Rare Books About Books
From
Coup de Foudre, LLC
This symbol points to an item for which there are on-line photographs available in one or more places in that item's description.
Buy with confidence! Your credit card transaction is secured with SSL encryption.
Color Plates
Lacking the printed wrapper except for spine remnants. Annotated with prices fetched in fountain pen.
Seymour de Ricci wrote the Forward for this sale of 35 manuscripts and 133 books, labeling it the most important in this country since the Robert Hoe sales of 1911-12. Indeed, no English library of this stature had ever been sold in America. (De Ricci described the four full-color reproductions as among the most successful yet produced in the United States.) The price fetched for each item has been inked in, in many cases along with the purchaser's name; Rosenbach, Wells and Beyer all dropped a bundle. Aside from the fact that Rosenbach spent money he didn't have (he sold the Tickhill Psalter to NY Public Library without commission), there is a fascinating behind the scenes story to this auction that bears telling.
Mitchell Kennerly had made an arrangement with the dealer Barnet J. Beyer wherein Beyer only paid for his lots after they had been sold! The effect was to shore up prices against erosion - and gave Beyer a competitive edge. When, a few years later, the arrangement was discovered by Cortland Bishop, owner of the galleries, Kennerley was fired. He subsequently committed suicide.
Fine. Describes about half the books printed at the press. Hence, useful as a reference.
Waterstain to lower gutter margin. Blue pencil notes on front fly.
"The object of this brochure is to acquaint authors and others who are called upon to read and revise proofs with the easiest and most economical way to attain uniformity and good typographic form."
Head and tail of spine chipped revealing gatherings. Spine age-toned. Contents fine. Business card of R. Vincent, bookbinder, Gold Medal. Paris, 1937 (in French).
Book nearly mint, jacket chipped at extremities with age-toned
spine.
Blunt was S. C. Cockerell's (1867-1962) literary executor, having access to all his papers, including his daily diary spanning seventy seven uninterrupted years. Sir Sydney was a librarian to Wm. Morris, traveller to the continent with Ruskin and Shaw, literary executor of Thomas Hardy, friend of Lawrence of Arabia and Tolstoy, etc.
Wrapper chipped but the sewn gatherings nice and tight.
Extremities bumped, otherwise fine.
194 exemplary items ranging from the clay cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar recording the building of the 'Hanging Gardens' palace to the first book printed in the English language. Many of these books were unrecorded as texts, not just as divergencies of imprint and issue. "The class of book described here is not merely of uncommon occurrence in the auction room, it is rare 'at source,' i.e. in the ancestral libraries of the English and Continental aristocracy... . The wise collector does not count the present cost too closely: the market prices of one generation tend to be the envy and despair of the succeeding one.... We feel it will not be a hundred years - perhaps not even a decade - before collectors will ...look back with nostalgia to the opportunities of the present moment, some, at least, of which can never recur." Each item is illustrated.
Disbound, fraying edges.
Wrapper chipped at head and tail of spine.
Fine. White spine lightly dusted.
Standard rich guy's, well-printed vanity catalog with loads of books no longer available, regardless of one's wealth! The stuff that dreams are made of.
Wrapper dust-soiled and showing a bit of wear. Catalog 72, Part I with 1689 items from this firm.
A Touch of Crass
Fine.
Lew David Feldman's 40th anniversary catalog with forty selections. While it is true this catalog contained many amazing and wonderful items, did he have to include the closing line, on a page of its own, "The total value of the contents of this catalog is $1,925,077.00."?
Poor condition on chip-prone paper. Ex-Library of Congress duplicate. An amazing catalog with 5380 items in many languages.
Fine. Small tear in the margin of the first two leaves.
Fine, near mint. Pencilled annotations on several items as to
purchaser and price actually received.
This historic catalog was issued to set the tone for the opening of the Rosenbach brothers' new sales salon, a townhouse at 273 Madison Avenue in New York city. Bought in November 1919 the house would serve as a New York showplace for Philip's antiques and paintings and Dr. R's books. It would also provide the springboard to have a go at the premier American bookseller of the day, George D. Smith (who unexpectedly died soon after this catalog was issued). In Rosenbach, by Wolf and Fleming, most of the quartos are described as coming from the Marsden J.Perry collection in Providence and they write that "No book dealer in modern times had ever had a stock of Shakespeare quartos like that and no book dealer ever had had the audacity to offer them at such prices in print." The quartos did not sell like hot cakes, nor all for the prices in the catalog. Nevertheless, it was a pretty stunning first offering to attract the big money buyers to the brothers' new salon!
Chipping and splitting along the spine, else fine. A standard and well-printed history of this important press.
Fine. Contains four articles: the John William Graham Collection of Literature of Psychic Science, Washington Irving and E.A. Poe, the Saunders Collection of Whitmaniana and Holmes and the National Hymn.
Book very good, jacket getting tatty. One of the most recognized names in the book collecting world.
Ex lib, but very good. Letter fine.
Writing from the old school, sometimes overblown and windy, but always charming and now a lost art. "It is better never to regard letter-writing as a matter of duty or recompense, but rather as an expression of love and endearment." The A.L.S. is to a Rev. whose letters Callaway has seen, "letters which are themselves a power for good in the world."
Very good. Stains to endpapers from acid-paper jacket. COPY of William Targ, bookman and author.
Hinges cracked internally. Printed by Douglas C. McMurtrie.
Spine re-enforced with rice paper, otherwise fine.
A catalog with prices of such items as refracting telescopes, microscopes, theodolites and mathematical and optical recreations. Among the more expensive items were working models of steam engines, pile drivers, etc. For a stiff £100 one could purchase a working Boulton & Watt engine with boiler and complete apparatus.
Very good. See Item above for almost identical catalog.
Front inner hinge broken, rear one cracked. Spine sunned.
Fine. A fine reference work on Japanese prints containing biographies, very good reproductions and a bibliography.
Cover dust-soiled, but no tears. 5 ink checkmarks next to 5 chapter
titles.
Describes sixteen books that changed the course of history. Volumes by Copernicus, Stowe, Darwin, Freud, Einstein, Marx, Hitler, Mackinder, etc.
Fine. The first full scale biography of Roget (1779 - 1869). While he is today remembered for his Thesaurus, he was a leading physician, scientist and educator; friend and correspondent with the leading lights of his day - Cuvier, Darwin, Ampere, Bentham, Babbage, Faraday, Davy, Watt, Lyell, Coleridge, etc.
Very good. One hundred books and authors from the Western world. But nothing from the East as Fadiman proclaims no competence in its traditions and little enthusiasm for that which he has explored. At any rate, what is here makes great reading. This book began as an article in This Week Magazine and generated so much mail that the idea of a book was proposed. This copy was a Book-of-the-Month Club dividend.
Extremities very worn with chipping on spine. Booksellers label on
front paste-down. Interior fine.
Printed by Elder's Tomoyé Press under the direction of John Henry Nash. Trods well-worn ground, but with style and erudition; the Bible, Shakespeare, Don Quixote, Arabian Nights, the Classics, Dante, Johnson, Defoe, etc. all come to life. There are also notes on the best reading editions of the great authors. These essays were inspired by the death of Fitch's only son and originally were published in the Sunday book-pages of the San Francisco Chronicle.
PRESENTATION copy. Front inner hinge cracked. Good to very good.
Fine. Jacket showing some wear at top edge.
Tips a bit worn and some shelf wear, otherwise fine.
Very good to fine.
Very good. William Henry Ireland and the great scam with the Bard.
Very good. The list of titles in this book may be seen as a tribute to small minds. On almost any page one may see books that are now considered 'classics' and works of social or creative genius.
Fine condition with boards slightly splayed.
Fine. Beginning to show shelf wear on the extremities of the soft
leather. Medallion from Florence tipped onto upper corner of rear pastedown. This is not the Olschki label I've seen in other books, but it's possible this copy was sold in his shop.
One of the most glorious vanity catalogs of all time with the books well described by the man from whom most were purchased, Leo S. Olschki. In the forward Walters writes, "It is a synthesis of book making in the second half of the XVth century which will aid the student or the curious to follow step by step the early development of the art of printing."
Head & tail of spine wearing. Tips starting to show wear with the
front lower one exposing a bit of board. Gilt title and design fading. Blind stamping and covers, however, are fresh and bright.
This quite rare book is absolutely marvelous with lots of details on its topic written in a straightforward, though engaging, style. For example, the color plate of Mayan writing (surely about the earliest depiction in color in the United States) is described as being destroyed "by the first Spanish archbishop of Mexico - an act of fanatical vandalism equalled only by the burning of the Alexandrian Library, and the vast hoard of Moorish literature at Granada by Ximenes."
Fine. Staple rusted without affecting text.
Leary's was one of America's great used bookstores. This pamphlet describes former locations, gives a little history and talks about the new store - all seven stories of it.
Very good. Laid in are the flaps and a panel from the d.j., news clippings on Jenison featuring a Lotte Jacobi photo and other articles. There is also a letter from Doubleday, Doran Book Shops, Inc. "To Patrons of the Sunwise Turn", describing the takeover of the Sunwise Turn by Doubleday and asking for patrons continued support of the shop.
Book fine, jacket very good.
Very good. A good read, full of ego, idiosyncracy, shrewd deals and great books. Kraus wrote "...read every letter, whether postmarked Topeka or Taiwan. Study every list, neatly prepared... or scrawled on pages from a grade-school tablet."
Fine. Samples printed and illustrated by John Henry Nash, D.B. Updike, William Kittredge, Bruce Rogers, George Grosz, Covarrubias, and Matisse.
Fine. A finely printed description of the coming year's books and lauditory commendations from leading lights in the book, literary and business world.
First use (publication) of two new type faces
Fine. Sinclair Lewis gives us an interesting glimpse into his life at the age of ten with his memories of his father's books. There are also sample pages of the Club's books for 1935/36. Among the commissioned art included is an Edward Steichen photo for the Club's edition of Walden. Other printers and artists represented are Officina Bodoni, W.A. Dwiggins, Hans Mardersteig (using his Fountain type for the first time), and a new Eric Gill designed 14-pt Roman type cut by Caslon & Co.
Fine. Glassine browned and tatty.
Articles by Paul Beaujon (pseud. for Mrs. Beatrice Warde, widow of Frederic), Edward Alden Jewell, John T. Winterich and Philip Van Doren Stern with a bibliography by Will Ransom with notes by George Macy.
Fine. Paper label lightly dust soiled. Essentially a prospectus, printed by Daniel Berkeley Updike.
Fine. Illustrations by Arthur Rackham, Agnes Parker Miller, Gordon Ross and Demetrios Galanis.
Spine sunned, otherwise fine.
Extremities worn, spine ends chipped. Remains of postage stamp
on spine. Owner's signature.
"Time, which is the relentless enemy of all that is partial and provisional, is the friend of Shakespeare, because it continually brings to the student of his work illustration and confirmation of its truth.... It is as impossible, therefore to get away from the books of power as from the stars."
Spine age-darkened with one small spot, otherwise fine.
PRESENTATION copy of this scarce book from Matthews to his Rector. Printed by DeVinne Press on Holland paper. Mejer 910 Brenni 408
Rear wrap sunstruck. Each letter references an important person, place or firm in the history of printing, e.g. 'O' for Oxford Press.
Fine. Extremities rubbed. Owner's rubber stamped signature.
Spine age-toned and rubbed with beginning split at head on front hinge. Otherwise very good. A book from the "Britain in Pictures" series.
Front inner hinge cracked, free fly lacking. Some pencil notations.
Milton's fame as a poet is apt to make one forget that for more than twenty years (from 1641) his pen mainly engaged in political and ecclesiastical controversy. This book was a plea for toleration of unlicensed printing.
Jacket lacking major portion of front upper tip, including part of
title. Top of spine on book nicked, with the rest fine.
A volume from the Past and Present Series in Studies in the History of Civilization. "Thus a study of the development of alphabets and writing as one of Man's great cultural achievements is not of abstract interest only, but contributes materially towards an understanding of some of the problems in language which still await solution." Moorhead was Lecturer in Classics at University College, Swansea.
Book fine, jacket very good. Gold foil bookplate of the printer I.J. Borowsky. Old price written in red marker on fly.
Spine age-toned. D.j. flap 'About the Author' inserted as bookmark.
Fine. "A small anthology, printed and bound (and sold) at the First National Book Fair sponsored by the New York Times and The National Association of Book Publishers. Compiled at their request by Christopher Morley."
Very good. One tip bumped.
Fine condition with an admission ticket to Part One of the sale. Three volumes are sale catalogs and the fourth is a prospectus-cum-Festschrift with notes by Newton's son, A.W.S. Rosenbach, Randolph Adams, Gabriel Wells, Arthur Swann, etc. One of the most notable sales of the period.
Very good. Tips bumped. Bookplate on rear pastedown.
Extremities beginning to show wear.
Appleton published most of Darwin's American editions as well as Spencer's. Had it not been for them, in fact, Spencer might have labored in anonymity as far as the masses of the public. (His Principles was self-published in England.) They also represented Huxley, were the official publishers for the Smithsonian and had the largest medical backlist of any U.S. house by the turn of the century. Their catalog of 1859 included deluxe editions of the major British and Continental authors, as well. The company received hundreds of threatening letters after 'Origin' appeared but took the position that the duty of a publisher involved "reasonable watchfulness that nothing immoral, indecent or sacrilegious should be printed and there the responsibility ends." Obviously, sacrilegious is in the eye of the beholder with the fundamentalists claiming greater acuity!
Fine. History of this important house whose goal was to publish good books in enormous quantities at ludicrously low prices - indeed, at about the same price as a packet of cigarettes. Combining economy of price with convenient size allowed many the ability to pocket a book in the final years of the Great Depression.
Spine ends worn, endpapers browned. Vol. IV front hinge entirely
cracked.
The most famous English diarist, Pepys was, by turns, admiralty officer, Parliamentarian, and President of the Royal Society. The diary was written in cipher and partly published in 1825 but, surprisingly, wasn't brought out in its entirety until around 1899, the period of this edition.
Wrapper tatty at bottom edge as it extends significantly beyond the text (but only on the bottom & fore-edge. It is nearly flush at the top - what a remarkably stupid idea!). Pages unopened.
PRESENTATION copy. Very good. Covers and tips a bit scuffed.
Fine. Staple with the binding samples rusted.
Anyone who has gone to college post-Korea must have run into Edwards' reprints! This is the book they used to market their abilities putting them at the forefront of their trade. It gives methodology, pricing and plenty of samples. "NO FINANCIAL INVESTMENT IS NECESSARILY REQUIRED for the publication of an original textbook under the plan proposed by EDWARDS BROTHERS. The entire cost, including author's expenses and royalty, can be defrayed by the sale of individual copies at a price specified by the author... all the details being handled by the publishers. Incidentally, the unit cost ... to students is less than for any other practical and acceptable form of preliminary publication."
Binding torn at head of spine. A number of items have been check marked. Owner's signature.
The actual catalog issued for the use of those attending this epocal exhibition. The entries are not the same as those from the 1967 folio edition of PMM which we all love to quote and reference. In fact, half the volume focuses on the technology of printing.
THE COPY OF THE REFERENCE!
Fine, nearly mint. Two small light flecks on the spine of volume 2.
PRESENTATION of MUIR's own copy with his inscription on the front pastedown of Volume I. A prime copy of one of the most desirable reference books (alongside Carter's copy, of course.) Each volume has an inserted card describing the book as "From the Reference Library of Deval and Muir...." The book was bound with blank pages interleaved with the text to allow for Muir's corrections, addenda, etc.
Chipped corners to the wrapper, contents fine on deckled-edge paper.
The first nineteen pages contain an identical story set out in different type, from 5 1/2 pt. solid Modern (65 lines, 715 words) to 12 pt. leaded Caslon (27 lines, 215 words). The remaining pages are given over to typeface specimen.
Mint. Recognizing that one of today's intellectual problems is not one of access but rather the plethora of choice, the authors set out to cull a literary 'musee imaginaire' from which one can draw both instruction and inspiration.
Very good. Faint foxing beginning to show up on cover.
Printed at The Riverside Press in Cambridge, Mass on the occasion of the reorganization of the Club as a non-profit (founded 1895). The Club was limited to 150 resident members and 50 non-resident. Printed by Bruce Rogers?
Very good. Covers lightly dusted. Rear tips lightly bumped.
PRESENTATION copy to Rosenbach's nurse, companion and confidante, Edith M. Taylor. In the inscription Rosenbach has written "December 14, 1936 (among the first copies received)" - Rosenbach by Wolf & Fleming, pp. 570-71.
Extremities worn, otherwise fine.
PRESENTATION copy to Edith M. Taylor, Rosenbach's longtime nurse, companion, confidante and an heir. - Rosenbach by Wolf & Fleming, pp. 570-71.
Wrapper very chipped and tatty. Text fine.
Fine. The second annual Sol M. Malkin Lecture in Bibliography at the Columbia Univ School of Library Service. 1000 copies printed.
Good. A Book-of-the-Month Club pro bono edition, this book chronicles selections from 1,382 interviews with a wide assortment of Americans. The interviews answered the question, "What book made the greatest difference in your life? What difference did it make?"
Book fine; jacket chipped, sunned and worn. Volume 889 in the Everyman Library, listing all the previous books, with commentary.
Wrapper sunned, otherwise fine. Although it isn't written inside, it's from the Library of Lyman Butterfield.
Very good. Tips bumped. Spine somewhat dust-soiled. "There is perhaps no field of literature in which so large an amount of actual mis-information or ignorance exists as that of the rarity of many books."
Hinges starting, extremities beginning to show wear.
Spine faded and spotted, slightly shaken. One page with inked annotations.
Revised and published one year after Targ's first attempt at a pioneering price guide - for which he took a lot of heat from segments of the book world who found such a book commercial and vulgar.
Fine. Spine very lightly age-toned.
Nicely printed lectures from a series given at U. of C. in 1940 honoring the 500th anniversary of the beginnings of printing. The two titles are "The influence of printing 1450-1650" (Taylor) and "Printing and the democratic movement in the western world" (Arlt). Both were professors of German.
Author's Copy
Fine. Taylor's nifty BOOKPLATE on inside cover. Apparently, the first pricing classification where one could be assured of uniformity of billing regardless of the person computing or laying out the ad. This, in contrast to the then accepted method of charging by the hour.
Fine. Small rectangle, that may/may not have had text, cut out of leaf 20 which shows decorative borders.
Head and tail of spines worn.
Very good to fine with the boards beginning to splay out.
Covers light struck at edges.
INSCRIBED by Wells, in a shaky hand, 'To live is to aspire'. Book designed by Frederic Warde. The three things of the title are power, pleasure and peace. The book is a collection of Well's writings and speech making. Laid in is a 4 page advertisement-cum-order form from Henry Sothern for the English edition (limited to 400 copies).
Very good. Spine slightly faded.
Extremities showing wear, otherwise fine. INSCRIBED to Henry Hunt Clark.
Book fine, jacket good.
A splendid biography about the consummate bookman by two who were there - and were consummate bookmen themselves.
Fine. A remembrance on the passing of one of the legendary booksellers of the 20th century. This issue also contains an article by Leona Rostenberg on William Dugard: Pedagogue and Printer to the Commonwealth.
© 2000-2001 Coup de Foudre, LLC