c. 1964. Four sheets, three of which measure 8.5 by 11 inches; the single sheet of text is smaller, measuring 8 by 6 inches, and is on blue paper. These reveal the unfolding of Gorey's creative process in developing the story and preliminary illustrations for the book. The text page... More
Oxford: Oxford Polytechnic Press, 1984. Revised first edition. Robinson's classic introduction to the craft of bookbinding, with step-by-step visual aids. The revised edition provides instruction not only for standard case-bound and library-style bindings, but also techniques for finishing in foil and gold leaf, advice on equipment and materials, and commentary... More
(Germany: c. 1930). Oblong 12mo. 250ff. A sample book of 250 luxurious papers decorated in Art Deco designs, printed in multiple colors and embossed, partly with gold and silver, over papers of various hues. The papers were likely produced to be covering materials for boxes and cartons for luxury goods... More
(N.p. n.d.). Set of eight cards, printed in red, along with rules sheet. The cards create a drinking game; all are dealt to a group of eight, and each player must follow the pictorial instruction on the card placed before him or her. Five cards show a single cocktail, indicating... More
London: H. Teape, (c. 1810). A set of 100 cards, fifty with questions and fifty with matching answers, designed to be played by a group of people. The questions concern various significant individuals and events in the history of Britain, including questions of the dispositions and moralities of certain rulers... More
(Glasgow: David Bryce, c. 1900). (824)pp. Printed entirely in Arabic and representing one of the most famous of all David Bryce publications, these Korans were distributed to Muslim Ottoman soldiers fighting for the allies during World War I. Bound in elaborately gilt-stamped limp red leather, this item appears on the... More
(Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, c. 1895). This sheet is page fifteen of Morris' novel, and it narrates Ralph's encounters with a dangerous man in a churchyard and with three men who help him navigate an obstruction of sheep. The designs of the initials at the start of each paragraph differ from... More
![[Travel sketches by a steamboat passenger].](/pictures/thumb/28068.jpg?v=1529093682)
(Ramsgate: (c. 1900). Oblong 48mo. (36)ff. Illustrated with thirty-six fine and accomplished pen-and-ink sketches by W.G. Bayly. The sketches provide a unique glimpse into Bayly's round-trip journey from Ramsgate to the Cape of St. Vincent, Port Said, Aden, the Bay of Biscay, Yangon, and finally Colombo in Sri Lanka. At... More
Guben: F. Fechner, (n.d.). Four 64mo volumes. 29; 30; 29; 29pp. Alternate publisher given as A. & Joseph Myers, London. All volumes begin with full color frontispiece, another full color engraving accompanies the start of each interior story. Fenelon's classic tales include "The Meeting of the Animals to Choose a.... More
Oxford: Oxford University Press, (c. 1900). 576pp. An edition of the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer. Bound in full black leather with gilt tooling to upper cover, spine, and inner edges of covers. All edges red. The volume is in such fine and unsullied condition likely because it... More
London: (Company of Stationers), 1866. (40)pp. Half-page engravings across first two sets of facing pages. In addition to the expected calendrical information, this almanac also provides a table of British rulers' reigns through Queen Victoria, lists of the royal family, members of the cabinet, Lord Mayors, and the current sheriffs... More
London: Company of Stationers, 1820. (24)pp. One engraving of "The London Institution, Moorfields," which spans four pages. The almanac's calendar records the times of sunrise and sunset, as well as various saints' days and term times for academic institutions. The volume also provides a table of the reigns of the... More
London: Birn Brothers, (c. 1892). 12mo. (20)pp. Eight full-page color illustrations, with gray illustrations on all other pages. A collection of short poems in simple rhyming verse with which a child could find enjoyment, free of the usual nineteenth-century moral overtures. Bound quarter cloth with pictorial upper cover. With printed... More
Dusseldorf: Levy Elkan, Baumer & Co. (1861). Octavo. (12)ff. Each page with a large color lithograph depicting a scene appropriate for that month. For example, April shows people working to shear sheep for the warm spring and summer months, and September shows children gathering apples. Each image is accompanied by... More
Amsterdam: S. L. van Looy, (1915). Octavo. (28)pp. Pages printed one side only, facing each other. Color lithographs throughout. Bodenheim was a Dutch illustrator known for her silhouettes, which often adorned children's books. She was part of the group known as the Amsterdamse Joffers, a collective of female artists in... More
Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896. Octavo. (iv), 82pp. One of 350 copies. Frontispiece cut after Edward Burne-Jones. Borders and initials by William Morris. This is the second of three medieval romances printed by Morris. In holland-backed blue boards, with faint soiling to boards and some foxing to very edges of text... More
London: J. Bysh, (n.d.). Octavo. 8pp. Thirteen hand-colored engravings, to accompany thirteen of fourteen moral tales. The tales, which include "The Ploughman and Fortune" and "The Hares and the Frogs", are each followed by a direct statement of the moral they exemplify. They are presented in an unusual two-column format... More
(Wakefield, Yorkshire): Fleece Press, (1986). Large quarto. (10)pp., + (19)ff. Of an edition of 200 copies, this is one of twelve bound by James Brockman. Printed from the original blocks on handmade paper. Illustrated with twenty wood engravings by Underwood that were cut in the 1920s and 1930s. Underwood's Brook... More
Utrecht: 1958. Quarto. 45, (iii)pp. One of 175 numbered copies. With six black-and-white engravings, with an extra suite of the engravings in sanguine secured by a cloth band on the inside back cover. Maurits Cornelius Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who challenged the bounds of printmaking. His prints... More
London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1948. Quarto. 35pp. Of an edition of 750 copies, this is one of 100 specially bound. Signed by the translator Ten engravings, plus engraved frontispiece and title page. A rich printing of the Homeric (or post-Homeric) hymn to Aphrodite, one of six, which appear later than... More
(Hamburg - Barmbek: c.1890). Quarto. (64)pp. Accordion-fold album. Each page has been interleaved with protective tissue. Throughout the album, on both the fronts and backs of the folds, are various mounted paperworks, including 197 paper folding works, 52 pieces of paper basketwork, twenty-five pin-prick stitches, twenty-two geometrical silhouette works, and... More
Ditchling: St. Dominic's Press, 1934. Small quarto. 79pp. One of 250 copies, signed and numbered by the author. An essay written and printed by hand by Hilary Pepler for the Society of Typographic Arts in Chicago. Illustrated with two wood engravings by David Jones and many facsimile examples of Pepler's... More
Glasgow: David Bryce & Son, (c. 1901). 876pp. Printed on India paper and illustrated with black & white plates. Bound in full brown leather stamped in blind on the covers and lettered in gilt on the spine, with a pocket inside the rear cover containing a leather-bound magnifying glass. Attached... More
(Japan: 1850). (8)pp. Four two-page, full color illustrations. A miniature volume depicting a series of scenes involved anthropomorphic mice. The mice wear traditional Japanese garb, sit against backdrops of mountains and villages, and take human-like postures, such as sitting cross-legged and bowing. It is possible that the volume portrays the... More
NY: G.W. Carleton, 1879. Octavo. (96)ff. Features forty-eight color lift-the-flap illustrations (including the title page) in which the closed image illustrates the beginning of a verse and the open image depicts its conclusion. With numerous classic rhymes by Mother Goose, including the full versions of Old Mother Hubbard, and a.... More
