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Presumed first or sole edition of this bilingual English-Japanese picture book showing the costumes of men and women of the various ranks of orders of Japanese society. It includes aristocratic and military subjects, as well as servants, scholars, labourers and craftspeople. The English preface states ‘These books are not only designed to please children, but to show the manners and customs of the ancient and modern people of Nippon. The fine illustrations afford an important aid in this respect. It is through the eye that understanding itself is most quickly reached’.
It was printed by the Poole Women’s College in Osaka. Arthur William Poole, after whom the Osaka Women’s School was renamed in 1890, was the first Anglican Bishop of Japan. The school had been founded as the Church Missionary Society school and its head teacher from 1890 to 1928 was the Durham-born missionary educator, Katherine Tristram, one of the early female graduates of the University of London. When she was appointed ‘there were at the school two other British women apart from Tristram, as well as eight Japanese teachers, including four women, and there were forty-nine pupils, of whom twenty-three were Christians’ (Oxford DNB).

’One of the most elaborate jokes ever perpetuated in the form of a University magazine’ (Marillier). The first two parts (of three) of this exceptionally rare satirical magazine issued in 1870 on the occasion of the passing of the Universities Test Acts. These acts abolished religious ‘Tests’ and for the first time allowed Roman Catholics, non-conformists and non-Christians to take up professorships, fellowships, studentships and other lay offices at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham.
Edited pseudonymously by ‘Hadji Seivad and a talented Heather Staff’, the magazine combined familiar university in-jokes with a satirical reflection of popular opinion. Carrying a publication date twenty years after the fact it pretended to reflect on changes brought about by this landmark cultural legislation.
‘Twenty short years ago the waters of education flowed in that one narrow channel that men called Christianity. The day has come when the professors of an effete and obsolete faith have dwindled to a mere handful, and the time may not be far distant when even these shall pass away from among us - when every man shall be to himself his own measure, his own guide, and his own faith. We need only point, to show that we do not boast unmeasuredly, to the grand Mussulman foundation that has taken the place of the worn-out Christian Asylum of Trinity College - to the settlement of Red Indians who occupy Downing College - to the Aborigines of Queens’ - the Cossacks of Magdalen - the Fire-eaters of Sidney, and similar foundations, in proof of the Cosmopolitan character that we have now assumed. Hand in hand with this advance has gone the Sister scheme of FEMALE EDUCATION...’
A recent reading sees through the satire and comments: ‘Prophesying over the arrival of non-white, non-Christian students “twenty short years” ahead, this three-issue journal (1870–1871) was used to denounce national, racial, religious and gender diversity as a threat to the British character of Cambridge. The first issue portrayed a cosmopolitan Cambridge crew that would win a fictional interuniversity regatta against an Oxford team despite their blatant incompetence (Loïc Folton, ‘Rowing as a Site of Cross-Cultural Encounters: South-Asian Students at Oxbridge, 1870s-1940s’ (Global Histories, Vol. 9, No. 1, November 2023, pp. 23-40.) Marillier, Harry Currie, University Magazines and their Makers, 1899, p. 35. Worldcat: Cambridge (Trinity) and Delaware only (both complete in three issues). LibraryHub adds copies at the UL and St John’s, Cambridge.

Despite his former military success in service in the American and French Revolutionary wars Custine was found guilty of treason by a majority vote of the Revolutionary Tribunal on 27 August, and guillotined the following day. ‘Custine (an ex-noble) was guillotined on 28 Aug. (in spite of his previous victories), accused of having treacherously caused the fall of Frankfort, Condé, Valenciennes, and Mayence. According to the English newspapers, he “kissed the crucifix, embraced his confessor... and at last was brought to the guillotine by force”’ (BM Satires).
‘Custine stands on the scaffold beside the guillotine (left). Four ragged ruffians are about to bind him to the plank on which he is to lie; one says, “By Gar so we will serve all de Generals who do not conquer de whole World, and give them de Libertè [sic]”. Custine says, “Pardon me Heaven for having been leagued with such a set of Blood hounds”. A stout soldier pushes a weeping priest, who says “Let us Pray”, down the steps (right) which lead up to the scaffold, saying, “Go to de diable & Your Prayers both”. Below (right) stand republican soldiers with fixed bayonets much caricatured. On the extreme left a man kneels at the guillotine holding his hat in place of the usual basket; he says, “Begar I will have a Drink of de blood.” BM Satires, 8340; De Vinck 6176; Krumbhaar 785.

First edition with the English text of the Preparatoirlyk plan, van een tractaat van commercie (Plan of a Treaty of Commerce) projected between Holland and the United States. Though never concluded it is important as one of the earliest treaty negotiations by the American nation after the Revolution. The plan had been secretly negotiated at Aix-la-Chapelle in 1778 between William Lee, American commissioner to Berlin and Jean de Neufville, an Amsterdam banker professing to act on behalf of the city and was to be concluded when England acknowledged America as a free nation. A detailed treaty it contains thirty four articles outlining terms of trade between the two nations, and the form of passports and certificates for ships. It is subscribed Jean de Neufville and Samuel W. Stockton, the American lawyer, diplomat and public servant who was later to serve as Secretary of State of New Jersey from 1794 to 1795. It is followed by transcriptions (also in Dutch and English) of the associated diplomatic correspondence. An edition of the Dutch text only appeared also in 1780 which Sabin (65110) refers to as the ‘Original edition’, though it is not clear on what basis.
The draft was inadvertently made public in 1780 when the vessel in which the bearer of it, Henry Laurens, South Carolina merchant, planter, and revolutionary leader who served as President of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778 was apprehended at sea by the English. The Plan was found among the effects he threw overboard on his capture and Laurens was imprisoned for treason. The treaty was not strictly illegal, but the British Government was able to construe it and other retrieved papers detailing Dutch financial aid to the rebellious American colonies as being equivalent to actual aggression. Although it was neither authorised nor sanctioned by the States-General nor by Congress, it served as a pretext for England’s declaration of war against the Netherlands.
It was handed to the Dutch Estates General by the British Ambassador, General Joseph Yorke, debated and published here as one of the Extracts of the resolutions of the Estates General of the Netherlands. Sabin 63286: ‘Official edition of the Preparatory Plan’ (projected 1778 at Aix-la-Chapelle), with the correspondence relating to it, as it was presented by the Chev. Yorke, as found with the papers of Mr. Laurens, to the Prince of Orange, and sent by the States General to the Provinces. The subscription of the Treaty is changed in all the reproductions — Müller’. Cf. Sabin 65110 for the original Dutch edition (two editions, also 1780).

By an otherwise unidentified female artist, this is a rare large-format album of lithographs of the famous catholic Bavarian passion play at Oberammergau. The artist’s name is given only as initials ‘M. C. S. D’ on the plates and wrapper, but this copy bears a contemporary manuscript addition to the initials, which thus reads ‘M. C. S. Dawkins done by Herself’. It is additionally inscribed ‘with love’ to Major M. G. Best.
Performed decennially since 1634, the Oberammergau plays told the story of Christ’s passion, with a large cast drawn from local villages forming immense tableaux vivants with spoken biblical texts in the vernacular. In the nineteenth century it became a major attraction for well-to-do Grand Tourists and drew significant numbers of English visitors (so much so that the pioneering travel agent Thomas Cook established an Oberammergau office in 1880). The passion play was widely reported in contemporary English-language journals, adding to its attraction among English visitors (mainly protestant) who were curious about this ancient catholic theatrical tradition. We have been unable to discover anything substantial about the artist, but its fair to assume she made the journey to Oberammergau herself. WorldCat lists the V&A copy only in the UK. In the US there are copies at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake (IL) and WRHS (OH).

A Caen counterfeit of a popular moral romance tale that had also appeared with an apparently genuine Paris imprint in the same year: it is a French translation of an English chapbook issued by Elizabeth Newbery, The Adventures of Master Headstrong, and Miss Patient, in their Journey towards the Land of Happiness (?1785, Roscoe J6 (4). The subtitle reads: ‘Un récit des différentes traverses qu’éprouva M. Tétu, en abandonnant Miss Patience pour écouter Miss Passion, et ne voulan pas permettre à Madame la Raison, qu’ils rencontrèrent sur leaur route, de les diriger dans leur voyage’. The much-degraded woodcut (evidently reused from stock) bears a rather garbled version of the English caption in the original: ‘The rage of Passion wille not staty [sic]; But Patience makes a wise delay’.
Thomas Frognall Dibdin was an early fan of French chapbook literature, namely the ephemeral books of the so-called Bibliothèque bleue (on account of their habitual drab blue wrappers) and he made a special study of their publishers during his bibliographical tour of Normandy. Long before chapbooks were discovered by the social historians of the twentieth century, Dibdin understood that they were the key the history and culture of the working and middling classes, shedding light on the tastes and education of boys and girls, men and women alike. Hélot, La Bibliothèque bleue en Normandie (1928) 18. Not in Rochedieu.

Dean’s Rag Book, number 291. A superbly preserved rag book from Dean and Co, who pioneered the rag book for the youngest children in 1903, producing boldly coloured printed calico books designed to be washable and indestructible. The Dean logo show two dogs pulling at a rag book. The pinked edges were designed to minimise fraying, and in this case the copy is unused.

Lots of Things, in addition to its various vocabulary images, includes the memorable verse:

‘A leaf of lettuce, or a bunch
Of carrots is, to rabbits
Far nicer than a costly lunch:
They have such frugal habits.

Pigs on the other hand are crude
And greedy, while their feeding
Is mannerless and even rude;
It shews their lack of breeding’. WorldCat: Auckland (NZ) and Cotsen (Princeton).

A file copy of Dean’s Rag Book no. 324, full of patriotic imagery - a union jack flying on a sandcastle, a shamrock, rose and thistle, a crown and sceptre, a medal, flags, a drum, a toy aeroplane and a soldier. A superbly preserved rag book from Dean and Co, who pioneered the rag book for the youngest children in 1903, producing boldly coloured printed calico books designed to be washable and indestructible. The Dean logo show two dogs pulling at a rag book. The inserted slip lists further numbered titles in 4 series of different sizes, as well as Dean’s rag dolls. The pinked edges were designed to minimise fraying, and in this case the copy is unused. JISC LibraryHub lists a copy at NLS. The Cotsen copy listed by WorldCat at Princeton has the same title but a different series number (228).

First edition in French of Middleton’s A Dissertation Concerning the Origin of Printing in England (1734–5), which argued vigorously that Caxton had introduced the printing press to England, against the popular notion at the time that William Caxton had been preceded by a printer at Oxford. Added is a short introduction (in French) concerning Middleton. The ‘Londres’ imprint is false, and the book was almost certainly printed in Paris. The typographical headpiece is a delight. Rochedieu, 213.

An intriguing homemade book created by an aspiring young writer, copying extracts from a popular juvenile title, Marmaduke Multiply, published in 1817 and designed to teach multiplication with engaging illustrations. In this version, a Francis (or possibly Frances) Taylor has copied extracts from the book using different hands, without much thought to order. Some are captioned ‘with my left hand’, another ‘half with my right hand’ as though he or she were deciding which was the best hand, or simply trying writing and drawing with an unfamiliar hand. Given the general insistence on right hand writing in the period it is an unusual survival, albeit rudimentary, an evidence of active learning activities in the acquisition of early literacy.

First edition. An extensive survey of the Welsh musical tradition by a celebrated Welsh harpist and antiquary in London. ‘Edward Jones moved to London in 1774 or early 1775, under the patronage of the London Welsh circle. The harp was very fashionable in London at the time, and Jones quickly established himself in some of the most eminent circles as a popular performer and teacher of the instrument’ (ODNB). He became harpist to the prince of Wales (later George IV). Musical and poetical Relicks, a rather costly production with an extensive subscriber’s list, contains a major essay on bardic poetry with texts and songs in both Welsh and English. An engraved plate shows the principal instruments of Welsh music, including the harp and lyre, while the second part of the book mainly comprises engraved music for some 60 Welsh tunes, some Jones’s variations, all on two staves and thus suitable also the keyboard.
‘Jones’s most important work was in the preservation of traditional Welsh music. He collected and published over 200 traditional melodies, many of which he transcribed from having heard them sung and played at home in north Wales. His concern for the protection of Welsh cultural life is also evident in his strong belief in the eisteddfod as a safeguard of Welsh cultural traditions and the purity of the Welsh language. He invariably attended eisteddfodau on his regular summer visits to Wales, often acting as an adjudicator; and on several occasions he provided and presented prizes for competitions such as singing with the harp and the best collection of penillion’.
This copy is from the library of the Dukes of Portland, containing the bookplate of William Arthur, sixth duke of Portland (1857-1943), but with an earlier gilt supralibros denoting the presence of the book in the Portland collection at an earlier date. It is quite likely to have formed part of the celebrated subterranean library collections at Welbeck Abbey of the eccentric John Bentinck fifth duke of Portland. BUCEM, p. 559; RISM J 607.

First edition of the Act of Parliament granting Nelson his annuity for his victory at the Battle of the Nile.

First edition of the so-called Combination Act, which prohibited trade unions and collective bargaining by British workers. Though separately published with a general title for a complete sitting of Parliament, individual Acts of Parliament were paginated to be bound together in yearly volumes hence the pagination 654-672 here.

First edition of the last Witchcraft Act, repealing the former acts of Elizabeth I and James I (and Mary of Scotland) against witchcraft, and declaring magic, witchcraft and sorcery fraudulent. The last person to be legally executed for witchcraft was the Scottish woman Janet Horne in 1727, but legal sentiment had by then absorbed Enlightenment thinking and rational explanation of all forms of magic. Punishment by death was replaced in the 1735 act by imprisonment of up to one year only, on the basis that witchcraft could no longer be considered a crime, merely a nuisance.
In this volume, formerly belonging to the council of the City of Canterbury (Kent), it is interesting to find an old (perhaps early nineteenth-century) paper scrap marking the Witchcraft Act among the many other acts contained in the volume, together with a marginal pencil marking beside the shoulder note ‘Persons pretending to exercise Witchcraft, tell Fortunes, or by crafty Science to discover stolen Goods’.

First edition. A near pristine file copy of this French language example of an early rag book from Dean and Co, who pioneered the rag book for the youngest children in 1903, producing boldly coloured printed calico books designed to be washable and indestructible — the Dean logo shows two dogs pulling at a rag book, and the inserted advert leaf states that children can carry the book in their mouths without danger ( ‘Les couleurs employées dans ces livres sont fortement fixés. Les enfants peuvent les porter à la bouche sans aucun danger. Ces livres peuvent être lavé’). Qu’est cela? is a simple vocabulary book, naming fifty familiar objects including toys (dolls, a cup-and-ball, a paintbox, a toy train, a jack-in-the box, a kite and a rocking horse) as well as a rifle, a sword, a drum and an automobile. No library copies found in WorldCat or JISC LibraryHub.

Rag books proved a popular adaptation of the printed codex in the early twentieth century, bringing books to the youngest of children. This is a file copy from Dean and Co, who pioneered the rag book for the youngest children in 1903, producing boldly coloured printed calico books designed to be washable and indestructible — the Dean logo shows two dogs pulling at a rag book. It illustrates twenty-four animals, including the dog on the cover, as well as butterflies, a giraffe, a camel, a parrot, a kangaroo, three monkeys and a turkey, all captioned in French. The pinked edges were designed to minimise fraying, and in this case the copy is unused. No library copies found in WorldCat or JISC LibraryHub.

First edition of the Art Journal’s retrospective catalogue of the 1867 Exposition, including notice of the prize winners. It is a kaleidoscope of Second Empire decorative and applied arts from all over Europe and beyond. It comprises: a general Introduction by C. Boutell; Glass - Domestic and Decorative by G. Wallis; Lace and Embroidery by Mrs. B. Palliser; Adaptations From the Antique by C. Boutell; Art Materials and Products in Clay, Stone, Marbles, Etc. by D.T. Ansted; Furniture. by J.B. Atkinson; Textile Fabrics by Mrs. B. Palliser; Goldsmith's Work, Silver, and Jewellery by H. Friswell; Porcelain and Pottery by J. Dafforne and Bronzes and Bronze Imitations by G. Wallis.

A sketchbook made by British architect, George Truefitt (1824-1902), first at Antibes and then in Paris, recording architectural details as well as general views and other sights of interest. There are some delightful details of Closebrooks, the Antibes villa he had designed for banker and businessman William Brooks Close, together with several metalwork details.

Truefitt travelled to the 1889 Exposition at the invitation of Brooks and his wife. In this album he made a brief journal of his visit, and preserved 25 excellent sketches. The first is an amusing sketch of ladies lying head-to-head on a shipboard saloon bench, while the others are mainly architectural views including of the Eiffel Tower seen from his hotel room at Maurice’s; architectural details of the chateau at Fontainebleau; some from the Hôtel de Cluny and metalwork details from the Trocadéro as well as a few other small sketches of people. There is an especially good view of the crowded exhibition around the dome of the Trocadéro sketched from his lunch table at Spiers and Pond’s restaurant. The journal and drawings are pasted into a sketchbook which also includes a sketch journal of his earlier visit to Antibes in 1886.

Truefitt was prolific in his contribution to Victorian British architecture, best known for his work at Tufnell Park in London, for numerous country churches and for his remodelling of the Brooks estate at Glen Tanar in Scotland.

First edition in this form; a second edition followed in 1815. It was also issued uncoloured. ‘At least 14, and very probably all of the plates, are copies of images published around 1790 in an octavo suite, called Vues pittoresques des principaux édifices de Paris, “by Le Campion, Guyot, Roger, Guillot, Belley, Mlle Guyot, after Testard and Sergent” (see NUC). The last two are identifiable as the Parisian artists and engravers François Martin Testard (active 1790–1819) and Antoine François Sergent-Marceau (1751–1847), with “Segard” on the title-page probably being an error for “Sergent”’ (Library Hub Discover).
‘The City of Paris has always been an object of much interest to the Traveller. Recent events, which have filled every mind with astonishment, gratitude, and joy, have rendered the Metropolis of France, now enriched with the choicest spoils of conquest, and the noblest specimens of art, doubly interesting. From every neighbouring kingdom, and especially from the shores of Britain, thousands have eagerly flocked to that Capital, formerly the scene of the most horrible atrocities, now the depository of the most valuable treasures’ (Advertisement).
Abbey, Travel 104; Tooley, English Books with Coloured Plates 1790 to 1860, 448.

First edition, by the journalist and champion of political reform, William Carpenter (1794–1874). ‘The following little work pretends not to the character of a history; but it will be found to embody, in consecutive order, the leading events of the late glorious revolution in France, derived from the most authentic sources, and interspersed with such remarks and reflections as they naturally call forth’ (Preface).