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"Cures for horses collected from Turkey, Hungary and Germany", manuscript, by Cseh Morton, copied by Franz Temesvary, Hungarian, approx. 1775, 17,5 × 12 cm,

Manuscript of the article "Notes on Conrad", by Alexandru Mirodan, published in Orizont magazine, approx. 1946, from the collection of the avant-garde poet Sa?a Pan? (4 pages), 25 x 18,5 cm (each),

The manuscript of the article "Constatin Dobrogeanu Gherea", by Petre Pandrea, published in Orizont magazine, approx. 1945, from the collection of the avant-garde poet Sa?a Pan? (7 pages), 22 x 15,5 cm (each),

The manuscript of the poem "Brut?rii de sânge", by Ion Caraion, published in Orizont magazine, approx. 1945, from the collection of the avant-garde poet Sa?a Pan? (2 pages), 22 x 15,5 cm (each),

José de Páez (Mexico City, 1727 - 1780) "Saint Rosalia" Oil on copper. Signed and situated in Mexico. 28,5 x 22,5 cm. With manuscript legend in latin regarding Saint Rosalia.

Highland Sheep Farming. The Right Honourable The Lord Howard of Glossop`s Lochshiel Estate, Stock Account. Neatly written manuscript account of seasonal sheep numbers, sales, deaths etc. C.1881-1887.

HANOVER YOUTHS' INSTITUTE.  Periodical, vol. 1, nos. 1 - 4. Manuscript throughout with pen & ink & other illus. & decs. Quarto. Half morocco, rubbing & wear. 1888-1889; also Scottish Art & Letters, A Quarterly Review, ed. by Arnold Fraser-Lovat, vol. 1, no. 1, November 1901-January 1902.  (2).

Northumberland, Legal Ephemera.  13 manuscript indentures & other documents mainly relating to properties in Alnwick dating from c.1636. Names includes Strothers, Salkeld, Lamb & others.

Northumberland, Legal Ephemera.  7 manuscript indentures, conveyances, etc. re. properties in Northumberland, c.1671-1770. Names include Shaftoe, Ellison, Robson, Cole & others.

Northumberland, Legal Ephemera.  4 manuscript indentures & documents relating to properties in Northumberland c.1734-1849. Names include John Hall, William Davison of Alnwick (chemist), William Stewart & William Blenkinsopp of South Shields; also 8 other documents re. Northumberland properties, 1660-1761.

Northumberland, Legal Ephemera.  4 manuscript documents relating to properties in Northumberland c.1634-1748. Names mentioned include Robert Hall of Dunbar & Gilbert Selby of Holy Island, places mentioned are Newcastle & Alnwick.

Manuscript Leaf from a 14th/15th century Italian psalter. 15 lines with illuminated capitals, etc.

Charles Peace or the Adventures of a Notorious Burglar. Bound "Penny Dreadful" originally in 100 parts. Some leaves lacking & replaced with manuscript text. Illus. Quarto. N.d.; also 1 other vol.  (2).

Bianchini (Giovanni) Tabule Ioan. Bianchini Bononiensis, title and some tables in red and black, lily device in red to title and in black to final page, woodcut initials, 1i-2iii light damp-stain at gutter and upper margin (including to title), r3 soiled, very occasional spotting, previous ink ownership inscription crossed out on front endpaper, contemporary vellum, upper cover with small worm hole, lower cover with light damp-staining, lacking ties, manuscript lettering to spine and lower edge, [Houzeau & Lancaster 12595. Tomash B150 (manuscript)], 4to, Venice, Giunta Lucantonio, 1526.⁂ Second edition (first, 1495), the first edited by Luca Gaurico, of "the largest set of astronomical tables produced in the West before modern times" (Chabas & Goldstein (eds.), The Astronomical Tables of Giovanni Bianchini, 2009, p.viii). Bianchini's aim has been summarised as, to achieve a correction of the Alfonsine Tables - the long-standing contemporary standard in Europe - with those of Ptolemy. He was a great admirer of Ptolemy and critical of the corrupted Ptolemaic and Alfonsine texts then circulating in current use. This second edition contains almost twice as much astronomical data as the first.

Italy.- Notarial ledger, manuscript, c.130pp., excluding blanks, in various hands, heavily water-stained at foot, wormed, some fraying, all with loss of text, contemporary limp vellum, worn, small folio, [?Venice], 1480. sold not subject to return. ⁂ A substantial ledger beginning Venice, 1480, and with a few contemporary notes or documents loosely inserted.

Franco (Pierre) Traité des Hernies, 25 full-page woodcut illustrations, contemporary ink ownership inscription to title 'Urbain Heward', title with small paper restoration to blank margin, 4 leaves with small paper reinforcement to lower margin, some just touching text (G2 ['F2'], T6, Bb8, Ii2), worming to last 4 gatherings at lower margin, not affecting text, errata with portion of blank margin below excised and restored, whole sheet laid down, some spotting and uniform browning, bound with the remains of an old vellum manuscript, contemporary vellum, toned, lower cover with portion cut away from lower corner, lacking ties, ink inscription to lower edge, [Garrison-Morton 3574, Norman 828, Wellcome 2409], 8vo, Lyon, Thibauld Payan, 1561.⁂ Franco's most major work, a vastly expanded second edition of the first, published in 1556, covering a far greater variety of medical topics. While he originally cites only Avicenna, Albucasis and Guy de Chauliac, this new edition contains no less than 356 citations from a wide range of authorities, testifying to the remarkable learning of the supposedly unschooled author. Similarly, there are twenty-five new illustrations (including twenty-two instruments and three whole skeletons). Perhaps overshadowed contemporaneously by others such as Ambroise Paré (1510-1590), Franco has since been recognised as one of the greatest surgeons of the Renaissance and a forerunner of urology. Likewise, his significant influence in bringing operative surgery back into the realm of regular surgical practice has been subsequently fully appreciated. Very rare; RBH lists only three other copies at auction in the last eighty years.

America.- Massachusetts.- To the Select-men or Assessors of the Town of Charlestown [ms. insertion] Greeting..., broadside, 311 x 190mm., manuscript insertions, folds, lightly browned, [Boston], no printer, December, 1730.⁂ Unrecorded. Raising of a county-wide tax.

Astronomy.- Wing (Vincent) Astronomia Instaurata: or, or a new and compendious Restauration of Astronomie... Whereunto is added, a short Catalogue of . . . Coelestiall observations by Tycho, Longomontanus, Gassendus, the Landgrave of Hassia and others, first edition, title in red and black, errata leaf at beginning, woodcut diagrams, tear at tail of title, 3E1 & 3N1 & front flyleaf, some ff. working loose, some ff. with slight dampstaining, John Wing's copy with an ink inscription on fly-leaf and signature at tail of title, also contemporary ink signatures of Tycho Wing, John & James Lord, numerous near contemporary ink notes, bookplate of a 19th century Tycho Wing V on front pastedown, contemporary calf, extensively rubbed, two corners worn, joints splitting at head and tail, lacks tail of spine, [Tomash & Williams W90; Houzeau & Lancaster 9228; Wing W2987], folio, by R. and W. Leybourn, for the Company of Stationers, 1656.⁂ With contemporary manuscript notes on two astronomical phenomena observed in the seventeenth century. (1). "Dr. Wallis [John Wallis (1616-1703), mathematician and cryptographer] observed, this Eclipse at Oxford A.D. 1654 Begin Aug: 2d... He also observ'd ye visib. Diam. equal to that of ye D contrary to what ye Astronomical Tables gave it."(2). "1680 On the 11 day of December there appeared a comet [known as The Great Comet, Kirsch's Comet or Newton's Comet] which set about an hour sooner than venus but on the wednesday after it set but a little before venus or near a quarter of an hour as I soposed and continued until the middle of January."John Wing (bap. 1662, d. 1726), surveyor and almanac maker; nephew of Vincent Wing.

Spanish Armada.- [Cecil (William, Lord Burghley)] Certaine Advertisements out of Ireland concerning the Losses and Distresses happened to the Spanish Navie, first edition, mostly black letter, title with woodcut device, woodcut initial and headpiece, some light surface soiling but a very good copy generally, Macclesfield blind-stamp to head of title and A2 and facsimile bookplate to pastedown, modern antique-style half pigskin, light rubbing to covers, [STC 14257], sm. 4to, Vautrollier for Richard Field, 1588.⁂ The Macclesfield copy of this contemporary account of the destruction of the Spanish Armada. The present work is the second part of The Copie of a Letter sent out of England to don Bernadin Mendoza, both of which are often attributed to Burghley, among whose possessions the manuscript was discovered.

Financial panic.- Hareward, or the Time Bargain. A tale of the Panic, 3 vol., manuscript, 343 numbered pp. (vol.1 133pp.; vol.2 100pp. and vol 3. 110pp. (including one mis-numbered inserted leaf)), occasional corrections, occasional spotting and light staining, disbound, folio, 1880.⁂ Anonymous unpublished triple-decker novel, with a financial crisis at its centre, featuring a Lady Torridge and her family. This family is also found in Giles Ingilby by William Edward Norris, which may lead us to an author attribution.

Great Exhibition.- 2 Season tickets for the Great Exhibition, nos. 2360 & 4366, printed cards with manuscript signatures, in an original maroon leather wallet, gilt lettered "Exhibition Admission Card 1851", green silk lining, cards 46 x 84mm., wallet 97 x 87mm., 1851.

Kent.- Ballad.- The Fiery Serpent of Folkestone A Ballad, manuscript, 92pp., written horizontally in a red ruled cash book, some light staining and spotting, lightly browned, contemporary sheep, rebacked, upper cover worn at head, lightly stained, rubbed, housed in a modern decorative card box, 230 x 90mm., [Dover or Folkestone], [c.1830]; and a modern edition of the work (2)⁂ A manuscript version of this satirical ballad, which probably circulated before its publication in 1838 by Rigden of Dover. The work ridicules the perceived simpletons of Folkestone by highlighting their credulity in the story that a hideous serpent is living in the drains of the town. The town's rivalry with the Cinque Port of Dover is also played upon. There are a number of textual differences between our manuscript and the printed version.

Norfolk.- Bedingfield family (of Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk) Collection of documents and genealogical/historical notes relating to the Bedingfield family and Norfolk, some manuscripts on vellum, others on paper, some typescripts, folds, some soiling and dust, v.s., v.d., 1462 - [20th century] (qty).⁂ Includes:(1). Norfolk, Great Fransham.- Yelverton (Sir William, justice, d. 1477?).- Grant by William Yelverton, Robert Pynnes, Henry Tolle and Thomas Styward feoffees have by this present charter and indenture confirmed to Thomas Large of Great Fransham, John Large, Robert Drewery, William Large and Thomas Drewery of Beston [Beeston] of all those messuages, lands, &c., in Great Fransham, demised to them the said grantors by Thomas Isaak and others reserving "totam illam cameram vocat. le Crosse Chamber in fine Occident aule infra mesuag' in quo Johes Blyford"... for the term of his life and that of Agnes his wife, reserving also a close called Bridgemedowe, and also a stable "pro equo diet. John Blyford et Agnet et pro equis amicorum suorimi totiens quotiens eis aduenierint," for the life of same John and Agnes and forty days after; also reserving one acre of arable land in two pieces in Fransham, one piece called Broodhalfacre, the other Pythalfacre; also a reserved rent of ten pence from a tenement called Curteleys in Fransham, witnesses: William Cade, Thomas Herlewyn and others, manuscript in Latin, on vellum, in brown ink, 27 lines, indented at head, a few very small holes, light brown stain, 4 red wax seals, 2 in fine condition, 2 broken with loss, slightly browned and creased, 260 x 270mm., Sunday after the Annunciation [25 March] 1462. (2). Norfolk Pipe Roll.- Pipe Roll for the annual account of money owed to the government by Philip Bedingfield, sheriff of Norfolk, manuscript pipe roll on vellum, in brown ink, 4 stitched membranes, browned, signed by Christopher Denton, Deputy Clerk of the Pipe at tail, c. 2635 x 290mm., 14th July 1756.(3). Bedingfield (Philip, of Ditchingham Hall, Norfolk) The Executors and Trustees of Philip Bedingfield Esqr. Deceased, manuscript ledger, c. 100pp., ruled in red, original half morocco, gilt, rubbed, joints split, spine worn, oblong 4to, 1872-73.

Skene (John) Regiam Majestatem. The Auld Lawes and Constitutions of Scotland, half-title, with contemporary ink inscription "Robert Burns 1791" (not the poet's hand) on title and "H.M.Customs & Excise Dumfries" at head, manuscript annotations to verso of half-title and title and several underlinings, fingerposts and a few annotations in text, mostly relating to Scots words, in several hands, lightly browned, lacking front free endpaper, bookplate removed from pastedown, contemporary calf, worn, spine rather crudely reinforced, 4to, Edinburgh, for John Wood; and sold by him, J. Bell, and C. Elliot, 1774.

Royal Navy.- Malcolm (George John, Rear-Admiral, 1830-84) Log Book on HMS Cumberland and Letter Book, autograph manuscript & others, 36pp. excluding blanks, 5 pen and ink plans for a house, original roan, gilt lettering "GJM" on upper cover, rubbed, 1851-52; Work Book [Letter Book] on HMS Barracouta, autograph manuscript, c. 70pp. excluding blanks and pages of pencil calculations, numerous pencil sketches, original roan-backed marbled boards, lacks spine, 1861, reverse entries, 4to & folio (2). ⁂ Places visited include: Dominica and Montserrat, Bermuda, Port au Prince, Port Royal Jamaica etc.

Danube, Hungary & Serbia.- Gutch (John Wheeley Gough, Queen's Messenger, 1808-62).- Album of travels along the Danube, Hungary & Serbia, pen and ink and watercolours of landscapes, houses and peasant costumes, manuscript captions and notes in ink and pencil, 71pp., a few ff. excised at beginning and end, original calf-backed boards, rubbed, slightly rubbed, corners bumped, tear at head of spine, Mandar bookticket, 120 x 190mm., April-May 1845.⁂ Drawings include: "Beach on the Danube near Presburg"; "Tracking a boat on the Danube near Gunya... 22 horses some pulling our way some another a scene of noise & confusion"; "Buda or Ofan on the Danube"; "Hungarian Shepherd"; "A Slavonian Hungarian Peasant"; "The English Messengers house at Alexnitza [Aleksinac] formerly that of the Turkish Pacha"; "A Servian Tatar"; "Travelling in Servia 200 miles in 27 hours..."; "Sweti Stevân Monastery of St Stephen"; "Bulgarian Peasants at Alexnitza 10 May 1845"; "The Commandant's house at Alexnitza"; "Alexnitza - The Guard house & gate separating Servia & Turkey" etc.Provenance: Gutch, previously a surgeon, travelled to Serbia in the 1840s as a Queen's Messenger, a courier employed by the Foreign Office and still in existence to this day. One of the pictures depicts Gutch drawing the English Messengers House at Aleksinac with the aid of a camera lucida.

William III (King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and Prince of Orange, 1650-1702) Commission signed to Mark Ranford to be a captain of a foot company in the Militia of Dublin, D.s. "William R" and countersigned "Robert Southwell", printed form with manuscript insertions, blind stamped paper seal, torn along folds, laid down on card, browned, folio, Chapelizard [Chapelizod, near Dublin], 30th July 1690.⁂ Perhaps Sir Mark Rainsford (1652-1709), Lord Mayor of Dublin 1700-01 and owner of the St James's Gate Brewery, which the Rainsfords sold to Arthur Guinness in 1759. This document was signed less than a month after the Battle of the Boyne.Sir Robert Southwell (1635-1702), diplomat and government official.

Ireland & India Botany.- Album of botanical watercolours and accompanying manuscript poetry, some signed 'Mamie' others with initials 'M.G.E.' or M.G.McF.', a few with decorative borders rather than botanical subjects, some marginal soiling, silk endpapers, original morocco, gilt initials ?J.H.E. on upper cover, rubbed, folio, Malahide, Dublin, Lucknow, Dinapore etc, 1873-78.⁂ The style, subject-matter and places all strongly suggest that 'Mamie' was from the same family as Frances Elizabeth McFall, to whom we tentatively attributed a very similar album, sold in these rooms, 27 May 2021, lot 94.

Typography.- Printed in imitation of manuscript.- St. John (Rev. Theoph. J.) [Original sermons printed in imitation of manuscript] On compassion, number 11 in the series, no printer, [1790]; On the entrance to a Cure, or otherwise, number 41 in the series, no printer, [1790], occasional spotting, lightly browned, later drab wrappers, 8vo (2)⁂ Both rare, with ESTC recording a BL copy of each only, and WorldCat only recording microfiche copies.

Light.- Diffraction.- Grimaldi (Francesco Maria) Physico-Mathesis De Lumine, Coloribus, et Iride, first edition, titles in red and black, the first with large engraved vignette, additional letterpress title, early ink inscriptions and stamp to letterpress title, woodcut diagrams, light uniform browning to several leaves, marginal damp-stain to last several gatherings, C18th vellum, manuscript title to spine, lightly toned, 4to, Bologna, heirs of Vittorio Benacci, 1665.⁂ Grimaldi's only book, this celebrated work unveils his discovery of the optical phenomenon of what he termed 'diffractio', or, diffraction. He outlined how the diffusion of light was instantaneous; it defied the notion of an exclusively rectilinear passage and evidenced that light was of a fluid nature, hence the terminology coined by Grimaldi from the Latin 'diffringere', to break into pieces. De Lumine was the first scientific attempt to establish a comprehensive wave theory of light and later influential to others, such as Hooke and Newton, it was particularly problematic for the latter in his own research and progress with Opticks (1704).

Egypt.- Hieroglyphs.- Champollion (Jean Francois) Grammaire Égyptienne, first edition, lithograph hieroglyphs throughout, some printed in red, original printed wrappers, lower cover with paper restoration to inside, spine slightly toned, extremities a little chipped, folio, Paris, Firmin Didot Fréres, 1836[-1841].⁂ This monumental work of Champollion (1790-1832), known above all as the decipherer of the Rosetta stone, is the grand summation of his work in cracking Egyptian hieroglyphs and laid the foundations for all subsequent discoveries in Egyptology. It contains the first printed list of hieroglyphs; 260 in all. The printing, from Champollion's meticulous manuscript, was a complex process. It required a special combination of all the standard alphabetic languages (French, Latin, Greek, Coptic, etc.) to be set in the usual way in type, leaving blank spaces for the hieroglyphs. The typesetting was then transferred to lithographic plates where the hieroglyphs were engraved and then each page, including type and hieroglyphs, was reprinted lithographically. This was the first time such a technique was used in France. Rare in the original printed wrappers; RBH lists no other copy at auction.

Astronomy.- Wing (John, surveyor and almanac maker, of Pickworth, Rutland, nephew of Vincent Wing, astronomer, astrologer, and land surveyor, 1619-68, bap. 1662, d. 1726) Scientia Stellarum. Calculations and Observations Compared Proving the Excellent agreement of these tables with the Heavens at all times Especially in this Age As the observations... plainly demonstrates as I Received them from the hands of that unparallel'd observator Mr John Flamsteed, and are here exposed with their Calculations..., [taken from additional title at end], 3 parts in 1, manuscript text and tables, together c. 247pp., mostly in 1 hand, signature at beginning of "Thomas Waring" and a few additional notes and calculations at beginning and end in two other hands, ?lacks 2ff. at beginning (?general title), 2ff. blanks with notes loose, some other ff. working loose, browned, original calf, some slight surface wear, rubbed and creased, 8vo, dated in text 1693.⁂ "... that unparallel'd observator Mr Flamsteed."Comprising: the first part text, second part "A Table of Logistical Logarithms", and third part "Scientia Stellarum Containing New Astronomical Tables For the Attaining of the true Longitude & Latitude of the Planets... ."Dated in text to 1693 Scientia Stellarum was published as a supplement to John Wing's Art of Surveying, a new version of his uncle Vincent Wing's work of the same name. In terms of dating this manuscript, there are several examples designed to aid study of the stars by calculating astronomical events which will occur in 1694. The calculations in another hand at end date from 1701 to 1732 while not by Wing, must have some connection as one of the calculations relates to the latitude of Pickworth, the home of John Wing. The printed text and this manuscript generally conform, with very similar chapter headings, but with some differences in phrasing and paragraphs. The manuscript runs to Chapter 13, the printed work stops at Chapter 11. There follows c. 100 pages of of tables of logarithms, which do not appear to correlate to those in the printed book.Scientia Stellarum, a reworking of Wing's abandoned Astronomia nova Britannica which he "published despite John Flamsteed's warning that it was itself full of crude errors." - Oxford DNB.

Medieval manuscript.- Prayerbook, in Flemish and a small part in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, 159 ff., final f. blank, and 9 fly-leaves, complete, collation: i-ii6, iii8+2, iv8, v-vi8+1, vii-xi8, xii-xiii8+1, xiv-xv8, xvi8+1, xvii-xix8, xx4, most with catchwords, pencil foliation (used here) including medieval fly-leaves, 18 lines, ruled in red, written in dark brown ink in a handsome gothic liturgical hand, 7 full-page miniatures in full borders, 7 small miniatures of flowers in three-quarter borders, 7 large initials in full borders, 20 smaller initials in three-quarter or full borders, the borders in colours and burnished gold, with coloured fruit, flowers and leaves, with gold bezants on hairline stems, many one to 4-line initials in gold on pink, blue & white backgrounds, some with marginal decoration of coloured and gilt leaves on hairline stems, gold, blue, pink & white line-fillers, rubrics in red, little marking or rubbing, 17th-century speckled calf, spine gilt, rubbed, front cover scuffed, head of spine and lower corner of front cover worn, 4to (200 x 138 mm.), [Bruges], [second half of the 15th century].⁂ A very fine manuscript with copious decoration in the style of the Flemish master William Vrelant.Contents: Calendar, in Latin (f5-16), followed by a large collection of devotional works, including prayers to the Virgin and the Trinity; on the Wounds of Christ, the Passion, the Obsecro and O Intemerata, prayers to Saints George, Katherine, Barbara, and Jerome (the last in Latin), and many others, ending in an account of the suitable times for certain prayers to be used and their merits.Illumination: This fine manuscript combines the works of two skilled illuminators. It was written c. 1460 in Bruges and partly decorated then in the style connected with Willem Vrelant, with three of the full-page miniatures (f 93v, 107v & 133v) and many of the borders, with fruit, flowers &c on fine hairline stems, dating from this period. About 30 years later, four more full-page in borders containing brightly coloured flowers, fruit, and foliage on liquid gold grounds (f 17v, 25v, 41v & 50v) were inserted on added sheets and most of the small miniatures were repainted or added in previously blank spaces.The full-page miniatures depict: (f 17v) a lady kneeling before the Virgin and Child in a gothic interior, with angels above, the border includes a bird and an armoured figure fighting a snail, (f 25v) God the Father enthroned in the clouds, folding the body of Christ, with two angels, above a landscape, the border includes at the foot a woman admiring herself in a mirror, (f 41v) the Crucifixion with the Virgin, two other saints and three soldiers at foot, in a landscape with a city behind, the border includes two armoured figures jousting on snails, (f 50v) The Virgin and Child enthroned in the sky, with two angels, above a landscape including a river and a city, the border includes a bagpipe player, (f 93v) the Last Supper, at a round table in a gothic interior, John lying on Christ's lap, Judas holding a purse, the border includes birds, a snail and half-length figures of a man and a woman, (107v) the Virgin and other saints praying at the foot of the (empty) cross, a landscape behind, the border includes a bird and two half-length figures, (f 133v) the crucified Christ displaying his wounds to five kneeling figures in a gothic interior, the border including a rabbit, two grotesques and a half-length woman crowning a bird with a human face. The small miniatures and historiated initials include (f 23v, 55r & 69r) Virgin and Child, (f36r) the Scourging, (f59r & 76r) St George and the Dragon, (64r St Bernard, with crozier and book), (67r) St Katherine, (68r) St Barbara; (f 85r Blessed Sacrament), (f 100r-103r) seven small miniatures of different flowers, perhaps replacing the Wounds of Christ, (f103v) Coronation of the Virgin, (f126r) St Jerome and the lion, (f131r) St John the Evangelist, (f141r) St Christopher carrying the Child, (f144r) Christ before Pilate, (f146r) an angel, (f147r) St Adrian, (f147v) St Anthony, (f148v St Elizabeth, (f150r) Nativity of the Virgin. The borders contain, among much else, figures of birds, squirrels, lions, butterflies, a camel, human figures, including a naked woman with a mirror emerging from a snail shell, and several grotesques.Provenance: (1) The women depicted in prayer on f 133v & 17v are probably the patrons respectively responsible for the original commissioning of the manuscript in c 1460 and its augmentation c 1490. (2) Nineteenth-century armorial bookplate of the Dutch family of Doedes, with motto 'Sublimia curo', perhaps the scholar Jacobus Izaak Doedes (1817-1897). (3) Later nineteenth-century bookplate 'au Cte Chandon de Briailles', 'MS 51' added in pencil, probably Raoul Chandon de Briailles (1850-1908), scholar, collector, and owner of the well-known Chandon champagne enterprise in Epernay, whose collection was sold by his descendants at Tajan, Paris, 17 December 2003. (4) Sotheby's, 7 December 2004, lot 46, bought privately by the present owner.

Medieval Manuscript.- Laurent d'Orleans (Frere) La Somme le Roi, ou Livre des Vices et des Virtus, illuminated manuscript on vellum, in French, 134 ff., complete, collation: i6, ii-xvii8, catchwords, ruled in red, at the end of all but the first gathering, first f (list of contents) detached and mounted, last f blank, also with one vellum fly-leaf at beginning and two at end, double column, 32 lines, written in black ink in an angular gothic hand, large initial cut out of second f (the beginning of the text) with loss (presumably) of a miniature or large initial and of text on verso, but leaving most of a three-quarter bar border, decorated with flowers or leaves and a small tree in colours and gilt bezants, and with pen-and-ink figures of a rabbit being pursued by a hound added at the foot, several hundred 2 or 3-line initials in red or blue, many decorated in the contrasting colour, the decoration extending up or down the margins, chapter headings in red, rubrics in red or blue, line fillers in red, several original flaws in the vellum, one or two repaired, lower corner of first half-dozen ff frayed, first few ff. rubbed with loss of text, wrinkled throughout and with marking and staining, nineteenth-century dark red morocco, spine gilt-lettered, covers ruled in blind, gilt inner dentelles, little rubbed & scuffed, marbled endpapers, 4to, 225 x 165 mm., [France], [late 13th or early 14th century].⁂ Laurent d'Orléans, Dominican confessor to Philip III 'the Bold', of France, was commissioned by his master to write this manual of religious and moral behaviour for the king's children in 1279, though dates given in early manuscripts differ, and this one has 1297. The work, also known as Le Miroir du Monde, was popular in France through the Middle Ages and translated into several European languages, including English, being printed by Caxton as The Book Ryal in c. 1486. This manuscript is an early one, written within a couple of decades of the work's composition. Contents: f1v list of contents. f2r Le Somme le Roi, ending f123r, f124r unidentified prayers or devotional work beginning 'Ha dit il qui donrat (?) amo[r] chief confort...', ending f133v, f134 blank. The unidentified scribe has added wry leonine verses at the end of both parts: (f123v) 'Finito libro laus [et] gl[ori]a [christo] Detur pro pena scriptori pulcra puella' [= The book is finished. Praise and glory to Christ. The scribe deserves a pretty girl for his trouble]; (f 133v) 'Explicit iste liber scriptor sit crimine liber' [= The book is finished; may the scribe be free from blame].

Canon Law.- [Acting without moral certainty], manuscript in Latin, 16pp., water-staining / fraying to lower inner gutters, with some loss of text, worm trace near head, mostly in gutters, but occasionally encroaching on text, modern marbled boards, 4to (269 x 215mm.), [c.1450].⁂ Doubts of Canon Law concerning situations when moral certainty is not attainable, leading to the invalidation of the law in those instances.

Middle East.- Pakyne (Theodore) Voyage en Orient, manuscript account of a journey to Persia, 34pp., in French, some blank leaves ruled in pencil at end, sewn, lacking wrappers, 4to, 1839.⁂ Unpublished first hand account of a journey to Persia, unusual because it is written by the humble "vallet de chambre" to the wealthy aristocrat "Monsieur le Comte de Sercey." The latter's diplomatic mission to Persia is described in La Perse en 1840, which first appeared in La Revue Contemporaine in 1854, and was an attempt by the French government to re-establish relations with Persia. But this account by a mere servant is much more engaging, if rather idiosyncratic. He describes visits to Palermo, Messina and Mount Etna before they reach Milos; Constantinople is described in detail - "everywhere there are mosques and minarets" - before the hazardous crossing of the mountains from Trebizond to Bayazid - "the inhabitants are miserable and the women unwashed". In the capital of Azerbaijan, Tabriz, the expedition's artist M. Flandin, is attacked after he tries to gate-crash a wedding party, whereupon the guests are fined and administered fifty lashes. In March 1840 they arrive in Teheran where they are warmly welcomed with fanfares "despite the fact that Christians are regarded as dogs". A fascinating counterpoint to de Sercey's better known but more conventional account.

European Travel Journal.- Mount (L[aura Sarah], daughter of William Mount, of Wasing Place, Berkshire, married Francis Barlow, Barrister, Master in Lunacy, 1799-1887, and later of 48 Montagu Square, London, 1802-67)] [Journal of travels in France, Germany, Switzerland & Italy], autograph manuscript, 135pp. excluding blanks (1p. in pencil at end), slightly browned, original half morocco, 3 leather tabs, edges rubbed, small chip at tail of spine, sm. 4to, 1820.⁂ Calais, St Omer, Lille, Tournay, Brussels, Waterloo ("there are still some Cannon to be seen, in the walls of... Hougemont... We passed a deep Sand Pit, by the Road Side, in which we saw some Human Skulls & Bones"), Liege, Spa, Cologne, The Rhine, Bonn, Donaueschingen, Zurich, Mount Albis, crossing The Rigi, ("walked to Righi Coulon a higher point, where the Inn is a wretched wooden House... our excellent courier Mayor was standing on an elevated point not far from the House, a sudden & vivid flash of lightning, followed by a tremendous crash of thunder, struck him dead on the spot. An English Gentleman & his niece (Genl. & Miss Gooch) where also standing out... the lady's Dress was singed"), Lucerne, Althorf [Altdorf], Lauterbrunnen ("with the assistance of Guides & long poles we walked on the Glacier to the entrance of a cave of great deep"), Reichenbach Falls, Thun, Freiburg, Basle, Vevey, Geneva, Bonneville, Chamonix, Mont Blanc ("... we engaged 3 mules & a chaise... also an excellent Guide Balmat, (the son of Pierre Balmat who accompanied Monsr. Saussure in his expedition to Mont Blanc)... the mules were sure footed... we gradually entered a very steep, and rugged path... . We then dismounted... we proceeded to ascend, a narrow path, with a steep precipice... after passing a small spring, the path became excessively steep & rocky, & frequently dangerous after some hours of great fatigue, we reached the summit & partook of some refreshments"), Argentiere, Geneva, Aix, Saint-Benoit, Mont Cenis, Rivoli, Turin, Genoa, Milan, Como, Simplon, Ossola, Kaltwasser Glacier, the Rhone Valley, Saint Maurice [Moritz], Saint-Gingolph, Geneva, St Laurent, Dijon, Fontainebleau, Paris ("We went to the Tapisserie de Goblins, a most wonderful manufacturing of tapestries"); Versailles, Bibliotheque du Roi, Opera Buffa ("House extremely small & acting bad. Signeur & Miss Naldi the principal performers; "Variete & Odeon the acting very indifferent particularly the latter, Brunet a good comic actor at the Variete"), Louvre, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Theatre Francois ("the principal performer with Talma the hero of the French stage; his action is exceedingly fine, but his extreme vehemence & rant so much admired by foreigners is the striking feature of this as well as all other tragic actors"), Tuileries Chapel ("to see the Royal family at Mass"), St Denis, Chantilly and Amiens.

Astronomy.- Wing (John, surveyor and almanac maker, of Pickworth, Rutland, nephew of Vincent Wing, astronomer, astrologer, and land surveyor, 1619-68, bap. 1662, d. 1726) Astronomia Nova Britannica, or The New British Astronomy Containing an Exact Theorie of the Coelestial Motions, according to the Genuine and most Rational Systems of the World, wherein the Sun is Centre of the Planetary Orbs... Deduced from Astronomia Britannica Published in Latine by Mr V. Wing..., manuscript, title and 163pp. (pp. 1-30 mostly text, pp. 30-160 mostly tables), a few ink diagrams, pp. 74-75 glued together and a corrective slip glued over p. 102, several ff. loose, a few small tears to edges, browned, contemporary panelled calf, extensively rubbed, lacks tail of spine, sm. 4to, dated in another hand at end 1691, but probably late 1680s, see ODNB note below, [c. 1688].⁂ A unique copy of an unpublished 17 century astronomical treatise."At the end of the 1680s, [George Parker, a rival astrologer] alleged, [John] Wing had tried to rush into print a manuscript entitled 'Astronomia nova Britannica', which he had been forced to abandon when Henry Coley exposed it as only half completed. Wing had then reworked the manuscript as Scientia stellarum, which he had published despite John Flamsteed's warning that it was itself full of crude errors. Wing issued a pained rebuttal of all these charges in his almanac for 1704, pointing out that his project was essentially an English summary of his uncle's Astronomia Britannica, and claiming that Flamsteed, on whose astronomical observations it drew, had commended it." - Oxford DNB.Vincent Wing, "taught himself arithmetic, surveying, and dialling by the age of twenty, mastered Latin, and acquired a competence in Greek. He spent the rest of his life practising as a surveyor and diallist in the east midlands... . Wing's fame rested primarily on his achievements in astronomy, as a champion of the new astronomical systems of Copernicus and Tycho Brahe. Wing's last and most important work, Astronomia Britannica (1669), appeared shortly after his death. This was a large-scale Latin treatise on the size, distance, and motions of the planets according to the Copernican system, documented by numerous observations by Tycho Brahe, Bullialdus, Gassendus, and other continental astronomers, and by Wing himself and a group of English astronomers with midlands connections, notably Samuel Foster, John Palmer, and John Twysden. This volume, aimed at a European as well as English readership, was the most significant English astronomical work of its time and made a considerable impact both in England and on the continent." Wing's nephew, John, "was the son of Moses Wing (bap. 1629, d. 1697?), Vincent Wing's brother. He was a surveyor at North Luffenham, before moving in 1683 to Pickworth, in Rutland, near Stamford, where he practised and taught surveying and all branches of mathematics, including dialling, laying out enclosures, building plans, and music. Like his uncle before him, he also used his almanacs to popularize the new astronomy. He explained and defended Copernicanism, noting in 1690 that many people still adhered to the Ptolemaic system, and wrote brief essays on tides, gravity, the periodicity of comets, and the possibility of other solar systems and inhabited planets within the universe." - Oxford DNB. Inscription at end reads: "14th Jan 1691 at 5 h 30 P.M. qr in to Holland."

Illustrated manuscript.- Kew Gardens.- Ford (Peter) Kew Gardens. A Study, decorative illustrated manuscript, in English, 50pp. (of which 7 blank), in a neat calligraphic hand, original illustrations and decorative boarders throughout, in watercolour and ink, original handmade pictorial cloth, covers slightly warped, oblong folio, [c.1960].

Unrecorded epic poem.- Herron (George) The Six Cantos. A Romance, manuscript, 185 numbered pp., but with some errors in pagination, a few corrections / edits to text, some light spotting and staining, contemporary cloth, rebacked in modern calf, cloth stained, corners worn, rubbed, 8vo, 1830.⁂ '"Sorry your Honor? Lord Bless you I have none to tell". Poetry of the Anti-Jacobin' (on title).

Tsiolkovsky (Konstantin) Izsledovanie mirovykh postrantsv' reaktivnymi priborami (dopolnenie k I i II chasti truda togo-zhe nazvaniya). [Investigation of cosmic space using reactive devices. (Supplement to Parts I and II of the Works of the same Title)], first edition, illustration, original printed wrappers, ink manuscript number to upper cover, slightly sunned at extremities, a fine copy overall, 8vo, Kaluga, by the author, 1914.⁂ Tsiolkovsky's first separately printed scientific work on space rockets, preceding the first publication on rockets by Robert Goddard by five years. The significance of Tsiolkovsky's work in rocketry and space travel was greatest in Russia where it inspired early development independent of American and European research. The present work is a supplement to two earlier works of the same title which had appeared in two different journals in 1903 and 1911-1912 (no offprints known); these are listed on the back cover of this publication, together with Tsiolkovsky's other works, dated from 1891 onwards. Tsiolkovsky was employed as a school teacher and could afford to print only a few copies of his works, which therefore had very limited circulation. RBH lists only 4 copies at auction in the last 40 years, and while the first four lots in the Russian Space History sale at Sotheby's (New York, December 11, 1993) included a total of 38 papers by Tsiolkovsky, the property of his family, this paper was not among them.

Binding.- Osorio da Fonseca (Jeronimo) [Théologie curieuse], translated by Jacques de Jant, manuscript, 189pp., without title, 1p. biographical notes mounted at start, corrections to text, ruled throughout in red, some spotting and light staining, handsome contemporary calf, gilt, spine in compartments, semé with fleurs-de-lys, foot of spine and corners worn, rubbed, g.e., small 4to (binding 208 x 164mm.), [?Dijon], [c.1660].⁂ The work was published in Dijon in 1666. Questions include De l'age du Monde; De l'unité du Monde; De la rondeur de la Terre; and Du Globe de la Terre. Fonseca (1506-1580) was a Portuguese Catholic bishop, historian and polemicist. The Chevalier Jant was French ambassador to Portugal. Provenance: 'Manuscrit original' (later ink inscription to front free endpaper); Robert, Marquess of Crewe (engraved armorial bookplate).

Mathematics.- Geometry.- Geometry theorical [sic] and practical, manuscript, 162pp., illustrations (some with grey wash) and diagrams, occasional later red ink or pencil notes and calculations, a few ff. torn / torn out with loss of text, short tears, some staining, lightly browned, contemporary vellum, worn with loss of vellum, but holding firm, small 4to, [c.1771].⁂ An attractively produced work. Provenance: 'Henry Pannells book, 1771' (ink inscription to title).

Provincial Bank of Ireland, £2, Skibbereen, 15 June 1859, serial number 8636, manuscript signature, one red and one black CANCELLED overprint, split and rejoined, original very good, scarce and a great denomination PMI PR 38, Pick 307 £400-£500

Ulster Bank Limited, £5, 1 December 1929, serial number 142646, manuscript Gore signature, original good fine, but completely free of graffiti, tears or holes PMI UB 48a, Pick 307 £80-£120

Provincial Bank of Ireland Ltd, £1, 1 July 1921, serial number A133075, manuscript signature, good fine to about very fine, the second of two dates for this scarce type PMI PR 74, Pick 346a £700-£900

Ulster Bank Limited, £10, 1 October 1930, serial number 17116, manuscript Gore signature, original about very fine, a lovely and clean example PMI UB 49a, Pick 308 £120-£160

Soccorso a Sollievo dei Romani, 100 Lire, ND (1867), serial number 3a 1398, one manuscript signature at low left, splits at folds, very good to fine Gavello 44 £50-£70

Ulster Bank Limited, £1, 1 January 1940, serial number 1744162, £5, 1 January 1943, serial number 763305, both with manuscript signature, first pinholes, fine, second small graffiti very fine PMI UB 56, 57b, Pick 315a, 316a £100-£150

National Bank of Scotland Limited, £1, 15 May 1911, serial number F831-543, Samuel and one other manuscript signature, very good to about fine PMS NA 29, Pick 248a £150-£200

Brighton Royal Bank, for John Kinnear, £1, 18 November 1823, serial number 3316, manuscript signature of John Kinnear, nice clean paper, a very presentable good fine and a very scarce and attractive type Outing 296a £240-£300

Ulster Bank Limited, £5, 1 January 1934, serial number 228346, manuscript Gore signature, original good fine PMI UB 48b, Pick 307 £80-£120

British Linen Bank, £1, 10 May 1915, serial number B 429/259, Galletly signature with one additional manuscript signature, a little toned but with original paper, thus good fine and scarce PMS BL 59a £120-£160

Banco de Oriente, Columbia, remainder for 5 Pesos, 14 February 1888, serial number 6229, vibrant orange print, one manuscript signature, uncirculated Pick S698r £100-£150

Belfast Banking Company Limited, £10, 9 January 1929, serial number Z.1494, manuscript Keith signature, good fine and scarce, the first date for this issue PMI BB 74, Pick 128b £120-£160

Union Bank of Scotland, £1, 24 December 1914, serial number D 871/039, McCrindle signature and one additional manuscript signature, original about fine, scarce regardless PMS UB 57d, Pick S805 £100-£150

Ulster Bank Limited, £1, 1 December 1927, serial number 1300208, manuscript Gore signature, rubber stamp overprint ISSUED IN NORTHERN IRELAND AFTER 6th MAY 1929, original about fine and very rare, the last example sold at DNW was in 2010 PMI UB 46, Pick 301 £800-£1,200

North of Scotland & Town & County Bank Limited, £1, 1 March 1918, serial number C 0893/0096, Stuart signature and an additional manuscript signature, lightly pressed, fine and scarce PMS NS 26c £200-£260

Clydesdale Bank Limited, £1, 4 November 1914, serial number A0853893, Dewar signature and an additional manuscript signature, very fine, with very nice original paper, scarce PMS CL 14b, Pick 181b £150-£200

Ulster Bank Limited, £5, 1 June 1929, serial number 58366, manuscript Gore signature, one pair of staple holes, clean and attractive, about very fine PMI UB 48a, Pick 307 £100-£150