THE BIRTHDAY OF THE INFANTA by Alastair [Hans Henning Voight].- Wilde, Oscar - 1928

Very good copy of the best edition of Famin's catalogue of erotic art in the secret cabinet at Naples.With 60 hand-coloured plates engraved by A. Delvaux and protected by tissue guards.The plates show phallic sculptures and graffiti, Priapic bronze figures and gods, excited votive amulets, extraordinary winged phalli, as well as frescos depicting fauns and bacchantes, satyrs and nymphs, hermaphrodites, bed scenes with slaves in attendance, Apollo and a nymph, Venus and Cupid, and the famous acrobatic "rope dancers."When King Francis I of Naples visited the Pompeii exhibition at the Naples National Archaeological Museum with his wife and daughter in 1819, he was embarrassed by the erotic artwork and ordered it to be locked away in a "secret cabinet." For most of the 19th century, the specimens could only be viewed by gentlemen scholars by appointment. Famin was granted access to the museum when he was posted to Naples as part of the French consulate, and wrote this catalog of some of the exhibits. When… Read More

12 etchings by and after Salomon Gessner, plates numbered 2-12, first plate unnumbered, with imprint in lower right corner (= complete). Cont. plain wrappers. Oblong folio (370 x 250 mm).Leemann-Van Elck p. 267/268 nos. 2-12 ; Lonchamp. Manuel du Bibliophile Suisse 1215 ("Suite de paysages avec le puits sur la première feuille"). First edition, second state, with the number '4' in lower right corner, of this suite of etchings (c. 200 x 150 mm), with classical landscape views, printed on thick laid paper. Excellent impressions on the complete sheet with clear platemark and deep blacks. A few smudges in margins. A wide margined and well preserved set.

Very good copy of the first edition of Gay's Fables with the William Blake engravings.First issue of the Stockdale edition, distinguished by the use of the long "s" throughout the text, two volumes bound in one.Complete with the "Gay Monument" frontispiece, two engraved title-pages with vignettes, and 68 engraved platesWith the 12 plates etched and engraved by William Blake in his inimitable style (Vol. 1: page 1, 29, 59, 73, 99, 109, 125, 133, 181; Vol. 2: page 1, 105, 181). Blake had launched his own career publishing The Book of Thel and The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by this time, and started taking on commercial book illustrating and engraving jobs such as Mary Wollstonecraft's Original Stories from Real Life (1791) and Fables (1793). Plates newly engraved by Blake, William Grainger, Philip Audinet, Peter Mazell, William Skelton, Lovegrove, Wilson and Cook after original designs by John Wootton, William Kent and Hubert Francois Gravelot from the 1729-1747 editions. With the List of Subscribers… Read More

Very good copy of the Large Paper Copy of the Quarto edition of Erasmus Darwin's masterpiece with the William Blake engravings. With the first edition of Part 1: containing the Economy of Vegetation, 1791, and the second edition of Part 2: containing the Love of the Plants, 1790, bound in one volume. Large Paper Copy in 29 x 22.5cm (Henrey gives 26 x 21cm for all 1791 editions). Part I has 10 plates by Henry Fuseli, William Blake, Henry Webber and others engraved by William Blake, Anker Smith, Thomas Holloway. Includes frontispiece "Flora attired by the Elements" by Henry Fuseli engraved by Anker Smith, four plates of the Portland Vase attributed to Blake (bound next to Note XXII page 53 to 59), fold-out botanical of a Cyprepedium orchid, botanical plate of Erythrina, and Sections of the Earth. The Directions to the Binder indicates only 8 plates, but this copy includes two additional plates: the famous "Fertilization of Egypt," designed by Fuseli and engraved by Blake, with the dog-headed god Anubis… Read More

Mee-seen Loong Fine Art LLC, 2014. As New. Still in publisher's shrink wrap. Photo is of the copy we have at Barbed Wire Books.

Paris, Boussod, Valadon et Cie, Boussod, Valadon et Cie, 1886-1889. 16 volumes. Halfleather, leather corners, marbeld covers and endpapers. Top edges gilt. Each volume with ca. 360 pages and many original ill. on plates; 33 cm. Text in French / Français - (leather sl. rubbed, sl. worn, some foxing/ spotting) Although very good set, see picture. More pictures on request.

Various publishers, various places 1973-2009. Book. Near Fine. Soft cover. 1st Edition. An archive of over 100 items, from the collection of the late Julian Andrews, a long-term supporter and enthusiast of the artist, Head of the Fine Arts Department of the British Council and the author of the primary reference source 'The Sculpture of David Nash'. The collection comprises over forty (primarily solo) exhibition catalogues from shows all round the UK, Europe, the US, Japan, Korea and Australia, and includes the catalogues for his first three solo shows, each written and designed by Nash; various studies and monographs; circa forty exhibition handbills and private viewing invitation cards; plus several books by Nash himself and various ephemeral bits and pieces. Seven of the items bear the artist's signature or inscription. A signed copy of Julian Andrews' exhaustive reference work is also included. A fascinating and wide-ranging archive which would now be virtually impossible to… Read More

1768 Diderot Encyclopedia Plates HUGE FOLIO Medicine Architecture Vesuvius Art

The Enlightenment's most-important general encyclopedia!

Through the mid-18th-century, large collections of knowledge were relegated to specific areas of study like law, medicine, or religion. However, Denis Diderot's 'Encyclopedie' changed the public's knowledge base as well as setting a standard for future generations of acquiring knowledge on many different subjects. This was the first encyclopedia to include contributions from many different named writers. It also was the first encyclopedia to describe work-related topics like agriculture, engineering, cooking, and trade.

This enormous tome is the complete volume of illustrations from the 1768 edition of Diderot and d'Alembert's famous encyclopedia. It features 294 full-page and folding engravings covering a wide variety of topics including human anatomy, surgery and medicine, military and war, art and architecture, zoology, chemistry, and music and theater. One… Read More

Preparatory drawing by Jakob van der Schley (1715-1779) for his famous print depicting execution methods that were supposedly used on Sri Lanka: crushing by a mounted elephant, impalement and hanging. The print was made by Van der Schley for Antoine Francois Prevost d'Exile's Histoire Generale des Voyages, published by Pierre de Hondt in The Hague1746-1789. It is included in volume VIII, where it accompanies the part on Sri Lanka (Ceylon). The part on Sri Lanka was largely derived from Robert Knox's An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon (1681), which was also illustrated with a plate showing the execution by elephant. Van der Schley modeled his composition after that example, but made drastic artistic improvements. His drawing is of a much higher artistic quality compared to the rudimentary manner in which the execution by elephant was made in Knox's work. Another difference is the other execution methods that are depicted. In Knox's illustration the other victim was tied to a pole, but in the… Read More

Kyoto Shoin Co., Ltd., Japan, 1977 Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Japanese and English text.; Hardcover (cloth without dust jacket - as issued) in slipcase with carton box.; 23 x 32 cm; 3.5 Kg; Colour illustrations throughout, each with caption in Japanese and English.; Used with signs of wear on the card box. Signs of wear on the hardcover cloth and slipcase. The characters on the spine of the slipcase spine and also on the spines of the hardcover cloth are faded. Interior in very good condition.; HARD TO FIND.; Two volume set comprising Color Section (217 pages) and Monochrome Section (238 pages).; With texts by the noted ceramic scholar Masahiko Kawahara, this two-volume publication illustrates a vast selection of Ko-sometsuke ('old blue and white') porcelain presented in 934 catalogue entries. A thorough introduction in Japanese and English outlines the most relevant features of this porcelain ware produced in China for the Japanese market during the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644),… Read More