Antique & Collectible Books

1778 Gil Blas History & Adventures Le Sage Literature CLASSIC 4v English

"I am happy and content because I think I am."
― Alain-René Le Sage
Originally published in 1735, Alain-Rene Lesage's "Adventures of Gil Blas" is a picaresque novel dealing with the life of Gil Blas, a true 'rags to riches' story. It is considered one of literature's first realistic novels.

This rare 1778 edition was translated into English from the French of M. de La Sage, to which is prefixed an account of the author's life illustrated with copper plates.
Item number: #7473
Price: $550
SAGE, Alain Rene le
The history and adventures of Gil Blas de Santillane.

London: sold by J. Massey, R. Sprout, W. Salton, R. Tonlinson, J. Dursley [and 5 others in London], mdcclxxvii [1778].

Details:
·
Collation: Complete with all pages; 4 volumes
o
Vol. I – viii, iii, [1], 279, [1]
o
Vol. II – vi, 244
o
Vol. III – x, 266
o
Vol. IV – viii, 273, [1]
·
Provenance: Handwritten
o E.G. Warren, June 12, 1873… Read More

1653 Table of Cebes Stoic Philosophy Greek Latin Cebetis Tabula French Platonic
A rare, late 17th-century printing of 'The Table' by ancient Greek philosopher Cebes. The original work, written during the time of Socrates, is a dialogue taking place in a temple between two individuals contemplating the representation of symbols and allegory in art found on a tablet. 'Cebetis Tabula', as it is known in Latin, uses Stoic influences and is typical of Hellenistic and Platonic morality.
This 1653 French edition was collected, edited, and translated by Gilles Boileau and includes discussion on science, joy and felicity, patience, astrology, arithmetic, penitence, fortune, and much more.

Item number: #14166
Price: $499
CEBES, of Thebes
Le Tableau de Cebes, ou il est traité de la maniere de paruenir à la felicité naturelle.
Paris : Louis Chamhoudry, 1653.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o
[18], 88
· Language: French
· Binding: Vellum; tight & secure
· Size:… Read More

1765 Siege of Calais French Play by de Belloy Seven Years War France Patriotism
Pierre-Laurent de Belloy was an 18th-century French playwright who was relative popular during his lifetime. His popularity was rooted in his recurring themes of patriotism in his plays. One such example was his 1765 play 'The Siege of Calais'. Following France's defeat in the Seven Years' War, the French public longed for promotion of French patriotism and Belloy delivered, even though more iconic figures like Voltaire were pessimistic regarding such plays.
Item number: #15364
Price: $499
BELLOY, de Pierre-Laurent
Le siege de Calais, tragedie. Par M. de Belloy. Représentée pour la premiere fois, par les Comédiens Français ordinaires du Roi
A Paris : Chez la venue Duchesne, 1765.

Details:
·
Collation: Complete with all pages; 3 parts in 1
o
'Le Siege de Calais, Tragedie' –xvi, 118, [2]
o 'Examen Impartial' – 39, [1]
o 'Lettres…' –96
o Large folding map
·
Language: French
·… Read More

1657 ARCHITECTURE Five Orders VIGNOLA Italian ART Michelangelo RARE Paris ed

The most successful architectural textbook ever written!

A rare printing of Vignola's 'Five Orders of Architecture' Giacomo da Vignola was perhaps the most important 16th-century architects. Originally printed in 1562, 'Regola,' as it is often called, was successful mainly due to its effectiveness in teaching. It was designed to aid builders and designers in the realization of their architectural projects. It focuses on all five of the major orders (or styles) of architecture – Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, and Roman. (Fabrizio)
This 17th-century edition of Vignola is filled with full-page engravings of Vignola's columns, arches, and decorative architecture, collected and edited by Muet.
Item number: #21192
Price: $750
VIGNOLA, Giacomo Barozzi da
Règles des cinq ordres d'architecture de Vignolle
Paris: 1657.
Details:

· Collation:
o
[4], 99, [1]
o
49 engravings, plus engraved title page
o
Wanting… Read More

1667 Cornelius Nepos Lives ROME Roman Law Philosophy Themistocles Lysander Cato
Cornelius Nepos was a 1st-century BC Roman author whose works have mostly all been lost. However, his one surviving work is "Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae" which is a collection of biographical descriptions of Roman and foreign leaders. According to Roberts, this work details: "Roman kings, generals, lawyers, orators, poets, historians, and philosophers." Notable figures covered by Nepos include Themistocles, Lysander, and most famously Cato the Elder.
This 1667 Latin edition was collected and edited with commentary by Robert Keuchenius.
Item number: #21227
Price: $499
NEPOS, Cornelius
Cornelii Nepotis vitae excellentium imperatorum, observationibus ac notis variorum uberioribus illustratae
Lugd. Batav. et Roterd: Ex officina Hackiana, 1667.

Details:

· Collation: Complete with all pages
o
[24], 377, [15]
· References: Roberts, Selected Lives from Nepos
· Language: Latin
· Binding:… Read More

1637 Scottish Barclay Satyricon Gunpowder Plot Jesuits Puritans Euphormionis

John Barclay was an early 17th-century Scottish poet and author remembered for works such as 'Argenis' and 'Satyricon'. Many of Barclay's works were satirical in nature, most notably 'Satyricon', which was written over the course of ten years at the start of the 17th-century. The last two parts were given separate titles and were not written as part of the original 'Satyricon'; however, they are now considered to be part of the work.
• 'Satyricon' – "a comic novel" (Fleming); a severe satire on Jesuits, medical doctors, education, Puritans, and literature
• 'Euphormionis Lusinini' – a response to Jesuit attacks

Item number: #21445
Price: $550

BARCLAY, John

Euphormionis Lusinini, sive, Ioannis Barclaii satyricon partes quinque cum clavi : accessit Conspiratio Anglicana

Lugd. Batavorum : apud Elzevirios, 1637.

Details:
• Collation: Complete with all pages
o [22], 717, [1]
o Includes engraved title page
•… Read More

1784 Robinson Crusoe Adventures Daniel Defoe Shipwreck French Illustrated 2v SET

"It is never too late to be wise."
― Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

"One of the most beautiful travel books in figures of the eighteenth century." (Gumuchian)

Called the original adventure novel, Robinson Crusoe was originally published in 1719 and depicts the life of a castaway who learns to survive on an island for decades. However, while it saw substantial success with the masses, there were still those that were not impressed. For instance, Charles Dickens said,
"...Robinson Crusoe should be the only instance of a universally popular book that could make no one laugh and could make no one cry."

Editions of 'Robinson Crusoe' from the 18th-century are considerably rare, and this 1784 French edition is no exception. It contains impressive, full-page engravings as well.

Item number: #21468
Price: $750

DEFOE, Daniel

La vie et les aventures surprenantes de Robinson Crusoé.

A Lyon : Chez Amable Le Roy,… Read More

1861 Cornell Civil War era ATLAS 33 MAPS America California Texas Europe Africa

A rare 19th-century, Civil War era American atlas. Collected by Sarah Cornell, this atlas contains dozens of detailed, color maps from both the United States and around the world. It was intended for high school geography but still holds merit today – a especially the map of California and Texas. Maps such as these are often extracted from the original atlas to be displayed; it is rare to find all of the expected maps intact and in good shape. A fine work.

Item number: #21756
Price: $550

CORNELL, Sarah S

Companion atlas to Cornell's High School geography : comprising a complete set of maps, designed for the student to memorize

New York: D Appleton and Co., 1861.

Details:
• Collation: Complete with all pages
o [2], 8
o 16 leaves of maps / descriptions (33 double-page, full-page, and inset maps)
• Provenance: Handwritten
o S. L. Kingsley
o Helen E. Burnham
o Sarah G. Campbell
o Helen M. Wood
• Language:… Read More

1665 Scottish George Buchanan De Sphaera Mundi Astronomy Psalms Scotland Poems

George Buchanan was a 16th-century Scottish historian who has been lauded as "the most profound intellectual 16th-century Scotland produced." While he was best known for many historical writings, he did write a collection of prose works, many of which were based on scientific concepts. These poems were published throughout the 16th- and 17th-centuries, including this 1665 Waeaberge and Weyerstract edition which features his:
• Translation of Psalms of David
• Tragedies
o "Jephthes" and "Baptistes"
• De Sphaera Mundi
o ¬on astronomy
• Elegiae
• Fratres Fraterrimi
• Franciscanus et Fratres
• Epigrammata
• Other miscellaneous poems

Item number: #22332
Price: $499

BUCHANAN, George

Georgii Buchanani Scoti poëmata quæ extant.

Amstelodami: apud Joannem à Waeaberge et Elizeum Weyerstract, 1665.

Details:
• Collation: Complete with all pages
o 529 (i.e., 629), [15]
• Language: Latin
• Binding:… Read More

1835 Menno Simons Mennonite Fundamentals Anabaptist Pennsylvania Lancaster RARE

Menno Simons was an important and influential Anabaptist priest who is best known for establishing the Mennonite denomination. Simons departed from the Catholic Church and began writing works which rejected the teachings and practices of Catholicism, none more so than his book 'Foundation of Christian Doctrine'. In it, Simons covers his disagreements with infant baptism, asceticism, and excommunication – all practiced within the Roman Catholic tradition.

This 19th-century American edition was published in Lancaster, Pennsylvania at the heart of Quaker and Mennonite country.

Item number: #22445
Price: $499

SIMONS, Menno

Ein Fundament und Klare Anweisung von der seligmachenden Lehre unsers Herrn Jesu Christi Aus Gottes Wort kurz begriffen

Lancaster, Pa: Johann Bär, 1835.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o [10], 698, [4]
· Language: German
· Binding: Leather; tight and secure… Read More

1573 Confessions of St Augustine Catholic & Protestant Bible Theology Louvain
Augustine of Hippo was a 5th-century early Christian church philosopher and theologian. While most known for his work 'City of God', he also wrote many other treatises on aspects of the Christian faith. His stance on free will vs. predestination and fatalism was supported by and still is supported by, the Catholic Church, as his teachings on free will are consistent with modern doctrine.
One of Augustine's most important works was 'Confessions' – collection of shorter treatises that were autobiographical in nature. In fact, because of this, it is often considered the very first Western autobiography ever written.
This 1573 Louvain edition was published by Welleus.
Item number: #22848
Price: $950
AUGUSTINE, of Hippo
D. Aurelii Augustini Hipponensis Episcopi Confessionum libri XIII. Opera theologorum Lovaniensium ex manuscriptis codicibus multum emendati
Lovanii: apud Hieronymum VVellaeum, 1573.
Details:
· Collation:
o D.… Read More

1744 Leibniz THEODICY Essays Philosophy Humanism Free Will Good v Evil RARE

"This is the best of all possible worlds."
― Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a 17th-century German philosopher whose ideas of 'best of all possible worlds' was a landmark attempt to solve all of the world's evils.

Originally published in 1710, 'Essays on Theodicy' was one of Leibniz most well-known works and was the only book by Leibniz to be published during his lifetime. It was the first work to introduce the term 'theodicy.' Leibniz sought to provide a new, optimistic approach to curing all of the world's evils. He claimed that human free will, against God's true goodness, was the root cause of the world's evil.

Item number: #22865
Price: $995

LEIBNIZ, Gottfried Wilhelm von

Herrn Gottfried Wilhelms Freyherrn von Leibnitz Theodicee, das ist, Versuch von der Güte Gottes, Freyheit des Menschen, und vom Ursprunge des Bösen, bey dieser vierten Ausgabe durchgehends verbessert, auch mit… Read More

1687 Greek Attic Nights Noctes Atticae ROME Philosophy Aulus Gellius GREECE

"Truth is the daughter of time"
― Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, XII

A very rare and beautiful edition of Aulus Gellius' 'Attic Nights'. This book was a compilation of notes and shorter essays on grammar, philosophy, history, and antiquities which offer a glimpse into the cultures of both Greek and Roman life and society. Gellius began the work while he was living in Attica, Greece, but concluded the work in Rome. The rather disjunct contents include Gellius's observations and unusual interests found in books or overheard in conversation.

This 1687 edition of Gellius was published in Lugduni Batavorum by Joannem de Vivie.

Item number: #23341
Price: $499

GELLIUS, Aulus

Auli Gellii noctes atticae : cum notis et emendationibus Joannis Frederici Gronovii

Lugd. Batavorum: Apud Ioannem de Vivie, 1687.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o [66], 499, [109], 142, [8]
· Language: Latin
·… Read More

1850 BEAUTIFUL William Shakespeare PLAYS Romeo & Juliet Macbeth Illustrated 2v

"What light through yonder window breaks."
– Shakespeare

This beautiful collection of the works of William Shakespeare is a fantastic gathering of some of the most famous and important plays and poetry by the most prolific English playwright. This 19th-century edition of Shakespeare includes notes and commentary by J.O. Halliwell with impressive, full-page engravings of iconic scenes and characters.

Item number: #23741
Price: $499

SHAKESPEARE, William

The complete works of Shakspere : revised from the original editions

London and New York: London Printing and Publishing Company, [ca. 1850].

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o Comedies – xxxii, 576
§ 26 engraved plates (including frontispiece and title page)
o Historical Plays/Poetry – [4], 8, 488
§ 26 engraved plates (including frontispiece and title page)
· Language: English
· Binding: Leather; tight and… Read More

1694 Hippocrates Medicine SECRETS Aphorisms Surgery Galen Genga Commentary Roma

"Walking is man's best medicine."
― Hippocrates

Known as the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates was a Greek physician from the 4th-century BC. He is recognized for his lasting contributions to the medical field by establishing it as a scientific study and not just a philosophy. One of his most important books was 'Aphorisms,' in which Hippocrates wrote short proverbial principles on health and medicine. He discussed the secrets to long life, the importance of a healthy diet, appropriate amount of sleep, cures for pleurisy, pneumonia, melancholia, vertigo, dysentery, epilepsy, coughs, and which season each disease is most likely to occur.

This 1694 edition is notable for containing commentary by Bernardino Genga.

Item number: #25008
Price: $599

HIPPOCRATES

In Hippocratis Aphorismos ad chirurgiam spectantes. Commentaria

Romae: Typis Rev. Cam. Apost., 1694.

Details:
· Collation: Complete with all pages
o… Read More