ABA Featured Books

Los Reyes [i.e., Lima], Por Antonio Ricardo, 1585.. First Edition. 4°, contemporary limp vellum (slightly darkened), yapped edges, remains of ties. Large Jesuit device on title-page, woodcut initials. Text in Spanish (italic type), Quechua, and Aymara (both roman type). Dampstained and browned. Small tears on leaves 127, 128 and 196 repaired, without loss of text. In good to very good condition. Early signatures on title-page include that of Father Joseph de Acosta, S.J., author of the famous Historia natural y moral de las Indias and editor of this book. Early annotations (some in Quechua) and later ownership signature on endpapers, including a relatively modern one ("Propriedad de Raul Valdes Pinilla"). (8), 215 ll. *** FIRST EDITION. A work of notable rarity, and of great importance for the religious, ethnological, and linguistic history of early colonial Peru. According to the verso of the second preliminary leaf, it was prepared by Juan de Atiença and José de Acosta. Acosta's signature… Read More

, , Ca. 1778.. 8°, contemporary crushed crimson morocco, heavily gilt with floral motif in center and at the corners of each cover and a roll-tooled border; spine with raised bands in six compartments, gilt with a small floral tool; edges gilt and gauffered. Two very small scraped areas on upper cover and a few pinpoint wormholes at head and foot of spine, otherwise very fresh. Written in ink, in a number of different hands (elegant and legible) of the late eighteenth century. Very fine internally; overall in fine condition. Old (contemporary?) library stamp of the Dukes of Lafões on title-page. (9 ll., first 2 blank), 11-37, 37-479, 1-225 pp., (1 blank l.); i.e., 707 written pages in all. *** One of the most copiously informative histories of medicine ever written, this unpublished eighteenth-century "epitome" is no mere summary. It gives a critical account of the whole development of medicine, and more particularly of the medical profession, concentrating on the three centuries between the… Read More

Lisbon, Na Officina Craesbeeckiana, 1650.. FIRST EDITION. Small 4°, disbound in a folding case of antique quarter calf over marbled boards, flat spine with crimson morocco lettering-piece, gilt letter. Woodcut initials. In good to very good condition. (2 ll.), 52 pp. *** ORIGINAL EDITION of one of the narratives that later comprised the História trágico-marítima; extremely rare. As with all of these Portuguese shipwreck accounts from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-seventeenth century, it was later produced in a counterfeit eighteenth-century edition. Boxer noted, "I have never seen a copy of this first edition and have taken the description from the História da literatura portuguesa ilustrada, III, 214" ("An Introduction to the História trágico-marítima," in Miscelânea de estudos em honra do Prof. Hernani Cidade, p. 86, no. 17A). In some corrections and clarifications to his previous article, Boxer refers to a copy in the Torre do Tombo, gives the collation (which agrees with ours) and calls… Read More

[Colophon] Salamanca, (Juan de Porras), 1517.. First edition in this form. Folio (29.5 x 20 cm.), contemporary blind-tooled morocco over boards, complex interlacing roll alternating with rows of circular punches between sets of 3 parallel lines; expertly rebacked, and corners mended; metal clasps refurbished. Magnificent large woodcut on first leaf of a scholar at his desk in a carefully depicted study, above the title (which runs to 6 lines of gothic type), all within woodcut borders. On verso of first leaf, a large Crucifixion above a smaller vignette of the Last Supper, all within woodcut borders. Full-page woodcut logical charts on ff. 54r and 119v. Text in 2 sizes of gothic type (for the Aristotle text and the commentary), woodcut initials, 2 columns. An extremely rare work, in very fine condition. Contemporary ink notations on front pastedown. 128 ll. [xciii misfoliated xcix, cxvii misfoliated cxviii], signed a4, b-q8, r4. *** First edition in this form of Aristotle's logical work De… Read More

, , 1821-1868.. 34 works in 29 volumes. , Nearly all are in very fine condition; half a dozen or so show some soiling or dampstaining. *** The collection includes pieces printed at Mérida de Yucatán, Durango, Puebla, Ciudad Victoria, Chihuahua, Tlapam, Tabasco, San Luis Potosí, Ures, Jalapa, Saltillo and Tlaxcala. Such provincial printing from Mexico is quite rare. Of these works 17 are not in NUC and six more are cited at only one or two locations. Only five (four in copies inferior to those offered here) appeared in the celebrated Streeter sale—Streeter presumably would have been interested in all, or virtually all, of the items present in our collection, given his strong interest in Mexico, Texas and the Southwest.The constitutions and legislation for the Federal Republic of Mexico also applied to much of the southwestern United States (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Texas) until Texas declared its independence in 1836 and Mexico ceded the area north of the Rio… Read More

Logroño, Arnão Guillen de Brocar, 1517.. First Edition. Folio (36 x 24.5 cm.), contemporary blind-tooled calf, boards nicely refurbished (but with some recent damage to corners and rubbing to spine); very skillfully rebacked, and with new clasps. Large woodcut on title-page, 2 full-page woodcuts, printer's device below colophon. Gothic letter (Norton types 8:117G, 10:99G, 18:68G), printed in red and black throughout. Minor soiling and stains (including some marginal dampstaining on first few leaves), 4 tiny wormholes touching a few letters per page through quire q. Crisp. In very good to fine condition. Early manuscript record of sale at foot of title, in ink. (2 blank), (26), 254 [i.e., 255], (2 blank) leaves, signed 10, A-B8, a9, b-z8, aa-hh8, ii6. *** FIRST EDITION. This magnificent classic was produced, according to the colophon, at the command of Charles V by his printer Arnão Guillen de Brocar; this is the first intimation we have that Brocar had been appointed royal printer. Later… Read More

Lisbon, Impresso por Pedro Crasbeeck, 1605.. FIRST EDITION. 4° in 8s, contemporary calf (almost pristine, with only the slightest wear), spine gilt with raised bands in five compartments, short title gilt in second compartment from head, covers elaborately decorated in blind, text block edges rouged. Woodcut initials. Text and "Tabula" in two columns. Light soiling on title page. An attractive copy, in very good to fine condition. Small armorial stamp on title page of António José da Cunha Reis da Mota Godinho. Armorial bookplate of his great-great-great grandson, António da Cunha Reis, with initials "A.C.R.". Rectangular stamp of António da Cunha Reis above bookplate on front pastedown endleaf. [10], 351, [7] ll. ¶10 A-Z 2a-2x 2y (¶1 verso blank; ¶10 and 2y6 blank). Licenses in Portuguese. *** FIRST EDITION of one of the most important early accounts of Hernando de Soto's expedition. Two issues of the title page are said to exist, one with the date 1605 (as here), one without date.… Read More

London: John Murray, Richard Bentley and Josiah Fisher, 1829- 1837, 4 vols, 4to, (275 x 200mm), Contemporary red half morocco gilt, with 110 engraved plates of which 72 are hand-coloured, a very nice large uncut copy.
Scarce Complete Copy of the First Edition of this Rare Work on the Natural History of the Arctic.
Sir John Richardson (1787–1865), surgeon, naturalist and Arctic explorer, went on Sir John Franklin's first two Arctic expeditions as ship's doctor and naturalist, and made observations and collected a large number of plant and animal specimens from the Canadian Arctic.
On his return to England after the second expedition he began to write this four-volume work of natural history, first published between 1829 and 1837. A volume is dedicated to each of the classes of mammal, bird, fish and insect, which are found in the Canadian Arctic. This work is an interesting example of pre-Darwinian natural history, full of detailed descriptions of the appearance, anatomy and behaviour of the… Read More

Nuremberg: Johann Montanus & Ulrich Neuber, 1551.Folio ( 320 x 200mm) , 3 Parts in one volume, Early Citron Morocco Gilt, Gilt Crest of the Duke of Devonshire on Upper and Lower Covers, title printed in red and black, woodcut ornament on title-page, portrait of the author, preface by Philipp Melanchthon, numerous woodcut illustrations throughout concerning geographical, navigational and astronomical subjects, astronomical instruments and Schoner's celebrated celestial and terrestrial globes, with 11 woodcut volvelles and 10 leaves with 34 printed discs for use on the volvelles.
A Splendid complete copy of this extremely scarce work.
The First Edition of Shoner's most important work, his collected Astronomical works published after his death in 1547. This includes the Aequatorium Astronomicum of 1521 the earliest works to contain moveable discs. This original edition, of which there is only one surviving copy, published on his own press at Bamberg, was the inspiration for Peter Apian's extraordinary… Read More

Antwerpiae,: apud Joannem Baptistam Vrient,, 1604.. 1670 by 2970mm. (65.75 by 117 inches).. Engraved map, printed on twelve sheets, above four sheet letterpress description annotated with several woodcut animals, with fine CONTEMPORARY HAND-COLOUR HEIGHTENED GOLD, trimmed to neat lines, laid on linen, extensive areas of restoration. A full conservation report is available on request. A spectacular wall map of astonishing beauty made at the beginning of the Dutch Golden Age. Cartography The present map draws on the cartography of Luis Teixeira (fl.1564-1613) - whose name appears in the large pasted title - a Portuguese cartographer from a famous mapmaking dynasty. He worked in Lisbon and the Portuguese colonies, but was also a friend of and collaborator with Dutch cartographers, contributing a map of Japan to Abraham Ortelius' atlas. Ortelius and Cornelis Claesz published five of his maps between them, and all were specifically advertised as based on his work, indicating that he was highly respected in… Read More

Johann Georg Puschner, Nuremberg, 1728. 32 cm Coloured Terrestrial Globe in Original Condition.
Terrestrial Globe made up of two sets of twelve coloured engraved globe gores , 2 engraved polar calottes and 2 coloured engraved title or text cartouches. Assembled on a (probably wooden) hollow sphere (diameter: 32 cm) with brass pole screws suspended in a chiselled meridian ring made of brass and with a smaller brass scale ring for the degrees of longitude. As a standing globe, the ball is inserted into the wooden horizontal equator ring, which stands on four turned feet. The engraved calendar ring is mounted on its octagonal, round surface. The original silver-plated brass compass with a glass cover is embedded in the lower platform plate, which is also turned.
Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr's (1677-1750) famous terrestrial globe from 1728, which he printed and published together with the astronomer and publisher Johann Georg Puschner (1680-1749) who constructed the globe,
This a scarce globe and only a few… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1956. [Spy thriller] FIRST EDITION, Binding A. SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.257 [1]. Publisher's black cloth titled in silver, with the pictorial dust-jacket designed by Pat Marriott priced at 12/6. Inscribed by the author to flyleaf "To Paul, /who spread his / wings over / my first born. // with affection / from / Ian [underline]". A little spotting, heavier to top edge, jacket slightly toned to spine. Very good, in an elegant leather-spined collector's clamshell box. The recipient is Paul Gallico, friend and champion of the budding author Fleming. He was the person who first 'spotted 007', according to both the present inscription, and Fleming's biographer John Pearson (writing in the Sunday Times, Paul Gallico obituary, 18th July 1976). A significant association, and the greatest and most poignant of the known Fleming-Gallico presentations, on one of the most difficult Bond titles to acquire signed. A remarkable combination. Gilbert, Jon: Ian Fleming The… Read More

First edition of this highly important and influential magnum opus of political theory, a defence of papal supremacy. The author's principal work, completed in 1326, it runs to nearly half a million words and went through four further editions before 1501; it was repeatedly printed throughout the following century, with the last edition appearing in 1582. It was also the last (and most substantial) book printed by Schüssler, the Augsburg printer so admired by William Morris for his presswork, who later in 1473 sold his five presses to the Monastery of SS. Ulrich and Afra, also at Augsburg. Augustinus had taught philosophy and theology at Paris (lecturing on Peter Lombard's Sentences) and Padua, before serving as chaplain to Charles, son of Robert, King of Naples. He engaged with the most crucial philosophical issues of his age, writing extensively on logic (including a commentary on Aristotle's Prior analytics), psychology, and metaphysics, as well as composing several theological treatises and… Read More

First edition in English, rare, of the first significant European study of China, 'one of the outstanding "best-sellers" of the sixteenth century' (Boxer). A publication of enormous influence on Elizabethan conceptions of China, it also contained much information on the Spanish Americas. The translation, by Robert Parke, was undertaken at the request and encouragement of Richard Hakluyt, appearing before the latter's Principal Navigations and was dedicated to the explorer Thomas Cavendish. The publisher John Wolfe had issued an edition in Italian under a false 'Venice' imprint in 1587, but this was the first time the work was accessible to a wider English audience. Mendoza had departed on a mission to China in 1580, but because of political instability in the Philippines he made it no further then Mexico, returning to Spain and then Rome in 1583, where he was commissioned to write this history, drawing upon information provided by missionaries in Mexico. La Historia de las Cosas más Notables,… Read More

A truly stunning collection of over 150 original eighteenth-century botanical watercolours, attributed to the noted Dutch botanical artist Pieter van Loo (1731–1784). Born at Haarlem in the Netherlands, Loo spent most of his life in his native city where he was registered with the Painters Guild as a 'painter of flowers'. He is perhaps best known for his watercolours of hyacinths, a collection of which – entitled 'Choix de Jacintes' and comprising thirteen images by Loo and Cornelis van Noorde painted between 1765 and 1769 – is preserved at the Oak Spring Garden Library in Virginia. The vibrantly coloured and beautifully executed images here run in more or less alphabetical order from 'l'Asther à fleur blanche' to 'la Gimauve' in volume 1, and from 'Hépatique' to 'Verveine' in volume 2, each set neatly within a ruled frame, through which they occasionally burst – as in the case of 'Chelidoine de l'Amerique' for example – with considerable exuberance. Of particular note in the first volume… Read More