The History of Timothy Brown.
Anonymous

Octavo. 5ff. Verse manuscript with original watercolor illustrations: full-page for cover title and title-page, and sixteen vignettes throughout the text. This tells the tale of Timothy Brown, who is introduced as "a wild little lad" who constantly tears his clothes and searches for ways to spend his days in idle pursuits. He is coerced by a passing sailor to join the Royal Navy as a cabin boy without informing his family. Once at sea, however, he discovers that the work is hard, and he hatches a plan to desert by hiding in the captain's launch. He is discovered and duly flogged, but he gradually accepts his role and resolves to become a better sailor. Eventually, he reconciles with his family, becomes a hero for his valorious conduct during a sea battle with the French fleet, and is promoted to Captain. Although such stories of reformed wayward youth were common tools for shaping the morality of children, this particular story does not appear to be drawn from a known source. The text is augmented throughout by colorful watercolors executed in a competent folk-art style. Some faint spotting and light wear along edges of leaves and along extremities of illustrated blue wrappers, else a fine example of a fragile work, housed in a cloth chemise.

The Old Man and the Sea.
Hemingway, Ernest

First edition. Written in Cuba in 1951, this short novel was originally intended to be part of a larger work with the sea as a common thread. However, under growing fiscal duress, Hemingway honed in on the 26,531 words that constituted "Book IV" of the larger work, telling Scribner in a letter: "This is the prose that I have been working for all my life that should read easily and simply and seem short and yet have all the dimensions of the visible world and the world of a man's spirit." Hemingway concludes by saying that "(i)t is as good prose as I can write as of now." Widely regarded as the pinnacle of Hemingway's minimal narrative style, The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and was instrumental in Hemingway's Nobel Prize, which he received in 1954. It was also the last major work that Hemingway produced in his lifetime. This is a very fine copy in blue cloth, with bright silver lettering on the spine. With a fine first issue pictorial dust wrapper, unclipped, which shows only the slightest toning to the spine and two minute spots of rubbing at the top of the spine.

Trout & Bass.
Bodio, Stephen

Folio. 75pp., + (14), (6)ff. plates. One of 50 deluxe copies with two extra suites of illustrations signed by the artist, Alan James Robinson: one suite of the black & white wood engravings from the text, and the other a series of six hand-colored etchings of trout and bass. This copy also contains an extra original, signed watercolor laid in that is not called for in the deluxe edition. A selection of prose and poetry in celebration of angling, from authors including John Dennys, Izaak Walton, John Gay, and James A. Henshall. Illustrated throughout with wood engravings and hand-colored etchings of fish and some of the various flies used to catch them. In addition to being an artist and the founder of the Cheloniidae Press, later re-named Press of the Sea Turtle, Robinson is also a passionate fly-fisherman. Two prospectuses laid in, one of which has two hand-colored illustrations and is signed by Robinson. Bound in quarter vellum with exposed stitching on the spine. Housed in a green cloth box, inside of which are eighteen mounted and labeled flies hand-tied by master fly-tyer Jack Gartside, who also wrote the Afterword. Extremely fine.

[Miniature] British Sea Weeds.
Waters, Sheila

(8)ff. A micro-miniature original manuscript by the internationally-recognized calligrapher Sheila Waters, containing tiny brightly-colored paintings of six varieties of seaweed. A native of England, Waters became the founding president of the Washington Calligraphers Guild in 1976. Elegantly bound in green morocco with a small orange circular onlay, gilt-stamped. Attached to the front cover is a short chain with a loop. Slightest creasing to a few page corners, else a fine copy. (7/8 by 5/8; 21x15mm).

("Slops" Ledger from a Whaling Ship).
Anonymous

Octavo. (120)pp. Twenty pages of this ledger contain hand-written notes for the whaling bark Morning Star from New Bedford during an Atlantic voyage from August, 1862 to April, 1863; the remaining pages are blank. "Slops" is a naval term referring to a sailor's outfit and items of equipment, and the word eventually expanded to encompass a sailor's small cash purchases. This ledger, also known as a "slop chit," lists sailors' names followed by a tally of their purchases, which consist primarily of clothing and large amounts of tobacco: around twenty-six pounds of tobacco were purchased by individual sailors, and more than 100 pounds by the company. Articles of clothing listed include wool shirts and drawers, stockings, a monkey jacket, and straw hats. In addition to the accounts of individual crew members, the ledger also itemizes expenses for the owners' account with the captain, Hervey E. Luce, which includes food purchased for the ship, customs house fees, and postage for letters. The entries are dated between September 1862 and March 1863, during the peak years of whaling in New England. A fascinating glimpse into the provisions needed to supply a whaling ship and its crew. Fine in original marbled boards with a leather spine.

[Miniature] Pocket History of the American Navy and Naval Commanders.
Childe, Cromwell

95pp. Contains biographies of naval leaders and informative naval "facts and figures," including descriptions of the navy's great vessels and diagrams explaining the meanings of signal flags. Text block slightly shaken, last two signatures sprung, cover text is lightly rubbed, and there is a small tear to the back cover. Very good in white cloth boards with the title and a flag in red and blue. A rare title, not in Welsh. (2 1/2 by 2 5/16; 64x58mm).

[Miniature] The Naval Songster: A Choice Collection of the Most Popular Sea Songs and Ditties.
Anonymous

126pp. Appropriate for this miniature book's maritime subject matter, the text is printed in blue. Song books made ideal miniature volumes, and this collection of ditties was part of a series of song books by Joseph, Myers & Co., which also included the Fairy Songster and the Elfin Songster, all printed with blue text. A little shaken, spine ends slightly rubbed, else nearly fine in publisher's ornamental gilt-stamped boards of blue cloth. A.e.g. Very scarce. (Welsh 5224; Bondy 151). (2 3/16 by 1 3/8; 56x36mm).

Moby Dick Series (Brown and Cream).

Eighteen-piece set of dinnerware featuring brown and cream transfer-print pictorial illustrations of Moby Dick. This collection contains a few of the more uncommon pieces in this series, including a pickle dish, four small fruit bowls measuring 5 1/2 inches, and four 6 1/2-inch bread and butter plates, with the image of a full-rigged whaling ship on the high seas encircled by a sunburst pattern and the striped rims characteristic of this series. Also included are two covered chowder bowls with sunburst patterns on their lids and the same image of a ship on the inside, a set of salt and pepper shakers decorated with leaping porpoises, a creamer with the design of a ship in profile, and a sugar bowl featuring a whaling ship and two open row boats filled with crewmen on the hunt for a whale. Produced by the Los Angeles-based Vernon Kilns between 1938 and 1940, this set is part of the dinnerware series designed by the traveler, writer, painter, and illustrator Rockwell Kent inspired by Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Kent is especially known for his illustrations, which convey a sense of excitement and adventure. In 1930, Kent designed the book jacket and 280 illustrations for an edition of Melville's classic novel. These later served as the inspiration for the dinnerware designs. According to Maxine Feek Nelson, author of Collectible Vernon Kilns, "Moby Dick" was the most popular dinnerware set that Kent designed for Vernon Kilns. The bottom of each piece is stamped with the name of the pattern, Rockwell Kent's signature, and "Vernon Kilns." Kent's designs were executed on shapes designed by Vernon Kilns master artist Gale Turnbull, and are characterized by unusual upside-down handles and coupe-shaped plates with dipped rims. The original cork stoppers to the salt and pepper shakers are trapped inside the vessels, but otherwise this beautiful and collectible set is in extremely fine condition.

Moby Dick Series (Five-Piece Set).

Dinnerware showcasing the rare colors in which this series was produced. The five pieces include two chop plates, one in blue, and one, especially rare, in pink; one luncheon plate in yellow; and a teacup and saucer in yellow featuring transfer-print pictorial illustrations of "Moby Dick." Produced by the Los Angeles-based Vernon Kilns between 1938 and 1940, this set is part of the dinnerware series designed by the traveler, writer, painter, and illustrator Rockwell Kent inspired by Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Kent is especially known for his illustrations, which convey his love of travel and adventure. In 1930, Kent designed the book jacket and 280 illustrations for an edition of Melville's classic novel, and these later served as the inspiration for the dinnerware designs. According to Maxine Feek Nelson, author of Collectible Vernon Kilns, "Moby Dick" was the most popular dinnerware set that Kent designed for Vernon Kilns. The chop and dinner plates depict a whaling ship in full sail, leaning toward the viewer from the force of the wind, as the crewmen row out to face a whale. Two gulls glide overhead. The saucer features a similar image of a ship sailing away, surrounded by a sunburst pattern. The plates are encircled by the striped border that is characteristic of this pattern. The teacup is decorated with a design of several ships that wraps around the cup. The bottom of each piece is stamped with the name of the pattern, Rockwell Kent's signature, and "Vernon Kilns." Kent's designs were executed on shapes designed by Vernon Kilns master artist Gale Turnbull, and the upside-down handle on the teacup is characteristic of this series. The plates and saucer are coupe-shaped, with dipped rims. Chop plates measure 12 inches, dinner plate measures 9 1/2 inches, saucer measures 6 1/4 inches.

Flyda of the Seas.
Bonaparte, Marie

Octavo. 88pp. One of thirty copies printed on handmade paper, not for sale. Illustrated with twelve color lithographs by John Buckland Wright, all but one of them full-page. A presentation inscription on the front blank dated September, 1958 reads, "To Anne & Georg, a story of the seas -- your loving Aunt Marie." Princess Marie Bonaparte was the great-grandniece of Napoleon I of France and an amateur psychoanalyst, who maintained a friendship with Sigmund Freud. She married Prince George of Greece and Denmark, and the inscription is probably to her cousins-by-marriage, Prince Georg Valdemar of Denmark and Iceland, and his wife, Anne. Bound in lime-green vellum with an image of a mermaid in gilt on the front cover and gilt titling to spine. Some sunning to spine and edges of front cover, else a fine copy of a handsome book. (Reid A59).

Original painting.

An original abstract painting signed and dated by the artist, Morris Cox, measuring 37 by 23 inches. Executed in acrylic on masonite in a palette of green, red, blue, and black, the image suggests a mountain range and setting sun with a crashing wave in the foreground. Framed in a simple black and silver wood frame. A handsome piece of original art by the creative genius behind the Gogmagog Press, reminiscent of the landscape artwork in his magnum opus, The Four Seasons. Small closed tear to paper backing of frame, else very fine.

Le Bateau Ivre (The Drunken Boat).
Rimbaud, Arthur

Folio. (86)ff. One of 250 copies. Signed by the artist and designer, Thierry Despont. Text in French, with an English translation by Louise Varèse, the English set below the French on the page. Contains twenty-eight drawings by Despont, printed using offset lithography by Susan Medlicott. Type and printing by Michael and Winifred Bixler and Luke Pontifell. Printed on heavy, sumptous cotton rag paper. This copy has been bound by Sylvia Rennie in full blue calf with a design of seven stiff, curvilinear shapes of polished blue, black, and white calf mounted to the front cover as a sculptural element evoking waves and sails. The endpapers are reddish brown brushed suede, very heavy, and the top edge of the book is stained black, with subtle swirling patterns in the stain that pick up the theme of one of the illustrations. The spine letters are onlays of black leather, and this is repeated on the spine of the book's clamshell box, which is specially designed to house this sculptural binding. Sylvia Rennie was a student of Hugo Peller, the Swiss master binder, and her work has been shown in a one-woman show at Kroch and Brentano in Chicago, in the Guild of Book Workers traveling exhibitions, at the Minnesota Center for the Book Arts, and other universities and galleries. A very fine copy of an elegant production, both inside and out.

(World War II Logbooks).
Snyder, Lorain R. "Doc"

Four octavo volumes. Standard issue blank books printed by the Government Printing Office that were owned by Lorain R. Snyder, who served as a Gunner's Mate aboard the U.S.S. Richmond from 1941 to 1943. The first two volumes contain Snyder's notes and assignments on such matters as wrecking mines, depth charges, and ammunition, as well as his basic duties. These notes are enhanced by Snyder's draftsman-like color illustrations, which detail the structure and functioning of the various weaponry with which he would have been familiar. These include mines, the .45 caliber automatic pistol, and roller-bearing gun mounts. In addition, Snyder -- whose nickname was "Doc" -- provides illustrated charts of semaphore, alphabet, naval and weather flags, map cross-hatching legends, and military insignia for various countries. In the other two volumes, Snyder switches from theory to practice as he begins a tour aboard the Richmond, and the blank books become a daily logbook. Included are his rather restrained comments on Pearl Harbor ("Sunday evening -- War!!!/Oh my! Well here's what we've been waiting for ... Arizona and Oklahoma got it bad!"), a lengthy first-hand account of the Battle of Komandorskis off the coast of Siberia, as well as a long semi-bawdy ballad about an old maid on Waikiki entitled "A Torrid Tragedy of the Tropics." In these volumes, Snyder's illustrations are less abundant, but they include a detailed inventory of his thirteen tattoos, including the location of each, and a map of the Pacific showing the area covered by the Richmond during Snyder's tour of duty. Additionally, all volumes bear front and back cover illustrations by Snyder. The Richmond was flagship of the U.S. Fleet's Submarine Force during 1938-40 and carried the Commander of the Scouting Force in the first half of 1941, while based in Hawaii. Later in that year, and during the first year of World War II, she patrolled along the Latin American west coast and escorted convoys in the southeastern Pacific. The Richmond went to the North Pacific in January 1943 and was soon heavily engaged in the then-active Aleutians campaign. She bombarded Japanese-held Attu in February, participated in the Battle of the Komandorski Islands on 26 March and took part in the recovery of Attu and Kiska in May and August 1943. Serving in the Aleutians area for the next two years, Richmond's activities included active patrolling and, beginning in February 1944, bombardments of the Kuril Islands. An extraordinary archive that combines a highly personal account of daily life on a combat ship with a detailed glimpse into the machinery of war.

Changing Waters. Part 1: The Hudson River.
Kaldewey, Gunnar A.

Extreme oblong quarto. 14pp., leporello. One of 40 copies. Gunnar Kaldewey offers a poetic, intimate encounter with and a nostalgic history of one of America's most visited and inspiring rivers. The Hudson River was followed a year later by Volume 2: Der Rhein, and both parts were dedicated to John Cage. Text of this volume printed in green, with occasional red and yellow. Illustrations evocative of rhythmic water-flow throughout. The entire book can be unfolded to create a long panorama. Light crease to covers, else extremely fine in soft teal morocco. Housed in chemise and slipcase, both made of gray boards.

The Voyage Out.
Woolf, Virginia

First edition. Virginia Woolf's first book, a novel about a young woman's journey of self-discovery set against the backdrop of a South American ocean voyage. This novel, which E. M. Forster praised as "absolutely unafraid," also introduces readers to Clarissa Dalloway, who would serve as the protagonist of her own eponymous novel in 1925. Light rubbing to extremities and front panel, else a near fine copy in pale green cloth. Bold ink owner's inscription on front endpaper.

Mardi: and A Voyage Thither.
Melville, Herman

Two octavo volumes. 365; 387pp., + 8pp. ads. First American edition. Mardi was Melville's third book, and his third on the theme of South Pacific exploration. In the novel, an American sailor deserts his whaling ship in order to pursue his own adventures. At the time of its publication, Mardi was considered a critical failure, but it is now viewed by many as the first novel in which Melville began to develop his characteristic voice as a writer. Bound in blue-green T cloth, elaborately blind-stamped, with gilt title to spine. Corners faintly rubbed, tiny hole to head of spine and slight dampstain to lower front cover on Volume I, occasional foxing throughout, as usual. Despite these very minor faults, this is still a very bright and nearly fine set. The Skiff-Doheny copy with their bookplates.

Sindbad le Marin (Sinbad the Sailor) et d'Autres Contes des Mille et Une Nuits.
Anonymous

Quarto. 148pp., + (27)ff. plates. French edition. One of 1,500 copies. The twenty-seven color plates by Edmund Dulac are tipped-in with tissue guards. Floral and foliate borders in yellow surround the text and plates, referencing Eastern illuminated manuscripts. According to White, the "bright, enamel-like" colors of Persian miniatures influenced Dulac's color palette for this book, which includes bold tangerine and carmine red. Many of Dulac's illustrations also have a rich, Far-Eastern sensibility: the plates for the story of Aladdin evoke Chinese and Japanese brush paintings. This handsome edition contains four more plates than the English edition. Slightest chipping to spine ends, else a very fine copy in the original blue printed wrappers.

The Flying Dutchman.
Wagner, Richard

Quarto. (105)pp. One of 130 copies. The text of this opera is rendered in both German and English on facing pages and is printed in red and black. In a unique binding of full black morocco by British artist Denise Lubett. Lubett was born in Paris in 1922 and studied bookbinding in England. She received the prize for the best binding by a woman binder in the Thomas Harrison Memorial Competition in 1968 and was elected to be a member of the Designer Bookbinders in 1971. Of her approach to binding, Lubett wrote: "The bindings can only hope to catch one element of the book it adorns, but its allusion should be positive in its abstraction." This philosophy is apparent in the binding of The Flying Dutchman, where she has applied onlays of bluish green morocco, puckered and highlighted with white to give the impression of a stormy sea. The technique of puckering leather for visual effect was innovated by Lubett. The doublures are also covered in a matching bluish green morocco showing a design of sails in gilt and blind fillets. Fine in a gilt-stamped quarter-morocco chemise and morocco-edged slipcase, both lined with teal felt.