Rare books from Bird's Books

1752. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Good/No Jacket. 1752 1st Edition Hardcover Good/No Jacket A presumed 1st edition of this rare text Library rebound in dark blue cloth over board with gilt titles 176pp plus 2pp errata 'Translated into English from the original in French and entered at Stationer's-Hall, and published according to the Act of Parliament' 44 chapters covering all aspects of music composition: rules, chord sequences, cadence,modulation etc etc By a Mr Rameau, 'Principal Composer to his Most Christian Majesty, and to the Opera at Paris' A fascinating and relevant book with many examples/figures throughout the text Ex library copy with a bookplate and stamp on the front pastedown, handwritten no opposite the contents page One other library stamp on the last page Library name on front cover in gilt No other library markings Some age spotting to pages and a water mark covering on the outer edge of 2 pages (approx 15cm deep by 10cm long) Generally a good copy of this desirable book

Printed by Robert and Andrew Foulis, Printers to the University, Glasgow, 1770. Hardcover. Poor. Printed by Robert and Andrew Foulis, Printers to the University, Glasgow, 1770. Poor. Approx. 13'' by 8.25''. Full leather binding, spine with raised bands, outer binding original, but in poor condition. Inner book is generally clean & still well bound. Subscriber list, summary of the arguments within the poem. 466pp of the poem plus index. Portrait of Milton on title page and marbled endpapers. 3 pages at front have a tear and there is an ink stain on the edge. (see pictures). From the library of Lockhart of Cleghorn with their bookplate on the front pastedown. With an inscription 'Barbara Lockhart from her sister Mrs Jamieson' on the front endpapers.***Heavy & will require overseas postage***

Published by The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, Ordnance Survey Office, 1867. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Fair. Published by The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, Ordnance Survey Office, 1867. 1st Edition . Fair. Complete in 3 Parts. Elephant folio, approx. 22'' by 16''. Original quarter leather with blue cloth binding, titles & Royal crest in gilt on front cover & emblem on back cover. All parts show shelf wear, particularly at corners/edges/spine. All absent outer spine. Upper edge gilt. Occasional foxing/marks throughout, particularly at front of parts II & III. Inner books generally in good condition for their age. Part I (1867), scrape to front cover, xviii + 43pp with 78 manuscripts illustrated on 41 plates. Part II (1870), Xxii + 68pp, 84 facsimiles, Part III (1871), Xvi + 108 facsimiles & accompanying text. This set covers all the major events in Scotland's history from 900 AD, royal marriages, deaths, battles, letters, charters etc to the Treaty of Union (1706).… Read More

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1823. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1823. First edition. Very Good. First editions. Complete in 12 volumes. 'Illustrated by a Series of Historical and Explanatory Notes, which will be found to contain an Account of all the Naval Actions and other Important Events, from the Commencement of the Late Reign, in 1760, to the Present Period. With Copious Addenda'. 8vo, library rebound in half leather with blue cloth boards. Titles in gilt on spine & library name on cover.

London: Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., 1894. First edition. Hardcover. Good +. 8vo, complete in 3 volumes. Original tan cloth boards with blue - green titles and decoration on front. Corners bumped and some minor edge wear. Some cracking of inner hinges, slightly cocked. Generally good + and nice & clean inside. This was published in lower numbers than the more common illustrated edition. Stated fourth edition inside, but this publisher (like others in Victorian Britain) often stamped later edition numbers on books to make it seem like the books were in high demand and selling out quickly. Wildly popular in Victorian times, the novel that introduced Svengali to the popular consciousness. Scarce.

Piccadilly: H. Berthoud, 1825. First edition. Hardcover. Good. Cooper; Sharp; Clint; De Wilde; Waldeck. 4to, library rebound in green cloth boards with gilt titles on spine and library name on cover. 72pp with frontispiece and 19 other plates. Contains 20 engraved portraits of actors in character by Cooper alongside biographies of the actors. As with other copies of this scarce volume, the frontis is of Mr Kean, rather than Mrs Siddons as originally intended. Some discolouration to the edges of the plates and foxing on text pages. Please see pictures. Ex reference library with stamps to the reverse of plates, single stamp on endpapers, first and last page. Pictorial bookplate on front pastedown. Handwritten number on reverse of title page. No other obvious library markings.

London: W. Hay, 1775. Hardcover. Very Good +. Scarce. Complete in 3 volumes. 12mo. Full blue leather, 5 bands and gilt tiles on spine. All edges bright gilt. Marbled endpapers with gilt decoration on leather at pastedown. Vol. I , ii + 170pp plus index & one page of publisher’s catalogue, has a piece missing from the edge of the last page & small tear (no text effected). Vol. II, 230pp plus index & one page of publisher’s catalogue. Vol. III, 247pp plus index. Authors include, Langhorne, Russel, Macfarlane, Cunningham, Ogilvie, Scoto Britannus, Dunbar, Bellentyne, Pennycuick, Lindsay, Archibald Scott, Fergusson, Alexander Robertson, Murray, Graham, Drummond, etc. Particularly in the first volume many of the poems and songs are attributed to “a gentleman” or similar. The subjects range from parodies to eulogies, folk songs to love songs and all that life entails. Ex reference library, with pictorial bookplate on front pastedowns, single stamp on front & rear endpapers, first and last pages,… Read More

London: W. Strahan, and T. Cadell, 1775. First edition. Hardcover. Very good. Complete in 2 volumes. Quarto. Full leather, library rebound (rebacked) at some point in the past using the original boards, gilt border. Inner dentelles decorated in gilt. Titles in gilt and library mark on spine. Marbled endpapers, hinges reinforced. Decorative philosophical library / museum bookplate on front and rear pastedowns. Vol. I viii + 711pp with a fold out genealogical table of the Royal Family of Great Britain at the Accession of George the First. Vol. II x + 690pp including appendix. Ex reference library with few markings, stamp & faded pencil number on reverse of title page, single stamp on rear free end paper, no other obvious library markings. As befits their age, the covers are rubbed and marked in parts. The inner books are in excellent condition. James MacPherson was a Scottish writer, poet and politician and this is possibly his most important work. A wide ranging set of documents, letters, state… Read More

Edinburgh: Waugh and Innes, 1834. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo, green cloth boards with gilt tiles on spine. Library rebound with name in gilt on front cover. Scarce first edition of this treatise on superstitions, their origins and the customs associated with them. Contents include chapters on Evil Eye, Invocations, and Maledictions; Occult Infection and Cure of Maladies; Miscellaneous Remedies, or Antidotes to Disease; Amulets; Analogies to Propitiatory Sacrifice; Propitiatory Charms; Faculties Ascribed to Sorcerers; Superstitions Relative to Marriage; Doctrine of Sympathy; Ingredients and Instruments Superstition and Sorcery; Mystical Plants; Mystical Animals; Mystical Mankind; Prognostication, Divination; Imaginary Beings; Spectral Illusions; The Tongues; Tests, Trial, Conviction and Punishment of Sorcery. With errata, Addenda and index. A fascinating book. Ex reference library with minimal markings, pictorial bookplate on front pastedown, handwritten library number to reserve of… Read More

London : Watts & Co, 1909. First edition. Hardcover. Good +. A Study of Christian Origins. Issued for the Rationalist Press Association, Limited. Extremely scarce first edition. 8vo, original navy cloth boards with gilt titles on spine. Xviii + 376p. An investigation of the Jesus story, the development of arguments through examination of the gospels, Birth Legends, Magic Use of Names, the Eucharist etc. Some edge wear, generally very good and clean inside.

8vo, contemporary vellum binding with lapped edges and titles on spine. [84], 970, [102] pp. including index. Printer's device on title page. This is the first edition of the classic Latin text of Casaubon relating to the Greek and Roman military, together Aeneas's tactical memoir. Originally published in 1609 in Greek and Latin. Ex reference library, which probably explains its survival, with 19th century library labels on spine, pictorial bookplate on rear pastedown and numbers hand-written in pencil on reverse of title page. Hand-written presentation note in ink on front free endpaper dated 1871. Some loss of paper at front pastedown, no rear free endpaper. Some foxing /marking and signs of age in text , generally the inner book is clean and in remarkably good condition for its age.

London : John Murray, 1863. Third Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo, half calf binding with marbled paper on boards, matching marbled endpapers, with gilt titles and decoration on spine. All edges red. A very attractive set. Vol. I xliii + 464pp, one page has a professionally repaired tear; vol. II vii + 490pp; vol. III vii + 479pp including index. Occasional marks, generally very nice and clean. This covers the period from the Life of Abraham to the early 19th century. Contents include chapters on early Jewish history, life in Egypt, during the Roman period, siege of Jerusalem, the lives of Jews under the influence of other religions, conflicts with other religions, Jewish life in Europe, Jews in China, Jews in Italy, England, Turkey, Germany, Poland, various persecutions in Europe, expulsion from Spain, Survey of influence of the Jews on Philosophy, Poetry, History etc,. From the collection of George Gilbert Ramsay of Glasgow University with his personal bookplate on the front pastedowns.***Heavy… Read More

London: John Murray, 1857. Second edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo, full calf binding with marbled endpapers, with gilt titles and decoration on spine. Emblem of Trinity College in Oxford in gilt on front and back boards. From the collection of George Gilbert Ramsay of Glasgow University with his personal bookplate on the front pastedowns. Ramsay studied at Trinity College, Oxford and graduated with a First Class both in Classical Moderations and in the Final Classical School, before moving on to Glasgow University. All edges red. Vol. I xvii + 491pp, wear to spine, a couple of small cracks and some shelf wear, occasional pencil marks in text. These volumes are a continuation of Milman’s History of Christianity originally published in 3 volumes, of which we have a matching set.

London: Simpkin and Marshall, 1912. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Spurrier. 8vo, blue cloth binding with tipped on picture on front cover and black titles on front and spine. 240pp illustrated with frontispiece by Spurrier. Attractive presentation bookplate on front pastedown. ‘Presented by the author’. Presented to a library, but it doesn’t look like this ever made it on to the library shelves. Some age related foxing at front. Inside lovely and clean. Early and scarce twentieth century science fiction novel. This was later published in a cheap edition as The World's Double.

Edward Lloyd Limited, 1897. Hardcover. Good +. Complete in 4 volumes. 8vo, paper covered boards with red cloth spine. Gilt titles on spine. Vol. I, xi + 340pp; vol II, xi + 308pp; vol. III, xii + 338pp; vol IV, xvii + 314pp. Illustrated with 124 coloured plates and other figures in the text. Detailed descriptions of male & female birds, range, nests, habits etc. Systematic index, list of plates at front of each volume and alphabetical index at rear. Beautiful plates of the birds and eggs, slightly bumped to corners, occasional chipping & marks, small tears to tissue guards, crack to inner binding in vol II, generally very good and an attractive matching set. ***Over 1kg and may require additional overseas postage***