Rare books from Abbey Antiquarian Books

London: N P, 1830 approx). Softcover. Very Good. Hand colored lithographs (12) on tinted background . Oblong narrow quarto (32x20cm) cloth spined paper boards (tips worn) Twelve leaves. First plate shows some foxing others clean. No titlepage (as issued?) all plates stubbed some closed gutter tears. *Subjects: Father carving a wooden sword for 2 boys while young woman watches; Travelling showman selling vial of medicine while clown with drum waits to perform to crowd of ladies and children with horse and carts in front of curtained "stage"; Travelling salesman offering statues to grandmother (seated) and young woman and man with toddler & sister all in forecourt of farm with ducks, dogs, chickens etc; Hawker with wares on a board on his head is bitten by dog and his wares fall off as the board tips (among wares are dolls, parrot, and a Napoleon figurine); Man in doorway of house laughs, also lady peeling apples with toddler reaching for carrots on table and boy with stick; Dancing girl and man with… Read More

London: Dean & Son, 1930s). Hardcover. Very Good. Pop-ups (4 large double page scenic illustrations in color) + 20 b/w illustrations after Walt Disney.. Quarto glazed pictorial boards (marginal paper loss to one corner/rubbed to hinges at head and foot for 1cm) fine doublepage colored endpapers 48pp. A very crisp very clean copy with 4 pop-ups in very good condition.

London: For the author & William Faden (replaced by R.Faulder in vol.2), 1792. Hardcover. Very Good-. Aquatint plates (65 as listed) + 11 folding Maps. . 2 VOLUMES IN ONE 223x141mm green calf gilt key pattern border & spine gilt, gilt dent. & rev. (tips & hinges rubbed/spine darkened) All Edges Gilt Dedication to Prince of Wales the future George IV. TP + xvi =Dedic.+Introduction + contents & plate list +154pp Titlepage to Part II +viii=Contents & Plate list + 190pp+errata + 11 folding Maps. Coat of Arms bookplate James Forbes esq. & F.Fisher written in. Short tears to gutter edge - no loss - to first 3 leaves else a clean copy. Slight offset from plates to facing text but no foxing and great views with horses, coaches, people, boats etc. The maps without and misfold or tears -they look unused. A clean copy of a lovely aquatint book.

London: W.Peacock, 1795. Hardcover. Good. Hand colored in outline Folding Maps (12 + frontis) by Russell. Duodecimo red roan gilt (spine quite chipped down at head/foot & heavily rubbed/tips worn) All Edges Gilt xxii+404pp +(4p index) 2 leaves nearly loose but clean and square. Nice 19th century inscription on FEP. All folding maps crisp and untorn with outline coloring. Maps: Chart of the world - East Indies - Spain and Portugal - France - Italy - Netherlands - United Provinces - German Empire and Switzerland - Prussia and Poland - Dominions of Russia - Sweden, Denmark and Norway - Great Britain and Ireland - States of America.

Amsterdam, [London, but actually Paris]: chez François Joly; [2nd work no publisher given], 1769, [1776 or 1777]. Hardcover. Very Good. Engraved portrait frontispiece of Ninon de l'Enclos. . TWO WORKS BOUND IN ONE VOLUME Duodecimo 18th century half-calf, marbled boards (hinges cracked but firm/head & foot of spine chipped/tips worn/spine label missing) Armorial bookplate William Powlett Powlett on front endpaper. First work (Ninon) in three Parts: [4], viii, 120; [2], viii, 120; [2], 128. Second work (Quinzaine) missing 1st 2 leaves including titlepage, begins with the Preface at aiii followed by the second title: [12 of xvi} 287, [1] pp. *Two books considered improper at the time,are here bound together,the first work disguising the presence of the second so that the spine reads only "Ninon de l'Enclos &c" Quinzaine .. is an amusing satirical work by James (or Jean Jacques) Rutledge which was published without attribution to him, first printing in 1776. DNB's article on Rutledge says: "this sketch,… Read More

Helmstadt: Jacob Mueller, 1664. Hardcover. Very Good-. Quarto (197x153mm) newer pale pigskin on 3 shallow spine bands with douple rules and some ornamental designs with ties (very slightly rubbed) All Edges Blue. Titlepage +(14pp Preface) +(12pp To Reader) +637pp. BOUND WITH THESES seu Assertiones Catholicae de Incarnatione .. (same publisher & date with further titlepages) Titlepage +[22pp] +Titlepage +[6pp] +Titlepage +[17pp] +154pp (recte 156). Art Nouveau bookplate of Haut on pastedown and slightly faded name at top margin of title. Endpapers earlier than the rebinding, as they and the first few preliminaries have matching worming but all but one single hole have disappeared by the first page of text. The last two leaves of the end of the second item have one worm hole in the gutter margin. There is some foxing & browning but the paper is supple and strong and entirely readable and there are no tears or signs of use. *This is the second Latin translation of Pascale's work written to defend the… Read More

London: Mitchell, 1867. Hardcover. Very Good. Chromolithography by the Queen's Printer Day & Son.. Folio leather-spined embossed cloth gilt on bevelled boards (rebacked tips slightly worn spine gilt darkened & dulled) All Edges Gilt. Unique gilt and illuminated chromoliths inserted into sunken card mounts back to back. Double pages except for the final plate which is printed on the front (recto) only. Slight foxing to mounts but clean and lovely. *A lavish production in high Victorian style with central texts with large illuminated first capital letter and other ornaments surrounded by decorative frame. A wide shaped border incorporating a pictorial miniature then decorates the page with floral emblems of vines and trellises in a stunning background of colors. *Based on the idea of a mediaeval illuminated page displaying the virtuosity of Victorian chromo-lithography as beautifully executed by Day & Son. Quite difficult to find, this is a stunning early gift book.

Nurnberg: Johann Andreas Endter & heirs of Wolfgang, 1668. Hardcover. Good. Fine full-page engraved plates (65) numbered 1-63 with 2 bis plates (45 & 47) + 1 text illustration +full page elaborate copperplate coat of arms of Leopold I by C.N. Schurtz.. Folio old vellum (spine split repaired, front cover nearly detached). Bookplate of Bibliotheca Prieseriana (showing books on shelves) and small library stamp on pastedown. Titlepage in red and black with printer's mark of 2 female supporters with sun shining on clasped book with monogram AEW. Titlepage +36pp including full page copperplate coat of arms of Leopold I by C.N.Schurtz +1762pp + 34pp indices + [2]pp errata with a few part-lines of loss to lower outer corner & tatty edges. Double column Gothic type with shoulder notes throughout. Two marginal tears with loss hardly touching print & first page of dedication with cropping to outer edge, some corner creases, else clean and no worming/no foxing/no ink marks. Despite its huge bulk the book block… Read More

London: James Collins and Sam. Lowndes 1st first edition, 1682, 1683. Hardcover. Good. Lacks frontispiece (supplied in facsimile). 5 complete titlepages for the. TWO WORKS in One Volume. Octavo newer calf spined marbled boards (tips rubbed/sl.marked) lacks engraved frontis leaf as does the British Library copy but here supplied in facsimile mounted onto old fly leaf. Collation: [46]pp (inc. Titlepage in red & black, titlepage to Lux Orentalis dated 1682 & prelims) +151pp +[13]pp (inc. titlepage to Discourse of Truth dated 1682) +165-195 +[7]pp (inc. titlepage to Annotations upon the Two foregoing Treatises "by one not unexercized in these kinds of Speculation" dated 1682) +171pp +[7]pp (inc. titlepage to Annotations upon the Discourse of Truth .. Dr.Henry More dated 1683) +173-276 +[4]pp catalogue of books printed for Lowndes. Lacks pp131-2 (leaf supplied in facsimile). Titlepage browned/dusty with old name Joh: Wetherby to margin, corners rounded, margins bit chipped, 2nd title with another name… Read More

Franckfort am Mayn (ie Frankfurt): Sigmund Feyrabend Buchhandler, 1580. Hardcover. Very Good-. Large scene of knight in armour on titlepage + full-page allegorical plate of three graces and flying Mercury signed I A [Jost Amman] & MF +156 full-page woodcuts of men in armour with their shield coats of arms.. Folio in morocco spined boards (tips bit worn). Title in red & black + 2pp (preface and intro) + captioned full page plate as half title (numbered p3) +4-162pp +[2]pp (colophon with large printer's emblem and blank verso), but seems to lack a final blank leaf. At page 55 is a full-page half title with over 30 figures while at page 103 and 145 are divisional titles with large decorative tailpieces. This divides the men in armour into 4 parts and the last plate in each section has a monogram CW for Christoph Weiditz. Generally a very clean crisp copy, except for light browning of titlepage, final blank and a few other leaves, small brown marks on last page not affecting colophon, and light marks of… Read More

London: Blanch Pawlet, and Sold by George West Bookseller in Oxford 3rd Edition, 1683. Hardcover. Very Good-. Frontis portrait by W.[enceslas] Hollar 1668 with emblems of mortality (skull) & enlightenment.. Small octavo later morocco with gilt title (tips & hinges rubbed) Frontis + Titlepage +[5]pp Dedication (1641) + [7]pp King's Proclamation (1637) in black letter & Judge's Certificate +103pp +[6]pp publisher's catalogue. Birmingham Law Society bookplate on pastedownn & stamp of same on back of title & lower margin of book list. *Clean nice copy of this study of legal jurisdiction between the King and the Church, written in 1641 but book first published 1661 after Restoration of Monarchy (WING S602).

Paris: Chez Le Pan, Rue S. Guillaume la premiere porte Cochere a droite en entrant par la rue S. Dominique, 1791 from editor's note in another vol.. Softcover. Good. Finely engraved plates (49 of 50) + engraved titlepage. Plates all "del" or "invenit" by Gravelot or Cochin, with various engravers named.. 232 by 153mm Volume III (of IV) octavo "en brochure", uncut thus edges dusty with all illustrated plates loosely laid in but all text pages in gatherings of 8 leaves. Half title + engraved titlepage + 48 plates but the first plate lacking its text [ie pages 1 & 2] + 100pp + partial index (index lacks A-N pp101-4 but p105/6 present covering letters N to Z). The plates are not within the collation and loose (as from the publisher) and only some are numbered but numbers are not sequential and several have the same number although the plates are not the same. All plates face a text page with the subject that matches the title opposite. *An outstanding collection of engraved emblematic figures for the… Read More

Amsterdam: Franciscus Halma, 1701. Hardcover. Good. Engraved title page by Goerel/Boutats + 108 round copperplates on 18 full-page leaves signed I.V. Vianen (Jan van Vianen) dated 1701 + 49 woodcut initials & ornate figurative metal-cut head- & tail-pieces (some repeats but large & finely detailed).. Quarto gilt-ruled calf (rebacked in leather with original red gilt title label laid on, tips worn) All edges marbled. Engraved Title + Titlepage in red & black with metal cut vignette "In hoc signo" + [28]pp prelims +160pp (inc. at end "Appendix Fabularum a Marquardo Gudio) +[82]pp indices, 99 Fables with 9 extra scenes illustrated in great detail in 108 roundelles. Lacks folding portrait of Prince of Nassau (often omitted), Plate 18 misbound at page 50. Some staining from former damp most evident to early leaves & at end of book but hardly affecting the plates. *Most luxurious of the Dutch Phaedrus editions specially made for the Prince of Nassau (Lamb Annales Phaedriani 96, Cohen-deRicci 797-9, Landwehr 247).

Rotterdam: Regner Leers, 1686, 1686. Hardcover. Very Good. Engraved emblematic titlepage + folding portrait + large folding Maps of Holy Land, City of Jerusalem, plan of Temple area + 2 half page maps. . Two Volumes folio, vellum on 6 raised bands with blind ruled spine tails and double panels with 4 foliated corner tools & large baroque centerpiece with interlaces (repair to Vol II at head & foot of spine, part of one corner ornament lost, tips bumped and some marks). Engraved title + printed title with woodcut Leers printer's mark +[29]pp prelims + [58]pp life of Lightfoot etc. +804pp + [52]pp index & blank; Vol. II Printed title with same woodcut printer's mark +[8]pp half title & preface +940pp +[60]pp index. Printed shoulder notes and a few foliated initials and many Hebrew words in the text. A few faulty paginations but all signatures and catch words follow correctly so complete. Book plate of Writer's Library to both front free endpapers but no stamps or other library marks. A few edges… Read More

Munich: Lucas Straub (first edition)., 1652. Hardcover. Poor. Folding plate of veins and arteries (one only of 6 plates). . Small quarto marbled paper boards, spine re-backed in old leather on 5 cords with 19th century red leather gilt title label laid on. First edition of this important early work on melancholia, neurology and alchemy - [xviii] +524pp +[11]pp index & errata +3 leaves blank. Lacks engraved titlepage (supplied in facsimile) and all but one of 6 plates. Printed Title and following 340pp badly cropped at fore-edge with loss of last letter of each line of title and most of marginal guide notes, remaining pages affected by light marks of previous damp at fore-edge. *Damaged and defective copy of very rare first edition of this important work on melancholia and neurology. Geiger came from a prestigious dynasty of German physicians working in Bavaria & Munich. Melancholia was then generally considered to result from excess black bile, which Galen had earlier described as the culprit in… Read More