Parisiis [Paris]: Excudebat Antonius Vitré, 1651. Hardcover. Volume four from a seventeenth century set of the Bible in Latin that comprised eight volumes. Bound in full brown leather with gilt rulings and ornaments to the covers and with six compartments to the spine with gilt tooling and titling. Covers and spine are bumped, rubbed, and lightly soiled. Endpapers are browned around the edges and frame a lighter square center. Text pages are generally clean and bright with occasional smudges, light aging to margins and a small dampstain to the bottom margins of the first 50 pages. Shoulder notes throughout and decorative ornaments at end of chapters and books. In very good condition. Measures 3.5 x 6.25 inches. 648 pages plus index. REL/022322. Very Good. More

Utrecht Brussel: Uitgeerij het Spectrum, 1948. Hardcover. Dutch translation of the Bible (old and new testaments) with 3 maps bound into rear. Attractively bound in full white pigskin with red leather title label and raised bands to spine. Gilt rules and gilt device to front cover. Minor spotting and discoloration to boards and spine. Two ribbon bookmarks bound in and frayed at the ends. Full edges gilt. Clean, bright interior. 1118 pages / 330 pages. REL/122922. Very Good. More

Hamburg: Gesellschaft der Bücherfreunde / Poeschel & Trepte, 1930. Hardcover. Number 313 of 700 copies. The first number of this fine German periodical on typography, illustration, and private press work. Includes an article by De Roos on Dutch book work, with facsimilies and a bibliography. Most text is in German. Bound in the original brown cloth with brick red and gilt title labels to spine. Slight bow to boards. Split to textblock after the front free endpaper, but binding remains secure. Slight bump to lower page corners. Clean and bright. Bookplate to front pastedown of William P. Wreden. Size: 8.75 x 11 inches. 205 pages plus 24 pages of examples. BOB/020323. Very Good. More

Paris: L'Art du Livre, c.1910. Limited edition, Number 571. Very good in contemporary three quarter dark brown morocco over marbled paper covered boards with gilt title and floral devices to spine. Minor rubbing and wear to hinges, corners, and edges of boards. Minor sunning to spine. Printed in two colors throughout, with elaborate borders & decorative initials. 126 pages. A lovely book. French. FRE/012723. More

Mainz: Gutenberg-Gesllschaft (Gutenberg Society), 1929. Hardcover. A collection of essays on bookish subjects in various languages. Please note that each essay is in one language only. Essays in German, French, Italian, and English. Subjects include the origin of Papier velin, modern type design, small private collections of incunabula, ancient Chinese letterpress art, Incunable illustration techniques, and more. Illustrated. Bound in black paper covered boards with light green spine titled in black. Gilt emblem to front board. Chipping and loss to cloth on spine at ends and along hinges. Minor wear and chipping to paper along edges and corners. Bumping to corners. Minor toning to margins, but overall the interior is clean and bright. Size: Quarto. 315 pages plus ads. BOB/010422. Very Good. More

London: Geroge Bell & Sons, 1908. Hardcover. Includes chapters on gold and silver, jewelry and precious stones, enamel, other metals, tapestry, embroideries, sculpture in stone, carving in wood and ivory, inlay and mosaic, and illumination of books. Many illustrations with several full color plates. Bound in a an attractive publisher's binding of green cloth boards with gilt title to spine and front panel. White, orange, and gilt illustration to front board. Minor rubbing to cover. Slight sunning to spine. Wear to corners and edges including bumping to three corners. Clean, bright interior aside from a few pencil markings on endpapers. With frontis and captioned tissue guards for color plates. 378 pages, including bibliography. ART/020923. Very Good. More

London: J. McGowan and Son, not dated; circa 1830. Hardcover. An uncommon later printing of this classic with only a handful of copies in institutional collections. Illustrated with 93 aquatints, including fold-out frontispiece. Bound in three quarter dark brown leather over marbled paper covered boards with black and gilt title labels to spines along with gilt rules and floral decorations. Rubbing to boards of both volumes, bumping to corners, wear to edges of boards and joints. Small losses to leather along rear joints of both volumes and foot of spine of first volume. Lacks preliminary pages from second volume including title page and part of contents list. The rear free endpaper is a also missing a large piece and the remnants as well as the facing pastedown are soiled. Penned signatures from previous owners dated 1830, 1850, and 1864 on front endpapers of both volumes and on title page. Illustrated with charming aquatints including a fold out to the first volume, illustrated half-title page, and 51 full page pages. The second volume has 41 full page plates and appears to be missing 5 to 8 plates (when compared with other listings, which all have variable plate counts). The fold-out frontispiece has been reinforced along the edge and there is a two inch long closed tear along one fold. Pencil marks to the versos of many plates, closed tears to the edges of some pages including plates, light dampstaining to margins of a few pages, and smudge marks to margins. Clearly this was a well-loved set. Volume I has 263 pages; Volume II has 311 pages. CHILD/012323. Very Good. More

circa 1900. Paperback. Sepia-tone illustration from circa-1900s edition of Fairy Tales and Stories. Size: 12" x 8.25" page; approximately 8" x 5.5" illustration. PRINTS/112322. Very Good. More

circa 1900. Paperback. Black-and-white illustration from circa-1900s edition of Fairy Tales and Stories. Size: 12" x 8" page; approximately 7" x 5" illustration. PRINTS/112322. Very Good. More

Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1932. Hardcover. One of 328 copies on paper. There were also 25 copies printed on vellum. This magnificent book was one of the last issued by the Ashendene Press. The Ashendene Press was founded by St John Hornby (1867–1946). It operated from 1895 to 1915 in Chelsea, London and was revived after the war in 1920. The press closed in 1935. Its peers included the Kelmscott Press and the Doves Press. Hornby became friends with William Morris and Emery Walker, who helped inspire his work. These three presses were part of a "revival of fine printing" that focused on treating bookmaking as fine art. Ashendene books were carefully printed with large margins, and despite their lack of extravagant decoration, they were considered spectacular works of art. [Wikipedia] In the bibliography of the Press, its founder, St John Hornby stated that "in my humble judgment it is one of the most satisfactory of the books of the Press." In his history of the Ashendene Press, Colin Franklin writes on page 187: "qualities which separately had triumphed in many Ashendene volume were assembled as before the final curtain of an opera. Short chapters and sections showed the poetic setting of Subiaco which best suited that type....Red headings and shoulder notes, frequent and varied intervals assist the reading of a miraculous text." Bound in bright orange vellum with four silk ties and gilt titling to spine. Slightest tiny wear to corners with original white vellum showing, otherwise fine. Printed on Batchelor paper in red and black with beautiful hand drawn initials in green and blue done by Graily Hewitt and his assistants Ida D. Henstock and Helen E. Hinkley. The colophon credits them along with H. Gage-Cole, the pressman, and and the compositor A.J. Fisk. Top edge is trimmed with the other edges uncut. Missing the original slipcase and nicely housed in a custom brown cloth box with gilt title to spine. A wonderful copy in fine to near fine condition. Measures 7.5 x 11.5 inches. 182 pages. PRI/011823. Fine. More

Philadelphia: Alice Austin, 2019. Number 12 of 20 copies. This tunnel book of the Grand Canal draws attention to the negative effects of tourism on Venice's rising water levels and ecosystem. Created from a series of lino-cuts, each page has been hand-cut and assembled into the tunnel book structure, giving the viewer a periscope-like view of the famed Grand Canal. The artist describes the scene as follows: "a chaotic mix of local fauna, gondolas, traghettos and bridges vying for space on the waterway, contrasting with the ominous visage of a cruise ship lurking on the horizon. The outsized scale of the ship emphasizes the threat these monsters impose on the delicate environment of this unique place — flooding the streets with mass tourism, and literally flooding the small canals with their enormous wakes. The cover panel is in the shape of an eye, reflecting upon the voyeuristic nature of tourism. The first panel shows an egret patiently hunting for fish amidst the chaotic scene. A quatrefoil-laced building facade typical of Venice provides the background. The second panel has a winged cherub and a traghetto (ferry) making its regular crossing of the Grand Canal, as the figures in the gondola stand in the customary Venetian way for the short trip, ready to bound off the second the boat docks. The third panel features the famed Rialto bridge, with a rower guiding a sandolo, the type of small rowboat used by the locals.  The fourth panel shows the characteristic vase-shaped chimneys of Venice. The fifth panel is an enormous cruise ship ominously looming over the buildings and canal, impossible to miss. The sixth panel is the back side of the tunnel book - The Lion's Mouth, or bocce dei Leone - depicting letter boxes found that were placed in prominent locations, where citizens could slip a note betraying the names of enemies of the Republic. The side panels show rowers in racing gondolas training for the Regatta Storica." It is printed on Mohawk heavyweight paper and housed in a marbled paper covered clamshell box with magnet closure and paper title label to spine panel. The paper was marbled by the artist. Alice Austin is a printmaker, book artist and painter living and working in Philadelphia. She has been on the faculty at the University of the Arts, teaching book structures, and has also taught workshops at the Center for Book Arts in New York, Ballinglen Foundation in Ireland, The Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, and other institutions. She earned a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art and has been an active member of the Guild of Book Workers since 1998. She worked as a rare book and paper conservator for over 20 years at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Alice has also been awarded several artist residencies in Europe, and her work is widely held in private, public and special collections worldwide. Size: 6 x 11 x 1.5 inches closed, 13 inches open. Box size: 6.5 x 11.5 x 2 inches. Fine. More

Philadelphia: Alice Austin, 2018. Special edition with unique hand-made wooden box. Number 7 of 15 copies. This piece was produced in 3 different versions: the deluxe edition (1-6) is now sold out; the special edition (7-11) is issued in unique wooden boxes with specimens; and the regular edition (12-15) is the book only. In this elaborate work comprised of a hand-printed book, a collection of specimens, and hand-made box, Austin memorializes her walks along the shores of the ocean through poetry and lino-cuts. Her verse describes creatures encountered and beaches traversed. The supporting lino-cut illustrations depict an array of shells, horseshoe crab, and more. Physical specimens of most of the items illustrated are included in the accompanying box. The accordion book is bound in Twin Rocker hand-made grey paper wrappers with black title and blue lino-cut scallop shells to the front panel. It is letterpress printed in Cheltenham Italic type on Somerset paper. Housed in a custom made unique cherry wood box with legs, with a vintage type drawer incorporated. The box was hand-made by Wilfredo Rodriquez of Philadelphia. It contains multiple compartments within, which hold treasures from the ocean including: a dog whelk, slipper snail, beach glass, periwinkle (Maine); moon snail, scallop, horseshoe crab tail (New Jersey); fishing float fragment, limpet (Ireland); an origami boat and a booklet listing the contents - both created by the artist. Alice Austin is a printmaker, book artist and painter living and working in Philadelphia. She has been on the faculty at the University of the Arts, teaching book structures, and has also taught workshops at the Center for Book Arts in New York, Ballinglen Foundation in Ireland, The Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, and other institutions. She earned a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art and has been an active member of the Guild of Book Workers since 1998. She worked as a rare book and paper conservator for over 20 years at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Alice has also been awarded several artist residencies in Europe, and her work is widely held in private, public and special collections worldwide.Book Size: 8.5 x 9.5 x 1 inches. Box size: 12.5 x 12.75 x 3.5 inches. Fine. More