text:
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Holy Night. A Yule-Tide Masque by Hans Trausil
Trausil, Hans; Speyer, Leonora (Translator); Gill, Eric (Artist) One of 500 copies, octavo size, 39 pp. This volume is a nativity play, telling of the birth of Jesus Christ, illustrated with woodcuts by the inimitable Eric Gill (1882-1940), including "Madonna and Child, with Crucifix" (P113), "Three Kings" (P73) and "Epiphany" (P84). A charming depiction of a beloved religious story. ___DESCRIPTION: Blue wrappers with yapp edges, printed in black with gilt woodcut of Gill's "Madonna and Child, with Crucifix" on the front wrapper, gilt ornament on the rear wrapper, title page with woodcut matching the front wrapper, in black, three woodcuts (including title page) by Eric Gill throughout; octavo size (7.75" by 6"), pagination: [1-12] 13-38 [39], one of 500 copies. In a glassine dust wrapper. ___CONDITION: Very good, with clean wraps, gilt is bright on the front wrap, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; with rubbing to joints, some wear to yapp edges, both hinges are slightly loose, but both are intact and text block is strong, and spine is lightly sunned. The dust wrapper is very good, clean, with small chips/nicks to spine foot and corners. ___CITATION: Skelton P73, P84, and P113. Not in Gill. ____POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard shipping charge does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Chesterton, Gilbert K.; Hatherell, W[illiam] (Frontis illustration) First US edition, first printing, duodecimo size, 373 pp. Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was a major writer of novels, poetry, and Christian apologetics; he is perhaps best known for his series of detective stories featuring the priest-detective Father Brown, and for such apologetics as "Orthodoxy" and "The Everlasting Man". A forceful and prolific writer, Chesterton's works feature his masterful grasp of language and wit, as well as his strong Christian faith, and he was an influence on noted writers such as C. S. Lewis, Jorge Luis Borges, and Neil Gaiman. This work of classic British mystery recounts the adventures of "Horne Fisher, the man who knew too much, and his trusted friend Harold March. Although Horne's keen mind and powerful deductive gifts make him a natural sleuth, his inquiries have a way of developing moral complications. Notable for their wit and sense of wonder, these tales offer an evocative portrait of upper-crust society in pre-World War I England" (n.b., from the web site of Goodreads). As the publisher's printed on the spine of the dust jacket, "Tales of a detective who always found but never convicted the criminal".which leaves one simply begging to read the stories to answer the question.why? Per the bibliography, the US edition omits the last three stories in the British edition and restores the title of "The Fool of the Family" to "The Temple of Silence"; the stories were collected from "Cassell's Magazine" and the "Storyteller". An interesting side note is that, although the title of this book was later used by Alfred Hitchcock for two films (the first produced in 1934, the second in 1956) the films are not based upon Chesterton's tales in any way. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full red cloth, olive green lettering and small illustration on the front board, olive green lettering on the spine, publisher's device in olive green on the back board, frontispiece illustration by W. Hatherell (note that although the title page states "illustrations by" (plural) in fact the only illustration in the book is the frontis); duodecimo size (7.5" by 5"), pagination: [i-viii], 1-365. In the publisher's dust jacket, tan with dark brown lettering, with a small illustration of a bust of Chesterton inset on the front panel. ___CONDITION: Volume is near fine, with clean boards, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; the lower back corner bumped, both bottom corners with a minimum of rubbing, tail of the spine bumped and again with minimal rubbing, a few small light spots of soil to the fore-edge of the text block, and some offsetting to the free endpapers from the dust jacket. The dust jacket has been price-clipped, has light overall soiling, the spine somewhat sunned, some rubbing with slight loss to the head and tail of the spine (not affecting any text), very small areas of loss where the panels meet the flaps, and two short closed tears at the head of the spine where the spine meets the panels. Overall a better than very good copy. ___CITATION: Sullivan no. 55. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Amor en el Techo / Love on the Ceiling; Una historia verdadera, más o menos / A true story, more or less
Hutchins, Eduardo [Hutchins, Edward H.]; Warren, Esteban [Warren, Steve] (Translator) Oblong 32mo size, 32 pp., in both Spanish and English, signed by Edward H. Hutchins and Steve R. Warner, with two hand-coloured illustrations. Book Artist Edward H. Hutchins believes that: everyone has a story to tell; that the best books are not mass-produced; and that when one let's one's imagination soar, the most amazing creations are possible utilizing, often, fairly inexpensive materials. Thus was born - Guerilla Bookmaking. Ed Hutchins has produced at least over eighty books between the years 1968 and 2005 (perhaps more - gleaned from several sources). Always creative and frequently carrying a social justice message, Ed's books charm and delight. His own web site offers a few books which are still in print; this volume relates, in Spanish (with the English translation following) a short story based on a factual happening; Ed and Steve were in Mexico for a year, and having been there only one week, a scorpion did fall from the ceiling on Ed, stinging him. As Ed shared with us: "I ended up considering how the encounter played out from the scorpion's point of view, and "Amor en el techo" was born"; this work now out of print, and we are pleased to offer it here. ___DESCRIPTION: Aubergine cardstock covers with a single-stitched binding which holds together the two sections of the book, Spanish first followed by the English translation, with the two hand-coloured illustrations (of "Julio" and "Luisa") on the stub page in between the two sections, signed in purple ink by Ed Hutchins and Steve Warren on the colophon page; oblong 32mo size (4.25" by 3.75"), unpaginated with eight leaves in each section, plus the two illustrations, thirty-two printed pages. ___CONDITION: Fine, clean throughout, straight corners without rubbing, the binding strong, and entirely free of prior owner markings; crisp and as new. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Wall Street by the Back Door
Richardson, Thomas D.; Davenport, Homer C. (Illustrations) Sixmo size, 129 pp, inscribed by Thomas D. Richardson. Filled with a humourous take on the Wall Street of over 100 years ago, this book includes chapters such as "Inside Information - Many Facts Not Generally Known" and "The Real Manipulator - Reasoning by Reducing a Position to an Absurdity". Inscribed by the author "To Col. A.R. Blakely with the regard of the author, Thomas D. Richardson". Colonel Blakely (1841-1908), from the little we could find online, was an Irish immigrant who (oddly) served in the Confederate Army. With nine caricature illustrations by Homer C. Davenport (1867-1912), a well-known illustrator in his day who worked mostly as a political cartoonist; he began his career with the "San Francisco Examiner" and eventually moved East. In addition to being a successful illustrator he also acquired and bred Arabian horses, bringing 27 of these magnificent animals to the United States where the breed was just becoming established. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full rust cloth, gilt lettering on the front and spine, author's inscription on the verso of the frontispiece, the frontis and eight other caricatures throughout by Homer Davenport; sixmo size (6 3/8" inches by 5"), pagination: [1-4] 5-129. ___CONDITION: Overall very good, the binding mostly clean with just a few spots of light soil, the corners straight with minimal rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and other than the author's inscription entirely free of prior owner markings; lacking the front free endpaper, some light sunning to the spine, light foxing on the first few pages, the frontis with a vertical crease near the guttter, and two leaves with small closed tears in the bottom margins (pp. 91/92 and 117/118); overall a solid, very good copy of a book relatively scarce in the marketplace with only one other copy online as of this writing, this the only copy signed by the author. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Hutchins, Edward H.] No. 38 of 50 copies, 32mo size size, 19 pp., inscribed and separately signed by Edward H. Hutchins. Book Artist Edward H. Hutchins believes that: everyone has a story to tell; that the best books are not mass-produced; and that when one let's one's imagination soar, the most amazing creations are possible utilizing, often, fairly inexpensive materials. Thus was born - Guerilla Bookmaking. Ed Hutchins has produced at least over eighty books between the years 1968 and 2005 (perhaps more - gleaned from several sources). Always creative and frequently carrying a social justice message, Ed's books charm and delight. His own web site offers a few books which are still in print; this volume, extolling the manifold delights of - well, buildings - is out of print and we are pleased to offer it here. This volume inscribed by the book artist thus: "For Judith / Thanks for / building our friendship / over the years! / Hugs - / Ed / 8-92". ___DESCRIPTION: Spiral-bound with a navy blue plastic comb between two flexible red cardboard covers, the front with an ivory-coloured paper label with blue lettering, the front "endpaper" a plain sheet of parchment upon which Ed Hutchins has incribed the book in the year of publication in blue ink as set forth above, title page in blue, pages of heavy ivory cardstock with stamped text in blue throughout, each page with a different cut-out which is reminiscent of an architectural feature, signed and numbered in black ink by Ed Hutchins on the final page, this no. 38 of 50 "hand-cut and stamped copies"; 32mo size (4.5" by 3 1/8"), unpaginated with ten leaves plus the two parchment endpapers, nineteen printed pages. ___CONDITION: Fine, clean throughout, straight corners without rubbing, the binding strong, and other than the artist's inscription entirely free of prior owner markings; crisp and as new. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Which Way?; Partnered words for a troubled time, Keepsake for Artist's Books Reviews, Volume 1 No. 10, Winter 2003
Hutchins, Edward H.] 32mo size, 10 pp., signed by Ed Hutchins. Book Artist Edward H. Hutchins believes that: everyone has a story to tell; that the best books are not mass-produced; and that when one let's one's imagination soar, the most amazing creations are possible utilizing, often, fairly inexpensive materials. Thus was born - Guerilla Bookmaking. Ed Hutchins has produced at least over eighty books between the years 1968 and 2005 (perhaps more - gleaned from several sources). Always creative and frequently carrying a social justice message, Ed's books charm and delight. His own web site offers a few books which are still in print; this volume, presenting "a reminder that choices made in the present, both personal and national, have long term consequences" - is out of print and we are pleased to offer it here (n.b., quote from the insert accompanying the volume). ___DESCRIPTION: Accordion structure which was taped forming a french-fold binding style of heavy grey paper with black lettering and decorations throughout, the front with a light grey-coloured paper label with black lettering surrounded by a black border, each pair of pages with one word pasted in on light grey paper, also between each pair of pages is an inserted strip of grey paper with a single word printed on each side, signed in blue ink by Ed Hutchins on the final page; 32mo size (4" by 2 1/8"), unpaginated with five leaves, ten printed pages. Loosley laid in is a small sheet of grey paper containing a summary of the meaning and message of the book. Enclosed in a small mylar envelope (uncertain whether this was furnished by the publisher or by a prior owner). ___CONDITION: Fine, clean throughout, straight corners without rubbing, the binding strong, and entirely free of prior owner markings; crisp and as new. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Mail Bonding
Hutchins, Ed[ward H.] Miniature book, 31 pp., signed by Ed Hutchins, in a plexiglass case. Book Artist Edward H. Hutchins believes that: everyone has a story to tell; that the best books are not mass-produced; and that when one let's one's imagination soar, the most amazing creations are possible utilizing, often, fairly inexpensive materials. Thus was born - Guerilla Bookmaking. Ed Hutchins has produced at least over eighty books between the years 1968 and 2005 (perhaps more - gleaned from several sources). Always creative and frequently carrying a social justice message, Ed's books charm and delight. His own web site offers a few books which are still in print; this volume, exploring the delight of the recipient of a letter, is out of print and we are pleased to offer it here. ___DESCRIPTION: Spiral-bound with a black plastic comb between two flexible grey cardboard covers, the front with a peach-coloured paper label with black lettering, title page in black and blue, pages also peach-coloured with text in black with in-text illustrations in blue, four pages with fold-outs, signed by Ed Hutchins on the final page; miniature book (1.75" by 1 5/8"), unpaginated with sixteen leaves, thirty-one printed pages. Encased in a small plexiglass case with a separate lid (uncertain whether this was furnished by the artist/publisher or by a prior owner) measuring 1 7/8" by 1 7/8" by 5/8" deep. ___CONDITION: Fine, clean throughout, straight corners without rubbing, the binding strong, and entirely free of prior owner markings; crisp and as new. The plexiglass case near fine with light overall surface scratches. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Conflagration / Cooperation
Hutchins, Edward H.] Oblong 32mo size, 16 pp., signed by Edward H. Hutchins. Book Artist Edward H. Hutchins believes that: everyone has a story to tell; that the best books are not mass-produced; and that when one let's one's imagination soar, the most amazing creations are possible utilizing, often, fairly inexpensive materials. Thus was born - Guerilla Bookmaking. Ed Hutchins has produced at least over eighty books between the years 1968 and 2005 (perhaps more - gleaned from several sources). Always creative and frequently carrying a social justice message, Ed's books charm and delight. His own web site offers a few books which are still in print; this volume presents a series of words (each beginning with the letter "C") which, at the beginning, are identical and confrontational but, as the book progresses, the words diverge and encourage the reader to move towards a mutual understanding; this volume out of print, and we are pleased to offer it here. ___DESCRIPTION: Accordion structure with the two end sheets tipped between heavy bright blue cardstock paper with black lettering, cutouts on both wraps (on the front, a cannon firing and on the back a lamb lying down), black lettering on the spine, each page a riotous presentation of images, mostly recognizable persons from history, which underlies the message of the book, each page with two words, one printed "upside-down", each beginning with "C" and which, in effect, speak the message, signed in blue ink by Ed Hutchins on the front wrap; oblong 32mo size (4.5" by 3"), unpaginated with seven leaves (uncut on one side) plus the two pages tipped into the wraps, sixteen printed pages. ___CONDITION: Fine, clean throughout, straight corners without rubbing, the binding strong, and entirely free of prior owner markings; crisp and as new. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Winter Words; in Various Moods and Metres
Hardy, Thomas First printing, octavo size, 215 pp., in original dust jacket. Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) was one of Britain's most influential Victorian novelists and poets; D. H. Lawrence wrote a study of Hardy, and he was the basis for the character of Edward Driffield in W. Somerset Maugham's "Cakes and Ale". He wrote of tragic characters struggling against their passions and social circumstances and was nominated twice for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In addition to being a writer of prose, he was a prolific poet; from 1898 until his death in 1928 Hardy published eight volumes of poetry, with about one thousand poems published in his lifetime (n. b., above information from Wikipedia and the Poetry Foundation). This volume was published posthumously, shortly after Hardy's death. A short note printed above the introduction, states "This volume, though prepared for the press, would have undergone further revisions, had the author lived to issue it on the birthday of which he left the number uninserted below." And, indeed as Hardy wrote in the introduction, seeming to sense that his end was near, "[t[his being probably my last appearance on the literary stage." It seems that the end of life was much on his mind, for the final poem, entitled "He Resolves to Say No More", begins "O my soul, keep the rest unknown! It is too like a sound of moan When the charnel-eyed Pale Horse has nighed: Yea, None shall gather what I hide!" ___DESCRIPTION: Original gilt-stamped green cloth, on the front board a small, circular floral design around Hardy's initials, gilt lettering on the spine, contains one hundred and five poems, some signatures unopened, top edge rough-cut, fore- and bottom edges uncut, armorial Ex-Libris plate on the front pastedown; octavo size (7.75" by 5.25"), pagination: [i-iv] v-xii, 1-202, [203, printer's statement]. In the original paper dust jacket, light grey printed in midnight blue, price of 7/6 on the bottom of the front flap, publisher's ad for other works by Hardy on the back panel, back flap blank. ___CONDITION: A near fine copy, the binding clean and the gilt bright, straight corners, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and other than the bookplate referred to above free of prior owner markings; a hint of rubbing to the head and tail of the spine at the joints, some sunning to the head and tail of the spine, another hint of rubbing to the bottom corners. The unclipped dust jacket very good, clean with a hint of soiling where the flaps meet the panels, sunning to the spine, some wear to the spine at the head and tail, and a vertical stripe running down the length, other minor overall edgewear. Altogether a very good plus to near fine copy of Hardy's last book of poems. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard shipping charge does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
The Sorrows of Young Werther; Newly translated into English by William Rose
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang One of 1260 copies, octavo size, 174 pp. This is Johann Wolfgang Goethe's (1749-1832) famous semi-autobiographical novel, which influenced the course of European literature, notable for being the first novel of the "Sturm und Drang" movement. Often translated as "Storm and Stress", the movement was "a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and the early 1780s" (quote per Wiki). The work was originally published in English in 1779; the present translation, by Dr. William Rose (1894-1961), is from the first edition of 1774. During WWII Rose was in the Intelligence Corps, and served as a German-language specialist working on code breaking; he took an active interest in the fate of German exiled intellectuals, opening his home to figures such as Franz Werfel and Stefan Zweig. He publicly condemned the Nazi regime in openly joining the PEN Club and supporting the "German Library of Burned Books", a collection founded in Paris and other capitals by German emigre writers not only to provide access to these books, but to prove "the indestructible essence of a spiritual culture that is too old for an explosion of barbarism to destroy it" (n.b., quote from "Weimar in Exile" by Jean-Michel Palmier). ___DESCRIPTION: Original orange cloth stamped in gilt at backstrip, fore- and tail-edges uncut, a lengthy introduction (over 35 pp.), with twelve black and white plates (seven by Daniel Chodowiecki, the other five by various artists); octavo size (9" by 6"), pagination: [i-ix] x-xlv [xlvi-xlviii] 1-126, limited edition, one of 1260 copies per the bibliography. The publisher's dust jacket shows the original price of 10s.6d. net on the lower corner of the front flap, short statement about this being "here translated into English for the first time in a hundred years" on the front flap, black lettering on front panel and spine, rest of jacket plain. ___CONDITION: A fine copy, the cloth covers clean, the corners straight and totally unrubbed, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, internally bright with many signatures unopened, and completely free of prior owner markings; the dust jacket is unclipped and near fine overall, showing overall dustiness, some sunning to the spine, and overall minor edgewear. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
The Cambridge University Press 1696-1712, A Bibliographical Study, Volumes I and II
McKenzie, D. F. Two volumes (complete), quarto size, 842 pp., with (unsigned) note by the author. The Cambridge University Press began in 1534 when it was granted letters patent by King Henry VIII, and since then the publishing house, part of Cambridge University, has printed titles from numerous authors ranging from John Milton and Isaac Newton to Noam Chomsky and Stephen Hawking. This bibliography of the Press includes publications from 1696 to 1712, and also details the financial side of the business, with many facsimiles of material printed by the Press; the set forms an extensive picture of just a small part of the work produced by the world's oldest publishing house. Loosely laid into the book is a small single sheet "With the compliments of D.F. McKenzie" printed at the top, and a short note in manuscript beneath, "And with renewed Thanks for a most enjoyable morning last January". This obviously a note from the author and presumably in his hand, althought neither signed nor dated. ___DESCRIPTION: Both volumes of full blue cloth, red stamped spine label with gilt lettering and ruled borders, oval red stamped spine label with gilt ruled border and volume number, top edge stained teal, title page with emblem of the University in black, Volume I with black-and-white facsimiles of printed material from the Press and four three-colour charts of "work done by compositors and pressmen"; quarto size (11" by 7.5"), pagination: Volume I: [i-vi] vii-xv [xvi] 1-432 [433-435]; Volume II: [i-iv] v-ix [x] 1-381. In orange dust jackets with white and black lettering, the coat of arms of Cambridge University in black and title in white on the front panel, white and black lettering on the spine, the address of the Press on the rear panel, and a description of the book on the front flap with the original price of $55.00 ("in U.S.A."); note the lower left corner is clipped (we presume by the publisher, since the printed price is still present), the rear flaps are blank. Loosely laid in is the short note referred to above, measuring 6.75" by 4.25", written on brown paper, the printed words in dark brown. ___CONDITION: Both volumes fine overall, with clean boards, straight corners without any rubbing, strong, square text blocks with solid hinges, the interiors are clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; Volume I with the rear corners gently bumped and Volume II with an extremely small spot on the spine, else fine. The dust jackets near fine overall, not price-clipped, clean, with only a few spots of light edgewear; the spines are lightly sunned and the jacket for Volume II has a small area which caught and wrinkled (no missing pieces, but the wrinkled area is obvious). The autograph note is near fine, clean, free of edgewear, with a single horizontal fold (presumably the original fold from mailing). ___POSTAGE: Please note that this set is unusually heavy and extra postage will apply; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
The Golden State and Its Resources
Powell, John J. First printing, duodecimo size, 222 pp. As the author (of whom we could find little) states in the book's short introduction: "The history of California during the last twenty-five years is composed of strange events. A more wonderful romance never adorned the pages of fiction; and there has seldom been written, in any age, a history of the rise of so remarkable a State." He continues to detail the remarkable changes wrought by the discovery of gold, and the incredibe amount of wealth which poured in, bringing so many in its search. He closes by saying "The following pages, on the Golden State and its Resources, were prepared chiefly for circulation abroad; and I have endeavored to compress, into a small space, the most important and interesting facts concerning its past history, and its present prosperious condition." What we most appreciate is the chapter devoted to the Yosemite Valley; although only thirteen pages, it provides a wonderful glimpse into the Valley as it was seen in 1874, when it was still difficult to access (one got in and out via mule train). The author describes the valley and goes on to enumerate the glories of Bridal Veil Fall, Three Brothers, Cathedral Rock, Sentinel Rock, Yosemite Fall, The Royal Arches, North Dome, Mirror Lake, Half Dome, Vernal Fall, Nevada Fall, and Glacier Point. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full aubergine pebbled cloth, double narrow-ruled debossed borders on both boards, front board with a decorative gilt banner surrounding the lettering, gilt lettering on the spine, light pink coated endpapers; duodecimo size (7 1/8" by 4.5"), pagination: [i-v] vi-xii [13] 14-219, [blank, 220] [ 2 pp. ads [for "Golden State Iron Works" and "The Harbin Hot Sulpher Springs"], 221-222]. ___CONDITION: Better than very good, with clean boards, gently bumped corners with minimal rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; spine sunned, head and tail of the spine gently bumped with a minute tear to the cloth at the head, one very small old spot of damp on the back board (near the spine), one small (approximately one-quarter of an inch) abrasion to the cloth on the fore-edge of the front board. ___CITATION: Cowan (1964) p. 498, Rocq no. 17101. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Peter and Wendy
Barrie, J. M.; Bedford, F. D. (Illustrator) First printing, octavo size, 275 pp., with dust jacket, in a custom box. Sir James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) wrote numerous novels and plays for both children and adults, but he is best known for "Peter Pan", a hugely successful play set in the magical world of Neverland; the play has been performed many times and has been adapted in films and literary works. The beloved character first appeared in Barrie's novel "The Little White Bird", and Barrie went on to write the classic story of Neverland as the play "Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up"; the script was then adapted as a novel, "Peter and Wendy". This novel is the story in its best-known form, featuring the adventures of the Darling children in Neverland, and their encounters with Captain Hook and his crew of pirates. This edition contains lovely detailed illustrations by British book illustrator Francis Donkin Bedford (1864-1954), who contributed illustrations to numerous popular literature such as "A Christmas Carol" and "A Book of Nursery Rhymes". ___DESCRIPTION: Full olive green cloth, gilt historiated borders and illustration surrounding gilt lettering on the front board, gilt illustrations and lettering on the spine, top edge stained brown, frontispiece a black-and-white illustration by F. D. Bedford, title page with black-and-white illustration by Bedford, twelve (including frontispiece) black-and-white illustrations by Bedford throughout; octavo size (8" by 5.75"), pagination: [i-v] vi-vii [viii] [1] 2-267. In a white paper dust jacket with gilt historiated borders, illustration, and lettering on the front panel, gilt lettering on the spine; the dust jacket is unclipped, but there is no price; note that the dust jacket is of white paper, not on green, and may therefore be a later issue or a variant. Housed in a custom clamshell box, quarter red leather with red cloth boards and sides, small gilt line drawing on the front board, the spine with five raised bands, gilt decorative rules and ornaments, and gilt lettering, the insides of the trays lined with paper with floral pattern in red, gilt, and black. ___CONDITION: A bit better than very good, with clean boards, the gilt lettering and decorations bright, straight corners with a bare minimum of rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, and the only prior owner marking being a vintage gift inscription on the front free endpaper; head and tail of the spine bumped, offsetting to the free endpapers, a small, old dampstain towards the bottom margin of the front pastedown with a corresponding area to the front free endpaper, some scattered foxing to the text block edges and a few pages. The dust jacket is very good, unclipped, with overall light soiling and edgewear, and with some professional restoration done by a prior owner (mostly to the head and tail of the spine, and the bottom corner of the front flap). The custom clamshell box is near fine, strong and sturdy, clean, without wear, slight discolouring and sticky residue to the cloth at the top edge, else fine. ___CITATION: Garland, no. 37. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard shipping charge does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
The North Face Catalog
Quarto size, 42 pp. Long before camping, climbing and the outdoors became trendy, The North Face company was founded in Berkeley, California. The mission of the founders was to manufacture tents and clothing which would perform well in the most hostile environments, at that that time they also offered gear from other domestic and international manufacturers. We date this catalog to 1968 as carabiners from Bedayn and holsters from The Dolt Hut are offered. ___DESCRIPTION: In pictorial wraps with stapled binding, pictured on the front is a man seated in front of a gas station, the rear wrap depicts a mountain scene. Bound inside of the wraps is a bifold of a gift certificate and order form, non-paginated. The various pages contain product descriptions and black and white photos of the items available from the company; quarto size (10 1/2" by 8 1/2"), pagination: (i), 1-40, (i). ___CONDITION: The catalog is in near fine condition, the wraps mostly clean and remarkably free of edgewear, the staples are rusted but the binding is strong, the interior is very clean and free of any prior owner markings; extremely minor spot or two of wear to the wraps, prior owner's mailing label to rear wrap; overall in wonderful condition. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Across Asia's Snows and Deserts
Morden, William J.; Andrews, Roy Chapman (Introduction) First printing, octavo size, 428 pp. "William James Morden (1886-1958), a field associate for the Department of Mammalogy, and James L. Clark (1883-1969), a well-known scientist and the assistant director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City organized a Morden-Clark Asiatic Expedition to the Pamir Mountains, in present-day Tajikistan, in 1926" (n.b., quote from a blog on the website of the Library of Congress dated September 6, 2018 by Anchi Hoh). The main goal of the expedition was to procure samples of the "Ovis poli", a rare sheep described by Marco Polo in his travel narratives. During the course of their journey, which was incredibly rugged and difficult by today's travel standards, Morden and Clark had to "toil over snow filled passes and the highest mountains of the earth". They would pass through the country on camels, country which offered "heat and thirst and cold and blizzards.bandits and wild Mongol soldiers." They made it through, but only after "unflinching courage and great endurance; [and] a record of tact and diplomacy without which courage alone would have been of no avail. They endured torture and were very close to death, but they brought out their collections and records safely. They have made one of the great journeys of Central Asia." (n.b., quotes from the book's Introduction by Roy Chapman Andrews). ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full navy blue cloth, gilt lettering on front board and spine, top edge gilt, blue-toned photographic front endpapers, frontispiece a photograph of the author "After Release by Mongols", title page in red and black, profusely illustrated with black-and-white photographic half-tone illustrations (sixty-five plates on 63 pages), two full-page maps and one three-panel folding map, three diagrams/charts, sepia-toned photographic rear endpapers; octavo size (9.5" by 6.5"), pagination: [i-iv] v-xiv, 1-414 (includes two Appendices and the Index). ___CONDITION: Very good overall, the boards mostly clean, the gilt lettering deep and bright, straight corners with minimal rubbing, a strong, square text block, front hinge tender but board still solidly attached, rear hinge solid, the interior is clean and bright, collated complete, the folding map near fine, clean, without tears, with some unintended folds near to the original folds, the only prior owner markings being a gift inscription on the front flyleaf "To 'S.J.L.I.' from 'M.S.' Xmas 1929"; some light soil to the front board, a spot of more pronounced soil on the back board, rubbing to the head and tail of the spine with very small loss of the cloth at the joints. Lacking the dust jacket. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Tony's Christmas
Watson, Douglas S. One of 100 copies, small quarto size, 15 pp. A charming story of a young boy's Christmas morning in San Francisco, and a promise he made to the Christ child in the church's creche - a promise which required a bit of explanation to the parish Priest. In "Chronology of Twenty-Five Years, The Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, 1928-1953", Douglas S. Watson is listed as a Roxburghe member, serving as Printer's Devil for the 1932-33 season and subsquently as Master of the Press for the two seasons of 1933-34 and 1934-35. Watson was the author and/or editor of many books having to do with San Francisco/California history and growth, including "The Life of Johann August Sutter" (printed by the Grabhorn Press in 1932/33), "The Expedition into California of the Venerable Padre Fra Junipero Serra and his companions in the year 1769." (printed at the Nueva California Press, 1934), and "The Santa Fe Trail to California 1849-1852" (printed by the Grabhorn Press for The Book Club of California in 1931), to name only a few. ___DESCRIPTION: String-bound into blue paper wraps, printed label tipped onto the front wrap with a decorative border in orange, yellow and blue, title in dark green lettering with a decorative initial capital, yapped edges, title page with same title lettering (in black), stated on the bottom of the title page "Printed for Members of the Roxburghe Club of San Francisco" (note that the volume does not mention the Grabhorn Press as the printer, it is in their bibliography), decorative title also opens the first page of text, decorative page numbers at the top of the text; small quarto size (10" by 6 5/8"), pagination: [i-ii] [1] 2-13. ___CONDITION: Near fine, the wraps clean, the label on the front wrap clean and without any wear, the string binding strong, the interior clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; a hint of edgewear to the edges of the wraps, some light sunning to the top edge of the wraps and at the spine, and one shallow crease to the bottom corner of the back wrap. Altogether a bright, near fine copy of this somewhat scarce (in the marketplace) piece of Grabhorn printing (as of this writing, there is only one other copy listed online; OCLC locates 23 copies with institutions). ___CITATION: Grabhorn Press Bibliography no. 176, which states that one hundred copies, of which forty were for members of the Roxburghe Club, were privately printed for Douglas S. Watson in 1932. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, In Which are Included Memoirs of a Lady of Quality
Smollett, T[obias]; Roscoe, Thomas (Editor) Volumes I and II (Novelist's Library), sixmo size, 882 pp., in a custom binding. A stand-alone story, this story was part of the Novelist's Library (Vol. III). Edited by Roscoe Tobias, Esq. (1791-1871), himself an author and translator; his own works include mostly travel memoirs. "The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle", by Tobias Smollett (1721-1771) was published in 1751, revised and reissued in 1758; it is the story of the fortunes and misfortunes of the egotistical dandy Peregrine Pickle, and it provides a comic and caustic portrayal of 18th-century European society - the story influenced later authors such as Charles Dickens and George Orwell (info from Wikipedia). ___DESCRIPTION: Navy blue leather custom binding by "S. Kaufmann" (stamped on the front turn-ins) with gilt ornaments to all four corners of both the front and rear boards, same decoration in four of the six spine compartments, gilt lettering in other two with title and author, "Cruikshank Illustrations" in gilt at the tail of the spine, top edge gilt, gilt inner dentelles, plain endpapersl, frontispiece in each volume being a Cruikshank illustration, with three additional illustrations in each volume (8 total); pagination: Volume I, vi, 422 pp. with 2 pp. of publisher's ads at the rear; and Volume II, iv, 448. ___CONDITION: Volumes are overall in near fine condition, with strong, square text blocks, solid hinges, straight corners with a minimum of rubbing, the interiors are clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; there is some light edgewear, especially to the head and tail of the spine and the joints, however, the leather has remained supple (although the blue color on the spine has sunned to an olive color) and the gilt remains bright. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply, please contact seller for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Anaheim, Orange County, California
Octavo size, 30 pp. A scarce promotional brochure published in 1905 by the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce extolling the many virtures of the City. Opening with a short "History of Anaheim" the brochure quickly moves into the many advantages the city offers: the walnut and fruit groves, the stately homes, the climate, the schools, etc. Profusely illustrated with five full-page (one page with two plates) and twenty-one in-text half-tone illustrations and one map, this slim volume provids a fascinating glimpse in Anaheim of 115 years ago, before "progress" and Walt Disney changed it forever. Quite scarce; as of this writing there are no copies online and OCLC locates only four copies; not listed in Rocq. ___DESCRIPTION: Staple-bound with brown heavy paper wraps, black lettering on the front wrap, title page with a styled "T" inset and with all lettering surrounded by a thin ruled border, the volume opens with one of the full-page halftones captioned "Looking East on Center Street" (showing horse-drawn carriages and an unpaved street), a total of twenty-seven different plates and one "Map of Orange County California, Made By S.H. Finley, Co. Surv."; octavo size (9.25" by 6 1/8"), pagination: [1-4] 5-29 [30, map]. ___CONDITION: Alas, while complete and relatively clean inside, we are grading as poor due to the condition of the wraps and binding; the front wrap has light soil, but the rear wrap shows heavy soil including an area which appears to have some old glue, the bottom half of the wrap is split in the middle and detached from the binding, the staples have rusted and most of the pages are now loose; the interior is mostly clean but shows some edgewear and light soil, especially to the first and final few pages. ___CITATION: OCLC no. 18964072. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Philobiblon
De Bury, Richard; Englis, John Bellingham (translator) No. 21 of 250 copies, folio size, 43 pp. The Philobiblon is a collection of essays concerning the acquisition, preservation, and organization of books written by the mediaeval bibliophile Richard de Bury shortly before his death in 1345. Written in Latin, as was the custom of the day, it is separated into twenty chapters, each covering a different topic relating to book collecting (n.b., per Wiki). It is generally considered the first book written about book-collecting, by the first recognized English bibliophile. This version a book-lover's delight on so many levels, as a veritable swarm of illuminaries worked on this book: "The Book of Philobiblon, written by Richard De Bury, sometime Bishop of Durham; finished by him in the year A.D. 1345, and first printed at Cologne in 1473. Translated into English by John Bellingham Englis, printed at London, in 1832, and now printed by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn, San Francisco, California, with decorations and initial letters by Donald McKay. Alfred Brooks Kennedy, compositor. Of this edition two hundred & fifty copies have been printed on Holland hand-made paper for The Book Club of California. Finished the fifth day of December, 1925" (per the colophon). One of the Fifty Books of the Year. ___DESCRIPTION: Cobalt blue paper boards with coat-of-arms design on front board, tan linen spine, fore and bottom edges uncut, ivory endpapers, title page and chapter headings/illustrations in red and black, text double-columned; type Poliphilus, printed on Holland Van Gelder hand-made paper, folio size (15.25" by 10.25"), pagination: [i-ii], [1], 2-40, [41], limited edition of 250 copies, this no. 21. ___CONDITION: Almost near fine, the paper boards mostly clean with just a stray mark or two of light soil, the linen shelfback also clean, the corners were strengthened by a professional restorer (name available upon request) and now are straight and unrubbed, front hinge somewhat tender but the board still firmly attached, rear hinge strong, the sewn binding strong, the interior clean with light, even toning, and the volume is entirely free of prior owner markings; a bit of rubbing to the head and tail of the spine, lacking the spine label, and some offsetting to the endpapers. ___CITATIONS: BCC 100, no. 25; Grabhorn Press Bibliography no. 75. ___POSTAGE: Please note that due to size, additional postage may apply; please contact seller for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Amphigorey, Fifteen Books by Edward Gorey
Gorey, Edward Either first printing or early reprint (no distinguishing marks per Toledano), quarto size, 224 pp. Edward St. John Gorey (1925-2000) is well-known and well-loved for his poisonously funny picture books which are complex, humorous, serious, and provocative. This work reproduces fifteen of Gorey's earliest works, each in full. As he stated himself at the beginning of the book: " 'Amphigorey' is made up of books first published between 1953 and 1965. They are now difficult and often expensive to come by: hence this compilation." And now, of course, even his "reprint" is a collectable - such is the magic of Edward Gorey. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full pictorial cloth in yellow, tan, black and red, lettering in red and black on the front board, decorative spine with lettering in red and white, black endpapers, no indication of printing on copyright page (meaning it was one of the first three, or the sixth/seventh printings), the fifteen books reproduced in full (most in black and white, as originally published); quarto size (11.25" by 8 1/8"), unpaginated with 112 leaves (224 pages). In the original publisher's dust jacket with the spine and panels mirroring the book, showing the original price of $12.95 on the front flap with a list of the stories included beneath, one-sentence bio of the author on the rear flap with publisher's address below. ___CONDITION: Fine overall, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; a very slight slant to the text block and a few specks of light soil to the top edge of the text block, else fine. The dust jacket better than very good, unclipped, the red on the two panels bright and deep; some sunning to the spine with minor soiling, slight dustiness to both panels, and a few spots of edgewear mostly at the head of the spine where it meets the back panel, with several short closed tears (the longest one-half inch). ___CITATION: Toledano A44b, wherein he states that the "[f]irst three printings are identical as are sixth and seventh" (the fourth and fifth were indicated such, as were the eighth and later); therefore, we cannot state that this is the first printing, but it would be either one of the first three printings or the sixth/seventh. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Observations on Abortion; Containing an Account of the Manner in Which It Takes Place, the Causes Which Produce It, and the Method of Preventing or Treating It
Burns, John First US Edition, first printing, sixmo size, 151 pp. John Burns, FRS (1775-1850) was internationally known as an authority on abortion and midwifery. At the time this book was published abortion by choice was not legal, and the perspective of the author reflects this in his opening lines: "By abortion is generally understood the expulsion of the contents of the gravid uterus, at a period of gestation so early as to render it impossible for the foetus to live. It is an accident or disease which is very frequent in its occurrence.". While society's views to abortion have changed considerably in the past 200 years (and remains one of the most polarizing topics in society today) this is an early nineteenth-century perspective and gives the most advanced information on the subject available at the time. This work the first American printing, which was based on the revised British edition of 1807 (the work was originally published in Britain in 1806). ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full contemporary leather, brown leather spine label with gilt lettering, gilt rules on spine, board edges decorated in gilt, vintage prior owner name on the top margin of the title page, note that the long "s" is used throughout; sixmo size (6.25" by 4"), pagination: [1-5] 6-151. ___CONDITION: Better than very good, the leather binding tight with minimal rubbing (mostly to the joints and board edges), with clean boards, straight corners with minimal rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean, and other than the vintage name referred to above free of prior owner markings; the binding slightly splayed (the top board springs back from the text block slightly), offsetting to the endpapers, some toning throughout, and an area approximately 1" by 1.5" of the rear free endpaper has adhered to the rear pastedown (at the hinge), with a concomitant closed tear at the top of the area (undoubtedly caused by a prior owner trying to lift the free endpaper). ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Vanity Fair; A Novel Without a Hero
Thackeray, William Makepeace; Chesterton, G.K. (Introduction); Austen John (Illustrator) Two volumes (complete), no. 183 of 1500 copies, quarto size, 798 total pp., signed by John Austen. This Limited Editions Club publication of William Makepeace Thackeray's (1811-1863) best-known work, "Vanity Fair", contains line drawings by English illustrator John Austen (1886-1948), who illustrated many books such as "Hamlet", "Tristram Shandy", and "Madame Bovary"; his style was at first influenced by Aubrey Beardsley and was later shaped by the Art Deco movement. Austen visualises the delicate relationships between the characters in these ethereal drawings, each hand-coloured by Daniel Jacomet. G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), an inimitable man of letters who wrote on a variety of subjects from Christian apologetics to detective novels, provides the introduction to this edition of Thackeray's work, examining the different readings of Thackeray over time, as well as the use of satire to shed light on various aspects of society. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter magenta cloth with patterned paper boards in orange, green, and black, gilt lettering on the spine, fore- and bottom edges uncut, endpapers with the same pattern as the boards, frontispiece a line drawing in black by John Austen, with hand-colouring by Daniel Jacomet, title page with black-and-white illustration by Austen, full-page line drawings in black by Austen, with hand-colouring by Jacomet, throughout both volumes, Volume One with vintage bookseller's ticked on the rear pastedown of Philip C. Duschnes, New York; monotype Baskerville, Arches mouldmade paper, quarto size (11.75" by 7.75"), pagination: Volume One: [i-v] vi-xx [1] 2-365; Volume Two: [i-v] [366-367] 368-772 [1 colophon], one of 1500 copies, this number 183, signed by John Austen on the colophon in Volume Two. In a patterned paper dust jacket matching the boards, with a grey paper label with line drawing in black by Austen on the front panel, and grey paper spine label with black lettering and illustration. Housed in a slipcase covered in papter with the same pattern as the boards, with a beige paper spine label with black lettering and yellow and pink embellishments. ___CONDITION: Volumes are near fine, with clean boards, straight corners, strong, square text blocks, the interiors are clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; the front hinge of Volume One is tender but the board is securely attached (the other hinges all solid), the bottom corners of Volume One slightly rubbed, both volumes with light off-setting to the free endpapers. The dust jackets are very good plus, unclipped, but no printed price present, clean with bright colours on the panels, the spines slightly sunned and with light overall edgewear, mostly to the heads and tails of the spines. The slipcase is very good, strong and sturdy, with some overall soiling, minor wear to the paper surrounding the opening, and there is internal evidence (old cello tape) of some prior owner repair to the slipcase. ___CITATION: LEC no. 22. ___POSTAGE: Please note that this is a large and heavy set, and therefore additional postage will apply; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Recollections of a Busy Life:; Reminiscences of American Politics and Politicians.also, A Discussion With Robert Dale Owen of the Law of Divorce
Greeley, Horace First printing, octavo size, 624 pp., with a short chapter on Yosemite and the Big Trees. Horace Greeley (1811-1872) was a man of many parts, but is chiefly remembered today for having founded the newspaper the "New-York Tribune", which was incredibly influential in its day - in fact, the journalist Bayard Taylor stated that its influence in the Midwest "was second only to that of the Bible." In addition to being a powerful newspaperman Greeley also dabbled in politics, being the unsuccessful candidate in the 1872 president election against the incumbent - President Ulysses S. Grant. Being so well-known, it is natural that his views on various subjects would be of interest to many. This volume, while titled "reminiscences of.politics" covers a wide range of subjects. As Greeley himself says in the foreword (titled "Apology"): "[t]hese recollections owe their existence wholly to an impulse external to their author, who, of his own choice, writes on many topics, himself not included." While many of the opening chapters deal with his boyhood and youth, other chapters discuss "Socialism", "Beggars and Borrowers", "Mining", "Europe", "The Slavery Controversy", "The Rocky Mountains", etc - ending with his views on "Marriage and Divorce". Some of the highlights (at least to this bookseller) include his chapters on "The Sierra Nevada - The Yosemite - The Big Trees" and "The Future of California"; he speaks of Yosemite as "the grandest marvel of the continent." A fascinating glimpse into the world from the eyes of a knowledgable and influential nineteenth-century newspaperman. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full green cloth, gilt vignette of a beehive on the front board, debossed blind ruled border on both boards, back board with the same beehive vignette debossed in blind, gilt lettering on the spine, top edge stained brown, brown coated endpapers, tissue-guarded frontis a portrait of the author engraved by J. Rogers after a photograph by [Mathew] Brady, publisher's device on title page, in addition to several in-text illustrations the volume contains one facsimile letter and two tissue-guarded full-page wood-engravings, one titled "My House in the Woods" and the second "My Present Home", vintage bookseller's ticket on rear pastedown ("Nedwick's Book Store" in Chicago, IL); octavo size (8 7/8" by 6 1/8"), pagination: [i-vii] viii-xv [xvi, blank] [facsimile letter inserted] [17]18-624. ___CONDITION: Very good, with clean boards, the gilt vignette and lettering bright and unrubbed, straight corners, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, and the interior is clean and bright; some rubbing to the corners (most noticeable at the bottom corners), rubbing with some fraying of the cloth to the head and tail of the spine (most noticeable at the front joint at the head of the spine), a few barely discernible prior owner (or vintage bookseller) markings in pencil to the front free endpaper and the rear pastedown, and on a few scattered pages light spots of foxing or very light soil. A solid copy, really a bit better than very good but due to the few binding issues we are grading as very good. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
The Throne of the Gods; An Account of the First Swiss Expedition to the Himalayas
Heim, Arnold and Gansser, August; Paul, Eden and Paul, Cedar (Translators) First US edition, first printing, octavo size, 262 pp., with sketched and photographic illustrations by the authors, folding map in rear pocket. Originally published in German in 1938, this is the account of the "first Swiss expedition in 1936 to the Himalayas written by two geologists whose eight months journey in the Himalayas took them through the lands of Nepal and Tibet up to Mount Kailash, and then through the plains and foothills of India on the way back" (n.b., quote from the web site of Himalyan Voices). In addition to being the authors, the book is replete with illustrations, both drawn and photographic, by both Arnold Heim (1882-1965) and Augusto Gansser-Biaggi (1910-2012). In fact, Neate describes the book as a "[s]uperbly illustrated account of [a] chiefly geological expedition, which explored the area around Kailas in Tibet." With the prior owner name on the front pastedown of "Albert S. Marshall / Three Rivers / California". Albert Marshall (1891-1970) was known as a California artist who studied art at the San Francisco Art Institute, and later, having been refused admittance into the Army in WWI due to tuberculosis, was advised that the mountains were the best place for his health. He therefore spent much of his life painting the Sierra Nevadas in California, as well as other western areas with dry climates, such as the Wind River Range in Wyoming, the Canadian Rockies, and the mountains and glaciers of Alaska (n.b, information from the web site of California Art). ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full green cloth, gilt lettering on the spine, top edge gilt, prior owner name/address of the artist Albert Marshall as set forth above, the volume replete with illustrations including "220 plates in photogravure, 18 sketches in the text, 11 musical items, 2 panoramas and 1 relief map" (per the title page), the black and white photographic illustrations bound into several sections of the book; octavo size (9.5" by 6.25"), pagination: [i-iv] v-xxv [xxvi - blank], 1-233, [234 - blank], [235, Glossary], [236, printer's statement], followed by a folding, seven-panel "Panoramic Sketches", this followed by four-panel (folded into five) "Panoramic Photos", pocket tipped onto rear pastedown containing a folding map of the Central Himalayas in brown, blue and black (map measures just under 20" tall by 18" wide). With the publisher's dust jacket displaying a photograph of a mountain range wrapping from the spine across the front panel, inset at the tail of the spine is a photograph of a native, white lettering on the front and spine, rear panel and rear flap blank, front flap is unclipped although without a printed price, giving a short summary of the book. ___CONDITION: Volume is near fine, with clean boards, straight corners without rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, collated complete, the interior is clean and bright, and other than the name/address set forth above free of prior owner markings; tail of the spine bumped (with light wear, but no fraying to the cloth), a few spots to the fore-edge of the textblock, foldout at the rear of "Panoramic Sketches" at one point folded incorrectly so that a thin strip of the top margin protrudes from the top edge of the text block, the folding map in the back pocket near fine, a few spots of light soil, a few unintended folds, one small tear towards the top of the map at the intersection of two folds, and holes in three of the corners (seemingly from being tacked to a wall). The dust jacket is good only, unclipped (no printed price), all components present but with substantial edgewear resulting in some loss at the head and tail of the spine (just barely impinging on the lettering), the rear panel attached to the spine by only a small strip, both flaps with tears where they meet the panels, and an old piece of cello tape on the verso near the head of the spine. ___CITATION: Neate no. 362. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details. ___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
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text:
openpolitics.com
ted nelson
Understand that, and you'll understand what he's doing in the White House.
On Sept. 1, with a Category 5 hurricane off the Atlantic coast, an angry wind was issuing from the direction of President Trump's Twitter account. The apparent emergency: Debra Messing, the co-star of "Will & Grace," had tweeted that "the public has a right to know" who is attending a Beverly Hills fund-raiser for Mr. Trump's re-election.
"I have not forgotten that when it was announced that I was going to do The Apprentice, and when it then became a big hit, Helping NBC's failed lineup greatly, @DebraMessing came up to me at an Upfront & profusely thanked me, even calling me 'Sir,' " wrote the 45th president of the United States.
It was a classic Trumpian ragetweet: aggrieved over a minor slight, possibly prompted by a Fox News segment, unverifiable — he has a long history of questionable tales involving someone calling him "Sir" — and nostalgic for his primetime-TV heyday. (By Thursday he was lashing Ms. Messing again, as Hurricane Dorian was lashing the Carolinas.)
This sort of outburst, almost three years into his presidency, has kept people puzzling over who the "real" Mr. Trump is and how he actually thinks. Should we take him, to quote the famous precept of Trumpology, literally or seriously? Are his attacks impulsive tantrums or strategic distractions from his other woes? Is he playing 3-D chess or Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots?
This is a futile effort. Try to understand Donald Trump as a person with psychology and strategy and motivation, and you will inevitably spiral into confusion and covfefe. The key is to remember that Donald Trump is not a person. He's a TV character.
I mean, O.K., there is an actual person named Donald John Trump, with a human body and a childhood and formative experiences that theoretically a biographer or therapist might usefully delve into someday. (We can only speculate about the latter; Mr. Trump has boasted on Twitter of never having seen a psychiatrist, preferring the therapeutic effects of "hit[ting] 'sleazebags' back.")
But that Donald Trump is of limited significance to America and the world. The "Donald Trump" who got elected president, who has strutted and fretted across the small screen since the 1980s, is a decades-long media performance. To understand him, you need to approach him less like a psychologist and more like a TV critic.
He was born in 1946, at the same time that American broadcast TV was being born. He grew up with it. His father, Fred, had one of the first color TV sets in Jamaica Estates. In "The Art of the Deal" Donald Trump recalls his mother, Mary Anne, spending a day in front of the tube, enraptured by the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. ("For Christ's sake, Mary," he remembers his father saying, "Enough is enough, turn it off. They're all a bunch of con artists.")
TV was his soul mate. It was like him. It was packed with the razzle-dazzle and action and violence that captivated him. He dreamed of going to Hollywood, then he shelved those dreams in favor of his father's business and vowed, according to the book "TrumpNation" by Timothy O'Brien, to "put show business into real estate."
As TV evolved from the homogeneous three-network mass medium of the mid-20th century to the polarized zillion-channel era of cable-news fisticuffs and reality shocker-tainment, he evolved with it. In the 1980s, he built a media profile as an insouciant, high-living apex predator. In 1990, he described his yacht and gilded buildings to Playboy as "Props for the show … The show is 'Trump' and it is sold-out performances everywhere."
He syndicated that show to Oprah, Letterman, NBC, WrestleMania and Fox News. Everything he achieved, he achieved by using TV as a magnifying glass, to make himself appear bigger than he was.
He was able to do this because he thought like a TV camera. He knew what TV wanted, what stimulated its nerve endings. In his campaign rallies, he would tell The Washington Post, he knew just what to say "to keep the red light on": that is, the light on a TV camera that showed that it was running, that you mattered. Bomb the [redacted] out of them! I'd like to punch him in the face! The red light radiated its approval. Cable news aired the rallies start to finish. For all practical purposes, he and the camera shared the same brain.
Even when he adopted social media, he used it like TV. First, he used it like a celebrity, to broadcast himself, his first tweet in 2009 promoting a "Late Show With David Letterman" appearance. Then he used it like an instigator, tweeting his birther conspiracies before he would talk about them on Fox News, road-testing his call for a border wall during the cable-news fueled Ebola and border panics of the 2014 midterms.
When he was a candidate, and especially when he was president, his tweets programmed TV and were amplified by it. On CNBC, a "BREAKING NEWS: TRUMP TWEET" graphic would spin out onscreen as soon as the words left his thumbs. He would watch Fox News, or Lou Dobbs, or CNN or "Morning Joe" or "Saturday Night Live" ("I don't watch"), and get mad, and tweet. Then the tweets would become TV, and he would watch it, and tweet again.
If you want to understand what President Trump will do in any situation, then, it's more helpful to ask: What would TV do? What does TV want?
It wants conflict. It wants excitement. If there is something that can blow up, it should blow up. It wants a fight. It wants more. It is always eating and never full.
Some presidential figure-outers, trying to understand the celebrity president through a template that they were already familiar with, have compared him with Ronald Reagan: a "master showman" cannily playing a "role."
The comparison is understandable, but it's wrong. Presidents Reagan and Trump were both entertainers who applied their acts to politics. But there's a crucial difference between what "playing a character" means in the movies and what it means on reality TV.
Ronald Reagan was an actor. Actors need to believe deeply in the authenticity and interiority of people besides themselves — so deeply that they can subordinate their personalities to "people" who are merely lines on a script. Acting, Reagan told his biographer Lou Cannon, had taught him "to understand the feelings and motivations of others."
Being a reality star, on the other hand, as Donald Trump was on "The Apprentice," is also a kind of performance, but one that's antithetical to movie acting. Playing a character on reality TV means being yourself, but bigger and louder.
Reality TV, writ broadly, goes back to Allen Funt's "Candid Camera," the PBS documentary "An American Family," and MTV's "The Real World." But the first mass-market reality TV star was Richard Hatch, the winner of the first season of "Survivor" — produced by Mark Burnett, the eventual impresario of "The Apprentice"— in the summer of 2000.
Mr. Hatch won that first season in much the way that Mr. Trump would run his 2016 campaign. He realized that the only rules were that there were no rules. He lied and backstabbed and took advantage of loopholes, and he argued — with a telegenic brashness — that this made him smart. This was a crooked game in a crooked world, he argued to a final jury of players he'd betrayed and deceived. But, hey: At least he was open about it!
While shooting that first season, the show's crew was rooting for Rudy Boesch, a 72-year-old former Navy SEAL and model of hard work and fair play. "The only outcome nobody wanted was Richard Hatch winning," the host, Jeff Probst, would say later. It "would be a disaster." After all, decades of TV cop shows had taught executives the iron rule that the viewers needed the good guy to win.
But they didn't. "Survivor" was addictively entertaining, and audiences loved-to-hate the wryly devious Richard the way they did Tony Soprano and, before him, J.R. Ewing. More than 50 million people watched the first-season finale, and "Survivor" has been on the air nearly two decades.
From Richard Hatch, we got a steady stream of Real Housewives, Kardashians, nasty judges, dating-show contestants who "didn't come here to make friends" and, of course, Donald Trump.
Reality TV has often gotten a raw deal from critics. (Full disclosure: I still watch "Survivor.") Its audiences, often dismissed as dupes, are just as capable of watching with a critical eye as the fans of prestige cable dramas. But when you apply its mind-set — the law of the TV jungle — to public life, things get ugly.
In reality TV — at least competition reality shows like "The Apprentice" — you do not attempt to understand other people, except as obstacles or objects. To try to imagine what it is like to be a person other than yourself (what, in ordinary, off-camera life, we call "empathy") is a liability. It's a distraction that you have to tune out in order to project your fullest you.
Reality TV instead encourages "getting real." On MTV's progressive, diverse "Real World," the phrase implied that people in the show were more authentic than characters on scripted TV — or even than real people in your own life, who were socially conditioned to "be polite." But "getting real" would also resonate with a rising conservative notion: that political correctness kept people from saying what was really on their minds.
Being real is not the same thing as being honest. To be real is to be the most entertaining, provocative form of yourself. It is to say what you want, without caring whether your words are kind or responsible — or true — but only whether you want to say them. It is to foreground the parts of your personality (aggression, cockiness, prejudice) that will focus the red light on you, and unleash them like weapons.
Maybe the best definition of being real came from the former "Apprentice" contestant and White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman in her memoir, "Unhinged." Mr. Trump, she said, encouraged people in his entourage to "exaggerate the unique part of themselves." When you're being real, there is no difference between impulse and strategy, because the "strategy" is to do what feels good.
This is why it misses a key point to ask, as Vanity Fair recently did after Mr. Trump's assault on Representative Elijah E. Cummings and the city of Baltimore in July, "Is the president a racist, or does he just play one on TV?" In reality TV, if you are a racist — and reality TV has had many racists, like Katie Hopkins, the far-right British "Apprentice" star the president frequently retweets — then you are a racist and you play one on TV.
So if you actually want a glimpse into the mind of Donald J. Trump, don't look for a White House tell-all or some secret childhood heartbreak. Go to the streaming service Tubi, where his 14 seasonsof "The Apprentice" recently became accessible to the public.
You can fast-forward past the team challenges and the stagey visits to Trump-branded properties. They're useful in their own way, as a picture of how Mr. Burnett buttressed the future president's Potemkin-zillionaire image. But the unadulterated, 200-proof Donald Trump is found in the boardroom segments, at the end of each episode, in which he "fires" one contestant.
In theory, the boardroom is where the best performers in the week's challenges are rewarded and the screw-ups punished. In reality, the boardroom is a new game, the real game, a free-for-all in which contestants compete to throw one another under the bus and beg Mr. Trump for mercy.
There is no morality in the boardroom. There is no fair and unfair in the boardroom. There is only the individual, trying to impress Mr. Trump, to flatter Mr. Trump, to commune with his mind and anticipate his whims and fits of pique. Candidates are fired for
being too nice to their adversaries (weak), for
giving credit to their teammates, for
interrupting him.
The host's decisions were often so mercurial, producers have said, that they would have to go back and edit the episodes to impose some appearance of logic on them.
What saves you in the boardroom? Fighting. Boardroom Trump loves to see people fight each other. He perks up at it like a cat hearing a can opener. He loves to watch people scrap for his favor (as they eventually would in his White House). He loves asking contestants to rat out their teammates and watching them squirm with conflict. The unity of the team gives way to disunity, which in the Trumpian worldview is the most productive state of being.
And America loved boardroom Trump — for a while. He delivered his catchphrase in TV cameos and slapped it on a reissue of his 1980s Monopoly knockoff Trump: The Game. ("I'm back and you're fired!") But after the first season, the ratings dropped; by season four they were nearly half what they were in season one.
He reacted to his declining numbers by ratcheting up what worked before: becoming a louder, more extreme, more abrasive version of himself. He gets more insulting in the boardroom — "You hang out with losers and you become a loser"— and executes double and quadruple firings.
It's a pattern that we see as he advances toward his re-election campaign, with an eye not on the Nielsen ratings but on the polls: The only solution for any given problem was a Trumpier Trump.
Did it work for "The Apprentice"? Yes and no. His show hung on to a loyal base through 14 seasons, including the increasingly farcical celebrity version. But it never dominated its competition again, losing out, despite his denials, to the likes of the sitcom "Mike & Molly."
Donald Trump's "Apprentice" boardroom closed for business on Feb. 16, 2015, precisely four months before he announced his successful campaign for president. And also, it never closed. It expanded. It broke the fourth wall. We live inside it now.
Now, Mr. Trump re-creates the boardroom's helter-skelter atmosphere every time he opens his mouth or his Twitter app. In place of the essentially dead White House press briefing, he walks out to the lawn in the morning and reporters gaggle around him like "Apprentice" contestants awaiting the day's task. He rails and complains and establishes the plot points for that day's episode:
Greenland!
Jews!
"I am the chosen one!"
Then cable news spends morning to midnight happily masticating the fresh batch of outrages before memory-wiping itself to prepare for tomorrow's episode. Maybe this sounds like a TV critic's overextended metaphor, but it's also the president's: As The Times has reported, before taking office, he told aides to think of every day as "an episode in a television show in which he vanquishes rivals."
Mr. Trump has been playing himself instinctually as a character since the 1980s; it's allowed him to maintain a profile even through bankruptcies and humiliations. But it's also why, on the rare occasions he's had to publicly attempt a role contrary to his nature — calling for healing from a script after a mass shooting, for instance — he sounds as stagey and inauthentic as an unrehearsed amateur doing a sitcom cameo.
His character shorthand is "Donald Trump, Fighter Guy Who Wins." Plop him in front of a camera with an infant orphaned in a mass murder, and he does not have it in his performer's tool kit to do anything other than smile unnervingly and give a fat thumbs-up.
This is what was lost on commentators who kept hoping wanly that this State of the Union or that tragedy would be the moment he finally became "presidential." It was lost on journalists who felt obligated to act as though every modulated speech from a teleprompter might, this time, be sincere.
The institution of the office is not changing Donald Trump, because he is already in the sway of another institution. He is governed not by the truisms of past politics but by the imperative of reality TV: never de-escalate and never turn the volume down.
This conveniently echoes the mantra he learned from his early mentor, Roy Cohn: Always attack and never apologize. He serves up one "most shocking episode ever" after another, mining uglier pieces of his core each time: progressing from profanity about Haiti and Africa in private to publicly telling four minority American congresswomen, only one of whom was born outside the United States, to "go back" to the countries they came from.
The taunting.
The insults.
The dog whistles.
The dog bullhorns.
The "Lock her up" and "Send her back."
All of it follows reality-TV rules. Every season has to top the last. Every fight is necessary, be it against Ilhan Omar or Debra Messing. Every twist must be more shocking, every conflict more vicious, lest the red light grow bored and wink off. The only difference: Now there's no Mark Burnett to impose retroactive logic on the chaos, only press secretaries, pundits and Mike Pence.
To ask whether any of this is "instinct" or "strategy" is a parlor game. If you think like a TV camera — if thinking in those reflexive microbursts of adrenaline and testosterone has served you your whole life — then the instinct is the strategy.
And to ask who the "real" Donald Trump is, is to ignore the obvious. You already know who Donald Trump is. All the evidence you need is right there on your screen. He's half-man, half-TV, with a camera for an eye that is constantly focused on itself. The red light is pulsing, 24/7, and it does not appear to have an off switch.
Tags: acting, addictive, addictive-reality-television, adrenaline, aggression, amoral, anti-political-correctness, backstabbing, cocky, con-artist, conflict, conflict-seeking, crooked, distraction-strategic, disunity, dog-bullhorns, dog-whistles, double-down, entertaining, exaggerate, excitement, farcical, fighting, flatter, instinct, instinct-is-strategy, insults, lies, lock-her-up, loopholes, mark-burnett, mercurial, never-descalate, objectification, omarosa-manigault-newman, prejudice, provocative, racism, reality-television, richard-hatch-survivor-reality-television, ronald-reagan, roy-cohn, roy-cohn-always-attack-never-apologize, rudy-boesch-survivor-reality-television, scrap, send-her-back, social-media, survivor-reality-television, tantrums, taunting, television-character, testosterone, trump-con-artist, trump-flattery, trump-mercurial, trump-reality-television, twitter, vicious, wrestling
Commentary: I study liars. I've never seen one like Donald Trump.
The real reason Donald Trump lies
How will Trump's Mar-a-Lago-neighbors enforce the 1993 covenant that he cannot stay more than 21 days a year and 7 consecutive days when he has spent 130 days during his presidency and it is registered as his permanent Florida address?
What would the mob of 1/6/2021 in Washington DC have to have done in order for the coup attempt to be successful? Or was there never a chance?
Was the 2020 Election Stolen?
Did Philadelphia Use Dominion Voting Machines in the 2020 Election?
Donald Trump & Joe Biden 1st Presidential Debate 2020 (Transcript)
President Trump's "Peaceful Transfer of Power" "Bluff"
Naked Quotations
US could have a digital currency in 12-18 months.
Investment Portfolios: Diversification Strategies
What will Democrats have to pay Trump to leave?
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Why did corporations borrow to buy back their stock rather than invest it for productive purposes?
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