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VALLA, Georgius (1447-1500), Italian Humanist and Philosopher, A 32pp manuscript Latin translation of Dehominis Anima in black ink with red ink annotations, crudely bound in stained vellum, 16 x 12cm, folded edges, covers warped

Pair of late 19th century Monquignon, Paris, ivory silk lady's evening shoes with wine glass heel, buttoned ankle strap, bow & a foliate decoration to toe, in cream silk threads & clear glass beads. Approx. size UK 2-3; also another similar pair in pale blue silk with floral & foliate decoration in cream silk threads, some darned repairs, the first pair marked in manuscript "Mm. Dixon Cartwright 90628", the second pair no. 92746.

A pair of unusual large size 18thC coffee or chocolate cups, c. 1770, decorated with Smiths blue bands and gilt strips, blue D shaped handle, blue marked crown over D with manuscript N mark, 7cm high. (2)

London (1853 9th May) late use of manuscript charges, Muswell Hill(London) to Liverpool, Tombstone "paid" mark + 1d paid(2 sheets)-post after 1840! Business organisations were still allowed to pay in cash(no stamp!)

Eric Craig (1829-1923) New Zealand Fern Specimens, each dried specimen mounted on card, 210mm x 140mm, taxonomy in letterpress recto for each, purple stamp verso 'New Zealand Ferns mounted by Eric Craig, Princes St, Auckland, sold wholesale and retail' (23), in Kauri wood box, with manuscript label inside lid 'New Zealand, Feb. 89, from Miss McHarry (?)', overall G, some degradation of some specimens, box F, rear edge of lid partly missing

Four reproduction Chinese manuscript weights (78)

Edwardian mahogany music cabinet, five manuscript drawers with drop down fronts, single cupboard, W77cm, H81cm, D37cm Condition Report Click here for further images, condition, auction times & delivery costs

A large collection of 19th century Tibetan Buddhist prayer pages Sutra manuscript on paper with thumb print to top page. 56cm length

LEDBURY ENCLOSURE AWARD, A LARGE LEATHER BOUND VOLUME, SET OF MAPS OF THE PARISH OF LEDBURY, TROPHIMUS FULLJAMES & WILLIAM WOMACK, 1813, COMPRISING 9 LARGE MAPS T/W MANUSCRIPT, ALL ON VELLUM WITH WAX SEALS OF THE LAND OWNERS, WATER DAMAGED

A Staffordshire Pottery Figure of Captain James Cook, mid 19th century, seated beside a table with a manuscript, on a gilt line oval base, 18cm high See Pugh C221 Plate V

Birds.- Schlegel (Hermann) Fauna Van Nederland, Vogels [& De Vogels van Nederland], 10 vol. comprising parts 1-46, plates only, 362 hand-coloured lithographed plates, occasional faint browning and spotting, loose as issued in paper wrappers, c.10 leaves of contemporary Dutch manuscript notes, housed in contemporary portfolios, paper manuscript labels to upper covers, fabric ties, some frayed or trimmed, a little rubbed and worn, [Zimmer p.55], 8vo, Leiden, P. W. M. Trap, [1854-58].⁂ This was originally issued in parts from 1854 to 1858 under the title 'Fauna Van Nederland, Vogels' being intended as part of a comprehensive work on the fauna of the Netherlands. The plan was discontinued before more than the birds were treated, and the original publisher, Trap, sold the entire edition to Van Goor who issued it in 1859 with the title 'De Vogels van Nederland.'

Birds.- Whitely (H[enry]) Natural History of British Birds, 3 parts in 3 vol., part 2 author presentation copy, 2 engraved titles, 24 hand-coloured plates (2 of eggs), bookplates, ownership signature to title of part 2, list of subscribers in parts 2 & 3, occasional spotting, contemporary green cloth, parts 2 & 3 rebacked with original spines laid down, first part with printed label, part two with manuscript label, first part a little rubbed and faded, housed in a modern morocco drop-back box, bookplate of Fattorini pasted inside, small 8vo, Woolwich, G. M. Whitely, 1846-48.⁂ Very scarce, with only 1 copy of parts 1 and 2 on COPAC, and none of part 3. Not in Nissen.Parts 2 and 3 the Earl of Derby's, with his bookplates and signature to the title of part 2.

Shropshire.- Weaver (William) The Hundred of Stottesden, manuscript, 67pp. excluding blanks, and 8pp. accounts at beginning, ruled in red, first 8ff. slightly nibbled at head, first f. soiled, slightly browned throughout, disbound, 1776; and 4 others relating to Wakefield, including a Church Census of Wakefield, 1723, and a letter addressed to Thomas Taylor, author of The History of Wakefield, 1886, v.s., v.d. (5).

Arkwright Family Cookery Recipes.- Arkwright (?Mary, maiden name Wilmot-Sitwell, wife of Charles Arkwright JP, brother of Richard Arkwright Junior, son of Richard Arkwright, inventor of the Spinning Jenny, 1786-1858) Collection of recipes, autograph manuscript signed "Mrs Charles Arkwright", 32pp., original blue card pictorial wrappers, slightly marked, spine splitting but holding, 1839; and 3 others, later manuscript cookery recipes, sm. 4to (4).⁂ Provenance: First mentioned Fawkes family.⁂ First mentioned recipes include: "Le Mans Biscuits"; "Mrs Swinsen's receipt for Whisky"; "New Forest Plum Pudding Sauce"; "Strawberry, Raspberry or Currant Acid"; "Apple Snow"; "Lord Alvanley's Beef Pie"; "Soda Cake"; "Ice Pudding (excellent Lady Mosley)"; "To make the Bread" etc.

Navy Log.- McCarthy (J.D.B., of Three Elms, Horsell Rise, Woking, Surrey) Journal for the Use of Midshipmen, manuscript, 110pp. excluding blanks, 3 photographs of ships and 5 watercolour maps (some folding), original cloth-backed boards, rubbed and marked, folio, 1945-46.⁂ "We steamed on a S.E. course down the Straits of Malacca during the day... . A signal was received during the last Dog reporting that a Jap ship had been sunk by a mine to the south of us." - J.D.B. McCarthy.

Group of assorted pictures and prints to include: a Mughal style manuscript illustration featuring figures beneath a canopy watched by attendant musicians, 35cm x 27cm, four prints after David Roberts of the Holy Land, etc Condition:

An illuminated manuscript, entitled 'On The Road To Douglas Bay', dated June 1921, 47 x 53.5cm.

A COLLECTION OF MINERALS, EARLY 19TH C many retaining contemporary handwritten labels, one dated 1830, including several larger specimen crystals, a relatively large specimen of slate labelled "From the remains of a Roman Bath belonging to Ld Brownlow", fossils and a manuscript (part) catalogue (100 approx)++In generally very good condition, the labels generally browned and/or inscriptions faded but mostly easily read, a genuine early 19th c country house collection

A Massim betel nut mortar Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea of canoe form with a carved scroll edge with lime fill and a central raised recess, with a white painted inventory number 4741 and yellow painted NEW GUINEA. WBSTR. 1898. P., 15cm long, on a wood base with identification inscription. (2) Provenance W. D. Webster, Bicester, UK, inv. no. 4741. Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, Rushmore, Dorset, UK, acquired from the above in August 1898. Thence by descent. Christie's, London, 2 October 1990, lot 76, part. Literature Published in the manuscript catalogue, volume six, page 1835.

A Massim betel nut mortar Kiriwina Islands, Papua New Guinea the base with a loop handle having pierced fins with a scroll carved body and swollen rim with a tapering recess, with lime fill, the base with painted white inventory number 4738 and yellow painted NEW GUINEA. WBSTR. 1898. P., 13.5cm long. Provenance W. D. Webster, Bicester, UK, inv. no. 4738. Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers, Rushmore, Dorset, UK, acquired from the above in August 1898. Thence by descent. Christie's, London, 2 October 1990, lot 76, part. Literature Published in the manuscript catalogue, volume eight, page 2189.

Ferdowsi The Shahnameh with illuminated headings, tooled leather bindings, with lined slip case, the spine dated 992 H and another Persian manuscript, binding loose Condition Report: This book has approximately 300 leaves.

The Ramayana, Hindi manuscript in full calf binding with panelled spine

A small Kammavaca, or similar manuscript, of typical rectangular form, decorated with four Buddhist Deities (one possibly Maudgalyayana), 16 cm long; together with a brass incense burner with pierced domed cover, 15 cm high (2)

GEORGE III: (1738-1820) King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1760-1820. D.S, George R, as King, at the head, three pages, folio, Court at Saint James's, 30th April 1802. The manuscript document grants Isabella Frances Master, widow of Richard Master, former Consul at Algiers and Governor of Tobago 'who fell a sacrifice to the unhealthiness of the climate', a yearly pension of £200 and further grants Sir Abraham Hume a yearly pension of £100 in trust for the children of Master. Countersigned by Henry Addington (1757-1844, Viscount Sidmouth, British Prime Minister 1801-4) and several others. Extensive splitting to folds of third page and some minor splitting to other folds. G Sir Abraham Hume (1749-1838) Politician and one of the Founders of the Geological Society. Hume amassed a famous collection of minerals and precious stones and was a large purchaser of pictures by the old masters.

Book of Kells, facsimile.A facsimile copy of The Book of Kells with a study of the manuscript by Francoise Henry, Thames & Hudson, 1974. Gilt orange cloth, in slip case.

1896-1917 Arcanum Wheelmen of Hoboken, New Jersey, original manuscript treasurer's cash book of a 19th century cycling club.Hoboken 1896. 8vo. Good Manuscript notebook in two sections in a neat hand. (1) The first part is the cash book of the Treasurer, about 60pp. (2) The second part recording of leases, rentals and purchases of properties in various places in Hoboken between 1910-1917.

1702 Donegal, manuscript map of Larginreagh, Crucknamurlug, Derrycassans, Ardbane and Doagh, in Rossgull, by David McCool.A survey valuation of Larginreagh, Crucknamurlug, Derrycassans, Ardbane and Doagh, late the property of Revd. William Cunningham of Letterkenny deceased. Framed. 36.5027 36.50 by 27in. (92.7 by 68.6cm)

1847-1850. The Irish Famine. Ship's log of HMS Terrible including accounts of relief being provided in IrelandAccount describes, inter alia, from March 1847 loading stores and bales of clothing with Mr Higgins, agent for the relief association for Belmullet. Other items carried to Ireland for famine relief included seed, bags of bread (35 to 495 at a time), sacks of barley, seed oats, swede, parsnip and turnip seed.Later entries refer to the 1848 Irish Rebellion and the Crimean War. A fascinating account of relief efforts during the famine. Folio, 100+pp, manuscript, including logs of HMY William & Mary and HMS Dragon.

1866-67 Irish Republic Twenty Dollars 'Fenian Bond'.Dated in manuscript March 10th 1866, issuee not entred, signed in block by John O'Mahony, retaining counterfoil. Rare denomination. Scarce large issue 7.5014Other Notes: Printed by Continental Bank Note Printing Company of New York. These bonds were issued in America to fund the Fenian Rising of 1867 and were 'redeemable six months after the acknowledgement of the Independence of the Irish Nation'. They were redeemed almost eighty years later by the Irish Government. Any outstanding bonds were thereafter valued only as collectibles, which today rarely show up at auction. 7.50 by 14in. (19.1 by 35.6cm)

BELL (C), ENGRAVINGS OF THE ARTERIES, second volume of the anatomy of the human body, 3rd ed, engraved plates - one folding, with additional manuscript pages bound in at end, full leather, 1811 (1)

A Burmese Pali manuscript, Buddhist sutra text, late 19th century, the covers of rectangular form richly gilt highlighted depicting figures and mythical creatures surrounding a central script panel, within border surrounds, enclosing sixteen leaves each heavily applied with black lacquer text within gilt floral borders, 57cm wide CONDITION REPORT: Light wear at edges of all boards but generally appears ok.

A Buddhist palm manuscript, 20th century, the red lacquered covers enclosing multiple palm leaves with script, gilt and red edged, 51cm wide

Victorian 'Carters of London' patent adjustable music stand, with manuscript rest above circular dished tier, on fluted column support the stepped square bronzed cast metal base with four out splayed feet, brass castors, H120cm, with ivorine makers plaque. Condition Report Click here for further images, condition, auction times & delivery costs

Mohanlal Soni ‘Jehangir with courtiers in attendance’ Painting executed on the page of an old manuscript 46 x 26cm Together with a smaller painting of two Indian gentleman holding swords (2)

Augustine (Saint). Explanatio psalmorum, Basel: Johann Amerbach, 1497, 4 parts in 1 volume, 426 leaves (complete), Gothic types, text in double column, 65 lines and headline, rubricated manuscript initials around printed guide letters (heightened in metallic ink at a later date), several leaves sometime dog-eared and subsequently turned back up, sporadic ink- or oil-staining, heavier to title page and one ink-blot to part 4 Aa7 recto partially obsuring a word, but otherwise largely confined to margins, intermittent pale damp-staining to lower outer corners, a few leaves (part 3 bb2 and gg8-hh1, and part 4 Ee5) with shallow chips in the same place (text never affected), marginal repairs to part 2 B5 obscuring 2 side-notes and to part 4 Aa2 not affecting text, near-contemporary inscriptions to first title page, contemporary manuscript foliation, frequent contemporary Latin marginalia in red or black ink (occasionally trimmed), modern half calf, folio (29.5 x 20.5 cm) Goff A-1274, Hain-Copinger 1975. Second Amerbach edition, the first edition to contain the fourth part, 'Principalium sententiarum in explanatione libri psalmorum divi Augustini Annotatio'. The first edition overall, probably printed in the Netherlands in 1485, is considered unprocurable. Provenance: laid-in autograph letter signed from one William Lawson, dated Brasserton, 1 May 1860, to Reverend John Prior of Kirklington, presenting the volumeas 'a suitable companion for your Bellarmine on the Psalms', and claiming that this copy once belonged to Bishop Beveridge, that is, William Beveridge (1637-1708), Bishop of St Asaph. (1)

*Holy Roman Empire. Manuscript map, circa 1680, pen and watercolour on thick paper on two conjoined sheets, old folds strengthened to verso, 560 x 625 mm A dramatic early German manuscript map covering the Netherlands and France to Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria, Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Switzerland and Italy with the Gulf of Venice and Hungary. There is a small ribbon cartouche with a ten point legend identifying the various circles as well as the thirteen main cities in Europe although these are not identified on the map. It is possible that this was an educational map prepared for students of a military school which would explain the use of fortress symbols for the towns. The date is placed at around 1680 as Franche Comte is already part of France (1678). (1)

Mortier (Pierre & Jaillot Alexis Hubert), Carte particuliere des Costes Meridionales d'Angleterre qui comprend l'Isle de Wight et le Havre de Porsmouth, avec les autres Isles, Bancs, et Costes qui sont entre le Havre de Chichester et ce luy de La Pole, Paris, 1693, large hand coloured engraved chart on two conjoined sheets, compass rose and numerous rhumb lines, two contemporary ink manuscript nummbers to upper margins, 610 x 860 mm Published in De Hooghe's the monumental Neptune Fran‡ois. (1)

Janvier (Jean & Longchamps, S. G.). Mappe Monde contenant les parties connues du globe terrestre..., Paris, 1754, large wall map of the world on a hemispheral projection, the map surrounded by biblical vignettes, celestial hemispheres and planetary diagrams, some paper thinning and fraying with slight loss, some creasing, missing text reinstated in manuscript, laid on modern canvas, 1190 x 1480mm (1)

SoulŠs (Francois). [Carte itineraire de la marche des troupes de York town a Boston, 1787], uncoloured engraved map on blue paper, old folds, sparse contemporary outline colouring, 280 x 940 mm An uncommon and unusual Revolutionary War period map of the east coast of North America. It covers the region from Boston Harbour to the Chesapeake Bay. The map was one of three issued in Francois Soules' Histoire des Troubles de l'Amerique Anglaise'. The main feature of the map is the road system from Boston to Yorktown, with Boston to Annapolis shown in yellow and Annapolis to Williamsburg in green. This road system was used by the combined forces of General Washington and Comte de Rochambeau as they moved south to attack the British at Yorktown. The map shows the sites of 54 camps along this route as well as 14 "marches" from Annapolis to Williamsburg, and is believed to be based on a similar Rochambeau manuscript map held in the Library of Congress. (1)

Bentley (Charles & Robert Hermann Schomburgk). Twelve Views in the Interior of Guiana: From Drawings Executed by Mr. Charles Bentley, after sketches taken during the expedition carried on in the years 1835 to 1839, under the direction of the Royal Geographical Society of London, and aided by Her Majesty's Government, Ackermann & Co., 1841, additional hand-coloured title, dedication with gold printed coat of arms of the Duke of Devonshire, list of subscribers, engraved map with outline colour, 12 fine hand-coloured lithographed plates, wood-engraved vignettes, a little light spotting and a few short closed tears and one or two small chips, original pictorial wrappers, rebacked, lightly rubbed and stained with some edge wear, contained in later cloth portfolio, cloth ties, folio (545 x 355 mm), with two loosely inserted manuscript letters from Sir Robert Schomburgk, one dated 1847 (both declining invitations to visit due to previous engagements) Abbey Travel 720; Sabin 77796; Tooley 447. "Schomburgk, who in a subsequent expedition laid down the Schomburgk line, dividing British Guiana from Venezuela, was knighted in 1844" (Abbey). During the expedition, Schomburgk discovered the Victoria Regia giant water lily (depicted on the front cover and additional title) and was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal for his scientific work. (1)

Hall (Sidney). A New General Atlas with the Divisions and Boundaries carefully coloured; Constructed Entirely from New Drawings...., A new edition, published Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, circa 1845, title and index, fifty-three double page engraved maps (complete as list) with contemporary outline colouring, some marginal dust and finger soiling, early 20th century ink manuscript ownership signature to rear endpaper, near contemporary ink manuscript ownership signature to front pastedown (Helen Hilton), contemporary half morocco with morocco gilt label to upper siding, heavily worn and frayed, boards detached, spine partially detached, folio By descent through the Hilton and Menzies family of Leigh in Lancashire. The most famous Hilton being James Hilton who wrote 'Goodbye Mr Chips' which was made into a film in 1942 staring Robert Donat and recently remade with Martin Clunes. He also wrote 'Lost Horizons', again made into a film staring Robert Colman and is best remembered for the fictional utopia 'Shangri-La'. He was also the author of 'The Story of Doctor Wassall', another Hollywood film this time staring Gary Cooper. The atlas is important for being one of the first to show the state of Texas as a separate and new entity. (1)

Savile (Sir Henry, editor). Rerum Anglicarum scriptores post Bedam praecipui, ex vetustissimis codicibus manuscriptis nunc primum in lucem editi, 1st edition, G. Bishop, R. Newbery, and R. Barker, 1596, 5 section titles with woodcut architectonic borders, woodcut head- and tailpieces and figurative initials throughout, variable spotting and browning, 2 small worm-tracks in lower margins never affecting text, marginal restoration to leaf Z5, quire 4E supplied from a shorter copy, closed transverse tear in final 3 leaves, occasional later marginalia, manuscript catch-title to fore edge, contemporary calf, blind panels to sides enclosing central strapwork lozenges, rebacked, restoration to corners, folio (32 x 19 cm) STC 21783; Cobham-Jeffery page 27 refers (Roger of Hoveden mentions Cyprus in the context of the Third Crusade). First edition of this important compilation of medieval chronicles, containing texts from William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, Roger of Hoveden, Aethelweard, and pseudo-Ingulf. A second edition appeared at Frankfurt in 1601. (1)

Guidott (Thomas). A Discourse of Bathe, and the Hot Waters there, 1st edition, for Henry Brome, 1676, additional engraved title with facing letterpress leaf ('The frontispiece explain'd', stained recto from tanning agent used in binding), folding plan, 4 plates (1 folding; the 2 plates bound to face pages 68-9 possibly often bound as 1 folding plate: the figures are continuously numbered), woodcut illustration on page 70 (shaved at fore margin), small stipple of worming in lower margins just touching image in a couple of plates, contemporary sprinkled sheep, red morocco label, slightly rubbed, small superficial burn-hole and section of worming in spine, 8vo (17.5 x 11 cm) Provenance: John Evelyn (1620-1702), with his manuscript press-mark K. 94 (deleted), in brown ink to engraved title recto. Evelyn Library II, Christie's, 30 November 1977, lot 685, (label to front pastedown), where purchased by Desmond Burgess, thence by descent. Upcott Ivii; Wing G2192. (1)

Saxton (Christopher, and Lea, Philip), Sussex, Surrey and Kent by C. S., Corrected & amended with many additions, published George Willdey at the Great Toy spectacle, China ware and print shop..., circa 1731, engraved map with sparse contemporary outline colouring and some later enhancement, near contemporary ink manuscript title on verso with slight showthrough, slight staining and dust soiling to margins, 405 x 550 mm D. Kingsley, Printed Maps of Sussex, 1, state VIII. (1)

Folio Society. The Fitzwilliam Book of Hours, 2009, fine colour facsimile manuscript, all edges gilt, original full gilt decorated blue silk brocade by Smith Settle, with separate volume of commentary by Stella Panayotova bound in quarter cloth, 8vo, both volumes contained together in blue cloth solander box with gilt lettering to spine, lightly marked, (box measures 23 x 16.2 x 6.8 cm) Limited edition, 138/1200 total copies. (1)

Folio society. Leaves From a Psalter, by William de Brailes, 2012, seven fine facsimile illuminated leaves, reproduced from manuscript pages in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, printed on vellum and window mounted, with a DVD film about the creation of the facsimile, contained together in original drop-back box, plus commentary volume in slipcase, 8vo, box and slipcase lightly marked, box dimensions: 35.4 x 27.2 x 4.6cm (14 x 10.75 x 1.75ins) Limited edition, 35/480 copies. (2)

Lovelace (Richard). Lucasta: Epodes, Odes, Sonnets, &c. To which is added Aramantha, a Pastorall, 1st edition, first state, Thomas Harper for Thomas Ewster, 1649, title-page in red and black (lightly browned and somewhat dusty with several pinhead and smaller burn holes touching two letters only), lacks engraved allegorical title-page and engraved portrait of Lucasta (the latter supplied in good facsimile as frontispiece, now partly detached), also lacking blank leaves A4 and M4, paper repair to lower margin of B7 with first letter 'A' of final line of recto neatly completed in manuscript, small closed tear repair to lower margins of E7, F1 and L8 not affecting text, some spotting, dust-soiling and occasional old damp-staining, closely trimmed at upper margins and foremargins (a few initial letters shaved on B6v), bookplate of Christopher Rowe to marbled endpaper, all edges gilt, 19th-century green morocco gilt by E. Rau of Philadelphia, covers detached, pictorial bookplate of Robert Garrett to front pastedown, rubbed, small 8vo (133 x 83 mm) Hayward 97; Pforzheimer 67 (noting only six other copies with B2 in the first state); Wing L3240. One of the most important collections of seventeenth-century English poetry, and the only collection published in the author's lifetime. The actual identity of Lucasta is uncertain, being perhaps an imaginery creation or perhaps Lucy Sacheverell. This copy has the first state of B2, with 'Warres' (rather than 'Wars') in the heading. (1)

Dryden (John). The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse by Mr. Dryden and Several other Eminent Hands. Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. Made English by Mr. Dryden, 1st edition, for Jacob Tonson, 1693, half-title and title page slightly damp-stained, a few minor marks, contemporary ownership inscription ('Elizabeth James') and pen-trials to half-title, 19th-century ownership inscription to title, contemporary panelled calf, old manuscript label to spine, joints superficially split but firm, rubbed, folio (33 x 21 cm) Wing J1288. (1)

Holbein (Hans, the Younger). Icones historiarum Veteris Testamenti, Lyon: Jean Frellon, 1547, 94 woodcut vignettes after Holbein, printed one to a page with Latin text above and Gilles Corrozet's 4-line translation into French verse below, 4 medallion portraits of the Evangelists, title vignette, 2 initials, water-damage in fore and lower margins of quires A-F and K-L, colophon leaf (N4) and binder's terminal blanks frequently extending into text (the text partially disrupted in leaves D4 and K4-L1) and into the woodcuts on leaves D4, H3 and K1, repaired throughout with japanese tissue, small unrelated holes through images in F4 and G2, ownership inscription of John Evelyn to title page and his manuscript pressmarks and posthumous bookplate to binder's blanks (see note), recent marbled sheep, red morocco spine label, 8vo in half-sheets (19 x 12.5 cm) Provenance: John Evelyn (1620-1706; his ownership inscription 'Catalogo Evelyni inscritpus, Meliora Retinete' and cancelled press-mark 'In Chartophy. 37, [symbol of Jupiter] to title page, pressmark P and symbol of Mercury to binder's blank; a later pressmark 'K 3. 37', found on the subsequent blank); John Evelyn Library II, Christie's, 1 December 1977, lot 765 (bookplate); acquired by Desmond Burgess. Adams B1963 (under Bible); Mortimer French 16th Century Books 282. The second of two editions printed in 1547, with the fifth line of the title ending 'emendatiores', and the first line of the French text on L1r ending 'prophete'. Holbein's famous woodcuts first appeared in 1538. (1)

Wilde (Oscar). Newdigate Prize Poem. Ravenna, Recited in the Theatre, Oxford, June 26, 1878, 1st edition, Oxford: Thos. Shrimpton & Sons, 1878, 16 pp., original blue-grey printed wrappers retained and bound in with 32 blank leaves at rear of which seven pages contain contemporary ink manuscript quotations from literature and the bible, top edge gilt, contemporary vellum lettered and ruled in gilt with bee motif to upper cover, stationer's ticket of Myers & Co. to front pastedown, covers slightly rubbed, marked and bowed, 8vo Mason 301. Oscar Wilde's first separate publication, inspired by a visit to Ravenna in 1877. Rare. (1)

Hafez. Divan, Kashmir, 19th century, Persian manuscript in black ink on laid paper, 208 leaves + 16 blanks, text in double column framed in blue and red, mainly 18 lines of nasta'liq script to the page, catch-words, foliation irregular and occasionally shaved, but the text generally continuous (approximate foliation [6], 11-12, [4], 24-129, [1], 138, [2], 145-9, 151-174, 176-192, [193-205], '212', [213-14], '115', 216-37), 45 miniatures in gouache heightened with gold, mostly full-page (14 x 6.5 cm), 1 further miniature left incomplete, browning, marginal damp-staining, worming (mainly to margins; encroaching on frames towards rear), occasional repairs (most of them towards front), frequent contemporary marginalia in Persian, contemporary red half sheep, marbled sides, rubbed, rear joint split at foot, 8vo (16.5 x 10 cm) Provenance: Private Collection, England. Profusely illustrated manuscript copy of the collected works of Persian lyric poet Shams al-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi (1315-1390). The miniatures include a fine opening spread depicting a meeting between two male riders, one of them mounted on a flying hybrid creature resembling Hindu goddess Kamadhenu; most of the remaining illustrations involve a recurring bearded male figure in brown robes and a golden halo, probably Hafez himself, in various court and garden scenes. (1)

Josephus (Flavius). Des Hochberempten Histori beschreibers alle Bcher ... durch Caspar Hedion vertetsche, und jetzundt von newem ... gebessert und gemehret, Strasbourg: Samuel Emmel, 1556, 2 parts in 1 volume, each with part-xylographic title page printed in red and black, 5- and 12-line woodcut initials throughout, first title page slightly marked and with contemporary and later ownership inscriptions, variable spotting and browning, damp-staining to part 1 quires O-V, occasional marginal damping elsewhere, old paper-repairs to a few fore margins, part 1 signature R2 chipped in margin touching side-note, closed tears in part 1 signatures 2F6 and 2N1, occasional contemporary marginalia, contemporary manuscript catch-title to fore edge, later vellum, folio in 6s (31.5 x 19.5 cm) VD16 J974; not in Adams but cf. J375. (1)

Ibn Ajurrum. Kitab al-Ajurrumiyah, Near East: colophon signed 'Abdullah ibn Mustafa, Rabi' al-Awwal, 1307 AH [i.e. November 1889 CE], Arabic manuscript on wove European paper watermarked 'F. P', 38 leaves, naskh script, mainly 5 lines to the page, rubricated headings and colophon, title and ownership inscription of one Khayrullah Mahmud al-Khayali to initial leaf in a separate hand, profuse partially rubricated marginal commentary written at angles to main text, small marginal worm-track in earlier leaves, one leaf (folio 3) loose, some openings reinforced in gutter, a few mild water-stains, wire-stitched in contemporary leather-backed pasteboards, worn, 8vo (21.5 x 15.5 cm) Provenance: Private Collection, England. The highly influential introduction to Arabic syntax (nahw) of Ibn Ajurrum (1273-1323), a North African grammarian of Berber origin, inspired more commentaries than any other work of its kind, and was first printed at the Typographia Medicea in Rome in 1592. (1)

Qur'an. Illuminated manuscript Qur'an, Ottoman territories: colophon signed 'Abdullah Rushdi, AH 1260 [1844/5 AD], Arabic manuscript in black ink on burnished and sized laid paper, 304 unfoliated leaves + 2 blanks, 16 lines of naskh script to the page, opening spread with floral border in blue, purple and gold, the rest of the text within simple black and gold frames, surah-headings in white on gold ground, rubricated recitation markers throughout the text, polychrome rosettes to margins, catch-words, occasional light marginal soiling, a few smudges to text, a handful of chips and closed tears to edges, old marginal repairs to initial blank and leaf 10, narrow tear in leaf 242 affecting frame only, marbled endpapers, contemporary red morocco, envelope flap, gilt filigree decoration, slightly rubbed, matching red morocco slipcase, rubbed, with green cloth pull (split), 8vo (17.8 x 11.2 cm) Provenance: Private Collection, England. The Qur'anic text ends on the penultimate leaf; the final leaf contains a closing prayer and a colophon signed by an 'Abdullah Rushdi, who describes himself as a pupil of Hafiz 'Ali al-Fahmi. (1)

Qur'an. Illuminated manuscript Qur'an, Qajar Iran, early 19th century, Arabic manuscript in black ink on burnished and sized laid paper, 377 unfoliated leaves + 11 blanks, mainly 15 lines of naskh script to the page, 3 spreads (including opening spread) with full gilt and polychrome illumination comprising elaborate lobed panels enclosing floral scrolls, text panels ruled and framed in gilt and colours, rubricated recitation markers and gilt roundel verse-markers throughout the text, gilt medallions and rubricated ruku' and other divisional markings to margins, surah-headings in white on blue ground within orange frames, catch-words, occasional smudging, light finger-soiling to lower outer corners as often, a few old repairs in gutter, short closed tears in gutter of first and last leaves, contemporary and slightly later marginalia in Arabic and Persian, first leaf recto and final leaf verso (both blank) with contemporary annotations in Persian and Turkish and ink-stamps of one Muhammad 'Abbas (dated AH 1272, i.e. 1855/6) and Ibn Muhammad 'Abbas, contemporary Qajar floral lacquer binding with envelope-flap and doublures, red sheep backstrip, faint craquelure, a little wear to extremities, superficial cracks to leather on spine, joints sometime reinforced, 8vo (20.7 x 14 cm) Provenance: Private Collection, England. (1)

Firuzabadi (Majd al-Din al-). Al-Qamus al-muhit wa'l-qabus al-muhit, Ottoman territories, early 19th century, Arabic manuscript in black ink on glazed laid paper, 543 leaves, 2 parts in 1 volume, part 1 with countermarks HB and GB bisected by single rods bearing trefoils, part 2 on thicker paper stock mainly countermarked S [second initial cropped] and transcribed by a different copyist possibly at a slightly later date, part 1 with various naskh script, 33-6 lines to the page, illuminated headpiece to folio 1b, text within polychromatic frames throughout, keywords and headings in a larger thuluth script and frequently rubricated, many headings in part 2 in green, inner hinges cracked but holding, opening bifolium soiled and repaired with paper disruption along frame of folio 2, repaired tear in folio 148 obscuring a few words, a few other marginal repairs, moderate spotting and staining but generally a fresh copy with wide margins, contemporary red goatskin, decorative blind frames to boards enclosing vegetal filigree lozenges in blue, envelope flap front board gilt-lettered in Arabic 'matn al-Qamus ['text of the Qamus'] 'Ali 'Abd al-Raziq', remains of labels to spine, matching red morocco slipcase with flap and marbled paper onlays to sides (worn), folio (29 x 19 cm) An attractive copy of the great Arabic dictionary compiled by Iranian polymath al-Firuzabadi (d. 1414). 'The Qamus ... has become the most widely used of all the dictionaries and has exercised considerable influence in the West' (Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature, volume 2, page 468). The countermark GB is recorded as belonging to Treviso papermaker Giovanni Berti (c. 1789-1828. See Biddle, 'New Strategies in Using Watermarks to Date Sub-Saharan Islamic Manuscripts', page 31, in Friedrich et al., eds., Studies in Manuscript Cultures, volume 12. (1)

Ibn al-Jawzi. Mawlid al-'arus, probably Syria: colophon signed Ibn Yahya, 25 Sha'ban 1217 AH [i.e. 20 December 1802 CE], Arabic manuscript in black ink on laid paper, 46 leaves (+ 20 leaves to front containing the copyist's rough draft for the same text + 4 annotated fly-leaves to rear), naskh script, 10-12 lines to the page, sections with headings in decorative panels or demarcated by stylised rules, text and decoration frequently rubricated, folio 8 chipped in lower outer corner to loss of a few words, a few mild smudges, ink-staining in fore margin, one other intermittent stain in lower margin, contemporary blind-stamped leather over limp pasteboards, 8vo (19 x 14.5 cm Provenance: Private Collection, England. Brockelmann, History of the Arabic Written Tradition, Supplement Volume 1, page 954. The Mawlid al-'arus is a collection of poetry and hadith concerning the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. Some authors have attributed it to the great Arab poet al-Hariri of Basra rather than orthodox jurist Ibn al-Jawzi (1126-1200), probably on account of its popular character. In the colophon the copyist describes himself as a native of al-Tawani, which is the name of a village in modern-day Hebron and of a larger Syrian settlement near Damascus. (1)

Jabir ibn Hayyan. Kitab al-Safi min al-khamsumi'ah [and:] Jannat al-khuld, Near East, circa 1800, Arabic manuscript in black ink on laid paper, 26 leaves + 1 flyleaf, containing 2 texts transcribed by the same copyist and extracted from a larger volume, Kitab al-Safi occupying folio 1a line 22 to folio 22b line 14, Jannat al-khuld folio 22b line 15 to folio 26b line 6, naskh script, 23-4 lines to the page (except for folio 26: completed in a later nasta'liq hand and containing the beginning of a new text, Kitab al-Tadbir al-gharib, which continues onto folio 27), bound with [?Izniqi, 'Ali Shalabi al-], Kashf al-asrar fi-hatk al-astar, probably Ottoman territories, 18/19th century, a fragment, containing the conclusion of section (qism) 2, all of sections 3-4, and most of section 5, Arabic manuscript, black ink on laid paper, 37 leaves, nasta'liq script, 17 lines to the page, rubricated headings and underlining throughout the volume, profuse contemporary and later marginalia, stitching split in places, most openings sometime reinforced in gutter, Jabir's texts browned and with water-staining in upper outer corners obscuring a few headings, the Kashf al-asrar with closed tears to last few leaves (some repaired), staining, 19th-century red sheep backing cloth-covered pasteboards, worn, 8vo (20.5 x 14.5 cm) Provenance: Private Collection, England. Manuscript sammelband containing two alchemical texts attributed to Jabir ibn Hayyan (c. 721-815 CE) and a lengthy fragment from a 16th-century Ottoman astrological and alchemical treatise. The Kitab al-Safi ... ('The Pure Book among the Five Hundred') contains four chapters on the preparation of alchemical compounds. The Jannat al-khuld ('The Everlasting Garden') appears to describe the philosopher's stone ('al-hajr alladhi imtala'at minu hadhihi'l-dunya': 'the stone by which this world is sated'). The present sections of the Kashf al-asrar ... ('The Unveiling of Secrets and the Tearing of Veils') discuss elixirs and planetary conjunctions. National Library of Medicine MS A 70 contains a copy of Jannat al-khuld (item 2; 2 leaves); see Iskandar, A Descriptive List of Arabic Manuscripts on Medicine and Science at the University of California, Los Angeles, pages 23-7 for the contents, authorship and other manuscript copies of the Kashf al-asrar. (1)

Camers (Joannes). Commentaria in C. Iulii Solini Polyhistora, et Lucii Flori De Romanorum rebus gestis, libros, ac Tabulam Cebetis ... praeterea Pomponii Melae De orbis situ libri tres, cum commentariis Ioachimi Vadiani, Basel: Heinrich Petri, 1557, woodcut initials, toning, occasional light spotting, ink-stamps of the Cabinet du marquis de Montpeyroux and related inscriptions to title page and colophon leaf, related inscription and effaced label to front pastedown, title page with additional ink-stamp 'Museum Rem. Faesch, Basil' verso, bound using leaf from a late 13th/early 14th-century vellum manuscript copy of Jacobus da Viragine's Legenda Aurea, decorated with puzzle initials in red and blue bodycolour, slightly rubbed and soiled overall, later manuscript spine-title and manuscript shelf-mark label, loss to spine-ends, some wear on raised bands, faint ink-stamp to foot of front cover, pastedowns lifting to reveal flesh-side, folio (31.5 x 19.5 cm) Adams S1395, VD16 S6970. The late 13th or early 14th century vellum manuscript leaf used to bind this copy contains sections from chapters 70, 72 and 82 of Jacobus da Viragine's Legenda Aurea (The Golden Legend), respectively 'De letania maiori et minori', 'De Adscensione Domini', and 'De sanctis Vito et Modesto'. (1)

*Henry VIII (1491-1547, King of England). A near-contemporary copy of 'The last wyll and testament of Kynge Harry the eyghte 30 December 1546', undated, circa 1570, written in brown ink in a neat secretary hand, large decorative initial, small grotesque to inner margin of top line of folio 4r, laid paper with watermark of 'PM' within a crowned shield, small heraldic sketch of a unicorn's head to final blank with colour markings, plus three more sketchy horses or dog heads, some spotting and dust-soiling, final blank verso more heavily soiled and damp-stained and with small tear, minor fraying to edges close to but not affecting text, disbound without covers, evidence of leather remains to spine, 8 leaves including final blank, slim folio (300 x 205mm) The will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in April 1547. A comparison of this text with the registered copy (TNA PROB 11/31/247) shows many differences, omissions and incorrect transcriptions of words and the use of dialect forms (such as sarve for serve). This copy of the will is said to have formed part of Phillipps MS 13761 which notes that the volume included, inter alia, 'Testaments of H. 8 & H. 6' part of a collection of papers from the archive of Sir Henry St George (1581-1644), who served as Garter King of Arms in the last year of his life. Although such a provenance is borne out by the heraldic endorsements, and by the fact that hundreds of St George manuscripts were on the market in the 1730s and in 1846 (ODNB), the hand of this manuscript makes it hard to attribute its authorship to Sir Henry, and the same objection stands against his father Sir Richard St George (1554-1635), whose association with the College of Arms dates only from 1602 (ODNB). An old bookseller's typed description accompanying the lot states that the volume of manuscripts was acquired by Thomas Phillipps in 1852 from the manuscripts of Sir Henry St George, and listed among the St George manuscripts in 1697 in Bernard's Catalogi Lib. MSS. Angl. pars altera, no. 4217. The paper is watermarked PM within a crowned shield, several versions of which are included in C.M. Briquet, Les filigranes (Amsterdam, 1968) as 9637-9644, datable between 1545 and 1601. The closest match is 9641, datable 1567-1570, a period consistent with the hand. Such a date is supported by the presence of the grotesque beside the name of Princess Mary on the first line of folio 4, an adornment unlikely to have been made before November 1558. In a lengthy and pious introduction, the king accepts that 'every creature, the more high he is in estate, honour and authority in this world, the more he is bound to love, serve God and thank God and the more diligently to endeavour to [do] good and charitable works'.'Repenting also our old and detestable life', he invokes God and the Virgin Mary to 'pray for us and with us while we live here in this world and in time of passing out of it'. He desires burial 'in the choir of our college of Windsor, midway between the [stalls - blank in MS] and the high altar' in a tomb which is 'well one ward [recte toward] and almost made in which we will allow [recte will also] that the bones and body of our true [and] loving wife Queen Jane be put also'. 'The tombs and altars of king Harry the 6 and also of king Edward the fourth our great uncle and grandfather be made more princely'. Re-establishment of the Poor Knights of Windsor each to wear 'a long gown of white cloth with a garter upon the breast embroidered with a shield and a cross of St George with the garter and a mantle of red cloth'. Daughters 'shall not marry nor take any person to her husband without the assent and consent of the privy councillors and others appointed by us to our dearest son Prince Edward'.'seeing the fatherly love which we bear to our son Prince Edward and to this our realm we declare his [recte him] according to justice and equity and conscience to be our lawful heir and do and bequest unto him the succession of our realm of England and Ireland with our title of France and all other dominions both on this side [the seas] and beyond, charging him and commanding him on pain of our curse, seeing he hath so loving a father of us and that all our chief labour and study in this world [is] to establish him in the imperial crown of this realm after our days, in such sort as may be pleasing to God and to the wealth of this realm, and to his honour and quiet, that he be ordered and ruled, both in his marriage and also in ordering of the affairs of the realm, as well outward as inward, and also all his own privy affairs and in giving offices of charge by the advice and counsel of our right and entirely beloved counsellors'. 'Item we bequest to our daughter Mary and Elizabeth marriage[s], they being married to potentate by the advice of our foresaid counsellors, if we bestow not them in our own life time, ten thousand pounds in money, plate, jewels and household stuff for each of them or a larger sum at the discretions of our said executors'. This is the discussion of the will from the entry in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP, 2004) by Eric Ives: 'It was in the context of this final factional battle that Henry revised his last will and testament on 30 December 1546. It was authenticated by the dry stamp, a form of signature by proxy which Henry had introduced in 1545 to save himself trouble. This system was in theory open to abuse, but the will is undoubtedly genuine. Arguments that it was stamped only after the king became incapacitated, or even after he was dead, do not stand up to analysis. The king confirmed Edward as heir and after Edward, Mary and Elizabeth, though the girls were to lose their places in the succession if they married without the written permission of a majority of privy councillors. Next in line he put the Grey and Clifford families, descendants of Mary, his younger sister. The granddaughter of Henry's elder sister, Margaret-Mary, queen of Scots-was not mentioned, though presumably she qualified in the final remainder to the next rightful heirs. To govern the country during his son's minority, Henry nominated sixteen executors who were to function as Edward's privy council, and since sixteen might be too few for day-to-day business, he named a further twelve to be counsellors to the sixteen as and when required. Henry's will provoked discussion in the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth and also in modern times. Some historians have argued that because traditionalist and anti-traditionalist councillors were roughly equal in numbers, Henry's intention was to rule from the grave and preserve his individual religious policy.' (1)