The Open Society and its Enemies. Volume I - The Spell of Plato; Volume II - The High Tide of Prophecy: Hegel, Marx, and the Aftermath -
Karl R. Popper
1945 - George Routledge & Sons, London - First Edition
A fine set, produced on the same poor ‘Economy Standard’ paper as used for George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ of the same year. In the bright and scarce delicate dust jackets.
‘A work of first-class importance which ought to be widely read for its masterly criticism of the enemies of democracy, ancient and modern.’ – Bertrand Russell.
‘One of the most important books of the twentieth century, Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies is an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy and a powerful attack on the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. An immediate sensation when it was first published in two volumes in 1945, Popper's monumental achievement has attained legendary status on both the Left and Right and is credited with inspiring anticommunist dissidents during the Cold War. Arguing that the spirit of free, critical inquiry that governs scientific investigation should also apply to politics, Popper traces the roots of an opposite, authoritarian tendency to a tradition represented by Plato, Marx, and Hegel.’ – Princeton University Press.
Sir Karl R. Popper (1902-94) was an Austrian-British philosopher, widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers of science. He taught at Canterbury University, New Zealand as a lecturer in philosophy during the war years, it was here he wrote The Open Society and its Enemies, and upon its publication he moved to the London School of Economics and later became Professor of Logic and Scientific Method at the University of London.
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Price HK$ 26,000
1945 - George Routledge & Sons, London - First Edition
A fine set, produced on the same poor ‘Economy Standard’ paper as used for George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ of the same year. In the bright and scarce delicate dust jackets.‘A work of first-class importance which ought to be widely read for its masterly criticism of the enemies of democracy, ancient and modern.’ – Bertrand Russell.
‘One of the most important books of the twentieth century, Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies is an uncompromising defense of liberal democracy and a powerful attack on the intellectual origins of totalitarianism. An immediate sensation when it was first published in two volumes in 1945, Popper's monumental achievement has attained legendary status on both the Left and Right and is credited with inspiring anticommunist dissidents during the Cold War. Arguing that the spirit of free, critical inquiry that governs scientific investigation should also apply to politics, Popper traces the roots of an opposite, authoritarian tendency to a tradition represented by Plato, Marx, and Hegel.’ – Princeton University Press.
Sir Karl R. Popper (1902-94) was an Austrian-British philosopher, widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s greatest philosophers of science. He taught at Canterbury University, New Zealand as a lecturer in philosophy during the war years, it was here he wrote The Open Society and its Enemies, and upon its publication he moved to the London School of Economics and later became Professor of Logic and Scientific Method at the University of London.
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Price HK$ 26,000
Temple Bar, or Some Account of “ye Marygold,” No. 1, Fleet Street -
F. G. H. Price
1875 - Printed by Taylor and Francis, London - First Edition
A scarce, fine and inscribed first edition of the history of private banking house of Child & Co., one of the oldest private banks in the United Kingdom, who has traded from No. 1 Fleet Street since 1673, under the ‘Marygold’ sign.
This copy is inscribed from the author, F.G.H. Price to the Marquess of Tavistock, 8th Duke of Bedford, whose family had at that date been banking with Chlid & Co., for two centuries, the first Duke of Bedford opened his account in 1679.
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Price HK$ 3,000
1875 - Printed by Taylor and Francis, London - First Edition
A scarce, fine and inscribed first edition of the history of private banking house of Child & Co., one of the oldest private banks in the United Kingdom, who has traded from No. 1 Fleet Street since 1673, under the ‘Marygold’ sign.This copy is inscribed from the author, F.G.H. Price to the Marquess of Tavistock, 8th Duke of Bedford, whose family had at that date been banking with Chlid & Co., for two centuries, the first Duke of Bedford opened his account in 1679.
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Price HK$ 3,000
The History of the World. In Five Bookes -
Sir Walter Raleigh, John Shirley
1621 - Printed by William Iaggard for Walter Burre, London - Third Edition
Third folio in a 17th century full calf binding, illustrated with the memorable engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved portrait of Raleigh, six double page engraved maps, two double page engraved battle plans, two in-text schematics, twenty-six pages of chronological tables.
‘Among the noblest of literary enterprises. Throughout it breathes a serious moral purpose. It illustrates the sureness with which ruin overtakes "great conquerors and other troublers of the world" who neglect law, whether human or divine, and it appropriately closes with an apostrophe to death of rarely paralleled sublimity.’
‘Too Saucy in Censuring Princes’ - King James on confiscating all unsold copies and suppressing further sales, several months after publication.
Written whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1603 to 1616 and intended to outline historical events from creation to modern times, drawing on the Bible, Greek mythology, and other sources. Raleigh dedicated it to the young Prince Henry, his patron and supporter who was trying to secure his release from prison. The prince's death in 1612 discouraged Raleigh, and the book ends abruptly with the second Macedonian War instead of continuing through two more volumes as originally intended. Raleigh was released from the Tower in 1616 to lead one final expedition to South America, but his men attacked a Spanish outpost and he was executed upon his return in 1618.
‘The History of the World was intended to outline historical events from creation to modern times, drawing on the Bible, Greek mythology, and other sources. ‘Apart from numerous abridgements, it ran through ten folio editions between 1614 and 1687… Its author was listened to, not so much because he was a scholar (which he certainly was by contemporary standards of scholarship), as because he embodied all the glories of the reign of Elizabeth I, which at the time of publication had already begun to be transfigured into a golden age’ - Printing and the Mind of Man.
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Price HK$ 23,000
1621 - Printed by William Iaggard for Walter Burre, London - Third Edition
Third folio in a 17th century full calf binding, illustrated with the memorable engraved allegorical frontispiece, engraved portrait of Raleigh, six double page engraved maps, two double page engraved battle plans, two in-text schematics, twenty-six pages of chronological tables.‘Among the noblest of literary enterprises. Throughout it breathes a serious moral purpose. It illustrates the sureness with which ruin overtakes "great conquerors and other troublers of the world" who neglect law, whether human or divine, and it appropriately closes with an apostrophe to death of rarely paralleled sublimity.’
‘Too Saucy in Censuring Princes’ - King James on confiscating all unsold copies and suppressing further sales, several months after publication.
Written whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1603 to 1616 and intended to outline historical events from creation to modern times, drawing on the Bible, Greek mythology, and other sources. Raleigh dedicated it to the young Prince Henry, his patron and supporter who was trying to secure his release from prison. The prince's death in 1612 discouraged Raleigh, and the book ends abruptly with the second Macedonian War instead of continuing through two more volumes as originally intended. Raleigh was released from the Tower in 1616 to lead one final expedition to South America, but his men attacked a Spanish outpost and he was executed upon his return in 1618.
‘The History of the World was intended to outline historical events from creation to modern times, drawing on the Bible, Greek mythology, and other sources. ‘Apart from numerous abridgements, it ran through ten folio editions between 1614 and 1687… Its author was listened to, not so much because he was a scholar (which he certainly was by contemporary standards of scholarship), as because he embodied all the glories of the reign of Elizabeth I, which at the time of publication had already begun to be transfigured into a golden age’ - Printing and the Mind of Man.
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Price HK$ 23,000
Social and Diplomatic Memories 1884-1893 -
Sir James Rennell Rodd G.C.B.
1922 - Edward Arnold & Co., London - Second Impression
The autobiography of 1st Baron Rennell (1858-1941), British diplomat, poet (Oscar Wilde assisted in publishing Rodd’s first book of poems), politician, and scholar of ancient Greece and Rome.
Covering the early years from his childhood, the ‘Balliol set’, and young Bohemian adulthood, to his first posting in Berlin from 1884 to 1888, where he became an intimate friend of the Empress Frederick, and recounts his memories of Bismark and other major figures during that tumultuous time, after this he moves on to Greece, Italy, France, and finally Zanzibar and East Africa at the end of the 19th century.
Finely bound and with a four page hand-written letter from his wife to an ‘unknown friend’, composed at the British Legation, Athens in February 1928.
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Price HK$ 2,000
1922 - Edward Arnold & Co., London - Second Impression
The autobiography of 1st Baron Rennell (1858-1941), British diplomat, poet (Oscar Wilde assisted in publishing Rodd’s first book of poems), politician, and scholar of ancient Greece and Rome.Covering the early years from his childhood, the ‘Balliol set’, and young Bohemian adulthood, to his first posting in Berlin from 1884 to 1888, where he became an intimate friend of the Empress Frederick, and recounts his memories of Bismark and other major figures during that tumultuous time, after this he moves on to Greece, Italy, France, and finally Zanzibar and East Africa at the end of the 19th century.
Finely bound and with a four page hand-written letter from his wife to an ‘unknown friend’, composed at the British Legation, Athens in February 1928.
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Price HK$ 2,000
Fresh Light from the Ancient Monuments - with - Ancient Egypt -
A. H. Sayce, Rev. George Trevor
1883 - The Religious Tract Society, London - First Editions
Two volumes, the first by the renowned British Assyriologists Professor Archibald Sayce, details the numerous 19th century discoveries and deciphering of Egyptian text, and how they confirm relevant Biblical stories. Amongst Sayce’s numerous achievements in the deciphering of hieroglyphics and cuneiform inscriptions was the first translation the Siloam inscription, much of this is described in this little work that went through numerous later printings.
The discoveries and achievements of men such as Sayce cast not only light but also doubts as to the veracity of certain biblical texts, and it is therefore interesting to compare Sayce’s work with the concerns outlined in the second volume by Rev. George Trevor titled ‘Ancient Egypt: Its Antiquities, Religion, and History, to the Close of the Old Testament Period’, published in 1863.
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Price HK$ 900
1883 - The Religious Tract Society, London - First Editions
Two volumes, the first by the renowned British Assyriologists Professor Archibald Sayce, details the numerous 19th century discoveries and deciphering of Egyptian text, and how they confirm relevant Biblical stories. Amongst Sayce’s numerous achievements in the deciphering of hieroglyphics and cuneiform inscriptions was the first translation the Siloam inscription, much of this is described in this little work that went through numerous later printings.The discoveries and achievements of men such as Sayce cast not only light but also doubts as to the veracity of certain biblical texts, and it is therefore interesting to compare Sayce’s work with the concerns outlined in the second volume by Rev. George Trevor titled ‘Ancient Egypt: Its Antiquities, Religion, and History, to the Close of the Old Testament Period’, published in 1863.
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Price HK$ 900
Stock Market Profits -
R. W. Schabacker, M.A.
1934 - B. C. Forbes Publishing Company, New York - First Edition
‘One of the early interpreters of the Dow Theory, editor of Forbes Magazine, Schabacker is the only author credited in the chartist’s bible, Technical Analysis of stock trends, by Edwards and Magee. Remarkably, by the time of his early death at age 36, he had produced three major works on the stock market, which are considered”among the most influential ever written on the technical side of the market” by Schultz and Coslow [A Treasury of Wall Street Wisdom]. Schabacker is also remembered for his warning in September 1929 of an “impending major reaction”.’ - Dennistoun, Bubbles, Booms and Busts.
‘A comprehensive survey of current mechanism, practic and theory, by the financial editor of Forbes magazine’ [Larson, Guide to Business History].
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Price HK$ 1,500
1934 - B. C. Forbes Publishing Company, New York - First Edition
‘One of the early interpreters of the Dow Theory, editor of Forbes Magazine, Schabacker is the only author credited in the chartist’s bible, Technical Analysis of stock trends, by Edwards and Magee. Remarkably, by the time of his early death at age 36, he had produced three major works on the stock market, which are considered”among the most influential ever written on the technical side of the market” by Schultz and Coslow [A Treasury of Wall Street Wisdom]. Schabacker is also remembered for his warning in September 1929 of an “impending major reaction”.’ - Dennistoun, Bubbles, Booms and Busts.‘A comprehensive survey of current mechanism, practic and theory, by the financial editor of Forbes magazine’ [Larson, Guide to Business History].
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Price HK$ 1,500
Baronagium Genealogicum: or the Pedigrees of the English Peers -
Sir William Segar, Joseph Edmondson
1764-84 - Engraved and printed for the author, London - First Editions
The most beautifully illustrated and comprehensive record of 18th century Heraldry. A magnificent and extremely rare complete set of six large uncut folio volumes, with 658 copperplate engravings (104 of which are double page) many by the master engraver Francesco Bartolozzi a founder member of the Royal Academy. The plates consist of 279 coats-of-arms (3 double-page), 364 genealogical tables (101 double-page), six titles, six dedication pages, and three specific family dedication pages.
Ranked to begin with Royalty, this massive work took 20 years to produce, making it necessary to publish a supplement with new peerages. Provenance - Sir John Smith, Bart., F.R.S. of Sydling St.Nicholas, Dorset, whose initials JS are gilt-stamped to the morocco spine labels and engraved bookplates to the front pastedowns.
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Price HK$ 150,000
1764-84 - Engraved and printed for the author, London - First Editions
The most beautifully illustrated and comprehensive record of 18th century Heraldry. A magnificent and extremely rare complete set of six large uncut folio volumes, with 658 copperplate engravings (104 of which are double page) many by the master engraver Francesco Bartolozzi a founder member of the Royal Academy. The plates consist of 279 coats-of-arms (3 double-page), 364 genealogical tables (101 double-page), six titles, six dedication pages, and three specific family dedication pages.Ranked to begin with Royalty, this massive work took 20 years to produce, making it necessary to publish a supplement with new peerages. Provenance - Sir John Smith, Bart., F.R.S. of Sydling St.Nicholas, Dorset, whose initials JS are gilt-stamped to the morocco spine labels and engraved bookplates to the front pastedowns.
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Price HK$ 150,000
Zos-Kia -
Gavin W. Semple
1995 - Fulgar BCM , London - First Edition
‘....we find him of the company of Blake and Fuseli and their circle; but far superior to any of them in the mastery of representational craft.’
A fine, bright copy of Gavin W. Semple’s Zos-Kia, an essay exploring the life and methodology of famed occultist, artist and writer, Austin Osman Spare, illustrated throughout with 8 full page colour plates, 2 black and white photographs and numerous full page and in-text drawings, together with a woodblock print on rust coloured paper laid in.
As one of the most fascinating figures of the surrealist movement in 1920’s Europe, Spare captured the public imagination with his etchings, drawings and paintings, and became the youngest entrant to the Royal Academy summer exhibition in 1904. Gavin Semple’s Zos Kia is unrivalled in its critical examination of Spare’s influences and methodology, and contains previously unpublished excerpts from Spare’s last grimoire ‘The Logomachy of Zos’
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Price HK$ 3,000
1995 - Fulgar BCM , London - First Edition
‘....we find him of the company of Blake and Fuseli and their circle; but far superior to any of them in the mastery of representational craft.’A fine, bright copy of Gavin W. Semple’s Zos-Kia, an essay exploring the life and methodology of famed occultist, artist and writer, Austin Osman Spare, illustrated throughout with 8 full page colour plates, 2 black and white photographs and numerous full page and in-text drawings, together with a woodblock print on rust coloured paper laid in.
As one of the most fascinating figures of the surrealist movement in 1920’s Europe, Spare captured the public imagination with his etchings, drawings and paintings, and became the youngest entrant to the Royal Academy summer exhibition in 1904. Gavin Semple’s Zos Kia is unrivalled in its critical examination of Spare’s influences and methodology, and contains previously unpublished excerpts from Spare’s last grimoire ‘The Logomachy of Zos’
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Price HK$ 3,000