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
An Authentic Account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China -
Sir George Staunton, Earl of Macartney, Sir Erasmus Gower
1798 - Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for G, London - Text Second Edition, Corrected, Folio First and Sole Edition
A clean and finely bound set of this most sumptuously illustrated cornerstone of China related travel literature, together with the magnificent folio Atlas showing forty-four engraved maps and plates (mainly after the expedition artist WIlliam Alexander) all of which are folding or double page, and two engraved portraits of the Ch’ien Lung Emperor and the Earl of Macartney. The two quarto text volumes contain one full page engraved plate (the tea bush Camelia) and 26 in-text engravings.
The second printing of the two text volumes (first printed the year before), and although they state ‘corrected’ the text and plates are identical to the first printing, the large atlas itself is in the first and sole issue. Not to be confused with the small three volume octavo second edition published in 1797.
‘An account of the first British embassy to China, under Lord Macartney. Great Britain was anxious to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and thus open the way for unimpeded trade relations, but centuries of Chinese reserve and self-sufficiency presented a formidable obstacle to the embassy, and the Chinese emperor effectually resisted Lord Macartney’s arguments and gifts. The visit of the British embassy nonetheless resulted in this remarkable account of Chinese manners and customs at the close of the eighteenth century’ - The Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages.
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Price HK$ 90,000
1798 - Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for G, London - Text Second Edition, Corrected, Folio First and Sole Edition
A clean and finely bound set of this most sumptuously illustrated cornerstone of China related travel literature, together with the magnificent folio Atlas showing forty-four engraved maps and plates (mainly after the expedition artist WIlliam Alexander) all of which are folding or double page, and two engraved portraits of the Ch’ien Lung Emperor and the Earl of Macartney. The two quarto text volumes contain one full page engraved plate (the tea bush Camelia) and 26 in-text engravings.The second printing of the two text volumes (first printed the year before), and although they state ‘corrected’ the text and plates are identical to the first printing, the large atlas itself is in the first and sole issue. Not to be confused with the small three volume octavo second edition published in 1797.
‘An account of the first British embassy to China, under Lord Macartney. Great Britain was anxious to establish formal diplomatic relations with China and thus open the way for unimpeded trade relations, but centuries of Chinese reserve and self-sufficiency presented a formidable obstacle to the embassy, and the Chinese emperor effectually resisted Lord Macartney’s arguments and gifts. The visit of the British embassy nonetheless resulted in this remarkable account of Chinese manners and customs at the close of the eighteenth century’ - The Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages.
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Price HK$ 90,000
Yachting - The Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes -
Sir Edward Sullivan, Lord Brassey, C.E. Seth-Smith, G.L. Watson, R.T. Pritchett, Sir George Leach et al.
1894-5 - Longmans, London - First Editions
‘To some, I believe, Paradise means yachting, and for my own part, I think a 200-ton schooner, a ten -knot breeze, and a summer sea hard to beat’. - From the introduction by Sir Edward Sullivan.
A famous yachting work, covering the golden age of yachting, including chapters on: Ocean Cruising; The Evolution of the Modern Racing Yacht; Recollections of Schooner Racing; Fitting out a Fifty-Tonner to go Foreign; Some Famous Races; Yachting in America; Foreign and Colonial Yachting; and The America Cup Races.
Two volumes profusely illustrated with 57 full page plates and over 240 in-text illustrations plans and diagrams.
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Price HK$ 5,500
1894-5 - Longmans, London - First Editions
‘To some, I believe, Paradise means yachting, and for my own part, I think a 200-ton schooner, a ten -knot breeze, and a summer sea hard to beat’. - From the introduction by Sir Edward Sullivan. A famous yachting work, covering the golden age of yachting, including chapters on: Ocean Cruising; The Evolution of the Modern Racing Yacht; Recollections of Schooner Racing; Fitting out a Fifty-Tonner to go Foreign; Some Famous Races; Yachting in America; Foreign and Colonial Yachting; and The America Cup Races.
Two volumes profusely illustrated with 57 full page plates and over 240 in-text illustrations plans and diagrams.
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Price HK$ 5,500
The Hobbit or There And Back Again -
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
1968 - George Allen &, London - Third Edition, Fourth Impression
A fine early printing of the Hobbit, scarce in the original bright and sharp iconic dust jacket.
‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.’
Tolkien’s classic, epic fantasy recounts the memorable adventures of Bilbo Baggins as he journeys through Middle-Earth, accompanying the wizard Gandalf and a merry tribe of dwarves as they attempt to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, and destroy the evil dragon Smaug.
Illustrated by J. R. R. Tolkien with drawings throughout the text, a colour frontispiece and cartographic endpapers.
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Price HK$ 5,500
1968 - George Allen &, London - Third Edition, Fourth Impression
A fine early printing of the Hobbit, scarce in the original bright and sharp iconic dust jacket.‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.’
Tolkien’s classic, epic fantasy recounts the memorable adventures of Bilbo Baggins as he journeys through Middle-Earth, accompanying the wizard Gandalf and a merry tribe of dwarves as they attempt to reclaim the Lonely Mountain, and destroy the evil dragon Smaug.
Illustrated by J. R. R. Tolkien with drawings throughout the text, a colour frontispiece and cartographic endpapers.
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Price HK$ 5,500
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.
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Price HK$ 7,000
Record of the University Boat Race, 1829-1880 and of the Commemoration Dinner 1881 -
George G. T. Treherne, J. H. D. Goldie
1883 - Bickers &, London - First Edition
James Neville McQueen’s own copy. McQueen (page 83) rowed bow in the 1860 Oxford crew, and according to Goldie ‘a better race than that of 1860 has seldom been seen’ (page 173).
Finely bound and illustrated with two large and beautiful engraved plates - A Boat-race on the Cam in 1838, and The Oxford Boat in 1829, as well a facsimile of The Card of the Invitation to Dinner, a Plan of the Tables, and two vignettes titled The Old Style and The New Style. A copy of the ornate and decorated original letter press Menu is also tipped in.
‘The account of the dinner is followed by verbatim reports of the speeches, the text of two odes on the jubilee of the race, and alphabetical lists of Blues. The analytical appendices include summaries of the races, and lists of the schools, colleges, academic and athletic honours and subsequent professions of the oarsmen and coxswains. No less than 188 of 285 took Holy Orders.
Pages 131 to 201, Old Blues and Their Battles, give a detailed account of each race by W. B. Woodgate, slightly altered by the compilers.’ – Brittain, Oar, Scull & Rudder .
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Price HK$ 4,500
1883 - Bickers &, London - First Edition
James Neville McQueen’s own copy. McQueen (page 83) rowed bow in the 1860 Oxford crew, and according to Goldie ‘a better race than that of 1860 has seldom been seen’ (page 173).Finely bound and illustrated with two large and beautiful engraved plates - A Boat-race on the Cam in 1838, and The Oxford Boat in 1829, as well a facsimile of The Card of the Invitation to Dinner, a Plan of the Tables, and two vignettes titled The Old Style and The New Style. A copy of the ornate and decorated original letter press Menu is also tipped in.
‘The account of the dinner is followed by verbatim reports of the speeches, the text of two odes on the jubilee of the race, and alphabetical lists of Blues. The analytical appendices include summaries of the races, and lists of the schools, colleges, academic and athletic honours and subsequent professions of the oarsmen and coxswains. No less than 188 of 285 took Holy Orders.
Pages 131 to 201, Old Blues and Their Battles, give a detailed account of each race by W. B. Woodgate, slightly altered by the compilers.’ – Brittain, Oar, Scull & Rudder .
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Price HK$ 4,500
Works of Jules Verne -
Jules Verne, Charles F. Horne (editor)
1911 - Vincent Parke and Company, New York - Prince of Wales Edition, Number 25 of 500 Limited Copies
‘The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived’ – Arthur C. Clarke
A superb 15 volume limited edition set of the works of Jules Verne, handsomely bound, each illustrated with full page colour and tinted plates protected by descriptive tissue guards.
This collection features Verne’s most famous stories, including Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, Five Weeks in a Balloon, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Mysterious Island, and Around the World in Eighty Days, among many others. Between 3 to five titles in each volume.
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Price HK$ 46,000
1911 - Vincent Parke and Company, New York - Prince of Wales Edition, Number 25 of 500 Limited Copies
‘The reason Verne is still read by millions today is simply that he was one of the best storytellers who ever lived’ – Arthur C. ClarkeA superb 15 volume limited edition set of the works of Jules Verne, handsomely bound, each illustrated with full page colour and tinted plates protected by descriptive tissue guards.
This collection features Verne’s most famous stories, including Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon, Five Weeks in a Balloon, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Mysterious Island, and Around the World in Eighty Days, among many others. Between 3 to five titles in each volume.
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Price HK$ 46,000
With Boat and Gun in the Yangtze Valley -
Henling Thomas Wade
1910 - Shanghai Mercury Ltd., Shanghai - Second Edition
Second and enlarged edition of this practical guide to shooting in the lower reaches of the Yangtze, intended primarily for the Shanghai expatriate community; ‘Even before Shanghai was opened by treaty, officers from the well-manned opium schooners lying at Woosung used to organise shooting parties...’. A comprehensive treatise, with over 40 articles contributed by various authors, including chapters on Chinese methods of game-hunting, hunting districts, house-boats and their owners, cookery, vocabulary, field medicine, how to break in dogs, and ‘What to do in case of Trouble with the Natives’.
Illustrated with five maps, two full page schematics of the author’s 80ft boat The Thistle and a 50ft steel house boat, full page diagram of Snipes tail fathers for identification, five charming woodblock illustrations, and several other in-text diagrams.
‘A foreign sportsman is usually fully equipped with a fowling-piece with the latest improvements, the newest and best ammunition and a good dog...... the Chinaman takes the field clad in straw sandals and the poorest of clothes and uses a common, roughly made gingal [the large Chinese matchlock], inferior native powder, and shot of unequal sizes. If comparison be made of the results attained by the two shooters.... the palm must be given to the latter, who use their inferior matchlocks with singular dexterity and precision.’
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Price HK$ 4,800
1910 - Shanghai Mercury Ltd., Shanghai - Second Edition
Second and enlarged edition of this practical guide to shooting in the lower reaches of the Yangtze, intended primarily for the Shanghai expatriate community; ‘Even before Shanghai was opened by treaty, officers from the well-manned opium schooners lying at Woosung used to organise shooting parties...’. A comprehensive treatise, with over 40 articles contributed by various authors, including chapters on Chinese methods of game-hunting, hunting districts, house-boats and their owners, cookery, vocabulary, field medicine, how to break in dogs, and ‘What to do in case of Trouble with the Natives’.Illustrated with five maps, two full page schematics of the author’s 80ft boat The Thistle and a 50ft steel house boat, full page diagram of Snipes tail fathers for identification, five charming woodblock illustrations, and several other in-text diagrams.
‘A foreign sportsman is usually fully equipped with a fowling-piece with the latest improvements, the newest and best ammunition and a good dog...... the Chinaman takes the field clad in straw sandals and the poorest of clothes and uses a common, roughly made gingal [the large Chinese matchlock], inferior native powder, and shot of unequal sizes. If comparison be made of the results attained by the two shooters.... the palm must be given to the latter, who use their inferior matchlocks with singular dexterity and precision.’
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Price HK$ 4,800