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Thérèse philosophe, 1783. |
Late 18th century books |
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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.
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.
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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.
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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. -
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 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. -
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. -
The Heads of Illustrious Persons of Great Britain Engraven By Mr. Houbraken And Mr. Vertue. With Their Lives And Characters by Thomas Birch, A.M.F.R.S. Two Volumes in One. Published for John and Paul Knapton, London, 1747. 108 engraved portraits.
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Title: A GENERAL | HISTORY | OF | QUADRUPEDS. | – | THE FIGURES ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY THOMAS BEWICK. | {vignette} | — | NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE : | PRINTED BY AND FOR S. HODGSON, R. BEILBY, & T. BEWICK, | NEWCASTLE: SOLD BY THEM, BY G. G. J. & | J. ROBINSON, AND C. DILLY, LONDON. | 1790. Pagination: [4 blanks], [i, ii] – t.p. / blank, [iii, iv] – advertisement / index, v-viii – index, [1] 2-456 [4 blanks]. Collation: demi 8vo; a⁴ A-Ee⁸ Ff⁴. A3 unsigned, catchword at p.375 THE instead of WE. Variant A (with a fly facing upward). Size: 21.8 x 14 cm; page 21.2 x 13 cm. Woodcuts: 260 descriptions of quadrupeds; 200 figures of quadrupeds, 104 vignettes, tailpieces, etc. Binding: Full marbled calf, gilt double border, black label with gilt lettering to flat spine. There were 1,500 copies Demy copies printed. Catalogue raisonné: S. Roscoe (1953): pp. 5-11; Hugo (1866): pp. 22-23. -
Two volumes uniformly bound by Riviere & Son in full red marbled calf, triple fillet border stamped in gilt, elaborate gilt ornament and brown morocco labels with gilt lettering to spine, all edge gilt, gilt dentelles. Vol. 1: Title page: THE | LIFE AND EXPLOITS | Of the ingenious gentleman | DON QUIXOTE | DE LA MANCHA. | Translated from the Original Spanish of | Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra. | By CHARLES JARVIS, Esq; | IN TWO VOLUMES. | {single rule} | VOLUME the FIRST. | {double rule} | LONDON: | Printed for J. and R. Tonson in the Strand, and | R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall. | {single rule} | M DCC XLII || Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xxxii, [i-iii] iv-vi, [2], [1] 2-90, [14], [1] 2-355 [356]; 500 pages total + ils. Collation: 4to; 250 leaves; A4 a-b4 c-d2, A4, a-l4 m2 n4 o2, B-Z4, Aa-Yy4 Z2, ils. Illustrations: 27 full-page copperplate engravings, incl. frontispiece (skillfully repaired), portrait of Cervantes by George Vertue After G. Kent and a fictional portrait of Don Quixote by George Vertue after John Vanderbank. Vol. 2: Title page: THE | LIFE AND EXPLOITS | Of the ingenious gentleman | DON QUIXOTE | DE LA MANCHA. | Translated from the Original Spanish of | Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra. | By CHARLES JARVIS, Esq; | {single rule} | VOLUME the SECOND. | {double rule} | LONDON: | Printed for J. and R. Tonson in the Strand, and | R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall. | {single rule} | M DCC XLII || Pagination: [i-iii] iv-xii, [1] 2-388; 400 pages total + ils. Collation: 4to; 200 leaves; A4 a2 B-Z4 Aa-Zz4 Aaa-Ccc4 Ddd2, ils. Illustrations:41 full-page copperplate engravings, pl. 29 (as frontispieces) precedes pl. 28. Contributors: Author: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spanish, 1547 – 1616) Translator: Charles Jervas (British, 1675 – 1739) Author: Cervantes biography by Gregorio Mayans y Siscar (Spanish, 1699 – 1781) Translator: Cervantes biography by John Ozell (British, d. 1743) Illustrator: John Vanderbank, the younger (British, 1694 – 1739) Artist: (Cervantes portrait): G. Kent (British, fl. 1738 – 1742) Engravers: Gerard Vandergucht (British, 1696 – 1776); George Vertue (British, 1684 – 1756); Bernard Baron (French, 1696 – 1762); Claude Du Bosc (French, 1682 – 1746 or later) Publishers: J. and R. Tonson (London); Robert Dodsley (British, 1703 – 1764) Catalogue raisonné: Lewine p. 102 Reference: Metropolitan Museum (New York) -
A set of two volumes, one with the text (1) and another with the plates (2), cased in a red ‘romantic’ fitting box of red morocco, lavishly tooled in gilt, c. 1840, more recently adapted to house two books of different size. Vol.1: Hardcover volume, 22.4 x 14 cm, 8vo, bound in half black polished calf (late 19th century) over marbled boards, spine and corners gilt-tooled, raised bands, gilt lozenges in compartments, gilt-lettered red morocco label; marbled endpapers; Francis M. G. Mauleverer armorial bookplate (motto “Deus Providebit”) to front pastedown. Printed on laid paper, Collation: 1 blank, engraved frontis., engraved t.p., A-Cc8 Dd2, 1 blank; pagination:[1] 2-420. Vol. 2: Hardcover volume, 21 x 14 cm, bound in green straight-grain morocco (early 19th century), boards with a roll-tooled palmette border, spine decorated in gilt, blue moiré endpapers, yellow feps, additional blank leaves: 2 in the front and 4 in the back, unpaginated; engraved frontis. and t.p. as in vol. 2, plus 35 plates now attributed to Delcroche printed on India paper, pasted on thicker leaves and bound in numerical order, but pl. 34 after pl. 35; As per Christie’s “The prints, sometimes attributed to de Hooghe, are actually by Delcroche, who illustrated a number of classics in the 1770s and 1780s, including Fanny Hill. AE and ABPC record only three copies of this edition at auction, including the Nordmann and Hayoit copies. Apollinaire Enfer, 277; Dutel A-15; Eros invaincu 16; Foxon Libertine Literature, NY: 1965, p.38; Gay-Lemonnyer I, 10; Pia Enfer, 346.” Contributors: Delcroche (Dutch, 17th century), “artiste hollandaise”, nothing else is known. Dutel and Nordmann attribute the plates to Romeyn de Hooghe (Dutch, 1645 – 1708). Nicolas Chorier (French, 1612 – 1692) – author. Francis M. G. Mauleverer (British, 1918 – 1962) – provenance. Seller’s description: 2 vols in 8vo (215x125 and 204x117 mm), a complete but composite set, the text volume in late 19th c. half black morocco, with corners, gilt spine tooled in gold, the plate volume in a nice early 19th-century green morocco binding, the spine gilt-tooled in compartments, the sides with a roll-tooled palmette border, pale blue moiré style endpapers (hinges repaired). Text vol.: engraved frontispiece, engr. title, pp. 420. Plates vol. comprising: the engraved title, frontispiece, and 35 engraved plates, probably by Delcroche. Both volumes cased in a ‘romantic’ fitting box binding, c. 1840, more recently adapted. -
Mokkō form iron tsuba carved in relief and inlaid with soft metals (copper, gold, silver) with the design of a cormorant fisherman on the face and a boat on the reverse. Unsigned. Dimensions: 77 mm x 69 mm x 3.0 mm (at seppa-dai) Edo period: 18th or 19th century. "Since Nara period, Japanese fishermen in small boats have used cormorants (u) to catch river fish at night, binding the necks of the birds so that the fish are not swallowed. [...] The bird and the work it performs are symbols of selfless devotion to one's master and keen eyesight." - from Merrily Baird. Symbols of Japan. Thematic motifs in art and design. Rizzoli international publications, Inc., 2001; p. 104. See also in this collection TSU-0212 and TSU-0241. -
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信; c. 1725 – 15 July 1770).The Ide Jewel River, a Famous Place in Yamashiro Province (Ide no Tamagawa, Yamashiro no meisho), from the series The Six Jewel Rivers in Popular Customs (Fûzoku Mu Tamagawa).
Signed: Harunobu gaInscription - Poem: Koma tomete/ nao mizu kawan/ yamabuki no/ hana no tsuyu sou/ Ide no Tamagawa
References:MFA # 21.4540.
Waterhouse cat. #562; Pins, The Japanese Pillar Print (1982), #139; Ukiyo-e shûka 4 (1979), list #795.4, and supp. 2 (1982), pl. 565; Gentles, AIC cat. II (1965), p. 125, #201.
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Half title: LA PUCELLE | D’ORLEANS.|| Title: LA PUCELLE | D’ORLEANS , | POEME , | DIVISÉ EN VINGT-UN CHANTS , AVEC | LES NOTES DE M. DE MORZA. | Nouvelle édition, corrigée, augmentée d'un Chant | entier, & de plusieurs morceaux répandus dans | le corps de l'ouvrage, avec les Variantes que | l'on a jointes à la fin de chaque Chant. | [ornament] | A LONDRES. |—| M. DCC. LXXV. || Pagination : [4] – two blank unnumbered fly leaves, [i,ii] – h.t. / double-ruled blank leaf, [2] – blank / frontispiece on verso, [iii, iv] – t.p. ruled and bordered / double-ruled blank leaf, [v]vi-viii – table, ix-xv – preface, [xvi] – double-ruled blank leaf, [1]2-447 [448] – double-ruled blank leaf, [2] – two blank unnumbered fly leaves; page 14 misnumbered 18; title within ornamental border; text within double-ruled borders; head- and tail-pieces; 22 leaves of plates (frontis. + one before each chant.) Collation: 8vo; a8 A-Z8 Aa-Ee8 Binding: 19.9 x 13.2 cm; full contemporary brown calf, blind ruled plates, spine with raised bands, gilt-ruled and tooled in compartments, red label with gilt lettering, all edges red; plate for chant 6, H4, H5 - separated from the block. De Morza is Voltaire (Cf. Quérard, v. 10, p. 306). Engravings unsigned; attributed to Desrais, Claude-Louis (French, 1746 – 1816). False imprint; possibly printed in Paris. -
Two prints on one sheet of watermarked laid paper.
Coupe de la ville de Paris prise du septentrion au midy, depuis la porte St Martin jusqu'à l'Observatoire en passant par l'isle du Palais... Coupe de la ville de Paris depuis la porte St Martin jusqu'à l'Observatoire... Plan des rues comprises dans la direction dela coupe... / Le tout dressé par Philippe Buache... ; Desbruslins, sculpsit.
Watermark: "IHS" within circle; countermark of "FIN/ DUPUY/ AUVERGNE 1749".
LOC dates it to 1757. Gallica – to 1742, though the watermark is 1749.
