/Collection
  • Two volumes, 168 x 106 mm each, uniformly bound in faux mottled calf ruled in gilt, marbled endpapers. Vol. 1: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, both printed on laid paper watermarked “ARCHES A LA | MAIN”; ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: [1] 2-115 [116 blank], 3 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-I6 K4; total 60 leaves plus 16 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Vol. 2: 3 blank leaves of wove paper, 3 blank leaves of laid paper, half-title/blank, blank/frontispiece, ‘engraved’ t.p./blank, no watermark, ‘letterpress’ t.p.,/blank, pp.: 1-77 [78 blank], 2 blank leaves of laid paper, 3 blank leaves of wove paper; collated 12mo: π2 A-F6 G3; total 41 leaves plus 24 ‘engraved’ plates, incl. t.p. and frontis. Dutel (I): A-1089, p. 325: in-8 (probably by size only, no formula suggested), pagination 115 and 77 as here, 2 frontispieces, 2 engraved titles dated 1873, “et 36 belles gravures de Binet”. Cohen-DeRicci: p. 734 bottom: in-12, no pagination, no formula. "Thérèse" was offered by a French seller user-75d14f4 on the online auction platform CATAWIKI in December 2021. The seller's description of this two-volume set was: "Re-edition, the date of which I was unable to determine. (London, no name, 1782) 2 duodecimo volumes of 115 and 77 pp., very lovely marbled sheepskin pastiche bindings, gilded triple fillets, adorned spines, black title labels. This classic of 18th-century clandestine erotica was written in 1748 by an author who has remained anonymous, attributed at the time to Montigny, which led to his internment in the Bastille. It is now attributed to the Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens. Edition illustrated with 37 very unrestrained figures, engraved in intaglio after Borel, unsigned." I should have paid more attention to the first phase, about the re-edition, but I didn't. After a few bidding rounds, I won the book when the hammer price was 2,200 Euros. On the 28th of December, 2021, I paid for this little beauty $2,760. The book arrived a few days later.  The paper's quality and texture, the watermark, the absence of the platemark, and the lack of embossing on the back (text and plates) made me suspect it was a fake. The pages were absolutely flat to the touch!  I established clear evidence of a high-resolution 'xerox' copy using Celestron Micro Capture Pro micro-photography.  I wrote to the seller and the auction platform, explaining my doubts regarding its authenticity. To prove my point, I include a few micro photos of the "Thérèse" and some books printed at the end of the 18th century. I explained why I considered it a fake and requested a return/refund. After two months of email exchanges, the seller and the platform refused to pay me back. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the purchase. I still have the book. To celebrate my carelessness, I included it in my library to warn fellow book collectors about buying from an unknown dealer via certain online auction platforms. Ref.: Bamber Gascoigne. How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Ink. — Thames and Hudson, 1995.

    Thérèse philosophe, 1783.

    Late 18th century books

    Books used for comparison: [LIB-2743.2021] Restif de la Bretonne. Les parisiennes, ou XL caractères généraux pris dans les mœurs actuelles, propres à servir à l’instruction des personnes-du-sexe / 4 vol. — Neufchâtel, et Paris: Guillot, 1787. [LIB-3027.2022] [Héliodore d’Emèse]. Amours de Théagènes et Chariclée: Histoire Éthiopique / 2 vol. — Londres [i.e. Paris]: [s.n.], 1743. [LIB-3252.2023] [Nicolas Chorier.] Le Meursius françois, ou entretiens galans d’Aloysia, orné de figures. — Cythere [i.e. Paris: Cazin], 1782. Below is a Xerox copy for comparison.    
  • Copper tsuba of slightly elongated round form carved in low relief (usuniku-bori, katakiri bori) with the design of a mythical creature: a horse, however, with divided hoofs, with anthropomorphic (human-like) face though with a vertically positioned third eye on the forehead, and a corn. Certain elements of the image accentuated with gold iroe. On the back: flowers and grasses carved in katakiribori technique. Shakudō fukurin.

    Edo period.

    Dimensions: 70.7 x 70.2 x 3.7 mm In a custom wooden box.
  • A copper tsuba with ishime-ji ground carved and polished (migaki-ji) with sitting Daruma; his eyes are inlaid with shakudo and he has a golden earring. The reverse carved with four characters: 廓 然 無 性 (Kakunen-mushō). It is a Zen proverb that goes back to Bodhidharma (Daruma), meaning "boundless expanse and nothing that can be called holy." [Markus Sesko translation]. Shakudo fukurin.

    Unsigned.

    Edo period (circa 1800). Dimensions: 68.2 x 65.5 x 4.8 (center) x 3.2 (rim) mm
  • Copper tsuba of slightly elongated round form carved in low relief (shishiaibori and sukisagebori) and inlaid in gold, silver and shakudō with the design of dreaming Rosei (Lu Sheng): he is half-sitting by the pillow with his eyes closed, holding his fan, with a scroll by his feet, surrounded by flying butterflies.

    Edo period, first half of the 18th century.

    Dimensions: 70.8 x 67.1 x 5.0 mm. Signed on the reverse: Jōi (乗 意) + Kaō. Sugiura Jōi [杉 浦 乗 意] (1701-1761) was a master of Nara School in Edo; he was a student of Toshinaga [M. Sesko, ‘Genealogies’, p. 32]. “Sugiura Jōi (1701-1761) made many fuchigashira and kozuka, tsuba are rather rare.” [M. Sesko, The Japanese toso-kinko Schools, pp. 148-149]. On Rosei (Lu Sheng) dream's legend see Legend in Japanese Art by Henri L. Joly (1908 edition) on page 293.
  • Iron tsuba of ryō-mokko-gata form decorated with a spotted deer (Nara deer or sika deer) motif in low relief carving (sukidashi-bori) and flat silver inlay (hara-zōgan); deer's eyes and details in gold inlay. Signed on a copper cartouche: Noriyuki. Grass in low relief carving on the reverse. There were two Noriyuki in Hamano school - father (Noriyuki I, 1736-1787) and son (Noriyuki II, 1771-1852). Frankly speaking, I don't know which one made this particular piece. Edo period, late 18th or early 19th century.

    Size: 71.5 x 70.0 x 3.0 mm.

       
  • An iron tsuba of oval form decorated with a water plantain (omodaka) carved in low relief and water drops inlaid in gold.

    Signed: Bushū jū Masamitsu.

    Bushū-Itō school.

    Height: 71.8; Width: 67.3; Thickness: 3.6; Weight: 96 g.

    Mid to late Edo period; 18th-19th century.

    There were several tsuba artists with the name of Masamitsu. The one who worked with iron and spelled [正光] is mentioned at Markus Sesko's 'Genealogies' on page 106 in Akasaka School of Edo section as Masamitsu Gorōbei , student of Tadatoki, 4th generation Akasaka master. The name is not mentioned at Torigoye/Haynes 'Tsuba. An Aesthetic Study' in the list of Bushū-Itō family masters on page 181.
  • An iron tsuba of slightly vertically elongated circular form carved and pierced with a mass of ivy (tsuta) leaves and tendrils, details damascened with gold in nunome-zōgan technique. Hitsu-ana with raised rim.

    Unsigned.

    Chōshū school.

    Height: 72.0 mm; width: 69.0 mm; thickness: 4.7 mm; Weight: 92 g.

    According to John W. Dower, "ivy bears fairly close resemblance to both maple leaf and grape leaf". However, I consider this tsuba decorated with ivy leaves for several reasons, such as the lack of racemations in the presence of tendrils.
  • Iron tsuba of oval form carved with a landscape motif. Kogai-hitsu-ana plugged with shakudo. Sekigane of copper.

    Signed: Chōshū Hagi-jū Tomohisa saku (長州萩住友久作).

    Tomohisa, adopted son of Rokurō'emon, was 3rd generation master of Kawaji School from Hagi in Nagato (Chōshū), lived 1687-1743 [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', page 117].

    Edo period, circa 1700. Dimensions: 71.1 x 66.8 x 2.9 mm For his adopted son Hisatsugu work see TSU-0103 in this collection.  
  • Iron tsuba pierced and carved (marubori-sukashi) with the 'horse in the round' design. Possibly, Bushū-Ito school, 19th century (ca. 1800). Kogai-hitsu-ana plugged with shakudō.

    Size: 67.6 x 66.8 x 5.1 mm

    Unsigned.

    See:

      1. Robert E. Haynes. Study Collection of Japanese Sword Fittings. Nihon Art Publishers, 2010, p. 120: Iron plate carved and formed in the round as a tethered bull...Signed: Bushū jū Sadayasu saku.
      2. Robert E. Haynes. Masterpiece and highly important tsuba, etc... San Francisco, 1984 // Catalog #9.: Signed: Bushū jū Yoshifusa. Ca. 1800, H 6.7 cm, Th. 4.75 mm.
      3. The Hartman collection of Japanese metalwork. Christie's, 1976, p. 29, №59: Bushū type, 19th century. Reference to Takezawa, Nihon Toban Zuetsu №411 for a similar design signed Bushū Yoshifusa.

    Hartman collection, №59. 

    4. Japanese Sword Fittings from the R. B. Caldwell Collection. Sale LN4188 "HIGO". Sotheby's, 30th March 1994, p. 17, №24: An iron tsuba, by Heianjo Sadatsune, Edo period (18th century). In the form of a horse, standing with its head lowered and a rope halter attached to its bit and trailing beneath. Signed Heianjo Sadatsune, 7.3 cm. With NBTHK Tokubetsu kicho paper, dated Showa 49 (1974). GBP 600-700.

    The Caldwell Collection. Heianjo Sadatsune, Edo period (18th century).

     
  • Iron tsuba of mokkō-form with a pine and a frog on the face and a snail on the back, carved and inlaid with gold. Each figurative element of the design is signed on three inlaid cartouches: Masaharu (正春), Kazuyuki (一之), and Yoshikazu (良一) [read by Markus Sesko]. Snake, snail, and frog together make a design called "SANSUKUMI" - Three Cringing Ones [Merrily Baird]. The snail can poison the snake, the frog eats the snail, and the snake eats the frog. It's unclear whether the pine replaces the snake on this tsuba, or the snake is hiding in the pine? Anyway, the frog and the snail are clearly represented. "Maybe we have here a joint work with Masaharu (the silver cartouche next to the pine) being the master and making the plate and Kazuyuki and Yoshikazu as his students carving out the frog and the snail respectively". Copper sekigane.

    Dimensions: 70.9 x 67.2 x 3.0 mm. Edo period (18th century).

    Markus Sesko writes: "I agree, the frog and the snail most likely allude to the san-sukumi motif. It is possible that we have here an artist's choice to deliberately leave out the snake, maybe he thought that the motif is already obvious and there is no need to add a snake to make it clear that the tsuba shows the san-sukumi motif." [Markus Sesko].

    Kazuyuki (一之): adopted son of Kumagai Yoshiyuki, student of Ichijō (Gotō-Ichijō Scool) [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', page 19.] Masaharu (正春): Kasuya fam., student of Masamichi (1707-1757) who was the 4th generation Nomura School master in Edo. [M. Sesko 'Genealogies', page 49.]
  • Iron tsuba of circular form with a branch of loquat (biwa) pierced in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi) and carved in marubori technique (marubori-sukashi). Kozuka and kogai hitsu-ana are plugged with shakudo.

    Signature: Choshu Kawaji ju Hisatsugu saku. Chōshū school in Nagato province.

    According to M. Sesko 'Genealogies' Hisatsugu was a 4th generation Kawaji School master from Chōshū (present day Nagato), with the name Gonbei, formerly Toramatsu, adopted son of Tomohisa (1687-1743) [page 117]. For Tomohisa work see TSU-0104 in this collection.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with the design of distant pines, torii, and crescent moon in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane.

    Size: 84.9 x 84.8 x 5.8 mm.

    Unsigned.

    Edo period, ca. 1750.

    Tosa Myochin or Akasaka school.

    Japanese Swords and Sword Fittings from the Collection of Dr. Walter Ames Compton (Part I). Christie's, New York, March 31, 1992, pp. 28-29, № 53:

    "A Tosa Myochin School Tsuba. Edo period (circa 1750), signed Toshu ju Kuniyoshi saku. The round iron plate pierced with a design of a temple gate (torii) and a pine tree. It has a round rim and there are some carved details on the surface of the design. The Tosa Myochin school, despite its foundation in the classic Myochin armor school tradition, worked mainly in the style of Akasaka school of Edo. [...] Many are equal to the mid to later Akasaka school work and the two types have frequently been confused. Signed examples are rare. Estimated price $1,500-2,000."

    Compton Collection, Vol. 1, №53

  • Large oval form tsuba decorated with two human figures (scholar and attendant) under the pine tree admiring a view of a waterfall on the face of the plate, and with stylized dragons carved on the reverse among the symbols of thunder inlaid in gold. The plate is carved in low relief with details inlaid with gold and silver.

    Signed: Yamashiro no kuni Fushimi no ju Kaneie [Kaneie of Fushimi in Yamashiro Province] [山城國伏見住金家], with Kaō. It is a fake signature (gimei).

    Size: Height: 91.9 mm; Width: 85.6 mm; Thickness: 3.4 mm; Weight: 169 g.

    This is a late Edo period, 19th-century export work to cater to the tastes of the European tsuba collectors. It does not have anything in common with the work of great Kaneie masters.

    SOLD
  • Silver Kozuka carved in kebori ("hair carving") with a ukiyo-e style half-length figure of a beautiful woman (possibly a courtesan) dressed in a splendid kimono and hair ornament (kanzashi). Signed on the back: Koreyasu/Zetai + kaō (是休「花押」)  - transcribed by Markus Sesko. Size: 96.8 mm (H) x 14.9 mm (W). Edo period, early 19th century. I managed so far to find the only mention of Koreyasu at Japanese sword-mounts. A descriptive catalogue of the collection of J. C. Hawkshaw, Esq., M.A., of Hollycombe, Liphook. Complied and illustrated by Henri L. Joly. London, 1910 [LIB-1439 in this collection], page 204: 2623. — F./v., nigurome, chased in relief and inlaid with Omori Hikoshichi (large faces). Signed : Koreyasu of Yedo. xix. 2624. — F.K., nigurome, chased and inlaid in relief with Omori Hikoshichi and the witch. Signed : Shinriusha Koreyasu. No pictures of items or signature provided.
  • Sentoku tsuba of oval form with Sennin (Chinese immortal) motif carved in low relief (katakiribori). The Sennin is depicted with a double gourd in his right hand and a child beside his left hip. A pine tree carved on the reverse.

    Signed: Sōmin saku (宗眠作) [M.Sesko]. Yokoya School (see The Japanese toso-kinko Schools by Markus Sesko, pp. 133-8).

    Edo period (second half of the 18th century). Dimensions: Height: 61.6 mm; Width: 56.4 mm; Thickness: 4.2 mm; Weight: 85 g.
  • Iron tsuba of round form decorated with design of keys to the storehouse of the gods in openwork (sukashi). Rounded rim. Copper sekigane.

    Unsigned. Early Edo period, 17th century.

    Size: 71.0 x 70.9 x 6.0 mm.

    Merrily Baird, Symbols..: The Key to the Storehouse of the Gods, one of the Myriad Treasures.

  • Iron tsuba of oval form pierced with design of slanting rays of light (shakoh), a Christian motif (Jesuit’s IHS symbol), and a pair of tassels in positive silhouette (ji-sukashi). Details on tassels carved in low relief. Traditional description of this kind of design is called “tokei”, or “clock gear”. Rounded rim.

    Unsigned.

    Edo period, 17th or 18th century. Possibly - Owari school.

    Size: 76.0 x 73.0 x 6.2 mm.
  • КУПИТЬ КНИГУ

    "Разговоры Макиавелли и Монтескье в царстве мертвых” (Dialogue aux Enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu) – это политический памфлет, направленный против Наполена III. В 25 диалогах представитель эпохи Просвещения благородный барон де Монтескье отстаивает позиции умеренного правления и соблюдения прав личности, а флорентийский политик Средневековья злокозненный Макиавелли берется доказать своему собеседнику, что управлять людьми можно только силой и хитростью, и что деспотия — это потребность современного общества. Собеседники заключают пари. Макиавелли шаг за шагом описывает те действия, которые предпринял Наполеон III для установления деспотии во Франции, и выигрывает пари.

    В начале XX века «Разговоры» Жоли были использованы в царской России для изготовления антисемитской фальшивки — печально знаменитых «Протоколов сионских мудрецов», книги, переведенной на все языки мира и своими тиражами уступающей только Библии. Плагиат был разоблачен корреспондентом газеты «Таймс» Филипом Грейвсом в 1921 г. Сравнением текстов “Разговоров” и “Протоколов”, равно как и поиском автора плагиата, занималось не одно поколение исследователей.
    В наше время о “Разговорах” знают в основном благодаря “Протоколам”, но книга Жоли представляет интерес отнюдь не только в связи с означенными “Протоколами”. Единственный до сих пор перевод “Разговоров” на русский язык был выпущен в 2004 году издательством “МК-Трейд” под названием “Диалог в аду между Макиавелли и Монтескье”. Это был перевод с немецкого перевода с французского языка. Предлагаемое читателю новое издание книги Жоли является переводом с французского оригинала, хотя и достаточно вольным, что отражено в заголовке: Разговоры Макиавелли и Монтескье в царстве мертвых, записанные злосчастным французом Морисом Жоли в правление императора Людовика-Наполеона и пересказанные полтора века спустя для русского читателя нашим современником. Морис Жоли писал о “политике макиавеллизма в XIX веке”. Однако теперь очевидно, что и в XXI веке политика макиавеллизма не претерпела существенных изменений. Старинный рецепт установления деспотии “в одной, отдельно взятой стране” хорош и по сей день.

    Published in San Francisco, California.

    Paperback, size: 110 x 148 x 10 mm

    КУПИТЬ КНИГУ

  • Iron tsuba of oval form with design of  a gourd or aubergine vine with fruits, leaves, and blossoms climbing a trellis, and a fence in yellow brass and red copper flat inlay (hira-zōgan); inlay engraved. Two latticed windows represented by openwork (sukashi). The iron web has deep black patina. The seller attributes this tsuba to Heianjo-Namban school, whatever it means. Momoyama or early Edo period, 17th century. Kaga or Heianjō School. Unsigned. Height: 77.3, Width: 73.1, Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.6 mm.
  • Title page: DIALOGUE AUX ENFERS | ENTRE | MACHIAVEL | ET MONTESQUIEU | OU LA POLITIQUE DE MACHIAVEL | AU XIXe SIÈCLE, | PAR UN CONTEMPORAIN. | {6 lines of citations} | ~ | BRUXELLES, | IMPRIMERIE DE A. MERTENS ET FILS, | RUE DE L’ESCALIER, 22. | 1864 ||

    Description: 17.9 x 12 cm, quarter red morocco over marbled boards, spine with raised bands, gilt bees in compartments, gilt lettering,  marbled endpapers, ffep cut out top 1/4, ffep and h.t. loose.

    Collation: 12mo; fep, π4 1-2712, 292, fep.; total 174 leaves. Pagination: [2 h.t] [2 t.p.] [i] ii-iii [iv] [1] 2-337 [338] [2 errata].

    Inscriptions and markings: "Hommage respectueux offert à M. Bourdais par son très humble serviteur, 5 Janvier 1881". Signature: E. Rouger (?) "Vu et approuvé". "Valatte". Ink stamp: "M<aîtr>e E. Brouard - Notaire a Laon Aisne".

    Other copies: LIB-1034.2016 and LIB-2913.2021. Other related objects: SVVP-0062.2021. The publication was funded by the author and smuggled into France. Contributors: Maurice Joly (French, 1829 – 1878)
  • Katsukawa Shunshō勝川 春章; 1726 – 19 January 1793).
    SIZE: 12.5 x 5.75 in.
  • Iron tsuba of mokko form (quatrefoil) decorated with a pair of cherry blossoms (sakura) in small openwork (ko-sukashi) and inlaid in brass (suemon-zōgan) with designs of waves, distant pines, chrysanthemum flowers in halves, tendrils and leaves, lightning or thunder symbol (inazuma), flying geese and family chrests (mon): two interlocked rings (wachigai) on the face, and three encircled stripes (maru-no-uchi-ni-mitsuhikiryo) - kamon of the Kikkawa clan  - on the reverse. Hitsu-ana outlined with inlay of brass wire. Surface treated with lacquer. Copper sekigane. Though some consider this type of tsuba to resemble Heianjo school, “...the brass trim around the hitsu-ana is a characteristics of Ōnin work” [Japanese sword guards. Onin – Heianjo – Yoshiro. Gary D. Murtha. GDM Publications, 2016; p. 27.]. The Ōnin origin is reinforced by scattered ten-zōgan elements here and there through the plate. It is possible that the tsuba was initially of round form and later trimmed to mokko shape. Mid Muromachi period; 15th century. Dimensions: Height: 87.2 mm; Width: 87.9 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 3.6 mm.
  • Shingen school tsuba with woven wire pattern. Iron core, woven brass wire. Height: 72.5 mm; Width 69.8 mm; Thickness at seppa-dai: 4.0 mm. Weight 88.8 g. Late Muromachi, 16th century. SOLD http://varshavskycollection.com/shingen-tsuba/
  • Similar image at MFA under title: Actors and Women in the Snow MFA ACCESSION NUMBER: 11.13568 Date: 1809 (Bunka 6), 12th month Artist: Utagawa Toyokuni I (1769–1825) Publisher Tsuruya Kinsuke (firm name Sôkakudô), № 554 in Marks's "Publishers". DIMENSIONS: Vertical ôban; 38.2 x 25.8 cm (15 1/16 x 10 3/16 in.) MEDIUM OR TECHNIQUE: Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. Signed: Toyokuni ga (豊国画) Censor's seals: kiwame (改印:極) MFA assumes that this may be "one sheet of incomplete triptych?"  
  • Kyo school iron tsuba of round form decorated with an eight-plank bridge (yatsuhashi) and irises (kakitsubata) in openwork (sukashi).

    Late Muromachi period, Tenbun era (early 16th centiry).

    Dimensions: 80.0 x 77.2 x 4.1 mm.

    The design alludes to the scene in 'Ise Monogatari', where Ariwara no Narihira being exiled from Kyoto to the Kanto region crossed the eight-plank bridge at Mikawa looking at the irises in bloom and composed a poem expressing his desire to return to Kyoto. A lot of tsuba have been produced with the similar design.

    Reference: Masterpieces from the Sasano collection, 1994, p. 98, №69.  
  • Iron tsuba of round form with a dense combination of symbols: slanting rays of light (shakoh) Christian motif (Jesuit's IHS symbol), also often described as "tokei" or "clock gear", wild goose in flight, bracken, and lozenges in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane. Edo period.

    Size: 76.0 x 72.6 x 6.2 mm

    Unsigned.

    For information regarding shakoh tsuba see article 'Kirishitan Ikenie Tsuba by Fred Geyer at Kokusai Tosogu Kai; The 2nd International Convention & Exhibition, October 18-23, 2006, pp. 84-91.

     
  • Torii Kiyonaga (鳥居 清長; 1752 – June 28, 1815) Signed: Kiyonaga ga (清長画)

    References: No references whatsoever, not in Pins.

  • Le Petit Chaperon rouge (Little Red Riding Hood), three wood engravings by Gustave Doré, 1864:  "En passant dans un bois elle rencontra compère le Loup"; "Le Chaperon rouge fut bien étonné de voir comment sa grand'mère était faite en son déshabillé"; "Cela n'empêche pas qu'avec ses gran dents il avait mangé une bonne grand'mère". Engraved by Adolphe Pannemaker. Le Petit Poucet (Little Thumb), one wood engraving by Gustave Doré, 1864: "Une bonne femme vint leur ouvrir". Engraved by Héliodore-Joseph Pisan. La Belle au bois dormant (Sleeping Beauty), one wood engraving by Gustave Doré, 1864: "Il marcha vers le château qu'il voyait au bout d'une grande avenue où il entra". Engraved by Héliodore-Joseph Pisan. Medium: Paper; Wood engraving. Illustrations for P.-J. Hetzel's edition of Perrault's Fairy Tales (Les Contes de Perrault) by Gustave Doré published in 1864. Size: frame: 428 x 302 mm; sheet: 280 x 231 mm; image: 194 x 244 mm.
  • Iron tsuba with chrysanthemum design in openwork (sukashi). Copper sekigane.

    Late Heian through Kamakura period (ca. 1150 - 1200's).

    Size: 78.4 x 60.9 x 3.5 mm; weight: 45.7 g

    Provenance: Boris Markhasin Message from Boris Markhasin (13-AUG-2019): It is a very rudimentary tachi tsuba, and the iron is old and really nothing to draw attention. However, this is a very old tsuba, and that is what makes it very special and an important study piece. This tsuba likely dates to the late Heian through Kamakura (ca. 1150 - 1200's) -- by consensus, since such examples are extremely rare, and none are mounted to my knowledge, so few direct analogues. The form is interesting for a variety of reasons. The smaller size, an oval form is associated more with 12th/13th c styles. The sukashi kiku motif is very interesting as it clearly pushes back the dating of large scale sukashi far back in time. This shouldn't be surprising, but for some reason, we (really mainly westerners) naively tend to associate sukashi with the Muromachi and younger. The two missing spokes are by consensus likely later removals to accommodate kozuka and kogai -- but this is not certain, and it could be an original styling. A key kantei point is the elongate, narrow, slightly squared seppa dai. This is a characteristic of early koshirae, which were much thinner and more delicate than the types we are used to seeing that date pretty much to the late Muromachi and later. I am always amazed when I have a chance to interrogate early koshirae at how thin they are - I want to call them fragile, but they were actually quite resilient. The walls were super thin, but the top and bottom edges were a bit thicker, providing a bit of structural support... but this is another thread topic. Of all the tsuba I have owned, this is the tsuba that has most clearly reflected the shape of the old style of saya / tsuka.
  • Елизавета Николаевна Данилова. "Завещание" Петра Великого / Под ред. Александр Игнатьевич Андреева. // В сборнике: Труды Историко-архивного института, том 2, 1946. (Кафедра вспомогательных исторических дисциплин). – с. 202-270. Москва: Главное архивное управление МВД Союза ССР. Историко-архивный институт, 1946. Тираж: 3000 экз.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861).

    Title: Suzume fukube [美人団扇絵] (Sparrow and gourds).

    Series: Kacho awase [花鳥合] (Collection of flowers and birds).

    Publisher: Aritaya Seiemon [有田屋 清右衛門] (Japanese, fl. c. 1830 – 1862); Seal: Marks 17-011 | 014d.

    Signed: Ichiyosai Kuniyoshi ga in a red cartouche and sealed with paulownia crest (kiri mon).

    Size: Uchiwa-e (untrimmed fan print) 296 x 230 mm.

    Double nanushi censor seals: Kinugasa & Watanabe, Kaei 2-3 (1849–50).

    Ref.: Kuniyoshi Project.
  • 1st French edition (Paris, 1853) of Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, with 27 illustrations on wood by George Cruikshank (British, 1792 – 1878), translated into French by Paul-Émile Daurand-Forgues [pseudonym Old Nick] (French, 1813 – 1883) and Adolphe Joanne (French, 1813 – 1881). Title: LA CASE | DE | L'ONCLE TOM | OU | TABLE AUX DE L'ESCLAVAGE DANS LES ÉTATS-UNIS D'AMÉRIQUE ; | PAR MISTRESS HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. | TRADUCTION NOUVELLE | PAR OLD NICK & ADOLPHE JOANNE, | Collaboarteurs de la Revue britannique, | PRÉCÉDÉE D'UN PORTRAIT ET DE LA BIOGRAPHIE DE L'AUTEUR; | ORNÉE D'IU GRAND NOMBRE DE GRAVURES D'APRES LES DESSINS DE GEORGE CRUIKSHANK ; | SUIVIE DE POÉSIES COMPOSÉES PAR DES NÈGRES ET D'UNE NOTICE SUR LA | COLONIE DE LIBERIA. | [vignette] | PARIS. | AUX BUREAUX DU MAGASIN PITTORESQUE, | RUE JACOB, 30. | 1853. Pagination:  ffl blank; [i-ii]: h.t. with stamped letters D. W. in the upper centre / imprim. to verso; [iii-iv] t.p. / blank; [v-vi] blank / frontispiece: portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe, half-length to left, with hair in ringlets, and a shawl over shoulders, landscape behind, Henry Linton (British, 1815 – 1899) after Henry Anelay (British,1817 – 1883), wood-engraving with letterpress; [vij] Viij-xij; [1] 2-563 [564]; bfl blank; illustrations: 27 woodcuts by George Cruikshank. Collation: 8vo, π7 (1)–(35)8 363 Binding:  Quarter brown calf, spine with raised bands, gilt-ruled compartments, title lettering, "D. W." in the bottom, marbled boards and endpapers. Dimensions: 24.1 x 16.4 cm. Catalogue raisonné: Albert M. Cohen (1924), №777, p. 221. "An edition was published in French with the woodcuts direct from the blocks, not, as in the English, merely from the stereotypes. The illustrations are far more impressive than those of Cassell's edition".
  • Footed plate with scalloped rim, centre decorated with running yak or another even-toed animal among flowers, jewel diaper pattern to the inner lip; foliage motif to the outside is bordered with foliage above and lotus leaves below. Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration. Ming Dynasty [大明] (1368 – 1644); Wanli Era (1572 – 1620); Late 16th – Early 17th century. Diameter: 25.5 cm; Height: 4.2 cm
  • Title: TYPOGRAPHIA : | A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE | ORIGIN, RISE, AND PROGRESS | OF THE | TYPOGRAPHIC ART; | WITH | PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR CONDUCTING | EVERY DEPARTMENT IN AN OFFICE. | BY THOMAS F. ADAMS, TYPOGRAPHER. | {vignette} | PHILADELPHIA: | PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY THE COMPILER, | N. W. CORNER OF THIRD AND CHESNUT STS. | 1837. || Pagination: Engraved frontispiece w/guard, t.p. / blank, [1-3] 4-372 [8], incl. Index and Directions to binder. Collation: 12mo; 1-31(6). Binding: contemporary full brown speckled calf, flat spine bands with gilt double-fillets, dark brown lettering label. Note: Plagiarism of John Johnson's (British, 1777 – 1848) book Typographia, or, The printers' instructor published in London by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green in 1824. .
  • Title: FLATLAND | A Romance of Many Dimensions | With Illustrations | by the Author, A SQUARE | “fie, fie, how franticly I square may talk!” | NEW AND REVISED EDITION | LONDON | SEELEY & Co., 46, 47 & 48, ESSEX STREET, STRAND | (Late of 54 Fleet Street) | 1884 || Pagination: 2 blank leaves, [2] – h.t. / blank, [2] – t.p. / imprint., [2] – dedication / blank, [ix] x-xvi, [1, 2] f.t. / blank, [3] 4-102, 2 blank leaves; in-text woodcuts. Collation: [A]8 B-H8. Binding: original wrappers in pictorial parchment jacket, printed on laid paper, lower and lateral margins untrimmed. Note: This is the 2nd edition published the same year as the 1st, revised, as stated. I did not compare the two, neither I am planning to acquire the first 1st edition in a foreseeable future. This is a lifetime edition, handled by the Author himself, and that's enough for me to be quite happy.
  • Title: THE | THIRD REPUBLIC | OF FRANCE | THE FIRST PHASE 1871–1894 | BY | GUY CHAPMAN | Sometime Professor of Modern History in the University of Leeds | LONDON | MACMILLAN & CO LTD | NEW YORK • ST. MARTIN’S PRESS | 1962 Pagination: [i-iv] v-xxii, [1] 2-433 [434 imprint]. Collation: 8vo; [A]8 B-Z8 2A-2D8 2E2 2E210. Binding: blue buckram, bronze lettering to spine, pictorial DJ. Publishing year 1963 according to worldcat. Author: Chapman, Guy Patterson (British, 1889 – 1972)  
  • A contemporary reprint in publisher's wrappers, 22.8 x 14.4 cm, untrimmed, stapled, with title on the outer cover and similar to t.p.: The Truth About | "The  Protocols" | A LITERARY FORGERY | From The Times of | August 16, 17, and 18, 1921 | LONDON: | PRINTING HOUSE SQUARE, E.C.4. | ONE SHILLING NET. || Pagination: [2] – t.p. / colophon,  3-24. Collation: [A]2 B10.
  • THE | POETICAL | WORKS | OF | Mr. John Milton. | Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, | Sampson Agonistes, and his Poems | on several Occasions. | TOGETHER WITH | Explanatory NOTES on each Book of the | PARADISE LOST, and a TABLE | never before Printed. | LONDON: | Printed for Jacob Tonson, at Judges-Head near Inner-Temple-| Gate in Fleet – street , M DC XC V. || Pagination: [6] 1-343 [5] 1-66 [4] 1-57 [5] 1-60 [2] 321 [1], frontispiece and 12 plates, one before each book of Paradise Lost. Collation: 4to, folio; blank leaf, π3 B2, C-Z4, Aa-Yy4, A-H4 I2, [A]-D2 †D2 E-Q2 [A]1 B-Z2 Aa-Zz2 Aaa-Zzz2 Aaaa-Mmmm2 [N]1, 2 blank leaves, + frontis. portrait and 12 plates extraneous to collation. Plates: Portrait of John Milton (British, 1608 – 1674) engraved by Robert White (British, 1645 – 1703) after William Faithorne (British, 1616 – 1691) 11 plates engraved by Michael Burghers (Dutch, c. 1640 – c. 1723) after John Baptiste de Medina (Flemish, 1659 –1710); 1 plate (for Book IV) engraved by Peter-Paul Bouché (Dutch, 1646 – c. 1697) after Bernard Lens (British, 1659 – 1725). Binding: Folio, bound in full contemporary English panelled and speckled calf, tooled in blind, re-backed, corners repaired, the lines in Paradise Lost numbered; title pages of Paradise Regain'd and Samson Agonistes dated 1695; without a list of subscribers after the general title; with the Table for Paradise Lost; printed on laid paper, with tall "s", margins sprayed red. Provenance: near-contemporary ex libris of Sarah Bugg inside front board; along with that of Sam Bontham, 1726; later owned by forger Osborne Charles Vyse Aldis (1843 – 1916), with his signature on general title, with a nine-line note in his hand and initialled on page 343. Catalogue raisonné: Gordon N. Ray, Illustrated book in England (1976): p. 3. Ref: National Gallery of Art Contributors: Bouché, Peter-Paul (Dutch, 1646 – c. 1697) Burghers, Michael (Dutch, c. 1640 – c. 1723) Faithorne, William (British, 1616 – 1691) Lens, Bernard (British, 1659 – 1725) Medina, John Baptiste de (Flemish, 1659 – 1710) Milton, John (British, 1608 –  1674) Tonson, Jacob, the Elder (British, 1655 – 1736) White, Robert (British, 1645 – 1703)  
  • Volume 1: Land birds – 7th edition; Supplement: 1st edition. Title: A | HISTORY | OF | BRITISH BIRDS. | THE FIGURES ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY T. BEWICK. | VOL. I. | CONTAINING THE | HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF LAND BIRDS | — | AND | A SUPPLEMENT, WITH ADDITIONAL FIGURES. | — | NEWCASTLE: | PRINTED BY EDWARD WALKER, PILGRIM STREET, | FOR T. BEWICK : SOLD BY HIM, AND E. CHARNLEY, NEWCASTLE ; | AND LONGMAN AND CO. LONDON. | 1821. || Pagination: [2 blanks], [i, ii] – t.p. / blank, [iii] iv-xl, [43] 44-330, [2] – suppl. t.p. / blank, [1] 2-46 [47] – contents, [48] – advert., [2 blanks]. Collation: 8vo in fours; π1 A-C4 E3 F-2S4 π1 B-G4; I2, N2, and 2A2 unsigned. Woodcuts: 157 descriptions of birds, 140 figures of birds, 127 vignettes, tail-pieces, figures in text, etc. Volume 2: Water birds – 5th edition; Supplement: 1st edition. Title: A | HISTORY | OF | BRITISH BIRDS. | THE FIGURES ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY T. BEWICK. | VOL. II. | CONTAINING THE | HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF WATER BIRDS | — | AND | A SUPPLEMENT, WITH ADDITIONAL FIGURES. | — | NEWCASTLE: | PRINTED BY EDWARD WALKER, PILGRIM STREET, | FOR T. BEWICK : SOLD BY HIM, AND E. CHARNLEY, NEWCASTLE ; | AND LONGMAN AND CO. LONDON. | 1821. || Pagination: [2 blanks], [i, ii] – t.p. / blank, [iii] iv-xxii, [19] 20-360, [2] – suppl. t.p. / blank, [1] 2-43 [44] – contents, [1] 2-7 – addenda., [8] – imprint, [2 blanks]. Collation: 8vo in fours; π1 A-B4 *B2 C-2X4 2Y3 π1 B-F4 G2 [H]4; E2, F2, G2, 2G2, 2T2 and Suppl. G2 and Addenda unsigned. Woodcuts: 162 descriptions of birds, 125 figures of birds, 137 vignettes, tail-pieces, figures in text, etc. Both volumes: Size: 21.3 x 14 cm; page: 20.7 x 13.1 cm, demy. Binding: Green half-calf over marbled boards, blind-ruled raised bands with gilt ornament, crimson gilt-ruled and lettered labels to spine. For the first edition see: LIB-2614.2021 Catalogue raisonné: Hugo (1866): № (99) 94 –120 (108) / pp. 40-58; Roscoe (1953): № 24 a-c, 25 a-c, 26 a-c, 27 a-c, 28 / pp. 104 - 114.
  • Artist: Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞], a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代 歌川 豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche Block carver: Yokokawa Takejirō [横川竹二郎] (Japanese, fl. 1845 – 1863); seal: Hori Take [彫竹]. Publisher: Iseya Magobei [伊勢屋孫兵衛] (Japanese, fl. c. 1794 – 1868); seal: Hanmoto, Masu [板元, 益] (Marks 19-039 | 150d). Date-aratame seal: Ansei 2 (1855). Title: Time in Fukagawa, Iyo Province (Fukagawa Iyo setsu). Ref.: [LIB-3008.2022] Andreas Marks. Japanese woodblock prints: Artists, publishers and masterworks, 1680 – 1900. — Tuttle Publishing, 2010; p. 221. –> 1855 Kunisada. "Iyo Province-time at Fukagawa" (Fukagawa Iyo setsu). Fan print. Japan Ukiyo-e Museum, Matsumoto.
  • Cover: LA | NOUVELLE PHÈDRE | ET | LE DIRECTEUR DE L'ODEON | PAR | PAGES (DU TARN) | PRIX : 50 CENTIMES | PARIS | GUSTAVE HAVARD, LIBRAIRE–ÉDITEUR | BOULEVARD SÉBASTOPOL (RIVE GAUCHE) et rue de la Harpe. | 1858 || Pagination: [1-3] 4-48. Collation: 8vp; [1]-38 (total 24 leaves) Binding: publisher’s wrappers. Printer: Imprimerie Bonaventure et Ducessois (Paris); Ducessois, Théodore (French, 1804 – after 1864.) Bonaventure, Jules-Frédéric (French, ca. 1816 – 1891) Pagès (du Tarn) (French, fl. 1838 – 1872) – known absolutely nothing. Other works: La France, ode (M. Papailhiau, 1840); Aux Électeurs ... du Tarn (Soupe, 1848) ; Les Funérailles de Napoléon, ode (Pilout, 1840) ; Mazagran, 4, 5 et 6 février 1840, chant héroïque (M. Papailhiau, 1840) ; Herminie, ou l'Amour et l'honneur, tragédie en 5 actes, en vers (Moquet, 1872) ; Lettre à S.E. le ministre de l'Intérieur sur la nouvelle Phèdre et le Théâtre français (Moquet, 1856), etc. There is also a humorous book by Antony de Menou, which does not contain anything of substance: Un contemporain: biographie de Pagès (du Tarn). — Paris: Masgana, 1857. Antony de Menou is an obscure figure in his own right. An article about him can be found at Les derniers bohêmes by Firmin Maillard (1833 – 1901) [LIB-2652.2021].
  • Title: Revolution, Krieg und Streik, | Weltausstellung und Volksfest | Der Illustrator und Karikaturist | Leo von Elliot (1816–1890) | von Eckhart G. Franz | Hessische Historische Kommission Darmstadt 2000 || Series: Arbeiten der Hessischen Historischen Kommission, Neue Folge Band 17. Pagination: [1-6] 7-340, 458 b/w illustration. Binding: hardcover, red pictorial boards, 30 x 21.5 cm.
  • Title (chain border): CANDIDE | VOLTAIRE | ILLUSTRATIONS BY | MAHLON BLAINE | {vignette} | NEW YORK | Illustrated Editions Company | 220 FOURTH AVENUE || Title verso: (top) COPYRIGHT, 1930, BY WILLIAMS, BELASCO & MEYERS || (bottom) PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | BY J. J. LITTLE & IVES COMPANY, NEW YORK || Pagination:[1-10] 11-144, headpiece, frontispiece and 5 plates after Blaine’s pen drawings, within the pagination; tailpieces by A. Zaidenberg. Binding: 21 x 14 cm; quarter beige buckram over blue cloth, stamped-gilt and red lettering and vignette to front board and spine. Binding in a way similar to Sterne's A sentimental journey published by Three Sirens Press in c. 1930 [LIB-2784.2021]. Not only that: tailpieces in this Illustrated Editions Company edition are the same as in Cameo Classic edition, with the only difference – here the name of the artist is stated, whether in the Cameo Classic it is not; see [LIB-2777.2021]. Bear in mind that Cameo Classic does not belong to Williams, Belasco and Meyers, it is a Grosset and Dunlap series. Compare Williams, Belasco and Meyers Candide and Illustrated Editions Company Candide title pages:

    Williams, Belasco and Meyers

    Illustrated Editions Company

      Arouet, François-Marie [Voltaire] (French, 1694 – 1778)– author. Woolf, Herman Irwell [Chambers, Dorset] (British, 1890 – 1958) – translator. Blaine, Mahlon [Hudson, G. Christopher] (American, 1894 – 1969) – illustrator. Zaidenberg, Arthur (American, 1902 – 1990) – illustrator. Williams, Belasco and Meyers (NY) – copyright holder. Illustrated Editions Company (1929-1942) – publisher. J. J. Little & Ives Company (NY) – printer. See the Cameo Classic reprint [LIB-2777.2021].
  • Two-volume large paper edition with 20 plates in two states. Vol. 1 (with plates). Title : CONTES | ET | NOUVELLES EN VERS. | PAR | JEAN DE LA FONTAINE. | — | TOME PREMIER| {vignette “P.P. Choffard 95”} | A PARIS, | DE L’IMPRIMERIE DE P. DIDOT L'AÎNÉ. | L’AN III DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE. | M. DCC. XCV. || Pagination: [2] [i-iv] v-vii [viii], 1-280 [2 table] [2], total 294 pages, ils. Collation: 4to; 1 blank, π43a signed “a”), 1-354 361, 1 blank, total 147 leaves, plus 40 leaves of plates with tissue guards, after Fragonard and others, which represent 20 engravings, each in two states, before and after letters, besides №9 (Le Calendrier des Vieillards by Jean Dambrun after Fragonard), which has two identical copies, both before letters. Vol. 2. (without plates) Title: same, but TOME SECOND. Pagination: [2] [4] 1-334 [2], total 342 pages. Collation: 4to; 1 blank, π2 1-414 423 1 blank, total 167 leaves. Binding:  Two volumes uniformly bound in crimson straight-grain morocco, ruled in gilt, gilt-decorated flat spine with lettering, board edges and turn-ins tooled with gilt dentelles, marbled endpapers, three bookplates to front pastedown, top edge trimmed, 2nd volume partly uncut; text and plates printed on thick Dutch wove paper. Size: volumes: 33.3 x 25.2 cm; leaves: 31.5 x 23.5 cm. Provenance: Bishop, Cortlandt Field (American, 1870 – 1935) – bookplate. Mary S. Collins – bookplate by J. H. Fincken. Robin F. Satinsky (American, 1919 – 2008) – Robin Collection bookplate. Catalogue raisonné: Ray (French): 133-137; Cohen-DeRicci 573-582 ; Lewine : 281-282. CONTRIBUTORS: Jean de La Fontaine (French, 1621–1695) – author. Pierre Didot (French, 1761–1853) – publisher, printer. Artists: Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732–1806) Jean Baptiste Mallet (French, 1759–1835) Jacques Louis François Touzé (French, 1747–1807) Charles Monnet (French, 1732–after 1808) Engravers: Jacques Aliamet (French, 1726–1788) Jean Dambrun (French, 1741–about 1808) Jean Louis Delignon (French, 1755–about 1804) Jean Baptiste Michel Dupréel (French, active 1787–1817) Louis Michel Halbou (French, 1730–1809) Charles Louis Lingée (French, 1748–1819) Charles Emmanuel Jean Baptiste Patas (French, 1744–1802) Jean Baptiste Simonet (French, 1742–1813) Jean Baptiste Tilliard (French, 1740–1823) Philippe Trière (French, 1756–about 1815) Pierre-Philippe Choffard (French, 1730–1809) – t.p. vignette PLATES (collation order): №8: Fragonard / Trière – La Gageure des trois Commères №1*: Fragonard / Lingée – Joconde №1**: Mallet / Trière – Joconde №2: Fragonard / Delignon – Le Cocu battu et content №3: Fragonard / Tilliard – Le Mari confesseur №4: Fragonard / Dambrun – Le Savetier №5: Fragonard / Lingée – Le Paysan qui avait offensé son Seigneur №9: Fragonard / Dambrun – Le Calendrier des Vieillards №10: Fragonard / Aliamet – A Femme avare galant Escroc №12: Fragonard / Halbou – Le Gascon puni №11: Fragonard / Patas – On ne s’avise jamais de tout №13: Monnet / Tilliard – La Fiancée du roi de Garbe №14: Fragonard / Dupréel – La Coupe enchantée №15: Fragonard / Tilliard – Le Faucon №17: Fragonard / Patas – Le Pâté d’Anguilles №18: Fragonard / Tilliard – Le Magnifique №19: Fragonard / Delignon – La Matrone d’Ephèse №20: Fragonard / Patas – Belphégor №22: Touzé / Simonet – Le Glouton №26: Touzé / Lingée – Le Baiser rendu
  • Title-page: RIME | DEL SIGNOR | TORQUATO | TASSO. | PARTE PRIMA. | Insieme con altri componimenti | del medesimo | CON PRIVILEGIO. | {publisher’s device} | IN VINEGIA, M D LXXXI. || Contents: 1. Rime; 2. Aminta favola boscareccia; 3. Conclusioni amorose; 4. Il Romeo, overo del Giuoco dialogo; 5. Lettera, nellaquale paragona l’Italia alla Francia; 6. All’eccellentis signor Duca di Urbino; 7. Dialogo del l’amor. Pagination: [2 blanks], [2] – t.p. / blank, [4] dedication, [2] – blank / content, [16] – tavola, [1] 2-160 – rime, [8] [1] 2-74 – aminta, [4] 1-9 [10 blank] – conclusion, [2] [1]-22  – dialogo, [2] 1-27 [28 blank] – lettera, [2] 1-4 – all’eccellentiss, [4 blanks], [2] 1-17 [18 blank] – dialogo del l’amor, [2] – Car. 52 / Car. 113., [4 blanks], total 372 pages. Collation: 8vo; first blank, *4, **8, A-K8, 2A-2L8 M4, last blank; total 186 leaves, incl. first and last blanks. Note: 2F2, 2G1, 2K4, 2L1, and 2M3,4 – unsigned. Binding: 15.2 x 10.3 cm, 19th-century polished calf by Duke St., St. James, London (ticket) Cambridge panels ruled in gilt with fleurons at corners, two crimson labels to spine with gilt lettering, gilt in compartments, raised bands ruled gilt, rebacked, AEG, bookplate to front pastedown: “BIBLIOTECA | del | Conte Leonardo Vitetti | Ambasciatore d’Italia” in a frame, and “The Robin Collection” to FEP. Inset a card from Bryn Mawr College Library. Provenance: Satinsky, Robin F. (American, 1919 – 2008), The Robin Collection. Count Leonardo Vitetti (Italian, 1895 – 1973) Bryn Mawr College Library (Pennsylvania) Contributors: Torquato Tasso (Italian, 1544 –1595) – author. Aldus Manutius, the Younger (Italian, 1547 – 1597) – printer, publisher.
  • Description: French flapped wrappers, 27 x 20.5 cm, 134 gatherings, plus two leaves (blank, h.t. / limitation) at the beginning (54 leaves total), the first and the last two leaves blank, two pages in each of 12 gatherings (24 total) are hand-painted photogravures after etchings by an anonymous artist, attributed to Santippa, pseudonym of Georges or Gaston Hoffmann, or, possibly, of André Collot; the gatherings are unbound, pp. [1-10] 11-99 [100] [8] (108 pages total). Title-page: ÉPICES | REFLEXIONS | sur quelques à-côtés de l'amour | destinées à des personnes | expérimentées | ILLUSTREES | DE | VINGT-QUATRE PLANCHES | HORS-TEXTE | COLORIÉES A LA MAIN | {vignette} | ÉDITÉ | POUR UN GROUPE DE BIBLIOPHILES || Edition: limited to 500 copies numbered from 1 to 480 + 20 hand-numbered with Roman numbers. This is copy № 273. Enrichment: one original sketch (for Coucou… ou l’erreur de porte), one etching before letters and the same after letters and coloured (Le petit coin tranquille.. 19/20), and a full suite of 24 original etchings in sepia on cream paper, 20 of them on Arches and 4 on BFK Rives) printed for the first 17 copies of the 1950 edition (55 copies were printed then). In addition: one graphite pencil sketch which is not part of the suite. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel 1920 – 1970: № 1490 (for 1950), № 1491 (for 1955).  
  • Title-page: DELLE | NOVELLE ITALIANE | IN PROSA | BIBLIOGRAFIA | DI | BARTOLOMMEO GAMBA | BASSANESE | EDIZIONE SECONDA | CON CORREZIONI ED AGGIUNTE | {publisher’s device} | FIRENZE | TIPOGRAFIA ALL’INSEGNA DI Dante | M.DCCC.XXXV. || Collation: 8vo; π8 1-198; an extra leaf between 18 and 19 (189, pp. 289-10, errata), leaf 11 unsigned, leaf 12 signed 11. Total 161 leaves plus 6 leaves of plates extraneous to collation; Plates (copperplate engravings): (1) Giovanni Boccaccio, (2) Angelo Firezuola (i.e. Agnolo Firenzuola), (3) Lorenzo Magalotti, (4) Gasparo Gozzi, and (5) Michele Colombo by Marco Comirato, and (6) Franco Sacchetti by Francesco Bosa. Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xv [xvi] [1-3] 4-290, index [16], total 322 pages plus 6 plates, unpaginated. Binding: 22.4 x 15 cm, modern brown half-morocco over green sprinkled boards, red label with gilt lettering, publisher’s yellow wrappers preserved. Edition: 2nd; the 1st edition was published in 1833. Contributors: Bartolommeo Gamba (Italian, 1766 – 1841) – author, complier. Marco Comirato (Italian, c. 1800 – 1869) – engraver. Francesco Bosa (Italian, ? – ?) – engraver. Sitters: Giovanni Boccaccio (Italian, 1313 –1375) Franco Sacchetti (Italian, c. 1335 – c. 1400) Agnolo Firenzuola] (Italian, 1493 – 1543) Lorenzo Magalotti (Italian, 1637 – 1712) Gasparo Gozzi (Italian, 1713 – 1786) Michele Colombo (Italian, 1747 – 1838)
  • Two volumes, 16.6 x 11.4 cm each, uniformly bound in sprinkled calf, spine with raised bands, gilt in compartments, with crimson and black gilt lettered labels. Ink inscription to title page of vol. 1: “Thomas Fry. St: John's, Oxford.” Vol. 1: Collation: 4to; π22 a4 b3 A-Z4 2A-2E4 2F1, (total 124 leaves), plus frontispiece, 29 in-text vignettes. Pagination: [2] – h.t., [2] – t.p., [4] – preface, [i] ii-xiv – Vie de La Fontaine, [1] 2-224, [2] – table, (total 248 pages), ils. Vol. 2: Collation: 4to; π23 A-Z4 2A-2K4 2L3, (total 140 leavs), 40 in-text vignettes. Pagination: [2] – h.t., [2] – t.p., [6] – preface, [1] 2-268, [2] – table, (total 280 pages), ils. Illustrations: frontispiece by Lebas (signature erased), Vie de La Fontaine headpiece by Fessard after Cochin, 2 fleurons on two title pages, 69 vignettes by Chedel, Fessard, and Ravenet after Cochin (not signed). Catalogue raisonné: Lewine: 278; Cohen-deRicci: 557-8. Contributors: Charles-Nicolas Cochin (French, 1715 – 1790) – artist. Engravers: Pierre Quentin Chedel (French, 1705 – 1763). Étienne Fessard (French, 1714 – 1774). Simon François Ravenet (French, 1706 – 1764). Jacques-Philippe Le Bas [Lebas] (French, 1707 – 1783). Provenance: Thomas Fry (British, 1718 – 1772) – English priest and academic, president of St John's College, Oxford from 1757.
  • Description: One volume in cream French flapped wrappers, collated 8vo, 22.5 x 14.8 cm, lettered to front (device in red), printed on wove paper, margins untrimmed, some pages uncut, illustrated with tail- and headpieces and 17 sets of plates (4 of each plate) with tissue guards, after Martin van Maele. Front wrapper (red and black): L'HISTOIRE | COMIQUE DE | FRANCION | COMPOSÉE PAR CHARLES SOREL | Réimprimée intégralement pour la | première fois d'après l'édition | originale de 1623 | ET DÉCORÉE | de 17 eaux-fortes et de 16 gravures | par MARTIN VAN MAELE | {device} | SE VEND | A Paris, chez Jean Fort | Libraire, rue de Chabrol, no 12 | M. CM. XXV. || Title-page (red and black): L'HISTOIRE | COMIQUE DE | FRANCION | En laquelle sont découvertes les plus subtiles | finesses et trompeuses inventions tant des hommes | que des femmes de toutes sortes de conditions et | d’âges. Non moins profitable pour s’en | garder, que plaisante à la lecture. | Nouvelle édition conforme à | l’édition princeps de 1623, et | ornée de 17 eaux-fortes et | de 16 compositions par | MARTIN VAN MAELE | {device} | A PARIS | Chez Jean Fort, libraire, | Rue de Chabrol, no 12 | M. CM. XXV. || Collation: π3 (blank, h.t., t.p.), 1-268 χ3 (colophon, 2 blanks), total 214 leaves plus 17 sets of plates (4 of each). Pagination: [6] i-v [vi], 1-411 [412] [4], total 428 pages, ils. Illustrations: 16 tail- and headpieces, and one full-page vignette etched after drawings by Martin van Maële; 17 gravures coloured à la poupée after van Maële’s watercolours, each accompanied with three b/w plates in a different state of the same, incl. frontispiece; unpaginated. Limitation: The run of 1,203 copies printed on October 2, 1925, by Maurice Darantiere in Dijon; 1 copy (№ 1) on Japon Impérial is unique with the original drawings and three additional suites of plates; 10 copies (2-11) on Japon Impérial with three additional suites of plates; 31 copies (12-42) on Hollande with two additional suites of plates; 61 copies (43-103) on Madagascar with one additional suite of plates; 1,100 copies (104-1203) on Enoshima. This copy is № 10 on Japon Impérial with three additional suites of plates. Catalogue raisonné: S. A. Perry (2015) № 28, p. 31. Contributors: Charles Sorel, sieur de Souvigny (French, c. 1602 – 1674) – author Maurice François Alfred Martin van Maële [Martin van Maële] (French, 1863 – 1926) – artist. Maurice Darantiere (French, 1882 – 1962) – printer. Jean-Marie Fort (French, 20th century) – publisher.
  • Tin-glazed earthenware plate with lustre in blue and ochre, decorated in relief with a deer in the centre and a chain of tulips on the lip; base signed “CK” in blue. Restored. Diameter: 24.8 cm; Height: 2.5 cm. Attributed to Gubbio (Umbria, Italy), 1520-1550.
  • Softcover, publisher’s pictorial wrappers, 29.7 x 24.6 cm, pp.: [1-3] 4-174 [2 blank], ils.; total 88 leaves. Title-page: Kunisada | imaging | drama and beauty | Robert Schaap | with an introduction by Sebastian Izzard | and contributions by Paul Griffith and Henk. J. Herwig | {publisher’s device} Hotei Publishing || Contents: Preface / Robert Schaap & Chris Uhlenbeck; Lenders to the exhibition & catalogue: notes to readers; Utagawa Kunisada, the artist and his times / Sebastian Izzard; Catalogue / Robert Schaap with Paul Griffith, Henk J. Herwig & Sebastian Izzard. Subjects: Utagawa, Kunisada, — 1786-1864 — Catalogs; Color prints, Japanese — Edo period, 1600-1868 — Catalogs; Ukiyo-e — Catalogs. Contributors: Sebastian Izzard Paul Griffith Henk. J. Herwig Utagawa Kunisada [歌川 国貞] a.k.a. Utagawa Toyokuni III [三代歌川豊国] (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) Select illustrations (references in this collection):

    SVJP-0226.2016: Superb Edo pictures illustrating dances, 1858.

     

    SVJP-0221.2016: Actor Morita Kan’ya XI as Saito Tarozaemon Toshiyuki, 1860.

     

    SVJP-0228.2017: Matsumoto Kōshirō V (Japanese, 1764-1838) as Nikki Danjō Saemon Naonori, 1863.

     

    SVJP-0197.2015: Three Pleasures of Present-day Osaka (Tōsei Naniwa no sankō), 1821.

     

    SVJP-0222.2016: A view of the dressing room of a Theater in Dōtonbori, Ōsaka, 1821-2.

  • Softcover, in pictorial wrappers, 28 x 21.8 cm, 60 entries, with colour illustrations, some folding. Catalogue # 19 of the sales exhibition on March 18-26, 2022 in NY; pagination: [1-3] 4-149 [3], ils., some folding. Contributor: Sebastian Izzard
  • Description: Publisher’s wrappers 24 x 17 cm, pp. [1-6] 7-125 [3], total 64 leaves, edition limited to 150 copies. Includes “Errata & Addenda”, published in 2022. Cover and title-page: JEAN-PIERRE DUTEL | – | BIBLIOGRAPHIE | DES | OUVRAGES ÉROTIQUES | PUBLIÉS CLANDESTINEMENT EN FRANÇAIS | ENTRE 1650 ET 1970 (SUPPLÉMENT) | {publisher’s device} | J-P DUTEL, LIBRAIRE-ÉDITEUR | 16, RUE JACQUES-CALLOT 75006 PARIS | MMXXI ||
  • Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Izuzen (fl. c. 1800s – 1840s) (Marks 06-029|U103b). Signed: Ichiyosai Kuniyoshi ga in a red cartouche and sealed with paulownia crest (kiri mon). Double nanushi censor seals: Fuku & Muramatsu, 1849-51 (Kaei 2 – Kaei 4). Young woman in front of the western-style framed portrait of Soga Tokimune, who is depicted after having his kusazuri ripped off by Asahina Saburō. The series of fan prints A Collection of Pictures in Modern Style [今様額面合] (Imayô gakumen awase) can be found at Kuniyoshi Project. Soga Tokimune, a.k.a. Soga no Gorō [曾我時致] (Japanese, 1174 – 1193), a historical figure and a character of an epic tale Soga Monogatari [曽我物語] (A Tale of Soga Brothers). Asahina Saburō [朝比奈 三朗], a.k.a. Asahina Yoshihide [朝比奈 義秀] is also mentioned in the Soga Monogatari. Kusazuri [草摺] (くさずり) – tassets on a suit of a samurai's armour. Another Kuniyoshi's print with the same characters: Goro Tokimune and Asahina Saburo; Series: The Tale of Soga Brothers; Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō; Date: 1843-1845; Size: Vertical Ōban: 359 x 245 mm.