Search Results: Authors starting with B from Rootenberg Rare Books & Manuscripts

Folio. Full-page etched plate in contemporary hand color. Rare in the original publisher's cloth with etched paper label affixed to the front panel, remains of spine label; minor foxing, overall in excellent condition.
First and only edition of this groundbreaking treatise on placental physiology dedicated to the famous anthropologist S. T. v. Soemmerring (1755-1830) on the 5th anniversary of his doctorate. Building on his published discovery of the mammalian ovum the prior year, Baer here lays out his four laws on epigenetic embryology, which dictate that mammals develop their general characteristics first and their specialized features later. This major step in research on fetal development addressed the issues of how the fetus is nourished and proved that the maternal blood circulation and fetal blood circulation are separate. His scientific findings effectively ended the theory of preformative embryonic development, thus aligning his theories with those of Darwin.
Von Baer… Read More

Königsberg: Bei den Gebrüdern Bornträger, 1828. FIRST EDITION. A PRESENTATION COPY. With 3 folding handcoloured engravings. Original wrappers bound into contemporary pasteboards, rebacked. Presentation copy inscribed in French to M. Valenciennes; gift bookplate of the Boston Society of Natural History, by the bequest of its first president, Benjamin D. Greene, M.D., dated 1863. PRESENTATION COPY. FIRST EDITION of the first part of von Baer's classic of embryology, complete in itself. The author here treats the development of the chicken in the egg. He describes vertebrate embryonic development from conception to birth, effectively ending any belief in the preformation theory of embryonic development. According to Singer, von Baer's four important advances in embryology include "the discovery of the mammalian ovum; the proposition known as the germ-layer-theory; the law of corresponding stages in the development of the embryo; and the discovery of the notochord." Presentation copies of von… Read More

Leipzig: Leopold Voss, 1827. FIRST EDITION. With half-title, corrigenda, and 1 full-page hand-coloured engraved plate. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards; a fine copy on bright white paper from the library of Tho. Wainwright, with his armorial book plate.

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1898. Later edition. Original blindstamped publisher's cloth, author and title in gilt on the spine. An excellent copy. Later edition of this work, first published in London in 1872, and issued here as the second volume in the International Scientific Series of noteworthy science-related volumes in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Applying Darwinian ideas to human civilization and government, Bagehot examines the evolution of nation-making from our earliest days where military strength was key, up through "the age of discussion." According to a review written by Alfred Russel Wallace in Nature, Bagehot provides a "variety of topics connected with the progress of societies and nations, and the development of their distinctive peculiarities; and his book shows an abundance of ingenious and original thought." The book "is a very remarkable illustration of the dread of eagerness inspired by the doubts of a reflective mind. The eager nations, he held,… Read More

Albany: Barber & Southwick for Thomas Spencer, 1795. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. Calf-backed contemporary marbled boards, spine label; interior somewhat browned, but a good copy from the library of the prominent Rhode Island physician Irving Addison Beck (1911-1998) with his very interesting bookplate.

Paris: Chez Debure, 1787. FIRST EDITION. With decorative woodcut headpieces. Contemporary half-calf over boards; occasional browning, otherwise an excellent copy from the library of Jacob and Friedrich Schurer with their bookplate. First edition of Bailly's valuable history of Eastern astronomy which was separately published as a supplement to his outstanding work on ancient and modern astronomy. The author here expands upon his earlier theories that the astronomical sciences of various Eastern civilizations were remnants of a single ancient culture. According to Graesse, this is the rarest of Bailly's works on the history of astronomy.Provenance: Both Jacob Ludwig Schurer (1734-92) and his son Friedrich Ludwig (fl. 1760-90) were professors of physics and chemistry at the University of Strasbourg.

Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society, 1908. I: First printings; II: First edition in book form. I: Half burgundy morocco on black cloth boards. With 10 chromolithograph plates by J.G. Keulemans. Despite the weak joints and the detached blank page, an enjoyable copy from the Library of Dr. James M. Dolan with his faint blind-stamp on the title pages and stamp. Inscribed by the author to Alice Burne.II: With 30 colored plates hand-finished by H. Grönvold, G.E. Lodge and J.G. Keulemans and an additional uncolored illustrated plate. A copy inscribed by Arthur Henry Sutherland with his bookplate on the paste-down. Contemporary green half morocco over cloth boards, gilt-lettered; despite the light rubbing to corners and a minor amount of spotting, a very good copy from the Library of Dr. James H. Dolan with his faint blind-stamp on the title page. I: Original printings of the ten articles by Stuart Baker published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society between 1898 and 1900. This… Read More

London: Macmillan and Co, 1866. Two volumes. First edition. Illustrated with two maps, one of which is a large fold-out, portrait frontispiece, 14 fine plates, and 23 illustrations within the text. 8vo, original green cloth gilt lettered and decorated on spines, with gilt-decorated pictorial upper covers ruled in gilt. xxx, 395; xi, 384 pp. ONE OF HISTORY'S GREAT TRAVEL ACCOUNTS BAKER, Samuel White. The Albert N'yanza, great basin of the Nile, and explorations of the Nile sources. London: Macmillan and Co., 1866. Two volumes. 8vo. Frontispiece portrait, 2 maps, 14 fine plates and 23 text illustrations. Contemporary gilt-ruled half green sheep over pebbled boards. First edition. Baker, an established explorer in the Black Sea region, went to Africa to discover the sources of the Nile River. Along the way he met up with fellow adventurers John Speke and James Grant, who gave him valuable information that led him to Lake Albert. He was the first European to visit and gave the lake its name. This… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1875. First American Edition. Portrait of the author plus 2 separate frontispieces, 2 maps (1 folding), plus 50 woodcut text illustrations. Modern cloth with the original covers and spine laid down; folding map torn in a number of places (but all present), most illustrations with the tissue guards, otherwise interior very good. First American edition after the first printing in London the prior year. Baker's expedition through Egypt down to Lake Albert in present day Uganda and to the Red Sea was the "first practical step . . . to suppress the slave-trade of Central Africa." He emphasizes the fertility and potential abundance of the varying lands, whose successes are hindered by corrupt governments. The majority of the team's interactions with various people and cultures are recounted with a sensational and colonialist flair. Baker (1821-1893) was a British explorer, naturalist, and big game hunter, chiefly remembered for his exploration of central Africa and the… Read More

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co, 1868. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. With portrait frontispiece of Baker and his wife, 2 hand colored maps (1 folding), and 23 woodcut plates. Buckram, gilt spine; foxing on frontispiece and first few leaves, otherwise very clean. Ownership inscription in pencil on the back of the frontispiece. First American edition. Baker (1821-1893) was a British explorer, naturalist, and big game hunter, chiefly remembered for his exploration of central Africa and the "discovery" of the Albert N'yanza (Lake Albert), the source of the Nile River. He won the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal for this discovery. Baker was also a prolific writer and published many popular accounts of his adventures (it is little wonder why his work was so popular - the sensationalist chapter headings would make even Indiana Jones blush!). The present volume details his 12-month exploration of the Nile River system and is an important account of European exploration of Africa during the Victorian… Read More

London: John Bale, Sons & Danielsson, 1921. SECOND EDITION. With 60 colored plates after Grönvold, Lodge and Keulemans, 15 black and white plates and 2 maps. Original half-morocco over cloth boards, spines of Volumes I and II different color, gilt lettering on spine, marbled endpapers. An enjoyable copy from the Library of Dr. James M. Dolan with his faint blind-stamp on the title pages and the stamp of Peshawar Club Library on the verso of some plates. Second edition of this classic work of Indian ornithology. The first edition of 1908 was based on updated and edited articles which appeared first in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. The popularity of the work resulted in this expanded printing with additions, corrections and material on new species and their geographical distribution. Some of the plates of the first edition have been replaced by better ones in this second edition; indeed, the present work is essentially a new one since it "adds a considerable amount of matter not… Read More

London: Witherby & Co, 1913. SECOND EDITION. With chromolithographed frontispiece and 26 colored plates after Grönvold and Lodge. Contemporary half morocco over cloth boards, gilt lettering on spine, some wear to hinges and corners, otherwise a very clean copy from the libraries of James M. Dolan (stamp on title page), James M. Dolan Jr., (blind stamp on title page), and bookplate of the Van Oosten Foundation Ornithological Library.

Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1854. FIRST EDITION. Contemporary mottled sheepskin with black morocco spine label, advertising end-papers, all edges marbled; paper residue to front paste-down, small damp-stain to fore-edge margin of first 100 pages, binding lightly scuffed and soiled, overall a solid very good copy. First edition.

London: Henry S. King, 1876. FIRST EDITION. Frontispiece plate (detached) with tissue guard, text illustrations. Contemporary cloth, worn, title in gilt with decoration on front cover; interior uncut. From the James Dolan collection with his bookplate on paste down and blind stamp on title page. First edition of a scarce work on hunting in India written by an observer and lover of nature. Baldwin, a Captain in the British Army stationed in India, recounts his experiences hunting for tiger in the Terai, Assam, and Mirzapore regions, and additional hunts for panther, bear, buffalo and various deer species. He provides in-depth desscriptions of animals such as the leopard, red lynx, hyaena, wild dog, Indian elephant Indian rhinoceros, and antelope, among many others, sufficient certainly to hunt. The second part of the work examines India's sporting bird species. Almost every animal he describes had fallen to his own rifle. The illustrations of Himalayas have been engraved from his own drawings.

New York: Scientific American, 1897. FIRST EDITION. Newspaper format. With 5 large plates as listed below:1. Transportation of the packing case containing the balloon, June 14, 18972. Inspection of the balloon, July 2, 18973. The balloon house in Virgo Bay, Danes Island (gun boat Svensksund)4. Pike's log house on Danes Island and gas works (gas pipe to balloon)5. Andrée's balloon, The Adler.

Philadelphia: Avil Publishing Co, 1901. Titles in red and black. Each with frontispiece and illustration. Red cloth bindings with gilt spine titles, mostly in excellent condition (back cover to Vol. VIII waterstained). Works include Cousin Betty; César Birotteau; Scenes from a Courtesan's life; The Government clerks; Cousin Pons; The Thirteen; Father Goriot; and Middle Classes.

San Francisco: The History Company, 1889. FIRST EDITION. Navy cloth, gilt lettering to top cover. First edition. Gilpin was instrumental in setting up the government of the Oregon Territory, and was first governor of the Colorado Territory. Rare.

London: T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1806. Second edition. With 8 plates, including the hand-colored frontispiece, 4 additional hand-colored aquatints, plus 3 black and white plates (2 double page). Half morocco with marbled boards, chipped and faded along the edge, corners bumped and showing some loss, hinges weak; very faint damp stain along the outer edge of the text block, light scattered foxing. From the John Crear Library in Chicago, with its perforated stamp on the title, ink stamps on the verso of many of the plates and preliminary pages, and bookplate on the paste-down. . Second edition. Sir John Barrow took part in the British embassy to China in 1792-94 as secretary to Lord Macartney. Although its mission to open trade with China was ultimately unsuccessful, the embassy was able to gain valuable first-hand knowledge of the country and its people. The official account of the mission was undertaken Sir George Staunton (who used many of Barrow's observations) in 1797, but Barrow was still… Read More

New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1967. SIGNED, FIRST EDITION. Black cloth with gilt letting on spine, dustjacket lightly bumped on edges and spine; overall a clean and bright copy.

Northridge, CA: Lord John Press, 1984. FIRST EDITION. Original cloth boards with gilt lettering on spine and gilt stamped cover, as issued without a dustjacket; an unblemished copy in impeccable condition.