New York & London: Harper & Brothers, 1901. The prolific (some 180 books!) American author Jacob Abbott (1803-1879) was noted for his children's books, but he delved into popular history such as this. This is a Very Good (Plus) copy of a reprinted edition issued as part of "The Makers of History" series. Tan decorative cloth binding with a sword and wreath motif on the front cover, filled in brown and black. Clean text; 328 pages, very fresh and bright. A bit of foxing to the fore-edge; the spine slightly darkened and some of the lettering rubbed; else close to a Fine copy Size: 12mo - over 6¾... View More...
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1939. A fascinating bit of World War One naval history, written by a participant. This is a Fine copy of a Later Printing (the 5th). Black cloth binding with white lettering on the spine. Clean text;270 pages, very bright and fresh. Maps as endpapers. The dustjacket is a striking design by Willis Birchman; it has been price-clipped and has some wrinkling around the edges. In an archival plastic protector. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Later Printing.. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. Dust jacket present. View More...
Dublin: Thomas Ewing, 1772. This famous anonymous attack on King George III was first published 1769-1772 as a series of letters in "The Public Advertiser," whose publisher was brought up on charges of seditious libel. The author is still unknown. This is a Good copy of what Quercus supposes to be the First Irish Edition, which has a note that it contains material not found in the English version. This is Volume One ONLY. Clean text; 241 pages, very bright and clear. Full leather binding; five raised bands and a red label on the spine. Rubbed at the margins, and the front board, while present,... View More...
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1892. Published anonymously, but known to be Albert Dresden Vandam (1843-1903); A well-known journalist based in Paris, he was witness to the Prussian Siege. First Edition Thus. This is a Very Good copy of the "Authorized Edition," two volumes published as one, issued in America two years after the English version. Light green cloth binding with a decorative cover and gilt lettering on the spine. Clean text; 478 pages with 2 pages of publisher's adverts in the rear. This is a sound copy, but it has some spotting on the front cover and the spine. Lacking a dus... View More...
Exeter: J. & B. Williams, 1834. Originally published in 1827, these is are Near Fine copies of an early reprint of the First Edition, in a beautiful rebind by Whitman Bennett. Although published anaonymously, certainly most would have known the author by now, and a contemporary owner has written "Sir Walter Scott" in pencil on the Title Page of Volume One. Marbled paper-covered boards with deep blue leather spine and tips; five raised bands; all filled with gilt. The text is clean, although with moderate foxing. Volume One is 494 pages; volume Two has 414 pages, with an additional 64 pages of ... View More...
Boston: The Page Company, 1926. First published in 1917. This is a Very Good copy of the Third Impression (stated) from August of 1926. Not a common title. Dark blue cloth binding, with decorative illustrations stamped in black and orange; titling in gilt on front cover and spine. Clean text; xi, contents, list of illustrations, 322 pages. Frontis illustration and fifteen others within. Mild bumping and minor rubbing to margins. The rear gutter has cracked, due to perhaps careless removal of the rear endpaper. No dustjacket.. Later Printing. Decorative Cloth. Very Good/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾... View More...
New York: Viking, 1931. Pseudonym of Lev Nussimbaum (1905-1942) a Jewish covert to Islam who has an intriguing biography and is a bit of a biblio-mystery: he is possibly the author of "Ali and Nino," a sort of national romantic epic of Ajerbijan (1937). He wrote in German, and was popular with the Nazis until his ethnicity was revealed. Although prolific, his works are scarce today other than in reprint. This is a Very Good (minus) copy of the First American Edition of Lev's second published work. Purple cloth binding with the figure of a red horseman on the front cover; somewhat faded, enough... View More...
New York & Hartford: The Bidwell Publishing Company, 1889. George Bidwell (1832-1899) perpetrated one of the most famous of Victorian financial frauds (against the Bank of England). Essentially he and his partners were able to exploit a weakness in the system and game it through forged drafts, realizing about $50,000 per day. Justice Archibald, declaring that the serious threat to British commerce merits "terrible retribution," handed down four life terms. Still, the plotters won many admirers ("Forgery is a very wretched, unhappy, miserable and contemptible art [but] an art nevertheless.") Th... View More...
New York & Hartford: The Bidwell Publishing Company, 1889. George Bidwell (1832-1899) perpetrated one of the most famous of Victorian financial frauds (against the Bank of England). Essentially he and his partners were able to exploit a weakness in the system and game it through forged drafts, realizing about $50,000 per day. Justice Archibald, declaring that the serious threat to British commerce merits "terrible retribution," handed down four life terms. Still, the plotters won many admirers; especially McDonnell, who defended his craft from the dock, "Forgery is a very wretched, unhappy, mi... View More...
New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1996. "A cultural history of the Titanic disaster." This is a Near Fine copy of the First Edition. Green paper-covered boards with a black cloth spine titled in silver. Clean text; vii, 300 pages. Indexed. Small crease to one corner on front, else Fine. The dustjacket is unclipped. Some faint wrinkling at head and foot of the spine, else Fine. In a plastic protective cover.. First Edition.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Dust jacket present. First Edition. View More...
Philadelphia, 1806. John Bigland (1750-1832) was a popular and prolific writer whose works are held by major institutions. He updated Oliver Goldsmith's popular "History of England" in the 1830s This is a Very Good Minus copy of the First American Edition. The text is bright, with very limited foxing, thought somewhat stiff. The full leather binding is worn, with bumped corners. There is some loss to the top of the spine and the front cover is a bit loose. This is an ex-libris copy, from the Franklin Library (a different library than the one in Philadelphia), but typical library treatments are... View More...
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1958. The incredible story of Pappy Boyington, Medal of Honor winner, leader of a famous flying squadron of misfits known as "the Black Sheep." Definitely the stuff of legends! This is a Later Printing (6th) of the First Edition; a Near Fine copy, with bright orange cloth binding with silver lettering. The dustjacket is from the Fifth Printing, and is unclipped. Some chipping and creasing at the margins. In an archival plastic protector. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Later Printing.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good. Dust jacket present. View More...
Sheffield: J. W. Northend, 1968. Here is a very handy little book for the silver collector. "With notes on Gold Markings, and Marks on Foreign Imported Silver and Gold Plate. Old Sheffield Plate Makers' Marks 1743-1860." Pocket-size, and in a sturdy binding. Near Fine to Fine condition (appears unread); clean text, with multiple illustrations. 93 pages, with a couple of blanks for Notes. The 12th Edition. Size: 16mo - over 5¾" - 6¾" tall. Twelfth Edition.. Soft Cover. Fine/No Jacket. View More...
New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc, 1967. One of the better modern biographies of the famous Victorian polymath/explorer. This is a Very Good copy of the Second Printing of the First Edition. Red cloth binding with fancy gilt decorations and titling on the spine. Clean text; 390 pages, Notes, bibliography, list of Burton's works, index. This is an ex-libris copy, but the treatments evident are quite minimal: top edge has stamp "5-7", bottom edge has stamp "Library Copy' and there is evidence of pocket removal on last page. The dustjacket is complete, unclipped, with just some hints of wear at... View More...
London: William Clowes and Sons, 2002. This is a Fine copy of a facsimile edition published by Pierway in an edition LIMITED to 750 copies. "Bayonet Exercise" was originally published in 1853 and is one of the high spots for the Burton collector. Considered an influential work of militaria quite separately from Burton's later fame as a Victorian polymath. Extremely rare in the original. Penzer [41-42] notes "This is probably the rarest of all Burton's books, and forms one of the most important works on the bayonet ever published." Bright red textured cloth binding, decoratively stamped and rul... View More...
London: E.P. Publishing Limited, 1972. Polymath/explorer Captain Sir Richard F. Burton was always fascinated with the history of the sword. First published in 1884, he had planned it to eventually consist of three volumes. The original issue is a high spot for Burton collectors and quite pricey if found. This is a Near Fine copy of a facsimile edition that will certainly serve, although itself is rather scarce. Bright red cloth binding with gilt titling on the spine. Clean text; xxxix, 299 pages. Indexed. Numerous illustrations. With a new Forward by J.G. Cluff. The only defect noted is a shad... View More...
London: George Allen & Unwin, 1942. Tomas Masaryk (1850-1937) was a founder, and the first President, of Czechosovakia, acknowledged as the strongest democracy in Europe until its occupation first by Germany and then the Soviet Union. "Karel Capek, creator of the Robot, was not merely a great artist or even a great satirist - he was a demorat with a social conscience who clearly saw the dangers which threatened mankind in the modern age" (from the dustwrapper). Originally published in 1934; translated from the original Czech. This is a Very Good (Plus) copy of the Third Impression of that Firs... View More...
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1972. "The influence of disease in shaping the great events of history." This is a Fine copy of a Later Printing (5th) of the First American Edition. Dark gray cloth binding with white titling on the spine. Clean text; 248 pages. Indexed. The dustjacket is also Fine; in an archival plastic protector.. Later Printing. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Dust jacket present. View More...
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962. The most famous book by C.W. Ceram (pseudonym of Kurt Wilhelm Marek, 1915-1972). First publ;ished in 1951; this is Fine copy of a Later Printing (the 20th). Blue cloth binding with titling on the spine in copper; design of a lion hunter in silver on the front cover. Clean text; xii, 428 pages; following is Index (xvi). Light green topstain.Translated from the German by E.B. Garside. Includes 49 photographs and 72 drawings within. A typically lovely production by Knopf. The dustjacket shows a darkened spine, minor edgewear, and chips to the head of the spine and... View More...
New York: Blue Ribbon Books, 1930. Mata Hari (b.1876, executed 1917) was the stage name for a Dutch exotic dancer who has entered modern mythology as a famously scandalous seductress and spy; whether she was guilty of the charges is still an open question. This is a Very Good copy of the Reprint Edition of Major Coulson's version of the truth. Maroon cloth binding with gilt lettering on the spine. Clean text; 312 pages. Endpapers a bit foxed and a bump to one corner. The dustjacket is striking, a line drawing of the lady in performance before an enthralled military audience. Spine a bit darken... View More...
