Thomas J Wise Compiler (15 results)

Hardcover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Hbk 389pp illustr photo frontispiece in b/w lacks dj now in custom acetate jacket otherwise an excellent clean tight unmarked text.

Cloth. Condition: Near Fine. Various (illustrator). First edition. A very smart first UK edition of the collected letters of Robert Browning with the vanishingly scarce original dust wrapper. In the publisher's original green cloth binding.Complete with the vanishingly scarce original unclipped dust wrapper.This is the first UK edition of this work.This volume presents a selection of Robert Browning"s personal letters, offering insight into his literary life, friendships, and travels. This volume of letters has been collected by Thomas J. Wise, and includes an introduction an editorial notes by Thurman L. Hood.Illustrated with sixteen monochrome plates, including a portrait of Robert Browning in Rome, 1861. Collated, complete.Robert Browning, one of the most esteemed Victorian poets and playwrights, is best known for early works such as Pauline (1833) and Paracelsus (1835), as well as for his enduring masterpieces Men and Women and The Ring and the Book. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Externally, very smart, with the slightest rubbing and bumping to extremities. Previous owner's inscription to front free endpaper. Slight offsetting to endpapers. Slight damp staining to rear endpapers with the odd spot. Dust wrapper, smart. Unclipped. The odd slight handing mark to wraps. Slight rubbing and umping to extremities resulting in the odd small closed tear, chip and crease. Slight age toning to extremities and spine. Internally, firmly bound. Pages bright and clean. Near Fine. book.

With a list of the more important Ruskiniana. Compiled by Thomas J. Wise and James P. Smart. Edited by T. J. Wise. In two volumes. [Facsimile edition]. Pp. xxviii+330(last blank)+xii+264(last blank), frontispiece portrait, 2 decorative headpieces, appendices, additional notes, errata, general index; small cr. 4to; navy cloth, spines lettered in gilt, the boards of Volume I faintly scuffed, a couple of the fore-corners a trifle bruised; dust wrappers, faintly soiled, edges lightly creased and split; a couple of pages slightly creased; Dawsons of Pall Mall, Folkestone, Kent, 1974. Second reprint. *Originally issued in 19 parts from 1889 to 1893, then bound in two volumes for subscribers, in a limited edition of 250, in 1893. The cancel leaves issued to replace the original pages 41 to 44 in Part II are also included here, which is why there are 2 sections paginated 41-44 in the present Volume I. Wise 'legitimized' some of his Ruskin forgeries by including them in this bibliography. Barker & Collins, in A Sequel to an Inquiry [p. 135] describe this as 'the first sign of a new development: "dressing-up" a forgery by announcing its existence in print'.

First Edition. A Catalogue of Printed Books, Manuscripts, and Autograph Letters. Collected by Thomas James Wise. Vol. XI [only]. Introduction by Arundell Esdaile. Pp. xxiv+204(last Ashley library device, colophon), frontispiece portrait [Mrs. Wise] with tissue guard, plus 43 plates, a couple of facsimiles in text, addenda, notes, index; cr. 4to; cream cloth over bevelled boards, lettered and decorated in gilt, a trifle marked, spine faintly faded; t.e.g., others uncut; hinges reinforced, a couple of tiny edge chips, occasional light foxing; printed for private circulation only, London, 1936. First edition, being one of 200 copies on antique paper. [Todd 420b]. *Eleven volumes of the catalogue of Thomas J. Wise's Ashley Library were published from 1922 to 1936, each containing an introduction by a well-known writer of the period. This is the final volume, published after Carter & Pollard's Enquiry and shortly before Wise's death. In the Preface, Wise states that ill health prevented him from writing an Introduction to this volume. 'I could tell so many stories and relate so many incidents in connection with the acquisition of the more prominent and fascinating of the items of which it is composed, that I feel sure I could have produced a paper which would have interested many other of my fellow collectors, and perhaps have encouraged them to continue this pleasant and useful pursuit. But the serious misfortune which caused the delay in the completion of Volume XI has also rendered this impossible, and physical weakness, combined with the still ragged state of my nerves, have frustrated my hopes, and the task must be left for some future occasion' [pp. xv-xvi].

First Edition. A Catalogue of Printed Books, Manuscripts, and Autograph Letters. Collected by Thomas James Wise. Vol. II [only, of eleven volumes]. Introduction by Augustine Birrell. Pp. xiv+216(last Ashely Library device, colophon), frontispiece with tissue guard (browned), plus 195 plates; cr. 4to; pale yellow/cream cloth over bevelled boards, lettered and decorated in gilt, slightly foxed, edges a trifle rubbed, the spine slightly faded and browned; t.e.g., others uncut; hinges reinforced, a couple of tiny edge chips, a little light foxing; printed for private circulation only, London, 1922. First edition, being one of 50 copies on English hand-made paper. [Todd 420b] *With related ephemera loosely inserted, including a printed page from a catalogue listing two of the George Eliot items in this volume under the heading 'The Thomas Wise Forgeries'. A previous owner's pencilled note about his own copy of another item is on page 200.

First Edition. A catalogue of printed books, manuscripts and autograph letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning collected by Thomas James Wise. Pp. xxxii+128(last colophon), frontispiece portrait with tissue guard, plus 110 plates, several facsimiles in text, 3 decorative headpieces, tailpiece; cr. 4to; red cloth over bevelled boards, lettered and decorated in gilt, boards a trifle marked, with a couple of tiny edge bruises, the spine and part of lower board slightly faded; t.e.g., others uncut and very occasionally partly unopened; blind ownership stamp of Randolph Hughes on upper free endpaper, the endpapers lightly offset, hinges tender at a couple of points, scattered foxing; printed for private circulation only, London, 1929. First edition, limited to 190 copies, this being one of 160 printed on antique paper. [30 copies on English hand-made paper were also issued]. Todd 83b. *Randolph William Hughes (1889-1955) was an Australian university lecturer and literary critic who spent the later years of his life preparing editions of the work of Swinburne and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.

A catalogue of printed books, manuscripts and autograph letters by Walter Savage Landor. Collected by Thomas James Wise. Introduction by Stephen Wheeler. Pp. xxiv+104, frontispiece portrait with tissue guard, plus 56 plates, decorative head and tailpiece; post 4to; maroon buckram over bevelled boards, lettered and decorate in gilt, the cloth slightly flecked and a trifle soiled, edges lightly bruised; t.e.g., others uncut and partly unopened; later [but not recent] pastedowns, a couple of spots of foxing; printed for private circulation only, London, 1928. One of 25 copies on English hand-made paper.

First Edition. Pp. xxiv+426, frontispiece portrait, plus 11 plates of facsimiles, appendix; f'cap. 4to; qr. natural linen, spine lettered in black, grey papered boards, edges faintly faded and rubbed, fore-corners lightly worn, the upper board a trifle marked, small damp stain to cloth near top edge of lower board, the spine cloth slightly darkened; uncut; upper hinge tender, free endpapers lightly offset, text block faintly browned, a few pencilled annotations and a little light foxing; printed for The Bibliographical Society by Blades, East & Blades, London, 1919. First edition. Todd 178b.

Part I, March 1897. Pp. 32; small f'cap. 4to; printed brown paper wrappers, slightly soiled and quite brittle, edges chipped and split; bound within later plain burgundy paper wrappers over card, upper wrapper a trifle marked; uncut and unopened, the outer leaves browned, edges slightly foxed; printed for subscribers only, London, 1897. Todd 103b (50 copies). *With the original prospectus for the parts (faintly creased from folding for postage) bound in after the upper wrapper. The prospectus states a limitation of 50 copies and is inscribe d in ink (by Wise?): 'no of parts/date of completion'. There are two dates printed on the upper wrapper: 'Part I March 1897' near top edge and '1896' above the printed price near bottom edge. Signed.

First Edition. Pp xii+316, 13 full page facsimiles, appendix, notes, errata; f'cap 4to; qr. natural linen, spine lettered in black, grey papered boards, the spine cloth browned and with a couple of tiny splits at head; uncut and largely unopened; the text block lightly and free endpapers heavily browned, a couple of pages slightly creased, a little light foxing; printed for the Bibliographical Society, London, 1913. First edition. Todd 122b. [Together with]: COLERIDGEIANA: being a supplement to the Bibliography of Coleridge. Pp. 40, one full page facsimile, notes, additional errata; f'cap. 4to; buff paper wrappers, upper wrapper lettered in black, faintly foxed, edges and backstrip chipped and split, with closed tears to head and foot of backstrip; uncut and partly unopened; text block faintly browned, a little light foxing; Bibliographical Society, London, 1919. First edition. Todd 123b. *Both volumes printed by Richard Clay & Sons Ltd., in editions of 500 copies.

Pp. 114(last erratum)+[4](Ashley Library device, 'In Preparation' list, and blanks), frontispiece, plus 7 plates, 2 text illustrations, appendix; demy 8vo; navy cloth, spine lettered in gilt, upper board with gilt rule border, lower board with blind rule border, top fore-corners lightly bruised, cloth a trifle rubbed, spine gilt slightly dulled; uncut and partly unopened; upper hinge starting, the text block slightly browned, a couple of small edge splits; printed only for private subscribers, London, 1897. Edition limited to 50 copies. *A revised offprint of Wise's Swinburne contribution to Literary Anecdotes of the Nineteenth Century. [Todd 186a]. Part II, Uncollected Contributions to Periodical Literature, begins with poems by 'A.C.S.' contributed to Fraser's Magazine, starting in 1849. Wilfred Partington devotes several pages to the saga of Wise's attribution of these poems to the [very] young Swinburne, and his subsequent printing of the poems. 'What a day was that when Wise through his private-printings . . . could display little Algernon as a poet-just-turned-eleven! And what a nuisance it was that he never wrote those poems' [Partington, p. 167].

First Edition. A list of Books printed for Private Circulation. Pp. 20(last Ashley Library device), one full page illustration; demy 12mo; blue/grey paper wrappers, stabbed and tied, upper wrapper lettered in black, long split from head of backstrip extending to second stab hole; uncut; contents detached and slightly browned, a couple of tiny edge chips; printed for private circulation, London, 1897. First edition. Todd 417b. *The third, and last, of Wise's publishing catalogues, with the printed disclaimer on the title page verso stating that the list is 'printed as a Record, not by way of Advertisement'. (However, in this copy there is a small inked tick next to 7 of the items, perhaps indicating availability?) Lists 25 printings of works by the Brownings, Ruskin, Shelley, Swinburne and others, 19 items of 'Shelleyana', and two items 'in preparation. In this copy the bottom margins are particularly wide.

First Edition. Pp. 18+[2](blank), 2 full page illustrations; demy 12mo; blue paper wrappers, stabbed and tied, upper wrapper lettered in black, large Ashley Library device in black at centre of lower wrapper, the edges a trifle rubbed, with a few small chips to top edge of lower wrapper and a couple of tiny surface grazes near fore-edge of same; uncut; leaves lightly browned, some light foxing (mainly on outer leaves); printed for private circulation, London, 1895. First edition. Todd 416b. *Wise's second list of his productions: 19 items of 'Shelleyana,' 25 other printings, and three works 'in preparation'. A printed note on the title pager verso states: 'The following list is printed as a Record, not by way of Advertisement. Books printed in short numbers for private circulation become so rapidly and entirely absorbed, that it is exceedingly difficult to obtain information regarding them when such is required for bibliographical or other purposes. Hence the necessity for the present Catalogue'. However, Todd suggests the Ashely Library lists were 'designed to advertise what was then available, for a consideration, to interested bibliophiles' [Todd (Various Extraordinary Books), p. 11].

A catalogue of plays, poems, and prose writings by Alexander Pope. Collected by Thomas James Wise. Introduction by H. F. B. Brett-Smith. Pp. xxiv+112+[4](last Ashley Library device & colophon), engraved frontispiece portrait with tissue guard, 87 plates, errata slip tipped-in at page 43; cr. 4to; red buckram over bevelled boards, lettered and decorated in gilt, the spine faintly faded; t.e.g., others uncut; endpapers offset, several pencilled annotations [by Ralph Straus?]; printed for private circulation only, London, 1931. Edition limited to 160 copies on antique paper. Todd 189b. *Presentation copy, inscribed on the half-title page to the novelist and biographer Ralph Straus (1882-1950): 'With most cordial Regard from Thos. J. Wise'. A pleasing association, since one of Straus's books was The Unspeakable Curll: Being some account of Edmund Curll, bookseller (Chapman & Hall, 1927). Edmund Curll (1675-1749) became notorious (mainly through the many attacks on him by Alexander Pope), for publishing unauthorized or pirated editions. Signed.

Vol. II [only, of two volumes]. Pp. xiv+166+[2](Ashley Library device, verso blank), 2 photogravure plates with tissue guards (portrait of Wise and interior view of the Ashley Library), plus 65 full page facsimile title pages, several smaller text facsimiles; med. 4to; later qr. maroon morocco, rebacked, with the original gilt lettered and ruled spine (slightly grazed) laid on, green cloth boards, a trifle marked and rubbed; a.e.g.; free endpapers offset, a little light foxing and occasional slight soiling; printed for private circulation only, London, 1908. [One of only 12 trial copies]. Todd 419b [describing the 2 volumes.]. *Lacking Volume I. Inscribed by the compiler on the upper free endpaper: 'Frank Sabin, Esq with kindest regards from Thos. J. Wise'. (Frank T. Sabin was a rare book and autograph dealer, based in London). According to Seymour de Ricci, English Collectors of Books & Manuscripts (Cambridge, 1930, p. 187 n.1), only twelve trial copies were printed, although some proofs or incomplete copies are known. (The University of Texas has uncorrected advance proofs for both volumes and incomplete advance sheets of Volume II only). Signed.