Rare books from Harropian Books, IOBA

Philadelphia: Local Organizing Commission of the 12th International Congress of Navigation, 1912. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Blue cloth over boards with title stamped in bright orange onto upper board and spine. Book with spine ends softened, DJ has edge wear, chips and short closed tears, tall 8vo, pp. 287. Filled with historical photos and maps, color fold-out map at rear. Clean, unmarked and a very collectible copy in the original DJ.

New York: Street & Smith, 1900. First American Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Pasternak, Leonid (1862-1945) father of Boris Pasternak. Grey cloth over boards, title and author image stamped in gilt and maroon onto upper board, title stamped in gilt onto spine, 8vo (7-7/16 inches tall), pp. 317, all edges trimmed, top edge gilt, author portrait frontis, title page printed in black and red, 4 illustrations [5 inc. frontis]. Volume with cover illustration lightly rubbed, wear to spine ends, spine tilt, small 1/2" piece missing at bottom of one leaf. Page 15 has a few lines taken from a letter written in French - pertaining to the story - neatly translated into English underneath. First published in Russia in 1899 and later translated by William E. Smith, this was the last novel written by Tolstoy.

Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, Limited, 1986. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Signed by both the author and Bill Reid directly onto the title page in black ink. Black cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto upper board and spine, square quarto, (9-3/4 inches tall), colored endpapers, pp. 192, illustrated throughout, select bibliography, list of illustrations, color pictorial dust jacket. Volume w. light fade to top edge of boards and a tiny spot on top edge of text block, jacket w. minor rubs and wear, else fine and unclipped. First printing of the first edition with numberline to "1

San Francisco: Talking Books, Inc, 1959. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Douglass, Donald R. Pictorial cardboard casing with illustration and title printed onto upper board, title printed onto spine and illustration printed onto lower board, 4to (11 inches tall), "Copyright 1959" stated on title page, pp. [title page], 14. A complete and near very good copy of this scarce item, with less than the normal wear and tear expected from a children's book-toy. Audio from record much less than perfect, rust to staples of booklet, soil to cover with edges rubbed, slight contour to top board from height allowance of underlying finger operated handle, all illustrations and text still clean and bright.

London: Oxford University Press, 1947. Later Printing. Hardcover. Very Good plus/Good. Ardizzone, Edward. Bright blue cloth over boards, title blocked in gilt onto spine, 8vo (8-7/16 x 5-3/8 inches [21.5 cm x 13.7 cm]), all edges trimmed, pp. [1-11], 12-192, including frontis and 7 plates. Volume with spine ends softened. DJ front and rear panels still bright with edge wear, closed tears and a few scuffs; spine sunned and discolored with chips to spine ends. Translated by Kathleen Williamson, and originally written in German, the book was first published in a Swedish edition in 1937. First published in English by the Oxford University Press in 1939 and reprinted in 1947, 1951, 1956 and 1960. This is the first Oxford reprint, 1947. Seven full page color-wash drawings and a frontispiece, ten pen-drawn chapter-heads. Dust jacket having full wrap-around color-wash drawing and title on front panel and spine. Not price-clipped with original price of "7/6 net" still present and visible through sticker… Read More

London: J. M. Dent, 1909. First U.K. Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Green decorative cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto top boards and spines, top edges gilt, patterned endpapers. Text fine and unmarked in all three volumes. Vol 1 - xvi, 179 pp; Vol 2 - 164 pp; Vol 3 - 157 pp. Extensively illustrated with hand colored plates, monochrome photos and B&W illustrations throughout. Some fading and minor rubbing to boards. An excellent and in depth work showing the clothing and fashions of the 19th century. Translated by M. Edwardes with an introduction by Grace Rhys. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. at the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh.

London: John Murray, 1824. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Marbled paper over boards, half bound in leather, title tooled in gilt onto six compartment spine, all edges trimmed, leather headbands, 4to (10-1/2 x 8 inches [26.7 x 20.4 cm]) pp. (8), xxx, (2), 571, errata, 4 fold-out charts and 4 numbered fold-out views "Appearances of Lands" bound at rear, 31 plates [inc. frontis], 5 of which are maps. Maps and plates are not included in pagination, whereas all tables are. Collated, complete and tightly bound. Stain to spine leather, rubbing to boards, light offset and browning to some foldout maps and views, occasional foxing to tissue guards and pages. Crack in front hinge near the binders twine used to sew down front endpaper - as per book binding methods of the time where "...until the early years of the nineteenth century all endpapers, were sewn on, and never merely tipped on with paste as they sometimes are today." [Middleton, 4th edition, p. 108-111]. Sent by the Admiralty… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1931. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Good plus. Black cloth over boards with title stamped in orange onto top board and spine, 8vo (7-5/16 x 4-15/16 inches [18.5 cm x 12.5 cm]), pp. [i-iv], v, [vi-viii], 1-279, all edges trimmed. Stated "First Edition" and code "I - F" [Sept. 1931], to copyright page and "1931" on title page, "A HARPER SEALED MYSTERY" device stamped in orange onto bottom of spine and top board, remnants of original blue onion skin "seal" to rear paste down/rfep and pg 233. Modest wear and rubbing to boards, one small bump damaging the cloth at center fore-edge of rear board, spine with both ends softened and fading to spine lettering, front hinge tender. Text toned with moderate soil throughout and light damp stain touching the fore-edges of first and last few leaves, p.153 with a large closed tear noted and rfep partially attached to rear paste-down by blue onion skin "seal" remnant near spine. Carr's third of forty-six detective novels,… Read More

Litor Publishers Ltd., Brighton/Danny Books, Montreal, 1963. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Good. Wilson, Ben. Pictorial laminated boards, 4to (12-5/8 inches tall), B&W illustrated endpapers, unpaginated, illustrated throughout with color lithographs printed by Hälsingborgs Litografiska AB., Sweden. Spine present but held on by clear tape, top half of ffep torn along gutter, occasional light soil not affecting illustrations, corners worn, boards with faint creases, a few pages starting to loosen at spine. Overall, a complete copy in about good condition. The only copy currently available in the trade, with just two copies in WorldCat, both held in institutions.

Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1962. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Brown cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto spine, 8vo, one B&W plate, index, pp. xx, 282. Spine ends softened, p.13 with a few small ink underlines, p.14 & 15 with one marginal single word notation each. DJ with edge wear, some foxing and small chips, toning and soil. From the front flap "The first complete book on hypnosis and the law to be published! Destined to become THE REFERENCE BOOK for all attorneys and physicians in this new and fascinating field." Inscribed and signed by the author on the ffep.

New York: A. L. Burt Company, 1930. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. Textured orange cloth over boards, title and decorations stamped onto top board and spine, 8vo (7-3/8 inches tall), pp. 266, [ads], 4 B&W movie stills. Volume with spine ends softened, top edge dusty and lightest of taps to both top corners. DJ with light soil, edge wear and shallow chips to fold edges, 2" closed tear to foot of front panel near spine fold. The first and only edition of this uncommon photoplay.

Ottawa, ON: Department of the Interior, Dominion Lands Office, 1877. Broadside. Very Good. A rare Public Notice and an unlikely survivor, given that many of these broadsides would likely have been posted onto public buildings and exposed to the elements. The title reads " Public Notice / In the matter of the Grant of 1,400,000 Acres of Land to the Children of Half-Breed Heads of Families, pursuant to Section 31 of the Act 33 Vic., Cap. 3, and the Orders in Council, dated severally the 25th April, 1871 and the 7th September, 1876 the following claims have been approved for the Parish of St. Anne :" The Notice then lists all 221 of the eligible claimants in the Parish, giving their name, date of birth and the legal description of their individual allotment. The Broadside is printed in black ink onto heavy paper measuring 24 x 17-3/8 inches wide and is expertly laid down onto Japanese tissue. Broadside with toning, stains and minor finger soil, old fold line creases and some tiny losses near edges and… Read More

London: Rowland Ward, Limited, 1899. First Limited Edition. Hardcover. At Least Very Good to Near Fine. A scarcely utilized copy, nicely rebound in handsome half-leather with many text leaves still remaining unopened and the publisher's original advertisement sheet loosely inserted. Modern half-leather and cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto spine, large 4to size (11-5/8 inches tall), pp. [i]-xx, [1]-612, illustrated w. fifteen hand-colored plates, 55 photogravure text illustrations, tables, index. Volume w. a touch of sun to spine and very occasional soil to text, varying amounts of modest browning to color plates and captioned tissue guards - the actual hand-colored images, text pages and photogravure illustrations remain clean and bright. Signed and numbered on the limitation page by the publisher, this being copy number 136 of 500. A beautiful copy of an important 19th century big game hunting book. "A sumptuous Victorian-era work that details scientific knowledge of African big game… Read More

Birmingham, UK: Printed by John Baskerville for the Author, 1766. Hardcover. Near Fine. Virgil's epic the Aeneid, here bound together with his Pastorals and Georgic works, all translated into English by Robert Andrews and printed by the legendary John Baskerville in Birmingham. Title page with "Printed by John Baskerville for the Author" (1776) at foot. Half leather over marbled paper boards, title stamped in gilt onto red spine label, headbands, all edges sprinkled, binder's stamp inside corner of front pastedown, 8vo size (text block 9 inches tall - thus slightly trimmed but maintaining wide margins), pp. [6], 1-16, [3]-536], errata. Volume with minor wear, tp. foxed and browned w. tidy period name in ink, scant spotting to balance of text - save last two leaves which are also browned and spotted, pp. [1] (Dedication) with a 2.5 inch closed tear at bottom edge. A nice clean copy in a later binding. "The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary… Read More

Toronto, ON: William Briggs, 1913. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. A most desirable, author signed copy of a scarce and important work providing much insight into the early Canadian west. As Dora Hood noted on p. 200 in her book 'The Back Door' - [The Range Men was] "... printed at the request of Kelly but that by the time it was ready... the author had disappeared. After waiting a suitable time the books were sold by the publisher at a substantial price and a good profit was realized... booksellers always had a long waiting list for it." making author signed copies scarce indeed. Publisher's original red decorative stamped cloth, 8vo size, (9 inches tall), pp. [1-6], 7-468, top edges gilt, tissue-guarded frontis, plates, tables. Illustrated throughout w. halftone photo reproductions and six tables, some leaves still remaining unopened (7-10, 395-398, 411-415), all illustrations present as called for, collated. Ownership name in fountain pen ink "N.C. [?] Christie / Oct. 1912 [?]" to front… Read More