A MANUSCRIPT COMMENTARY on the HEBREW BIBLE OLD TESTAMENT PSALMS by NOTED AMERICAN THEOLOGIAN and HEBREW SCHOLAR, WALTER ROBERT BETTERIDGE. An incomplete but extensive manuscript work that binds together an 1880 printing of the PSALMS (which have Betteridge's EXTENSIVE MARGIN NOTES ON EVERY PAGE) and OVER 100 PAGES OF MANUSCRIPT COMMENTARY. The handwritten commentary and notes were written by Betteridge ca. 1910-1916. The manuscript was likely being prepared for publication as "Commentary on Old Testament Psalms", but the work was never published because Betteridge died (1916) before it was completed. Nonetheless his wife had his "work in progress" professionally bound and then donated it to the University of Rochester Theological Seminary where her husband had been a Professor of Hebrew in the Old Testament Department.

This professionally bound volume contains the printed work: LIBER PSALMORUM - Textum masoreticum acuratissime expressit... notis criticis confirmavit, by S. BAER, [with] Praefatus est edendi operis adjutor, by FRANCISCUS DELITZSCH. Lipsiae: Ex officina Bernhardi Tauchnitz, 1880. 8vo, 5.5x9 inches. Pagination: [1] f., 82 pp. TOGETHER with over 100 PAGES of INTERLEAVED MANUSCRIPT COMMENTARY NOTES by Bettteridge, interleaved so that every one of the printed pages of the LIBER PSALMORUM has one or more pages of associated handwritten commentary bound-in beside it. There are also manuscript pages at both the front and rear of the book, and clippings from related texts here and there, clippings which Betteridge also annotated.

The printed PSALMS, the 100+ pages of manuscript commentary, and the many other small slips of paper with handwritten notes, are BOUND TOGETHER in recent hardcovers, black moire silk covered boards with leather spine label titled in gilt.

NOTE: Betteridge's handwriting is miniscule with LOTS of words crammed onto every page and is difficult to read without a magnifier, so either have eagle eyes or an illuminated magnifying lamp on standby. Of course by writing in such a small manuscript Betteridge has managed to impart an incredible amount of commentary onto the 100+ handwritten pages. In normal script it would likely be at least 200+ pages.

PROVENANCE: Donated by Mrs. Betteridge to the Rochester Theological Seminary Library. with an institutional bookplate noting this on front pastedown. "Presented to Rochester Theological Seminary Library by MRS. BETTERIDGE / From The Library of WALTER ROBERT BETTERIDGE, D.D. 1863-1916 / On the Faculty of This Seminary in the Department Of Old Testament, 1891-1916".

CONDITION: The recent covers are solid and lovely; internally there is a Seminary bookplate on the front pastedown, as noted above, and a library blind-stamp on the title page; the pages are age toned; all the edges have significantly browned and have varying degrees of chipping and wear, affecting only a bit of marginalia here and there; overall the printing and handwriting is clear and legible (with magnification); all pages, manuscript and printed, are tightly bound. A solid copy.

A UNIQUE WORK that represents an American theological scholar's lifetime of studying and teaching Hebrew and the Old Testament. Deserving of close examination.

About PROFESSOR WALTER ROBERT BETTERIDGE, D.D. (from various Internet sources):

******Walter Robert Betteridge, b.1863 d.1916, was an American theologian, professor, and Bible scholar. He was a Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at the University of Rochester from 1891 until his death.

Author of "Commentary on Exodus" American Baptist Publication Society, 1914, and numerous articles including "The Accuracy of the Authorized Version of the Old Testament" 1911, and "Commentary on Deuteronomy", 1915.

Walter Robert Betteridge is listed in Volume 8, page 184 of "Who's Who in America", published by A.N. Marquis, 1914.******

HIROSHIGE-GA GOJUSAN-TSUGI GENJO SHASHIN TAISHO. Hiroshige 53 Stages of the Tokaido - Past and Present. ILLUSTRATED with Fifty-Five Color Prints of Hiroshige's 53 Stations of the Tokaido, each side-by-side with a c.1910 photograph of the locale most likely used as Hiroshige's source of inspiration. It is interesting to see how the locales looked to Hiroshige many years before the Taisho Era photographs of the same locales were taken (i.e. 1833 and c.1910).

Published by Tokoen, Tokyo, 1918, as part of the nationwide celebration of the 60th anniversary of Hiroshige's death (b.1797 d.1858).

Hardcover book, reddish brown cloth covered boards, front board embossed with gilt lettering and white designs, ribbon tied, 9x12 inches (22.5x30 cm), illustrated endpapers, 120 pages plus a 40 page appendix telling a classic Japanese comedic tale about two men traveling the Tokaido road.

ILLUSTRATED with 56 Color Woodblock Prints, 55 reproducing Hiroshige's 53 Stages of Tokaido (Hiroshige's 53 stations of the Tokaido consisted of 55 prints), and a frontispiece plate of Hiroshige; plus 55 b&w photographs showing the locale of each Hiroshige print as it was when the c.1910 photograph was taken.

Condition: The covers are abraded, the front endpapers have a few small worm holes, there is an old bookseller's catalog description taped on a blank prelim, the inner pages are lightly age toned as normal, there is some soiling, foxing, and light staining here and there mostly in the margins; overall the pages are sound and the prints and photographs are bright and lovely.

A complete copy of this rare side-by-side look at Hiroshige's 55 prints of the 53 stations of Tokaido, and corresponding photographs of the same locale taken in 1918.

A HISTORY OF THE GREEK CIGARETTE, by Penelope Giakoumakis and Manos Haritatos.

Published by The Hellenic Literary and Historical Archive, sponsored by Papastratos S.A. (manufacturer of Greek Cigarettes). Athens, Greece, 1997..

Large format hardcover book in dustjacket. Comes in its original illustrated cardboard box that is a facsimile of a Greek Cigarette box. 9.5x11.5 inches (24x29 cm), 406 pages.

Richly ILLUSTRATED throughout with full color reproductions of Greek cigarette packs, advertising, cigarette cards, posters, etc. etc.

Condition: NEAR FINE book, the half title page has some creasing to its front edge, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked; in a NEAR FINE dustjacket that has just a bit of edge wear. A lovely copy of the book. The box is in GOOD MINUS condition, the side corners of the front flaps of the top are split, there is wear to all the corners and some rubbing along the edges, and the bottom has some spotting; nonetheless the box is still functioning well, retains its packaging band across the bottom which originally sealed the box (as it does the cigarette box), and the image is bright and clear.

A wonderful illustrated history of the packaging, advertising, designs, and overall graphics of the Greek cigarette.

Especially hard to find in its illustrated box container.

FACE TO FACE (Swedish: Ansikte mot Ansikte) 8x10 inch film promotional photo (a reduced reproduction of the film's poster) with the ORIGINAL SIGNATURE and PERSONALIZED INSCRIPTION of INGMAR BERGMAN, the film's director. The inscription is not dated but is likely circa 1976, the year the film was released. This 8x10 inch poster repro is printed on Kodak photo paper. HAND SIGNED and INSCRIBED in SWEDISH by INGMAR BERGMAN in black felt pen on the left margin of the photo. The inscription reads: "TILL PETER DANKERS MED HJÄRTLIGT TACK FÖR DREV FR (Från) INGMAR BERGMAN". The English Translation is: "TO PETER DANKERS WITH HEARTFELT THANKS FOR THE DRIVE FR (from) INGMAR BERGMAN". INGMAR BERGMAN'S SIGNATURE is RARE, his INSCRIPTION very much so, and his INSCRIPTION in SWEDISH is both rare and incredible, imho. VERY GOOD condition, the upper front corner tip is creased and starting to peel, there is a 2 inch piece of clear tape on the backside near the top edge, otherwise solid and bright. Would look amazing matted and framed. INGMAR BERGMAN, b. 1918 d. 2007, was one of the greatest film directors of all time. You can read about him and his films all over the Internet. We fully guarantee the authenticity of signed items we sell.

JOHN BALDESSARI CONCEPTUAL ART MONOGRAPH / EXHIBITION CATALOG, by Coosje van Bruggen.

SIGNED and INSCRIBED on the half-title page by both JOHN BALDESSARI and COOSJE VAN BRUGGEN:

"To Terry and Maggi / Coosje van Bruggen / March 24, 1990".

"TO TERRY AND MAGGI - / JOHN BALDESSARI".

Published by Rizzoli, New York, 1990. First edition, first printing, (published concurrently with a hardcover edition). "Published on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition organized by The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles". The show ran at the Museum of Contemporary Art from March 25 to June 17, 1990, then traveled to other major North American museums. (NOTE THAT THE INSCRIPTION BY COOSJE VAN BRUGGEN IS DATED MARCH 24, 1990 - THE DAY BEFORE THE EXHIBITION OPENED.)

Softcover Monograph / Exhibition Catalog, 9x12 inches (23x30 cm), 256 pages. Illustrated throughout.

VERY GOOD condition, some shelf rubs to the covers and a touch of wear to the cover corner tips, otherwise tight, bright, clean, clear, and unmarked, with a smooth spine. A solid, lovely copy.

Rare First Printing SIGNED & INSCRIBED by BOTH Baldessari and van Bruggen.

About COOSJE VAN BRUGGEN (from Wikipedia):

******COOSJE VAN BRUGGEN, b.1942 d.2009, was a Dutch born American sculptor, art historian, and critic. She collaborated extensively with her husband, CLAES OLDENBURG. Her first work with Oldenburg was the installation of the 41-foot Trowel I on the grounds of the Kröller Müller Museum. Together Oldenburg and van Bruggen produced three decades of monumental sculpture that van Bruggen called their Large-Scale Projects.

Since the 1980s van Bruggen also worked as an independent critic and curator. She was the author of scholarly books and essays on the work of major contemporary artists including Gerhard Richter (1985), John Baldessari (1990), Bruce Nauman (1991), and Hanne Darboven (1991). She also wrote a monograph on architect Frank O. Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

After a long battle with breast cancer, van Bruggen died at her residence in Los Angeles in 2009, aged 66.******

JOHN BALDESSARI CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ - COMPLETE SIX VOLUME SET - SIGNED & INSCRIBED TO MARGO LEAVIN plus THREE SIGNED AND NUMBERED LABELS for his rare print SMOKE, TREE, SHADOW, and PERSON". From the collection of MARGO LEAVIN of MARGO LEAVIN GALLERY. Margo Leavin represented Baldessari from 1984 to 2013. SIGNATURES and INSCRIPTIONS are as follows:

Volume One: HAND SIGNED "BALDESSARI" in black on the half title page, and signed by Robert Dean, the book's editor, in blue by his name on the title page.

Also, laid into VOLUME ONE are THREE ORIGINAL SIGNED AND NUMBERED COLOPHON/LIMITATION LABELS for JOHN BALDESSARI'S PRINT "SMOKE, TREE, SHADOW, AND PERSON". Only 50 prints were made. A numbered and signed label was meant to be attached to the blank backside of each of the 50 prints, and those copies that have sold at auction all have such a label. The labels measure 2x3 inches and were meant to be peeled from their backing for attachment to the print. THESE THREE ORIGINAL LABELS are numbered: 23/50, 24/50 and 25/50, and each is HAND SIGNED by BALDESSARI. Why Margo Leavin had these labels is uncertain, but perhaps she had some Baldessari "Smoke" prints at her gallery which were never sold and so these labels were never attached. The print "Smoke, Tree, Shadow, and Person" with an attached signed and numbered label has become highly sought after and very expensive (search various auction records).

Volume Two: SIGNED "BALDESSARI XO" in black on the half title page.

Volume Three: Signed and Inscribed: "For Margo From / John XO" in red on the half title page.

Volume Four: Signed and Inscribed: "For Margo From John" in black on the half title page.

Volume Five and Six are not signed. Volume Six was published after Baldessari's death, and Volume Five was published less than a year before his death. It is unlikely that any copies of Volume Five are signed.

The six volumes of the John Baldessari Catalogue Raisonné were published by YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, New Haven, Connecticut, in association with Marian Goodman Gallery, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021. The volumes were edited by Patrick Pardo and Robert Dean.

Large Hardcover Books in Slipcases, 10x11.5 inches. Each volume has hundreds of pages and hundreds of color (and a few b&w) illustrations. An incredible, comprehensive work.

Condition: Vol. One: NF/NF, Vol. Two: NF/NF, minor pushing at the spine ends and one edge of the slipcase, Vol. Three: NF/G, the slipcase is split/cracked at the top edges but is holding well, Vol. Four: NF/NF, Vol. Five: VG/VG, the bottom of the book's spine is bumped and there is a bit of rubbing to the slipcase, Vol. Six: NF/NF. Overall a solid, tight, bright and clean set of these six volumes.

SCARCE and WONDERFUL association of JOHN BALDESSARI and MARGO LEAVIN.

About MARGO LEAVIN and the MARGO LEAVIN GALLERY (from Wikipedia):

******Margo Leavin, b.1936 d.2021, was an American art dealer. She was born in New York, but spent her career in Los Angeles. In 1970, she opened the Margo Leavin Gallery in West Hollywood, which she operated until it closed in 2013. Leavin was known for her wit, her relationships with her artists, and business savvy.

JOHN BALDESSARI was represented by the Margo Leavin Gallery from 1984 to 2013.******

PLEASE NOTE:

This set of books is VERY HEAVY and will require additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the charges and be able to accept or reject them before payment is taken. Thanks!

LENNY BRUCE - handwritten notes and typed letter, regarding HEROIN.

Includes:

Lenny Bruce's HANDWRITTEN NOTES to his SECRETARY, JAN MATTHEWS, with instructions for a letter to be sent to his ATTORNEY, Godfrey Isaac. The notes are written on both sides of four 5x8 inch notepad sheets and both sides of a cocktail napkin (i.e. on ten sides).

A typed, 8.5x11 inch carbon LETTER to his Attorney composed by Bruce's secretary from his notes.

The envelope Bruce used to send his notes to his secretary. The address is HAND WRITTEN by Lenny Bruce. The envelope is stamped and postmarked "Chicago November 13, 1962" then "Los Angeles, November 14, 1962". Interestingly, Bruce sealed the envelope with a "Solomon's Cedar Street Liquors / Chicago" sticker.

The notes and letter concern Bruce's upcoming Los Angeles trial on heroin charges. They contain ideas Bruce believed his attorney could use for his defense, such as: the heroin wasn't tested correctly, no one knows for certain if it was heroin, the lab tests were not done correctly, the powder was unidentifiable, etc.

Lenny Bruce must have come up with these ideas while drinking at a bar, as the cocktail napkin seems to contain his initial thoughts. It's amazing that his secretary was able to form these somewhat rambling notes into a sensible letter, but she did.

The LETTER is a carbon copy of the letter sent to Bruce's attorney, presumably a file copy. It is typed on Lenny Bruce's personal letterhead, and dated November 15, 1962 (the day after the envelope containing Bruce's notes was postmarked as received in Los Angeles). Typed at the bottom is "LB:JM", i.e. Lenny Bruce / Jan Matthews. It is an unsigned carbon.

The letter reads in part: "I was arrested for possession of a substance whose nature is not recognizable to the untrained eye - only an expert can give this report...Ask if there are any other chemicals that are not illegal in their natural state that might cause the powder to show...there is heroin in it...The expert witness, the chemist, didn't test it, else he would know what percent of heroin there was in it...Very truly yours, Lenny Bruce."

CONDITION: The four note sheets and cocktail napkin show some signs of age, handling and use, but are solid and the handwriting is bold, bright and clear; the carbon letter has its lower corner torn off and substantial edge wear, edge tears and creasing, though not significantly affecting the text which is clear and entirely legible.

Bruce's Los Angeles drug charges were dropped before they went to trial, but these notes and letter from November 1962 show the relentless hounding by the legal system that Lenny Bruce was having to bear. He died four years after writing these notes, in 1966, at the age of forty.

Attorney Godfrey Isaac died in 2015 at the age of 90. He represented some of Hollywood's elite in civil and family matters, including Judy Garland and Anthony Quinn. He was also a criminal attorney and, in addition to Lenny Bruce, represented Watergate defendant Charles Colson and RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan.

BETWEEN THE LINES: Letters and Memoranda Interchanged by H. Buxton Forman and Thomas J. Wise. Foreword by Carl H. Pforzheimer, introductory essay and notes by Fannie E. Ratchford.

Correspondence between a bibliographer/bookseller and a collector who worked together to produce and sell many literary forgeries.

AUSTIN: The University of Texas Press, 1945. LIMITED EDITION, one of only 525 copies.

Hardcover Book, gilt top edges, 6.5x9.5 inches, xii + 38 pages of text + 35 facsimile plates, including some that fold-open. No slipcase.

The book is in VERY GOOD, light foxing to the blank endpapers, otherwise sharp cornered, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

About FORMAN and WISE and their LITERARY FORGERIES (from Wikipedia):

******Henry Buxton Forman, b.1842 d.1917, was a Victorian era bibliographer and antiquarian bookseller who wrote bibliographies of Percy Shelley and John Keats. In 1934 he was revealed to have been in a conspiracy with Thomas James Wise, b.1859 d.1937, to produce and sell large quantities of forged first editions of Georgian and Victorian authors.

In 1887 Henry Buxton Forman and Thomas James Wise, a London commodity broker and book collector, began producing literary forgeries, often using an apocryphal Philadelphia Historical Society as a cover. Numerous forgeries were produced over the next fifteen years. They specialized in early pamphlets, supposedly privately published, of poets some of whom such as Rossetti and Swinburne were still living. Dates, places of publication, publishers (as distinct from printers) led the collecting world to believe in these 'rare private' editions. Buxton Forman and Wise forged publications by: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Eliot, John Ruskin, Matthew Arnold, Alfred Tennyson, George Meredith and William Thackeray and many others. Many of these forgeries were sold to collectors across the English speaking world. It would be forty years later that their fraud would be discovered by John Carter. The extent of the forgeries was such that the Brayton Ives sale in New York in 1915 contained twenty four forgeries.******

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MASSACHUSETTS 1873.

Rare Photo Book filled with small photographic portraits of the 1873 Massachusetts House of Representatives. Most notable is it Includes the African-American LEWIS HAYDEN, an ex-slave who escaped with his wife Harriet from Kentucky to Canada, then moved to Boston where he was an abolitionist, and where he and his wife were an important part of the Underground Railroad. The Lewis and Harriet Hayden house is now a National Historic Site on Boston's Black Heritage Trail.

Original hardcovers, 3/4 leather (spine and corners), gilt page edges, marbled endpapers, 8x8.5 inches oblong, with 12 cardstock leaves (24 pages) with mounted photo plates. Hayden Lewis, representative from Boston, is the only African-American. It was his only term.

VERY GOOD condition, rubs and scrapes to the leather spine and corners, otherwise tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A solid, lovely copy of this important historic record.

About LEWIS HAYDEN (extracted from Wikipedia):

******Lewis Hayden, b.1811 d.1889, was a slave who had a number of different owners. At one point his first wife and son were purchased by U.S. senator Henry Clay, who sold them to slavers in the deep South. Hayden never saw them again. He later remarried. In 1844 he and his family escaped Kentucky and fled to Canada with the aid of Kentucky abolitionists Delia Webster and Calvin Fairbank, both of whom upon their return were arrested and imprisoned. Hayden later moved to Detroit where he established a school and a church for African Americans, then went to Boston to aid in the abolition movement. In Boston he was an abolitionist lecturer and businessman. He and his wife, Harriet Hayden, were an important part of Boston's Underground Railroad, helping numerous fugitive slaves, often sheltering them at their house.

In 1873 Lewis Hayden was elected as a Republican representative from Boston to the Massachusetts state legislature. He helped found numerous Black lodges of Freemasons. Located on the north side of Beacon Hill, the Lewis and Harriet Hayden House has been designated a National Historic Site on the Black Heritage Trail in Boston.******

About the LEWIS AND HARRIET HAYDEN HOUSE (from the National Park Service website):

******The Lewis and Harriet Hayden House at 66 Phillips (formerly Southac) Street served as the preeminent Underground Railroad safe house in Boston during the 1850s. In the 1840s, the Haydens escaped slavery in Kentucky and eventually settled in Boston. They lived in this house by 1850, operated it as a boarding house, and turned it into one of the most documented safe houses in the area.******

PLEASE READ THE FULL LEWIS HAYDEN WIKIPEDIA PAGE and take a look at the many other articles about him and his wife HARRIET HAYDEN to be found on the Internet.

THE LITHOGRAPHS OF CHAGALL. VOLUME II, 1957-1962. Designed and Compiled by Fernand MOURLOT.

MONTE CARLO: ANDRE SAURET, 1963. English language edition.

Contains 12 ORIGINAL LITHOGRAPHS (including the lithograph dustjacket), 7 of which are in color.

Hardcover Book in Dustjacket, 10x13 inches (25x33 cm), 208 pages. In addition to the 12 original lithographs the book is illustrated with numerous color and b&w reproductions of Chagall's lithographs from the years 1957-1962.

Condition: FINE book, looks and feels barely used, tight, bright, clean and unmarked; in a VERY GOOD dustjacket that is sunned at the spine and has some light creasing at the spine ends, overall solid and bright. A lovely copy, one of the nicer copies I have seen.

From the Colophon page (the last page):

"This book, which was designed and compiled by Fernand Mourlot and Andre Sauret, was finished in September 1963. The reproductions were printed on the presses of Draeger Freres, and the Original Lithographs on the Presses of Mourlot Freres."

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This book is heavy and will require additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the charges and be able to accept or reject them before payment is taken. Thanks!

LIVRE DE PRIÈRES - Illustré à l'aide des Ornements Des Manuscrits du Moyen Age / classés dans l'ordre chronologique et selon les styles divers qui se sont succédé depuis le huitième siècle jusqu'au seizième.

(BOOK OF PRAYERS / BOOK OF HOURS - Illustrated with Ornamentations from Manuscripts of the Middle Ages...)

By Bernard Charles Mathieu and Ferdinand Denis.

Published by Charles Mathieu and Printed by Chez J. Renouard, PARIS, 1858 and 1862.

Two Volumes, full calf leather, front and rear covers blind stamped, spine titled in gilt, five raised spine bands, all edges gauffered and gilt, dentelles in blind with corner fleurons, marbled endpapers, 5x7 inches (13x18 cm). Pagination: 149, [13]; 250 pp. Text in French.

Volume I illustrated throughout with gorgeous chromolithographs. Volume II a text volume with b&w ornamental framing.

A beautiful prayer book.

Volume I, the most important of the two volumes and published two years prior to Volume II, is exquisitely embellished throughout with chromolithograph borders and plates depicting medieval manuscripts. Preliminary pages of this volume give details of the border ornamentations:. Byzantine for the Morning Prayers, Carolingian for the Evening Prayers, etc. Each section of prayers has a chromolithograph frontispiece. At the end there is also The Mass for Marriage. The lithography is by Charles Mathieu. Simply GORGEOUS.

Volume II contains a history of European decorative manuscript painting from antiquity through the Gothic period. The text is written by Ferdinand Denis.

Provenance: A great association copy. Both volumes have the bookplate of ROBERT ORMES DOUGAN, b.1904 d.1999, on the front pastedown. His signature is also on the blank verso of the front free endpaper of Volume I. Dougan was the director of the Dublin Library and later Chief Librarian of the Huntington Library. He was renowned for his knowlege of The Book of Kells. He donated many books and medieval manuscripts to Occidental College, as well as to other universities. Tipped in OVER the Dougan bookplates is an Occidental College bookplate which has a "Released" notice printed at its bottom. The OC bookplate can be lifted up to fully reveal Dougan's bookplate below. Obituaries that detail Dougan's life can easily found online at The Guardian, The Independent, and L.A. Times websites.

Condition: The covers of both volumes have some rubbing and there are nicks to the leather along the spine folds, but they remain solid and lovely. Internally, Volume I has some foxing and toning throughout, heaviest to the early and later pages, otherwise both volumes are tight, bright clean and unmarked.

Volume I, with its gorgeous chromolithograph plates and ornamental borders, has become almost impossible to find.

FOUR WORKS by LORD BYRON bound in this single FINE BINDING volume. Each includes its half-title page, title page, complete text, and colophon at the end; each is numbered separately as issued. The four bound-in works are: BEPPO, A Venetian Story. London, John Murray, Fifth Edition, 1818. 52 pages. * MAZEPPA (including "A FRAGMENT"), London, John Murray, 1819 [First Edition, second state]. 69 pages. * POEMS OF LORD BYRON on his Own Domestic Circumstances. London, Effingham Wilson, Second Edition, 1816. 34 pages. * A POETICAL EPISTLE. London, John Miller, 1816. 15 pages.

Bound in at the end of MAZEPPA is the rare Lord Byron unfinished VAMPIRE story "A FRAGMENT".

FINE BINDING by HENRY YOUNG & SONS, LIVERPOOL, circa early 1900s. "Signed" by the bookbinder at the top edge of the verso of the front free-endpaper. Hardcovers, 3/4 CALF LEATHER with SIMULATED BIRCH-COVERED BOARDS, spine decorated in gilt, five raised spine bands, leather spine title label, gilt top page edges, SIMULATED BIRCH ENDPAPERS, 6x9 inches (15x21 cm), 170 total pages (each work paginated separately). HENRY YOUNG & SONS was a Bookseller, Publisher and Bookbinder in Liverpool, established in 1847 as Henry Young and in 1887 became Henry Young & Sons.

GOOD condition, the covers are rubbed at the folds and edges, have some wear at the spine ends and corner tips, and the faux birchwood covered boards have some shelf rubs, but overall the covers are solid and quite lovely. Internally, there is a previous owner's signature on a blank prelim "(?) Moore" and a different previous owner's signature on the first page of two of the bound-in works "H. Brooke"; the bound in work "POEMS" is foxed and has soiling and creases but is still clear and solid; the other three bound-in works are bright, clean, clear and unmarked, with just a bit of foxing here and there. A solid, very presentable copy.

SCARCE with BYRON'S 1819 First Edition / Second State "A FRAGMENT" and the FINE BINDING by Henry Young & Sons.

NOTES:

MAZEPPA is the first edition, second state, with the colophon moved from page [70] to the verso of page 71 (the page of ads). Byron's early Vampire story "A FRAGMENT" (pages 57 to 69) was included by the Publisher John Murray without Byron's consent. "A Fragment" was written during the celebrated week at Geneva in 1816, during which Polidori conceived "The Vampyre" and Mary Shelley conceived her classic Frankenstein.

About A FRAGMENT (from Wikipedia):

******"A Fragment" is an unfinished 1819 vampire horror story written by Lord Byron. The story was one of the first in English to feature a vampire theme. The main character was Augustus Darvell. The story "A FRAGMENT" is important in history of the vampire legend in English literature because it was THE FIRST TO FEATURE THE MODERN VAMPIRE AS ABLE TO FUNCTION IN SOCIETY IN DISGUISE. The short story first appeared under the title "A Fragment" in the 1819 collection MAZEPPA: A Poem published by John Murray in London.

Byron's unfinished "A Fragment" was appended to Mazeppa by the publisher John Murray in June 1819 without the approval of Byron. On 20 March 1820, Byron wrote to Murray: "I shall not allow you to play the tricks you did last year with the prose you post-scribed to 'Mazeppa,' which I sent to you not to be published...and there you tacked it, without a word of explanation, and be damned to you."

The vampire fragment was a product of the ghost story contest that occurred in Geneva on 17 June 1816, when Byron stayed at the Villa Diodati with author and physician John William Polidori. Their guests were Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin (soon to be Shelley), and Claire Clairmont. Mary recalled the contest and Byron's contribution in the 1831 introduction to Frankenstein: "We will each write a ghost story, said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to. There were four of us. The noble author began a tale, a fragment of which was printed with his poem of Mazeppa."******

LOVERS' SAINT RUTH'S and Three Other Tales, by LOUISE IMOGEN GUINEY.

BOSTON: Copland & Day, 1895. First edition.

SIGNED and INSCRIBED on the front pastedown by the author to "SKIFF" (likely Frederick W. Skiff, noted book collector). Inscribed as follows:

"Mr. SKIFF : Dear Sir : / The author disclaims, condemns and excommunicates this good-for-nothing output. Not one story of the four holds water, as a story; and each is full of silly aberrations and improbabilities! Ne Autor ultra crepidam. / L. I. G. (signed with initials) / A.D. 1904".

If anyone out there thinks the author was proud of this book her inscription should clear that up!

Hardcovers, decorated cloth covered boards, 5x7.5 inches, 123 pages.

GOOD Condition: The covers' spine is sunned and the spine titles have faded, the front and rear boards are sunned and a bit soiled, and the corner tips are worn, nonetheless the covers are solid, their decorated boards attractive, and they are doing their job well, Internally nice, many of the pages remain uncut, the text block is cracked at a number of places but is holding well with the sewn binding. A solid, presentable copy.

SCARCE with the unusual, self-deprecating inscription to the noted book collector Skiff.

About LOUISE IMOGEN GUINEY (from Wikipedia):

******Louise Imogen Guiney, b.1861 d.1920, was an American poet, essayist and editor, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts. She worked at various jobs, including serving as a postmistress and working in the field of cataloging at the Boston Public Library. She was a member of several literary and social clubs, and according to her friend Ralph Adams Cram was "the most vital and creative personal influence" on their circle of writers and artists in Boston. While in Boston she was believed to be in a "Boston Marriage" (the cohabitation of women, sexual or not) with the author Alice Brown, b.1857 d.1948.

In 1901, Guiney moved to Oxford, England, to focus on her poetry and essay writing. Soon after she began to suffer from illness and in 1920 died of a stroke near Gloucestershire, England, age 59. Much of her work was left unfinished. After Guiney died the noted historian and novelist Eva Tenison became enchanted with her works and in 1921 published "Louise Imogen Guiney; an Appreciation", and in 1923 published "Louise Imogen Guiney: Her Life and Works 1861-1920" and "A Bibliography of Louise Imogen Guiney 1861-1920". Tenison also published "The Recusant Poets: An Unpublished Work of Louise Imogen Guiney and Fr. Geoffrey Bliss, S.J."******

About FREDERICK WOODWARD SKIFF:

******Frederick Woodward Skiff, b.1867 d.1947, was an author, noted collector, bibliophile, expert on Americana and American Literature, and founder of the Acorn Club. Over the course of his life, Skiff amassed one of the most important private libraries in the United States, with particular emphasis on literature and history. After his death in 1947, the library's contents were sold at auction by Butterfield & Butterfield (now Bonham's) in San Francisco. Many of the books made their ways into other important collections. Countess Doheny purchased 800 books from Skiff's library, becoming part of the Estelle Doheny Collection of American Literature, which was in turn auctioned off by Christie's New York in 2001.******

Curious ARMENIAN devotional book illustrated with six macabre full page engravings in the style of Jesuit Priest Alexandre Perier's 1724 Disillusion of Sinners (Desengano dos Peccadores) originally printed in Rome in 1724. The six plates show grotesque imagery of sinners suffering eternal punishment in Hell, terrifying engravings of damnation and torment the religious powers used to intimidate their flock, horrifying demons and serpents brutally torturing the souls of sinners burning in the fires of Hell. Interestingly, Perier's book was banned by the Church in 1771 because wealthy slave owners were not happy they were condemned to Hell too .

Blind tooled leather over wood boards, leather spine perished exposing burlap spine covering, sewn endbands, 3 raised spine bands, 5.25 x 3.35", [iv] 260 pages [iv], Armenian text, printed on laid paper, illustrated with 6 unsigned engravings - 7 are called for, plates present are 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, (plate 3 partial), decorated throughout with a variety of ornaments including cherubs and birds, zoomorphic initials, and various head and tail pieces, nd, np, circa early 19th century. Imperfect: lacking title page, and 3 leaves containing pages 23/24, 75/76, 217/218; plate 3 on leaf 73/74 is mostly torn away; leather lightly rubbed, rear bottom corner-tip chipped, internally inked notations in Armenian on endpapers, some ink stains/staining here and there including on the plates, gutter cracked but stitches holding well, edgewear/edge tears, finger soiling, some old repairs, generally clean and bright. Housed in a later slipcase.

MANSON, is a 1973 Robert Hendrickson and Laurence Merrick documentary film about Charles Manson and his "Family" compiled from interviews with the cult members and featuring documentary footage of Charles Manson, Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme, Leslie Van Houten, Tex Watson, Robert Beausoleil, and Bruce Davis. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary.

There were many people in the U.S., and particularly in California where the murders occurred, who did not want this movie released, and it had a very limited release in 1973.

In 1975, the movie was re-released to capitalize on the then notoriety of Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, who had tried to assassinate President Gerald Ford, and she was prominently pictured on the re-release press with the tagline "The girl who pointed the gun at the President". The distributor also printed the words "BANNED IN CALIFORNIA" on the top of the press items, due to a U.S. District Court Order banning the film in order to "preserve Fromme's constitutional right to a fair and speedy trial."

This pressbook is quite unusual because all the press items say "ONE WEEK ONLY", and a few state "BANNED IN SACRAMENTO" instead of "BANNED IN CALIFORNIA". Why "One Week Only"? Perhaps after one week the ban was going to go into effect.

Paper pressbook, all with the same press ads, though a few state "Banned in Sacramento" as noted above; five 12x18 inch pages, each page with 3 identical ads for the film, stapled at the upper left corner. The film was rarely exhibited.

GOOD condition: A previous owner has written "ads all same" at the top of page 1, and "pre-opening" with hand drawn arrows pointing to ads on pages 3, 4 and 5; otherwise just lightly handled, still bright and clear with no cut-outs.

RARE, I have never seen another copy of this particular film pressbook / press sheets.

MARC CHAGALL - DRAWINGS FOR THE BIBLE. With 24 ORIGINAL FULL-PAGE COLOR LITHOGRAPHS and 96 B&W HELIOGRAVURE PLATES. Text by Gaston Bachelard. (Translated into English by Stuart Gilbert.)

NEW YORK: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1960. First American edition. The 24 original color lithographs were printed by Mourlot Freres and the 96 b&w heliogravure plates by Draeger Freres. This book was produced as Verve 37/38 (double issue - Summer 1960).

Hardcover Book in an Original LIthograph Dustjacket, 10.5x14 inches (27x36 cm). there are seven Introductory leaves, 24 original color lithographs, 96 b&w heliogravure reproductions, and some text pages at the rear that list the 24 lithographs and describe the 96 b&w heliographs.

Condition: VERY GOOD book, the covers have a few small spots and slight pushing to a couple corners but are solid, bright and clear; internally, the pages have light toning to the margins (as on every copy I have seen), lovely overall tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. The LITHOGRAPHS are GORGEOUS. In a GOOD original lithograph dustjacket that was professionally / archivally restored; the jacket is missing a large piece from the top front area of the rear panel, a piece at the bottom of the spine, and a few other small pieces, all of which have now been integrally reinforced; there are some scrapes to the folds, and some repaired and reinforced tears; overall the jacket is solid and bright.

A lovely copy of the book with all its incredibly beautiful lithographs by Marc Chagall, in its original (and archivally restored) dustjacket.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This book is heavy and will require substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

MARK TWAIN DAY BY DAY - Volume I and Volume II, covering the years 1835-1885 and 1886-1896.

Each Volume is SIGNED and INSCRIBED on a blank prelim by the AUTHOR to HAL HOLBROOK, as follows:

Vol. I: "To Hal Holbrook / with appreciation for his performances / David H. Fears / Sept. 24, 2009".

Vol II: "To Hal Holbrook / with appreciation of his style / David H. Fears / Sept. 24, 2009".

Two volumes of four volumes, the final two being published in later years.

Hardcover books, no dustjackets as issued, cloth covered boards, front covers titled in gilt, spines titled in black, 8x11 inches, thick and heavy volumes, 1150 and 1281 pages respectively.

This work is considered to be the most comprehensive chronological examination of the life of Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens). It is incredible in its minutiae, and the research is exhaustive.

Published by Horizon Micro Publishing, LLC, Banks, Oregon. Volume I is a second printing, published in 2009; Volume II is a first printing, also published in 2009. Both volumes were printed in a very limited number, and each volume has a small handwritten number in the upper corner of the rear pastdown. Vol. I is #103, and Vol. II is #75. The publisher is actually a dba of the author.

I spoke to the author, David Frears, in May 2022. He was 79 and had recently undergone 5-way heart bypass surgery. He sounded good. I asked him about the volumes which he signed to Hal Holbrook. He said he presented these two volumes to Holbrook personally, and subsequently he and Holbrook corresponded for awhile. He treasured the handwritten letters he received from Holbrook. Fears said that in 2009 when he presented these two volumes to Hal Holbrook they were the only two he had written, that's why there are only two. He was working on Volume III at the time and wasn't even aware he would write a Volume IV. Frears also told me that the volumes were printed in a very limited number, about 100-125 copies each, and that he numbered them. He added that most of the volumes were sold before they were printed, primarily to Universities and Twain scholars. He said he didn't print many copies because he didn't want to end up with extras of these heavy books, that he was too old for that. He said I was very lucky to have the Holbrook copies.

CONDITION: Both volumes are in VERY GOOD condition, the cover corners are lightly bumped, there is some soiling to the page edges (page edges of the closed book), and there are light signs of handling and use; overall the volumes are tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. Solid, nice, very presentable copies.

RARE, especially with the presentation to HAL HOLBROOK

About HAL HOLBROOK (from Wikipedia):

******Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr., b.1925 d.2021, was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one man stage show he developed, Mark Twain Tonight!, performing as Mark Twain. He won the Tony Award for "Best Actor in a Play" in 1966 for his portrayal of Twain. He would continue to perform his signature role for over 60 years, only retiring the show in 2017 due to his failing health. Throughout his career, he also won five Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on television and was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in film. It is estimated that there were over 2,100 performances of Mark Twain Tonight! Holbrook portrayed Mark Twain for longer than Samuel Clemens did.******