Search Results: Titles starting with L from The Second Shelf

Paris: Saussine, 1865. Magnetic fortune telling board game, 21cm x 26cm. Constructed of painted wood and cardboard, significant wear, most notably to corners and extremities, the lid consists of the decorated top panel but has lost three of the four strengthening "lips" that would have firmly attached it to the base, although as a whole it is appreciably solid. A self-contained game in the form of a box with a painted glass and wood top with applied chromolithograph decoration, the magnetic blue bird moves beneath the window when a card and bone spinner with a metallic element is spun above it. The spinner has various fortune subjects written on it in French to "ask" the blue bird about. Once the bird stops spinning, its beak will be pointed at one of eight small circular lidded boxes affixed to the game surface (some of these are a trifle worn to the decorative paper covers, but still bright and attractive). Once opened, the boxes contain tiny circular handwritten paper "fortunes" which can be… Read More

A charming early American rarity compiled to advise young women on social and moral questions and advise on how to conduct one's life, this is the 1794 Philadelphia revised addition with Miss More's, Mrs. Chapon's and Mr. Swift's letters added to first edition contents. Contains Miss More's Essays, Dr. Gregory's Legacy to his Daughters, Lady Pennington's Unfortunate Mother's Advice to her Daughters, Mrs. Chapon's Letter on the Government of the Temper, Swift's Letter to a Young Lady Newly Married, and Moore's Fables for the Female Sex.
More was famous as a playwright, and she was one of the Blue-stockings and an intimate of David Garrick. As a former teacher she also wrote educational pieces such as these Essays. More later became known for writing against social injustice, including the slave trade which was based in part in her home town of Bristol.
Philadelphia: Printed by Matthew Carey for R. Folwell, 1794. 293, (iii), 4 pages. 12mo. 17 x 11.5 x 3cm. Original leather binding, rubbed edges and a… Read More

Paris: Crepatte Strauss et Fils, 1953. Fashion textile sample book featuring 28 full-page fashion illustrations by Micheline Fleuri Delaporte or her studio, along with a dazzling array of samples. A fantastic resource for French fashion of the 1950s. Prices for each fabric are written in pencil next to the sample. Five small fabric swatches missing, over 500 gorgeous fabric samples present: wools, silks and printed cottons. Laid in are several price lists of 1953/1954 including the illustrated page of "Bonneterie". Also included is the envelope with return order form and a receipt, to Mme Estel, previous owner of this copy, who lived in Manthelan, a rather rural region of France, where Mademoiselle Estel must have been quite the couture vision, if the contents of this catalogue are anything to go by. It is exciting and unusual to have receipts documenting orders in these portfolios.Hard back cloth binding on publisher's original paper boards, embossed title and laid on illustration to the front… Read More

Éditions Xavier Barral, 2017. A poem, object and artist book by Sophie Calle, strikingly printed in red, exploring images of hunting. First edition. No. 618 of a limited edition of 1000 copies, numbered and signed by the artist, with matching numbered box. Cloth spine with attached illustrated paper-covered boards, with faux-fur sheath, loose illustrated leaf, protective tissue paper; all housed in grey two-part cardboard box with silver pins, numbered title label pasted to front of box.

Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama, 1958-1968. In Full Bloom: Yayoi Kusama, Years in Japan.
Yayoi Kusama, Lynn Zelevansky, Laura Hoptman, Akira Tatehata, Alexandra Munroe. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum (LACMA), 1998. Two-volume set in slipcase. Text in Japanese. Profusely illustrated. 29.5 x 21.5 x 3 in slipcase. Each volume 28.5 x 21 x 1. 168, 193 pages.