The Sonnets of William Shakespeare by Shakespeare, William; Wood Engravings by Mary Kuper - 1974

Random House, New York, 1947. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/VG. 11 1/4 H x 8 1/ 4 W x 1/4 inch. NON SMOKING STORE. My listing includes PHOTO OF ACTUAL BOOK for sale. Book Interior NEAR FINE/ Covers Very Good Plus/ Dust Jacket Very Good. Three line Copyright notice on back of title page. Boards and spine are green cloth, spine is printed, cover and spine lettering in dark green, front cover has title, author and leaping fish in black embossed, fish is smiling with what looks to be his mouth shut, on ffep fish is leaping with mouth open. Dust jacket is blue, lettering red/black, full colour pictorial front which wraps around on spine with balance of pictorial on back as well as a white ball with text. Dust jacket is price clipped in a small triangle, has a bit of age darkening on flap folds, spine does not seem to be sunned, dj has no rips but has 5 chips out of all edges biggest is 1/4 W x 1/4 inch H, has various small creases on both flap folds and each side of dj spine, front back and… Read More

Paris: Librairie L. Conquet, 1895 The Robert Hoe Copy, specially made for him and so stated on the limitation page in ink: "Exemplaire offert/à Monsieur Robert Hoe/ L. Conquet." Limited to 150 copies, of which this is number 68.This copy is distinguished as having two separate (and identical) suites of illustrations, interspersed within the text. Of the thousands of books in the Robert Hoe collection, this is one of only a few in which he commissioned a special product from the publisher. In a superb contemporary embroidered binding on silk, consisting of elaborate floral motifs, ribbon patterns, and buds, all in colored silk embroidery on cream-colored silk padded covers. Gilt lettering on spine, marbled endpapers with leather bookplate of Robert Hoe. . Octavo. Frontisportrait and eight etchings, plus etched headbands and tail-pieces. Printed on Imperial Japan Vellum. Tear along front joint, a little fraying at foot of spine. A very good copy. Robert Hoe III (1839-1909) was an American businessman,… Read More

Strasbourg: Argentinae: Ex officina Martini Flach junioris, 1501. Half leather. Fine. Folio, printed in Strassburg by Martin Flach, 7 February 1501; 161 unnumbered leaves. BINDING: new Gothic hand-sewn oak binding by Arthur Green of Malvern; tawed quarter leather over quarter-sawn oak boards, quires hand-sewn on four double-cords creating four raised spine bands, board leather blind-tooled with period style rosettes and fleurs-de-lys within panel of diagonal blind triple fillets, hand-sewn Gothic double headbands of alternate hand-dyed indigo and undyed linen thread, hand-made brass hasps and clasps ornamented in period style; an exceptionally attractive recreation of a Gothic hand-sewn binding employing medieval techniques contemporaneous with the date the book was printed. COLLATION: [pi]6, a2-8, b-y6, z8, zeta6, antisigma8; leaf a1 excised and subsequent first few lines of a2[recto] redacted in black ink in the sixteenth century by the inquisitor for its heretical content (see below). TEXT: Double… Read More

The Nonesuch Press. London. 1924-27. FIVE VOLUMES. Tall 4to. (12.3 x 8.3 inches). Limited edition. One of 1000 sets printed on Japon vellum (The Apochrypha is one of 1250 copies) from a total edition of 1075 copies. The typography was arranged by Frances Meynell. Each volume decorated with copperplate engravings by Stephen Gooden, including the title pages. A lovely clean set finely bound in recent full black morocco, decorative gilt border to boards. Spines with raised bands, each with decorative gilt piping and ruling. Red title labels, gilt. Top edges gilt, others untrimmed. A beautiful set.

London: John Murray, 1816. First Edition. First Edition. Thin 8vo. Superbly bound in attractive full teal crushed levant with gilt ruling on edges of covers, spine with five raised bands and gilt ruled panels and stippled design work on bands, lettering and date, edges of boards with single gilt filet ruling, stamp-signed by Sangorski & Sutcliffe on front dentelle. FIRST EDITION, containing the first printings of three of Coleridge's most celebrated poems. Half-title, no ads. Paul Francis Webster's copy (1907-1984), American lyricist (with his morocco bookplate). Also bookplate of Alfred Perlman, noted bibliophile and collector. Coleridge began writing "Christabel" as early as 1803. Coleridge composed "Kubla Khan" one night after he experienced an opium-influenced dream in 1797, but he was unable to complete it in the original plan, being interrupted by "a person from Porlock," causing him to forget the lines. He would read the poem periodically to the Wordsworths, Lord Byron, and other friends, and… Read More

London: Chapman and Hall, 1837. First edition. First edition. Exquisitely bound in full crimson morocco with highly decorative gilt designs and green morocco onlays on cover and spine, gilt designs on back cover by Sangorski & Sutcliffe including alternating gilt busts of Samuel Pickwick and Sam Weller which recur in the spine panels. WITH SUPERB ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR OVAL WATERCOLOR PORTRAIT OF DICKENS inset to inside upper cover, mounted with brass edges, ornate gilt and morocco onlay borders, full morocco doublures and silk-free endpapers. A wonderful and truly imaginative binding. iii]-xiv, [2], 609 pp. Lacking half-title. With 43 engraved plates by Robert Seymour and H.K. Browne. Some scattered light foxing, some fraying to f.f.e.p., wear to margins of spine, expertly rebacked. Housed in a wonderful handmade folding cloth clamshell box with marbled paper interior and gilt red crushed morocco spine with five raised bands and three gilt ornaments by Sean Richards.

Paris: Javal and Bordeaux, 1930. Limited Edition. JOUVE, Paul. Illustrated by one of the leading painters in France, this superb work brings Kipling's classic Jungle Book story into the realm of fine 20th century French publishing. Limited edition of 125 copies, bound in snakeskin-style folding case, protected by matching slipcase (some wear), 340 mm x 265 mm, 130 unbound pages as issued, 21 plates, printed on imperial Japan paper, an excellent copy.

London : T Cadell Jun. and W Davies, 1802 A good to very good copy of the first translation into English of Dante's Divine Comedy. This copy retains the original marbled boards, with new calf spines and corners, so the bindings are clean, sound and tight with some light scuffing to the boards. The translation was completed by Henry Boyd, then Vicar of Rathfryland in County Down. The contents are complete with frontispiece portrait by Stothard and titles and half titles to each volume. Vol I: frontispiece; title; dedication; half title to Inferno; text 408pp. Vol II: title; half title; preliminary essay and text 384pp. Vol III: title; half title; preliminary essay and text with index, errata and addenda 420pp (more detailed collation available on request). All the volumes retain their original endpapers with repair at the joints and stamped ownership details of Richd Hopkins of Huntingdonshire. All the endpapers have some marking and Vol II has lost the corner tip of the rear free endpaper.… Read More

New York: William Morrow and Company, 1968. First Edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. First edition, first printing. Signed by author as Richard Hooker on the title page with quote marks around his name; Richard Hooker is the pseudonym of Dr. Hiester Richard Hornberger Jr. Near Fine, with light edge wear, toning to spine ends, small evidence of tape removal to recto of half-title page, hinge at title page over-opened. In a Near Fine unclipped dust jacket, with light shelf wear and toning. A laid-in note in a former owner's hand reads, "Dr. Hornberger autographed this book as "Richard Hooker" while still employed as a doctor at Thayer Hospital in Waterville, Maine." Signed copies are scarce.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1943. First Edition. Very Good/Very Good. First edition stated, first printing. Bound in publisher's green cloth with title label to spine. Very Good+ with fading to spine, light softening to spine ends, pages toned. In a Very Good first issue dust jacket with a blank verso and publisher's original price of $2.75 intact; Rubbing and wear mainly at extremities, light chipping at spine ends. A nice example of the wartime production.