First editions of fundamental treatises: metaphysics, sociology, anthropology, social and economic sciences

First edition of this dictionary compiled by the Reverend Magnus Swederus, who in the first part of his life was a leading figure in the Swedish book trade, with several important works of chemistry among his publications, notably Carl Wilhelm Scheele's Chemische Abhandlung von der Luft und dem Feuer and Torbern Olof Bergman's Opuscula physica et chemica, published in 1777 and 1779 respectively. Swederus was also behind a considerable number of periodicals, as well as lending libraries.

Brown half sheep with corners, smooth spine decorated with stylized gilt fillets at head and tail and with the title in gilt framed by Romantic arabesques, shell-pattern marbled paper on the boards, green mottled edges. 

Scattered foxing, a marginal ink stain in the first text at p. 273, two further stains lightly affecting the second text at pp. 37 and 80. 

A word circled in brown ink on the half-title, title-page printed in red and black. 

The author's abbreviated signature appears at the close of the preface: "S-s."

First edition, with no copies issued on deluxe paper.

A handsome copy.

With Pierre Bourdieu’s signed presentation inscription to the anthropologist Emmanuel Terray.

Rare first edition illustrated with 10 folding plates, including 5 grammatical tables and 5 plates of calligraphy.

Not recorded in Blackmer, Atabey or Hage Chahine.

Half olive-green calf, spine with four raised bands framed with gilt garlands and decorated with small blind-stamped floral tools, black morocco title and author labels, marbled paper boards, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, modern binding.

Spine slightly darkened, small paper losses to the upper right corners of the first leaves not affecting the text, some foxing mainly at the end of the volume. Much better known for his role in the mission sent by Napoleon to the Shah of Persia to negotiate a counter-alliance against Turkey, Amédée Jaubert (1779–1847) was a distinguished orientalist, professor of Persian at the Collège de France, and of Turkish at the École des langues orientales, of which he became president in 1838.

First edition of this study in political economy.

Three copies listed in OCLC, all in the United States. BMC records only the second edition (London, 1809).

"Sur quelle base reposent les gouvernements, les lois, les peuples, les autorités, les souverainetés, les partages, les propriétés, les distinctions, les inégalités : voilà le problème important dont on s'occupera dans cet ouvrage."

Some small losses of paper to the spines and corners, rear cover of the first volume soiled, a pleasant, clean interior.

Rare copy preserved in its original grey wrappers.

Rare first edition of this complete set gathering the three parts of this practical Cantonese manual, accompanied by one of the instructional booklets intended for the Chinese teacher.

The first two volumes are each illustrated with eight plates of ideograms printed hors texte. No copies recorded in the CCFr.

The third volume shows staining at the foot of the spine, a few small spots of foxing, and minor marginal tears with slight losses to the boards of the first volume.

A very uncommon set.

Rare and sought-after first edition, first issue.

Includes the subscribers' list and the foreword, later removed when the remainder of this edition passed into the hands of another publisher, Dion-Lambert. It also features the pagination error in volume two: page 164 instead of 364. 

Black half-morocco bindings, smooth spines with double gilt fillets and double blind-stamped compartments, black paper boards, slight superficial rubbing to some boards, marbled paper pastedowns and endpapers, sprinkled edges; contemporary bindings. Sparse foxing.

Outstanding copy in a contemporary binding of this masterpiece expertly described by Proust : "And when Chateaubriand even as he laments, allows the marvellous and transcendental being that he is to soar aloft we smile, for at the very moment he declares himself to have been annihilated he makes his escape, he lives with a life in which death is not." (Against Sainte-Beuve and other essays)

First edition, of which no deluxe copies were printed.
Pleasing copy.
Inscribed and signed by Valéry Giscard d'Estaing to Michel and Suzanne Blanvart.
 

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 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."

Rare French first edition, translation by Butel-Dumont.

Full brown sheep binding, smooth spine decorated with gilt and tooled compartments, modern red morocco lettering-piece, restored tear and wear to the spine, one joint split at foot, marbled endpapers, gilt fillets to board edges, rubbed corners, contemporary binding.

The Acadia map is missing from our copy. It is extremely rare and is only found in a few copies. Sabin 35958. Leclerc 732.

Bookplate of the Marquis de Bassano pasted on a pastedown.

First edition, one of 55 numbered copies on pure wove paper, the only deluxe paper issue.
Bound in half brown morocco, spines with five raised bands, gilt dates at foot, boards covered with abstract patterned paper, endleaves and doublures of brown paper, original wrappers and backstrips preserved, gilt edges, bindings signed by Thomas Boichot.
A precious copy of this foundational text of modern feminism.

First edition. Adorned with headpieces, initials, and illustrated with 16 folding tables, 3 in the first volume and 13 in the second, together with a great number of tables on single leaves. Title pages printed in red and black.
Contemporary full polished and marbled brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands, gilt compartments. Red morocco title label. Volume labels in wax, rubbed and illegible. Triple blind fillet framing on the covers. Red marbled edges. Headcaps worn. Loss to the tail of volume II. Joints of volume I split at head and tail. Upper joint of volume I tightly split along its full length and lower joint split at head and tail. Several corners bumped. Spines rubbed. Some surface abrasions to the covers. Dampstain to the lower margin of the endpaper and half-title, with losses. At the foot of the title page, an old dampstain extending across three leaves. Overall, a relatively fresh copy, with some scattered foxing.

First edition of this treatise on the jurisdictional privileges granted to France by the Porte, a true system of exemptions benefiting French nationals.

Bound in full black cloth, spines smoothly restored, red morocco lettering-pieces, blind-ruled panels on covers, marbled endpapers and pastedowns.

In addition to reduced customs duties, those concerned were exempted from most local taxes and subject only to the jurisdiction of their consulates, rather than to Ottoman courts.

Small areas of discoloration to the covers, some scattered foxing.

Rare first edition.

Spine and boards slightly sunned along the margins.

Dated and signed autograph inscription from C. Martin Saint-Léon to Baron Hulot, Secretary General of the Société de Géographie, on the front free endpaper.

The character and spirit of the Vietnamese as seen from a French perspective.

First edition of this issue of the Journal officiel des Établissements français de l'Océanie, published every Saturday at 3 p.m. (cf. O'Reilly & Reitman, Bibliographie de Tahiti, 10280).

With a small marginal tear along the central fold of the paper.

The official gazette of the territory, whose circulation in 1865 was 450 copies.

This issue is divided into two sections: the first, the so-called "official part," contains the text of three ordinances of Queen Pomaré IV concerning the acquisition of land, whether by donation, sale, or long-term lease, within the twenty-two villages of the islands of Tahiti and Moorea; the appointment of a district chief and president of a village council in Moorea; and the granting of remission of sentence to certain indigenous prisoners.

These ordinances, dated 14 August 1864, are signed by Pomaré and countersigned by the imperial commissioner Gaultier de La Richerie.

The text is printed in French, followed by its translation into Tahitian. The "non-official" section contains information on the state of the Tahitian population during the second quarter of 1864 (births, marriages, deaths), the provisions and postal services, the administration of justice, port traffic and the Papeete market, etc.; it also provides details on the Mexican campaign, with a proclamation of Emperor Maximilian dated 28 May 1864 following his landing at Vera Cruz.

A rare and appealing copy.

First edition published in book form, expanded with the French translation established by G. Pauthier. (cf. Cordier, "Sinica", 1399-1340.)

A portion of the work had first appeared in 1832 in the "Revue Encyclopédique" of May–June, and was also issued separately in a 23-page printing.

The text is presented in French with a Latin version and the Chinese text facing.

The Chinese characters were produced using movable types engraved on steel punches and cast by Marcellin-Legrand, engraver to the Royal Printing Office.

A small angular loss at the foot of the lower cover required a minor restoration on the last page of the volume; slight, inconsequential tears at head and tail of spine.

Extremely rare printing by Fauvelle, official printer for the Tribunaux de la Seine, contemporary and textually identical to the octavo and quarto editions by the Imprimerie de la République. Only four copies with Fauvelle's imprint in OCLC (BnF, National Library of Spain, Royal Danish Library, Stadtbibliothek Worms).

Bradel-style binding in full marbled paper boards, flat spine with red roan label, light foxing to the first three leaves.

First version of the Napoleonic Code, presented by the four members of Bonaparte's commission appointed to draft the civil code. Also contains the important “Preliminary Address to the First Draft of the Civil Code,” outlining the influences and objectives behind this landmark work - the first modern legal code to be widely adopted in Europe, which influenced the codes of jurisdictions all over the world.

First edition, printed in a small number of copies, of this excerpt from the Magasin de zoologie, d'anatomie comparée et de paléontologie, published by M. Guérin-Méneville in October 1845.

Contemporary bottle green full shagreen binding, flat spine with gilt fillets and no lettering, single gilt fillet frame on covers, title gilt-stamped in the center of the upper cover.

Illustrated with 3 hand-colored plates numbered 59–61 at the end of the volume.

This is the last text published during the lifetime of the great naturalist Jean-Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent (who died on 22 December 1846); L'Exploration scientifique de l'Algérie appeared largely posthumously.

Some occasional light foxing.

Rare first edition of this elementary Arabic grammar, the author's first publication, composed at the beginning of his teaching career in Oriental languages at Jena by the pastor and theologian Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob Paulus (1761–1851), who would later become known primarily for his systematically rationalist interpretation of the Scriptures.

Illustrated with 5 folding tables.

We have identified only three copies in the CCF (Bulac, Strasbourg, and Chambéry).

Some occasional foxing, small loss of leather to the lower left corner of the upper board.

Contemporary full tree calf binding, spine with gilt fillets, garlands and floral tools, cherry-red morocco label, gilt roll tooling to headcaps, dentelle border, gilt single fillet and egg-and-dart garland on covers, gilt single fillet on edges, marbled endpapers and pastedowns with gilt dentelle border, yellow edges.

First edition of the French translation by Marie Bonaparte, one of 70 numbered copies on pur fil, the only deluxe paper copies.

Covers slightly and marginally toned, otherwise a handsome and rare copy.

The text is preceded by a translation of the short story Gradiva by Wilhelm Jensen, rendered by E. Zak and G. Sadoul.

It is followed by a psychoanalytic study of the dream and the fascination experienced by the young archaeologist Norbert Hanold for the image of a young woman sculpted in a bas-relief from the collections of the Museum of Rome.

First edition, one of 230 numbered copies on Vélin du Marais, the deluxe issue.

A handsome copy.

Partly original edition, enlarged with 7 additional chapters; this is the first complete edition.
Contemporary full brown calf binding. Spine with raised bands, richly gilt. Red morocco label. Small loss to head of upper joint. Three corners slightly rubbed. A good copy.
Manuscript ex-libris on title page: Denille.

First edition, with no deluxe copies printed on special paper.

A handsome copy.

Inscribed and signed by Pierre Bourdieu to a friend named Emmanuel.

Rare first edition of a work by the "German Beccaria," unrecorded in French libraries according to WorldCat, composed while the author held the chair of feudal law at the University of Leipzig, a position obtained at the age of thirty, three years prior.

Contemporary full brown sheep, smooth spine gilt with fleurons, light brown morocco lettering-piece, red edges. Bookplate of Count Giacomo Manzoni, former Finance Minister of the Roman Republic, concealing an ownership inscription written in brown ink.

Upper headcap missing, surface scuffing to spine and boards, lettering-piece partly missing, discreet worm galleries to the pastedowns.

Marginal browning to the opening and closing leaves, scattered foxing, worm hole to the lower right corner of the first few leaves.

First edition for which no deluxe paper copies were issued.

Spine slightly sunned with small losses at head and foot, a slight marginal loss and a transverse crease to the lower cover.

A rare copy of Alexandra David-Néel's second work.

Complete first edition in its metal case with integrated magnifying glass.

Publisher's binding in red morocco, title gilt on spine and upper board, gilt advertisement ("SAVON PEARS' SOAP") on lower board, silver interior to metal case.

Some browning to head and foot of spine, old circular imprint from the magnifying glass on upper board, marginal scuffing to boards, light wear to case.

First edition, one of 100 hors commerce copies printed on deluxe paper, this copy specially printed for Louis Barthou.

A pleasant copy despite two sunning marks to the head and foot of the spine and to the margins of the rear board.

Henri Bergson's handwritten signature beneath the limitation statement.

First edition, illustrated at the end of the volume with 28 hors-texte plates of Chinese ideograms (cf. Cordier, Sinica, 1735-36; Backer & Sommervogel II, 1168 (2)).

The table of plates lists 27; Backer records 29; our copy contains 28, whereas most copies indeed call for 27.

Modern half fawn calf, smooth spine ruled in gilt with double fillets and gilt floral tools, brown speckled paper-covered boards, speckled top edge. The sole edition of a work thoroughly informed on the ideogrammatic origins of Chinese characters, thereby contradicting the thesis advanced by the English orientalist Needham concerning the supposed analogy between Chinese writing and the Egyptian hieroglyphs discovered on a bust of Isis acquired in Turin.

Pierre-Martial Cibot (1727–1780), admitted into the Society of Jesus in 1743, was, at his own request, sent to China in 1758, where he served principally as fountain engineer and gardener at the Palace of Qianlong.

His researches were devoted chiefly to botany.

An attractive copy.

Second edition, partly original as revised and expanded.

Cordier, Sinica, cites the first edition (col. 1625).

Contemporary half black calf, smooth spine decorated with double gilt fillets, gilt date at foot, marbled paper boards, green endpapers and pastedowns, wrappers and spine preserved, modern binding signed Boichot. 

Study of the Pounti dialect, or Cantonese, widespread in Kouangtong, spoken in part of Kouangsi, and by a large number of Chinese emigrants. 

Stamp of the "Foyer des étudiants d'Extrême-Orient" in Bourg-la-Reine on the front free endpaper. 

A dampstain to the foot of the very last leaves. a few small foxing spots, wrappers preserved, slightly soiled.

First edition by a forgotten Ferrarese polygraph and historian, which nevertheless enjoyed considerable success upon publication and was followed by two subsequent editions in 1577 and 1599. According to Marc Adam Kolakowski, Alessandro Sardi, together with Johannes Boemus, pioneered the use of "antiquarian and ethnographic perspectives" in the study of ancient religions.

Fine historiated initials depicting various Greco-Roman deities.

Later full parchment binding with turn-ins, flat spine with title in brown ink and two annotations, likely from a library classification system, also in brown ink, original ties present. Ink ownership inscription on title page reading: "Louis Joséphi Civitatis Novae".

Minor holes to boards, slightly warped, marginal stain to upper board, minor wormholes to pastedowns, marginal dampstaining to pp. 17-63, 79-113, and 225-255. Overall a fine copy.

Several lines underlined in brown ink and some corrections, also in brown ink, on pp. 38, 39, and 241. In both cases, probably in the same hand as the ownership inscription.

An intriguing first edition, complete with its engraved frontispiece of the author by Giovanni Volpato after Domenico Corvi, and its introductory poem by the Abbé Luigi Godard. A copy unrecorded in non-European libraries according to WorldCat.

Contemporary binding of fawn mottled calf, smooth spine divided into five gilt compartments by gilt rolls, brown morocco lettering-piece, triple gilt fillet framing the boards, double gilt fillet on the board edges, blue speckled edges, and shell-pattern marbled pastedowns and endpapers.

The lower cap lacking, some surface wear to the spine and corners, the upper joint slightly split for several centimetres, a few discreet wormholes and small areas of loss to the leather on the boards, light rubbing to the edges; the interior in very good condition.

A marginal tear to p. 51 very slightly affecting the text, and a marginal stain to p. 47.

Rare and sought-after first edition, first issue, with exceptionally added plates from the first illustrated edition, publisher that same year. 34 full-page engravings after Demoraine, Gagnier, Staal and engraved by F. Delannoy.

Includes the subscribers' list and the foreword, lacking in the second issue when the remainder of this edition was sold to another publisher, Dion-Lambert. It also features the pagination error in volume two: page 164 instead of 364. With a letter by the author, bearing his autograph signature, written and dated 14 April 1839, in the hand of his secretary. One page written in black ink on a leaf. Slightly darkened at the upper edge, with occasional foxing, and the usual folds from postal handling.

With an exceptional, prophetic and macabre letter by François-René de Chateaubriand: "mais moi je suis mort, absolument mort et s'il me fallait écrire un mot dans un journal, j'aimerais mieux être enseveli à mille pieds sous terre." ["but I am dead, utterly dead, and if I were required to write a single word in a newspaper, I would rather be buried a thousand feet underground."]

Signed with the author’s faltering hand, this apparently unpublished letter was penned by his secretary: "Vous connaissez la main de [Hyacinthe] Pilorge que j'employe pour remplacer la mienne souffrante de la goutte" ["You will recognise the hand of [Hyacinthe] Pilorge, whom I employ to replace my own, suffering from gout,"] the author explains in the introduction to the letter.

Black half-morocco bindings, flat spines with double gilt fillets and double blind-stamped compartments, black paper boards, slight superficial rubbing to some boards, marbled paper pastedowns and endpapers, sprinkled edges; contemporary bindings. Sparse foxing.

Rare first edition of this small practical Malagasy–English lexicon compiled by the Protestant missionary Joseph Stickney Sewell (1819–1900), who was active in Madagascar between 1867 and 1876; although a Quaker, he was employed by the Anglican London Missionary Society.

No copy recorded in the CCF. Absent from Grandidier (who nevertheless cites other works by the author).

Publisher’s modest brick-coloured half-cloth binding, smooth spine without lettering, title blocked on the upper board, with light spotting and staining to the boards.

Title page and final endpaper toned,

First edition (see Playfair 583a. Not recorded by Tailliart.)

Half black morocco binding, spine with five raised bands, sides of marbled paper, original front cover preserved, endpapers and pastedowns of comb-marbled paper; modern binding.

Loss skilfully filled at the lower right corner of the original front cover and at the upper right corners of the final two leaves.

First edition.

Green half morocco with corners, spine with five raised bands and blind-tooled compartments, a few rubs to the spine, marbled paper sides, comb-marbled endpapers and doublures, sprinkled edges, contemporary binding.

Georges Perrot (1832–1914), a French Hellenist and archaeologist, undertook in 1861, together with the architect Edmond Guillaume and the travelling physician Jules Delbet, a scientific and literary mission to Greece and Asia Minor on behalf of the French Ministry of Public Instruction, the results of which were published in 1872.

He would later be the author, with Charles Chipiez, of the monumental Histoire de l'art dans l'Antiquité, Égypte, Assyrie, Perse, Asie mineure, Grèce, Etrurie, Rome (Paris, Hachette et Cie, 1882–1914).

We include, on a loose leaf, a dated and signed autograph letter addressed to M. J. Jahègue, Doctor of Law, announcing the gift of a book (certainly this one) originating from the Plocque sale. 

A finely preserved copy in its contemporary binding.

Vezry rare first edition.

Jesuit library stamp to the half-title, a few minor spots of foxing, slight tears to the head and tail of the spine.

First edition printed on laid paper and illustrated with numerous tables embellished with Chinese ideograms.
Contemporary full brown Russia morocco binding, spine slightly faded, with five raised bands decorated with triple black panels, a few rubs to the spine, gilt initials W. H. W. to the centre of the upper cover, comb-marbled endpapers and pastedowns, triple gilt fillet border to the pastedowns, all edges gilt, double gilt fillets to the turn-ins, corners slightly bumped, unsigned period binding attributable to R. Petit.
Born in Poland, Michel-Alexandre Kleczkowski (1818–1886) served as Consul General of France, Minister Plenipotentiary in China, and Professor of vernacular Chinese at the École nationale des Langues orientales vivantes.

It was in the latter capacity that he began publication of this work, which remained unfinished. A fine copy.

On a flyleaf, autograph signed presentation inscription by Michel-Alexandre Kleczkowski to William Henry Waddington (1826–1894), industrialist and archaeologist, then Minister of Public Instruction in the Dufaure cabinet, who had his initials W. H. W. gilt-stamped at the centre of the upper cover.

A fine copy, handsomely bound at the time in a personalised monogram binding.

Original edition of one of the three instructional booklets for learning Cantonese published by Cowles, this one intended for the Chinese instructor.

No copy recorded in the CCFr.

A scarce and handsome copy, sewn in the Oriental manner.

First edition illustrated with 24 colour figures mounted within the text.

No copy recorded in the CCFr.

Occasional light foxing.

Publisher’s original full lemon-yellow percaline, smooth spine, upper cover decorated in red, minor spotting to the boards.

Pleasing album devoted to the monuments of ancient China, then undergoing rapid transformation at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The text was set before the Chinese Revolution of 1911 and the Great War.

On the half-title, this copy is enriched with a long dated autograph inscription by the American singer and society figure Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller (1876–1952) to Henry de Galard de Brassac, Prince of Béarn and of Chalais (1874–1947), including an English translation of a Chinese poem by Ssu-K'ung T'u (834–908).

First edition of the French translation, illustrated with 40 plates outside the text (35 finely hand-coloured), together with 90 wood-engraved vignettes in the text (cf. Sabin 65478. See Printing and the Mind of Man, no. 303, for the third English edition in five volumes.)

Some light spotting; small loss to the first leaf of volume II, affecting the text with the loss of a few words; library shelf labels covering the publisher’s name, printed bookplates and library shelf numbers to the title-pages.

Contemporary half calf, the smooth spines decorated with gilt and blind fillets, black morocco lettering- and volume-pieces; joints cracked and restored, some rubbing to the spines; marbled paper sides, marbled endpapers.

The plates depict human physiognomies from across the globe, the second volume being wholly devoted to the peoples of Africa and of North and South America. A seminal work in the history of historical anthropology: "Prichard's vast researches were directed to 'the physical diversities which characterise different races of men'. They began with his M.D. thesis at Edinburgh, entitled De Humani Generis Varietate, which he expanded in 1813 into the first Édition of the Researches. He concluded that the human race was originally dark-skinned and that the whiteness of the white man developed under the influence of civilization. His conclusion that 'all human races are of one species and one family' was added to the greatly enlarged second Édition of the Researches, 1836, in which the original emphasis on the development of white races from a dark-skinned ancestor was rather played down (…) Prichard spent most of his life as a physician in Bristol. In 1835 he published his Treatise on Insanity, describing for the first time 'moral' insanity as now recognized in English law ; for half a century it remained the standard work on the subject" [PMM].

First edition printed in small numbers.
Traces of horizontal folds on the first cover, otherwise a nice copy.

Signed by Charles-Louis-Augustin Letellier at the top of first cover.

Very important and last remaining archives in private hands, including autograph manuscripts, typescripts, corrected proofs, offprints, first editions, etc.

Exceptional collection of manuscript and printed archives – the last in private hands – of the founder of liberalism and modern economics, Léon Walras, preserved and annotated by his most prominent scholar William Jaffé. One of the 5 most important sets of personal archives belonging to Walras, considered by Schumpeter “the greatest of all economists”.

This collection of 42 important documents, including complete autograph manuscripts, corrected proofs, abundantly annotated offprints and expanded printed material, was given by his daughter Aline Walras and then Gaston Leduc to William Jaffé, who added his autograph notes to some of them and used them to edit the first translation of Éléments d’économie politique pure. 

First edition, one of 55 numbered copies on pur fil paper, most limited deluxe issue.
Endleaves and half-title slightly and partially shaded.
Exceedingly rare and handsome copy of this seminal text of modern feminism.

Our copy is housed in a custom gray clamshell box, square spine titled in red, author's name and subtitles in black, first panel hollowed revealing a black and white photograph of Simone de Beauvoir as a young woman under a plexiglass, title in red, author's name, first volume number and subtitle in black, second panel hollowed revealing a color photograph of the author in her prime under plexiglass, titled in red, author's name, second volume number and subtitle in black, box lined with burgundy paper, superb work by artist Julie Nadot.

First edition for both texts.
Contemporary quarter brown polished calf binding, spine with five raised bands ruled and decorated in gilt and blind, marbled paper boards, stylized acanthus leaves endpapers and pastedowns, marbled edges.
Exceptional reunion of these two great Nietzschean texts, the very last ones written before the philosopher succumbed to madness.