~ ALCUIN BOOKS~ Scholarly and Ra

Adler, Jacob Georg Christian. Museum Cuficum Borgianum Velitis.. Rome: Antonium Fulgonium, 1782. 4to. Very Good [2] 172p, 12 engravings of plates of Cufic coins with three small text-engravings. Library duplicate. Some text leaves have foxing but a very good copy in half-vellum over boards. Housed in a quality clamshell case. The first scholarly publication on Cufic (early Arabic coins). See Leopoldo Cicognara, Catalogo ragionato dei libri d-art e d'antichito posseduti dale conte cicognara (Consenza, 1960). Jacob Adler (1756-1934) was a Danish scholar who pioneered in the study of Arabic paleography. His study of the coins in Cardinal Stephano Borgia's library allowed him to produce this epic study on Arabic writing variations on coins.

Besozzi, E. Stranger's Guide During a Visit to the Charter-House of Pavia. ill. Zambelli. Milan: Besozzi, 1865. 16mo - Hard Cover. Very Good / No Dust Jacket as Issued. A rare item with the only recorded copy in original hardcover being at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Original cloth with title in gilt on front cover. 68p. tiny wear at bottom of spine else a fine copy. A beautiful frontispiece of the Temple adjoining the Carthusian Monastery, another of crypt, a nice engraving of St. Brunoni. This item was published briefly and then the Italian government took it over making significant changes on a work that had survived unchanged for nearly five hundred years.

Dallington, Robert (Guicciardini, Francesco) Aphorismes Civill and Militarie: Amplified with Authorties, and exemplified with Historie, ou of the first Quarterne of Fr. Guicciardine. Two parts in one, 339pp., [with] A Brief Inference Upon Guicciardines Digression, in the fourth part of the first Quarterne of his Historie. Forbidden the Impression, and effaced out of the Originall by the Inquisition, In answer to a Letter from an Honourable Friend. London, John Haviland for Robert Allot, 1629. 61pp. later binding of 3/4 leather over marbled paper covered boards, raised bands, red morocco label gilt, five compartments fully gilt decorated, near contemporary notes on last blank. A very nice copy without foxing.

Davis, Bette. ALS 2P [undated Buy May 1940] from Bette Davis to Paul Kohner. Written on her Riverbottom letterhead stationery: Dear Paul, I think John's script is excellent but I feel it isn't Theodosius script--I read last week another script of Theo. containing the same material but much more from her angle. If all the suggested actors for the parts could be in John's picture--it would be marvelous but I'm afraid that would be impossible. I certainly think John should hand this into [Warner Brothers producer, Hal] Wallis. --with all the "America-- consciousness" world today it would be a very appropriate time to make such a picture. I thank you so much. I loved reading it. Very best. Bette. with carbon of Kohner's reply dated June 1, 1940. The John of her letter is undoubtedly John Huston who had been writing Hollywood scripts for several years
and who had been promised his first directorial project by Jack Warner (which turned out to be the Maltese Falcon). Davis already knew Huston as he had co-scripted two of her greatest successes of the late 30's Juarez and Jezebel
for which David won her second Oscar as Best Actress. Davis letters of this vintage with good content seldom

Gazuli, Muhammad Ibn-Sulaiman (Jazuli). Dalail Al-Hairat. Near East: Manuscript, . 117 leaves with front and back leaves illuminated with rich color symmetrical designs, rest of text inside ruled red and blue lines with five accent images dividing text. The work is regarded as the first major book in Islamic history which compiled litanies of peace and blessings upon the Prophet Muhammad. Among some Sunni religious orders, most notably the Shadhili-Jazuli order, its recitation is a daily practice; in others, however, it is a purely daily practice. The work begins with the ninety nine names of God and then the collection of over one hundred names of the Prophet. Its greatest popularity is in the Levant, Turkey, the Caucasus and South Asia though now it has spread to Europe, India and Indonesia. Manuscript copies such as this one were attempts to create an ideal symmetry and were pocket book size as this one so they could be carried easily so that devotion could be taken at moments throughout the day. Copies meticulously by hand such copies as this one began to be copied in the late 18th century until printed copies began to reach the masses in the Islamic world. This copy eventually came into the position of a California family and was later given in Los Angeles in 1937 Daisy Benani to a Mr. D'Orr as a gift. We should note that most surviving copies had fewer than 110 leaves so this is one of finest to appear in recent years. A near fine copy with the original symmetrical case that is in tact with the spine only in need of repair.

Malthus, T R (Thomas Robert); Joseph Milligan; Roger Chew Weightman. An Essay on the Principle of Population; or a View of Its Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness (2 Volume set). Georgetown, [D.C.]: Published By J. Milligan, 1809. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Very Good First American Edition. A very nice copy bound in late 19th Century tree calf with printed stamp of well known bookseller and publisher, David Longworth, of the Shakespeare Gallery. (He began publishing in New York in 1797 and became a bookseller in 1817. Personal copy with signature of James I. Roosevelt (James John Roosevelt) who was justice of New York Supreme Court and later bookplate of Charles Jackson who was prominent lawyer in New York, a member of the Tammany Society, the Society of Cincinnati and a controversial Democratic politician and served New York city in a number of capacities while practicing law. Garrison & Morton 1693; Printing and the Mind of Man 251. Shaw & Shoemaker 17975.

Miller, Joe. Joe Miller's Jests; or, the Wits Vade Mecum....London, 1739. [186-? reprint] A nice copy of the reprint of the classic teller of jokes in the 18th Century. A very good copy in one-half red morocco over paper cover boards.

Ovid (translated By Dryden, Addison, Pope and others). Ovid's Metamorphoses in Fifteen Books. London: Jacob Tonson, 1717. Folio. (16 ½" X 10 ¼"). A Very Good Copy [6], xx [4], 548 pages. Bound in three quarter vellum over brown cloth. Besides having all 18 plates (as in the Huntington copy), it is beautifully extra-illustrated with twenty-four full size plates from the Temple of the Muses by Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose excellence in portraiture and ornamental design along with mythological and religious subjects makes his work among the best of the 18th century. Some toning and few minor spots not affecting the text. In addition, there are fifteen excellent full page wood cuts not identified and one hundred and forty-five smaller engravings.

Paterculus, Vellenius, Ca 19 B.C.-Ca. 30 A.D. M.Velleius Paterculus Cum; notis Gerardi Vossili. Leiden: Ex Officicnia Elzeviriana, 1639. [12], 116, [28], 128, [4] . Concludes with addendum and erratum.; Old calf nicely rebacked, new labels, raised bands, approximately 4 3/4 x 2 3/4. Nice engraved vignette title page showing a Roman soldier carrying a man on his back to Rome, ships and hillside in the background. A few old marginalia. Copinger, Elzevier Press, 3522-3523; Willems 484 cites 2 printings this is the earliest with the dedication dated "Pridie Kal. Majas. (May) " this edition was reprinted by Jean and Daniel Elzevir in 1654 (and by Louis and Daniel in 1664). Paterculus was a military tirbune, public official and historian. His "History" survived in one worn copy which was discovered in Murback Abbey in Alsace in 1515 but now is lost. His principla patron was Tiberius. Very Good.

[014272] $450

C. Plinius Secundus [Pliny, the Elder]. Historie of the World. Commonly Called the Natural Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. First Edition in English. London, Adam Islip; 1601.Two volumes in one translated by Philemon Holland, Doctor of Physicke. Title page to first volume supplied in early [silver photo] facsimile laid in, the original title page to volume two present. Volume One. [49]pp., 614pp., [42]pp index. Pages 6/7 with 1/3 page torn away, lacking pages 3-6 Volume two; [10]pp., 632pp., [84]pp., p. 143 closed tear affecting a few words with tape mend along outer margin, corner torn away affecting a few words of side notes to page 231. Bound in contemporary calf, possibly recased in 1801 as endsheets have watermark dated 1801, or simply replaced more recently with paper watermarked 1801. Chip to head. Pliny wrote extensively on geography, natural history and astronomy

[014706] $2000

Rhetius, Urbanus; Ulrich Neuber; Johan Vom Borg. Opera Urbani [Vrbani] Regii. Noriberage: In Officina Ioannis Montani & Vinci Neuberg, 1562. Folio. Very Good. a-b[6]; A-Z[6]; Aa-Zz[6]; Aaa-Zzz[6]; Aaaa-Dddd[6]; 1-iiii[v-vi]; 17iii-colophon, 17[iiii]blank; )(-[6]; AA-TT[6] bound in a contemporary blindstamped alum-tawed pigskin over wood. This binding was specially done in 1565 and has detailed blindstamped iconography of Adam and Eve, the Serpent in the Wilderness, the Crucifixion, Resurrection and surrounded by various figures unindentified other than halos, two are reading a book. These bindings have become scarce as the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) disrupted normal life in Germany. Urbanus Rhegius (1489-1541) highly educated and a friend of Erasmus as well as a follower of the Via Moderna, he was a famous court preacher before the Reformation who was associated with John Eck (who debated Luther at the Diet of Worms); initially he went along with the Roman Catholic Church even announcing the bulla (bull) known as Exsurge Domine against Luther; however, by his own critical stance against the selling of indulgences he wrote an apology for Luther in 1521 and was discharged becoming an evangelical pastor in 1524 and in attempting to form a compromise with Zwingli and Luther helped to have a major role in developing the Augsburg Confession in 1530. The copies in the Folger Library and Saint Andrews University Library in Scotland are also in a fine pigskin binding.

Saraina, Torello (Sarayna). Le Historie e Fatti De Veronesi Nelli Tempi D'il Popolo et Signori Scaligeri. Vernona: Antonio Portese, 1542. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Good 55p (last leaf blank). Bound in original vellum with all pages complete. There are some light coffee stains throughout, endpapers with deeper residue stains. Woodcut printer's device on title page. After Torello completed De Orine et amplitudine civitatis Veronae (1540), he pushed this volume on the history of Verona.

SCHOOLMASTER IN COMEDY AND SATIRE. New York - Cincinnati - Chicago: American Book Company, 1894, Cloth. Near Fine. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. 592 pp. Bright gilt cover and spine devices, very light soiling. Excerpts from Rabelais, Shakespeare, Fenelon, Swift, Pope, Maria Edgeworth, Eugene Scribe, Dickens, Gogal, others.

A NICE SIGNED LETTER AND INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH OF FRANK SINATRA
FROM A BLEAK TIME IN HIS CAREER

Sinatra, Frank. IMPORTANT SIGNED SINATRA LETTER AND PHOTOGRAPH AT A PIVOTAL POINT IN HIS CAREER. , 8"x10" B&W photograph inscribed "To Rose Mary, fondly, Frankie". A few small spots at right of picture. Accompanied by 1 TLS on letterhead of THE FRANK SINATRA PROGRAM. May 15, 1947. Not only signed by type by Frank Sinatra to Rose Mary, the editor of the Super Sinatra fan magazine. Aside from his continued use of the adjective "swell," he informs her that his last program for Old Gold would be on June 4th [1947], a program where he sang six Gershwin songs that were to be a part of his repertoire. He notes that we would be back on the air on the Hit Parade in September (September 6, 1947] with Axel [Storndahl, the arranger he had hired away from Tommy Dorsey, causing further animosity between the two] and the Pied Pipers. (Later that year he would be joined by Doris Day.) It was this stint on the Hit Parade where he exercised considerable artistic control. Although his career was at a crossroads, he recorded 73 songs for Columbia that year but had only a small hit; it was this year when the 'Mortimer incident' took place beginning a decline placing this as the period that appeared to be one of the low points of his career. Photographs and accompanying letters from this period are scarce.

Thompson, R.H. And M.J. Dickinson. The Norweb Collection; Tokens of the British Isles, 1575-1750 (6 Vols set) in Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles. London: Spink & Son, 1999. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Cloth. Fine A fine matched set of all six volumes completing the series of the great Norweb Collection presenting the tokens of the British Isles. Following the International Numismatic Congress of 1973 in New York and Washington, Mr. and Mrs. Norweb allowed R.H. Thompson to pursue his researches in seventeenth century tokens by examining a part of their famous collection of over 13,000 coins the largest ever assembled. Eventually over the next several decades the entire collection was examined, cataloged, photographed and each coin weighed. All books are in pristine condition in blue cloth with gilt lettering. The volumes are as follows: (I) Bedfordshire to Devon; (II) Doreset, Durham, Essex and Gloucestershire; (III) Hampshire to Lincolnshire; (IV) Norfolk to Somerset; (V) Staffordshire to Westmoreland; (VI) Wiltshire, Ireland to Wales. 271 plates depicting coins wih text. Provenance: Alan Luedeking Library. Walgren notes complete six volume sets seldom seen. Kolbe & Fanning notes: of considerable importance.

Walpole, Horace. MEMOIRES OF THE LAST TEN YEARS OF THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE SECOND; from the Original Manuscript . London: John Murray, 1822. First Edition. Quarto. In two volumes, [iii]li- [2] directions for placing the plates; [1]-536pp. Vol. 2;[iii]-xi-[xii]-[2]pp. directions for placing the 11 plates. Bound in 3/4 red morocco over marbled boards, slightly raised bands gilt with compartments lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, wide margined, top edges gilt all others uncut, plates have some toning or scattered foxing, some off-setting from plates, as well as some marginal pencil notes, covers rubbed, spines darkened. Laid in at pages 264-265 is a four page manuscript by an unknown hand concerning Princess Dowger, also Bute's position with young George, manuscript notes "From Lord Meburne's Autobiography". According to Mr. Walpole's last wishes, he believed that if he published his memoirs while he was still alive, there may be some controversy or ill feeling towards his writings so, he evidently wrote in his will about a chest he owned. He wanted it bound with rope and sealed, then given to Lady Waldegrave's son on his 25th birthday. On that day, the chest was opened and inside were bound volumes of his memoirs, to be published for the public, now that enough time has passed to be presented. Included were his original manuscript and several corrected manuscripts, which were edited several times. He included all chapter headings, along with the illustrations and headpieces he thought proper. An interesting biography of the man who founded and owned the magnificent Strawberry Hill.

Whitlocke, Bulstrode; Arthur Annesley Anglesey, Earl of. MEMORIALS OF THE ENGLISH AFFAIRS: Or an Historical Account of What Passed from the Beginning of the reign of King Charles the First, to King Charles the Second His Happy Restauration........ London: For Nathaniel Ponder, 1682. Quarto. containing the publick transactions, civil and military; together with the private consultations and secrets of the cabinet. [8]pp, 774, [15]index & errata.double column, bound in full diced calf, professionally rebacked with old spine laid down, endpapers renewed, raised bands with compartments fully gilt decorated, black spine label gilt, edges of pages 369 and 371 chipped and one small closed tear to page 369, corners of first few leaves chipped or worn, some staining to fore-edges of bottom corner of leaves. There is no author mentioned but there is a notation on the title page "This booke suppos'd to be Whittlocks memoirs, I bought of a soldior come from Ireland, in the year :92: John Galr" OCLC gives the author's name as Bulstrode Whitlocke (6 August 1605, 28 July 1675), English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian. This work is from his manuscript published by Anglesea.

William Peacock and Sons. A Compendius Geographical Dictionary, Containing a Concise Description of ...Europe, Asia, Africa, America ACCOMPANIED with a Matching Volume: A COMPENDIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL GRAMMAR EXHIBITING ...THE TERRAQUEOUS GLOBE...EMBELLISHED WITH MAPS. London: Peacock and Sons, 1802. 32mo - over 4" - 5" tall. 2 volumes in specially designed "Gentleman's Box" the first volume has black morocco label over full contemporary calf with words: Geographical Dictionary. 3rd ed. 407p. (1804) This volume has 9 folding maps expertly accented on borders with water color showing 1) Western Hemisphere; 2) Solar System; 3) Africa; 4) North America; 5) South America; 6) Asia; 7) Australasia; 8) Europe and 9) Polynesia. All in fine condition. The second volume with matching contemporary calf has title: Geographical Grammar. 408p. 2nd corrected edition, with 13 maps. also accented with water color. Such matching sets were intended for the desk of the gentleman so he might determine generally where his overseas investments were located or else to satisfy his curiosity. Fortunately, the owner of this set appears never to have examined the contents thus they are in fine condition. The period these maps are slowly incorporating the Pacific discoveries showing Botany Bay, New Zealand, the Sandwich Islands, the Friendly Isles and present day Papua.