1. [Calder, Alexander].

“Calder’s Universe” – Large Collection of seventyone (71) Books and Lithograph-Portfolios on and by American Artist Alexander “Sandy” Calder. The collection includes not only rare Volumes with original Lithographs, some very rare Exhibition-catalogues, Autobiographies and a collection of wonderful issues of eleven Derriere Le Mirroir, most of them with original Lithographs by Calder, but also the rare, signed Artist Book: “A BESTIARY” – [One of 50 copies on luxurious Rives-mould, signed by Calder and Wilbur]. The collection includes early monographs as well as later catalogues and is a perfect chance to acquire some good understanding of his works in Mobiles, Stabiles, Oil Paintings, Gouches, Toys and other art. See detailed descriptions and images of every single item within this collection listed under “Libraries & Collections” on our website.

Quarto. The collection includes books in different bindings: Original Hardcover with illustrated dustjacket / Original Softcover / Hardcover without dustjacket. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Most books in excellent condition. The price of this collection includes traceable, international UPS Express Saver shipping.

2. [Joyce, James] Budgen, Frank.

James Joyce and the Making of Ulysses – With a Portrait of James Joyce and four Drawings by the Author [Frank Budgen’s famous illustrations for Ulysses].

First Edition. [Two Volumes]. London / Mayfair, Grayson & Grayson, 1934. Octavo (15 cm wide x 22.4 cm high). Frontispiece – Portrait of a reclining Joyce, 320 pages, complete with all the illustrations in place. Hardcover (original, publisher’s quarter cloth with original spine-label). Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Firm example of this rare first edition.

3. Joyce, James.

Finnegans Wake.

First American Edition. New York, The Viking Press, 1939. Large-8° (15.7 cm wide x 24.7 cm high). 628 pages. Hardcover without the original dustjacket / Original black publisher’s buckram with gilt lettering on spine and frontcover. Wonderful tight and excellent overall condition of this rare first american edition of Finnegans Wake. Provenance: From the library of one Robert D. Parsons with his bookplate to the front pastedown, dated in 1941. Tiny Booksellers Label from McClelland & Co. in Columbus, Ohio.

4. Yeats, William Butler / [George [Georgie] Yeats / Mrs. Eva Hempel / Eduard Hempel].

Pages from a Diary Written in Nineteen Hundred and Thirty. [Signed / Inscribed by George Yeats to Mrs. [Eva] Hempel, wife of german ambassador to Ireland during World War II].

No.8 / 200 copies, of the original limited edition. Dublin, The Cuala Press, 1944 [September 1944]. Octavo. 58 pages. Original Hardcover. Inscribed by George Yeats on the front free endpaper: “Mrs. Hempel from George Yeats, April 1944”. This has to be of course “April 1945”. The impossibility of signing/inscribing a book in April 1944 if it was only published in September 1944 is easily explained with the classic everyday-mistake of still writing the previous year in the first few months of the following year. A stunning association. The signature and inscription is a solid match to George Yeats’ autographs in her later hand and William Butler Yeats and George Yeats were frequent visitors to the Hempel’s in Dublin. In addition, the low number of the edition (8/200) suggests this being one of the reference copies given to George Yeats, who contributed heavily to the volume and even added an explanatory note (in print) verso the titlepage. This copy is near fine, bound in the publisher’s quarter buckram over yellow, paper-covered boards. The books pages remained unopened. Eva Hempel’s husband Eduard Hempel is one of the most controversial figures in modern Irish history, excoriated by some as ‘Hitler’s man’, defended by others such as the country’s first President, Eamon De Valera. Certainly, Hempel presented William Butler Yeats in 1938 with a copy of ‘Germany Speaks’ whose inscription described an ‘unforgettable afternoon’ spent together by Yeats and Hempel. Eduard Hempel and his wife were accepted socialites in the Dublin world of World War II, famously receiving a condolence call by de Valera upon the death of Hitler. Eduard Hempel and his wife Eva were granted asylum in Ireland after world war II and stayed way beyond the end of World War II.

5. Wilde, Oscar.

Collection of Four Rare Presentation Review Copies of Publisher Methuen & Co., with publisher’s Ephemera (presentation-slip regarding the wish for Review and publication-date, as well as a booklet “The Library of Devotion”) / The collection includes: 1. Intentions (4th Edition, 1909) / 2. Lady Windermere’s Fan – A Play about a Good Woman (3rd Edition, 1909) / 3. An Ideal Husband (3rd Edition, 1909) / 4. The Importance of Being Earnest – A Trivial Comedy for Serious People (3rd Edition, 1909).

4 Volumes. London, Methuen & Co., 1909. Small Octavo. Pagination: “Intentions”: 263 pages / “Lady Windermere’s Fan”: 157 pages / “An Ideal Husband”: 246 pages / “The Importance of Being Earnest”: 181 pages. Original Hardcover / Original, very decorative publisher’s cloth with bevelled edges and gilt lettering and ornament to spine and cover. Excellent condition with some minor signs of wear and mild staining to bindings only.

6. [Webb, William Livingston / United Irishmen] [Muralt, Béat Louis de (1665-1749)].

Lettres sur les Anglois et les François et sur les Voiages [Voyages].

Three Volumes bound in Two (complete set). [Paris], 1726. Small-Octavo (10 cm x 16 cm). 200, 200, 224 pages. Hardcover / Original 18th century leather with gilt lettering on spine. New Spine-Label applied to Volume I. Both Volumes housed in a bespoke built Solander Box. Some minor rubbing. Provenance: From the library of a member of the 1798 Rebellion under Wolfe Tone, William Livingston Webb, with Webb’s name in ink to the titlepage of Volume I and his name also to the first page of Volume II. Webb notes in Volume two that he purchased the books in Lille. While other Protestant Leaders of the Rebellion were hanged, William Livingston Webb was exiled. With a manuscript-poem in english and remarks in french, citing “Voltaire” to rear endpaper of Volume II: “Les Tome auteur n’art de l’esprit qui autart qu’il enfant, ny le recherchant jamais pensent avec priment avec clarte” (?) – Voltaire (?).

7. Walsh, Maurice.

The Small Dark Man. [Beautifully Inscribed and Signed].

First American Edition. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1929. Octavo. 314 pages. Hardcover / Original Publisher’s cloth with gilt lettering on spine and board. Binding rubbed but overall firm and in very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Inscribed by Maurice Walsh with a segment from his book “The Widdy woman’s dangerous…as everybody knows” – 8 Lines of inscription, beautifully signed by Maurice Walsh in 1930.

8. [Turquet, Suzanne].

Suite Du Récit d’Une Petite Fille de Quatorze Ans, Réfugée Française Pendant La Guerre.

Première Edition Originale. Angers, Chez E. Barasse, 1872. Small Octavo. 254 pages. Hardcover / Original 19th century half-leather with gilt lettering on spine. Binding slightly rubbed but overall in very good condition with some signs of external wear. Few pages with some markings. From the library of the Meade – Family in Ballymartle (near Kinsale in West Cork, Ireland) / Signed by Elizabeth Meade.

9. Thackeray, William Makepeace.

The Virginians – A Tale of the Last Century. With Illustrations on Steel and Wood by the Author.

First Edition in book-form (the title originally published in 24 monthly parts). Two Volumes (complete set). London, Bradbury & Evans, 1858 – 1859. Octavo. Volume I: VIII, 382 pages / Volume II: VIII, 376 pages. With Frontispiece and illustrated titlepages included in both Volumes. Illustrated throughout. Hardcover / Original green morocco – bindings with red spine-labels with gilt lettering and gilt ornament to spine and boards. Masterbindings by Victorian Bookbindery “Thomas Bosworth in Regent Street”. Very good condition with minor signs of wear only. As usual with some foxing and spotting to illustrations

10. Taylor, Tom / [Abraham Lincoln].

Exquisite collection of six (6) items/original, vintage and personal materials by/of Tom Taylor. The collection includes a 2 1/2 page, signed manuscript letter [MLS] by Tom Taylor to an unknown recipient , discussing a memorial he sent to Robert Browning’s patron, John Kenyon and mentioning former Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen [George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen]. The collection also includes two vintage 19th century cabinet photographs [Carte de Visite’s] of Tom Taylor, a later edition of Ballads and Songs of Brittany and two beautifully inscribed and signed presentation copies of his major works: 1. The first edition of Ballads of Brittany – London/Cambridge, MacMillan and Co.,1865 with many illustrations by Tissot, Tenniel etc. (This first edition is signed and inscribed by Tom Taylor to Emilia Ventana at Xmas 1864, before the publication of the book commenced) and 2. Tom Taylor’s Historical Dramas. London, Chatto & Windus, 1877. Signed and inscribed by Tom Taylor to Marie de Beauvoisier in March 1879.

London / Cambridge etc., Chatto & Windus / Routledge & Sons / etc., c. 1850-1879. Octavo. Ballads and Songs of Brittany (1865 edition): Frontispice, XXII, 239 pages / Ballads and Songs of Brittany (Later Routledge edition): XVI, 176 pages / Tom Taylor’s Historical Dramas: VIII, 466, 32 pages. / Manuscript Letter: 2 1/2 pages. Original Hardcover / The manuscript letter in a Folder, it includes an A4 manuscript leaf from a 19th century autograph-collector describing the letter by Taylor. / The two vintage cabinet photographs of Taylor included in the Folder with the autograph. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear.