Rare Books

Katsura, Ermitage et Jardins - Un Moment de Perfection (Katsura, Hermitage and Gardens, a Moment of Perfection), French Book by Office du Livre, Vilo Editions Paris, 1986. 274 pages. Dimensions: Overall: 10.63 in by 13.75 in (27 by 35 cm). Published in 1986 by Office du Livre, Editions Vilo, Paris. Book by Arata Isozaki and Osamu Sato; photographs by Yasuhiro Ishimoto; French translation and commentary by Pierre and Suzanne Rambach. A visit to Katsura, the imperial villa, is a circuit of an hour. One emerges amazed, astonished, and dazzled. What remains are the intense images captured by the eye, captured by the moment that flees without recourse. Amid its garden and the four tea pavilions that border the central pond, built in the 17th century by Prince Toshihito, on the banks of the river that flows through Kyoto, Katsura remains the image of refinement. Villa, also known as Katsura Rikyū, is an architectural gem located in Kyoto, built in the 17th century by Prince Toshihito. Designed as a place of relaxation for the imperial family, this villa embodies not only the elegance and serenity of Japanese architecture but also the perfect harmony between man and nature. Visionary architects Bruno Taut and Walter Gropius of the Bauhaus movement, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, and Le Corbusier, were influenced in their designs by the Katsura Imperial Villa, particularly by its minimalist approach, clean lines, and profound respect for the environment. This helped to disseminate and integrate the principles of Japanese architecture into the modern movement. The elegance of this princely "hermitage" and its tea pavilions creates an atmosphere of serenity and highlights the natural beauty of its surroundings. Its landscaped gardens, true contemplative gems, feature a meticulous arrangement of ponds, bridges, rocks, and vegetation, creating a subtle harmony. It is said that the brilliant gardeners of the Katsura Villa brought about a revolution: for the first time, they introduced, into the landscapes they created by imitating nature, elements that could only come from man: straight lines, regular geometric curves, or, conversely, skillfully rhythmic ones. In short, the Katsura Imperial Villa is a cultural and architectural treasure, offering fascinating insights into traditional Japanese aesthetics and philosophy. The Authors: Arata Isozaki (磯崎 新, Isozaki Arata...

The catalog comprises: First, an introductory paean to craftsmanship and the spirituality of woodworking culminating in Nakashima’s bold signature in ink, dated April 1962. Next, a full-page photo of the Conoid Studio followed by a succession of offerings with photos and descriptions including: Trestle Table, Cross-Legged Table, Round Turned-Leg table, Conoid Table, Turned-Leg Table, Round Clustered-Base Table, Round Pedestal Table, Frenchman’s Cove Square Table, Single Drop-Leaf Table, Boat-Shaped Table, Frenchman’s Cove No.2 Table (fold-out), Round Coffee Table, Conoid Coffee Table, Slab Coffee Table No. 2, Slab Coffee Table, Portsmouth End Table, Square or Rectangular End Table (with and without shelf), Cross-Legged Coffee Table, Conoid Studio End Tables, Conoid Desks, New Chairs, Mira Chairs, Lounge Chair, No Arm, Lounge Chair One-Arm, Grass-Seated Chair, Arm Chair, conoid Chair, New Chair plus Rockers and Arms, Lounge Chair plus Rockers and Arms, Conoid Benches, “Q” Bench, “R” Bench...

A rare first edition, with near-fine dust jacket of the children's classic. Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows; with a frontispiece by Graham Robertson. London: Methuen and Co., 1908. First Edition. 8vo. 7 1/2 x 4 3/4 in. (190 x 120 mm). pp. [1] + viii + 302 + i. Laid paper, deckle edges, t.e.g. With a captioned frontispieces, "And a River went out of Eden", on coated paper after a pen-and-ink drawing by Walford Graham Robertson (1866 – 1948); tissue guard. Original blue-green cloth with gilt illustration on the spine (Toad dressed in a driving outfit and goggles) and upper cover ( Pan playing flute to Rat and Mole by the river) and a single gilt rule on the upper cover. In the second issue publisher's pictorial peach-color dust jacket printed in black with price of 7/6 instead of 6/-.The spine of the dust jacket slightly darkened but in excellent condition with a couple small tears at head expertly repaired on verso; scattered foxing and discoloration to dust jacket and pages, wear to spine edges consistent with age. [Grolier: One Hundred Books Famous in Children's Literature, no.61; Osborne I, p. 349; Hunt p. 45 & 66; Hahn, D. Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, p. 241-242] Condition: Near fine in Near fine dust-jacket. This is the FIRST EDITION with a SCARCE DUST JACKET of one of the essential classics of children's literature. The book is based on bedtime stories that the Scottish-born banker and author Kenneth Grahame...

These are the now very scarce set of two catalogues produced by Christie's for the sale of the contents of Dumfries House which contained a large collec...

Mobili di Ulrich by G. Morrazoni Milano, Luigi Alfieri, 1945. Excellent red cloth hardback with embossed gold title. 26 pages of text and 78 pages containing 133 photographs and 24 ...

‘Antiques for the Table’, A Complete Guide to dining room accessories for Collecting and Entertaining by Sheila Chefetz. Penguin Publishing Group 1993. Signed and inscribed first edition 4th printing hardcover with dust jacket. Inscribed "Enjoy our 'feast' for the eyes!" More than 200 full-color photographs. 'Antiques for the Table' presents dozens of table setting ideas for every occasion. Antiques authority Sheila Chefetz tells readers how to use, store, identify, and appreciate fine examples of 18th, 19th, and 20th century China, glass, and silver. A definitive volume on antique tableware...

Christie's Photographs Twenty Years: Celebrating Galleria Zur Stockeregg, Zurich. A 56 lot auction catalog that features pictures of each art work. New York, October 4, 1999. We are...

AUTHOR: SHELLEY, Mary Wollstonecraft - Frederick Schiller. TITLE: Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus - bound with - The Ghost-Seer. PUBLISHER: London: Richard Bentley, 1839. ...

AUTHOR: DICKENS, Charles. TITLE: A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas. PUBLISHER: London: Chapman and Hall, 1843. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION SECOND ISSUE. ...

Christie's: Property Formerly in the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Warner, October 1990. 319 lots, 192 pp., fully illustrated in color. Includes a wide s...

Decorating With Pictures by Stephanie Hoppen. Published by Clarkson Potter, 1991. Stated 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. This book inspires the rea...

1 vol. William Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s Comedy of the Tempest. First Trade Edition. Illustrated with 40 tipped-in-color plates by Edmund Dulac. Bound beautifully in 3/4 bright calf...

AUTHOR: ADAMS, Richard & John Lawrence. TITLE: Watership Down. PUBLISHER: London, Paradine, 1976. DESCRIPTION: SIGNED LIMITED EDITION. 1 vol., 9-3/8" x 6-1/2", limited to 250 num...

First edition of Eckhard Neumann’s pioneering study of modern graphic design, published in 1967 by Reinhold Publishing Corporation. Square 8vo (8.25” x 8.25”), 96 pages, profusely il...

Author: AUSTEN, Jane. Title: The Novels (Works and Letters) of Jane Austen. Publisher: Edinburgh: John Grant, 1911-12. Description: The Winchester...

Every since he made his first portraits and self-portraits at the age of sixteen, David Hockney has been fascinated by people "the human clay," as W. H. Auden put it, and how that ha...

Published by Éditions Charles Moreau, 1998 Text by François Baudot, preface by Karl Lagerfeld. The distinctive designs of Gilbert Poillerat may be regarded as part of the Art D...

Made in Murano, Making Art with Glass. Softcover book, stated first edition published in June 1999, 73 pages. A Short History of Glass. Softcover book, published in 1990 by Harry N....

6 vol. Edgar Allan Poe, The Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. With bibliographical essay by John H. Ingram. Large Paper Library Edition, Limited Edition of 250 copies printed on im...

Limited edition, ring binder catalog/artist’s book published in conjunction with an exhibition held at Galleria TOT in Padua in 1982, curated by the Italian artist and graphic design...

Robertson, William, Frost, John. The History of the Discovery and Settlement of America, With an Account of His Life and Writings, To which are added Questions for the Examination of...

The complete Biographical Edition of this Charles Dickens collection, profusely illustrated and bound in attractive signed half calf by Bayntun. The Biographical Edition. Complete i...

Sotheby's Art at Auction 1992-93: The Art Market Review. Published by Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Highlights: ...

Complete 12 volume set of the Waverley Novels illustrated in the Abbotsford Edition. Leather over marbled paper boards. Raised bands, ornate gilt on spines, marbled edges. With illus...

Trumbull, Henry. History of the Discovery of America: Of the Landing of our Forefathers at Plymouth, and of Their Most Remarkable Engagements with the Indians in New-England, From Th...

This is an antique copy of The Life of Charles Dickens by John Forster. An English language biographical account of the Victorian author, dating to the late 19th century, published c...

Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [together with] Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1959, 1955. Illustrated by J...

Practical size and fine looking briefcase for the urban professionals. This wonderful and slim design vintage briefcase is in very good condition. All hinges, clasps and also the lo...

AUTHOR: MILNE, A. A. TITLE: Winnie The Pooh. PUBLISHER: London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1929. DESCRIPTION: PRESENTAION COPY NINTH EDITION. 1 volume, inscribed by Milne on the front l...

A beautiful and scarce 'Bell's Edition of Shakespeare', the vanishingly scarce large paper variant, illustrated with engraved plates. The very scarce complete twenty volume set. A large paper edition, uniformly bound in full morocco. In 1785, John Bell began to issue the 36 separate plays of Shakespeare individually, collecting them here in twenty volumes in 1788 as the 'Dramatick writings of Will. Shakspere'. The set is scarcely found complete. The first two volumes here are a remarkably comprehensive and broad 'Prolegomena' to Shakespeare's works, and offer interesting analysis of Shakespeare from an era where many of his plays were often interpreted differently, both in their production and in their critical reception. The subsequent eighteen volumes consist of the plays themselves, along with notes from Samuel Johnson and George Stevens, a highlight of this particular edition. Volumes I & II: Prolegomena To The Dramatick Writings of Will. Shakespeare. Nine plates to volume I, and eight to volume II. Volume III: The Tempest and Two Gentlemen of Verona. Four plates. Volume IV: The Merry Wives of Windsor and Much Ado About Nothing. Four plates. Volume V: Measure for Measure and A Comedy of Errors. Four plates. Volume VI: Love's Labour's Lost and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Four plates. Volume VII: The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It. Four plates. Volume VIII: The Taming of The Shrew and All's Well That End's Well. Four plates. Volume IX: Twelfth Night and Winter's Tale. Four plates. Volume X: Macbeth and King John. Four plates. Volume XI: King Richard The Second...

This is a two volume set of books on the brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene. Volume One is "Architecture as a Fine Art," is 283 pages...

Paris: Rombaldi Éditeur, 1937. Limited Edition. 8vo, 7 5/8 x 5 3/4 (194 x 156 mm). pp: 4, vii, 242. Five color lithographs including the frontispiece. Copies printed on Voiron laid...

The first edition of Sylvia Plath's semi-autobiographical magnum opus, in the desirable publisher's original dust wrapper. The true first edition, first impression. Published under ...

For most of the 20th century Primavera were the "atalier", design shop and workshop for Printemps, the large Parisian department store. They were set up initially to design and creat...

Set of old books dating from the 19th century. From an old protestant library near Le Havre in France. These beautiful books are perfect to fill a nice libra...

Charles Rennie Mackintosh by Anthony Jones. Hardcover book with dustjacket, published in 1990 by Wellfleet Press. Printed in Hong Kong, 191 pages with over 190 illustrations, 65 in c...

Set of 12 Frances Elliot novels published in Leipzig from 1872 to 1896. Quarter bound leather & faux tortoise hard board binding. Published by Bernhard Tauchnitz Leipzig from the Col...

AUTHOR: BACON, Francis. TITLE: The Works of Francis Bacon, Baron Of Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, and Lord High Chancellor Of England. PUBLISHER: London: for W. Baynes and Sons, 1...

Original brand new 1st edition copy of Rattan Furniture: Tropical Comfort Throughout The House signed by author Harvey Schwartz. Request a personal message written by the author at...

Jockey Club - Un Siglo (Spanish Edition) by Aldo Sessa and Manuel Mujica Lainez. Bueno Aires: Ediciones Cosmogonias, 1982. Limited edition hardcover with d...

This Louis-Philippe period table lectern in cherrywood resting on four turned legs, has three positions for three different reading angles. France, circa 1840.

Hard bound first edition monograph on pioneering feminist artist/performance artist Hannah Wilke. Titled "Hannah Wilke: A Retrospective," it was published in 1989 in conjunction with...

Paintings in the Hermitage by Colin Eisler. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. Published in New York in 1990 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang. This book provides an enormous gallery filled...

AUTHOR: CAMDEN, William. TITLE: The Historie of the Life and Death of Mary Stuart Queene of Scotland. PUBLISHER: London: by John Haviland, and are to be sold by William Sheares, 1...

Hardcover catalog of an auction held on 6 October 1991 at Binoche et Godeau dispersing the collection of Alan Grizot (b. 1945), legendary gallerist and pioneering promoter and marke...

Pershing, John J. My Experiences in the World War. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1931. First Edition. Two Volume Set. Rebound in 1/4 leather and cloth boards, with raised ba...

A superb copy of this sought-after fairy book by Andrew Lang, the first volume in his colourful series. The sought after first edition, first impression. ...

"Je Suis Le Cahier" The Sketchbooks of Picasso hardcover book 1st Edition 1986 The Sketchbooks of Picasso "Je Suis Le Cahier". Pablo Picasso, "Picasso considered all of his works to be entries in his diary; he excluded nothing. The sketchbooks are generic chapters inextricable from his oeuvre. In Picasso's paintings the spontaneity of gesture is deceptive since the manner is which he leaves his tracks visible superficially suggests minimal preparation. Although most of Picasso's solutions appear to be immediately worked out on the canvas, this was far from the fact. Many paintings sprang fully formed as the fulfillment of preconscious models, but very often others were the product of the process of trial solution and discovery through drawing. There are eight sketchbooks for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, five for the saltimbanques, four for the Luncheon on the Grass series, and two for The rape of the Sabines. In sketchbook No. 171, Picasso inscribed...

AUTHOR: WILDER, Thornton. TITLE: Heaven's My Destination. PUBLISHER: NY: Harper & Brothers, 1935. DESCRIPTION: FIRST EDITION PRESENTATION COPY. 1 vol., inscribed on the title-pag...

Vintage fishing book, golden days by Romilly Fedden A good 1949 (2nd edition) angling book by Romilly Fedden entitled 'Golden Days' and printed in Grea...

The sixth thousand of Lewis Carroll's highly influential work of Victorian children's literature, illustrated throughout by John Tenniel. An exceptionally early impression of Lewis ...

AUTHOR: CHURCHILL, Winston. TITLE: The Second World War. (The Gathering Storm - Their Finest Hour - The Grand Alliance - The Hinge Of Fate - Closing The Ring - Triumph and Tragedy)...

Among the most beautifully printed books on Chinese ceramics. Catalogue of the Morgan Collection of Chinese Porcelains by: Bushell, Dr. Stephen W. and William M. Laffan New York: Pr...

A rare example of a first edition Candide, published in Geneva by Cramer, 1759. 299pp. Woodcut ornaments and Voltaire's corrected pages (pp. 31...

A rare set of Daniel Defoe's works published in 1878 by George Bell & son's in London. George Bell & Sons was a reputable publisher in the 19th century, known for producing ...

Brochure showcasing postmodern lighting and furniture designs by Los Angeles-based designer and entrepreneur Ron Rezek, self-published circa 1986. Included are his well-known Iris floor lamp and Orbis table lamp, along with the 420 uplight, 200 and 300 pendant lights, 640 floor lamp, Scroll sconce, Ovuli table lamp, Cymbal sconce, Cygno table lamp, Nimbus ambient light, and Squiggle table...

Frank Lloyd Wright by Peter Gossel and Gabriele Leuthauser Taschen 1994, Paperback Book.The American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) exerted unique influence on the architec...

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1920. FIRST EDITION, 8th Printing. 8vo, 7 1/2 x 5 1/8 inches (190 x 130 mm); pp. vi, 305, printed in 11 pt Old Style type on wove paper. Dark blu...

The Real America in Romance, "An Authentic History of America from The Discovery to the Present Day Profusely Illustrated with Portraits of Historical Characters and Views of the Sac...

Capote, Truman. Breakfast at Tiffany's: A short novel and three stories. New York: Random House, 1958. First edition, first issue printing. Signed by Truman Capote. In the original publisher’s orange first issue dust jacket and yellow cloth binding. Presented with an archival clamshell case. This is a signed, first edition, first issue of Truman Capote's classic novella chronicling the adventures of the free-spirited Holly Golightly, Breakfast at Tiffany's. In addition to the title novella, the book also includes three other short stories: House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and A Christmas Memory. The book is issued its first issue dust jacket with the 10/58 date code one the front flap. "First Printing" is stated on the copyright page and the book signed by the author “Truman Capote” on the front flyleaf. Capote originally sold his story Breakfast at Tiffany's to Harper's Bazaar for $2,000, with intended publication in its July 1958 issue. Shortly after the publication was scheduled, Harper's editor Carmel Snow was ousted by the magazine's publisher, the Hearst Corporation, and Hearst executives began asking for changes to the novella's language as there was concern that Tiffany's & Co., a major advertiser, would react negatively. The story was removed from the Harper’s Bazzar publication schedule but Capote soon resold the work to Esquire for $3,000. His novella appeared in Esquire’s November 1958 issue. A collection of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s novella and three short stories by Capote was published by Random House in the same year. The novella received glowing reviews. "If you want to capture a period in New York, no other book has done it so well. He could capture a period and place like few others" (Norman Mailer). The novella was quickly adapted for the 1961 hit film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. Truman Capote was born in New Orleans and educated in New York and Connecticut. He worked in the Art Department of The New Yorker and as a writer on a television show before going on his own as a full-time writer. His first novel at age 24, Other Voices, Other Rooms, brought him literary fame and a strong following, which continued throughout his life, reaching a peak with the success of his "nonfiction” true...