London: Company of Stationers, 1793. (24)pp. Opens with an engraving of the Coal Exchange, spanning 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
Mittineague, MA: Strathmore Paper Company, 1921. Large quarto. 28pp., (39)ff. A sample book of variously colored cover papers from the famed Strathmore Paper Company. Each of the nineteen sample papers is a fold-out leaf printed with measured color areas arranged according to the Munsell System, a complex color-coding system that..... More
(Portland, OR: Vela Noche, 2010). Folio. (17)ff. One of thirty copies, this one being out of series. Fourteen of Lauren Henkin's photographs make up the majority of the book, with Kirsten Rian's poem, "Fieldnotes," appearing on the penultimate page. The poem, from which the book's title derives, meditates with equal..... More
Maastricht: Halcyon Press, 1931. Octavo. (256)pp. From an edition of 140, this is one of 125 copies on Pannekoek paper. All plates are signed by the illustrator, John Buckland Wright, and the publisher, A. A. M. Stols, has signed the colophon page. This is the third book bearing Buckland Wright's..... More
Épinal: Pellerin et Cie. (c. 1870). 16mo. (24)pp, accordionfold. The book guides the reader along the busy city streets, navigating through and identifying the various sellers in alphabetical order, by way of hand-colored engravings. The alphabet, as typical for the language, omits "W;" and "X" and "Y" appear on the..... More
Paris: A. Bedelet, (1863). Oblong 16mo. (13)ff. After an engraved title page, which in twelve miniatures prefaces the inventions subsequently mentioned, and an alternate lithographed title page printed on the verso of the following sheet, each page shows two side-by-side tinted lithographs, with titles above and captions below. The twenty-two..... More
Moscow: Goznak, 1969. Oblong octavo. (40)pp. Mavrina's illustrations for this lush Cyrillic alphabet are at once delightfully couched in folklore and technically skilled in color and composition. The occasional letter receives a double-page spread, or highlight in metallic ink, and all suggest the drama and abundance of a stage production..... More
(Paris: Chez Guérin-Muller et Ce. c. 1860). Oblong 24mo. Six panels presented accordionfold, with a seventh used as cover artwork. Each panel shows a different facet of soldierhood, all of it very debonair and civilized, from "Avant le Revue [Before Reveille]" to "La Cuisine [The Kitchen]" to "Le Carousel," in..... More
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1939. Four quarto vols. (26); (28); (24); (26)pp. A collection of four children's titles, each robustly illustrated with vibrant color images by Ballester Peña. The titles are: 1. Historia del General San Martín. An approachable retelling of José de San Martín's heroics in the liberation of..... More
London: Cresset Press, 1930. Small quarto. xxiii, (i), 133, (2)pp. One of 350 copies. Fully illustrated title page and twelve additional color stenciled illustrations, one for each month, by John Nash. A faithful reproduction of Spenser's cycle of eclogues, heralding both the agrarian bliss of the turning of the year..... More
(London): Doves Press, (1908). Two large octavo volumes. 192; 200pp. One of 250 copies. Printed in red and black by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson and Emery Walker. This collection of Browning's poems explores the many aspects of love between men and women. The colophon is beautifully inscribed in red: "Flourished by..... More
Detroit: Cranbrook Press, 1900. Small quarto. 86pp. One of 245 copies. Facsimile photograph and signature of author on frontispiece. A reprinting of John Locke Scripps' biography of Abraham Lincoln. Scripps' work marked the first personal history of Lincoln and is here edited by Scripps' daughter Grace Locke Scripps Dyche. Laid..... More
Paris: A. M., (c. 1875). Two boxed sets of materials for two types of Froebel gifts: braiding with raffia and basket-making. Le Tressage en Raphia comes with multi-colored strands of raffia, as well as tissue papers in green, red, blue, and white, and an illustrated sheet showing the various projects..... More
Waltham St. Lawrence: Golden Cockerel Press, 1925. Small quarto. 42pp. One of 750 numbered copies. Illustrated with seventeen wood engravings by Eric Gill. Several initials in red. This is bibliographer and book historian John Carter's copy, with his booklabel on lower front pastedown. A fine copy in white cloth, gilt..... More
1993. Watercolor and ink on paper, measuring 7 by 6 inches. Matted and framed. This illustration appeared on page 21 of the July 19, 1993 issue of Sports Illustrated. The image served as the lead-in to the "Anniversary" section, and it depicts an obscure baseball moment from 1893, when former..... More
(N.p.): Fantod Press, 1973. First edition. One of 500 sets of three books: The Disrespectful Summons, The Abandoned Sock, and The Lost Lions. Fine in original publisher's envelope, as issued. (Toledano A52b). More
Aurora, NY: Sierras Press, 2000. Square octavo. (10)ff, frenchfold. One of thirty copies. Signed by both the poet, Stratis Haviaras, and the artist, Jocelyn Sarah Webb. Webb's seven surreal and raw drawings were printed from magnesium plates and coated with beeswax, giving them the illusion of glossy vellum. They seem..... More
(Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1893). Octavo. (vi), 216pp. One of 500 copies. Borders and initials by William Morris. Printed in Golden type in two colors. Peterson cites Sidney Cockerell's observation that this title was "one of the rarest books issued from the Press because of its popularity"; despite its relatively large..... More
Venice: Peter Koch, Printer, 2006. Small folio. 25ff., + 7 plates. From an edition of fifty copies, this is one of thirty bound in Venetian red stiff wrappers. Signed by the printer, Peter Koch, and photographer Robert Morgan. Produced during Koch's term as artist-in-residence at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica..... More
London: E. Newbery, 1786. 256pp. Sixteen plates of engravings depict various significant biblical scenes and personae. Included in the tally are the two engraved title pages, a detail often overlooked in collation elsewhere. A close copy of J. Harris' series of thumb Bibles, here published by Elizabeth Newbery. With the..... More
London: n.p., (1795). 220pp. With eight woodcut illustrations that depict significant figures and scenes, including Adam and Eve, Moses, and King David. Most other known copies contain seven or fewer woodcuts. Adomeit identifies this as the first iteration of at least two issues, which feature reset title pages and texts..... More
Paris: Didot, Typographie de Firmin, (c. 1810). 124pp. Eight engravings on beige paper. The absurd adventures of Pierrot, born from a turkey's egg to La Fee Gourmande, and dedicated to gourmandise from that moment on, until his gluttony proves too much and dooms him. In a contemporary binding: full blue-green..... More
(France? c. 1830). Seven vols. Unpaginated. Each volume devotes its contents to a particular theme: flowers, animals, insects, the Latin alphabet, caricatured figures, professions, and landscapes. All illustrations are finely and minutely rendered, suggesting a skilled hand, early to the use of color in printed illustration arts. The volume of..... More
San Francisco, CA: Pacific Editions, 2004. Two volumes: oblong octavo and oblong 48mo. (8); (24)ff. One of 54 copies, signed by the printer/designer/artist, Charles Hobson, on the colophon page. Interleaved among the larger volume's pages of Wilbur's poem are sheets of vellum containing hand-painted patterns printed as digital pigments, and..... More
Chicago: Ideal School Supply Co., (c. 1930). Octavo. 10 loose sheets, along with instruction slip and original brass fasteners. Each sheet provides the young designer with an animal in parts, which can then be hinged together to create a paper doll. The animals range from the more domestic cow and..... More
