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.

1853. GUINOT, M. Eugene. A SUMMER AT BADEN-BADEN. Illustrated by Messrs. Tony Johannot, Eug. Lami, Francais, and Daubigny. A new corrected edition. London: J. Mitchell, [1853]. Small 4to, half dark brown morocco-backed, marbled paper-covered boards, spine in gilt, a.e.g.; 299pp. with many plates, 7 of these hand-colored. With only a trace of rubbing at the corners and foxing at the text, this is a lovely, near fine copy. Especially nice are the color plates illustrating local villagers and soldiers.

1871. BUCHANAN, Robert. THE LAND OF LORNE: OR, A POET'S ADVENTURES IN THE SCOTTISH HEBRIDES, INCLUDING THE CRUISE OF THE "TERN" TO THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 2 volumes in one. New York: Francis B. Felt & Co., 1871. 384 pp. 12mo., green cloth with gilt spine lettering and cover vignette. Very good, spine nicked with minor shelfwear at heel and crown. Gilt details bright. Missing front flyleaf. Photo reproduction double portrait frontispiece with tissue guard. Title page bears tiny ink number at top right. Interior clean. Charming book and an appealing copy.

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

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

1950. WARE, Henry Eliot, Jr. EXCAVATIONS IN MESOPOTAMIA AND WESTERN IRAN, SITES OF 4000-500 B.C. Art work by Theresa Garrett Eliot. Cambridge (MA): The Museum, 1950. Special publication of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University. [18] ff. housed loose, as issued, in original cloth-backed portfolio with title information printed on upper board. 33 plates of black & white line drawings, maps, and plans. 44 x 58 cm. One plate, a map, has been trimmed close and shows evidence of having been mounted on the reverse; otherwise the plates are clean. The portfolio shows edgewear, has a few bumps, and lacks the ribbon ties. Complete and in very good condition overall.

1846. HUGO, Victor. THEATRE COMPLET DE VICTOR HUGO. Paris: Chez l'Editeur de Repertoire Dramatique, 1846. [4] + 32 + 34 + 31 + 30 + 32 + 29 + 62 (mispaginated) + 27 pp. + 7 engraved plates, including frontispiece portrait of Hugo. 8vo., quarter brown morocco with raised bands, gilt rules and ornaments, a.e.g., brown pebbled cloth boards stamped in blind. Tops of boards sunned, spine worn. Moire endpapers have light soil. Ink ownership dated 1868 on blank preceding half title. Light to moderate foxing in the text, plates clean. Plates by Boulanger depict scenes from the plays. Inlcudes: Hernani, Marion de Lorme, Le Roi s'Amuse, Lucrece Borgia, Marie Tudor, Angelo, Ruy Blas, and Les Burgraves. Perhaps the first collection of Hugo's plays, the BNF locates only one copy. (Not in OCLC.) Scarce. Very good overall.

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

1805. BARRY, Rev. George. THE HISTORY OF THE ORKNEY ISLANDS: IN WHICH IS COMPREHENDED AN ACCOUNT OF THEIR PRESENT AS WELL AS THEIR ANCIENT STATE; TOGETHER WITH THE ADVANTAGES THEY POSSESS FOR SEVERAL BRANCHES OF INDUSTRY, AND THE MEANS BY WHICH THEY MAY BE IMPROVED. Edinburgh: Printed for the Author by D. Willison/London: Longman Hurst Rees & Orme, 1805. First edition. viii + 509 pp. + [1] + 2 pp. publisher's advertisements. 4to., half diced calf with raised bands, gilt rules and tooling, gilt spine title, green paper covered boards. Moderate wear to spine, which is bright, speckled edges. Lovely blue marbled endpapers. Ink ownership to title page. Occasional spot of foxing here and there, mostly clean, tight and bright. Includes list of subscribers following dedication page. Lovely plates, elegant contemporary binding.

1872. HUNT, Richard Morris. PHOTOGRAPH OF STURGIS HOUSES. Original photograph, 15 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches, of buildings designed by the dean of American architecture, Richard Morris Hunt (1827-1895). The photograph shows the William Osborne and Jonathan Sturgis houses, 32-34 Park Avenue, south of 36th Street, (demolished), New York City, 1869-70. Unframed, in mat. Very good condition.

ALDIN, Cecil. PICKLES. London: Henry Frowde and Hodder & Stoughton [n.d. ca. 1909]. 48 text pages (versos numbered to XXIV); title page and 24 litho plates. The 24 lithographs are printed on an olive green ground in black white and several colors; the title page is printed in green and black on a white ground. 4to., reddish brown cloth spine stamped in gilt, green cloth boards stamped in gilt and red. Moderate shelfwear, spine sunned, a few small dark spots to front board. Overopened at lightly foxed half-title. Front flyleaf has a few small closed tears; edges of most plates with tiny nick to fore-edge, light foxing to edges of text pages. Delightful Aldin illustrations, all clean and bright, without foxing or any blemishes. Pickles, a boundlessly energetic white puppy, gets into a lot of mischief. Quite scarce.

1831. STEPHENSON, John & James Morss CHURCHILL. MEDICAL BOTANY: OR, ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE LONDON, EDINBURGH AND DUBLIN PHARMACOPOEIAS; COMPRISING A POPULAR AND SCIENTIFIC ACCOUNT OF ALL THOSE POISONOUS VEGETABLES THAT ARE INDIGENOUS TO GREAT BRITAIN. VOL. IV. London: John Churchill, 1831. Unpaginated; with indexes of Latin and English names, and a glossary. This is Volume IV only. 8vo., half gilt-ruled calf, spine missing, red marbled paper covered boards, red marbled edges. Boards worn, detached. Red marbled endpapers. Light soil to title page, else a clean and tight block with forty five beautifully hand-colored plates, one double page, one folding.

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.