Early Printing & Illustration

Exceptional Renaissance suite of prints

First and only edition, a superb suite of prints of which little is known, by Cavalieri, depicting ‘monsters’ and prodigies, bringing together classical and contemporary marvels, broadly copying Burgkmair's designs; apparently, these are the earliest appearance of Hans Burgkmair's designs extant in print. Burgkmair's woodcuts would eventually appear much later in the supplement to Giovanni Botero's Delle relationi universali, Venice, 1617 and which would constitute “the first serious study of native life and dress made for publication in a European travel book” (Walter Oakeschott). No edition containing Burgkmair's original blocks is known before their 17th century use in the supplement to Botero.

Editio Princeps of the Second Work on Witchcraft

First edition, the second printed work written on witchcraft, and extremely rare. Written in the format of a pedagogical dialogue, Nider's Formicarius, translated as the Ant Hill (or Ant Colony), uses the lives, habits and types of ants as metaphors for various aspects of Christian belief and practice. His metaphor was based on Proverbs 6:6 ("Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise"), arguing the disciplined ant colony as a model for human society. For example, in the first section Nider uses the occupations of ants to frame a discussion of the deeds of good men and women; in the second section, Nider introduces a discussion of revelation with the varied methods of locomotion by ants. The work is famous, however, for the fifth section on witches and witchcraft, beginning with a discussion of the various colors of ants. The section would be an important source for the Malleus Maleficarum, which would reprint extracts from it. Nider discusses the relationships between witches and demons, details on the gatherings of witches, and argues that most witches were women due to their inferior moral, physical and intellectual capabilities which made them more susceptible to demons. Indeed, Nider’s Formicarius is a crucial early source to depict witches as uneducated women.

The most important Spanish treatise on painting produced in the Siglo de Oro

First edition of this finely illustrated Spanish work on painting, very rare. This work has become extremely rare, "and is daily sought more and more by those addicted to the Fine Arts," according to Palau. It is a notable work on art by the Florentine painter to the Spanish King (Philip IV) and is considered the best Spanish book on the subject.

The Dyson Perrins-Hermann Marx copy of the Ars Moriendi.

Fascinating illustrated incunable Ars Moriendi, or Art of Dying, with a wonderful and rarely seen striking set of woodcuts, a medieval best seller, and one of the great themes of medieval life, inspired in the woodblock books. As with all early editions, this edition is rare. This is a very fine, nearly uncut copy of the Ars Moriendi, which comes from two of the greatest English libraries of the 20th century.

The most important work about Spanish guitar of the 17th century and one of the best records we have in baroque guitar

First complete edition, of the “most comprehensive guitar treatise of its time” (TNG, xvi, 486), and the second book on guitar published in Spain, following a short treatise by Amat; to-date, an important record of what we know of classical guitar repertory and techniques. The first and second parts were published independently on 1674 and 1675; this is the first appearance of the third part and as a complete work.

Cranach’s earliest woodcuts

First edition of likely the first known woodcuts by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 - 1553), created to illustrate this first edition of Winterburger's Missale, an exceptional work, and of extreme rarity: no copy exists in the United States, two are recorded in OCLC (Hungary and Denmark), and we locate 6 additional ones in museums, all in Europe.

The first leaf-book to present samples of incunabula, an exceptional gathering of leaves from Swedish incunables, including some printed on vellum

This is the first-ever leaf-book to present samples of incunabula, it is also remarkable because of the place of printing of the leaves, Klemming's collection contains a third of all known texts printed in or for Sweden before 1500: as is typical of the outlying regions of 15th century Europe, the early monuments of Swedish printing are almost all exceptionally rare. Of the approximately two dozen extant fifteenth-century books and broadsides printed either in Sweden or specifically for the Swedish market, ten either survive only in fragments, or if integral (as several of the broadsides are), survive only through preservation as binding waste. Of the remainder, only a few are recorded in as many as five copies. Even where five or more copies are known of a particular edition, characteristically, all or nearly all of them are imperfect, often substantially so.

Extraordinary publication illustrated with Posada popular Calaveras accompanying a comic or satire of sorts

Only[?] edition, of which we were unable to locate a single copy in OCLC, of this extraordinary collection of Calaveras by Mexican illustrator Guadalupe Posada in form of a comic or satire of sorts, where the calaveras are the illustrations, an exceptional mix of illustration and text, and definitely an unusual type of publication for Posada´s oeuvre.

Fundamentals of Japanese Architecture

First English edition, first printing of this uncommon record of a lecture on Japanese architecture given by Taut in October 1935, with plans, sketches and 25 photographic illustrations.

Spanish Renaissance advice on health, food and coitus for women

First edition, the Regimiento y Aviso de Sanidad discusses the basic principles of nutrition as the “first sustenance of mortals”, and includes interesting observations regarding foods from the Americas, which he refers to as coming from the “India” or “New India.” All forms of foods are dealt with, such as grains and flours, meats (from beef and chicken to hedgehogs, otters, and beavers), the different parts of animals, their uses and properties, fish, and dairy products, vegetables and herbs; a second section of the third book concerns fruits and a variety of greens, fats, salts, and spices, and finally beverages, including wine and the benefits of water.

Jean-Baptiste Colbert's Breydenbach: the first printed travel report of the Middle East, including the first Arabic alphabet in print

Editio princeps of the first modern account of a journey from Venice to the Holy Land: Jean-Baptiste Colbert's copy, preserved in its elegant, 17th century marbled vellum binding, and later in the library of the Earls of Macclesfield.

The Primary Edition, with only original leaves from five centuries of Korean printing, commencing in the 15th century

First edition, this copy is from the ‘Primary Edition’ and therefore contains original leaves of all the twenty-two publications dealt with. A very rare publication with twenty-two original tipped-in specimens printed from movable type, dating from 1420 to 1858. An additional Specimen 7B, dating from 1648, is included in this copy, making a total of twenty-three original ‘specimens’ or leaves.

Edmond de Goncourt's copy of One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji, a landmark of Japanese illustration

First edition, first issue, very rare, an exceptional copy of one of the most famous of all illustrated books, the One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji, known as the ‘Falcon Feather’ edition; this is the Goncourt copy in the rare Falcon Feather bindings. The plates in this first issue are in fine impressions, Hokusai's Fugaku Hyakkei is one of the best Japanese woodblock books ever created, it transcends its nationality and ranks amongst the highest tier of illustrated books from any date and any culture.

Rare first edition of a magnificent series of armed riders in action, commissioned by Prince Maurice of Orange

Very rare first edition of this magnificent series of cavalrymen and lansquentes in various positions, bound for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1598-1612) with his coat-of-arms on the boards.

The Sisteron Deception, proposing an earlier date of the beginning of printing than the accepted date of the invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg

A notorious nineteenth-century “history-of-printing” mystification, engineered around two genuine Lyonnese incunables and an accompanying monograph that sought to move the invention of printing back to 1443.

The 1568 Munich Ducal Wedding Fête Book, a fine copy in exceptional contemporary color

First edition and a superb copy fully coloured by a contemporary hand, of this remarkable Bavarian Fête book, considered to be one of the rarest, most significant and most lavish produced in 16th century Europe, the copy of the Court Library at Donaueschingen. It is illustrated with delicate copperplate engravings of festival scenes at the Court of Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria, (1548-1626) staged for his marriage to Renée, Duchess of Lorraine (1544-1602).