Rare books from William Reese Company

Paris: Chez David, 1780-1781.. Six volumes consisting of I, II, IIII, V, VI, and VII (without volumes III and VIII). With hundreds of illustrations. Contemporary mottled French calf, neatly rebacked in matching style, spines gilt extra, leather labels stamped in gilt. A bit of light scattered foxing, but generally quite clean internally. A handsome set. An absolutely phenomenal association copy of this influential study of the antiquities of the Italian city of Herculaneum, destroyed during an explosion of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. This set of LES ANTIQUITÉS D'HERCULANUM... was given by Thomas Jefferson to his young protégé, painter John Trumbull. Jefferson has inscribed it on the front fly leaf of the first volume" "Th. J. begs Mr. Trumbull will do him the favor to accept this copy of the Herculaneum." Jefferson was instrumental in furthering Trumbull's career at an early stage and in encouraging him to create his painting of the presentation of the Declaration of Independence. That painting is… Read More

Paris: Simon de Colines, [1532].. [8],207 leaves. Small quarto. 18th-century calf, gilt, inner dentelles, rebacked to style, spine gilt, leather label. Bookplates on front pastedown. Some minor soiling. Scattered notations in Spanish in an early hand. Very good. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. First French edition, and the first collection of voyages printed in the French language, collected by Peter Martyr, the first historian of the Americas. "Peter Martyr (1457-1526) was born near Lake Maggiore. He was a contemporary and friend of Christopher Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Hernan Cortes, Ferdinand Magellan, Sebastian Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci. Through his friendship with these explorers, as well as from his official position as a member of the Council for the Indies in Spain, he was able to obtain authentic original documents and much valuable information about the discoveries made by the early navigators. His works were held in the highest esteem by his contemporaries and are indispensable… Read More

[Nuremberg, ca. 1581].. Etched illustrated broadside on two joined sheets, approximately 11 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches. Minor wear at lower left and upper right corners. Small rust spot in the text. Near fine. Framed, glazed, and matted. A very rare portrait of Sir Francis Drake on a German broadside, celebrating his circumnavigation of the world and thus most likely published after 1580. It is one of the very few lifetime portraits of Drake and is a marvelous representation. Drake is shown full-length, in armor, holding a firearm, standing at a port, also illustrating three men loading a ship, with two columns of German poetry in the center. Another copy of this broadside is in the John Carter Brown Library, a gift of Henry C. Taylor in 1944. The two columns of German poetry in the center refer to Drake's recent return from his voyage and invoke the image in the broadside of him loading his ship with powder to fight the enemies of Christendom. It then warns soldiers not to act as mercenaries for… Read More

London: Printed and sold by R. Sayer and J. Bennett, 1782.. Letterpress title and index leaf, otherwise engraved throughout. Twenty-three engraved maps on thirty-one sheets (eighteen folding, eleven double-page), all handcolored in outline. Antique-style half speckled calf and marbled boards, spine with raised bands, bands and ornaments tooled in gilt, leather label. Titlepage somewhat soiled, early ownership inscription at top. Minor edge wear and edge soiling to some maps; a few minor instances of foxing. A few closed tears, not affecting images, neatly repaired. A handsome, near fine copy. THE AMERICAN ATLAS is the most important 18th-century atlas for America. Walter Ristow describes it as a "geographical description of the whole continent of America, as portrayed in the best available maps in the latter half of the eighteenth century...as a major cartographic reference work it was, very likely, consulted by American, English, and French civilian administrators and military officers during the… Read More

New York: Eliphalet M. Brown Jr., 1855-1856.. Six lithographs, with integral descriptions and titles to the six plates, all within an elaborate decorative border including vignettte scenes and portraits of places and people encountered on the expedition, six lithographic plates, printed in colors and finished by hand, by J. Sarony & Co. (4), Boell & Lewis (1), and Boell & Michelin (1), all after Heine. Title leaf not present, as usual. Elephant folio. Individually matted and framed. One print with repaired closed tears, slightly affecting image. Occasional faint marginal foxing and dust soiling. Very good. Magnificent and very rare example of Heine's elephant folio-sized lithographic record of six lithographs illustrating the opening of Japan under Commodore Matthew Perry. In scale, scope, and quality of execution, this is arguably the finest lithographic work ever produced in the United States, and is among the rarest of all American color plate books. William Heine was the official artist on… Read More

[Philadelphia: Aitken (vols. 1-2), Dunlap (vols. 3, 9-13) and Claypoole (vols. 4-8), 1788. Thirteen volumes. All but the first volume bound in contemporary paper-covered boards, the first bound in modern paper in an antique style. Bindings, paginations and individual condition reports given below. Housed in uniform brown cloth clamshell cases, gilt morocco spine labels. Bookplate of collector, Michael Zinman on all front pastedowns or front flyleaf, and inside front cover of clamshell cases. A complete set of the first editions of the Journals of Congress, including all indices and appendices. These Journals contain the most vital documents from the Revolutionary period through the end of the Confederacy, and culminate with the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1788. They are an essential basis for any comprehensive collection of the Revolution and early National period. A complete set of the Journals of the Continental Congress is remarkably difficult to assemble. The present set is further… Read More

London: William Stansby for Henrie Fetherstone, 1625-1626.. Five volumes. Numerous engraved maps and plates, many of which are folding. Extra engraved titlepage. For a detailed discussion of collations, see Wilberforce Eames' exhaustive treatment in Sabin. Folio. 19th- century dark green morocco, bound by F. Bedford, ornately gilt, all edges painted red and gilt. Later bookplates on front pastedowns. Several maps trimmed close, one with very slight loss at fore-edge, a few leaves in Vol. III remargined. With blank R4 in Vol. I, lacking initial blanks in volumes III and IV. Very light offsetting from plates, occasional faint foxing. A fine and handsome set. The second great collection of English voyages, expanding upon and greatly adding to the work of Hakluyt, whose manuscripts Purchas took over after Hakluyt's death. Purchas collects over twelve hundred separate narratives of explorations in every part of the world. Many of the accounts relate to the New World, especially Virginia, and one of the… Read More

London: Engrav'd by Willm. Henry Toms, 1733 [but ca. 1735].. Engraved map by William Henry Toms on fifteen double-page and five single-page sheets, mounted on guards throughout, with the double- page key map by Toms, and the contents leaf tipped in as a fold-out from the rear free endpaper. Folio. Original half calf and marbled paper boards, raised bands. Boards with moderate wear and rubbing, loss to marbled paper in a few places, joints starting to separate but still strong, spine ends chipped. Bookplate and pencil notes on front pastedown (see below), light rumpling to endpapers. Minor worming at lower margin near gutter on the first few leaves (no text affected), one instance of slight staining, but overall very clean internally. Near fine. The Thomas W. Streeter copy of the first large-scale map of North America, and the first printed map to show the thirteen colonies, in original boards, complete with the separate key map and the contents leaf. Henry Popple produced this map under the… Read More

Springland Cot, Pa.: W. Birch, 1800.. Engraved titlepage by William Barker with vignette of the arms of Philadelphia, engraved plan of the city by Barker, twenty- seven handcolored copper engravings by and after William and Thomas Birch, letterpress list of subscribers, letterpress leaf of introduction with list of plates. Large oblong folio. Contemporary half mottled sheep and plain paper-covered boards. Moderate scuffing and soiling to boards, corners and spine ends worn, paper along bottom edge of boards a bit chipped. Repaired vertical tear on verso near gutter of "Frontispiece" plate, long horizontal repaired tear on verso of "Preparation for War" plate extending about 1 1/2 inches into image area, minor repaired marginal tears to verso of four other plates. Scattered foxing and minor toning, leaf of introduction heavily foxed and with a repaired horizontal tear just touching two words. Overall, good plus. In a brown half calf and cloth box, spine gilt, gilt leather label on front cover. The… Read More

Frankfurt: Johannes Wechel for Theodor De Bry, 1590.. 34,[6]pp., one plate and one double-page map followed by twenty-two plates (two of them folding, five of them with accompanying text leaves), [3]pp., five plates with accompanying text leaves, [7]pp. Folio. Engraved titlepage. Antique-style paneled dark brown calf, boards tooled in blind, front board gilt, raised bands. Minor worming at upper right center of text block with no loss of text, plate 12 trimmed close at top edge, repair to right edge of plate 13 with some loss of image, a few spots of foxing, and some mild tanning throughout. Ink inscription in a 17th-century hand on front blank, ink inscription in a contemporary hand on titlepage. Very good. A foundation work on the early exploration and delineation of America, describing and illustrating the first British colony to be established there. This volume is the first issued by the publisher, Theodor De Bry, in his extraordinary series, GRAND VOYAGES, describing the exploration of the New… Read More

Philadelphia: Printed by William and Thomas Bradford, 1775.. [2],13pp. Half title. 19th-century three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Front board expertly reattached, spine ends worn. De- accessioned bookplate of the Library Company of Philadelphia on front pastedown, marked "duplicate" in ink. Moderate staining; outer upper margin of first five leaves repaired, not affecting text; bottom third of last leaf lacking, costing two-line dateline at the end of the text. Good. Inscribed "From Wm Bradford esq" on the half title. The very rare first edition of this crucial Revolutionary document - the declaration of Congress issued July 6, 1775, giving reasons for the American colonies taking up arms against Great Britain. This copy was inscribed by one of the book's printers, legendary Revolutionary War printer from Philadelphia, William Bradford, on the half title page: "From Wm Bradford esq." Issued in the wake of the battles of Lexington and Concord and at Bunker Hill, and a year before… Read More

Annapolis, January 16, 1784.. [2]pp. on a single folded folio sheet. Old faint fold lines, upper and lower edges gilt. Blind stamp of the Chastellux Archives in upper right corner of first leaf. Fine. In a half blue morocco box and chemise, spine gilt. An outstanding letter written by Thomas Jefferson to François-Jean de Chastellux, shortly after the ratification of the definitive Treaty of Paris by the United States Congress of the Confederation, noting its recent approval and the imminent dispatch of an official copy to Paris. The letter continues to discuss at length the condition of the newly independent United States, refuting the rumors of potential anarchy being circulated in Europe, but lamenting the lack of available hard currency in the country. "This letter is reminiscent of others written by [Jefferson] at the opening of the Revolution in which he endeavored by private communications to influence opinion of America abroad" - Founders Online. Jefferson goes on to discuss the potential… Read More

London: Printed for W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1772.. [4],viii,542pp. plus errata and eighteen folding engraved maps. Large quarto. 20th- century red morocco by Worsford, richly gilt, t.e.g., gilt inner dentelles. Some light shelf wear. Light scattered foxing. Some maps reinforced or repaired discreetly with linen in gutter margin. Very good. The best contemporary account of the French and Indian War, justly celebrated for its cartography and textual content, and one of the great rarities of colonial Americana, complete with all maps and the elusive errata leaf. Virtually all of Mante's account relates to the war in North America, with detailed narratives of Braddock's campaign and the other frontier and Canadian campaigns of the conflict. The work is particularly desirable for its contemporary descriptions of Pontiac's War, a campaign in which the author participated as major of brigade to Col. Dudley Bradstreet. In addition, the introduction includes an interesting account of young George… Read More

[Philadelphia: Printed by Lehman & Duval, published by the author, 1835-1836].. Three letterpress broadside prospectus "Advertisement" leaves to parts 1-3 bound at the front. Seventy-two handcolored lithographic plates after Lewis, printed by Lehman & Duval. Folio, 16 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches. Expertly bound to style in black half morocco incorporating contemporary marbled paper- covered boards, spine ruled in gilt, stamped in gilt "Aboriginal Portfolio." Contemporary marbled endpapers, original blue paper printed front wrapper to part No. 7, dated November 1835, bound in at the front, blank blue paper rear wrapper bound in at the rear. The plate titled "Kee-o-kuck" with outer margin repaired on verso. Very good. In black and tan fabric clamshell box, spine gilt. One of the rarest 19th-century American color plate books and the first major American color plate book on American Indians, here including the three very rare prospectus leaves and the original wrappers for part seven. THE ABORIGINAL PORT… Read More

St. Petersburg, 1802.. Text: Two volumes bound in one. [6],xii,[2],187,[8]; [4],192,[2]pp. plus folding table giving the number of inhabitants on the Fox and Andreanov islands, and the size of the fur tribute levied on these islands by the Russians in 1791. Folio atlas: Fifty engraved maps and plates, plus large folding map. No titlepage was ever issued. Quarto text volume and folio atlas. Text: Contemporary calf, spine gilt, leather label. Wear, rubbing, and soiling to boards, spine head frayed. Faint marginal dampstains to top corner of text, ink ownership notes on titlepage. Folio atlas: Contemporary three- quarter calf and marbled boards, neatly rebacked, spine gilt. Minor edge wear. Some mild creasing, dust-soiling, and mild foxing, small marginal repairs to one map. Overall a very good copy. In matching half morocco boxes. A complete fifty-one-plate copy of the very rare atlas and narrative of this Russian North Pacific exploration, what Lada-Mocarski calls "one of the fundamental and very rare… Read More