Search Results: Titles starting with A from Shapero Rare Books

New York, The Blanchard Press, 1898. . Fifth edition; 4to; lithographic drawings and lettered captions by the author, first and last leaf loose, edges slightly darkened; original burlap wrappers lettered in black, coloured paper label of golfer to upper cover, covers detached (as often), edges darkened, otherwise a good copy of a fragile work. An amusing alphabet, in rhymed couplets, focusing primarily on the misadventures of novice and inept golfers, illustrated with humorous lithographic drawings and lettered captions by the author.The nature of the binding makes this book inherently fragile and is seldom found intact; the publisher's advertisement found at the end of this volume describes a hardier format, including a buckram binding, which presumably replaced earlier copies such as this one.

[J. & J. Knapton, W. & J. Innys, London, 1728]. . Four engraved sea charts on one double-page map sheet.Good condition. Dimensions: 50 x 61 cm. Published in the 'Atlas maritimus & commercialis: or, a General View of the World, so far as Relates to Trade & Navigation'.The Atlas maritimus can be used as an index of English trading activity at this period, since detailed insets and harbour plans emphasise those areas of greatest commercial significance.Although the author of the text is anonymous, Daniel Defoe is thought to have contributed to it, and Halley, the Astronomer-Royal, added a prefatory note discussing the use of the charts; it is therefore sometimes catalogued under his name. It has also been attributed to Harris, Senex and Wilson, those name appears on one chart. Senex was certainly responsible for one of the atlas's innovations, the globular chart of Western Europe whose projection according to the title-page was "authorized by letters patent".The atlas was purely commercial and was not… Read More

Edinburgh & London, The Moray Press, 1935. . First edition, first impression; 8vo; publisher's blue cloth, titles to spine gilt, with the dust jacket. A near-fine copy in the frayed and somewhat stained dust jacket. The first monograph on George Russell to be published after his death. The jacket is very uncommon and reproduces the marvellous photographic portrait frontispiece of Russell.

New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1930. . 8vo; full complement of blank pages; printing department binding of green cloth, gilt lettered lettering-piece to spine (later addition), plain paper endpapers to front (paste-residue showing and offsetting), heavier, more finished salmon ones to rear, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, soiling and fading to boards and spine but sound and solid; hand-written letter loosely inserted (215 x 140 mm), folded horizontally twice, creased at corners, short split to right margin of each fold, otherwise very good. The key to this rare curiosity is the hand-written letter with the salutation to 'George' and signed by a A. R. Warnock or Warwick, dated 5th Feb' 1930; 'Here are some bound samples at last/ Please note the inclosed (sic), which is made with the cloth right side. I made up this cover because the polished surface of the reverse side shows every finger mark. I have also inclosed (sic) a piece of cloth showing part of it schallacked (sic), to prevent finger… Read More

Mid to late 19th century]. . 12 hand painted water-colours on pith paper, pale blue silk borders, a few minor cracks and tears to rice paper as often; framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 38.7cm by 27cm by 2cm. A fine group of Chinese export watercolours showing courtiers.Pith came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home. Earlier and more prestigious export water-colours had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe. The albums of pith paintings (and later the little glass-fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home. Because many were sold in albums and hence protected from the light, they retain their bright colours to this… Read More

The Hague, Gosse, 1719. . 6engravings by J. Mulder, P. Sluyter and D. Stoopendaal after Merian, with later hand-colour, of flowers, fruits and insects from Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphasibus Insectorum Surinamensium; framed & glazed, overall dimensions: 38.2cm by 53.2cm. ID22 Superb engravings which depict the metamorphoses of South American insects and the exotic plants on which they feed.Maria Sybilla, daughter of the German engraver and publisher Matthias Merian, devoted herself to the study of European insects and their metamorphoses. As a result of the wealth of tropical varieties being brought back by the Dutch West Indies Company, she decided to visit the Dutch colony of Surinam herself to study and paint the insect life there. She sailed with her daughter Dorothea on June 1699 from Amsterdam, and remained in Surinam until 1701. Her work, first published in 1705, 'gave an unprecedented glimpse of the teeming insect life of tropical South America, with gorgeous butterflies flying… Read More

London, for the Author, R & J. Taylor 1848 . 4 hand-coloured lithographs from 'The Birds of Australia'; paper size: 54.3cm by 36.5cm.; framed & glazed, overall size: 62cm by 43.5cm by 4cm. John Gould is widely considered as the greatest and most ambitious od all Victorian ornithologists, combining both artistic skill, beauty and anatomical accuracy. Following the tradition of natural history illustrators, such as Barraband and Audubon, Gould enlisted the services of some of the most notable ornithological artists; including Edward Lear, Joseph Wolf and his own wife, Elizabeth, to complete the most outstanding and comprehensive works in the field.A contemporary reviewer said of this work "Great as is the excellence of Mr Gould's former publications, there can be no doubt that the present work exceeds them all, both in an artistic and in a scientific point of view... Whether the dignified repose of the eagle, the pert Malurus, the restless parakeet, or the lean and anxious wader, he is equally… Read More

Amsterdam, Jan Christian Sepp, 1770-1829. . 4 hand-coloured engraved plates by Sepp and Sepp the Younger, of birds nests with eggs; framed & glazed, overall size: 62.8cm 46.5cm by 3cm. ID22 Nozeman's work, Nederlandsche Vogelen, which he couldn't finish, became the first comprehensive account of the avifauna of Holland and was the most expensive book for sale in Holland at the time.The plates of the book depict all species known in the Netherlands through the time of publication and frequently feature eggs and nests. They were boldly coloured by the publisher and still belong to the most famous ornithological representations.

Amsterdam, Zacharias Romberg, 1736-1748 . 12 hand-coloured mezzotint engravings of Aloes in decorative pots. Occasional light spotting, Framed and glazed in handmade gold leaf frames, overall size: 28 by 42cm. ID22 An attractive collection of fine botanical mezzotints by Weinmann, one of the earliest examples of colour printing.Weinmann (1683-1741) was a Regensburg apothecary who organized the publication of Phytanthoza Iconographia, a huge florilegum which was not only very beautiful but which also influenced the publication of similar works worldwide. 'The mezzotint process used here had been invented by Johann Teyler in the Netherlands around 1688. As practiced here by Bartholomaus Seuter (1678-1754) and Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), it was really a combination of etching and mezzotint, which made possible delicate lines and a very fine grain. The addition of hand-tinting brought about unusual and subtle effects' (Hunt). Dunthorne 327; Hunt 494;Nissen BBI 2126; Stafleu TL2 17050.

London, for the Author, R & J. Taylor 1848 . 4 hand-coloured lithographs from 'The Birds of Australia'; paper size: 54.3cm by 36.5cm.; framed & glazed, overall size: 62cm by 43.5cm by 4cm. John Gould is widely considered as the greatest and most ambitious of all Victorian ornithologists, combining both artistic skill, beauty and anatomical accuracy. Following the tradition of natural history illustrators, such as Barraband and Audubon, Gould enlisted the services of some of the most notable ornithological artists; including Edward Lear, Joseph Wolf and his own wife, Elizabeth, to complete the most outstanding and comprehensive works in the field.A contemporary reviewer said of this work "Great as is the excellence of Mr Gould's former publications, there can be no doubt that the present work exceeds them all, both in an artistic and in a scientific point of view... Whether the dignified repose of the eagle, the pert Malurus, the restless parakeet, or the lean and anxious wader, he is equally… Read More

[Canton, 2nd half of 19th century]. . Six watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper, edged in turquoise silk ribbon and laid on paper; framed glazed and, overall size: 27 x 39.4 x 2 cm. An exquisite group of interior scenes, exclusively of noblewomen and ladies in waiting, engaging in various genteel activities, such as flower arranging, painting, poetry reading and writing, surrounded by elegant Qing dynasty furniture and ornaments, including unusual asymmetrical display cabinets, exotic bird swings, and porcelain vases, all standing or sitting on elaborately patterned silk carpets.Pith seems not to have been adopted for painting until about 1820. Some European museums claim that their paintings on pith (often erroneously called 'rice paper' or 'mulberry pith') come from the end of the eighteenth century but there do not seem to be any dateable examples that are so early. There is a record of the Kaiser Franz of Austria buying some albums from an English Consul-General Watts in 1826. We know… Read More

Florence, Giuseppe Vanni, 1776]. . 4 hand-coloured etchings; very good condition with strong, fresh colour and full margins; framed & glazed, overall dimensions: 50 x 43 cm x 4cm. Manetti was an Italian physician, botanist and ornithologist. Among his works is the treatise on birds, Ornithologia methodice digesta or Storia naturale degli uccelli (1776) which has been called 'one of the finest bird books issued to that date and one of the most sumptuous publications of the eighteenth century in Italy' (Christine Jackson, Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World). Fine Bird Books (1990), p.92; Nissen Zoologische Buchillustration, IVB 588; Zimmer, p.241.

Pisa, 1817-[1839]. . 6 hand-coloured plates of Grapes, printed in colour and finished by hand; framed and glazed, overall size: 42.5 by 57.5cm by 2cm. The finest Italian work on fruits, remarkable for colouring which is at once delicate and intense. The plates appeared in 41 parts, and Domenico del Pino, Antonio Serantoni and Isabella Bozzolini were among as many as twenty artists responsible for the designs. An almost equal number of engravers were involved, Giuseppe Pera, Giuseppe Carocci, Tommaso Nasi and Francesco Corsi being well represented. A lawyer and a civil servant as well as a botanist, Gallesio conducted experiments in his fruit garden in Savona later quoted by Charles Darwin to illustrate the development of varieties. Although he died before completion of this work, he had left pre-eminent contributions to the study of Italian fruit. Dunthorne 118: 'a very fine work'; Great Flower Books pp. 92-95; Oak Spring Pomona 52; Nissen BBI 683. (3)

Mid to late 19th century]. . 12 hand painted water-colours on pith paper of flowers and insects, within pale blue silk borders; a few cracks and light stains; framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 37.5cm by 26.5cm by 2cm. A fine group of Chinese export watercolours showing flowers and insects.Pith came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home. Earlier and more prestigious export water-colours had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe. The albums of pith paintings (and later the little glass-fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home. Because many were sold in albums and hence protected from the light, they retain their bright… Read More

N.d. [but circa 1765-1770]. . 3 bodycolour paintings of double hyacinths, with the names of the varieties lettered at the top, each signed below P: v: Loo (2) P:v:Loo Ad:Viv:Del. (1 & 3). 1. Marachal de France, watermark D & C Blauw. Paper size: 48.8 x 29.6 cm. 2. Sultan Achmet watermark paper size 47.7 x 29.5 cm. 3. Mon Biyoux, watermark Fleur-de-lys; paper size: 47.9 x 30 cm; framed & glazed, overall size: 115.7 x 69 x 3.5 cm. Pieter Van Loo (or Loon), Haarlem 1731-1784, was a noted flower painter who spent the whole of his life in Haarlem. His paintings are sought after and are found in leading institutions such as the Albertina in Vienna, the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge, and Oak Spring, Virginia.Hyacinths were much collected during the eighteenth century, especially in France, owing to the patronage of Madame de Pompadour. Indeed Charles de Rohan, an intimate friend of Madame de Pompadour owned an album (now at Oak Spring) of hyacinths very similar to ours.These three paintings display the ideals of… Read More

[Mid to late 19th century]. . Eight watercolour and gouache on pith paper, edged in turquoise silk ribbon and laid on paper; framed and glazed, overall size: 32.2cm x 24.1cm by 2cm. 86 A fine group of Chinese export watercolours showing exotic fruit.Pith came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home. Earlier and more prestigious export water-colours had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe. The albums of pith paintings (and later the little glass-fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home. Because many were sold in albums and hence protected from the light, they retain their bright colours to this day.Pith comes from the central… Read More

London, For the author, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, 1871. . Four original hand-coloured lithographic plates by Joseph Smit after Joseph Wolf; framed & glazed, overall size: 72cm by 58.5cm by 4.5cm. A group of four beautiful lithographs of pheasants taken from the Monograph of the Phasianidae or Family of the Pheasants, by Daniel Giroud Elliot. Elliot, born in New York in 1835, was active in London for 10 years from 1869 publishing his monographs on pheasants and birds of paradise. He was a founder of the American Ornithologists' Union. His luxurious books are notable for using the finest bird artists and lithographers of the time. Sitwell, Fine Bird Books (1990), page 53.

Mid to late 19th century]. . 10 hand-painted watercolours on pith paper, edged in turquoise silk ribbon and laid on paper; framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 39.5cm by 27cm by 2cm. A fine group of Chinese export watercolours showing flowers and butterflies.Pith came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home. Earlier export water-colours had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe. The albums of pith paintings (and later the little glass-fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home. Because many were sold in albums and hence protected from the light, they retain their bright colours to this day.Pith comes from the central column of… Read More

Regensburg, H. Lentz and H.G. Neubauer, 1737-1745. . 6 mezzotint engravings, printed in colour and finished by hand; framed & glazed, overall size: 48 x 34.5 cm. An attractive collection of fine plates, being one of the earliest examples of colour printing.Weinmann (1683-1741) was a Regensburg apothecary who organized the publication of Phytanthoza Iconographia, a huge florilegum which was not only very beautiful but which also influenced the publication of similar works worldwide. "The mezzotint process used here had been invented by Johann Teyler in the Netherlands around 1688. As practiced here by Bartholomaus Seuter (1678-1754) and Johann Elias Ridinger (1698-1767), it was really a combination of etching and mezzotint, which made possible delicate lines and a very fine grain. The addition of hand-tinting brought about unusual and subtle effects" (Hunt).

Mid to late 19th century]. . 12 watercolour and gouache studies on pith paper, framed by blue silk ribbon; framed and glazed, overall dimensions: 33cm by 23.5cm by 2cm. ID22 A fine group of Chinese export watercolours showing processions.Pith came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home. Earlier and more prestigious export water-colours had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe. The albums of pith paintings (and later the little glass-fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home. Because many were sold in albums and hence protected from the light, they retain their bright colours to this day.Pith comes from the central column of… Read More