Moby Dick by Herman Melville - 2009: Limited Edition No. 1106

Rare complete set of 70 hand-coloured lithographic portraits of French actors and actresses on the Paris stage, circa 1825. Also known as Collection de portraits des artistes des theatres de Paris.Fine hand-coloured portraits of actors, opera singers and ballet dancers in costume of their famous roles by Alexandre-Marie Colin and Louis Marin-Lavigne, lithographed by F. Noel.Artistes include actors Jean-Baptiste Firmin, Joseph-Isidore Samson, Jenny Vertpre and Mlle. Pauline, opera singers Louis Fereol, Louise Therese Lemonnier, Felicite Pradher, Adolphe Nourrit, Caroline Branchu and Mlle. Grassari, ballet dancers Marie Cheza, Louise Pierson and Zelie Molard, mime artist Charles-Francois Mazurier.Condition: Original marble boards rebound into a portfolio with buckram spine, all 70 plates loose inside. Plates fine and vibrant with excellent handcolouring, a few with repairs. Alexandre-Marie Colin (1798-1875) was a French painter of historical and genre subjects. Louis Stanislas Marin-Lavigne (1797-1860)… Read More

Very good + copy of the second edition (first with hand-coloured lithographic plates) of Strutt's monumental work on the costume of England, first published with 143 copperplate engravings in 1796.The classic study of English costume illustrated with numerous examples from illuminated manuscripts held in the British Library, the Bodleian, and Harleian collections. Complete with 153 hand-colored plates, 10 more than the first edition, of people, costumes, armour, seals, and everyday objects from the time of the Saxons to the end of the 17th century. With 2 hand-coloured frontispieces, 8 hand-coloured plates of Egyptian, Greek and Roman costumes in the introduction, and 143 hand-coloured lithographic plates of English costume.New improved edition with critical and explanatory notes by James Robinson Planche, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Joseph Strutt (1749-1802) was an English engraver, artist, antiquary and writer famous for his work on the history of English costume and sports. Starting with… Read More

Two volumes of Presuhn's souvenir books with 75 vibrant chromolithographs of wall paintings discovered in PompeiiLes Decorations Murales de Pompeii, 1878.With 24 chromolithographs after original drawings by Geremia Discanno, lithographed by Victor Steeger, and 51 pages of text in French translated from the German by A. Giraud-Teulon. Bound with Choix des Plus Belles et Interessantes Peintures de Pompei, avec Plan de la Ville, 1882With 50 chromolithographs after original drawings by Emile Presuhn and Geremia DiscannoAlong with wall paintings from all four eras of design, the plates depict floor mosaics, portraits, statues, plaster-casts of bodies, and plans of houses and the excavations. Presuhn (1844-1881) was a German archeologist who lived and worked in Italy for almost decade from 1870 publishing books illustrating the latest murals, mosaics and discoveries made in the excavations in Pompeii. Discanno (1839-1907) was an Italian artist and painter who worked in Naples and Pompeii.Red cloth binding… Read More

1856 1ed Narrative of Expedition American Squadron Perry Hawkes JAPAN China MAPS

First and only complete edition of Commodore Perry's Japan Expedition!

Matthew Perry was one of the most important American Naval officers during the 19th-century. While he was notable for his involvement in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, his most famous accomplishment came as the leader of a voyage to Japan beginning in 1852 aboard the East India Squadron. This series of short visits sought to pursue Japanese trade treaties, but Perry and his crew discovered much more – Japanese and Chinese cultures, politics, coal mining and agriculture, as well as attempts at occupation of Formosa. While many events came from this expedition, according to Hill,
"the most important result was that the visit contributed to the collapse of the feudal regime and to the modernization of Japan"

The events of this expedition were recorded by Perry and Francis Hawks in the 1856 account "Narrative of the Expedition of an… Read More

This rare book from the year 1675 has been professionally rebound in tan leather with the title in gold on the cover, with gold decor on the spine, and with gilded corners. The marbled endsheets are also not original. There are a few very old margin notations.The entire text of the book is original and complete. and in Good Condition, while the binding is in Very Good Condition. On the leading page edges the words "Charles of London" are embossed, and this, too, appears to be original.This is a unique item and will make a fine addition to the library of the British historian.

Rare complete set of 70 hand-coloured lithographic portraits of French actors and actresses on the Paris stage, circa 1825. Also known as Collection de portraits des artistes des theatres de Paris.Fine hand-coloured portraits of actors, opera singers and ballet dancers in costume of their famous roles by Alexandre-Marie Colin and Louis Marin-Lavigne, lithographed by F. Noel.Artistes include actors Jean-Baptiste Firmin, Joseph-Isidore Samson, Jenny Vertpre and Mlle. Pauline, opera singers Louis Fereol, Louise Therese Lemonnier, Felicite Pradher, Adolphe Nourrit, Caroline Branchu and Mlle. Grassari, ballet dancers Marie Cheza, Louise Pierson and Zelie Molard, mime artist Charles-Francois Mazurier.Condition: Original marble boards rebound into a portfolio with buckram spine, all 70 plates loose inside. Plates fine and vibrant with excellent handcolouring, a few with repairs. Alexandre-Marie Colin (1798-1875) was a French painter of historical and genre subjects. Louis Stanislas Marin-Lavigne (1797-1860)… Read More

Very good + copy of the second edition (first with hand-coloured lithographic plates) of Strutt's monumental work on the costume of England, first published with 143 copperplate engravings in 1796.The classic study of English costume illustrated with numerous examples from illuminated manuscripts held in the British Library, the Bodleian, and Harleian collections. Complete with 153 hand-colored plates, 10 more than the first edition, of people, costumes, armour, seals, and everyday objects from the time of the Saxons to the end of the 17th century. With 2 hand-coloured frontispieces, 8 hand-coloured plates of Egyptian, Greek and Roman costumes in the introduction, and 143 hand-coloured lithographic plates of English costume.New improved edition with critical and explanatory notes by James Robinson Planche, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. Joseph Strutt (1749-1802) was an English engraver, artist, antiquary and writer famous for his work on the history of English costume and sports. Starting with… Read More

Two volumes of Presuhn's souvenir books with 75 vibrant chromolithographs of wall paintings discovered in PompeiiLes Decorations Murales de Pompeii, 1878.With 24 chromolithographs after original drawings by Geremia Discanno, lithographed by Victor Steeger, and 51 pages of text in French translated from the German by A. Giraud-Teulon. Bound with Choix des Plus Belles et Interessantes Peintures de Pompei, avec Plan de la Ville, 1882With 50 chromolithographs after original drawings by Emile Presuhn and Geremia DiscannoAlong with wall paintings from all four eras of design, the plates depict floor mosaics, portraits, statues, plaster-casts of bodies, and plans of houses and the excavations. Presuhn (1844-1881) was a German archeologist who lived and worked in Italy for almost decade from 1870 publishing books illustrating the latest murals, mosaics and discoveries made in the excavations in Pompeii. Discanno (1839-1907) was an Italian artist and painter who worked in Naples and Pompeii.Red cloth binding… Read More

1856 1ed Narrative of Expedition American Squadron Perry Hawkes JAPAN China MAPS

First and only complete edition of Commodore Perry's Japan Expedition!

Matthew Perry was one of the most important American Naval officers during the 19th-century. While he was notable for his involvement in the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, his most famous accomplishment came as the leader of a voyage to Japan beginning in 1852 aboard the East India Squadron. This series of short visits sought to pursue Japanese trade treaties, but Perry and his crew discovered much more – Japanese and Chinese cultures, politics, coal mining and agriculture, as well as attempts at occupation of Formosa. While many events came from this expedition, according to Hill,
"the most important result was that the visit contributed to the collapse of the feudal regime and to the modernization of Japan"

The events of this expedition were recorded by Perry and Francis Hawks in the 1856 account "Narrative of the Expedition of an… Read More

This rare book from the year 1675 has been professionally rebound in tan leather with the title in gold on the cover, with gold decor on the spine, and with gilded corners. The marbled endsheets are also not original. There are a few very old margin notations.The entire text of the book is original and complete. and in Good Condition, while the binding is in Very Good Condition. On the leading page edges the words "Charles of London" are embossed, and this, too, appears to be original.This is a unique item and will make a fine addition to the library of the British historian.