The Clans of the Scottish Highlands, Illustrated by Appropriate Figures, displaying their Dress, Tartans, Arms, Armorial Insignia, and Social Occupations, from Original Sketches by R. R. McIan. With accompanying Description and Historical Memoranda of Character, Mode of Life, &c. &c. -
James Logan, R. R. McIan (illustrator)
1845-1847 - Ackermann and Co., Strand - First Folio Edition
First editions of the first illustrated encyclopaedia of traditional Scottish tartans. Scarce, massive and in the publisher’s original large folio bindings with the motto of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Nemo me impune lacessit to the ornate gilt covers. Housed in bespoke slipcases.
Containing seventy-two magnificent hand-coloured lithographic plates, and two colour chromolithograph titles with the coat of arms of the different Scottish clans. McIan and Logan’s extensive research into the clans was in response to Queen Victoria’s interest in her Scottish heritage, the final work being published to celebrate the centenary of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, one of the results being the 1746 Act of Proscription prohibiting the wearing of highland clothing, the second offence of which led to transportation (repealed in 1782).
McIan’s Clans is still considered the finest example of a large number of works on the subject.
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Price HK$ 85,000
1845-1847 - Ackermann and Co., Strand - First Folio Edition
First editions of the first illustrated encyclopaedia of traditional Scottish tartans. Scarce, massive and in the publisher’s original large folio bindings with the motto of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Nemo me impune lacessit to the ornate gilt covers. Housed in bespoke slipcases.Containing seventy-two magnificent hand-coloured lithographic plates, and two colour chromolithograph titles with the coat of arms of the different Scottish clans. McIan and Logan’s extensive research into the clans was in response to Queen Victoria’s interest in her Scottish heritage, the final work being published to celebrate the centenary of the 1745 Jacobite Rising, one of the results being the 1746 Act of Proscription prohibiting the wearing of highland clothing, the second offence of which led to transportation (repealed in 1782).
McIan’s Clans is still considered the finest example of a large number of works on the subject.
More details
Price HK$ 85,000
Life and Writings of Thomas Paine -
Thomas Paine, Daniel Edwin Wheeler (editor)
1908 - Vincent Parke and Company, New York - Independence Edition of the Centenary Issue
‘These are the times that try men's souls’
Elegantly bound ten volume set of the de luxe independence edition, number 166 of just 500 hand-numbered sets signed by the editor Daniel Edwin Wheeler, published to celebrate the centenary of Paine's death.
Included are Paine’s ‘Common Sense’, ‘The American Crises’, ‘The Rights of Man’, and ‘The Age of Reason’, as well as essays, letters and speeches. Each volume with three photogravure or facsimile plates, as well as a frontispiece, title-pages printed in two colours, autographed limitation leaf to volume one.
‘On January 10, 1776, an obscure immigrant published a small pamphlet that ignited independence in America and shifted the political landscape of the patriot movement from reform within the British imperial system to independence from it. One hundred twenty thousand copies sold in the first three months in a nation of three million people, making Common Sense the best-selling printed work by a single author in American history up to that time. Never before had a personally written work appealed to all classes of colonists. Never before had a pamphlet been written in an inspiring style so accessible to the “common” folk of America.’ - Jack Miller Center.
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Price HK$ 35,000
1908 - Vincent Parke and Company, New York - Independence Edition of the Centenary Issue
‘These are the times that try men's souls’Elegantly bound ten volume set of the de luxe independence edition, number 166 of just 500 hand-numbered sets signed by the editor Daniel Edwin Wheeler, published to celebrate the centenary of Paine's death.
Included are Paine’s ‘Common Sense’, ‘The American Crises’, ‘The Rights of Man’, and ‘The Age of Reason’, as well as essays, letters and speeches. Each volume with three photogravure or facsimile plates, as well as a frontispiece, title-pages printed in two colours, autographed limitation leaf to volume one.
‘On January 10, 1776, an obscure immigrant published a small pamphlet that ignited independence in America and shifted the political landscape of the patriot movement from reform within the British imperial system to independence from it. One hundred twenty thousand copies sold in the first three months in a nation of three million people, making Common Sense the best-selling printed work by a single author in American history up to that time. Never before had a personally written work appealed to all classes of colonists. Never before had a pamphlet been written in an inspiring style so accessible to the “common” folk of America.’ - Jack Miller Center.
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Price HK$ 35,000
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values - Signed -
Robert M. Pirsig
1974 - William Morrow &, New York - First Edition
Signed true first edition of a modern classic that was rejected by 121 publishers before William Morrow stepped up.
Well, as Robert Pirsig points out, this ‘should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either’. The motorcycle being a 1966 Honda Super Hawk, now on permanent display at the Smithsonian.
‘Inspired, original. . . . The analogies with Moby-Dick are patent.’ – The New Yorker.
‘The truly great road trip novel. … Many former angsty teens will surely fondly recall their own dog-eared, heavily underlined copies of Pirsig’s book, and the initial joy that accompanied reading something that felt so specifically personal and yet so urgently universal.’ – GQ Magazine.
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Price HK$ 30,000
1974 - William Morrow &, New York - First Edition
Signed true first edition of a modern classic that was rejected by 121 publishers before William Morrow stepped up.Well, as Robert Pirsig points out, this ‘should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It's not very factual on motorcycles, either’. The motorcycle being a 1966 Honda Super Hawk, now on permanent display at the Smithsonian.
‘Inspired, original. . . . The analogies with Moby-Dick are patent.’ – The New Yorker.
‘The truly great road trip novel. … Many former angsty teens will surely fondly recall their own dog-eared, heavily underlined copies of Pirsig’s book, and the initial joy that accompanied reading something that felt so specifically personal and yet so urgently universal.’ – GQ Magazine.
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Price HK$ 30,000
Sandow on Physical Training -
Eugen Sandow
1894 - Gale &, London - First Edition
A scarce and remarkably clean copy of the rare first edition in it’s original pictorial covers, by the ‘Father of Bodybuilding’, who still sits atop the Mr Olympia trophy. ‘Sandow The Magnificent’ also opened one of the first ‘health clubs’ in the world. He was friends with Conan-Doyle, Thomas Edison and King George V. A large volume richly illustrated from photographs, drawings and diagrams.
Sandow's resemblance to the physiques found on classical Greek and Roman sculpture was no accident, as he measured the statues in museums and helped to develop "The Grecian Ideal" as a formula for the "perfect physique." He is seen as one of the first athletes to intentionally develop his musculature to predetermined dimensions. In Strength and How to Obtain It Sandow lays out specific prescriptions of weights and repetitions in order to achieve his ideal proportion.
Sandow was the promoter and judge at the first bodybuilding contest ever held, at the Royal Albert Hall in London on September 14, 1901, and his importance was such that the trophy for Mr. Olympia is a statuette of Sandow, one could even say that Sandow was the inspiration for a later Governor of California.
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Price HK$ 9,000
1894 - Gale &, London - First Edition
A scarce and remarkably clean copy of the rare first edition in it’s original pictorial covers, by the ‘Father of Bodybuilding’, who still sits atop the Mr Olympia trophy. ‘Sandow The Magnificent’ also opened one of the first ‘health clubs’ in the world. He was friends with Conan-Doyle, Thomas Edison and King George V. A large volume richly illustrated from photographs, drawings and diagrams.Sandow's resemblance to the physiques found on classical Greek and Roman sculpture was no accident, as he measured the statues in museums and helped to develop "The Grecian Ideal" as a formula for the "perfect physique." He is seen as one of the first athletes to intentionally develop his musculature to predetermined dimensions. In Strength and How to Obtain It Sandow lays out specific prescriptions of weights and repetitions in order to achieve his ideal proportion.
Sandow was the promoter and judge at the first bodybuilding contest ever held, at the Royal Albert Hall in London on September 14, 1901, and his importance was such that the trophy for Mr. Olympia is a statuette of Sandow, one could even say that Sandow was the inspiration for a later Governor of California.
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Price HK$ 9,000
A Practical Treatise on Brewing, Distilling, and Rectification -
Robert Shannon
1805 - Robert Scholey, London - First and Only Edition
Rare first edition of this comprehensive and landmark work on wines, spirits, and beers, that ‘may be considered the first modern book in English treating the subject’ of distillation’ [Buxton & Hughes] and the second book in English to discuss ‘modern wines’. [Gabler]
A finely bound large thick quarto volume of over 900 pages split into four parts: Book I: Brewing for Malt Liquors (beer); Book II: Brewing for Distilling (spirits e.g. Gin, whisky, rum, brandy); Book III: Made Wines, Vinegar, Cider, and Perry; Appendix: Wines, Brandies, and Vinegars (mostly descriptions of foreign wines from Spain, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, and South Africa).
Illustrated with eight engraved plates and six tables.
According to Buxton and Hughes, ‘Shannon is credited with taking a recognisably systematic approach to the subject aiming, as he says to ‘shew the distiller how he may proceed on rational principles’. ’Curiously for such a comprehensive work there appears to only ever have been one edition’.
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Price HK$ 45,000
1805 - Robert Scholey, London - First and Only Edition
Rare first edition of this comprehensive and landmark work on wines, spirits, and beers, that ‘may be considered the first modern book in English treating the subject’ of distillation’ [Buxton & Hughes] and the second book in English to discuss ‘modern wines’. [Gabler]A finely bound large thick quarto volume of over 900 pages split into four parts: Book I: Brewing for Malt Liquors (beer); Book II: Brewing for Distilling (spirits e.g. Gin, whisky, rum, brandy); Book III: Made Wines, Vinegar, Cider, and Perry; Appendix: Wines, Brandies, and Vinegars (mostly descriptions of foreign wines from Spain, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, and South Africa).
Illustrated with eight engraved plates and six tables.
According to Buxton and Hughes, ‘Shannon is credited with taking a recognisably systematic approach to the subject aiming, as he says to ‘shew the distiller how he may proceed on rational principles’. ’Curiously for such a comprehensive work there appears to only ever have been one edition’.
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Price HK$ 45,000
A Treatise on Cyder-Making -
Hugh Stafford, Anonymous
1753 - Printed for E. Cave, London - First Edition
Legendary and rare first edition of this anonymous work, all of which is generally but erroneously attributed to Hugh Stafford who contributed the sixteen page ‘Dissertation on Cyder and Cyder-Fruit’ at the beginning.
Covering the entire process from identifying and growing the best cider apples, collection, pressing, fermentation, racking, preserving and remedial action for a variety of issues ‘which are incident to Cyder’. With fold-out engraving of cider press (opp. p.32), in-text wood-cut diagrams to pages 43 and 68 (‘One side of the framed Press...’.) and wood-cut decorations to pages v, 47, and 61.
‘As Cyder therefore is generally allowed to be an wholesome drink, and as it is the natural product of our own country, he will surely be thought to contribute something towards the good of the public, who gives infallible directions for making it universally agreeable by varrying it so as to suit every palate, and by improving the flavour and the quality, both of the rough and the smooth, divesting it of its tendency to produce cholics, and giving it the sparkle of Champaign, without an eager and windy fermentation, and rendering it more spirituous than a small wine tho' less inflaming’. [Preface]
An influential work, Benjamin Franklin, who was partial to a drop himself, ordered three copies to be reprinted as pamphlets and distributed amongst the New England farmers after failing with their vineyards. It was plagiarised into various publications including encyclopaedias, cookbooks and later reference works related to cider.
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Price HK$ 42,000
1753 - Printed for E. Cave, London - First Edition
Legendary and rare first edition of this anonymous work, all of which is generally but erroneously attributed to Hugh Stafford who contributed the sixteen page ‘Dissertation on Cyder and Cyder-Fruit’ at the beginning.Covering the entire process from identifying and growing the best cider apples, collection, pressing, fermentation, racking, preserving and remedial action for a variety of issues ‘which are incident to Cyder’. With fold-out engraving of cider press (opp. p.32), in-text wood-cut diagrams to pages 43 and 68 (‘One side of the framed Press...’.) and wood-cut decorations to pages v, 47, and 61.
‘As Cyder therefore is generally allowed to be an wholesome drink, and as it is the natural product of our own country, he will surely be thought to contribute something towards the good of the public, who gives infallible directions for making it universally agreeable by varrying it so as to suit every palate, and by improving the flavour and the quality, both of the rough and the smooth, divesting it of its tendency to produce cholics, and giving it the sparkle of Champaign, without an eager and windy fermentation, and rendering it more spirituous than a small wine tho' less inflaming’. [Preface]
An influential work, Benjamin Franklin, who was partial to a drop himself, ordered three copies to be reprinted as pamphlets and distributed amongst the New England farmers after failing with their vineyards. It was plagiarised into various publications including encyclopaedias, cookbooks and later reference works related to cider.
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Price HK$ 42,000
The Lawson History of the America's Cup. A Record of Fifty Years -
Winfield. M. Thompson, Thomas W. Lawson
1902 - Privately Printed, Boston - First and Limited Edition, of which this is number 1796
A handsomely bound example of this large and splendid work, over 400 pages illustrated with eighty-nine full page plates of which sixteen are colour and two are maps outlined in colour.
Detailing the history of the America’s Cup from 1851 to 1902, its challenges, yachts, protests, characters and an appendix of press articles. There is nothing finer.
Privately printed for private distribution only, and limited to 3,000 copies most of which were presented to prominent members of the yachting community and to rather special libraries this particular copy was presented to ‘The Gilbert Library’ which was founded in 1897 and was based in Northfield, Connecticut.
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Price HK$ 18,000
1902 - Privately Printed, Boston - First and Limited Edition, of which this is number 1796
A handsomely bound example of this large and splendid work, over 400 pages illustrated with eighty-nine full page plates of which sixteen are colour and two are maps outlined in colour.Detailing the history of the America’s Cup from 1851 to 1902, its challenges, yachts, protests, characters and an appendix of press articles. There is nothing finer.
Privately printed for private distribution only, and limited to 3,000 copies most of which were presented to prominent members of the yachting community and to rather special libraries this particular copy was presented to ‘The Gilbert Library’ which was founded in 1897 and was based in Northfield, Connecticut.
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Price HK$ 18,000
Travers' Golf Book -
Jerome D. Travers
1913 - The Macmillan Company, New York - First Edition
A fine first edition of the first book by this golfing legend, illustrated with a colour frontispiece and 46 black and white photographic plates. A combination of autobiography and instructional.
‘Although he was of slight stature, Travers dominated golf in the decade before World War I with his stunning iron shots and expert putting. He won many tournaments because of his calm temperament, patience, and ability to make precise shots. He won the United States Amateur in 1907, 1908, 1912, and 1913, and was runner-up in 1914. His victory in 1913 set a record for that tournament – not broken until Bobby Jones won it five times. He was among the first members of the Golf Hall of Fame established by the United States Golf Association’. [DAB]
‘Some of the words used to describe Jerry Travers have not been kind – cold, somber, ruthless – yet these were the qualities that made him the most feared golfer of his time. In a nine-year stretch from 1906-1915, Travers won four U.S. Amateurs, five Metropolitan Amateurs and a U.S. Open. Only Bob Jones won more amateur titles and Travers was one of only five amateurs to win the Open. And his battles with Walter Travis, in the words of Herbert Warren Wind, “formed the crucible in which a talented young golfer was made into the greatest match player of his decade”‘. [World Golf Hall of Fame]
And in 1915 at the age of 28, Travers ended his championship career.
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Price HK$ 7,000
1913 - The Macmillan Company, New York - First Edition
A fine first edition of the first book by this golfing legend, illustrated with a colour frontispiece and 46 black and white photographic plates. A combination of autobiography and instructional.‘Although he was of slight stature, Travers dominated golf in the decade before World War I with his stunning iron shots and expert putting. He won many tournaments because of his calm temperament, patience, and ability to make precise shots. He won the United States Amateur in 1907, 1908, 1912, and 1913, and was runner-up in 1914. His victory in 1913 set a record for that tournament – not broken until Bobby Jones won it five times. He was among the first members of the Golf Hall of Fame established by the United States Golf Association’. [DAB]
‘Some of the words used to describe Jerry Travers have not been kind – cold, somber, ruthless – yet these were the qualities that made him the most feared golfer of his time. In a nine-year stretch from 1906-1915, Travers won four U.S. Amateurs, five Metropolitan Amateurs and a U.S. Open. Only Bob Jones won more amateur titles and Travers was one of only five amateurs to win the Open. And his battles with Walter Travis, in the words of Herbert Warren Wind, “formed the crucible in which a talented young golfer was made into the greatest match player of his decade”‘. [World Golf Hall of Fame]
And in 1915 at the age of 28, Travers ended his championship career.
More details
Price HK$ 7,000