The Book Block :: Fine and Rare Books
NY Antiquarian Book Fair :: April 20 - 23, 2006

Thick 8vo., old style vellum over flexible boards, with wallet edges and leather ties; square spine with a gilt-stamped morocco title label. A SUPERB COPY of what is almost a miniature book. The bordered page size measures 72mm by 45mm; with its margins intact, the page sizes of this copy vary between 110mm by 77mm and 83mm by 47mm. The entire work is printed in black and red; there are numerous full-page engravings interspersed throughout the text.

No copy has appeared at auction in the past fifteen years. The Houghton copy, which was TRIMMED, sold at Christie’s in 1979 for nearly $400.

8vo., full crimson straight-grained calf; the covers are decorated in a neo-classical style with four triangular green corner onlays and an oval green onlay in the center, all elaborately gilt bordered and tooled. The smooth spine also has two onlays, one for the title and one for the volume number, and is heavily gilt decorated. Bright green coated paper endleaves; a.e.g.

A very handsome example of Viennese period bookbinding, on one volume (of two) of a utilitarian Prayer Book almost always found in a simple black binding.

Card and mounted paper (approx. 6 x 6 3/4 inches). A trompe l'œil "book" showing a frontispiece night-time scene of a young sailor seated on an outcropping overlooking the turbulent sea, with a large bird soaring above. Beneath the portrait are three lines of verse, "The Shipwrecked Mariner," signed H. B. Opposite, painted in colors on translucent paper is an oval wreath of flowers (verso blank). On the recto of the card itself, which is painted to resemble a fully-dimensional open book, is a full-color, typical trompe l'œil montage of contemporary prints and an artist's palette & brushes. In the print at the center of the group is the legend "Scraps in a Great Variety." A unique and most appealing bibelot; an excellent example of the Trompe L'Œil genre.

4to. #576 of 1000 for England signed by Harry Clarke. Vellum backed boards. Slight "bubble" to spine; t.e.g. Near fine in fair original gray DJ with tears to extremities. Pictorial ep. Pages uncut tho two were opened roughly. Bookplate of Robert and Gladys Koch. Gladys Koch was a prominent antiques dealer from the 1950's thru the 1980's. Robert Koch was the renowned art historian who specialized in Art Nouveau. 8 full page color illustrations in addition to numerous others in black and white by Harry Clarke, the unique Art Deco illustrator whose bizarre style reflects Beardsley's influence. Bright copy of an Art Deco masterpiece illustrated by one of its artistic geniuses.

8vo. (8 ¼ x 5 ¾ inches). Tan linen over blue paper covered boards with title in black lettering on top board. Printed in red and black with elaborate floral borders and initial letters in the Arts & Crafts style helped made popular by William Morris via his Kelmscott Press and his many other varied artistic endeavors.

8vo. (8 ¼ x 5 ½ inches), plain black cloth, re-backed, with several pages bearingminor repairs. Annoyed and angry that strangers were settling on land in Wyoming that they thought they owned, larger cattle lords imported help from Texas to help them drive out the “nesters” and thereby almost precipitated a civil war. The author was a journalist who supported the smaller homesteaders and thereby incurred the wrath of the Wyoming establishment. Consequently, he was threatened and copies of his book were destroyed. A rare book that describes a difficult yet important time in Wyoming’s frontier development.