1737 Regensburg, H. Lentzen [vol 4: H.G. Neubauer], 1737-45. 4 volumes and 1 index volume. Folio (382 x 250mm). With four engraved titles in red... More

1737 Regensburg, H. Lentzen [vol 4: H.G. Neubauer], 1737-45. 4 volumes and 1 index volume. Folio (382 x 250mm). With four engraved titles in red and black, one mezzotint frontispiece and two mezzotint portraits, and 1025 (a few double-page) engraved plates, some in mezzotint, the etched plates hand-coloured, the mezzotints printed in colours and finished by hand. Contemporary uniform calf, richly gilt decorated spines in 7 compartments with red gilt lettered label, sides with gilt ornamented border and gilt corner pieces. First edition. A very fine copy bound in a very attractive contemporary German binding. Described by the Hunt catalogue as the first botanical book to utilise colour-printed mezzotint successfully. It also contains Georg Dionysus Ehret's first published botanical illustrations (although unsigned). Ehret served his apprenticeship as a botanical draughtsman under Weinmann who exploited him mercilessly, paying him a pittance for several hundred drawings he did for the 'Phythanthoza'. This led to a falling out between the two, which is perhaps why Ehret is nowhere acknowledged in the book. His drawings were engraved by Bartholom Less

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Boston: Little Brown, 1951.. First edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original black cloth. Inscribed by the author, "To Leonard Brooks... More

Boston: Little Brown, 1951.. First edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original black cloth. Inscribed by the author, "To Leonard Brooks with best wishes J.D. Salinger Aug. 14, 1951". Lightly rubbed, spine gilt nice and bright, a near fine copy in a bright near fine dust jacket with some toning to the spine and some minor rubbing. The publication date for The Catcher in the Rye was July 16, 1951, this copy was signed less than a month after its release. Salinger's signature is scarce and signed copies of Catcher in the Rye are rare; signed firsts are exceptionally scarce. Until Salinger died in 2010, we had not seen a signed first printing of The Catcher in the Rye since the Phoenix Book Shop sold one from Howard Moss's library in 1984 -- a span of more than a quarter century. Full provenance will be provided. Housed in a custom quarter morocco box. Less

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Lancaster, Printed; Boston, Reprinted by John Gill, printer to the General Assembly, 1777.. 16pp. Folio. Loose gatherings. Old fold lines, some... More

Lancaster, Printed; Boston, Reprinted by John Gill, printer to the General Assembly, 1777.. 16pp. Folio. Loose gatherings. Old fold lines, some minor loss at center along fold. Light foxing and toning. About very good. Untrimmed. In a half morocco and cloth box, spine gilt. One of the most basic documents in the history of the United States, the first official binding together of the states of the Union, and a State paper ranking in importance with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Northwest Ordinance, in the process of creating the Federal Union. Congress appointed a committee to draft the Articles of Confederation even before the Declaration of Independence, on June 12, 1776. The drafters were dominated by John Dickinson of Pennsylvania, and the first drafts of the document are generally attributed to him. His first draft was published in secret, for the use of the delegates only, in July 1776, and survives in a unique copy at the Library of Congress. There were many objections to the document, and a revised draft, now surviving in three copies, was issued in August. That draft also met with opposition on many points, and no agreement was reached. The issues were debated off and on for over a year, during which period Congress was forced to flee Philadelphia and move to York, Pennsylvania. In October 1777 agreement was reached on most major points, and a committee of Richard Henry Lee, James Duane, and Richard Law was appointed to complete a new draft and propose any additional articles. The final document they produced was vastly different from the 1776 drafts, retaining little of the original language and altering many of the basic concepts of the Dickinson drafts. Consideration of the new text was completed on November 13, and a committee appointed to arrange publication reported an agreed-upon draft on November 15. Two hundred copies were printed, evidently on November 16, and Congress sent copies to the states on November 17, 1777. The first edition of the Articles is so rare as to be virtually unobtainable. Many states republished the Articles as soon as copies arrived, to distribute to the population and for the use of the legislatures in ratification. Before the end of 1777, editions appeared in Newbern, N.C., Williamsburg, Annapolis, New London, Providence, Exeter, N.H., and Boston. All of these reprint editions are rare, many scarcer than even the Lancaster original. We have done exhaustive work toward a census of the various editions. The great Americana collector, Thomas W. Streeter, owned a copy of this Boston edition. He called it "one of the great documents in our history." EVANS 15619. Merrill Jensen, THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION (Madison, 1940). STREETER SALE 787. CHURCH 1142. SABIN 2142. HOWES A345, "b." Less

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