Printed in small numbers, illicitly passed out, sought-after, forgotten, found again, major works or confidential texts... Some of these works are extremely rare today ; here are a few of them.
First bilingual edition, one of 50 numbered copies on Arches wove paper, the deluxe issue.
The French translation, printed opposite the English text, was prepared by Patrick Guyon and Marie-Claude White.
A rare and attractive copy.
An exceptional and hitherto unpublished manuscript, complete in 775 pages, chronicling the journey of the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins through India (cited in Numa Broc, Asie, pp. 376–377, and Afrique, p. 263 (for his explorations of the Pamirs and Ethiopia), and in Thiébaud, pp. 755–756, (for his works on hunting).
This record extends from 12 September 1891, with embarkation at Marseille, through to 12 June 1892, the date of departure from Karachi bound for Marseille.
Contemporary 3/4 green morocco binding, spine in five compartments numerously framed in black with fleurons-gilt tooling, boards framed in black along the leather edges, marbled endpapers; author’s bookplate pasted to the upper pastedown; red top edge.
775 pp. (misnumbered ch. 1–567, 567–774), 1 unnumbered page, 2 unnumbered leaves of table, and a few remaining blank leaves.
Important, unpublished manuscript recounting the travels of the Vicomte Edmond de Poncins across India covering the period from 12 September 1891 (embarkation at Marseille) to 12 June 1892 (departure from Karachi for Marseille).June 1892 (departure from Karachi for Marseille).
Presented in the form of a journal, it is written in brown ink, in a cursive yet legible hand.
The text includes all of the author’s observations on the regions traversed, the routes taken and modes of transport, hunting expeditions, notable acquaintances, and his relations with servants, etc.; it also records that he took photographs during his excursions.
Departing from Marseille on 12 September 1891, Edmond de Poncins took passage on the Peï-Ho, a steamer belonging to the Messageries Maritimes. He travelled in the company of the Governor of Obock, on his way to assume office, and a British general who served as Inspector of Cavalry in India.
The route led via Port Said, Suez, Obock, and Aden. During the passage through the Red Sea, Poncins visited the engine room and conversed in Arabic with one of the stokers. On 23 September, at Aden, he transferred to the Seyne, a vessel of the same company, bound to cross the Indian Ocean. He arrived at Karachi on 29 September. The traveller left the steamer to board a sailing vessel bound for Bombay, where he arrived on 2 October. He remained there until the 8th, when he departed for Poona. On the 16th, he made an excursion to the Carlee Caves, a group of ancient Buddhist temples hewn into the rock. Back in Bombay the following day, he journeyed on to Pachora, whence he explored the Ajanta Caves, famed for their ancient Buddhist sanctuaries carved into the rock. He returned to Bombay on the 21st, proceeded to Mehmadabad the next day, and reached Kaira on the 24th. In the surrounding area, he hunted crocodiles and subsequently quail. On the 27th, he was in Ahmedabad, roughly 450 km north of Bombay, and two days later he arrived at Morvi, lying some 200 km to the east, continuing his travels across the region. Returning to Ahmedabad on 5 November, he went back to hunt in the environs of Kaira. On the 10th, he arrived at Abu Road, where he visited the temples of Mount Abu, before making his way back to Ahmedabad. He then began his journey across India towards Delhi and Calcutta, visiting Ajmere on 21 November, Chitor on the 23rd, and Udaipur on the 25th. On 3 December, he went bear hunting in the surrounding area. On the 7th, he reached Jaipur, and the following day he visited Amber Fort, which overlooks the city. On the 10th, he arrived at Alwar, and on the 12th proceeded to Delhi. Three days later, he visited Agra, before journeying into the Ganges Valley, reaching Cawnpore (Kanpur) on the 17th, Lucknoor (Lucknow) on the 18th, and Benares on 19 December. He arrived in Calcutta on 22 December 1891. He remained there until 4 January 1892, when he departed for an extended hunting expedition in the Sunderbans, a marshy region in the Ganges delta. On 10 February, he returned to Calcutta to prepare for his next expedition. He set out for Assam on 19 February 1892, a region in north-eastern India, lying in the Brahmaputra Valley at the frontier of Bhutan. The following day, he reached Goalundo (present-day Bangladesh), and on the 22nd, Jatrapur (Bangladesh), before embarking on a new hunt through the jungle atop a domesticated elephant. He arrived at Raimana (Assam, India) on 4 March. Over the ensuing days, he hunted large game - including buffalo, elephants, rhinoceroses, and tigers. On the 17th he killed a tiger cat, followed the next day by a doe and a stag, but the larger animals remained elusive. On 19 March, he suffered from heatstroke, yet continued hunting. On the 24th he reached Paglobat, continuing the next day to Dhubri in Assam, where a violent fever struck him down. Once recovered, he made a few more excursions and, on 8 April, left the region, reaching Calcutta on the 10th. On the 14th, he fell ill once more and was robbed by his servant, who was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Poncins then left Calcutta to cross the Ganges plain: on 29 April he reached Cawnpore (Kanpur), which he had already visited on his outward journey, and on the 30th he stayed at Kalka. On 1 May he arrived at Simla, situated about 250 kilometres north of Delhi, on the foothills of the Himalayas. After an excursion to Amondah, he was again seized by fever and was forced to return to Kalka, from where he took the train, reaching Rawalpindi (now in Pakistan) on the 16th. From there, he made several excursions into the hills (Murree, Gulmay), but an outbreak of cholera forced him to leave the region. On 5 June he departed Rawalpindi by train and arrived at Lahore the next day. On 8 June he reached Karachi and prepared his belongings to embark on a vessel bound for Marseilles. The journal concludes on 12 June 1892, the date of his departure from Karachi.
Translated extracts: [16 October 1891, between Bombay and Poona, Maharashtra]: “Departure for the Caves of Carlee. Left at 6 a.m. with a tonga [a cart drawn by two ponies] which took me along the road opposite the path leading to the caves. Hired two coolies for my photographic equipment and my gun. We crossed a long plain of rice fields […]. The caves lie one-third up a mountain of 800 feet rising at the end of the plain […]. One passes through a small temple of Siva and stands before the great temple, whose entrance is most impressive […]. To the right and left, large sculpted elephants emerge from the rock up to mid-body; bas-reliefs depict gods with exaggerated forms, larger than life […]. The great hall is a marvel, both in its ensemble and in its details…” (pp. 53–55).
[25 October 1891, near Kaira, south of Ahmedabad, Gujarat]: “Left at 6 a.m. on camelback to hunt crocodiles. Covered 14 miles and reached a village below which the river makes a large, very deep bend. It is the Sabarmati. Shot a large crocodile at 150 metres on the sand. The bullet went straight; it struggled for a moment, then dived and was lost. About ten others in sight dived at the same time. Went down the river and fired at a small crocodile, 60 metres away, basking on a sand islet. It made a great leap and dived into a deep pool, which was red with blood within a few minutes. A native accompanying me did not dare to fetch it. Fired at two or three other swimming crocodiles, without apparent result. At 2 o’clock I returned to my starting point […]. Altogether I must have fired at fifteen and seen fifty in four or five hours…” (pp. 76-77).
[25 November 1891, Udaipur, Rajasthan]: “In the soft haze of the rising sun, the white city appeared, dominated by high walls and the splendid silhouette of the Maharana’s palace […]. Further on, a vast circle of rugged mountains with oddly shaped peaks, here and there marked by forts and stretches of defensive walls. Truly a land of savage feudalism. The Prime Minister’s son, to whom we had announced our arrival, came to fetch us by carriage at one o’clock, placing himself at our disposal. He is a young man of twenty to twenty-two, intelligent in appearance, speaks English well and is courteous. The Maharana is not in Udaipur, residing instead in a bungalow a few miles away on a hunting expedition […]. We shall, moreover, have the honour of being invited to one of H.R.H.’s hunts; in the meantime, we shall visit what there is to see in Udaipur…” (pp. 171–172).
[4 January 1892, West Bengal]: “Set out this morning from Calcutta for Mutlah or Canning. Arrived at 10 a.m. Found my boats. Crossing a country of rice fields, marshes, palms and coconut trees. The train stops at the end of the track, right on the riverbank. The tide is low and, to reach our boats, I have to be carried by my men, who sink up to their knees in a black, sticky, abominable mud […]. Here and there, some native boats. Few birds. By noon the two chimneys of the station disappear from view; ahead there is only the immense marsh. My men, who are Muslim, raised the anchor with a prayer […]. At 4 p.m. we stop at a cluster of huts unmarked on the map, called Fokai Hâttee. I send two men ashore to look for milk or meat. There is none. Meanwhile I photograph my boats, and a group of natives watching a juggler and a bear…” (pp. 291–292).
[1 March 1892, Brahmaputra Valley, Assam]: “In the afternoon my bullock cart [ox-drawn cart] arrived, along with an additional elephant sent by Mr Gordon. My party now consists definitively of three elephants, one bullock cart, seven men for the elephants, one for the oxen, and two for myself…”
[2 March]: “Departed at six in the morning on the second elephant, which I had yet to ride. We took the road to Kaïmana, then turned left into a jungle of tall burnt grasses, as high as the elephants […]. A very large animal was heard a few hundred paces ahead, crushing the grass. Halt. At the sound my mahout [driver] insisted it was a wild elephant, though the noise was identical to that of ours. The rhino passing below was less noisy. What should be done? The government forbids, under severe penalties, the killing of elephants […]. The undergrowth is so thick one could not see two metres; I cannot even see the head of my own. Moreover, wild elephants attack domestic elephants with fury…” (pp. 540–545).
A hunter and explorer, the Viscount Edmond de Montaigne de Poncins (1866–1937) undertook several journeys in Africa and Asia. After his stay in India (1891–1892), he travelled through Central Asia in 1893: departing from Samarkand (Uzbekistan), he crossed the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains to reach Srinagar (Kashmir); for this journey he was awarded the silver medal of the Geographical Society in 1895. In 1897, he travelled with Prince Henri d’Orléans between Djibouti and Addis Ababa; in 1912, he explored East Africa, from Nairobi to Mount Kenya.
“Poncins is no scholar, but an intrepid traveller and a keen observer […]. Few French explorers have attained such heights in Central Asia…” (Numa Broc, Asie).
He is the author of Chasses et explorations dans la région des Pamirs (1897) and Notes sur le gros gibier de nos colonies (1913).
A precious manuscript, with a fine contemporary binding.
Provenance: Viscount de Poncins, with his engraved bookplate depicting a tent beside a baobab.
First edition of this album of caricatures by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi which he numbered and initialled (copy no. 36, followed by his initial). Printed "in small numbers” (Bartholdi Museum), with only six located in institutions (Colmar Museum, BnF, Harvard, UPenn, NYPL, Rutgers University).
Publisher’s blue cloth binding, smooth spine gilt-lettered along its length, upper board numerously framed in black, anchors and stars stamped in black at the corners, title and date gilt-stamped; lower board numerously framed in black, black stars at the corners and a central anchor, red edges. Slight rubbing to joints, faint mottling to the lower part of the upper board, a few plate tabs slightly split at foot, not affecting the integrity of the binding.
Illustrated with an engraved title-frontispiece, a half-title featuring the head of the Statue of Liberty, and 30 full-page hand-coloured lithographs.
Exceptionally rare copy of Auguste Bartholdi’s caricature album created on board the steamship bound for the United States for the 1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair, where he exhibited part of the Statue of Liberty.
This curious album contains the only caricature of the Statue by Bartholdi ever published: a vignette on the half-title depicting the top of Lady Liberty’s crowned head with her amused eyes emerging above the Atlantic. Moreover, the profits from the album were donated to the Franco-American subscription fund for the statue's construction.
First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on pure wove paper, the only deluxe copies.
A very handsome copy.
First edition, one of 40 numbered copies on Lana wove paper, the only deluxe paper issue.
A handsome copy.
First edition, one of 25 numbered copies on Popset Whisky paper, the deluxe issue.
A fine copy.
First edition of the French translation by Pierre Jean Jouve of Georg Büchner's libretto for Alban Berg's opera, one of 40 copies on pure wove paper, this one specially printed for Charles Orengo.
Endpaper partly toned, a pleasant copy.
Inscribed, dated and signed by Pierre Jean Jouve to Charles Orengo.
First edition of the French translation, one of 75 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe paper issue.
Half brown morocco with bands, smooth spine, date gilt at foot, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, gilt top edge. An elegant binding signed Alix.
A handsome and carefully bound copy.
Manuscript of 83 leaves of this French–Bunda dictionary, probably unpublished and unsigned.
This manuscript is certainly the first French–Bunda vocabulary (cf. Gay 3068 and Brunet I-1544).
Half red shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands ruled in black, gilt date at foot, minor rubbing to spine, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, contemporary binding.
First edition of this first part illustrated with three copperplate engravings.
Contemporary flexible boards covered with marbled paper, smooth brown percaline spine with a small snag at foot, red morocco title label on the front cover, rubbed corners.
Rare.
First edition of the French translation prepared by A. J. B. Defauconpret (see Brunet III, 555; Quérard IV, 230; not in Field).
The work is illustrated with 20 charming aquatint plates, 6 of them hand-coloured, and a folding plan. The English first edition contained only 13 aquatints.
Contemporary Bradel bindings in full sand-coloured paper boards, red morocco spine labels for title and volume numbers (partly faded), flat spines gilt with a central floral tool, light rubbing to spines, upper caps slightly worn, two corners bumped, entirely uncut. Period bindings.
Pleasant, clean internal condition.
Johnson was a British officer in India who chose to return to England by land. His narrative offers numerous observations on the social life, customs, religion, and dress of the peoples he encountered along the way.
With 8 original etchings to text and hors-texte by Oscar Dominguez, one of 70 numbered copies on B.F.K. de Rives paper, the only printing with 4 on old Japon paper, variously enriched.
Autograph inscription from Robert Ganzo to a couple of his acquaintance on half title.
This copy is additionally enhanced with a manuscript quatrain signed by the author on the page opposite half-title.
Autograph signatures of the author and illustrator on the justification page.
Some slight small foxing mostly affecting the first leaves, a joint of the chemise cracked, with a tear almost all over it.
A rare copy in a chemise and flexible slipcase with wood-effect paper boards.
First edition of the French translation, of which no copies were printed on deluxe paper, one of the review copies.
A few small spots on the slightly rubbed spine, light foxing mainly affecting the endpapers.
Very rare autograph inscription signed by Otto Rank: "à Monsieur Sébastien Charlety en hommage de ma très haute estime. Otto Rank."
First edition printed on vélin d'Angoulême. Complete copy with the six banned poems and the usual misprints.
Half shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands twice ruled in gilt with gilt fleurons, marbled paper boards, marbled pastedowns and flyleaves, contemporary binding. Some foxing scattered foxing.
Edition limited to 60 copies of this rare and celebrated pamphlet tracing the history of the bean and Epiphany.
"Cette dissertation était devenue si rare qu'on en connaissait que deux exemplaires; elle a été réimprimée en 1808, à Besançon". Brunet I, 1387.
Our copy is preserved in its original stitching, in contemporary plain marbled blue paper wrappers.
Foxing to the title page, small angular paper losses to the wrappers.
A rare and handsome copy, with wide margins, as issued.
First edition of an important text advocating, with detailed arguments, for the free cultivation, production, and export of tobacco, following the loss of land value "by half [...] as a result of two invasions."
Our copy has been disbound.
Bound at the end of the volume are several related pamphlets forming a rare and appealing collection on the subject of the tobacco trade in Alsace:
- Pétition sur la modification du Régime actuel du Monopole des tabacs, présentée à la Chambre des Députés par les délégués de la Chambre de commerce de Strasbourg. Paris, Le Normant, janvier 1818. 9 pages.
- Monopole des Tabacs. Pétition Sur l'inexécution de la Loi du 28 avril 1816, en ce qui concerne les achats de la Régie; et de la Loi du 25 mars 1817, en ce qui concerne sa comptabilité [...] par les Délégués du Commerce de Strasbourg et de Nancy. Ibid., id., avril 1818. 1 unnumbered leaf and 17 pages.
- Quelques Observations Présentées à la Chambre des Députés en faveur du Transit d'Alsace, en Réponse au Rapport de M. le Baron Morgan de Belloy, et aux Réclamations de diverses Chambres de Commerce des Ports; Par les Délégués du Commerce de Strasbourg. S.l.n.d. [Paris, 1818]. 13 pages.
- Encore un Mot sur le Transit d'Alsace ... [Paris, Le Normant, 1818]. 8 pages.
Third edition, the second issued under this title, partly original as it includes several new memoirs and the general tariff of Holland.
See Sabin 47557. Cioranescu 35613. Kress 3019. Not in Goldsmiths or Einaudi. See INED 2306 for the "Grand trésor historique et politique du florissant commerce des Hollandois" (1712).
Amsterdam, Du Villard, Changuion, 1718, 8vo,
Full mottled tan calf, spine with raised bands decorated with gilt fillets, garlands and floral tools (partly faded), red morocco title label, gilt rolls at the head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillet on board edges, red edges, one lower corner bumped, others slightly rubbed, contemporary binding.
Second, enlarged edition of these rather protectionist reflections, which prompted Dupont de Nemours to write a refutation (Lettre à la Chambre de commerce de Normandie).
Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers, now covered with modern marbled paper, red edges.
The second part is entitled Plan d'une banque nationale de France, ou d'une caisse générale de recettes & paiements des deniers publics & particuliers, and bears the Jersey imprint, 1787. Frère I, 210 (for the first edition of 1787).
First edition illustrated with 11 plates, 10 of which are folding.
Bradel binding in full marbled paper boards, smooth spine, vertical paper title label.
"Ce sont les tables des hauteurs du soleil à toutes les heures" [Lalande]. A rare and appealing copy.
Very rare first edition, with only one copy listed in WorldCat.
Contemporary half vellum binding with small corners, smooth spine, brown morocco title label with losses, marbled paper boards.
Some foxing and light staining to the title page.
The work lists and quantifies commercial exchanges with various regions of Italy, as well as with France, Spain, America, Russia, the Levant, and others.
First edition, one of the numbered copies from the special issue reserved for friends, contributors, and subscribers of Les Lettres Nouvelles.
Spine faded, scattered marginal foxing.
First edition, one of 42 numbered copies on Japan Barjon paper, one of the deluxe issue, with 8 additional copies on Japan reserved for the author.
Introduction by Francis Scarfe and preface by Jean-Jacques Mayoux.
Rare and attractive copy of Kenneth White’s first book, complete with two photographs by Marie-Claude White.
Rare first edition, no deluxe paper copies mentioned.
Bradel binding in cream half-cloth, smooth spine decorated with central gilt tooled flower, gilt date and twice ruled in gilt at foot, brown sheep title label with scuffs and a small loss of leather, boards covered in cat’s-eye patterned paper, some staining to the lower board, original wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.
A few small tears to margins, occasionally with very slight lacks of paper to the first few leaves; an inscription by the author on the half-title neatly erased.
First edition of this issue of the pacifist journal founded by the socialist and anarchist activist Henri Guilbeaux.
Includes contributions by Romain Rolland, “La vérité dans le théâtre de Shakespeare”, Jean Jaurès, “Les causes de la guerre”, Gustave Dupin, “La guerre infernale”, Élie Reclus, “Lettre à Élisée Reclus”, and H. M. Swanwick, “Les femmes et la guerre” (conclusion)...
Rare first edition (cf. Sabin 28075).
The CCFr records only 2 copies: Paris (BnF) and Saint-Geniez-d'Olt (Aveyron).
Spine discreetly restored, small corner losses to soiled boards, author's name crossed out in ink on the title page, some foxing.
This study, intended to reconcile the interests of France, the Black population, and the planters in the question of the emancipation of slaves, comprises the following sections: I. Usefulness of the colonies. – II. Opposing influences on the colonies. – III. Systems [of emancipation]. – IV. Compensation. – V. Religious means. – VI. Present moral state of the colonies. – VII. Free labor. – VIII. The mulattoes. – IX. Comparison between various forms of slavery.
Opposed to the immediate abolition of slavery, the author emphasizes the role of religion in achieving the emancipation of Black people. A journalist and polemicist writer, Gougenot des Mousseaux (Coulommiers, 1805 – ibid. 1876) is known for his works on magic, esotericism, and secret societies.
An ultramontane Catholic, antisemitic and legitimist, he opposed political and dynastic Orléanism.
First edition of this issue of the pacifist journal founded by the socialist and anarchist activist Henri Guilbeaux.
Contributions by Henri Guilbeaux "A quelques pharisiens" and "La diplomatie secrète", Jean Debrit "Une réforme de la presse ?", L. de Wiskovatoff "Lettre à M. d'Annunzio" and "Lettres aux journalistes", Gustave Thiesson "Le peintre Gustave Courbet en 1870-71"...
First edition of this issue of the pacifist review founded by the socialist and anarchist activist Henri Guilbeaux.
Includes contributions by Henri Guilbeaux, “Mise au point nécessaire” and “Ernst Sieper”; Gonzague de Reynold, “La neutralité suisse et notre mission internationale”; A. M. Gossez, “Deuils?”; and Leo Tolstoy, “Lettres inédites sur la paix” (conclusion)...
First edition printed in 245 numbered copies, the only printing after 10 copies on heavy paper.
Bradel binding in half blue cloth, smooth spine decorated with a gilt floral motif, double gilt fillet at foot of spine, red morocco title label with a very small defect, marbled paper boards, wrappers preserved, contemporary binding.
Inscribed and signed by Paul Fort.
First edition consisting of a collection of editorials published in La Censura in 1849 and 1850, presented by Tomas Aznar Barbachano and Juan Carbó.
Cf. Sabin, 55255. Not in Leclerc.
Front cover and spine lacking, rear cover preserved but detached, soiling to the title-page.
Very rare (no copy in French public collections).
First edition of this important work, cf. Krivatsy 588. Garrison-Morton 1673, 5047 and 5085.
Full stiff ivory vellum, spine with four raised bands, the author’s name handwritten in black ink, one defect on the fourth band, blind-tooled rolls on the caps, gilt fillets highlighting the raised bands and framing the boards, small vellum losses on the covers, losses at the corners of the first and last blanks, red sprinkled edges, contemporary binding.
Bound after this work are three other treatises by Guillaume de Baillou, all printed by Quesnel in 1640. Krivatsy, who describes a volume composed in the same manner as ours, suggests that this collection may have been published in this form.
We provide below the description of the other pieces:
- Definitiorum medicarum liber. (Title in red and black, 9 unnumbered ff., 108 pp. and 4 unnumbered ff. The title and preliminary leaves have been bound by mistake after the preliminaries of the first work).
Cf. Krivatsy 587. Garrison-Morton 6796.
First edition published in 1639, with cancel title dated 1640. "A glossary of Hippocratic terms" [Garrison-Morton].
- Commentarius in libellum Theophrasti De vertigine. (Title, 1 unnumbered dedication leaf, 41 pp., 1 unnumbered f.)
Cf. Krivatsy 582. First edition. "Includes Greek and Latin text of Theophrastus's De vertigine" [Krivatsy]
- De convulsionibus libellus. (Title, 7 unnumbered ff., 51 pp., 2 unnumbered ff.) Cf. Krivatsy 585.
First edition of this treatise on convulsions.
A very rare collection preserved in contemporary vellum.
Rare first edition of the French translation prepared by Butel-Dumont.
Full brown sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt and tooled compartments, modern red morocco title-piece, restored defects and wear to the spine, one joint split at foot, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets to board edges, rubbed corners, contemporary binding.
Our copy lacks the map of Acadia, extremely rare and present only in a few examples. Sabin 35958. Leclerc 732.
Bookplate of the Marquis de Bassano pasted on an endpaper.
First edition of this uncommon work, originally written in French.
Illustrated with two engraved frontispieces and two folding maps bound at the end of the first volume.
Bradel binding in bottle-green half cloth, flat spine gilt with a central floral tool and double gilt fillet at foot, marbled paper-covered boards, black morocco title label; modern binding signed Boichot.
Three of the four original wrappers preserved, occasional scattered foxing.
Prince Emmanuel Mikhailovich Galitzine or Golitsyn (1804–1853) was a member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society.
First edition, one of 10 numbered copies on Holland paper, deluxe issue.
Some minor foxing mostly at the beginning and end of the volume.
Inscribed and signed by Maurice Genevoix to Jacques Gommy: "... en pensant aux forêts qu'il aime, avec les hommages et les amitiés de Maurice Genevoix."
First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the Revue de Paris dated 15 February 1906.
Émile Boutmy was the founder of the École libre des sciences politiques, which would later become the Institut d'études politiques de Paris, now widely known as Sciences Po.
Wrappers slightly toned at the margins, inevitable minor edge tears and small losses consistent with the fragile nature of the pamphlet.
Inscribed and signed by Lucien Lévy-Bruhl: "A Emile Durkheim, affectueusement, L.L.B."
First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on alfa vellum, the only copies on deluxe paper.
Slight sunning at the foot of the spine.
A handsome copy.
First edition, one of 30 numbered copies on alfa vellum, ours being No. 1, the only copies on deluxe paper.
Rare and handsome copy.
First edition, one of 13 numbered copies on pure rag Rives vellum, the tête-de-tirage.
Rare and handsome copy.
First edition, one of 10 numbered copies on Japan paper, the deluxe issue.
Bradel binding in half chocolate-brown morocco with bands, smooth spine, date gilt at foot, marbled paper boards, brown endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, gilt edges, binding signed Honnelaître.
A unique combination of French translations of the first two philosophical works on the Sublime, marking the beginning of the most important reflection on aesthetics in Western history.
Extremely rare first edition of the first French translation of a philosophical work by Immanuel Kant, and the second ever translation of a Kantian text. The others were only translated during the 19th century. Illustrated with a portrait of the author by Benezy. The first edition in German was published in 1764 in Königsberg under the title "Beobachtungen über das Gefühl des Schönen und Erhabenen".
Contemporary half brown roan binding with vellum corners, smooth spine ruled in gilt, blue paper boards, white paper pastedowns and endpapers, yellow red-speckled edges. Some marks on the endpapers, scattered foxing more noticeable on a few leaves.
This essay contains Kant's first observations on aesthetics - he had previously only published scientific texts - and more specifically on the sublime, a concept that would come into its own in Critique of Judgment (1790) left untranslated until the 19th century as it is the case with almost all of Kant's oeuvre.
"Certainly even before 1781 Kant's name was not completely unknown at the University of Strasbourg, where some students and professors had cited him in their research or lectures. The works of the Berlin Academy which included memoirs by staunch opponents of Kantianism were not completely ignored in France. However, it was not until the French Revolution and even the end of the Convention and the beginning of the Directoire, i.e. almost fifteen years after the publication of the Critique of Pure Reason that people in France began to talk about Kant and his work" (Jean Ferrari, "L'œuvre de Kant en France dans les dernières années du XVIIIè siècle" Les Études philosophiques No. 4, Kant (oct-dec 1981), pp. 399-411).
Bound at rear: Second French translation of Burke's text by E. Lagentie de Lavaïsse considered superior to the first 1765 translation by Abbé Des François. Illustrated with a portrait of the author by Mariage. The very first work on aesthetics, published in 1757 and translated into English the same year under the title A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful.
Burke regarded the sublime as that which has the power to compel and destroy us (a "delightful terror"). As an ardent admirer of his philosophy, Kant went beyond this consideration in Critique of Judgment (1790), concluding that the sublime is "that which is absolutely great", something in the face of which man feels inferior and feels respect.
The first two modern definitions of the sublime - one as realization of human reason, the other as reason's confrontation with that which surpasses it - aptly bound together by a scholar aware of the philosophical debates of his time.
First edition, one of 150 numbered copies, the only copies on deluxe paper.
Inscribed and signed by Jean-Pierre Abel to Paul Devivat.
Rare and handsome copy with full margins.
First edition, not issued for sale (cf. Sabin 30913).
Some defects with losses along the spine, minor corner creases to the boards, endpapers browned, otherwise a clean and attractive copy internally.
Published in the very year of Maximilian's coronation. The Austrian author supports the acceptance of the crown by the archduke prince, an opinion not shared by many of his compatriots. Contains reflections on the Mexican nation, the two Americas, United States politics, etc.
Head of collection of this important medical periodical, whose significance needs no further demonstration. It was published until 1914 (volume XLII) and included most of the essential contributions to the advancement of medical science in the 19th century.
The set is illustrated with 61 plates hors-texte, some lithographed and/or folding.
Half cherry calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt fillets, romantic arabesques and blind-stamped fleurons, a few small rubs to some headcaps or joints, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some corners slightly bumped, marbled edges, period bindings.
Beautiful set in a contemporary romantic binding signed by Bunetier.
Extremely rare first edition of the French translation prepared by Désiré Mouren.
There appears to have been no Portuguese edition of this pioneering work in the field of oceanography.
Losses to the spine, upper cover starting to detach, small marginal losses to the boards.
Francisco Calheiros da Graça (1849-1906), a Brazilian naval lieutenant, took part in the operations against Paraguay and conducted several scientific studies and hydrographic surveys.
Extremely rare.
Manuscript ex-libris on the upper cover.
A collection of four extremely rare first editions:
- Thuileur des trente-trois degrés de l'écossisme (1813), “a rare and sought-after work and one of the best thuileurs in existence...” (Caillet, I, 2910). With a frontispiece and 14 plates (one folding) as well as a large folding table at end;
- Récapitulation de toute la maçonnerie ou Description et explication de l'hiéroglyphe universel du maître des maîtres (1812) with two plate;
- l'Explication de la croix philosophique (1806) with a folding plate showing the eponymous cross;
- l'Explication de la pierre cubique (1806) with a folding plate describing the stone.
This copy is further enriched with a small insert (8 x 10.5cm) entitled “Couplets d'obligations”, bound at page 30; these songs “to be sung at the end of every Masonic banquet.”
Contemporary half brown calf over green paper boards, spine with numerous gilt dentelles and fleurons, red russia title label.
A very good copy.
Crossed out pen and ink ex-libris to title.
First edition of the exhibition catalogue presenting 37 works by Claude Monet at the Galerie Durand-Ruel from 9 May to 4 June 1904.
During the exhibition, most of the paintings were immediately purchased by American collectors.
Binding in vellum-effect paper boards, names of the catalogue preface writer and the painter inscribed in ink, water-effect paper endpapers, covers and spine preserved, curious ex-libris drawn by H. P. Gassier glued to a pastedown endpaper, binding signed Gonon.
Preface by Octave Mirbeau.
A rare and pleasant copy.
First edition, one of 150 numbered copies on offset, only print after 20 numbered copies.
Title vignette glued on the first board.
Text in French, English and German.
Illustrated with 14 photographs of the author performing different kinds of suicides.
First edition of this program of events organized by the Centre National d'Art Contemporain from 16 October to 23 December 1974, presenting the works of Christian Boltanski and Jacques Monory.
The December date has been modified in green felt pen at the foot of the program.
Presentation of photographic, cinematographic and book-based works by Christian Boltanski and pictorial works by Jacques Monory.
A very rare document.
First roneo edition of the prospectus for the exhibition organized by the A.R.C. (Animation Recherche Confrontation) cinema section at the instigation of Christian Boltanski.
Signs of folding due to having been placed in an envelope.
The event was attended by Edmund Alleyn, Gianni Bertini, Christian Boltanski, Guðmundur Guðmundsson said Erró, Gérard Fromanger, Ipousteguy, Jean Le Gac, Tamas Zanko, Bruce Nauman, Pesce, Martial Raysse, Peter Stämpfli.
A rare document.
First edition.
Each booklet is richly illustrated with in-text and full-page figures or photographs.
Expeditions in the Mediterranean (1952–1964), including the study of the islet of Grand Congloué, campaigns in the northeastern Mediterranean, along the coast of Provence, and in the Gulf of Genoa.
Campaigns in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean (1951–1954), and in the tropical Atlantic (1956–1962), including missions in the Gulf of Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands, and off the Atlantic coasts of South America. General index for volumes I to XI.
Back cover of the first volume soiled; small tear at the top of the front cover of the third booklet.
A rare and appealing complete set in 11 volumes.
Illustrated edition with 2 folding maps and 10 engraved plates outside the text (see Garrison & Morton 71; DSB 613-614).
Contemporary full marbled calf binding, spine with six raised bands decorated with double black panels stamped with blind typographic motifs, burgundy shagreen title label, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges.
Some restoration to the binding, spine rebacked; evidence of waterstaining to the upper margins of the leaves in the second volume.
Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654–1720), an Italian physician trained at the University of Rome, produced significant work on mosquitoes and malaria (he introduced the term), as well as on cardiovascular diseases and aneurysms. These contributions are gathered in the present work, illustrated with ten anatomical plates of the heart. "Lancisi, great Italian clinician, was the first to describe cardiac syphilis; he was also notable as an epidemiologist, with a clear insight into the theory of contagion. He was physician to Pope Clement XI, who turned over to him the forgotten copper plates executed by Eustachius in 1552. Lancisi published these with his own notes in 1714. [...] Lancisi's posthumous De aneurysmatibus published in 1728 appears only in later collected editions" (Garrison & Morton).
Second editions, partially original, of the French and Dutch translations; the text is bilingual (Dutch and French), and includes numerous passages printed in Malay (cf. Cordier, "Indosinica", 1385. Not mentioned by Quérard).
Bound in chocolate-brown half shagreen, spine with four small raised bands decorated with gilt fillets and dots, joints split then restored, marbled paper boards showing some scratches, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, small tears to edges; 19th-century binding.
Waterstains affecting the first and last few leaves of the volume.
The translator’s lengthy preface (47 pp.) appears here for the first time. Pages 235 to 344 contain exercises (original texts and their translations). "The first proof sheet of my Dictionary of the Malayan language was received from the printer on the 21st March, and the last on 11th October 1811. On the 24th of that month I corrected the first sheet of the Grammar, and both works were published in the early part of the following year. The impression was large, and, unfortunately for my labours, the extensive possessions conquered from the Dutch, where the Malayan is spoken, were gratuitously restored to them, and my sale contracted. Within these few years the Government of the Netherlands has done me the honour of causing translations of my Grammar and Dictionary, which has been hably executed by M. Elout fils, and to the politeness of M. Elout, minister for the colonies, I am indebted for copies of them." Cf. Marsden, Memoirs, pp. 143–144, cited by Cordier. The English orientalist William Marsden (Dublin, 1754–1836) was also director of the East India Company and secretary to the Admiralty. He had travelled to Sumatra in 1771 following his brother, an agent of the Company, and devoted his time there to learning the local language. "After spending eight well-used years in Sumatra, he returned to England in 1779 in hopes of securing a more lucrative position. Initially unsuccessful, he dedicated his retirement to a geographical and historical study of the island. Around this time, he became acquainted with Sir Joseph Banks, who introduced him to several eminent figures such as Dalrymple, Rennell, Maskelyne, Solander, and Herschel. He was soon elected a member of the Royal Society. His History of Sumatra, published in 1782, earned him that distinction (...) The principal fruits of his studious retirement were a Grammar and a Dictionary of the Malay language, an excellent translation of the Travels of Marco Polo (1817), with a highly valuable commentary, a catalogue of his rich collection of Oriental coins, and three Essays, the most important of which concerns the languages of Polynesia" [Hoefer].
Very rare first edition of this pamphlet, absent from all bibliographies consulted on the subject (Borba de Moraes, Rodrigues, Maggs, Bibliotheca brasiliensis, Robert Bosch), as well as from the national libraries of Brazil and Portugal.
Tears and losses at the corners of the covers, spine reinforced with a brown adhesive strip, a few small spots of foxing.
First edition, printed in a very small number of copies, of this extract from the Revue archéologique.
The booklet is illustrated with several figures in the text and, at the beginning of the volume, a full-page plate.
Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau (1846-1923), orientalist and archaeologist, made major archaeological discoveries in Palestine, where he had resided since 1867 as dragoman-chancellor at the French consulate. Appointed consul in Jaffa in 1881, he accepted a mission on the Egyptian coast east of the Nile, in Philistia, Phoenicia and Palestine; he published the results in the Archives des missions scientifiques.
Until his death, he pursued a dual career as diplomat and archaeologist. Clermont-Ganneau also unmasked numerous archaeological forgeries.
Precious autograph presentation inscription from Charles Clermont-Ganneau to Viscount Charles-Jean-Melchior de Vogüé (1829-1916), himself both archaeologist and diplomat.
Very rare first run of this fascinating maritime periodical, whose publication, under the direction of the renowned Edouard Corbière (1793-1875), continued until 1838 (a total of 18 issues), before the title was absorbed into the Journal de la marine (see Polak, 6955, who only records and knew of the first volume).
The set is illustrated with 15 plates: 4 lithographed plates hors texte, including one folding plate, for the first volume; 2 hors texte plates, one of them lithographed, for the second; 3 lithographed plates for the third volume; a lithographed frontispiece in each of the following volumes: 4, 5, 6 and 7; and 3 lithographed plates, including a frontispiece, for the eighth volume.
Half olive-green calf with corners, spines slightly darkened, with five raised bands tooled in gilt with floral ornaments in blind and gilt fillets, blind rolls along the edges of the marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns in marbled paper, sprinkled edges, romantic bindings of the period.
Joints cracked and fragile, some head- and tailcaps rubbed or trimmed, occasional foxing.
Very rare first issue of this periodical, the mouthpiece of German Expressionism founded by Herwarth Walden in 1910.
Text by Rudolf Blümmer.
One tear at the bottom of the spine, another at the head, pale angular damp stain on the marginally discoloured
covers, the text sheet tends to come apart. A fragile set held together by two strings.
Illustrated catalogue of 15 colour reproductions of artworks, laid on thick black paper by Marc Chagall (3 works), Wassily Kandinsky (2), Alexander Archipen
ko (1), Rudolf Bauer (1), Albert Gleizes (1), Reinhard Goering (1), Jacoba von Heemskerck (1), Paul Klee (1), Fernand Léger (1), Franz Marc (1), Johannes Molzahn (1) and Nell Walden (1).
First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this offprint from the April 1958 issue of Critique.
Minor tears at head and tail of spine.
Rare and appealing copy.
First edition, one of 20 numbered copies on vélin de cuve paper reserved for the “XX” bibliophile group, the tirage de tête.
A good copy complete with its double covers by Albin Michel and the “XX” bibliophile group.
Joints of chemise rubbed, modern slipcase, tiny insignificant worming to endpapers.
Signed by the author on justification page.
First edition and definitive and posthumous edition, arranged in strict chronological order, of a very rare iconographic series whose publication had begun as early as 1806 in somewhat disorderly instalments, but was never completed (only 49 instalments had appeared at the author’s death).
Cf Brunet V, 1453.
Work illustrated with 300 plates: lithographed and watercoloured title-frontispiece and 149 engraved plates, most finely hand-coloured, for the first volume; 150 plates for the second.
Contemporary bindings in half cherry-red morocco-grained shagreen with corners, spines with five raised bands decorated with blind fillets and panels, some minor rubbing to spines and joints, one joint of volume 1 split at foot, double blind fillet border on marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, bindings of the period.
Pleasing copy, complete with its 300 plates.
First edition; no copy recorded in the CCF or Worldcat, with a single copy held at the Real Academia Española.
Full red shagreen portfolio, smooth spine without lettering, double gilt and blind-tooled fillet borders with gilt garlands and rosettes at the corners on the covers, gilt title lettered in the center of the upper cover, moiré white silk endleaves and pastedowns, contemporary binding.
Inscribed and signed by Albertus Frederik Johan Reiger to Baron Joseph Louis Heinrich Alfred Gericke van Herwynen (1814–1899), Minister of the King of the Netherlands to the Court of Brussels, accompanied by an autograph signed note addressed to the same, dated 12 December 1881 and sent from Lunteren (Gelderland).
Original photograph, contemporary silver halide print on crumière paper, taken at the surrealist exhibition in Paris in 1938. “Wide World Photos – Services photographiques The New York Times” imprinted on the verso.
This picture depicts the object “Cadavre exquis” by André Breton, which was exhibited in the room adjacent to the main room at the exhibition and surrounded by paintings by René Magritte and sculptures by Hans Arp.
Stencilled inset glued on the back of the picture: “International Surrealism Exhibition 1938 opens at the Beaux-arts gallery. Paris. What to think of this curious “chest of drawers” on a woman's legs? Photo NYT Paris Fre. 18.1.38 DB.”
First edition of which there were no grand papier (deluxe) copies, an advance (service de presse) copy.
Bradel binding, spine slightly faded with a small spot to head, small stains on the covers, covers and spine preserved,
Contemporary binding signed by M.P. Trémois.
Exceptional and handsome autograph inscription signed by André Breton to Man Ray: “à Man Ray, dans la lumière qu'il a recréée, de tout cœur. André Breton” (“To Man Ray, in the light that he recreated, with all my heart. André Breton”)
First edition.
Full red morocco binding, round spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt fleurons, slight rubbing on the caps, double frame of blind-stamped gilt fillets on the covers, with fleurons at the corners of the inner frame, edges slightly blunt, marbled paper endpapers and back covers, gilt edges and heads, very elegant 19th-century binding ‘a la Du Seuil’ signed Quinet on the first endpaper.
Rare first edition of Chamblain de Marivaux's first theatrical success, The Surprise of Love, published four years before The Second Surprise of Love. This play, performed in the spring of 1722 before being published the following year in 1723, already contains all the essence of Marivaux's style, all its subtle gallantry. According to the Romantic poet Theophile Gautier, it is the author's masterpiece.
First edition, no copies on deluxe paper issued.
3/4 brown half morocco binding, spine with color restoration, five raised bands framed in black, gilt date at foot, boards, endpapers and pastedowns in wood-grain style marbled paper, covers and spine preserved, gilt edges, an elegant binding signed Alix.
Manuscript ex-libris in black ink and a discreet restoration to the upper right corner of the first endpaper.
Rare first edition of Hector Berlioz's first book.
Some restorations to the top spine-end, volume label on the spine of the second volume not fully visible, boards strengthened or lined (first board of the first volume), some stains on the first boards of both volumes.
Fine condition inside almost without any foxing.
Our copy is housed in green half shagreen chemises and slipcases, marbled paper boards, slipcases lined with the same shagreen, gilt titles and dates on the spine.
Rare.
First edition of this important and early collection of 50 superb lithographs of Algiers printed on china paper mounted on heavy wove, executed by the two painters Emile-Aubert Lessore (1805–1876), a pupil of Ingres, and William Wyld (1806–1889), a friend of Vernet. The work was originally issued in five parts: buildings, landscapes, figures, scenes, etc.
See: Bibliothèque algérienne de Gérard Sangnier, no. 207. Not in Blackmer. Playfair, 517. Tailliart, 896. Gay, 919. Brunet III, 1018.
Contemporary binding in half green shagreen, flat spine with triple gilt fillets and blind-stamped fleurons, gilt decorative bands at head and foot of spine, the upper band partially faded; marbled paper-covered boards with some marginal discoloration. Contemporary binding.
Spine restored, occasional scattered foxing.
First edition printed in a very small number (cf. Polak 1648-1649).
Collection of two obituary notices published in the days following the death of Auguste-Nicolas Vaillant (1793-1858), the renowned navigator who commanded "La Bonite" during the celebrated scientific voyage of exploration of 1835-1837.
With continuous pagination (26 pp.), two separate title-pages and a general title, they are extracted from the "Moniteur universel" and the "Journal des débats" of 9 November 1858 (Vaillant died on 1 November).
The authors are Frédéric Chassériau and J.-J. Baude (their names appear at the end of each text). Cf. Taillemite 332.
A rare and appealing copy.
