thesaurus, Roget was well known for his wide interests and inquisitive mind. His accomplishments include the invention of a slide rule, and is sometimes credited with a role in the history of film, resulting from a 1824 scientific paper, in which he reported his observations of an optical illusion he had witnessed as he saw moving carriage wheels through vertical blinds—anticipating the phenomenon called "persistence of vision"—in which still photographs seen in rapid succession give the illusion of movement.  Roget's stature in the Royal Society made him an obvious choice for the Bridgewater series, resulting in Animal and Vegetable Physiology, an detailed expansion of his Introductory Lecture on Human and Comparative Physiology (1826). A highly collectable set of Rare books, in fine condition;- All plates present..many illustrations within text.

9. William Prout;-
CHEMISTRY METEOROLOGY
AND THE FUNCTION OF DIGESTION
CONSIDERED WITH REFERENCE TO NATURAL THEOLOGY. The Bridgewater Treatises on the Power
Wisdom and Goodness of God as Manifested
in the Creation. Vol. VIII (8)
Price : $150 Buy now

Published in London:-  by William Pickering.1834;- 1st. Edition;-Thick octavos, Original bindings, with brown leather spines and corners to both volumes;- Gilt lettering & gilt decorations to both spines;- Marbled paper covers ruled with gilt lines.;- Some illustrations within text, and a large fold-our hand-coloured map in very fine condition as is the book;- Highly collectable;-

One of a series of volumes which derive their origin and title from the Rev. Francis Henry Egerton, eighth and last Earl of Bridgewater who left funds in his will, after his death in 1829, to fund the publication of one thousand copies of a work: 'On the Power, Wisdom and Goodness of God as manifested in the Creation, illustrating such work by all reasonable arguments as, for instance, the variety and formation of God's creatures, in the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms'.

10. William Kirby;-
On the Power Wisdom and Goodness of God 
as Manifested in the Creation of Animals and in their 
History Habits and Instincts;-Bridgewater Treatise VII: 
2 Volumes Complete
Price : $300 Buy now

Published in London:-  by William Pickering.1835;- 1st. Edition;-Thick octavos, Original bindings, with brown leather spines and corners to both volumes;- Gilt lettering & gilt decorations to both spines;- Marbled paper covers ruled with gilt lines.;- Full page engravings & Index to the back of the book;-  in very fine condition as is the book;- Highly collectable;-

The eight Bridgewater Treatises of the 1830s aimed to contribute to an understanding of the world as created by God, and were commissioned by the Royal Society with funds bequeathed by the Earl of Bridgewater. They covered various subjects and were written by a number of different authors. Kirby, Rector of Barham in Kent, was an entomologist, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and is considered the "founder of entomology". He was commissioned to produce his extensively illustrated two-volume treatise, which was published in 1835. He explores the creation of animals in a spiritual context and goes on to consider the functions and instincts of the major animal groups. The two volumes contributed to the intellectual debates that formed the background to Darwin's work on evolution.

11. The protest of the L----s,
upon A---- Her M---- for Her S-p
with the names of the L----ds
Price : $250 Buy now

1st. Edition Published in London 1712;-GREAT BRITAIN, PARLIAMENT, LORDS. The Protest of the L--------s, upon A----- Her M---- for Her Sp--- : with the names of the L---ds. [London ?] [1712]. Pages 15, (1, blank), small 8vo, recent wraps : very good copy with the lower edges uncut. Relates to the allies in the War of the Spanish Succession. ’Protest against the rejection of a proposed clause to address Queen Anne, 7 June 1712. There are at least 3 editions, distinguishable by the number of dashes on the title-page. This is the 1st. Edition. Fine collectable condition. No other copies to be found on the world wide web.; Scare/Rare;-

12. Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws
by  Rev. Thomas Malthus.
Price : SOLD

Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws, and of a Rise or Fall in the Price of Corn on the Agriculture and General Wealth of the Country by Thomas Malthus. Published in London by J. Johnson 1814;- 1st. Edition, 44 pages;- Beautifully re-bound in brown leather spine and brown/orange marbled paper to the covers. A highly collectable book, Scarce/Rare in this 1st. Edition. Very fine condition.

1814: Observations on the effects of the Corn Laws 

Although government in Britain had regulated the prices of grain ("Corn" was, at the time, a generic word for all grains) since the 17th century the Corn Laws  originated in 1815. At the end of the  Napoleonic Ward that year, Parliament passed legislation banning the importation of foreign corn into Britain until domestic corn cost 80 shillings per quarter.  The high price caused the cost of food to increase and so caused great distress among the working classes in the towns. This led to serious rioting in London and to the “ Peterloo Massacre” 1819 in Manchester. “

In this pamphlet, printed during the parliamentary discussion, Malthus tentatively supported the free-traders. He argued that given the increasing expense of raising British corn, advantages accrued from supplementing it from cheaper foreign sources. This view he changed the following year.

English economist Malthus is best known for his hugely influential theories on population growth.Thomas Robert Malthus was born near Guildford, Surrey in February 1766. His father was prosperous but unconventional and educated his son at home. Malthus went on to Cambridge University, earning a master's degree in 1791. In 1793, he was made a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. In 1805, Malthus became professor of history and political economy (the first holder of such an academic office) at the East India Company's college in Haileybury, Hertfordshire, where he remained until his death.In 1819, Malthus was elected a fellow of the Royal Society and two years later he became a member of the Political Economy Club, whose members included David Ricardo and James Mill. In 1824, he was elected as one of the 10 royal associates of the Royal Society of Literature. Malthus was also one of the co-founders of the Statistical Society of London in 1834.Malthus' most well known work 'An Essay on the Principle of Population' was published in 1798, although he was the author of many pamphlets and other longer tracts including 'An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent' (1815) and 'Principles of Political Economy' (1820). The main tenets of his argument were radically opposed to current thinking at the time. He argued that increases in population would eventually diminish the ability of the world to feed itself and based this conclusion on the thesis that populations expand in such a way as to overtake the development of sufficient land for crops. Associated with Darwin, whose theory of natural selection was influenced by Malthus' analysis of population growth, Malthus was often misinterpreted, but his views became popular again in the 20th century with the advent of Keynesian economics. Malthus died on 23 December 1834

13. The Duty of the Respective Officers,
Appointed by the Court Leet,
in the Manor of Birmingham. 1789
Price : $600 Buy now

   Published in Birmingham:- by E. Piercy, 1789 - 8 pages.; 8vo. Re-bound in light blue paper; 1st. Edition;-  In very fine collectable condition. Scarce/Rare;- This book Details the duties of various civic officers, the High Bailiff, Low Bailiff, Constable, Head-borough, Ale Conners otherwise High Tasters, Flesh Conners, otherwise Low Tasters and Searchers, and Sealers of Leather.

14. Arthur W. Pinero
The Gay Lord Quex
Price : $50 Buy now

Published in London;- by  William Heinemann 1900 Ltd Ed'n of 200 copies. . A fine copy of the First Edition ;- Limited to 200 numbered copies, this been No 5 of 200 ;- with an oval photo of  Pinero as the frontispiece;- Original off cream paper boards, with a white label with black lettering within to the spine;- the spine is cream cloth;- The paper is  uncut hand made paper;- In fine collectable condition;-

       Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934) was an English actor and later an important dramatist and stage director. In 1874 he joined R. H. Wyndham's company at the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. After also acting in Liverpool, he joined Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre company in London in 1876, where he acted in supporting roles for five years, and later played under the Bancrofts' management at the Haymarket Theatre. He received good notice in Sheridan's The Rivals, in 1884, which he had revised himself. He began writing plays in the late 1870s while at the Lyceum, including Daisy's Escape in 1879 and Bygones in 1880. He became a prolific and successful playwright, authoring fifty-nine plays. His 1923 romance The Enchanted Cottage was successfully filmed in 1924 and 1945. He was knighted in 1909. His works include: Two Hundred a Year (1877), The Squire (1881), The Money Spinner (1881), The Magistrate (1885), The Schoolmistress (1886), Dandy Dick (1887), Sweet Lavender (1888), The Profligate (1889), Lady Bountiful (1891), The Cabinet Minister (1892), The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1893) and The Weaker Sex (1894).

15. The Rule of Life:
a collection of select moral sentences,
extracted from the greatest authors,
ancient and modern, and digested under proper heads
Price : $150 Buy now

Published in London;- by R. Crowder 1776;- 1st. Edition, O:riginal brown leather binding with original brown cloth spine and corners;- A white cloth label with black lettering within to the spine. 258 pages. Fine collectable condition.

16. Jus Canonicum;-
Folio 1525
Price : $55,000 Buy now

Jus Canonicum;- Folio 1525Published in Lyon 1525;- Folio;- Printed in Red and Black;- many woodcuts within the lettering. Very Scarce/Rare very early Printing. 17th. century Brown leather binding with 18th. century brown leather spine added later ;- Missing title Page and A1, 2 pages, some small worm holes affection about the first 60 pages;- Two large woodcuts ‘Arbor Confanguinitatis’ and ‘Arborzaffinitatis’ extensive Index to the back pages. Marbled edging to the book, the pages are number in Roman Numerals and appear to be all there. Rare/Scarce in this condition;-Again some small worming also to the back pages, otherwise overall a good  rare/scarce copy of a highly collectable Law Book;- Canon LawAny church's or religion's laws, rules, and regulations; more commonly, the written policies that guide the administration and religious ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church.Since the fourth century, the Roman Catholic Church has been developing regulations that have had some influence on secular (non-church-related) legal procedures. These regulations are called canons and are codified in the Code of Canon Law (in Latin, Codex juris canonici).Canon law has its origins in ancient church writings, decisions made by the general councils of local bishops, and rulings issued by the Pope. These ideas were organized in the mid–twelfth century by an Italian law teacher, Gratian. He sorted the collection into religious law, penal law, sacramental law, and other categories. Along with a set of decisions by the Pope called Decretals of Gregory IX, Gratian's work formed the main body of Canon Law for nearly eight hundred years. In 1917, Pope Benedict XV recodified (revised) the Canons. Pope John Paul II reissued the Code of Canon Law in 1983—authorizing increased participation of laity in the church, recognizing the needs of disabled people, and making other changes. A related text, the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, was reissued by the Holy See (the seat of papal government) in 1990.In the Middle Ages, canon law was used in ecclesiastical courts (church) to decide many types of cases that in modern times are decided by civil courts, including criminal offenses. This was because most English Christians did not make a great distinction between secular and spiritual offenses. Crimes that were tried by the church included Adultery, blasphemy, slander, heresy (opposition to official religious views), money lending, and gambling. From the late fourteenth to the early sixteenth centuries church courts also heard many breach-of-faith cases concerning contracts, as well as inheritance and marriage-related cases.Criminal trial procedures in medieval church courts were the source of some features that found their way into common law. Although witnesses were considered the best source of proof of a crime under canon law, suspected offenders could also be tried because of public fame (suspicion in the community that they had committed a crime). An inquest made up of twelve men—a forerunner of royal courts' grand juries—said under oath whether public suspicion existed. If none did, then a judge had no authority to proceed. After establishing public fame, the court's next step was canonical purgation, in which the accused person swore an oath that she or he was innocent. Proof of innocence was accomplished by compurgation, in which several oath helpers would swear that they believed the oath was true. People who objected to the purgation of an accused person had the chance to prove their accusation of guilt.The use of Canon Law in Governmental decisions is not well documented. In the early fifteenth century, commissions of the English Parliament made use of canonical procedures and canon law experts to decide issues involving laws of war, diplomacy, and other questions. For example, Parliament's justification for deposing King Richard II seems to have been based on papal bulls (decrees)By the end of the twentieth century secular law had eclipsed Canon Law in most aspects of public life. Interbody disagreements within the church are now often handled administratively rather than by a tribunal, but within the confines of canon law. However, the tribunal is still the only place where Catholics can secure a marriage Annulment, and each diocese must maintain a tribunal for this purpose. Divorced Catholics who have been denied an annulment can appeal as far as the Sacred Roman Rota, whose international membership is selected by the Pope.

17. Joseph Guy,
Guy's New Exercises in Orthography;-
Containing Selections from the Most Admired
Authors in Prose and Verse
Price : $150 Buy now

Published by   Baldwin & Cradock, ;- London1823. 3 rd. Edition;-Original brown leather binding, with a new leather spine. Red leather label along the spine, with gilt lettering within;- 140 pages, with 36 pages of ‘Expositor’ to the back pages & Ads for other books by Joseph Guy to the last page;- A fine collectable copy of a Rare \Scarce book.

18. John Thackray BUNCE.
History of Old St. Martin's, Birmingham. 1875
Price : $150 SOLD

Published in  Birmingham: by  Cornish Brothers:, First edition, 1875 - Folio;-  56pages & A List of Subscribers to the back pages;- Illustrations and Coloured Chromo Lithography by Thomas Underwood;- From Original Drawings by Allen E. Everitt;-  All the Plates are present with tissue guards;- Original dark green embossed cloth binding, with gilt lettering to the front cover.  Full page Coloured Frontispiece of St. Martin’s Church present with tissue guard. In very fine collectable condition.

top of page
back to rare books