Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books and Medieval Manuscripts was established in 1978 on a ping pong table in a basement in Kalamazoo, Michigan. From the beginning, its founder was willing to sell a range of material (both because this approach made the work more educational than otherwise and because it gave him a good excuse for not being an expert in any particular specialty). Over the years, the business has gravitated toward historical artifacts that are physically attractive in some way-illuminated material, fine bindings, books printed on vellum, fore-edge paintings, beautiful typography and paper, impressive illustration. But the company nevertheless sells a wide range of things, from (scruffy) ninth century leaves to biblical material from all periods to Wing and STC imprints to modern privately printed books. While we are forgiving about condition when something is of considerable rarity, we always try to obtain the most attractive copies possible of whatever works we offer for sale. For the past 22 years, we have been fortunate to represent one of the country's most important collectors. This collaboration means that, apart from our own inventory, we have a continuing interest in building his collection of visually arresting books (items of unusual size, with beautiful bindings, and/or containing striking illustrations) and of other material that is extraordinarily odd or interesting, especially if (but not exclusively) relating to the history of medicine.
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CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ OF BOOKS PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT THE DOVES PRESS 1900-1911
by (DOVES PRESS)
Hammersmith : Doves Press , 1911 (click for more details)EACH LEAF FROM A DIFFERENT LITURGICAL MANUSCRIPT WITH MUSICAL NOTATION
by TEACHING PACKET OF FIVE MEDIEVAL VELLUM MANUSCRIPT LEAVES RECOVERED FROM BINDINGS, OFFERED AS A GROUP
Germany and Low Countries 14th & 15th centuries (click for more details)
Signed First Edition
ABEL REDIVIVUS; OR THE DEAD YET SPEAKING. [with] [ISAACSON, HENRY]. AN EXACT NARRATION OF THE LIFE AND DEATH OF . . . LANCELOT ANDREWES
by (ENGLISH REFORMATION). FULLER, THOMAS, DANIEL FEATLEY, and THOMAS GATAKER. (BINDINGS - BEDFORD)
London : T. Brudenell for J. Stafford , 1651 [i.e. 1652], 1650 [i.e. 165 (click for more details)AGENDA ECCLESIAE MOGUNTINENSIS . . . PER REVERENDISSIMUM IN CHRISTO PATREM . . . DOMINUM WOLFGANGUM, ARCHIEPISCOPUM MOGUNTIUM
by (BINDINGS - BLIND-STAMPED PIGSKIN). [DALBERG, WOLFGANG VON]
Moguntiae [Mainz] : Balthasaar Lippius , 1599 (click for more details)LONDON: A PAPER READ AT A MEETING OF THE ART WORKERS GUILD . . . MARCH 6, 1891
by (DOVES PRESS - LESSER WORKS). COBDEN-SANDERSON, THOMAS JAMES
Hammersmith : Doves Press, Presented to the Subscribers , 1906 (click for more details)Recent Catalogs
Catalogue 81: Early Books and Manuscripts
Early Books and Manuscripts
Recent Catalogs
Catalogue 80: Women Binders
Catalogue 80 featuring work by women binders from the Arts & Crafts movement of the late 19th century to the present.