The Book of Common Prayer together with the Psalter or Psalms of David - bound with - The New Testament - and - The Whole Book of Psalms -
1754 - Thomas Baskett, Oxford
Three works of devotion bound into one elegant contemporary eighteenth century binding. The majority printed in double column.
Full titles:
I. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Church of England: Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as they are to be Sung or Said in Churches.
II. The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Newly Translated out of the Original Greek: And with the former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, By his Majesty’s Special Command. Appointed to be Read in Churches.
III. The Whole Book of Psalms; Collected into English Metre, by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and others. Conferred with the Hebrew. Set forth and Allowed to be Sung in all Churches, of all the People together, before and after Morning and Evening Prayer, and also before and after Sermons; and moreover in private Houses for their godly Solace and Comfort, laying apart all ungodly Songs and Ballads, which tend only to the nourishing of Vice, and corrupting of Youth.
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Price HK$ 8,000
1754 - Thomas Baskett, Oxford
Three works of devotion bound into one elegant contemporary eighteenth century binding. The majority printed in double column.Full titles:
I. The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments, and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Church of England: Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as they are to be Sung or Said in Churches.
II. The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Newly Translated out of the Original Greek: And with the former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, By his Majesty’s Special Command. Appointed to be Read in Churches.
III. The Whole Book of Psalms; Collected into English Metre, by Thomas Sternhold, John Hopkins, and others. Conferred with the Hebrew. Set forth and Allowed to be Sung in all Churches, of all the People together, before and after Morning and Evening Prayer, and also before and after Sermons; and moreover in private Houses for their godly Solace and Comfort, laying apart all ungodly Songs and Ballads, which tend only to the nourishing of Vice, and corrupting of Youth.
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Price HK$ 8,000
The Imperial Family Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments -
1848 - Blackie and Son, Glasgow
A fine, massive and exquisitely bound family bible containing the Old and New Testament.
Magnificently illustrated with two additional engraved title pages, thirty-six engraved plates, and an engraved illustrated Family Register. Complete, the listed plate ‘The Raising of Lazarus’ [John XI] replaced with ‘Christ taken down from the cross’ [John XX].
With title pages for both the Old and the New Testament, text in double column format.
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Price HK$ 30,000
1848 - Blackie and Son, Glasgow
A fine, massive and exquisitely bound family bible containing the Old and New Testament.Magnificently illustrated with two additional engraved title pages, thirty-six engraved plates, and an engraved illustrated Family Register. Complete, the listed plate ‘The Raising of Lazarus’ [John XI] replaced with ‘Christ taken down from the cross’ [John XX].
With title pages for both the Old and the New Testament, text in double column format.
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Price HK$ 30,000
A Treatise on Cobbett's Corn -
William Cobbett
1828 - By William Cobbett, London - First Edition
In 1820 on returning from the United States, were he had fled fearing arrest for his arguably seditious writings, William Cobbett established a plant nursery at Kensington, where he trialed a dwarf strain of maize he found growing in a French cottage garden which grew well in England’s shorter summer. To help sell this variety, Cobbett published Treatise on Cobbett’s Corn.
Charmingly written, including anecdotes of his travels through America, and the farming techniques and people he encounters there. The title and contents pages are printed on paper made from the husks and stalks of ‘Indian Corn’ (Maize).
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Price HK$ 2,500
1828 - By William Cobbett, London - First Edition
In 1820 on returning from the United States, were he had fled fearing arrest for his arguably seditious writings, William Cobbett established a plant nursery at Kensington, where he trialed a dwarf strain of maize he found growing in a French cottage garden which grew well in England’s shorter summer. To help sell this variety, Cobbett published Treatise on Cobbett’s Corn.Charmingly written, including anecdotes of his travels through America, and the farming techniques and people he encounters there. The title and contents pages are printed on paper made from the husks and stalks of ‘Indian Corn’ (Maize).
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Price HK$ 2,500
The Morals of Confucius -
Confucius
Circa 1760-80 - Printed for Randal Taylor, London - First Thus
A rare later 18th century reprint of this work and the first to include the folding frontispiece engraving of Confucius (often missing). First published in 1691 and scarce in any early edition, more so this edition with the engraving. In contemporary binding, and with decorations to title page, six headpieces, and three tailpieces.
Beginning with a ‘Preface’ introducing this translation and its sources, followed by ‘Part First’ titled ‘Of the Antiquity and Philosophy of the Chinese’, then ‘Part II’ which offers selected translations from the three books, and ends with 80 ‘Maxims’.
‘The great Chinese teacher Confucius (551 BC–479 BC) articulated a philosophy based on the concepts of ren (‘benevolence’ or ‘compassion’) and li (‘ritual’ or ‘propriety’). He hoped to create the ideal, superior man (junzi) and thereby facilitate a just society.
Confucius’s teachings were highly influential across China and large areas of east Asia for almost two millennia before this 1691 work offered English readers their first introduction to his philosophical approach. It provides an account of Confucius’s life and times, as well as 80 of his maxims.
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Price HK$ 16,000
Circa 1760-80 - Printed for Randal Taylor, London - First Thus
A rare later 18th century reprint of this work and the first to include the folding frontispiece engraving of Confucius (often missing). First published in 1691 and scarce in any early edition, more so this edition with the engraving. In contemporary binding, and with decorations to title page, six headpieces, and three tailpieces.Beginning with a ‘Preface’ introducing this translation and its sources, followed by ‘Part First’ titled ‘Of the Antiquity and Philosophy of the Chinese’, then ‘Part II’ which offers selected translations from the three books, and ends with 80 ‘Maxims’.
‘The great Chinese teacher Confucius (551 BC–479 BC) articulated a philosophy based on the concepts of ren (‘benevolence’ or ‘compassion’) and li (‘ritual’ or ‘propriety’). He hoped to create the ideal, superior man (junzi) and thereby facilitate a just society.
Confucius’s teachings were highly influential across China and large areas of east Asia for almost two millennia before this 1691 work offered English readers their first introduction to his philosophical approach. It provides an account of Confucius’s life and times, as well as 80 of his maxims.
More details
Price HK$ 16,000
Mating Marriage and the Status of Women -
James Corin
1910 - The Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd., London and Felling-on-Tyne - First Edition
‘The Object of the present treatise is to consider the development of the relations of the male and the female of the species.’ And onward Corin bravely goes. This rare treatise is still referenced today, and must of been of importance at the time, this copy was owned by the ‘Liberator League’ of Bradford.
Corin summarises his theories in the final chapter as follows:- ‘In the first period the human female rules. She dictates to the male in sexual affairs — this is free mating...
In the second period the male captures foreign females for his use, because his own are too chaste; these foreign females become his slave wives. He courts and mates with females of his own tribe at yearly festivals like Australian corroborees.
In the third period the institution of marriage has become the dominant form . . . so much so that mating unions become regularised as marriages or are condemned as illicit. Of females, wives are more honoured than free mates — in fact the latter become infamous except in a few cases of royal princesses...
In the fourth period the female recognises and revolts against her inferior position; restrictions on dissolution of marriage are relaxed, and by easy divorce, conditions nearly approaching those of free-mating are again evolved...
In the fifth period, social disruption occurs, conquest by a lower type takes place. The male seizes the opportunity to reinstate the fetters of matrimony and to rivet the links more tightly on the female. so that something of the third period is entered into again.’
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Price HK$ 1,900
1910 - The Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd., London and Felling-on-Tyne - First Edition
‘The Object of the present treatise is to consider the development of the relations of the male and the female of the species.’ And onward Corin bravely goes. This rare treatise is still referenced today, and must of been of importance at the time, this copy was owned by the ‘Liberator League’ of Bradford.Corin summarises his theories in the final chapter as follows:- ‘In the first period the human female rules. She dictates to the male in sexual affairs — this is free mating...
In the second period the male captures foreign females for his use, because his own are too chaste; these foreign females become his slave wives. He courts and mates with females of his own tribe at yearly festivals like Australian corroborees.
In the third period the institution of marriage has become the dominant form . . . so much so that mating unions become regularised as marriages or are condemned as illicit. Of females, wives are more honoured than free mates — in fact the latter become infamous except in a few cases of royal princesses...
In the fourth period the female recognises and revolts against her inferior position; restrictions on dissolution of marriage are relaxed, and by easy divorce, conditions nearly approaching those of free-mating are again evolved...
In the fifth period, social disruption occurs, conquest by a lower type takes place. The male seizes the opportunity to reinstate the fetters of matrimony and to rivet the links more tightly on the female. so that something of the third period is entered into again.’
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Price HK$ 1,900
On the Origin of Species -
Charles Darwin
1861 - John Murray, London - Third Edition, with additions and corrections (seventh thousand)
‘It is now fully recognized that the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species brought about a revolution in man’s attitude toward life and his own place in the universe. This work is rightly regarded as one of the most important books ever published, and a knowledge of it should be part of the intellectual equipment of every educated person. The book remains surprisingly modern in its assertions and is also remarkably accessible to the layman, much more so than recent treatises necessarily encumbered with technical language and professional jargon’. - Harvard University Press.
Printed in the same format and cloth as the first edition, one of 2,000 issued in April 1861. This is the first edition to include the author's expanded historical sketch written to satisfy complaints that he had not sufficiently considered his predecessors in the general theory of evolution. It also provides a table detailing ‘additions and corrections to the second and third editions.’
A superior and thus scarce example in the original decorated green cloth without restoration or repair, folding diagram opposite page 123.
In Origin of Species Darwin ‘not only drew an entirely new picture of the workings of organic nature; he revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken.’ – Printing and the Mind of Man.
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Price HK$ 52,000
1861 - John Murray, London - Third Edition, with additions and corrections (seventh thousand)
‘It is now fully recognized that the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species brought about a revolution in man’s attitude toward life and his own place in the universe. This work is rightly regarded as one of the most important books ever published, and a knowledge of it should be part of the intellectual equipment of every educated person. The book remains surprisingly modern in its assertions and is also remarkably accessible to the layman, much more so than recent treatises necessarily encumbered with technical language and professional jargon’. - Harvard University Press.Printed in the same format and cloth as the first edition, one of 2,000 issued in April 1861. This is the first edition to include the author's expanded historical sketch written to satisfy complaints that he had not sufficiently considered his predecessors in the general theory of evolution. It also provides a table detailing ‘additions and corrections to the second and third editions.’
A superior and thus scarce example in the original decorated green cloth without restoration or repair, folding diagram opposite page 123.
In Origin of Species Darwin ‘not only drew an entirely new picture of the workings of organic nature; he revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken.’ – Printing and the Mind of Man.
More details
Price HK$ 52,000
On the Origin of Species -
Charles Darwin
1866 - John Murray, London - Fourth Edition, with additions and corrections (eighth thousand)
‘It is now fully recognized that the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species brought about a revolution in man’s attitude toward life and his own place in the universe. This work is rightly regarded as one of the most important books ever published, and a knowledge of it should be part of the intellectual equipment of every educated person. The book remains surprisingly modern in its assertions and is also remarkably accessible to the layman, much more so than recent treatises necessarily encumbered with technical language and professional jargon’. - Harvard University Press.
Printed in the same format and cloth as the first edition, one of only 1,500 issued, with further additions and corrections, it also includes the author's expanded historical sketch written to satisfy complaints that he had not sufficiently considered his predecessors in the general theory of evolution, and a table detailing ‘additions and corrections to the fourth edition’.
A superior and thus scarce example in the original decorated green cloth, folding diagram opposite page 130.
In Origin of Species Darwin ‘not only drew an entirely new picture of the workings of organic nature; he revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken.’ – Printing and the Mind of Man.
More details
Price HK$ 30,000
1866 - John Murray, London - Fourth Edition, with additions and corrections (eighth thousand)
‘It is now fully recognized that the publication of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species brought about a revolution in man’s attitude toward life and his own place in the universe. This work is rightly regarded as one of the most important books ever published, and a knowledge of it should be part of the intellectual equipment of every educated person. The book remains surprisingly modern in its assertions and is also remarkably accessible to the layman, much more so than recent treatises necessarily encumbered with technical language and professional jargon’. - Harvard University Press.Printed in the same format and cloth as the first edition, one of only 1,500 issued, with further additions and corrections, it also includes the author's expanded historical sketch written to satisfy complaints that he had not sufficiently considered his predecessors in the general theory of evolution, and a table detailing ‘additions and corrections to the fourth edition’.
A superior and thus scarce example in the original decorated green cloth, folding diagram opposite page 130.
In Origin of Species Darwin ‘not only drew an entirely new picture of the workings of organic nature; he revolutionized our methods of thinking and our outlook on the natural order of things. The recognition that constant change is the order of the universe had been finally established and a vast step forward in the uniformity of nature had been taken.’ – Printing and the Mind of Man.
More details
Price HK$ 30,000
Bleak House -
Charles DIckens, Hablot Knight Browne (illustrator)
1853 - Bradbury and Evans, London - First Edition
A handsomely bound first edition of Dickens’ best and most popular works, described by Claire Tomalin (Charles Dickens: A Life) as a ‘masterpiece, with the best opening page and the richest plot, part detective story, part attack on the abuses of the legal system and sexual hypocrisy as he lays out the condition of England, moving from child workers to comfortable aristocrats’.
Wonderfully illustrated with 38 engraved plates and title page vignette by Hablot Knight Browne aka ”Phiz”.
Introducing Inspector Bucket, the first English fictional detective, who was probably based on C.K. Field of the recently formed Scotland Yard.
‘As the interminable case of 'Jarndyce and Jarndyce' grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.’ – from the Penguin Classics introduction.
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Price HK$ 14,000
1853 - Bradbury and Evans, London - First Edition
A handsomely bound first edition of Dickens’ best and most popular works, described by Claire Tomalin (Charles Dickens: A Life) as a ‘masterpiece, with the best opening page and the richest plot, part detective story, part attack on the abuses of the legal system and sexual hypocrisy as he lays out the condition of England, moving from child workers to comfortable aristocrats’.Wonderfully illustrated with 38 engraved plates and title page vignette by Hablot Knight Browne aka ”Phiz”.
Introducing Inspector Bucket, the first English fictional detective, who was probably based on C.K. Field of the recently formed Scotland Yard.
‘As the interminable case of 'Jarndyce and Jarndyce' grinds its way through the Court of Chancery, it draws together a disparate group of people: Ada and Richard Clare, whose inheritance is gradually being devoured by legal costs; Esther Summerson, a ward of court, whose parentage is a source of deepening mystery; the menacing lawyer Tulkinghorn; the determined sleuth Inspector Bucket; and even Jo, the destitute little crossing-sweeper. A savage, but often comic, indictment of a society that is rotten to the core, Bleak House is one of Dickens's most ambitious novels, with a range that extends from the drawing rooms of the aristocracy to the poorest of London slums.’ – from the Penguin Classics introduction.
More details
Price HK$ 14,000