Rare books from Alan Foljambe, Bookseller [ABAC/ILAB]

London: Taylor, 1803. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Bound in maroon leather with new endpapers. Extensively illustrated as follows: [1] black and white frontispiece portrait; [30] in-text black and white illustrations, of which [2] with overlays; [1] in-text colour illustration, hand-tinted of a colour wheel with primary and secondary colours; [12] black and white plates of which [3] with overlays; [3] sepia plates of which [1] is a two page guarded spread; [12] colour plates, of which [8] have overlays and [1] is a double-fold-out with overlay. Complete as collated. Some tape repairs at points of double fold out. Transfer from some plates onto adjacent text pages. Overall fine. A seminal work by one of the fathers of landscape architecture and design. .

Paris: Guirlande, 1921. Book. Illus. by Brunelleschi, Umberto. Near Fine. Hardcover. Limited Edition. Number 161 of a limited edition of 275, printed on Papier Vergé d'Arches. 105 gorgeous pochoir illustrations by Umberto Brunelleschi, including 12 full page plates. Hinges are very tender, scattered offsetting, otherwise very near fine. Umberto Brunelleschi (1879-1949) was an Italian artist. He was born in Montemurlo, Italy, studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence and moved to Paris in 1900,where he established himself as a printer, book illustrator, and set and costume designer.He was a contributor to many of the deluxe French fashion publications, including Journal des Dames et Des Modes, La Vie Parisienne, Gazette du Bon Ton and Les Feuillets d'Art. His illustrated books include Voltaire (Candide, 1933), Charles Perrault (Contes du temps jadis,1912), Musset (La Nuit Vénitienne), Goethe, Diderot (Les Bijoux indiscrets, etc.), Les Masques et les personnages de la Comedie Italienne,… Read More

Paris: Piazza, 1928. Book. Illus. by Barbier, George. Near Fine. Soft cover. Limited Edition. Twenty two texts in French by Paul Verlaine, accompanied by 20 beautiful pochoir illustrations by George Barbier. Published in Paris by H. Piazza in 1928. Limited edition, No. XLV of the American edition of CLXXV. In paper wraps with leather spine. One plate shows staining in the gutter margin, not affecting the image. Gutters unobtrusively reinforced with Japanese paper at beginning and end. Otherwise entire book is fine. Original slipcase has been somewhat crudely repaired and reinforced around the edges with Japanese paper. A glorious example of the sensual aesthetics for which George Barbier was known. His work harkens back to the excessive fashions of the eighteenth century as a means of escape from post-World War I Europe, pursuing a similar goal to Dada and Surrealism but through very different means..

Albert Skira, 1933. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 13 issues in 11 folio volumes, 10" x 12 1/2" (316 x 246 mm). Complete collection of an important Surrealist publication. Each issue features a colour cover by Picasso, Dominguez, Masson, Miró, Dalí, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, etc., and contains articles and poems by Breton, Éluard. Crevel, Tzara, etc. Many photographs by Man Ray, reproductions of works in colour and in black and white by the great Surrealist artists. N° 1 (1933, cover by Pablo Picasso), n° 2 (1933, Mission Dakar-Djibouti, cover by Gaston-Louis Roux), n° 3-4 (1933, cover by André Derain), n°5 (1934, cover by Borès), n° 6 (1935, cover by Marcel Duchamp), n° 7 (1935, cover by Joan Miro), n° 8 (1936, cover by Salvador Dali), n° 9 (1936, cover by Henri Matisse), n° 10 (1937, cover by Rene Magritte), n° 11 (1938, cover by Max Ernst), n° 12-13 (1939, cover by Andre Masson). Spines have been covered and reinforced with black bookbinding fabric. Wear and some creases… Read More

Book. Very Good. Soft cover. Large lot of antique Japanese booklets with woodblock text and prints throughout. Total of 64 booklets, most housed within sleeves as pairs. All 7" x 4 5/8". Each booklet is comprised of eight to ten sheets with text and black and white illustrations, plus front and back cover. Each pair features a man on one cover and a woman on the other, both housed in a paper sleeve. 22 pairs remain in their sleeves, eight pairs are in opened or damaged sleeves, and two pairs are without sleeves. The sleeves have protected the covers, which retain their vibrant colours. Some worm holes present, as well as expected aging and light wear. An opportunity for a dealer or collector who speaks or reads Japanese. Please inquire for more information or photos..

Book. Very Good. Soft cover. Thirty three string-bound booklets, 8 5/8" x 5", each approx. 10 pages. Subject matter includes acupuncture, martial arts, medicine, and divination. (Note: I do not read Chinese, so my knowledge of contents is based on the illustrations). Very good + condition, with varying degrees of browning to exterior covers. Please email for further information or photos..

Paris: Au Vent D'Arles, 1959. Book. Illus. by Erni, Hans. Fine. Hardcover. Limited Edition. Number 103 of a limited edition of 125. Accordion book featuring the first 31 verses of Eluard's "Poesie Ininterrompue" and 31 nudes by Hans Erni. In vellum binding housed in red leather clamshell case, each embossed with a mirror image "E" motif, presumably for Eluard and Erni. Bookplate for The Robin Collection affixed to interior of clamshell case. Vellum boards very slightly warped, otherwise book and case are as new..

Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1993. Book. Fine. Hardcover. The book Stranger Music in deluxe clamshell case, accompanied by three signed prints by Leonard Cohen. Number 35 from a limited edition of 125. Rare..

Paris: Jean Hugues, 1961. Book. Illus. by Ernst, Max. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). Limited Edition. Unbound portfolio, 13"x10" (33x25.5 cm), no. 76 from a limited edition of 300, only 90 of which contain Ernst's illustrations. Signed by both Leclerq and Ernst. In slipcase. "L'édition originale de "LA ROSE EST NUE" achevée d'imprimer le vingt-neuf septembre mil neuf cent soixante et un sur les presses de l'Imprimerie Union à Paris pour la typographie, et sur celles de la Société O. S. (G. Visat, gérant) pour les gravures, a été tirée à 300 exemplaires numérotés. Les 90 premeirs exemplaires, sur papier Vélin d'Arches, comportent seuls les gravures de Max Ernst ; ils sont signés par le poète et par l'artiste, et justifiés à la main par l'éditeur. EXEMPLAIRE no 76 J.H." [This original edition of "LA ROSE EST NUE" was printed on the twenty-ninth of September, nineteen hundred and sixty-one, on the presses of the Printing House Union in Paris for typography, and on those of the… Read More

London: R. Tonson and S. Draper, 1753. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Large folio, 17" x 10 1/2" (43x27 cm). Complete with all plates. Some minor flaws to a few plates, almost no foxing, overall near fine. A stunningly illustrated edition of the work of one of history's most important individuals.

Paris: Au Pont Des Arts, 1964. Book. Illus. by Ernst, Max. Fine. Soft cover. Signed by Illustrator(s). Limited Edition. 18" x 13" Unbound portfolio in cloth covered clamshell case, 18" x 31" (33x46 cm). 61 pages incl. 17 plates of which 8 are double page. Two etchings pencil signed by Max Ernst. #122 from a limited edition of 350. Near-new condition. Extra shipping charges will apply for this large item..

London: The Royal Photographic Society, 1931. Book. Near Fine. Soft cover. Large portfolio containing six beautiful, mounted photogravures, with one each by Koppitz, Burgess, Leventon, Lambert, Anderson, and Kales. Each is protected by the original interleafing spider-webbed glassine. Gilt-lettered brown wrappers (14" x 20") (36 x 51.5 cm) with a mounted photographic reproduction on the front cover; a printed introductory sheet, with J. Dudley Johnson's facsimile signature, laid in. Gilt titles on cover have become dulled, very slight dogears to corners; all tipped-in plates as new. Rare. "Bewegungsstudie (Movement Study) is the signature image from Rudolf Koppitz's oeuvre. The photograph's sophisticated composition contains elements of Modernism, Pictorialism, and Surrealism, and also relates to the Viennese Secession and the Wienner Werkstatte movements in its stylized grace and perfection of craft. Taken in 1925, it became Koppitz's most famous image during his lifetime." [auction catalogue, 2020]..

London: Robert Knaplock, William and John Innys, and Jacob Tonson, 1724. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Folio (450 x 315 mm). Engraved frontispiece, title printed in red and black, double-page engraved table, and 64 engraved plates (of 67; lacking plates 19, 20 and 25), diagrams, head- and tail-pieces and initials. Early calf, rebacked, edges renewed, old calf boards laid in. Browning to edges, a few short tears and minor chipping. Plates 21 and 22 torn, plate 21 and text page 135/136 torn with loss of paper at bottom, not affecting text or image. First folio edition, remarkable not only for the quality of the large plates but for "the ingenious historiated initials wittily decorated with myotomical motifs" (Norman). First appearing in 1694 in an octavo edition with only 10 plates, it was brought into this richly illustrated folio form by Richard Mead (1673-1754) after Cowper's death, using plates by Michiel van der Gucht (1660-1725), some after drawings by Rubens and Raphael. Choulant-Frank, p 253;… Read More

Paris: Editions-Art C.C., 1972. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Limited Edition. Hardcover in brown suede, 13 3/4" x 10 1/4", 235 pages, 94 tipped-in colour plates. Housed in elaborate plexiglass box. Number 132 from a limited edition of 265. Text in French. Numbered and signed by the artist and the author, with a numbered and signed original colour lithograph bound in. Metal suprematist sculpture by Khodossievitch-Leger mounted on the front cover. Rare. Book fine, plexiglass case showing wear and missing a piece of the insert. Extra shipping charges will apply for this large and heavy book..

Eight folio volumes in original boards with new spines and spine labels, plus elephant folio atlas.
One of the major works in the literature of travel and exploration.
Complete with all maps, plates, and illustrations. The atlas that accompanies Voyage to the Pacific Ocean is in extra-illustrated state, containing all plates called for plus duplicates of all the plates contained in the three folio volumes.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGES UNDERTAKEN BY THE ORDER OF HIS PRESENT MAJESTY FOR MAKING DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE
John Hawkesworth
In three volumes
London: Printed for W. STRAHAN; and T. CADELL, 1773 [Second Edition]
A VOYAGE TOWARDS THE SOUTH POLE, AND ROUND THE WORLD
James Cook
In two volumes
London: Printed for W. STRAHAN; and T. CADELL, 1784 [Fourth Edition]
A VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. UNDERTAKEN, BY THE COMMAND OF HIS MAJESTY, FOR MAKING DISCOVERIES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
James Cook and James King
In three volumes + atlas
London: Printed by W. and A. STRAHAN: for G. NICOL and T.… Read More