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Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect - Facsimile (From Photogravure Blocks) of the Kilmarnock edition 1786 -
Robert Burns
1909 - D Brown & Co. [Printer], Kilmarnock - Facsimile of the 1786 edition
An exquisite and fine presentation of Burns’ ‘Poems’, bound in light brown crushed morocco with brown and tan morocco onlays depicting a harvest mouse in a wheat field (the ‘tim'rous beastie' of ‘To a Mouse’) and ensconced in matching light tan morocco clamshell case, lined in tartan. Bound by Falkirk Fraser Wilson while working for Tom Valentine (a noted Falkirk binder).
The binding houses the 1909 facsimile of the rare and celebrated "Kilmarnock Burns" of 1786, which was printed from photogravure blocks under the supervision of D. McNaught, Esq. J.P., editor of The Burns Chronicle, the proofs being revised from an uncut copy in his possession.
In 1786 at the age of 27, although he had never published anything before, Burns (1759-96) decided to publish a volume of his poems. 612 copies were printed for him by John Wilson of Kilmarnock. They sold out within a month. There are estimated to be less than 70 complete ‘Kilmarnock’ copies in existence today. For this reason D. McNaught used his own uncut copy to produce this facsimile in 1909.
Burns, encouraged by this success, and by a letter from an Edinburgh minister, Dr. Blacklock, moved to Edinburgh instead of emigrating to Jamaica. He became a celebrity and in 1787 a new edition of 1500 copies, to be sold by subscription, was agreed upon with an additional 17 poems and five new songs. There was far greater demand than estimated, so the book was reset, and approximately 3,250 copies printed.
More details
Price HK$ 30,000
1909 - D Brown & Co. [Printer], Kilmarnock - Facsimile of the 1786 edition
An exquisite and fine presentation of Burns’ ‘Poems’, bound in light brown crushed morocco with brown and tan morocco onlays depicting a harvest mouse in a wheat field (the ‘tim'rous beastie' of ‘To a Mouse’) and ensconced in matching light tan morocco clamshell case, lined in tartan. Bound by Falkirk Fraser Wilson while working for Tom Valentine (a noted Falkirk binder).The binding houses the 1909 facsimile of the rare and celebrated "Kilmarnock Burns" of 1786, which was printed from photogravure blocks under the supervision of D. McNaught, Esq. J.P., editor of The Burns Chronicle, the proofs being revised from an uncut copy in his possession.
In 1786 at the age of 27, although he had never published anything before, Burns (1759-96) decided to publish a volume of his poems. 612 copies were printed for him by John Wilson of Kilmarnock. They sold out within a month. There are estimated to be less than 70 complete ‘Kilmarnock’ copies in existence today. For this reason D. McNaught used his own uncut copy to produce this facsimile in 1909.
Burns, encouraged by this success, and by a letter from an Edinburgh minister, Dr. Blacklock, moved to Edinburgh instead of emigrating to Jamaica. He became a celebrity and in 1787 a new edition of 1500 copies, to be sold by subscription, was agreed upon with an additional 17 poems and five new songs. There was far greater demand than estimated, so the book was reset, and approximately 3,250 copies printed.
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Price HK$ 30,000
Advice from a Lady of Quality to her Children -
Louis-Antoine Caraccioli, Samuel Glasse (translator)
1778 - Printed by R. Raikes and Sold by J. F. and C. Rivington, Glocester - First Edition in English
An extremely rare first edition of this 18th century ‘Tuesdays With Morrie’, first published in 1769 as ’Les adieux de la Maréchale de *** à ses enfants’. Two pretty little volumes In 18th century full calf bindings.
A popular courtesy book written in a series of twenty one ‘conferences’ held between mother, her daughter and sons. Topics covered during these conferences include Virtue, Pride, Generosity, Female Conduct, Friendship, Love of Truth, Brotherly Love, Study, Pleasure, Ambition, Vanity, Relative Duty, Patriotism, Social Duties.
Unlike most courtesy books, Caraccioli's has the semblance of a plot and reads somewhat like a novel, which ends with the death of the main character. Advice from a Lady went through numerous later editions in England and America.
The Translator, Samuel Glasse, dedicates this work to Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), consort of King George III of Great Britain.
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Price HK$ 11,000
1778 - Printed by R. Raikes and Sold by J. F. and C. Rivington, Glocester - First Edition in English
An extremely rare first edition of this 18th century ‘Tuesdays With Morrie’, first published in 1769 as ’Les adieux de la Maréchale de *** à ses enfants’. Two pretty little volumes In 18th century full calf bindings.A popular courtesy book written in a series of twenty one ‘conferences’ held between mother, her daughter and sons. Topics covered during these conferences include Virtue, Pride, Generosity, Female Conduct, Friendship, Love of Truth, Brotherly Love, Study, Pleasure, Ambition, Vanity, Relative Duty, Patriotism, Social Duties.
Unlike most courtesy books, Caraccioli's has the semblance of a plot and reads somewhat like a novel, which ends with the death of the main character. Advice from a Lady went through numerous later editions in England and America.
The Translator, Samuel Glasse, dedicates this work to Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), consort of King George III of Great Britain.
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Price HK$ 11,000
The Leather Stocking Series - The Deerslayer; The Last of the Mohicans; The Pathfinder or The Inland Sea; The Pioneers or The Sources of the Susquehanna; The Prairie -
James Fenimore Cooper, C. E. Brock (illustrator)
1900 - Macmillan & Co., London - First Brock Illustrated Editions
A finely bound complete set of James Fenimore Cooper’s epic Leather Stocking series, the great saga of American frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Housed in a bespoke cloth slipcase.
Illustrated throughout by Charles Brock, each volume with twenty-five line drawing plates.
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Price HK$ 14,000
1900 - Macmillan & Co., London - First Brock Illustrated Editions
A finely bound complete set of James Fenimore Cooper’s epic Leather Stocking series, the great saga of American frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Housed in a bespoke cloth slipcase.Illustrated throughout by Charles Brock, each volume with twenty-five line drawing plates.
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Price HK$ 14,000
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A smart bright and thus scarce first edition, first issue of Doyle’s first and classic short story collection, twelve in total including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
When the publisher Newnes accepted a Doyle piece for the very first issue in 1891, he did so with the hope that it would provide him access, through Doyle's agent, to another writer in the agent's stable - Rudyard Kipling - but then beginning in the very first year, "Sherlock Holmes" took off and The Strand was a phenomenal success.
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Price HK$ 45,000
1892 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A smart bright and thus scarce first edition, first issue of Doyle’s first and classic short story collection, twelve in total including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
When the publisher Newnes accepted a Doyle piece for the very first issue in 1891, he did so with the hope that it would provide him access, through Doyle's agent, to another writer in the agent's stable - Rudyard Kipling - but then beginning in the very first year, "Sherlock Holmes" took off and The Strand was a phenomenal success.
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Price HK$ 45,000
The Adventures and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band.
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
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Price HK$ 45,000
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem. Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band.
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
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Price HK$ 45,000
Madame Bovary -
Gustave Flaubert, Manolo Blahnik (designer)
2006 - Penguin Books, London - Limited edition number 541 of 1, 000 copies
An exquisite presentation of Flaubert’s ‘Madame Bovary’, with the jacket featuring the great Manolo Blahnik’s original painting of Emma with her lover. Published on the occasion of Penguin Book's 60th Anniversary, ‘Madame Bovary’ is one of five classics that the publisher issued in a Limited Edition by commissioning five of the world's most important artists in their respective fields.
Blahnik said: "I wanted to come up with something light, sensual ... something frivolous, because this is a novel about the dangers of frivolity. And I wanted something sexy too, cheeky. I usually focus on one part of the foot - the shoe. For this project, I had to consider a whole scene, there had to be a context, which is new for me. But I managed to sneak in a pair of shoes anyway. She wore good shoes."
The story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature, Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall.
A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert's answer to this question was superb: "Madame Bovary, c'est moi."
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Price HK$ 6,000
2006 - Penguin Books, London - Limited edition number 541 of 1, 000 copies
An exquisite presentation of Flaubert’s ‘Madame Bovary’, with the jacket featuring the great Manolo Blahnik’s original painting of Emma with her lover. Published on the occasion of Penguin Book's 60th Anniversary, ‘Madame Bovary’ is one of five classics that the publisher issued in a Limited Edition by commissioning five of the world's most important artists in their respective fields. Blahnik said: "I wanted to come up with something light, sensual ... something frivolous, because this is a novel about the dangers of frivolity. And I wanted something sexy too, cheeky. I usually focus on one part of the foot - the shoe. For this project, I had to consider a whole scene, there had to be a context, which is new for me. But I managed to sneak in a pair of shoes anyway. She wore good shoes."
The story of one of the most compelling heroines in modern literature, Emma Bovary. Unhappily married to a devoted, clumsy provincial doctor, Emma revolts against the ordinariness of her life by pursuing voluptuous dreams of ecstasy and love. But her sensuous and sentimental desires lead her only to suffering corruption and downfall.
A brilliant psychological portrait, Madame Bovary searingly depicts the human mind in search of transcendence. Who is Madame Bovary? Flaubert's answer to this question was superb: "Madame Bovary, c'est moi."
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Price HK$ 6,000
An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard -
Thomas Gray
1869 - Sampson Low, London
‘Full many a Gem of purest Ray serene
The dark unfathom'd Caves of Ocean Bear:
Full many a Flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its Sweetness on the desert Air.’
A finely bound and illustrated edition of Thomas Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’, one of the most widely-quoted poems of the 18th century. It is a meditation on the inevitability of death; the vanity of ambition and the universal human desire to be loved. In particular the poem looks at death as a leveller, an indiscriminate force which makes no distinction between the famous on the one hand and, on the other, the anonymous – those who, in the words of the poem:
Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife
Their sober wishes never learn’d to stray
‘Widely considered his masterpiece, it is believed that Gray wrote the 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' in the graveyard of the church in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire in 1751. The poem was a literary sensation when published by Robert Dodsley in February 1751 and has made a lasting contribution to English literature’
With sixteen colour chromolithograph illustrations from drawings by R. Barnes, R. P. Leitch, E. M. Wimperis and others, each with descriptive tissue guards, and two leaves of the original manuscript in facsimile.
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Price HK$ 9,000
1869 - Sampson Low, London
‘Full many a Gem of purest Ray sereneThe dark unfathom'd Caves of Ocean Bear:
Full many a Flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its Sweetness on the desert Air.’
A finely bound and illustrated edition of Thomas Gray’s ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’, one of the most widely-quoted poems of the 18th century. It is a meditation on the inevitability of death; the vanity of ambition and the universal human desire to be loved. In particular the poem looks at death as a leveller, an indiscriminate force which makes no distinction between the famous on the one hand and, on the other, the anonymous – those who, in the words of the poem:
Far from the madding crowd’s ignoble strife
Their sober wishes never learn’d to stray
‘Widely considered his masterpiece, it is believed that Gray wrote the 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard' in the graveyard of the church in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire in 1751. The poem was a literary sensation when published by Robert Dodsley in February 1751 and has made a lasting contribution to English literature’
With sixteen colour chromolithograph illustrations from drawings by R. Barnes, R. P. Leitch, E. M. Wimperis and others, each with descriptive tissue guards, and two leaves of the original manuscript in facsimile.
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Price HK$ 9,000
Ancient Metrical Tales: Printed Chiefly from Original Sources -
Rev. Charles Henry Hartshorne
1829 - William Pickering, London - First Edition
Finely bound and with the engraved frontispiece ‘Poetry’ which is usually lacking.
A two hundred year old collection of of metrical (in poetic meters) romances, fables, and historical accounts written in Middle English that offer a fascinating glimpse into the storytelling traditions of the past.
Transcribed and edited by Charles Henry Hartshorne (1802-1865) from manuscripts held at the time in the libraries of the University of Cambridge dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
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Price HK$ 1,800
1829 - William Pickering, London - First Edition
Finely bound and with the engraved frontispiece ‘Poetry’ which is usually lacking.A two hundred year old collection of of metrical (in poetic meters) romances, fables, and historical accounts written in Middle English that offer a fascinating glimpse into the storytelling traditions of the past.
Transcribed and edited by Charles Henry Hartshorne (1802-1865) from manuscripts held at the time in the libraries of the University of Cambridge dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries.
More details
Price HK$ 1,800