Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2018 Issue

A New Miscellany from Forest Books

A Misacellany.

A Misacellany.

Forest Books has issued their Miscellany Ten. A Catalogue of Rare and Curious Books, Pamphlets & Printed Ephemera on a wide variety of subjects. Naturally enough, it contains all sorts of material. Most items come from England. There are many books, but you will find other sorts of paper, such as maps and broadsides. There is a large selection of very early English railroad material. Virtually everything, for that matter, is early. This is an antiquarian catalogue. Here are a few selections.

 

We begin with a work from one of the greatest naturalists of the 19th century. Alfred Russel Wallace spent eight years in the Malay Archipelago, returning home with some 126,000 zoological specimens. He collected them both for study and knowledge and to make a living by selling them. It was while he was there that Wallace came up with a brilliant explanation for why various species between islands had distinct differences yet great similarities. He concluded it must be evolution by natural selection. Of course, anyone would say that today, but at the time, Darwin had not yet released his theory to the public. Wallace sent his theory to Darwin, already a friend, who had independently reached the same conclusion. The two decided to publish a paper together describing the theory. It preceded Darwin's famous On the Origin of Species by a year. Wallace continued writing about what he had learned. Item 194 is one of those works, a two-volume first edition from 1876 of The Geographical Distribution of Animals. With a Study of the Relations of Living and Extinct Faunas as Elucidating the Past Changes of the Earth's Surface. Priced at £750 (British pounds, or approximately $997 in U.S. dollars).

 

Here is one of those early British railroad books. The first railroads in England were constructed in the 1830s. At the time this book was written, 1837, the first were only just opening for travel. However, many lines were already in the planning stage by then, as this book attests. Compiled by Francis Whishaw, the title is Analysis of Railways: consisting of a series of reports on the twelve hundred miles of projected railways... It contains distances from London to eight outlying locales, and a table showing costs, mileage, curves, tunneling, etc. for each railway for which bills were proceeding through Parliament. Item 238. £275 (US $365).

 

Next up we have Flora of Suffolk. This sounds like one of those 19th century romantic novels. It isn't. Flora is not a young lady, but a whole mess of plants, specifically, those that inhabit Suffolk County in England. Rev. J. S. Henslow and Edmund Skepper provided this description of the plants found in the wild in Suffolk, including those both indigenous and introduced. It was published in 1860. Item 74. £45 (US $59).

 

Here is a subject few great books have been written about. It's not one of those topics one generally enjoys discussing, but here is a chance to read up on it in uncomfortable privacy. The title describes it well: Commentaries on the Use and Necessity of Lavements in the Correction of Habitual Constipation, and in the Treatment of those Diseases which are occasioned or aggravated by Intestinal Accumulation and Irritation, or which are Susceptible of Modification through the Sympathetic Relations of the Lower Bowels; Including also a Copious Formulary of Intestinal Injections, with Directions for their Application. For the record, lavements is an old term for enemas. Item 163. £110 (US $146).

 

Now for a more pleasant subject, at least from an English point of view - war with France. England and France were constantly at war with each other for centuries, interrupted only briefly by peace so they could fight anew. They must have enjoyed it or they wouldn't have fought so much. The year was 1794 when James Rennell wrote this pamphlet. The two countries were at peace, but England watched the French Revolution, which it never liked even in its better days, break down into chaos and bloodshed. Rennell had the usual remedy. His plea is entitled War with France. The only Security of Britain, at the Present Momentous Crisis. It would come soon enough, what with Napoleon coming to power and out to conquer the world. Item 152. £75 (US $99).

 

Here is an odd title by Thomas Doolittle, published in 1693: Earthquakes Explained and Practically Improved; Occasioned by the late Earthquake on Sept. 8. 1692. in London, many other parts in England, and beyond the Sea. I can understand explaining them, but how do you improve an earthquake? Doing away with them entirely would be the best outcome, but no one has figured how to do that yet. This book describes the London earthquake of September 8, 1692, and the far more destructive one in Jamaica earlier that year. It rearranged the island's geography, practically sinking the city of Port Royal. Thousands died in that quake and ensuing tsunami. Item 40. £775 (US $1,030).

 

Here is a man who sought to upgrade British behavior in the 18th century, presumably to little effect. He tried. Item 144 is Thomas Pollen's 1771 book, The Fatal Consequences of Adultery, to Monarchies as well as to Private Families: with a Defence of the Bill, passed in the House of Lords in the Year 1771, Intituled, "An act to restrain persons who shall be divorced for the crime of adultery, from marrying, or contracting matrimony, with the party," &c. This bill would have prohibited one who committed adultery from marrying their partner in crime, and from the children of that relationship inheriting from them (like it was their fault). The lords may have thought this a good idea, but the commoners apparently did not. The bill never made it through the House of Commons, and so adultery continues in England to this day. £175 (US $232).

 

Forest Books may be reached at +44 1400 251865 or bib@forestbooks.co.uk. Their website is www.forestbooks.co.uk.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.
  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: The New-England Primer Improved. For the more easy attaining the true reading of English. Boston: Printed and Sold by John Boyles, 1770. EXTREMELY RARE AMERICAN PRIMER.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Lansford W. Hastings. The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California. Cincinnati. George Conclin, 1845. THE VERY RARE FIRST EDITION IN THE SCARCE ORIGINAL PRINTED WRAPPERS.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. D. Salinger. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston, 1951. first edition, a fine copy, in an unrestored first issue dust jacket.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. THE VERY FINE A.E NEWTON COPY.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. K. Rowling. Only known complete set of full unbound imposed sheets for the First Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility: A Novel in Three Volumes. By a Lady. London: for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1811. FIRST EDITION IN A CONTEMPORARY BINDING.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. First Editions, First Impressions. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1954-1955. A VERY FINE SET.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Declaration of Independence. In: The Pennsylvania Ledger: Or the Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New-Jersey Weekly Advertiser. Philadelphia: James Humphreys, No. LXXVII, 13 July 1776.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: William Shakespeare. Mr. William Shakespear's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. London, 1685. THE FOURTH FOLIO.
    Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Frank Herbert. Dune. Philadelphia and New York: Chilton Books, 1965. FIRST EDITION, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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