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CULPEPER, Nicholas (1616-1654). Two Treatises: The first of Blood-Letting ... The second of cupping and scarifying. London: by John Streater, to be sold by William Jacob, 1672. 12° (126 x 70mm). Ornamental initials, with the first two blanks A1 and A2. (Lightly browned throughout). Contemporary calf (lacking endpapers, hinges cracked, lightly worn). Third edition. Wing C-7551 (lists 2 copies in British Isles and 2 in North America); not in Krivatsy, Wellcome or Garrison-Morton. With William Bromfeild's An Account of the English Nightshades, and their effects (London, 1757, one folding hand-coloured engraved plates, lacks half-title). (2) View on Christie's.com

A Designe for Plentie by an universal planting of fruit-trees. London: Richard Wodenothe, [no date, ?1652]. Small 4° (176 x 126mm). 2 woodcut headpieces, 2 ornamental initials. (Lightly browned throughout, shoulder notes shaved). Modern half calf (new endpapers). Goldsmiths' 1289; Wing H984. LAWSON, William (fl. 1618). A New Orchard and Garden: or the best way of planting, grafting, and to make any ground good, for a rich orchard: particularly in the north, and generally for the whole Common-Wealth. London: by William Wilson, for George Sawbridge, 1660. Small 4° (182 x 142mm). Woodcut on title, repeated on D4r, illustrations, of which 6 full-page, headpieces, initials, Country Housewifes Garden with separate title. (Some light soiling, light spotting and even browning). Late 19th-century calf-backed boards (head of spine chipped, lightly rubbed). 8th edition of this popular work, first published in 1618. Wing L733; cf. Henrey 226 (1618 edition); cf. Hunt 209 (1626 edition) quotes Eleanour Rohde, who calls this work "the first book on the subject of North-Country gardens, and the Country House-Wifes Garden the first book written for women gardeners". (2) View on Christie's.com

DIDEROT, Denis (1713-1784) and Jean Le Rond D'ALEMBERT (1717-1783, editors). Six volumes of plates for L'Encyclopédie Méthodique Padua: n.p., 1784-92. 6 vols in 13, 2° (301 x 215mm). Engraved title vignettes and 1091 plates, of which 190 double-page and 30 folding. (Occasional light browning, occasional light marginal dampstain.) 19th-century vellum [vols 1-3] and vellum-backed boards [vols 4-6], the spines numbered in manuscript (spine labels renewed, some staining, extremities rubbed). Provenance: G. Bertoni (neat stamps). The first 6 volumes of plates from this Padua edition of 'the greatest encyclopedia of science, which had widespread effect in establishing uniformity of terminology, concept, and procedure in all fields of science and technology' (Horblit). Cf. Horblit 25b; cf. PMM 200. (13) View on Christie's.com

DRAYTON, Michael (1563-1631). The Battaille of Agincourt... The Miseries of Queene Magarite, the infortunate wife, of that most infortunate King Henry the sixt. London: William Lee, 1631. 8° (150 x 103mm). (Browned throughout, margins trimmed, occasionally touching headline, a few small marginal repairs, occasional light soiling). Blue panelled morocco gilt by Riviere & Son (new endpapers). Provenance: William Robinson (partly erased signature on title). Second edition, first published in 1627. STC 7191. [With:] HUBERT, Francis, Sir (d. 1629). The Historie of Edward the Second... together with the fatall down-fall of his two unfortunate favorites Gaveston and Spencer. 8° (150 x 95mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait of Edward II, with the blank A1. (Margins trimmed, occasional affecting shoulder notes, a few occasional spots). Crimson morocco gilt by Lloyd, gilt edges (new endpapers). Originally published the previous year as an unauthorized edition as The deplorable Life and Death of Edward the Second, King of England. STC 13901. [And:] With 3 other works, including Thomas Blount's Boscobel (London, 1680 [i.e.1681], engraved portrait, 2 folding plates and additional separate engraved title, light occasional dust-soiling) and Thomas Wincoll's Plantagenets Tragical Story (London, 1649, engraved frontispiece portrait). (5) View on Christie's.com

GALILEI, Galileo (1564-1642). Dialogo ... Dove ne i congressi di quattro giornate si discorre sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo Tolemaico, e Copernico. 'Florence' [Naples]: 1710. Large 8° (249 x 175mm). Title in red and black, engraved title-page vignette, woodcut initials, diagrams in text; title to Lettera alla Granduchessa with woodcut device. (Occasional light spotting, marginal repair to title, small marginal hole or tear in 3 leaves.) Contemporary vellum, spine lettered gilt. SECOND EDITION IN ITALIAN of Galileo's Dialogue. The first edition was placed on the Index of Forbidden Books immediately after publication in 1632. No subsequent Italian edition followed until this one of 1710, published clandestinely in Naples. It contains two other works attempting to refute the perceived polarity between Copernicus's theory and the Bible: Foscarini's Letter (originally published 1615) and Galileo's Lettera alla Granduchessa di Toscana (composed in 1615, first published 1636). 'Galileo argued that neither the Bible nor nature could speak falsely and that the investigation of nature was the province of the scientist, while the reconciliation of scientific facts with the language of the' (DSB V 242). A LARGE, FRESH COPY. Carli-Favaro 99 (413); Cinti 319 (168); De Caro 24; Riccardi I 512. View on Christie's.com

GALILEI -- GRAZIA, Vincenzo di. Considerazioni ... sopra'l discorso di Galileo Galilei intorno alle cose che stanno su l'acqua, e che in quella si muouono. Florence: Zanobi Pignoni, 1613. 4° (199 x 148mm). Engraved grand-ducal arms on title (title a little soiled, some spots). Modern wrappers. FIRST EDITION of one of several attacks on Galileo by prominent academicians as a result of the publication in 1612 of his Discorso. Carli and Favaro 56; Cinti 42; Riccardi I, 621. View on Christie's.com

GALLUCCI, Giovanni Paolo -- REISCH, Gregorius (d.1525). Margarita Filosofica. Venice: Barezzo Barezzi, 1599. 8° (216 x 160mm). With blanks, folding table and woodcut volvelle map, illustrations. (Occasional light soiling, one gathering browned, faint marginal dampstain in some gatherings.) 17th-century limp vellum (spine cracked, hinges split, lacking ties). Provenance: Dr. Andrea Raineri (inscription in an early hand) -- an early 20th-century collection (press label on the front cover). FIRST EDITION IN ITALIAN OF THIS CELEBRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA, translated by Gallucci. The Addenda comprises some of the additions of the 1512 Strasbourg edition, including Martin Waldseemüller's treatises on architecture and perspective, and Masha'allah's composition of the astrolabe. Some of the new additional treatises in this Italian edition are on arithmetic, geography and grammar. 2 issues are known, with apparently no priority: one with Barezzi's imprint, and another with Somascho's imprint which is more common institutionally. Not in Adams; Cicognara 3321; Sabin 69132 (Somascho imprint). View on Christie's.com

GODWIN, William (1756-1836). Of Population. An Enquiry Concerning the Power of Increase in the Number of Mankind, being an answer to Mr. Malthus's essay on that subject. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1820. 8° (212 x 130mm). Half-title. (Some spotting). Contemporary half calf (boards detached, spine and corners worn). Provenance: John Hepburn (presentation inscription, partially cropped by the binder's knife). FIRST EDITION, A RARE PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED: 'From the author. A testimony of regards to Mr. John Hepburn'. ABPC apparently records no inscribed copy at auction in over 35 years. Of Population responds to Malthus's theory, which Godwin described as 'an accursed apology in favour of vice and misery, of hard-heartedness and oppression', although there had been a time when he admired Malthus's work and declared himself flattered by his attentions. Goldsmiths' 22818; Kress C535; Sabin 27676. View on Christie's.com

[GRASSI, Orazio (1590-1654)]. 'Lothario Sarsi'. Libra astronomica ac philosophica qua Galilaei Galilaei opiniones de cometis ... examinantur. Perugia: Marco Naccarini, 1619. 4° (193 x 138mm). Engraved vignette of one of the 1618 comets on title, woodcuts in text. Modern vellum (lower cover lightly soiled). FIRST EDITION of Grassi's attack on Galileo's theory of comets, which had been expressed under his disciple Mario Guiducci's name in his Discorso of 1619. The work provoked the 'controversy of the comets' and a wealth of published attacks between the scientists, culminating in Galileo's Il Saggiatore. RARE: according to ABPC, only two copies have sold at auction in the last 30 years: the Streeter copy, Christie's New York, 16 April 2007, lot 235; and the Honeyman copy, sold Sotheby's New York, 6 November 1979, lot 1539. Carli-Favaro 17 (81); Cinti 139 (64); De Caro 88; Honeyman IV 1539; Riccardi I 628. View on Christie's.com

HALL, John (1575-1635). Select Observations on English Bodies: or Cures ... performed upon very eminent persons in desperate diseases, translated by James Cooke. London: John Sherley, 1657. 12° (151 x 82mm). Vertical half-title (lacking the final 2 blanks, upper outer corner of last few leaves with small repairs, just affecting border and one number of last 2 leaves, light spotting, occasional small light stains or light marginal browning or soiling). Modern crimson morocco by Riviere, triple fillet gilt border on sides, spine ruled, lettered and elaborately tooled in gilt, inner dentelles, partly uncut. Provenance: a few old corrections (in text). FIRST EDITION. 'Hall was Shakespeare's son-in-law, having married Shakespeare's elder daughter Susanna in 1607; his Select Observations is interesting primarily as a piece of medical Shakespeareana' (Norman). Not in Garrison-Morton, Wellcome, Waller or Osler. Krivatsy 5217 (imperfect, lacking longitudinal label); Norman 971; Wing H-356. View on Christie's.com

HARRIS, Moses (1730-c.1788). The Aurelian: or, Natural History of English Insects; namely, Moths and Butterflies. London: J. Robson, 1778. 2° (457 x 276mm). English and French titles, and text in English and French in double-coloumn. English title with engraved vignette, frontispiece, hand-coloured engraved diagrammatic key-plate and 44 plates numbered I-XLIV, by and after Harris, PLATE I INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR: 'Colour'd by me Mr. Harris Sept. 1778', indicating that the plates were coloured by the author throughout. (Occasional very light spotting and offsetting, a few short marginal tears.) 19th-century half morocco, t.e.g. (extremities rubbed). Second edition, second issue. A fresh, tall copy of the Aurelian by Harris, 'ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING AUTHORS OF ENTOMOLOGICAL LITERATURE DURING THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY' (Lisney). Harris drew from live specimens and his plates are amongst the most beautiful of their kind, showing dorsal and ventral views of all the subjects, together with various stages of development (egg, caterpillar, chrysalis), each with their preferred food. First published in 1766, the Aurelian went through many editions. This has led to a complex bibliography, and, as Lisney notes, it 'frequently occur[s] as made-up copies'. In this copy, Plate I is without the dedication, plate II is not mounted and appears on matching length paper, and the text and plates are on undated Whatman laid paper. BM(NH) II, p.788; Lisney 232; Nissen ZBI 1835. View on Christie's.com

INCUNABULA -- JACOBUS DE VORAGINE (c.1230-1298). Legenda aurea. - USUARDUS (d. c. 875). Martyrologium. Cologne: Johann Koelhoff, the Elder, 22 July 1490. Chancery 2° (266 x 197mm). 316 leaves. 45 lines and headline, double column. Type: 18:290G, 15:175bG, 17:86G, 16:80G. Opening initials on a2 and c1 in red or blue with contrasting penwork decoration, other 2- to 4-line initials in red or blue, red capital strokes, some printed guide-letters. (Small repairs to title, last two lines of colophon erased, an occasional light stain.) Late 19th-century tan pigskin tooled in blind by W.H. Smith, spine lettered in gilt, red edges (joints starting to split). Provenance: inscriptions erased from title, a2 and below colophon -- Dr. J.A. Giles (Tregaskis bookseller's description dated July 1891). Koelhoff's edition of the Golden Legend, the popular collection of saints' lives, is the first to have appended to it the martyrologium of Usuardus. The colophon is dated 'in vigilia sanctissimorum trium Regum', interpreted by A. Labarre as 22 July, correcting previous interpretations of 5 January (cf. Gutenberg-Jahrbuch 1975, pp.77-80). C 6465 (Voragine only); HCR (Usardus only) 16111; BMC I, 229 (IB. 3615); CIBN J-96; Bod-inc J-060; Goff J-123. View on Christie's.com

KEPLER, Johannes (1571-1630). Harmonices mundi libri V. Linz: Johannes Plank for Gottfried Tampach, 1619. 2° (296 x 190mm). First state of general title with printer's device and without text beginning 'Accessit nunc...', dedication to King James I of England (*2r-*4r) later suppressed by Kepler and absent from some copies. 5 engraved plates, numerous woodcut text diagrams and illustrations after Wilhelm Schickard, woodcut musical notation in Book III. (Lacks quire C, old repairs to title, heavy ink erasures to dedication leaves creating holes in *3-4, plates browned and slightly waterstained, some browning of text and persistent light waterstain at upper margin.) Contemporary vellum with yapp edges, spine titled and dated in manuscript, red edges (bowed, stains to rear cover, ties lacking). Provenance: Pedro de Faycon (with note dated 1707 stating that the erasures conform with the Papal Index of 1640). FIRST EDITION of Kepler's great cosmological treatise, containing the third law of planetary motion. An ardent Copernican, Kepler accepted that the sun was near the centre of the universe, but he went farther by attributing physical force to it. Books I and II are concerned with the geometrical foundation of universal harmony, beginning with a detailed exposition of Euclid's Elements. He discusses polygons and polyhedrons and -- for the first -- stellated dodecahedrons. Book III investigates harmonic proportions and music theory, while Book IV contains the fullest expression of his astrological views. Book V is devoted to astronomy and contains his third law, stating that 'the square of the period of time of a planet is proportional to the cube of its mean distance from the sun' (Dibner). Caspar 58; Dibner Heralds 6; Grolier/Horblit 58; Houzeau & Lancaster 11832; Zinner 4737; Norman 1207. View on Christie's.com

KRANTZ, Albert (c.1450-1517). Wandalia. Cologne: J. Soter, 1519. [Bound with:] -- Saxonia. Cologne: J. Soter, 1520. 2 works in one vol., small 2° (295 x 200mm). The first work with a 6-leaf table and the second work with an 8-leaf table bound before the titles. Titles within woodcut border. (Some mostly marginal dampstains, more pronounced in the second work, short worm-tracks in the first and last few gatherings, without final blank leaf.) Later vellum, spine titled in manuscript, edges red (upper board and spine soiled, front free endpaper with some loss). Provenance: a 19th-century reader (inscription in German dated 1826 on the front endpaper, very occasional marginalia). FIRST EDITIONS. Krantz's famous histories 'for the period in which they were written are characterized by exceptional impartiality and research' (Encyclopaedia Britannica, eleventh edition). Adams C-2889, C-2884. View on Christie's.com

MACHIAVELLI, Niccolò (1469-1527). The Works, translated by Henry Neville. London: for J. S., to be sold by Robert Boulter, 1675. 2° (321 x 198mm). (Lightly spotted and soiled, stain on 3Y3 and 3Y4, light marginal worming at end.) Contemporary calf (worn). FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, including The History of Florence, The Prince, The Discourses and The Art of War, each with sectional title. Wing M-128. View on Christie's.com

MANGET, Jean Jacques, editor (1652-1742). Bibliotheca chemica curiosa, seu rerum ad alchemiam pertinentium thesaurus instructissimus. Geneva ['Genevae']: Chouet, G. De Tournes, Cramer, Perachon, Ritter, & S. De Tournes, 1702. 2 vols., 2° (346 x 210mm). Engraved portrait frontispiece, 30 engraved plates and one text illustration, woodcut diagrams. One-leaf publisher's catalogue. (Variable light spotting and browning, occasional minor marginal worming, vol. II with light soiling to verso of 3 plates, plates 2 & 3 shaved at fore-edge just touching image, small marginal repair to 3P2.) 20th-century calf preserving contemporary endpapers (lightly rubbed, covers damp mottled). Provenance: some ink underlining and marginalia in an early hand towards end of vol. I. FIRST EDITION. 'THE MOST COMPLETE COLLECTION OF ALCHEMICAL TEXTS EVER PUBLISHED ... FOR THE HISTORIAN OF CHEMISTRY THIS IS A MOST IMPORTANT AND INDISPENSABLE WORK' (Duveen). Manget was appointed physician to the Elector of Brandenburg in 1699, a position he retained when the Elector became King of Prussia. His work collects and reprints 'treatises on medicine and surgery, [which] are valuable as works of reference to books which either are now difficult to obtain or which have disappeared' (Ferguson p.71). There appear to be two issues of the work, distinguished by the use of either 'Genevae' (as here) or 'Coloniae Allobrogum' in the imprint. Both Bolton and Ferguson give a full listing of the treatises. Blake p. 285 (2 copies, 'Coloniae Allobrogum' and 'Genevae'); Bolton pp. 1004-1013 ('Genevae'); Brunet III, 1365 ('Genevae'); Caillet III, p. 28 ('Genevae', commenting 'ouvrage de la plus grande rareté'); Duveen p. 387; Ferguson II, pp. 68-71 (vol. I: 'Coloniae Allobrogum', vol. II: 'Genevae'); Graesse IV, p. 363; Waller 11192 ('Coloniae Allobrog.'); Wellcome IV, p. 42. (2) View on Christie's.com

MASCALL, Leonard (d. 1589). A Booke of the Arte and Maner how to plant and grasse all sortes of trees. London: John Wight, 1575. Small 4° (176 x 128mm). Woodcut vignette on title, repeated on L1v, one woodcut plate illustrating grafting tools, 4 cuts and one diagram in text, ornamental initials, head and tailpieces. (Occasional light soiling or spotting, top margins shaved, occasionally touching headline). Green calf gilt by Bayntun, Bath, gilt edges (spine lightly sunfaded, a few light scuff marks). Provenance: old manuscript inscription on title ('This should have been bound after the table in the beginning of this book'). Third edition of the popular treatise, first published in 1569 and based on David Brossard's L'art et manière de semer et faire pépinières de sauvageaux. Henrey I, 258; STC 17575. View on Christie's.com

McIAN, Robert Ronald (d.1856) & James LOGAN (?1794-1872). The Clans of the Scottish Highlands. London: Ackermann and Co., 1845-47. 2 volumes, 2° (363 x 259mm). Lithographic dedication partially printed in gold, 2 chromolithographic frontispieces showing the arms of the clans and 72 chromolithographic plates, all finished by hand. (Occasional light spotting, small light marginal dampstain to last plate and accompanying text leaves, heavier towards end, 3 plates with imprints trimmed.) Red half morocco by Zaehnsdorf, gilt spines and edges, marbled endpapers (extremities lightly rubbed). FIRST EDITION. Abbey Life 426. View on Christie's.com

MILITARIA -- MILLINGTON-DRAKE, Eugene (ed.). The Drama of the Graf Spee and the Battle of the Plate. London: Peter Davies, 1964. 8° (248 x 186mm). Folding map, plates and illustrations. Original red leather by the St. Giles Bindery, upper side blocked in gold, spine lettered in gold. FIRST EDITION, ONE OF 55 DELUXE COPIES, SIGNED BY OVER 40 CREW MEMBERS of 'Ajax', 'Achilles', and 'Exeter' including Captains Charles Woodhouse, Edward Parry, and Frederick Bell, and the author and contributors, including Mountbatten of Burma and Philip Vian. HOZIER, H.M. (ed.). The Franco-Prussian War. London: William Mackenzie, [c. 1872]. 2 vols, 4° (260 x 204mm). Frontispieces, additional engraved titles and 46 plates and maps. (Occasional marginal spotting.) Contemporary green calf gilt, gilt edges (extremities rubbed). Provenance: ?James Maxton (pencilled inscription on p.1). FIRST EDITION. NEWBOLT, Henry. The Book of the Thin Red Line. London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1915. 8° (186 x 130mm). Coloured plates, illustrations. Contemporary blue half morocco by Best & Co., top edge gilt (spine evenly faded). INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR: 'The cast of all earth's noble hearts is the right soldier's faith. Henry Newbolt'. (4) View on Christie's.com

[NESS, Christopher (1621-1705)]. The Devils Patriarck ... the notorious life of ... Innocent the 11th. London: John Dunton, 1683. 8° (152 x 90mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait of Pope Innoncent. (Portrait a little frayed at margin, portrait, title and a few leaves dust-soiled, waterstain near end). Brown polished calf gilt for Henry Sotheran, gilt edges. Provenance: old inscription about the author on title. FIRST EDITION. "To the reader" is signed T.O., Titus Oates. Wing N-452. With Francis Bacon's The Essaies (London, 1614; title soiled, light waterstaining throughout, rebacked). STC 1145; and Thomas Southouse's Surveigh of the Monastery in Faversham in the County of Kent (London, 1671; light browning and soiling, marbled calf by Bayntun). Wing S-4772. (3) View on Christie's.com

RAILWAYS -- ROSCOE, Thomas. The Book of the Grand Junction Railway. [Birmingham:] by Wrightson and Webb, 1839. 4° (216 x 135mm). Engraved title, 3 maps and 15 plates. (Occasional light marginal soiling and a few scattered spots.) Contemporary half sheep by G. Simms of Manchester, with label, edges gilt (extremities rubbed). Provenance: I. J. Carrick (signature) -- George Jameson (armorial stamp, date 1913 in manuscript). FIRST EDITION. WorldCat records an apparently more common issue published in London by Orr in the same year. GRAY, Thomas. Observations on a General Iron Rail-Way or Land Steam-Conveyance. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1825. 8° (224 x 135mm). Engraved folding frontispiece, 4 engraved plates including one folding. (Occasional light offsetting, some wear in folding plates.) Original boards (rebacked, corners worn and chipped, rear endpaper nearly detached). Provenance: William Barclay Parsons (bookplate; gifted to:) -- The New York Public Library (de-accessioned stamps, dated 1934). Fifth edition, first published in 1820. (2) View on Christie's.com

VITRUVIUS POLLIO, Marcus (c.80-70 B.C.- c.15 B.C.). Architettura. Vetruvio in volgar lingua. Perugia: Giano Bigazzini, 1536. 2° (281 x 200mm). Woodcut architectural title, woodcut portrait of the printer and 81 woodcut illustrations in the text, including two repetitions (some light, mostly marginal spotting and soiling). 18th-century sheep, flat spine gilt in compartments (covers detached, large loss of leather on the upper board, spine ends chipped). First edition of Caporali's translation. The only kown work to have been printed by Bigazzini, this edition comprised the first five of the ten books of Vitruvius. The woodcuts are free copies (reduced or enlarged) of the Cesariano's Como, 1521 edition, with 8 subjects added although the cuts of Milan cathedral were excluded. Berlin Kat. 1805; Brunet V:1330; Cicognara 706; Fowler 400; Mortimer Italian 546; Sander 7700. View on Christie's.com

[VIVIANI, Vincenzo (1622-1703)]. Quinto libro degli elementi d'Euclide ovvero scienza universale delle proporzioni spiegata colla dottrina del Galileo. Florence: alla Condotta, 1674. 4° (232 x 165mm). Woodcut diagrams (browning, spotting, worm traces in blank upper margins). Old vellum (soiled). Provenance: the French physicist Edme Marriotte's copy, previously in the library of a Jesuit seminary, with library markings. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of one of Viviani's important works. This first issue was published before the appendix of geometrical problems was prepared: this is to be found at the end of later issues of the same edition of the work. Carli and Favaro 339; Cinti 151; Riccardi II, 625(2). View on Christie's.com

The Womens Advocate: or, Fifteen real Comforts of Matrimony. London: Benjamin Alsop and Thomas Malthus, 1683. 12° (138 x 81mm). (Without first blank, title with clean tear, some marginal repairs, including outer margin of title, affecting few words of 5 lines of text on B9, margins a little brittle, browned throughout). Tan calf gilt by Riviere, gilt edges (front joint starting to split at tail of spine, joints rubbed, new endpapers). Second edition. Wing M813EA, attributes the work to M. Marsin. Wing lists only one copy in British Isles (Bodleian) and 2 copies in North America (Newberry, University of California). With: A Breefe Discourse, declaring ... the laudable customs of London ... where a reasonable partition of the goods of husbands among their wiues and children is prouided (London, 1584; title and final leaf with marginal repairs, lightly browned and soiled). STC 16747. (2) View on Christie's.com

BOCCACCIO, Giovanni. [The Decameron]. The Modell of Wit, Mirth, Eloquence, and Conversation.. London: Isaac Jaggard for Mathew Lownes, 1625-1620. 2 volumes in one, 2° (280 x 182mm). Titles within differing woodcut borders, the border to vol. I with a boar passant, the crest of the Sidney family, in top compartment [McKerrow and Ferguson 212], the border to vol. II composed of six woodcut medallions repeated as vignettes throughout both volumes. Woodcut initials and ornaments. (Without first and final blanks in both vols., lacking \\h\\h\\h2 (table) in vol. 2, lower margin of Mm6 trimmed, a little light spotting, a few tiny rustholes.) Brown morocco gilt by Birdsall, gilt edges (front hinge neatly splitting). Provenance: Rosenbach Collection (catalogue inserted) -- Peddie School (sale Christie's New York 2006). Second edition of vol. I, first edition of vol. II of THE FIRST COMPLETE TRANSLATION IN ENGLISH. At least fifty-four English plays, including several works by Shakespeare, have plots derived from the Decameron. Grolier Wither to Prior 250 (first edition); Pforzheimer 72 & 71; STC 3173 & 3172. View on Christie's.com

[DONNE, John (1573-1631)]. Poems ... with Elegies on the Authors Death. London: by J. Flesher by John Sweeting, 1654. Small 8° (137 x 90mm). Engraved frontispiece portrait by W. Marshall. (Frontispiece and title re-hinged, lacking the first blank, first few leaves with light waterstain, lightly browned or dust-soiled throughout). Contemporary vellum (soiled). Fourth edition, third issue. Keynes 83; Wing D-1870. View on Christie's.com

FIELDING, Henry (1707-1754). The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews. London: A. Millar, 1742. 2 vols., 12° (154 x 90mm). (Occasional light soiling, vol. II without preliminary advertisement leaf.) Contemporary tree sheep (rebacked, preserving old lettering-pieces, some neat repairs to covers). Provenance: 'Wm. Cooke after 1767' (partially erased inscription on title) -- J. Wyndham (1951 inscription on front endpapers). FIRST EDITION of Fielding's 'comic romance'. The manservant Joseph is the brother of Richardson's heroine, Pamela, who herself appears in the story. Cross III, p. 305; Rothschild I, 844. (2) View on Christie's.com

GOETHE, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832). Faustus. London: Boosey and Sons, 1821. 4° (215 x 131mm). (Faint dampstain, more pronounced at end, light soiling.) Contemporary half calf (extremities rubbed). FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. Although published anonymously, this translation is attributed to Coleridge by Frederick Burwick and James McKusick in the most recent edition (OUP, 2007). An abstract of the first part of Goethe's tragedy, it was issued to accompany the separately-published series of plates by Henry Moses after Moritz Retzsch. View on Christie's.com

GREEK ANTHOLOGY -- Florilegium diversorum epigrammatum in septem libros, in Greek. Byzantine recension of the monk Planudes (early 14th century). Edited by Aldus Manutius. Venice: Aldus Manutius, November 1503. Aldine 8° (149 x 93mm). Collation as Ahmanson-Murphy. Woodcut device on title, repeated on final verso. Greek type 4:79 (text), roman 10:82 (title, register and colophon only). 19th-century French red straight-grained morocco by Thouvenin, covers panelled with gilt fillets and blind foliate tooling, gilt spine, gilt edges (extremities lightly rubbed). HANDSOME COPY OF THE FIRST ALDINE EDITION. Based on the 1494 editio princeps edited by Janus Lascaris, this was the second edition of the anthology assembled by Planudes, with additions including the EDITIO PRINCEPS of the 6th-century Byzantine poem In Thermas Pythias et aquarum miracula by Paulos Silentiarius. Planudes' recension of the Anthology was the only collection of ancient Greek epigrams known to the west until the discovery of the Palatine codex in 1606. Aldus Adams A-1181; Ahmanson-Murphy 62; Renouard Alde 42.9. View on Christie's.com

HERBERT, George (1593-1633). The Temple. Edited by Nicholas Ferrar. Cambridge: Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel, 1633. 12° (143 x 76mm). Title with typographical border and ornament, ornamental initials. (Title-page loose and frayed at border, marginal wear in two leaves, lightly soiled.) 18th-century calf-backed boards (front cover missing, worn). FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Shortly before he died, Herbert entrusted the manuscript of his English poems to his friend, Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding with instructions to burn them or publish them, if it be to "the advantage of any dejected poor Soul". Ferrar had them published the same year with his biographical sketch of the author, and they went through 6 editions in under ten years. Although a variant title-page is known without a printed date, the bibliographers concur that the dated title is earlier. STC 13183; Pforzheimer 465; Grolier, Wither to Prior II, 438; F.E. Hutchinson, "The First Edition of Herbert's Temple, Oxford Bib. Soc. Proceedings and Papers, V, 1939, 189-97; Hayward 66. View on Christie's.com

JACSON, Frances Margaretta (1754-1842). Plain Sense, a Novel. London: William Lane, Minerva Press, 1795. 3 vols., 12° (169 x 103mm). Half-title in each vol. (light spotting, a few marginal tears, some mainly marginal waterstaining in vol. II, B5v-B6r of vol. II slightly soiled, some quires in vols. I and III pulled and some leaves becoming loose). Contemporary calf-backed marbled boards with vellum corner tips (spines worn). Provenance: [Newton Hall, Northumberland]. FIRST EDITION OF THE AUTHOR'S 'POPULAR FIRST NOVEL'. The two unmarried sisters, Maria and Frances, both turned to writing, partly in order to help out their brother Shallcross Jacson (d. 1821) who was 'over-fond of drink and horse-racing', Maria turning to manuals on botany and gardening, and Frances to fiction (see ODNB). Their other brother, Roger, had a son Shallcross Fitzherbert Jacson (1826-1917) who married Frances, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Cook of Newton Hall, and who inherited the house in 1856, following the death of his wife's brother, Samuel Edward Cook (later Widdrington). RARE. NO COPY IN BL and only two copies recorded in the British Isles (National Trust and private collection). Blakey, p. 172. (3) View on Christie's.com

[JACSON, Frances Margaretta]. Disobedience. A Novel. London: William Lane, Minerva Press, 1797. 3 vols., 12° (166 x 103mm). Half-title in each vol. (half-title in vol. I with piece torn from bottom margin, vol. II with heavy worming to bottom margin of preliminaries and first 35 leaves, some staining in vol. IV, some general light spotting and occasional dust-soiling). Contemporary calf-backed grey boards, spine of each vol. numbered '77' in gilt (spines worn). Provenance: [Newton Hall, Northumberland]. FIRST EDITION of the author's second novel. Frances Jackson's novels 'enjoyed considerable contemporary popularity', Maria Edgeworth even considering one of her works superior to Jane Austen's Emma. However, her anonymity was carefully guarded, and once her authorship had faded into obscurity, it was only in the 1990s that secure assignment of her novels occured (see ODNB). Only 2 copies recorded in the British Isles (BL and John Rylands). Blakey p. 180. (4) View on Christie's.com

SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe (1792-1822). The Cenci. A Tragedy. Italy [Leghorn]: C. and J. Ollier, 1819. 8° (217 x 137mm). (A few light spots). Crimson morocco gilt by Riviere, gilt edges. FIRST EDITION. Wise p.51. View on Christie's.com

SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe. Prometheus Unbound. London: C. & J. Ollier, 1820. 8° (204 x 128mm). Half-title, publisher's advertisment leaf at end. (Title and half-title spotted, some light spotting throughout, a little soiling). Brown morocco gilt by Tout and Sons, gilt edges. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE with the cancellandum contents leaf (A3). Additionally bound in after gathering A is the cancellans with the correct spelling. Wise pp.55-56. View on Christie's.com

STERNE, Lawrence (1713-1768). The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. London: R. and J. Dodsley [vols. V-IX: T. Becket and P.A. Dehondt], 1760-1767. 9 vols., 8° (155 x 85mm), engraved frontispieces by S. Ravenet after W. Hogarth in vols. I and III, vol. III with inserted leaf of marbled paper (green, yellow and white spots on pink), half-titles in vols. IV-VI and IX. (Vol. V without preliminary blank.) Contemporary speckled calf, covers with gilt roll-tool border, gilt spines with red morocco labels, blue endpapers (spines flaked and chipped, spine of vol. I split, some hinges split, corners rubbed). Provenance: The Marquis of Stafford (bookplate) -- Gower Earl Gower (bookplate). Second edition of vols. I-II, first edition of vols. III-IX, with VOLS. V, VII AND IX SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR as usual at head of B1. Vol. VII in first state with the errata on title verso. The first two volumes had appeared on 1 January 1860, and the second edition followed on 3 April, with a frontispiece and dedication to Pitt added. AN ATTRACTIVE AND INTERNALLY GOOD COPY, despite wear to the binding. Ashley V, p. 204; Rothschild 1970. (9) View on Christie's.com

TASSO, Torquato (1544-95). La Gerusalemme Liberata. Venice: Giambattista Albrizzi, 1745. 2° (455 x 307mm). Half-title, engraved allegorical frontispiece, title printed in red and black, portrait of Maria Teresa, and 21 plates by Giambattista Piazzetta within one of two different styles of engraved border, engraved vignettes, one full-page. (Minor soiling on the half-title, light offsetting from a few plates). Contemporary mottled calf gilt (expertly rebacked preserving much of the original spine). FIRST EDITION OF THE MOST RENOWNED VENETIAN ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE 18TH CENTURY. Each of the introductory plates to the cantos has a separate engraved border, and is captioned with the names and arms of its sponsor; in the second edition, the names were replaced with verses from the poem. A TALL, FRESH COPY. Brunet V, 666; Lanchoronska 240; Morazzoni 256; Tasso Bib 261. View on Christie's.com

[WALPOLE, Horace, 4th Earl of Orford (1717-97)]. The Castle of Otranto ... translated by William Marshall ... from the original Italian of Onuphrio Muralto. London: Tho. Lownds, 1765 [i.e. 1764]. 8° (181 x 110mm). (Occasional light spotting or light marginal thumb-soiling, light stain on M5r). Contemporary polished calf, flat gilt spine with red morocco label (extremities a trifle rubbed, joints slightly split). A GOOD, FRESH COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION of this mock tale of medieval horror which initiated the vogue for Gothic romances and furnished the machinery for a genre of fiction later transferred so successfully to cinema. Hazen Walpole, 17; Lowndes IV, 2820: "a very limited number of this edition were printed"; Rothschild 2491. View on Christie's.com

[WHITE, James (1775-1820) & Charles LAMB (1775-1834)]. Original Letters &c. of Sir John Falstaff and his Friends. London: for the author, by G.G. and J. Robinson, J. Debrett, Murray and Highley, 1796. 12° (153 x 95mm). Engraved frontispiece. (Lacking the blank A1). Green morocco gilt by Riviere, gilt edges. FIRST EDITION. Roff p.17: "It is possible that Lamb had a hand in the composition of this book". With 5 other works, including John Barclay's The Mirror of Minds; or, Barclay's icon animorum (London, 1633; a little browned). STC 1400 -- The Golden Island or the Darian Song (Edinburgh, 1699). Wing G1018 lists only 2 copies in the British Isles -- and an imperfect work by Roland Fréart. (6) View on Christie's.com

BARKER, Benjamin (1776-1838). The Fine Arts. Forty-eight aquatint colored engravings, by Theodore Fielding, from a work containing forty-eight subjects of landscape scenery, principally views in and near Bath. Bath: printed by Clark, 1824. Oblong 4° (237 x 302mm). 48 hand-coloured aquatint plates after Barker, printed on card and mounted on buff paper within ink rule, numbered letterpress captions mounted below, as published. (Very light spotting to mounts, not affecting plates.) Contemporary straight-grained green half morocco (spine worn). Provenance: Walter Trevelyan (1826 signature and armorial bookplate). FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of these handsome topographical views. The ODNB notes that this 'skilfully executed [work] ... met with much success on publication ... but thereafter Barker's career was in decline'. Tooley 76. View on Christie's.com

CIAMPINI, Giovanni Giustino (1633-1698). Vetera monimenta. Rome: Komarek, 1690-1699. 2 vols., 2° (322 x 219mm). 2 engraved frontispieces, 130 engraved plates only (of 134), 50 folding, one illustration, 2 printed tables at end of vol.II. (?Lacking the 4 unnumbered plates found at plates XXVI and XXVII in vol.II called for by RIBA, light spotting, light marginal staining, heavier to vol.II especially towards end, some light browning, heavier on some of the folding plates.) Contemporary vellum, red mottled edges (extremities lightly rubbed and soiled, neat repair to headcap of vol.II, short split to upper joint at tail). Provenance: erased stamps to titles -- small discreet cardinal's armorial stamp to titles -- several early ink classmarks. FIRST EDITION. Vol. I contains the architecture and decoration of early Christian churches and basilicas, while vol. II depicts the mosaics and paintings of Christian institutions up until the 9th century. This makes the work an important reference to those monuments and buildings now decayed or destroyed. Brunet II, 2-3; Cicognara 3671; RIBA 638. (2) View on Christie's.com

HARRAL, Thomas and Samuel IRELAND. Picturesque Views of the Severn. London: G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1824. 2 vols, 4° (286 x 225mm). 52 hand-coloured lithographic plates after Ireland including frontispieces. Half-titles. (Some plates yellowed in the margins, occasional light soiling.) 19th-century straight-grained dark blue morocco panelled in gilt and blind, gilt edges (extremities rubbed, some restoration to spines, a hinge starting). Provenance: H. Quinton (neat stamp). FIRST EDITION. Abbey Scenery, 429. FIELDING, T.H. and J. WALTON. A Picturesque Tour of the English Lakes. London: R. Ackermann, 1821. 4° (274 x 216mm). Hand-coloured aquatint title-vignette and 45 hand-coloured aquatint plates only (of 48). Late 20th-century green morocco by Morell, top edge gilt. FIRST EDITION. Abbey Scenery, 192; Tooley 219. (3) View on Christie's.com

IBBETSON, Julius, John LAPORTE and John HASSELL. A Picturesque Guide to Bath, Bristol Hot-Wells, the River Avon and the Adjacent Country. London: for Hookham and Carpenter, 1793. 4° (249 x 185mm.). Hand-coloured aquatint frontispiece and 15 plates by and after Ibbetson, Hassell and Laporte. Half-title, errata. (A little light spotting, mainly on the guards, occasional dust-soiling and water-staining to text margins.) Contemporary tree calf, gilt beadwork border, flat spine gilt in compartments (spine rubbed and chipped, corners lightly rubbed). Provenance: Joseph Whittuck (bookplate, dated 1801 in manuscript). FIRST EDITION. Abbey Scenery 38; Tooley 277. View on Christie's.com

BARRETT, Francis (fl.1780-1814). The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer; being A Complete System of Occult Philosophy, a manuscript copy of the first edition (published by Lackington, Allen and Co, London, 1801), including 14 drawings (10 coloured) of heads of demons etc, and a number of other figures, concluding with a related text, 'Illustrations of the Black Art', 413 pages, 4to (f.1 reattached), roan-backed boards (worn). 'Composed in the Christian tradition, The Magus was a farrago of Renaissance alchemy and natural and talismatic magic that fitted contemporary Gothic taste ... The book's most startling feature was a set of gargoyle-like portraits of demons conjured up in ritual magic ceremonies' (ODNB). The present copy apparently dates from the mid-century, no doubt before the second edition of 1870. View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. The Return of the Native. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1878. 3 vols, 8° (187 x 125mm). Frontispiece map in vol.I. (Spotting mostly in the first and last few leaves, in some margins throughout and on the edges.) Original brown fine-ribbed cloth, spines and front covers blocked in black, spines blocked in gilt, cream endpapers (some hinges starting, extremities lightly rubbed). FIRST EDITION, in an attractive example of the original cloth binding (Purdy's primary binding). Purdy, pp.24-27; Sadleir 1113. (3) View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1886. 2 vols, 8° (185 x 125mm). (Bound without the ads, some spotting mostly in the first and last few leaves and on the edges.) Contemporary green half calf, smooth spines lettered in gilt (extremities rubbed, sides a little scuffed, spines lightly faded). FIRST EDITION. One of 758 copies, of which 650 were bound. Purdy, pp.51-4; Sadleir 1111. (2) View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. A Group of Noble Dames. London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine, and Co., 1891. 8° (190 x 128mm). (Light browning on the front blank.) Original cream cloth, front cover blocked with gilt ruled and floral ornaments, spine blocked in gold and lettered in brown, yellow endpapers (spine soiled, light spotting on the sides). FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR: 'Yours faithfully, Thomas Hardy'. Purdy, pp.61-7. View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. In Time of 'The Breaking of Nations'. [No place:] Privately Printed, 1916. Bifolium (230 x 190mm). Original purple wrappers printed in black, sewn with a purple woven thread (covers slightly faded). THE RARE FIRST SEPARATE EDITION. One of 25 copies printed, numbered and signed by Clement Shorter, this one number 12. This poem was written in 1915 and first printed in the Saturday Review, 29 January 1916. An original manuscript was sold at Christie's, The Red Cross Sale, 26 April 1916. Purdy, p.176. View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. The Fiddler's Story. A Jingle on the Times. London: at the Chiswick Press for Florence Emily Hardy, 1917. Three bifolia (225 x 178mm). Original drab blue printed wrappers, sewn with a white thread (light wear to edges, light soiling). FIRST EDITION. One of 25 copies printed, numbered and initialled by Florence Hardy, this one number 13. Purdy, pp.192-3. View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall. London: Macmillan and Co., 1923. 8° (206 x 155mm). Frontispiece and one plate, both after Hardy. (Some spotting.) Original cloth, upper cover blocked in blind and gilt, spine blocked in gilt, original dust-jacket printed in red and black (dust-jacket spotted, chipped at ends, larger chip on the back panel). Hardy's signature in black ink on the half-title. Provenance: J.E. Barton (bookplate). FIRST EDITION, IN DUST-JACKET, SIGNED BY HARDY. A work 'closely linked with the romance of Hardy's first marriage' and his visit to Tintagel; 'the poetry of the scene and its associations lingered in his mind through more than fifty years' (Purdy). Purdy, pp.227-31. View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Thomas. Human Shows. Far Fantasies. Songs, and Trifles. London: Macmillan and Co., 1925. 8° (190 x 129mm). (Light spotting on the edges.) Original green cloth, upper cover block in gold, spine lettered in gold, original brown paper dust-jacket printed in blue (spotting on the endpapers, dust-jacket with a few short tears, faint spot on the spine). Hardy's signature in black ink on half-title. FIRST EDITION, IN DUST-JACKET, SIGNED BY HARDY. The last of Hardy's books published in his lifetime. Purdy, pp.234-48. View on Christie's.com

HARDY, Florence Emily. The Early Life of Thomas Hardy. 1840-1891. London: Macmillan, 1928. 8° (220 x 145mm). Frontispiece, 12 plates and one illustration. Original green cloth, brown dust-jacket printed in blue (wear at top edge of jacket). FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY, inscribed: 'Dr. Vandermin with kindest regards from Florence Hardy. Nov. 1928'. Purdy, pp.262-67 ('the writing is throughout Hardy's own'). -- The Later Years of Thomas Hardy. 1892-1928. London: Macmillan, 1928. 8° (220 x 145mm). Frontispiece and 11 plates. Original green cloth, original brown dust-jacket printed in blue (wear at top edge of jacket). FIRST EDITION. Purdy, pp.268-73. With: 5 pamphlets relating to Thomas Hardy, comprising the order of service for his funeral at Westminster Abbey; the order of service for the centenary of his birth at St. Michael's Stinsford; Campagnac's 18 January 1928 commemorative address at the University of Liverpool; the catalogue of the memorial exhibition at Yale University; and the Stevens-Cox catalogue of Hardy material from the Evans and Tilley collection. (7) View on Christie's.com

CHURCHILL, Winston Spencer (1874-1965). The Second World War. London: Cassell & Co., 1950-[1949-1950-1951]-1952. Volumes I-V only (of 6), 8° (206 x 137mm). Half-titles. (A few preliminary leaves spotted, small tear of paper around corner of one pasted-in photo.) Contemporary half morocco and boards (spines lightly sunfaded). PRESENTATION COPY, mixed edition, volume I third edition, volumes II-V FIRST EDITIONS. Volume I is 'Inscribed by Winston Churchill 1950', volumes II, III and IV with a typed inscription on Churchill's letterhead paper, tipped-in before half-title: 'With Mr. Churchill's Thanks and Good Wishes', signed photo of Churchill in volumes I-III, volumes I and II initialled by Churchill above photo. Woods 123(b). (5) View on Christie's.com

CONRAD, Joseph (1857-1924). Almayer's Folly. A Story of an Eastern River. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. 8° (202 x 127mm). Half-title, title in red and black. (Bookblock split between gathering 10 and 11, light, small stain on half-title). Original dark green cloth, lettered in gilt on spine, top edges gilt, others uncut (head and tail of spine a little bumped). FIRST EDITION OF CONRAD'S FIRST BOOK, FIRST ISSUE, with missing full stop in headline on p.43 and missing letters on p.110. Unlike many of Conrads other works, Almayer's Folly was not first published serially but made its first appearance in book form. Wise 1: 'Two thousand copies were printed'; Ehrsam p.259. View on Christie's.com

CONRAD, Joseph. The Nigger of the 'Narcissus'. A Tale of the Sea. London: William Heinemann, 1898. 8° (190 x 130mm). Half-title, 36-pages of publisher's advertisements at end. (Bookblock split before gatherings G and N). Original dark grey cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt on front cover, lettered in gilt on spine, uncut (lightly bumped at head and tail of spine, light rubbing along extremities). FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. Wise 5: 'fifteen hundred copies were printed'; Ehrsam p.288. CONRAD, J. Lord Jim. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1900. 8° (189 x 130mm). Half-title. (A few spots on first few leaves, a few leaves with very light waterstaining in the top of upper margin, light brown stain on pp.276-281, lightly browned throughout). Original green cloth, decorated and lettered in black on front cover, spine lettered in gilt and decorated in black, uncut (lightly soiled and spine darkened, lettering at tail of spine faded, cloth at head and tail of spine a little frayed, extremities rubbed). FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, the first American edition was published in the same year. The novel first appeared as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900. Wise 7; Ehrsam p.283. (2) View on Christie's.com

CONRAD, Joseph. The Inheritors. An extravagant Story. London: William Heinemann, 1901. 8° (191 x 130mm). Half-title, 32pp publisher's catalogue at end. (A few light marginal thumb-marks). Original yellow cloth, lettered and ornamented in black on front cover and spine, uncut (lightly soiled, spine darkened). FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, 'Presentation copy' embossed stamp on title. Wise 9. View on Christie's.com

CONRAD, Joseph. Youth: A Narrative and Two Other Stories. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1902. 8° (188 x 128mm). Half-title, 32-pages of publisher's advertisements at end. (Half-title and title with a few very light spots, last few leaves of catalogue lightly spotted). Original pale green cloth, decorated and titled in black on front cover, lettered in gilt and decorated in black on spine (small red smudge on spine, head and tail of spine slightly bumped, extremities very lightly rubbed). FIRST EDITION. The three stories composing this volume originally appeared serially in September 1898 (Youth), March-April 1899 (Heart of Darkness, and in July-December 1902 (The End of the Tether). Wise 10; Ehrsam p.326. View on Christie's.com

CONRAD, Joseph. The Secret Agent. A simple tale. London: Methuen & Co. 1907. 8° (191 x 125mm). Half-title, 40pp. publisher's catalogue at end. (Small but crude repair in outer margin of half-title and title, dedication detached, occasional light marginal soiling, a few spots). Original dark red cloth (extremities rubbed, head and tail of spine bumped). Provenance: 'St. Pancras Dispensary Nurses' Library' manuscript inscription on pastedown. FIRST EDITION. Wise 17; Ehrsam p.304. View on Christie's.com

CONRAD, Joseph. The Secret Agent. London: privately printed for Subscribers only by T. Werner Laurie Ltd., 1923. 8° (224 x 142mm). Frontispiece portriat of Conrad, half-title. (Thumb-mark on lower corner of half-title). Original boards, uncut (spine a little soiled). LIMITED EDITION, NUMBER 315 OF 1000 COPIES, SIGNED BY CONRAD. Ehrsam p.305. CONRAD, J. The Shadow-Line. A Confession. London & Toronto: J.M. Dent, 1917. 8° (187 x 125mm). Half-title, title printed in red and black, 18pp. of publisher's advertisments at end. Original green cloth, lettered and decorated in brown and gold, dust-jacket (dust-jacket a little frayed at head of spine, spine darkened, a little creased along top-edge). FIRST EDITION. Wise 28; Ehrsam p.307. CONRAD, J. The Rescue. a Romance of the Shallows. London & Toronto: J.M. Dent, 1920. 8° (194 x 132mm). Half-title. Original green cloth, dust-jacket (jacket lightly soiled, a few short tears). FIRST ENGLISH PUBLISHED EDITION. Wise 57; Ehrsam p.299. View on Christie's.com

[DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870)]. Sketches by Boz. London: John Macrone, 1837. Second series only, 12° (186 x 119mm). Half-title, additional etched title and 9 plates (of 10?) after George Cruikshank (lightly spotted, occasional very light thumb-soiling, without advertisments at end.) Full calf gilt by Riviere, gilt edges (extremities lightly rubbed). FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with lower half of the second page of contents blank. Eckel pp.11-13. DICKENS, C. Dombey and Son. London: Bradbury and Evans, 1848. 8° (212 x 133mm). Etched frontispiece, additional title and 38 plates after H.K.Browne. (Lacking half title, most plates with marginal browning or spotting and very light waterstaining, text lightly spotted.) Late 19th-century calf gilt, gilt edges (head of spine a little chipped, extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance: Colonel Arthur Hare Vincent (bookplate). FIRST EDITION IN BOOK FORM. Eckel pp.74-76. With Sketches of Young Gentlemen (London, 1838) in original boards -- Sketches by Boz. New edition (London, 1839) in calf gilt by Riviere -- Sketches of young Couples (London, 1840), original boards (worn) -- The Keepsake 1852 (London, 1852). (8) View on Christie's.com

[DICKENS, Charles, editor]. Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Edited by 'Boz'. London: Richard Bentley, 1838. 2 volumes, 12° (199 x 124mm). Engraved portrait after J. Raven, and 12 etched plates by and after George Cruikshank. (Plates a little soiled and spotted at blank margins, title to vol. I offset, title to vol. II lightly soiled, some marginal thumb-soiling.) Publisher's pink embossed cloth, spines gilt, uncut (spines faded). FIRST EDITION. Final plate without grotesque border; the sixth plate correctly placed at p. 182 on plate list. Grimaldi's manuscript had previously been edited by Thomas Egerton Wilks who sold it to Bentley before Dickens was commissioned to re-edit it for publication. The introductory chapter revealed 'his childhood veneration for clowns and his insatiable curiosity about them' (Dickens Index p. 164). Eckel pp. 140-142; Gimbel B64. (2) View on Christie's.com