Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2023 Issue

Zinos Books Offers Their Winter Catalogue

Zinos' Winter Catalogue.

Zinos Books has issued their 2023 Winter Catalog of Rare & Antiquarian Books. The catalogue doesn't focus on a particular subject, offering a wide variety of material. What we can say is that books are of European origin and very old. They break them out by century, with four being represented, the sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth. Various languages are found. Here is a short selection of the material they present in this latest catalogue.

 

We begin with a collection of eight manuscripts, seven being autograph letters signed, pertaining to the American Revolution. Two come from John Bourke, an Irish politician who served in both Ireland's House of Commons and House of Lords. In 1777, he writes prophetically, “Five million has been raised for the purpose of the American war; the prospect of finishing that war seems as remote as ever. The French are the only gainers by the Contest...” One is from French naval officer Francois-Aymar de Monteil, who served on the American side during the war, that refers to his service. There are several from British Admiral Hugh Seymour, who was stationed in Europe during the war, and one from William Hall Gage, son of Thomas Gage, the Commander of British forces in America at the outbreak of the Revolution. Item 25. Priced at $4,750.

 

This is an account of another revolution. It took place in Ireland in 1641. This was one of the many battles that have gone on for centuries between Irish Catholics and Protestants. Catholics rebelled seeking equal rights, greater control of the local government, and reversal of at least some the plantations, where English and Scottish settlers were able to take land from Irish owners. The conflict in time became particularly brutal, with atrocities committed on both sides. Ultimately, the conflict kept reappearing over the many centuries that followed. Item 10 is Irish Rebellion; or an History of the Beginning and first Progresse of the Generall Rebellion raised within the Kingdom of Ireland upon the three and twentieth day of October, in the year 1641, published in 1646. The author was Sir John Temple, a Privy Councilor in Dublin, loyal to England. It is described as an eyewitness account as Temple was situated in Dublin, but how much he saw is not clear and he was anything but an objective observer. His one-sided accounts of atrocities served to inflame passions in England and Scotland against the Irish. $1,500.

 

A Chinese Emperor published a list of 16 maxims in 1670 and if today they seem a bit trite and obvious, they may not have been back then. The words, if taken sincerely, are still good today. Item 28 is The Sacred Edict Containing Sixteen Maxims of the Emperor Kang-He, Amplified by His Son Emperor Yoong-Ching, Together with a Paraphrase of the Whole, by a Mandarin, published in 1817. This date was many years after the Kangxi Emperor's rule but it took that long to get a complete English translation. The maxims included pious commands such as being generous to your family, encourage peaceful communications with neighbors, be moderate and economical, honor schools and scholars, elevate customs and manners, and be honest. There is also one about paying your taxes. The translation includes commentary from Youpu, a scholar, who explained the maxims in greater detail along with giving examples. These maxims and commentary would be read aloud regularly in the villages, a practice that went on at least well into the nineteenth century. The Kangxi Emperor was the longest ruling leader of China, 61 years in all, but he was only sixteen when he wrote these maxims. They were Confucian beliefs and part of the motivation was securing the support of Confucian leaders. His rule was marked by prosperity and for the most part, peace. Item 28. $1,500.

 

This is not a pleasant subject, as is the case with most diseases. The title, in Latin, is De Podagra tractatus, morbi huius indolem & curam diligenter exponens... (A treatise on the Gout, carefully explaining the nature and treatment of this disease). Gout is a painful joint disease, especially of the big toe, that has been making life miserable for people, older men in particular, for as long as recorded history. The author of this book was Johann Losel (Loesel), a German doctor and botanist of the 17th century. Losel provides a number of remedies drawn from times both ancient and modern, from Galen to Paracelsus. The book also contains writings on the subject by the polymath Italian doctor from the previous century, Girolamo Cardano. Cardano actually had a few positive things to say about the disease. Gout had a reputation as a rich man's disease at the time, so perhaps that was his inspiration. He claimed it had certain beneficial effects, such as being an aphrodisiac. Item 8. $600.

 

Two hundred years ago, one had to be a bit more circumspect in reaching the sensational and prurient interests of the general public. It led to books that were sort of shocking, replete with not too graphic sex, and, of course, a moral to make it all respectable. Here is one such book: A Short but Tragical History of an Unfortunate Young Girl, Who was Seduced by a Gentleman of Fortune... There is no author listed for this chapbook published in 1810. In this case, a 15-year-old grocer's daughter trying to raise her station in life is seduced and taken advantage of by a wealthy man. Perhaps this no longer happens to naive 15-year-olds very often, but the wealthy man using his wealth to seduce a young lady of more modest means is hardly a thing of the past. Item 26. $350.

 

Zinos Books may be reached at 612-707-4804 or npzinos@yahoo.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD

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