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August 22, 2010

PRINTED 1585: The Missing Year Book of Richard II

A Law Book described as “as so exceeding[ly] rare, — the pride and the joy, the infinite good fortune and raritas raritarum of libraries of law-books”

The Book:

[Richard Bellewe]; [Nicholas Statham]; [Anthony Fitzherbert[; Robert Brooke, Sir]. Les ans du roy Richard le Second : collect’ ensembl’ hors de les abridgments de Statham, Fitzherbert et Brooke. London : Imprinted by Robert Robertson, dwelling in Fewter lane neere Holborne, [1585]. [8], 326 , [6] p.; In Law French. Title within ornamental border. TEXT COMPLETE, though lacking corrigenda leaf, albeit there were up to three impressions of this 1585 ed. without priority and very few copies appear to possess this leaf (if it was issued in all). Full reports of cases for the reign of Richard II were never printed. This collection consists of all cases and scattered notes found in print in reports and abridgements. Some worming present in blank gutters of quire M to end, Contemporary English calf, centers with oval blind-stamp flanked by initials “T.C.” Marvin, J.G. Legal bibliography, p. 110. ; STC 1848a; Beale R478.  [$4500]

Provenance:

Thomas Carleton, of whom there are few biographical details, but this is likely the Thomas Carleton, Upper Warden, that appear in a famous 1632 painting in the Painter’s Hall in Little Trinity Lane, which has been studied extensively for its connections and revelations related to the mysterious Chandos Portrait of Shakespeare; Also Bookplate of Hugh Cecil Lowther, fifth Earl of Lonsdale. (see bigraphical info below)

Background:

This Year Book of Richard II, compiled in 1585, has been described by 19th century legal bibliophiles as “as so exceedingly rare, — the pride and the joy, the infinite good fortune and raritas raritarum of libraries of law-books.” The main reason that it was so sought after is that it filled a missing gap in a continuous run of Year Books that every lawyer required or wanted in his library. Additionally, modern law owes a great debt to the later part of the 14th century, during the reign of Richard II, since many of the forms of actions of modern times emanated from this period. [Ref: Wallace, J.W. The reporters: arranged and characterized with incidental remarks, Soule and Bugbee, 1882 .]

Despite the appearance of printed Year Books that included cases of every reign from Edward I to Henry VIII, the very important Year Book of Richard II was lost or omitted. “Why this period was selected for oblivion, history makes no attempt to unravel. There was no dearth of litigation, in this most troubled of reigns, as the huge records of the various terms bear witness. Nor is there even now any great scarcity of manuscripts. Why a system of law built upon history stepped time after time, day after day almost, indifferently across a chasm in which lay great masses of decided cases is beyond comprehension. To this riddle there is no answer.” [Ref: Deiser, G.F. Year books of Richard II: 12 Richard II, A.D. 1388-1389 . Ames Foundation Harvard University Press, 1914]

The Author, Richard Bellewe:

“Richard Bellewe, the author of this work, very little is known beyond the fact that he was a member of an Irish family, and was admitted into the Society of Lincoln’s Inn, 5th June, 1575; there is however no entry of his call to the bar by that society. That Bellewe was a diligent student is evidenced by his collection of Brooke’s ” New Cafes,” temp. Henry VIII., and this volume, which has been designated the Year-book of Richard II. …The numerous inquiries for ” Bellewe’s Cases,” the rarity of the book, and the exorbitant price which copies have realized, led us to believe that a reprint would be acceptable to members of the legal profession and to librarians who desire to possess a complete and perfect series of English Law Reports. (Ref:http://books.google.com/books?id=wg89AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA823&dq=the+rarity+of+the+book,+and+the+exorbitant+price&hl=en&ei=59JdTLCPFoO78gbh67y1DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=the%20rarity%20of%20the%20book%2C%20and%20the%20exorbitant%20price&f=false]

Hugh Cecil Lowther, fifth Earl of Lonsdale:

“Bookplate of Hugh Cecil Lowther, fifth Earl of Lonsdale. After his father’s death Hugh became one of the richest men in England, with estates which included the Whitehaven collieries, and this enabled him to lead an ostentatious lifestyle, employing yellow-liveried footmen and a special train for his household. He also used his wealth to pursue his various sporting passions, including hunting, boxing (he became the first president of the National Sporting Club), horse-racing (as the first president of the International Horse Show at Olympia), and cars (being the first president of the AA). His flamboyant style also led him into associations with famous actresses, such as Lillie Langtry and Violet Cameron, who bore him a daughter after he took her opera company to New York; to an Arctic expedition, during which he collected a huge number of Inuit artefacts which he donated to the British Museum; and to entertaining European royalty, including the Kaiser, on his estates.” [Ref: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/library/special_collections/early_books/pix/provenance/lonsdale/lonsdale.htm]

August 12, 2010

UNIQUE FOLIO CONTAINING THE ORIGINAL DRAWINGS OF W.H. BARTLETT

Likely Bartlett’s Earliest Surviving Work

The most beautiful Norman Cathedral in England.

The book and drawings:

Britton, John., 1771-1857 . The History and Antiquities of the Abbey, and Cathedral Church of Peterborough. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1828. Illustrated with engraved title, wood-engraved printed title vignette, and 15 engraved plates and plans, extra-illustrated with the original drawings and plans for the engravings. 4to.,  re-mounted as a grand folio (37 x 26 cm).  Full brown crushed levant, covers with elaborate gilt panels and gilt turn-ins, by Riviere & Son.  Joints rubbed, cracking to upper joint, beginning separation of one board, light circular stain to front board, overall Very Good. A magnificent architectural work on what is perhaps the most beautiful Norman Cathedral in England.  Extra-illustrated with the original pen and sepia ink washes, drawings in pencil, and plans including eight renderings by William H. Bartlett and two by George Catermole, and others by Henry Ansted and E. Blore.  The original renderings also include an additional alternate central vignette for the engraved title.  Only a detail plate for the cathedral’s circular windows is not paired with its original. [$9500]

Wiliiam Henry Bartlett was born in Kentish Town, London in 1809.  He was apprenticed to John Britton, and became one of the most beloved and widely copied topographical illustrators of his generation. His depictions of America in his American Scenery (1840),  his great commercial success, became iconic 19th century images which never lost their seductive qualities despite the advent of photography which largely replaced his art-form. The 8 original drawings by W.H. Bartlett present here  are no doubt among his earliest surviving work, having been published when he was merely nineteen years old , and no doubt executed in the year before that.

His precocious talent, seen now in these drawings,  was also evident at the time of publication.  As Britton himself  states in his Auto-biography,  remarking about the passage of twelve years from the original conception of the book until its publication, “A new set of drawings was then prepared by W. H. Bartlett, who has since acquired deserved celebrity as a landscape illustrator of oriental and other foreign scenery. That gentleman was assisted by Henry Ansted, and Penry Williams; and two or three of the drawings originally made by the former artists were also used for the work. Mr. Bartlett, although then comparatively inexperienced, displayed so much taste and feeling in his sketches and finished drawings, that the plates executed from them are among the most successful of the series.

[Ref: The Auto-biography of John Britton: in three parts. By John Britton, T. E. Jones Published by Printed for the author, as presents to subscribers “The Britton Testimonial”, 1849 Original from Harvard University Digitized Aug 26, 2005].

August 8, 2010

His Protestant Magnum Opus: the Catholica Panstratia

THE HEAD OF THE FRENCH PROTESTANTS WHO DREW UP THE FAMOUS EDICT OF NANTES

“One of the most important published collections of controversies between the Protestant and Papists”

The SET:

Chamierus, Daniel . Danielis Chamieri Delphinatis Panstratiae Catholicae, siue Controversiarvm de Religione aduersus Pontificios corpvs, tomis quatuor distributum. Genevae : typis Roverianis, 1626 [Tomus primus: De canone fidei]. – Tomus secundus: De deo et dei cultu. – Tomus tertius: De homine corrupto. – Tomus quartus: De sacramentis. 4 vols. FOLIO, 34.5 cm x 23cm., Worn deerskin, peeling to spine and hinges, corners bumped, ex-libris bookplates pasted to inner boards, theological seminary stamps to title pages, some browning and staining as usual. COMPLETE. RARE.    [$4500]

Daniel Chamier headed the French Protestants in the reign of Henri IV and, according to Antoine Varillas (1626–1696) the French historian, drew up the Edict of Nantes.

“The Edict of Nantes, issued on April 13, 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic.” [Wikipedia]

“Daniel Chamier (1564-1621) was an eminent French Protestant, born in Dauphiny, and killed by a cannon ball, at the siege of Montaubon.”… “By the time of his death he had established himself as one of the most prominent theologians of his generation, the author of numerous theological works, particularly polemical disputations with Roman Catholic theologians. His magnum opus, the Catholica Panstratia, or the wars of the Lord, is one of the most important published collections of controversies between the Protestant and Papists” [Ref: sacradoctrina.blogspot.com/2004_03_01_archive.html]

August 1, 2010

PRINTED 1684: ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS ENGLISH EMBLEM BOOKS

VERY RARE: A 17th century Interactive Book with a Spinning Lottery Wheel

EXTREMELY RARE. NO COPIES SOLD IN THE AMERICAN AUCTION RECORDS FOR 30 YEARS

[Burton, Robert’ Crouch, Nathaniel] Delights for the ingenious, : in above fifty select and choice emblems, divine and moral, ancient and modern. Curiously ingraven upon copper plates· With fifty delightful poems and lots for the more lively illustration of each emblem, whereby instruction and good counsel may be promoted and furthered by an honest and pleasant recreation. To which is prefixed an incomparable poem, entituled Majesty in misery, or an imploration to the King of Kings. London : Printed for Nath. Crouch, at his shop at the sign of the Bell in the Poultry, 1684. Written by His late Majesty K. Charles the First, with his own hand, during his captivity in Carisbrook Castle, in the Isle of Wight, 1648. With an emblem. Collected by R.B. author of the History of the wars of England, Remarks of London, and Admirable curiosities, &c. [24], 207, [9] p. : ill. (metal cuts, woodcut) ; 14 cm, 12mo. With “A “Lottery Wheel” pointer lacking, as always, on 207. 19th century fine mottled calf and gilt, raised bands, browned throughout as usual, some slight unobstrusive burn marks to some upper margins.  Overall, a COMPLETE and VERY GOOD copy. R.B. = Robert or Richard Burton, the pseudonym of Nathaniel Crouch. Running title reads: Choice emblems, divine and moral. “Majesty in misery”, not in fact by Charles I, is sometimes erroneously attributed to George Wither. Provenance: Ex-libris Printer’s mark bookplate, likely from the personal collection of Leo S. Olschki, the great Italian antiquarian bookseller and publisher. The B.M. catalog cites this as ” the rarest of all Burton’s tracts” Ref: See: Art—A User’s Guide: Interactive and Sculptural Printmaking in the Renaissance, http://interactive-prints.com/B.pdf ; 199.  [$2400]

Cotton Mather, the great defender of the Protestant tradition, famously lashed out against the lottery wheel of Crouch’s Delights which taught “fortune telling”

August 1, 2010

VERY RARE 1868 ROYAL OCTAVO EDITION OF MCKENNEY’S HISTORY OF THE INDIAN TRIBES

One of the most famous and magnificent colored plates books issued in the United States up to its publication.

McKenney,Thomas L. History of the Indian tribes of North America : with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs. Philadelphia : Rice, Rutter & Co., no. 525 Minor Street, 1868. THREE (3) VOLUMES. Royal Octavo. approx, 26 x 18 cm., Publisher’s original brown blind-stamped morocco bindings, edges gilt, some light rubbing as depicted, plates with some occasional minor staining, light spotting and soiling. Overall, a VERY GOOD, HANDSOME AND COMPLETE COPY with 16 more plates than called for by the title page. See: Howes M-129; Sabin 43411   [Sold]

McKenney’s History of the Indian Tribes stands as one of the most famous and magnificent colored plates books issued in the United States up to its publication.

Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785–1859) was a United States official who served as Superintendent of Indian Trade from 1816–1822, under Presidents Madison, Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Jackson, until Jackson dismissed him for maintaining a belief that “the Indian was, in his intellectual and moral structure, our equal.” The hand-colored prints are almost entirely portraits painted from life after Charles Bird Kig, who painted Native American delegates coming to Washington D.C. as commissioned by government’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. Rice & Hart published the first royal octavo edition in 1848–1850, and the firm, after the subsequent addition of Rutter, continued to produce lavish Royal octavo editions, some very slightly redacted, to satiate the demand of wealthier American customers in the economic boom following the Mexican War and the the California Gold Rush.

This particular edition of 1868 appears to be among the rarest of all the Royal Octavo editions with WorldCat citing only 1 Institutional copy (OCLC 85518)