Books
Browse our collection of rare books, first editions, signed editions and valuable printed books, written by the world's greatest authors, in a wide range of subjects.
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HAWAI'I. Documents signed by Queen Lili'uokalani.Hawai'i : 1888 & 1905
Two documents signed by Lili'uokalani, the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, whose overthrow in 1893 brought an end to the monarchy and ushered in a period of American political control culminating in annexation in 1898.
The earlier document, executed in 1888 while Lili'uokalani was still heir apparent, records a mortgage agreement... Learn More -
BUDDHISM. Three-column fragment from a manuscript copy of the Flower Garland Sutra ("Da gang guang fo hua yan jing").[Korea] : c. 14th century
An example of ritualized sutra-copying in Korea, the Chinese text presenting part of the foundational text of Huayan Buddhism. The calligraphy is balanced and well-composed, indicative of the hand of a professional copyist. This fragment comes from a copy of Volume 42 of the sutra.
Provenance: Ekky Chung collection, Indonesia and Beverly... Learn More -
HAWAI'I. An archive of Hawaiian manuscript and typescript documents.Hawai'i; : 1850-1905
A substantial group of Hawaiian manuscripts involving figures active in the political and commercial life of the islands, including Abraham Fornander, Sanford B. Dole, Heinrich Hackfeld, Alfred S. Hartwell, W. R. Castle, W. H. Rice, A. S. Wilcox, Paul Isenberg, and Lorrin A. Thurston. The documents relate to land tenure, governance, and commercial... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. The Life of Basil the New by Gregorios His Pupil, and the Visions of St Theodora.[Pochaiv : 1817]
A "hybrid book", blending a printed edition of the Life of St Basil and the visions of St Gregory and St Theodora, with 82 hand-drawn and hand-coloured miniature scenes illustrating the narrative, with what appear to be signs of censorship.
"Old Believer book culture inherited and developed an ancient tradition that had already manifested... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. Bible: Revelation 1-20,[Russia : c.1780-1790]
An Old Believers' illustrated miscellany, including a rare calendar with pictorial hand-drawn diagrams - a genre scarce both on the market and institutionally - and amuletic woodblock prints of the Cavalry Cross.
"Old Believer book culture inherited and developed an ancient tradition that had already manifested itself in the first century... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. Dialogues on Death and Repentance.[Northern Russia : c.1765]
An Old Believers' miscellany, with interesting annotations from a community in the village of Tolozhno, in the Okulovsky district, near Novgorod.
Among the annotations is the 19th-century inscription "No passport", likely a reference to the Old Believers' resistance to owning state documents. Some Old Believers saw the very act of owning a... Learn More -
SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Prayers and Other Texts Based on the Oktoechos.[Serbia : early 16th century]
An early collection of prayers in Serbian and Church Slavonic - a fine 16th-century monastic production. Such early Serbian manuscripts, as well as early fine bindings produced in the Balkan regions, are rare on the market.
The slightly cursive hand points to a 16th-century production, and the absence of conspicuous decoration suggests the... Learn More -
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Sbornik with four texts.[Russia : late 16th- to mid-18th century]
A manuscript Sbornik comprising four liturgical texts with hymns. Likely used in a remote monastery or community of few means, it was kept within a repurposed leather binding which has survived untouched. One of the four texts was here used as a pastedown.
The sbornik was compiled by several scribes, in the course of at least a few decades,... Learn More -
HIPPOLYTUS OF ROME & Eusebius, Bishop of Alexandria. Slovo Ippolita, papy Rimskogo o vtorom prishestvii,[Russia : mid-17th century]
A miscellany with three theological works, the first apparently unrecorded outside Russia - all rare both on the market and institutionally, especially from such early date.
Hippolytus of Rome (3rd century) opposed the Bishops of Rome, forming a sort of schismatic group; his Slovo circulated in manuscript form, and was among the earliest... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. Composite sbornik.[Northern Russia : 17-19th century]
A remarkable Old Believers' miscellany with dozens of devotional and theological texts, half of which apparently unrecorded, dating mostly from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The community of the Old Believers (Raskolniki) developed after the religious reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon in 1652, which advocated greater alignment with the... Learn More -
ST JOHN DAMASCENE, St John Chrysostom, and St Ephraim. Book IV of De Fide Orthodoxa,[Russia : first quarter of the 17th century]
A collection of three important texts for the Eastern Orthodox rite, with an impressive full-page miniature and decoration.
The miniature, which depicts St John Chrysostom, is an interesting mixture of influences. The lingering presence of gilt highlights looks back to the 16th-century tradition, while the simplified palette reflects what... Learn More -
HOKKAIDO - TANI, Gentan. Ezo jinbutsu-zu ("Illustrations of the Ainu").[Japan : mid-19th century]
A manuscript copy of this ethnographic study, with many bright illustrations of Ainu clothing, religious ceremonies, and games. One spread shows a crane dance, with a group of people in a circle with arms outstretched to mimic the bird. Ainu dance was declared intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2009.
In the 18th and early 19th... Learn More -
JAPAN. Moko shurai e-kotoba ("Illustrated Account of the Mongol Invasion").[Japan : c.1797-1828]
A late 18th-century manuscript copy of one of the first depictions of the Mongol invasions of Japan. The original scrolls were commissioned by Takezaki Suenaga in the 13th century to record his wartime heroics and are held in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. This example was made soon after the scrolls resurfaced and became a sensation in the... Learn More -
WHALING. Kandorizaki kujiratori-zu ("Illustrations of Whaling in Kajitori Bay").[Japan : early 19th century]
An illustrated manuscript compendium devoted to whaling, with diagrams of 12 different species of cetacean, including the North Pacific right whale, the humpback whale, and the killer whale. There are also illustrations of 3 whaling boats, 13 types of spear, and a view of Kandori Bay. The diagrams detail the body parts of each species and the size... Learn More -
WHITMAN, Walt. "O brood continental": autograph manuscript poem.[early 1860s]
A working manuscript, with three corrections, from the poet's early maturity, composed during the American Civil War and unpublished in his lifetime. Here, Whitman's expansive faith in the American experiment is shadowed by the gathering crisis over slavery, and his voice turns urgent and prophetic.
Written in his characteristic apostrophic... Learn More -
MILNE, A. A. Original autograph manuscript for The Christopher Robin Verses.1932
Comprising the "Preface for Parents" showing a few minor revisions, as Milne introduces the first collection of poems from When We Were Very Young, and Now We Are Six. The author provides detailed self-criticism on his depiction of children in the book. Original manuscripts relating to Milne's Pooh books are rarely available in... Learn More -
AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. Fragment of a Confederate flag, proudly sent by a 15-year-old Union recruit as "the first Secession Flag" captured in the war.Camp Hardin, Villa Ridge, Illinois : 1861
A relic of one of the earliest captured Confederate flags, taken in May 1861 and sent home by a young Union musician to his family.
"Dear father, Enclosed find a small piece of a real Secession Flag. It was torn down from a boat by our men. It is a real flag. When it was brought in camp, we took it to the colonel's quarters. He made a short... Learn More -
WODEHOUSE, P. G. Autograph manuscript of his short story "By Advice of Counsel".1910
The original manuscript of an early short story in a significantly different version to that which was published. The story tells of the efforts of Jack Roach and Gentleman Bailey to prevent their friend, Jerry Moore, from marrying Jane Tuxton. The manuscript reveals extensive deletions and corrections which are perfectly legible.
The... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. Revelation, with the Commentary of Archbishop Andreas of Caesarea.[Russia : first half of the 19th century]
A finely illustrated Old Believers' Apocalypse with the commentary of Andreas of Caesarea.
"Old Believer book culture inherited and developed an ancient tradition that had already manifested itself in the first century of Russian book production: the aesthetic perception of the book as a synthesis of the arts - verbal, visual, and... Learn More -
IAKOVLEV, Ioann, & Pëtr Aleksandrov. Genealogy of the Romanov tsars from Adam and Eve.[Russia : 1752-70]
A rare, decorated genealogy of the Romanov tsars to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great. Manuscript genealogies of the Russian rulers are rare on the market and uncommon institutionally: the catalogue of the National Library of Russia records fewer than ten comparable examples from the 18th and 19th centuries, while Cleminson... Learn More
