BOOK SALES OF 1895. MESSRS. SOTHEBY, WILKINSON, AND HODGE opened their season of book sales on Friday, December 14th, 1894. A collection of valuable books and manuscripts, “including a portion of the library of the late James Whitchurch, Esq., and of the late T. Chapman, Esq., F.R.S., and others," was disposed of. The sale left no doubt as to which portion of the catalogue was most appreciated. The books sold during the first three days were without a doubt far and away the best of the five days' sale. 1. Dickens (C.). THE STRANGE GENTLEMAN, a Comic Burletta, in Two Acts. By "Boz." Original edition. Frontispiece by "Phiz.' Clean copy, in original wrapper. Crown 8vo. 1837. £35 ¶ With the Frontispiece, perhaps the rarest of all Dickens's works. It is often met with minus" Phiz's" plate, when it fetches from £8 to £12. Mr. Burgess's copy was sold in June, 1893, for £38. Mr. Sabin, of Shaftesbury Avenue, was the purchaser of both copies. 2. America. A TRUE DECLARATION OF the Estate of the COLONIE IN VIRGINIA. With a confutation of such scandalous reports as have tended to the disgrace of so worthy an enterprise. Published by advice and direction of the Councell of Virginia. Fine copy (pp. 3 and 4 very slightly cut in headlines, and a very small hole in title), brown polished levant morocco, inside gilt borders, enclosed in morocco slip case by Rivière. London, William Barret, 1610. £48 ¶ One of the earliest printed accounts of the first English settlement in America. 3. Biblia Sacra Latina, cum prefatione S. Hieronymi et Indice nominorum Hebraicorum. Manuscript on Vellum (290 leaves), written in small but neat Gothic letters much abbreviated, in double columns, with painted initials, divisions of chapters, titles of the books and ornaments in blue and red, bound in modern red morocco, with gilt tooled back and borders, g. e. Sæc. xii. or xiii. £25 10s. TAMS. note at the end of this Codex ascribes the date of its production to the year 1180. 4. Celestina. TRAGI-COMEDIA DE CALISTO Y MELIBEA. Gothic letter, woodcuts, brown morocco extra, sides elegantly tooled in the Grolier style, doublé with red morocco, g. e., by Lortic fils, fine copy. Barcelona, 1525. £18 ¶ Probably the only copy known. Salva only mentions this edition on the authority of D. Jaime Villanueva. 5. Dresser (H. E.) and R. B. Sharpe. HISTORY OF THE BIRDS OF EUROPE, including all the Species inhabiting the Western Palearctic Region, 8 vols. complete in 84 parts, 650 plates, beautifully drawn and coloured. Imp. 4to. 1871-81. B £40 10s. 6. Alken (Henry). ILLUSTRATIONS TO POPULAR SONGS, 42 plates, containing numerous coloured subjects, half bound. Oblong. McLean. 1825. £4 7. Apuleii Metamorphoseos Liber: ac nonnulla alia opuscula ejusdem: necnon epitoma Alcinoi in disciplinarum Platonis (librum) editio princeps, large copy, with numerous MS. notes in the margins, half bound, very rare. Romæ (per C. Sweynheym et A. Pannartz) in domo Petri de Maximo, 1469. £12 155. ¶ Without the two blank leaves in the first sheet. The Sunderland Library Catalogue described its copy as containing 181 leaves (including four blank); this copy contained 175 leaves. 8. Ballads. A COLLECTION OF 369 INTERESTING AND SCARCE SINGLE SHEET BALLADS, from 1674 to the beginning of the 19th Century, Political, Social, Satirical, and Historical, mounted in 3 vols. half russia. £32 ¶ From the collection of John Gutch, editor of Robin Hood Ballads. 4to. 9. Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers, text in two vols. 4to., 1816 (inlaid in imp. atlas fol.). Illustrated by a fine series of Portraits, engraved, etched and lithographed, many fine early impressions; and many hundred Engravings, examples of their works; and upwards of 300 Etchings, illustrative of the styles of the most famous Etchers and Engravers, comprising in all upwards of 2,500 illustrations, collected by George Rutland, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Neatly mounted in 9 atlas fol. volumes, and bound in purple morocco elaborately gilt, g. e. With specially printed title-pages, the alphabetical index, and the monograms bound separately in a 4to. vol. half morocco, with an MS. catalogue of the illustrations in £95 10. Cromwellian Manuscript. THE INVENTORY OF THE HOUSEHOLD EFFECTS IN THE HOUSE OF OLIVER CROMWELL (the Protector's Uncle), TAKEN IN JULY, 1600. £13 ¶ This highly interesting manuscript gives most curious details, lists of the various articles of wearing apparel, linen, etc.; it occupies 20 folio pages, closely written. The volume also contains other manuscripts in connection with the Protector's family, lists of sums of money paid, dated December, 1658 (shortly after Cromwell's death), to 1674. It also contains the inventory of the goods of Mr. Benjamin Rolt of Westminster, taken the 14th December, 1670, with many curious details. II. Defoe (D.). LIFE AND STRANGE SURPRIZING ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE, first edition, portrait, calf. W. Taylor, 1719. £50 12. Horatii Opera aeneis Tabulis incidit J. Pine, 2 vols., text engraved throughout and illustrated with elegant plates, POST-EST edition, fine copy, boards, uncut. 173337. £25 105. It is not often that an uncut copy of Pine's Horace occurs for sale. 13. La Fontaine. CONTES ET Nouvelles en VERS, 2 vols. Fermiers-Généraux edition, with Choffard's vignettes, tirage à part, and nearly the complete set of Planches Refusées," old morocco, doublé, silk linings, by Derome, with his ticket. 1762. £50 10s. 14. Longus. LES AMOURS PASTORALES DE DAPHNIS ET DE CHLOE, traduites par J. Amyot, fine impressions of the beautiful engravings by Audran from designs by Philip, Duke of Orleans, Regent of France, with the printed title as well as the engraved one, fine copy, old French red morocco, g. e., with crest of original owner on the back. s. 1. 1718. £5 ¶One of the few copies issued before the plate of the "Petits Pieds " was finished. 15. [Milton, John.] SCHOOL-LAWES, OR QUI MIHI IN ENGLISH, by J. M., London, printed 1650 (in verse)-AD GRAMMATICEN ORDINARIAM, R. White, 1648ESOP'S FABLES, translated both grammatically and also in propriety of our English phrase, most profitable for the Grammar Schoole, T. Man, 1624-DE CIVILITATE MORUM PUERILIUM PER D. ERASMUM ROTERODAMUM, etc., H. Middleton, 1578 -PHRASEOLOGIA PUERILIS, 1638 (no title)-WARD (W.). SHORT QUESTIONS UPON THE EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH, with the Concords in English, fitted to the weake capacity of Yong Schollers, n. d. In I vol., old vellum. £17 The first book is believed to be the work of John Milton. No copies of any of the above works are in the British Museum, nor in the Bodleian Library. 16. Molière. LE MISANTHROPE, first edition, morocco doublé, dentelle borders, by Cuzin. Paris, Ribou, 1667. £24 ¶ A copy was sold a short time since for £50. 17. Molière. LE MISANTHROPE, first edition, red morocco extra, g. e., by Lortic fils. Paris, 1667. £26 55. 18. Molière. LE MARIAGE FORCE, first edition, red morocco extra, g. e., by Lortic fils. Ib. 1668. £16 10s. 19. Montaigne. LES ESSAIS, 2 vols., first issue of the rarissime first edition, in a splendid morocco binding, richly tooled, by Chambolle-Duru. 1580. £23 10s. 20. Hora Beatæ Mariæ Virginis secundum usum Romanum, Manuscript on vellum, every page written within an elegant border of gold, on which are delicately painted flowers, fruits, insects, and arabesques, containing twelve small miniatures in the calendar, representing the signs of the Zodiac, twenty large miniatures, and a great number of large and small initial letters, the whole richly illuminated in gold and colours, brown morocco extra, g. e. Sæc. xv. £64 ¶ Written for Marguerite of France, Duchess of Savoy, daughter of Francis I. A most absurd price for this Book of Hours. Its probable value may be represented by about a sixth of what it fetched. 21. Hallam (Isaac). THE COCKER: A POEM, HUMBLY INSCRIBED TO THE HONOURABLE SOCIETY OF SPORTSMEN AT GRANTHAM, engraved frontispiece, brown morocco extra, g. e., by Rivière & Son. Stamford, printed by Francis Howgrave, 1742. £6 155. ¶ A very rare work on Cock-Fighting. Not mentioned in Lowndes. 22. Gould (J.). BIRDS OF EUROPE, 5 vols., 449 beautifully coloured plates, brown morocco extra, g. e. 1837. £50 23. Gould (J.). MONOGRAPH OF THE TROCHILIDÆ, OR FAMILY OF HUMMING BIRDS, 5 vols., 360 beautifully coloured plates, brown morocco, uniform with the preceding. 1861. £30 24. Gould (J.). BIRDS OF ASIA, 7 vols. in 35 parts (wants part 28), numerous beautifully coloured plates. 1850-83. £40 25. Gould (J.). BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN, 25 parts, forming 5 vols. 367 beautifully coloured plates. 1862-73. £36 26. Lancelot du Lac. Le premier (le second et le tiers) volume de Lancelot du Lac, nouvellement imprimé à Paris, 3 vols. in 1, gothic letter, large copy, boards, g. e. Paris, 1533. £6 27. Legenda Aurea de Sanctis, gothic letter, numerous curious woodcuts, brown morocco extra, g. e., by Koehler, title and last leaf in fac-simile. Lugd. M. Husz, £6 10s. 1487. |