Search Results: Titles starting with H from Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts

London: Frederick Warne and Co, 1868. 222 x 143 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 5/8"). Second volume lacking final blank. Two volumes.. Lavishly gilt contemporary black half calf by Bain (stamp-signed on verso of front free endpaper), raised bands decorated with gilt roll, spines in six compartments, two of these with titling labels of red or black, the other four quite intricately gilt with a large central filigree ornament framed by scrolling leafy cornerpieces, marbled boards, edges, and endpapers. With four plates, each with four engraved portraits, for a total of 16 portraits. ◆Boards slightly chafed, a hint of wear (only) to joints and extremities, leaves faintly yellow at edges (no doubt as in all copies), but an excellent set, clean and fresh internally, and with solid bindings that make a most attractive appearance on the shelf. The son of a Windsor publisher who kept a bookshop, Charles Knight (1791-1873) was an author, journalist, and publisher of books and periodicals. He edited several "Half-Hours"… Read More

Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable and Co, 1822. FIRST EDITION, First Impression. 222 x 140 mm. (8 3/4 x 5 1/2"). 8 pp. (ads), [1] leaf (blank) 8 pp. (ads), [3] leaves (half-title, title page, dedication), [7]-109, [1] pp., [1] leaf (notes). ORIGINAL DRAB PAPER WRAPPERS, titling printed on cover, untrimmed edges. Verso of front flyleaf with engraved bookplate of Graham W. Murdoch. Todd & Bowden 158Aa. ◆Tiny losses to backstrip, covers very slightly soiled, leaves faintly browned at edges with occasional minor foxing, but an excellent copy, the fragile original wrappers still entirely sound, and the text clean and fresh. Although this lesser-known work is written as a "dramatic sketch," Scott tells us in the preface that it is not intended to be produced on the stage. "Halidon Hill" tells the story of the reconciliation between two feuding Scottish chiefs before they die valiantly in the fight against Edward III of England. The "Eclectic Review" of September 1822 says, "This is a 'sketch,'… Read More

[London]: Natalie d'Arbeloff, 1987. A UNIQUE COPY. 275 x 324 mm. (10 7/8 x 12 3/4"). [7] leaves of handmade paper. Embossed plastic covers with 3-D collages of gloves, tools, and other everyday items, the upper cover stained brown, the lower cover blue, backed with beige buckram stitched together with white string. In the original apricot-colored burlap envelope, the upper cover with the outline of a hand embroidered in tan, the flap similarly embroidered with the word "HANDMADE," Velcro closures. Each leaf with embossed, printed, or collage images of hands. Final leaf signed by the artist in pencil and dated 1986. ◆In mint condition. This unique work by noted book artist Natalie d'Arbeloff is handmade in every sense of the word. As she notes on her website, "The cover was made from objects which happened to be lying around the workshop of a friend who had a vacuum-forming machine which I wanted to try. The hand motif is repeated in different ways on each page with collage, blind-embossing and… Read More

Boston: Printed by John Foster, 1676. FIRST EDITION. 190 x 138 mm. (7 1/2 x 5 3/4"). [36] leaves. New retrospective sheepskin. In a very good cloth clamshell box with spine label. Evans 214: Howe 755; Sabin I, 499-500. ◆Title laid down and with small area of discoloration (where an ownership inscription has been effaced?), text carelessly trimmed by the original binder, leaving leaves cut close at head, with loss of headline and pagination, often grazing the first line of text and impacting its legibility on about 10 pages (but with lower margin quite ample), final opening somewhat yellowed and soiled, light dampstain on a handful of leaves. With obvious defects (and which 17th century American imprint doesn't have them?), but worth having as a rare and important book in the history of printing in America. This is an extremely rare copy of one of the earliest books from the press of the first printer in Boston, issued in just the second year of printing in that city. The text is a sermon preached… Read More

Paris: Henry Babou and Jack Kahane; New York: Fountain Press, 1930. FIRST EDITION, LIMITED ISSUE. No. 24 OF 100 COPIES ON IRIDESCENT HANDMADE JAPON, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR (plus an additional 500 on paper and 75 writer's copies.). 283 x 191 mm. (11 1/8 x 7 1/2"). 72, [2] pp. Original white paper covers with printed titling on front and spine, leaves untrimmed and UNOPENED, IN THE ORIGINAL GLASSINE PROTECTIVE WRAPPER. The whole in the original (slightly rubbed) three-panel stiff card folder covered with gilt paper. (Without the original slipcase.) Title printed in green and black, initials and headlines printed in green. Inside front cover of folder with bookplate of John Kobler. Slocum & Cahoon A-41. ◆Corners just slightly bumped, one small faint brown spot to tissue cover, but AN OUTSTANDING COPY, the very fragile and always-torn glassine entirely intact, and the text with no signs of use, most of it never having seen the light of day. This luxury version of an excerpt from "Finnegans Wake" is… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943. FIRST EDITION. 223 x 253 mm. (8 3/4 x 6"). 1 p. l., x, [iv], 299, [3] pp. Publisher's oatmeal colored buckram, blind-stamped red and blue. Without the dust jacket. With frontispiece portrait of the author. SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on the front free endpaper. ◆Buckram on corners just very slightly frayed, a touch of glue showing through at head of spine, top edge of text block with small water stains (but not affecting the pages themselves), overall a very good copy, contents entirely clean. This is a very good copy of the third volume of H . L. Mencken's three volume memoir, signed by the author. Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was an American journalist, scholar, and critic best known for his study of spoken English in the United States ("The American Language"), and for his work at the Herald and Baltimore Sun, including coverage of what he scathingly dubbed the Scopes "Monkey Trial." This third volume covers the years 1890-1936, covering "a wider range of time than… Read More

London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1845. 242 x 170 mm. (9 5/8 x 6 5/8"). vi, [ii] (plate list), 280 pp.Edited by the Countess of Blessington. Attractive contemporary dark brown pebble-grain morocco, covers with thick and thin gilt rule border, central gilt mandorla, raised bands, gilt titling, gilt-rolled turn-ins, pale yellow endpapers, all edges gilt. Extra engraved title page with vignette, and 12 engraved portraits of society beauties, with original tissue guards. ◆A breath of rubbing to extremities, a touch of light marginal foxing to half the plates, otherwise A FINE COPY, clean and fresh with wide margins in a virtually unworn binding. Heath's Book of Beauty was published from 1832--when it became an immediate bestseller--to 1847. As seen here, its portraits of aristocratic women provide a window into mid-century Victorian culture, particularly its understanding of beauty, fashion, and class. From a family of respected English engravers, author Charles Heath (1785-1848) was… Read More

New York: John W. Lovell & Co, 1891. FIRST AMERICAN PRINTING. No. 49 OF 100 COPIES of the Large Paper Edition. 210 x 165 mm. (8 1/4 x 6 1/2"). xv, 236 pp.Translated from the Norwegian by Edmund Gosse. Contemporary chocolate brown three-quarter morocco over marbled boards, raised bands, spine gilt in compartments with lily-of-the-valley sprig at center, volute cornerpieces, gilt titling, top edge gilt, other edges untrimmed. With frontispiece photogravure portrait of Ibsen, and two photo-mezzo-type pictures of actresses Miss Robins and Miss Lea in their roles in the London production. Front pastedown with bookplate of Henry Horner; front free endpaper with small gift inscription in green ink, dated 1923. PMM 375 (Norwegian Edition). ◆A VERY FINE COPY, with just a small, isolated dent to fore-edge of upper board; the contents extremely clean and fresh. This is a limited, Large Paper Copy of Ibsen's most famous play, very rare both institutionally and in commerce, with visually pleasing wide… Read More

Much Hadham: Raymond Spenser Company Limited, 1985. No. 57 OF 75 COPIES OF EDITION B, from a total edition of 450 sets. Catalogue and sketchbook: 240 x 186 mm. (9 1/2 x 7 3/8"); Folding box: 411 x 323 mm. (16 1/8 x 12 3/4"). Catalogue: 24 pp.; Sketchbook: 84 pp., [1] blank leaf. Catalogue by Ann Garrould. Sketchbook bound in plain maroon buckram; catalogue in thick brown textured paper wrappers with white signature and titling on cover. Both housed in an oversized folding box bound in tan Richard de Bas handmade paper with artist's signature stamped in black on front cover, black titling on spine (sketchbook and box by Dermont-Duval, Paris). WITH AN ORIGINAL ETCHING WITH COLOR AQUATINT of "Reclining Nude, 1983" (depicted on p. 49 of sketchbook) hand-numbered and SIGNED BY MOORE in pencil, housed in cream-colored paper folder with tissue guard. Sketchbook with edition label on rear pastedown hand-numbered and SIGNED BY MOORE in pencil. ◆Corners of folding box slightly bumped and with very slight… Read More

London: George Newnes Ltd, [1903]. 163 x 96 mm. (6 3/8 x 3 3/4"). Two volumes.. VERY PRETTY SCARLET CRUSHED MOROCCO BY MORRELL (stamp-signed on front turn-in), covers gilt in a "Scottish Wheel" design with very intricate filigree "wheel" at center and similar fan-shaped cornerpieces, raised bands, spines gilt in compartments with delicately tooled frames and scallop shell design at center, gilt titling, turn-ins with frame of decorative rolls and floral garlands, gray-green watered silk endleaves, all edges gilt. With illustrated title pages in each volume and 26 line drawings (reproduced by photolithography and photogravure) by Robert Savage, as called for. Part of "The Caxton Series." ◆Spines slightly (but uniformly) darkened, half a dozen tiny dark dots to boards, a hint of rubbing to joints and extremities, but still an extremely pleasing copy, pristine internally, and in lustrous bindings. Day praises the verse of "the greatest of the Cavalier poets" for its "charming daintiness" and… Read More

Amsterdam: Pierre Humbert, 1714. FIRST EDITION. 290 x 220 mm. (11 1/2 x 8 3/4"). Two volumes.. Excellent contemporary calf, raised bands, spine lavishly gilt in compartments with unusual architectural centerpiece, intricate scrolling cornerpieces with lancet accents, two red morocco labels, marbled endpapers. Title pages with engraved vignette of the council, dedication page with engraved royal arms of Frederick William of Prussia, decorative engraved initials, and 19 ENGRAVED PORTRAITS BY BERNARD PICART. A Large Paper Copy. Front pastedowns with private library shelf label of Bessinge. Title pages of both volumes with signature of Charles Richard Tronchin. Brunet III, 976. ◆Volume II with half-inch split at head of front joint and small patch of lost patina (from insect activity) on front board, joints and extremities of both volumes a little rubbed, boards with light chafing or faint scratches, isolated mild browning or other trivial imperfections but still AN EXTREMELY APPEALING SET--entirely… Read More

Paris: Chez Claude Barbin, 1693-94. FIRST EDITION. 248 x 191 mm. (9 3/4 x 7 1/2"). Three volumes.. SPLENDID AND UNUSUAL EARLY 19TH CENTURY MARBLED CALF, SUMPTUOUSLY GILT, WITH RED MOROCCO SPINES, covers with gilt borders of two decorative rules and an elegant undulating floral vine, flat straight-grain morocco spines very handsomely gilt in compartments with pointillé ground and central circlet from which radiate four lilies and four leaves on twining stems, turn-ins gilt with plain and decorative rolls, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With engraved head- and tailpieces and eight engraved portraits. Verso of front free endpaper with armorial bookplate of Baron de Mackau (see below); title page with ink ownership inscription (of Alexander Paul Ludwig Goupy?) in a contemporary hand. Brunet II, 822; Graesse II, 428; Lowndes I, 1374. ◆Isolated gatherings with variable browning (a small handful rather browned), one leaf in first volume with inexpert early repair of four-inch tear (letters of four… Read More

Paris: Librairie L. Conquet, L. Carteret et Cie, successor, 1904. ONE OF 200 COPIES of the text, printed on Marais vellum paper (this unnumbered copy printed for René Descamps-Scrive); COPY "L. C." OF 30 COPIES of the extra suite of plates, designated for Léopold Carteret. 270 x 175 mm. (10 1/2 x 7"). 2 p.l., 68, [2] pp. LOVELY CREAM-COLORED CRUSHED MOROCCO, INLAID AND GILT, BY G. MERCIER (stamp-signed G. Mercier S[uccesseu]r. de son père and dated 1911), covers bordered by inlaid olive green morocco band enclosed by multiple gilt rules, inner frame of gilt and inlaid floral vine with 31 inlaid pink morocco blooms, 58 pink buds, and multiple green leaves, raised bands, spine compartments with similar border and inlaid floral centerpiece, gilt titling, SUPERB INCISED LEATHER DOUBLURES signed by Hiard, WITH MODELLED AND HAND-PAINTED SCENES showing two birds on branches of berries (front) and the empty branches without the birds (rear), iridescent bronze watered silk endleaves, marbled flyleaves,… Read More

Paris: Chez la Veuve Pissot, 1736. FIRST EDITION. 165 x 102 mm. (6 1/2 x 4"). 4 p.l., 152 pp. Slightly later marbled paper boards, flat spine, paper label, marbled endpapers. Woodcut headpieces, tailpieces, and large ornament on title page. Front pastedown with traces of bookplate. First blank with round, illegible institutional stamp. ◆Marbled paper somewhat rubbed on lower edges and ends of spine, faint dampstaining in lower margin of first three gatherings (slightly frayed in the same spot on first few leaves), text a shade less than bright, but still an excellent copy, the binding solid and pleasing, and internally fresh and clean. Saint-Hyacinthe (1684-1746), born Hyacinthe Cordonnier, did not have a smooth ride in life. He joined the French cavalry, using the sobriquet of Chevalier de Thémiseul, but was captured by the Dutch, and his ardor for the military life was consequently dampened. Subsequently, he tested his mettle as a womanizer, but this resulted in his banishment from France. The… Read More

Paris: Chez Baudry, 1832. 219 x 156 mm. (8 5/8 x 6 1/8"). 2 p.l., xxiv, 395 pp.Translated by Madame Du Fresne. FINE CONTEMPORARY GREEN STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, GILT, BY HERING & MULLER (their ticket on front pastedown, and stamp-signed in gilt by Muller at tail of spine), covers framed by multiple gilt rules with decorative cornerpieces, center of each cover with large arms of Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, (the last) Dauphin of France (1775-1844); flat spine gilt in one long and one short panel tooled with a guilloche roll highlighted with rosettes and fleurs-de-lys; gilt titling, densely gilt turn-ins, textured pale yellow endpapers, all edges gilt. Text in French and English on facing pages. Front pastedown with the large bookplate of the Comte de Chambord (calling himself Henri V of France and indicating--in print--that this volume was acquired from Maggs Brothers); front free endpaper with an ex-libris ticket without identification, and the octagonal black morocco bookplate of Michel… Read More

Paris: F.-L. Schmied, 1927. FIRST EDITION. No. 50 OF 170 COPIES, SIGNED BY SCHMIED. 318 x 241 mm. (12 1/2 x 9 1/2"). 8 p.l. (first four blank), 145 pp., [9] leaves (last four blank). Unbound as issued in original printed paper wrappers. With 14 full-page color wood engravings (including the frontispiece signed in pencil by Schmied) and 635 color panel borders, line fillers, and tailpieces in the Art Deco style, all by Schmied. Recto of limitations page with a facsimile inscription by the author to Schmied. Carteret IV, 263. ◆Short ink mark to margin of title page, just the faintest isolated smudge or freckled foxing, otherwise a very fine copy, clean and fresh, with the fragile wrapper unsoiled and remarkably well preserved. This is an excellent example of the impressive book arts productions of François-Louis Schmied (1873-1941), a man who raised Art Deco to its highest level in the field of bibliophilic publishing in France and someone who generally was responsible (as here) for every aspect… Read More

Lugduni Batavorum [Leyden]: Ex Officina Elzeviriana, 1635. 127 x 70 mm. (5 x 2 3/4"). Three volumes. Edited by Jean de Laet. VERY PRETTY 18TH CENTURY RED MOROCCO, GILT, covers with French fillet border, raised bands with gilt lettering, spine compartments with central floral sprig framed with curling brackets terminating in ivy leaves, spray of daisies on either side, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Woodcut headpieces, tailpieces, and initials (some of them historiated), engraved title page in first volume, printer's device in second and third volumes, author's medallion portrait facing the beginning of the text. Willems 428; Rahir 420-21: Dibdin II, 323-24. ◆Spines gently and evenly sunned, joints a little rubbed (one with a thin crack beginning at the top), boards with trivial soiling; occasional mild foxing, but a nearly fine copy, clean and fresh internally, in equally well-preserved, and pleasing bindings. This is the only Elzevir edition of one of the great works of… Read More

France, late 12th century. 176 x 132 mm. (7 x 5 1/4"). Single column, 18 lines in a protogothic hand (text on one side only). Rubrics in red, "Liber" in upper margin in red. Recto and verso with scribblings by later hands, the name "Simon Pivante" clearly visible on recto, but the others illegible. ◆Recovered from a binding and thus with obvious staining, folds, and rubbing, a couple lines at top and bottom and a few other words here and there too rubbed to make out, but by and large still very legible and in a pleasing hand. This leaf is primarily of interest for its content, containing a rare example of Anastasius Bibliothecarius' "Historia Ecclesiastica" of the Byzantine Church (also known as the "Chronographia tripartita"), compiled from the works of the near-contemporary Greek authors Theophanes, Nicephorus, and Syncellus. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Anastasius Bibliothecarius (ca. 810-79) "learned Greek from Greek monks, and obtained an unusual education for his era, so that he… Read More

Rome: Johannes Philippus de Lignamine, 15 May 1476. 323 x 230 mm. (12 3/4 x 9"). Single column, 32 lines in roman type. Attractively matted. With neat marginalia in a contemporary hand. Goff E-126; BMC IV, 34; ISTC ie00126000. ◆A couple of minor corner creases, sprinkling of tiny brown (ink?) spots to tail edge, but A FINE LEAF, clean and fresh with generous margins. .

Paris: [Antoine Caillaut and Jean Du Pré (printer of Paris)], 1486-87. First Edition in French. 280 x 203 mm. (11 x 8"). Double column, 35 lines in an elegant bâtarde type. Attractively matted. Paragraph marks in red (one with a six-line extension) and two two-line initials in red. Goff L-250; BMC VIII, 35; ISTC il00250000. ◆A touch of yellowing to gutter edge, tiny smudge at head edge, a couple of faint creases, but A FINE LEAF from the first French edition of Livy's Roman history, clean, fresh, and bright with attractive initials. .