Forum Rare Books

The making of the first complete French edition of Casanova’s Mémoires

CASANOVA, Giacomo. Memoires ... ecrits par lui-meme.
Paris, Paulin, 1833-1837. 10 volumes. 8vo. Contemporary gold-tooled quarter calf. The set is housed in two blue marbled paper slipcases. [4], 427, [3]; [4], 422, [2]; [4], 432, [4], 480; [4], 455, [1 blank]; [4], 468; [4], 475, [1]; [4], 455, [1 blank], [4], 426; [4], 394 pp. Full description

€ 3,500

History / 18th Century Italy Travel & Voyages Europe

The beautifully illustrated luxury issue, of which only a 100 copies were printed

CASANOVA, Giacomo. Memoires ... ecrits par lui-meme.
Paris, Garnier frères, [1880]. 8 volumes. 8vo. With 145 full-page engravings, the wrappers and titles of each volume are printed in red and black. Contemporary gold-tooled half morocco by Lambert, marbled paper sides, the title, author, and volume number lettered in gold on the spine, surrounded by a gold-tooled frame with onlaid morocco ornaments, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. [6], XVII, [1 blank], 507, [1 blank]; [6], 530, [4]; [6], 516; [6], 533, [3]; [6], 569, [3]; [6], 563, [1]; [6], 567, [1 blank]; [6], 551, [3] pp. Full description

€ 12,000

Bindings Erotica France French Literature History / 18th Century Italian Literature Italy Law & Politics Prints & Print Series

Dutch corvette attacked by daimyo opposed to foreigners in Japan - first edition with 5 tinted maps

CASEMBROOT, François de. De Medusa in de wateren van Japan, in 1863 en 1864.
The Hague, Van Cleef brothers, 1865. 8vo. With a wood-engraved device on the title page and 5 tinted lithographed folding maps. Modern half sheepskin, with the original publisher's wrappers (with Dutch flag on front and back, coloured by hand) bound in. XII, [2], 150 pp. Full description

€ 3,750

Japan & Far East Law & Politics Naval History

Splendid large watercolour view of ruins in Sicily

[CASSAS, Louis Francois]. [View of the Taormina theatre ruins (Sicily) with Mount Etna in the distance].
[Sicily or Paris], [ca. 1781 or somewhat later?]. 46 x 81 cm (frame 85 x 128 cm). Watercolour with pencil outlines and highlighted with white, laid in on paper pasted on wood.With a later blue and gold passe-partout in a contemporary gilt frame. Full description

€ 25,000

Archaeology City Plans, Topography & Views Classical Antiquity Drawings & Watercolours Italy

The life of Catharine the Great

[CASTÉRA, Jean Henri]. Het leven van Catharina II, keizerin van Rusland.
Amsterdam, Johannes Allart, 1798. 8vo. 3 volumes. With 6 engraved portraits by Reinier Vinkeles. Contemporary marbled boards. XVI, 373, [1 blank]; X, 344; VIII, 348, [1, 1 blank] pp. Full description

€ 1,250

Bibliography & Biography Eastern Europe Russia (incl. Siberia)

From admirer to adversary: Catharinus against Savonarola

CATHARINUS, Ambrosius and Girolamo SAVONAROLA. Discorso ... contra la dottrina, et le profetie di Fra Girolamo Savonarola.
Venice, Gabriel Giolito, 1548. 8vo. With a large engraved portrait of Savonarola mounted on the verso of the blank leaf before the title page, a woodcut printer's device on the title page, and several decorated woodcut initials throughout.
Contemporary limp vellum. [1], [8], 100, [1 blank] ll. Full description

€ 950

Early Printing - 16th century Italy Law & Politics Religion (16th Century)

Treaty for friendship and commerce between Russia and Denmark

CATHERINE THE GREAT, Tsarina and CHRISTIAN VII. [Title in Russian followed on the same page by:] Traité d'amitié et de commerce, entre l'Empire de Russie et la couronne de Dannemarc, conclu à St. Petersbourg le 8-19 Octobre 1782.
[St. Petersburg], Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1782. Small folio (29.5 x 19.5 cm). Treaty between Russia and Denmark in Russian and French in 2 parallel columns in cyrillic (left) and roman (right) types. Disbound. 22 pp. Full description

€ 1,950

Eastern Europe Economic History & Trade Law & Politics Russia (incl. Siberia) Scandinavia & Arctic

Two treaties between the Russian Emipre and Sweden concluding the Russo-Swedish War of 1788-1790

CATHERINE THE GREAT & GUSTAV III of Sweden. Traité de paix, conclu entre ... l'Imperatrice ... de Russie ..., et ... le Roi de Suède ... 1790.
[St. Peterburg, Imperial Printing office, 1790] Folio. (30x20.2 cm). With the text in Russian and French in parallel columns, and with ornamental rules at the head of each page. Unsewn, marbled paper spine.
With: (2) Traité d'alliance défensif ... entre la Russie et la Suède ... 1791.
[St. Peterburg, Imperial Printing office, 1791] Folio. (29.5 x 20.6 cm). With the text in Russian and French in parallel columns, and with ornamental rules at the head of each page. Unsewn, side stitched, blue paper spine. 10; 20 pp. Full description

€ 4,500

Broadsides, Ephemera & Pamphlets Eastern Europe Economic History & Trade Military History (18th Century) Russia (incl. Siberia) Scandinavia & Arctic

Classic erotic poems, with the first edition of the commentaries by a renowned homosexual scholar

CATULLUS, Gaius Valerius and Marc-Antoine MURET. [Carmina]. Catullus, et in eum commentarius M. Antonii Mureti.
Venice, Paulus Manutius, 1554. 8vo. With Aldus's woodcut device on the title-page, repeated on the verso of the otherwise blank final leaf, and spaces with guide letters left for 2 5-line and about 60 3-line manuscript initials (not filled in). Set in an Aldine italic (with upright capitals) with occasional words (mostly names) in roman and frequent passages in Greek. Gold-tooled mottled calf (ca. 1700). [4], "134" [= 136], [2] ll. Full description

€ 3,500

Classical Antiquity Early Printing - 16th century Erotica Greek & Roman Classics

First Aldine edition of a highly popular collection of elegiac poems
by three of the most important classical poets set in the first italic printing type, introduced in 1501

CATULLUS, Gaius Valerius; Albius TIBULLUS; Sextus PROPERTIUS (Hieronymus AVANTIUS, ed.). [Opera]. Catullus. Tibullus. Propertius.
[colophon:] Venice, Aldo I Manuzio, January 1502. 8vo. With more than 100 spaces (2 8-line, 6 6-line and the rest 2-line) with guide letters left for manuscript initials, none filled in. Set in Alduss italic type (with upright capitals) throughout, the first italic printing type, first used in 1501, with titles, headings, running heads, etc. set in the capitals of the same type, with an occasional word of Greek in the text. Gold-tooled, green long-grained sheepskin (vertical grain) (ca. 1800). [152] ll. Full description