[Rarebooks] Ptolemy - Henry Stevens - George Parker Winship

[Powers Rare Books]

I can offer...

      [CHISWICK PRESS]  STEVENS, Henry N....  Ptolemy's Geography.  A 
Brief Account of All the Printed Editions Down to 1730, With Notes on 
Some Important Variations Observed in That of Ulm 1482 Including the 
Recent Discovery of the Earliest Printed Map of the World Yet Known on 
Modern Geographical Conceptions in Which Some Attempt Was Made to 
Depart From Ancient Traditions.  Second Edition.  London: Henry 
Stevens, Son and Stiles, 1908.
      Decorated throughout with woodcut initial letters, chapter head- 
and tailpieces, etc.  Printer's device in red and black on the final 
leaf.  8vo, original pale blue-grey wrappers printed in red and black.  
viii, 62 pp.  Some soiling and foxing to the covers, the upper cover 
splitting at the spine ends, and the spine ends themselves a bit 
chipped; internally very good and clean.
      This copy is inscribed, "G. P. Winship Esq. With the Compliments 
of Henry N. Stevens, Dec. 2 / 08."  Winship, bibliophile, author, and 
proprietor of his own fine press, the Cygnet Press, produced a number 
of books on early printing and geography.
      The collection of Ptolemys described here--sixty in number--ended 
up in the collection of Edward Ayer of Chicago.  Each volume was 
provided with a specially designed bookplate that included 
bibliographical details of the edition to which it was affixed.  Those 
bookplates were compiled and published in an edition of 20 copies by 
Stevens in 1908; this volume is a reprint of that work, though only one 
of the bookplates is reproduced and the bibliographical details of the 
others are simply printed as text.  A very handsome piece of printing 
by the Chiswick Press (who seemed to do particularly nice work for the 
Stevens family) and a nice bibliographical association copy.  $300 plus 
shipping.

Cheers,
Greg Powers
Powers Rare Books
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Manchester NH  03104
603-624-9707
powersrarebooks at comcast.net
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