[Rarebooks] Offering: Books on Books: 20 items

[Michael John Thompson]

Offering: Books on Books: 20 items.
Terms at end.

AHEARN, Allen., THE BOOK OF FIRST BOOKS., 
[Rockville, Maryland]: The Quill and Brush Press. 
1975. First edition, 12mo, original printed 
wrappers. 47 pp. Eratta slip laid in. Mild 
browning, a near fine copy. ¶ Essentially a 
simple checklist of books and prices, with 
introductor material on collecting first 
editions. More importantly, the first of Allen's 
book collecting guides, which were expanded into 
a series of large hardcover books which set the 
standard for book price guides.  $30.00

BIBLIOMYSTERY. MILLER, Agnes., THE COLFAX 
BOOK-PLATE. A MYSTERY STORY., New York: Century. 
1926. First edition. Octavo, orange cloth, 
pictorial paper label on front panel. 375 pp. Old 
ink name on front endpaper, upper corner a bit 
bumped. Very good, clean copy. ¶ The only mystery 
known to feature bookplates. $55.00

DAIR, Carl; REID, Robert; CARTER, Will., A LETTER 
FROM CARL DAIR ABOUT THE PAPER MILLS OF AMALFI, 
ITALY. INTRODUCTION & AFTERWORD BY ROBERT R. 
REID., Vancouver, BC: Heavenly Monkey. 2003. 8vo, 
[12 pp]. A letter, printed in facsimile, from 
Canadian typographer Carl Dair to a young Robert 
Reid and Will Carter, proprietor of the Rampant 
Lions Press. Edition of 75 numbered copies. 
Introduction & afterword by Reid hand-set in 
14-point Gar amont, printed on damp Lana Antique. 
Four-page letter in Dair's hand reproduced from 
polymer plates, printed damp on handmade Amatruda 
paper - one of the mills Dair mentions in the 
letter. Reid corresponded with Dair during the 
1950s and early '60s; most of these letters were 
donated to McGill University, but this letter was 
recently discovered in Reid's files. Sewn in a 
wrap of blue cotton paper made specially for this 
project by Reg Lissel. A fine copy. $90.00

DAVENPORT, Cyril, F.S.A., ROYAL ENGLISH 
BOOKBINDINGS., London: Seeley and Co. 1896. 1st 
edition. Tall octavo. Original red cloth titled 
in gilt on spine, titled and decorated in blind 
on front panel. 95 pp., 35 plates, 8 of which are 
printed in colour by Evan Evans. Some browning to 
front endpapers, corners a touch bumped, a very n ice copy, very good. $75.00

DAVIDSON, Peter [editor]., THE BOOK ENCOMPASSED. 
STUDIES IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY BIBLIOGRAPHY., 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [1992]. 
First edition. Quarto, orignal blue boards titled 
in silver on spine. 315 pp. Index. Review slip 
and the signature of an editor of The Book 
Collector on front endpaper. Near fine copy in 
dust wrapper, sliight fading near the spine. $45.00

FOMSBEE, Beulah., A LITTLE HISTORY OF THE 
HORN-BOOK., Boston: The Horn-Book. [1942]. First 
edition. 12mo, original printed boards, pictorial 
endpapers (from a design by Kate Greenaway). 57 
pp., illustrated with cuts, seven tipped-in black 
& white plates of hornbooks & one tipped-in 
folding colour plate of a battledore, large 
folding map. Covers a bit marked, small nick to 
bottom edgeof half-title leaf; very good copy. $25.00

http://www.mjtbooks.com/images/books/3605.jpg

GARNETT, Porter., PORTER GARNETT. PHILOSOPHICAL 
WRITINGS ON THE IDEAL BOOK. COMPILED BY JACK 
STAUFFACHER., San Francisco: The Book Club of 
California. 1994. 1st edition. Octavo, original 
cloth, printed title label on spine. Illustrated. 
Designed by Jack W. Stauffacher of the Greenwood 
Press. 450 copies only printed. A fine copy in mylar dust wrapper. $100.00

GILLISS, Walter., THE STORY OF A MOTTO AND A 
MARK. BEING A BRIEF SKETCH OF A FEW PRINTERS' 
MARKS AND CONTAINING THE FACTS CONCERNING THE 
MARK OF THE GILLISS PRESS., New York: The Gilliss 
Press. 1902. First edition. 12mo, original 
vellum-like parchment paper boards titled and 
ruled in gold. Frontispiece and nine full-page 
plates reproducing early printing and printer's 
marks. With two decorative initial letters 
printed in gold on blue. 200 copies were printed 
on plain paper, sixty on imperial Japan paper and 
12 on French vellum; this is printed on imperial 
Japan and so, although unstated, ONE OF 60 
COPIES. Mild cracking to hinge at limitation 
page, Covers with a trifling bit of rubbing; near 
fine copy. With the bookplate of Roderick Terry 
on the front paste-down. Terry was president of 
the Newport Historical Society and a bibliophile, 
his library was auctioned at the Anderson 
Galleries in 1934 (Terry Sale). The bookplate 
itself bears the printer's marks of William 
Caxton, Aldus Manutius and others. $125.00

http://www.mjtbooks.com/images/books/3599.jpg

HART, Horace., BIBLIOTHECA TYPOGRAPHICA. IN USUM 
EORUM QUI LIBROS AMANT: A LIST OF BOOKS ABOUT 
BOOKS. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY GEORGE PARKER 
WINSHIP, LITT.D., Rochester, NY: The Printing 
House of Leo Hart. 1932. 1st edition. Octavo, 
original brown cloth with morocco spine panel 
titled in gilt. One of 250 numbered copies, this 
being copy Number 222, signed by the author. Very 
faint rubbing to spine tips, a fine copy, and 
highly unusual in this condition. $175.00

HORNE, Herbert P., THE BINDING OF BOOKS. AN ESSAY 
IN THE HISTORY OF GOLD-TOOLED BINDINGS., London: 
Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. 1915. 
Second edition, revised and corrected from the 
edition of 1894. . Octavo, original brown cloth, 
printed paper label on spine. Frotispiece with 
tissue guard, plus eight additional black & white 
plates throughout the text. Spine label a trifle 
scuffed , a near fine copy. $75.00

KNIGHT, Charles., SHADOWS OF THE OLD 
BOOKSELLERS., London: Bell and Daldy. 1865. First 
edition. Octavo, original brown cloth bordered in 
blind on front panel, titled and ruled gilt on 
spine, chocolate endpapers. The primary binding 
with author and publisher's names in gilt on 
spine.320 pp, Index. 40 pp publisher's catalogue 
boun d in at rear, dated December, 1865. Small 
closed tear to front free endpaper, mild foxing, 
corners very slightly bruised and very slight 
wear to spine tips; a very good, clean copy. 
"Lively, if unscholarly and unoriginal 
biographies of the eighteent h-century London 
publisher-booksellers [which] are mainly derived 
from Boswell"s Life of Johnson and Nichols Literary Anecdotes." $85.00

PETROSKI, Henry., THE BOOK ON THE BOOK SHELF., 
New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1999. First edition. 
Tall octavo, original boards with gold titles on 
spine. 290 pp., Index, Illustrations. Fine in 
dust wrapper. ¶ Perhaps the most important 
history of *bookshelves* ever produced. $25.00

ROTA, Anthony., APART FROM THE TEXT., Pinner, 
Middlesex: Private Libraries Association / Oak 
Knoll Press. 1998. First edition. 2,200 copies 
printed of which this is one of 150 signed copies 
bound in quarter morocco. 253 pp, Portrait 
frontispiece, plates. A fine copy without dust 
wrapper as issued. ¶ An excellent work by this 
important bookseller,dealing with typography, 
paper, binding, book design, jackets and 
illustration, Three-Deckers, Yellowbacks - in 
short a fascinating survey of many important 
factors that book have which are 'apart from the text'. $125.00

ROYCROFTERS. Hubbard, Elbert., A CATALOG OF BOOKS 
AND THINGS. YEAR NINE (FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE 
ROYCROFT SHOP). [1904-1905]., East Aurora, New 
York: The Roycrofters. 1904-1905. First edition. 
Square octavo, original printed wrappers, 
stringbound at spine. 33 pp, illustrated with 
photographs. Catalogue of books published by the 
Roycroft Press, plus mention of some other items: 
furniture, rugs, etc. Nicely printed, if you like 
this sort of thing. Very good / near fine copy. $30.00

ROYCROFTERS. Hubbard, Elbert., A CATALOG OF 
ROYCROFT BOOKS AND THINGS. YEAR TEN FROM THE 
FOUNDING OF THE ROYCROFT SHOP. [1905-1906]., East 
Aurora, New York: The Roycrofters. 1905-1906. 
First edition. Square octavo, original printed 
wrappers, stringbound at spine. 26 pp, 
illustrated with photographs. Much more 
attractively printed then the 1904-05 list. 
Catalogue of books published by the Roycroft 
Press, plus mention of some other items: 
leatherwork, furniture, rugs, etc. Includes 2 
photographs of special bindings done on Roycroft 
books. Front spine hinge reinforced at base with 
archival tissue. A very good copy. $40.00

SCHOPENHAUER, Arthur. Grisebach, Eduard., EDITA 
UND INEDITA SCHOPENHAUERIANA, EINE 
SCHOPENHAUER-BIBLIOGRAPHIE, SOWIE RANDSCHRIFTEN 
UND BRIEFE ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUERS, HERAUSGEGEBEN ZU 
SEINEM HUNDERTJÄHRIGEN GEBURTSTAGE VON EDUARD 
GRISEBACH., Leipzig: Brockhaus. 1888. First 
edition. Quarto, bound in modern marbled boards 
with plain blue cloth spine. 221 pp., plates. 
Charles Muses copy, with his name on front 
endpaper, short note in pen in his hand at rear, 
and a few checkmarks to the text. Clean, very good copy. $100.00

SLATER, J.Herbert., HOW TO COLLECT BOOKS., 
London: George Bell and Sons. 1905. First 
edition. Octavo, original brown cloth decorated 
in dark brown and titled in gold on spine and 
front panel. 205 pp, frontispiece, plates. Inner 
rear hinge cracking, some foxing to endpapers, 
bookplate. Slight bumps to covers. Overall, a 
nice copy, about very good. ¶ Typical chatty 
history of books and book collecting from the 
period, it recommends buying incunabula.... $75.00

TAYLOR, Isaac., HISTORY OF THE TRANSMISSION OF 
ANCIENT BOOKS TO MODERN TIMES; OR, A CONCISE 
ACCOUNT OF THE MEANS BY WHICH THE GENUINENESS AND 
AUTHENTICITY OF ANCIENT HISTORICAL WORKS ARE 
ASCERTAINED...., London: Printed for B.J. 
Holdsworth, 18, St. Paul's Church-Yard. 1827. 
First edition. Octavo, contemporary half-calf 
over marbled boards, the spine with raised bands 
and title label. A bibliographical study of the 
authenticity of ancient manuscripts and the 
rediscovery of ancient knowledge during the 
Renaissance. 258 pp, (1) page of ads (which is 
bound in near the front rather than at the rear). 
Rubbed and a bit worn but a clean copywith some 
light foxing, old heraldic bookplate on front 
paste-down and several other ownership marks. The 
complete title reads: HISTORY OF THE TRANSMISSION 
OF ANCIENT BOOKS TO MODERN TIMES; Or, A Concise 
Account of the Means by Which the Genuineness and 
Authenticity of Ancient Historical Works are 
Ascertained: With an Estimate of the Comparative 
Value of the Evidence Usually Adduced in Support 
of the Claims of the Jewish and Christian 
Scriptures. A very good copy, overall. $125.00

THE GARDEN COLLECTION. Auction Catalogue., THE 
COLLECTION OF THE GARDEN LTD. MAGNIFICENT BOOKS 
AND MANUSCRIPTS. CONCEIVED AND FORMED BY HAVEN 
O'MORE. FUNDED BY MICHAEL DAVIS., New York: 
Sotheby's. 1989. Original black cloth titled in 
gilt on spine & front panel. Quarto, 307 pp. 
Illustrated in colour and black & white. 
Catalogue of the blockbuster collection formed by 
the mythical Haven O'More. Prices realized laid 
in. Some dusting and light fading to covers, a very good copy $55.00

VAN DORSTEN, J.A., THOMAS BASSON 1555-1613. 
ENGLISH PRINTER AT LEIDEN., Leiden: Published for 
the Sir Thomas Browne Institute by the 
Universitaire Pers Leiden. 1961. First edition. 
Octavo, original burgundy cloth, gilt. 126 pp., 5 
plates (one folding) plus text illustrations, 
Index. Small ink name; near fine in slightly 
rubbed dust wrapper. ¶ Study of an English 
printer in Leiden in the early years of the Dutch Republic. $30.00

Terms: Books are priced in Canadian Dollars and 
are offered subject to prior sale. Postage is 
charged at cost. Any book may be returned for any 
reason with a reasonable length of time. Payment 
by Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Paypal preferred as I 
live a day's journey from the nearest bank. Trade discount allowed.



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Michael John Thompson
ABAC / ILAB
5275 Jerow Road
Hornby Island, BC
Canada V0R 1Z0
250-335-1182

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