How do you keep your servants in line? Try giving them this book: The apprentices companion, containing plain and useful directions for servants...how to perform their particular dutys to their masters, so as to please God...With some examples of Gods severe judgments upon such as have taken ill courses. Not only must the servant be wary of his master's wrath for not being properly obedient, but now even God is supposed to be siding with the rich and powerful. Then again, that's an argument that has been passed down for ages, generally by the rich and powerful. This item dates back to 1681 and was written by "Richard Burton," a pseudonym for Nathaniel Crouch. Item 25. L2,500 (US $4,596).

Freemasonry has been controversial for centuries, it having both its defenders and critics. There is little doubt where this anonymous author stands, based on his book's title: Masonry the way to hell, a sermon: wherein is clearly proved...that all who profess these mysteries are in a state of damnation. Item 53, from 1768. L350 (US $643).

Item 14 is an 1814 broadside relating to one of the earliest recorded sets of Siamese Twins. These are Elisa and Mary Chulkhurst, the "Biddenden Maids." Supposedly born in Biddenden, County of Kent, in 1100, the sisters were joined at the shoulders and hips. They supposedly lived for 34 years, and when one died, the other, in response to an offer to separate her, said "as we came together, we will also go together." It's not clear who remembered this quote. However, a tradition lives on in Biddenden, where, according to the bequest of the sisters, every Easter cakes with the image of the twins upon them are distributed to the poor and to strangers. L750 (US $1,380).

Here are a couple of problems we are still confronting two and a half centuries later. Perhaps this item will help. Published by Edmund Gibson in 1743, the title is, An earnest dissuasive from intemperance in meats and drinks. Eating and drinking too much. Some challenges do not go quietly into the night. L250 (US $460).

You may find Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books on the web at www.shapero.com or reach them by phone at +44 (0)20 7493 0876.