Search Results: Authors starting with P from E C Books

London: Galahad Books, 2003 Scarce hardback 1st edition copy in fine wrap. Brought to publication by Tony Ring and includes his detailed account of how it came to be published for the first time so long after Wodehouse's death. The plum cloth binding with gilt titles to spine is in fine clean condition and the contents are complete and appear unread. 2 pages of publisher's adverts at the rear. The wrap is complete and in fine clean condition. It is in a removable protective wrap.

London : John Camden Hotten A fair copy of the new edition - the first to include the Story of Little Spider Face. Undated but circa 1896. The decorative cloth binding has gilt titles to spine and front board and bevelled edges. The spine is darkened with a little darker staining. The boards are clean with darkened edges. There is wear to the spine ends and to corners. The front free endpaper is missing and the half title has some offsetting from the pastedown endpaper. Contents: frontispiece; title; note by editor, contents, introduction, text with decorative headpieces and 5 full page black and white plates. Some pages unpaginated. 6 pp publisher's catalogue at the rear. There is occasional light marking to the first text pages and at p 120/121. Otherwise generally clean and bright. There is some splitting at the rear endpaper with some evidence of repair. A scarce work.

LONDON : Whittaker, Treacher, & Co., 1831 A good copy of Vol IX of the 16 volume series of 'The Animal Kingdom arranged in conformity with its organization by the Baron Cuvier,' translated and written by Edward Griffith and others. This volume covers the Reptilia and is complete in itself with 55 black and white plates. The series was issued in 3 formats and this is the rarer quarto version. It has been rebound in maroon buckram cloth with gilt titles to spine and 'Foyle' printed at the spine base. The binding is bright and clean with some pulling to the spine ends and light wear to corners and edges. The cloth on the spine has some darker areas. Internally the endpapers are newer. Contents: series title; volume title; plate list and errata 2pp; text pp 1-481 with 55 full page plates as called for; synopsis pp 1-110. Overall the contents are clean and sound with just the occasional light mark. The plates are very clean and well engraved. There are round stamps of 'Union Club' to the series title; the… Read More

London: Whittaker, Treacher, and Co., 1833 A very good copy of the Royal 8vo edition in the original publisher's cloth binding with 60 hand coloured plates. Part of Edward Griffith's major work on Cuvier's Animal Kingdom, but complete as a single volume. The series was a very expensive production, with this volume costing £3 12s 0d in 1833. As a result it is very scarce. The binding has a paper label to spine and is clean and sound, although there are a couple of places internally where the stitching is wobbly (pp 162 and 304). There is some pulling to spine ends and the corners have wear with some turning and bumping. Board surfaces slightly scuffed. Contents: half title; series title; volume title; plate list; Annelida pp 1-130 with 8 plates; Crustacea pp 131-382 with 25 plates; Arachnida pp 383-533 with 27 plates; alphabetical listing pp 535-540. The contents are in very good clean condition with some light toning and occasional darkening to top page edges. There is a light stain in the gutter at… Read More

Paris : H Piazza, 1919 A near fine copy of the French edition of East of the Sun and West of the Moon - Contes Anciens du Nord, limited to 1,500 copies of which this is no. 1370, printed on 12 November 1919. Printed on Japan paper with red and black title page and 24 colour plates by Kay Nielsen. The binding is half leather with marbled boards. The spine has raised bands, stamped designs in the compartments and title label. The spine is slightly darkened and the corners have light turning. Endpapers are marbled with a silvery sheen. What looks like the front cover of the original wrap with gilt and red decoration is bound in and precedes the half title. Contents with preface, text and 24 plates pasted to their mounts and with captioned tissue guards. Contents listing at the rear. Each story has a title in red and a decorative initial capital. Contents are very clean. There is toning towards the page edges; a small mark to the tissue guard and corresponding mark to the plate mount bottom margin of the… Read More

Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Company; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1814 A good to very good copy, combining Vols I and II in one, in full leather binding with armorial bookplate of James D Marwick to the front pastedown. James Marwick was born in Kirkwall and was Town Clerk of Glasgow for 31 years, maintaining his Orkney links throughout. The Cronicles, according to John Graham Dalyell, who wrote the Preface, are taken from a number of manuscripts of different dates. He states that authorship was assigned to Robert Lindsay but without clear proof. The binding has been rebacked to provide a newer spine with raised bands and red title label. The contemporary panelled-style boards are in good condition with some scuffing and wear at edges and corners. Contents with initial blank; half title; title to vol I; preface iii-v; notice vii-viii; introduction ix-xxxi; text pp 1-282; publisher's ads 6pp; half title; title page Vol II; note 1p; text pp 282-618; addenda 619-626; index 627-639.… Read More

Oxford: Printed at the Theater, 1686 A good copy in full leather binding with map, 26 folding and 11 single page plates. With the Copy of the Proposals and list of subscribers, but lacking the Arms Omitted. The binding, with blind stamped lining to boards, raised bands and title label to spine, is in very good clean condition. The spine has been relaid, but the boards do not look contemporary so this could be a later binding which has itself been repaired. There is a little scuffing to the boards but little significant wear. New endpapers have been added, replacing damaged and heavily marbled ones (? late victorian). The contents have been trimmed at some time (it is now on the quarto/folio border), but all page edges are red and the trimming does not look recent. The trimming is particularly obvious in the subscribers list. Overall the contents are in good condition, with most text pages and many plates being bright and clean. However significant paper repair was carried out at one time using tape… Read More

London : J and J Bonwicke, R Wilkin, S Birt, T Ward and E Wicksteed, 1737 A very good copy of the third English edition in new half calf binding with marbled boards. When Pierre Pomet first published the work in France in 1684, a wealth of discoveries were being made through voyages to tropical regions. This book was the first to look at the new products - whether plant, animal or mineral being made available for european use. It was translated into English in 1712 and became a handbook for apothecaries. Pierre Pomet (1658-1699) had a practice in Paris as well his position as Chief Druggist to Louis XIV. The binding has raised bands with gilt lines to spine and a red title label. It is in fine condition. The pastedown endpapers have been replaced and there is the signature of Sarah Mainwaring to the fep. The title page also has her signature, crossed out, at the top. Contents: title page in red and black; dedication 3pp; Preface 7pp; sources named in the work 7pp; catalogue of seeds 5pp; text 419 pp… Read More

London: Printed by A Linde, Bookseller to Her Royal Highness the Princess Dowager of Wales, 1755 A good copy of the first (and only) English edition in largely contemporary full leather binding with folding engraved map coloured in outline, and 28 plates. In 2 parts - the second part published over a year after the first as writing was disrupted by a major fire. The binding is complete and sound, with contemporary boards (scuffed) and later spine and corners. The spine has small raised bands and gilt titles. There is rubbing to spine joints. Internally a number of old catalogue entries about the work have been pasted to the front pastedown endpaper. Contents: folding map, title, preface, author list & contents xiv; text 206pp with 14 plates; title Pt 2, author's preface, contents viii; text 291pp with 14 plates - finis; directions to binder, index and errata xii. The map is in good clean condition with some staining at the bottom and side margins. There are 2 paper flaw holes in the top margin p 1/2,… Read More

Oxford: Printed by Leonard Lichfield, 1642 An extremely scarce 1st edition copy of Francis Potter's work. Potter (1594-1678) was a clergyman with a wide range of other interests. He was an early member of the Royal Society (admitted in 1663), experimenting with bees, theorising about blood transfusion and making instruments including a sundial. He developed a theory that the approximate square root of 666 - 25 - had a strong connection with catholic institutions. His first attempt to set this out in 1637 was described as a 'wonderful discovery' by Joseph Mede, whose 'judgement' is included in the work. This copy has been rebacked, relaying as much as possible of the spine, which has raised bands, red title label and the date at the base. The corners have been rebuilt. The boards are marbled with a stain on the rear board. Edges are scuffed. Internally there is the armorial bookplate of William Legge to the front pastedown endpaper. The endpaper joints have been repaired. Page edges are red. Contents:… Read More

Westminster : Archibald Constable & Co, 1895 A very good copy in the original decorative cloth binding with full page illustrations, decorative initials, tailpieces and vignettes by Arthur Layard. Scarce and based on an original manuscript which surfaced in Paris in 1357. The binding has very bright boards and a slightly faded spine. The spine has pulling to the ends. The bottom corner of the front board is turned - the back bottom corner has a bump. Internally the front endpapers have a split at the joint. There is an inscription dated 1895 to the verso of the fep. The contents are complete and very clean with a large number of pages unopened. There is light spotting to the verso of the fep and the initial blank, and some spotting to the final leaf and recto of the rep. Top page edges are gilted and the side edges are slightly roughly cut with some spotting at the foredge occasionally visible in side margins.

Paris : Ernest Flammarion Undated but illustrations dated 1913. A very good copy of this classic work, with 28 full page black and white plates by the painter and illustrator, Charles Atamian. Spine in dark blue morocco with gilt decoration and raised bands, board marbled and with marbled endpapers. Spine is showing wear to bands, joints and top and bottom where there is slight pulling. Boards showing slight wear to edges. It has 2 title pages (the first with red lettering) and a preface by Marcel Prevost. First title page and preliminaries are browned but the rest of the contents are in very good condition

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1836 A good to very good copy of the first edition with 30 hand coloured plates engraved from drawings by Edward Lear. In the original publisher's cobbled brown (originally purple) cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. The binding has a faded spine and fading towards the edges of the boards. There is a paler faded area around the middle of the front board. The corners have wear with some fraying of the cloth. The spine ends are pulled and there is some scuffing down the front spine joint. The original green endpapers are present and are clean. Contents: volume listing; half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Thomas Bewick and tissue guard; hand coloured vignette title page with 2 parrots; 2 further title pages; an advertisement extolling the virtues of Edward Lear's pictures; contents listing; Memoir of Thomas Bewick (by the Reverend Turner); text with 30 hand coloured plates; and publisher's catalogues bound at the rear. One of these is a prospectus for the… Read More

EDINBURGH: W H LIZARS, 1835 A very good copy of the first edition in the original publisher's cloth binding with 30 hand coloured plates of pigeons from drawings by Edward Lear. Lear provided the illustrations for Pigeons and Parrots in the Naturalist's Library, and his work is distinctive for its accuracy combined with an ability to make the subject seem alive. The Pigeons volume is also unusual in the Naturalist's Library series because the backgrounds to the birds are partly coloured. Contents: volume listing; half title; black and white frontispiece portrait of Pliny; hand coloured vignette title page with ring pigeons; 2 further title pages; publisher's advert; contents listing; Memoir of Pliny by Andrew Crichton; and text with black and white illustrations and 30 hand coloured plates. Publisher's adverts at the rear. The binding is faded to spine and board edges, with the spine being slightly blotchy. The spine has some pulling to the ends and a small crease. There is light wear to the corners.… Read More