Rare books from Rare Illustrated Books

Sydney: Art in Australia, 1920. A beautiful copy of Lindsay's famous work covering the meaning of life and art, drawing on philosophical concepts. Signed on front endpaper by Lindsay with a full page original etching tipped in "All who would examine the problem of Life must first remove from it the problem of Existence. It is the confusion between these two things that has confused all human morality. By Existence one comprehends the body, and all that serves to supply its needs, to keep its machinery active. By Life one understands all that goes beyond the body, the impulse that we vaguely call the mind, the soul, the intellectual process. The body is the poor relation of the mind, the servant, the vehicle. In serving its needs, one supplies movement; in servings its senses, one supplies material for the intellectual process. Between these functions, high and low, one must seek a direction for Man's destiny. To find that direction is to find the High Morality. In short, to find the direction of… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1924. First Edition. Gaze, Harold. Signed by Harold Gaze on the half-title, this is the first American edition of an Australian classic. A story about a young girl called Cecilia who visits the clerk of the weather with her imaginary brothers Tibbs and Kiddiwee. They visit the Castles of the Four Winds, the Himalayas and the Blarney Stone. Large octavo, coloured frontispiece, 11 coloured plates, 13 black & white plates, 6 drawings in text; original boards.

Probaly Venice, 1825. An exquisite suite of watercolours, including a beautiful series of scenes documenting a Venetian commedia dell'arte troupe, by the Italian artist Francesco Novelli. Francesco Novelli (1767-1836), one of the preeminent artists of his generation, lived in Venice where he was best known for his outstanding book illustration. He enjoyed a long and successful career that culminated in the landmark editions of Don Quixote (1819) and Gil Blas (1820). Novelli is also known for illustrating works such as the Fasti Veneziani (1794), hinting at his abiding interest in the theatre and the performing arts. In this unmatched collection of Novelli's watercolours, the greatest number are piquant images of a troupe of the commedia dell'arte, with especially fine depictions of Pierrot himself, as well as other key figures such as Columbine and Harlequin. There is a remarkable series of scenes from a play, as well as studies of individual performers, many so precisely rendered that it is almost… Read More

Paris: Javal and Bordeaux, 1930. Limited Edition. JOUVE, Paul. Illustrated by one of the leading painters in France, this superb work brings Kipling's classic Jungle Book story into the realm of fine 20th century French publishing. Limited edition of 125 copies, bound in snakeskin-style folding case, protected by matching slipcase (some wear), 340 mm x 265 mm, 130 unbound pages as issued, 21 plates, printed on imperial Japan paper, an excellent copy.

London: Cassell & Company, 1935. First Edition. First edition of Lawrence Durrell's first novel. Highly autobiographical in character, an apprentice effort, Durrell's novel sank largely without trace. And as with so many unsold titles, the majority of copies were destroyed during the Blitz. Blue boards with the barest hint of rubbing to edges; no dustjacket, spine incorrectly lettered Pied Pipers of Lovers, bookseller's price on front free endpaper, slight spotting to fore and top-edges, otherwise a clean, solid, well-preserved copy of Lawrence's exceedingly scarce first novel.

London: W. & R. Chambers, 1912. First Edition. N. Parker. First edition of this justly famous children's book with anthropomorphised kangaroo characters - 'perhaps the best known story entirely devoted to the kangaroo' (Robert Holden 'The Mint Exhibition' 1985). Twelve stories of kangaroos told in verse with many small drawings in sepia and twelve beautifully printed, full-page, partially-coloured plates. Quarto, full colour pictorial boards, edge rubbing, corner wear, chipping of paper at spine ends and along spine edges, two pages with minor nicks at page edge, clean and bright, a very good copy indeed overall.

London: Paul Jerrard, 1852. First Edition. Mid-nineteenth century opulence: two elaborate Victorian plate books with plates of fruit and flowers complimenting verse, fully printed in gilt. Two folios in original cloth with large colour card onlay on front board and gilt floral motif on rear, 24 full-page chromolithographic plates each facing a matching gilt printed poem; cloth mildly browned in book 1, binding rubbed and mild preliminary foxing in book 2, a very good set with beautiful clean plates.

Paris: Galerie Lutétia, 1920. Limited Edition. GUINEGAULT, G. P.. A fine example of the pochoir printing technique fashionable in France from 1910-1930. Each of the four poems is accompanied by a circular illustration by G. P. Guinegault. Not in Mahè. Four leaves measuring 350 x 225 mm, in original pochoir decorated wrappers, a fine copy. An exquisite limited edition of romantic poems by Jean Noury illustrated with elegant pochoir scenes by the French orientalist painter, George-Pierre Guinegault. Each leaf is shared between the letterpress poem and a large circular stencil-printed illustration of lovers at play. This beautifully preserved item is a one of five hundred numbered copies printed on Arches paper.

Paris: Fabrique Générale d'Articles de Voyages, 1840. First Edition. Alexis Godillot (1816-1893) was a contemporary of Louis Vuitton (1821-1892) and first achieved renown in Paris for his beautiful hand-made luggage. With a workshop situated just a few blocks away from Vuitton's, this catalogue comes from this very early period of Godillot's life before he had revolutionised footwear by differentiating the moulding of the left shoe from the right and become the famous shoemaker who would go on to equip over one hundred thousand French soldiers for The Crimean War. 'Godillot' remains a slang French term for 'boot' to this day. The album features superb hand-coloured lithographs with an original sketch showcasing nearly one hundred accessories including bags, picnic baskets, apparel, wonderful old trunks, tents, and hammocks- true 'objets nomades' - many of which are in surprisingly bold and modern designs. A beautiful, rare, and precious catalogue of the articles a traveller might require for… Read More

Paris: Meynial, 1925. First Edition. George Barbier. A complete and excellent set of the five annual issues illustrated with a total of sixty beautiful pochoir plates, complete with decorated pochoir title pages. 'Falbalas and Franfreluches' (Frippery and Finery: Fashion Diaries) represents a literary and artistic collaboration of unusual elegance and sophistication. French illustrator, George Barbier (1882 - 1932) spared no effort in the making of this beautiful collection, using the finest pigments and up to thirty stencils per print to create images of the highest quality reflecting fashionable themes of the day. The plates portray romance amidst exotic lands and ages past, including a native American idyll on the Missouri, a languid mistress cocooned in a hammock in the tropical Antilles, high baroque debauchery, and, of course, a myriad of lovers depicted in Paris at the height of the chic 1920s. Each annual includes twelve pages of fine writing by Barbier's contemporaries in the Parisian scene… Read More

Sydney: The Sunday Sun, 1946. Contains a variety of cartoons, including 'Bib and Bub' by May Gibbs (half page) and Bancks timeless Ginger Meggs (whole page). Eight page tabloid newspaper insert (305x380mm) printed in colour, a few marginal tears and chips but in remarkably good condition for an item of this age and nature (has not browned).

Thomas Nelson and Sons: London, 1927. Ethel Everett. I WISH IT WOULD RAIN 'I WISH it would rain, oh! I wish it would rain ; But there isn't a cloud in the sky, And the dust is a-blowing down Buttercup Lane, And everywhere's perfectly dry.' A collection of poems for young children. Perhaps one of the most beautiful books in the the Enid Blyton canon with delightful colour plates and line drawings. Small quarto, illustrated endpapers, 128 pages, frontispiece and eight full page colour plates, numerous full-page black& white illustrations throughout; bound in original decorated cloth, top-edge gilt and others uncut; some foxing, a lovely copy.

Harmondsworth, Middlesex: Puffin Picture Books, Penguin Books, 1951. First Edition. Songbook of ten popular nursery rhymes illustrated by Hans Augusto Rey (1898 -1977). A German Jew who escaped the Nazis in 1940 on a home-made bicycle with his wife and collaborator, Margret Rey, Hans Rey is renowned for his best-selling children's book, "Curious George", the original manuscript for which was one of the very few things they took with them when they fled. (Puffin picture book lithographed in England by Balding and Mansell Ltd., Wisbech.). Oblong octavo, bound in illustrated paper wrappers, 18 x 23 cms, 23 pages, a very good copy.

Japan: Yokohama Seishi Bunsha, 1895. First Edition. Rare English-language guide to Japanese domestic wares, with 76 fully-illustrated items. Its publication came at a time when Japan was experiencing a dramatic shift from the conservative, isolationist policies of the sh gun-dominated Edo period to the rapid and widespread drive to modernise and engage with the rest of the world that characterizes the Meiji Restoration. This booklet focuses on a traditional domestic interior and features a beautiful double-page plate showing the layout and arrangement of a Japanese period home, showing respective zones for food preparation, cooking and the entertainment of guests. Items specifically illustrated and described include lacquer wares, a charcoal-burning stove, lanterns, wooden buckets and items used in the tea ceremony. A beautiful copy of a scarce work published for the English market. Bibliography: Not in Cordier or Nipponalia.; Rogala Jozef 'A Collector's Guide to Books on Japan in English', 783.… Read More

London: Burberrys Limited, 1930. Important work on men's fashion. Presentation inscription by Burberry director, A. Ralph Burberry. "For Safety on Land, in the Air, or Afloat, There's nothing to equal THE BURBERRY COAT" Scarce book promoting the firm's association with pioneers, explorers and the sportsmen who wore Burberry apparel in all manner of climates and landscapes to accomplish great feats. Covers Artic and Antarctic expeditions, fishing, flying, motoring, mountaineering, travel, naval and military - with a focus on the classic gabardine Burberry trench coat. A well-put together volume amassing an abundance of first person testimonies. Also includes an appendix on Macintosh's method of rendering fabrics waterproof (Glasgow, 1823). Octavo, bound in original cloth made from Burberry gabadine with paper label, 248 pages, a fine copy.