Libros raros de Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts

Italy [Florence], ca. 1470. 125 x 85 mm. (5 x 3 1/4"). 246 unnumbered leaves, COMPLETE; single column, 11 lines, in an elegant gothic rotunda script. Contents: Calendar (f. 1r); Hours of the Virgin, "secundum consuetudinem Romane curie," with Matins (f. 13r), Lauds (f. 27v), Prime (f. 46r), Terce (f. 52v), Sext (f. 59v), None (f. 65v), Vespers (f. 71v), and Compline (f. 83v); Office of the Dead (f. 113r); Seven Penitential Psalms (f. 189r); Litany (f. 208r); Hours of the Cross (f. 223r); 15 Gradual Psalms (f. 229r). Very pretty 18th century red morocco, elegantly gilt, covers bordered by plain and decorative rules enclosing a panel with large central floral spray, two birds perched on its leaves, this surrounded by tiny gilt circles and two more birds in flight and framed by gracefully twining foliage; smooth spine divided into panels by triple gilt fillets, the panels with floral sprig centerpiece and volute cornerpieces, gilt titling, turn-ins densely gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt.… Leer más

Italy [Florence], colophon dated 1456-57. 268 x 187 mm. (10 1/2 x 7 3/8"). 176 leaves, COMPLETE, single column, 31 lines alternating red ink for Latin and dark brown ink for Italian translation, in a very fine humanist hand. Contemporary Italian panelled calf over wooden boards, cover with mitered frame of blind rules, inner arabesque roll frame, and central panel diapered in ogival compartments formed by interlacing semi-circular rope tools, raised bands, original clasps replaced with modern hardware, edges gilt and gauffered with chevrons and flowers, expertly rebacked to style. Paragraph marks in red or blue, initial letters of each sentence in contrasting color to main text, running titles in red, 10 ORNATE WHITE VINE INITIALS, the first two very large and extending quite far down the page, the letters burnished gold and skillfully linked with white vines against a pink and green background outlined with blue and further decorated with clusters of white dots (the drawing of a crowned female head… Leer más

London: T. Bensley for T. Macklin [final volume Bensley for T. Cadell & W. Davies], 1800 [for the six volumes of the Bible], 1816 [for the Apocrypha]. First Printing of this Edition. 480 x 385 mm. (19 x 15 1/8"). One leaf in the Apocrypha (3P2, comprising two prologues of Ecclesiasticus) invisibly inserted from another copy. Seven volumes (comprising the regular Bible in six volumes, and the Apocrypha, usually not included, as a seventh volume).. ABSOLUTELY MAGNIFICENT CONTEMPORARY RED NEOCLASSICAL-STYLE STRAIGHT-GRAIN MOROCCO, SUMPTUOUSLY GILT AND ONLAID WITH BLUE, BY GEORG FRIEDRICH KRAUSS, done for Prince Albert Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Teschen (with repeated "AST" monogram), covers with very elaborate frames incorporating 11 plain and decorative gilt rules, four onlaid borders of blue morocco, and very elegant swirling foliate ornamentation around the central scalloped panel, six pairs of raised bands, each pair flanking a recessed gilt and blue metope and pentaglyph rule, very handsome spine… Leer más

[London]: [D]esigned, written out, and illuminated by Alberto Sangorski [Colophon], 1920. 255 x 212 mm. (10 1/8 x 8 1/2"). 25, [3] pp. ELEGANT LIGHT OLIVE GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID [by Riviere] for London bookseller Charles J. Sawyer (stamp-signed "Chas. J. Sawyer, Ltd., London" on front turn-in), upper cover with inlaid mahogany-brown morocco lyre at head, "strung" with gilt fillets and surrounded by dense gilt stippling, six gilt fillets emanating from the top of this ornament and curling extravagantly below it, with inlaid green morocco leaves at the tips of its extensions, and inlaid red dots accenting the perimeter, raised bands, spine compartments with gilt and inlaid leaf sprig, gilt titling, turn-ins framed with five gilt fillets, stippled and inlaid cornerpieces, ivory moiré silk doublures and endleaves. In a fine full morocco plush-lined box with raised bands and gilt titling. ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT, WITH EIGHT LARGE MINIATURES within extraordinarily elaborate illuminated… Leer más

London: Bernard Quaritch, 1859. FIRST EDITION, ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES PRINTED, with the misprint "Lightning" corrected on p. 4. 212 x 160 mm. (8 1/4 x 6 3/8"). xiii, [1], 21 pp. (followed by blank leaves added by the binder). Near-contemporary pebble-grain rose-colored buckram, flat spine with gilt lettering. In red cloth chemise and handsome later slipcase of rose polished calf, its sides with gilt-ruled border and scrolling cornerpieces, the back with raised bands, gilt compartments with floral sprig centerpiece, two black morocco labels. Front pastedown with ink owner signature of William Bell Scott (see below); title page with ink notations "Tetrastichs [sic] of Omar the Tent Maker" and "Translated by Edward Fitzgerald [sic]" in Bell's hand; marginal annotations in pencil. Rear pastedown with 1879 advertisement for the fourth edition of the Rubaiyat. Potter 1; Ashley II:121; Grolier "English" 97; See Day, "History of English Literature 1837 to Present," pp. 65-66. ◆Cloth spine and board edges… Leer más

Westminster: Wynkyn de Worde, 13 April 1495. Second Edition. 275 x 194 mm. (10 3/4 x 7 1/2"). With the main body of the text complete: 1 p.l. (facsimile aa1 title page), I-CCCxlvi, [1] (facsimile?) leaf with printer's device, [35] leaves (consisting of fols. cc6-hh5 of the Table, usually bound at front of work; lacking blank hh6 and also lacking 13 preliminary leaves: aa2-8, bb1-6 (consisting of Proheme and the first part of the Table). Double columns, 41 lines in black letter type.Translated by John Trevisa. With the continuation for years 1357-1460 by William Caxton. Recent period-style blind-stamped calf by Thomas McCabe. With woodcut initials, woodcut title page (in facsimile), and printer's device (probably facsimile). Recto of n5 with musical notation. All instances of the word "pope" or related terms and all mentions of St. Thomas of Canterbury carefully struck through in ink by an early hand; occasional neat ink marginalia by a contemporary user. Front pastedown with bookplates of Robert… Leer más

London: C. & J. Ollier, 1817. FIRST EDITION. 165 x 92 mm. (6 1/2 x 3 3/4"). 3 p.l., 121 pp. EXQUISITE CITRON MOROCCO, GILT AND INLAID, BY THE CLUB BINDERY (stamp-signed and dated 1908 on front turn-in), covers with inlaid frame and cornerpieces of chestnut brown morocco outlined with double rules and densely tooled in gilt, central panel with rectangular extension at center of each side containing a gilt fleuron, raised bands, spine compartments with inlaid panel of chestnut brown morocco tooled with pointillé and small tools, gilt titling, turn-ins with floral roll, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In a brown morocco-backed marbled paper chemise. Title page with the bust of a poet in laurel wreath. Front pastedown with armorial Cardiff Castle bookplate of the Marquess of Bute and morocco ex-libris of Beverly Chew. Tail margin of p. 109 with faint annotation in a 19th century hand. Hayward 231; Ashley III:9. ◆Leaves a little yellowed with age, isolated tiny rust spots or minor smudges but A… Leer más

Venetia [Venice]: in casa de' Figliuoli di Aldo, 1545. Second Printing. 310 x 212 mm. (12 1/4 x 8 3/8"). [234] leaves. Modern dark brown crushed morocco, raised bands, gilt titling to spine, gilt-ruled turn-ins, leather hinges, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. With Aldine device on title page and final page, and 170 WOODCUTS, nine of which are full-page (count includes tablets with typeset text within, as per Mortimer). Mortimer 131; Sander 2057; Essling 1199; Adams C-2414; Kallendorf 302; Renouard 133:14; EDIT16 CNCE 12823; USTC 823513. See also: John Harthan, "The History of the Illustrated Book" pp. 80-82; and Martin Lowry, "The World of Aldus Manutius," pp. 120-25. ◆Title page with faint discoloration in two small marginal spots (to remove indications of ownership?), one leaf in last gathering a little browned, final three leaves (including colophon) with repair to fill small worm trail, occasional quite trivial spots to margins; in all other ways, A VERY FINE COPY--the text remarkably clean,… Leer más

New York: The Viking Press, 1939. FIRST EDITION, First Printing, with the words "First Published in April 1939" printed on the copyright page. 210 x 135 mm. (8 1/4 x 5 3/8"). 3 p.l., 619 pp. Publisher's pictorial linen, endpapers printed with the sheet music for "Battle Hymn of the Republic." In the original, unclipped dust jacket displaying the $2.75 price and "First Edition." In a fine modern blue calf clamshell box. Goldstone-Payne A12.a. ◆A PRISTINE COPY. Published when America was still deep in the Great Depression, "The Grapes of Wrath" is a novel detailing the heartbreak of rural dispossession and a work that, in the words of ANB, "captured the decade's angst as well as the nation's legacy of fierce individualism, visionary prosperity, and determined westward movement." In citing it as one of the "Books that Shaped America," the Library of Congress noted, "Few novels can claim that their message led to actual legislation, but 'The Grapes of Wrath' did just that. Its story of the travails… Leer más

Paris: Shakespeare and Company, May 1927. Ninth Printing of the First Edition. 205 x 160 mm. (8 1/8 x 6 1/4"). 4 p.l. (first blank), 735 pp. DRAMATIC DARK BLUE-GRAY CRUSHED MOROCCO, BLIND-TOOLED AND INLAID TO AN ABSTRACT DESIGN, BY SALLY LOU SMITH (stamp-signed with her initials in gilt on rear doublure), with overall wraparound design of inlaid elongated, irregular-shaped pieces of black, gray, blue, tan, and yellow morocco with blind-tooled lines extending from these shapes, MATCHING MOROCCO DOUBLURES tooled in gilt with branch-like lines, yellow handmade free endpapers, gray flyleaves, all edges gilt. In the matching morocco-backed clamshell box. Front flyleaf INSCRIBED BY JOYCE TO H. G. WELLS: "To / H. G. Wells / Respectfully / James Joyce / 5 November 1928 / Paris." Slocum and Cahoon 17. ◆Isolated faint foxing or marginal spots, but a clean, fresh copy with few signs of use, in a new binding. This later printing of what is generally recognized to be the most important 20th century novel in… Leer más

London: Chapman and Hall (first three); Bradbury & Evans (last two), 1843; 1845 [but 1844]; 1846 [but 1845]; 1846; 1848. FIRST EDITIONS. "Carol" in FIRST STATE (bound-in original front cover with closest interval between blind-stamped left border and left extremity of gilt wreath being 15 mm., "D" in Dickens on front cover in perfect condition); "Chimes," and "Cricket" in Second State; "Battle" with Fourth Issue of the engraved title, as usual ("Haunted" with no issue points). 167 x 102 mm. (6 5/8 x 4 1/8"). Five separately published works in five volumes.. SUPERB OLIVE GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO COSWAY BINDINGS BY RIVIERE & SON FROM DESIGNS BY J. H. STONEHOUSE (stamp-signed on front turn-ins), upper covers all with two inlaid red morocco banners, that at head with title in gilt, that at foot lettered "Lord keep my Memory Green," and each binding FEATURING AT CENTER AN OVAL MINIATURE PORTRAIT BY MISS C. B. CURRIE (signed in gilt on rear turn-ins), the five showing Dickens at different ages, painted on… Leer más

[London, 1931]. 307 x 215 mm. (12 x 8 1/2"). 40 pp., [1] leaf (colophon). DAZZLING CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, INLAID, AND BEJEWELLED, BY SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE (stamp-signed on rear turn-in), covers with inlaid light blue morocco border, blue Celtic knot strapwork at middle of each side and at corners, those on upper cover with a ruby or sapphire at center, those on lower cover with a circle of red or blue morocco at center, cornerpieces connected by a graceful loop to the blue morocco strip framing the central oval panel, the spaces between the strapwork ornaments and the inner and outer frames filled with pointillé gilt compartments tooled with gilt vines bearing inlaid white morocco flowers (upper cover) or purple morocco thistles (lower cover), a recessed medallion of green morocco at center of upper cover set WITH BURNS' INITIALS IN METAL ENCRUSTED WITH 80 JEWELS (40 CABOCHON RUBIES AND 40 CABOCHON SAPPHIRES) of varying sizes, central oval panel on lower cover with gilt lyre at center… Leer más

Amsterdam: H. Keyzer, H. Gartman en W. Vermandel, 1790. 555 x 345 mm. (21 7/8 x 13 3/4"). 2 p.l., 62 folding plates. Attractive late 19th or early 20th century retrospective polished brown calf by L. Guétant (stamp-signed in gilt on tail of spine), double gilt-ruled border, floral cornerpieces, raised bands, spine panels with scrolling floral borders and central flower ornament, gilt titling. With title vignette and 62 ENGRAVED FOLDING PLATES, ALL WITH BEAUTIFUL HAND COLORING AND HIGHLIGHTED WITH GOLD, depicting Bible scenes from the Old and New Testament, 61 of which are by Jan Luyken. A Large Paper Copy. For earlier editions: Graesse IV, p. 308; Brunet III, 1245-46; Klaversma & Hannema 159-164. ◆Light rubbing to joints and edges, boards just a little marked, trivial foxing and faint spots here and there, but A REMARKABLY FINE COPY, the binding lustrous and showing little wear, the paper extremely bright and fresh, the margins immense, and the paint and gold unusually vibrant. The marvelous… Leer más

Paris, ca. 1415-20. 170 x 120 mm. (6 3/4 x 4 3/4"). 195 leaves. Single column, 14 lines, in a gothic book hand (first and last quires written in a later batarde hand). Lacking one leaf between ff. 133-34, possibly containing a miniature, otherwise complete. Contents: Prayers written in a later hand (f. 1r); Calendar (f. 9r); Gospel Lessons (f. 21r); Obsecro Te & O Intemerata (f. 25v); Hours of the Virgin (f. 33r); Prayers in Latin (f. 95r); Penitential Psalms & Litany (f. 97r); Hours of the Cross (f. 116r); Hours of the Holy Spirit (f. 123r); Doulce Dame (f. 128v); Seven Requests (f. 134r); Prayer to the Holy Cross (f. 136r); Office of the Dead (f. 136v); Seven Verses of St. Bernard (f. 186r); Office of St. Katherine and additional prayer (f. 188r). Early 16th century(?) plain brown calf over pasteboards, raised bands. Rubrics in red, "KL" in burnished gold on pink and blue ground with white tracery and hairline vine and gilt ivy marginal extensions, blue and pink line-fillers with white tracery and… Leer más

Rouen, ca. 1470. 178 x 120 mm. (7 x 4 7/8"). 128 leaves. COMPLETE. Single column, 16 lines, in a gothic book hand. Contents: Calendar (f. 1r); Gospel Lessons (f. 13r); Obsecro te and O intemerata (f. 19r); Hours of the Virgin (f. 27r); Hours of the Cross (f. 67r); Hours of the Holy Spirit (f. 70r); Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany (f. 73r); Office of the Dead (f. 89r); Douce Dame and Seven Requests, in French (f. 119r). Pleasing late 17th century calf, raised bands, red morocco label with gilt lettering, vellum pastedowns and endleaves. Housed in a black cloth clamshell box backed in brown morocco, interior lined with velvet. Rubrics in red, many line-fillers in pink and blue with white highlights and gold bezants, numerous one-line initials in gilt on pink and blue ground with white highlights, 17 three- to four-line initials in pink or blue on burnished gold ground and in-filled with pink and blue ivy, EIGHT ARCH-TOPPED MINIATURES surrounded by full borders of colorful acanthus, various fruits… Leer más