• 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.    
  • Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō III [嵐吉三郎] as Sarushima Sōta [猿島惣太] in the play Hanamo Yoshida Iwao no Matsuwaka [花吉田岩尾松若]  staged at Ichimura-za (市村座), theatre in Edo. Artist: Utagawa Kunisada, a.k.a. Toyokuni III (Japanese, 1786 – 1865) [歌川 国貞]. Publisher: Kojimaya Jūbei (Japanese, 1797-1869), seal: Hanmoto, Jū [板元, 十] (Marks 19-043 | 264c. Date seal and double nanushi censor seals Mera & Watanabe – 3rd month of Kaei 6 (1853). Signed: Toyokuni ga [豊国 画] in a red toshidama cartouche. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e), 223 x 294 mm. Kabuki actor Arashi Kichisaburō III [嵐吉三郎] (Japanese, 1810 – 1864); other names: Arashi Daizaburō III, Arashi Kitsusaburō III Ref.: Art shop Ezoshi Ukiyoe new collection news, vol. 66, 2023.1 (Jan) # 30, p.8.
  • Paperback volume, 25.8 x 18.6 cm, brown embossed wrappers with framed Japanese characters along the outer margin, pictorial dust jacket with series design (black lettering and vignette in silver border to wrappers, black lettering on silver to spine); pp: [1-6]: h.t./frontis. (colour plate pasted in), t.p./imprint, contents/blank), 7-32 text, 33-96 (59 plates w/captions). Title-page (in frame): MASTERWORKS OF UKIYO-E | SHARAKU | by Jūzō Suzuki | Translated by John Bester | {publisher’s device} | KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL LTD. | Tokyo, Japan & Palo-Alto, Calif., U.S.A | {vertical between rules 写楽} || Series: Masterworks of ukiyo-e, № 2. Contributors: Jūzō Suzuki [鈴木 重三] (Japanese, 1919 – 2010) – author. John Bester (British, 1927 – 2010) – translator. Tōshūsai Sharaku [東洲斎 写楽] (Japanese, fl. 1794 – 1795) – artist.
  • Hardcover volume, 25.2 x 20.5 cm, in a double slipcase 26.3 x 21.5 cm; black boards on cloth spine, front board with pasted photocollage in colour, first leaf thick verge paper different to the rest of the edition; top margin red, text printed on cream laid paper without a watermark and adorned with 14 in-text lithographs in black. A suite of 20 coloured lithographs 245 x 195 mm in the inner slipcase. Plates by Berthomme Saint-André. Pagination: [2] blanks, [3-8] 9-100 [101] blank, [2] colophon, limit. [2] blanks. Title-page (red and black): A. DE M. | GAMIANI | ou | deux nuits d'excès | Édition Réalisée | par les soins | et au profit exclusif des | « Vrais Amateurs Romantiques » | (Groupement de bibliophiles) || Limitation: № 1 – on Tonkin à la forme paper with two sets of plates, on Tonkin and one on Arches, printed in colour and in black, etc.; № 2 – similar but with the earlier state of one suite of plates; №№ 3-52 on Arches verge with plates on Tonkin; №№ 53-127 on Arches verge with plates on the same; №№ 128-227 on Rives with the suites on paper watermarked “Japon”; №№ 228-672 on Rives with the suites on the same; 25 copies marked A-Z of which A-J on Arches vergé and suites on Tonkin, and K-Z on Rives. Altogether 697 copies, of which this is copy № 27. Catalogue raisonné: Dutel III № 1650, p. 187-8; honesterotica.com. with a partially different set of in-text illustrations. Alfred de Musset (French, 1810 – 1857) – author. Louis Berthomme Saint-André (French, 1905 – 1977) – artist.
  • Oblong hardcover volume, 13.3 x 21 cm, bound in brown buckram with embossed gilt lettering to front, pp.: [1-4] 5-482 [2] errata leaf tipped-in. Title-page: СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ ПИСАТЕЛЕЙ СССР | СПРАВОЧНИК | на 1954 — 1955 годы | ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО «Советский писатель» | МОСКВА 1954 || On page 71, second from bottom: Варшавский Сергей Петрович, г. Ленинград, Ропшинская ул., д. 1/32, кв. 18, тел. В 3-56-00. Print run: 3,000 copies.
  • Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 440 x 285 mm; black ink stamp “5049” to reverse. Top left: "AMIRAL"; right: "349". Below: "Imagerie de DIDION, à Metz, DELHALT Successeur." — "Déposé." Paulin Didion (French, 1831 – 1879) – publisher/printer.
  • Hardcover volume, 311 x 235 mm, bound in blue cloth, gilt lettering to spine, olive endpapers, pictorial dust jacket with text to flaps, pp.: [i-xi] xii-xvi, [1] 2-245 [246 blank], plus 19 leaves of plates and 4 leaves of captions, extraneous to collation (169 leaves total). Title-page: MARBLED | PAPER | ITS HISTORY, TECHNIQUES, | AND PATTERNS | With Special Reference to the Relationship of | Marbling to Bookbinding in Europe and | the Western World | RICHARD J. WOLFE {publisher’s device} | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS | Philadelphia || Imprint: Copyright © 1990 by the University of Pennsylvania Press | All rights reserved | Printed in Japan | Second printing 1991 || Frontispiece: A Publication of the | A. S. W. ROSENBACH FELLOWSHIP | IN BIBLIOGRAPHY || Wolfe, Richard J. (American, 1928 – 2017)

    Rosenbach Fellowship in Bibliography

  • Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi [歌川 國芳] (Japanese, 1798 – 1861). Publisher: Ibaya Senzaburō [伊場屋仙三郎] (Japanese, fl. C. 1845 – 1847), seal: San [三] (Marks 11-001 | 127c). Carver: Matsushima Fusajirō [松嶋房次郎] (Japanese, fl. 1843 – 1850); seal [彫工房次郎] – Hori kō Fusajirō (Gordon Friese № 136) Signed: Chōōrō Kuniyoshi ga [朝櫻楼国芳画] in a red double gourd-shaped cartouche. Nanushi censor seal: Tanaka [田中]; V/1844 or II/1845. Media: Fan print (uchiwa-e, 団扇絵), 238 x 304 mm. Reference: Kuniyoshi Project. Series mentioned in Robert Schaap. Heroes and ghosts: Japanese prints by Kuniyoshi, 1797-1861.— Leiden: Hotei Publishing, 1998; p. 122 [LIB-1030.2016].
  • Hardcover volume from the series Masterworks of ukiyo-e, 26.3 x 19.2 cm, bound in unprimed canvas, red characters on black strip to front, red and black lettering to spine, tan flat endpapers, in a pictorial slipcase with series design (black lettering on silver spine); pp: [1-6]: h.t./frontis. (colour plate pasted in), t.p./imprint, contents/acknowledgements), 7-31 text, [32] blank, 33-96 (58 plates w/captions). Title-page (in frame): MASTERWORKS OF UKIYO-E | STUDIES IN NATURE | HOKUSAI-HIROSHIGE | by Muneshige Narazaki | Translated by John Bester | {publisher’s device} | KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL LTD. | Tokyo, Japan & Palo-Alto, Calif., U.S.A | {vertical, between rules 花鳥風月} || 花鳥風月 (Kachou Fugetsu) – beauties of nature. Series: Masterworks of ukiyo-e, № 11. Contributors: Muneshige Narazaki [楢崎 宗重] (Japanese, 1904 – 2001) – author. John Bester (British, 1927 – 2010) – translator. Katsushika Hokusai [葛飾 北斎] (Japanese, 1760 – 1849) – artist. Utagawa Hiroshige [歌川 広重] a.k.a. Andō Hiroshige [安藤 広重] (Japanese, 1797 – 1858) – artist.
  • Coin purse, or porte-monnaie, made of patinated copper alloy, full-grain brown leather outside and purple inside, with a clutch and a hinge, and an oval miniature bust portrait on each side, painted in colour with gold and silver, by an anonymous artist after Franz Xaver Winterhalter, inscribed NAPOLÉON III and L'IMPCE DES FRANÇAIS, respectively, under glass. Dimensions: 97 x 67 x 18 mm. Contributors: Napoleon III [Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte] (French, 1808 – 1873) – character/sitter. Eugénie de Montijo [María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick] (Spanish-French, 1826 – 1920) – character/sitter. Franz Xaver Winterhalter (German, 1805 – 1873) – artist.
  • Hardcover volume, 28.6 x 22.4 cm, tan cloth over brown cloth boards, black lettering to spine, blind-stamped lettering in frame to front, in a black pictorial dust jacket, price unclipped; pp.: [1-ix] x-xi [xii blank], [1-4] 5-36 [4], 64 pages with 109 b/w plates, 12 pages with chronology, bibliography, credits; total 128 pp. Title-page: EDWARD HOPPER (in frame)| THE COMPLETE PRINTS | GAIL LEVIN | W • W • NORTON & COMPANY • NEW YORK • LONDON | IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE | WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART || Contributors: Gail Levin (American, b. 1948) – author. Edward Hopper (American, 1882 – 1967) – artist. W. W. Norton & Company (f. 1923) – publisher. Whitney Museum of American Art (NY) – publisher.
  • Chromolithography on thick wove paper, 473 x 315 mm sheet, 372 x 260 mm image, black ink stamp “5050” to reverse. Signed on stone "Jules Gaildrau"; below centre: "GÉNERAL DE DIVISION, GRANDE TENUE DE SERVICE"; Bottom left: "Paris, J. Gaildrau, rue de Seine, 16"; right: "Imp. Lemercier, Paris." Joseph Lemercier (French, 1803 – 1887) – printer. Jules Gaildrau (French, 1816 – 1898) – artist.
  • Watercolour on laid paper watermarked “HOLLAND”, 255 x 324 mm, number “10” ms pencil in the upper left corner, remnants of hinges to verso; unsigned. Attributed to Otto Rudolf Schatz (Austrian, 1900 – 1961).
  • Hardcover volume, 20.7 x 13.2 cm, in glossy paper pictorial boards, blurb to back, lettering to spine, pp.: [1-4] 5-221 [3]. Title-page: {meander} {banner: crawn} | ИСТОРИЯ | В РОМАНАХ {meander} | Э. Сю | ТАЙНЫ НАРОДА | {device МИР КНИГИ} {device Литература} | {meander} || Faux-title: {meander} | ТАЙНЫ НАРОДА | История одного семейства | {meander} || Print run: 3,500 copies. Contributors: Eugène Sue [Эжен Сю] (French, 1804 – 1857) – author О. Иванова, О. Григорьева, Л. Белевич – translators. Original:Eugène Sue. Les mystères du peuple ou Histoire d’une famille de prolétaires à travers les âges. — Paris Administration de librairie, 1849-1857 (16 vol.), according to Worldcat 68 editions published between 1850 and 2003.
  • Hardcover volume, 35.2 x 27 cm, bound in grey cloth, blind stamped characters to front, brown characters to spine, in a glassine dust jacket, in a double slipcase, the outer case pictorial paper over cardboard, 36 x 28 cm, pp.: [4] [1] 2-104 (plates with photographs of 206 items), [2] 107-138 [4]. Kakiemon [柿右衛門] – book title. 日本の陶磁 – Japanese ceramics, series title. Contributors: Yasunari Kawabata [川端 康成] (Japanese, 1924 – 1972) – author. Tetsuzo Tanikawa [谷川 徹三] (Japanese, 1895 – 1989) – author. Seizo Hayashiya [林屋晴三] (Japanese, 1928 – 2017) – editor. Chūōkōron-sha [中央公論社] – publisher.
  • Owner’s quarter brown cloth, 18.2 x 12.5 cm, lettered paper over cardboard; text printed on tan paper, [1, 2] (t.p.), [i] ii-viii (intro.), [1] 4-48 (text); total 28 leaves; blue and red crayon marks to text; boards and pages with blue ink stamps and inscriptions. Front board: Педагогичне Бюро Полтавського Губернського Земства. | ТВОРИ РІДНИХ ПИСЬМЕННИКІВ ДЛЯ | ЧИТАННЯ В КЛАСІ.| МАРКО ВОВЧОК. | КАРМЕЛЮК. | ПОЛТАВА. | 1917 р. || Back board: Серія складається з творів: | Квітки, Вовчка, Шевченка, Куліша, | Руданського, Левицького І, Мирного, | Франка, Грінченка, Коцюбинського. | Полтава, друкарня Амчиславського. || Title-page: Педагогичне Бюро Полтавського Губернського Земства. | МАРКО ВОВЧОК. | КАРМЕЛЮК. | ПОЛТАВА. | 1917 р. || Contributors: Марко Вовчок [Marko Vovchok; Марія Олександрівна Вілінська] (Ukrainian, 1833 – 1907) – author. Other variants: Markowovzok and Marko Vovtchok. Амчиславский, М. Г. (Полтава, ул. Пушкина, 40) – printer.  
  • Hand-coloured lithography on wove paper 423 x 332 mm; On reverse: black ink stamp “4956”, ms “A”, ms pencil “428” and “Ernest”. Under the image, centre: "NAPOLEON III | Kaiser der Franzosen." Velow: | NAPOLEON III | Czaar of the French — NAPOLEON III | Czaar van Frankrijk — NAPOLÉON III | Empereur des Francais. — NAPOLEONE III | El emperador delos Franceses; bottom left: "Verlag u. Eigenthum | von. Fried. G. Schulz in Stuttgart.", right: "No 146." The artist's and printer's names in stone are not legible. Published in Stuttgart by Friederich Gustav Schulz (German, 1786 – 1859) during the time of the Second French Empire (1852-1870).
  • Three-quarter head photographic portrait of British actress Audrey Hepburn, in the American film Breakfast at Tiffany's, shot in 1961 by Paramount Pictures / contemporary gelatin silver print. Inscription to verso (graphite): Audrey Hepburn 1961 | F Breakfast at Tiffany's || Dimensions: 256 x 201 mm. Audrey Hepburn [née Ruston] (British, 1929 – 1993) Paramount Pictures Breakfast at Tiffany's
  • Description: two volumes, 38.3 x 25.5 cm each, uniformly bound in red morocco, boards decorated in gilt in the style of Luc-Antoine Boyet, with gilt dentelle inside out; spine with raised bands, gilt lettering, gilt in compartments; all edges gilt; marbled endpapers; printed on laid paper, text in the floral frame, engraved frontispiece (after Hyacinthe Rigaud), plates, t.p. vignette with the portrait of Desiderius Erasmus (after Quentin Metsys), head- and tailpieces (total of 40, some repeating) and 2 initials by Bernard Picart, folded portrait of dedicatee Guillelmine Charlotte Princesse de Galles &c &c &c by van Gunst after Kneller. Title-page (red and black, tall ‘s’): OEUVRES | DE | NICOLAS BOILEAU | DESPRÉAUX. | AVEC DES | ÉCLAIRCISSEMENTS | HISTORIQUES, | DONNEZ PAR LUI-MEME. | Nouvelle Edition revuë, corrigée & augmentée de diverses Remarques. | Enrichie de figures gravées par Bernard Picart le Romain. | TOME PREMIER (SECOND). | {vignette} | A AMSTERDAM, | Chez DAVID MORTIER. | — | M DCCXVIII. | AVEC PRIVILEGE. || Vol. 1. Collation: 4to; 1 ffl, a-c4 d1 A-3K4, 3L2, 1ffl; (K3 marked I3). Plates: t.p. vignette, frontispiece, 24 head- and tailpieces, f.t. in a grotesque frame and 6 full-page for ‘Le Lutrin’ in the same frame by Bernard Picart; folded portrait of Guillelmine Charlotte, Princess of Wales by van Gunst after Kneller. Pagination: [4] [i-v] vi-xviii [4] [1] 2-450 [2]. Vol. 2. Collation: 4to; 2 ffl, π2 A-3C4 3D3 2 ffl; (V3 marked T3, 2L4 marked A). Plates: t.p. vignette (same as vol.1) and 7 head- and tailpieces by Bernard Picart. Pagination: [4] [i-iii] iv-vii [viii] [1] 2-370 [2] [20]. Catalogue raisonné: Lewine 72-3; Cohen-De Ricci 165-6. Contributors: Luc-Antoine Boyet (French, fl. 1684 – 1733) – bookbinder. Claude Brossette (French, 1671 – 1743) – author, remarks. André Dacier (French, 1651 – 1722) – author, preface. Nicolas Boileau Despréaux (French, 1636 – 1711) – author. Pieter Stevens van Gunst (Dutch, 1659-1724) – engraver. Sir Godfrey Kneller (British, 1646-1723) – artist. David Mortier (Dutch-British, 1673 – 1728) – publisher. Bernard Picard (French, 1673 – 1733) – artist, engraver. Quentin Massijs [Metsys, Matsys] (Flemish, 1466 – 1530) – artist. Hyacinthe Rigaud [Jacint Rigau-Ros i Serra] (French, 1659 - 1743) – artist. Guillelmine Charlotte, Princess of Wales (Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach) (1683 – 1737) – dedicatee
  • Hardcover volume from the series Masterworks of ukiyo-e, 26.5 x 19.1 cm, bound in unprimed canvas, red characters on black strip to front 春信, red and black lettering to spine, cream embossed endpapers, in a pictorial slipcase with series design (black lettering on silver spine); pp: [1-6]: h.t./frontis. (colour plate pasted in), t.p./imprint, contents/blank), 7-30 text, [2] faux-title, 33-96 (66 colour plates w/captions). Title-page (in frame): MASTERWORKS OF UKIYO-E | HARUNOBU | by Seiichirō Takahashi | English adaptation by John Bester | {publisher’s device} | KODANSHA INTERNATIONAL LTD. | Tokyo, Japan & Palo-Alto, Calif., U.S.A | {vertical, between rules 春信} || Series: Masterworks of ukiyo-e, № 6. Contributors: Seiichirō Takahashi [高橋誠一郎] (Japanese, 1884 – 1982) – author. Suzuki Harunobu [鈴木 春信] (Japanese,  1725 – 1770) – artist. John Bester (British, 1927 – 2010) – adaptation.
  • Iron tsuba of almost round form with a brass outlined circular opening (sukashi) in the bottom adorned with the Myriad Treasures [takaramono, 宝物] and winter motifs inlaid in cast brass (suemon-zōgan); hitsu-ana possibly cut later, both plugged with shakudo, nakaga-ana fitted with copper sekigane. According to Merrily Baird*) (2001), the symbolism of Myriad Treasures “is associated with the Seven Gods of Good Luck, who carry them in a sack”. Among the treasures, which are said to ensure prosperity, long life, and general good fortunes, are (reading clockwise from the top):
    1. Sake set [shuki, 酒器], namely flask, ladle, and cups
    2. Cloves [choji, 丁子]
    3. Purse of inexhaustible reaches [kinchaku, 巾着]
    4. Magic mallet [kozuchi, 小槌]
    5. Key to the storehouse of the Gods [kagi, 鍵]
    Then, Pine, Moon, and Bamboo (see below);
    1. Rhombus, or Lozenge (hosho, 方勝), with the second ideograph meaning victory.
    2. Sacred (or wish-granting) gem, or jewel [hōju, 宝珠]
    3. Hats of invisibility [kakuregasa, 隠れ笠]
    The Myriad Treasures is carried by the Seven Gods of Good Luck (a.k.a. the Seven Lucky Gods or Seven Gods of Fortune [shichifukujin, 七福神], who are transported by the Treasure Ship [takarabune, 宝船] during the first three days of the New Year. Pine, Moon, and Bamboo: bamboo [take, 竹] and pinecones [matsukasa, 松笠], or pine [matsu, 松] – two of the Three Friends of Winter [shōchikubai, 松竹梅] – symbolize fidelity, fortitude, steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience. The third ‘friend’  – plum, [ume, 梅] – in this case replaced by the Moon [tsuki, 月] – large (11 mm) circular opening at 6 o’clock; the three small carved dots represent the dewdrops. The other side is decorated with an arabesque (karakusa) of cloves and vines, with carved dots (dewdrops) along the rim. The overall New Year / Winter connotation of the tsuba is clear. The prominence of the Moon conveys purity, coldness (sadness/loneliness), and slenderness – the inherent qualities of a samurai. H: 93 mm x W: 90 mm, thickness 4.2 mm at the centre, slightly tapered towards the rim. *) Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan: Thematic motifs in art and design. — NY: Rizzoli international publications, 2001. Seller’s description: École Heianjo - Début Époque EDO (1603 - 1868). Nagamaru gata en fer à décor incrusté en hira-zogan de laiton de tama, choji, jarre à saké et des attributs de Daikoku (maillet, chapeau d'invisibilité et sac de richesse) et de branches de choji de l'autre côté et ajourée en kage-sukashi d'un cercle. H. 9,2 cm
  • Seven pen and ink and colour crayon drawings on thin wove paper approx. 140 x 100 mm, each attached to a sheet 310 x 240 mm and mounted in a passepartout, placed in an aubergine cardboard folder 310 x 250 mm with a tan vellum spine and paper flaps inside; olive label with double border and gilt lettering to front cover "Dessins" [Drawings]. The first sheet is a title-page lettered in manuscript: Freundinnen | {vignette} | Originalzeichnungen | M. Leytho || [Girlfriends. Original drawings]. Information about the artist at www.honesterotica.com: "Mitja Leytho, almost certainly a pseudonym, is yet another mediocre yet fascinating amateur artist from the Germany of the 1920s about whom we know absolutely nothing beyond the four portfolios which bear the ‘Leytho’ signature". We shall notice that this set of drawings was produced by a talented professional, not an amateur.        
  • Hand-coloured woodcut on wove paper, 282 x 392 mm; black ink stamp “5051 2” to reverse. Top: "Armée française. Garde–mobile. Artillerie." — (gothic font) "Französische Armee. Mobil–Garde. Artillerie." — "№103". Below left: "Lith F. C. Wentzel édit. à Wissembourg. (Alsacé); center: Déposé; right: Druck u. Verlag v. F. C. Wentzel in Weissemburg. (Elsass)."; Bottom: "Trompette" — "Capitaine" — "Porte-Drapeau". — "Soldat" — "Cantinière." Jean Frédéric Wentzel (French, 1807 – 1869) – publisher/printer.
  • Hardcover volume, 31 x 23.5 cm, peach cloth, with peach lettering to the green label on front board, green lettering to spine, pictorial dust jacket, price unclipped ($4.95); text to flaps; pp.: [1-6] 7-154 [155 plate] [5 blanks], ils. (photomechanical reproductions); magazine clipping laid in. Title-page: Drawing | THE HEAD AND HANDS | BY | ANDREW LOOMIS | {vignette} | NEW YORK • THE VIKING PRESS || Imprint: COPYRIGHT © 1956 BY ANDREW LOOMIS | FIRST PUBLISHED BY THE VIKING PRESS IN JANUARY 1956 | PUBLISHED ON THE SAME DAY IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA | BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED | SECOND PRINTING 1958 | {two paragraphs of copyright statement} | LITHOGRAPHED IN U.S.A, BY W. S. KONECKY ASSOCIATES || Edition: 1st edition, 2nd printing. Andrew Loomis (American, 1892 – 1959)
  • Hardcover volume in 8vo, 20.4 x 13.7 cm, blue cloth with black pictorial stamping and white embossed lettering to front cover and spine, spine sunned, head and tail frayed. Title-page: ❦❦❦ THE MEMOIRS AND | TRAVELS OF MAURITIUS | AUGUSTUS COUNT DE | BENYOWSKY ❦❦❦ | IN SIBERIA, KAMCHATKA, JAPAN, | THE LIUKIU ISLANDS AND FORMOSA | FROM THE TRANSLATION OF HIS | ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT (1741–1771), | BY WILLIAM NICHOLSON, F.R.S., 1790 | EDITED BY CAPTAIN | PASFIELD OLIVER | ILLUSTRATED | LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN, | PATERNOSTER SQUARE. MDCCCXCVIII || Collation/Pagination: [1]7 2-258; blue advertisement sheet laid in. [1, 2] – serial h.t. "The Adventure Series" / advert. THE ADVENTURE SERIES. Illustrated. Popular Re-issue, large cr. 8vo, 3s. 6d. 8 titles, [3, 4] – t.p. / blank, [5] 6-9 contents, [10] blank, [11, 12] missing, [13] 14-52 introduction, 53-399, [400] colophon: THE GRESHAM PRESS, | URWIN BROTHERS, | WORKING IN LONDON. Total number of leaves 199; 398 pages; one leaf of the first gathering missing (pp. 11/12 list of illustrations. No illustrations in this volume. Compared to another copy of the same edition, LIB-2701.2021, besides the binding: no list of illustrations, no illustrations, different colophon, different advertisement, slightly different h.t. Contributors: Publisher: T. Fisher Unwin (London); Thomas Fisher Unwin (British, 1848 – 1935). Author: Maurice Auguste count de Benyowsky [Мориц Август Бенёвский] (Polish-Slovak-Hungarian, 1746 –1786). Editor: Samuel Pasfield Oliver (British, 1838 – 1907). Translator: William Nicholson (British, 1753 – 1815). Originally published in 1790, in London (I have not seen it anywhere) and in Dublin by P. Wogan [etc.], and in 1791 in French, in Paris by Buisson; see LIB-2742.2021. For the 1904 edition, see LIB-2703.2021.
  • Hardcover, 28.3 x 22.5 cm, two volumes bound in one in full navy crushed morocco by Zaehnsdorf for E. Joseph (signed), border fillet and red and gilt lettering to front, spine with raised bands outlined in gilt, red and gilt lettering in compartments, gilt dentelle, blue moire endpapers, all margins gilt; one of the original wrappers preserved, 14 tissue-guarded colour woodcuts after Alastair; text in black with red titles and initials (hand-set type), and the illustrations printed on watermarked ‘Moirans’ laid paper. Title-page (red and black): Les Liaisons Dangereuses | by | CHODERLOS DE LACLOS | With Illustrations | by | ALASTAIR | THE BLACK SUN PRESS | DEUX RUE CARDINALE | PARIS | MCMXXIX || Limitation: a print run of 1020 copies: 15 on Japon, 1000 on Moirans and 5 NFS; this is copy № 143 (vol. 1) and 303 (vol. 2) Contributors: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (French, 1741 – 1803) – author. Ernest Christopher Dowson (British, 1867 – 1900) – translator. Alastair [Hans-Henning Baron von Voigt] (German, 1887 – 1969) – artist. Comte Ulric de Civry (French, 1853 – 1935) – dedicatee. Black Sun Press (1927 – 1970) – publishing company. Harry Crosby (American, 1898 – 1929) – publisher. Caresse Crosby [Mary Phelps Jacob] (American, 1892 – 1970) – publisher. Joseph William Zaehnsdorf (Austrian, 1853 – 1930) – bookbinder.        
  • Hardcover volume, 23 x 15 cm, bound in full pictorial olive cloth, lettering to spine, in a green slipcase 23.5 x 15.9 cm; pp.: [1-4] 5- 267 [268] [4 blanks], b/w tailpieces, frontispiece and 8 colour photomechanical plates after John Holder. Title-page: GRAHAM GREENE | TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT | A Novel | Introduced by John Mortimer | Illustrated by John Holder | FOLIO SOCIETY | LONDON MMIV || Contributors: Graham Greene (British, 1904 – 1991) – author. John Mortimer (British, 1923 – 2009) – author/introduction. John Holder (British, b. 1941) – artist. St. Edmundsbury Press (UK) – printer. Hunter & Fouls (Haddington) – binder. Folio Society (UK) – publisher. For the 1st edition, see [LIB-2758.2021] Graham Greene. Travels with my aunt: a novel. — London: Bodley Head, 1969.
  • Three hardcover volumes, in-12mo, 16.2 x 10.6 cm each, uniformly bound in quarter brown cloth over marbled boards, all margins marbled, gilt lettering to spine; plus an oblong volume of similar binding, 24.5 x 39.5 cm, with 88 engraved plates by Riepenhausen after Hogarth (83 pp, unnumbered). Catalogue raisonné of William Hogarth's engravings, published by Carl Armbruster in Vienna and Dieterichsche Buchhandlung in Göttingen. A detailed explanation of Hogarth's prints divided in 14 parts. Vol. 1.
    1. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Erste Lieferung. Wien, 1818. Bey Chr. Kaulfuß und C. Armbruster. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [i-v] vi-xxxvi, [1-3] 4-136, plus engraved t.p.
    2. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Zweite Lieferung. Wien, 1818. Bey Chr. Kaulfuß und C. Armbruster. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [i-iii] iv-viii [2] 11-207 [1 blank], plus engraved t.p.
    3. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Dritte Lieferung. Wien, 1818. Bey Chr. Kaulfuß und C. Armbruster. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [i-iii] iv-vi [3] 10-215 [1 blank], plus engraved t.p.
    4. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Vierte Lieferung. Wien, 1818. Bey Chr. Kaulfuß und C. Armbruster. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [1-5] 6-180 [1 blank], plus engraved t.p.
    Vol. 2.
    1. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Fünste Lieferung. Wien, bey Carl Armbruster 1819. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [1-3] 4-144, plus engraved t.p.
    2. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Sechste Lieferung. Mit zufåßen nach den schriften der englischen Erflårer. Wien, bey Carl Armbruster 1819. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [i-iii] iv-x [2] 13-100, plus engraved t.p.
    3. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Siebente und achte Lieferung. Mit zufåßen nach den Schriften der englischen Erflårer. Wien, bey Carl Armbruster 1820. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [1-8] 9-191, plus engraved t.p.
    4. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten Copien derselben von Carl Rahl. Neunte und zehnte Lieferung. Mit zufåßen nach den Schriften der englischen Erflårer. Wien, bey Carl Armbruster 1823. Gedruckt bey Anton Strauß. [1-7] 8-168, plus engraved t.p.
    Vol. 3.
    1. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten aber vollständigen Copien derselben von E. Riepenhausen. Eilfte Lieferung mit zufåßen nach den schriften der englischen Erflårer. Göttingen in der Dieterichsche Buchhandlung 1809. [1-3] 4-81 [82 blank].
    2. C. G. Lichtenberg’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten aber vollständigen Copien derselben von E. Riepenhausen fortgefeßt vom Berausgeber der fechsten Lieferung mit Benußung der englischen Erflårer. Zwölfte Lieferung. Göttingen in der Dieterichsche Buchhandlung 1816. [i-iii] iv [1-3] 4-76.
    3. J. P. Lyser’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten aber vollständigen Copien derselben von E. Riepenhausen. Dreizehnte Lieferung Göttingen in der Dieterichsche Buchhandlung 1833. [i-v] vi-xii, [1-3] 4-117 [118].
    4. Dr. le Petit’s Ausführliche Erklärung der Hogarthischen Kupferstiche, mit verkleinerten aber vollständigen Copien derselben von E. Riepenhausen, Berausgeber Karl Gutzkow. Vierzehnte Lieferung. Göttingen in der Dieterichsche Buchhandlung 1835. [i-iii] iv-xvi, [1-3] 4-132.
    Vol. 4.: 88 plates on 83 unnumbered leaves. Contributors: George Christoph Lichtenberg (German, 1743 – 1799) Johann Peter Lyser (German, 1804 – 1870) Karl Ferdinand Gutzkow (German, 1811 – 1878) Ernst Ludwig Riepenhausen (German, 1762 – 1840) Christoph Friedrich von Pommer [Dr. le Petit] (German, 1787 – 1841) Carl Rahl [Karl Rahl] (Austrian, 1812 – 1865) Carl Armbruster (Austrian, fl. c.1830) Dieterichsche Buchhandlung (Göttingen) Johann Christian Dieterich (German, 1722 – 1800) Anton Strauß (Austrian, 1775 – 1827) William Hogarth (British, 1697 – 1764)
  • Lithography and etching on wove paper432 x 362 mm, black ink stamp “5022” to reverse, horizontal and vertical centrefolds. Depicts Diogenes (Ancient Greek, 412/404 – 323 BC) beside his barrel and extinguishing his torch when approached by Napoléon III ahorseback. Top: "1857 | HONNEUR ET PATRIE"; lettering on ribbons (top-down): SCIENCES, TRAVAIL, COMMERCE, ARTS, CHARPENTIERS, IMPRIMEURS, "MECHANICIENS, AGRICULTEURS, MAÇONS, FONDEURS, TERRASIERS, CIZELEURS, CARRIERS, ORFEVRES, BIJOUTIERS, CHAPELIERS, MENUISIERS, VERRIERS, SERRURIERS, TAILLEURS, SELLIERS, POTIERS, PORCELAINIERS, CORDONNIERS, TISSERANDS, INDUSTRIE, COMMERCE | CALENDRIER DE L'ABEILLE | EMPIRE, FRANÇAIS. Below left: "lith. Barousse Cour du Comm. 11 et 12. Paris"; right: "Dépôt rue des Cannettes, 20. Paris"; bottom: "Et, pour trouver un homme, il quitte son tonneau, | Voyant Napoléon, – il éteint son flambeau!" [And, to find a man, he leaves his barrel, | Seeing Napoleon, – he extinguishes his torch!]. Six months on the left and six months on the right-hand side of the calendar, surrounding the image.
  • Pencil, pen and ink wash on india paper, 170 x 228 mm, black ink stamp to verso: “Nachlaß O R SCHATS”. Unsigned, attributed to Otto Rudolf Schatz (Austrian, 1900 – 1961).  
  • Hardcover volume, 22.8 x 15.5 cm, bound in green buckram with blind stamped designs and gilt lettering to front cover and spine, blind lettering to back, pp.: [2] 3-354 [2], photo portrait frontispiece; collated in 8vo: 1-218 2210, 178 leaves (356 pp.) Title-page (green and black): УОЛТ УИТМЕН | ЛИСТЬЯ ТРАВЫ | {vignette} | ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ ИЗДАТЕЛЬСТВО | ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ | МОСКВА 1955 || Original: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass see LIB-3111.2022. Contributors: Walter [Walt] Whitman (American, 1819 – 1892) – author/poetry. Korney Chukovsky [Корней Иванович Чуковский, Николай Корнейчуков] (Russian, 1882 – 1969) – translator, author/foreword. Морис Осипович Мендельсон (Jewish-Russian, 1904 – 1982) – author/foreword. Translators: Николай Васильевич Банников (Russian, 1918 – 1996) Михаил Александрович Зенкевич (Russian, 1886 – 1973) Иван Александрович Кашкин (Russian, 1899 – 1963) Анатолий Васильевич Старостин (Russian, 1919 – 1980) Дмитрий Александрович Горбов (Russian, 1894 – 1967) Мария Фёдоровна Лорие (Russian, 1904 – 1992) Вильгельм Вениаминович Левик (Jewish-Russian, 1906 – 1982)
  • Hardcover volume, 35.3 x 27 cm, bound in grey cloth, blind stamped characters to front, brown characters to spine, in a glassine dust jacket, in a double slipcase, the outer case pictorial paper over cardboard, 36 x 28 cm, pp.: [4] [1] 2-88 (plates with photographs of 129 items), [2] 91-108 [3]. Seto ware [瀬戸焼] (Seto-yaki) – ceramics produced in and around the city of Seto in Aichi Prefecture. Yellow seto [黄瀬戸] (Kiseto) – a yellow glaze seto ware. Black seto [瀬戸黒] (Setoguro) –  a black glaze seto ware. 日本の陶磁 – Japanese ceramics, series title. Contributors: Yasunari Kawabata [川端 康成] (Japanese, 1924 – 1972) – author. Tetsuzo Tanikawa [谷川 徹三] (Japanese, 1895 – 1989) – author. Seizo Hayashiya [林屋晴三] (Japanese, 1928 – 2017) – editor. Chūōkōron-sha [中央公論社] – publisher.
  • Small volume, 14 x 10 cm, in tan cloth with vignette and lettering to front, lettering to spine, pp.: [1-4] 5-123 [5], total 64 leaves, 10 full-page and 7 double-page two-colour woodcuts within pagination, and numerous b/w in-text vignettes by Serhiy Adamovych; translated from the Ukrainian into English by Oles Kovalenko. Print run: 11,000 copies. Contributors: Марко Вовчок [Marko Vovchok; Марія Олександрівна Вілінська] (Ukrainian, 1833 – 1907) – author. Other variants: Markowovzok and Marko Vovtchok. Олесь Iванович Коваленко (Ukrainian, 1945 – 2012) – translator from the Ukrainian into English. Сергiй Тадейович Адамович [Serhiy Adamovych] (Ukrainian, 1922 – 1998) – artist.  
  • Hand-coloured lithography on wove paper, 275 x 385 mm; vertical centerfold, image in frame. On reverse: black ink stamp “5350”. Above the frame: "IMAGERIE NOUVELLE — MORT DU PRINCE LOUIS-EUGÈNE-NAPOLÉON. — ACTUALITÉS PL. 699". Under the frame: "L'ex-prince impérial, né le 16 Mars I856, était parti pour le Cap, à l'extrême sud de l'Afrique, pour faire son apprentissage de guerre, et combattre avec les Anglais, la tribu sauvage des Zoulous. L'une des dépêches reçues confirme sa mort dans les termes suivants: — Capetown, 3 Juin 1879. — Le prince Napoléon-Eugène a été tué à l'ennemi, avant-hier, 1er Juin 1879, Il était parti en reconnaissance, avec quelques officiers et une fable escorte, au-delà du Blood River. Il descendit de cheval ave ses compagnons, au milieu des hautes herbes, pour prendre un peu de repos. Les Zoulous, rampant selon leur coutume, s'approchèrent en grand nombre et entourèrent la petite troupe. On ne les vit que lorsqu' ils furent à trois ou quatre mètres du groupe. Aussitôt chacun court vers son cheval, et quelques-uns des Anglais parvinrent à s'échapper. Quant au prince, surpris et frappé à coups de zagaie, il resta sur la place avec deux soldats. Quand les Anglais sont revenus en force, ils ont retrouvé le cadavre du jeune fils de Napoléon III percé de dix-sept coups de zagaie et complétement dépouillé de ses vêtements et de ses armes". — "Typographie, Lithographie, Imagerie, Haguenthal, Éditeur à Pont-à-Mousson". Pencil ms: "1860-1880". Élie Haguenthal (French, 1822 – 1881) – publisher/printer.
  • Three-quarter half-length seated portrait of American filmmaker and actor Woody Allen in a scene from the drama film The Front (1976), shot by Columbia Pictures in 1976, autographed on a light area of the image. Dimensions: 245 x 192 mm; image 217 x 192 mm.
  • Softcover, 325 x 253 mm, publisher’s French flapped wrappers in glassine dust cover, 15 leaves folio folded in half, making 30 in-2o leaves 321 x 250 mm, with two leaves within the wrappers, [1] t.p., [2] Vertès’ blue ink inscription “À Alexaner Sternberg frère Nicolas qui est un garçon charmant et un bon artiste. Vertès.” and drawing, [3] frontispiece, [4-26] text with six full-page, one head- and one tailpiece in dry point technique, with guard tissues, [27] list of plates, [28] colophon, [29] blank; some page numbers manually scripted in pencil to the bottom right corners by a previous owner. Paper watermarked “BFK Rives”. Title-page (in orange and black): ÉLOGE | DE | MARCEL VERTÈS | PAR | GEORGES HUISMAN | ORNÉ | DE GRAVURES ORIGINALES | {publisher’s device} | MANUEL BRUKER ÉDITEUR || Colophon: CET OUVRAGE A ÉTÉ ACHEVÉ D'IMPRIMER SUR LES PRESSES DE L'IMPRIMERIE DARAGNÈS LE 30 OCTOBRE 1951 A 200 EXEMPLAIRES NUMÉROTÉS DONT 20 SUR VÉLIN 'ARCHES DE 1 A 20 AUXQUELS IL A ÉTÉ JOINT UNE SUITE DES GRAVURES SUR JAPON NACRÉ ET 180 SUR VÉLIN BLANC DE RIVES DE 21 A 200. ON A TIRÉ EN OUTRE 20 SUITES SUR MALACCA DES PLANCHES REFUSÉES. EXEMPLAIRE N° 93. Limitation: 200 copies printed on October 30, 1951, at Daragnès press: 20 (№№ 1-20) on Arches vellum paper with a suite of plates on Japon Nacré and 180 (№№ 21-200) Vélin Blanc by Rives. This is copy № 93. Tipped in: (1) photo of Vertès (and one more) in front of his murals, with the blue ballpoint pen inscription “À Alex Sternberg, frère de Nicola, excellent ami, excellent artiste et voyez, quel photographe!!! Vertès”; (2) postcard with a signed invitation to Vertès' exhibition by Librairie M.-P. Tremois: “Carte Postale | Paris, le 2 mars [19]28 | Monsieur, | Du 6 au 24 mars, | de 2 heures à 6h30, aura | lieu à la Librairie M.-P. Trémois | 43 avenue Rapp, 7e, une | exposition de dessins et | aquarelles de Vertès, ayant | servi à l’illustration de livres. | Nous espérons que vous | voudrez bien nous honorer | de votre visite. M.-P. Trémois.” The drypoint technique is confirmed by the presence of a white line in the middle of the black  printed line on the micro photo: Catalogue raisonné: Vokaer № 52. Contributors: Georges Huisman (French, 1889 – 1957) – author. Marcel Vertès [Marcell Vértes] (Jewish-Hungarian-French, 1895 – 1961) – character/artist. Manuel Bruker (French, 1891 – 1979) – publisher. Jean-Gabriel Daragnès (French, 1886 – 1950) – printer. Nicolas Sternberg (Hungarian-French, 1902 –1960) Librairie M.-P. Trémois (1925 – 1953)