Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

MANUSCRIPT. – Thomas WHITEHEAD. [A hand-written student’s book of geometrical exercises and problems. N.p.:] 1806. 159pp., manuscript, 4to (231 x 187mm.) Numerous problems, proofs, exercises relating to geometry in a single, legible and calligraphic hand, numerous hand-drawn diagrams. (Toning.) Contemporary calf-backed marbled paper-covered boards (some loss to spine ends). Note: with considerable detail in the text relating to geometrical problems, including ‘Of the Slide Rule’, ‘Of the Use of the Cube Root’, ‘Definitions of a Circle and some of its properties and the relation they bear each other’, ‘Of Inverse Proportion, or the Single Rule of three indirect by the Lines A and B’, while occasionally the tone is a little sardonic: ‘Another Method, nearly true’, and ‘Another method, still nearer’. – And another two manuscripts (Edmund Whitehead’s 37pp. book of hand-writing exercises in a calligraphic hand, [disbound], 1788, and an 8pp. volume of mathematical exercises related to time, [circa 1800]) (3).

FURST, Herbert (editor). The Woodcut, an Annual. London: The Fleuron Limited, 1927. No. 1 [only, of 4]. 4to (269 x 183mm.) 2 tipped-in colour plates designed by Enid Marx and Eric Ravilious, numerous illustrations. (Mild toning.) Original cloth-backed paper-covered boards (spotting to spine). Provenance: Sarah Clutton (name inscribed in pencil to front-free endpaper). – And a further twelve volumes, mostly related to wood-engraving (including Eric Gill’s ‘Art’, 1949, 8vo, and ‘The Wood-Engravings of Blair Hughes-Stanton’, 1991, 4to, and ‘The Devil in Scotland’, illustrated by Douglas Percy Bliss, 1934, 4to) (13).

GRAHAME, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1910. Fifth edition, 8vo (190 x 121mm.) Half-title, frontispiece by Graham Robertson. (Light spotting to preliminaries.) Original green cloth, pictorial gilt to upper cover, t.e.g. (rebacked, endpapers replaced). – And a further twenty-two volumes, mostly children’s literature (including Barbara Jones’ ‘The Unsophisticated Arts’, 1951, 4to, and Christopher Bradby and Edward Bawden’s ‘Well on the Road’, 1935, 4to, and J.M. Barrie’s ‘Peter and Wendy’, [1911], [13 plates, inc. 1 mounted], 8vo, and Willian Nicholson’s ‘Clever Bill’, 1958, oblong 4to, and Iain Moncreiffe’s ‘Blood Royal’, 1956, 4to) (23).

ATLAS. – Aaron ARROWSMITH. Orbis Terrarum Veteribus Noti Descriptio. A Comparative Atlas of Ancient and Modern Geography, from Original Authorities, and upon a New Plan for the Use of Eton School. London: by the Author, 1828. Slim folio (332 x 272mm.) 27 double-paged engraved maps with outline hand-colouring. (Lacking second page of map VI ‘England’, ink annotation to margins of ‘Greece’, offsetting to most maps, slight dust-soiling and staining to several, pencil doodles verso.) Disbound (lacking boards).

KELLY, Christopher. A New and Complete System of Universal Geography; or, An Authentic History and Interesting Description of the Whole World and Its Inhabitants. London: for Thomas Kelly, 1830-1819. 2 vols., 4to (263 x 209mm.) 2 engraved frontispieces, 2 additional engraved titles, 32 engraved maps including 13 folding, 49 engraved plates, index. (One or two maps and most plates damp-stained in vol. 2, also preliminaries, 3-inch tear to folding map in vol. 2, offsetting to title in vol. 1.) Contemporary half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, two black morocco lettering pieces to the spines (covers rubbed). Note: vol. 1 is the 1830 edition, and vol. 2 is the 1819 edition. Provenance: H. Sheridan-Dickson (contemporary ink name to front pastedown of vol. 1) (2).

RASTALL, W. Dickinson. A History of the Antiquities of the Town and Church of Southwell, in the County of Nottingham: for the Author, 1787. First edition, 4to (299 x 233.) 15 engraved plates, including frontispiece, 3pp. ‘List of subscribers’, and 6pp. ‘Index’. (Offsetting to title.) 20th century brown half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, two morocco lettering pieces to the spines (lightly rubbed, endpapers replaced). – And a further eleven volumes related to topography (including ‘A Cambridge Scrap-Book’, 1859, oblong 4to, and James Elmes and Thomas H. Shepherd’s ‘Metropolitan Improvements; or, London in the Nineteenth Century’, 1830, 4to, and ‘The Salisbury Guide’, 1789, 12mo) (12).

SANDERSON, Robert. XXXIV Sermons… by Robert Sanderson Late Lord Bishop of Lincoln. London: A. Clark for A. Seil, 1671. Fifth edition, 4to (317 194mm.) 2 Parts in 1, wood-engraved portrait frontispiece. (Heavily browned, scattered spotting, lacking title to part 2.) Contemporary calf (rebacked, scuffing, lacking lettering piece).

MAPS. – Thomas STACKHOUSE. A New History of the Holy Bible, from the Beginning of the World, to the Establishment of Christianity. London: John Hinton, 1755. 2 vols., folio (381 x 238mm.) Titles in red and black, engraved portrait frontispiece, 93 engraved plates including 6 folding, 6 engraved maps, 10 engraved illustrations in the text. (A few plates torn, most folding plates torn, occasional damp-staining.) Contemporary calf (heavily rubbed and mottled) (2).

MANUSCRIPT. [A hand-written office book of a Jersey solicitor. N.p.:] 1746-1782. 199pp., manuscript, folio (314 x 196mm.) 199pp. in black ink writing in mostly-legible French entries relating to the work of solicitor, including probates, wills, debts etc., many leaves only partly-filled. Contemporary vellum (browned, stained). – And a further two volumes (including an account book for a Jersey parish or chapel, relating to collections and disbursements to the poor, [circa 1840-1850], folio) (3).

ACCOUNT BOOKS. [A hand-written account book of a business trading in copper in Jersey. N.p.:] 1797-1808. 124pp., manuscript, 4to (334 x 205mm.) 124pp. of mostly legible hand-written copies of letters in black ink relating to a business in Jersey trading mostly in broken copper, also 21pp. of mathematical exercises in a different hand in French, circa 1790’s. (Browning, corner creases, some quires loosening.) Original card covers (ink blotting to covers, corner creases). – And a further three account books, circa 1820-1880, relating to law and business in Jersey (4).

TYPESCRIPT. – F.A. von HAYEK. Unfinished Draft of a Sketch of a Biography of Ludwig Wittgenstein. [N.p.:] 1959. 44pp., typescript, loose-leaf (298 x 207mm.) 44pp. carbon copy of the amended typescript. (Browned.) Contemporary wrappers (creased). Note: originally began in 1953, this sketch towards a biography of Wittgenstein was abandoned by Hayek when the Wittgenstein estate refused permission to quote from unpublished letters by Ludwig to Bertrand Russell. Hayek was a second cousin of Wittgenstein and he, too, had been an Austrian who had moved to England, and they’d moved in the same circles so he felt an affinity to the philosopher. Hayek won the Nobel prize in 1974 for his work on economics.

BOTANY. – A.E. RUSHEN. [An album of botanical specimens. N.p.:] 1899. 25 leaves, manuscript, folio (300 x 241mm.) Approximately 173 closely-mounted botanical specimens on 25 leaves, tissue-guards, captioned in ink with common names and a description of the type of leaf vein. (Browning, spotting to tissues, lacking 15 specimens.) Original pebbled cloth (hinges weakened, tear at top of spine, minor soiling).

MAPS. Bacon’s New Large-Scale Atlas of London and Suburbs with Supplementary Maps, Letterpress Descriptions, and Alphabetical Index. London: G.W. Bacon, 1906. 4to (351 x 279mm.) 80 double-paged colour lithographed maps, including geological and county maps. (Toning to margins, occasional finger-mark, faint corner creasing, a tear with repair to ‘Contents’ leaf, small tears to several index leaves.) Original maroon cloth, gilt lettering (inner hinge weakened, lower cover stained, extremities rubbed).

ACTS. An Act for the Transportation of Offenders from Great Britain. London: George Eyre and Andrew Strahan, 21st June 1824. Folio (317 x 193mm.) String-bound. – And a large quantity of approximately 165 Acts of Parliament, 1803-1824 (quantity).

MANUSCRIPT. La Chaine d’or, pour enlever les Ames de la Terre au Ciel, ou considerations importantes sur les quatre fins de l’Homme, la Mort, le Judgement, l’ Enfer & le Paradis; Avec des Avis très-utiles pour bien Mourir. [N.p.:] 1722. 40pp., manuscript, 8vo (159 x 100mm.) 40pp. in French, in a single mostly legible hand, brown ink, being a manuscript copy of Joseph Stevens’ book ‘A Golden Chain of Four Links’, taken from the second edition, published in Amsterdam, with 44pp. of manuscript notes in French, mostly accounts, dating up towards 1800, several crayon and ink doodles. (Toning, chipping.) Original wallet-style vellum (cracked, stained, torn). Note: little is known about Joseph Stevens except that he was a lecturer who lived in London in the late 17th century. His book was translated and published in France in 1699 and several editions were published in the 18th century. – And a related volume (published by Johann Andreas Endters [Das Allgemeine Gebetbuch], circa 1740’s, [lacking title], 12mo) (2).

MANUSCRIPT. – Hannah HAYDON (et al.) [A hand-written book of recipes. N.p.:] 1853-1888. 70pp., manuscript, 12mo (145 x 92mm.) Numerous recipes in two or three legible hands in black ink and pencil, mainly for puddings and cake, signed by the cook, a few recipes from 1927, numerous blank leaves to rear. (Some leaves loosening, browning, occasional spotting.) Original vellum (spotted, stained, lacking clasp).

AUDUBON, John James. The Original Water-Colour Paintings by John James Audubon for The Birds of America. New York: Michael Joseph Ltd. and The Connoisseur, 1966. 2 vols., 4to (337 x 265mm.) Introduction by Marshall B. Davidson, numerous colour plates, some folding. (Mild toning.) Original brown cloth, slipcase (extremities rubbed). – And a further illustrated volume (William Russell Flint’s ‘In Pursuit’, limited edition being number 789 of 1050 copies signed by Francis Russell Flint, 1970, 4to) (3).

TYPOGRAPHY & DESIGN. – Robert HARLING (editor). Alphabet and Image. London: James Shand at the Shenval Press, 1946-1948. 8 issues. 8vo (242 x 196mm.) Numerous colour, illustrations, 4pp. ‘Supplement’ in issue 1. (Toning.) Original printed wrappers, first four issues spiral-bound (two wrappers detached, some creasing, soiling to upper wrapper of issue 1). Note: complete. Issues 2 and 4 are ex-library copies. – And a further twenty-six volumes of design and typography periodicals (including ‘Image, a Quarterly of the Visual Arts’, 8 issues, [complete], 1949-1952, 8vo, and ‘Signature, a Quadrimestrial of Typography and Graphic Arts’, edited by Oliver Simon, New Series, 18 issues, 1946-1954, 8vo) (32).

OULESS, Philip John. The Royal Jersey Album. Jersey: Royal Square, 1847. Folio (423 x 270mm.) Engraved title, 11 tinted lithographic plates, tissue-guards. (Browning or spotting to most plate margins.) Original cloth, armorial gilt to upper cover (wear to spine ends, marginal staining). Provenance: Joshua Ruddock (gift inscribed to in ink on the front endpaper). – And a further two related volumes (Philip John Ouless’ ‘Scenic Beauties of the Island of Jersey’, [17 of 22 plates], 1840, folio, and, published by Matthew Moss, ‘Jersey Views’, [circa 1830’s], folio) (3).