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antiquariaat Fokas Holthuis - PAULBOOKS
(Fokas Holthuis & Paul Snijders)
Postbus 18604, 2502 EP Den Haag
The Netherlands
telephone +3170-346 6020 - cellphone +316-4190 9323
email paul@fokas.nl
See also www.fokas.nl
Newsletter 8 (October 27, 2010)
Tall and Small
- 43 varied items –
This is the English part of our Fokas Holthuis Catalogue Nr. 50
, used as a newsletter for www.paulbooks.nl
. It contains new acquisitions and some titles offered in earlier newsletters. The books (if they didn’t sell beforehand) may be viewed at the Amsterdam Antiquarian Book, Map and Print Fair, October 29 and 30, in the Passengers Terminal Amsterdam (see the postscript of this Newsletter)
1 BAUDELAIRE, Charles Les Fleurs du Mal, suivies des Épaves. Paris, Éditions de Cluny, 1946. 24 x 15 cm. Full morocco. 364, (64) pp. Top gilt. Uncut. With 32 etchings by Élie Grekoff. Of an edition of 350 numbered copies, printed in red and black, this is one of 40 on vélin de Rives, with an extra suite. Bookplate. The FINE binding has a few tiny imperfections. Some slight foxing spots.
€ 450
* A splendidly bound book in fiery red morocco with eerie illustrations. Full deluxe morocco binding by J. Brandt & Zoon with intricate gilt monogram supralibros
of W.C.A.M. van Spaendonck, designed by J. van Krimpen.
ULLSTEIN ADVERTISING
2 BAUM, Vicki Stud. chem. Helene Willfüer. Der Roman eines jungen Mädchens unserer Zeit. (Publisher's advertising folder). Berlin, Verlag Ullstein, (1927/1928). Square format: 25 x 25 cm. 4 p. Large front photo. Excellent condition.
€ 45
* Large (but unblemished) book prospect for Baum's first bestseller, about a university educated woman in the hostile man-dominated world of chemistry. Penetrating look followed by blurb in large type and reviews of three less well-known novels, Hell in Frauensee, Feme and Bubenreise.
WHEN LOVE WAS GOOD
3 (BAYROS, Franz von). SEMERAU, Alfred Venus-Rosenkränzlein. Für die galante Welt gedruckt zu Cythere im Jahre, da gut zu lieben war. [München, self-published, 1907]. 19 x 13 cm. Richly gilt full leather with slipcase. (10), 312 p. Aquatint frontispice and title page, vignettes by Franz von Bayros. Printed in 600 numbered copies each with a facsimile signature of Semerau. First edition. Slipcase slightly worn, spine discolored. Old catalog listing tipped-in on last page.
€ 65
* Erotic poetry purporting to be from a unique work of about 1800. An exquisite item!
4 BORGIA, Lucrezia, & Pietro BEMBO Messer Pietro Mio. Letters between Lucrezia Borgia and Pietro Bembo. Translation & Preface Hugh Shankland. Wood engravings by Richard Shirley Smith. (Marlborough), Libanus Press, 1985. Original morocco-backed gilt boards. With a cloth slipcase. (2), 46, (66) p. Uncut. Printed in dark and light ochre and black on Barcham Green in 135 numbered copies (of a total of 150), signed by Smith. First edition. Fine copy, slipcase has a few tiny spots.
€ 140
* First English translation of this famous Renaissance love correspondence. Excellent edition with serene wood engravings.
SURREALISM
5 CREVEL, René Babylone. Paris, Simon Kra, 1927. Original wrappers. 200 p. Uncut. First edition. Spine a bit browned.
€ 275
* Crevel, after a particularly trying youth, was one of the leading men of the surrealist movement, trying to combine surrealism and socialism. However, he was excluded from the surrealist movement in 1923 because of his homosexuality. Crevel, who suffered from tuberculosis, committed suicide in 1935 by putting his head in the kitchen stove, only 34 years old. This book was INSCRIBED by him: 'À Maurice Courtois-Suffit/ amical souvenir/ (signed).' Maurice Courtois-Suffit was a bibliophile physician, author of several books on literary and medical subjects.
EGYPTIAN ADVERTISEMENT
6 EGYPTIAN CIGARETTES Als Sie 17-18 Jahre alt waren.... (Advertising folder for Queen Cigarettes). [Frankfurt], Nestor Gianaclis, (about 1930). 4 p. Die cut crown with crescent moon on front cover. With three stylish and colorful advertisements in German with Egyptian symbols.
€ 25
* Drawings by Max Bittrof (1890-1972). Nice sans-serif lettering.
DER PHILI
7 EULENBURG, Philipp zu Autograph Letter Signed to 'Verehrteste gnädige Frau'. On smooth writing paper with printed letterhead 'Kaiserlich Deutsche Botschaft/ III. Metternichgasse 3/ Wien'. 20,9 x 13,4 cm. One folded leaf, written on page 1 and 2. Dated '15 März 97'. Signed 'P. Eulenburg'. 19 lines. In German. Folded horizontally.
€ 250
* Count (later Prince) Eulenburg (1847-1921) was ambassador for Germany in Vienna from 1894-1903, years before he, as an intimate friend of Emperor William II, was accused as being homosexual. This initiated a major political conflict in Germany, called the Harden-Eulenburg affair. Eulenburg thanks his unknown lady friend effusively for all the good things she had given. Because of a cold, he was unable to thank her in person in her box during the performance of Wagner's Walküre. He hopes she was cured of her own cold and that they will meet again soon.
PLATONIC
8 GESNER, Jean-Matthias Socrate et l'amour Grec. (Socrates sanctus παιδεραστης). Paris, Isidore Liseux, 1877. 15 x 10 cm. Original wrappers. 124 p. Uncut. Both Latin and French. Long introduction and short index. First edition of the French translation. Cover worn along the edges and a bit soiled. Loosening.
€ 100
* Curious 18th century text about platonic love and homosexuality by a German bibliothecary and pedagogue.
9 GONCOURT, Edmond de Germinie Lacerteux. Précédée d'un prologue et suivie d'un épilogue. Tirée du Roman d'Edmond et Jules de Goncourt. Paris, G. Charpentier et Cie., 1888. Cloth-backed marbled boards. (8), X, 136 p. First edition. Cover slightly worn. Some foxing.
€ 180
* With autograph dedication of the author 'au Saint-Cyrien Gauthier/ Edmond de Goncourt'. A Saint-Cyrien is a pupil of the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr, the foremost French military academy.
FROM THE ZEPPELIN
10 GRZESINSKI, Albert Im Zeppelin nach Amerika. Notizen aus dem Tagebuch des preussischen Ministers des Innern Albert Grzesinski. Berlin, Gersbach & Sohn, 1929. 19 x 13 cm. Original stiff wrappers. 116 p. Illustrated. First edition. Small label on upper cover. Some foxing. Last page a bit loose.
€ 65
* Account of his trip to America with Zeppelin LZ 127 in October, 1929, when Grzesinski (1879-1948) was Minister of the Interior in Germany. With AUTOGRAPH DEDICATION by the author to a 'Frau Landsberg', signed and dated Berlin, 19.7.30.
AUTHOR’S LETTER FROM THE BIEDERMEIER AGE
11 HAHN-HAHN, Ida Autograph Letter Signed to 'Herrn Hofrath Falkenstein' in Dresden. Letter in German on thin paper with narrow embossed edges and rounded corners, pasted to a piece of paper (maybe part of a letter collecting book), signed 'Ida Hahn-Hahn'. 4 pages. 13,0 x 10,2 cm. 17 lines. Folded as a small envelope. Original tiny black closing label. Dated 'Febbrajo 16/ Ida Cont. Hahn-Hahn' and addressed to 'Herrn Hofrath Falkenstein/ 4. Lüttichaustr. 3 Tr.' Probably from the early 1840's.
€ 140
* Friendly letter from the author Countess Ida Hahn-Hahn (1805-1880) to Konstantin Karl Falkenstein (1801-1855), who was senior librarian of the royal Saxon Library (now Saxon State Library) in Dresden, where Countess Hahn also lived. She was confined at home with measles: 'noch Zimmergefangene, kann mich aber etwas beschäftigen', and asks for a few books, one about the Knights Templar: 'eine Geschichte des Tempelordens, sowie ungefähr die des Malteser Ordens von Abbé Vertot', and also 'ein dramatisches Gedicht von Zacharias Werner: "Die Söhne des Thales".' Hahn-Hahn and Falkenstein both figure in the diary of Hans Christian Andersen, when he visited Dresden in 1844.
SEX FUNDGRUBE
12 HIRSCHFELD, Magnus, (Ed.) Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Homosexualität. Herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung namhafter Autoren im Namen des wissenschaftlich-humanitären Komitees. 6. Jahrgang. Leipzig, Max Spohr, 1904. Original cloth-backed boards. IV, 744 p. Illustrated. First edition. Binding a bit worn and loosening, first four pages loose. Two stamps and inscription in pencil.
€ 220
* Sixth Yearbook of the voluminous scientific series about (mainly) homosexuality, a real Fundgrube. In this volume among others the original version of 'The Uranian before the Church and the Holy Scripture' by Caspar Wirz, the result of very early statistical research by Magnus Hirschfeld of the percentage of homosexuals, medical research of 103 men with a uterus and of 58 menstruating hermaphrodites; the preliminary presentation of a model of sex differences by L.S.A.M. von Römer, an important article about the psyche of August von Platen by elusive scientist Ludwig Frey, and last but not least the almost 200 pages of the bibliography of publications about homosexuality in the year of Our Lord 1903.
13 HIRSCHFELD, Magnus, (Ed.) Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Homosexualität. Herausgegeben unter Mitwirkung namhafter Autoren im Namen des wissenschaftlich-humanitären Komitees. 5. Jahrgang. Leipzig, Max Spohr, 1903. Two volumes. Contemporary bindings: three-quarter cloth with marbled boards, titles from original wrappers pasted on spines. (8), 706; (4, 664) p. Illustrated. First edition. Bindings rubbed. Slight traces of use.
€ 325
* With nice bookplate of the Dutch physician Louis Heijermans (1873-1938), author of several medical and sexological books, and a brother of the author Herman Heijermans. This Fifth Yearbook is one of the most extensive and interesting of the 23 Jahrbücher with large contributions by Hirschfeld himself, Lucien von Römer (his well-illustrated and extensively researched ‘About the Androgynic Idea of Life’), Ferdinand Karsch-Haack, Franz Neugebauer and Numa Praetorius (Eugen Wilhelm).
PRINTED ON VELLUM BY A.A.M. STOLS
14 (HOMER). SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe Six hymns of Homer. The English Translation by Percy Bysshe Shelley facing the original Greek. (Collection of three different copies). (Maastricht), The Halcyon Press, 1929. Printed in 481 numbered copies.
€ 4000
* 1. One of six copies PRINTED ON VELLUM. Bound in full gilt and blindstamped red morocco with marbled flyleaves, top gilt, in marbled slipcase (publisher's binding by L. Malcorps). Exlibris on first flyleaf. Some unobtrusive natural browning on a few vellum pages. 2. One of 25 copies printed on Imperial Japanese paper. Bound in full gilt and blindstamped red morocco with marbled flyleaves, top gilt (publisher's binding by L. Malcorps). 3. One of 450 copies printed on Pannekoek Dutch mould-made paper. Original red cloth. Striking typography by J. van Krimpen. The Halcyon Press 5. Van Dijk 183.
JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS
15 (HUYSMANS, J.K.). DEFFOUX, Léon J.-K. Huysmans sous divers aspects. Notes, textes oubliés, references et bibliographie. Avec quatre lithographies d'Odilon Redon. Paris, Éditions G. Crès & Cie., 1927. Original wrappers. (8), 148 p. Uncut. Of an edition of 575 numbered copies, this is one of 550 on vélin de Sorel-Moussel. First edition. Cover a bit worn, backstrip browned. Loosening.
€ 90
* One of the Redon prints is in colors, three are in black-and-white.
16 HUYSMANS, J.K. A vau l'eau. (With an etched portrait of the author by A. Delâtre). Paris, Tresse & Stock, 1894. 14 x 9,5 cm. 3/4 morocco, spine with 5 ribs, top gilt. Original wrappers bound in (Louis MALCORPS). Uncut. 144 p. Partly a bit discolored, some foxing. Bookplate of Bob Luza.
€ 600
* INSCRIBED by Huysmans to the famous Dutch 'Tachtiger' poet Willem Kloos (1869-1938). A curious detail: Willem Kloos didn't like Huysmans at all, as testifies his famous tongue-lashing sonnet 'Tegen J.K. Huysmans', in Verzen (1894). The first edition of À vau l'eau was published by Henri Kistemaeckers in Brussels, 1882. This inscribed copy is not mentioned in the auction catalogue of Kloos's monumental library or in the catalogue of Bob Luza's extensive book collection. A remarkable dedication copy in an attractive, classical bookbinding by Louis Malcorps!
17 HUYSMANS, J.K. La Bièvre. Avec vingt-trois dessins et un autographe de l'auteur. Paris, L. Genonceaux, 1890. Original paper wrappers. (2), 46 p. With illustrations by various artists. First edition. Backstrip somewhat worn, binding a bit loose.
€ 125
* Poetic monography with various old pictures of the little river Bièvre that flows into the Seine in Paris (near the Gare d'Austerlitz).
18 HUYSMANS, J.K. Un dilemme. Paris, Tresse & Stock, 1887. 14 x 10 cm. Richly gilt 3/4 leather binding with gilt marbled paper. (4), 144 p. Original upper and lower wrappers plus backstrip bound in, upper wrapper repaired. First edition. First and last page browned. With two owner's stamps 'Ex libris Maurice Miller'. Excellent condition.
€ 190
* Rare first edition of this novelette in a deluxe binding, a little gem of a book.
HO!
19 KINGSLEY, Charles Autograph Letter Signed and dated 'Feb 27/[18]60' from Chelsea. 17,5 x 11,0 cm. Written on one side only, pasted to a larger piece of paper. 13 lines. Twice folded.
€ 50
* Kingsley permits the editor of a magazine the inclusion of some pages of one of his books. He never gave such a permission before, but 'your magazine is so good, & the children like it so much that I am forced to consent'. Not easy to read. Charles Kingsley (1819-1875) was the author of many famous books like Westward Ho! (1855) and The Water Babies (1863).
DRAMA IN AVIATION
20 LAPORTE, André Les naufrages aériens. Paris, Théodore Lefèvre et Émile Guérin, [1880]. 23 x 14 cm. Richly gilt and decorated publisher's cloth (Engel). (6), 268 p. All edges gilt. With 23 finely wood-engraved plates and an illustration on the title page. First edition. Upper corners bumped, cover very lightly worn. Book block a bit uneven, slight staining.
€ 140
* History of ballooning and parachutes with special attention for the frequent accidents. With dramatic illustrations. An attractive book!
CLANDESTINE EDITION
21 LARBAUD, Valery Questions militaires. Lithographies de Piet Worm (coloured by hand). [The Hague], A.A.M. Stols, [1944]. Cloth-backed boards with illustrated title ticket. (28) p. Printed in 250 numbered copies. Lower cover a bit foxed.
€ 130
* Printed in secret during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The attractive illustrations were printed in lithography for 50 deluxe copies and in offset for 200 ordinary numbered copies, but all copies are colored by hand. Signed by publisher A.A.M. Stols. De Jong 485. Van Dijk 641.
MALDOROR
22 LAUTRÉAMONT, Comte de (= Isidore Ducasse) Les Chants de Maldoror. (Chants I, II, III, IV, V, VI). Paris/ Brussels, [anonymous - printed by E.Wittman], 1874. Rebound in full leather. 336 p. First edition, second issue. Binding discolored and scratched. Some light foxing at the beginning and the end.
€ 1500
* Of this epochal work, the first edition was printed in 1869. About ten copies of this edition are known today. In 1874, four years after the gifted author died (only 20 years old), the Belgian bookseller Jean-Baptiste Rozez bought the remaining stock, and brought it into circulation with new wrappers, halftitle and title, bearing the year 1874. This is such a copy (without the wrappers), possibly bound about 1900.
23 LE GALLIENNE, Richard Prose Fancies (second series). London/ Chicago, John Lane/ H.S. Stone & Co., 1896. Cloth. (8), 196, (20) p. Uncut. First Edition. Cover partly discoloured and a bit worn at the edges.
€ 50
* Inscribed with a nice 6-line AUTHOR'S DEDICATION to 'Miss "Molly" Johnson', dated 'Sep., 1900', in which he calls himself 'a certain asthmatic'.
LIFE OF PROSTITUTES
24 MERLET, Janine Vénus et Mercure. Paris, Éditions de la Vie Moderne, 1931. Original wrappers. 236 p. Illustrated. First edition. With yellow belly band: 'Le plus sensationnel document sur la prostitution.'
€ 30
* A detailed description of prostitution, especially in Paris, with many revealing illustrations, not so much of nude ladies, but of the circumstances in which prostitutes lived. Very interesting is one of few existing detailed and illustrated descriptions of Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science in Berlin, which was founded in 1919 and in 1933 destroyed by the Nazis on Book Burning Day.
OCCULT BOOKS
25 (MOLL, Albert). Occultismus. Siegismund’s Vademecum der gesammten Litteratur über Occultismus. Alphabetische und systematische Zusammenstellung der litterarischen Erscheinungen in deutscher Sprache auf dem Gebiete der Mystik, Magie, des thierischen Magnetismus, Somnambulismus, Hypnotismus, Spiritismus, Spiritualismus, Psychismus, sowie verwandter Fächer von 1800 bis Anfang 1888. Vorräthig und zu beziehen durch Karl Siegismund Buchhandlung - Antiquariat - Verlag. Spezial-Buchhandlung für Litteratur über Occultismus. Berlin, Karl Siegismund, 1888. Cloth-backed marbled boards. 112 p. Original upper cover bound in. With 16 p. advertisements. First edition. Binding a bit rubbed and with a library ticket.
€ 180
* Large and important catalogue with about 3500 titles about occultism. From the library of the sexologist and psychiatrist Dr. Albert Moll with two signatures, an attractive 4-color bookplate (showing a sphinx and palm tree over his motto 'Cogniti veri fortiter tenax') and some small marginalia. Moll published several books about occultism.
26 MONTHERLANT, Henry de L'Étoile du Soir. Lithographies de Goor. Paris, Henri Lefèbvre, 1949. Loose in wrappers in decorated boards and slipcase (as issued). (4), 132 p. With 12 fine lithographs by Gaston Goor. Of an edition of 1112 numbered copies, this is one of 100 deluxe copies on vélin pur chiffon des Papeteries du Marais, with an extra suite of the lithographs in its original crystal paper cover (unopened). First edition. Slipcase with some stains. Book and lithographs in perfect condition.
€ 140
OH LA LA!
27 MONTORGUEIL, Georges L'Année féminine (1895). Les Déshabillés au théatre. Illustrations de Henri Boutet. Paris, H. Floury, 1896. Leather-backed marbled boards. Original wrappers (upper cover, lower and backstrip) bound in. (4), 124 p. Uncut. First edition. With 8 original etchings/ drypoints in colors and many vignettes by Henri Boutet. Very slight wear around the spine. Bookplate.
€ 75
* Dainty and humorous depictions of nymphs and satyrs and more down to earth French women (looking for a flea or drying after a bath). Oh la la! anno 1896. Elegant - and a little naughty.
WRITERS DINING IN STOCKHOLM
28 P.E.N. Souper offert par la Ville de Stockholm. Signed Menu of the 18th International Congress of P.E.N. Association of Writers, 1946. A card, printed on both sides in grey. 15,0 x 10,0 cm. Dated in print '6 juin 1946'. Signed on recto by Prince Wilhelm and on verso by F.V. Toussaint van Boelaere, Desmond MacCarthy, Hermon Ould, Henri Membré, Denis Saurat and Carl Albert Andersson.
€ 28
* Prince Wilhelm, Duke of Södermanland was the younger brother of king Gustav Adolf VI, Carl Albert Andersson was the chairman of the Stockholm City Council.
29 PRIAPEIA Les Priapées. Traduites du latin par A. t'Serstevens. Cinq planches sur cuivre gravées par Georges Gorvel d'après les modèles antiques. Dessins originaux de M. Bousquet. Paris, Éditions du Trianon, 1929. Original French wrappers. 242 p. Of an edition of 565 numbered copies, this is one of 500 on vélin de Rives. Uncut. First edition. Cover a bit worn at the edges.
€ 60
* Charming book with nice typography and humorous priapic vignettes plus five delicate extratext copper engravings after ancient cult images and paintings.
INSCRIBED BY PÉLADAN
30 PÉLADAN, Joséphin Oedipe et le Sphinx. Tragédie en trois actes. Texte conforme à la représentation du 1er aout 1903 au Théatre Antique d'Orange. Paris, Mercure de France, 1903. Original wrappers. (2), 70, (4) p. Uncut. First edition. Text paper a bit browned, but an acceptable copy.
€ 190
* Inscribed by the author in large handwriting: 'A Monsieur/ Baylet/ son compatriote/ Péladan'. On the front cover the author wrote 'M. Baylet' as well.
DECORATIVE DRAGON’S BLOOD
31 RIDEOUT, Henry Milner Dragon's Blood. Boston/ New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1909. Decorated cloth. (12), 272 p. Illustrated in duotone by Harold M. Brett. Second edition. Fresh and flawless copy.
€ 55
* Chinese adventure novel by an American author (1877-1927), who used to document himself thoroughly for his books. Very fine publisher's binding: a blue dragon bursting forth with orange flames against a Chinese disk in gold. This binding has been designed by The Decorative Designers of Lee and Henry Thayer, as the tiny monogram DD shows.
99 YEARS
32 (ROYCROFTERS). HUBBARD, Elbert Time and Chance. A Romance and a History: being the Story of the Life of a Man. East Aurora, NY, Roycrofters, 1899. 19,5 x 12 cm. Suede-backed boards with gilt title. (2), 298; (10), 288, numbered 299-582 (+ 4) pp. Uncut. With 3 photogravure illustrations: nice portraits of Ruth Crosby, Elbert Hubbard and John Brown. Attractively printed in red and black on laid paper. Boards a bit stained and slightly discoloured. First Edition.
€ 55
* Fresh and lively novel about the abolitionist John Brown (1800-1859). With a humorous typed letter (printed Roycroft letterhead on yellow paper) tipped in, dated 'Nov. I, '99.': 'Thank you very much for the check. We have recorded your name in illumined colors on the Great Roster of Immortals, so the Philistine Magazine will now be sent you regularly for 99 years (but no longer).' Handsigned 'The Roycrofters'.
KISSES
33 SECUNDUS, Janus (as: Jean SECOND) Les Baisers. Traduction nouvelle par Victor Develay. Avec un frontispice de Charles Eisen et un portrait. Paris, Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1872. Three-quarter cloth with marbled boards and a title ticket. (2), 118 p. Printed on Chinese paper. Second impression. Original cover (containing the Eisen frontispice) bound in. Some foxing, especially on title page.
€ 35
* French translation from the Latin of the Basia ('Kisses') by Secundus. The colophon mentions 25 numbered copies on Chinese paper and 25 on vergé, but this copy has not been numbered. Attractive binding.
34 SECUNDUS, Janus (as:) Jean SECOND Baisers et élégies de Jean Second, avec le texte latin, accompagnés de plusieurs morceaux de Théocrite, d'Anacréon, de Guarini, et du Tasse, traduits en vers français, suivis de quelques Baisers inédits par P.-F. Tissot. Paris, Fain & Debray, 1806. Full gilt treecalf with title ticket. (4), XXXII, 196 p. Very good condition.
€ 125
* French translation from the Latin of the Basia and Elegiae by Secundus. A pretty little book.
35 SPADDY Dévergondages. Bruxelles, Au dépens d'un amateur, 1948. Richly gilt three-quarter morocco. (2), 158 p. Uncut. With 16 colored lithographs of an explicit nature. One of 234 copies on Rives (total edition 250 exx.), but this copy not numbered. Some text pages inked irregularly. Part of original paper wrapper pasted on a blank.
€ 220
* Rather erotic French novel, published for the first time in 1937. According to some, 'Spaddy' is one of the pseudonyms of Renée Dunan. Humorous illustrations. Handsome binding. This Brussels edition not in Worldcat.
PERFECT IN MINIATURE
36 (TALL or SMALL). GENERAL MITE Original CDV photo of General Mite. [London], Brown Barnes & Bell Photographers, about 1881. Recto: Photograph of a little man between a Victorian table and chair. Verso a text: 'General Mite, 17 years old, weighs nine pounds. He is bright, smart and intelligent, and a perfect man in miniature'. 10,2 x 6,1 cm. Tiny piece of lower right corner missing.
€ 35
* 'General Mite' was the name Francis Joseph Flynn (New York 1872 - Australia 1898) used as a showman. He started to be famous at the age of four, when his miniature size was already apparent. Flynn attained a maximum height of only 27 inches, or 69 cm. His family claimed that he was born in 1864, but modern research found his real day of birth to be September 16, 1872.
37 (TALL or SMALL). GENERAL TOM THUMB Collection 1. Sketch of the Life, Personal Appearance, Character and Manners of Charles S. Stratton, the Man in Miniature Known as General Tom Thumb, and His Wife, Lavinia Warren Stratton, including the History of Their Courtship and Marriage, With Some Account of Remarkable Dwarfs, Giants, & other Human Phenomena, of ancient and modern times. Also, songs given at their public levees. (Booklet).
2. Original CDV photo of Lavinia Warren.
3. Original business card of General Tom Thumb in French.
1. New York, Wynkoop, Hallenberg & Thomas, 1863. 16 x 10 cm. Original front wrapper present, but backstrip and lower wrapper missing. 48 p. 15 illustrations, most of these full-page. Page 9-16 misbound. Illustrated. Some marginal tears and wear, some damage, foxing spots throughout.
2. CDV photo on card of Lavinia Warren, probably from about 1890. Card measures 18 x 9 cm, the photo is much smaller and oval: 9,0 x 4,6 cm.
3. Business card of General Tom Thumb, in French, a diminutive 'porcelain card' probably made in Belgium between 1844 and 1865. 1,8 x 3,3 cm (measuring half of my own thumb).
€ 125
* Delightful rare booklet about the marriage of little persons (both under 90 cm) General Tom Thumb (1838-1883) and Lavinia Warren (1841-1919), a major event of 1863. The bridal cake and many of the marriage gifts are depicted. With a description of the ceremony and the text of many joyful wedding songs. The Carte de Visite photo shows Lavinia standing on an elaborate chair with a long dress. The business card, a minuscule 'porcelain card', is in French: Le Général Tom Pouce. The 'Carte porcelaine' was produced chiefly in Belgium after 1830, using white lead to attain a special lustre, and set a fashion especially for business cards and advertising. Because of the dangerous manufacturing process, making porcelain cards was forbidden in 1865.
8 ft 11.1 (272 cm)
38 (TALL or SMALL). WADLOW, Robert P. Autograph note with signature. Sheet of paper (29 x 15 cm) on which a newspaper photo has been pasted, with signature of the tallest man in history. The sheet and clipping are a bit damaged, not affecting the note. Signed 'Sincerely, Robert Wadlow, Alton, Ill.' with many flourishes. Dated in another hand '6-24-39'.
€ 175
* Robert Wadlow (1918-1940), who lived in Alton, Illinois, was the tallest man in history about whom there is irrefutable evidence. At his death (only a year after signing this), he measured 272 cm and, though slender, he weighed 220 kg.
39 TAYLOR, George (= Adolf Hausrath) Antinous. Historischer Roman aus der römischen Kaiserzeit. Mit dem Bildniss des Antinous. Leipzig, S. Hirzel, 1883. 3/4 original gilt calf with marbled boards. VIII, 376 p. Marbled edges and endpapers. With copper engraving by A. Weger after a bust of Antinous (tissue paper and title foxed). Fourth printing (first: 1881). Spine and edges slightly rubbed.
€ 50
* Edition in the original German. The story of Antinous and Hadrian, written in an eloquent, almost effusive style, in its original, attractive binding.
THACKERAY DECORATED
40 THACKERAY, W.M. Thackeray Calendar for 1899. Floral die cut embossed and gilt calendar with color portrait of Thackeray, his London house on 2, Palace Green and the dates of the twelve months of the year in an intricate frame of purple violets and rococo motifs. 27 x 19 cm. Probably printed in the United States. Some glue traces at the unprinted verso of the calendar, otherwise in fine state.
€ 75
* An elaborate, delightful papercraft calendar honoring William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863), who in the 19th century was a much beloved novelist.
41 THACKERAY, W.M. Vanity Fair. A novel without a hero. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell, (copyright 1893). Luxembourg Illustrated Library. Decorated cloth. VI, 358; IV, 342 p. Illustrated by Frank T. Merrill. Resplendent copy!
€ 90
* Radiantly beautiful publisher's binding: peacock feathers in blue-grey and gold on olive-green cloth. This binding has been made in the first years of the 20th century by Lee Thayer (1874-1973), who had founded with her husband Henry Thayer the design firm The Decorative Designers (1895-1931). Not signed, but the design has been pictured in an article about the 'DD' in The Printing Art, 1915.
TEIGE
42 VERHAEREN, Emile Svítaní. Druhé, opravené vydáni. Praha, Odeon, 1925. Original cloth-backed decorated boards. 104 p. Second, revised edition. Fine copy.
€ 50
* This Czech translation (by Stanislav Kostka Neumann) of Les Aubes was first published in 1905. Typography of this second edition by Karel Teige. Fine modernist title page.
THE END
43 VOX, Maximilien Petit testament d'un typographe. Brussels, Willy Godenne, 1961. Oblong 26 x 15 cm. Original wrappers. (40) p. Printed in red and black on cream laid paper. Of an edition of 300 (unnumbered) copies, this is one of 50 deluxe copies. Fine copy.
€ 65
* Fifteen memorial quatrains (devilishly smart ones) by typographer Maximilien Vox (Samuel Monod, 1894-1974), printed in noble typography with large type. A copy of the 250 ordinary copies on Alfa anglais maybe obtained for 35 euros. Graphie 4.
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