New York: Printed and sold by John and Andrew M'Lean, 1788. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches). vi, 227; vi, 384pp. Expertly bound to style in... More

New York: Printed and sold by John and Andrew M'Lean, 1788. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches). vi, 227; vi, 384pp. Expertly bound to style in contemporary tree calf, the covers with a neo-classical Greek-key roll- tool border, the flat spine tooled in gilt, divided into six compartments with a Greek-key roll, lettered in the second compartment, numbered in the fourth, the others with an elegant repeat pattern in gilt, both contained within a recent black morocco box, spine gilt. Rare first edition of the most important work of American political thought ever written and according to Thomas Jefferson "the best commentary on the principles of government." The first edition of The Federalist comprises the first collected printing of the 85 seminal essays written in defense of the newly-drafted Constitution. The essays were first issued individually by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in New York newspapers under the pseudonym 'Publius' to garner support for the ratification of the Constitution. This first collected edition was published in early 1788: volume I published in March, contains the first 36 numbers, volume II published in May, includes the remaining 49, together with the text of the Constitution. Upon its publication, George Washington noted to Alexander Hamilton that the work "will merit the Notice of Posterity; because in it are candidly and ably discussed the principles of freedom and the topics of government, which will always be interesting to mankind" (George Washington, letter to Hamilton, 28 August 1788). The genesis of this "classic exposition of the principles of republican government" (R.B. Bernstein, Are We to be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution, 1987, p.242) is to be found in the "great national discussion" which took place about the ratification of the Constitution, and the necessity of answering the salvos in print from the Anti-Federalists and other opponents of a strong Federal government. The original plan was that James Madison and John Jay were to help Hamilton write a series of essays explaining the merits of their system, whilst also rebutting the arguments of its detractors. "Hamilton wrote the first piece in October 1787 on a sloop returning from Albany...He finished many pieces while the printer waited in a hall for the completed copy" (R. Brookhiser Alexander Hamilton: American, 1999, pp.68-69). In the end, well over half of the 85 essays were written by Hamilton alone. Despite the intense time pressures under which the series was written "what began as a propaganda tract, aimed only at winning the election for delegates to New York's state ratifying convention, evolved into the classic commentary upon the American Federal system" (F. McDonald Alexander Hamilton: A Biography, p.107). The Federalist is without question the most important commentary on the Constitution, the most significant American contribution to political theory and among the most important of all American books. Church 1230; Cohen 2818; Evans 21127; Ford 17; Grolier American 100, 19; Howes H114, "c"; Printing and the Mind of Man 234; Sabin 23979; Streeter Sale 1049. Less

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Amsterdam: Th?ore Pierre, 1610.. Six engraved maps on eight sheets (two double- page, two folding, two on two folding sheets), fifty-eight engraved... More

Amsterdam: Th?ore Pierre, 1610.. Six engraved maps on eight sheets (two double- page, two folding, two on two folding sheets), fifty-eight engraved in-text illustrations. Folio. Expertly bound to style in old vellum. Five illustrations shaved into image area; occasional expert restoration. Very good. In a half black morocco folding box. Very rare first edition in French of the great classic of travel literature. "When Linschoten returned from Goa to his home in the Netherlands, he did so at a time when the people of northern Europe and particularly his countrymen were especially interested in what he had to report concerning the trading activities of the Portuguese in the East. He had lived in Goa for six years from 1583, and while he never ventured far from the Portuguese capital, he did have an 'avaricious thirst for knowledge which enabled him to get detailed information of land and sea as far afield as the Spice Islands and China'" - Penrose. But his most important and far-reaching observations concerned the gradual decline of Portuguese power in the East and her ability to protect her trade routes and monopolies. This, together with the trading possibilities he detailed, encouraged a series of Dutch, French and English fleets to set sail for the Spice Islands and beyond to China and Japan. An important work that served not only as a valuable record, but also as a catalyst for change in the balance of power amongst European trading nations in the east. This first edition in French is translated from the Latin edition of Linschoten published in parts II-IV of De Bry's PETIT VOYAGES in 1599 and 1601 (which also contained other narratives). The illustrations are printed from exactly the same plates as used in De Bry, and other aspects conform with the text as it appears in the PETIT VOYAGES. This includes the commentary on Linschoten's text by Bernard Paludanus, first appearing in the De Bry edition, and only otherwise appearing here. It is particularly useful for notations on botany and food. It has generally been accepted that this edition was actually printed in Frankfurt rather than Amsterdam, despite the imprint. probably by the same printer who printed De Bry's work (see Tiele 685). There are two issues of the first edition in French published in 1610: one by H. Laurenszoon, and one by Pierre (as here). It would have made sense for De Bry to have done this; the PETIT VOYAGES appeared only in Latin and German, but the demand for Linschoten made it worthwhile to publish separately in French. Because of De Bry's strong anti-Catholicism, he could not reach the french market directly, but did it by using the Dutch publishers as intermediaries. The differing imprints reinforce this, suggesting the Laurenszoon and Pierre were really publishers, not printers, of the work. One of the most important early editions of Linschoten, the first to appear in French, and indicative of the complex printing and publishing relationships of the time. Ernst van den Boogaart, JAN HUYGEN VAN LINSCHOTEN AND THE MORAL MAP OF ASIA. BORBA DE MORAES, p.489 (ref). EUROPEAN AMERICANA 610/69. JCB (3)II:71. SABIN 41369. TIELE-MULLER 95(f). Less

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London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co, 1891-98. 2 volumes in 8 original parts, large folio. (22 3/16 x 15 1/16 inches). Smaller... More

London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co, 1891-98. 2 volumes in 8 original parts, large folio. (22 3/16 x 15 1/16 inches). Smaller format letterpress "Notice to Subscribers" tipped in at front of part VI, smaller format "Completion of the work" notice from the publishers tipped in at front of part VIII. 79 fine hand-coloured lithographic plates by William Mathew Hart, after his own drawings (52) and John Gould (20) or John Gerrard Keulemans (7), 13 uncoloured illustrations. Original pictorial grey paper-covered boards, dark blue cloth spines, the upper cover of each part with the letterpress title beneath a large wood-engraved title vignette, the eight parts contained in two dark green morocco-backed cloth boxes, the spines in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second and third compartments, the others with repeat decoration in gilt made up from various small tools. A very fine copy of this, the first monograph devoted to these remarkable birds and the "last of the fine bird books" (Fine Bird Books p.107). This copy, in original parts, with the best colouring of any copy that we have handled in past forty years. The remarkable-looking Birds of Paradise have captivated western science since Magellan first brought back a skin of such a creature in 1522. The skins, highly prized by East Indian natives, was given by the ruler of Batchian (in the Mollucas) as a gift to the King of Spain. The legs and wings of the bird, however, had been removed when skinned, presumably to better show its impressive plumage. When asked why the bird had no wings or feet, the natives replied that none were needed as the bird simply floated in its heavenly paradise. Thus, the earliest descriptions of the species, and indeed even its scientific naming by Linnaeus in the 18th century as Paradisaea apoda (legless bird of paradise), perpetuated that myth. Due to the remote nature of their rain forest habitat in New Guinea, it was not until the mid-19th century that these remarkable birds were first scientifically observed and accurately described. Gould had intended to publish a the first monograph devoted to the birds of paradise following completion of his Birds of New Guinea, but he did not live to do so. When Sharpe took over the task of completing that work, he appealed for subscribers for the proposed monograph. The response was clearly enthusiastic as within three years the first part of the present work was published. Some of the plates had previously appeared in Gould's Birds of New Guinea as "Messrs. Sotheran purchased the stock of Gould's works after his death [and] acquired the stones with which he had intended to illustrate his Monograph... Many of them were broken or otherwise damaged, and of these some have been redrawn or replaced by new plates by Mr. Hart. Since Gould's time, however, many marvelous new species have been discovered, and these have been described and figured in the present work" (Appendix). As the small format slip in part six makes clear, the timing of the publication of the work could not have been better, as so many beautiful new species were discovered whilst the work was in preparation that Sharpe felt justified in extending the size of the work from six to eight parts. Copies of this work were issued at a later date with inferior hand-colouring. The quality of the colouring of the plates in the present copy is outstanding, and it is only with examples of this work in the original parts that the colouring can be guaranteed to be contemporary with the original publication dates. Copies such as the present example are very rare: only three are listed as having sold at auction in the past thirty years. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.107; Nissen IVB 581; Ripley 263; Wood, p.565; Zimmer, p.581. Less

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