Search Results: MEMOIRS from Aardvark Rare Books

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1891. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. 12mo, pp. 288 + 10 (advertising). Illustrated with ten black and white photographic plates. Orange-tan cloth with baby ostrich and ostrich feather design and gilt title to cover and spine. Green endpapers. Rubbing to extremities. Two inches of cloth separation to front joint. One inch tear to top of rear joint. 1 x .5 inch open tear to top corner of front endpaper. Marginal water stain on lower foredge. Pages are age-toned. Bookplate on front pastedown. A little "around the block" (after 130 years), but solid and quite readable copy of. Printed bookplate on front pastedown is from "Parish Library of the Presbyterian Church, Lansingburgh, NY." The bookplate then lists the library rules (see photo). There are no other library marks on the book. The trials and travails of a woman ostrich farmer in South Africa in the 1880s.

Amsterdam: Pierre Brunel, 1699. Leather_bound. Good Plus. 569 [2] pages. Frontis engraving of the Council of Trent. Portrait of William Trumball. Leatherbound with five raised bands, spine decorations and title in gilt. Octavo. Head and tail of spine chipped, front board connected to all bands, but loose. Corners chafed and worn, edgewear and some scratches to boards. Some browning to endpapers, text clean with light general toning to margins. Binding solid. The Council of Trent was the 19th Ecumenical Council which began in 1545 and continued on with numerous sessions until 1563. Charles V [1550-1558] sent Francisco de Vargas to the Council. Vargas later became the Spanish Ambassador to Venice. William Trumbull [died 1636] was a British diplomat who secured the correspondence of Vargas at the Council of Trente which was translated into French by Michel Le Vassor).

London, England: Printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1770. Hardcover. Very Good. Quarto, 9 3/4" x 7 3/4." Original hardcover boards covered in blue paper, rebacked in white paper. Mild soiling to front board. Corners bumped. Rubbing to extremities. Untrimmed edges. Recent white endpapers. pp. plate, [10], 173. No half-title. Fabulous foldout frontispiece reclining portrait of Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Pages lightly tanned. Clean copy. (ESTC T143437). Edward Herbert,(1583-1648), First Baron Herbert of Cherbury and of Castle Island was an English diplomat, courtier, philosopher, traveler, soldier, and historian. In the present work, he recounts his life "in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek fashion" along with discourses on dueling, education, herbal remedies, and religion (ODNB). Herbert studied at Oxford and spent a great deal of time at Queen Elizabeth's Court. The Queen allegedly remarked upon seeing how handsome he was, 'It is a pitty he was married soe Young!" (Life, 37). In his writings, he… Read More

London, England: Printed for Henry Colburn, Public Library, Conduit-Street, Hanover-Square, 1815. Leather-bound. Good Plus. Octavo. Full contemporary polished leather, boards double-ruled in gilt. Spine rebacked and re-laid, showing two chips where leather absent. Hinges simply strengthened. 8vo. Portrait frontis (after Romney), title page, 4pp, 399pp. On front free endpaper is written in ink, in a contemporary hand 'This book was bought up immediately on publication by Lord Nelson and his friends, and none are to be found at the Booksellers in London in 1816'. Light toning throughout. Below portrait, in small italic script is written: "Published April 12, 1815 by Henry Colburn, Conduit Street". Opposite Preface is printed: "B. Clarke, Printer, Well-street, London". Pages clean, binding tight. The text presents a generally unflattering portrait of Emma Hamilton, claiming that 'Nelson was deceived by female artifice'. Recommended by the Encyclopedia Britannica. as a reference. An astonishing book,… Read More

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees and John Muray, 1805. First Edition. Leather_bound. Very Good. 406, 346, 356, 344 total pages. [Lacks adverts at end of each volume which were excised when set was rebound]. Professionally bound in 3/4 green leather with marbled boards. Spine titles and decorations in gilt. Small octavos. Condition: Rear board to volume one has some fading, spines bright, corners bumped and some light edgewear. Bindings tight. Bookplate to each volume, occasional foxing to interiors, overall bright. Marmontel [1723-1799] gained literary success in Paris with his Moral Stories [Contes Moraux] ,regarded as classics today. He wrote "Les Incas" , a call for religious toleration, which led to his being denounced by the Sorbonne. He was also friends with Diderot and the Encyclopedists.

London: Printed for Henry Colburn, 1812. Leather-bound. Fair. Octavo. Half-bound over marbled boards. Both front and rear covers detached. Frontis engraved portrait of Potemkin by J. Swaine. . 8-1/4 in. 256pp. Toning to textblock throughout, but overall, clean copy internally, except for a few occasional marginal bracketing in pencil. Some pages show through the text on verso, making reading possible, but to some eyes, potentially somewhat challenging. READING COPY ONLY 'Potemkin's great qualities were obscured by many vices, which we have not disguised.' The Count was ambassador to Russia and knew Potemkin well. "...In his person were combined the most opposite defects and accomplishments of every description. He was avaricious and ostentatious, despotic and popular, inflexible and beneficent, haughty and obliging, politic and confiding, licentious and superstitious, bold and timid, ambitious and indiscreet: lavish of his bounties to his relations, his mistresses, and his favourites; yet oftentimes… Read More

London: Printed for Samuel Briscoe at the Bell-Savage on Ludgate-Hill; and sold by Tho. Bickerton at the Crown in Pater-Noster-Row, 1721, 1721. Third Edition, Corrected. Leather-bound. Very Good. Small 8vo. Full old polished calf, crackled at edges and along spine. Title in red and black Rebacked, with original title tab ruled in gilt) glued on. 3rd Edition, Corrected. 7-1/2 in, [30] 218pp (Pp.211-218 misnumbered 111-118). Supposed printing for the first time from an old manuscript. Taken largely from Leicesters Commonwealth which was apparently written by a courtier before 1584 who passed the blame to Father Parsons. Leicester is depicted as a professional poisoner and debauchee. The book was first printed in Antwerp, translated into French and Latin, and reprinted in London in 1641, when it was suppressed. The death of his wife, Lady Amy Robsart, appears in many forms in subsequent books. She was found dead of a broken neck at the foot of the stairs. Dudley's enemies soon put out the word that… Read More

London, England: Saunders and Otlsy (Printed by J.F. Dove, St. Johns Square), 1827. FIRST EDITION (NAP). Leather-bound. Very Good. O tavo. Contemporary tooled leather boards, ruled in gilt, with central motif. Four raised bands to spine, each compartment being decorated in gilt, and the raised bands as well, each with five gilt "ladders" Contrasting spine label, lettered in gilt. Light rubbing to extremities and shelf-rubbing to top and bottom of spine. Green silk marker, sewn in. Previous owner's ex-libris to front pastedown. Bold, fine-textured marbling to endpapers of brown, red, dark brown and white. Pages supple and bright. Digby was an English philospher, diplomat and scientist.