Search Results: Authors starting with M from Bernard Quaritch Ltd

12mo, pp. 1-142, [22], 143-146, [168]; small typographical ornament to title; a little uniform browning and some light waterstaining to the lower portion of sheets; contemporary mottled calf, spine gilt in compartments, red morocco lettering-pieces; joints cracked but holding, spine end a little chipped, corners worn, some rubbing and abrasions to the surface; purchase note of Francesco Saverio Esperti dated 1813 to rear end-paper and Esperti's ownership inscription on title.
Rare first edition of the manifesto of Italian Baroque poetry, appearing in the bitterly satirical 'literary feud' between the leading Italian baroque poet Giambattista Marino and his adversary, Gasparo Murtola. Marino, who thrived in his notoriously misbehaving public persona, had been banned from several courts, while his opponent Murtola had enjoyed a formal position with the Savoy… Read More

8 parts in one vol., 4to in 8s, pp. [16], 88; [4], 209, '230-231', 212-213, '234-264' [i.e. 244]; [4], 84; [4], 57, [1]; [4], 58; [4], 67, [1]; [4], 86; [4], 37, [1] (register continuous); title within an elaborate equestrian woodcut border to each part (the first as a general title, pts ii- iii dated 1616), woodcut initials, ornaments, and illustrations; bifolia I3.6 and I4.5 misbound, minimal paperflaws to C2 and 2A5 touching text but not affecting legibility; a beautiful copy, clean and crisp, in contemporary British calf, borders and spine roll-tooled in blind, board-edges roll-tooled in gilt, edges speckled red and with horizontal lines in ink to mark the 8 parts, a leaf of printer's waste (see below) at each end folded once to form 2 stubs (rubbed through by the sewing supports, otherwise well-preserved); a few light marks, small chip to first band, neat repair to headcap and subtle repair to corners; upper margin of title neatly inscribed 'John Marsham D.' in contemporary ink, large pencil… Read More

3 vols, folio, pp. xxvii, [1 blank], 364, with 14 plates, and 2 folding maps in rear pocket; xiii, 365-716; xi, [1 blank], plates XV-CLXIV; an excellent, crisp and clean copy in original light brown cloth, spines lettered in gilt, gilt embossed design to covers; small bumps to top edges of vols I and II, slightly marked; armorial bookplates of L. K. Elmhirst, ink stamps of Dartington Hall Library (including withdrawn stamp) to front flyleaves and titles.Scarce first edition, a handsome set, of Marshall's outstanding contribution to archaeology, documenting discoveries made in the Indus valley of the Punjab and Sind. 'His announcement in 1924 that he had there found a new civilization of the third millennium marked an epoch in modern discovery; the so-called Indus valley civilization is now recognized as the most extensive civilization of the preclassical world' (ODNB).Marshall's 'mass excavation of large areas at Mohenjo-daro ... published in 1931, showed a great city, dating from before and after… Read More

Only edition, exceedingly rare (one copy only in the US), of the main extant source for Melanchthon's views on Plato. 'Melanchthon's view of Plato is known primarily from a Latin speech, which he asked Conrad Lagus to deliver' (Hartfelder). The oration was composed by Melanchthon and delivered by the Dean Conrad Lagus as the inauguration address to the University of Wittenberg students on the conferment of their master's degrees. Although the speech was published without Melanchthon's name, his authorship has been universally acknowledged. Plato's life and work are here hailed as a mirror of the perfect philosopher, marked by true love of knowledge, rectitude of conduct, unsurpassed eloquence and richness of style. It is in fact to Plato's 'vague' definition of God as 'mens aeterna, causa boni in natura' that Melanchthon turns in successive works (with qualified approbation in view of Plato's obvious distance from Christianity), in his criticism of the Scholastics' insistence on a philosophical,… Read More

Single sheet, 42 x 53 cm, large woodcut initial, 13 lines of text; a few small chips to edges, creases from folding; overall very good.
An apparently unrecorded announcement of the funeral and burial of Marie-Thérèse Mimerel at Amiens, in northern France, on 17 January 1779. Born at Amiens in 1723, the daughter of a master jeweller, Marie married the local merchant and city official Antoine-Isidore de Bonne. This notice invites its readers to attend Marie's funeral 'at five o'clock in the church of St Martin' and burial 'in the cemetery of St Denis', as well as to a Mass at eleven o'clock the following morning.

The text opens with a remarkable macabre woodcut initial depicting an elaborate tomb within which appear Father Time (with hourglass and a long beard stretching to his feet), a female figure staring directly at the viewer, a spade, and a scythe. Teardrops rain down from above, and the mournful black border is filled with skulls, crossbones, and further tears.

Given its size, this notice… Read More

First and only edition of Morris's, Bax's, and Dave's account of the Commune of Paris of 1871, presented as 'the starting point of the irresistible Unity of Socialism in Europe and America'. An irregular complement to the Socialist League's journal The Commonweal (under Morris's editorship from its establishment in 1885 until his ousting in 1889), The Socialist Platform was 'intended in great measure to be a Commentary on the Manifesto of the League', which had itself been published with notes by Morris and Bax. The Platform, with its distinctive woodcut headpiece by Walter Crane (bearing the motto 'agitate, educate, organize'), ran to seven issues, of which four were authored by Morris. Among these, the Short Account appears to be by far the rarest; his other contributions are Useful Work v. Useless Toil (no. 2), True and False Society (no. 6), and Monopoly: Or, How Labour is Robbed (no. 7). Scott, p. 24.8vo, pp. [2], [59]-79, [1 (advertisement for the League's publications]; woodcut device of the… Read More