Rare books from D & E Lake Ltd. (ABAC, ILAB)

Colophon on G2r: [Venice: In Aedibus Aldi, Et Andreae Soceri, October 1518]., 1518. 8vo. ff. 233, [3]. complete with the 2 blanks, B8 & G3. Aldine woodcut device on title & verso of last leaf. 19th century paneled calf. armorial bookplate of Henry Richard Vassall Fox, Third Baron Holland [1773-1840]. First Aldine Edition of this collection of ancient geographical texts. Mela’s was "the first extant geographical work in Latin and the only Roman treatise of the classical period devoted exclusively to that subject." (DSB) His descriptive survey of the habitable world (Europe, Africa, and Asia) includes remarks on manners and customs, details on spectacular phenomena, and speculation on the causes of tides. "Despite his general inferiority as a geographer, Pomponius knew more than Strabo about the positions of Britain, Ireland, and the coasts of Gaul and north Germany; he was also the first to mention the Orkney Islands. Pomponius exerted a considerable influence on early… Read More

London: Printed for B.White, J.Robson, P.Elmsly, and G.Robinson, 1777., 1777. 2 Volumes. 4to. pp. xviii, [2], 602; 2 p.l., 607. without the errata leaf at the end of Vol. I. folding engraved map (frontis.). An attractive set in contemporary sprinkled calf, neatly rebacked, corners renewed, spines tooled in gilt (Vol. I title-leaf professionally remargined at lower edge & upper outer corner with small repair, marginal repair to GG2-3 affecting part of headline, occasional spotting). First Edition of this important account of Cooks second voyage, which preceded the publication of the official record by some six weeks. The author and his father, Johann Reinhold, served as naturalists on the expedition. While the elder Forster was originally to have written the account, he was forbidden to do so because of a dispute with the Admiralty concerning his emoluments. It is based on his journal and also draws from Cooks own although no acknowledgement is given. Humboldt said that he was indebted to this work… Read More

London: Printed for the Brethren’s Society for the Furtherance of the Gospel among the Heathen; And sold by J.Dodsley, T.Becket & P.A.De Hondt., 1767., 1767. 2 Volumes. 8vo. pp. 1 p.l., lix, 405; 1 p.l., 497, [1]errata. 2 folding engraved maps & 7 folding engraved plates. contemporary calf, rebacked preserving spine labels, corners renewed (paper lightly embrowned). First Edition of the English Translation. An authoritative description and history of Greenland and chronicle of the establishment and progress of the Moravian missionary settlements at New Herrnhuth and Lichtenfels. Cranz’s work contains extensive discussion of natural history, whaling, sealing and fishing, the manners and customs of the native Greenlanders, their moral character, diseases, health and medicine, language, &c., and an account of early Norse exploration. Dr. Johnson declared that very few books had ever affected him so deeply as Cranz’s. The continuation, covering the period 1763 to 1768, includes… Read More

[Edinburgh: Robert Lekpreuik, 28 November, 1566., 1566. folio. ff. [14], ii-cxxii, cxxiiii-cxlv, [1], cxlvi-clviii, [2], clix-clxviii, [2], clxix-clxxxii. lacking initial blank & blank c4. woodcut title. woodcut initials. black letter. 19th century russia, gilt centre ornaments, gilt inside dentelles (joints repaired, head & foot of spine chipped, some of first few leaves apparently supplied from another copy, title cropped & repaired at corners with part of lower outer corner supplied in facsimile, marginal repairs to other prelims, occasional light soiling, light dampstaining in second part). a few old marginal notes. First Edition, variant issue, of the earliest collection of Scottish acts and statutes, compiled by James Balfour and others, and edited by Edward Henryson. The commission to compile and publish the laws, known as the ‘Black Acts’, was appointed by Queen Mary largely through the advice of John Leslie, Bishop of Ross. The work, covering the period from the… Read More

[Colophon on A8v:] Nuremberg: Johann Schönsperger, [1517]., 1517. folio. 353 x 248 mm. [ff. 290, incl. blank P5]. xylographic title. 118 large woodcuts in the text. A very nice tall copy bound in 19th century antique-style blind-stamped morocco by Clarke & Bedford, all edges gilt (some wear to edges & joints but binding solid, p6, t1 & the 8 leaves of the last gathering remargined & possibly supplied from a smaller copy, occasional light spotting, scattered tears & paper defects skilfully repaired - these are mainly marginal but in a few instances the text is slightly affected, on t4 with some letters supplied in pen facsimile, & on m8 & x5 with parts of some letters supplied in pen facsimile). mezzotint portrait (foxed) of Pfintzing inserted. the Huth-Boies Penrose copy, with leather ex-libris & bookplates. First Edition of one of the most celebrated German woodcut books of the sixteenth century. This allegorical poem of knight-errantry celebrates the heroic exploits of the Emperor Maximilian I… Read More

London: Printed For John Stockdale, 1807., 1807. 3 Volumes. 8vo. pp. xlviii, 576; viii, 616; 1 p.l., xxx, 477. engraved frontis. portrait, 11 folding engraved maps, & 10 folding engraved plates by F. Bartolozzi, T.Milton, Scott, Storer, Grignion, W.Grainger, & Audinet after B.West, Hayes, Thomas Stothard, &c. contemporary sprinkled calf (little worn & rubbed, margins of a few plates browned, few short tears in several plates repaired - no loss). ownership entry & armorial bookplate of the Hon. Archibald Cochrane, R.N. Fourth Edition of a classic in British Caribbean literature. Edwards lived in Jamaica with his uncle for a number of years and inherited the latter's estate. He is also said to have been left heir in 1773 to the substantial property of a Mr. Hume of Jamaica. Returning permanently to England in 1792 he became a highly successful West Indian merchant, founder of a bank, and a member of Parliament. In his account of the British West Indies Edwards argued for unrestricted… Read More

London: Printed For John Stockdale & George Goulding, 1789., 1789. 4to. pp. xii, 384, xl. 1 large folding engraved general chart, 5 other folding engraved charts & plans, engraved frontis. portrait & 13 engraved plates. contemporary calf, rebacked (slight staining along folds of 2 maps & to top edge of 2 plates – supplied). First Edition. Nathaniel Portlock and William Dixon, both veterans of Captain Cook’s third voyage to the Pacific in 1776-80, were engaged in 1785 by the King George’s Sound Company, to investigate reports of the lucrative fur trade on the northwest American coast and establish a trade on their behalf. Their major accomplishment, however, was the more detailed exploration and mapping of the coast and improving of Cook’s charts of the region. On the voyage out, visits were made to the Falkland and Hawaiian Islands. The two ships later separated and sailed independently for a major part of the expedition, Portlock exploring northward up along the… Read More

Seville: Francisco Garay, 1708., 1708. folio. pp. 22 p.l., 829, [1]blank, [18]contents & index. title-page in red & black within ornamental border. text in double columns. engraved frontis. by J.C.Allet after a design by Pietro de Pietri. woodcut initials. typographic head & tailpieces. contemporary limp vellum (some marginal worming in outer gatherings). First Edition. An important detailed history of the Franciscan mission in Morocco, begun in 1234 with the appointment of Father Angelo, Franciscan friar and papal legate, as Bishop. Most of the text is devoted to the trials and tribulations of the missionaries, their persecution and many martyrdoms at the hands of the Muslim inhabitants. Also included are a description of the country and discussion of the religion of the Moors, manners and customs, government, &c. Palau 293854. Gay 1276. Brunet V 109.. 1st Edition.

Basel: In Officina Hervagiana [Per Ioannem Hervagium], 1539., 1539. 7 Parts in 1. folio. pp. 2 p.l., 63, [5]; 244; 243; 211; 91, [1]; [39], [1]; [96]. woodcut printer's device on first title, on title & at end of Book 5, on title & at end of the Chronologia, & at the end of the text. historiated woodcut initials. A nice copy, bound in 17th century speckled calf, paneled in gilt, rebacked, preserving endpapers & spine label, corners renewed (very occasional marginal stains). engraved armorial bookplate of Algernon Capell, [second] Earl of Essex, dated 1701, on title. A handsome folio edition, based on the Basel Froben editions of 1531 and 1535, the former being the first to incorporate the first five books of the Fifth Decade (Books 41-45), sourced from a manuscript discovered by German humanist Simon Grynaeus [1493-1541] in the Benedictine abbey of Lorsch in 1527. This edition reprints the 1531 dedicatory preface by Erasmus, and the improved chronology by Swiss humanist, Heinrich… Read More

London: Printed For Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, And Brown, 1817., 1817. 4to. pp. xxii, 607. tipped-in errata slip. 8 engraved maps & plates (1 folding), 2 aquatints (1 double-page), & 4 panoramic views of Athens drawn by William Haygarth & etched by C.Turner. aquatint title vignette & tailpiece. several text illus. modern half calf (scattered foxing mainly affecting plates & adjacent leaves). First Edition of this collection of important previously unpublished material on the natural history, commerce, topography, and architecture of Greece and Asia Minor by John Sawrey Morritt, John Squire, and other noted travellers, scientists, and classical scholars. Included are papers on monasteries and libraries by Dr. Hunt, the antiquities of Egypt by Nathaniel Davison, the mines of Laurium and the gold and silver coinage of the Athenians by the editor and the Earl of Aberdeen, the flora and fauna of Greece and Cyprus by botanist John Sibthorp, &c. Blackmer 1762.. 1st Edition.… Read More

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company…, [1915]. First American Edition of this gripping account of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14 led by Sir Douglas Mawson to King George V Land and Adelie Land, the almost entirely unexplored section of the Antarctic continent immediately south of Australia. In addition to carrying out geographical exploration and scientific studies, the expedition was to visit the South Magnetic Pole. On one excursion in 1912 Mawson lost one of his two companions, Ninnis, down a crevice together with six of their best dogs, most of their food rations, and some of their best supplies. Forced to use their remaining dogs as food, they began to suffer from symptoms brought on by ingesting husky liver containing extremely high levels of Vitamin A. Mertz finally succumbed following bouts of irrationality and raging. Mawson managed escape being swallowed up by a crevice himself and made it back to their base alone just a few hours after their ship had left. He and six… Read More

London: John Murray, 1824. First Edition. Parry was of the opinion that the Northwest Passage could probably be reached through Hudson's Bay. In 1821, he set out to investigate that possibility and to link up with John Franklin's overland expedition to the Coppermine River, and down to Coronation Gulf. He sailed through Hudson and Frozen Straits, explored Repulse Bay and proceeded west and north to Lyon Inlet. He passed the winter at Winter Island and then resumed his northward voyage, discovering Fury and Hecla Strait. The second winter was spent at Igloolik Island off the northeast coast of the Melville Peninsula.This account of the voyage and explorations conducted contains much information regarding the characteristics and social life of the Esquimaux of the region. Most of the plates, after drawings by Captain Lyon, illustrate the domestic life of the Esquimaux, their fishing and hunting practices, dwellings and tools, &c. An Esquimaux vocabulary is also included. Arctic Bib. 13142.… Read More

Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1886. First Edition of this account of the important 1884-86 first west to east expedition across South Africa between the coasts of Angola and Mozambique accomplished by Brito Capello and Roberto Ivans. The two Portuguese naval officers mapped a viable commercial route, explored the unknown interior first between the Angola coastline and Huila plain and later through the interior of Quelimane in Mozambique, and conducted important hydrographic and ethnographic and linguistic studies. Capello became governor of Angola (1886-1891) following the publication of the present work, and later became aide-de-camp to King Luis I and King Carlos I of Portugal. 2 Volumes. 8vo. pp. xxvii, 448; xiii, 490. with half-titles. 7 folding maps, 2 folding charts, & numerous wood-engraved plates & text illus. A fine set in contemporary quarter morocco, gilt coronet on upper covers, all edges gilt (small library rubberstamp on titles)

London: Printed For Richard Phillips, By J.G.Barnard, 1807. First Edition. 8vo. pp. iv, [5]-43, [1]index. 9 aquatint plates (3 folding). new quarter morocco.
A description of Senegal and Sierra Leone and the West African slave trade. The author was a surgeon on the British sloop Favourite. The striking illustrations are after his own sketches.

London: Printed for E[lizabeth] Newbery, 1780. Bondy p. 34. 4.3 x 3.2 cm. 2 engraved titles & 14 engraved plates. A fine copy in original gilt-tooled red morocco, gilt back, all edges gilt, central green morocco onlay on both covers with gilt holy cypher ‘JHS’