Authors starting with A from B & L Rootenberg Rare Books & Manuscripts

With 44 black and white photographs on 24 plates. Original publisher’s blue cloth, title and illustration in gilt on front cover, fraying at head and foot of spine; uncut. First published the prior year, the author, an English physician, regales us with an account of his voyage on a coastal freighter through the Suez Canal to the East Indies, southeast Asia and Japan. A fascinating tale more in the style of fiction than a doctor’s journal. ... more information

Patterned boards, with dust-jacket and wrap-around band of the Poetry Book Society. An excellent copy. First edition. This, Abse’s fifth book of poems, was the choice of the year of the Poetry Society immediately following its publication. Abse is regarded as one of the most important Welsh writers of the twentieth century.... more information

Original publisher’s boards with dust-jacket. An excellent copy. First edition of this two-part work, the first containing the author’s poems on his everyday experiences and the second a comic yet disturbing view of the modern world using the metaphor of a mental institution. Born in Wales to Jewish parents, Abse (b.1923) studied medicine at King’s College in London before being appointed a Senior Fellow of the Humanities at Princeton University in 1973. Abse is a Fellow of the Royal Society ... more information

Disbound, and laid into a half morocco clamshell box. 1. 1773: To pay John Harrison "a further reward for his invention of a time-keeper for ascertaining the longitude at sea, and his discovery of the principles upon which the same was constructed" (not to exceed £8750).2. 1774: To repeal all former acts concerning longitude at sea, except as may related to the appointment and authority of commissioners, and except as it may relate to laws on the construction, printing, publishing, vend... more information

Large folding frontispiece. Modern morocco-backed marbled boards; minor spotting, some offsetting from frontispiece on title. First edition, written as a general guide for the public on the anatomy of the eye and nature of vision. This was the first book to provide general information on the correct and incorrect use of spectacles, and includes a guide on the selection of eyeglasses. Adams treats various problems that might be experienced with vision, detailing causes and remedies, including an account of s... more information

Contemporary straight grain morocco, rebacked. An excellent copy inscribed to David Potts Jun from John Quincy Adams on a presentation slip inserted before the title page, and with the ownership signature of Ralph R. Ritzman on the fly-leaf. FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED, of Adams' biography of Gilbert du Motier (1757-1834), until June of 1790 the marquis de La Fayette. Lafayette was a French military officer who participated in both the American and French revolutions. As a result of his services, he was tw... more information

With 11 coloured lithographed plates. Original cloth, spine expertly restored; top corner a bit worn, minor marginal stains. Wellcome Library's unobtrusive withdrawal stamp on verso of title; a highly desirable copy in original state, preserved in a handsome quarter-morocco slipcase. First edition of one of the great rarities in the history of medicine, and the foundation of modern endocrinology. Addison describes two major diseases for the first time, presenting his remarkable discoveries in a series ... more information

With an engraved title and charming frontispiece by J[ohann] G[eorg] Seiller, illustrating one of the tales. An excellent copy bound in half-vellum over marbled boards, with a small exlibris from the public library of Basel, with their stamp. FIRST EDITION of this collection of Aesop's Fables published "for the young people of Zurich" as a textbook. It therefore includes many printed footnotes to the fables, in Latin, Greek and German. Seiller (1663-1740) was a successful Swiss-German artist a... more information

Contemporary vellum, beautiful spine label. Aside from some very minor browning, a fine copy with the bookplate of James Martin. The very scarce first edition of Aikin's contribution to eighteenth-century song theory. The book was initially published anonymously, as was a number of Aikin's early literary and political efforts. Aikin (1747-1822) was a physician who practiced successfully for a number of years until a stroke forced his retirement. Thereafter he devoted himself to literature and ... more information

Half-calf over marbled boards, joints repaired and weak; small tear in the first blank and T6 repaired. Bookplate of the Library of the Medical Society of the County Kings, with small library stamp on title. From the library of William Schroeder, Sr., M.D., with his stamp on the fly-leaf and ownership inscription. First edition. Aikin, best known for his Essays on song-writing, delights his readers with selections from various literary devices, including essays grouped under the following “headings... more information

Polished calf, gilt-ruled, front cover detached. Elliot bookplate. First edition of this well-known biography. Aikin writes that “on tracing backwards the history of English erudition, I soon came to two names which seemed to form an era . . . whose celebrity was not confined to mere authorship; but who acted important parts in the church and state at a period of extraordinary interest in English history” (Preface).... more information

Each volume with frontispiece portrait. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards; a nice copy with minor wear on covers and ex library stamps on title. Second edition of one of the author's delightful historical works.Aikin (1781-1864) was the daughter of John Aikin. Her earliest writings were published when she was but sixteen years of age. Although she went on to write womens' history, a short novel, poetry and books of letters, her most important contributions were historical works su... more information

Full contemporary calf, worn and chipped at edges, head and foot of spine; minor browning and spotting. Ownership inscription and stamp of Skaneateles Library Association on end-paper. First Dublin edition of this collection, printed in London the same year. Edited by Jeremiah Dyson, Akenside’s lifelong friend, this work contains a complete collection of his poems, “either reprinted from the original editions, or faithfully published from copies which had been prepared by himself for publication.&... more information

Contemporary calf-backed marbled boards, top board nearly detached; sporadic browning, spotting on lower part of preliminaries, bottom corner of pages 9-16 torn. Ownership inscription of “John Lewis Jun., Baltimore,” and his manuscript poem opposite title. First American edition. In 1738 at age 17, Akenside wrote this 2000-line didactic poem. It was first published anonymously in London in 1744, and “a cheap edition followed within four months, and announced for the first time the author’... more information

Contemporary calf-backed marbled boards; a fine copy, unopened. Later edition. Considered one of the best of Alamanni's later works, these didactic poems on cultivation, agriculture and bees contain more original material then previously printed. Alamanni (1495-1556) was an Italian poet and statesman. He was regarded as a prolific and versatile poet, and is credited with introducing the epigram into Italian poetry. La Coltivazione, written in imitation of Virgil's Georgics, is distinguished by the ... more information

Pebbled cloth, decorated in blind, spine sunned, a bit worn at head and foot; some pencil annotations. Ownership inscription,“E.S. Read, Winthrop, Mass., July 11, 1879.” The present work emphasizes the importance of hygiene, nutrition, rest, and exercise as well as many other areas deemed by Alcott to have an effect on one’s overall health. Alcott (1798-1859), a farmer’s son, started off his career as a school teacher. After attending Yale medical school, he enjoyed a thriving practice, ... more information

With 9 engraved plates. Contemporary calf-backed boards, joints weakened, corners strengthened; some browning and foxing. FIRST EDITION of the author's only work in psychology, and an early attempt to classify mental disorders. ... more information

An exceptionally large copy with wide margins, complete with the half-title (often lacking). Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked. From the library of J[ohn] B[ird] Sumner (1780-1862), Bishop of Chester and later Archbishop of Canterbury, with a presentation bookplate to Thomas Williams, and Williams' armorial bookplate. First edition of one of the earliest psychological discussions on aesthetics and the nature of beauty. Alison's theory illustrates that beauty is not a separate quality that an extern... more information

With numerous folding maps. Original blue cloth, title in gilt on spine, gutters torn, spine moderately frayed; ex-libris. First edition. Allan, a former officer under Jackson, documents the operations of Lee's army during 1862. A very detailed history. Howes, A129. ... more information

Titles and descriptions are as follows:1. "On the effect of exercise upon the bodily temperature." From The Alpine Journal, May, 1871. [London: Spottiswood & Co.] 8vo. 7 pp., plus 1 chart. Unbound. Presentation copy, with the author's kind regards.2. Palissy, Bacon, and the revival of natural science. London: For the British Academy, April 1913. 4to. 15 pp. Original printed wrappers.3. Diseases of the pericardium. [On acute pericarditis]. 4to. pp. 251-84. U... more information