• Higden, Ranulf (d. 1364), Polychronicon, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, Late 14th century. [England, Chester, or Wales(?)].
    Higden, Ranulf (d. 1364)
    Polychronicon, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, Late 14th century. [England, Chester, or Wales(?)].
    14th century English manuscript of the Polychronicon, the only copy of the text recorded in private hands, with a remarkable chain of provenance

    Exceptional English medieval manuscript of Higden’s Polychronicon, one of the most popular English medieval works, comprising a topography of the world and a history from Creation to his own era, this is the only copy recorded in private ownership, which comes to us with a long chain of provenance. This copy records until the year 1352 and is apparently unique in having a diagram of the heavens.
  • Gheyn, Jacob II de, The exercise of armes for calivres, muskettes, and pikes. After the ordre of his Excellence Maurits Prince of Orange Count of Nassau etc. Governour and captaine generall over Geldreland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overijssel, etc. Sett for the in figures , The Hague, [1607 (added in manuscript on the title page)].
    Gheyn, Jacob II de
    The exercise of armes for calivres, muskettes, and pikes. After the ordre of his Excellence Maurits Prince of Orange Count of Nassau etc. Governour and captaine generall over Geldreland, Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Overijssel, etc. Sett for the in figures , The Hague, [1607 (added in manuscript on the title page)].
    Presentation copy to the first Earl of Salisbury of the rare first English edition of a famous illustrated military manual, magnificently coloured by a contemporary hand

    Splendid copy of this very rare English edition of De Gheyn's illustrated major military manual, with the plates in their first state, before they were numbered and with some details added during the colouring stage instead of being engraved (several puffs of smoke in the illustrations). The present copy is one of the three "presentation copies" of the first English edition (New Hollstein, The De Gheyn family, II, p. 159, 1b).
  • [Cookery, preserving, candying] [Plat, Sir Hugh], A Closet for ladies and gentlewomen, or the art of preserving, conserving, and candying… also divers soveraigne medicines and salves for sundry diseases. 1644. London. Charles Green. [bound with] [Plat, Sir Hugh]. Delights for ladies, to adorn their perso, 1644. London. James Young.
    [Cookery, preserving, candying] [Plat, Sir Hugh]
    A Closet for ladies and gentlewomen, or the art of preserving, conserving, and candying… also divers soveraigne medicines and salves for sundry diseases. 1644. London. Charles Green. [bound with] [Plat, Sir Hugh]. Delights for ladies, to adorn their perso, 1644. London. James Young.
    Two of the most influential and early English works on cookery, preserving, and candying, in a contemporary binding

    A rare contemporary bound sammelband of two scarce 17th century English works (rarely found together) on cookery, household management, and domestic arts, encompassing preserving, candying, distillation, banqueting dishes, medicinal recipes, perfumes, and cosmetics. The two works, presumably authored by Plat, have been historically confused into a single work with different titles, they are now known as this different works, as this sammelband is also proof of.
  • Zuñiga y Sotomayor, Fadrique de, Libro de cetreria de caça de açor: en el qual por differente stilo del que tienen los antiguos, que estan hechos, veran, (los que a esta caça fueren afficionados) el arte que se ha de tener en el conoscimiento y caça destas aves, y sus curas, y remedios, , 1565. Salamanca. Iuan de Canova.
    Zuñiga y Sotomayor, Fadrique de
    Libro de cetreria de caça de açor: en el qual por differente stilo del que tienen los antiguos, que estan hechos, veran, (los que a esta caça fueren afficionados) el arte que se ha de tener en el conoscimiento y caça destas aves, y sus curas, y remedios, , 1565. Salamanca. Iuan de Canova.
    One of the earliest works on hawking written in Spanish

    Extraordinarily rare first edition of the most important 16th century Spanish work on Falconry: “perhaps the rarest of all Spanish books which relate exclusively to Falconry” (Harting).
  • Blandy, Mary; Jeffries, Elizabeth, Bound collection of six 18th century pamphlets relating to the trials of Mary Blandy and Elizabeth Jeffries, published in Oxford and London, between c.1751-1752.
    Blandy, Mary; Jeffries, Elizabeth
    Bound collection of six 18th century pamphlets relating to the trials of Mary Blandy and Elizabeth Jeffries, published in Oxford and London, between c.1751-1752.
    Sammelband of works on the trials of two renowned women: Mary Blandy and Elizabeth Jeffries, for murder in mid 18th century Britain

    A fascinating collection of works on the famous trials of Mary Blandy for the murder of her father and Elizabeth Jeffries for that of her uncle by her lover, John Swann. Both trials generated a great amount of public interest in mid-18th century Britain and sensationalised accounts such as these provide a valuable insight into the manner in which women who committed crimes were perceived. Moreover, the collection includes the testimony of the women themselves and detailed descriptions of their trials.
  • Minguet e Yrol, Pablo, Reglas, y advertencias generales que enseñan el modo de tañer todos los instrumentos mejores y mas usuales como son la guitarra, tiple, vandola, cythara, clavicordio, órgano, harpa, psalterio, bandurria, 1752-1754. Madrid. Joachim Ibarra.
    Minguet e Yrol, Pablo
    Reglas, y advertencias generales que enseñan el modo de tañer todos los instrumentos mejores y mas usuales como son la guitarra, tiple, vandola, cythara, clavicordio, órgano, harpa, psalterio, bandurria, 1752-1754. Madrid. Joachim Ibarra.
    Remarkable Spanish illustrated pedagogical treatise on music, ‘perhaps the most widely dispersed’ instructional manual of the period

    First edition, first issue, one of the most important (if not the most) pedagogical treatise of the 18th century of Spanish musical instruments, namely string instruments, wonderfully illustrated and exceptionally rare, peculiar namely because of its aim to teach students to play music without the assistance of a tutor or teacher.
  • Martinez de Espinar, Alonso, Arte de Ballesteria, y Monteria, escrita con metodo, para escusar la fatiga, que ocasiona la ignorancia, 1644. Madrid. Imprenta Real.
    Martinez de Espinar, Alonso
    Arte de Ballesteria, y Monteria, escrita con metodo, para escusar la fatiga, que ocasiona la ignorancia, 1644. Madrid. Imprenta Real.
    One of the most famous of all Spanish hunting books, and certainly amongst the best illustrated ones

    First edition, arguably the most famous Spanish book on hunting, and certainly one of the most beautifully illustrated ones, by Juan de Noort. A “rare classic on Spanish hunting which was written at the period when the crossbow was giving way to the musket. The work is of interest to falconers and the last of the three books into which it is divided contains fifteen chapters on falcons” (Schwerdt).
  • Nostradamus, Michel de, Les Propheties de M. Michel Nostradamus. Dont il y en a trois cens qui n’ont encores iamais esté imprimées. Adioustées de nouueau par ledict Autheur, 1568. Lyon. Benoist Rigaud.
    Nostradamus, Michel de
    Les Propheties de M. Michel Nostradamus. Dont il y en a trois cens qui n’ont encores iamais esté imprimées. Adioustées de nouueau par ledict Autheur, 1568. Lyon. Benoist Rigaud.
    Nostradamus’ Propheties, one of the earliest obtainable editions

    The exceedingly rare complete edition of the Prophéties bearing the Benoist Rigaud imprint, this is the second complete edition of Nostradamus's Prophéties, of the utmost rarity, here in a fine copy in a contemporary binding.
  • Gautier d'Agoty, Jacques Fabien ; Duverney, J.F.M, Anatomie de la tête, en tableaux imprimés qui representent au naturel le Cerveau sous differentes coupes, la distribution des Vaisseaux dans toutes les parties de la tete, les organes des sens, et une partie de la nevrologie, 1748. Paris. Gautier, Duverney et Quillau.
    Gautier d'Agoty, Jacques Fabien ; Duverney, J.F.M
    Anatomie de la tête, en tableaux imprimés qui representent au naturel le Cerveau sous differentes coupes, la distribution des Vaisseaux dans toutes les parties de la tete, les organes des sens, et une partie de la nevrologie, 1748. Paris. Gautier, Duverney et Quillau.
    An amazing copy of a strange and hypnotic book: l’anatomie de la tête by Gautier d'Agoty

    First edition of the first work, a fascinating rendering of the human skull and a fabulous piece of 18th century pioneering color printing, one of the first works by Gautier. ‘Gautier operated with great intelligence and an economy of means that was often extremely effective’ (Anatomie de la couleur, p. 112). He was the first to know how to exploit the new process of printing in color.
  • Durer, Albrecht, Sammelband of 3 works, full details below, 1527, 1528 & 1538. Nuremberg.
    Durer, Albrecht
    Sammelband of 3 works, full details below, 1527, 1528 & 1538. Nuremberg.
    Durer’s three major theoretical works on art, measurement, proportion and fortification

    Exceptional sammelband in a near contemporary German binding of Durer’s most important theoretical works on art, ground-breaking studies on measurement, proportion, and fortification, including the Underweysung, a very fine copy containing all the plates and in wonderful condition. These works introduced to Northern Europeans techniques of perspective and mathematical proportion in drawing, painting and architecture.
  • [Malay] Loder, Andries Lambert (ed.), Maleische Woord-Boek-Sameling. Collectanea Malaica Vocabularia, 1706-1708. Batavia. Andries Lambert Loder.
    [Malay] Loder, Andries Lambert (ed.)
    Maleische Woord-Boek-Sameling. Collectanea Malaica Vocabularia, 1706-1708. Batavia. Andries Lambert Loder.
    The Malay Vocabularies collected and published in Batavia

    Collected edition of five early Malay vocabularies, published in Batavia for the Dutch East India company by Andries Lambert Loder, the company's chief printer.
  • [Dogs] Perez, Luis, Del Can, y del Cavallo, y de sus calidades dos animales de gran instincto y sentido, fidelissimos amigos de los hombres, 1568. Valladolid. Adrian Ghemart.
    [Dogs] Perez, Luis
    Del Can, y del Cavallo, y de sus calidades dos animales de gran instincto y sentido, fidelissimos amigos de los hombres, 1568. Valladolid. Adrian Ghemart.
    One of the earliest, if not the earliest, treatises composed in Spanish about dogs

    First edition, an extremely rare Spanish Renaissance treatise devoted to the dog and the horse, among the earliest substantial vernacular Spanish works dedicated to these subjects and frequently described as the first work in Spanish devoted specifically to dogs. Both horse and dog are presented as faithful companions and indispensable collaborators in hunting, agriculture, travel, and war. Signed by the author on title.