Search Results: Authors starting with E from Swan's Fine Books

London: Howe & Co. / Saxon & Co, 1890. Hardcover. Very good. Twenty-fourmo size, 95 pp. English humourist, essayist, playwright, biographer, publisher, poet and novelist Edward Verrall Lucas' (1868-1938) first book; a collection of tongue-in-cheek verses, with numerous literary references. Much to Lucas' dismay, the publishers inserted a preface without his permission, and he was so upset with the offensive preface that years later he bought and destroyed as many copies as he could, the result being that this slim volume is a bit uncommon. ___DESCRIPTION: Publisher's mustard-yellow cloth stamped in black to the front board and the spine, all edges stained red, text printed within single-rule borders; twenty-fourmo size (5.25" by 4"), pagination: [1-9] 10-95. Note that the publisher on the title page is "Howe & Co.", but on the front board below the device it states "Saxon & Co.". ___CONDITION: Volume is very good, internally bright and complete, with a strong, square text block; front hinge… Read More

London: J. Mulvy Ouseley & Son / Ye Olde Royaltie Booke Publishers, 1913. Leather. Fine. Oldfield, Zoffany. Octavo size, 150 pp. Written in the form of comic/satirical verse, a collection of 23 "essays" remarking upon hypocrisy seen in England of the day - many, if not most or all, of which can still be seen in most lands today. Of special note to us, as pet-owners, was an accusation brought in a court of law by a dog arguing against vivisection, with a dog being told by the judge "Most faithful of beasts you to man are I know, No protection for you can I find. Some things that we punish seem nothing at all Compared to the fate that "man's friend" must befall". Another moving essay, titled "Red Rubber", deals with the atrocities committed in the Belgian Congo against children by the then-king of Belgium, Leopold II, who personally owned the Congo Free State. Extremely thought-provoking, perhaps especially because of the satiric verses used by the author (of whom we were unable to find a verifiable… Read More

Berkeley: The Studio of Nothing Else, 2018. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Ebner, Barry. One of a variable edition of 21, elephant folio size, [48] pp. "Fog Frac/Tured Pangea" is a collaboration between one artist and three poets, featuring the monotypes of Barry Ebner; because the imagery is created through the use of monotype overtop drypoint lines, each print in the book is unique, forming a variable edition. Each book contains one poem, the text weaving throughout the chaotic images, by one of three San Francisco Bay Area poets: Sharon Coleman, long-time Berkeley-based poet and teacher; Indigo Moor, Poet Laureate of Sacramento; and Liz McCall, Oakland-based poet and artist, and assistant to Barry, whose poem is featured in this particular volume. Barry works intuitively through each image, creating a surface of both turbulent mark making and gently overlapping spaces, in a work that is as much visceral as visual; the text interacts within the space as another visual element, and each poem… Read More

Berkeley: The Studio of Nothing Else, 2018. Limited Edition. Accordion. Fine. Ebner, Barry. One of 25 copies of a variable edition, quarto size, [12] pp. "Fragments" is a variable edition of accordion books by Berkeley-based artist Barry Ebner, created with a series of monotypes collaged together, to form a seamless surface for the text to interact upon; because the imagery is created through the use of monotype overtop drypoint lines, each print in the book is unique, forming a variable edition. The text is taken from a poem by Indigo Moor, Poet Laureate of Sacramento, California, printed first on separate sheets of monotypes, then sequenced into the accordion structure. The effect is a dreamlike reading of the poem, as the text can be partially obscured, existing in a space of dark and light. ___DESCRIPTION: Accordion book with hardcovers of grey cloth, paper label with monotype on the front board, black-and-white monotypes by Barry Ebner throughout; quarto size (10.75" by 7.5"), 12 unnumbered… Read More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California [printed by E. & R. Grabhorn (the Grabhorn Press)], 1931. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. One of 300 copies, folio size, 293 pp. From the description in the BCC bibliography: "The journal covers three years of travel from Greenville, Illinois, to St. Louis, to San Diego, then up the California cast to San Jose, the gold fields and San Francisco, and back to Greenville via the Isthmus. It is a vivid day-by-day account, supplemented by the author's drawings which are reproduced in the exact size of the originals..." Thought to be expensive at the time of publication (priced at $30.00), the account goes on to say that "[t]oday it is among the most sought-after and expensive of the Club's publications" and was selected as one of the Fifty Books of the Year. The book was printed from the original manuscript account "in the possession of the Press", and per the Grabhorn bibliography "does not follow the usual period treatment of the gold rush… Read More

[Baltimore, MD]: [Engraving, Printing and Binding by the Williams & Wilkins Company Art Press], 1904. Hardcover. Near fine. Oblong quarto size, 262 pp., inscribed on the FFEP by David McDougal LeBreton. While early copies of the "Lucky Bag" (the yearbook for the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis) are collectable in and of themselves, this copy more so by being inscribed by Rear Admiral David McDougal LeBreton (1884-1973). The inscription is as follows: "For Allen G. Wright - / Hoping it will bring back some recollections / of your visit to Annapolis - / David McDougal LeBreton / Christmas, 1903 / this may be a trifle incomprehensible to you, / but I think you were in Annapolis long enough / to learn a little of 'language', and a few of the / faces may be familiar to you -" Per the web site of "The Wall of Valor Project": David McDougal LeBreton "graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Class of 1904. He retired as a U.S. Navy Rear Admiral." He was awarded the Navy Cross for Actions During… Read More

Hodder & Stoughton, The Open University, 1991. First Edition. Softcover. Very good +. First printing, quarto size, 447 pp. From the back cover: "The Scientific Revolution has been described as the most significant event in human history since the rise of Christianity...[this] book carries the reader through many of the major developments in asatronomy, the biological and physical sciences, and chemistry...[and] looks at the way in which a scientific consciousness arose at different times and in different areas of Europe..." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in decorated cardstock covers, quarto size (10 7/8" by 8 9/16"), pagination: [i-iv] v-ix [1, blank] 1-437. ___CONDITION: Very good, the covers with modest overall wear and light soiling, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings. ___POSTAGE: Please note that this is an unusually heavy volume and additional postage may apply; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books… Read More

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. First printing, octavo size, 472 pp. From the summary on the dust jacket: "In these interconnected essays the late Geoffrey de Ste. Croix defends the institutions of the Athenian democracy, showing that they were much more practical, rational, and impartial than has usually been acknowledged....[he] also argues that commercial factors had much less influence on Greek politics than modern scholars tend to assume. As always, he works out these general positions with the utmost lucidity and pungency...." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full black textured paper over boards, gilt lettering and rules on the spine; octavo size (8.75" by 5.75"), pagination: [i-v] vi-viii, [1] 2-464. In the publisher's dust jacket (not clipped, but without a printed price), both panels and spine with illustrations reminiscent of Greek lettering, publisher's ads on the front flap, back flap blank. ___CONDITION: Volume fine, with clean boards,… Read More

San Francisco: Grabhorn Press, 1932. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. One of 500 copies, quarto size, 53 pp., Number 4 in the Rare Americana Series. Philip Leget Edwards (1812-1869) was an educator, lawyer, and legislator, and was part of the Willamette Cattle Company. During his time there he wrote this diary documenting his travels from California to Oregon in 1837, at the time "a vast undertaking when the only trails were those made by occasional trappers like Michael La Framboise, and the herds consisted of more than half-wild cattle" (quote from introduction). This edition was published by the Grabhorn Press, one of the most highly renowned private presses in America in the twentieth century, run by brothers Edwin and Robert Grabhorn. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter green cloth with marbled paper boards, green paper labels with gilt lettering on front and spine, fore- and bottom edges uncut, frontispiece a coloured facsimile of a lithograph of San Francisco in 1837 by John F. Vioget, title… Read More

London: Trubner & Co, 1882. Leather bound. Near fine. Eighth printing, duodecimo size, 248 pp., signed by Edwin Arnold. Sir Edwin Arnold (1832-1904) is best remembered today for this work, which "endeavours to describe the life and time of Prince Gautama Buddha, who, after attaining enlightenment, became the Buddha, The Awakened One" in the form of a narrative poem. The work "was one of the first successful efforts to popularize Buddhism for a Western readership" and was one of the inspirations for Mahatma Gandhi to study Buddhism (n.b., quotes from Wiki). This copy signed on the flyleaf simply, "Edwin Arnold"; copies signed by Arnold are not commonly found, making this volume somewhat special, albeit an eighth printing. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full red leather, narrow gilt double-ruled border on both boards, the spine with gilt tooling in five compartments and a black leather spine label with gilt lettering in the sixth, all edges gilt, decorative turn-ins in blind, combed marble endpapers,… Read More

Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 2002. Hardcover. Very good. Octavo size, two volume set, 1396 pp., all text in German. A European history of music in two volumes, all text in German. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in maroon paper over boards, illustration on front cover and smaller one on spine with title printed in white, summary of book bulleted on back cover, replete with both black and white and color illustrations; octavo size (9 3/5" x 6 4/5"), pagination: Vol I [1-8] 9-665 [3 pages of advertisements]; Vol II [669-679] 680-1392 [4 pages of advertisements]. Maroon slipcase with color illustrations on front and rear and white printed lettering on three sides. ___CONDITION: A solid very good set, with clean boards, two corners slightly bumped with the others perfectly straight, all without rubbing, strong, square text blocks with solid hinges, the interiors clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; the aforementioned two bumped corners, light bumping to the head and tails of the spines,… Read More

San Francisco: Printed for John F. Newbegin by John Henry Nash, 1916. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. One of 2000 copies, duodecimo size, 82 pp. A charming fable of a young girl's adventures with the birds found in her grandmother's orchard, this book is an early publication from John Henry Nash (1871-1947) under his own imprint; a San Francisco-based printer of fine press books and numerous broadsides and ephemera, Nash worked for Stanley-Taylor Co. until 1901 and Tomoye Press from 1903 to 1911, before founding his own firm in 1916, which remained in business until 1938. Nash's work is known for superb typographical design and attention to materials, particularly the paper used for binding and printing. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter light green cloth with grey-green paper boards, floral border, lettering, and ornament in dark green on the front board, frontispiece a black-and-white illustration of a bird in a tree inside a floral border, title page with same floral border in black,… Read More

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Second Printing, octavo size, 720 pp. The very idea of democracy came to Europe out of the ashes of WWII. Both the left and the right struggled with the idea of democracy and this book explores the history of the European left and its influence on European democracy. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full navy blue textured paper over boards, silver lettering stamped onto the spine and backboard, copious notes and bibliography at the rear; octavo size (9 1/2" by 6 1/4"), pagination: [i-vii] viii-xxii [1-2] 3-698. Dust jacket in blue, white, and red, vintage photograph on front panel and spine, summary of book on front flap, short author bio on back flap, the jacket is unclipped and also unpriced. ___CONDITION: Volume is fine overall, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; excessively small… Read More

Louisville: Contre Coup Press, 1987. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. McCurdy, Michael. One of 95 copies, octavo size, 51 pp., signed by Stanley Elkin and Michael McCurdy. Timothy Hawley's Contre Coup Press is the quintessence of a private press; very small print runs, printed on a real press (Timothy uses a vintage Vandercook SP20), using only the best materials, the resulting publication being a sparkling, luminescent gem. The Contre Coup Press began in St. Louis and in 1985 moved to Louisville, with Timothy Hawley printing whatever catches his fancy. This volume brings together a short script by Stanley Elkin (1930-1995) with the wood engravings of Michael McCurdy (1942-2016), signed by both at the colophon. A lovely book, the paste paper for the binding by Carol Blinn and the wood engravings printed directly from the blocks. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in paste paper over boards with a blue cloth shelfback, ivory paper spine label with black lettering and brown decoration and rules, title page in… Read More

San Francisco: The Grabhorn Press, 1965. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Elkus, Richard J.. No. 83 of 487 copies, elephant folio size, approximately [100] pp., signed by Richard Elkus, Robert and Edwin Grabhorn, with prospectus. The last major book of the Grabhorn Press, "Alamos" is a collection of photographs by Richard Elkus, capturing the poetry of the town of Alamos in Mexico; the photographs, a mix of landscapes and portraits, have a gritty serenity and a real sense of the character of the town. The titles of each photograph, printed on the preceding pages, resonate with a poetry rich with description. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter brown suede with orange, beige, and tan linen boards, title blind-embossed on the front board, fore-edge rough cut, title page in red and black, twenty-four black-and-white photographs tipped in throughout, all versos blank; Goudy Modern type, machine-made paper, elephant folio size (17" by 13"), approximately 100 unnumbered pages, one of 487 copies, this number… Read More

Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. First printing, large octavo size, 318 pp. From the jacket flap: "The book traces the development of the concept of form - one of the most important and persistent elements in natural philosophy - from its origins in Plato and Aristotle to the beginnings of the nineteenth century." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full blue cloth over boards, gilt lettering on the spine, a few black-and-white illustrations and charts; large octavo size (9 1/2" by 6 3/8"), 318 pages. The dust jacket is unclipped (and unpriced), summary of book on both flaps, short author bio on back flap. ___CONDITION: Volume fine, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; clean, crisp, and as new. The dust jacket near fine, clean, remarkably free of edgewear other than a few light creases at the bottom; spine lightly sunned,… Read More

Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. First North American edition, octavo size, 504 pp. Sir William Empson (1906-1984) is considered by many to be one of the greatest English literary critics of the 18th through 20th centuries. A poet as well, he wrote in a letter to his publisher (circa 1930) "And, if I publish a volume of verse with notes longer than the text, as I want to do, will that be a prose work or a verse one?" (n.b., quote from the Introduction). His publisher clearly understood; this work of over 500 pages includes some 300 pages of notes. This publication was the first to bring together all poems published during Empson's lifetime as well as several more discovered after his death. Published first in Great Britain, both the UK and US versions unaccountably scarce in the marketplace. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter red cloth over ivory paper boards, gilt lettering on the spine; octavo size (9 1/8" by 6 1/4"), pagination: [i-v] vi-xciv, [1-2]… Read More

New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1943. Comb binding. Very good +/good. Quarto size, [22] pp., with dust jacket. Three favourite children's stories with the imaginative paper engineering of Julian Wehr (1898-1970), who was known as the "American Master of Animated Books" (n.b., quote from Wiki). ___DESCRIPTION: Illustrated paper-covered boards with a red comb binding, illustrated title page in green and black, the six moveable pages in full colour and the rest of the pages with green and black, or red and black, small illustrations; quarto size (10 3/8" by 7 1/2"), unpaginated with eleven leaves. The dust jacket front panel mirrors the front board, back panel and spine blank, front flap a publisher's blurb about the animation, back flap publisher's ad for a different animated book. ___CONDITION: Volume better than very good and could almost be deemed near fine, the animations all in good working order, the yellow paper boards clean other than a stray speck or two, the top corners unrubbed, the comb… Read More

Paris: P. Ducrocq, 1883. Hardcover. Very good. Edmond Morin; Gerlier; Fortune Meaulle. Octavo size, 222 pp., in French. "Les Accidents de l'Enfance" is a series of stories depicting children in horrible accidents, framed as a warning and advice to children to listen to their parents and to not get into trouble. The stories are accompanied by a variety of illustrations of the accidents described in the text, by French illustrator and engraver Edmond Morin (1824-1882), who illustrated many books and periodicals, such as "Children's Week", French illustrator Gerlier, and Fortune Meaulle (1844-1901), a French engraver best known for providing engravings for Victor Hugo's "The Toilers of the Sea", based on drawings by Francoise Chifflart (1825-1901). This volume has a lovely cloth binding with bright gilt floral patterns on the front board; it is one of only a very few online as of this writing. ___DESCRIPTION: Full red cloth with title inside floral pattern in black and gilt, inside gilt ruled… Read More

London [Cambridge]: Clover Hill Editions [Printed by Will Carter at the Rampant Lions Press], 1977. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. Jones, David. One of 250 copies, folio size, 45 pp., with dust jacket. From the web site of PB Press Books: "The 'Chester Mystery Plays' is a cycle of mystery plays originating in the city of Chester, England and dating back to at least the early part of the 15th century ('Chester Mystery Plays')....The plays are based on biblical texts, from creation to the Last Judgement. They were enacted by common guildsmen and craftsmen on mounted stages that were moved around the city streets, with each company or guild performing one play." This book presents ten stunning wood engravings by David Jones (1895-1974), who was both a writer and an artist. As a writer, he was one of the first-generation British modernist poets and was highly regarded by both T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden. As an artist, he learned wood and copper engraving from Eric Gill, providing… Read More