Title Upper Cover, First Edition (9 results)

Cloth. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Not Issued. First Edition. Brown flexible cloth boards, lettered in gilt. Approx. 1 1/2" area of loss along upper front fore-edge (approx. 1/8" deep), a cosmetic blemish, otherwise only light shelf/handling wear. Signed by the author's son, Arthur T. Parke, in pencil on front flyleaf. Parke Sr. is credited as the author of the historical sketch by a penciled annotation on p. 8, the first page of the text. 70 pp. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.

Folio (40Cm X 31Cm), Original Gilt Stamped Blue Buckram, Beveled Edges, Top Edge Gilt, Pps. Xxiv, 78, (4), 27 Full Page, Colored Or Tinted Plates; Private Owner's Stamp To Front Free Endpaper, Slight Scattered Foxing (Mainly To Introductory Leaves, Very Slight Later On), Else Clean With Paper White And Colours Fresh; Covers Only A Little Rubbed, Overall Very Good; Please Inquire Before Ordering.

Hardcover. Condition: Sehr gut. 1. Auflage. Folio (40Cm X 31Cm), Original Gilt Stamped Blue Buckram, Beveled Edges, Top Edge Gilt, Pps. Xxiv, 78, (4), 27 Full Page, Colored Or Tinted Plates; Private Owner's Stamp To Front Free Endpaper, Slight Scattered Foxing (Mainly To Introductory Leaves, Very Slight Later On), Else Clean With Paper White And Colours Fresh; Covers Only A Little Rubbed, Overall Very Good; Please Inquire Before Ordering.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Theodore Spicer-Simson (1871-1959) was a sculptor and medalist; many world and literary figures of the first half of the twentieth century are among his subjects. In 1921 he started work on Men of Letters of the British Isles a volume containing medallic portraits of writers such as James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, James Stephens, A.E. Houseman, G.K. Chesterton among others. Inscribed by Author(s).

12mo (115 x 80mm), pp. 22, 266, with 3 of 4 folding plates; original publisher's printed buff boards, extremities a little rubbed, but overall in very good condition. First edition of this detailed account of the city of Bamberg and its surroundings. The first two illustrations are early examples of lithography and were produced in Lachmüller's lithography studio. The large plate is engraved and shows a stunning view of a most remarkable central lodging house in Bamberg, the with postal routes and, rather unusually the legend advertising the 'Bamberger Hof' tavern in German, English and French, an early example of international tourism marketing. Since 1803 Jaeck (1777-1847) had been in charge of combining the library holdings of the secularised monastic establishments of the bishopry of Bamberg. Even though some showpieces were claimed by the Bavarian state library in Munich, Bamberg's holdings were and are particularly rich in examples of medieval book art. In 1831 - 1835 Jaeck's description of Bamberg public library was published, and in in conjunction with this, he also published this magnificent collection of type faces, illuminated initials and alphabets all taken from manuscripts, dated from the VIIth to the XVIth centuries. (ADB XIII, p. 531). Jaeck's sumptuous publication made Bamberg's holdings well known and established its international reputation.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. Large Paper Copy, one of Fifty printed on Van Gelder Dutch handmade paper for the American market. There were another 100 copies printed for the English market. Presentation Copy, Inscribed by the Author on half-title page: "Francis Francis Esq, With Kind regards from Frederick M. Halford." Francis Francis was a famous angler and author of 'A Book on Angling: Being a Complete Treatise on the Art of Angling in Every Branch' published in 1867. The first American edition of the first, and scarcest, of Halford's books. Ex libris Dermot Earl of Mayo. Inscribed by Author(s).

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. James Connolly's achievements were as a labour leader. In Belfast he led a successful docker's strike. In Dublin he worked with Jim Larkin in the Irish Transport and General Worker's Union, organising a series of strikes which culminated in the unsuccessful 1913 Dublin Lock-out. He set up the Irish Citizen Army to defend the workers. He is best remembered for his part in the 1916 Rising and his execution by firing squad, although injured and unable to stand, in Kilmainham Jail. Extremely rare with signature. Inscribed by Author(s).

80 woodcut illus. in the text. 100; 89 folding leaves. Two vols. 8vo, orig. wrappers (minor foxing & rubbing), orig. block-printed title labels on upper covers (label on Vol. I no longer present), new stitching. Kyoto: Murakami Kanbei, 1668. First Japanese edition, in Chinese with Japanese reading marks, of the Yin hai jing wei, a Chinese ophthalmological classic, with 80 woodcut illustrations of various eye diseases. Some Chinese authorities have suggested that Simiao Sun (581-682), the famous physician of the Tang dynasty, was the author of this work, but other evidence supports a later date for the work, at least during the Song Dynasty, and perhaps afterwards. Sun, known as "the King of Medicine," was a "great alchemist as well as an eminent physician and medical writer."Lu & Needham, Celestial Lancets, p. 121. This was one of the chief texts used in the ophthalmological practice of Japanese physicians of the "middle ages" in Japan. It includes therapeutics, operations, and the use of moxa in ocular disorders. It is based on the theory of wu lun ba kuo, showing the illustrations of a variety of eye diseases and explaining the causes and prescriptions of each disease. A fine set. ? Mestler, A Galaxy of Old Japanese Medical Books, IV, p. 328(& illus. on Plate 1). Needham et al., Science and Civilisation in China, Vol. 5, Part III, pp. 132-39. Unschuld, Medicine in China. A History of Ideas, p. 160"At the beginning of the seventh century, Sun Ssu-miao, a scholar versed in all humanistic endeavors, compiled an extensive collection of prescriptions in which he combined, as already indicated, the concepts of systematic correspondence with Taoist techniques of demonic exorcism as well as with certain Buddhist notions.".

One full-page woodcut illus. & music printing. 16 folding leaves. 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. block-printed title label on upper cover (rubbed), new stitching. [Japan]: ca. 1684-1704. First edition and, apparently, unique; no copy is located in WorldCat or Union Catalogue of Japanese Books. The miyogiri is a type of shakuhachi, an end-blown three-node bamboo flute with five finger holes. The various types of shakuhachi flutes have been some of Japan's most popular instruments. They were brought from China in the 8th century and became popular in 17th-century Japan when they were adopted by itinerant Buddhist beggar priests (komuso) of the Fuke sect, who were employed by the ruling warrior class. This rare and comprehensive work begins with a table of contents and a physical description of the miyogiri, along with instructions on correct embouchure. The next section is concerned with fingering techniques, which are illustrated in two diagrams on two pages. This is followed by a wonderful full-page woodcut illustration of a Zen monk wearing a kara (religious attire) giving instruction to a samurai and a younger man. Following this are nine pieces of song music for the miyogiri, written in a stylized version of katakana in vertical columns from right to left. Indications of blowing intensity and length of phrase are also included in the notation, as is the text of the songs. The Fuke sect left a repertoire of between 200 and 300 pieces, but most were lost with the forced dissolution of the sect in 1871. Our work provides a valuable record, giving the scores and lyrics for nine pieces: Yoshinoyama, Inoyama, Shishi odari, Okazaki, Edo shishi, Sakai shishi, Sugagaki, Taki otoshi, and Rinzetsu. This seems to be the only record of several of the pieces. On the final page, there is an indication that a separately issued second part appeared, but there seems to be no surviving copy. Fine copy. ? See Grove Dictionary of Music, Japan, Section IV.3. Andreas Gutzwiller, "The Shakuhachi of the Fuke-Sect: Instrument of Zen" in The World of Music, Vol. 26, No. 3, Sacred Music II (1984), pp. 53-65. For a discussion of this copy, please contact us for the link.