Scholarly Books from Cole & Contreras

Paris: Techener, 1859. FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of this groundbreaking study of southern French dialects in the 16th and 17th centuries. VIII, 257 pp. Concludes with an extensive bibliography of books in southern French dialects printed during those centuries (471 items described). Printed on good wove paper. 4to. Bound in morocco-backed pebbled boards. … Read more about this item

Paris: Lamulle et Poisson, 1892. Rare monograph on the Butcher's Guild of Limoges, surely the oldest guild in existence. 117 pp. 8vo. Original wraps. Spine mostly gone, else clean. Resewing or rebinding wouldn't hurt.

Angers: Imprimerie Lachese & Cie (Extrait de la Revue des Facultes catholiques de l'Ouest), 1900. First and only edition. 68 pp. A rare historical monograph on Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, who played a key role in the American Revolution as the commander-in-chief of the French forces that came to help the American rebels.… Read more about this item

Paris: Ernest Thorin, 1874. First and only edition of this rare monograph. 2 leaves, 136 pp. Inscribed (on the half-title) by the author to scholar Arthur du Chene, who signed it on the cover. 8vo. Original wraps. Very good.

Paris: Henri Menu, 1876. First and only edition of this journal, an important historical document. 54 pp. Edition limited to 125 copies, of which this is ONE OF ONLY 25 COPIES PRINTED ON FINE LAID PAPER. This copy belonged to scholar Arthur du Chene: his signature is on a preliminary blank and a bookseller's… Read more about this item

Arras: Typographie de Sede, 1876. A rare monograph. Describes the contents of the church treasury, using manuscript sources. 42 pp plus one lithographed plate (reproducing the seals of the church). 4to. Original wraps. Upper corner (about 2 x 4 cm) of unprinted rear cover missing. Still, very good, and very rare.

Tananarive (Antananarivo): Imprimerie Officielle, 1939. FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of the first serious scholarly study of the geography, history, ethnography, and demography of the Comoros. The author was the adjunct administrator of the French Colonial Administration. 108 pp. 4to. Bound in patterned cloth, surely from Madagascar or the Comoros. Original wraps bound in.… Read more about this item

Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1933. A LARGE-PAPER COPY OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THIS IMPORTANT EARLY ACCOUNT OF LIFE AMONG THE PYGMIES. 4, 183 pp plus several full-page photographic plates. ONE OF ONLY 30 NUMBERED LARGE-PAPER COPIES ON LAFUMA WOVE PAPER. 8vo. Original illustrated wraps. Light wear to covers, internally UNCUT, FINE, AND BRIGHT.

Bruxelles (Brussels): P.-J- Voglet, 1840. Two volumes, complete. Over 1,000 pp. An exhaustive history of Roman literature. 4to. Quarter calf and decorated boards. A little bit of wear to binding, but still a very good set. Scarce.

Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1948. First edition of this classic study. Large 8vo. Publisher's cloth. Very good in a slightly torn dustjacket.

Paris: Damascene Morgand / Collection de Documents pour Servir a l'Histoire de l'Ancien Theatre Francais, 1882. The first critical edition of Du Val's works. 252 pp. A LARGE-PAPER COPY, beautifully printed on fine Dutch laid paper. AN ASSOCIATION COPY, from the library of DANIEL DEVOTO AND MARIA BEATRIZ DEL VALLE-INCLAN (their stamp on half-title). … Read more about this item

Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood, 1882. FIRST AND ONLY EDITION of this groundbreaking study of Scottish language and culture. Edition limited to 500 numbered copies, all printed on fine laid paper. 4to. Bound in publisher's quarter morocco and cloth. Some wear to binding (especially backstrip and extremities), but holding firm. Internally uncut, FINE… Read more about this item

Paris: Cahiers de la Quinzaine, 1906. FIRST EDITION of this groundbreaking study of the Congo under French and Belgian domination. 2 leaves; 95 pp. Like Roger Casement, Mille and Challaye denounce the treatment of the natives in the French (Brazzaville) and Belgian (Leopoldville, later Kinshasha) Congos. ONE OF ONLY THIRTEEN (13) LARGE-PAPER COPIES PRINTED ON… Read more about this item

New York: Basic Books, 1975. FIRST EDITION. An excellent association copy, with the ownership signature of (reformed) Harvard deconstructionist scholar Barbara Johnson. 4to. Publisher's cloth. Dustjacket. FINE AND BRIGHT.

New York: Columbia University Press, 1998. Three volumes, complete. LAST AND BEST EDITION OF THE MOST COMPLETE GAZETTEER EVER COMPILED. Almost 200,000 places listed (cities, towns, villages, hamlets, rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds, seas, etc--even nuclear power plants and triumphal arches!), with detailed descriptions. Over 3,500 pages. Printed in three columns. Large 4to. … Read more about this item

London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1959. AN EXCEPTIONAL COPY, WITH TWO UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT LETTERS CITED IN THE STANDARD OLYMPIA PRESS BIBLIOGRAPHY. One of 2,000 copies of the first British edition. (Actually this "British edition" was created by taking 2,000 copies of the first American (Grove Press) edition to England, putting a sticker over the imprint, and… Read more about this item

Aix-en-Provence: F. Guitton-Talamel, 1881. First and only edition of an important mid-17th-century manuscript relating to the Fronde in Provence (beginning 1648-1650). Copious, extensive notes. VIII, 283 pp. A LARGE-PAPER COPY PRINTED ON BRIGHT PEACH-COLORED FINE WOVE PAPER. Very few books were printed on colored paper in France towards the end of the 19th century,… Read more about this item

Buenos Aires: Fernando Garcia Cambeiro, 1975. First edition of this landmark study of the Nicaraguan poet. 8vo, original wraps. Very good.

New York: Basic Books, 1970. First edition. Small 4to, publisher's cloth. Fine in near fine dj.

Paris: Artheme Fayard, 1924. First edition. Numbered copy on pure linen paper. With an etched portrait of Barres by Renefer and woodcut initials by Guy Dollian. Uncut in original wraps. Wraps soiled and spine a little cocked, internally fine. Octavo.