History of Ideas & Science

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.

The First French Grammar Printed in the United States, written by an early Harvard French Instructor

Rare first edition of the first French grammar printed in the United States, a landmark of early American printing and language pedagogy, produced by Harvard’s first appointed instructor of French, printed in Boston. “One of the earliest books of its class printed in America.” (Sabin).

Brahe´s most important astronomical work

First trade edition, which is virtually impossible to find, of Tycho Brahe´s most important astronomical work, which provides a description of his astronomical instruments at Hven; the work was first printed in 1598 at his own press at Heinrich Rantz's castle in Wandbeck in a run of 40 copies which were distributed privately, which are virtually impossible to find today.

Rare Hyderabadi palace cookbook with Ottoman dedication

Monumental Urdu recipe-book of the Nizami court, compiled by Ghulam Mahbub Hyderabadi, "Dar-e Bawarchikhana" (head of the kitchens) of Nawab Sir Asman Jah Bahadur, Hyderabad’s prime minister from 1887 to 1894. The work offers 680 recipes representing the late 19th-century repertoire of elite Hyderabadi dining, from biryani and pula'o to kabab, khorma, chutneys, and pickles.

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.

The King of Oudh’s Dictionary from his Royal Lucknow Press in a contemporary Indian binding and presented by a high-ranking British colonial official to the Signet Library
“Philology is the ruling principle and basis of all science as water is of life.”

First edition, an exceptional copy of this remarkable printing from Lucknow, housed in its contemporary binding and presented by George Swinton, Chief Secretary to the Government of Bengal, to the Signet Library.

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).

Illustrated Late Ming Woodblock Edition of the "School Sayings of Confucius"

The second known copy: a rare and handsomely illustrated late-Ming woodblock printing of the "School Sayings of Confucius", a collection of conversations that the philosopher supposedly had during his lifetime. At least partly apocryphal, they cover such topics as Confucius's life and character, his discussions on governance, ritual, and ethics, as well as his views on his disciples. The twelve illustrations, apparently inspired by earlier illustrated editions, represent events in the philosopher's life, which swing between myth and reality. There are few Ming printings of the work, but almost none are known in western collections, and the only other copy of this edition is held by the National Archives of Japan.

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.

Printed in Macao, a guide to writing Chinese characters in three styles, printed with the aid of Macao locals with little resources

The extremely rare first edition in folio of “the most important of Callery’s sinological works. The author states in the foreword how he set up his own printing office for this work, bought a small set of used types and, with the help of 6 natives, all inexperienced in Western languages, and with restricted funds and availability of materials, succeeded in producing this guide to writing Chinese characters in three styles, together with a trilingual dictionary (Chinese-French-Latin), and a collection of sentences in colloquial Chinese” (Löwendahl).

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’ 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.

Lady Meux’s remarkable three-volume country-house cookbook

An extraordinary country-house cookery typescript compiled by Lady Meux at Theobald’s Park, preserving 599 recipes in three substantial volumes and surviving as a highly distinctive aristocratic domestic archive. This particular copy matters for its scale, its evidently publication-minded presentation, and its unusually vivid record of elite hospitality at the very end of the Victorian age.

Dated fascicle from the re-engraved Goryeo Tripitaka

A complete dated fascicle from the re-engraved Goryeo Tripitaka. The "Zhi chan bing miyao fa" is a Mahayana-inflected sutra that details the methods for meditators to cure physical and mental illnesses when practicing meditation in a secluded place. It is an apocryphal Chinese Buddhist sutra, written in the fifth century "in the form of Indian Buddhist sutras translated into Chinese but in actuality composed or substantially compiled in China" (Greene, xi) and attributed to the scholar Juqu Jingsheng.

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.