[Stereoscopic Cards]. Collection of 22 Stereoscopic Cards published by Sunbeam Tours, Underwood …London, Ottawa Kansas, Philadelphia, and Burnley, ca. 1897-1918.

Twelve cards published by Sunbeam Tours which document a naval journey to Mesopotamia with views of the Arabian coastline, the banks of the Shatt al-Arab, the railway from the port of Al-Maqal to Basra, a gunboat and a hospital ship on the river Tigris, the town of Amara, and scenes of everyday life in the region. Six of seven Underwood & Underwood stereoscopic cards depict the coronation procession of King Edward VII on 9 August 1902. One card shows the arrival of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra "at St. Paul's Cathedral on Thanksgiving Day". A card published by Excelsior Telescopic Tours depicts the kennels of the famous Scottish breeder Robert Chapman. "The Lake in the Gardens" of Fontainebleau and the "Captured German submarine of the 'Deutschland' type", dating to WWI, by two different publishers, are added to the collection.

Insignificant foxing to some photographs, with occasional tears and creases.

Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov). Novija Dannyja Zakonah Razvitija Kapitalizma v Zemledlii. Vypusk 1. Kapitalizm …St. Petersburg, 1918.

Second edition. Crucial brochure on capitalism and agriculture in the United States based on the U.S. Census reports for 1900 and 1910. In this study "Lenin focused on black sharecropping in the American South to suggest that the American path of capitalist agriculture, which he had advocated less than a decade earlier, also contained authoritarian, even 'feudal' elements. After the American Civil War, Lenin noted, the American bourgeoisie restored 'the most shameless and despicable oppression of the Negroes' within 'free, republican-democratic capitalism'" (Zimmerman).

Written in 1915, Lenin, whilst in Berne, sent the manuscript to Maxim Gorky for the Parus Publishers in 1916, but it did not appear at that time: instead, it was published in Petrograd in 1917 by Zhisn i Znaniye. Lenin did not realize his intention of writing a second part of the book, which was to have dealt with Germany.

Tear to front wrapper; flaws to margins of pp. 21-24 (no loss of text); evenly browned throughout. A very good copy of this important work.

Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov). Novija Dannyja Zakonah Razvitija Kapitalizma v Zemledlii. Vypusk 1. Kapitalizm …St Petersburg, 1917.

First separate edition of Lenin's crucial pamphlet on capitalism and agriculture in the United States based on the U.S. Census reports for 1900 and 1910. The wrappers bear the date 1918; dated 1917 on the title-page. In his study "Lenin focused on black sharecropping in the American South to suggest that the American path of capitalist agriculture, which he had advocated less than a decade earlier, also contained authoritarian, even 'feudal' elements. After the American Civil War, Lenin noted, the American bourgeoisie restored 'the most shameless and despicable oppression of the Negroes' within 'free, republican-democratic capitalism'" (Zimmerman).

Written in 1915, Lenin, while in Berne, sent the manuscript to Maxim Gorky for the Parus Publishers in 1916, but it did not appear at that time. It was published in Petrograd in 1917 by Zhisn i Znaniye. Lenin never realized his intention of writing a second part of the book, which was to have dealt with Germany.

Upper wrapper detached; partly disbound. Faded stamp of ownership to front cover.

[Bidpai - Panchatantra]. [Kalilah wa-Dimnah - French]. Les Fables de Pilpay philosophe indien; ou …Paris, 1698.

Very rare, early French edition of the Fables of Bidpai, here comprising the prologue and the first four chapters of the "Anvari Suhaili". This Persian fable first appeared in French in 1644 in a translation prepared by David Sahid d'Ispahan. The year 1698 saw a joint edition by the Paris publishers Barbin and Delaulne, copies published by the latter being slightly more common. Not a single copy bearing Barbin's name on the title-page is traceable in libraries internationally.

The ancient Sanskrit Panchatantra fables, a classic of the genre, are thought to have been assembled ca. 200 BC out of stories from an even older oral tradition. The stories became known in Europe through Hebrew translations of Arabic versions under the name Bidpai. Featuring animals as a mirror for human behaviour, the fables were intended to educate people, especially young rulers.

Handwritten ownership of E. Bouzerand to lower flyleaf, dated 1802. Extremities professionally repaired. Paper shows occasional light spotting. A good copy of this classic work.

Mann, Thomas, German writer and Nobel laureate (1875-1955). Important series of ca. 90 early autograph letters and postcards, to Otto …Various places, mostly 1894-1901.

Important series of ca. 90 early autograph letters and postcards, to Otto Grautoff, about Buddenbrooks, including eleven unpublished items, with poems and transcriptions about his writing, reporting his commission from the publishers Fischer to write a long prose work, specifying the mid-nineteenth-century milieu to be treated in Buddenbrooks, its length and plans to finish it, and finally giving Grautoff a long analysis of its Germanic and Wagnerian nature, discussing Goethe (with quotations of "Alles Vergängliche", from Faust), Shakespeare (Hamlet; Romeo and Juliet), Wagner (Tristan und Isolde), Turgenev, Nietzsche, his brother Hermann, Balzac, Dehmel, Fontane and many other writers, the publisher Fischer, the journals "Simplicissimus" and "Neue Deutsche Rundschau", and reporting his travels in Italy, mainly Rome during the years 1895 to 1897; the collection also includes two autograph poems by Mann, 'Weihnacht' ("O festlich Sternenzelt!"), and, in a letter of 1898, the apparently newly-composed poem 'Nur Eins' ("Wir, denen Gott den trüben Sinn gegeben"), together with a transcription from the love duet in Tristan und Isolde ("Bricht mein Blick sich..."), and from Romeo and Juliet ("Komm, Nacht...Verhülle mit dem schwarzen Mantel mir"), poems by August von Platen and others.

Saix, (Léon) Guillot de, French writer (1885-1964). Autograph letter signed.Paris, Rue de Beaurepaire, 17 Nov 1939.

To a colleague, thanking for the pleasure of a poem which respects the sacred tradition of rhythm and logic, about an equally enjoyable communication from the composer Henry Février, about further work on the last of bars of Jules Massenet, which Saix owns, and about a publication of "L'Étoile de Sévilla" (Balfe) in "Le Ménestrel": "On a toujours plaisir à lire de beaux vers, des vers qui respectent la sainte tradition, en ette époque où tant d'ecrivaillons se mêlent de publier des poème amorphes, sans rythme ni raison! Aussi ai-je eu de la joie à lire ce Double Trésor que m'a communiqué mon ami Henry Février. Je voudrais bien vous voir un jour à propos des derniers mesures que je possède de Massenet [...]".

Saix wrote librettos for Jules Massenet who, in turn, was Henry Février's teacher at the Paris Conservatoire. "Le Ménestrel" (The Minstrel), an influential French weekly music journal, had been acquired by the music publishers Heugel seven years after its founding by Joseph-Hippolyte l'Henry in 1833; it remained with Heugel until the journal's discontinuation at the beginning of World War II.

One corner slightly foxed.

Ibn Sina (Avicenna) / Mantino, Jacob (transl.). Avicennae quarta fen primi libri de universali ratione medendi. Nunc primum …Venice, 8 April 1530.

First edition of Jacob Mantino's translation into Latin of the fourth part of the first book of Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine (original title: al-Qanun fi at-Tibb), divided into 31 chapters. Mantino dedicated it to the Doge of the Venetian Republic, Andrea Gritti (1455-1538).

Jacob Mantino (1490-1549) was a Jewish doctor, rabbi and philosopher. He was born in Spain, but he, his family and the Jewish community in Tortosa were forced to flee after refusing Catholic baptism, as decreed by King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Spain. Mantino grew up in Italy and studied philosophy and medicine at the universities of Bologna and Padua. Most of his adult life was spent being a doctor to the pope and other prominent members of society like cardinals, bishops and ambassadors in Bologna, Verona, Venice and Rome. He was also involved in the (religious) controversy over Henry VIII's divorce from Catharine of Aragon. In 1549, just before his death, he moved to Damascus as ambassador of Venice. Mantino's intellectual production focused on the translation of scientific works from Hebrew and Arabic into Latin, especially medical and philosophical treatises by leading authors of the medieval period, including Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), Ibn Rushd (Averroes), and Ibn Sina (Avicenna).

Abu 'Ali al-Husayn Ibn Sina (also known by his Latinized name Avicenna, 980-1037) was one of the most prominent intellectuals of the medieval period and of the Islamic Golden Age. He was a Persian polymath; he wrote works on an incredible wide variety of subjects, including philosophy, medicine, astronomy, geography, psychology, Islamic theology, physics, and even poetry. Ibn Sina is mainly known for his medical encyclopaedia The Canon of Medicine, which became a standard medical text for medical students until the late 17th century.

The present work was printed by one of the most successful and important late 15th and early 16th century Italian publishers, Lucantonio Giunta (1457-1538). He was originally from Florence, but was active in Venice from 1489. He was a member of the Giunta family of printers, publishers and booksellers, who were active throughout Europe.

With owner's inscriptions on the front and back paste-downs and on the title-page, and some marginal annotations in brown ink. The paste-downs are partially covered by the newer, slightly foxed, end leaves. The binding is somewhat stained, light water staining to the first half of the work, small restored tears in the outer margin of leaves d1 and d2 without affecting the text. Otherwise in good condition.

Marcel, Gabriel, French philosopher (1889-1973). 2 autograph letters signed.Paris, 27 May 1936 and 23 Jan. 1959, postmark.

From his correspondence with the publishers Maurice Delamain, Jacques Boutelleau (better known as Jacques Chardonne), and André Bay of the Librairie Stock. The letter from 1936 to Delamain and Boutelleau concerns a preprint of Marcel's play "Le Fanal" in the monthly "La Vie Spirituelle", later published by Stock: "La Vie Spirituelle va décidément publier Le Fanal avent qu'il paraisse en librairie. Vous n'y verrez évidemment aucun inconvénient. Je suppose que je suis tenu de partager avec la maison Stock la petite somme que je toucherai après la publication [...]". In a longer postscript, Marcel discusses the possibility of a performance of the play at the Comédie-Française.

On 23 January 1959, Marcel inquired with Bay whether Stock would be willing to reissue his 1923 play "L'Iconoclast" since it was basically out of stock: "Je voudrais vous poser la simple question suivante, L'Iconoclaste est pratiquement épuisé, accepterez-vous de le rééditer ? Je le ferais volontiers précéder d'une introduction [...]". The reissue does not appear to have been realized.

The letter from 1959 with recipient's marks and stamp. Staple holes and a rust stain from a paper clip. Very slightly toned.

Sperontes [i. e., Johann Sigismund Scholze]. Singende Muse an der Pleisse in 2 mahl 50 Oden, der neuesten und besten …Leipzig, 1741.

Third edition, largely agreeing with the 1737 first: an important source for the history of song writing in the first half of the 18th century, influential for Viennese classicism and one of the first music editions by Breitkopf & Härtel. "Its engraved titles, imprinted notes and numerous charming woodcut vignettes make this one of the age's most delightful creations of book art" (cf. Mannheimer cat. 5, 1398 - this edition). Includes the frequently lacking frontispiece showing the double-page view of Leipzig. Two sequel volumes appeared in 1742-45. The author, who published all his works under his pseudonym "Sperontes", could by identified as J. S. Scholze (1705-50) only in 1885 by the musicologist and biographer of Bach, Philipp Spitta.

Binding rubbed with tiny flaws to covers; corners bumped. Margins slightly browned. This is the voucher copy from the library of the publishers Breitkopf & Härtel (their stamp on the title page); front pastedown has bookplate of the Leipzig publisher Oskar von Hase, who was trained at Breitkopf & Härtel and served as chairman of the Society of German Music Sellers from 1875 to 1901; later stamp of the musicologist Dr. Werner Danckert.

Stravinsky, Igor, Russian, and later French and American, composer, pianist, and conductor (1882-1971). Inscribed copy of: Cinq Pièces Faciles pour piano a quatre mains (main …Geneva, 1917.

First edition, inscribed "pour Madame René Auberjonois, en grande sympathie, Igor Strawinsky, Morges 17-IX-17".

The present volume constitutes an impressive document of Stravinsky's life during the October Revolution. A composition for his children, this work was penned in 1914/15, shortly after leaving Russia forever and settling down into Swiss exile, all connections to his Russian homeland having been severed by the Great War. The events of the war also meant that Stravinsky was unable to solicit commissions, receive royalties, or even contact his publishers; his collaboration with Djaghilev had more or less ground to a halt, their tour having returned hardly any profit. It was at this time that Stravinsky had to rely upon the generosity of wealthy Swiss patrons such as Madame Auberjonois, who was the first wife of the post-Impressionist Swiss painter René Auberjonois, mother of author Fernand Auberjonois, and later grandmother of the American actor René Murat Auberjonois. Stravinsky had met René Auberjonois in the fall of 1917, during the planning stages of "Histoire du Soldat", and he later became an important acquaintance of Stravinsky's. The present copy must have been presented during the early years of their friendship.

Balakirev, Mily, Russian composer (1836-1910). Autograph letter signed.St Petersburg, 28 Oct./ 9 Nov. 1898 Julian and Gregorian style.

To a lady friend, concerning the publication of two of his romances with the Italian music publisher Casa Ricordi. Balakirev found it difficult formally to grant the publication rights to Ricordi, as they had previously been granted to the famous Russian publisher Fyodor Stellovsky "for all countries". However, as there was "no literary or musical agreement between Russia and Western European countries", so that "Russian publishers republish whatever they find advantageous", he assumed "that Ricordi can also publish Russian romances without asking for the rights" - also considering that he has seen "some of my romances published in Germany with Russian and German lyrics without my permission".

Balakirev made important contributions to the development of Russian classical music and the Russian romance genre, continuing the pioneering work of Mikhail Glinka. Together with César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakow, and Alexander Borodin, Balakirev formed the group of The Five in St Petersburg that collaborated to create a distinct national style of music. Although the group only existed from 1856 to 1870, it had enormous influence on the following generation of Russian composers. In Western Europe, the symbolist composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy adopted their radical tonal language.

With rust-stains from a paperclip affecting the address. Traces of folds.

Desbordes-Valmore, Marceline, French poet and author (1786-1859). Autograph letter signed.Paris?, 15 Aug. 1840 and undated.

Beautiful, comprehensive letter to her close friend Léon Boitel, in which Desbordes-Valmore laments a grave disappointment, probably in connection with her departure from Lyon. Although Desbordes-Valmore reprimands a Monsieur Perlet for leaving without communicating with Boitel, the ultimate cause of her "heartbreak", "terrible bitterness", and "infinite sadness" remains obscure. She announces that she will follow her husband, who "worries too much" about his "beginnings", to his new engagement in Brussels and join him with their daughters after the upcoming conscription of their son Hippolyte. The letter was probably written from Paris, as she expresses her disdain for the city: "I no longer want Paris".

In the second part of the letter, Desbordes-Valmore mentions negotiations with two different publishers over a children's book of hers. In a short postscript she affirms that the disappointment has only strengthened her faith: "It is impossible that there is not a great Good hidden beneath such disappointment. I believe in God" (trans.).

The actor Prosper Valmore (1793-1881) was based in Lyon between 1833 and 1839. There, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore met the graphic artist and publisher Léon Boitel (1806-55), who would remain a close friend until his untimely death. The children's book mentioned in the letter is "Contes en vers pour les enfants", published in 1840 by Léon Boitel himself.

Minor tears and some browning.

Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov). Za 12 liet. Sobranie statej [...].St. Petersburg, "1908" but 1907.

First edition of this early, albeit illegal collection of Lenin's works, containing some of the principal writings of Bolshevism. Includes the important preface by Lenin, advocating an organization of professional revolutionaries.

In 1907, the Zerno Book Publishers, directed by M. S. Kedrov, decided to bring out a three-volume collection of Lenin’s works under the general title "Twelve Years". The first volume, which is present here, contains seven important political publications: "The Economic Content of Narodism and the Criticism of it in Mr. Struve's Book", "The Tasks of the Russian Social-Democrats", "The Persecutors of the Zemstvo and the Hannibals of Liberalism", "What is To Be Done?", "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back", "The Zemstvo Campaign and Iskra's Plan", and "Two Tactics of Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution". The volume, which came off the press in November 1907 (the cover gives the date 1908), was confiscated soon after its appearance. The second volume was to appear in two parts: "The Agrarian Question: Part One" was published in January 1908 under the pseudonym "VI. Il’in". For the second part, Lenin wrote "The Agrarian Programme of Social-Democracy in the First Russian Revolution, 1905-1907". The galleys and manuscript of this work were confiscated by the tsarist security police, and were destroyed. However, a part of the edition was saved, and the book continued to circulate illegally.

Binding slightly rubbed; interior in excellent condition.

Luther, Martin. Der erste (-achte) Theil aller Bücher und Schrifften. Zum andern mal gedruckt.Jena, 1557-1580.

Second Jena edition of the collected works (in various impressions for various publishers), edited by Amsdorf, Aurifaber, Rörer, Soltz and others. Each volume begins with a brief introduction and an index (a complete index was separately published by Timotheus Kirchner in 1564). Includes: vol. 1 (Richtzenhayn/Rebart 1564), vol. 2 (ibid. 1563); vol. 3 (Richtzenhayn 1573), vol. 4 (ibid. 1560), vol. 5 (Rödinger's heirs 1557), vol. 6 (Richtzenhayn/Rebart 1568), vol. 7 (Rödinger's heirs 1558), vol. 8 (Rebart's heirs 1580). For the woodcuts monogrammed "PG" in vols. I-VII cf. Nagler (Monogrammisten) IV, 2967, 14. Vol. VIII shows the three Saxon Princes with their coats of arms and a 12-line verse encomium, "Des Luthers Bücher gros und klein". The pretty blindstamped bindings show roll-tools and platestamps, various dates and monogrammes. This set was assembled by the Saxon theologian Dr. Carl Friedrich Bonitz (1775-1835), preacher of the afternoon mass at the Leipzig University Church in 1800, then active in Langensalza from 1802 onwards (and superintendent in 1809). His autograph ownership is on the flyleaf of each volume (dated 1807 in the first). Among Bonitz's works are studies in the Pauline epistles and a "Geschichte der Lutherischen Religions- und Kirchenverbesserung" (1805).

Some browning throughout; occasional slight waterstaining; bindings rubbed. Altogether a well-preserved made-up set from the library of a Saxon protestant theologian of the early 19th century.

Hilmi, Ibrahim. Postcard. Asir (Saudi Arabia).Istanbul, circa 1910.

A very rare Ottoman postcard featuring one of the earliest printed maps to focus on the Asir region, then nominally part of Ottoman Yemen, but today a part of Saudi Arabia. The card was part of a series made by Ibrahim Hilmi, one of the premier Istanbul cartographers of the era.

Ibrahim Hilmi Cigiracan (1876-1963) was one of the most important publishers and cartographers of the late Ottoman Empire. Born in Tulcea (now in Romania), he founded his first printing shop in Istanbul in 1896, under the name "Kitaphane-i Islami" (Islamic Library), largely producing religious books. Subsequently, Hilmi became interested in military affairs, geography and history, and changed the name of his press to "Kitaphane-i Islam ve Askeri" (Islamic and Military Library). He published about 200 military books, and his atlases (especially his "Pocket Atlas") were among the most popular cartographic items throughout the empire. During WWI, Hilmi gained the affection of the public for his charitable programme of sending free books to poor children in Anatolia.

Hilmi's enterprise thrived until Atatürk's Republican regime nationalized the publishing of law and school books in the 1920s, undercutting the most lucrative part of his business. However, Hilmi left an enduring legacy, having published over a thousand books on a wide variety of topics over three decades.

Very good, overall clean and crisp, just some very light even toning and slight stains to verso.

Hilmi, Ibrahim. Postcard. Yemen.Istanbul, circa 1910.

A very rare Ottoman postcard depicting a map of Yemen, including the Ottoman-dominated northern and western parts of the country (Sana'a, Taiz, and Al Hodeidah), as well as the British-dominated southern regions (Aden). The card was part of a series made by Ibrahim Hilmi, one of the premier Istanbul cartographers of the era.

Very good, overall clean and crisp, just some very light even toning and slight stains to verso.