Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2007 Issue
50 Fine Books for 2007 from Shapero Rare Books
Some of the fabulous birds of Brazil
Item 1 is Henry Alken's Qualified Horses and Unqualified Riders... It is an amusing illustrated look at horsemen struggling to hold on. £5,000 (US $9,658). Item 2 is another Alken work, Sporting Discoveries, or the Miseries of Shooting...By Ben Tally-Ho... These plates depict such scenes as a hunter who has shot a sheep, and another who shoots in the direction of a scared bystander. Does he look a little like Dick Cheney? £6,000 (US $11,590).
For those who like to relive Britain's great military triumphs, James Jenkins offers two exciting works. They retell Britain's victory over Napoleon, on land and on sea. Item 24 is The Martial Achievements of Great Britain and her Allies from 1799-1815. £2,750 (US $5,311). Item 25 is The Naval Achievements of Great Britain from the Year 1793 to 1817. Most notable here is the Battle of Trafalgar. £11,000 (US $21,247).
Denis Diderot's great Encyclopedie was a monumental work of art, science, history, and notably, enlightenment. It promoted the novel idea that government should serve the people, rather than the other way around. The 21-volume work was an inspiration for the French Revolution, though Diderot could not have imagined how that event would turn out. £50,000 (US $96,579).
Several great, illustrated bird books are offered. There is John Gould's classic The Birds of Great Britain, the large folio five-volume first edition from 1862-73. £65,000 ($125,712). There is Theodore Descourtilz' Ornithologie Bresilienne, the birds of Brazil, published in 1856. £25,000 (US $48,351). Gregory Mathews created one of the last of the great bird books, the 13-volume The Birds of Australia, published in a limited edition of 225 copies in 1910-27. £17,500 ($33,845).
Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books may be found online at www.shapero.com, telephone +44 (0)20 7493 0876.
Rare Book Monthly
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ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000. -
Sotheby’s
Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
Open for Bidding 2-17 AprilSotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.