1. Dante Alighieri / Cockerell, Douglas / North, John William / Ashendene Press Circle /

Original Devotional Manuscript to Dante [La Divina Commedia / The Divine Comedy – Manoscritto dell’inizio del XX secolo della Divina Commedia di Dante – con strofe manoscritte da “L’Inferno / Inferno” – “Purgatorio” – “Il Paradiso / Paradiso”] – The Manuscript is titled: “Pictures Illustrating The Pilgrimage of the Divine Poet Through The Realms of Punishment of Penance and Peace” – Illuminated Devotional Manuscript of section of “L’Inferno / Inferno” – “Purgatorio” – “Il Paradiso / Paradiso” – with excerpts of Dante’s Divina Comedia, in the style of medieval illuminated manuscripts. The manuscript is a strictly themed Dante Devotion and is of magical quality if one considers the fantastic, original calligraphy artwork, the composition of the manuscript and the coded meaning to the composer of this manuscript. The Folio – size manuscript is massive and has 216 pages, of which 109 pages are with illuminated, original watercolour-paintings in the style of the medieval masters, sometimes collages with watercolour and original etchings, engravings etc. The miniature paintings are juxtaposed with 105 vintage 19th century photographs of famous Italian Art – pieces that are somehow related to Dante’s world or have an allegorical assoziation. Besides the early photographs other juxtaposed artwork or integrated artwork to the illuminations are: an original watercolour depicting the dying Dante, a sensational copper-engraving, depicting an allegorical Dante-scenario, possibly referring to the Divine Comedy, a small photograph of the famous Michelino Fresco encapsulated in one of the illuminations, an artprint attributed “Burne-Jones”, two lithographs, a large steel-engraving, a smaller steel-engraving. Most of the photographs show allegorical sculpture or art by famous italian artists like Giotto, Carpaccio, Andrea Castagna, Luca delkla Robbia, Bellini, Titian, Dosso Dossi, Orgagna, Andrea del Sarto, Fra Angelico, Paul Veronese, Botticelli, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bonifazio, Neri dei Bicci, Francesco Traini, Benozo Gozzoli, etc. etc. and other juxtaposed refer in code to Dante’s Divina Comedia or even depict himself in artform. The photographs also include some breathtaking 19th century Albumen prints of Verona, Lake Garda, Mantua and other Italian landscapes.

England, [Douglas Cockerell / John William North], no year [c.1910]. Folio (34 cm wide x 42.5 cm high). 216 pages. Hardcover / Binding in full green morocco with lettering and Dante’s head as bronze sculpture per inlet to front cover. Binding by Douglas Cockerell, signed “WHS”, during his directorship of W.H.Smith & Son (1905 – 1914). The manuscript is on excellent paper, watermarked O.W.P. & A.C.L. [O.W. Paper & Arts Co. Ltd., established by English painter John William North (1842-1924) in 1895]. The binding rubbed and with some small damages, in need of some minor restoration but overall still very good. The interior, the paper and the artwork all in excellent condition besides one of the juxtaposed photographs (Filippina Lippo) removed from the manuscript with some residue of the photograph remaining and some of the photographs with some dogears and minimal discoloration. All the original artwork in spectacular and fresh condition. The manuscript is a spectacular find and the quality of its execution is of utmost interest for any lover of rare books, manuscripts and special bindings. The circle of Douglas Cockerell, his involvement in one of the most beautiful books ever printed: the Ashendene Press Dante, as well as Cockerell being the binder of this unique manuscript, the fantastic paper used for the manuscript by one of the idyllist movement’s central figures, John William North, and the wonderful Dante – theme of the manuscript with illuminated poetry from the Divine Comedy and the unique style of collage art, lets us rightfully dream that the anonymous composer of the manuscript was an important or at least peripheral member to either the Arts and Crafts Movement, the Ashendene Press or it was someone who worked in the style of the calligraphy schools that were inspired by William Morris or even earlier epigones like Owen Jones.

2. Cordus, Euricius / Brasavola, Antonio Musa / [Hieronymus Schreiber / Jerôme Schreiber]

Botanologicon (Euricii Cordi Simesusii Medici Botanologicon) – Angebunden / Bound with: Antonio Musa Brasavola – Examen omnium simplicium medicamentorum, quorum in officinis usus est. Addita sunt Insuper Aristotelis problemata, quae ad stirpium genus, & oleracea pertinent.

Cologne (Köln) / Leyden (Lyon), Johann Gymnicus (Gymnich) / Johannes and Franciscus Frellon, 1534 / 1537. Octavo. Collation complete: I. Euricius Cordus – Botanologicon: Title with the woodcut device of Cologne-printer Johann Gymnicus, including his Motto, the first line of a Verse from the Aeneid by Virgil ‘Discite Iustitiam Moniti’, 183, [21] pp., 2 blank leaves. The titlepage of the Botanologicon bears the manuscript ownership-entry of Nuremberg’s Astronomer, Philosopher and Mathematician Hieronymus Schreiber [also called Jerôme Schreiber], student-friend of Euricius Cordus’ son Valerius Cordus in Wittenberg and later trustee of Valerius Cordus’ scholarly estate after Valerius Cordus’ premature death in Rome. Dated in the same hand on the titlepage also the entry ‘Anno 1539’, when Valerius Cordus matriculated at Wittenberg and Schreiber already had studied there since May 1532. With several contemporary manuscript annotations throughout both titles (the Botanologicon and Examen) / II. A. M. Brasavola – Examen omnium simplicium medicamentorum: Title, [1], [‘Reverendissimo to Ioannes Argenterius’, 4 pp.], [‘Ad Illustris & Sereniss. (‘Epistola Nuncupatoria’) to the Duces of Ferrara’ 17 pp.], [Epigramma, 1 p.], [Examen & Aristotelis Problemata 542 pages, [Dedication to Franciscus Frellaeus, 2 pp.], [Index copiosissimus in Examen Omnium, 13 pp.], [1]. With several manuscript annotations. Original, contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards with some stronger signs of running to the corners, with partially bevelled edges and both of the original metal clasps intact. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Title in ink to upper spine and also to top of fore-edge. Very few pressed plants loosely inserted. Interior in excellent condition with some minor staining to very few pages only.

3. Naylor, David (Dave) / [Highly Important Geological Collection on Petroleum and Gas Deposits].

Collection of Printed and some Manuscript Materials, as well as Maps, prospecting Charts, Plans and Books from the personal Reference Library of one of the world’s foremost geological Experts on Geological Structures and Reservoirs of Petroleum, Gas, Seismic Surveys. The collection includes very specific materials on the Geology and History of Prospecting for Oil and Gas in the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, Iraq, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Eastern Europe, United Kingdom (Offshore and Onshore) as well as rare information on Sediment Structures in other parts of the world, like Bolivia etc. The amount of Material is massive !

Bolivia and othe rlocations, c.1960 – 2010. Quarto. Twelve Hardcover Boxes / Bespoke made Boxes for the private library of Prof.David (Dave) Naylor / c. 140 Books, c. 100 original charts, Offprints and publications on Petroleum Geology from Kuwait to Bolivia. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. A stunning, very large collection which is difficult to comprehend from the few photographs here. Collected over the course of fifty years by Dave Naylor in his capacity as Geologist and hired specialist for nearly all important Energy companies worldwide. The price for the collection includes shipping per Courier.

4. Holme, Randle [Randle Holme III (1627–1700)] / [Provenance: Thomas Pennant].

The Academy of Armory, or, A Storehouse of Armory and Blazon. Containing the several variety of Created Beings, and how born in Coats of Arms, both Foreign and Domestick. With the instruments used in all Trades and Sciences, together with their Terms of Art. Also the Etymologies, Definitions, and Historical Observations on the same, explicated and explained according to our modern Language. Very usefel [sic] for all Gentlemen, Scholars, Divines, and all such as Desire any Knowledge in Arts and Sciences. By Randle Holme, of the City of Chester, Gentleman Sewer in Extraordinary to his late Majesty King Charles 2. And sometimes Deputy for the Kings of Arms. [With 48 Plates, showing hundreds of symbols].

First Edition. Chester, Printed for the Author, 1688. Folio (24 cm x 35 cm). Pagination: Engraved Titlepage by P. Edwards, Printed Titlepage, [10 unnumbered], [Book I]: 107, [9 unnumbered] pages / Book II: [1], 488 pages / Book III: [1], 501, [1 unnumbered] pages / Plus [Bound with the rare Index]: “Index of the Names of Persons contained in the Academy of Armory and Blazon by Randle Holme. Printed at Chester in One Volume, Folio, 1688”. London, McMillan / Robert Triphook, 1821. Pagination: [1], 46 pages. Hardcover / Modern Masterbinding with original endpapers bound in, bearing all the original ExLibris of previous owners. Stunning, modern half-leather with marbled-paper-covered Boards and gilt lettering on spine. All edges in original gilt. In protective Mylar. Provenance: From the library of welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. Historically inherited from Thomas Pennant’s father, David Pennant of Bighton, who received it as gift from Randle Holme. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. See original, tipped-in, sales-note from AUctioneer “Henry Young and Sons Ltd.”. See also extensive images on our company’s web site. An extremely rare book, purchased as Duplicate from the Historical Library of the Athenaeum in Liverpool, with an ExLibris of the “Public Libraries of Liverpool” decommissioned from the “Historic Society of Lancashire & Cheshire”, formerly presented with an original ExLibris from “Jacob Kendrick of Warrington” (with his original ExLibris). Titlepage by Edwards cropped and pasted on stronger paper. Original titlepage cropped and pasted on normal paper (these two defects were already indentified by auctioneer Henry Young & Sons” and are clear markers of this being the original Randle Holme-Pennant-copy. Contents-page slightly frayed only. Corner of one page in the contents section torn. An extremely scarce publication, especially with the addition of the later published Index of Names. Interior in excellent condition.

5. Savigny, Friedrich Carl von.

Fascinating and important, international collection of more than twentyfive (25) original editions, first editions, revised and definitive editions by one of the most important figures of the german legal and historical school, Friedrich Carl von Savigny, as well as publications by his disciples, immediate circle of friends and colleagues (like Eichhorn, Rudorff and Ihering/Jhering). The collection also includes first and revised editions of translations in french and spanish as well as a large number of original first editions of lectures Savigny had given to the Academy of Sciences in Berlin (all these in original edition and separately bound) [see full list on our website under “Libraries and Collections”].

Vienna / Berlin and others, Nicolai / Veit and Comp. and others, 1803 – 1911. Octavo. Original Hardcover and Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Several of the publications with excellent provenance. [See detailed listing on our website under “Libraries & Collections”].

6. Paine, Thomas.

Agrarian Justice, Opposed to Agrarian Law, and to Agrarian Monopoly ; Being a Plan for Meliorating the Condition of Man, by creating in every Nation a National Fund, to pay to every person, when arrived at the age of Twenty-One years, the sum of Fifteen Pounds Sterling, to enable him; or her to begin the world; And Also, Ten Pounds Sterling per annum during life to every person now living of the age of Fifty Years, and to all others when they shall arrive at that age, to enable them to live in old age without Wretchedness, and go decently out of the world. By Thomas Paine, author of Common sense, Rights of man, Age of reason, &c. &c.

First Irish Edition / First Cork Edition. Cork, Printed at the late Gazette-Office, no year [1797]. Octavo. 16 pages. Original half-leather. Binding in very poor condition but interior firm and clean besides the endpaper and first few pages of the Volume which is bound before the work by Thomas Paine. Rear endpaper missing. Very important publication, perfectly protected in the rear of this Volume. The Cork-Print of this important pamphlet is of utmost rarity.

7. [Rowe, Walter T.].

Original Numerology-Manuscript – Deciphering the Bible, Deciphering the Esoteric, Jewish, Christian, Biblical & Astrological Prophecies // Manuscript / Astrology – Occulta – Manuscript on c. 400 pages with an astonishing, meticulous Chronology and source-comparison on Prophecy, Pyramidology [″Mystery of the Great Pyramid”], Numerology, Astronomy, Astrology, Drawings and Plans of Pyramids versus Occult – Proof and meditations on the Number 666 and 888: “666 v 888 in relation to Israel”, “the opposing numbers from the original Hebrew with the “Pi sign” etc. etc. The Manuscript reads like a Self-Instruction and Proof of Thought by an Esoteric, highly religious “Truth-Seeker”, ranging from early Biblical Explanations of Historical Events to elaborate comparisons of “Bible Metallurgy” showing the “relation between practical metal work and the Bible” by comparing the architectural design of a “Blast Furnace” to “The Image of Daniel”, and continuing all the way to explanations for the Rise of Tyrants like Hitler. “Great Pi—Ratio in regard to Great War”, the “Atomic Scale” is discussed as well as the “Luciferian Sudama or Nigode Cave Temple”. The amount of connections to Jewish History is interesting: “Tracing Israel to Britain by Old Coinage”, “The Jewish Question”, “Testimony of Men of Letters as to Nationality of the British Race”, “Objections to British Israel” “The Statesmanship of Jesus”, “Fulness of the Gentiles”, “Reference to the lost House of Israel”, “Battle of the Gold Standard” etc. etc.

[Brixton], c. 1935 – 1950. Octavo (19 cm x 22,5 cm). 362 pages plus 58 pages, later inserted between page 304 and 305, plus XVIII pages of a thorough Index. With numerous illustrations and diagrams throughout the manuscript. Original Hardcover – Binder with manuscript / autographed pages. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only. “Peel”-Memo Binder with Name-Label of the author to pastedown: “Walter T Rowe, 106, Dalberg Road, Brixton, SW2”.

8. [Chester Beatty, Sir Alfred] Holme, Charles (Charles Rennie Mackintosh / Charles Voysey and others).

The Studio: an illustrated magazine of fine and applied art. Alfred Chester Beatty’s personal set of “The Studio”; 97 volumes bound in 69 books with the Register for Vols 1-29 [Lacking Volume 61]. With original artwork by James McNeill Whistler and other important artists of the Belle Époque and Art Nouveau Movement.

97 Volumes (bound in 69 Volumes). London, Offices of The Studio, 1893 – 1929. Quarto. c. 20000 pages with illustrations, photographs, original lithographs, engravings. Contemporary private Hardcover (Uniform deep blue buckram with gilt lettering on spinelabels). Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Only a few of the Volumes a little shaky. With the handwritten entry “A. Chester Beatty – 24 Kensington Palace Gardens – W. 8”.

9. [Naylor, Verney].

Large Reference-Library of World-Class Garden Designer Verney Naylor, with two original Wild-Flower Herbals, hundreds of Magazines and excellent Books on Garden Design, Botany, History of Gardens and Gardening, Garden Architecture, Monographs on Plants and Shrubs and specialist publications of fellow Garden-Designers, Garden-Architects, etc., which were reviewed by Verney Naylor for leading Garden-Magazines, spanning from as early as mid-19th century books to the late 2000’s. The collection also includes two original Templates for Garden-Design by Verney Naylor. The two Wild-Flower-Collectionsl are original Nature – Herbals with actual Wild-Flowers, collected by Verney Naylor in the Pyrenees in June-July, 1979 as well as an additional Wild-Flower Herbal, collected by Verney Naylor in the Rocky Mountains of Western Alberta and additional Wild-Flower speciemns, collected by her husband, Geologist David Naylor, in the North-West Territories and the Yukon in the year 1966.

Octavo. Hardcover / Softcover – Publications. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. The price of the collection includes international shipping. See details of each publication which is part of the collection, on our website under “Libraries & Collections”. The illustrations of books and magazines shown here are only a fraction of what is included in this very large collection.

10. Dickens, Charles.

Collection of six First Editions, all bound uniformely around 1850 and all in their original state. A stunning set with nearly all of the books in their First state of First Edition printing and with all plates complete. The collection includes: Bleak House / Little Dorrit / Nicholas Nickleby / Martin Chuzzlewit / Dombey and Son / David Copperfield. A very rare occasion in which a contemporary 19th-century lover of Dickens’ Literature had all Novels in their first edition bound to his/her liking. The mid-19th-century bindings beautiful in their simplicity and uniform style.

London, Chapman and Hall, 1839 – 1857. Octavo. Hardcover / Mid-19th-century Half-Leather with gilt lettering on spine. Original marbled endpapers. Very good condition with only few layers and illustrations loosened and the usual tanning to the illustrations. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. [The David Copperfield Volume has a defect (see detailed description below)]. Perfect collection of first editions to start a Dickens-Collection in contemporary, 19th-century bindings.

11. Fleckenstein, Josef.

Sonderdruck-Sammlung / Kleinschriften-Sammlung / Offprint-Collection of Prof.Dr.Josef Fleckenstein, one of the worlds most eminent historians for the medieval period / middle Ages (Mittelalter), and especially the development and background of knights, knighthoods, chivalry. The collection includes roughly 5000 (fivethousand) offprints and pamphlets in 166 folders, alphabetized, neatly sorted and assisted by a special, old-fashioned card catalog. Most of the offprints and pamphlets were sent to Prof.Fleckenstein by international colleagues in his field of medieval studies, history and related studies. The majority of the publications are in german but many are also in italian, french and english as well. Many of the publications are signed and beautifully inscribed to Fleckenstein.

Germany, different publishers, c.1960 – 2002. Octavo. More than 100000 pages (onehundredthousand pages). Original Softcovers. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Ask for images. Price includes international shipping per courier.

12. Sikes, Sylvia / [Natural History of the African Elephant]

Personal Papers / Archive of Material Related to the Life and Career of Zoologist Sylvia Sikes, the Foremost African Elephant Specialist of her time. All materials from her personal collection / working copies and manuscript material. Including her extensive, two-volume-thesis: “Cardiovascular Disease in Freeliving Wild Animals with particular Reference to the African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)”. A collection of professional and academic papers, copies of Sikes’ monographs, zoological manuscripts and a plethora of photographs and personal newsletters, letters, pamphlets and manuscripts spanning seven decades of Sikes’ personal and professional life in Africa and the UK. The collection is composed of 92 specific pieces (some of which are comprised of one or more items). A detailed bibliography of the collection has been outlined in a Word Document (please request). The collection also includes personal copies of three monographs Sylvia Sikes has published, an original copy of her two-volume doctoral thesis, 37 academic articles and 5 unpublished draft manuscripts. There are also 7 booklets and a book by a third author among the collection. The collection is rounded off by a large number of vintage colour and monochrome photographs, letters, single-sheet newsletters, newspaper and magazine cuttings.

Africa and the UK, Various, 1937 – 2012. 21 cm x 26 cm – 24.5 cm x 31 cm. Circa 2,500+ pages. Numerous monochrome and colour photographs throughout the collection. Includes Hardcover book with dustjacket, softcover book, reprints of academic journal articles in paper wrappers and a variety of loose material in cellophane files. The archive, running from 1937 to 2012, is contained in two green (24.5 cm x 31 cm x 10.5 cm) boxes, four additional folders (32 cm x 24 cm) and two hardcover volumes (21.5 cm x 26cm). Very good condition.

13. Foster, Vere [Henry Louis / Lewis] / [Emily Albinia “Alba” Foster] / [Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire].

Amazing Vere Foster-Collection including Educational Materials and as a centerpiece the “Presentation Copy of “The Two Duchesses” with Autograph / Manuscript – Letter by Vere Foster to his niece, Emily Albinia “Alba” Foster. With a stunning, unpublished, two-page-letter, revealing several important details about the immediately favorable reviews and reception of the book [″in the Daily Telegraph”] and Vere Foster’s disdain about some criticism from one J.Donohue [which led to an alteration in the second edition of the book]. Vere Foster is also expecting a review to appear in the “Athenaeum” but reports “the Athenaeum has nothing yet”. Vere Foster apologizes to his niece for the delay in sending the book and explains that he had left 12 “parcels″£ with Blackie’s agent and gave instructions to send them but a few days later found they had been “untouched”. / The Two Duchesses – Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire – Family Correspondence of and Relating to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire, Earl of Bristol (Bishop of Derby), The Countess of Bristol, Lord and Lady Byron, The Earl of Aberdeen, Sir Augustus Foster Bart, and Others, 1777-1859. [See Full list of items which are part of this collection, on our website under the topic “Libraries & Collections”].

First Edition. London / Glasgow and Dublin, Blackie & Son Limited, 1898. Octavo (15 cm x 22 cm). Pagination: Frontispiece, IX, [3], 497 pages with 18 Illustrations (including frontispiece and one Vignette of the two Duchesses opposite page 1). Hardcover / Original, publisher’s green cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only. This is an astonishing find for the Vere Foster Research Community and the letter gives significant insight into the importance the publication had for him, its reception as seen by Vere Foster and it solves the riddle why an altertaion was necessary for the second edition [which Vere Foster explains in a brief note to the reader at the beginning of the second edition]. The heartfelt inscription to his niece Albinia Foster is also of great importance and to our knowledge the only presentation-copy of this book on the international market for the several decades we can look back at auction records.

14. [Cardiac catheterization / Nobel Price Lecture] – Forssmann, Dr. Werner.

Collection of important offprints, publications and correspondence (signed letters etc.) by Nobel Laureate Werner Forssmann, many of which are inscribed and signed by Forssmann to his colleague, irish cardiologist and clinical scientist, Eoin O’Brien. The collection includes: 1. A signed / inscribed version of Forssmann’s first offprint-edition of his Nobel-Lecture: “Die Rolle der Herzkatheterung und Angiocardiographie in der Entwicklung der Modernen Medizin” (pages 177 – 181, Stockholm, 1957, SIGNED and beautifully inscribed to O’Brien in July 1976) / 2. A signed, original Offprint: “The Evolution of Modern Cardiology” (11 pages, SIGNED Offprint from “Perspectives in Biology and Medicine – Vol.12, No.1, Autumn 1968) / 3. A Signed / Inscribed Offprint: “Die Sondierung des Rechten Herzens”, 1957-Reprint of the original 1929 – publication, (4 pages with portrait of Forssmann, published in “Therapeutische Berichte”, 29, 5, 1957) / 4. A Signed, original Offprint: “Euthanasie” (with minor tear), (7 pages, SIGNED, Offprint from Deutsche Apotheker-Zeitung Heft 31, Seiten 1127-1133, 1975) / 5. Signed TLS (Typed Letter Signed by Forssmann to Eoin O’Brien, fellow cardiologist in Ireland). / 5. First english edition of Werner Forssmann – “Experiments on Myself – Memoirs of a Surgeon in Germany”, together with two TLS (Typed Letters Signed) by Translator Hilary Davies to Eoin O’Brien, who Peer-reviewed the book. Hilary Davies also included a press-release for the book and gave Eoin O’Brien access to Forssmann by alerting him to Forssmann’s address in Germany. Included are Eoin O’Brien’s typescripts of his correspondence with Forssmann.

Germany, 1956 – 1976. Octavo. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Signed and inscribed items by Forssmann are of great rarity. The Nobel Lecture alone is very scarce and very rarely available signed.

15. Edwards, Jonathan.

A careful and strict Enquiry into the Modern Prevailing Notions of that Freedom of Will, which is supposed to be essential to Moral Agency, Virtue and Vice, Reward and Punishment, Praise and Blame.

First British Edition. Boston / London, Re-Printed for Thomas Field, 1762. Octavo. IX, [5], 414, [8] pages plus two pages of advertising for Jonathan Edwards’ “Treatise concerning Religious Effections”. Hardcover / Original 18th century calf, rebacked with new spine and spinelabel. Interior all original and besides some minor signs of foxing in very good condition. Name of preowner in ink on titlepage. Binding overall excellent with only minor signs of external wear. A very rare and important book.

16. Wells, Percy A. (1867-1956) / [Letter by Morris, Mary ‘May’ (Designer)] / [Letter by Allom, Sir Charles Carrick (english decorator)] / [Letter by Garnett, Prof. William (Experimental Physics)] / [Letter by Henry, Jacob Solomon (Furniture Maker)] / Letter by Hems, Harry (English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor)] / [Letter: Image, Selwyn (British Artist & Designer of the Arts & Crafts Movement)] / [Letter: Russell, Sir Sydney Gordon (English Designer & Craftsman) / [Letter: Quennell, Marjorie (Courtney) (British historian, illustrator and Museum Curator at The Geffrye Museum) //

Small Archive / Manuscript Material, Letters, Designs, Books and Pamphlets as well as vintage photographs of Furniture like Chairs (Percy A. Wells Chair), Wardrobe, Advertising of Exhibitions [chaired for example by Christopher Hussey], etc. etc. This material all originates from Percy A. Wells’ personal collection and sensationally also includes a manuscript notebook / sketchbook with his drawings, designs and a detailed, typescript with autobiographical memories in which Wells details his decades of being involved in Furniture Design. Loosely inserted in the manuscript notebook / sketchbook, is a signed manuscript letter on stationery of Kelmscott Manor by Mary ‘May’ Morris, daughter of the Pre-Raphaelite artist and designer William Morris and his wife and artists’ model, Jane Morris [included is ephemeral material which for example informs about a pair of Episcopal Gloves, designed by William Morris’s daughter [May Morris] and the clipping continues: “Those who remember Morris’s attitude towards the Church will smile and reflect upon time’s revenges”]. The collection includes an abundance of information which easily can lead to a monograph on the life of Percy A. Wells. Detailed description of the Archive and all materials contained below (more details will be listed constantly).

Dulwich / Shoreditch / London a.o., Percy A.Wells Private Library, c.1900-c.1920. Octavo / Quarto / Folio. Hardcover Folder with loosely inserted material like letters and photographs, envelopes, signed and inscribed books and rare pamphlets with designs etc. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Fantstic Archive and lots of unpublished material of one of the more eminent Cabinet, Furniture and Chair – Designers which resulted from inspiration by William Morris’ Kelmscott – School. Percy A. Wells Chairs are still in regular demand today and sell for stunning prices (3000 £ etc.).

17. [Optician / Optiker / Optische Instrumente] – Tauber, Gottfried.

Small Collection of very rare original materials from the library german Mathematician and Inventor of Optical, Medical & Scientific Instruments, Dr. Gottfried Tauber. The collection includes: 1. A stunning, allegorical Painting of Gottfried Tauber by Daniel Caffe (pinxit 1808) which is beautifully framed, with a significant but repairable tear 2. Gottfried Tauber’s personal Manuscript-Notebook [which he obviously kept during his early studies at “Schola Altenburgensis”], titled: “Physic a Tauber – Penticoste’s Tempore – 1784” with Drawings and detailed scientific experiments, 3. An important, printed publication from Tauber’s Institute, titled: “Anweisung Anweisung für auswärtige Personen, wie dieselben aus dem Optisch-Oculistischen Institute zu Leipzig… mit Zuverlässigkeit solche Augengläser bekommen können”. The publication explains not only in detail Tauber’s ability to select the right eye glasses for different stages of loss of sight. The publication, printed in 1851, also advertises the optical and medical inventions of Tauber (Microscopes, Tattoo-Presses, Needles for Inoculation, Camera Lucida, Camera Obscura, Thermomoeters, Meteorological Instruments etc. etc.). Gottfried Tauber was the founder of the Optical – Oculistic Institute in Leipzig / Germany and became famous for the invention of Glasses and several scientific instruments in the fields of Optic and medicinal as well as meteorological instruments . The Manuscript Notebook in the collection includes Gottfried Tauber’s personal elaborations on significant scientific experiments, even mentioning Benjamin Franklin’s Kite-Experiment from 1752 (″Doct. Fränklin in Amerika gab 1752 die erste Nachricht im Dienst von Ableitern…”). Tauber’s many talents led to him being installed as teacher of mathematics already six years after starting his manuscript notebook in 1784. Many of the experiments Tauber noted down in his manuscript and embellished with drawings, would later lead to his own inventions of tools and instruments useful for medicince and science in the ever experimental 19th century.

Altenburg / Leipzig, Gottfried Tauber, 1784 – 1851. Octavo / Quarto. Pagination: Manuscript – 146 pages with numerous drawings (some in ink and some in watercolour) / Pagination: Pamphlet: Portrait: The Portrait is framed, a tear in the portrait is visible / Manuscript: Both Hardcover boards of the manuscript are cleanly detached and rubbed with some minor damages. Drawings and interior manuscript notations very good. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear.

18. [Cumberbatch, Benedict] Cumberbatch, Henry Arnold / Rees, Helen / Basil Benwell Rees / William Benwell Rees / Etheldreda Blanche Barker / [Sir Winston Churchill / Sir Anthony Arthur Duncan Montague Browne [Private Secretary to Sir Winston Churchill]].

Large Family Archive of the Benwell Rees – Family, including William Benwell Rees (brother to actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s grandmother Helen Rees, by marriage to British Diplomat Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, who was Consul in Romania, Turkey and Lebanon ). The archive includes at least one manuscript letter by Henry Arnold Cumberbatch and around one thousand documents chronicling the lives of the ex-patriate Benwell Rees family from 1890-1970 in Alexandria and Monaco, including William Benwell Rees, whose marriage to Etheldreda Blanche Barker cemented the family’s role in the highest circles of Alexandria life. The archive also charts their son Basil Rees’ decade in Monaco under Princess Grace and Prince Rainer III where he served as President of the British Association in the 1950’s-‘60s and solicited a letter written by Sir Anthony Arthur Duncan Montague Browne, on Winston Churchill’s behalf on Chartwell headed paper in which the former Prime Minister declined to attend an event in Monaco [signed by Montague Browne]. The archive is held in five heavy volumes, bursting with a plethora of amazing and wonderful historical letters, ephemera, emotional messages and telegrams, old images, theatre-programmes, and especially also includes programmes of plays in which ancestors of Benedict played (J.M.Barrie, Shakespeare etc.). The original letters and documents paint an interesting picture of Benedict Cumberbatch’s grandmother’s side of the family history in the Levant, their service in the Middle East and their social lives. The five volumes are bound in bespoke red morocco over textured paper-covered-boards and they contain at least one reference to Helen Rees next to a newspaper-clipping and dozens of wonderful handwritten letters and cards. Each volume about four inches across spine with title in gilt to upper cover and around 100 leaves in each with documents mounted recto and verso throughout, with photographs, invitations, business materials and clippings that chart the family’s life in their service for the British Colonial Office. The five Volumes include for example: Volume 1: The Benwell Rees’: begins with Egyptian Gazette, 1890 and a programme for a performance c1900 at the Port Theatre, Marina, Alexandria of Rumpelstilkskin; visiting cards and contemporary reports of the marriage of W B Rees and Etheldreda Blanche Barker in Alexandria, February 1901; Windsor Hotels prospectus and flyer (a WBR enterprise); 1913 Casino de Monte Carlo ticket for Ethel Rees; Kings School Canterbury ephemera and St Johns’ College, Cambridge for Basil Rees from 1920’s, graduated June 1924. Volume 2: The Benwell Rees’ Vol II, 1920’s-1990’s: includes J M Barrie, Quality Street programme for English Girls’ School, Alexandria, 1941; invitations from Princess Grace of Monaco etc Volume 3: Basil Rees Vol III, cover nearly detached, 1953- Basil Rees living at 2 Rue Origene, Alexandria, and covering period of move to Palais Majestic, Monaco after which he served as President of the British Association and his sudden death in 1967. Invitations to dinner and place settings with the Prince and Princess of Monaco. Birthday greetings; international stamp collecting societies. Photographic ‘Permis de Sejour’ for William Benwell Rees in Monaco, October 1918. Volume 4: Basil Rees Vol. IV Begins with telegram from Rees to the Queen; mostly very extensive formal correspondence concerned with Rees’ Presidency of he British Association in Monaco; invitations, notes, printed volume of Statutes of association from 1950, royal correspondence with Monaco and Britain. Volume 5: Basil Rees 4-5 1902 Vol II; William Basil Benwell Rees; Royal Navy ID card, British Forces, September 1943 – other material relating to Rees’ work as Duty Defence Officer at the Royal Navy Defence Base in Alexandria, HMS Nice. Volume begins in 1902 and includes Alexandria Dog Show, W B B Rees at Jesus College, Cambridge; Egypt NAAFI permits; lock of Basil Rees’ hair, aged 2 etc.

Alexandria / Monaco / etc., c. 1902 – 1967. Octavo. Half Morocco. Bindings stronger rubbed and slightly damaged.

19. Levy, Arthur Joseph / Zangwill, Israel.

Archive / Collection of more than 350 items, letters, documents, ephemera, pamphlets, manuscript notes, receipts , manuscript letters from the private library of Providence (Rhode Island) lawyer, Arthur (Art) Joseph Levy. The collection includes an important, controversial typescript-essay (8 pages) on Israel Zangwill’s address before the American Jewish Congress at Carnegie Hall on October 14th, 1923 (″Watchmen, what of the Night ?”); with manuscript annotations and remarks on Israel Zangwill’s position “the hopes of Jewry for the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine are doomed to disappointment”. The collection includes a plethora of interesting letterheads of jewish organizations and also important documentation of Levy’s contribution to and support for the “Palestine Foundation Fund”, (receipt from Boston, Mass. June 1923). Levy, who was a graduate of Brown and Boston University Law School, practiced law in Providence, Rhode Island and led an active life as a member and leader of several Jewish civic organizations, such as the Jewish Family and Children’s Service, which he established and led for twenty years, Rhode Island Jewish Historical Society, the Temple Beth-El Brotherhood, the Miriam Hospital, the Touro Fraternal Association and the Jewish Home for the Aged of Rhode Island. He was also a prominent member of the American Bar Association, the Brown University Alumni Association and the Brown Club of Rhode Island. Highly regarded as a jurist, he was a member of the Commission to Consolidate State Laws, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Federal Tax Institute of New England and an editor of the Rhode Island Bar Journal. Included in this archive are a group of letters written during World War I discussing his role in the Jewish Welfare Board of the United States Army and Navy, an invitation to a fund-raising dinner for the Jewish Orphanage of Rhode Island, a group of documents and letters discussing the establishment of a Jewish country club in Providence, several documents from the early 1920s concerning the mostly Jewish fraternity Phi Epsilon Pi and several items relating to Levy’s personal life, such as personal letters, bills from clothiers and invitations to social events. (Main source of the description of this archive is the research of our colleague Greg Talbot from The Lawbook Exchange).

Providence (Rhode Island), Cambridge (Massachusetts), New York, 1917 – 1931. Octavo and A4. Two heavy folders with original documents. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear.

20. Arbuthnot, John / [Daniel Conner Library].

Tables of Antient Coins, Weights and Measures – Explained And Exemplified in Several Dissertations [Including: “A Dissertation concerning the Doses of Medicines given by Ancient Physicians” / Including “Of the Jewish Coins in which their weights are likewise considered”]. The Second Edition – To which is added, An Appendix, containing Observations on Dr.Arbuthnot’s Dissertations on Coins, Weights and Measures by Benjamin Langwith.

London, Printed for D. Browne, without Temple-Bar; A.Millar, in the Strand; and J.Whiston and B.White, in Fleet-Street, 1754. Quarto (24 cm x 29 cm). Collation [complete as called for by Index]: Title, 11 unnumbered pages, 327 pages plus 18 plates (partly folded) with Weights, Measures and Values of Several Foreign Coins explained. Original 18th-century binding, recently rebacked in 18th-century-style by two english master-bookbinders. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear. Front free endpaper with faded dampstain. Only very minor signs of foxing. Some minor wormhole – damage to the inner margins but not effecting the text. Wide margins. Extremely Rare Publication, now beautifully restored ! From the library of Daniel Conner (Connerville / Manch House), with his Exlibris / Bookplate to pastedown.