Rare books from Joseph Valles - Books

Shanghai : Commercial Press, Ltd., 1923., 1923. Fair. 239 pp. ; faded purple cloth with stamped decorative gold image of a dragon ; pages foxed ; probable water stain at edge of text block and back cover ; SIGNED presentation copy by Helen Ward Bromfield made in Sausalito, 21 July 1957 (!) ; Contents: The Silkworm; The Jazz Lady; The Philosopher; On Liping Road; Grief of Ah Nam; Pak-Ling; Dorothea; The Native Born; Peking Amber Beads; The Night of the Moonquake; Autumn Fan; If I Were King; Sonia's Hands ; these short stories are very thinly disguised biographical vignettes of Bromfield's friends and acquaintances done up in the style of Chinese fairy tales, showing a rarely seen emotional side of pre-war expats and the Chinese who interacted with them ; very clever ; rare ; FAIR

Basileae : Apud haeredes Nicolai Brylingeri, M. D. LXVII. (1567), 1567. Good. [26], 643, [1] p. (the last page blank) ; 17 cm. (8vo) ; References: Adams; T-361; VD16; T-466 ; OCLC: 35196231 ; preface by Desiderius Erasmus, (dated 1532) ; includes commentary on each play by Giovanni Calfurnio ; Title vignette; initials ; Signa tures: a-z8 A-T8 [Nota Bene: incomplete volume : A-B are missing, pages 339-375, comprising Actus II Scena I - Actus III Scena II of Adelphi] ; Contemporary panel-stamped cream/butter-colored pig-skin binding ; raised bands ; green speckled fore-edg e ; two-tone silk headband ; bookplate "E Bibliotheca Collegii Cremsensis" (dated 1818, with ownership written in ink across title page) ; large crayon pencil mark in red, "LVIII29", on lower portion of title page ; text in Latin, italic type font f or the text of the plays ; only one other known institution copy, held by the Newberry Library ; slight worm damage to top of spine ; soiling ; marginalia on some pages in a… Read More

Buffalo, NY : Warren, Johnson & Co., 1872., 1872. Book. Fair. Hardcover. 880 pp. ; blind-stamped tooling ; water-stain to front gutter affects first signature gutters ; covers soiled ; spine tattered ; several full-page illustrations ; and a frontispiece ; foxed ; name on front ep ; FAIR.

Berkeley : Asian Humanities Press ; Seoul : Po Chin Chai, 1983., 1983. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. Inscribed by Author(s). 135 pp. : chiefly illustrations, some in color ; numerous photographs ; 35 cm. ; OCLC: 11766799 ; LC: ND2073.6.Z8 ; a rare collection of action photographs, ceramics and calligraphic paintings and lithographs executed by Jung Kwang, the Mad Monk ; " The present volume is an attempt to present a partial retrospective of his paintings including the latest work which has expanded into the use of lithographs....In 1980-81, he took an extended trip, his first to the U.S. and Europe, giving demonstrations of his painting style..."--preface ; "Jung Kwang, the painter, has his artistic roots firmly placed within a style of art that was nourished by the monastic communities of East Asia. Using only the brush and ink, monks made their art using rapid and yet disciplined brush strokes. The paintings only took seconds to complete; they could not be retouched or corrected;… Read More

New York : Boni and Liveright ; [Colchester ; London ; Eton : Printed by Spottiswoode, Ballantyne and Co. Ltd.], 1925., 1925. Very Good. xxiii, 488 pp. ; 20 cm. ; OCLC: 2299729 ; LC: PL2722.U2 ; brown and black cloth with gold lettering and designs ; decorative endpapers ; One hundred and sixty-four stories from the Liao-chai chih-i by P'u Sung-ling ; The Arabian Nights of China, fil led with wonderful stories and strange happenings involving ghosts, fairy foxes, gods and demons, and reversals of fate, translated by the compiler of the great Chinese-English dictionary ; Some story titles: Adulteration punished--The Alchemist--An other SOlomon--The Boat-girl Bride--The boatmen of Lao-lung--Carrying a Corpse--The Butterfly's Revenge--The Censor in Purgatory--The Clay Image--The Country of the Cannibals--Cruelty Avenged--The Dead Priest--Death by Laughing--The Disembodied Frie nd--The Donkey's Revenge--Engaged to a Nun--Examination for the Post of Guardian Angel--The Faithless Widow--Feasting the Ruler… Read More

[Hong Kong : London Mission Society Press, c1861] ; ??????? [Shanghai : Shanghai Shangye Yingshuguan, n.d., 1861. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. [1], 298, 378 pp. ; bound in Chinese fashion, with folded sheets right to left, in a western-style, mid-nineteenth century cloth board cover binding with decorations ; James Legge, the famous Scottish sinologist and missionary of the London Missionary Society was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, Scotland on Dec 20th, 1815. He graduated from Highbury Theological College in 1837, joined the London Missionary Society in 1838 and went to Malacca in 1839 as a missionary. In 1843 Legge arrived in Hong Kong and remained there until 1873 except for three short trips back to Scotland. In 1876, Legge became the first professor of Chinese at the University of Oxford, and died in 1897 ; This is the first volume of Legge's monumental translation of nine sacred books of Chinese literature, in a very probable 1st edition, 1st Chinese printing, with mixed asian and western… Read More

London : Elliot Stock, 1895 ; 1893., 1895. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. [1st edition], 334 pp. (The Book-Hunter in London) ; [1st English edition], xxv, 232 pp. 31 cm. (The Book-Hunter in Paris) ; both volumes heavily illustrated ; OCLC: 317856824 ; OCLC: 256180 ; FINE copies of each of the two most important historical surveys of books, booksellers and book-collectors in London and Paris, both in the rare large-paper editions, uniformly bound by Tolbert in half-leather and marbled papers in brown, yellow and gold ; original, untrimmed edges preserved ; the origin al black and red prospectus for The Book-Hunter in Paris bound in ; the original publisher's boards included ; quoting from The Book-Hunter in Paris : "...these vocal days, when there are books about almost everything under the sun, no one need wond er that so quaint a fraternity as the stall-keepers on the quays of the Seine should have a volume all to themselves. They have a place in French history, these men; their trade,… Read More

[Basle, Switzerland : Michael Wenßler (Wenssler), 1475], 1475. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. 169 Folio leaves ; 31 cm. ; 2° ; bound in quarter suede with three raised bands, hand-written titles on spine ; an incunable from the early and important press of Michael Wenssler of Basel, Switzerland ; this partial copy without title page or colophon ; Hain 12383, Proctor 7464, British Museum 15th century III, 722 (IB.37053), Polain 3034, Goff P-83, Walsh 1114 ; single column 36 line Gothic type, with conventional 15th century printing ligatures, and with rubricized initials throughout; some generally minor edge staining and tears ; a few worm holes in the margins ; a few pages with larger stains ; this copy with no chapter headings or signature marks ; begins at Quintæ Partis Principalis, Tractatus de Beatitudinibus, with the section on Patience and the temptations of demons and ends the Beatitudes with the discourse on Peace; rubics in the same hand that… Read More

[Columbia High School Yearbook Staff], 1973, 1973. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. 31 cm., green and blue cloth ; numerous photos, several in color ; extremely rare Beatles-related collectible: This is the high school annual for the senior year of MARK DAVID CHAPMAN, the murderer of JOHN LENNON. Chapman is featured in the seniors section, with the photo that was first used in worldwide distribution during the breaking news story in 1980. Included are photos of Chapman's teachers, friends and siblings ; VG.

[Atlanta, GA] : [Isssued by various state publishers], 1937-1999, 1999. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. A 50 volume set ranging from 1937 to 1999 ; composed of various editions issued by various publishers ; Vols. for 1956- issued in 2 v.: v. 1. Acts and resolutions of the General Assembly of the state of Georgia; v. 2. Local and special acts and resolutions of the General Assembly of the state of Georgia. ; without volumes for 1957-2, 1958, 1959-2, 1961-2, 1969-2, 1972-2, 1980-2, 1985-1998, 1999-1 ; uniformly bound in tan cloth ; ex-lib, no labels ; condition ranges from fair (for the 1937-38 volume) to as new for later volumes ; A difficult to find set ; perfect and necessary for a Georgia legal office or library ; can be used without electricity, computers or the internet! ; VG.

New York : Commerce Clearing House, 1913-1986, 1986. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 91 volumes ; A nearly complete run from 1913-1986 ; almost 75 years of tax litigation history ; At head of title: CCH./ Published: Chicago, IL : CCH Incorporated / Accompanied by separately numbered Consolidated volumes (vol. 1 (1913/1929)-v. 5 (1917/1940), published 1938-1940), which make available in permanent bound form the opinions originally reproduced and reported in the publisher's "court decisions" division of Standard federal tax service./ "The fifth vol. of the consolidated vols. presents court decisions handed down under the excess profits tax statutes which were effective from 1917 to 1921."--Foreword to v. 5 ; LC: KF6280.A2; HJ3251.A39; Dewey: 343/.73/0402643 ; OCLC: 3157871 ; ISSN: 0277-402X; Other format's ISSN: 1084-0125; National Library: 011150635; LCCN: 37-1000 ; without vols. for 79-2, 80-2, 81-83, 84-1, and duplicates of 74 & 75-1 ; As published in book form, we must point… Read More

Washington : G.P.O., 1894-1937, 1894. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 37,352 pages ; scarce, complete run of 43 volumes to 1937 ; thousands of late 19th and early 20th century photographs ; nearly 100 full color plates ; various colored bindings ;Title varies; OCLC: 2288725 (1894-1922); OCLC: 2288694 (1923-1925); OCLC: 2289136 (1926-1937) ; Partial contents: Birds That Injure Grain--Danger of Importing Insect Pests--Hybrids and Their Utilization in Plant Breeding--Lawns and Lawn Making--Some Edible and Poisonous Fungi--The Agricultural Outlook of the Coast Region of Alaska--The Fruit Industry, and Substitution of Domestic for Foreign-grown Fruits--The Present Status of Flax Culture--Utilization of By-products of the Dairy--Agriculture in Puerto Rico--Cattle dipping, experimental and practical--Cyclones, hurricanes, and tornadoes--Insects injurious to beans and peas--Sand-binding grasses--Pruning of trees and other plants--The present condition of grape culture in California--The use of kites in the exploration… Read More

New York, Viking Press, 1969, 1969. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. 420 pages illustrations, facsimiles (on lining papers), portraits 23 cm ; ISBN: 0670529060; 9780670529063 LCCN: 69-15653 ; LC: PR5823; Dewey: 821/.8; B ; OCLC: 93013 ; green and black cloth ; no dustjacket ; "Une biographie qui insiste plus particulièrement sur les relations entre Oscar Wilde et la France." ; illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, Max Beerbohm, WIlliam Rothenstein, James MacNeil Whistler, Maurice Greiffenhagen, William Powell Frith, Julia Margaret Cameron, A J Wyatt, Toulouse-Lautrec ; VG.

St. Louis, Mo. : Students of Central High School, 1933, 1933. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 272 pp. ; profusely illustrated with artwork, drawings, and photographs ; red decorative cloth, no dustjacket ; ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING PSYCHIC OCCURENCES is preserved in this yearbook. A member of the graduating January class of 1933, GENEVA ABBOTT PATTERSON, (1916-2011) was asked at age 16 to imagine the city of St. Louis in the future, and she amazingly created a watercolor depicting the St. Louis cityscape and INCLUDED THE ST. LOUIS GATEWAY ARCH 15 YEARS BEFORE IT BECAME A CONCEPT IN THE MIND OF ITS DESIGNER, EERO SAARINEN IN 1947! The Gateway Arch was not completed until 1963. ; She added the following prophetic text spoken by Ulysses's wife Penelope from line 24 of Tennyson's Ulysses (1842): "Yet all experience is an Arch wherethro' gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades for ever, and for ever when I move" ; Geneva Abbott furthered her art studies at the Hadley Vocational… Read More

Stuttgart, gedrukt auf Kosten des Literarischen Vereins [gedrukt bei K. Fr. Hering & Comp.], 1847, 1847. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. [1st edition] ; xiv, 275 pages illustrations 22 cm. ; 8°; 1/2 red leather with beige and black Jugenstil patterned papers ; 4 raised gold bands and gold lettering ; mauve endpapers ; Bibliothek des Litterarischen Vereins in Stuttgart. [Bd.] 16 [1 ; LCCN: 02-9109 ; OCLC: 5014920 ; LC: PT1101; Dewey: 830.6 ; "Tabula carminum etc. initia ordine alphabetico exhibens": pages [263]-275. ; This is the first exposition of the famous 12th century manuscript of poems and songs by the goliards, or traveling student minstrels, here published with illustrations from the manuscript; texts in Medieval Latin, Mittelhochdeutsch (medieval German) and in Middle French; This is the edition that inspired Carl Orff in 1934 to write the now world-famous Carmina Burana (part I of his work, Trionfi). Orff relates in "Carl Orff und sein Werk in 8… Read More