[Rarebooks] FS: Kirby's illustrated Wonderful Museum of Midgets, Giants & Bearded Ladies, etc. 6 vols. 1803-1820

[karmbooks at aol.com]

Kirby, R. S.  THE WONDERFUL AND SCIENTIFIC MUSEUM: or, Magazine of
Remarkable Characters; Including All the Curiosities of Nature and Art,
  from the Remotest Period to the Present Time.. Illustrated with
Elegant
Engravings.. London: Printed by T. Keating for R. S. Kirby and J.
Scott. 1803-1820. First editions of all volumes. 8vo. 6 vols.
Illustrated with all 114 (see below) engraved plates. Uniformly
rebacked in 1/2 calf, gilt, over orig. marbled boards.  $2,000.00
(trade
discount allowed)
The volumes were printed in 1803, 1804, 1805, 1813, 1815 and 1820.
Note: with all 114 plates (1 folding), exactly corresponding to the
list of plates printed in each volume. In Vol. 4, two of the "plates"
in the list are, in fact, text woodcuts. The set was reprinted in 1820
(all volumes bear this date) and the plate count was increased to 124.
A most amazing collection indeed, containing fascinating anecdotes and
histories on every imaginable subject, from murders and mermaids to
heroic deeds and strange characters, from water-spouts in Iceland to
the Hammersmith Ghosts, from giants, midgets, and bearded ladies to
monsters human and animal, and from missionaries to a man who
advertised long and unsuccessfully for a wealthy wife!

Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller, Inc.
P.O. Box 464
Santa Monica, CA 90406
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Email: karmbooks at aol.com