Our Catalogues
E-catalogues
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E-catalogue 35: New AcquisitionsTo mark the unofficial start to summer, we are ushering in our favorite season with a select offering of recently acquired books priced under $2,000. This group of over thirty books represents a cross-section of most of our subject specialties, with the exception of children's books, which will be the focus of an upcoming e-catalogue.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 34: Miniature Book New AcquisitionsWe have recently acquired a small collection of miniature books, which we present here in our latest e-catalogue. Highlights of the collection include: a group of books by David Bryce, including his famous Koran and lectern Bible; several titles by Breed & Butler from the Aunt Fanny and Aunt Laura series; the very rare Calendrier de touts les Saintes from February and April; and a set of presidential miniature books from the Kingsport Press. View the catalogue via the link below, and we hope you enjoy perusing this spring sampling.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 33: Mid-Winter Miniature and Micro-Miniature BooksThis e-catalogue showcases a selection of recently acquired miniature and micro-miniature books, all published after 1900, including a large group of Borrower's Press books and a set of miniature pop-up views of England distributed as a promotional giveaway by Herbert Tareyton Cigarettes.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 32: Rhyme & VerseIn describing "the figure a poem makes," Robert Frost noted that "(i)t should be of the pleasure of the poem itself to tell how it can." As we make our way through our reading life, we encounter poetry in many forms, from simple nursery rhymes to the verses we memorized because they spoke to us in some profound way. In our latest e-catalogue, we are highlighting examples of the many ways a poem tells itself. Highlights include: the rare first issue of the Kelmscott Press edition of Alfred Lord Tennyson's Maud; Carol Blinn's visual and verbal homage to David Hockney, Blue Water, Yellow Balls; a group of seven manuscript love poems written by May Sarton and presented as a Christmas gift to her teacher; and a deluxe miniature edition of Emily Dickinson's Poems of Life, with hand-illuminated initials. In poetry, form, format, and language combine to say something with resonance. We hope you find something here that resonates with you.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 31: The World in the WoodgrainThe woodcut has been with the western world since the early 15th century, and its rise as a popular form of the visual arts can be at least partially attributed to the ease with which woodcuts could be printed side-by-side with text composed from movable type. As a result, the woodcut, and its kissing cousin, the wood engraving, were the only media for illustrating printed books until the late-sixteenth century, after which point techniques developed for engraving on other surfaces--stone, copper, then steel--offering alternatives that displaced the humble woodcut. Yet, the process of transferring images to paper via a carved block of wood managed to bounce back, enjoying revivals as recently as the mid-twentieth century. Its resilience is perhaps the result of a level of expression that can be teased out of a woodblock's positive and negative spaces. It is an attempt to illustrate this wide range that lies behind our latest e-catalogue.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 30: Miniature BooksIn his text announcing "A Miniature Lesson in the History of the Book" -- a 2005 exhibition of miniature books at Harvard University's Houghton Library -- Julian Edison declared that "Miniature books have been produced for reasons of practicality, curiosity, and aesthetics, and are limited in design only by the scribe's and printer's skill and the binder's imagination." Just as we admire Ginger Rogers because she did everything Fred Astaire did, only backward and in high heels, miniature books rise in our estimation because their creators can explore diverse subjects and design possibilities while working with a canvas of under three inches. Edison's elegant and effective summary is an appropriate epigraph for the books that make up our 30th e-catalogue, which is comprised of nearly 45 recent acquisitions.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 29: A Library for Your WallsAs bibliophiles, we know too well the appeal of a particularly strong, or sensual image found in a print or piece of original art. These pieces allow us to create a personal museum inspired by the pages of our books, which points to a very subtle relationship between the illustrated book and works on paper. For this e-catalogue, we have pulled together a diverse group of works on paper -- original art, prints, and broadsides -- that we think speak to this relationship. A significant portion of the artists represented in this selection are well-known to collectors of illustrated books: Sarah Chamberlain, Edward Gorey, Rockwell Kent, and Barry Moser, among many others. A few of the works produced by these artists were published, but most were created to stand on their own as prints, broadsides, or works of original art. We hope this offering inspires you to consider a few new volumes for the library on your walls.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 28: The Allure of ProvenanceFor this e-catalogue, we have gathered over thirty books whose provenance has been established, either through a bookplate or label, or an ownership or authorial inscription. We were quite pleased with the diverse group of previous owners we found among our shelves. FDR, for instance, was an avid collector of miniature books, many of which were given to him by Eleanor; and while these seldom appear on the market, we have his copy of The Compleat Angler, which bears both of their initials, as well as his bookplate. Moving from presidents to popes, an inscription can be a subtle nod to biography, as can be seen in the Italian edition of the handsome Officina Bodoni Four Gospels inscribed by Pope Paul VI to the former mayor of Milan -- a connection that becomes clear when one learns that before ascending to the Papacy, Paul VI served as the Archbishop of Milan. Above all, these ownership markings deepen the stories of the objects, enhancing their appeal. We hope you will find some of these stories compelling.view catalogue |
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E-catalogue 27: Artists' Books
For our twenty-seventh e-catalogue, we have pulled together over thirty artists' books that we feel strike a balance between text, illustration, and the design and execution of the book itself. The examples range from the Eragny Press masterpiece, La Charrue d'Érable, to John and Joy Tonkin's miniature book, ABC New Zealand Style, which contains an alphabet of New Zealand's particular dialect. From the field of children's books are examples of work from Belgian Fauvist Edgard Tijtgat and Italian Futurist Bruno Munari, and in the archive for Still, Mali Burgess's tour-de-force of concrete poetry, we see the printed word itself as the illustration, in the tradition of the Calligrammes of Apollinaire. We hope that you enjoy this exploration of the creativity, versatility, and ingenuity of artists' books.view catalogue |
Catalogue 139
A selection of new acquisitions that include a unique collection of Japanese surimono depicting books and scrolls, the Cresset Press Gulliver printed on vellum, several Edward Gorey items, including original artwork for the cover of Penny Candy, a group of paper books, and much more.
Catalogue 138
A catalogue of new acquisitions that includes a group of Dwiggins-related items, the best known copy of the Vale Press Daphnis and Chloe, a very fine copy of The Story of Ferdinand in the dust jacket, and much more.
52nd New York Antiquarian Book Fair
A selection of items we displayed at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair, including a two-volume set of sheet music bearing wrap-around fore-edge paintings by Clare Brooksbank, an illustrated anatomical textbook with movable flaps, a letter from Peter Pan author and amateur cricketer J. M. Barrie to the captain of the 1934 Australian cricket team, and original artwork by Edward Gorey for the cover of Publisher's Weekly.
Catalogue 137
Highlighting a selection of deluxe illustrated children's books from a recently acquired private collection, Catalogue 137 contains fifty-two items, including a copy of Arthur Rackham's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with an original ink and watercolor drawing; an extraordinary illuminated manuscript on vellum of The Song of Songs, from the collection of a prominent Talmudic scholar; a powerful German linocut calendar from 1969 that pays tribute to the African-American Civil Rights Movement; and much more.
Catalogue 136: 211 Items for $2,011
Catalogue 136 contains hidden treasures from our shelves, items that have never been featured in a catalogue. This includes books, artwork, ephemera, and autograph materials in every one of our collecting areas, and a few oddballs as well. We gathered togther 211 of these items priced under $2,011 for your treasure-hunting pleasure. Enjoy! This catalog was selected as the Pick of the Week by Ibookcollector and reviewed on the Fine Books blog.
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