Libros raros de Bromer Booksellers

Baltimore: Xavier Press, 1988. Taddeo, Paolo. vi, 18pp. Samuel Clemens's account of his formative time spent as a printer's apprentice, presented as a speech at a dinner for New York printers. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Clemens and a vignette depicting a compositor setting type. This copy is in a designer binding by the Italian-British bookbinder Paolo Taddeo. Onlays of salmon, grey, and black morocco form the shape of a piece of lead type, outlined in palladium-leaf tooling, creating a symmetrical design on each of the covers. The artist chose the letter H for his design, citing the letter's visual stability and steadiness, "with both feet firmly planted on the ground." As someone whose first language is Italian, he also notes that his selection of the letter H is "controversial," since it is not pronounced in his native language and gives him difficulty in spoken English. However, he writes, "in my mother tongue it's a letter of vital importance in the way that it changes the… Leer más

Seattle: Aubergine Atelier, 2019. Fenton, Jodee. Oblong 24mo. 36(ff)., + 14 Japanese kozo-paper leaves painted on both sides in gouache, tempera, watercolor, and polyacrylic varnish. From an edition of thirty copies, this is one of ten bound in half leather with decorative paper over boards. Each copy in the edition contains unique paintings by Jodee Fenton. These, distributed throughout as full leaves, cutouts, and paste-downs, encourage a new perspective on Yeats' seminal poem. Originally composed as a reaction to the pain of the early twentieth century-the aftermath of the First World War, the onset of the Irish War of Independence, and the 1918-1919 flu pandemic-Yeats' verses use apocalyptic allegory to capture the fear, brutality, and destruction of the era. Here, Fenton presents the poem as a series of images, mirrored on both sides of each painted sheet, and verses, broken apart by line and by word. The arrangement thus asks the reader to pause and draws insistent parallels between Yeats'… Leer más

(Ditchling, East Sussex), 1930. Cribb, [Herbert] Joseph. Watercolor over pencil on paper. A devoted image of Saint Gertrude meditating on St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Not to be confused with Gertrude the Great, this is Gertrude of Nivelles, seventh-century abbess and founder of the Abbey of Nivelles, who is remembered for her particular kindness of foreigners, especially Irish pilgrims. Gertrude is usually depicted, as here, with a shepherd's crook, occasionally adorned with a mouse or rat in recognition of her assumed protection against the infestation of the Black Plague. Her nomination as rodent-scourge has led in the late 20th-century to an association with cats. Cribb's penchant for religious iconography stemmed from his early connection to and education by Eric Gill, with whom he converted to Catholicism. Trace motes of foxing, but safely matted and framed. (Frame measures 16 1/4 by 12 3/4 in.).

Verona: Officina Bodoni, 1969. Octavo. 151pp. One of 125 copies. Illustrated with a medal of young Bembo as a title device; a fold-out reproduction of "Il Noniano"; an engraving from "Bembo's Works," Venice 1729; and a facsimile leaf of Aii of Bembo's "De Aetna," printed by Aldus in 1496. The Latin version is followed by an English translation by Betty Radice and a Postscript by Giovanni Mardersteig. The Latin is set in Griffo type, and the English and Postscript are in Monotype Bembo, both based on the roman alphabet developed by Francesco Griffo for Aldus. Bound in quarter-morocco with red paper over boards, gilt-stamped with the press's device. Some toning to spine, else fine in matching slipcase. Prospectus laid in.

(East Aurora): Roycroft Printing Shop, 1896. Octavo. 72, (ii)pp. One of twelve copies printed on Japan paper. Each page has a large decorated initial lettering the style of William Morris. Title-page and colophon printed in red and black. This was the first book of the Press and took Hubbard and his partner, Harry Taber, four months to complete. The colophon states that it was printed "with no power save that of human muscle," and expresses a "Thank God!" for its completion. A scarce book and rarely seen in such good condition. Corners rubbed, minor soiling, else a lovely copy in linen-backed antique boards. Inscribed on the colophon "with kindly greetings from Elbert Hubbard." Bookplate. (McKenna 8).

Vancouver, B.C.: Heavenly Monkey, 2019. Jackson, Martin. Tall quarto. 18, (10)pp., + two tipped-in leaves. From an edition of 55 copies, this is one of twenty comprising the "Written" issue, featuring original calligraphy by Martin Jackson on the printed pages. Signed by Jackson on the colophon page. The text is Alfred W. Pollard's essay, which first appeared in 1921 as the introduction to the catalogue of William Andrews Clark's Kelmscott and Doves collections, printed by John Henry Nash. Pollard offers a summary of the typographical and aesthetic aims of both presses, the common denominator of each being Emery Walker; this edition presents the opportunity to examine a specific example from both presses—each of which Pollard references in his essay. The leaves included here are from the Kelmscott edition of The Golden Legend and from The English Bible, considered by many to be the masterpiece of the Doves Press. With a "Note from the Printer" which examines several of Pollard's statements about… Leer más

San Francisco: Grabhorn Press, 1941. Angelo, Valenti. Folio. (10)ff. From an edition of 75 copies printed for David Magee at the Grabhorn Press, this is copy number nineteen of 27 deluxe copies signed by Magee, with a stunning vellum leaf from a sixteenth-century Italian Gradual bound in. The leaf, which has been trimmed, shows an intricate initial nearly six inches high, decorated in blue, pink, green, and gilt illumination with a rose design. The text of the book contains fourteen large initials, including a four-inch opening letter, all hand-written and illuminated by Valenti Angelo. Generally externally rubbed about two-tone cloth covers over boards, else very good. (BCC 43; Chalmers 90, Magee 363).

(Munich): Bremer Presse, 1924. Simons, Anna. Two small folio volumes. 486; 372pp. One of 615 copies printed in Greek with titles by Anna Simons. These beautiful volumes are printed on Zanders handmade paper in a 16-point Greek type designed for the Press. Colin Franklin describes the Bremer "Homerou poiesis" as "magnificent examples of controlled printing." Touch of sunning to upper boards, else a fine, bright set in original blue boards with paper lettering piece on spine. (Franklin, p. 163; Lehnacker 15 &16).

Bosham, UK: Circle Press, 2013. King, Ronald. Square small quarto. 7 unbound triptych sheets. One of thirty copies, signed by Richard Price and Ronald King. Price's verses appear alongside King's illustrations, which have been deeply embossed into the papers, mostly in blind but with choice additions of color. Each triptych articulates the case for animals presently threatened by or having already succumbed to the catastrophes of climate change: the armadillo, the emperor butterfly, the chimpanzee, the dodo, the elephant, the fox, and the goose. That the alphabetical bestiary format remains unfinished implies the continuing urgency of the matter. Sheets housed loose in embossed paper wrappers, held in chemise and slipcase. Fine.

NY: Vanguard Press, 1935. First edition. Inscribed by the author to Ira Gershwin, and with a secondary inscription from the author's brother-in-law, songwriter Lou Paley, to Gershwin, suggesting that "Buried somewhere in 'Studs' you'll find material for an excellent 10 hr. blackout." Consisting of three novels bound together-Young Lonigan, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgement Day-Farrell strives to show the fall into spritual povery of the average American during the Great Depression. Full brown cloth over boards with gilt titling to spine, top edge black. Some overall edgewear, fraying along rear spine joint, mild stain to rear board, else very good with a harmonious association.

(NY: Spiral Press, 1969. Frasconi, Antonio. Small folio. (38)ff. One of twenty-five copies signed by Frasconi, who illustrated this work with eighteen full-page colored woodcuts and a smaller colored colophon device. Issued in an unbound format, the illustrations are printed on Hosho paper and tipped-in to the Rives paper folders, opposite which Whitman's poetry has been set by Joseph Blumenthal at the Sprial Press. Laid into a dropback box of half cloth and marbled paper. A vibrant presentation of this very scarce Frasconi portfolio.

(N.p.: Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color Collective, 2023. Octavo. (19)pp. booklet + suite of three prints incorporating an impressive range of technical processes, including papermaking, letterpress, screenprinting, and relief printing. Each one is signed, titled, and dated by its artist: Tia Blassingame, Ben Blount, and Aimee Lee. The booklet situates the project within, first, the Book/Print Artist/Scholar of Color Collective's mission of advocacy and diversity within the book arts; and second, the scholastic and artistic lineage of people of color in the bookmaking field. It includes a background by Blassingame, and reflections by Director of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Tamar Evangelista-Dougherty. All held in a paper folio. Very fine.

London: Ernest Nister, 1895. Square octavo. (12)pp. Four chromolithographed volvelles encourage the young reader to align the pictures with their appropriate letters. The first apparatus, for example, situates a drum with "D," a train engine with "E," and sacks of flour with "F." Accompanying these are verses, the first of which matches the mnemonic movables. This work is known in three institutional copies, none of which are in the U.S. Bound in pictorial boards backed in red cloth. Dampstain to upper rear cover, else near fine in rare publisher's printed dust wrapper, somewhat chipped at corners.

N.p., 1990. Small collection of works by the Pulitzer-Prize winning Mississippi author and photographer, Eudora Welty. A private collection formed primarily in the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, this group spans Welty's long career and includes several early magazine appearances. Most of Welty's regularly published books are present, and most are near fine to fine. Of especial note are those copies with Welty's autograph: The Ponder Heart (autograph laid in, and signed by the full cast of the theatrical production), A Pageant of Birds (Albondocani Press), Women!! Make Turban in Own Home!, "For Reynolds Price," One Writer's Beginnings, The Optimist's Daughter, Place in Fiction, Acrobats in a Park, Bye-Bye Brevoort, and Retreat. Other copies show the range of Welty's pen, and the relative scarcity of some of her titles: A Curtain of Green (no d/w); The Wide Net; The Golden Apples; The Bride of the Innisfallen; The Robber Bridegroom; Delta Wedding (2 copies); The Shoe Bird; and Losing Battles.… Leer más

Lille; Paris: Chez Vanackere; Chez H. Nicolle, 1806. Set of forty-eight cards, with instruction sheet and map. Each card is numbered, and features an emblematic national or regional figure in a rondel at the top. The instructions describe the game as largely focused on geographical learning through rote memorization, chiefly of 1) in what part of the world the nation or region is located; 2) what is its capital; and 3) the ability to point to the location on a map. The verso of the instructions tabulates the correct answers, down to latitudes and longitudes. The detailed information on the cards, paired with the careful exactitude of the accompanying map, communicate to the young French learner both the places of others and also the place of the French within the global taxonomy. This sort of identitarian progam suits the moment; the colonial enterprise had kicked up its urgency during Napoleon's reign. Cards held in slipcase covered with marbled paper and with paper label. Some rubbing to both card… Leer más