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Rare and Antiquarian Books

Original Manuscripts

Manuscripts are handwritten documents, often letters or drafts of literature. Because of their unique quality and being inherently one-of-a-kind, manuscripts can be quite valuable and collectible. Handwritten drafts of book chapters, poems, or other works of art are very hard to find and provide tremendous insight into the thinking and expression of the author, and it can be fascinating to examine the differences in content between the original manuscript and the final, finished product. One notable example of a found manuscript that sparked controversy is the original manuscript of the Big Book, otherwise known as the the basic literature for Alcoholics Anonymous. The found manuscript included a lot more precise language about the role of God in recovery, and much of that content was edited or removed for the final version. While not all original manuscripts differ in content as the Big Book, it is clear that many original manuscripts are so valuable.

Results 1 - 15 of 36
Autograph Manuscript, Signed: Does No One but Me at All Ever Feel This Way in the Least?
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Autograph Manuscript, Signed: "Does No One but Me at All Ever Feel This Way in the Least?

by Frost, Robert

  • Used
  • Signed
Condition
Used
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Boston, Massachusetts
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A$16,978.54
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1952. Holograph manuscript on two leaves of white wove, three-holed, loose-leaf paper measuring 9 1/2 by 6 inches. At the bottom of the second leaf, in Frost's hand, the work is inscribed "Robert to Fred" (i.e. Frederick B. Adams, Jr.). A life-long bibliophile, Adams was the director of the Pierpont Morgan Library from 1938-1969. This poem first appeared as Frost's Christmas greeting for 1952 and was not actually released until July 4, 1953; it was later published in Frost's last collection, In the Clearing. Adams's label on the front cover of his archival folder dates this manuscript to November 1952, and there are sufficient variant readings to suggest that Frost was still revising the poem when he presented these leaves to Adams. Of particular note is line 3, which reads: "That was to make the New World newly great"; in the published version, this was changed to "That should have made the New World newly great", removing at once the undertone of potentiality in Frost's stanza about the original… Read More
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A$16,978.54
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[Autograph Manuscript, re: His Reflections on Economic and Political Matters]

[Autograph Manuscript, re: His Reflections on Economic and Political Matters]

by Shaw, George Bernard

  • Used
Condition
Used
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New Haven, Connecticut
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A$6,216.40
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[London?], [nd. but possibly ca 1914].. Two pages, closely written in pencil, with deletions and insertions, on two quarto sheets of pale blue T.H. Saunders letterstock (watermarked '1913'). Horizontal fold, with minor creases and smudges, but very good. An intriguing manuscript in which Shaw embarks on a characteristically discursive consideration of war, politics, economics and matters of civilization, with the tone of possibly having been written in response to a request for views on same: "Pardon the abruptness of the suggestion; but suppose we blow the German fleet out of the water, or under it, and the consequence is that Russia profits by our victory to the extent of carving a Baltic province out of Germany and condemning Sweden to live in the bear's mouth, will that be a result for western civilization to rejoice over? The French seem to think that because Russia has drained away from France so much of the capital that is needed at home for making French towns and French children healthier… Read More
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A$6,216.40
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The Battle of Leyte Gulf - A Gathering of Original Combat Despatches and Various Original...
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The Battle of Leyte Gulf - A Gathering of Original Combat Despatches and Various Original Ephemera From History's Greatest Naval Battle.

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  • Hardcover
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
San Anselmo, California
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A$13,209.85
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16 Radio Telegrams including detailed Action Reports, Tactical Operation Commands, Battle Assessments, Damage Reports, etc. spanning the full duration of The Battle of Leyte Gulf, 24 October - 28 October 1944. Imprinted upon wartime, U.S. Communication Service (USS Hector - 20M Sets) yellow onionskin paper. 8" x 6.5". 7 designated "Secret- Urgent", 4 designated "Operational Priority-Secret", 2 designated "Priority-Secret", 1 designated "Top Secret-Operational Priority", 1 designated "Secret-Op-Op-Op",1 designated "Routine-Confidential". TRANSCRIBED DESPATCHES #240315 10/24/44 06;14 From: CTF 77-(Vice-Admiral Kinkaid--7th Fleet - King II Attack Force) Action: CTG 77.2 - (Rear-Admiral Olendorf - Bombardment & Fire Support Group) CTF 78 - (Rear Admiral Barbey - Northern Attack Force) CTF 79 - (Vice-Admiral Wilkinson - Southern Attack Force) CTG… Read More
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A$13,209.85
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Pierre-Jean de Béranger: Chansons Original Handwritten Working Manuscript
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Pierre-Jean de Béranger: Chansons Original Handwritten Working Manuscript

by Béranger, Pierre-Jean de

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Nashville, Tennessee
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This seller has earned a 3 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
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A$18,649.20
A$4.99 shipping to USA

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1827. Book. Very Good. Full-Leather. This is a one of a kind original handwritten working manuscript by the famous French chansonnier, Pierre-Jean de Béranger. These chansons are dated 1827 and were subsequently published in his fourth collection of chansons, the one which precipitated his punishment of nine months imprisonment in La Force Prison. In addition, there is one page which seems to be a crossed out chanson that may not have been published. The manuscript is about 32 pages long (with additional blank pages). The chansons are written in Béranger's hand and contain alterations and edits. It is a real, working manuscript. This is really a museum quality piece that would also be the jewel of any private collection. Text in French. Rebound in flexible red leather boards with gold gilt titles. Leather boards have edge wear, minor scratches, minor scuffs, rubbed/frayed corners/spine..
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A$18,649.20
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Forty-six fine watercolours elegantly bound in a nineteenth-century album
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Forty-six fine watercolours elegantly bound in a nineteenth-century album

by NOVELLI, Francesco

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used
Seller
Sydney, New South Wales
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A$57,750.00
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Probaly Venice, 1825. An exquisite suite of watercolours, including a beautiful series of scenes documenting a Venetian commedia dell'arte troupe, by the Italian artist Francesco Novelli. Francesco Novelli (1767-1836), one of the preeminent artists of his generation, lived in Venice where he was best known for his outstanding book illustration. He enjoyed a long and successful career that culminated in the landmark editions of Don Quixote (1819) and Gil Blas (1820). Novelli is also known for illustrating works such as the Fasti Veneziani (1794), hinting at his abiding interest in the theatre and the performing arts. In this unmatched collection of Novelli's watercolours, the greatest number are piquant images of a troupe of the commedia dell'arte, with especially fine depictions of Pierrot himself, as well as other key figures such as Columbine and Harlequin. There is a remarkable series of scenes from a play, as well as studies of individual performers, many so precisely rendered that it is almost… Read More
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A$57,750.00
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Album d'Articles de Voyages d'après les Modèles de Messieurs Godillot Père et Fils, Brèvetès...
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Album d'Articles de Voyages d'après les Modèles de Messieurs Godillot Père et Fils, Brèvetès Malletiers du Roi

by GODILLOT

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  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
First Edition
Seller
Sydney, New South Wales
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A$12,500.00
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Paris: Fabrique Générale d'Articles de Voyages, 1840. First Edition. Alexis Godillot (1816-1893) was a contemporary of Louis Vuitton (1821-1892) and first achieved renown in Paris for his beautiful hand-made luggage. With a workshop situated just a few blocks away from Vuitton's, this catalogue comes from this very early period of Godillot's life before he had revolutionised footwear by differentiating the moulding of the left shoe from the right and become the famous shoemaker who would go on to equip over one hundred thousand French soldiers for The Crimean War. 'Godillot' remains a slang French term for 'boot' to this day. The album features superb hand-coloured lithographs with an original sketch showcasing nearly one hundred accessories including bags, picnic baskets, apparel, wonderful old trunks, tents, and hammocks- true 'objets nomades' - many of which are in surprisingly bold and modern designs. A beautiful, rare, and precious catalogue of the articles a traveller might require for… Read More
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A$12,500.00
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A student's manuscript of mathematical problems from A Treatise on Plane and Spherical...
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A student's manuscript of mathematical problems from A Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry as well as Andrew MacKay's The Theory and Practice of Finding the Longitude at Sea or Land.

by Bonnycastle, John

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Moray, United Kingdom
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A$2,351.88
A$27.00 shipping to USA

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Hardcover. Very Good. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 170 page manuscript. Contemporary half speckled sheep, marbled sides. Several contemporary sheets of manuscript with mathematical notations loosely inserted. Corners repaired, a little wear and some discolouration to boards, endpapers tanned, contents with the occasional light spot but overall quite clean. Very good condition. An elegant, substantial early-19th century manuscript containing practical mathematical and astronomical problems likely produced by a student of navigation.The majority of the text is from John Bonnycastle''s A Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, originally published in 1806. Bonnycastle was a respected mathematics teacher who tutored the children of the aristocracy and taught at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. A man of "considerable classical and general literary culture", he was a great friend of Fuseli and also of Leigh Hunt, who included Bonnycastle in his book Lord Byron and Some of His Contemporaries.… Read More
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A$2,351.88
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Reality Jew

Reality Jew

by levy, d a.

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Ardsley, New York
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A$3,108.20
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Description:
[Cleveland], 1964. Typescript, two pages, 4to (11 x 8.5 inches). With mailing folds. Two inked corrections. Published in 'The Buddhist Third Class Junkmail Oracle' and anthologized in 'The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry,' ed. Alan Kaufman, New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 1999. This typescript shows two corrections made in levy's hand - adding "in cleveland" at the end of the sub-title and changing the last words of the second stanza - that subsequently appeared in the published editions: See 'The Buddhist Third Class Junkmail Oracle,' edited by Mike Golden, NY: Seven stories Press, 1999, p. 199." Original manuscript and typescript material by the famed, and infamous, Cleveland poet is scarce, with only two pieces appearing at auction in the past 50 years.
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A$3,108.20
A$5.00 shipping to USA
Ensemble complet des archives du Chevalier de Sade
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Ensemble complet des archives du Chevalier de Sade

by SADE Louis, Chevalier de

  • Used
  • Fine
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Fine
Seller
Paris, France
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A$173,973.15
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s.l.|(Londres,|Paris,|Toulon...), 1791. Fine. s.l. (Londres, Paris, Toulon...) 1791-1832, 12 000 feuillets de divers formats, en feuilles. - Exceptionnel ensemble des archives manuscrites inédites et complètes de Louis, Chevalier de Sade (1753-1832), auteur du Lexicon politique et cousin du Divin Marquis représentant environ 12 000 feuillets manuscrits dont plusieurs milliers inédits et écrits de sa main. Le Chevalier y expose un système de pensée de type «?holistique?», comprenant à la fois des réflexions historiques, politiques et scientifiques. Précieuses archives géopolitiques, historiques et scientifiques d'un aristocrate érudit, témoin privilégié de la fin de l'Ancien Régime, de la Révolution française, du Consulat, de l'Empire et de la Restauration. Fonds unique de recherches sur la mise en place d'une monarchie constitutionnelle. Si l'on regarde la Révolution Française comme la naissance de l'expérimentation de l'idéologie laïque et… Read More
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A$173,973.15
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Manuscrit autographe de Boris Vian intitulé Conseil de révision (des opinions) à propos de...
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Manuscrit autographe de Boris Vian intitulé ""Conseil de révision (des opinions)"" à propos de Paul Anka : « Paul Anka est un garçon de vingt ans qui écrit ses chansons et qui les chante. »

by VIAN Boris & (ANKA Paul)

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  • Fine
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Fine
Seller
Paris, France
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A$3,866.07
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1958. Fine. s.d. (1958), 20,9x26,9cm, 4 pages sur 4 feuillets. - Manuscrit autographe de Boris Vian intitulé ""Conseil de révision (des opinions)"" à propos de Paul Anka. 4 pages rédigées au stylo à bille bleu sur 4 feuillets perforés réunis par des agrafes. Ratures et corrections. Pliure transversale en marge gauche sans gravité. Le manuscrit était destiné à « l'élite », c'est-à-dire aux lecteurs du Canard enchaîné, il a finalement été publié dans La Belle époque (1980). Bel article faisant la promotion du concert à l'Olympia du jeune Paul Anka, alors âgé de dix-sept ans, plus de dix ans avant le succès planétaire de My Way. Boris Vian vieillit d'ailleurs un peu la « vedette américaine » : « Paul Anka est un garçon de vingt ans qui écrit ses chansons et qui les chante. » Vian, lui aussi compositeur et interprète souligne pourtant : « Comme il n'en écrit pas des douzaines, il chante aussi d'autres que les siennes, par… Read More
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A$3,866.07
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Manuscrit illustré de dessins originaux et composé de deux parties La Porcelaine de Chine et Le...
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Manuscrit illustré de dessins originaux et composé de deux parties ""La Porcelaine de Chine"" et ""Le Bronze chinois""

by ANONYME

  • Used
  • Fine
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Fine
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Paris, France
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A$4,832.59
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Paris, 1888. Fine. Paris 1888, 18x23cm, relié. - Manuscrit intitulé ""La Porcelaine de Chine"" orné de nombreux dessins originaux in et hors-texte en noir et en couleurs réalisés à même la page, sur de fins morceaux de papier de Chine contrecollés dans le texte ou sur des planches isolées de papier fort. L'exemplaire est également truffé d'une planche provenant du Costume historique de Racinet (1888) ainsi que d'une page imprimée de ce même texte. Il s'agit d'un recueil factice réalisé d'après plusieurs textes : Octave de Sartel, La Porcelaine de Chine (1881), Stanislas Julien, Histoire et fabrication de la porcelaine chinoise (1856), Maurice Paléologue, L'Art chinois (1887) et Louis Figuier, Les Merveilles de l'industrie (1873). Une dernière partie sur les bronzes chinois provient également de L'Art chinois de Paléologue. Tous les dessins sont réalisés d'après les illustrations des ouvrages sus-mentionnés et très… Read More
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A$4,832.59
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Index to library (= gilt title to front cover)
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Index to library (= gilt title to front cover): American Manuscript Library Catalogue

by C. Lawrence Lavretta

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Condition
Used
Seller
Tuebingen, Germany
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A$2,437.31
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198 lithogr. pages with columns for subject, volume-number, number of volumes, author, title, section and row. Pages 1-142 with manuscript entries, pages 143-198 blank. Cont. half leather, gilt spine and gilt title to front cover. Front paste-down a with stationary ticket of Jos. Levy & Bros.Co, New Orleans. Folio. Spine and corners renewed. Covers soiled. Library catalogue of Constantine Lawrence Lavretta (1858-1921), mayor of Mobile, Alabama from 1894 to 1897. A businessman, head of the firm begun by his father, Lavretta also served as a state legislator, a member of the board of public works, and an Alabama delegate to the Democratic national convention of 1900. He is considered the first Italian-American mayor of a major city in the United States. His catalogue is divided into 11 sections (headed 'groups') including history, heraldry, natural history, dictionaries, drama, literature, erotica, etc. containig over 5000 titles. 2 out of 3 leaves with typewritten contents of the various sections… Read More
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Designs and specifications for Shingle-Sydes; Litchfield County, Connecticut
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Designs and specifications for Shingle-Sydes; Litchfield County, Connecticut: The home and studio of Connecticut illustrator, poet, and architect, William Walworth Stilson, (1874-1962)

by William Walworth Stilson

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Tuebingen, Germany
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A$7,564.05
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Calligraphed title, verso with manuscript inked faked printer's sign "the Shingle-syde Press" within double rules, 16 architectural plates (15 on thick drawing paper, one on tracing paper) with pencil and watercolour drawings of elevations, plans and sections of his house. Loosely contained in later cloth portfolio, with gilt morocco label to front cover. Folio (700 x 470 mm). A charming set of large hand-drawn and delicately coloured architectural delineations for the home and studio of Connecticut illustrator, poet, and architect, William Walworth Stilson, (1874-1962), a Connecticut artist born in New Milford and a resident of Bridgeport and Shelton. He illustrated several books, including Willard Nelson Clute, Our Ferns in Their Haunts (1901); William Cullen Bryant, Thanatopsis (1909); and Hamilton Wright Mabie, The Writers of Knickerbocker New York (1912). The house was completed in 1902. His papers are housed at the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript… Read More
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A$7,564.05
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Album with 13 original wash-colour drawings with views in Rome.
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Album with 13 original wash-colour drawings with views in Rome.: Manuscript

by Uggeri, Angelo (artist).

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Tuebingen, Germany
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A$15,128.10
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Brown and black pen- and ink-drawings with brown wash each (255 x 180 mm) with black frames surrounded by green wash borders. Each mounted on thin cardboard with manuscript captions andd numbering in lower margins. Rom around 1800. Contemporary green half morocco, marbled sides. Oblong- 4to (318 x 245 mm). Covers rubbed, extremeties worn. Thieme-B. XXXIII, 540. A highly picturesque suite of interesting views of Roman antiquities and architectural structures with following manuscript titles: 1. Forum Romanum. 2. Interieur du Pantheon das le debordement du Tibre. 3. Le Colisée. 4. Le Colisée du côté des Maronites. 5. Arène du Colisée. 6. Restes du Temple de Mars le vengeur. 7. La roche Tarpeienne. 8. Cloaque Maxime. 9. Pont Senatorius-Rotto. 10. Tombeau des afrancis d'Auguste connue sous le nome de Columbarium. 11. Catabombes. Cimetiére de Calyste à St. Sébastian. 12. Pont Nomentano. 13. Roma vecchia. Frascati. A few brown spots, slightly soiled in margins. Front fly-leaf with contemporary… Read More
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A$15,128.10
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Serbian medieval manuscripts - 18 ornaments
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Serbian medieval manuscripts - 18 ornaments: Artistic reproduction of the 18 most beauiful Serbian medieval manuscripts

by Svetislav Strala

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good+
Edition
Self-published
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Providence, Seychelles
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This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$8,547.55
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Collection of famous Serbian manuscripts, artistically reproduced by Svetislav Strala. The luxurious box contains 18 drawings of miniatures, initials and handwritten text. Strala was a painter of Polish descent, born in 1891. The drawings come in a luxurious leather box resembling medieval bindings, late XXc made by famous bookbinder Aleksandar Ćeklić.Strala came to Serbia in 1917 as an Austrian soldier. In Belgrade, he worked for a time as the manager of the modern art collection and restorer at the National Museum. From 1933 he was a drawing teacher at the gymnasium, and from 1941 he taught watercolor at the Technical Faculty. After the war, he worked as a teacher at the Faculty of Architecture.Strala has drawn over three hundred reproductions of the ornaments of medieval monasteries but his works on reproducing manuscripts is lesser known.More photos/scans available on demand.DHL shipping is included in the price. If you have any additional questions, feel free to contact us!
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A$8,547.55
FREE shipping to USA