A Hebrew Grammar, Without Points; Designed to Facilitate the Study of the Scriptures of the Old Testament, In the Original..
by Smith, John
Boston: Printed by David Carlisle for John West, 1803. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. First printing, octavo size, 56 pp. The author, John Smith (1752-1809) took his Bachelors and Masters Degrees from Dartmouth, eventually becoming their first professor of learned languages (Chaldee, Hebrew, Latin and Greek). This work, "A Hebrew Grammar", was written during Smith's junior year at college, and published later (1803). He also wrote grammars on Chaldee (Aramaic), Latin and Greek that were never... Read More
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Handel's Oratorios and Eighteenth-Century Thought
by Smith, Ruth
(Cambridge): Cambridge University Press, 1996. 2nd Printing. Hardcover. Fine/fine. Octavo size, 498 pp. From the jacket flap: "In this wide-ranging and challenging book, Ruth Smith shows that the words of Handel's oratorios reflect the events and ideas of their time and have far greater meaning than has hitherto been realised. She explores literature, music, aesthetics, politics and religion to reveal Handel's works as conduits for eighteenth-century thought and sensibility..." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full blue textured paper... Read More
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The Works of Tobias Smollett
by Smollett, Tobias; Saintsbury, George (Editor); Richards, Frank (Illustrations); Bedford, F.D. (Decorations)
London and Philadelphia: Gibbings & Company / J.B. Lippincott Company [Morrison and Gibb, Printers, Edinburgh], 1895. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Richards, Frank; Bedford, F.D.. Twelve volumes (complete), octavo size, total pp. approximately 3100, one of 150 copies on hand-made paper. Tobias George Smollett (ca.1721-1771), a Scottish author, was known for his "picaresque" novels (stories which depict the adventures "of a roguish, but 'appealing hero', of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt society"... Read More
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Climbs and Ski Runs; Mountaineering and Ski-ing in the Alps, Great Britain and Corsica
by Smythe, F.S.; Young, Geoffrey Winthrop (Foreword)
Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons Ltd, 1929. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. First printing, octavo size, 328 pp. Francis ["Frank"] Sydney Smythe (1900-1949), was a renowned moutaineer "who climbed extensively in the Alps and also made several important Himalyan expeditions, including the first ascent to Kamet" (n.b., Neate, p. 140). This was his first published work, considered by many to be among his best, and is copiously illustrated with black-and-white photographs (62 pages of them,... Read More
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An Account of the Effects of Swinging; Employed as a Remedy in the Pulmonary Consumption and Hectic Fever
by Smyth, James Carmichael
London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1788. Leather bound. Very good +. Octavo size, 60 pp. "Tuberculosis, also known as consumption, is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs, and at the turn of the 20th century, the leading cause of death in the United States" (n.b., from the web site of the American Lung Association). It was this way for centuries; as far back as 460 BCE, when "Hippocrates identified phthisis [i.e., consumption] as the... Read More
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Epidemics and Society; From the Black Death to the Present
by Snowden, Frank M.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. First printing, octavo size, 598 pp. From dust jacket flap: "A wide-ranging study that illuminates the connection between epidemic deseases and societal change, from the Black Death to Ebola". ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full grey paper over boards, silver lettering on the spine, black-and-white photographs scattered throughout; octavo size (9.5" by 6.25"), pagination: [i-vii] viii-xvi, 1-582. In the publisher's dust jacket, artwork on the front panel from... Read More
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Lecture Notes on Dermatology
by Solomons, Bethel, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P.I.
Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1965. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good. Duodecimo size, 257 pp. Part of "The 'Lecture Notes' Series" published by Blackwell Scientific in the 1950s and 1960s, this work on Dermatology "is intended to be an introduction to dermatology for students and general practitioners. It deals chiefly with common diseases, and to a lesser extent with some conditions which are often a sign of systematized syndromes" (Preface). The author goes on: "The importance of the skin... Read More
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The First Crusade; The Deeds of the Franks and Other Jerusalemites..
by Somerset de Chair (Translator, Editor, Author of Introduction); Clifford Webb (Wood Engravings)
[Waltham Saint Lawrence]: The Golden Cockerel Press, 1945. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Webb, Clifford. One of 500 copies, folio size, pp. The Golden Cockerel Press came together in autumn of 1920, at a time when post-World War I society was ushering in a renaissance of creative minds, including another renaissance of the printing press as the artist's tool similar to that of William Morris and the arts and crafts printers of the previous century. The press worked... Read More
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The Wedding Songs of Edmund Spenser, being the Prothalamion & the Epithalamion; Printed from the best editions, with Wood-cuts by Ethelbert White..
by Spenser, Edmund; White, Ethelbert (Wood-engravings)
[Waltham Saint Lawrence, Berkshire]: Golden Cockerel Press, 1923. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. White, Ethelbert. One of 350 copies (on paper), duodecimo size, 49 pp. Edmund Spenser (1552/3 to 1599) is probably best known for his epic poem "The Faerie Queene", an ode to Elizabeth I. Even today he is considered one of the greatest poets of the English language. This work, "The Wedding Songs", is a publication uniting two works which were published a year... Read More
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Spinoza, Complete Works
by Spinoza, [Baruch]; Shirley, Samuel (Translations); Morgan, Michael L. (Editor)
Indianapolis / Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, 2002. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. First edition, first printing by this publisher, small quarto size, 967 pp. From the jacket flap: "The only complete edition in English of Baruch Spinoza's works, this volume features Samuel Shirley's preeminant translations, distinguished at once by the lucidity and fluency with which they convey the flavor and meaning of Spinoza's original texts." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full red cloth over boards with gilt... Read More
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Spinoza's Ethics; Translated by George Eliot
by Spinoza, [Baruch]; Shirley, Eliot, George [Marian Evans] (Translation); Carlisle, Clare (Editor)
Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2020. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. First edition, first printing by this publisher, octavo size, 369 pp. From the web site of the publisher: "In 1856, Marian Evans completed her translation of Benedict de Spinoza’s 'Ethics' while living in Berlin with the philosopher and critic George Henry Lewes. This would have become the first edition of Spinoza’s controversial masterpiece in English, but the translation remained unpublished because of a disagreement between Lewes and... Read More
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Silicon Geochemistry and Biogeochemistry
by S.R. Aston (Editor); S.R. Aston, S.E. Calvert, D.C. Hurd, R. Macdonald, F.T. Mackenzie, C.P. Spencer, and R. Wollast (Contributors)
London: Academic Press / Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1983. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good. Octavo size, 258 pp. Seven presentations by noted scientists all having to do with silicon geochemistry. As an essential nutrient, and the basis of the skeletal material of certain organisms, silicon occupies a dominant position in biogeochemistry; and this book draws together some of the more important aspects of this topic using a series of reviews. (From the book's Preface.) ___DESCRIPTION: Navy blue cloth binding,... Read More
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Bibliography of The Arion Press: The First One Hundred Books
by Starr, Kevin (Foreword); Todd, Glenn (Introduction); Kraus, Peter (Prologue); Hoyem, Andrew (Preface)
San Francisco: The Arion Press, 2015. Hardcover. New. 11-1/2 by 8 inches, 308 pages. The types are Cycles and Arepo, designed by Sumner Stone. The paper is Mohawk Superfine. The offset lithography was done under the supervision of Susan Schaefer. The binding is full cloth over boards with endpapers printed by letterpress from ornaments cast by Mackenzie & Harris, presented in a full cloth slipcase. The book edition is limited to 500 copies for sale. This richly illustrated... Read More
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A Typographic Journey; The History of The Greenwood Press and Bibliography, 1934-2000
by Stauffacher, Jack Werner and Humphreys, Glenn
San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1999. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. One of 450 copies, quarto size, 324 pp., with prospectus and invitation to publication party, inscribed by Jack Stauffacher in the year of publication. The Greenwood Press, a highly regarded San Francisco-based press run by the incomparable Jack Stauffacher (1920-2017), produced a myriad of fine press books featuring Stauffacher's masterful printing and typographic design; this bibliography covers the history of the Press over the nearly seventy... Read More
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Angle of Repose: Opera Program (signed by Wallace Stegner), [with] San Francisco Opera Poster
by Stegner, Wallace; Adler, Kurt Herbert (General Director); Tchakalian, Sam (Artist - poster)
San Francisco: San Francisco Opera, 1976. Wraps. Fine. Casey, Lawrence. Program: octavo size, [24] pp., signed by Wallace Stegner; Poster: 25" high. In order to help celebrate the 200th anniversaries of both the nation and the City of San Francisco (which took place on June 29, 1776, when colonists from Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate and Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away), the San Francisco Opera adapted Wallace Stegner's... Read More
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Flight; A story
by Steinbeck, John; Stegner, Wallace (Afterword); Wikstrom, Karin (Illustrations)
[Covelo, California]: Carolyn and James Robertson, The Yolla Bolly Press, 1984. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Wikstrom, Karin. One of 260 copies, folio size, 60 pp., signed by Wallace Stegner and Karin Wikstrom. John Steinbeck (1902-1968), considered "a giant of American letters", was best known for his portrayals of families in California, often exploring themes of alienation and injustice through "everyman" characters (n. b., info from Wikipedia). "Flight" is a short story, originally published in the collection "The Long... Read More
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Continent's End, An Anthology of Contemporary California Poets
by Sterling, George; Taggard, Genevieve; and Rorty, James (Editors, Introductions); Bender, Albert (Prefatory Note)
San Francisco: Printed for The Book Club of California by John Henry Nash, 1925. First and Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. One of 600 copies, large octavo size, 279 pp. An impressive selection from over 100 then-contemporary California poets, including Robinson Jeffers, Mary Austin, Stephen Vincent Benet, Gelett Burgess, Ina Coolbrith, Maynard Dixon, Miriam Allen de Ford, David Starr Jordan, Edwin Markham, Clark Ashton Smith, George Sterling, Xavier Martinez, Sara Bard Field, Charles Erskine Scott Field, Hildegarde Flanner,... Read More
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The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman [with extra suite]
by Sterne, Laurence; New, Melvyn and New, Joan (Editors); New, Melvyn (Essay); Baldessari, John (Artist)
San Francisco: The Arion Press, 1988. Limited Edition. Hardcover. New. Baldessari, John. Main volume: octavo, 10 1/4" by 6 3/4", 624 pages. Essay: same size, 44 pages. Photo-collages, same size, 86 accordion-fold pages. The type is Caslon Old Style, the face used for the first printings of Sterne's original nine volumes (1760-1767), in Monotype composition by Mackenzie-Harris, with larger sizes handset. The paper is a special making of all-cotton Curtis Ruysdael. Tipped-in marbled paper was specially made. The... Read More
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Diogenes in London
by Stevenson, Robert Louis
San Francisco: [Printed by] Edwin and Robert Grabhorn for John Howell, 1920. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very good +. One of 100 copies, this copy out-of-series, quarto size, [14] pp. One of the first books printed by the Grabhorns after their move to San Francisco from Indianapolis, "Diogenes in London" is a satire by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), left unpublished during his lifetime and printed for the first time by the Grabhorn brothers; Stevenson criticises hypocrisy and cruelty through... Read More
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Study of Two Pears / Etude de deux poires [ARTIST BOOK - Judith Rothchild]; A Poem by Wallace Stevens with a translation into French by Bernard Noel and mezzotints by Judith Rothchild
by Stevens, Wallace; Rothchild, Judith (Artist); Noel, Bernard (Translator)
Octon: Verdigris Press, 2003. Limited Edition. Folio in a case. Fine. Rothchild, Judith. Number 10 of 50 copies, quarto size, [20] pp., signed by Judith Rothchild and the printer Mark Lintott. Wallace Stevens (1879-1955) was "one of America's most respected poets. He was a master stylist, employing an extraordinary vocabulary and a rigorous precision in crafting his poems. But he was also a philosopher of aesthetics, vigorously exploring the notion of poetry as the supreme fusion of the... Read More
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The Diary of Patrick Breen; Recounting the Ordeal of the Donner Party Snowbound In the Sierra 1846-47
by Stewart, George R. (Introduction and Notes); Mallette Dean (Illustration and Decorations)
San Francisco: The Book Club of California [printed at the Allen Press], 1946. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Dean, Mallette. One of 300 copies, octavo size, [68] pp. "The publication of the most famous of all documents relating to the Donner Party," published at the centennial of the author's original accounting of the tragic and horrifying ordeal, with a complete facsimile of the 29-page manuscript, previously published only by the Academy of Pacific Coast History in 1910. ... Read More
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Crimes of Writing; Problems in the Containment of Representation
by Stewart, Susan
New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/very good +. First printing, octavo size, 353 pp. From the jacket flap: "From the origins of modern copyright in early eighteenth-century culture to the efforts to represent nature and death in postmodern fiction, this book explores a series of problems regarding the containment of representation..." ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in quarter brown cloth over tan paper-covered boards, gilt lettering on the spine, octavo size (8 1/2" by... Read More
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Gesammelte Werke in Fünf Bänden
by Stifter, Adalbert
(Furth im Wald): Vitalis, 2005. Hardcover. Fine. Five volumes (complete), octavo size, approx. 2300 pp., in publisher's slipcase, all text in German. Adalbert Stifter (1805-1868) was "notable for the vivid natural landscapes depicted in his writing and has long been popular in the German-speaking world" (n.b., quote from Wiki). This boxed set of hardcover books represents his collected works in five volumes: Witiko, Eine Erzählung; Der Nachsommer, Eine Erzählung; Die Mappe meines Urgroßvaters, Studien 1840-1841; Brigitta,... Read More
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The Lady, or the Tiger? [bound tête-bêche with] The Discourager of Hesitancy
by Stockton, Frank L.; Bachinski, Walter (Artist)
[Vancouver, B.C.]: HM [Heavenly Monkey], 2022. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Bachinski, Walter. One of 30 copies, octavo size, the two stories with 26 total pp., signed by Walter Bachinski, with a printed version of the HM prospectus. Heavenly Monkey includes the tag line on their web site of "Publisher of elusive books". Truer words were never spoken, for the exceptionally high quality of the Heavenly Monkey publications, in every aspect, has gained for Rollin Milroy an enthusiastic and... Read More
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Arcadia [with extra suite]
by Stoppard, Tom; Ketcham, Diana (Introduction); Matthews, William (Artist)
San Francisco: The Arion Press, 2001. Limited Edition. Hardcover. New. William Matthews. Oblong, 11 by 14 inches, 132 pages. The types are Monotype Scotch Roman (introduced around 1810, during the earlier time of the play), composed and cast at Mackenzie & Harris; and handset Lilith, designed by Lucien Bernard in 1930. Printing of the text was by letterpress. The paper is mouldmade Zerkall. The illustrations were printed by Urban Digital Color in continuous tone, using a Roland Digital... Read More
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![Angle of Repose: Opera Program (signed by Wallace Stegner), [with] San Francisco Opera Poster](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/943/962/1054962943.0.l.jpg)


![The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman [with extra suite]](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/149/592/1605592149.0.l.jpg)

![Study of Two Pears / Etude de deux poires [ARTIST BOOK - Judith Rothchild]; A Poem by Wallace Stevens with a translation into French by Bernard Noel and mezzotints by Judith Rothchild](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/205/481/1045481205.0.l.jpg)



![The Lady, or the Tiger? [bound tête-bêche with] The Discourager of Hesitancy](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/496/699/1579699496.0.l.jpg)
![Arcadia [with extra suite]](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/h/151/592/1605592151.0.l.jpg)