16th-18th centuries: humanism, religious wars, Renaissance to Enlightenment society, history, letters and arts of the Ancien Régime

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with two folding plates hors texte.

This is an abridged translation (unusually, this is stated) of the major work Reise durch Sibirien, published in Göttingen in 1751–1752 in four quarto volumes richly illustrated. It recounts a major scientific expedition to Siberia that took place from July 1733 to February 1743. Johann Georg Gmelin (1709–1755) held the chair of chemistry and natural history at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Despite the erratic pagination of the second volume, the set is complete.

Contemporary full marbled tan calf, flat spines decorated with gilt compartments, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt rolls at head and tail, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on board edges, marbled edges, corners somewhat rubbed.

Some light foxing.

Armorial bookplates from the 18th century, with the handwritten note “Longeville.”

Elzevirian "à la sphère" edition based on the first one printed in 1623, with the same features, including a red-and-black title page for the first volume and a black title page for the second. Brunet suggests it may have been printed in Brussels (IV, 1050).

Numerous headbands, culs-de-lampe, and initials.

Full dark green morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, with gilt fleurons and framed in blind, gilt date at foot. Covers with a Du Seuil-style double panel of blind-ruled borders, gilt fleurons at the corners of the inner panel, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, inner gilt dentelle, gilt edges, edges and spine-ends ruled in gilt.  Binding signed "Petit succede Simier" on front flyleaf. Minor tear to the title page of the second volume not affecting the text; a few very occasional spots of foxing.

Delightful edition of Rabelais' works, handsomely bound in full morocco in the Du Seuil style, signed by Petit, successor to Simier.

New edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin, 90059).

Contemporary red half shagreen binding, flat spine decorated with gilt and blind fillets, gilt floral rolls at head and foot, marbled paper boards, hand-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original pink printed cover (blank) preserved, 20th-century binding.

Some foxing, a tiny nick at the foot of the spine.

Third volume of the Voyages, relations et mémoires originaux pour servir à l'histoire de la découverte de l'Amérique, edited by Henri Ternaux-Compans.

This is the first French version of Hans Staden's account, a native of Homburg in Hesse, originally published in German in Marburg in 1557 (one small quarto volume). De Bry later translated it into Latin and included it in his Collection of Great Voyages.

Staden recounts his journey to Brazil, where he stayed from 1547 to 1555, and describes in detail the customs and way of life of the Tupinambá people among whom he was held captive.

First edition, one of 35 numbered copies on alfa paper, the only copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy, despite slight and marginal fading to the spine and covers.

First edition, only one other copy recorded (BnF).

Full dark purple morocco binding, spine with five raised bands with gilt floral motifs, gilt date at foot, spine slightly faded, covers numerously framed in gilt, gilt-tooled corners each adorned with a blue onlaid morocco medallion stamped with a central gilt fleuron, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, pastedown bookplate of Ernest Stroehlin, inner gilt dentelle, spine-ends ruled in gilt, very light rubbing to corners, all edges gilt. A tiny restored lack of paper to the upper part of the title page, not affecting the text.

Very rare anti-Protestant satire in the form of a dialogue between the renowned Protestant minister Mestrezat and the warden of the Charenton temple where Mestrezat officiated.

First edition of the author's first work; Aboal Amaro, Amerigo Vespucci, page 31. Leclerc, 263 (does not mention this edition). Sabin, 10704.

Contemporary limp cream paper boards, plain spine, original binding.

Spine worn with some loss, a marginal stain affecting two leaves at the beginning, otherwise a clean and attractive copy.

This essay, in which the author argued "with a certain force of reasoning" (Larousse) that Vespucci discovered America before Christopher Columbus, was awarded the prize of the Academy of Cortona in 1788. The Florentine scholar Stanislas Canovai (1740–1811) devoted his life to restoring the reputation of the famed navigator Amerigo Vespucci, publishing several works on the subject. The last of these, published posthumously in 1817, is mentioned by Sabin with the following comment: "It is hardly possible to understand how calumnies against Amerigo, which have so long been taught in every school, could have, for many years, survived this excellent refutation."

Leclerc notes: "A dissertation much attacked, which gave rise to numerous inquiries into early Spanish voyages to the Indies." Dedication epistle to Giovanni Luigi di Durfort.

Manuscript ex-libris on the title page and engraved armorial bookplate pasted on the front pastedown.

First edition of this broad overview, largely compiled from more detailed monographs then available.

It was reissued as early as 1843.

Contemporary half black sheepskin bindings, flat spines decorated with quadruple gilt fillets and gilt romantic arabesques, gilt rolls at foot, some wear to the headcap of the first volume and to the tail of the second. Boards decorated in blind with romantic motifs, school insignia [Institution Hortus], corners slightly rubbed, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, sprinkled edges.

Some foxing, light rubbing to edges, endpapers and pastedowns slightly soiled at margins.

Partly original edition of this newly expanded version, previously published in a single volume in 1727. Supporting documents appear at the end of the final volume, including the complete texts of the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück.

Contemporary full marbled glazed calf binding. Spines with raised bands decorated with floral tools in gilt compartments. Red morocco labels for titles and volume numbers. Red edges. Small loss to head of volume I and upper joint split at head. Losses along the upper joint of volume IV. One corner slightly worn. Some rubbing. Small tear at foot of volume II and occasional marginal dampstaining at head. A handsome set overall.

Edition not recorded by Leclerc, Rodriquez or Borba de Moraes (cf. Sabin 43770; Cordier, Bibl. Japonica 62-63, and Bibl. Sinica 782).

Some occasional light foxing; minor worming affecting the index leaves at the end of the volume.

Modern Bradel binding in half vellum, smooth spine with red morocco label, marbled paper-covered boards.

A work of major significance for the history of Jesuit missions in the Americas, India, China, and Japan.

First edition, one of 110 copies printed on pure Lana wove paper, the only copies on deluxe paper.

Half maroon shagreen binding with corners, spine with four raised bands adorned with black fillets, gilt patterned paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, top edge gilt.

A handsome copy, finely bound.

First edition, one of 50 copies on pur fil, ours being one of 4 hors commerce copies, the only deluxe papers after 5 hors commerce copies on Arches.

Bound in burgundy half morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands ruled in black, cat's-eye patterned paper-covered boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, original wrappers and spine preserved, bookplate affixed to a pastedown, top edge gilt, untrimmed. A handsome unsigned binding, likely by Devauchelle.

Very rare first edition of the French translation by J. Castéra, illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author (cf. Sabin 43417. Leclerc 756).

Stamp marks scratched out on the half-title and at the end of the volume, dated 22 August 1878, occasional foxing.

Contemporary half havana sheep binding, flat spine decorated with gilt fillets, fleurons and rose tools, red morocco title label, spine restored, marbled paper boards with marginal fading, one upper corner slightly bumped.

Pages 261 to 274 contain a Vocabulary of the Algonquin Language and that of the Knisteneaux, and pages 304 to 310 a Vocabulary of the Chipiouyane Language [Chippeway].

First edition, a Paris edition appeared the same year, see Cioranescu, XVII, 26842. Brunet V, 1222, under the entry "Villa," mentions this Paris edition under the title Voyage. Blackmer 505.

Contemporary full stiff vellum, flat spine, inked title at head of spine, speckled edges.

"This work is an abridged version of, or rather based on, Rostagno's Viaggi Dell'… Sign. Marchese Ghiron Francesco Villa In Dalmatia, e Levante, Torino, 1668. Du Cros, who in the preface says Rostagno lent him his manuscript, has produced a day-by-day account of the siege of Candia and of Villa's part in it. Villa took up arms against the Turks in 1665, sustained the siege of Candia for 2 years, and died of his wounds after he returned to Italy in 1668. According to Breslau, Du Cros, a diplomat who later carried out missions for Charles II and was involved in the marriage negociations of William and Mary, had travelled in the Levant and been in Crete himself as a follower of Ghiron Francesco Villa, but this is not mentioned in the preface, although Du Cros does speak of his obligations to Villa and apologizes to the reader for beginning his account with the last part of Villa's life, since he had intended originally to produce a full biography of the man" [Leonora Navari].

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 12 folding plates and maps outside the text, and 11 folding tables included in the pagination (cf. Sabin 62574).

Contemporary full mottled calf binding, spine with five raised bands decorated with double gilt panels, floral tools and gilt medallions, red morocco title label with some loss and partially lifting, gilt garland frame on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, all edges yellow.

Some minor foxing, one joint fragile.

Famous account of this "unfortunate expedition which served to demonstrate the impossibility of crossing the Polar ice" [Hoefer]. Pages 187 to 208 are devoted to natural history, with 2 plates [XI and XII] depicting crustaceans and mollusks.

First edition, very difficult to find complete, as the third volume was published eight years after the first two.

Bound in full mottled bronze-green calf, smooth spines richly decorated with gilt floral compartments, red morocco labels for title and volume number, gilt rolls on the caps, joints slightly rubbed, gilt roll-tooled borders on the covers entirely adorned with oblong geometric patterns in blind, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt Greek-key borders framing the pastedowns, bookplate mounted on the pastedown of the first volume, gilt fillets on the edges, all edges gilt, contemporary bindings.

Contains anecdotes about Rousseau, Poivre, Turgot, Helvétius, Benjamin Franklin, Holbach, Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld, the Marquise de Pompadour, Calonne, Necker, Beaujon…

A handsome copy attractively bound in a period decorative binding.

First edition, one of 26 numbered copies on Vélin du Marais, the only deluxe copies.

Rare and appealing copy.

Rare first edition of this "relation (...) much sought after for its accuracy", illustrated with 19 folding plates, including 2 maps (cf. Sabin 3604, Leclerc 119).

Full marbled tan calf binding, spine with five raised bands, gilt compartments decorated with gilt floral motifs, small chip at foot of spine, scuffing to covers, red edges, bumped corners, gilt fillets along the board edges, contemporary binding.

The author, a physician and botanist born in Perpignan in 1690—where he held a post at the military hospital—was introduced by Antoine de Jussieu to the Conseil de la Marine in August 1721 and appointed royal physician and botanist in French Guiana. He landed in Cayenne at the end of 1721 and left the colony in May 1724. During his stay, he explored the banks of the Kourou and Orapu rivers, studying the local flora, fauna, and indigenous customs.

His account, one of the earliest on French Guiana, is of great importance and was widely used by eighteenth-century geographers.

First edition, comprising the original narrative of the discovery of the Kerguelen Islands, together with a memoir on Madagascar (pp. 154-169), and the portion headed “Observations sur la guerre de l’Amérique” (pp. 121-133, Sabin 3718).

Work illustrated with a folding map bound out of text (“Terres Australes ou partie septentrionale de l’Isle de Kerguelen”), bordered by eight smaller coastal charts or views.

Contemporary full marbled fawn calf, spine tooled in gilt with sawtooth motifs and floral devices; red calf title label with a minor loss at the foot; joints showing rubbing; boards framed in black along the leather edges; gilt fillets on the leading edges, partly faded; red edges.

Spine restored; a scattering of insignificant foxing; faint waterstaining at the top edge towards the close of the volume; a corner loss at the head of leaves 241-42, with the text entirely unaffected.

Seized under the ruling of 28 May 1783 for its dedication “à la Patrie”, the work saw many of its copies eliminated in the aftermath.

Born in Trémarec on 13 February 1734, Kerguelen died in Paris on 4 March 1797. “En mai 1771, il partait pour l'Océan Indien sur le Berryer et arriva en août à l'île de France. Avec la Fortune et le Gros Ventre, il vérifia la nouvelle route des Indes découverte par Grenier puis descendit vers le sud, découvrit en février 1772 les îles de la Fortune, prit possession des terres qui portent depuis son nom et rentra à Brest en juillet 1772. Promu capitaine de vaisseau, il repartit en mars 1773 avec le Roland et l'Oiseau. Arrivé en vue des terres australes en décembre, gêné par le mauvais temps, il dut remonter vers le nord, fit escale à Antongil (Madagascar) et rentra à Brest en septembre 1774 pour être accusé de commerce frauduleux et d'embarquement clandestin d'une jeune fille à son bord. Condamné en mai 1775 à être rayé du corps et emprisonné à Saumur, il fut libéré en août 1778 et arma aussitôt la Comtesse de Brionne à Rochefort avec laquelle il fit la course en mer du Nord” [Taillemite]. 

["In May 1771, he departed for the Indian Ocean on the Berryer and reached the Isle of France in August. With the Fortune and the Gros Ventre, he confirmed the new route to the Indies discovered by Grenier, then sailed south, discovering the Isles of Fortune in February 1772, taking possession of the lands that now bear his name, and returning to Brest in July 1772. Promoted to ship’s captain, he departed again in March 1773 with the Roland and the Oiseau. Upon sighting the southern lands in December, hampered by bad weather, he was compelled to return north, stopping at Antongil (Madagascar), and returned to Brest in September 1774, only to be accused of fraudulent trading and of clandestinely taking a young girl aboard. Condemned in May 1775 to be struck from the service and imprisoned at Saumur, he was released in August 1778 and immediately outfitted the Comtesse de Brionne at Rochefort, with which he cruised in the North Sea."] 

First edition of this important and highly valuable collection, containing numerous official papers and documents (cf. Sabin 47547. Leclerc 763).

Bound in full marbled tan calf, spines with five raised bands, gilt garlands and richly gilt compartments, red shagreen title-pieces, brown shagreen volume labels, gilt tooling (now slightly faded) to the headcaps, panels framed with double blind fillets, gilt double fillets on the board edges, red edges, contemporary bindings.

Headcaps of volumes two and three shaved, corners bumped and worn, small holes and losses to the leather along the margins of the volumes.

Scattered light foxing, otherwise clean and fresh throughout.

Volume I contains the memoirs on Acadia and the island of Saint Lucia, with a large folding map inserted.

Volume II includes treaties and public acts relating to America in general, and supporting documents for the memoirs concerning the boundaries of Acadia.

Volume III is devoted to supporting documents relating to the ownership of the island of Saint Lucia.

As is often the case, the set lacks volume IV, which was published only in 1757.

The French negotiators were Mssrs. de Silhouette and de La Galissonnière, and for Britain, Mssrs. V. Shirlet and Wm. Mildmay; the failure of the negotiations was one of the contributing factors to the outbreak of the Seven Years' War.

First edition of the French translation of this rare and significant travel account.

Illustrated with 16 folding and full-page plates featuring numerous figures: landscapes, natural history subjects, elephant hunting scenes, and more (cf. Gay 2808).

Contemporary full brown calf, spine with five raised bands, gilt tooled compartments with double gilt frames and decorations, gilt rolls on caps, gilt fillets on board edges.

Spine expertly rebacked to style, repairs to p. 1 and several plates, occasional foxing.

"De toutes les anciennes relations de la Guinée, celle-ci est la plus estimable : elle est aussi très recherchée. C'est sur la Côte d'Or, sur celle des Esclaves et sur le royaume de Benin, assez imparfaitement décrits avant et après Bosman, que ce voyageur s'est particulièrement étendu". Cf. Boucher de La Richarderie.

A Dutch traveller, Willem Bosman lived during the second half of the 17th century. He spent fourteen years in Africa, where he successively served the Dutch West India Company as a factor on the Guinea Coast, and as chief director of the Axim and Elmina trading posts on the Gold Coast. He visited in detail the most notable locations across these regions, commissioned drawings of local fauna, and had maps made of the territories east of Elmina. Upon his return to Europe, he published his observations under the title Naauwkeurige Beschryving van de Guinese goud, land en Slaven-Kust, Utrecht, 1704, followed by a French translation the following year (Hoefer).

Provenance: from the library of Joseph M. Cleason, with his bookplate pasted on the inside board.

First edition. Title pages with the printer's sphere device.

Contemporary full brown calf bindings. Spines with raised bands, gilt decoration, and brown calf lettering and volume labels. Minor split at the top of the upper joint on volume 3. Loss to the foot of volume 1. Rubbing to the bindings. In the first volume, pale waterstain to the opening leaves, reappearing sporadically at the foot or outer margins throughout.

First French edition of the translation, with no copies printed on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy complete with its illustrated dust jacket, which shows minor tears to the head of the spine and panels.

The book was adapted for the screen in 2006 by Tom Tykwer, starring Ben Whishaw and Dustin Hoffman.

A new duodecimo edition of the most celebrated work by the writer and historian Charles Pinot Duclos, published in the same year as the first edition. According to the Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes et pseudonymes of 1822, "the edition without place of publication, 1751, 12mo, in large type"—the present edition—"should be preferred to that bearing Prault's name, 1751, which contains a dedicatory epistle to the King." (our own translation)

Fine contemporary binding in polished tan calf, spine with five raised bands, highlighted with a gilt roll, decorated with five compartments richly gilt with mascles and ermines, repeated on the boards within a blind fillet border, brown morocco lettering-piece, gilt fillet on boards edges, edges stained red, turn-ins tooled in gilt palmette pattern, oak-leaf patterned pastedowns and endpapers. A copy stamped with the heraldic charges (ermines and mascles) of the Rohan family, or more precisely of the Rohan-Guémené, Rohan-Rochefort, or Rohan-Soubise branches.

Joints slightly split for 2.2 cm and 0.5 cm on upper boards, light rubbing to board edges and corners, three library labels affixed to upper pastedown and verso of front free endpaper. Minor marginal tears to p. 281 and pp. 361-366, author's name annotated in black ink on title page: "Par Mr. Duclos de l'Acad. franç."

Complete and illustrated 1756 edition of naval lieutenant general Duguay-Trouin's memoirs, that were first published posthumously in 1740, in accordance with the author's wishes. In 1730, from the same publisher as our copy, an unauthorized edition prepared by Pierre de Villepontoux revealed Duguay-Trouin's achievements during his lifetime. Manuscript ownership inscription in black ink on the title page.

Contemporary binding in full brown sheep, richly decorated spine with five raised bands, brown morocco lettering piece, gilt roll on the board edges, blue pebbled marbled edges, marbled pastedowns and endpapers.

Headcap damaged, repairs and minor rubbing to the front board, corners bumped.

Half-title expertly repaired on verso, 2.8 cm tear at p. 105 not affecting the text, minor dampstaining toward the end of the volume, brief brown ink annotation on the rear free endpaper.

The work is illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author and 6 folding plates depicting ships, fleets, and naval battles, including a plan of the capture of Rio de Janeiro in 1711.

Rare and important first edition.

Our copy is sold unbound. A minor worm-trail on all leafs' heads, not affecting text. 

The work describes the dress, headdress, arsenal and equipment of soldiers and officers of the French army; it also addresses the cavalry, dragoons, and hussars.

The chapter devoted to the distinctive uniform of each regiment includes a list of these regiments, some of which took part in the American Revolutionary War. 

Very rare devotional work, for which no bibliographical information could be traced.

Not recorded in Hage Chahine, Blackmer, or Atabey.

Full brown calf binding, spine with four raised bands gilt-ruled and richly gilt-panelled, brown calf lettering-piece, contemporary binding.

Some restorations to the spine and joints, spotting to the edges.

First edition.

Our copy is preserved in its original wrappers beneath a plain cover, the spine split with losses to the paper and the title label also with defects.

Pleasing condition internally, with only occasional foxing.

Among the finest works relating to naval medicine; a substantial section (pp. 90–212) is devoted to scurvy.

The author, a physician in the Dutch navy, composed this work entirely from his own firsthand observations. 

A substantial section (pp. 90–212) is devoted to scurvy.

First edition of the French translation of this account, originally published under the title: "An Account of the Island of Ceylon" in London in 1803 (cf. Boucher de La Richarderie, V, 135. Brunet, IV, 490 and Quérard, VII, 43 mention an edition published by Dentu, 1804).

Contemporary full mottled calf bindings, smooth spines decorated with gilt compartments and gilt tools, red morocco lettering pieces, green calf volume labels, gilt rolls at the head and tail partly worn, fragile joints, marbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, bookplates pasted to the pastedowns, gilt fillets on the board edges, speckled edges.

Bindings rubbed, small losses at the foot of the joints, a few light foxing spots.

Our copy is complete with its four folding maps and plans issued out of text: map of the island of Ceylon, plan of the port of Trinquemale, map of the pearl fisheries, and plan of the port of Colombo.

An English officer, Robert Percival (1765–1826) took part in the capture of the Cape of Good Hope in 1796, then occupied by the Dutch.

The following year he was sent to Ceylon with the British troops, where he remained for more than three years, allowing him to visit nearly all the coasts as well as the interior of the island. He was also a member of an embassy sent to the island’s native sovereign.

His account offers a comprehensive panorama of the island of Ceylon at the end of the eighteenth century: history, geography, natural resources, agriculture, trade, civil and military institutions, customs and manners of the Dutch, Portuguese, Malays and Sinhalese, fauna and flora, etc.

Provenance: from the library of the Château de Menneval, with bookplates pasted to the pastedowns.

Extremely rare collection of three works, in original anonymous editions, devoted to the Eastern Question and the policy France should adopt to counter Russian ambitions in the Ottoman Empire.

The author is believed to be one Mignonneau, a former war commissioner.

Bound in full mottled calf, smooth spine richly decorated with gilt crossbands, brown calf title label, rubbing to joints and spine, gilt roll partially faded on head and tail, triple gilt fillet framing boards, handmade paper endpapers and pastedowns, gilt turn-ins, corners slightly worn, all edges gilt, contemporary binding.

Minor angular losses to boards, light dampstaining to lower margin of leaves in the second work.

The set comprises the following:

1) "Considérations politiques, par M.***"
(S.l., 1783, title and 77 pp. First edition. (cf. Conlon 83: 1465. N.U.C.: NM 567505.))

2) "Ces réflexions devoient, avec beaucoup d'autres, faire suite aux Considérations politiques ; mais le tout n'étant pas encore rédigé, les circonstances du moment m'ont déterminé à faire paroître celles-ci sur-le-champ."
S.l.n.d. [c. 1783], 44 pp. with simple title. First edition. (cf. Conlon 83: 1464 locates no copies in France. N.U.C. locates only one copy at the Library of Congress. The RLG Union Catalog mentions another at the University of Chicago.)

The first half of this work is devoted to the invasion of Crimea, the second to Russia's claims regarding the "etiquette of the court" governing international relations and their true significance.

3) "Lettre à M. le Comte de ***, octobre 1784".
S.l.n.d. [c. 1784], title and 49 pp. First edition. (cf. Conlon 84: 1533 locates no copies in France. N.U.C. mentions only the copy at the Library of Congress.)

This third work denounces Russia's expansionist policy. The author reveals, among other things, Catherine II's designs on Armenia and also discusses the potential interest Turkey might have in liberating Greece.

Second edition of the french translation.

Some light foxing.

Contemporary full mottled calf bindings, smooth spines richly gilt with typographical ornaments, slight rubbing to the joints, red morocco title and volume labels, gilt rolls to the headcaps, sides framed with a gilt floral dentelle, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt dotted edges, marbled edges.

Gay 368 : "On y trouve l'extrait du voyage de Picard qui se rendit à Fouta Tora ; cette relation ne se rencontre pas ailleurs". 

First edition.

The CCF records only the minutes of the sessions of December 1787 and January 1788, published at Narbonne (Veuve Besset).

A very rare report of the first sitting of the provincial assembly of Roussillon, held in three sessions (20, 21 & 22 October 1787), preliminary to the sessions of the following December and January, but apparently overlooked by most historians.

First edition (see Cioranescu, XVIII, 13 365).

Contemporary full speckled fawn calf, spine with five raised bands, compartments decorated with gilt fleurons, faded gilt roll tooling to the headcaps, a scratch at the head of the spine, gilt fillets to the edges partially faded, corners rubbed, speckled edges; binding of the period.

The sole edition of the author’s only work, written by the prior of Saint-Didier-en-Bourbonnais [Saint-Didier-la-Forêt], about whom little else is known.

A very concise overview of the events of each ecumenical council, from Nicaea I onwards.

First edition of the French translation (cf. Sabin 26375).

A defence of Catholic principles addressed to a Protestant minister (…) preceded by a notice on the author’s life and virtues. Translated from the English by Prince Augustin Galitzin. Paris, Ch. Douniol [printed by Simon Raçon et Comp.], 1856, 12mo.

Contemporary half navy blue shagreen, spine with four raised bands ruled and panelled in gilt, slight unobtrusive rubbing to the spine, marbled boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

Scattered foxing.

A work of religious controversy; the preface offers interesting information regarding Prince Galitzin’s activities in the United States.

Bound after it: Alexandre Pushkin, "Le faux Pierre III", printed in Paris by Plon in 1858 (2 ff.n.ch. and 192 pp.), being the first edition of the French translation by Prince Augustin Galitzin.

Very rare first edition of this substantial memorandum on the "Pierre Calvet Affair", which unsettled Canada in the aftermath of the American War of Independence.

Sabin 21044. In the CCF, copies only at the BnF and Rouen.

A few light spots of foxing; a faint marginal dampstain to the fore-edge of the front endpaper.

Half green sheep with corners, smooth spine slightly darkened and ruled in gilt, gilt fillet border to the marbled paper boards, a central gilt cartouche bearing a crowned cipher to each cover. Corners rubbed, a few scuffs to the edges, bookplate pasted to one pastedown, lemon-coloured edges; nineteenth-century binding.

Parallel to the work The Case of Peter Du Calvet (784), addressed to the English courts, this volume presents the case for a Canadian readership.

The merchant Pierre Du Calvet (1735–1786), a French Protestant, settled in New France in 1758; he remained there after the British annexation and pursued a persistent political campaign on behalf of the inhabitants of the Province of Quebec, both to obtain a constitution and to secure fair justice for the former French subjects.

The present text concentrates on his disputes with Governor Frederick Haldimand (1718–1791) and on his brief imprisonment.

A forerunner of the long struggle waged by the citizens of the Province of Quebec for recognition of their political rights within the British Empire,

Du Calvet nevertheless remained largely forgotten in Quebec’s historical memory.

His actions, and even his name, were widely overlooked by posterity until the republication of his memorandum in 2002.

First edition.

"Voulons & Nous plaist, qu'à commencer au premier Mars prochain, aucuns de nos Sujets de quelque estat, condition & sexe qu'ils soient, à l'Exception de ceux qui en auront obtenu nostre permission par Ecrit, ne puissent porter des Diamans, Perles et Pierres precieuses, à peine de confiscation & de Dix mille livres d'amende : Faisons deffenses sous la mesme peine, à compter du premier Avril prochain d'en faire entrer dans le Royaume ; N'entendons néantmoins comprendre dans la presente prohibition les Bagues Episcopales & les Pierreries employées aux Ornemens des Eglises".

First edition of this particularly engaging monograph, written by the Dutch pastor Gerard Croese (1642–1710), and translated into English as early as 1696 (though never into French).

A few minor spots of foxing.

Full green vellum binding, the spine faded and tooled with small gilt ornaments, the title-piece largely lost leaving the spine without lettering, edges sprinkled green, a contemporary binding.

Partly informed by letters and documents supplied by William Sewel (1653–1720, himself the author in 1717 of an excellent Histori van de Opkompste, Aanwas en Voortgang der Christenen bekend by den naam van Quakers), it offers an account of the movement at a particularly significant moment in its history, marked both by a certain easing of persecution in Great Britain (the Toleration Act of 1689) and by emigration to the United States.

Book I concerns the life and work of George Fox, while Books II and III are devoted to William Penn.

First edition.

Our copy is offered in loose sheets, unbound.

Second edition, partly original, as enlarged (cf. Barbier II, 241: gives "Deslandes". Polak 1130. INED 737. See Sabin 19744 for the first English edition published the same year.)

Full brown sheep binding, smooth spine gilt-ruled and decorated with gilt compartments and floral tools, rubbing to the joints, gilt rolls on the head- and tailcaps partly dulled, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets on the board edges faint in places, red edges, a period binding.

Some repairs to the spine.

Pages 191 to 252 contain the "Mémoire historique sur les Indes Braves, et les Forbans François du Golfe de Darien".

This edition appeared in the same year as the original; the historical memoir on the "Indes Braves" and the French buccaneers of the Gulf of Darien (Caribbean), which is not by Boureau-Deslandes, is published here for the first time.

"Contains many interesting notices relating to America, particularly the design of Cromwell to become possessor of that country, the expedition of Thomas Gage, etc." (cf. Sabin).

The Gulf of Darien lies in the Caribbean Sea between the Panamanian and Colombian coasts. "Place tenue par la marine chez les peuples de l'antiquité et en France depuis le commencement de la monarchie (...) Critique du luxe, éloge des manufactures : l'une des plus graves conséquences de la révolution de l'Edit de Nantes fut le départ d'ouvriers ; il faudrait imiter Edouard IV qui fit venir en Angleterre des ouvriers spécialisés" Cf. INED.

Rare first edition of the illustrated French translation, complete with two folding maps of Northern Asia, one showing the region at the time of the conquests of Genghis Khan (or Zingis-Chan), the other representing the contemporary state of Asia (cf. Brunet, I, 19; Chadenat, 1782).

Translated from the Tartar manuscript of Abulgasi-Bayadur-Chan and enriched with a large number of authentic and highly curious remarks on the true present state of Northern Asia, together with the necessary geographical maps. By D***. Leiden, Abram Kallewier, 1726.

Contemporary full brown calf bindings, spines with five raised bands highlighted by gilt rules and decorated with gilt compartments filled with floral tools, red and brown morocco lettering and volume labels, gilt rolls to the headcaps, boards framed with a single blind fillet, marbled paper endpapers and pastedowns, gilt fillets to the board edges, red edges; bindings of the period.

Small paper losses to the title pages, filled and neatly restored with paper.

Contents comprise: 1. History of the generations of the Tatars from Adam to Mogull or Mung’l-Chan. – 2. History of the generations of the Tatars from Mung’l-Chan to Zingis-Chan. – 3. History of the reign of Zingis-Chan. – 4. History of Ugadai-Chan, third son of Zingis-Chan. – 5. History of Zagatai-Chan, second son of Zingis-Chan, and of the princes of his posterity who ruled over the cities of the kingdoms of Cashgar and Ma-urenner. – 6. History of Taulai-Chan, youngest son of Zingis-Chan, and of his descendants who ruled in the land of Iran. – 7. History of Zuzi-Chan, eldest son of Zingis-Chan, and of his descendants who ruled over the Kipchaks. – 8. History of Scheybani-Chan, son of Zuzi-Chan, and of his descendants who ruled in the land of Ma-urenner, in Crimea, and in the country of Turan. – 9. History of the descendants of Scheybani-Chan who ruled in the land of Charass’m.

Khan of Khwarezm (situated south of Turkestan) and descendant of Genghis Khan, Abulghasi Behader (or Bahadür) was born in 1605 at Urgench (Khwarezm); he ascended the throne in 1644 and abdicated shortly before his death in 1663.

After his abdication, he composed a genealogical history of the Tatars in Tatar, which was first translated into Russian and then into German by Swedish officers exiled to Siberia after the battle of Pultava.

The original text was not printed at Kazan until 1825 under the title Historia Mongolorum et Tatarorum.

Second edition (cf. Quérard IX, 429.).

Our copy remains in the original stitching, in temporary wrappers showing numerous losses and a cracked backstrip; the margins of some leaves are browned and bear small chips.

The work deals exclusively with the canonical prohibition on clergy wearing wigs; one section is devoted to liturgical and extra-liturgical headgear: birettas, mitres, almuces, hoods, camails, amices, caps, and skullcaps.

Abbot Jean-Baptiste Thiers (1636–1703) was among the most original and learned theologians of the seventeenth century; throughout his life he opposed superstition and the misuse of religious practices.

Second edition of this French version (the first having appeared in 1781), approved by the author, of the Memorial most humbly addressed to the sovereigns of Europe, on the present state of affairs (London, July 1780) (cf. Sabin 64827).

Disbound copy, presented in a modern marbled paper wrapper.

This text had in fact been the subject of an earlier translation based on the Translation of the memorial by Edmund Jennings and John Adams, which failed to satisfy Pownall (namely the Pensées sur la Révolution de l'Amérique-Unie, issued with the Amsterdam imprint in 1780).

The substance of the various versions nonetheless converges, forming a prescient exhortation to the sovereigns of Europe to confer together in order to enter into commercial and economic relations with the future power that Pownall already discerned in the English colonies of America.

First edition, illustrated with a folding plate bound at the end of the volume (cf. Quérard IX, 259).

Contemporary full boards covered with marbled paper, smooth spine heavily rubbed, a label with a now-effaced manuscript title affixed at the head of the spine, surface abrasions with paper losses to the boards, snags to the edges, bumped corners, sprinkled edges; a period binding.

Following general remarks on the designation, status, quality, and responsibilities of consuls, the work presents the texts of ordinances, treaties, and conventions relating to the Levant and Barbary trading posts (1781), prizes brought into foreign ports (1784), navigation and commerce between France and Russia (1787), trade between Portugal and Russia (1787), commerce between Russia and the King of the Two Sicilies, and that between Germany and Russia (1784–1785), Denmark and Russia (1782), etc.

The author served as Privy War Councillor in Berlin.

First edition, illustrated with three folding in-text tables (Cf. Brunet, III, 330. Vivien de Saint-Martin, Voyages faits en Asie Mineure depuis le XIIIe siècle, no. 148. Atabey, The Ottoman World, 1126. Weber, II, 595. Not in Blackmer, but see nos. 1530 & 1531.)

Half calf binding with corners, spine gilt-tooled with lyres and decorative friezes, marbled paper boards, endpapers and pastedowns of decorative patterned paper.
Restorations with small losses to head and tail of spine, staining to the boards and to the upper and lower margins of the leaves.

This account follows that of the Voyage de Constantinople à Bassora. The journey was undertaken while Sestini was in the service of Robert Ainslie, the British ambassador to the Porte.

He travelled across Asia Minor and returned via Baghdad, Aleppo, Alexandria, and Cyprus.

Rare first edition of the French translation prepared by Pingeron, who enriched it with notes (cf. Attabey, 1127. Not in Chadenat, Hage Chahine or Blackmer. Monglond, I, 466. Brunet, V, 317. Quérard, IX, 98). Only one copy recorded in Italian public collections (Ravenna).

Our copy is preserved in its original blue-grey wrappers, the spine plain with contemporary manuscript titling, entirely uncut.

First French edition of this uncommon work: other writings by Sestini are encountered more frequently (perhaps owing to its date of publication?).

With a dedicatory epistle to the comte de La Billardrie d'Angivillier.

Abbot Domenico Sestini (1750–1832) was a numismatist, archaeologist, and extensive traveller. He was the first, in 1780, to mention the Sicilian citron in his description of the "à l'éponge" method for extracting essential lemon oil.

A pleasing, as-issued copy.

Second edition, embellished with a copper-engraved map by Giraud l’aîné, folded, together with a copper-engraved plan of the labyrinth of Knossos by Chapuy.

This edition is not recorded by Contominas, Atabey or Blackmer (1493 for the first edition).

Contemporary half mottled sheep with parchment corners, smooth spine decorated with delicate black fillets, paper labels serving as title pieces, green paper boards with some rubbing, sprinkled edges.

Spine foot restored.

Three gatherings very lightly toned, otherwise a clean, fresh copy.

Bound at the end is the first edition of the French translation prepared by Jean-Claude Pingeron of Dominique Sestini’s work: "Voyage dans la Grèce asiatique, à la péninsule de Cyzique, à Brusse et à Nicée; avec des détails sur l’histoire naturelle de ces contrées", printed in London and Paris, chez Leroy, in 1789 (2 ff.n.ch., viij and 252 pp. Contominas 667; Blackmer 1529; Weber 587).

The author describes more than 500 plants from Mount Olympus.

The journey recounted here, from Brussa to Nicomède, took place in 1779.

"Sestini is one of the most interesting of those who lived in Constantinople in the late 18th century". Leonora Navari.

First critical edition, with some parts of the text in first edition, illustrated with 10 portraits, 17 views and 10 facsimiles as well as the coats of arms of the Sévigné, Bussy, Grignan and Simiane families as frontispiece to the first volume.
Bound in half red calf, spines with four fine raised bands set with gilt friezes decorated with gilt fleurons and typographical motifs, gilt friezes at head and foot, owner's name gilt at foot of spines, red paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, elegant contemporary Romantic bindings.
Some foxing, manuscript ownership inscriptions in black ink at head of title pages.
Our copy is complete with the eleventh and twelfth volumes "Mémoires de M. de Coulanges suivis de lettres inédites de madame de Sévigné" published in 1820 at the initiative of M. de Monmerqué, editor of the marquise's letters and "Lettres inédites de madame de Sévigné, de sa famille et de ses amis" published in 1827 by the same publisher, which are always lacking to complete this set.
The eleventh volume is illustrated with 1 portrait, 3 facsimiles and 1 plate; the engravings of the twelfth having been bound and distributed throughout the first ten volumes.
Fine set, established in a charming and elegant uniform contemporary Romantic binding.

First 12^o edition published a year after the very rare first edition.
Light dampstains to the joins of the volumes, a small hole at foot of a joint on the first volume, slight rubbing to the spines, an upper corner of volume 1 rubbed, small part of leather lacking and a hole to a joint of the third volume.

Bound in half bronze sheep, smooth spines framed in gilt and cold-stamped fillets, modern black morocco title labels and volume labels, marbled paper boards, spotted edges, contemporary bindings.

Provenance: from the library of Michel Marie de Pomereu with his engraved bookplates pasted on the pastedowns.

New edition. The journal first appeared in volume form in 1712. Title pages in red and black. Statement of fifth edition.
Heraldic wheat sheaf device of Maynon de Farcheville in gilt compartments on spine, and bookplate of the same on pastedowns, with three wheat sheaves. Vincent Michel Maynon, president of the fourth chamber of inquiries at the Parliament of Paris, lord of Farcheville.
Contemporary full brown sheep, speckled and glazed. Spine with five raised bands, red morocco title labels, brown morocco volume labels, gilt compartments and floral ornaments. All edges speckled red. Headcap of volume I partly lacking, that of volume III at head partly worn. Lacks to head of volumes V and VI. Volume I, lack to upper joint at head. 5 corners slightly bumped. Very fresh paper. Rather handsome copy.
The Spectator was one of the first English periodicals to appear daily from 1711 to 1712. Intended for the Middle Class, Addison thought that despite its print run of 4,000 copies daily, it was read by approximately 60,000 Londoners. The Spectator was very popular and reprinted many times during the eighteenth century. It cast an ironic eye on English society and durably influenced the press through its innovation. Each issue ran around 2,000 words, with Addison and Steele sharing editorial duties. The Spectator in its current form is today a well-known English newspaper.

Illustrated edition with a portrait of Jean Boccaccio as frontispiece to the first volume and 11 etched out-of-text engravings by Léopold Flameng, one of 600 copies on Holland paper in forme.
Half straw-yellow morocco bindings with corners, spines with five raised bands decorated with black fillets, gilt dates at foot, red morocco title and volume labels, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns, top edges gilt, bindings signed by Canape-Helz.
Our copy is exceptionally enhanced with a suite of engravings executed by Gravelot.
Handsome set.

Autograph letter dated and signed by Henri II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and father of the Grand Condé, 2 pages on one sheet, 27 lines in black ink.
Minor restorations and dampstain to left margin of the sheet. Discreet annotation by a former owner at head of verso of the letter.
Although he acknowledges the full atrocity of the crime perpetrated by sieur Cardinet against the person of the son of one of the most important magistrates of the city of Bourges, Henri II undertakes to intervene in favor of the assassin: "... l'action qui sest passee a Bourges est très méchante estant un assassinat très inhumain fait en plein jour contre le fils dun des principaus magistras de la ville. Japorteray pour vostre respect tout mon pouvoir pour ledit Cardinet et espère pour lamour de vous et pour lobeissance que je vous veus rendre le tirer daffaire..." ["... the action that took place at Bourges is very wicked being a very inhuman assassination done in broad daylight against the son of one of the principal magistrates of the city. I will bring for your respect all my power for the said Cardinet and hope for love of you and for the obedience that I wish to render you to get him out of trouble..."] but in no case for his accomplices: "Je dis lui seul car pour les autres complices je tiens la chose impossible sans une abolition du Roy principalement estants tous prisonniers presentement je despescheray à Bourges a cet effet est en ceste petite occasion que je voudrois estre plus grande..." ["I say him alone for as for the other accomplices I hold the thing impossible without an abolition from the King principally being all prisoners presently I will dispatch to Bourges to this effect and in this small occasion that I would wish to be greater..."]