Rare books from Ariel Books

London, United Kingdom: Chatto & Windus, 1883. "Proctor was inspired by a passage in the neo-Platonic philosopher Proculus's commentary on Plato's Timaes, which mentioned that before the Great Pyramid was completed it was used as an observatory. Based on his reading of the account he surmised that when the Pyramid was completed to its fiftieth course, i.e. to the level of the top of the Grand Gallery, which was also the floor of the Kings Chamber, it would have made an excellent observatory." CONDITION Brown bds with Black ruled design and bright Gilt tooled detailing (light rubbed cloth which is just starting at spine ends, white mark to rear and smudge to front) pp 323 with with 8 illus and publishers list to rear. Mostly very bright but tissue guard to frontis is discoloured and half title sl foxed, title page has name in pencil. Copy is sl shaken.. First Edition. Decorative Cloth. Very Good/No Jacket. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

London, United Kingdom: George Routledge/Piper, Stephenson & Co, 1850. Omoo, Early Edition. Brown Marbled bds with Black Leather spine and cnrs, bright Gilt title in Burgundy flag to spine, pp ix 242.. BOUND with The Post and the Paddock, Nice frontis engraving by H. Beckwith, pp vii 232. CONDITION Very nice copy with mild wear to bds, named to both title pages with partial erasure causing minor damage to titlepage of Omoo, minor page browning o/w tight and clean.. Re-Issue. Half-Leather. Very Good/Not Issued. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

Cythere (Brussels): Anon, 1864. "retirez-vous, censeurs alrilaires; fuyez, devots, hypocrites ou fous; prudes, guenons, et vous, vielles megeres : nou doux transports ne sont pas faits pour vous." Text in French. This title was condemned for outrages against good morals, and destruction ordered by the Cour d'assises de la Vienne on December 12, 1838 and banned for many years afterward. The first appearance of "Le Rideau Levé" was in 1786. Scarce early edition of this erotic fiction. CONDITION Red Marbled bds with Black Leather spine and cnrs, bright Gilt title (mild wear to bds with piece of marbled paper missing to front) Pink eps, pp 271. Internally tight with very bright and clean text block, not inscribed. This edition not illustrated. Texte en français. Édition tôt rare de cette fiction érotique. CONDITIONNEZ les bds marbrés rouges avec l'épine et le CNRS en cuir noirs, les eps roses lumineux du titre de jeune truie… Read More

London, United Kingdom: Standard of Freedom Office, 1851. Robert Gladstone, a merchant from Liverpool and second cousin of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (3 times between 1868 - 1894). Contains the tracts of the first series covering economic policy and tax reform for a variety of things including Civil and Pension, Army and Navy, National Budget etc. CONDITION Faded pebble cloth with bright Gilt title, 35 financial reform tracts bound together, pp vii 558 (variour paginations). Nice crisp copy, slight scorch mark to front of tract 5, some pages have light browning though mostly very bright.. First Edition. Cloth. Very Good/Not Issued. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Exeter: William Robberts, Broadgate, 1861. "Despite the antiquity of this book it is still regarded as probably the most complete work on the subject." Blue blind embossed decoration to bds and Gilt spine title, original owners name to first blank Reginald Porter and dated March 1861 with purchase receipt for £1 laid in. pp xiii 503 with 15 Plates. CONDITION Mild rubbing to edges, cnrs canted, spine head and heel just starting, gutter crack to paper both ends, mull slightly loose though not worn, light foxed to plates due to paper type. Contemporary newpaper article pasted to inside rear listing contents of Churches and Cathedrals in Exeter. A few small tidy notations to margins mostly in pencil. Bright and crisp copy. Overweight. First Edition. Cloth. Very Good/N/A. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

London, United Kingdom: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1946. Peakes first novel and first in his best known works of the Gormenghast trilogy. Gothic fantasy novel by Mervyn Peake. It is the first novel in the Gormenghast series. First state dust jucket is not price clipped, pp 438. CONDITION Wear to spine head and heel, gilt title dulled. Book has obviously been in a smokers house causing DJ browning and brittleness, spotting to end pages and edges. DJ has internally repars at spine and top cnrs with only small loss to spine ends, both front inside flap and fronte paste down are stamped 'Colonial Edition'. Book block square and tight.. First Edition. Cloth. Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

London, United Kingdom: Sherwood, Jones, & Co , 1823. First published as a monthly journal in London Life from 1820. Dated 1821at the original introduction which was originally published by Sherwood, Neely & Jones and changed to Sherwood Jones (later George Virtue) in 1823 and published with musical scores and ads. CONDITION Has been professionally respine in Red Leather, with original cloth bds which are worn, new eps to tighten, original hand coloured frontis, pp xvii 376 with 37 plates and woodblock engraving through text. Lightly foxed and dust soiled to pages near ends, internally bright with edge browning and the odd finger mark. Overweight. Re-Issue. Cloth. Very Good/N/A. Illus. by Cruikshank, George & Isaac . 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

London, United Kingdom: M J Godwin at the Juvenile Library, 1915. Printed by B McMillan, Bow Street, Covent Garden in colophon. Written by the publishers daughter, a then 10 year old Mary Godwin (Shelley) adapted a jaunty vaudeville song into a children's rhyme, ''Mounseer Nongtongpaw,'' which makes spirited fun of English bigotry and greed. Godwin published it, the first work of his prodigious child. Later research suggests a more likely author is John Taylor with the story outline being supplied by Mary. He was the author of 'Monsieur Tonson', which was also published by M J Godwin as another Juvenile Library title. CONDITION Original Pink card wraps dated 1813 to front, advertising for other Juvenile Library titles to rear (light age toning and soiling to covers, mildly rubbed to spine ends) dated 1815 to title page, pp 16 with 12 leaves of Copper plate engravings. Internally bright and clean with only the slightest age toning to page edges, original whip stitching to… Read More

Lugduni Batavorum (Leiden): Apud Philippum Bonk , 1745. Johannes Columbus 1640 - 1684 Sweden greatest Latin scholar of his era, Prof. Uppsala University. Text in Ancient Greek and Latin, originally published 1678. Fine bindings signed Rel[ieur] P. Bozerian, gold-tooled on the spine heel. The famous binder Bozerian who worked for Napoleon, Renouard and all the great bibliophiles of his time. This copy is reputedly Antoine-Augustin Renouard's copy with tipped in note written in fountain pen stating it was purchased as such at auction from Bibliotheque de feu M. Paul May, Amsterdam, Oct. 1949. CONDITION DESCRIPTION Blue crushed Morocco, Gilt tooled palmette and double ruled border, gold tooled dentille in ovoid design, bright gilt to all edges, cream watered silk pastedowns, vellum liners, engraved frontis portrait etching of Homer by St Aubin? pp [16] 150 [8] (STC, N), pink silk corded page marker. Scuffed two small patches front bd, slightly discoloured spine, internally crisp and clean. Book plate… Read More

London: George Routledge & Co , 1850. Early reprint. Green Leather with bright gilt title in Burgundy flag, marbled bds, Tan eps, Omoo is bound in first with a note incopper plate script stating "NB Typee should be read first" , pp x 242, 222. Bds have minor shelf wear, internally bright and crisp. Some spotting to leading edge and odd spot inside. . Re-Issue. Half Leather. Near Fine/N/A. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

London: Jonathan Cape, 1955. Flemings 3rd Bond title. First impression of first variant with original type setting fault of 'shoo' to page 10 instead of the later reset 'shoot'. CONDITION Black bds, slight crushed bottom front cnr o/w unworn, 256 pages. Text block is tight with light toning at ends, internally a nice bright copy. Original DJ has been in older style brodart cover at some stage causing waer to edges, price clipped to front flap, original price 10s 6d net to rear flap, mild age darkening.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

London: Macmillan, 1970. While Timothy Young's adolescence occurs in the constricted world of post-war Britain, his older sister Kath escapes the world of ration coupons and vaguely perceived dissatisfactions. She works for the American army in Europe, enjoying the opulence of life on American pay. Semi auto biographical coming of age story about his sexual awakening. It was beset by typesetting issues, long listed for the booker prize 2010. CONDITION Green bds with bright spine title (unworn though a little crushed at spine head) 303 pages. Copy is brisht and crisp appears unread, faint partial toning to front end page, light dust spotting at top edge. DJ not worn apart from crease a spine head and price clipped flap.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Sydney, Australia: Angus & Robertson, 1918. Classic of Australian children's literature. The book is divided into four "slices" instead of chapters. There are many short songs interspersed throughout the text, varying from stories told in rhyme to descriptions of a character's mood or behaviour, and verses of an ongoing sea song. CONDITION Cream papered bds with Brown title and illus to front, Brown cloth spine with bright gilt title, end pages in Green A & R design to paper, full colour frontis page followed by b/w title page, 171 pages with illus to each page. In original DJ with paste on colour illus. Water mark top font cnr 14 x 7 cm, insect damage to edge of papered bds along bottom edge, cnrs a little bumped else bright, damp stain carries through first few pages showing faintly to coloured frontis, internally nice copy though a little loose. DJ has 5 cm tear at bottom front of spine, 2 cm loss at spine head, rubbed to bottom front cnr and damp stain front mentioned… Read More

London: Neville Spearman, 1956. Authors first book was published in Paris in 1955. Regarded as a comic masterpiece, upon its publication, it was banned both in Ireland and the United States for obscenity. 1st UK and first hardcover edition, expurgated by Donleavy to meet British censorship standards. Differs from later printings by having a blank, white back on the dust jacket as should be. CONDITION Blue bds with black spine title(very clean, top front cnr faintly crushed) 292 pages copy is very bright and crisp with faintest dust spotting to edges, white panel at rear of DJ is faintly soiled, slightest edge wear, not price clipped, price 15s.. First Edition Thus. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

Brescia, Italy : Apud Societatum Brixiensem , 1602. Memorial of Carlo Borromeo who was appointed during the papacy of Pope Clement VII as Bishop of Ugento1537, he was appointed during the papacy of Pope Paul III as Bishop of Pozzuoli.He served as Bishop of Pozzuoli until his death in 1540. DESCRIPTION Each Separately numbered, Liber Memorialis [1603] pp 228 with 3 fold outs, De Vita Carole S R Cardinalis [1602] Pp [7] 230; Papal Conversations Pp 88. First Index to these three Pts unpaginated [72 pages in double column layout] 2nd Index is of Quotes unpaginated (32 pages in 2 column layout], 3rd Index is a Dictionary of Terms unpaginated [208 pages in 2 column layout]. CONDITION Vellum cover have been in a damp basement at some stage possibly as is common with books of this era to protect from ecclesiastical destruction, paper title lable in cursive script, Red stained to all edges. Over all in pretty good readable condition, first title page and last page of final index damamged with some loss,… Read More