Rare books from Thorn Books

London: Robert Barker, 1611. First edition. Hardcover. Very good. Folio. The First and Second Books of Kings, complete in 36 leaves. The first page is the final page of the previous book (2 Samuel); on the reverse begins 'The First Booke of the Kings, commonly called The third Booke of the Kings'. 36pp., followed by 'The Second Booke of the Kings, commonly called, The fourth Booke of the Kings', 35pp. The final page ends II Kings and begins I Chronicles. Printed in black letter, woodcut initials. Recent binding of quarter calf, gilt titles, Cockerell marbled paper boards. Some remargining (no loss) and old stains, else a very good copy in a fine binding, The binder's notes itemize the steps in rebinding, including leaf disinfectant for the stains. Darlow & Moule, 240.

n.p.: n.p., n.d.. Typescript. Very good. Four volume typescript, approximately 8 inches by 10 inches. Individual original typewritten or carbon copy pages are bound with string into cloth and printed paper boards, with typewritten labels. Unpaginated; the four volumes are a little over 6 inches thick. Nearly every page has additions, corrections and strike-outs in either the author's hand, that of his daughter, or an unknown hand. Two copies of Fowler's 1919 forerunner work, 'Scenes from the Morte d'Arthur', written under his pseudonym Alan Seymour, have been cut up and incorporated into the typescript and also bear manuscript corrections. We understand that this set is one of a very small number--probably no more than five--of copies made up for submission to publishers, and may very well be one of only a couple of copies surviving. According to his biographer, Brian Stableford, 'The Song of Arthur' was his life's work. It was just finished when a bomb destroyed the manuscript in 1941. Wright spent… Read More

London: Printed for Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, 1819. First edition. Hardcover. Fine. 8vo. xxv,(1),27-84pp. Sherwood, Neely, and Jones' Third Issue. Half-title is present. The 'Extract', pp. 73-84, is present. Both Extracts are sometimes attributed to John Mitford. Nicely bound to style in quarter calf, spine gilt; leather lettering label, gilt; marbled paper boards, vellum tips. A fine copy. This title has a curious bibliographic history, with first issues attributing authorship to Lord Byron, then removing Byron's name, then this issue (Viets IV), with gathering 'A' reset to 23 lines to account for the removal of a slur on Mary Godwin and Jane Clermont and with 'lmost' on page 36. Earlier issues are nearly unavailable, making this essentially the earliest printing obtainable of the first book on vampires. See Viets in PBSA LXIII (1969), 83-103.

(Beijing): Wen Mei Zhai, 1911. First edition. Hardcover. Near fine. 4to. Two volumes, complete. One hundred woodblock illustrations of flowers intricately printed on one side of the page only in full color and bound in Oriental style, with three pages of introductory matter in Volume I. Basically these constitute illustrated paper for the writing of poems. Issued in two versions: red monochrome and full color. This is the full color version. This edition was printed in the third year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) of the Xuangtong Emperor. (i.e., 1911). An ephemeral piece used as stationery; only a few copes have survived in any form. This copy has not been used in any way and is complete with 50 illustrations in each volume. One plate in Volume II has an old repair of a closed tear with some loss to the margin and wrinkling of the paper; one plate in Volume II has a few light gray color spots; the remaining 98 illustrations are fine and bright. Rare, Only a few copies of… Read More

London; New York: John Murray; Van Wynkle & Wiley; Sherwood, Neely and Jones, 1819. First edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Bound volume containing works by or attributed to Lord Byron from 1814 to 1819. 'Lara' is the 4th edition, L. 1814. 'Poems by Lord Byron' is the first US edition, NY, 1816. 'The Prisoner of Chillon is the first edition, L., 1816. 'Beppo' is the 6th edition, L., 1818. 'Mazeppa' is the first edition, 2nd issue, L. 1819. 'The Vampyre' is first edition, L., 1819. All bound in one volume in contemporary half leather, marbled paper boards. Light wear to the binding else near fine. 'The Prisoner of Chillon is first state with ads on page 62. 'The Poems' contain five pieces; the half title is present. This title is lightly foxed. 'Mazeppa' is first edition second state, with the imprint on the reverse of p. 71 and the printer's name on the verso of the half title. The 'Fragment', also known as 'Fragment of a Novel', is present. Byron's unfinished horror story that is one of the first… Read More

Boston: Christian Scientist Publishing Company, 1875. First edition. Hardcover. Fine. Thick 8vo. 456pp. Publisher's black patterned cloth; gilt spine title; plain endpapers. Errata page tipped-in at rear. One of 1000 copies of the first edition. A fine, bright copy, with only the barest traces of wear, notably at the head of the spine. Scarce to begin with, and rare in such fine condition. Housed in a custom morocco-backed clamshell case. A landmark work, one that has been called by the Women's National Book Association one of the 75 books by women whose words have changed the world. Mary Baker Eddy was far ahead of her time in her development of her Eternal Mind philosophy. Together with the Bible, this is the key doctrinal source for the Church of Christ, Scientist. "Science and Health" was brought out in an edition of 1000 copies. Three of Eddy's students paid the Boston printer to produce the edition. Even though it was started in 1874, the printer stopped work whenever the advance payments… Read More

London: J. M. Dent, 1893. First edition. Wraps. Near fine. Aubrey Beardelsy. Twelve original parts in green wrappers. Regular issue: one of 1500 copies. Full page and double page illustrations, rubricated initials, borders and in-text decorations by Aubrey Beardsley in his first major commission. The wrappers are generally lightly soiled and chipped at the edges. Spines are worn at tips, and the spine of Part One is split but firmly held by the sewing. A very good set of this masterpiece with the textblocks in near fine condition and free of the foxing that dogs the issue on handmade paper. Housed in two volumes of slipcases and cloth chemises, with the title on the slipcases on leather labels, gilt. Gaines, A14, a.1. .

London: J. Bowyer, et al., 1718. First edition in English. Hardcover. Fine. 8vo. (ii),cxi,(xvii),401,(lv)pp. In a lovely contemporary binding of sprinkled calf. The spine is in six compartments, gilt, light brown lettering label, gilt, edges sprinkled red. The errata page is present in the rear. The List of Subscribers is present (including Isaac Newton). A fine copy with only light rubbing to the hinges and edges. Geoffrey's Historia dates from the 12th century and purports to be a history of Britain from its first settlement by Brutus to the death of Cadwallader in the 7th century. In contains one of the earliest developed narratives of King Arthur and dwells on Merlin and his prophecies. Originally written in Latin, this is the first translation into English, made by Aaron Thompson, who provides a lengthy preface giving his views on the authenticity of the History. Thompson based his translation on the Heidelberg edition of 1587; J. A. Giles later updated it in his edition of 1848. Scarce, and… Read More

London: WIlliam Smith, 1848. Hardcover. Near fine. Two volumes in four, extra-illustrated with the insertion of the illuminated plates from Humpheys' "Illuminated Illustrations of Froissart" in addition to the hand-colored plates of this edition. Dark green levant morocco, spines in five compartments, intricately gilt, board tooled in gilt and blind, inner dentelles, gilt, linen endpaper, all edges gilt. Bindings signed The Knickerbocker Press and G. P. Putnam's Sons. The handcolored plates are heightened with gold and silver in imitation of the manuscript originals. A fine set, handsomely bound, with bright plates, the spines showing only a pleasant lightening toward brown. .

America (Philadelphia): Printed for the Subscribers (Robert Bell), 1771. First American edition. Hardcover. Near fine. First edition printed in America. Three volumes. 8vo. viii,(ii),360;(xvi),374;(xlii),351,(lvii)pp., but with several errors in pagination as noted by Evans. Contemporary full sheep; spines with simple gilt rules and volume numbers in gilt; red leather lettering labels, gilt. A few notes by a former owner, including the beginning of his name on the title page of Volume 2 (Isaac Lew...) possibly a relative of Nathaniel Lewis and Mordecai Lewis who are listed on the List of Subscribers. This publication marks the substantial beginning of the introduction of European literature into America. Bell has published with it an address upon international copyright, the first on the subject. The long list of subscribers is a veritable who's who of early American history: John Adams, Jacob Giles, John Hancock (2 sets), Caesar Rodney, and so on: ''whose names posterity may respect because by… Read More

New York: The Humboldt Publishing Co, 1890. First US edition. Hardcover. Very good. First edition printed in America. Tall 8vo. xviii, 506pp. Brick red ribbed cloth blocked in blind on the boards and with a gilt spine title with black lines. Translated from the German by Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling. Edited by Frederick Engels. Cloth is rubbed at edges and hinges else this is a very good copy. The bibliography of this edition is a little complex. In 1890 the Humboldt Publishing Company published this edition in English of Das Kapital in four separate parts bound in stapled wrappers. Later, probably the following year, some copies were disassembled and bound into a single volume, as in the present case. The wrappered edition contained publisher's ads. These were sometimes bound into the single volumes, sometimes not, and, in one case, only a couple of ads were bound in. Some bindings were blocked in black on the boards, some not. There are reports that the publisher reprinted the text in 1891 or… Read More

London: Printed for Henry Harriman, 1656. First edition. Hardcover. Very good. 12mo. (14),120,(2). Plate of chessboard present. Contemporary sheep, blind rules on the boards. Light dampstain across the top, the leather cracked and rubbed, especially at the spine, lacking the preliminary blank and the portrait of the King, else a very good copy. Makes one wonder if the portrait of Charles II was deliberately destroyed. A translation by Francis Beale of Trattato del Nobilissimo Giuco degli Scacchi by Giachino Greco and consists of 94 chess gambits. Contains the first documented use of 'castle' as a chess verb, according to the OED. ESTC R23418; Wing G1810. .

London: James Rivington and James Fletcher, 17571759. First edition in English. Hardcover. Very good. Two volumes. 8vo. (20),455 (8),387pp. Folding map of California in volume I; 4 copperplates (including frontispieces) each with two images, for a total of 8 images. Full speckled calf, nicely rebacked at an early date, retaining the original lettering labels. Light wear especially to the corners, the map with two closed marginal tears not affecting the image, else a very good set. With the armorial bookplate of Sir Joseph Copley, Bart, as well as small circular leather bookplate of 'CFH'. This is the first translation into English (or any other language) of Father Venegas' 'Noticia de la California', published in 1757 in Madrid (contrary to the 1858 date found on the title page of this edition.) Venegas' manuscript was written between 1734 and 1739. It went unpublished because the Spanish Crown did not want details of New Spain disseminated. But eventually another Jesuit, Padre Burriel, edited the… Read More

London: William Heinemann, 1895. First edition. Hardcover. Fine. 12mo. (152)pp. Wrappered edition, now in oatmeal-colored buckram, gilt spine title. Bookplate of former owner, offset to the front free endpaper, else this is a fine copy. This title was issued both in a wrapper edition as well as a hardbound edition. All edges have been trimmed, suggesting it is from the wrappered printing, nor is the catalogue present, also suggesting wrappered, as the catalogue was printed on the insides of the wrappers. .

Patavino (Padua): M. Cerdonis, 1482. Hardcover. Good. 4to. 69 of 70 leaves, lacking folio 1 (supplied in facsimile). Initials throughout in red and blue, some with fine penwork decoration. Inner margin worming nor affecting the text. Contemporary unsophisticated binding of beveled wooden boards and pigskin thongs. Metal clasp partially perished as is the spine covering, which was probably alum-tawed pigskin. The main boards seem never to have been covered as evidenced by contemporary notes on the inner surfaces. Extensive notes and marginalia in contemporary hands throughout, some entries dated in the early 16th century. Rare. No auction record since the 1920's. Rolandino (ca. 1215-1300) was one of the most famous medieval jurists and a master of notarial art. The Flos Testamentorum is considered one of the best notarial treatises ever produced and provides an insight into Bolognese life during the Middle Ages.