Philobiblon by De Bury, Richard; Englis, John Bellingham (translator) - 1925

[San Francisco]: [The Book Club of California, printed by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn], 1925. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. McKay, Donald. No. 21 of 250 copies, folio size, 43 pp. The Philobiblon is a collection of essays concerning the acquisition, preservation, and organization of books written by the mediaeval bibliophile Richard de Bury shortly before his death in 1345. Written in Latin, as was the custom of the day, it is separated into twenty chapters, each covering a different topic relating to book collecting (n.b., per Wiki). It is generally considered the first book written about book-collecting, by the first recognized English bibliophile.

This version a book-lover's delight on so many levels, as a veritable swarm of illuminaries worked on this book: "The Book of Philobiblon, written by Richard De Bury, sometime Bishop of Durham; finished by him in the year A.D. 1345, and first printed at Cologne in 1473. Translated into English by John Bellingham Englis, printed at London, in 1832, and now printed by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, San Francisco, California, with decorations and initial letters by Donald McKay. Alfred Brooks Kennedy, compositor. Of this edition two hundred & fifty copies have been printed on Holland hand-made paper for The Book Club of California. Finished the fifth day of December, 1925" (per the colophon). One of the Fifty Books of the Year.

___DESCRIPTION: Cobalt blue paper boards with coat-of-arms design on front board, tan linen spine, fore and bottom edges uncut, ivory endpapers, title page and chapter headings/illustrations in red and black, text double-columned; type Poliphilus, printed on Holland Van Gelder hand-made paper, folio size (15.25" by 10.25"), pagination: [i-ii], [1], 2-40, [41], limited edition of 250 copies, this no. 21.

___CONDITION: Almost near fine, the paper boards mostly clean with just a stray mark or two of light soil, the linen shelfback also clean, the corners were strengthened by a professional restorer (name available upon request) and now are straight and unrubbed, front hinge somewhat tender but the board still firmly attached, rear hinge strong, the sewn binding strong, the interior clean with light, even toning, and the volume is entirely free of prior owner markings; a bit of rubbing to the head and tail of the spine, lacking the spine label, and some offsetting to the endpapers.

___CITATIONS: BCC 100, no. 25; Grabhorn Press Bibliography no. 75.

___POSTAGE: Please note that due to size, additional postage may apply; please contact seller for details.

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