First edition printed on regular stock.
Small tears to the head and foot of the spine.
Fine presentation inscription, signed by Henri de Montherlant to Georges Bataille.
An extremely rare first edition of this valuable statistical survey of Bolivia; absent from both Palau and Sabin. Only one copy recorded in the CCFr (BnF).
Chuquisaca, Imprenta de Sucre, 1851, octavo,
Contemporary half brown sheep, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, marbled paper boards with losses, worn corners and edges, blue-speckled edges; a modest binding of the period.
Copy slightly trimmed.
José Maria Dalence (1782–1852), a jurist and prominent political figure of the independence period (1825), here provides one of the most precise demographic, ethnographic, and economic portraits of the young nation.
First edition, illustrated with photographs by Lucien Clergue.
Publisher’s binding in full boards, smooth spine,
With a text by Jean-Marie Magnan.
Signed autograph inscription by Lucien Clergue to the writer Christiane Baroche: "Pour Christiane ces images de notre éternelle jeunesse ! et avec la bise de Lucien. 5.X.2002."
First edition of the French translation, for which no deluxe paper copies were issued.
A handsome copy, complete with its photographic dust jacket showing a tiny tear at the head of the spine, with illustrations.
Inscribed and signed by Julio Cortázar to the writer Christiane Baroche: "Pour toi, Chirstiane, avec toute mon amitié. Julio."
This work is in fact the reissue of the original edition, published under a new title: the 1772 edition was entitled "Dissertation sur les vins".
One hundred blank leaves have been bound at the end of the text.
The work saw an expanded edition in 1782, which was subsequently reprinted. (Cf. Simon BG: 510. Not recorded by Vicaire, Oberlé, or Bitting. Lacking from the Kilian Fritsch Collection.)
Contemporary half mottled tawny sheep with vellum-tipped corners, the spine with five raised bands decorated with gilt compartments, marbled paper sides, red edges.
An important treatise on vinification by a former wine merchant’s employee who had worked in France, England, and Holland.
The volume details the methods then used to preserve and improve wines, as well as to treat those that had spoiled. One chapter is devoted to the manner of making wines in Champagne (pp. 135–179). It is also, however, a veritable compendium of “fraudulent recipes”…
An open invitation to fraud, so much so that the censor responsible for granting approval was visibly unsettled: this dissertation "contient les formules suivant lesquelles on sophistique les vins, cependant on peut le laisser imprimer, parce qu'elle n'apprend aux frelateurs de vins que ce qu'ils savent bien faire et qu'elle fait connaître au public qui et prévenu, que les vins frelatés sont dangereux et les moyens qu'on emploie pour le tromper". [D. Denis, Histoire socio-économique de la vigne et du vin.]
First edition of this paper on cassava and the cultivation of peanuts, read before the General Assembly of the Royal Aragonese Society on 22 August 1800.
Our copy is preserved in modern plain beige wrappers, with a few insignificant spots of foxing.
From the library of the comte de Lasteyrie du Saillant, the renowned agronomist, with his red printed stamp on the title-page.
New edition, embellished at the close of the first volume with a folding plate printed out of text (cf. Palau 17346).
Cherry half-shagreen bindings, spines with four raised false bands decorated with gilt fillets and double gilt panels, gilt lettering at the foot of the spines, slight rubbing to the headcaps, blind-tooled frames on the textured cloth boards, pebble-paper endpapers and pastedowns, a few bumped corners, period bindings.
Rear board of the first volume partially soiled.
New edition prepared under the supervision of the physician Rafael Ángel Cowley Valdés-Machado (1837–1908) and Andrés Pego, gathering three major sources for Cuban historiography: José Martín de Arrate y Acosta’s (1701–1765) Llave del Nuevo Mundo. Antemural de las Indias Occidentales, a meticulous portrait of eighteenth-century Cuban society first published only in 1830; Ignacio Urrutia y Montoya’s (1735–1795) Teatro Histórico, Jurídico, Político, Militar de la Isla Fernandina de Cuba, of which only the first part had appeared in 1795; and finally Antonio José Valdés’s (1770–1824) Historia General de la Isla de Cuba y en especial de la Habana, published in 1811.
Provenance: from the library of Ricardo Quintiliano Garcia, his name gilt-stamped at the foot of the spines; with his presentation inscription to his brother dated 15 July 1877 on the front flyleaf of the first volume.
Extremely rare first edition of the French translation by Luc de la Porte (cf. Lust 24. Cordier, Sinica, 12. Palau 105509. Sabin 27780. Wagner (SW) 7bb. Leclerc (1878) 258. Streit IV, 1999. Alden European Americana 588/37 – 8 copies recorded in the U.S.A. Atkinson 339.)
Contemporary full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with double gilt compartments, joints and spine restored, gilt fillets partly faded on the edges, red edges. 17th-century binding.
Minor stain to margin at the beginning of the volume; tear to margin p. 62.
Extremely rare first edition of the French translation of one of the finest missionary accounts of 16th-century China; it includes a significant section on the Americas, notably the recent discovery of New Mexico by Antonio d'Espejo in 1583. It was through this work that Abraham Ortelius was able to complete the American section of his atlas (Sabin 27775).
Manuscript ex-libris on the title page: Cadt. Berdeilh; autograph letter signed by Marie de Berdeilh, dated Mirepoix, January 10, on the front endpaper; and an acknowledgment of debt signed by the same, mounted to front pastedown. Ex-libris of Gaston Héliot, an antiques dealer specializing in Chinese and Japanese curiosities c. 1920–1930.
First bilingual edition with texts in Spanish and French, one of the numbered copies.
Publisher’s full beige cloth bindings, smooth spines, complete with their illustrated dust jackets and slipcase.
A richly illustrated work featuring numerous black and colour reproductions of Vieira da Silva’s artworks.
Texts by Jean-François Jaeger, Guy Weelen, Jean-Luc Daval, Diane Daval Béran, Virginie Duval...
A fine copy, complete with the chronological list of works reproduced in colour, inserted as a loose leaf.
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Magellan and four maps and plans depicting the Strait of Magellan (cf. Sabin, 16765; Leclerc, 1971; Chadenat, 552).
Our copy does not include the appendix published in 1793. "A work difficult to find with the second part" (cf. Chadenat).
Full brown calf binding, spine with five raised bands framed by gilt fillets and decorated gilt compartments, gilt rolls on the caps, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, red edges, gilt fillets along the edges, modern binding in period style.
An engaging account of this region of South America, containing the following illustrations: Carta Esferica de la parte sur de la America Meridional, año 1788. – Carta reducida des estrecho de Magallanes, año 1788. – Primer plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786. – Segundo plano de varios puertos del estrecho de Magallanes, levantados el año de 1786.
Fine copy formerly belonging to naval captain Gaston de Rocquemaurel (1804–1878), second-in-command to Dumont d’Urville during the South Pole and Oceania expedition from 1837 to 1840, with his signature on the title page.
Handsome example of a binding executed in imitation of the eighteenth century.
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.
First and only Castilian edition of these navigation tables, which were nonetheless translated into English as early as 1801.
No copy recorded in the CCF.
Contemporary half vellum with corners, smooth spine tooled in blind with Greek key rolls, rubbed cherry shagreen label with losses, marbled paper boards with scratches and losses, sprinkled edges, period binding.
José de Mendoza y Ríos (1761-1816) was a mathematician and astronomer; he specialised in the field of nautical astronomy.
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).
New edition bringing together, in addition to Cortés's own correspondence, a collection of documents relating to the conquest of Peru, including letters addressed to the conquistador by his principal lieutenants (cf. Palau 63 205. Leclerc 2575.)
A pupil of Silvestre de Sacy in Arabic, Pascual de Gayangos y Arce (1809-1897) was one of the foremost Spanish orientalists of the nineteenth century; his research was chiefly devoted to Muslim history.
Spine cracked with small losses, a tear at the upper left corner of the front cover, some foxing, tears and marginal losses to the rear cover.
Black and white photographic portrait depicting the Philippine dictator seated at his desk.
Accompanied by an official letter on the headed paper of the Office of the President of the Philippines, together with its envelope.
Manuscript signature of Ferdinand Marcos in black ink.
Provenance: from the collection of renowned autograph collector Claude Armand.
First edition of this preliminary study to the monumental Historia fisica, politica y natural de la isla de Cuba (Paris, 1832-1861).
Cf Kress 26 754. Palau 284 794. Sabin 74 919.
Contemporary half calf, flat spine decorated with gilt fillets and fleurons as well as a large blind-stamped fleuron, gilt rolls at head and tail, marbled paper boards with some rubbing along the edges, a few small bumps to the extremities, sprinkled edges.
Headcaps rubbed, tear to leaves v–vi with loss of a few letters on the final leaf, title-page slightly soiled, a faint dampstain affecting the lower margin of the first few leaves.
Inscribed by Ramon de La Sagra to the naturalist and explorer Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigny (1802–1857), whom he must have met during a stopover in Cuba on the course of the seven-year journey he undertook in South America for the Muséum (1826–1834).
The final letter of the word 'auteur' shows a small loss in the calligraphy.
First edition in Spanish, printed simultaneously with the French edition (Not cited by Sabin, who records only the French version under no. 39838).
Contemporary mottled tan sheep bindings, spines with four raised bands decorated with gilt dentelle and floral tools, red morocco lettering- and volume-pieces, headcaps shaved, gilt dentelle framing on the boards, marbled endpapers, corners rubbed, bindings signed "Felipe Montilla, Merida de Yucatán".
Joints split at head and foot of the first volume, joints rubbed, small marginal tears to a few leaves of the first volume without loss of text, light waterstaining to the edges of both volumes.
This collection of documents constitutes a complete history of the French intervention in Mexico and the ill-fated imperial venture of Maximilian.
Second edition only one month after the first edition.
Spine lightly wrinkled, small signs of folding in the margins of the boards, a light mark on the second board.
Claude Couffon, a French specialist and translator of the major Spanish-speaking writers of the second half of the 20th century, translated Chronicle of a Death Foretold a few years later.
On the last page, below the colophon, Gabriel García Márquez specified an address in Barcelona, that of his famous literary agent for Spain: “c/o Agencia Carmen Ballcells Urgel 241, Barcelona, 11.”
Rightly considered as one of the most important works op the Spanish language, the novel by García Márquez, however, had difficult beginnings after a first refusal by the avant-garde Barcelona publisher Seix Barral: “This novel will not be successful [...], this novel is useless.”
García Márquez sent it from Mexico to the Argentinian publisher Francisco Porrúa who immediately perceived the power of this unknown Colombian writer: “It wasn't a question of getting to the end to find out if the novel could be published. The publication was already decided from the first line, in the first paragraph. I simply understood what any sensible publisher would have understood: that it was an exceptional work.”
Finished printing in May 1967, Cien Años de Soledad appeared in bookshops in June with 8,000 copies selling out in a few days. The second print on 30 June will have the same success, as will the editions that follow week after week. More than half a million copies were sold in three years.
Several copies were later inscribed by Gabriel García Márquez who over the years has become one of the most famous South American writers, translated into 25 languages. However, contemporary autograph inscriptions on the first prints are extremely rare, even more so to one of his French translators who will contribute largely to his international renown.
First edition of this beautifully lithographed album after various artists, alternating picturesque views with architectural details. (Not listed in the Ornamentstischsammlung catalogue, Berlin.)
This splendid album contains 51 lithographed plates outside the text, our copy with two additional duplicate plates bound in.
Contemporary binding in half black morocco, smooth spine decorated with gilt typographic motifs, original black moiré paper boards with gilt title on upper cover preserved, original delivery wrappers bound in, corners rubbed, some marginal tears and wear to board edges, modern binding.
Some occasional foxing.
Rare first edition of the Spanish translation commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I, with the French text printed opposite (Not in Sabin. Not held at the BnF).
French and Spanish texts printed side by side in two columns.
Contemporary binding in navy blue half calf, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands and decorated gilt compartments, restored to spine and joints; marbled paper boards, cat's-eye patterned endpapers and pastedowns.
Stamp of the Centro de estudios jurídicos "Lex" Mexico, Jul 16 1934, on the half-title and fore-edge ; clean and attractive interior condition.
First edition.
Contemporary Romantic bindings in half green Empire calf, flat spines slightly faded, richly gilt with Romantic decorative motifs, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; Romantic period bindings.
A few light spots of foxing; a discolouration mark on a blank endpaper of the first volume.
First edition of the French translation of the compilation entitled Historia de la dominacion de los Arabes en España sacada de varios manuscritos y memorias arabigas (Madrid, 1820–21), cf. Playfair 528. Palau 59020.
Contemporary bindings in black half sheepskin, flat spines decorated with gilt garlands and blind-tooled floral ornaments, gilt library shelfmark numbers at foot, vellum-tipped corners, headcaps rubbed on two volumes, covers in mottled paper, bookplates pasted on the endpapers, a few small chips to the upper edges and corners of the third volume, sprinkled edges.
Scattered foxing, minor rubbing to the bindings.
Copy from the library of Vittorio Rochstol, with his bookplates mounted on the front endpapers.
Three-and-a-quarter-page manuscript written in black ink on a bifolium.
One vertical fold.
Manuscript detailing the nominal roster of the Spanish squadron that set sail under the command of Don Luis de Cordova, Don Antonio de Ulloa, and Don Miguel Gastón.
First edition of this significant travel account, which retraces a major circumnavigation with key stopovers including Île Bourbon, Pondicherry, Singapore, Manila, Macao, Tourane, the Anambas Islands, Java, Surabaya, Port Jackson, Santiago, Valparaíso, and Rio de Janeiro.
The atlas volume contains 56 plates and maps, 13 of which are hand-colored (cf. Sabin 6875; Borba de Moraes I, 115; Ferguson 2236; Nissen ZBI, 483; British Museum (Natural History) II, 605).
The text volumes are bound in contemporary navy blue half calf, flat spines faded and decorated with gilt and blind-ruled fillets, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some rubbing to joints, edges and corners. Contemporary bindings.
The atlas volume is bound in contemporary violet half calf over marbled boards, flat spine with gilt and blind fillets, joints split at head and foot, gilt roll-tooled head- and tailpieces, marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Contemporary binding.
Some foxing, mainly affecting the text volumes; corners of the atlas worn; small tear without loss on p. 81 of vol. I.
Attractive promotional album, complete with its 600 sepia-toned photographs (small prints, each approximately 7 x 5 cm), produced by the La Corona cigar brand. Each vignette was originally included inside the brand's cigar boxes and was meant to be collected and mounted in the album, following a well-established marketing model that remains in use to this day.
Publisher’s original flexible boards with black cloth tape along the margins; some scuffing to covers, corners rubbed.
Very rare first edition.
No copies listed in the CCF or WorldCat.
Official recognition by the Peruvian Senate of the rank of Rear Admiral granted to Antonio Ambrosio de La Haza Rodriguez (1825–1891), one of the most distinguished naval officers of the Andean Republic.
He served as Minister of War in 1877 and as Commander-in-Chief of the naval forces in 1878–1879.
A handsome copy.
Extremely rare reissue of this journal. None of the institutions consulted hold this edition (see Palau, 71807).
Contemporary full ivory vellum binding with overlapping edges, flat spine with calligraphic title running lengthwise, boards slightly soiled.
The book was most likely reinserted into its original binding; a few small stains.
The first Spanish edition was issued the same year in Seville by Sebastián de Armendáriz - bookseller, publisher, and forerunner of Spanish journalism - at the press of Thomas Lopez de Haro.
It appears that the document used as the basis for Armendáriz’s account was a report by an eyewitness to the events, Count Paolo Amerighi.
This journal recounts the siege and recapture of Budapest in 1686, held by the Turks since 1541 and ultimately expelled by Charles V of Lorraine (1643-1690).
A few spots on the title page, otherwise a very attractive copy in contemporary binding.
Very rare first edition of this work, never reprinted.
Only one copy listed in the CCF (Versailles).
Contemporary bottle green half shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands ruled in gilt and adorned with double gilt compartments and gilt floral motifs, gilt title at foot, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.
Some foxing; Mexican peddler's stamp on title page.
Only edition of this collection presented from a Mexican perspective, with an introduction by José Maria Lafragua Ibarra (1813–1875).
Name R. Criado stamped in gilt at foot of spine.
First edition of the French translation by Dominique Aubier, printed in 150 numbered copies on Rives wove paper, ours being one of 30 copies including the original print, numbered and signed by Louis Chavignier.
Our copy is one of only 10 exceptionally enriched with an additional suite on chine appliqué of the etching by Alberto Giacometti and the 14 burin engravings by Louis Chavignier.
The work is illustrated with an original etching as frontispiece by Alberto Giacometti, and 14 full-page original burin engravings by sculptor Louis Chavignier.
A handsome and rare copy.
Enclosed is the printed report, on Rives paper, of the general meeting held on 16 May 1962 by the bibliophile society Les Impénitents.
Also included is the promotional leaflet illustrated with an original burin engraving by Louis Chavignier, justified and signed by the artist, announcing the forthcoming publication of the book.
Minor, insignificant foxing affecting one leaf of the final gathering.
A rare and desirable copy.
Rare (possibly complete) collection of this popular Chilean weekly printed in Valparaíso, not listed in the catalogue of the National Library’s periodicals.
Contemporary binding in red half sheep, smooth spine decorated with double gilt and black fillets, black morocco title label, marbled paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns.
Although primarily concerned with historical and political matters—featuring frequent polemics against Spain and Peru—this provincial paper also aspires to literary status, including numerous poems, occasionally illustrated with small wood engravings. The "classified ads," of particular interest, along with the theatre listings, offer a vivid glimpse into daily life in a mid-19th-century Chilean city.
The final page of each issue carries advertisements. A few insignificant spots of foxing.
Very scarce.
Rare first edition, illustrated with a folding map bound at the end of the volume (cf. Backer & Sommervogel VIII, 827).
Only one copy recorded in the CCF (BnF).
Contemporary full black shagreen binding, spine with four raised bands adorned with blind-ruled fillets, minor rubbing to spine, covers framed with double and single blind fillets with corner volutes, some rubbing to covers, bumped corners, sprinkled edges.
Father Benito Viñes [Poboleda (Tarragona) 1837 – Havana 1893] arrived in Havana in 1870, where he was appointed director of the magnetic and meteorological observatory, a position he held until his death. His studies on Caribbean hurricanes remain authoritative works in the field.
First edition, illustrated with 26 folding tables framed typographically. (Not listed in Sabin, who only records under no. 22885 another economic publication by the same author, printed the same year.)
Contemporary half havana sheep binding, flat spine decorated with double gilt and blind fillets, brown sheep title label with minor losses, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards slightly faded at the margins, some paper losses to the covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, rubbing to edges, corners worn.
Joints restored; small tear affecting the text on pages 83–84 of the second part.
A rare and highly valuable source on the dire state of the Mexican economy in the final years of Santa Anna’s dictatorship.
The folding tables provide a detailed account of the country’s production (notably tobacco), report on the national debt, break down military expenditures (army and navy), customs revenues (by region), the state of taxation, and more.
One table is devoted to lottery revenues.
The second part of the work, containing supporting documents, bears a separate title: "Documentos que se acompañan al presupuesto de hacienda para el quinto año economico".
A good copy.
Provenance: from the library of A. Montluc, Consul General of Mexico in Paris, with his bookplate on the front pastedown.
First edition, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait, two folding colour maps, and 34 plates outside the text.
Publisher’s binding in full green percaline, flat spine decorated with blind-stamped panels and fillets, gilt date at foot; some rubbing to one joint, slightly frayed, cold-stamped frame on covers, brown paper endpapers and pastedowns, corners slightly bumped.
Inscribed, dated and signed on the front free endpaper as a gift.
First edition of these extremely scarce memoirs (cf. Bourquelot V, 374. Tulard 1007. Bertier de Sauvigny 720).
Contemporary bindings in brown half sheep, flat spines decorated with gilt Romantic rolls and black floral tools, red morocco labels for volume numbers and titles, marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, some corners worn, marbled edges.
Spine of volume four damaged, restorations to the spines, two lower caps rubbed, occasional foxing.
The Countess Merlin was born Maria de las Mercedes de Santa Cruz y Montalvo (1789–1852) in Havana.
Her memoirs offer valuable anecdotal insight into society life in Cuba, the Peninsular War, and more.
Very rare edition comprising the independent pre-publication of the first part of the major geological expedition to the Antilles and the islands of Tenerife and Fogo, a seven-volume quarto work also covering Guadeloupe, Martinique, and others.
Illustrated with 9 lithographed plates, including a folding map of the Cape Verde Islands and 6 tinted views.
Not recorded by Sabin in his entry on the Voyage.
Bound after, by the same author: Recherches sur les principaux phénomènes de météorologie et de physique générale aux Antilles, printed in Paris by Gide and J. Baudry in 1849.
Bradel binding in full black textured cloth, smooth spine decorated with blind fillets, small losses to spine ends, hinges rubbed, double blind-ruled frame on boards, yellow endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges, corners slightly rubbed; contemporary binding.
Charles Deville (1814–1876), known as Sainte-Claire Deville, was a geologist born in the Antilles on the island of Saint Thomas, a member of the Académie des Sciences and professor at the Collège de France.
Some occasional foxing, remains of a removed ex-libris on the pastedown.
His body of work remains little known, likely due to the extreme rarity of his publications.
First edition, one of 240 numbered copies on pur fil paper, the only deluxe issue.
A handsome copy.
Rare first edition (cf. Borba de Moraes II, 753: "famous book of navigational bearings". Rodrigues 2144.)
Minor marginal foxing on the endpapers, otherwise a clean and appealing copy.
Contemporary-style binding in quarter tree calf with corners, smooth spine, blind-ruled panels on marbled paper-covered boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns. Modern binding.
Baron Roussin (1781–1854) explored the coasts of Brazil in 1819–1820, during which he charted and described the Abrolhos archipelago—later made famous by Darwin’s observations aboard HMS Beagle (1832).
Manuscript ownership inscription: Guillotin.
First edition, one of 249 numbered copies on B.F.K. de Rives, the only printing alongside 1 on Hollande and 24 on cream Renage vellum.
Illustrated with 4 original color lithographs by Rufino Tamayo.
This copy is further enriched with an additional suite of the 4 lithographs by Rufino Tamayo, usually reserved for the deluxe copies.
Printed stamps to the versos of each engraving: "Annulation d'estampille pour annulation de vente".
A rare and desirable copy.
Exceptional and Surrealist autograph inscription signed by Benjamin Péret to Toyen, inspired by the Aztec pantheon: "A Toyen la fille de Pilzintacutli, son ami Huitzilopochtli. Rectifions : son père est Xochipilli, l'autre n'esu qu'un intrus. Benjamin Péret 2 juin 1953."
Very rare first edition, illustrated with a large folding lithographed map (cf. Sabin, 21 178 – Only two copies listed in the CCF: at the BnF and the Médiathèque du Quai Branly).
Contemporary full marbled yellow paper boards, flat spine with a cherry-red shagreen label, library shelf label pasted at the foot of the spine, red edges.
A small discoloured spot on the title page, a few light foxmarks.
The Federal Republic of Central America (Republica federal de Centroamérica) was short-lived: established in 1824 from the United Provinces of Central America, it was dissolved in November 1839 following the secession of its main constituent states. It comprised Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Chiapas (now part of Mexico), and Los Altos (in 1838).
Illustrated edition comprising 54 plates depicting twelve views and over sixty different costumes, along with monuments and picturesque scenes (including bullfights), most of them based on drawings executed in 1809 and 1810 (cf. Colas, 439; Lipperheide, 1214; Brunet, I, 1226, no. 3; Quérard, I, 506).
Contemporary half blond calf bindings, spines with four false raised bands adorned with triple gilt and black fillets, gilt rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards with minor surface losses along the fore-edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges. Unsigned bindings, yet attributable to Thouvenin.
Scattered foxing, small tear on page 63 of volume 5.
"J'ai tâché d'offrir à mes lecteurs quelque chose de neuf […] Ce sont particulièrement des ouvrages en langues étrangères qui ont servi de base à ma description et au texte explicatif d'estampes jusqu'alors inédites pour la France. Sans négliger le voyage pittoresque de don Antonio Ponz, dont j'ai eu constamment l'original espagnol sous les yeux, j'ai recouru plus particulièrement à deux ouvrages publiés récemment en Angleterre, l'un en 1812, l'autre en 1813. Le texte magnifique de ces ouvrages est enrichi d'un grand nombre d'estampes qui ont été transportées dans le mien. M. Bradford, auteur du plus considérable des deux, étoit attaché en qualité de dessinateur à l'état-major de lord Wellington. L'autre, publié sous ce titre modeste, Costumes of Portugal, est rempli d'observations ingénieuses et piquantes…" (Preface, pp. V–VII).
The historical overview, spanning from the Carthaginians to Ferdinand VII, occupies volume 1; the second volume describes Catalonia and the kingdoms of Valencia, Murcia, and Granada. The next volume is devoted to the kingdom of Seville (including Cádiz and Algeciras), Gibraltar, the Jewish communities of Spain, Andalusia, and the kingdom of Galicia. Volume 4 covers the principality of Asturias, Old Castile, Biscay, and the kingdoms of Aragon, Navarre, and León.
The fifth volume continues with the kingdom of León, New Castile (including a description of Madrid), the kingdom of Córdoba, and Majorca.
The sixth and final volume is entirely dedicated to Portugal.
The charming period binding is by Thouvenin, who signed only one volume (La Suisse) of this impressive collection that has passed through our hands.
Provenance: from the library of Sinety, with an armorial bookplate affixed to the front pastedown of each volume.
First edition featuring the celebrated original color stencil "Aidez l'Espagne!", printed on Arches paper by Joan Miró.
With literary contributions by Christian Zervos on Pablo Picasso's "Guernica", as well as texts by Jean Cassou, Georges Duthuit, Pierre Mabille, Michel Leiris, Paul Éluard, René Char...
Illustrated with numerous reproductions of works by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró’s "Le faucheur".
Some rubbing and small tears to the spine, as often, a vertical crease to the rear wrapper, otherwise a fresh and well-preserved copy.
Fine autograph letter, dated and signed, addressed to his friend Pierre Louÿs; 7 pages in violet ink on two bifolia, with the original envelope preserved.
Folds from original mailing.
Soon to be on leave from the Moroccan Expeditionary Corps, Claude Farrère announces to his friend his imminent return to France following an Andalusian journey: "je pendrai au plus tardle train du 4 juin, à Algéciras ; lequel train, après escales à Grenade, Cordoue, Séville et Tolède, me déposera, le 11 au matin, à Toulon - Voilà !"
He mentions a book that struck him and evokes two women: "feuilletez, vous comprendrez l'in térêt que j'attache au cas, intérêt tout à fait analogue à celui que vous inspire une jeune personne à ui je vais dédier mon prochain conte au journal intitulé : 'sur le Boul' Mad'... La préface du bouquin en question est un chef d'oeuvre d' (je ne sais pas de quoi ! Fichtre ! On va bien, de nos jours... [...] voyez-vous qu'on publiât des histoires comme ça sur notre... dos- quatre ans après notre mort ???"
Claude Farrère ironically comments on his literary and epistolary activity shared with his friend: "J'aurais tellement besoin de regarder vos Hok'saï avant d'écrire certaines pages de mon sale bouquin ! ... Mon Maroc n'est pas du temps perdu. Je l'ai considéré comme dix mois de travail forcé. Et je vous en rapporte un manuscrit qui en est aujourd'hui à sa 392e pages, - qui toutes ensemble ne valent pas une ligne de Psyché !"
His rebellious and independent spirit draws suspicion from the military establishment: "Votre lettre datée du 8 mai, ne m'est arrivée qu'hier 18. J'ai lieu de croire que ma correspondance est très surveillée depuis quelque temps."
First edition, one of 15 numbered copies on tinted antique Japan paper, ours being one of 5 hors commerce lettered copies, comprising the deluxe issue.
Minor spotting to the half-title and following leaf, otherwise a fine copy with full margins.
First edition, one of 1050 numbered copies on bouffant alfa paper.
Publisher's binding after the original design by Paul Bonet.
Very handsome copy complete with its flexible cardboard slipcase.
Autograph poem by André Pieyre de Mandiargues signed A.P.M. and dated June 5, 1974 entitled "Le plus libre graveur" and which he dedicated to Joan Miro.
Written in black ballpoint pen on a sheet, the poem, of 44 lines, contains some crossings-out and manuscript additions as well as an addition of a cut and pasted sheet in the lower right corner of the poem.
This text celebrating the painter Joan Miro and his style was published in the review XXe siècle in December 1974:
"Feu d'air ou feu de terre
Feu de feu ou feu d'eau
Le haut feu de Miro
Se fait esprit de sel
Acide ardent fumant
Machoîre du dieu ivre
Qui va mordre le cuivre...
...
Parfois il grave sur le givre
il invente le regard
il noie le soleil
Il l'ébouillante
Parfois il balance l'homme
Il bascule la demoiselle,
...
La grande lingerie des noirs
Des bleus des rouges des roses
Des jaunes et des verts
Claquant au vent de Majorque
Un grand pavois d'allégresse
Imposé au blanc d'une page..."
Beautiful poem by André Pieyre de Mandiargues celebrating the abundant style of vivid colors of the painter and engraver Joan Miro.
Black-and-white photographic postcard depicting Dolores del Rio in a frontal portrait.
A very attractive example. Envelope sent from Mexico included.
Inscribed and signed by Dolores del Rio in blue felt-tip pen to the renowned autograph collector Claude Armand: "To Claude Armand best wishes Dolores Del Rio."
New edition, partially original as it is augmented with three new stories and the life of the author (previously published in 1744; before this date, editions included only 10 stories).
The false title of the second volume bears the title "Diverse Works," these two volumes, although sold separately, could be placed after the six-volume Don Quixote. The original title "Exemplary Novels" was used concurrently in other editions.
Translation by Abbé Martin de Chassonville. It is illustrated with a portrait of the author engraved by Gentot after Kent, and 13 plates, of which 12 are engraved by Aveline after Folkema, and one by Daudel. The engravings are charming and pleasing, with typical interiors (pharmacy, hospital...).
Full mottled calf bindings, smooth spines adorned with gilded fleurons, gilded rolls at the tails, grenadine morocco title pieces, brown morocco volume number pieces, triple gilded fillet borders on the covers enriched with gilded angular fleurons, gilded dentelles on the endpapers, all edges gilded, one bumped corner, some rubbing on the joints and covers, contemporary binding.
