Search Results: Authors starting with D from Michael Laird Rare Books LLC

Florence: Leo S. Olschki Editore, 1953. First Edition. Very good. Small 4to. 172, [4] pp. With 15 full-page plates, including frontispiece portrait of Ugo da Como. Original printed wrappers (slightly dust-soiled), uncut and unopened. Catalogue of the incunabula in one of the most important private libraries in Northern Italy, a "Citadel of Culture" in Lonato. The volume describes 400 incunables plus an Appendix containing an additional 4 incunables. The most coveted incunabula owned by Ugo Da Como were the ones about Brescia or printed in Brescia. The arrangement is alphabetical by author. Each book receives copious references to standard bibliographies, and is accompanied by copy-specific information concerning binding and provenance. There are a number of unique incunables as well. The Library is presented in the astonishing fifteenth century "Casa del Podesta" in Lonato, Brescia, the early seat of the representative of Venice. Ugo Da Como (1869-1941), was a wealthy Italian politician who… Read More

1956. Fair. All in original wrappers, conditions vary from fair to very good (some wrappers chipped and worn; some textblocks browned and brittle on account of the WWI paper supply). One pamphlet is ex-Harvard (duplicate) with associated markings, another is a presentation copy. Small collection of 8 French pamphlets celebrating the patron saint of France, Jeanne d'Arc (1412-1431). Reflects the continued fascination and scholarly interest with this remarkable young woman, her courage and her leadership, and how inspiring she has continued to be, even after nearly 600 years. The most interesting pamphlet in the collection -- in our opinion -- is Henri Debout's "Jeanne d'Arc et les archives anglaises" (1894) in which the author examines documents preserved in early English manuscripts that had been unexplored by French scholars. None of the pamphlets are in the Boston Public Library which holds the largest Joan of Arc collection in America. From the Dorothy Sloan Collection.

Providence, RI: The Providence Journal Print, 1892. First Edition. Very good. 8vo. 421 pp., with numerous illustrations. Recent wrappers. THE FIRST MURDER IN U.S. HISTORY COMMITTED THROUGH THE POSTAL SERVICE. THE SENSATIONAL TRIAL OF DR. THOMAS THATCHER GRAVES FOR THE MURDER (BY POISONING) OF JOSEPHINE A. BARNABY. DENVER, COLORADO, 1891, ILLUSTRATED WITH CURIOUS PORTRAITS. The trial lasted for six weeks, the longest murder trial in the United States up to that time. As we learn from American State Trials (vol. XIII, 1929, pp. 256 et seq.): "Mrs. Josephine A. Barnaby, a wealthy widow whose home was in Providence, R. I., had been spending the winter of 1890 at the California health resorts in company with a friend, Mrs. Edward S. Worrell, of Denver. They separated about the first of April, 1891, it being understood that they were to meet in Denver, where Mrs. Worrell was visiting her son. Mrs. Barnaby arrived in Denver April 9th, and joined her friend, who informed her that a package had arrived… Read More

Cincinnati: s.n., 1867. FIRST EDITION. Softcover. Good. Original publisher's printed pale green wrappers (chipped). 128 pp. 8vo. 8-1/4" x 5-1/2". Some general wear & soiling. A touch of foxing. Unsightly abrasion to rear wrapper, resulting in some loss. OHIO CRIMEWAVE NARRATIVES "FOR THE FAMILY." Herein are described, in graphic detail, over 100 murders in Cincinnati and environs. This highly curious volume represents a genuinely early American work in the literary genre now known as "True Crime," about which see especially Mark Steltzer, "True Crime: Observations on Violence and Modernism" (2007), passim. True Crime as a form of entertainment created important American pop culture icons, namely the sociopaths, the psychopath, the mass murderer, and the serial killer, all of whom are represented herein. The full title adds useful information about the crimes, including: "Trials and Executions of John May ; Philip Lewis, (colored) ; John Cowan, the Murderer of his Family ; Washburn and his… Read More

Cadiz, 1691. Good. Single sheet, folded once. Pencil inscription at top with small black stamp, folded along vertical and horizontal crease, another later fold along spinal edge, small dirt stains along spine and foreedge. Visible watermark on 2f. Letter address on verso of 2f. This is a letter of recommendation / introduction from D. Francisco de Velasco to the Duke of Sesa. It is dated 23 of June, 1691, in Madrid, Spain. In this letter, D. Velasco presents D. Abel Nesi who has been sent to discuss certain items of business with the Duke in Cadiz, Spain, and then return to Madrid. Certification containing references to the "Indies" (West or East?) and addressed to the Duke of Sesa (at that time, Felix Fernandez de Cordoba, who held the title from 1688-1709). The Francisco de Velasco who signed this letter may have been Francisco de Velasco y Tovar (1646-1716), Count of Melgar and Viceroy of Catalonia. After serving in various wars, including a prolonged fight against the French in Catalonia in… Read More

New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 2003. Hardcover. Very Good/Very good. Quarto, 247 numbered pages, with dustjacket. Profusely illustrated with 200 color photographs. ¶ A photographic tour of twenty-three of the world's most precious libraries, representing twelve countries and ranging from the great national monuments to scholarly, religious, and private libraries. De Laubier allows the reader to marvel at the grandeur of the great public libraries while relishing the rare glimpses inside "scholars-only" private archives.

London and Fribourg, Switzerland: The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, Office du Livre, 1977. Hardcover. Very Good/Very good. Quarto, 608 pages, original cloth with dust jacket. Illustrated in black and white and color. ¶ DELAISSE'S MOST IMPORTANT ESSAY IN CODICOLOGY, STILL ESSENTIAL. This is the majesterial catalogue to the preeminent collection held at Waddesdon Manor, representative of the most prominent artists of the late Middle Ages. 46 color plates and many more black and white illustrates are accompanied by erudite commentary and analysis of the history of the medieval book.

Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Houghton Library, 1992. Softcover. Very Good/Very good. Quarto, 200 pages, illustrated in black and white. ¶ Essential collection of brief essays from a group of international scholars, illustrating the evidentiary usefulness of manuscripts as well as their complexities. Early and recent manuscripts from the collections of the Houghton Library illuminate the subject.

Luxemburg: Verlag der Sankt-Paulus-Druckerei, 1970. First Edition. Large 8vo. xvi, 81 pp. With 21 illustrations in the text. Original printed wrappers (a little dinged on lower edge). NOT ex-library: the text is unblemished and free from stamps and ugly markings! Well illustrated catalogue of a lesser-known collection of incunables: 132 editions are described, most with detailed provenance information. There is an interesting essay on the history of the collection at NB Luxemburg; Concordances; an Index of printers (arranged by town); and a Provenance Index. From the famed Bibliotheca Bibliographica Breslaueriana (sale at Christies NY, 2005, lot 1255) and with B.H. Breslauer's circled accession number in pencil on the front wrapper.

Chicago, 1933. First Edition. 8vo. 3 pp. (1 sheet folded once to produce 4 pages, final page blank). 1" tear in fore-edge of both leaves, otherwise very good. CRIME AND CRIME DETECTION EXHIBITION AT THE 1933 CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR. From a contemporary Guidebook "World's Fair Suvenir" (sic) published by Unk Ebenezer's Tiny Weekly: "Sponsored in part by Northwestern University School of Crime Detection. Actual displays of guns and photographs of many gang killings which are horribly convincing arguments that crime does not pay. Medieval modes of torture, and a side-show of the electric chair in operation, guide and lecture completes show. 10 cents." Gone are the good ol' days! Not in OCLC.

Philadelphia: G.B. Zieber, 1845. First American edition. Very good. Small 8vo. viii, [1], 14-236 pp. + 8 pp. (advertisements). Collates complete as per the Stanford copy. Forms Part VIII of "The Home & Travellers Library Semi-Monthly." Original cloth (spine chipped and partially defective, extremities rubbed), hinges perfectly sound. Small marginal stain on fore-edge of title-page and first 20 pages (not objectionable). First American edition, originally published in London in 1844 under the title: "History of the Oregon Territory." The author resided in the Oregon Territory for eight years in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. Despite that this American edition does not contain the linguistics section, there is extremely valuable documentation on the Pacific Northwest Indians, British Columbia, and the nascent Pacific Northwest states, much of which was unavailable to many American readers at the time. ¶ From the Dorothy Sloan Americana Collection. Howes D577. Field 467. Graff 1182 (citing… Read More

London: Laurie and Whittle. No. 53, Fleet Street, 1794. Very good. Original copper-engraved map with contemporary hand-colored outline and rather hastily-applied wash which in some instances extends into the outer margins. Professionally matted (visible size: 420 x 320 mm; 16.5" x 12.5"), very handsome 20th-century wood frame. Original engraving, NOT a reproduction! Fine 18th-century map of the world, showing the exploration routes and circumnavigations of Bouvet (1733 and 1739), Bougainville (1768), Byron (1765) and Cook (1773-1779), with other explorers' landfalls shown in the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Australia is shown as New Holland; New Zealand appears twice (sic!); and there is no indication of Antarctica. The map shows late eighteenth-century coastal cities and some geography of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Extracted from Samuel Dunn's "A New atlas of the mundane system; or, of geography and cosmography: describing the heavens and the earth, the… Read More

Bethesda, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, National Library of Medicine; U.S. Govt. Printing Office, 1971. First Edition. Together 2 vols. 4to (265 x 205 mm). Ad 1: xi, 698 pp. Ad 2: v, 51 pp. Original decorated gray cloth with black embossed roundel and black and gilt lettering on spines. Some soiling and fading to covers, internally very good. Loosely inserted: Pamphlet, "The Medical Department of Crear Library," by Herman H. Henkle. Reprinted from "The Centaur of Alpha Kappa Alpha, November 1956," 12 pp. Ad 1: Indispensable catalogue with 4808 entries. With Index of Printers and Publishers (1. Geographical Index; 2. Name Index), Concordance, and Index of Vernacular Imprints. Ad 2: Catalogue of 27 incunabula and 272 sixteenth-century books that supplements the above catalogue, and also the "Catalogue of Incunabula and Manuscripts in the Army Medical Library" (1950). ¶ Both volumes from the very important library of Dr. Elmer Belt, great benefactor of UCLA, with his bookplate… Read More

Heidelberg: Richard Weissbach, 1955. Hardcover. Very Good. Octavo, 315 pages, original cloth with gilt lettering. ¶ The first scientific catalog of the early German lithography, arranged alphabetically by the artist's last name. First published in 1925, this book is still considered an essential reference work.