Search Results: Authors starting with A from Whitmore Rare Books

London: Printed for S. Bladon, 1780. First edition. Contemporary full calf, covers decoratively bordered in blind, spines with four wide raised bands, decoratively tooled in gilt and blind in compartments, two green morocco labels lettered in gilt, blind-stamped board edges and turn-ins, all edges gilt. Some minor wear to a few corners, otherwise a near fine set. Volumes 1-6 only (of 7). Six octavo volumes (7 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches; 197 x 124 mm.). Collating 392; 392; 404, 384; 426 (of 428); 406. Twenty-one (of twenty-four) fine engraved plates. Volume I lacking two of the engraved plates (Daly, facing page 39, and Draper, facing page 20), and clean inner marginal tear on Q4 (pages 5/6); Volume II with light marginal stain on 3A4 (pages 59/50); Volume IV, Z3 (pages 87/88) trimmed at fore-margin; Volume V, Z3 (pages 55/56) trimmed at fore-margin and lacking last leaf 3H4 (pages. 305/306) Address to the Public (verso blank); Volume VI lacking one engraved plate (Grosvenor, facing pages 114). Armorial… Read More

San Francisco: Alex Wofsy Fine Arts, 1991. Later edition. Reprint authorized by the trustees of J.R. Abbey and Dawsons. Four folio volumes measuring 310 x 232 mm. Faux leather with gilt to spines, all in Fine jackets. Collating xx, 399; xxi, 428; xiii, 299; xiv, 301-675: complete, including 633 illustrations. A pleasing set in all. Drawing from his own collection, Major J. R. Abbey producied the following representation of landscape and architecture of the 18th and 19th centuries. "I have, for over a quarter of a century, been collecting books on the Scenery of Great Britain and Ireland, illustrated with aquatints or lithographs published between the years 1775 and 1860. In this Bibliographical Catalogue, the word 'Scenery' is not strictly confined to landscape but includes architecture, and urban and social scenes. I have found it a fascinating subject and a field in which there seem to have been few serious collectors. Many of the illustrations are of real beauty, and the fact that a large number… Read More

New York: Hurd & Houghton, 1873. First edition. Near Fine. Original publisher's cloth binding embossed in gilt, black, and blind (BAL terra cotta P. cloth). Blue coated endpapers. Complete with frontis and inserted plate. A bit of shelfwear to corners. Bookplate of Bacon to front pastedown; small binder's ticket of Riverside Press to rear pastedown. Light scattered foxing to endpapers, else an internally clean and unmarked. A just about Fine copy of this activist biography. Setting aside digital copies, it is surprisingly scarce institutionally, with OCLC reporting only 6 hardcopies of the first edition. Prolific poets who began publishing at a young age, the Cary sisters used their literature to promote the causes of abolition and women's rights. Alice, the first president of the first woman's club in America, was perhaps the most public in her activism; although Phoebe too was invested in these missions, serving as an assistant editor to Susan B. Anthony's suffrage newspaper The Revolution.… Read More

Boston: Oliver Johnson, 1842. First edition. Near Fine. Original printed wrappers with "Ten Years of Experience" and a poem from Felicia Hemans printed on front. Gentle bump to lower front corner. Small closed tear to outer margin of rear wrap; rear wrap partially detached but holding. Collating 46, [2]: complete, including half and full titles. Faint scattered foxing to preliminary and terminal leaves, but internally surprisingly fresh else. Early ownership signature of S. Cowing to front wrap. A scarce pamphlet celebrating the first decade of work by this interracial, abolitionist women's group, OCLC reports 15 copies (10 of those in the US); there are no others on the market. "It has been our practice for nine successive years to give, at the end of each, a statement of the efforts that we have made, the obstacles that we have encountered, and the success that we have obtained." The present Report is different from its predecessors, however, because as the group entered its second decade,… Read More

Boston: Prentiss & Deland, 1863. First Edition. Near Fine. Original printed wrappers with title to front. Faint foldline down the center, apparent on front wrap and all pages. Spine sound and textblock holding tight. Internally a clean, complete copy of this important activist work reporting on the educational systems being built for the benefit of freedmen in South Carolina, one of the first regions liberated by the Union forces. Last appearing at auction in 1904, this report is scarce both in the trade and at institutions. A commission overseen by women and men with a belief in the importance of educating former enslaved persons both in liberal and practical fields that were previously inaccessible. In its history of the organization and its Port Royal Experiment, the pamphlet explains that the goal in "teaching the rudiments of education ...and organizing industry" was to develop "a self-sustaining and industrious community" of freedmen farming plantation land abandoned by white southerner… Read More

London: Thomas Baskett and the Assigns of Robert Baskett, 1752. First edition. 25 George II, Chapter 3. Measuring 300 x 185mm and collating complete: [2], 727-734. A copy in Fine condition, fresh and unmarked, of a legal act licensing citizens of London to report on brothel employees and owners for a bounty; ESTC reports only 3 surviving copies in libraries, with the present being the only example on the market. [Together with] An Act for Making Perpetual An Act...for the Better Preventing of Thefts and Robberies... London: Thomas Baskett and the Assigns of Robert Baskett, 1755. First edition. 28 George II, Chapter 19. Measuring 300 x 195mm and collating complete: [2], 431-435, [1, blank]. A Fine copy without toning or wear, of a scarce Act making the 1752 "Disorderly Houses Act" perpetual. ESTC reports only 3 institutionally preserved copies (of these, 1 in North America); and this is the only copy on the market. Strictly speaking, the sex trade was not illegal in Britain; and the women and… Read More

Ohio, 1887. Collection of four manuscript Temperance speeches written in a single hand, and comprised of 25 pages on varying sized sheets. Authored by a leader of an Ohio county branch of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the speeches address the history of the movement, its progress, its need for women's volunteerism and donations, and its connection to multiple other parts of the women's movement in and beyond the U.S. The speeches provide information on how grassroots organization helped the WCTU to become one of the most powerful women's groups in the country, and how the organization wielded its influence over elections, public health, and education before women could even vote. At its foundation in 1873, the Women's Christian Temperance Union was driven not only to protect women and families from the violent effects of alcoholism, but to address social ills harming women in all areas. By 1879, under the national direction of Frances Willard, the WCTU adopted as its motto "Do Everything."… Read More

New York: Harmony Books, 1985. First American editions. Near Fine/Near Fine. The first four books in the series (Mostly Harmless, the final book, was released in 1992). All books and jackets Near Fine or better. A lovely set. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is an off-beat, sci-fi adventure generally regarded as one of the most hilarious series written in the last fifty years. The epic romp wherein a human and an extraterrestrial have adventures while composing an intergalactic travel guide has been wildly successful. And through its various radio, TV, stage, and film adaptations it has won over millions of fans world-wide. An attractive first edition set of this classic work of science fiction. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.

New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc, 1974. First American edition. Fine/Fine. A Fine copy of the book in like dust jacket. A stray mark in green pencil on the rear jacket panel, otherwise exceptionally bright and fresh. A fantastic debut novel by Adams, ostensibly a book for children, but with themes and layers of complexity best suited for an adult audience. A best-seller, Carnegie Medal winner, and inspiration for multiple film, tv, stage, and musical adaptations, Watership Down was inspired by tales the author told his two daughters. The book follows a group of rabbits as they flee their home after one of them experiences a terrifying vision of death and destruction. Led by the heroic rabbit, Hazel, the group endures adventure and hardship in their search for a new home. The story is an ode to England's rural landscape, an epic journey, and an incredible example of world-building reflective of our own. Fine in Fine dust jacket.

London: Gibbings & Company, Limited, 1902. Windsor Edition. Fine. Limited to 2,000 copies. Twenty small octavo volumes measuring 174 x 110 mm. Contemporary half maroon scored calf over red marbled boards. Spines decoratively tooled and lettered in gilt with five raised bands, top edge gilt, others uncut, marbled endpapers. Illustrated with 64 photogravures from the etchings by George Cruikshank, 12 by Hablot K. Browne, 4 by Sir John Gilbert, 1 by Lane, 2 by Maclise, and 1 by D'Orsay. Each volume with an engraved title-page designed by Frank Brangwyn. A Fine and attractive set. William Harrison Ainsworth, English author of popular historical romances, "initially studied law but abandoned it for literature. His first success came with the novel Rookwood (1834), featuring the highwayman Dick Turpin as its main character. This book was followed by many other historical novels, 39 in all, the best known of which are The Tower of London (1840), Old St. Paul's, a Tale of the Plague and the Fire of London… Read More

Cincinnati, Ohio, 1880. 6 page Autograph Letter Signed with transmittal envelope, dated May 25, 1880 and stamped May 26. Pages measuring 200 x 122mm with original horizontal foldlines. Clean and legible. Matilda Hindman of Pennsylvania was an influential leader of the women's suffrage movement in the U.S. and was particularly influential in equality campaigns taking place across Ohio, South Dakota, and Colorado from 1880-1890. Only the second woman to graduate from Ohio's Mt. Union College (in 1860), she was highly invested in promoting the interests of women in regions that could be used as strong precedent for the expansion of education, employment, and voting rights nationwide. The present letter, to suffragist Mary Plumb Nichols of Denver, deals directly with this work -- including both Hindman's service as an AWSA delegate advocating for women's expanded roles in the church as well as the unfair practices she herself has confronted of being denied payment for work once it is completed. Her… Read More

Massachusetts, 1862. Black roan stamped in gilt and blind. Measuring 190 x 155mm and containing 29 manuscript entries in various hands, several examples of calligraphic illustration, and one lock of blonde hair. Occasional later annotations in green ink, seemingly from a descendant or amateur genealogist connecting the Plimpton, Amidon, and Welde families through their entries (suggesting that A. E. and Jane Plimpton were aunt and niece, with A. E. Plimpton being the mother of the three half-sisters Mary Amidon, and Sarah and Amy Welde all of whom make entries). Presented to Mary when she was about eleven years old, the present commonplace book reflects the hopes and sentiments that older women have for the younger girls coming to adulthood behind them. The calligraphic dedication articulates this from the start: "Oo, herald of my fondest hopes, and call from every flower their sweetest odours." Most entries are from older women, and they encourage the girl to remember how friendship is "the… Read More

Boston: Redding and Company, 1855. First edition. Fine. 91 pages. Disbound but with contents holding tight. All edges speckled. Internally a tight, unmarked, and fresh copy with none of the toning found in imprints of this period. Chickering's important argument on the illegality of slavery in the U.S. last appeared at auction in 1976, and has become scarce both institutionally and in the trade. A political economist with a degree from Harvard, Chickering committed his published works to the study of immigration, slavery, and race in the young nation. His Letter Addressed to the President is an outlined legal argument about the illegality of slavery in the U.S., based both upon its adoption and reliance on British Common Law precedents as well as on the U.S.'s own Constitution. He further argues that in a nation where sovereignty is derived from the people, that the expansion of that people to include everyone leads to improvements for all citizens. "Those who have been clothed with power are… Read More

1880. 18 inch Parian bust atop 3 1/2 inch socle, previously joined by brass nut and bolt (now detached and in need of repair). Faint hairline fissure from upper button of shirt across shoulder and around to rear. Mild soiling typical of Parian, otherwise an exceptional example notable for its exquisite detail and translucence. This superb Parian bust of the Bard of Avon is exact in almost all aspects to that from Robinson & Leadbeater pictured in the key reference, The Parian Phenomenon, differing only in size, the slight tilt of Shakespeare's head and subtle facial features. The blouse, buttons, tassels, collar, drape of the cloak, lapel, and sleeve at the left shoulder are identical in all detail to the ten and a half inch Shakespeare bust produced by Robinson & Leadbeater c. 1880. Further, though the smaller sizes for R&L busts were modeled with integral socles, the larger sizes possessed separate socles, as here. Most significant, however, is that Robinson & Leadbeater's designs were original… Read More

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911. First trade edition. Original pale olive green cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt on front cover and spine. End-papers printed in pale green with repeated design of stylized peacocks. Minor browning to end-papers, minimal foxing to first and last few leaves, neat ink inscription on verso of frontispiece. Minimal rubbing to extremities. Mounted color frontispiece, with descriptive tissue guard printed in black, and twenty-seven mounted color plates (included in pagination). Plates framed with thick pale green line border and accompanied by guard leaves printed in pale green with stylized pineapples on the recto and a border of snowflakes above descriptive caption on the verso. Text pages with pale green snowflake borders at top and bottom. All leaves framed with double pale green lines. A Very Good copy. During his lifetime, Hans Christian Andersen, whose every fairy tale has become a classic, was second only to Charles Dickens as the most popular author… Read More

London: George Allen, 1893. First Thus. One of three hundred copies printed on handmade paper. Original publisher's cloth stamped in gilt to spines and front boards. Measuring 250 x 195mm and illustrated beautifully throughout. Some soiling to spines andand boards; shelfwear and bumping to extremities with some splitting to the cloth at joints. Gift inscriptions from 1893 and 1949 to front pastedown of volume I and ownership signatures to pastedown of volume II. Offsetting and foxing to preliminary and terminal leaves, else fresh. A compilation of some of Hans Christian Andersen's most beloved fairy tales, including The Little Mermaid, The Emperor's New Suit, Thumbelina, and The Princess and the Pea. A large paper edition with ornate period illustrations throughout.

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1924. First thus. Near Fine. Deluxe Edition. Copy 299 out of 500 copies signed by the illustrator. Full vellum stamped in gilt. Top edge brightly gilt. Measuring 300 x 250mm and complete with 12 color plates. A lovely example, with just a bit of bowing to the front board; internally fresh and unmarked. Hans Christian Andersen produced some of the world's most beloved fairy tales, from The Little Mermaid to The Ugly Duckling. Tucked within each narrative are lessons about duty, sacrifice, forgiveness, and truth that make his work relevant to children and adults alike. Here, Kay Nielson supplies exceptional illustrations to the beloved tales. Near Fine.

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911. First trade edition. Original pale olive green cloth pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt on front cover and spine. End-papers printed in pale green with repeated design of stylized peacocks. Minor browning to end-papers, bookplate on front paste-down. Minimal creasing to cloth on front edge of spine. With the original Leicester Galleries Exhibition announcement loosely laid-in. Mounted color frontispiece, with descriptive tissue guard printed in black, and twenty-seven mounted color plates (included in pagination). Plates framed with thick pale green line border and accompanied by guard leaves printed in pale green with stylized pineapples on the recto and a border of snowflakes above descriptive caption on the verso. Text pages with pale green snowflake borders at top and bottom. All leaves framed with double pale green lines. A Very Good copy. During his lifetime, Hans Christian Andersen, whose every fairy tale has become a classic, was second only to… Read More

London: Blackie & Son, 1862. First edition. Original publisher's cloth bindings embossed in blind and stamped with gilt to spines. Yellow endpapers. Spines uniformly sunned, with a bit of rolling to volume I, else tight and pleasing. Armorial bookplate of the late 19th century collector Henry Birkbeck to front pastedown of each; contemporary ownership monogram dated 1862 to front endpaper of volume II. Light scattered foxing to preliminaries and terminal leaves; volume I entirely uncut and both volumes clean and unmarked. Collating iv, [1, blank], 408, 16; [6, 408, 16: complete, including half titles and publishers catalogues to both. OCLC reports a surprising number of libraries with only one of the two volumes; the present is the only copy on the market. "The Puritan times embrace the most interesting and instructive period in the annals of English history. Prolific in characters distinguished by great intellectual powers, combined with apostolic simplicity and piety...and detailing struggles for… Read More

London and Belfast: William Mullan and Son, 1879. First edition. Buff printed wraps, measuring 135 x 205mm. Complete in 32 pages. Some chipping along spine and to top and fore edges of wraps; a bit toned externally and internally. Stamps of the University of Bristol Library to foot of title page and verso of final leaf, else unmarked. Presented by Burton to the City Liberal Club, with her signature on the verso of the front wrap: "The Authoress. March 21st 1879." A scarce and delicate piece, OCLC reports 8 copies (none noted as signed) at libraries. No copies appear in the modern auction record, and the present is the only example in trade. Pulling content from a longer work AEI: Arabia, Egypt and India, traveler and activist Isabel Burton produced a pamphlet for the benefit of her animal rights work in the Middle East. While living in Trieste with her husband, Sir Richard Burton, "one of her chief interests was to manage a local society for the prevention of cruelty to animals" (Burtonia). Before… Read More