Rare books from Boston Book Company

1809. PORTER, Miss [Jane]. THADDEUS OF WARSAW, 2 VOLUMES. Boston: Lemuel Blake, 1809. First American edition from the Fourth English edition. 307/296 pp. 12mo., calf with red gilt morocco spine labels. Front joints starting, moderate rubbing to boards and spines. Labels clear and only slightly dulled. Contemporary small printed bookplates to front pastedowns; ink ownership to front flyleaves. Some dampstaining to edges of pages, light to moderate foxing in the text and end matter. Porter's second work, preceded only by a children's story. A popular early effort in the historical novel genre (through twelve editions), it is based on the Polish independence movement of the late 18th century, and was lauded by the Polish patriot Kosciusko. Quite scarce.

1884. GREENE, W. T. PARROTS IN CAPTIVITY, 3 VOLUMES. London: George Bell and Sons, 1884 - 1887. First editions. Three different 8vo. green cloth bindings, the third volume being about 1/2 inch taller. x + 144 pp/xiv + 114 pp/viii + 144 pp. Volume 3 lacks the last three plates. Light soil and wear to cloth, corners bumped. Gilt slightly faded on Vol. 1 and 2's spines; Vol. 3 has a printed paper spine label. Hinges cracked in first 2 volumes, third sound with light foxing to endpapers. Light pale foxing to edges of frontispiece in Volumes 1 and 3; else the plates are fine. Total of 78 beautiful chromolithograph plates.

FE. DUYCKINCK, Evert A. NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY OF EMINENT AMERICANS. From Original Full Length Paintings by Alonzo Chappel. With Biographical and Historical Narratives, by Evert A. Duyckinck. In two volumes. New York: Johnson, Fry & Company, (1861-1864). 4to, half leather and a.e.g, gilt rules, raised bands, gilt spine lettering, beveled brown pebbled cloth boards stamped in gilt. Rubbed, cloth stained, joints tender, inner hinges starting. Cloth frayed at bottom corner of top board, Vol. I. The 119 plates are, with very few exceptions, extremely clean and sharp. Very good overall.

1932. [EPHEMERA - 20TH CENTURY] FOUR ORIGINAL LINDBERGH BABY ABDUCTION REWARD POSTERS. US Government Printing Office, 1932/New Jersey State Police, Trenton, NJ, 1932. Various sizes, printed on one side only. 1. "$25,000 REWARD! For information resulting in the apprehension and conviction of the kidnapers of Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr. The following is a list of currency paid as ransom. The list is arranged according to the LAST FOUR DIGITS of the serial number." Folded newsprint, toned and brittle, several closed tears to joints and creases with no loss except for a few small chips to edges. 27 x 17 inches unfolded. Fair to good condition. 2. "$25,000 REWARD for information resulting in the apprehension and conviction of the kidnapers of CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, JR." Handwriting samples from the ransom notes reproduced in facsimile. 11 x 8 1/2 inches, b/w on white paper. Very good condition, no creasing. 3. "To All Law Enforcement Officials, Wardens of Penal Institutions, Etc." Handwriting samples from… Read More

1871. MACDONALD, George. THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN. New York: George Routledge and Sons, 1871. First American edition of MacDonald's second full-length fairy tale, following At the Back of the North Wind, which had appeared in the preceding year. 30 wood-engraved illustrations by Arthur Hughes. Octavo. iv,315 pp. Publisher's green cloth binding with pictorial decorations on spine and front cover, based on text illustrations by Hughes, in gilt and black. Off-white coated endpapers. All edges gilt. Binder's ticket ('Bound by Burns & Co.') on rear pastedown. The decoration of the American binding is almost identical with the Strahan & Co. first-edition binding, including the crescent moon and flaming torch in gilt outside of the front cover circle, and with the publisher's name gilt-stamped at the base of the spine - only in this case it is Routledge. The difference occurs on the spine where the entire title is gilt-stamped, as opposed to the Strahan copies on which the the word 'goblin' is printed in… Read More

1726. [SWIFT, Jonathan]. TRAVELS INTO SEVERAL REMOTE NATIONS OF THE WORLD. In FOUR PARTS. By LEMUEL GULLIVER, First a SURGEON, and then a CAPTAIN of several SHIPS. Vol. I.[II.] London: Printed for Benj. Motte, at the Middle Temple-Gate in Fleet-street, 1726[-1727]. Mixed first and second edition. Four parts bound in two octavo volumes: xii,148,[vi],164; [vi],155,[1 blank],199,[1 blank]. Engraved frontisportrait of Gulliver in Vol. I in the usual second state, with the inscription "Captain Lemuel Gulliver of..." on the oval and a Latin inscription on the tablet. Also illustrated with four maps, two plans, and numerous wood-engraved head- and tail-pieces. Contemporary calf boards, expertly rebacked with later matching calf spines and leather labels, all edges stained red. Early ink ownership on front fly-leaf of Vol. I. Boards have gently rounded fore-corners and abraded surfaces. The lower joint of Vol II is starting. Rear endpapers in both volumes are replacements and are slightly toned. Occasional… Read More

[RAILROAD] RAILROAD BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND EPHEMERA, 23 ITEMS. As follows: 1. DETROIT LUBRICATOR COMPANY. "GENUINE DETROIT" MODEL A LOCOMOTIVE FORCE FEED OILER, CATALOG NO. 174. Detroit, MI [n.d.] 56 pp. including folding charts and b/w and two-color illustrations, and halftone photos. 8vo., heavily soiled printed stapled wrappers, yellow. Some soil to page edges. 2. DETROIT LUBRICATOR COMPANY. DETROIT BULLSEYE LOCOMOTIVE LUBRICATORS, CATALOG NO. 38 L. Detroit, MI, 1918. 62 pp. Halftone photos. 8vo., moderate soil to printed stapled wrappers with 3 color embossed front cover. Light offset to front and rear pages, and some soil to page edges. 3. WORTHINGTON PUMP AND MACHINERY CORPORATION. WORTHINGTON LOCOMOTIVE BOILER FEED PUMP AND FEED WATER HEATER, TYPES B AND BL, GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR OPERATION BK-1608-F. New York, May 1927. 36 pp. Stiff green printed wrappers with green cloth tape spine, rounded corners. 12mo., moderate soil to covers and a few pages, b/w folding diagram, two-color folding… Read More

1880. PRANG, Louis, et al. SELECTION OF AMERICAN PRANG VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS CARDS AND COLLECTOR'S SCRAPBOOK. 28 original Prang (and other) Christmas and holiday cards from the Victorian era, together with scrapbook pages, collector's manuscript notes and articles from various periodicals and newspapers about holiday cards. The cards are all in very good condition, a few with slight creasing or wear to corners, or label adhesion to reverse. There are 20 small Christmas cards, 4.5 x 5 inches or smaller; three large Christmas cards, 5.5 x 6 inches or larger; one large fringed Christmas card, 4.25 x 5.5 inches; one large fringed Easter card, 4 x 5.25 inches (this card has a faint horizontal crease); two small New Year's cards, 2.25 x 3.5 inches or larger; and one large 3-D folding Valentine (not by Prang), 8.75 x 6 inches, with light creasing at the top. All sizes are approximate, and except for the Valentine, all are square or rectangular. One of the large Christmas cards has a light dusting of white… Read More

1721. RUYSCH, Frederik. OPERA OMNIA ANATOMICO-MEDICO-CHIRURGICA. Huc usque edita. Quorum Elenchus pagina sequenti exhibetur. Cum figuris aeneis. Amstelodami, apud Janssonio-Waesbergios, 1721 [i.e. c. 1733]. 4 quarto volumes. Engraved title-page and portrait, 9 text illustrations, + 135 sheets of engraved illustrations. (The illustrations of jars and tableaux of skeletons in the Thesaurus anatomicus by Cornelius Huyberts are worthy of special note for their surreal combination of flowers, fishes, reptiles, seashells and delicate body parts.) This is a four-volume collection of separately published works by Ruysch or of works addressed to him by others; it also includes a life of Ruysch by J. F. Schreiber, a four-page table of contents (which lists only a portion of the works that comprise this set), and an index, dated 1725. The forty-four component works, in varying editions, were all printed by Jansson & Waesberge at Amsterdam from 1720-1733; each has a separate title-page and pagination. It… Read More

1717. MARIN, Pieter. DICTIONNAIRE COMPLET HOLLANDOIS ET FRANCOIS. COMPLEET NEDERDUITSCH EN FRANSCH WOORDENBOEK. Amsterdam, printed for the author in de Wye-Capelsteeg, and also to be found at the Widow Gysbert de Groot and Pieter de Coup, 1710 and 1717. Quarto. Two volumes. [xl]1208[4]; [xx]1062pp. First edition, with both volumes signed by the author on the "copye van de Privilegie" page. The first volume, published in 1710, has French to Dutch vocabulary; the second, 1717, is Dutch to French. Both have engraved allegorical titlepages, explained in Dutch on a separate, printed leaf. The author promises to follow the usage of the French Academy, and to include terms of the "necessary arts, curious notes, historical remarks, and other items encouraging a taste for good literature." In early vellum, dried, broken and soiled. Volume I is detached from its covers, with the 20 leaves of prelims disbound, with some staining and tattering, but no loss to printed area. Volume II clings to its covers by two… Read More

1889. WALTON, William. THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED STATES, 1776-1891. Philadelphia: George Barrie, 1889-1895. Edition de luxe, number 164. Two folio volumes in 12 parts: Army; Navy, and a register of the Army and Navy from 1775-1865. [2], 128; 38, 171 pp. Housed in publisher's cloth portfolios, while the 12 parts are present, one of the portfolio folders is missing. Illustrated with 44 hand-colored plates and with numerous black & white illustrations tipped-in to text leaves. Plates and text are printed on paper watermarked with the title. The plates are beautfully colored and fresh. The text leaves and plates were originally glued into paper wrappers, which were then glued into the portfolios; the glue has disintegrated and the sheets are now loose in the portfolios. The title-page is lacking. There is marginal dampstaing to many text leaves, with some dust-soiling at edges, and the portfolios are soiled. This is truly a de luxe edition, with printing and paper of the best quality, but the… Read More

1869. THACKERAY, William Makepeace. WORKS OF WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, 24 VOLS. Illustrated by the author, Frederick WALKER, George DU MAURIER and Richard DOYLE. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1869. var. pp. 8vo., bound by Riviere & son in half green morocco with gilt rules, gilt ornamented spines in a floral motif, green cloth boards, marbled green endpapers, t.e.g. Spines sunned to brown. Top of spine of Vol. I is slightly chipped, some joints are a bit worn or tender. A lovely set nonetheless. Most volumes are illustrated by the author in b/w as noted; some are without any illustrations. The set: I. Vanity Fair I, illustrated by the author. II. Vanity Fair II, illustrated by the author. III. Pendennis I, illustrated by the author. IV. Pendennis II, illustrated by the author. V. The Newcomes I, illustrated by Richard Doyle. VI. The Newcomes II, illustrated by Richard Doyle. VII. The History of Henry Esmond, Esq., illustrated by George du Maurier. VIII. The Virginians I, illustrated by the author.… Read More

1804. GIBBON, Edward. THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. Includes MEMOIRS OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ. COMP0SED BY HIMSELF. In eight volumes. Philadelphia: William W. Birch & Abraham Small, 1804-1805. First American edition. 8vo., Frontis in volume one, three fold-out maps. Contemporary full calf with maroon labels with edge decorations. Ink signature of Samuel Trask on each flyleaf. All bindings are somewhat rubbed, several have small nicks to the top of the spine, spines a bit dry, some hinges a bit tender; overall a very good, appealing set of the first American edition of a of a landmark historical work in its original presentation. Shaw & Shoemaker 6381, Norton 48; p.102.

1649. CULPEPER, Nicholas. A PHYSICAL DIRECTORY or a Translation of the London Dispensatory Made by the Colledge of Physicians in London. Being that Book by which all Apothicaries are strictly commanded to make all their Physick with many hundred additions ... Also there is added the use of all the simples ... London: Peter Cole, 1649. First edition, a translation from the Latin of the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis (1618) of the College of Physicians. Small quarto. [18], 345 [i.e. 311, due to pagination errors & two missing leaves], [28] pp. Lacks frontispiece portrait and 2 leaves of text (K2&3, or pp. 59-62) Contemporary calf binding, rubbed and a little worn at extremities, with boards slightly bowed. Later endpapers, only the rear free endpaper has been removed, with a nineteenth-century bookplate at front pastedown. Ex library, a perforated stamp to title leaf and no other marks. Some leaves partially sprung but on the whole sound. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) was a Parliamentarian, wounded in the… Read More

1793. [EHON]. TOBA-E SANGOKU-SHI. 3 Vols., Osaka, Kawachiya Kihei and Kawachiya Eisuke, Kansei 5 [1793]. 25.8 x 18.5 cm. Original dark blue covers, string-bound Japanese style, fukuro toji, with the pink printed paper title labels. A nice 18th century edition of this work in good impression. Originally published in the 1720's. Though the artist is unnamed, several candidates have been mentioned, including O^oka Shumboku. 18th century editions of Toba-e books are becoming increasingly uncommon. In a custom clasped chitsu case. The covers are worn, but overall a good copy of this book. An excellent example of the somewhat madcap humor of the Toba-e genre. With a bookseller's advertisement at the end which indicates this edition of the book was part of a series of Toba-ehon brought out by the same publisher - SANGOKUSHI, O^GI NO MATO and TO^BA GURUMA.