THE ORIGINAL PLAN OF A PART OF WASHINGTON'S ESTATE.-Volume three, part one, has a letter written by HENRY LAURENS, President of Congress.-Volume three, part two, contains A VERY NOTABLE LETTER OF TOBIAS LEAR, Washington's Secretary, and PORTRAYS THE COMMERCIAL CONDITIONS OF AMERICA AFTER THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.-Volume four, part one, has a fine letter written by JAMES WARREN during the war, and a large number of documents and signatures of sixteen members of the Continental Congress, MANY OF THEM SCARCE NAMES.-In volume four, part two, there is a document signed by ROGER SHERMAN.—In volume five, part one, a war letter of GENERAL HENRY DEARBORN, one of the chief figures in the War of 1812.-Volume five, part two, contains a document of BARON DE STEUBEN, DECIDEDLY RARE.-Volume six, part one, has A RARE LETTER OF PHILIP SCHUYLER, RELATING TO THE PROVINCE OF NEW YORK.— Volume six, part two, contains a letter written by GENERAL HENRY LEE, one of the foremost Revolutionary Officers; AND TEN DOCUMENTS AND SIGNATURES OF TEN SIGNERS OF THE CONSTITUTION. There is also a PATRICK HENRY item in one of the volumes; THUS MAKING IN ALL FIFTY-TWO AUTOGRAPHIC ITEMS, MANY OF THEM OF DECIDED RARITY, INCLUDED IN THIS SET. The engravings, etchings, etc., with which the set is extra-illustrated are NUMEROUS AND INCLUDE RARE PRINTS BOTH IN COLOR AND IN BLACK AND WHITE. SPECIAL MENTION SHOULD BE MADE OF THE NUMEROUS PRIVATE PLATES OF PORTRAITS OF SIGNERS OF THE CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 40. BARCLAY. The Ship of Fools. Transl. by Alexander Barclay. 2 vols. 4to, half morocco, backs tooled, gilt tops, uncut. Edinburgh, 1874 *Fine complete edition, illustrated with grotesque designs throughout the text. LARGE PAPER COPY. 41. BASKERVILLE PRAYER BOOK. The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church. Thick royal 8vo, bound in contemporary crimson English straightgrained morocco, exquisitely gold-tooled sides and back, gilt edges. Cambridge, 1760 * A VERY FINE COPY OF BASKERVILLE'S BEAUTIFULLY PRINTED EDITION, each page within a border. Contemporary owner's name on title. 42. BEAUX AND BELLES OF ENGLAND, including Captain Jesse's Life of Beau Brummell, 2 vols.; Biography of Lord Chesterfield, by W. Ernst, 2 vols.; Life of Nell Gwynn, by Peter Cunningham; Memoirs of Count Grammont, by Count Anthony Hamilton; Lives of the Sheridans, by Percy Fitzgerald, 2 vols.; Life of Mrs. Mary Siddons, by James Boaden, 2 vols.; Life of Mrs. Mary Robinson, by Herself; Memoirs of Lady Hamilton and Lord Nelson, by John Cordy Jeaffreson, 2 vols.; Life of Lady Blessington, by J. F. Molloy. Together 14 vols. 8vo, HANDSOMELY BOUND IN FULL-POLISHED YELLOW CALF, RICHLY GILT TOOLED BACK, GILT LINE BORDERS ON SIDES, WITH CORNER ORNAMENTS, INLAID WITH GREEN POLISHED CALF AND LABELS TO MATCH, INSIDE GOLD BORDERS, DOUBLURES OF GREEN CALF GILT, GILT EDGES, BY ZAEHNSDORF. Lond. The Grolier Society, n. d. : * EDITION DES AMATEURS, LIMITED TO 100 COPIES for England and America, this being No. 10. Copiously illustrated with fine portraits, views, etc., after eminent artists, many being facsimiles of rare prints. The illustrations are in two states-one on Japan vellum, the other set in colors and both sets proofs. A BEAUTIFUL SET IN THE CHOICEST POSSIBLE CONDITION. 43. BECKFORD (WILLIAM) AND JOHNSON (SAMUEL). The History of the Caliph Vathek, with preface, notes, etc.; also, Rasselas. Prince of Abyssinia. With 4 etchings and a portrait of Beckford by Damman, after A. H. Tourrier. 8vo, cloth, label, uncut. Lond. 1883 *LARGE PAPER. One of only 40 copies for the American market. Printed on hand-made paper, with proof etchings on Japanese paper. 44. BERNARD (JOHN). Retrospections of the Stage. By John Bernard, Manager of the American Theatres, and formerly Secretary to the Beef Steak Club. 83 extra-illustrations, comprising 76 fine portraits in copper (some rare, several in proof state) of celebrated actors and actresses, several folding views of provincial theatres. Rare Play-bill of Jefferson's Benefit at Plymouth, 1804; Broadside of Incledon's Song, "The British Soldier," 1807; autograph letter from Incledon to Elliston; etc. 2 vols. post 8vo, tree calf extra, gilt backs and tops, by TOUT (rebacked). Lond. 1830 * Bernard's Recollections cover a most interesting period in Dramatic History. This copy, with the additional matter of portraits, etc., renders it most valuable and a highly desirable item. THE FAMOUS AITKEN BIBLE. 45. BIBLE. THE HOLY BIBLE, CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS; NEWLY TRANSLATED OUT OF THE ORIGINAL TONGUES; AND WITH THE FORMER TRANSLATIONS DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED. Small stout Svo, black levant, blind panelled sides and back, old gilt edges. PHIL.: Printed and sold by R. AITKEN, at POPE'S HEAD, three Doors above the Coffee House, in Market Street, 1782. * GOOD COPY OF THIS EXTREMELY RARE AND MOST INTERESTING AMERICAN BIBLE. PERFECT COPIES ARE SELDOM MET WITH. THE BAKER COPY SOLD FOR $650.00, THE POLOCK COPY $525.00, AND THE APPLETON COPY $540.00. INTERESTING AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF ROBERT AITKEN INSERTED. 46. BIBLIOGRAPHY. La Croix-Du-Maine (Sieur de). Premier Volume de la Bibliothèque; qui est un Catalogue général de toutes sortes d'Autheurs, qui ont escrit en François depuis cinq cents ans & plus, jusques à ce iourd'hui. Woodcut portrait of Henry III. on the back of title, and a very interesting woodcut on p. 511, representing one of the bookcases from the library of the author. Folio, old calf (cracked). Paris: Abel l'Angelier, 1584 *The extremely rare original edition of this important bibliographical treatise, one of the earliest published in French, and still valuable on account of its interesting accounts of French writers. No copy has ever been offered for sale in the Bulletin of Morgand. A notice of COLUMBUS AND HIS DISCOVERIES occurs on p. 548. From the library of the celebrated English litterateur THOMAS KILLIGREW, with his autograph on the title-page, and from the SUNDERLAND LIBRARY. 47. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Halkett (Samuel) and Laing (John). A Dictionary of the Anonymous and Pseudonymous Literature of Great Britain, including the Works of Foreigners, written in or translated into the English Language. 4 vols. thick royal 8vo, original cloth, uncut. Edinburgh, 1882-1888 *FINE SET of the most complete work of its kind extant. Now VERY SCARCE WHEN COMPLETE, owing to the length of time consumed in its publication. 48. BIDPAI'S FABLES, ILLUSTRATED WITH WOODCUTS. Die Alten Weysen. Apophtegmata Sapientium. Der Alten Weisen exempel sprüch mit vel wunder schönen Beyspilen und Figuren erleüchtet. 115 curious and fine woodcuts by HANS BALDUNG GRIEN. Folio, half calf. Strassburg: Bartholomeus Grieninger, 1536 * AN EXTREMELY RARE EDITION of this celebrated book, a translation of the Directorium Humano Vito" of John of Capua. The names found in the original Kalila and Dimma have been transformed (through the deficiencies of the Oriental alphabets) from Nushirvan to Anastres Tassri, and from Bidpai to Sendebar. The similarity of many of the stories to those in the Seven Wise Masters," which is properly called the book of Sindabab, and this corruption of the name of Bidpai (which is easily accounted for in the transit from Arabic or Persian through Hebrew to Latin letters) has frequently caused the two books to be confounded. Choice Examples of the Binder's Art. CARDINAL BOURBON'S COPY OF A RARE GREEK TESTA MENT, 1524. 49. BINDING. Novum Testamentum. Cura Ceporini Græce. Beautiful woodcuts of the symbols of the Four Evangelists on title, woodcut initials and large device of Jo. Bebelius on last page. Small Svo, contemporary smooth brown morocco, the sides and back covered with gold Fleursde-Lys and the arms of CARDINAL BOURBON in centre of each cover, gilt edges. Basel: J. Bebelius, 1524 *An extremely rare edition, in which St. Mark, xi, 25, and I. St. John, v. 7, are omitted. Beautiful copy exhibited in the Bindings Exhibition of the BURLINGTON FINE ARTS CLUB, and previously in the famous CRAWFORD COLLECTION. IN BEAUTIFUL PRESERVATION. On fly-leaf a former owner has very neatly written a long description from Dibdin as to the editing by Ceporinus and as to the great scarcity of the book. |