Mobilis Books is pleased to present a list of *most* of the books coming to the Manhattan Rare Book Fair (May 2). Please fee free to contact us with any questions info@mobilisbooks.com 

 

❧ Spooky Books Under $100 ❧... 1

❧ Mid-Range Spooky Books ❧... 4

❧ Top-Tier Spooky Books ❧... 13

❧ Spooky Ephemera ❧... 17

❧ Literature & Pretty Publishers’ Bindings ❧... 20

❧ Fine Bindings for Fine People ❧... 22

❧ History & Politics ❧... 25

❧ Medieval Manuscripts & In Situ Binding Waste ❧... 32

❧ Early Print ❧... 42

❧ Cooking & Etiquette ❧... 46

❧Various ❧... 47

 

❧ Spooky Books Under $100 ❧

Nellie Beighle. Book of Knowledge: Psychic Facts. The Alliance Publishing Co., 1903.

 

(240 x 160 mm) pp. 534. Bound in light green publisher's cloth, title in gilt on cover. Three photographic plates. Spine sunfaded & discolored. Bumping to endbands, discoloration along top of cover. Back hinge splitting a bit, but firmly bound. GOOD.

 

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Susie Champney Clark. Pilate's Query : What is Truth. Boston: Arena Publishing, 1895

 

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Charles Tweedale. News From the Next World - Being an Account of the Survival of Antonius Stradiuarius, Frederick Chopin, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Brontes, and of Many of the Author's Relatives and Friends as Proved By Their After-Death Manifestations. London: Spiritualist Press, 1947.

 

(220 x 140 mm) pp. 272. Full color frontispiece an 18 pages with 37 photographic prints (including spirit photography and spirit writing). Bookseller ticket of Samuel Weiser Inc., 117 4th Ave, NY.  Bound in blue publishers cloth binding, title and author in black on spine. Some loss to fabric on front cover and some fraying near edges. Bumped bottom end band. Minor foxing but interior pretty clean. Overall GOOD to VERY GOOD .

 

Big Claims, Bold Names, and Ghost Photography.

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Katherine Taylor Craig. The Fabric of Dreams: Dream Lore and Dream Interpretation, Ancient and Modern. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1918.

 

First edition. (210 x 140) pp. ix, [3], 380. Bound in blue publisher's cloth, title in gilt. No dust jacket. Extremities show signs of rubbing; a small tear at the top end band repaired. The outer edges of the text block and front and rear end papers somewhat foxed. Interior pages show an occasional spot of marginal foxing. Faint damp stains are present in the upper margins. Bookseller's ticket on front paste down. Overall GOOD condition.

 

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Nellie Beighle. Book of Knowledge: Psychic Facts. The Alliance Publishing Co., 1903.

 

(240 x 160 mm) pp. 534. Bound in light green publisher's cloth, title in gilt on cover. Three photographic plates. Spine sunfaded & discolored. Bumping to endbands, discoloration along top of cover. Back hinge splitting a bit, but firmly bound. GOOD.

 

Written by "a friend and woman of the people." Asks the important questions, like, "Was Lincoln a Spiritualist?"

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John Darby. Nineteenth Century Sense The Paradox of Spiritualism. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company , 1887.

 

(180 x 120 mm) pp. 222. Crisp text block and publishers cloth binding with gilt decoration. Extremely minor bumping to end bands. Bookplate of the private library of William T Harris; Bookplate of the Library of the Supreme Council, 33, AASR [Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite], Washington DC (withdrawn). Overall VERY GOOD condition.

 

Examines Rosicrucians, transcendental physics, and the soul.

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Frederick Greenwood. Imagination in Dreams and Their Study. London: John Lane, 1894.

 

First edition thus. (200 x 130 mm) pp. ix, 198, [2], 16. Bound in plain green publisher's cloth. Pages age toned. Splitting to interior hinge, two pages in preface detached but present. Evidence of having been roughly cut to open. Bumping to extremities. Overall FAIR to GOOD condition.

 

Reviewed in 1895 by psychologist Edmund Clarke Sanford: "The author's modest purpose 'being only to convey gossiping hints and suggestions to the generality,' a minute examination of his book would be ungracious; but it must be said that, as a book for the generality, it has serious shortcomings. With the main thesis that dreams deserve a more thorough and rational study than they have yet for the most part had, no fault can be found ; the author's criticisms are often just, and some of his suggestions illuminating; but his psychology is antiquated-often more like that of Bunyan's Mansoul than that of the present; and too prominent a place is given to dreams 'which have all the character of prophecy and revelation.'"

 

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William Danmar. World Cognition – Absolute Being, Reality, Nature, Death. New York City: Academy Press [1923].

 

(230 x 265 mm) pp. 147. Photographic frontispiece of William Danmar and graphs and diagrams throughout. Bound in red publishers cloth with title on black field in gilt. Fabric crumpling to front cover. Agetoned pastedowns and fly leaves. Interior clean. Overall GOOD.

 

The final published work of William Danmar (1853-1937), professor of architecture at Cooper Union and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and member of the American Society for Psychical Research. Here Danmar explains his scientific philosophy of Galomalism, which is the ‘worldstuff’ that underpins how matter behaves and may be the rational explanation for ghosts. He (helpfully?) provides a glossary of terms, contributing to the forwarding of this naturalistic, science-driven ontology— figuring out what is the nature of existence here and hereafter.   

He describes himself as “A contravaxant,” on the title page. This appears to be a neologism from Danmar’s earlier work, the Tail of the Earth (1887), in which he defines Contravaxant as ‘a pair of equal but opposite vaxants on a mutual axis.” A vax is ‘used in physiometry (the mathematical science of nature) to signify the change of an ordinate in a vaxant when moved uniformly along the axis in any direction.” And I hope that clarified it for you, because I am still in the dark.

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William Danmar. World Cognition – Absolute Being, Reality, Nature, Death. New York City: Academy Press [1923].

 

(230 x 265 mm) pp. 147. Photographic frontispiece of William Danmar and graphs and diagrams throughout. Bound in red publishers cloth with title on black field in gilt. Title page a bit loose, but still attached. Library of Congress duplicate, exchanged Oct. 29, 1943 (stamped on back of title). By transit 1929 also stamped on back cover. Bumping to corners and end band. Interior clean. Overall GOOD.

 

The final published work of William Danmar (1853-1937), professor of architecture at Cooper Union and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and member of the American Society for Psychical Research. Here Danmar explains his scientific philosophy of Galomalism, which is the ‘worldstuff’ that underpins how matter behaves and may be the rational explanation for ghosts. He (helpfully?) provides a glossary of terms, contributing to the forwarding of this naturalistic, science-driven ontology— figuring out what is the nature of existence here and hereafter.   

 

He describes himself as “A contravaxant,” on the title page. This appears to be a neologism from Danmar’s earlier work, the Tail of the Earth (1887), in which he defines Contravaxant as ‘a pair of equal but opposite vaxants on a mutual axis.” A vax is ‘used in physiometry (the mathematical science of nature) to signify the change of an ordinate in a vaxant when moved uniformly along the axis in any direction.” And I hope that clarified it for you, because I am still in the dark.

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❧ Mid-Range Spooky Books ❧

Evelyn Underhill. Column of Dust. London: Methuen & Co, 1909.

 

pp. 304, 29 p of ads, with final two pages uncut. Foxed throughout, mostly along fore edge margins, but particularly heavy on title page and ads. Minor abrasions to bottom fore edges of pages. O. J. Woodhouse ownership inscription on front pastedown. Blue publisher's cloth binding, with art nouveau style decoration on spine in gilt around title and author. Overall GOOD condition. MB3313

 

Written before Evelyn Underhill's major works of Christian mysticism, the Column of Dust (in concert with the Grey World and the Lost World), the Column of Dust about a woman named Constance Tyrrel who accidentally summons a disembodied spirit, appearing as a column of dust, while exploring old books in a bookshop.

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Arthur F. Sharp. Spirit Saith (Vol 1 & 2). London: H. H. Greave, 1954.

 

2 Vols (complete) (220 x 145 mm) pp. 182, 106. Photographic frontispeice and four photographic illustrations of bishops and archbishops (vol. 1); no illustrations in Vol. 2. Penciled  in date on title page, somewhat corroborated by ownership inscription from 1958 (so it can't post date 1958). One or two contemporary pencil annotations in the margin in same hand as ownership inscription.  Both internally very clean. Both have dust jacket in mylar 'Durasleeve'. DJs have some chipping, but not price clipped. Publisher's cloth binding in light blue with same cross motif as DJ. Overall VERY GOOD condition. MB3293

 

"This work is a bold attempt of one who has ministered in the Church for over sixty years in various parts of the world, and for many years, in contact with Oriental religion and philosophy, to bridge the gap between religion and science of psychic research and communication with the Saints departed." -- The dust jacket blurb says it all.

Volume Two "is mainly comprised of material which had been omitted from the first volume on account of production costs. The wide support given and the interest shown has encouraged the Author to produce another volume in which he has added messages received up-to-date from the same source as those in the first volume and, in addition, he has written a valuable chapter on Mediumship especially in relation to the direct voice".

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John W. Edmonds and George T. Dexter. Spiritualism. New York: Partridge & Brittan, 1853.

 

(230 x 170 mm) pp. vi, 505 + 4 p. ads. With Appendix by Nathaniel P. Tallmadge. Fourth edition. Frontispiece of invitation to Spirit Land, with tissue guard with rustic pencil tracing. Pages age toned, but solid for age. Bound in 20th century faux leather (somewhat unsophisticated binding job). Overall VERY GOOD. MY1206

 

"In the name of God, I am a Sweedenborg."

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Eleanor Kirk. The Influence of The Zodiac Upon Human Life with Character Readings of Persons Born Upon the Cusp. New York: Published by Eleanor Kirk, 1894.

 

pp. 191, fold out after table of contents showing parts of Grand Man. Title page set in art nouveau style type. Bound in yellow publisher's cloth binding with title and author in red on cover and spine. Minor bumping to edges. Clean text block set on handsomely textured pages. One p. publishers adverts. Overall VERY GOOD condition. MB3277

 

Eleanor Kirk, a pseudonym for Eleanor Ames (1831-1908), was an astrologer, a 'Mental Scientist,' and in 1870, the New York Herald stated that she was "the most pronounced of the women’s rights women". This is her third published work.

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Wilhelm Reich. Cosmic Superimposition, Man's Orgonotic Roots in Nature. Rangeley: Wilhelm Reich Foundation, 1951.

 

(240 x 160 mm) pp. 130. Illustrated throughout. Bound in beige publishers cloth with title in red on front cover. Some discoloration to covers. Interior crisp. Overall GOOD condition.

 

Theory of the unity of living organisms and cosmic energy (orgone). Exploring the "superimposition" of two orgone energy systems as a fundamental, creative principle observed in nature, such as in galaxies and the genital embrace.

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Mary Stephenson Barnes. Long Distance Calling. New York: William-Frederick Press, 1945.

 

(135 x 116 mm) pp. 114. Photographic frontispiece. No dust jacket. Boards are lightly soiled. Edges bumped. Leaves have crinkle at upper tip through p. 17. Bookplate on front fly leaf (Neta C. Boone), booksellers ticket on front pastedown (San Francisco's Metaphysical Library & Bookshop). Interior is crisp and clean. Overall GOOD condition.

 

Automatic writing from beyond the grave channeled by a non-traditional medium.

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Emma Hardinge Britten. Autobiography of Emma Hardinge Britten. Edited by Margaret Wilkinson. Manchester, U.K.: John Heywood, 1900.

 

(220 x 145 mm) pp. 275. Photographic frontispiece. Bound in publishers red cloth with stamped decoration, including central motif around "God Understands," embossed. Appears to be historically rebacked. Faded. Edges a bit bumped. Interior agetoned as expected with type of paper.

 

The posthumously completed autobiography of Emma Hardinge Britten: Spiritualist superstar, Editor, Conduit, and founder of the Two Worlds. Manc legend.

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James Thompson. Through the Mediumship of Alice L. Kane. Echoes from the Spirit World. Topeka, KS: Crane & Company, Printers, 1899.

 

(180 x 120 mm) pp. 142, 1 p. contents. Photographic frontispeice. Bound in green publisher's cloth with silver lettering and emblem on covers. Bumped around middle of fore edge side and edges. Deckled edges from knife opened pages. Overall VERY GOOD.

 

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Susie C. Clark. To Bear Witness! A Metaphysical Sketch. Boston: Banner of Light Pub. Co.: 1898.

 

(190 x 130 mm) pp. 180. Bound in red publisher's cloth with title on banderol in gilt and two black stripes. A bit of bumping to edges. Ex-library with limited marking (Library of the Independent Liberal Church bookplate) and donation sticker to front pastedown and fly leaf. Overall VERY GOOD condition.

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Henry S. Olcott. People from the Other World. Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, 1878.

 

(200 x 230 mm) pp. xv, 492. Frontispiece. Profusely illustrated by Arthur Kappes and T. W. Williams. Bound in red publisher's cloth with stamped decoration and gilt title on spine. Spine a little discolored and some spotting on covers. Overall GOOD condition.

 

First part: a description of the strange things seen, heard, and felt by the author at the Eddy Homestead, in the township of Chittenden, VT.; Second part: a report of a series if original investigations made by the author in Philadelphia into the materialization of John and Katie King. Plus a "copious" bibliography of the Occult Sciences. Harvard claims that spiritualism corrupts morals and degrades intellect. Also interestingly dedicated to Alfred R. Wallace, who independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection.

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Charles Tweedale. Man's survival after death or the other side of life in the light of human experience and modern research. London: Grant Richards, 1909.

 

(195 x 140 mm) pp. 277. Bound in red publishers cloth with title and author in gilt on spine. Very crisp and clean binding and interior with no issues to report. Overall VERY GOOD condition.

 

Near-death experiences, mediumship, and other paranormal phenomena.

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J. O. Barrett. The Spiritual Pilgrim: A Biography of James M. Peebles. Boston: William White and Company, 1871.

 

(210 x 140 mm) pp. 303. Crisp clean textblock. Publishers read binding with gilt vignette of man (James Peebles) tipping hat to a hand in the sky. Gilt title on spine. Some white discoloration to covers. Overall GOOD condition.

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George W. Warder. Invisible Light, or The Electric Theory of Creation. New York: G. W. Dillingham Co. Publishers, 1900.

 

INSCRIBED BY AUTHOR (190 x 130 mm) pp. 334. Clean text block. Bound in grey publishers cloth with decoration and title/author in white. Splitting at front and back hinges, binding weak. Inscribed to Charles F. Pomeroy by George Warder Jan. 27th, 1906. Condition is GOOD.

 

Presents a scientific/philosophical argument that electricity, rather than God, is the creator, light, and life force of the universe.

 

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Mary T. Longley. Teachings and Illustrations as They Emanate from the Spirit World : Methods of Concentration - Application and Demonstration of Spirit Workers - How They Build Homes, Temples, Heal the Soul-Sick Who Come to Their Worlds from Earth - How Worlds are Made. Chicago: Progressive Thinker Publishing House, 1908.

 

(200 x 140 mm) pp. 222. Bound in light green-grey publishers cloth binding with black title and ornamentation stamped on front cover, title and author on spine. Text block very clean. Rubbing and edgeware to cloth binding. MB1174

 

Undeveloped Spirits, spirit planets, vibrations, what spirit nannie taught...

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John Scott. As One Ghost to Another. London: Psychic Book Club, 1948.

 

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Evelyn Underhill. The Gray World. New York; The Century Co., 1904.

 

(195 x130 mm) pp. 351. Apparently first American edition of author's first work, written on mysticism and magic. Publishers cloth binding with art nouveau style floral decoration with initials TBH in bottom corner. Clean text block, minor splitting on back cover hinge, but sturdy and solid binding. Overall GOOD to VERY GOOD condition.

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P. B. Randolf. Dealings with the Dead: The Human Soul, Its Migrations and Its Transmigrations. Mokelumne Hill, CA: Health Research, 1959.

 

pp, 156, 10 p. of ads. A weird rustic reprint of the 1861-2 original, 'Penned by the Rosicrucians’. Author is P. B. [Paschal Beverly] Randolph on the front cover, M. J. Randolph on the title page. This reprint appears typewritten, bound in limp card with three punched holes tied together with cord. Back cover has stamped image with a copyright statement to 1885 by J. (?) C. Street. Single illustration, in ads.

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James Coates. Seeing the Invisible : Practical Studies in Psychometry, Thought Transference, Telepathy, and Allied Phenomena. London: L. N. Fowler, 1906.

 

(185 x 130 mm) pp. xvi, 298. Clean text block. Ex Belfast Public Library , rebound in institutional buckram binding with title, Belfast Public Library seal, and call number on spine. Belfast Public Library bookplate on front pastedown. Withdrawn stamp on fly leaf. Overall GOOD condition. Coates investigates paranormal phenomena, arguing that an "unseen world" can be accessed through psychic abilities. MB1184

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Clara Iza Price [Clara von Ravn]. The Scribe of a Soul. Seattle: Denny-Coryell Company, 1901.

 

SIGNED, FIRST EDITION. (175 x  135 mm) pp. [xii], 201, [xx]. Signed by author (May 1921, Lynchburg, VA). Clean copy with minor age-related spotting to fore edge. Bound in green publishers binding with gilt decoration and title/author, title/author on spine. Minor bumping to edges, but overall VERY GOOD condition. MB1177

 

The Scribe of a Soul is a 1901 book by Clara Iza Price (sometimes attributed to Clara Von Ravn), featuring a collection of poems and narratives exploring spiritual themes, love, and human experience. The work is noted for its lyrical style.

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Geoffrey Hodson. Meditations on the Occult Life. Adyar, Madras, India: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1937.

 

(185 x 125 mm) pp. x, 136. Clean text block, typographically pretty using art nouveau style font. Bound in green publishers cloth with simple title/author in gilt on front cover and along spine. Superficial white spotting to cover, but overall VERY GOOD condition of book on Eastern philosophy, yoga, meditation and the occult. MB1178

 

Well documented provenance: stamps throughout from Theosophical Society in America, Besant Lodge, in Hollywood; Bookplate  on front paste down of Nina Jamison of the Rosicrucian Fellowship, Mt. Ecclesia, Oceanside, CA; Henry Hotchner stamped on end fly leaf.

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Harrison D. Barrett. Life Work of Mrs. Cora L. V. Richmond. Chicago: Hack and Anderson, 1895.

 

(215 x 250 mm) pp. 759 + ads. Published under the auspices of the National Spiritualist Association. Frontispiece of Cora Richmond and two further plates. Bound in red publishers cloth with black stamp decoration. Title and author in gilt on cover and spine. Corners bumped and worn. Some shelfware or abrasions to bottom fore edge pages. Front cover gently splitting but still firmly bound. Offsetting from pressed flower on p. 218. Interior clean. Two early 20^th century ownership inscriptions in pencil in fly leaves. Overall GOOD condition.

 

Cora L.V. Richmond (1840-1923) was a prominent American spiritualist, author, and lecturer, covering her early life, spiritual experiences, and extensive work in the spiritualist movement, including her advocacy for women's suffrage and charitable causes. This biography was written during her lifetime.

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William Danmar. The Tail of the Earth; or, The Location and Condition of the ‘Spirit World’. New York: Concord Co-Operative Printing, 1887.

 

(220 x150 mm) pp. 59. Pamphlet bound in 19^th century marbled card with leather, or leather-like spine and paper spine label with title of pamphlet handwritten. Front and last page agetoned. Single diagram. Ex libris stamp in blue of Dr C Wiedner, Elberfeld. Front cover somewhat loose. Overall GOOD condition.

 

An early pamphlet by William Danmar (1853-1937), professor of architecture at Cooper Union and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and member of the American Society for Psychical Research.

Danmar thanks an impressive host of “philosophers in the other life-sphere” for their cooperation in the investigation of “their world, and who have generally assisted [him] in [his] discovery.” These philosophers in the other life-sphere include Kant, Galeleo, Confucius and Ben Franklin.

 

The work attempts to locate the afterlife, suggesting that it exists in the wake of the earth—its tail—as it moves through space.

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William Danmar. Modern Nirvanaism: The Philosophy of Life and Death. Jamaica, NY: Wm. Danmar, [1921]

 

(240 x 150 mm) pp. 176. Diagrams. Bound in red card (soft cover) with black and gilt image of a phoenix and slogan “With Phoenix We Win!”. Title in gilt on black field, with ornamental black and gilt border. Rips to front cover, white stain on back cover, spine has chipped exposing gatherings. Cover and front page fused in gutter making a tender opening. Overall FAIR condition. Needs stabilizing.

 

A later printing of Modern Nirvanaism (first published in 1914) by William Danmar (1853-1937), professor of architecture at Cooper Union and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and member of the American Society for Psychical Research.

 

In his own words, Danmar describes the “basic principle of modern nirvanaism [as] the only naturalistic (instead of supernaturalistic) theory of ‘spiritualism,’ [which] unites all the scientifically established empirical laws of nature, such as Boyle’s law in physics, Ohm’s law in electrics, Dulong and Petit’s law in chemistry and other proven laws, into one grand law of nature of the inversity of inverse proportionality of the world’s counter forces and their constant force-product, which is the essence of the spacefilling worldentity.” What is this spacefilling world entity? It’s galom—absolute and constant in time and space, neither motherstuff nor fatherstuff, but hermaphroditic, “the last possible and finally proven proposition of philosophy in its shape of sexualistic symbolism.”

 

And if that doesn’t get you hooked I don’t know what will.

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William Danmar. Ghostology : Products of Nature. Jamaica, NY: Wm. Danmar, 1924.

 

(210 x 140 mm) pp. 226. Photographic plate of Danmar and diagrams. Bound in publisher’s red cloth with Phoenix emblem on cover in red, black and gilt.Front and back cover split, tender but intact. Bottom endbands threadbare. Some light pencil line in margins, pencil annotations on back pastedown. Overall FAIR condition.

 

The most well-known work of William Danmar (1853-1937), professor of architecture at Cooper Union and the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and member of the American Society for Psychical Research – Ghostology promotes Danmar’s theory that ghosts are physical natural phenomena rather than supernatural entities. Danmar suggests that ghosts are made of a physical stuff, galom, can be studied scientifically, proposing a science-based alternative to spiritualism.

 

 

RHODES, Montague James. Thin Ghost and Other Stories. London: Edward Arnold, 1925.

1st Edition. First edition, fourth impression, stated. (19 x 12.7 cm) [ 8], 152 pp. An early edition of the third popular short story collection by M. R. James, a brilliant collection of ghosts stories. Bound in publisher's cloth binding (grey buckram) with iconic blue spiderweb design. Pages bright with scattered and expected spots. Overall VERY GOOD. MB439/B3

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Elliott O'Donnell. Animal Ghosts. London: William Rider and Son, 1913.

 

(200 x 140 mm) pp. 302. Bound in blue publisher's cloth with black cat and house stamped and title and author in gilt on cover. Title et al in gilt on spine. Spine is sunfaded and top endband is chipped. Spotting to front and back covers. Fabric of back exterior hinge cracked. Top edge gilt but faded. Stamped as Presentation Copy.  Overall GOOD condition.

 

Spooky British stories about cats, dogs, horses, birds, farm animals and jungle animals.

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C.D. [Sophie Elizabeth De Morgan]. From Matter to Spirit. The Result of Ten Years' Experience in Spirit Manifestations. Intended as a Guide to Enquirers. With a Preface by A. E. London: Longman, Green, Longman, 1863.

 

First Edition (200 x 130 mm) pp. xlv, 388. Minor pencil lining in margins, but overall very clean text block. Errata slip included at beginning of text proper. Preface written by August de Morgan, mathematician and husband of author, Sophie Elizabeth de Morgan. Bookseller stamp, S. F. Occult Book Co.  to title page. Later owner's early 20th century binding in red half calf with marbled boards, and colored silk end bands, no binders stamp. Leather has discolored fly leaves. Overall VERY GOOD condition. MB1199

 

From Matter to Spirit (1863) is a landmark Victorian exploration of spiritualism, documenting ten years of firsthand encounters with séances, spirit manifestations, and psychic phenomena. Written with intellectual rigor rather than blind belief, it grapples seriously with evidence, skepticism, and the limits of scientific explanation. A fascinating primary source for collectors of occult history, 19th-century philosophy, and the cultural roots of modern paranormal inquiry.

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❧ Top-Tier Spooky Books ❧

 

Charles Mackay. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions (Vols. I-III). London: Richard Bentley, 1841.

 

FIRST EDITION. 3 vol. pp. 400; 406 + 2 p ads; 404. C&P. [π]4, B-Z8, 2A- 2C8; [π]4, B-Z8, 2A-2C8, 2D4 ; [π]4, B- Z8, 2A- 2C8, 2D2. Each vol includes a frontispeice (John Law, James I, and Count Cagliosteo, respectively), Vol. III includes two addition plates. Paracelsus (p. 97); Dr Dee (p. 114). Cover of vol. 1 somewhat loose, missing bottom spine panel, front fly leaf bifolium detatched but present. Red silk-like bookmarks. Covers of all three volumes show wear and chipping to spine, threadbear on some edges, scuffing to leather. Fly leaves and pastedowns foxed in all volumes, but text block very clean in all volumes. Dennistoun & Goodman 58; Kress C.5560; Zerden, pp. 77-8; not in Goldsmiths' or Mattioli. Externally Fair to Good; Internally GOOD to VERY GOOD. MB1216

 

Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841) is Charles Mackay’s enduring masterpiece—and one of the sharpest dissections of collective human folly ever written. Organized into National Delusions, Peculiar Follies, and Philosophical Delusions, the work ranges widely and irresistibly: tulip mania and early financial bubbles, alchemy and the quest for gold, crusades, witch hunts, dueling, fashion, and the strange intersections of belief, politics, and mass psychology.

 

Mackay provocatively argues that crowds are prone to irrational excess, while individual judgment remains the last refuge of reason. Few books have had such a long and influential afterlife: it has shaped popular psychology, economic thought, and investor lore for nearly two centuries. Frequently cited by economists and financiers, it has been praised by both The Financial Times and The New York Times as essential reading for understanding market manias and speculative bubbles.

 

A true cornerstone of Victorian intellectual history, the first edition of Mackay’s Extraordinary Popular Delusions is not only a landmark work of social criticism, but a book whose relevance has never dimmed—an essential acquisition for collectors of economics, psychology, and 19th-century thought.

 

By Charles Mackay, political and literary editor of the Illustrated London News and later a correspondent during the American Civil War, whose lucid prose and “passionate erudition” helped define Victorian journalism at its best.

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Johannes Greber. Communications with the Spirit World : Personal Experiences of a Catholic Priest. New York: John Felsburg, 1932.

 

Second edition (220 x 150 mm) pp. v, 432. Internally clean. Bound in textured purple publishers cloth with title in Gothic-style lettering in gilt. Inscribed by the author, Johannes Greber, in English, consistant with other examples of his signature.   Minor sun fade to top of binding. Overall VERY GOOD. MB1236

 

Johannes Greber (1874–1944) was a former Catholic priest whose life took a decisive and radical turn toward spirit communication in the early twentieth century, placing him among the most influential — and controversial — Christian spiritualists of his age. Ordained in Germany at the turn of the century, Greber served for years within the Church before a series of encounters with spirit phenomena in 1923 irrevocably altered his understanding of divine revelation and the afterlife.

 

Convinced that communication with the spirit world was not only possible but foundational to early Christianity, Greber abandoned his clerical office and emigrated to the United States, where he devoted the remainder of his life to the study, practice, and dissemination of spirit communication as a sacred science. Settling in New Jersey, he formed an independent prayer and healing circle and began recording what he described as direct instruction received through spirit intermediaries.

 

His most enduring work, Communication with the Spirit World of God, presents a systematic cosmology of the spirit realms, outlining the laws governing spirit beings, the mechanics of mediumship, and the role of humanity in a divinely ordered universe extending beyond the material world. Written as both testimony and instruction, the book positions spirit communication not as occult deviation, but as the lost inheritance of authentic Christianity.

 

Greber later applied the same spirit-guided methodology to his controversial translation of the New Testament, asserting that its meanings had been obscured over centuries and could only be restored through collaboration with higher spirits. While rejected by orthodox theologians, his works circulated widely among spiritualist, metaphysical, and esoteric communities, where they were read as revelatory texts bridging Christian doctrine and spirit knowledge.

 

Greber’s legacy endures as that of a visionary who crossed the threshold between Church and séance room, leaving behind a body of work that continues to challenge boundaries between faith, mediumship, and divine communication.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Sylvan J. Muldoon; Hereward Carrington. The Projection of the Astral Body. London: Rider & Co., 1929

 

(240 x 160 mm) pp. xli, 242. Photographic frontispiece of Muldoon, photographic plate of Carrington, plus 9 further plates illustrating astral projection. Bound in blue publisher's cloth with some splitting and fraying around the external hinges. Sun faded and foxed. Some mid-century pencil annotations and underlining. Overall GOOD condition.

 

Learn to be elsewhere with the masters of astral projection, Muldoon & Carrington.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Adin Ballou. An Exposition of Views Respecting the Principal Facts, Causes and Peculiarities involved in Spirit Manifestations. Boston: Bela Marsh, Publisher, 25 Cornhill. 1852.

 

(275 x 120 mm) pp. 256. Dark brown publishers binding, with gilt title on spine. Spine panel lifing exposing 19th century binding waste, endbands lacking, and foxing and discolouration throughout. Despite flaws a very nice copy of a particularly rare book on ghosts and their manifestations. It examines phenomena like rappings and mediums, aiming to authenticate these events while offering Christian, rational interpretations of their causes and messages. Overall GOOD condition. MB1170

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Adolphe D'Assier. Posthumous Humanity: A Study of Phantoms. London: George Redway, 1887.

 

(200 x 140 mm) xv, 360, 39 p of adverts, 1 p index. Bound in blue publisher's cloth. Minor bumping to edges. Title et al in gilt along spine. Interior very crisp and clean. With a slip overwriting publisher with New York Scribner and Welford 743-745 Broadway. Overall VERY GOOD condition.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Horace Leaf. Death Cannot Kill. London: Max Parrish, 1959.

 

(200 x 135 mm) pp. 208. Plates include spirit photography. Inscribed by the author on the title page "To Mrs. Goddard with the author's compliments. Horace Leaf 1959". DJ present, intact, not price clipped. Some chipping to top and spine. Bound in black publisher's cloth with title, author in gilt on spine. 20th century pencil notations on back pastedown. Overall VERY GOOD condition.

 

A lifetime among the spirits.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Evelyn Underhill. Lost Word. London: William Heinemann, 1907.

 

Presentation copy (19.5 x 12.5 mm) pp. 316.  Publisher's cloth boards with gilt  lettering and "Gothic Dawn" decoration. Title, author, and publisher on spine in orange. William Heinemann logo on back cover. Some spotting to back cover and some scuffing to decoration. Corners a bit bumped. Bottom corners of some pages around 177 a bit rough. Mild foxing throughout. Ownership inscription on flyleaf of Win Byer. Title page emboss-stamped with Presentation Copy. A solid copy of a desirable book. Overall GOOD condition. MB3317

 

Written before Evelyn Underhill's major works of Christian mysticism, the Lost Word (in concert with the Grey World and Column of Dust) is an unconventional, spiritual, and surreal work looking at the "lost word" as a symbol for the true name of God and the key to understanding the universe, utilizing themes of spiritual death, rebirth, and the pursuit of inner truth.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Edmund Gurney, Frederic W. H. Meyers, Frank Podmore. Phantasms of the Living. London: Rooms of the Society for Psychical Research, 1886.

 

FIRST EDITION, second issue as usual. Two vols, (230 x 165 mm) pp. lxxxiv, 573, [1]; xxvii, [1], 733, [1], with half-titles. Illustrations of phenomena throughout. Publisher's blue cloth binding with gilt title on cover and title/authors/vol on spine. Some scuffing on fore edges, some minor white spots to cover and spine.  Overall a VERY GOOD copy. MB1196

 

Containing much of the early work of the Society for Psychical Research, documenting over 700 cases studies of ghosts, and covering telepathy, hypnotism, dreams, hallucinations, &c.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

❧ Spooky Ephemera ❧

 

R. T. Maitland Scott, Jr. [editor]. True Mystic Science (Vol. 1, No. 3., Jan.  1939) . Minneapolis: The Continental News, 1938.

 

pp. 82. Some minor creasing along spine of front cover. Back cover pink toned illustration of Joan of Arc. Interior in very good condition. Three staple bound. Cover in red, yellow, black; illustrated throughout, black and white.

 

First volume of True Mystic Science, the short-lived fringe pulp magazine, which consists of 8 total volumes (November 1938 – July 1939). This issue features Joan of Arc, Blavatsky, Rasputin, ghost photography, and of course, ghosts.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

R. T. Maitland Scott, Jr. [editor]. True Mystic Science (Vol. 1, No. 4., March 1939) . Minneapolis: The Continental News, 1938

 

pp. 166. Some chipping to cover, separation of leaf from front to back cover (still very much intact and firm). Back cover pink toned illustration of woman casting a spell. Interior in very good condition, though some spotting in gutter of first page. Three staple bound. Cover in red, yellow, black; illustrated throughout, black and white.

 

First volume of True Mystic Science, the short-lived fringe pulp magazine, which consists of 8 total volumes (November 1938 – July 1939). This issue features psychometry, the claim that Washington was a psychic, Aleister Crowley, planetary predictions on the destiny of America, & ghosts.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

R. T. Maitland Scott, Jr. [editor]. True Mystic Science (Vol. 1, No. 1., Nov. 1938) . Minneapolis: The Continental News, 1938.

 

pp. 82. Some creasing and chipping to front cover, back cover blank-yellow and creased. Interior in very good condtion. Three staple bound. Cover in red, yellow, black; illustrated throughout, black and white.

 

First volume of True Mystic Science, the short-lived fringe pulp magazine, which consists of 8 total volumes (November 1938 – July 1939). This issue features "of its day" ethnography, handwriting analysis & palmistry, astrology, the third eye, & a $1,000 prize for a psychic experience contest.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Valdamar Valerian. The Leading Edge : Leading Edge International Research Journal (Issue no. 136). Yelma, WA: Leading Edge Research Group, 2000.

 

Issue no. 136. pp. 118. Side-stapled as issued.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor]. Crash Collusion #2. Austin, TX: Crash Collusion, 1995

 

pp. 19. A wild ride through lucid dreams, UFOs, conspiracies, altered states, psychedelics, ethnobotany, paranormal, weird sciences, sacred sites, shamanism, metaphysics, mind control... UFOs: Good or Evil? Hallucinogenic plants, the Marga Mystery Lights. Contributors: Paul Rydeen, Peter Breton, Ron Hale-Evans, Liam Brooks, Mike Thomas. Black and white, illustrated throughout. Just a cool 'zine. Overall VERY GOOD. MB1215

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor] Crash Collusion #3. Austin, TX: Crash Collusion [1995]

 

pp. 23 Another issue of Crash Collusion, a weird little 'zine offering Psychedelics, H.P. Lovecraft, UFOs, Reviews, HIGH WEIRDNESS and much more. Single staple bound, black and white, illustrated throughout. MB1256.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor] Crash Collusion #4. Austin, TX: Crash Collusion, [1995]

 

pp. 31. Yet another weird Crash Collusion, a zine promising Altered States, UFO abductions, Sex Magick, Psychedelics & Shamanism, Crop Circle & 'Mutes, Language & meaning, men in black, reviews and much more. Single stapled bound, black and white, illustrations throughout. MB1257

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor] Crash Collusion #5. Austin, TX: Crash Collusion [1995]

 

pp. 35 Crash Collusion, a weird Austin-based zine from the 90s, coming in hot with UFOs, LSD, and me, opium reveries, Conspiracies, Philip K. Dick's Mystical Visions, UFO contactees, H. P. Love Craft. Double staple bound, black and white, Illustrated throughout. MB1258

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor] Crash Collusion #6. Austin, TX: Crash Collusion, [1995]

 

pp. 42. Crash Collusion, A Quarterly Guide to the Fringe, a weirdo zine from Austin in the 90s. Bringing us the finest in: the Face on Mars, Psychedelic Cacti, UFO coverups, weird science, interview with Thomas Lyttle, black magick, the ultimate high, saucers, etc. Single staple bound, blue, black, and white, illustrated throughout. Overall VERY GOOD. MB1259

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor] Crash Collusion #7. Austin, TX: Crash Collusion, [1995]

 

pp. 47. Crash Collusion, getting a bit bigger now with a folded teal-toned cover, double staple bound. This issue features the WAR ON TOADS and Fortean UFOs, Psychedelics, Interviews with Michael A. Hoffman II, Philip K. Dick and Mind Control, Nazi occultism, conspiracies, dream prophesies, fringe science, the Elder Gods. Some scuffing to top corner, but overall VERY GOOD MB1260

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Wesley Nations [Editor] Crash Collusion #9. Berkeley, CA: Crash Collusion, [1995]

 

pp. 66 Crash Collusion has reached GLOSSY STAGE, with a glossy purple wrap around cover, double stapled, and moved to Berkeley, CA. Still offering up weirdo articles on DMT and the Water Spirit, mind control and black magic, Psychedelic shamanism, etc. Overall VERY GOOD condition. MB1261

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

❧ Literature & Pretty Publishers’ Bindings ❧

 

THACKERAY, William Makepeace. [GREGO, Joseph] Thackarayana. London: Chatto and Windus, 1875.

FIRST (SUPPRESSED) EDITION. (200 x 140 mm) pp. 492 + 24 p ads, dated Dec. 1874. Fore-edge foxed, but interior very clean. Embellished with many black and white illustrations throughout. Publisher’s cloth binding with black and gold vignettes and title. Minor bumping to end bands, previous bookseller’s notes on verso of front flyleaf , but overall in NEAR FINE condition. MB285

Provenance : Bookplate of John Brown, Marquess of Sligo.

The invitation to view a private library collection is the invitation to view the inner working’s of the curator/collector.

Upon the death of William Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair and journalist for Punch and other Victorian social touchstones, his world goods were auctioned off. Joseph Grego, however, took the opportunity to extract from Thackeray’s personal library a “selection of literary curiosities” which he compiled & titled Thackerayana. This collection included Thackeray’s accompanying sketches & remarks.

 

It also included a few copyright infringements (for use of excerpts) which saw the first edition of the book suppressed and reissued in 1898 with changes to the text.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

KINGSTON, William. Two Shipmates. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

 

(110 x 165 mm) pp. 128, 2 p publishers ads. School Board for London issued 1877. Half title. Full page colour frontispiece. Red publishers cloth binding with black decoration, and gilt title. One Shilling Series. SCK monograph.

 

"The story follows the lives of two young shipmates, Jack and Ben, who embark on a voyage across the vast oceans. From the very beginning, Kingston's vivid descriptions transport readers into a world of tall ships, raging waves, and dangerous encounters with pirates."

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

TWAIN, Mark.  A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. New York: Charles L. Webster. 1889.

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION (220 x 180 mm) pp. 575, [ii publisher ads]. Floral endpapers. Gift inscription from 1947 on front fly leaf. First edition, mix state issue but early: lacks half title on recto of frontispiece, lacks the s-shaped ornament between The and King on p. 59, has broken text on p. 72. Very minor wear to end-bands, minor scuffing to foredge, but otherwise NEAR FINE condition. MB422/A1

In part inspired by a dream, and in part inspired by reading the 15th century Le Morte d’Arthur, as many have done before him Mark Twain adapted the legends of King Arthur to reflect and comment on his own society.

Like the misty origins of the tales of King Arthur, the first issue of the first edition of A Connecticut Yankee is somewhat mysterious. Its original proportions are not known and there are three states that indicate priority: an s-shaped ornament on p. 59 that was later omitted; the last two lines of p. 72 appear with perfect and broken type; and only a few copies are recorded has having the half-title printed on the recto of the frontispiece. These markers, however, appear in random combinations and the confused state of these states is evident by their presence and absences in copies personally given by Twain for Christmas in 1889. Thus, the present copy is likely not a first state, but is certainly an early one.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

NEWTON, Richard. Rills from the Fountain. London: George Routledge [nd]

 

(105 x 155 mm) pp. 150, + 32 p publishers ads. Full page colour frontispiece. Red publishers cloth binding with black decoration and colour inset. Title in negative space gilt on spine.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

 

KNOX, Kathleen. Wildflower Win, The Journal of a Little Girl. London & Belfast: Marcus Ward & Co., 1876.

 

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

KINGSLEY, Charles and PATTON, J. Noel. The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby. Boston, T. O. H. P. Burnham, 1864.

 

FIRST EDITION (190 x 150 mm) pp. 310.  With illustrations on plates and as illustrated initials. Crimson buckram binding with vignette and gilded title. Gauffering. Staining on p. 32-33 suggesting a previous owner has put piece of paper between the leaves. Minor bumping to corners. No foxing. Overall VERY GOOD condition. MB377

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

[MOGRIDGE, George] Rural Pickings; or, Attractive Points in Country Life and Scenery. Illustrations by Absalon. London: Printed for W. Tegg & Co. 1846.

 

(170 x 115 mm) pp. xii, 222 + 2 p. Publisher’s ads. Colour frontispiece and four full page, colour illustrations (noticeable stub between x and xi where frontispiece is tipped in). Internally very bright, free of foxing. Publisher’s red cloth binding with gilt design and title on spine. Full gilt fore-edges. Somewhere to end bands and corners. Overall VERY GOOD condition.MB143

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

❧ Fine Bindings for Fine People ❧

 

[Bayntun Binding] John Timbs. Lives of Wits and Humourists. In Two Volumes. London: Richard Bentley, 1862.

 

FINE BINDING AND BESPOKE DETAILS

 

(185 x 120 mm) 2 vol. Vol I: pp. xiv, 396, signatures: A-Z8, AA-CC8, Vol II: pp. x, 392, signatures A-Z8, AA-BB8, CC4. Bound in fully calf with matching gilt stamped decorations on front covers and spine panels, title, author, and 'extra illustrated 1862' in gilt in panels. Gauffered turn ins and silk paste down and fly leaves. Signed Bayntun Binder, Bath, Eng. in gilt along bottom, signed Stewart Kidd, Cincinnati in gilt along top of interior front cover. Fore edges fully gilt. Brown silk-style book mark. Final page of Vol. I repaired (likely by Bayntun). Some occasional inoffensive spotting. Overall NEAR FINE condition.

 

This is a beautiful example of Bayntun's 20th century work, coupled with the innovation of adding in additional plates to illustrate the text. The additional plates have been gathered from 19th and late 18th century sources to "extra illustrate" the text.

 

Complete list of additional plates:

 

Vol I: Jonathan Swift (coloured plate) frontis; Dryden (copper plate, late 18th-early 19th c) 8; Alexander Pope (coloured plate, 1807) 56;  Isaac Newton (steel) 84; Richard Steele (tipped in on passe partout) 122; Cottage at Haverstock Hill (tipped in on passe partout) 156; Printed handwritten letter from Richard Steele (tipped in on passe partout) 156; Samuel Footeoote (tipped in on passe partout) 186; Oliver Goldsmith (coloured plate, 1809) 250; Dr. Johnson, Goldsmith, Boswell (bifolium) 306; Bonnel Thornton (steel plate) 354; George Colman (steel plate) 362.

 

Vol II: Sydney Smith (coloured plate, 1862) frontis; Brinsley Sheridan (steel plate) 1; Johnson (steel plate) 16; William Howey (steel engraving, 1836) 64; Charles James Fox (coloured plate) 80; George Canning (steel plate, 1893) 104; Ricardus Porson (copper plate) 138; Samuel Parr (steel plate) 164; Robert Nares (steel plate) 220; Henry Brougham 252; Theodore Edward Hook 282; James Smith (coloured plate) 346

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Walter Scott. Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field. By Walter Scott, Esq. Illustrated with Engravings, from the designs of Richard Westall, Esq. R.A.. London: John Sharpe, 1809.

 

FINE BINDING, SIGNED ON SPINE 'SIMIER R. DU ROI' - Rene Simier (1772-1843)

 

(220 x 140 mm) pp. 377, cxxviii. Half title; full title with illustrated vignette (London: Published by John Sharpe. Piccadilly, 1809); second full title, Fourth edition stated (Edinburgh: Printed by J. Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and company, Edinburgh; and William Miller, Albemarle-Street, and John Murray, London, 1808), Dedication, Advertisement, Contents, Canti I-VI, Notes to Canti. Published 7 January 1809 in Edinburgh. ssued 16 January in London (MC as a ‘New Edition’). 3000 copies.First title page from 1809 edition (Todd & Bowden, 28Dt), but text can be point-verified as the 1808 4th edition (Todd & Bowden, 28Af)--  double title page noted by Todd & Bowden (93). Fine binding by Simier executed in full purple morocco with gilt and blind tool stamp decorations on covers. Raised panels on spine with gilt decoration and author, title, and binder's mark. Green silk-like book mark. Fore edges completely gilt. Green paper pastedowns and flyleaves with gilt turn ins and edges. Hinges worn with leather exposed, edges somewhat bumped. Discoloration due to sun fading to approximately top half of front cover. Effaced bookplate on front end papers. Overall GOOD condition.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Washington Irving. Tales of a Traveller. London & New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1895.

 

2 Volumes (230 x 160 mm). Unsigned fine binding, 3/4 blue morocco with title & author in gilt, raised spine panels. Marbled pastedowns and fly leaves and Normandy France vellum marked end papers. Each page embellished with illustrated border in black and sepia. Illustrations from various sources throughout with identifications on tissue gards. Sunfaded on spine, edges significantly bumped. Overall GOOD condition.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Thomas Moore. Odes of Anacreon. Translated into English Verse, with Notes. In Two Volumes. Second Edition. London: J. and T. Carpenter, 1802.

 

GEORGIAN-ERA HIDDEN FORE-EDGE PAINTING. TWO VOL. BOUND AS ONE. SECOND EDITION.

 

(210 x 145 mm ) pp. xv, 163; 148 + adds. Single plate of author, Ανακρεον, engraved by H. Richter. Binding appears to be unmarked fine binding. 19^th century red morocco, with stamp and gilt decoration. Raised panels with title in gilt on spine. Gauffered edges, blue silk-style pastedown and fly leaves. Silk-style colored endband threads. Text in English and Greek. Unsigned hidden fore edge painting depicting a horse drawn carriage through English pastoral country-side with figure standing behind carriage. Tones somewhat muted, perhaps to evoke autumn. Binding is worn, particularly to hinges. Bumped corners. Lacks Thomas Moore frontispiece. Overall GOOD condition.

 

A beautiful early 19^th century piece of book art, marrying fine binding with a hidden foredge painting and the elegance of the hand press era under the auspices of the Greek to English translation by Irish poet, Thomas Moore (1779–1852). Moore follows the Vatican manuscript of the poetry of Anacreon (573-495 BC), the translation opening with a poem by Moore in Greek.

The hidden fore edge painting depicts a carriage drawn through the English countryside, putting the grim and dirty realities of British Industrialism far from the mind of the viewer. Within this moment of pastoralism, four horses draw a luxurious carriage, attended by four men, with another figure standing behind the carriage.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

Walter Scott. Miscellaneous Poems. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable & Co., 1820. First edition.

bound with

Walter Scott. The Bridal of Triermain, and Harold the Dauntless. Two Poems. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable & Co., 1819. Fourth edition.

 

HIDDEN FORE EDGE PAINTING (220 x 145 mm) pp. 180 (Misc. Poems); pp. xii, 319 (Bridal). Two works bound as one. Bound in red morocco (unsigned fine binding?) with stamping and gilt decorations. Raised panels on spine, with Miscellaneous Poems by Scott, London 1820 to spine. Hidden fore edge painting depicting Norham Castle. Bookplate of W. T. Freke Farewell. Hinges of spine rubbed and front cover splitting. Some darker discoloration to bottom fore edge corner of front cover and to back cover. Some staining to bottom corner of front fly leaf. Overall GOOD condition.

 

Two works by Walter Scott bound together as one in this unsigned fine binding.

 

The hidden fore edge painting depicts the ruined castle of Norham in Northumberland with two ships in the foregrounded River Tweed. The 12^th century castle played an important part during the Scottish bids for independence throughout the Middle Ages, but by the 16^th century, it was left to fall into ruin. J. M. W. Turner produced the first painting of this castle in 1797 and returned many times to paint ethereal evocative paintings of the ruins, which brought the castle back into the public eye and popularity. The castle’s Gothic aesthetic coupled with its significance in the struggle for Scottish independence was surely on the mind of the artist as he painted this scene on to this compellation of two of Walter Scott’s works.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

❧ History & Politics ❧

[SHELTON, Maurice]. An Historical and Critical Essay on the True Rise of Nobility, Political and Civil, From the First Ages of the World, thro the Jewish, Grecian, Roman Commonwealths, &c. down to this Present Time, to which is Annex’d The Order of Precedency; with other Curious Things: Chiefly extracted from a Valuable Manuscript, write by an Herald. With A Compleat Index to the Whole. London: Printed for C. Rivington, M.DCC.XVIII [1718].

FIRST EDITION (195 x 125mm) pp. vii,[1],179,[21]. Penmark on title page, occasional browning. Contemporary card binding. Overall in VERY GOOD condition. MB196/A2

ESTC T89512.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

THAYER, John. Controversy between the Rev. John Thayer, Catholic missionary, of Boston, and the Rev. George Lesslie, Pastor of a church, in Washington, New-Hampshire. Philadelphia: Printed by Richard Folwell, no. 33, Arch-Street, 1795.

(160 x 105 mm) pp. 32. Signatures 1, [pi]4, B-D4, 1. Coallated and complete with 19th century fly leaves. 19th century binding in pasteboard with fabric spine. Paper title placard in center of front cover board; paper spine wrapper with library shelf numbers. Spine in delicate condition with some scuffs to gutter side foredge of binding. While binding is fragile, interior text itself is in notably NEAR FINE condition. MB612/B2f

ESTC no.: W14258

Provenance:  Bookplate on pastedown of Franc com a Thun Hohenstein Tetschen; red rubber stamp on verso of title page of Tetschner Bibliotek.

About the Text & Historical Figures:

John Thayer (1755–1815) was the first New England-native ordained as a Roman Catholic priest. A Yale-educated Congregationalist minister and Revolutionary War chaplain, Thayer converted to Catholicism in 1783 while in Rome, crediting his change of faith to miracles. He studied for the priesthood in Paris and was ordained in 1789. Upon returning to Boston, he opened a small chapel on School Street, but soon left to serve Catholics in Virginia and Kentucky. His career was uneven, due largely to his erratic and combative temperament. In 1803, he returned to Europe, settling in Limerick, where he found greater ministerial success. After his death in 1815, his estate funded the first convent in New England which was later destroyed by anti-Catholic rioters in 1834.

About the Provenance:

Prince Franz Anton von Thun und Hohenstein (1847–1916) was a high-ranking Austro-Hungarian nobleman who served as governor of Bohemia and briefly as Austria’s prime minister (Minister-President) at the end of the 19th century. His career reflected the internal conflicts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially the growing tension between German and Czech national movements. He supported greater rights for Czechs, which made him unpopular among German-speaking elites and ultimately cost him his position. His politics, personality, and personal life (including rumored affairs with actresses) made him both a political lightning rod and a colorful figure in turn-of-the-century Central Europe.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

 

[VAUGHN, Benjamin]  Letters, on the subject of the concert of princes, and the dismemberment of Poland and France. (first published in the Morning Chronicle between July 20, 1792, and June 25, 1793.) With corrections and additions. By a calm observer. [ The second edition.] London : printed for G. G. & J. Robinson, Paternoster-Row, M.DCC.XCIII. [1793]

 

An ephemeral & contemporary look at the European struggles that would haunt the Continent (& world) for centuries.

In the long march of history, the 18th century set up a lot of pins, poised to fall in the subsequent two centuries, culminating (arguably) with World War I. In this second edition of “Letters, on the Subject of the Concert of Princes, and the Dismemberment of Poland and France,” published the same year as the first, a Calm Observer (ie Benjamin Vaughan) defends revolutionary rights, and, among other radical ideas, condemns the attacks on Poland and France. He also uses his pseudonym as a Calm Observer to criticize William Pitt (the younger).

Vaughan was instrumental in drafting the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War between the newly-founded America and the well-established Great Britain. Vaughan’s interest in politics helped foster a friendship with another important American Benjamin: Mr Franklin. Ultimately Vaughan immigrated to America where legend has Jamaica Plain (a suburb of Boston) is named to reflect his island home.

The book itself is the fact it’s not in a fine or even nice binding. It’s in a work-a-day, contemporary paper-board binding which tells the history of the intended, nearly-ephemeral circulation of this material. Bound just enough to keep the gatherings together and the paper protected, this item was the news-channel of its day. In fact, the first publication of this material was in a serial through the Morning Chronicle, between July 1792 and June 1793. A reader at some point (possibly the 19th century when such things were particularly in vogue) has used the book to press flowers and leaves.

ESTC T76534

Copies in the British Isles clustered in Oxford, the BL, John Rylands, National Trust, and UCL.

❧ Mobilis Books ❧

Maundrell, Henry. A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, At Easter A. D. 1679. The Fourth Edition to which is now added an Account of the Author’s Journey to the Bank of Euphrates at Beer, and to the Country of Mesopotamia. Oxford: Printed at the Theatre, MDCCXXI [1721].

(200 x 135 mm) pp. x, 1-145, [7], 1-10. The account has separate pagination but the register is continuous: a2, b4, A-U4, X1. Plates on pp. 1, 21, 22,  51, 54, 114, with seven folding plates for p. 135. Engravings within text on pp. 37, 77.  Wants frontispiece of “The Prospect of Aleppo.”  Contemporary Cambridge panel binding, in full leather, with modern intervention along the spine. Bookplate of General Meredith Read, Cross of the Order of the Redeemer, FSA on pastedown. Bookplate of Judge John M. Read, LLD, Philadelphia. Ownership marking on second (original) fly leaf of W. Robinson 1738.  Overall VERY GOOD condition despite lack of frontispiece and spine repair. MB597/B3 ESTC T100588; Cox 219

About the Book & Author:

Henry Maundrell’s A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem is a landmark in English travel literature, offering a precise and richly detailed account of the Levant from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. First published in 1703, Maundrell’s narrative is remarkable for its observational clarity, describing landscapes, ancient ruins, and religious sites with a level of detail rare in European travel writing of the period.

This Fourth Edition (1721) preserves his descriptions of the Holy Land, the ruins of Baalbek, the Dead Sea, and other key locations, alongside practical notes on local customs, architecture, and pilgrimage routes. Eager for travel, Maundrell joined the English Factory in Aleppo as Chaplain. He approaches writing about  his subject with both curiosity and methodical precision, making this work as much a geographical and archaeological study as a personal travelogue.

 

About the Provenance:

This particular copy of A Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem carries a distinguished provenance, having been owned by two prominent figures in American legal and diplomatic history: John Meredith Read Sr. and his son, J. Meredith Read Jr. Their ownership of this book ties it to a legacy of intellect, scholarship, and international engagement spanning law, politics, and diplomacy.

John Meredith Read Sr. (1797–1874) was a towering figure in 19th-century American law. As Chief Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, he played a critical role in shaping constitutional law, particularly in cases concerning civil liberties and state authority. A man of deep intellectual pursuits, Read Sr. was known for his expansive personal library, filled with works of history, law, and exploration. His ownership of Maundrell’s travelogue suggests a keen interest in historical geography and the broader world beyond the courtroom.

His son, J. Meredith Read Jr. (1837–1896), inherited not only his father’s name but also his scholarly inclinations and global perspective. A diplomat and historian, Read Jr. served as U.S. Consul General in France and later as Minister to Greece, deeply engaging with European and Near Eastern affairs. Given his fascination with classical antiquity—he was instrumental in preserving historical sites and advocating for archaeological research—Maundrell’s firsthand account of the Levant would have been particularly relevant to his interests.

This book, passing from father to son, represents more than a mere travelogue; it is a tangible link between two men whose lives were dedicated to law, diplomacy, and the intellectual exploration of history and place. Their ownership imbues this edition with an added layer of significance, connecting 18th-century Middle Eastern travel with 19th-century American statesmanship.

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Abduction of Maria Glenn : The of Trial James Bowditch and Nine Others at the Suit of the King, and on the Prosecution of George Lowman Tuckett, Esq. for Conspiracy, Assault, and False Imprisonment. At the Late summer Assizes for the County of Dorset, July 25, 1818. Before Mr. Justice Park and a Special Jury. Taken from the Short hand Notes of Mr. Richardson. London: Printed for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy; 47, Paternoster-Row, [1818].

(228 x mm) pp. viii, 136. Disbound. A4, B-I8, K4. Manuscript along fore edge (likely previous owner’s descriptive collection title). Final page loose but attached. Some spotting to title page, but interior clean. Overall GOOD condition. MB458/A2

On September 25th, 1817, The Taunton Courier announced the elopement of Ms Maria Glenn, “a young West Indian lady of 17, entitled to a very large property on her coming of age,” with “Mr. J. B.,— a young man about 24 years of age.” The newspaper unfolds the whole story— whooping cough compelled the respectable barrister to move his children and ward, Maria, to nicer air. Here, Maria met Mr. J. Bowditch; they eloped and were discovered. Maria professed her for Mr. J. B.; however, wanted to wait until she came of age, and “some slanders of the belle passion [were] affirmed (though on the part of the ladies we protest against the heresy).”

The newspaper article, however, was shot down by Maria’s uncle and guardian, who wrote that every word was untrue. In fact, Maria claimed to have been abducted and forcibly married to James Bowditch— to make him the legal owner of her fortunes. As the case grew in notoriety in Georgian England, the press steered public opinions and ultimately, Maria was arrested for perjury and forced into exile.

The case became notorious and the truth is still unclear. This trial inspired Naomi Clifford’s 2016 novelization of the events, The Disappearance of Maria Glenn: A True Life Regency Mystery.

Part narrative, part court stenography, this 1818 trial record is part of the media frenzy that stoked the Georgian interest in this abduction/elopement case.

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[Perceval, John, 2nd Earl of Egmont (1711-1770)]. A Genuine Copy of the Tryal of J---- P-----l, Esq. etc. Commonly called E---- of E---. London Printed for R. Freeman, near Ludgate [1749].

(205 x 125 mm) pp. 52. In usual disbound state, lacks half title. B-G4, H2. MB459/A2

ESTC No. T144606

Full title: A Genuine Copy of the Tryal of J----- P------l, Esq; &c. Commonly Call'd, E----- of E-------. The Reputed Author of a Pamphlet, Entituled, An Examination of the Principles, &c. Of the Two B-----rs. Try'd on Wednesday the 22d of February, At the Old-Bailey. For Several High Crimes and Misdemeanours. On a Special Commission of Oyer and Terminer. Directed to the Right Honourable the Lord Chief Justice Truth, The Lord Chief Baron Reason, And Mr. Justice Honesty. Taken in Short-hand by a Barrister at Law, And Revis'd and Publish'd by Order of the Judges.

A sharp, anonymous satire targeting John Perceval, Earl of Egmont—pamphleteer, politician, and a vocal thorn in the side of the Pelham brothers. In this delightfully theatrical send-up, Perceval is dragged before the mock tribunal of Lord Chief Justice Truth, Lord Chief Baron Reason, and Mr. Justice Honesty to face charges of "high crimes and misdemeanours" (i.e., publishing a pamphlet too spicy for the establishment’s taste). The verdict? Guilty, of course.

Published in the thick of 1749’s political pamphlet wars, this fictional trial responds to Perceval’s attacks on Henry Pelham and his brother, the Duke of Newcastle. A rare surviving relic of 18th-century political snark, complete with redacted names, scathing wit, and a jury with a foregone conclusion.

One of two issues published the same year—this being the more expansive version. ESTC T144606.

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An Eleanor Roosevelt-centered Archive of Photos: 1880s; 1903/4; mid-1950s

 

Caribbean Islands, Florida, Western U.S.(?) and other locations, ca. 1880s; 1903/4;  and mid-1950s

 

 General Description:

1 letter from Pare Lorentz Associates; 1 85 x 85mm B  and W (some sepia toning); 37 85 x 85mm B  and W (some sepia toning); 3 85 x 85mm B  and W ; 85 x 85 photos with decorative borders (mid 1950s) ; 1 120 x 175 mm sepia photo; 1 90 x 130 sepia toned oval photo; 1 60 x 40 mm photo; 1 210 x 130 sepia toned and mounted photo; 38 295 x 95 panoramic photos. 86 Items in Total.

 

This Roosevelt archive constitutes three moments in time for the Roosevelt family during the height of their importance in the US political and social landscape, centred around First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. First, we have a private glimpse at Eleanor’s parents. An oval portrait of Elliot Roosevelt (1860-1894), Eleanor’s father, was taken in Abingdon, VA. Likely, this photo was taken in the last year of his life, as he had moved to Abingdon after the death of his wife and son. A smaller portrait, suffering crinkling, depicts Anna Hall Roosevelt (1863-1892), Eleanor’s mother. According to her family, Eleanor kept these photographs of her parents in her bedroom.

 

Next, we have the documentation of Eleanor’s absence as Sara Delano Roosevelt, her soon-to-be-mother-in-law, takes Franklin around the Caribbean in 1903 or 1904, “when she was trying to lure him away from Eleanor,” as notable Roosevelt-documentarian Pare Lorentz put it in his letter to Hyde Park regarding these same photos. Pare’s letter regarding these photos, dated February 22, 1949, is now housed in the FDR Presidential Library  and Museum. We’re looking at a set of 75 black and white square and panorama photos, depicting a tour of locations identified in Saint Augustine, Miami, Havana (Cuba), Willemstad (Curaçao), Spanishtown (Jamaica), Nassau (Bahamas), and possibly showing construction of the Panama Canal.  The letters between Pare and Hyde Park catalogue some of these same photos that were reproduced for the Library including “bathing suit group on beach,” “pix [sic] of natives, of scenery, and one possible shot of FDR back,”, “outdoor eating shot - looks like SDR,” “numerous naval vessels,” “wonderful bathing suit pic but no indication of any Roosevelt in it - period piece,” and “1 pix [sic] of SDR on hotel porch.” 

The two letters, dated 2/22/1949 and 11/17/1949,  to and from Pare Lorentz and Hyde Park, that are currently housed in the FDR Library and Museum, are followed up within this archive by a correspondence from the Pare Lorentz office signed by Jacqueline Bernard, noting the receipt from Elliot Roosevelt (son of FDR and Eleanor) of 27 or 30 loose pictures and four albums for reproduction by the Roosevelt Library on December 13th, 1949. Thanks to architectural clues, we know largely where these photos were taken. As Pare notes, these pictures are unlabelled, making them rife with opportunity to discover new details about who was on this Caribbean trip and to piece together the journey that FDR and his mother made before his marriage to Eleanor and the reconciliation between mother- and daughter-in-law.

 

The final moment we have within this archive is an intimate glimpse of Eleanor in the 1950s. It is nearly 10 years after her husband’s death and we see Eleanor out west, with a mid-1950s date suggested by the Kodak stereoscope film type. These photos may have been taken during her Autumn trip in 1954 to Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, which she writes about in her news column, My Day. These photos, both significant as they are and significant to future understanding of the Roosevelt’s lives, comes through the legacy of Eleanor and FDR’s third child, Elliot, and was deaccessioned through his heirs. Though some of them were reproduced for the FDR Presidential Library, they remain unpublished.

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❧ Medieval Manuscripts & In Situ Binding Waste ❧

 

14th century Medieval Binding Waste on 19th century Saint Catherine Hagiography and Student Notebook

 

(150 x 90 mm) pp. 186 unnumbered pages; numbered 1-4 from back. Text in Latin with a few lines in Dutch. At least three 19th century hands in cursive. 19th century text appears on pp. 9; 12-79;  82-85; 182-186. Rest blank.

 Bound in 14th century antiphon manuscript leaf on parchment, likely Dutch, with 4-line staves and musical notation. Text in Latin using Gothic textualis. One initials tipped in red, one executed in blue. Some darkening towards spine, perhaps due to the preparation of parchment (i.e. the hairside forms the cover, and the darkened area may be from the cow's coloration). Overall VERY GOOD condition.

 

Typically medieval binding waste appears on printed material from the late 15th into the 17th centuries. It is unusual to see a piece of medieval manuscript as part of the binding of a 19th century book.

 

The limp vellum binding, composed of a fragment of 14th century antiphon or gradual, presents the tab of Pierre-Joseph Hanicq (1753-1828), an important printer-bookseller based in Malines (Mechelen), Belgium. Hanicq was well-known for publishing numerous religious and classical works.

 

This little notebook was a product of his enterprise-- taking 'scrap' vellum and using it to create a visually attractive cover for a blank notebook. A small hole pierced through Pierre-Joseph's tab on the flap suggests that there was originally a thong to act as a tie, closing the book.

 

The blank pages, textured with chain and lay lines of linen-based paper, are curiously oriented-- with the first page upside down to the bulk of the written text. This first page contains a short guide to the Latin abbreviations adopted by the writer, who may be a C. J. F. Rigouls (perhaps Jean Filip Rigouls?).

 

The first sixty-eight pages of 19th century text are a paraphrase of the hagiography, or life, of St. Catherine of Alexandria, who used her exceptional knowledge of Classical literature, including Plato and Homer, to convert pagans before her martyrdom. The 19th century hand concludes their work: Iam finem letigi quem dudum corde pelivi. [Now I have reached the end of the journey which I long sought in my heart] dating it 1819.

 

The next hand is a student writing in Dutch and Latin. In Latin, the student expresses that their teacher will be pleased by their responses. The Dutch is an archaic form of Early Modern Dutch possibly from around Brabant–Flanders region.

 

The final section begins at the end of the book and has been written upside down. It is in a 3rd 19th century hand and consists of numbered student-like questions such as 'What is rhetoric? What is debate? and, Man is a rational animal, Animal is a rational genus. But what are the differences of the definition?' (An interesting pre-Darwinian musing.)

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Tancredus Bononiensis - Ordo Judicarius (second half of 13th c.)

[Fragment from Tancredus Bononiensis (1185- ca. 1236), Ordo Judiciarius, Parte. 3, Tit. 10-13]

 

Italy, second half of 13th century.

 

(190 x 140 mm) One partial folio fragment on vellum, evidently used as binding waste. Latin Southern Gothic Textualis, written in incaustum ink, with flaking, two columns of approximately 42 lines of text with losses from binding. Titles included on this folio are: De testium publicatione (T. 10); De reprobatione testium (T.11); Quibus testibus fides adhibeatur et quanta (T. 12); De exhibitione instrumentorum et fide ipsorum (T. 13). Rubrated heading on verso with 5 line rubricated initial with ornamental blue penwork. Ruled simply in graphite. Script incorporates significant use of scribal abbreviations. Roundness of letterforms, uncrossed style of Tironian et with left-hand side curve downward, and q with subscript bar for qui suggest Italian origin. Abrasion on verso, lesser abrasion on recto. Three cords (raffia material) from later-stage binding, providing losses to text. Provenance: Bernard Rosenthal 1964. The Marvin L. Colker Collection, London (MS 260).

 

About the Author:

 

Tancredus Bononiensis (ca. 1185–1230/36) was a Dominican friar and canonist, often confused with his contemporary Tancred Tancredi. Likely of German origin, he studied under John of Wales at Bologna and became a leading figure in early 13th-century canon law. His most influential works include a gloss on the Compilatio tertia, the Summa de matrimonio—which shaped the thought of Raymond of Penyafort—and the Ordo iudiciarius (completed 1216), a foundational procedural manual widely disseminated in Latin, German, and French. A supporter of papal infallibility and the Humiliati, Tancred later joined the Dominican Order, receiving the habit in Bologna between 1218 and 1220. He served as prior in Rome and taught figures such as Bernard of Botone.

 

Due to the lack of standardized names in the pre-Modern period, as well as the international importance of the author, we also find his works listed under: Tancred (LC); Tancredus Bononiensis; Tancred of Bologna; Tancredi da Bologna; Tancredi da Bologna; Tankred von Bologna; Tancrède; Tancred of Lombardy.

 

About the Text:

 

Tancred’s “Ordo iudiciarius” is a procedural manual that became a foundational text for ecclesiastical legal procedure. It provided a structured and methodical approach to court processes, influencing later developments in both canon and civil law. His writing aimed to clarify and teach legal procedures, not merely record them. His work demonstrates a pedagogical clarity intended to guide both students and practitioners of canon law. The “Ordo iudiciarius” was widely circulated and remained influential for centuries, with its clear articulation of procedure and logical structure earning it a place in university curricula and ecclesiastical courts.

 

Tancred’s approach is marked by logical organization and precision, reflecting the scholastic method that was becoming dominant in the legal faculties of universities like Bologna.

 

In sum, Tancred played a pivotal role in shaping medieval legal practice through a methodical and educational treatment of procedural law, particularly in canon law, and his works remained authoritative well into the later Middle Ages.

 

This leaf contains a fragment of Part 3, Titles 10-13:

On the publication of witnesses (T. 10);

On the rejection of witnesses (T.11);

To which witnesses is faith to be given and how much (T. 12);

On the exhibition of instruments and their faith (T. 13).

 

The text of this section follows along the printed edition: Pilii, Tancredi, Gratiae Librei de iudicorum ordine. Gottingae: [Hrsg.:] Freiderc Bergmann, 1842, pp. 240-250.

 

About the Manuscript:

 

The round aspect of the script suggests an Italian origin, which is confirmed by palaeographic clues, such as the uncrossed Tironian et (an abbreviation for and) with a left-hand curve on the bar and qui abbreviated as q with a subscript bar.

 

This manuscript was penned likely shortly after Tancred’s death in the 1230s, no later than the late 13th century.

 

Other roughly contemporary examples of this work can be found in Cambridge (UL MS Add. 3424), Yale (Marston MS 228), Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (ms. 3984 and ms. 5217),  Seville, Biblioteca Capitular y Columbina (07-3-37), and Bulle, Musée gruérien (shelfmark 384).

 

The condition of the fragment contributes to our understanding of its post-production live. The three bands of twine, the abrasion, the unusual folding— all point to the use of the fragment as a bit of binding waste, a common re-use for manuscripts in the later Middle Ages and Early Modern period.

 

About the Provenance:

 

The storied provenance of this fragment sees its journey from one important collection to another: from Bernard M. Rosenthal via the 1964 sale to the University of Virginia Professor of Classics, and noted palaeographer, Marvin Colker.

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What To Do About Your Lust & Other People's Shipwrecks : A leaf from Angelo Carletti de Chivasso - Summa de casibus conscientae (1495)

 

Angel de Clavasio [Angelo Carletti de Chivasso] . Summa de casabas conscientae. Venezia [Venice]: Georgius Arrivabene, 2 May 1495.

 

ISTC ia00726000

 

Double-sided single leaf on paper, fol. 252. Octavo (178 x 115 mm).  44 lines, Gothic letter, double columns. Section numbers, 10-13 along sides of columns, quire signature Y4 in footer of recto. Some staining towards edges. Overall VERY GOOD condition.

 

A rare work by Angelo Carletti di Chivasso (1411-1495), an important theologian of the Order of Friars Minor.  Titled the Summa de Casibus Conscientiae, and often called the Summa Angelica, after Angelo himself, contains  659 articles to constitute a ‘theological dictionary.’ First published in 1486, with many further editions until 1520, when it was burned by Martin Luther.

 

This particular leaf, f. 252, starts out spicy, with the prescript for how to deal with confessions of carnal love and the sin of lust.

“Afterwards, you should question him about the sin of lust. And if he says that he sinned with a woman (if he is male), or a man (if she is female), you should only inquire first whether they were unmarried or married, related by blood or affinity, or in religious orders, so that you may know what kind of lust it was, and from this determine what sort of sin of lust it is that you are dealing with.”

 

If the carnal love was not in the ‘appropriate vessel,’ just move on. Don’t ask which vessel, just find out how often it took place, and if it started in the appropriate vessel. Could the sin haven been avoided? Did it happen in a church? If the sin was committed alone & voluntarily, the details you need are, “whether he desired to do evil with another person, or whether he made efforts toward such things, and who that person was—whether unmarried or related by kinship, etc.”

The rest of the passage is less sexy, but does direct you to the appropriate passages for dealing with those who have, for example, stolen from a shipwreck.

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APIAN, Peter. La Cosmographia de Pedro Apiano, corregida y añadida por Gemma Frisio, Medico y Mathematico. La manera de descrivir y situar los Lugares, con el uso del Anillo Astronomico, del mismo Auctor Gemma Frisio. El sitio y descripcion de las Indias y Mundo Nuevo, sacada de la Historia de Francisco Lopez de Gomara, y de la cosmographia de Ieronymo Girava Tarragonez. En Anvers. Por Juan Bellero al Aguila de Oro. Con privilegio de su M. D.LXXV. [1575].

 

Second Spanish edition. (235 x 170) ff  [2], 68, [14] . Contemporary or near contemporary limp vellum binding with manuscript title and date on spine. Some ca. 17th c. binding waste from La vita di Maria Vergine imperatrice by Lucrezia Marinelli. Early owner’s notation in front and back of binding. Two lead clasps and string fasteners original to binding. Embellished with XX woodcuts and 5 volvelles (4 with moveable parts) to verso of folios 8, 11, 53 and recto of 30 (lacks moveable part, but moveable part not present in digital comperables). String constitutes moveable part on fol. 9v. Historiated and inhabited initials throughout. Globe woodcut on title page. Signature: A-I⁴ L-Y⁴

 

Lacks double-paged map (K signature). As noted above, possibly one volvelle lacks moving parts (though this may be the native condition of this edition). Cracking of vellum on spine. Browning on final several pages. Minor spotting throughout expected with age. Binding held loosely by end band sewing stations (acts more as a wrapper).

 

Palau 13809; Sabin 1756; Alden 575/2; Peeters-Fontainas 62; Shirley 96; LeClerc Bibliotheca Americana 39; Van Ortroy 55.

 

Notes:

 

The important second Spanish edition of the Cosmographia by Petrus Apianus (1495-1552)— handbook to (armchair) explorers and textbook to Renaissance scholars.

 

The German Peter Bienewitz, better known by his Latinized name Peterus Apianus, supplied the European audience, thirsty for knowledge about the New World and the methods of navigation propelling the Age of Exploration, with what they wanted. The work became so popular it was translated, originally, into three vernacular languages (Spanish, French, and Dutch) and later into a total of 14 languages with 45 editions produced. Why was the work so popular? A powerful combination of details about the New World and the ability to put the tools of exploration into the hands of the reader.

 

Originally published in 1524 (and in the scientific language of Latin), Apianus’ first masterwork, “Cosmographicus Liber,” provided readers with an understanding of cosmography (that which concerns the heavens) and geography (that which concerns the earth). The work provides theoretical explanations of longitude, latitude, the Zodiac, the movement of planets and stars, and time. It also provides the means to practically solve these problems by way of calculations and use of the moving paper instruments based on Ptolemaic principals— the famous volvelles, also called Apian Wheels. While Ptolemy’s works had been used since the Medieval period by way of Arabic translation and preservation of the text during a time when Greek literacy was uncommon in the West (see here for an example of 13th century Ptolemy text), Peter Apian’s wheels made the theoretical practical.

 

This copy is the second edition (1575) of only two Spanish editions. The first edition (1574) lacks the excerpts from Francisco Lopez de Gomara and Jeronimo Girava, as well as the description of Iceland. The editor, Gemma Frisius, was Apian’s student and he built upon geographical techniques, proposingg topographical triangulation, a new method of locating and mapping places which was only replaced in the 1980s by Global Positioning Systems (GPS)

 

The work begins with a defence of translating it into Spanish which to some, the preface notes, will seem useless and a vain curiosity; they will pretend that the science is diminished by pouring it into a vulgar language and making it public to all.

 

Part One, which includes three volvelles, explains theoretical aspects of measurement, astronomy, and cosmography, as well as giving the reader the technical instruments to solve these problems.

 

Part Two shifts to geography, describing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Here, the reader is told that America “tomo nombre de Americo Vespucio inventor della, y casi se podia llamar isla, por que la mar la rodea casi por todas partes” [took its name from Americo Vespucci, the one who found it, and it could almost be called an island because the sea surrounds it almost on all sides]. Additional details from the works of Doctor Francisco Lopez de Gomara and Señor Ieronymo Girava Tarragonez situate and describe “Las Indias o Mundo nuevo”, including the Yucatan,  Florida,  Peru, and Cuba. Famous expeditions, such as that of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Ferdinand Magellan, Ponce de Leon, and Hernando Cortes are described in varying detail.

 

The marks of provenance on this book speak to its circulation within Europe. The booklife begins in Antwerp in 1575. Examination of the moving parts of the volvelles reveals they are reenforced with printer’s waste— the ca. 1550s Dutch translation of Praxis rerum criminalium (De practijke of gebruyk zoo van civile als criminele zaken) by Joos de Damhouder (1507-1581). This work found particular importance in the contemporary witch trials. One of the sections which appears on the back of the volvelle on 8v states that “crimes, then, are to be punished so that the punishment of one may be the fear of many.” A chilling statement of civil law. The book’s life takes it to two more language spheres. Although there is very little marginal annotation, what is present is in Spanish, noting “los tropicos cancros y capricorno”, coupled with the notes on the terminal fly leaf with the legible “Los Hombres Notales”, followed by six lines of  16th century script, and the curious inscription of “Almoradux,” the transliterated arabic word for the spice marjoram. While the book likely stayed in Spain until the present day, the binding waste pasted to the flyleaves comes from the ca. 17th century Italian language text of Lucrezia Marinelli’s life of the Virgin Mary (originally published in 1602).

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Facetiae facetiarum, hoc est, ioco-seriorum fasciculus novus.  Pathopoli [Leiden] Apud Gelastinum Severum (Philippe de Croy), MDCXLV [1645].

(125 x 80 mm) pp. 301. Signatures: π2, A- M12, N7; D3 duplicated; R used for K3; L for M3. Engraved frontispiece with two scenes, title page, table of contents, and prelims. Ornaments and headpieces throughout. Roman, italic, Greek, and fraktur type. Contemporary (17th c.) boards, pen work decoration on spine and spine label. Boards stained, front hinge slightly cracked and end bands chipped, but binding still very firm. Full title includes: Exhibens varia variorum autorum scripta, non tam lectu jucunda et jocosa; amoena et amanda, quam lectu vere digna et utilia, multisve moralibus ad mores seculi nostri accomodata, illustrata et adornata. Ownership inscription: J. W. Pucci 1941 and an older pen on title page of John le Conte. Overall Very Good. MB561

Titled “Joke of Jokes, a new batch of serious Jokes,” this little book functions as the Animal House of the 17th century.  Each section parodies high academic language, but deals with college-level humour ranging from the Right to Drink, the lusts of students, and virgins.

“A collection of 18 mock theses, disputations, and other pieces of student humour with many passages in German & one entire piece in Hight & Low German (Hans Pumbsack)” — German Baroque Literature.

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[Joannes de Leit] . Hispania sive de regis Hispaniae Regnis et opibus Commentarius. Lund. Batav. [Leiden]: Ex officina Elzeviriana [Abraham Elzevir], 1629.

 

Second Edition. (110 x mm) pp. 520 [6] (collated and complete). Engraved title page, woodcut initials throughout, with ornamental head and tail pieces. 18th century full green roan, tan gilt-lettered spine label. Leather slightly scuffed along margins, two small worm holes at spine crown, later private library to front pastedown. Overall Very Good. MB578/A3

Willems 313; Palau 129562 (First edition as Sabin 38560)

Written by Joannes de Leit, the director of the Dutch West India Company nine years after his appointment, Hispania sive de regis Hispaniae Regnis et opibus Commentarius (1629) offers a detailed examination of the Spanish monarchy’s territorial holdings, economic resources, and political influence during the early 17th century, with particular attention to its vast territorial empire—including its holdings in the New World. Printed by the important Elzevir press in Leiden, the work reflects contemporary European perspectives on Spain’s role as a dominant global power.

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❧ Cooking & Etiquette ❧

 

Three Famous New Songs Called Effects of Whisky, the Valley Below, Larry o’Gaff. Paisley [Scotland]: Printed by and for G. Caldwell, Bookseller, 60 High Street. [ca. 1845]

 

(150 x 95 mm) p. 8. Two bifolium stitched together. Single woodblock device. Overall VERY GOOD to NEAR FINE condition.

This small chapbook was likely produced for Irish migrants who came to work for the shawl weaving and cotton spinning industry in the Scottish town of Paisley in the early 19th century.

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Anonymous. Le glorie dell'arti belle esposte nel Palazzo di Brera l'anno 1829. Milan : Presso Pietro e Giuseppe Vallardi, 1829.

 

(120 x 80 mm) pp. [2], 144, [4] with the calendar for the year 1830 with illustrations along top margin of the four final pages and with 16 steel engraved plates within the text and frontispiece. Bound in contemporary red Morocco with gilt stamped patterned borders and down spine. Half title printed with "Anno Quarto" title page dated 1829.

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Etrennes spirituelles. Desdiées aux dames,  contentant l’office Latin et François, suivant Le Nouveau Bréviaire  and Missel de Paris,  and de Rome. Ornées de dévises Chrétiennes. A Paris, Chez Theodore de Hansy, 1752.

 

(120 x 70 mm) 288 pp. Signatures: a8, b4, A8, B4, C8, D4, E8, F4, G8, H4, J8, K4, L8, M4, N8, O4, P8, Q4, R8, S4, T 8, V4, X8, Y4, Z8, Aa4.  Frontispiece and printer’s device, 16 illustrations. Addressed to the ladies, with initial formed of fishes (reused several times). Bound in contemporary red Morocco binding with gilt stamping decorations and gilt gauffers. Decoration in panels on spine as well as abbreviated title. Hand coloured 17th century fly leaves. Green silk bookmark. Bumping to top outer corner, some pages chipped but not affecting text. Ownership inscription (Angelina Manicot) on front fly leaf; owner has underlined and written two words on p. 9. Overall GOOD condition.

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Elbert Hubbard. Elbert Hubbard's Scrapbook. New York City: WM. H. Wise & Co. Roycrofters Distributers, 1923.

 

pp. 228, xii. Frontispiece of Hubbard. Title page in Orange and Black. Orange decorative initials throughout. Printed in style of medieval law (decretals) layout. Bound in brown card. Corner has been torn and repaired with tape and possibly a hardening glue.  A nice work of the Arts and Crafts movement. Overall FAIR to GOOD condition.

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The Poetical Works of Robert Burns. Pearl Edition. Glasgow: David Bryce  and Son, [n.d., at or before 1898]

 

MAUCHLINE BINDING; MINIATURE.

 

(90 x 60 mm) pp. 512. Armenian red clay fore edges. Mauchline binding featuring Burn’s Cottage vignette, ‘bought the cottage’, and 4 lines of poetry. Spine in red leather with gilt title, thistle motif, and author portrait. Decorated turn ins with minor chipping. Ownership inscription: From Burns Cottage, Ayr, Aug. 25th, 1898. Internally quite clean. Overall VERY GOOD condition.

 

Robert Burns’ time in Mauchline, Scotland, to the southwest of Glasgow, has been called his most creative period. The town also invented a novelty binding which is now commonly associated with the Scottish poet. Mauchline bindings, and Mauchline ware, is made by transferring an image onto a piece of wood, and then heavily varnishing it. In use since the 1830s, the technique was used for bindings, as seen in this example, as well as houseware such as cups and trinket boxes, usually for the amusement of tourists looking for Scottish-themed gifts. And in terms of Scottish-themed gifts, this collection of Poems and Songs includes Burn’s Scots-language “Address to A Haggis,” perhaps the most sincere panegyric to ever be written about the inside business of a cow or sheep.

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The Poetical Works and Letters of Robert Burns. Edinburgh: Gall and Inglis [n.d. circa 1880].

 

pp. xxxvi, 656pp, 6 plates, gilt gauffered edges, front inner hinge slightly cracked, otherwise clean and tight, Mauchline-ware binding using wood from the Douglas Room, Stirling Castle, gilt-decorated leather spine. Overall GOOD condition.

 

Robert Burns’ time in Mauchline, Scotland, to the southwest of Glasgow, has been called his most creative period. The town also invented a novelty binding which is now commonly associated with the Scottish poet. Mauchline bindings, and Mauchline ware, is made by transferring an image onto a piece of wood, and then heavily varnishing it. In use since the 1830s, the technique was used for bindings, as seen in this example, as well as houseware such as cups and trinket boxes, usually for the amusement of tourists looking for Scottish-themed gifts.

 

This Mauchline binding preserves wood from the Douglas Room of the Stirling Castle. The castle was originally built in the 12^th century and has since been part of at least eight sieges, including several during the Wars of Scottish Independence. It has been one of the most used of the Scottish Royal residences and was the seat of the coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots.

 

The Douglas Room, parts of which now bind this book, was the site of the murder of William, 8^th Earl of Douglas by King James II on February 22, 1492. The Earl refused to dissolve his alliance with Alexander Lindsay, Earl of Crawford and John of Islay, and upon this refusal, King James stabbed him 26 times and, according to the Auchinleck Chronicle, "struck out his brains with a pole ax.” His body was thrown out of a window. In the 19^th century, the room stood as a museum with a stain glass commemorating this event. However, in November of 1855, the room suffered heavy damage from a fire. Before the fire, it was said that the room was wooden paneled with regency furniture. This is one of the remaining panels from that storied room.

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Collectif. Petit paroissien bijou avec offices et prières suivis de la messe du mariage. Dijon: Pellion & Marchet Frères, Editeurs. A. Gerin (imprimerie Darantiere).

 

(80 x 55 mm) pp. 128. Frontispiece of Virgin Mary, tissue gaurd, title page with chromolithograph gold and silver decoration followed by second title page in red and black. Text in French and Latin. Red lettering throughout indicating incipits. Each page with red border with small floral decorations. Silk-like bookmark. Bound in black leather with P B (Paroissien bijou) in heraldic-style gilt decoration on cover. Title in gilt on spine with 4 spine panels. Pastedowns and fly leaves feature dramatic black-and-gilt IHS (Jesu) motif, and gilt gauffered turndowns. Gilt fore edges on all sides. Scarce to US market. Some foxing expected with age and type of paper, minor possible water damage effecting only bottom edge of front fly leaf. Overall VERY GOOD condition. MB1241

 

A miniature copy of the incredibly aptly titled "Small Elegant Prayer Book with Offices and Prayers following the Wedding Mass." Printed in Dijon, France, this tiny book is an extension of the medieval book of hours-- intended to guide private worship, using strategies for the reader established in the Middle Ages, such as the rubricated initial standing in contrast to the black text as an eye-catching guide, and a hierarchy of script, which employs different 'fonts' to make the headings, subheadings, and text visually distinct and easily findable.

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[Humphreys, Henry Noel]. The Good Shunammite 2 Kings iv, 8. Longman Brown Green and Longmans [in the studio of Lewis Gruner], 31st October 1847.

 

(170 x 120 mm) 21 pages, paginated in roman numerals in bottom margin, on heavy card, with two paper fly leaves, marbled end papers. Title page on full carpet of 15th century style ivy and acanthus with one 4-line initial and one 3-line initial and short bar linefiller. 6 miniatures (p. iii, vii, ix, xi, xv, xx) and 2 inhabited quatrefoil roundelles (p. iii). Three 3-line initials; four 4-line initials; twenty-four 2-line initials. Names rubricated throughout. Ruled in pink. Full ivy border on each page, with additional illuminated marginal decoration. Bar line fillers throughout. Bound in papier-mâché (gutta percha) with ornate Gothic window style motifs, grape vines, and roundelle with the Shunammite Woman and Elisha. Title centered on banderols. Spine in leather with stamp-embossed title. Gilt foredges and gilded inner dentelles. Minor rounding to top right corner on recto, otherwise binding in remarkably fine condition without significant cracking, damage, or repair.  Pages foxed throughout.

About the Illustration Process:

Chromolithography— an illustration process pioneered in the 19th century which involves layering colors onto a stone which is the medium of print to produce bright, multi-colored pictures— was pioneered in the 19th century. Illustrators in the 19th century took full advantage of the rich colors and the ability to layer gold tinting to create medieval-style Neo-Gothic illuminations, filling pages with a wonderland of illuminated and inhabited initials, borders, and miniatures. Henry Noel Humphreys fancifully adapted Gothic acanthus and vinework borders produced in 15th century Parisian workshops for high status Books of Hours to create a Victorian update on the sumptuous late Gothic pinnacle of conspicuous consumption. While the book’s production is not entirely clear, Ruari McLean suggests that the notable Owen Jones may be the printer of The Good Shunammite due to the quality of chromolithography (Victorian Publisher’s Bindings, 92).

About the Binding:

A delicate, though surprisingly heavy, mixture of papier-mâché and plaster, these beautiful bindings are often found with chips and wear. The material was intended to mimic Gothic hand-carved bindings from the 13th to 15th centuries, while incorporating architectural and some anachronistic aesthetic elements.

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Ian Fleming. Dr No. London: Jonathan Cape, 1958.

 

FIRST EDITION, FiRST STATE (195 x 130 mm) pp 256. Plain black cover variant indicating first state. First published in 1958 with no other editions stated. Bright white end papers. The jacket- Artist Pat Marriot. Matte jacket paper. The jacket has a shadow image/silhouette of a dancing woman to the front. The rear flap is blank with only a credit statement to the artist.  The words “Ian Fleming” on the spine in black. Priced at 13s 6d net. Back panel of jacket is a bit browned with some spotting. Minor spotting on fore edges, but none to text block. Exceedingly bright title and author on spine. Chip to jacket on top spine, a few abraisions on spine that have removed pigment. Overall VERY GOOD condition

 

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Ian Fleming. The Man with the Golden Gun. London: Jonathan Cape, 1965.

 

FIRST EDITION (195 x 130 mm) pp. 221. First Impression, First Issue, Second State, no further editions stated on copywrite page (though not the extremely rare run of 150 firsts with a golden gun on front cover board). The jacket: Artist Richard Chopping. Matte jacket paper. Wrap around artwork of a gun and house flies, and bullets. Front flap has the title and The New James Bond. Rear flap lists all the previous titles in addition to Thrilling Cities, The Diamond Smugglers and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Price on jacket flap of 18s net. Very small split in binding cloth along top edge of binding, hinges are fine, and bright unfaded titles to the spine. Minor spotting on green marbled endpapers and equally minor spotting on half title and along fore edges. Otherwise, interior text block and end papers bright and clean. No edgewear to covers. Jacket in acceptable condition with wear along fore edge side, some chipping, and some  abrasion, particularly on spine, which has removed a bit of pigment. Overall GOOD condition.

 

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Peter Benchley. Jaws : A Novel. Garden City: Doubleday & Comp., 1974.

 

FIRST ED., SECOND PRINTING (215 x 150 mm) pp. 311. Interior crisp and clean. Gutter stamped P7, indicating printing (cf FEP & Daily Jaws). DJ in very good condition, not price clipped. Minor flaws, particularly around endbands. Covers in black publisher's cloth with title, author and shark emblem to spine in bright silver. Overall VERY GOOD copy of an early printing of Jaws. MB1265

 

It's Jaws. It's the reason why we're all afraid to go into the sea and why we all think we need a bigger boat.

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David H. Davies. About Sharks and Shark Attack. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: Shuter and Shooter, 1964.

 

(240 x 160 mm) pp. 237, with 64 plates and 10 additional coloured plates. Interior crisp and clean. Fly leaves and pastedowns in a delightful shark pattern. DJ a bit crinkled but protected by mylar and not price clipped. Red publisher's cloth binding with title, author, and publisher on spine in silver. A VERY GOOD copy of a rare to American- or European-trade book. MB1266

 

Not for the faint of heart or scared of the sea, this book claims that sharks are "amongst the few creatures on earth that remain a threat to man" and is full of the author's own photos of sharks and the aftermath(s) of shark attacks. Primarily focuses on the sharks inhabiting the waters around South Africa. Sharks are scary but also misunderstood and hyperbolized villains. #savethesharks

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Karl Florenz, Arthur Lloyd. Poetical Greetings from the Far East: Japanese Poems. Tokyo: T. Hasegawa, 1895

(190 x 150 mm) pp. 98. Printed on silk-like crepe paper, each page double folded. Profusely illustrated. Main text in English, with some Japanese and German text. Preface by English translator, Lloyd, on German translation of Japanese original material. Two small tears in front cover fabric (approx. 2 cm), some crumpling to front cover fabric. Front and back cover fabric softer (more delicate) than interior fabric. Interior is crisp and brightly colored. Overall VERY GOOD condition for a fragile item.

 

The poems in this remarkable survival were originally in Japanese, translated into German, and appearing here in English. The poetry is categorized into Poems of the Affections; Poems of the Nature; Poems of Life; Poems of Court; Miscellaneous Poems; and Epic Poems, with each page illustrated and colored in Ukiyo-e (floating world) style. The style of art is also translated by the tactile feel of the silk-like crepe fabric on which the text and images are presented.

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The Birthday Oracle, or Whom Shall I Marry: Guess at the Character or Appearance of Your Future Husband or Wife. Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, 1883.

(105 x 85 mm) pp. 248, [8]. Mauchline binding with photo of Old Aberdeen Cathedral. Leather spine with gilt panels. Floral endpapers and decorative edges. Full gilt foredges. Ornamental border printed on all pages. Names written adjacent to birthdays, with dates ranging from 1880s to 1950s (several dates pre-date book’s publication indicating birth year of person rather than date inscribed). Includes handwritten index of names (19th c.). MB451

This Mauchline-wear binding relic of the Victorian era shows continued usage from the 1880s to the 1950s— following the hopes of several (possibly related?) families through height of the Spiritualist movement, through the First and Second World Wars into Britain’s Post-War period. The Birthday Oracle falls into the Victorian middle-class fervour for accessing knowledge from beyond the veil. Though true Spiritualists relied more on seances, Ouija boards, and other means of contacting the Beyond, this little book pairs birthdays with couplets of poetry for men and women to reveal traits of their future partners. Throughout the pages, several family names and birthdays appear. Warr and Slalin(?) are written in a nineteenth century hand and the Rabbitts appear in the 1950s. For near a century, this book was an active part in hopeful contemplation about what the future could hold— now it has the opportunity to be an active part in contemplating what the past must have looked like in these protean moments in Britain.

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Wright, F.A. Logomachy, or War of the Words. Cincinnati: F.A. Wright [1874]

 

(90 x 65 mm) Two complete decks of 56 cards each. 4 vowel cards, 2 consonant cards, 1 card for rarer letters (J, K, Q, V, X, Z). Each card framed in border of sticks, most decorated with songbird with outstretched wings; rarer letters with different decorative scenes. Some cards have small nicks to edges or are faded, one deck has several cards with historic tape repairs. No original box. Original instructions and Special Notice with historic tape repairs and splits. Condition suggests use as game. Housed in Ginna & Co. New York single-color, green, lithographic tin with Mallard business name and decorative vignettes, ca. 1874-1901. Overall GOOD condition. MB646

 

This word building game predates Scrabble by about 75 years. Similar to Scrabble, the objective here is to “capture as many Cards as possible, by taking Tricks or Words, and especially the Prize cards.” A Trick is achieved by spelling a word using one card from your hand of cards to receive the points from the other cards. As with Scrabble, the rarer letters are worth more points. The instructions suggest that once you’re familiar with this mode of playing there are several variations.

 

The cards are housed in a rare Ginna and Co. single-color lithographic tin rather than their original cardboard box. Founded in Brooklyn in 1874, Ginna and Co created unusually ornate tins for spices and tobacco. However by 1901, the company was bought by the American Can Co.. This tin bares the Ginna and Co stamp, indicating that the tin is contemporary with the cards and, combined with the condition and vernacular repairs, suggest that this was a well-played set of cards in remarkable condition for its use.

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