101. [Opera.] Varietate lectionis et perpetua adnotatione illustratus a Chr. Gottl. Heyne accedunt indices editio nouis curis emendata et aucta volumen primum [-sextum]. Lipsiae: Sumptibus Caspari Fritsch, 1800.
$1,500
Six volumes, thick 8vo, uncut and partially unopened in original blue-gray paper wrappers; small rectangular volume number labels at the tops of the spines; engraved frontispiece in volume I, engraved vignette title pages; beautifully illustrated throughout with a total of 204 engraved vignettes by Geyser after Fiorello; a few of the preliminaries in volume IV with a little worming; light occasional spotting, the spines variously with chips and cracks exposing cords; these thick, heavy volumes are in the most economic and hence most precarious of bindings, which have only survived, perhaps, because they remain unopened (and unused); nonetheless, the bindings remain reasonably sound given the nature of its preservation.
The work of the great German classical scholar, Christian Gottlieb Heyne 1729-1812 was first published 1767-75 and several times augmented and reprinted. "The Leipsic edition of 1800 is the last and most complete ... The first four volumes contain the regular works of Virgil; the fifth the 'Carmina Minora,' Life of Virgil, and an account of the MSS. and editions ... the sixth volume has two copious indexes, viz. Verborum, et Nominum, an index to the notes and commentaries, explanation of the plates and vignettes, and seven pages of 'supplenda et emendata.' It also contains many new excursus and emendations. This edition of 1800 is adorned with a great variety of vignettes ... designed by Fiorillo and engraved by Geyser; there is also a bust of Heyne. Some copies are struck off on fine writing and on vellum paper; the latter exhibit, in my opinion, the most beautiful production of a Latin classic that the German press has ever produced ... This admirable edition was printed at the expense of Caspar Fritsch, whose generosity and public spirit are highly extolled by Heyne "(Dibdin, Introduction to the Greek and Latin Classics, 4th edition, 1827).
Brunet V 1294-95; Dibdin, p. 559: Ebert 23738: "A masterpiece in an exegetical point of view, but less satisfactory as regards the critical part."
102. A critical pronouncing dictionary and expositor of the English language. in which not only the meaning of every word is clearly explained, and the sound of every syllable distinctly shewn, but where words are subject to different pronunciations, the reasons for each are at large displayed, and the preferable pronunciation is pointed out. Dublin: printed for P. Wogan, Old-Bridge; and W. Jones, Dame-Street, 1794.
$2,500
Second Irish edition (first published in Dublin in 1792); 8vo, pp. xx, 77, [1], [946]; contemporary half calf over marbled boards, gilt-lettered direct on spine; slight cracking of the spine but in all a good, sound copy, or better.
Early ownership signatures of "Wm. Ellery Sedgwick" on front free endpaper and "William Ellery, Jun. 1802" on title page. William Ellery, Jun. (1727-1820) was the signer of the Declaration of Independence from Rhode Island. William Ellery Sedgwick (1825-1873) was his nephew.
"Probably a reissue of the 1792 Dublin edition" (ESTC).
Alston V, 337. OCLC locates 15 copies worldwide, 2 of which contain a subscribers' list which is not present in this copy.
103. A collection of 17 "blue-back" spelling books published for the Japanese market. Tokyo & Osaka: various publishers, ca. 1860s to1890s.
$4,000
17 volumes, 12mo and 8vo, all in original blue printed paper-covered boards backed in cloth; condition ranges from fair to near fine.
All with the title (or variant title) of The Elementary Spelling-Book with the following imprints, and variations:
1) Tokio: Bookselling Co., [after 1866], pp. [3]-170, [2] (Japanese title), Japanese mss. notes on rear endpaper;
2) Tokio: Rikugokuwan, [after 1866], pp. [3]-170, [2] (Japanese title), Japanese licensing stamps and ownership stamp on first and last leaves in red;
3) Tokio & Osaka: Rikugokuwan, [after 1866], pp. [3]-170, [2] (Japanese title), Japanese licensing stamp in red;
4) Osaka: Nakagawa, [ca. 1885], pp. [2] Japanese title, 170, [2], endpapers printed in Japanese;
5) Tokio & Osaka: Bookselling Co., [after 1866], Japanese mss. notes and a drawing on the endpapers, sadly defective, with the loss of the title-p. and several others;
6) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880] (colophon gives publisher as Hobunkwan), pp. [3]-174, [6] ads in both Japanese and English;
7) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174, [2] title in Japanese; Japanese licensing stamp in red;
8) Tokio: Maruya & Co., [after 1880], pp. [5]-174 (lacking title-p.), printed Maruya ads on rear pastedown;
9) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174, [2] title in Japanese; Japanese licensing stamp printed in red;
10) Tokio & Osaka: Daitokuwan, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174;
11) Tokyo: B. Tsujioka, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174; Japanese title on rear pastedown;
12) New York: D. Appleton, pp. [3]-176; printed Japanese text on both pastedowns;
13) New York: D. Appleton, pp. [3]-176; printed Japanese text on verso of title page, last leaf and rear pastedown; licensing stamp printed in red affixed to last flyleaf;
14) New York: D. Appleton, pp. [3]-128, lacks last signature, Japanese text on rear pastedown;
15) Tokyo: Sugimoto, [after 1880], pp. [3]-174, Japanese mss. on front pastedown, Japanese text on rear pastedown;
16) Osaka: Sekizenkwan, 1887, pp. [3]-114, [4] Japanese text; Japanese mss. notes on front and back flyleaves;
17) Osaka: Sekizenkwan, 1887, pp. [5]-114, [1] Japanese text, presumably lacking a title-p. but there's no evidence of it.
104. An American dictionary of the English language: intended to exhibit, I. the origin… II. the genuine orthography… III. accurate and discriminating definitions…. New York: S. Converse. Printed by Hezekiah Howe, New Haven, 1828.
$12,500
First edition of Webster's greatest dictionary, his magnum opus, and arguably the most popular American book ever published. Only 2500 were printed.
Two big quarto volumes, engraved portrait after Samuel F.B. Morse, unpaginated text in triple column (collated complete), 45 (instead of the usual 44) preliminary leaves in vol. I containing Webster's preface on the history of the dictionary, his introductory dissertation "on the origin, history and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe," and a grammar, revised and updated from his own of 1807.
With the terminal printed "Additions" leaf in Volume II which is never lacking (unless the book is defective), even though many descriptions of the book suggest that it is sometimes lacking; this "Additions" is the second leaf in gathering 116 - the third and fourth leaves in 116 are blank, and are both present in this copy. And with the unusual separately printed "Advertisement" leaf (dated Nov. 28, 1828) which is almost always lacking (distinct from the Advertisement appearing on G3 and G4 in the first volume). The November 28 Advertisement, a loose quarto sheet which was separately published and not part of the collation, was ostensibly given by Webster to his subscribers in order that he might 'be permitted to make a few statements and explanations which would have been less appropriate in the body of the work.' Skeel makes no note of this separately printed sheet being exclusive to subscribers' copies, although the text certainly suggests that is the case. This leaf became integral only once the British edition appeared 1831-32. I have sold this 1828 edition 16 times over the course of my career, and in only 4 cases has the November 28 Advertisement been present.
Original full calf, citron morocco labels; volume I with bottom half of the spine waterstained, and the stain permeating through to the engraved frontispiece and title page; as a result, the 2 blank flyleaves loosening at the bottom; the portrait with stains in the top and bottom margin (the tissue guard unaffected), and smaller stains in the top right and lower left corners of the title page; the binding remains sound with no cracks in the joints.
"This dictionary, which almost at once became, and has remained, the standard English dictionary in the United States, was the end-product of a stream of spelling books, grammars, readers, and dictionaries which flowed from the pen of the industrious Noah Webster. Webster's great dictionary, all the 70,000 entries of which he wrote with his own hand … marked a definite advance in modern lexicography, as it included many non-literary terms and paid great attention to the language actually spoken. Moreover, his definitions of the meaning of words were accurate and concise and have for the greater part stood the test of time superbly well" (PMM).
Grolier, American 100, 36. Sabin 102335. Skeel 583. Printing & the Mind of Man, 291.
105. Dissertations on the English language: with notes, historical and critical. To which is added … an essay on a reformed mode of spelling, with Dr. Franklin's arguments on that subject. Boston: printed for the author by Isaiah Thomas & Co., 1789.
$3,000
First edition, 8vo, pp. 410, full original sheep, red morocco label; some scuffing and light general wear, text a little spotted, one internal gathering extended, but overall a very good copy.
A Webster family copy with the ownership stamp of Webster's son-in-law, William Chauncey Fowler, on the title-page. Also, with the early ownership signature reading "Luther Holly's Book, 1789."
A seminal work, dedicated to Benjamin Franklin, in which Webster puts forth for the first time the spirit of an American (as opposed to a British) language, and particularly its orthography, the reform of which grew out of his correspondence with Franklin.
Evans 22259; Skeel 651. A plethora of copies in the U.S. but ESTC locates only two institutions holding copies in the UK: Cambridge and the BL.
106. Fan-Hy-Cheu: a tale, in Chinese and English: with notes, and a short grammar of the Chinese language. London: printed for the author, and published by Robert Baldwin, 47, Pater-Noster-Row, 1814.
$2,200
First edition, 8vo, pp. 47, [1]; 6 engraved plates of Chinese characters (occasional light spotting); near fine copy in original cream paper-covered boards, printed paper label on spine in Chinese. Inscribed at the top of the front board: "From the author."
Lust 1106: "a romantic tale of a rebel from a Ming anthology of love stories."
107. [Bayt-i laylah], or, Persian distichs, from various authors, in which the beauties of the language are exhibited in a small compass, and may easily be remembered. London: printed for the author; by S. Rousseau, Wood Street, Spa Fields, 1814.
$2,500
First edition, slim 8vo, pp. 101, [3]; parallel text in Persian and English; original blue paper-covered boards; about fine throughout.
This copy inscribed "From the author" on the blank verso of the front free endpaper. Laid in is a lengthy 4-page autograph letter dated Jan. 3 1814 and sent from Devonshire Place, signed "Drachi" (?) who seems to have a clear knowledge of Persian which he quotes at ease. He comments extensively on the book in English, and offers suggestions.
Stephen Weston (1747-1830), antiquary and classical scholar, was a prolific author, and also made some translations from Chinese, publishing works on philology and antiquities. The book was printed by S. Rousseau, "a teacher in the Persian tongue," at his Arabic and Persian Press, the first Oriental press in England.
108. A revised system of cavalry tactics, for the use of the cavalry and mounted infantry, C.S.A. Mobile: S. H. Goetzel, 1863.
$1,500
First edition, 16mo, 3 parts in 1; pp. [2], ii, 220; 104; 47, [1]; 97-108 (Bugle Signals); xiv (index), [2] ads; 38 engraved plates (8 folding); original paper-covered boards, rebacked in blue cloth sometime in the 20th century; boards worn, text occasionally dampstained and foxed, without the front free endpaper, and hinges with old archival paper repair; but in all, a good, sound, and compelling copy of a poorly made book.
Parrish & Willingham 5116.
109. A naturalist in western China ... With one hundred and one full-page illustrations and a map. London: Methuen and Company, 1913.
$2,500
First edition, 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xxxvii, [1], 251, [1]; xi, [1], 229, [1], 31 (ads), [1]; numerous illustrations on 101 plates and a folding map printed in color; a fine, bright copy stamped in gilt on upper covers and spines, retaining the original orange printed dust jackets showing some chipping at the spine extremities and a few old tape repairs on the versos.
This copy with a presentation from the author to "Walter R. Zappey from his friend the author. November 1913." Also, with a printed presentation slip from the publisher laid in. Walter Reeves Zappey (1878-1914) was an American ornithologist and scientific collector. He is referenced 19 times in the index to this book.
Czech, Asia, p.229; Yakushi W177.
110. [Yangtse River.] The Yangtse Gorge: a photographic souvenir [cover title]. N.p., n.d.: ca. 1915 [?].
$2,000
Only edition; small 8vo, consisting of a preface leaf, and 14 mounted silver-print photographs, each with an accompanying page of descriptive text, plus a folding map; original red cloth lettered in silver on the upper cover; a few small stains on the upper cover, else fine.
"This small book is not intended to give a detailed account of the Gorges. It is more of a souvenir for those who possess no camera, or having one have been unfortunate with the weather. Some descriptive notes are given, also other useful information. Distances are quoted, and given a fair average speed of 7.5 knots for the upbound vessel, the time of its passing the various places can easily be calculated" (Preface).
OCLC locates the Chinese University of Hong Kong, UC-Davis and Oregon copies only, all with the wrong title, "The Yangtse Gorges."