Search Results: Authors starting with F from E C Books

LONDON : L Reeve & Co., 1871 This is part of Lovell Reeve's crown octavo series of popular natural history for beginners and amateurs. The preface starts 'this little work is planned on the supposition that the reader knows nothing scientifically of the insect world....'. So the book gives some basics and then gets on to helping the reader identify the range of insects they might encounter. It is in the original blue decorative cloth binding with a gilt picture to the front board and gilt titles on the spine. The book has had a good cloth case repair - relaying the spine so the binding is sound and tight if slightly grubby and faded/darkened on the spine. The endpapers are new. It has 16 coloured plates as called for and numerous illustrations in the text. There is some brown spotting on the text but this does not generally affect the plates which are bright and clear.

London: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd, 1959 A very good 2 volume set of British Beetles in good dust wrappers. Bindings are bright and clean with gilt titles and beetle to front boards. Vol I has a small cloth crease to the middle of both boards; Vol II has a small cloth crease in the middle of the back board. Page edges marbled. Vol I has decorative endpapers and Vol II plain endpapers - both with an ownership signature to the fep. Vol I: First Series with 19 colour and 20 black and white plates, 300 pp with 4 plain pages for notes at the rear. Couple of tiny holes at the front endpaper joint and small repaired edge tear at the top of p 189. Contents very clean. Vol II: Second Series with 44 colour and 43 black and white plates, 295 pp. Very clean internally; light stain at the foredge. Wrappers are price clipped with a price sticker of £2.00 at the front flap. Both have light edgewear and slight loss at folds and spine ends with repair, and some surface scuffing down the folds. The wrap to Vol II has… Read More

Edinburgh: Printed for private circulation, 1862 An extremely scarce original copy of James Farrer's account of his work on the excavation of Maes-Howe in Stenness, Orkney, together with a few other barrows. James Farrer (1812-1879) was MP for Durham and an enthusiastic member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He 'opened' the mound in July 1861, at which time it had a conical shape, and removed the contents. Sadly, and typically of the time, there was no systematic analysis and recording. Farrer discovered a number of runic inscriptions inside the tomb and this work has images of them with translations. The binding has a gilt design (copied from the runic inscriptions in the Howe) to the front board and gilt titles to spine. Contents: colour printed frontispiece with tissue-guard; title page; contents list; preface; text with 5 plates - 2 double size and one colour printed; appendix; readings of the inscriptions with 7 further plates - 2 double size. The binding is bright and clean. There is… Read More

London : Printed for the Author at the Dove, 1787 A good copy of an extremely scarce work in contemporary half leather binding with folding map of Orkney and Shetland. The binding has been rebacked supplying a new spine with gilt titles and blind ruled compartments. The boards have the original leather and are marbled. The binding is in very good condition with general wear to edges and corners. The original endpapers look to be retained. Contents: initial blank, title, introduction pp vii; fold out map; text pp 1-101; half title - considerations on the fisheries; text pp 3-88 finis; list of subscribers 6pp; final blank. A piece has been cut from the top edge of the title and the first page of the introduction - which also has an inscription: Francis Taylor's book 1834. The title has also lost the corner tip. The map has loss to the left margin, but this does not affect the Orkney and Shetland Isles, and some edge tears to the bottom folds. It has been reinforced. There is a mispagination - 42-47,… Read More

Holy-Rood House, 1775 A good copy of the 1st edition of this scarce work describing the Orkney Islands. James Fea was part of the Fea family of Clastrain. He inherited the estate, burdened by complex ownership issues and debt, in 1760. He names himself a surgeon by trade being apprenticed to a surgeon as a boy and becoming a navy surgeon during military service. His Estate issues were finally settled in 1772, but the publication of this work from Holy-Rood House - at that time a debtors sanctuary - suggests that the settlement still left debt. This book gives an interesting account of the Orkneys in the eighteenth century, from the physical landscape and climate to the population, and economic situation. Fea is particularly scathing about state of agriculture and critical of the system of granting short leases to tenant farmers. This copy is in a newer quarter leather binding with gilt titles and date to spine and cloth boards. The binding is in near fine condition. There is a bookplate of John Davie… Read More

Edinburgh: Alexander Donaldson, 1774 A fair copy of Alexander Donaldson's 3 volume edition of Tom Jones. In contemporary tree calf bindings with title and volume labels and gilt compartments to spines. All 3 volumes have some wear to the bindings, particularly to corners, joints and the top and bottom of the spines. There is some scuffing to boards. Vol I has had an interesting diy repair, with part of the spine from another book laid on top of the old spine, and this volume has more wear to the front spine joint where the board is attached, but there is splitting. Contents are generally in clean good to very good condition with the odd spot or mark. All have 2 old signatures to the fep. Vol I: title; dedication; contents; text 363pp. Some ink splots p 172-4; small repaired edge tear p 279; some creasing to top corner tips. Vol II: title; contents; text 349pp. Small repaired tear to side margin p194. Vol III: title; contents; text 267pp finis. Some discolouration to endpapers.

London : Hodder and Stoughton A very good early copy of the smaller octavo edition of the Dulac- illustrated Rubaiyat in dust-wrapper. It is undated but with a gift inscription dated March 1914. With tipped-in frontispiece and 11 further tipped-in colour plates by Edmund Dulac. The wrapper is in a protective sleeve. It is slightly grubby and with some repaired edge tears/nibbles. There is a crease in the back flap. The decorative purple cloth binding is in very good clean condition with a slightly faded spine. Internally the original decorative endpapers are present - they are slightly browned. Contents are in very good to near fine clean condition. A very nice copy.

London : Hodder and Stoughton A nice copy in the original dark red gilt decorated cloth binding with 20 beautiful tipped in colour plates by Edmund Dulac. Undated but ?1909/1915. The binding has been rebacked to make a very sound copy.The gilt decorated front board has some light fading to top and spine edges and a slight warp at the top corner, and the spine has fading. There is some very light marking to the back board. Internally, the original endpapers are plain and clean. Text pages are printed on one side only with the text in decorative borders. The plates have descriptive tissue guards and have stunning decorative borders. There is some light spotting to some text pages but the plates are in fine condition.

London : C Dilly, 1794 A fair copy of the 1st edition of this extremely scarce work. Edward Ford (1746 -1809) was a London surgeon. He became a Member of the Court Assistants of the Royal College of Surgeons and was Surgeon to the Westminster General Dispensary from 1780 - 1801. This work, based on his experience, was extremely popular and 2 further printings were organised by his nephew. This copy came from the Library of the Richmond Physical Society, Dublin, which was founded in 1812 at the Richmond Surgical Hospital, House of Industry. It has their bookplate on the front pastedown and House of Industry (or workhouse) stamps to the title page, p 229 and the reverse of one plate. It has been bound in a new plain buckram binding, with gilt titles and new endpapers. The binding is in very good condition. Internally: title page, dedication, preface pp vii-xvi, contents, errata, text pp 1 - 258 (including plate descriptions) and 6 of 8 plates (lacking plates 6 and 7, one of which is folding). The… Read More

Paisley and London: Alexander Gardner, 1901 A very good clean copy of the second series with songs including 'The Bonnet o' Blue', 'Bonnie Jeanie Cameron', 'Brannan on the Moor' and many others. The green cloth binding is sound and clean with a slightly paler patch at the bottom corner of the front board. Title label to spine which is slightly faded and with light pulling to spine ends. Corners with light wear. Top page edges gilted; remainder untrimmed. Size 22.5 cm x 18 cm. Contents very clean and largely unopened. Some light browning to free endpapers. Publisher's catalogue 2pp at the rear.

Amstelaedami [Amsterdam] : Henricum Wetstenium, 1686 A good copy of Volume I of the 2 volume latin translation of Redi's classic work, bound in contemporary full vellum. With what appear to be most of the plates from Volume II bound in - having 26 folding plates and 31 single page plates in addition to the decorative frontispiece title page. Redi's work was pivotal in disproving the theory of spontaneous generation. The binding is in very good condition - being slightly grubby and with light wear only. With printed name of T H Longfield on a preliminary. With decorative title page/frontispiece; title page, epistola (7pp); contents page; text (216pp plus plates); index - authorum (6pp); additional index - index rarum notabilium(13pp); title page - De Ave Diomedea Dissertatio...'; section headed B.L.S (2pp); section headed 'Clarissimo viro, D Johanni Danieli Majori, SPD - pp 5-40; and index 'Rerum et Verborum. With decorative initial capitals. The contents are in good clean condition… Read More

London: Baldwin and Cradock, 1828 A good copy of Mandibulata Vol I of this 12 volume work. Complete with 9 hand coloured plates by Curtis and Westwood as called for. Stephens (1792-1852) was a leading entomologist and founder member of the Royal Entomological Society of London. The contemporary binding is green half leather with marbled boards. Spine with gilt titles and gilt lines. Page edges are untrimmed. The binding is sound but with scuffing and wear to edges and corners. There is an ink signature to the fep. Contents: title page 1828; introduction 2pp; text pp 1-184; index 2pp; plate index; errata. With 9 plates. There is some offsetting to the text, a little pencil annotation and a couple of ink underlinings. Occasional spotting. A scarce work

LONDON : A[ndrew]. C[lark]. for John Martyn, 1678 A very good copy in a high quality full leather binding. With title page in red and black ink; preface; text in 3 books with 2 plates of bird traps bound in, and 2 tables which serve as early identification keys; an appendix; summary of falconry; index and 78 plates of birds (including the dodo) at the rear. This is the first English edition translated from the original Latin which was published in 1676, four years after Willughby's death by his friend and colleague John Ray. It marks one of the first attempts to take a rational, scientific approach to classifying birds. It is a matter of debate, and current research, as to whether Willughby or Ray played a greater part in its development. Ray supervised the publication. The illustrations were commissioned from a number of sources and some birds are depicted twice where the initial image was not very good.This copy lacks the original endpapers - perhaps lost during the later rebinding - but is… Read More

Tolosae [Toulouse]: Apud Arnaldum Colomerium, Regis, & Academiae Tolosanae Typographum, 1648 A very rare copy of a city pharmacopoeia in possibly contemporary loose vellum wrap. The Pharmaceutical profession was subject to strict regulations from its earliest origins. Reference or formula books were required, guarded, and handed down. In 17th and 18th century France, major cities published their own pharmacopoeia, with 'official' authority. This is the Toulouse pharmacopoiea authored by Pontio Francisco Purpan. It is missing the title page but the contents look otherwise complete with: 3 blank leaves (one looks bright and may have been added at some point); frontispiece by Stuerhelt, with banner 'Dant Sydera Vires'; Dedication by Purpan, 2pp; full page engraving by Stuerhelt; letter by Purpan to a series of nobles 4pp (there is a very well repaired paper tear to the first leaf of the letter); Extract des Registres de Parlement 1p; Catalogue 1p; Lectori 1p; Index Capitum 1p; Codicis… Read More

London : Harrison and Co , 1785 A rare and beautiful introduction to natural history. In 2 folio volumes with 99 (of 100) hand coloured plates by Moses Harris and others after his style. Martyn is a pseudonym for William Fordyce Mavor, who authored a wide range of works. The books are set out alphabetically, with the plates reflecting this classification, so they can portray lizards and lynx side by side on the same plate. The pages are double column and unpaginated. The text for each animal is thoughtfully put together eg for the guinea pig 'The Guinea-Pig is a very cleanly creature and totally different from that that affords it a name....Guinea-Pigs repose on their bellies, pretty much in their usual posture...'. The plates are nicely coloured and the ones by Moses Harris (butterflies, moths and shells) are particularly well drawn. This copy is in a contemporary half leather binding with marbled boards. The half leather corners have been replaced with a paper cover. There is some wear to… Read More

London: Richard Bentley; and Bell & Bradfute, 1850 A fair copy of the Richard Bentley single volume edition in the original Bentley Standard Novels decorative cloth binding. With tissue-guarded frontispiece and endpapers listing the Standard Novels. The binding is bright and clean. There is some wear at splitting at the spine ends and the beginning of splitting at the front joint. The corners are bumped and there is some scuffing to the boards. Internally, the endpapers are clean with an ownership signature to the front pastedown. Contents with frontispiece; title; preface to first and second editions (to p xi) text 394 pp; excerpt from the Morning Herald of 6.10.1849 4pp. The stitching is a little wobbly in a couple of places, and there is some splitting at the rear endpaper joint, but the contents are generally clean and sound. There is some spotting to the frontispiece and occasional brown spots, generally to the bottom or side margin. These are particularly noticeable at pp 28-34 and 200-202.… Read More