New York: The Hispanic Society of America, 1967. A sound copy of this first edition, with photograph and signature / inscription of the author. Original burgundy dust wrapper, which has several closed tears to the front cover (one with repair). Otherwise clean. Burgundy cloth boards in good clean condition. Inside the book is clean and tidy throughout. The front end paper bears a photograph by the author giving a speech in 1969, there is also a written text from the author, with a typed copy - of this pasted above it. The author comments on the length of time that the book was delayed. To the title page, the publication date has been changed from 1967 to 1968 in the same hand - suggesting that the book was actually published in 1968. Colour frontis, and 60 black and white photographs of Spanish book bindings. The book bears the ex libris of J. Peeters Fontainas, the Dutch bibliographer and Spanish book expert / author. 18, [ii], LX (plates). pp 285 by 210mm (11¼ by 8¼ inches). Un bon exemplaire de cette première édition, avec photographie et signature / inscription de l'auteur. La jaquette originale bordeaux présente plusieurs déchirures fermées sur la couverture avant (dont une a été réparée). Sinon, elle est propre. Les planches en tissu bourgogne sont en bon état. L'intérieur du livre est propre et bien rangé. La première page de garde porte une photographie de l'auteur prononçant un discours en 1969, ainsi qu'un texte écrit par l'auteur, avec une copie dactylographiée de celui-ci collée au-dessus. L'auteur commente le temps qu'il a fallu pour que le livre soit publié. Sur la page de titre, la date de publication a été modifiée de 1967 à 1968 de la même main, ce qui suggère que le livre a en fait été publié en 1968. Frontis en couleur et 60 photographies en noir et blanc de reliures espagnoles. Le livre porte l'ex libris de J. Peeters Fontainas, bibliographe néerlandais et expert en livres espagnols. 18, [ii], LX (planches). pp 285 by 210mm

Paris: Arthème Fayard, 1959. Beautiful, large paper First Edition of this work. Bound in full dark blue Morocco binding. Signed by J. Bonnemort. With a double filet to the boards, and simple, yet beautiful Taurus design to the front board. Gilt titles to the spine. Lovely pressed flowers under tissue end papers. Original covers are bound in. SIGNED by Maurois to the half title, with a dedication to Roger Bellon ("ami des beaux livres"). The large paper edition on Papier Hollande van Gelder was limited to only 50 copies, this being number 37. A fabulous copy of this work. 208 pages. 220 x 160 mm (8¾ x 6¼ inches). Belle édition originale de cet ouvrage sur grand papier. Reliure en plein maroquin bleu foncé. Signée par J. Bonnemort. Avec un double filet sur les plats, et un simple mais magnifique motif de Taureau sur le premier plat. Titres dorés au dos. Jolies fleurs pressées sous les feuilles de papier de soie. Les couvertures originales sont reliées. SIGNÉ par Maurois sur la moitié du titre, avec une dédicace à Roger Bellon ("ami des beaux livres"). L'édition en grand papier sur Papier Hollande van Gelder a été limitée à 50 exemplaires, celui-ci étant le numéro 37. Un fabuleux exemplaire de cet ouvrage. 208 pages. 220 x 160 mm

por Jose Maria de Ferrer Imp. by Julio Didot Mayor, 1832. A lovely copy of this miniature edition. Contemporary brown leather Simier of Paris signed Cathedral Binding, with profuse gilt decoration and armourial crest to the boards. Gilt design, titles and windmill to the spines. This binding is identical to one part of the British Library Charles Ramsden Collection of Signed Bindings. (See BL Shelfmark c150k11) A little rubbing to the bindings, with slight loss of gilt, but overall, in excellent condition. The hinges have been professionally restored at some point, in a way that is barely noticeable. Marbled end papers. Illustrated with 11 plates engraved by E Stalker (including Frontis) and a folding hand-colored map. Complete. Half title to each volume, and an engraved title on glossy paper, and a second engraved title. Vol. 1 has a frontispiece portrait of Cervantes, (portrait of Cervantes engraved by E. Stalker after José del Castillo's design). and 5 engraved plates. It ends with the beautiful miniature hand coloured map, showing Don Quixote's travels. Volume 2 offers 5 engraved plates. Inside, the books are in very good condition, but with a little darkening and moderate foxing to the pages. Still a very nice copy. This was the second edition of Don Quijote by Ferrar. The first was in one volume, this edition allowed better line spacing, and two extra plates. Originally issued in paper wrappers, this luxurious binding adds greatly to the attractiveness of this work. Nb. Many sources quote STAKKER as the engraver, but a close look at the engravings shows that it is E. STALKER. Christies commented in a recent auction that Ferrer was a great admirer of Cervantes and paid 30,000 francs in order to produce the first edition in miniature which includes his dedication to Cervantes after the title page. Collation: XX, 352, [ii], Map., XII, 378 pages. 125 by 80mm (5 by 3¼ inches). Palau, 25059; Rius, 89; Suñé, 96; Quixotes collector's manual, no. 41.1

Paris: Librairie Charles Delagrave, 1888. First edition. 40 pages. 280 x 190 mm (11 x 7½ inches). with 7 compositions hors-text by JEAN GEOFFROY. Bound in three quarters blue morocco, with blue marbled boards. gilt lines, titles and decorations. Binding is in excellent condition, with a little rubbing to the raised bands of the spine only. Marbled end papers. Original gilt and pale blue decorated covers are bound in. Plates have descriptive tissue guards. Inside, some of the pages (particularly end papers) have a little darkening / foxing, but not extensive. Overall a lovely copy. 280 x 190 mm (11 x 7½ inches). 40 pages. Première édition. 40 pages. 280 x 190 mm. avec 7 compositions hors-texte de JEAN GEOFFROY. Reliure en maroquin bleu aux trois quarts, avec des planches marbrées bleues, des lignes, des titres et des décorations dorés. La reliure est en excellente condition, avec un peu de frottement aux bandes du dos. Papiers de fin marbrés. Les couvertures originales décorées en bleu pâle et en doré sont reliées. Les planches ont des gardes de tissus descriptifs. A l'intérieur, certaines pages (en particulier les pages de garde) présentent un léger assombrissement / rousseur, mais pas trop important. Dans l'ensemble, il s'agit d'un bel exemplaire. 280 x 190 mm. 40pp.

Paris: Union de Littérature et d'Art - Librairie F. Tassel, 1908. A beautiful copy of this novel, set in Sicily. The edition comprised two limited editions and a trade edition. A Japon of 2 copies and 10 on Papier de Hollande. Our copy is one of the Van Gelder / Hollande, although the number hasn't been written on the limitation, so it may be an HC copy for the author. Beautiful binding by BLANCHETIÈRE, signed to the front end paper. Brown three quarters morocco with matching marbled boards. Attractive design of leaf patterns in two shades of brown to the spine. Gilt titles to the spine. In fine condition, with just a touch of handling.
The book has been signed by Doderet to the half title page, with an inscription to LOUIS LOVIOT. To one of the initial pages is an original silver gelatin photograph of the author. This has offset in a rather attractive way to the facing page, with a sepia negative image. Original green paper covers are bound in - these are in excellent condition. The 340 pages of the work are cut in differing sizes (as is common in a French large paper copy), and are in very good, clean condition. To page 290/291, the binder has inserted a postcard, addressed to Loviot, (and dated 1905). The postcard shows young boys swimming on a beach, and bears the title. "Monelli alla pesce della arcele." Overall a lovely example of this work. André Doderet is best known for his work on Italian literature, he notably translated Gabriele d'Annunzio. Louis Loviot, (1885-1918) was a French librarian and author, who amassed a fine collection of works. 200 by 140mm (7¾ by 5½ inches). Bel exemplaire de ce roman qui se déroule en Sicile. L'édition comprenait deux éditions limitées et une édition commerciale. Un Japon de 2 exemplaires et 10 sur Papier de Hollande. Notre exemplaire est l'un des Van Gelder / Hollande, bien que le numéro n'ait pas été inscrit sur la limitation, il pourrait donc s'agir d'un exemplaire HC pour l'auteur. Belle reliure de BLANCHETIÈRE, signée sur la première page de garde. Maroquin brun aux trois quarts, plats marbrés assortis. Le dos est orné d'un joli motif de feuilles en deux tons de brun. Titres dorés au dos. En très bon état, avec juste un peu de manipulation.
Le livre a été signé par Doderet sur la demi-page de titre, avec une inscription à LOUIS LOVIOT. Sur l'une des premières pages se trouve une photographie originale au gélatino-argentique de l'auteur. Celle-ci a été décalée d'une manière assez attrayante sur la page en regard, avec une image négative en sépia. Les couvertures originales en papier vert sont reliées - elles sont en excellent état. Les 340 pages de l'ouvrage sont coupées en différentes tailles (comme c'est souvent le cas dans un exemplaire français sur grand papier) et sont en très bon état. Aux pages 290/291, le relieur a inséré une carte postale adressée à Loviot (et datée de 1905). La carte postale montre de jeunes garçons nageant sur une plage et porte le titre. "Monelli alla pesce della arcele". Dans l'ensemble, il s'agit d'un bel exemple de cette œuvre. André Doderet est surtout connu pour ses travaux sur la littérature italienne, il a notamment traduit Gabriele d'Annunzio. Louis Loviot (1885-1918) était un bibliothécaire et auteur français qui a amassé une belle collection d'ouvrages. 200 x 140 mm

Rouen: Editions Maugard, 1936. A beautifully bound copy of this limited edition. The book was limited to a total of 1050 copies (not numbered). Full thick yellow morocco with an attractive inlaid leather design to the front board. Titles to the spine. The binding is in lovely condition, with just a touch of marking to the spine. The whole is held in a mustard coloured stiff card slipcase in excellent condition. Leather inside board and mustard patterned end papers. Internally clean and tidy throughout, with a touch of handling only. 282 pages. 280 by 230mm (11 by 9 inches). Un exemplaire magnifiquement relié de cette édition limitée. Le livre a été limité à un total de 1050 exemplaires (non numérotés). Plein maroquin jaune épais avec un joli motif en cuir incrusté sur le premier plat. Titres au dos. La reliure est en très bon état, avec juste une touche de marquage au dos. L'ensemble est contenu dans un étui en carton rigide de couleur moutarde en excellent état. L'intérieur de l'étui est en cuir et les pages de garde sont de couleur moutarde. L'intérieur de l'ouvrage est propre et bien rangé, avec seulement quelques manipulations. 282 pages. 280 x 230 mm

Paris: Éditions Georges Guillot, 1957. First limited edition. One of 1,000 on vélin de Rives. Wonderful signed binding by Atelier Laucournet. Three quarters red morocco with gorgeous marbled and gilt boards. Gilt titles and decoration to spine. Attractive marbled endpapers. Introduction by Jean Cocteau, and splendid hand coloured Bécat illustrations; including frontis with tissue guard. Silk ribbon bookmark. Top edge gilt. Boards and contents in fine condition. 184 pages. 280 x 230 mm (11 x 9 inches). Édition limitée. Un des 1000 sur vélin de Rives. Magnifique reliure signée de l'Atelier Laucournet. Préface de Jean Cocteau. Trois quarts de maroquin rouge à superbes plats marbrés et dorés. Titres et décors dorés. Splendides illustrations de Bécat colorées à la main ; y compris frontis avec protège. Marque page en ruban de soie. Tranche supérieure dorée. Planches et contenu en bon état. 184 pages. 280 x 230 mm

Bruxelles: Aux Éditions du Nord, 1934. A lovely copy of these two children's classics. translated from the English by L. Fabulet et R. D'Humières. First editions Thus. Beautiful three quarter red leather bindings by Flammarion, with gilt and inlaid leather designs and patterns to the spine. Filets to the boards, with matching red marbled boards. The bindings are in lovely condition with barely any rubbing. Attractive coloured engraved illustrations throughout by Pierre Falke. Internally clean and tidy throughout. Limited editions, number 307 from a total limitation of 1076. Original soft covers bound in. There is just a little foxing to the closed page edges. 258, [viii], 276, [viii]. pages. 210 by 160mm (8¼ by 6¼ inches). Un bel exemplaire de ces deux classiques de la littérature enfantine, traduits de l'anglais par L. Fabulet et R. D'Humières. Premières éditions. Magnifiques reliures de Flammarion en cuir rouge à trois quarts, avec des motifs et des dessins en cuir doré et incrusté au dos. Filets sur les plats, et plats marbrés rouges assortis. Les reliures sont en très bon état, avec à peine quelques frottements. Les illustrations gravées en couleur de Pierre Falke sont attrayantes. L'intérieur de l'ouvrage est propre et bien rangé. Édition limitée, numéro 307 sur un total de 1076. Couvertures souples originales reliées. Il y a juste un peu de rousseur sur les bords des pages fermées. 258, [viii], 276, [viii]. pages. 210 x 160 mm

Paris: Societe D'Editions Litteraires Francaises, 1947. First Edition. Limited and numbered: #191 of 450 on. Attractive hardback binding in custom deluxe green morocco, with red design to front board and red title to spine. Held within custom made marbled slipcase to match the endpapers. Original softback covers retained inside. One or two light finger marks inside; otherwise in very good condition. Text in French. 113 pages. 295 x 235 mm (11½ x 9¼ inches). Première édition. Limité et numéroté : #191 sur 450. Jolie reliure cartonnée en maroquin vert de luxe personnalisé, avec un motif rouge sur le premier plat et un titre rouge sur le dos. Tenu dans un étui marbré fait sur mesure pour correspondre aux pages de garde. Couvertures souples originales conservées à l'intérieur. Une ou deux légères traces de doigts à l'intérieur ; sinon en très bon état. 113 pages. 295 × 235 mm

Oxford University Press, 1866. Contemporary full bone / ivory binding (boards, spine and clasp). Purple silk end papers. All edges gilt. Printed throughout in red and black. The book is held in a black leather covered box with metal catch. (box probably later). A very nice example of bone binding. The clasp is sound, but the catch on the front board is missing (so it doesn't click shut). There is a thin crack to the base of the spine. Otherwise, the binding is clean and tidy. The silk end papers are clean and tidy, but have just a touch of rubbing to the edges. The rest of the book are clean and tidy throughout. The black box is somewhat rubbed but still holding well. The catch on the box is still fully working.

London: Frederick Warne and Co, 1897. First Thus. A very nice example of a Vellucent binding by Cedric Chivers of Bath (and signed to the rear inside board). Full dark blue leather, with a lovely Art Nouveau wreath design. This has a small Mother of Pearl inlay to the top and is gilt decoration around. The design if clean and well defined. There is a small rubbing / discolouration to the corners of the boards. The spine has a simple gilt decoration. The blue of the spine is significantly faded to a brown. All edges gilt. Still a very nice example of Chiver's work. The book within is the "Albion Edition" of Milton's poetical works, with a frontis of the poet. 608 pages. A good clean example of Milton's poems. Chivers developed the technique of "Vellucent binding." First a design was painted on paper and covered with a thin, treated and thus translucent layer of vellum. Chivers patented his method in 1898, so our example was produced around this time. This example shows two of Chiver's additional embellishments, with a small piece of Mother of Pearl and gilt detailing. 200 by 140mm (7¾ by 5½ inches). Premier exemplaire. Un très bel exemple de reliure Vellucent par Cedric Chivers of Bath (et signée à l'intérieur de la planche arrière). Plein cuir bleu foncé, avec un joli motif de couronne Art Nouveau. La partie supérieure est ornée d'une petite incrustation de nacre et la décoration est dorée sur le pourtour. Le motif est net et bien défini. Il y a un petit frottement / décoloration aux coins des planches. Le dos présente une simple décoration dorée. Le bleu du dos s'est considérablement estompé pour devenir marron. Toutes les tranches sont dorées. Il s'agit toujours d'un très bel exemple du travail de Chiver. Le livre est l'"Albion Edition" des œuvres poétiques de Milton, avec un frontis du poète. 608 pages. Un bon exemple propre des poèmes de Milton. Chivers a mis au point la technique de la "reliure en velours". Un dessin est d'abord peint sur du papier, puis recouvert d'une fine couche de vélin traitée et donc translucide. Chivers a breveté sa méthode en 1898, et notre exemplaire a donc été produit à cette époque. Cet exemple montre deux des embellissements supplémentaires de Chiver, avec un petit morceau de nacre et des détails dorés. 200 x 140 mm

London: Longman & Co, 1849. First edition. Beautifully printed illuminations by Jones. 18 leaves (34 pages) chromolithographed in gold and colour. Decorated in Gothic style in deep relief. The boards have been covered in red leather, which follows, almost exactly, the original design. The book is stamped "Bound by Remnant, Edmonds and Remnant" to the first blank page, but we assume that this is a slightly later re-bind, rather than a variant binding (?) re-backed in morocco retaining much of original spine. A perfect example of the Victorian mania for unusual book bindings and bookbinding materials. Red and blue design to endpapers. These have been printed on a heavy textured paper. The text is an extract from the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapters 1 - 12 from the King James Bible. Unpaginated. All edges gilt. The book contains two bookplates. The armorial plate of Aubrey G. Jamaica. Aubrey George Spencer (1795–1872) was the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda (1839–1843). He was also bishop of Jamaica. His brother George Spencer became Bishop of Madras. He is from the Spencer family. His title and the mitre on his bookplate identify this as having come into his possession between 1849 and 1855. Spencer was firmly Protestant, seeing all but the Church of England as being in error, and was the author of several works supporting this view. It is ironic then, that the ownership of the book passed to the library of the Mount Street Jesuits in London, and the second bookplate shows that it belonged to the Society of Jesus. (Mount Street is still a Jesuit mission, and is today used as a retreat centre). The re-backing to the spine is slightly lifting in parts. The binding is reinforced and is a little rubbed and worn, particularly to the edges of the spine. Slight loss of surface red to with heavy duty archival tape to the front and rear hinge. There is intermittent foxing to the pages, and there is a faint water stain to the corner of the pages affecting the second half of the book. One leaf is loose, and half detached, but is hanging in there! Overall a Good copy+ of this scarce work.
Quayle (Eric) The Collector's Book of Books (1971) states on page 111, 'The London firm of Remnant & Edmonds specialised in unusual bindings..... Their piece de resistance was The Preacher, 1849, by Owen Jones. They invented a method whereby they were able accurately to imitate carved wood in almost Grindling Gibbons fashion. The pattern was burnt into the wood under considerable pressure, but few copies have managed to survive to the present day.' The partnership of Thomas Remnant and Jacob Edmonds from 1831; Frederick Remnant succeeded his father.

Owen Jones (1809-1874) was an English / Welsh architect. A versatile architect and designer, he was also one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century. Today, he is remembered for his "Grammar of Ornamentation" and his descriptions of the decoration of the Alhambra. He also designed a number of beautifully produced books, of which this is perhaps the finest example.

London: Longman Hurst Rees Orme Brown and Green, 1824. First edition. Two volumes. Nineteenth century cream vellum with gilt decorative tooling. Burgundy label. Marbled end papers. title-page in a border of printer's flowers. Bookplate of G.S. Hinds ("et Gilbert filius ejus" added in manuscript) on paste-downs. Lovely set of a printer's classic. The first volume is devoted to the history of printing and includes biographies, adorned with bibliographical notes, of famous British printers such as Caxton and Wynkyn the Worde. The second volume describes type, composition, letter cases, imposition (including rather unusual formats such as 72mo, 96mo and even "one hundred and twenty-eights"!), exotic alphabets, rules to be observed in a printing house, the construction of a printing press, warehouse work, wages, steam machines, etc.
X, [14], xii, 609, [11]; [8], iv, 663, [17] pp.
125 by 75mm (5 by 3 inches). First leaves with some light foxing, otherwise in excellent condition. Bigmore & Wyman I, pp. 371-373.