Book History, Education, Learning & Printing / Book History, Calligraphy & Printing

ALLAIS, Jean Baptiste. L'art d'ecrire.
Paris, chez l'auteur, 1680. Folio. With large woodcut vignette on letterpress title-page, a woodcut headpiece, 2 woodcut decorative initials, decorations built up from cast arabesque fleurons, an engraved calligraphic title-page and 22 (of 23) engraved leaves with calligraphic writing samples and illustrations, all engraved by Louis Senault. Contemporary calf, gold-tooled spine, and unusual marbled paste-downs. [4], 12 pp. plus 23 (of 24) engr. ll. Full description

ALLAIS, Jean Baptiste. L'art d'ecrire.
Paris, chez l'auteur, 1680. Folio. With engraved calligraphic title-page and 18 (of 23) engraved leaves with calligraphic writing samples and illustrations, all engraved by Louis Senault. Disbound, sewn on top. 8 pp. plus 19 (of 24) engr. ll. Full description

[ALMANAC]. Zeelands chronyk-almanach, voor den jaare 1777 (1778-1780, 1785-1788, 1790, 1791-1792). Bevattende eene beschryvinge der Provincie Zeeland ... Ten dienste der Jeugd, gesteld in vragen en antwoorden, voorzien met alle het noodige, behooorende tot een Almanach. Als mede veele byzonderheden betrekking hebbende tot de Provincie Zeeland.
Middelburg, Jan Dane (1777-1780); P. Gillissen & Zn. (1785-1788, 1790); W.A. Keel & Comp., (1791), 1777-1791. 11 volumes. 16mo. With an engraved emblematic frontispiece in each volume, 18 folding engraved maps, plans, and views, and 18 full-page engraved plates. With the 1777 volume included twice. The second volume in contemporary beige printed wrappers with the coat of arms of Zeeland with the title on the front, and the coat of arms of Middelburg with the imprint on the back. Contemporary gold-tooled red, green, or brown morocco, with the coat of arms of Zeeland in a medallion in the centre of both boards, a banderol underneath with the title, both in an ornamental frame, gilt or marbled edges, gold-tooled board edges, marbled endpapers in all except the first volume. Each ca. 200 pp. Full description

[ALMANAC - DUTCH]. De kleine tydwyzer of jufferlyke almanach voor den jaare 1797.
Amsterdam, Jan van Gulik, [1796]. 16mo (ca. 6.3 x 3 cm). With an engraved title page, 5 numbered double-page engravings, and an engraved text page on the sounding of the bell of the Amsterdam Gate. Contemporary decorated wrappers, side stitched through two holes. The work is inserted into a contemporary mother-of-pearl chemise with a silver spine and a metal clasp. [24] ll. Full description

[ALMANAC - FRENCH]. TESTU, Laurent Étienne (publisher). Almanach impérial pour lan XIII [= 1804-1805] présente a sa Majesté lEmpereur par Testu.
Paris, L.É. Testu, [1804]. Large 8vo (ca. 19.5 x 12 cm). With the engraved coat-of-arms of the First French Empire on the title page and numerous letterpress tables. Contemporary gold-tooled tree marbled calf. [16], 832 pp. Full description

AMPHIAREO DA FERRARA, Vespasiano. Opera, nella quale si insegna a scrivere varie sorti di lettere, et massime una lettera bastarda da lui novamente con sua industria ritrovata, laqual serve al cancellaresco et mercantesco. Poi insegna a far linchiostro negrissimo con tanta facilita, che ciascuno per semplice che sia, lo sapra far da se. Anchora a macinar loro & scrivere con esso come si fara con linchiostro, parimente a scrivere con lazurro, & col cinaprio, opera utilissima e molto necessaria alluso humano.
Venice, 1555. Oblong 4to. With a woodcut of two hands, one holding a compass and the other holding a pen, 6 charming woodcut initials in text and 85 engraved models of calligraphic text and initials, all set within black-lined borders. 18th-century gold-tooled vellum. [48] ll. Full description

AMPZING, Samuel [and Petrus SCRIVERIUS]. Beschryvinge ende lof der stad Haerlem in Holland: in rijm bearbeyd ...
Including: SCRIVERIUS, Petrus. Laure-Crans voor Laurens Coster van Haerlem, eerste vinder vande boeck-druckery.
Haarlem, Adriaen Rooman, 1628. 2 parts in 1 volume. 4to. Ad 1: With an allegorical frontispiece, 16 engraved plates, and a printer's device on the final page, the text is printed in roman, gothic and civilité type. Ad 2: With a woodcut printers device on the title page, a full-page engraved portrait, and a full-page engraved plate of the first printing office in Haarlem. Contemporary gold- and blind-tooled overlapping vellum, gold-tooled oval coat of arms of Haarlem in the centre of both boards, surrounded by a blind-tooled single fillet frame, green closing ties, red sprinkled edges. [88], 520, [8]; 1-5, [3], 9, 6-124 pp. Full description

ASCONIUS PEDANIUS, Quintus. Expositio in IIII orationes M.T. Cic. contra C. Verrem [&c.]
(colophon:) Venice, heirs of Aldo I Manuzio & Andrea Torresano, December 1522. 8vo. With Aldos woodcut anchor and dolphin device on the title-page, repeated on the verso of the last otherwise blank leaf (each with letterpress "AL ... DVS" flanking the device), with spaces (with guide letters) left for manuscript initials, not filled in. Set in Aldos famous italic (with upright capitals), the worlds first italic printing type, first used in 1501 (showing the alphabet a-z and A-N in the register of quires above the colophon). Dark purple sheepskin (ca. 1880?). [12], 283, [1] ll. Full description

BAYARD, Émile. [Proof impressions of illustrations for Alphonse Daudet's Fromont jeune et Risler aîné].
[Paris, 1885]. Folio (35 x 29 cm). Proofs of 12 engraved plates in many different states, giving 73 prints in total, engraved by Jules Massard and Eugène Abot after Emilé Bayard (image size 10.7 x 7.3 cm; plate size 19 x 14 cm). Contemporary half goatskin morocco. Full description

BELLARMINO, Roberto. Dichiarazione piú copiosa della dottrina Cristiana ...
Rome, [Propaganda Fide], 1770.
With: (2) BORGIA, Stefano. Irsad li-ajl al-i'tiraf wa-tanawul al-qurban, ... [= Instructions for confession and communion]
[Rome, Propaganda Fide, 1770?]. Both works are set entirely in Arabic type. 2 works in 1 volume. 8vo (18 x 12 cm). Grey laid paper wrappers (ca. 1823). 411, [1 blank]; 109, [1 blank], [1], [3 blank] pp. Full description