Rare books from Kolbe & Fanning

Crestline: George Frederick Kolbe, 2007. New. Large 8vo, brown full morocco, leather spine label, gilt, cloth clamshell box. 351, (1) pages; 57 color plates and an original engraving for J.F. Loubat's "The Medallic History of the United States." New. Special edition. A Leaf book limited to 60 copies letterpress printed by Bird & Bull Press. A magnificent production. Citing from the preface: "The regular edition of Comitia Americana and Related Medals has been shaped for the scholar and the collector... The special edition at hand is intended to serve a different purpose. Here, the authors' objective is to place the reader in a closer relationship with the historical events that are described. To this end, the text of this edition has been prepared by the same letterpress technology in use in the late eighteenth century. The two centuries that lie between the American Revolution and the present day are neatly bridged by the inclusion of a leaf from a book published in 1878. Joseph Florimond Loubat's… Read More

London, 1730. Second collected edition. Printed at Dublin. Reprinted and Sold by A. Moor in St. Paul's Church-yard, and the Booksellers of London and Westminster. 8vo [19.5 by 13.5 cm], contemporary full brown calf, sides bordered in blind with crenulated Cambridge panels with floral sprays at corners; professionally rebacked; spine with five raised bands, ruled in gilt; new red leather spine labels, gilt. (8), 264 pages, woodcut headpieces, tailpieces and initials. Original board edges worn; attractively rebacked, retaining the original endpapers, now reinforced. Contents generally very good, with some wear and marginal discoloration to leaves at beginning and end. Very good or better. The earliest collectible edition of Jonathan Swift's famous satirical denunciation of the Hibernia coinage of William Wood. Nelson pages 12 & 13: "Wood's coinage for Ireland never appears to have been popular, and ... he is reported to have said ‘that he would cram his brass down their (the Irish) throats in spite… Read More

Seventy-seven volumes total, as follows: Collection de Bibliographie Classique. I: Bibliographie de l'antiquité classique 1896-1914. Première partie: auteurs et textes [the second part, Matières et disciplines, was never published]. 1951. 8vo, later tan linen and marbled boards. [with] II: Dix années de bibliographie classique: bibliographie critique et analytique de l'antiquité greco-latine pour le période 1914-1924. Première partie: auteurs et textes. Deuxième partie: matières et disciplines. 1927-1928. Two volumes. 8vo, later matching tan linen and marbled boards. [with] III: L'année philologique: bibliographie critique et analytique de l'antiquité gréco-latine. Première année (1927)-Tome LXXIV. Bibliographie des années 1924-2003 et compléments d'années antérieures. 1928-2005. Seventy-four volumes. 8vo, Volumes I-XXXIV bound in later matching tan linen and decorative paper boards; Volumes XXXV-LXXIV bound in the original green, brown, violet, yellow or maroon cloth. Approximately… Read More

Berlin, 8211. Thirteen of the sixteen volumes published so far: 1. HISPANIA, GALLIA NARBONENSIS. 17 plates. 2. ETRURIA, UMBRIA, PICENUM, LATIUM, SAMNIUM, PRENTANI, CAMPANIA, APULIA. 17 plates. 3. KALABRIEN, LUKANIEN. 41 plates. 4. BRUTTIUM, KARTHAGER IN ITALIEN. 41 plates. 6. SIKELIA, PUNIER IN SIZILIEN, LIPARA, SARDINIA, PUNIER IN SARDINIEN, NACHTRÄGE. 51 plates. 7. taurische chersones. 20 plates. 10./11. makedonien: könige. 52 plates. 14. attika, megaris, ägina. 21 plates. 19. troas-lesbos. 29 plates. 20. ionien. 29 plates. 23. lydien. 35 plates. 24. phrygien. 21 plates. 28. syrien: nicht-königliche prägungen. 46 plates. All folios, original printed card covers.Generally fine or nearly so. Thirteen of the sixteen fascicles so far published of this extensive SNG series. Clain-Stefanelli 1915*. Daehn 1989. Kroh 13 (four stars). This book weighs more than the estimated 3 pounds and may incur extra shipping charges.

Philadelphia: S.T. Freeman & Sons, Auctioneers, 8211. 4to, later white cloth, gilt. 199, (1) pages; 3792 lots; 15 fine photographic plates. Original prices realized list bound in. Fine. Adams 15. An important sale of U.S. and world coins, with 15 exceptionally fine photographic plates. This wide-ranging, representative collection was formed by New York financier Charles Gregory, of whom Chapman wrote: "It seems very natural that a banker, using the moneys of the world, should turn his attention to forming a collection of them." Two plates depict ancient and European gold coins; ten plates illustrate European silver coins, among them multiple thalers and a 70 ducat of Sigismund III; one plate depicts colonial and United States silver coins; and the final two plates illustrate notable American pioneer gold coins. Adams A: "Excellent dollars of the world. Baker 106 in gold. RR Bechtlers. Dunbar $5. Lincoln, Johnson peace medals." Davis 224. Fanning 21.

London: British Museum, 1930. Two volumes, complete. Folio, original matching tan cloth, gilt. xvii, (1), 371, (1) + vii, (1) pages; titles printed in red and black; 1333 extremely detailed descriptions; text figures; 201 superb plates of medals. Spotting to extremities; moderate wear from normal use. Very good or better, contents near fine. The magnificent original edition of this classic and still most-important work, covering in great detail "the known varieties of medals produced by Italian artists from 1390 to about 1530." A monumental achievement, the most important work of its kind, with superb illustrations and highly useful indexes. Clain-Stefanelli 14287*. Grierson 256. Modesti 1405: "Senza dubbio la più grande opera mai realizzata sulla medaglistica rinascimentale italiana... Sono presentate oltre 2.000 medaglie, con accuratissimo apparato storico, critico e bibliografico nonché topologico." Ex Christopher Evelyn Blunt Library, with his bookplate.

Saigon: Imprimerie Ménard & Legros, 1900. Two volumes, complete. Text volume octavo [27.5 by 20 cm]; plate volume oblong folio [37 by 28 cm], later matching brown speckled quarter calf with yellow linen sides; spines with four raised bands, ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt. Frontispiece portrait of Emperor Thành Thái; (6), 231, (1), xxi, (3) + (4) pages; chronological tables; 40 fine plates. Text volume quarto. Ex Manchester Free Library, with their stamps (see comments); wear to corner tips of plates volume, with marginal repair to half title. Very good or better in a recent fine binding. A great classic work, handsomely bound in the traditional yellow of the Vietnamese royal family. Very rare, and the first complete set we have offered in many years. Publication de l'École Française d'Extrême-Orient. The library marking are generally unobtrusive blindstamps, relegated to the plates and the opening and closing text pages; each volume also has an ink stamp on the title page verso. Bowker… Read More

The Medical Repository. Volume III (New York: Printed by T. & J. Swords, 1800). Conducted by Samuel L. Mitchill and Edward Miller. 8vo, modern full brown speckled calf; spine with five raised bands, ruled in gilt; red morocco spine label, gilt. 7, (1), 428 pages [Kunze's article is on pages 351-359]. Some spotting. Near fine in a fine binding. John C. Kunze's 1800 description of his coin collection, possibly the only 18th-century account of a coin cabinet formed by an American collector. Kunze's little-known article, written in the form of a letter to Dr. Samuel Mitchill though intended for publication, is one of the very few detailed portrayals of coin collecting in the early days of the Republic. Kunze (1744-1807) was a Lutheran minister and professor. Having studied at the University of Leipzig, he moved to Philadelphia in 1770, married, and established the Lutheran Theological Seminary. The pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, he served as a member of the Board of trustees of the University of the… Read More

Philadelphia: Davis & Harvey, 8211. Large 4to, later white cloth; front cover and spine lettered in gilt. xii, 653, (1) pages; 7302 lots; 42 superb photographic plates of coins and medals. Original printed prices realized list bound in. Marginal repair to price list. Near fine. Adams 40, with plates. Rated A+ overall: "Henry Chapman's magnum opus. Superb coins of the world plus U.S. all series, all expertly described." The most famous of the Chapman sales and one of the most renowned American coin auctions ever held. John Story Jenks began collecting coins around 1850 and was 82 years of age when his collection was sold. Chapman claimed that "He is probably the oldest collector in the United States, and nearly every important sale has contributed to his collection." Twenty years his junior, Henry Chapman was still at the height of his considerable powers: "Suffice it to say I have not spared my faculties, energy or money to give in this catalogue full descriptions of the coins contained in this grand… Read More

Paris, 8211. 4to, later antiqued quarter brown calf with marbled sides; spine with four raised bands, ruled in gilt; two red spine labels, gilt; original printed front card cover bound in. (2), ii, 164 pages; 1009 lots; 37 very fine plates. Plates hand-priced in pencil. Light discoloration to lower fore-edge corner of perhaps a third of the plates, not affecting utility. Very good in a fine binding. Rare and still very important. According to the introduction: "La collection d'Amécourt est célèbre entre toutes, aucune collection particulière ne peut lui être comparée, et seuls les grands musées nationaux peuvent rivaliser avec elle, encore sommes-nous persuadés que cette comparaison serait généralement à son avantage ; formée dans un goût plus moderne, elle les surpasserait par l'état de conservation et le style... Toutes ces belles médailles vont passer aux enchères publiques, ce sera la vente la plus importante du siècle ; une semblable réunion ne se retrovera probablement… Read More