Authors starting with A from The Book Block

London W. Rogers, 1695. 8vo., (8 x 6 inches). Full 18th century calf with plain sides; spine with five raised bands bordered with triple gilt fillets, later (?) title label. Spine professionally repaired with the original spine laid down. A small hole in the border of one leaf repaired; extreme lower corner of the engraved frontispiece mended. A VERY HANDSOME copy ELABORATELY RULED IN RED throughout.Charles Alphonse Du Fresnoy (1611-55), painter and poet is remembered for his Latin poem written i... more information

Verone Officina Bodoni, 1971. 8vo., (9 x 6 1/4 inches), publisher's quarter pigskin spine over Fabriano paper sides; title in gilt on the spine and the emblem of the press in gilt on the cover. In a matching sliding case, which is slightly rubbed at the extremities. Copy No. 17 (of 140). Original Prospectus laid in.Dürer's Small Passion of 1511, considered by many to be his masterpiece of this genre, was published by Giovanni Mardersteig to celebrate the five hundredth anniversary of... more information

Boston Houghton, Mifflin, 1884. Tall 8vo., publisher's gray cloth with a paper spine label, a little chipped. First edition, moderate handling wear. The title piece, based on an incident related in the Mémoirs of the Duchess d'Abrantes, is a love story, which was dramatized by the author and produced in 1894. BAL 325. ... more information

Paris J. Hetzel, N.d. [ca. 1845]. 8vo., publisher's diagonally grained blue cloth with an elaborate outer frame stamped in black, inside of which is another elaborate gilt-stamped oval frame (which incorporates part of the black border), inside of which is an oval-shaped picture of soup being served from a large copper pot. This scene has been PRINTED IN COLOR CHROMOLITHOGRAPHY and then pasted in place. The spine is heavily decorated in gilt and black; the rear cover is framed in a black-stamped borde... more information

Rochester Published for the Authors, 1879. 8vo., publisher's brown pebbled cloth decorated in blind and gilt; head and foot of spine slightly rubbed (otherwise quite fresh). Opposite the frontispiece (and before the title) is an eight-line quotation from Isaiah XLII, 16 PRINTED IN LARGE BLIND EMBOSSED LETTERS. First edition. The book begins with memoirs of eminent blind authors, including Homer, Milton, Ossian followed by more contemporary writers and concludes with a section of Collected Poems by Hall... more information

Amsterdam Gerrit Bos for I. Tinnekens & G, Roos, 1736. 8vo., dyed green vellum with a wallet flap extending from the lower cover; both covers stamped in black with the arms of the city and the date: Anno 1736. In very fine condition; preserved in a cloth, felt-lined clamshell case. Contained in the front compartment are six contemporary manuscript notes in Dutch having to do with daily life.The Almanack is PRINTED IN BLACK AND RED and is interleaved throughout for commentary; the first half i... more information

Lyons J. de Tournes & G. Gazeau, 1556. Sm. 8vo., full green morocco with a pair of double gilt fillet borders trapping a beaded border; floral gilt corner fleurons; the spine is decorated in a Greek key design, without titling. A.e.g. over red staining, printed floral endpapers. A handsome, unsophisticated binding of indeterminate age in fine condition.Ruth Mortimer points out that this series of 113 woodcuts was designed for the first de Tournes-Gazeau edition of 1547, and continued in use i... more information

N.p. [New Haven] Stinehour Press, 1972. Sm. 4to., publisher’s decorated flexible boards with a translucent vellum-paper wrapper; title in blue type on the spine. An attractively designed and printed book of poetry in Finnish, with chapter openers utilizing the “justly formed Roman letter” a la Fra Luca Pacioli and Albrecht Durer, printed in blue. The titlepage is printed in black and blue. This copy is inscribed by the author on the front free endleaf. See: the Stinehour Press: A Bibliograph... more information

Worcester Isaiah Thomas, 1798. 8vo., contemporary tree calf with a red morocco spine label. A full-page advertisement for Thomas's "Printing in its Great Variety," type set within an oval leafy border, appears on U4v (there is a small hole in the ad affecting the floral border and two words of text on the recto), U5-6 list of books for sale in his bookstore in Worcester.The author, Alexander MacBear died in 1784 and his name does not appear on the title-page. The book consists of 23... more information

Munchen Bremer Press, 1921. Folio (13 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches); navy blue morocco with gilt fillet borders to both covers; gilt lettering to spine; navy blue silk moire doublures; signed by binder S. Ramos on front turn-in; t.e.g. Marble covered slip case edged with leather. #156 of 300. Title and initials designed by Anna Simons, a pupil of the calligrapher Edward Johnston.The Bremer Presse was founded by Willy Wiegand and Ludwig Wolde in Bremen in 1911 and moved to Munich in 1921 where it was destr... more information

New York Cheshire House, 1931. Folio ( 19 1/4 x 13 1/4 inches), brown calf, 6 compartment sunned spine with red morocco label with gilt lettering in second compartment. Front cover with a series of rectangular blind borders with the Cheshire House logo towards the bottom. One of 1200 copies. Slip case with tide mark at very bottom.   Cheshire Press Issue... more information

Holland C. Allard Amsteldam, [1708]. 8vo. (8x6 inches) later marbled paper covered wrappers. [3], 32 p. Rare religious work in Dutch that includes 15 engravings, most of which depict the infant Christ but several cover his Crucifixion and Resurrection. OCLC shows only one copy (NY Public Library) and none is currently available for sale. Fine. Dutch Religious Work Profusely Illustrated ... more information

Oxford at the Theatre in Oxford, 1674. Sm. 4to., black turkey morocco tooled in gilt in an all-over design with drawer-handle tools, curls and flower head tools; decorated with silver paint. The spine is divided into six compartments by five raised bands, which are also tooled in gilt (echoing the covers), with silver paint. The title is gilt lettered in the second compartment from the top. One corner and the very head of the rear joint have been skillfully repaired. Marbled endleaves. The binding is the w... more information

Pavia Stamperia Bolzani, 1792. 8vo. (8 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches), original blue-gray wrappers. An attractive, tall uncut copy with a minor damp stain to the lower margin of the last few gatherings. Altogether unsophisticated.The engraved title-page features a 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 inch vignette of a right hand holding a partially unrolled Hebrew manuscript against a dark background, signed with the monogram GL (LG?), after a drawing by Correggio. The still visible guide lines for the text of the title suggest ... more information

Venice Pietro di Nicolini da Sabbio, 1538. 8vo. (6 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches), late 17th or early 18th century vellum over stiff boards with a red morocco title label; edges stained yellow. A few early marginal notes in brown ink; a very nice copy.Title-page with a large woodcut historiated border, the book’s 191 foliated leaves are nicely printed in italic type by Paolo Manuzio, whose name is absent from the volume. The Aldine Press had closed in 1529, upon the death of Andrea Torresano, and was s... more information

London Geo. Bell, 1843. [Bound with] THE HAND-BOOK OF ARCHITECTURE: being a concise account of the different styles of architecture, which have been or are in use in England. London (Tayas), N.d.8vo. (6 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches), full dark green straight grain morocco with gilt borders on the cover, the title (“British Architecture”) in gilt on the upper cover; smooth spine with gilt bands. Fine.In this "custom-made" volume on British architecture, the original owner had h... more information

London Printed for the Author, 1747. 8vo., contemporary crushed burgundy morocco, nicely gilt decorated on the covers and spine, worn but sound; a.e.g.Second edition (the first appeared the previous year), the book is ENTIRELY ENGRAVED by its author who signed a notice on the verso of the title, designed to frighten off prospective pirates. This is followed by a 14-year license of publication in the name of George II, a List of Subscribers, Publisher's Advertisement, To the Reader, Introducti... more information

London Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trübner, 1895. 8vo. (7 x 5 inches) full green marbled calf sides with two spaced gilt fillets forming the borders; spine with five raised bands with elaborate gilt decoration within four compartments, the other two with red morocco labels on which the title information has been stamped in gilt. Board edges gilt, inner gilt dentelles; a.e.g. Original decorated cloth cover and spine bound in at the back. Stamped name of the bookseller, Charles Sessler—Philadelphia, on th... more information