15 December 2015 - Rare Book Sale

#0237

Lot 261/0237

Townsend (Rev. H.) A General and Statistical Survey of the County of Cork, 2 vols. Cork 1815. First Edn., lg. fold. hd. cold. map only, Vol. I lacks title page, orig. str. grained mor., rebacked , w.a.f. (2)

Lot 262/0237

Signed Limited Editions

Friel (Brian) A Man’s World, roy 8vo Gallery Press 2010. Limited Edn. No. 50 (400), Signed by Author, illus. by Basil Blackshaw, cloth; Montague (John) New Collected Poems, 8vo Gallery Press 2012. Lim. Edn. No. XIII of 15, from Edition of 110 Copies, with special binding & signed by Author, cloth backed & slipcase; Devlin (Denis) Lough Derg and Other Poems, N.Y. 1946. First Edn., orig. cloth, & ptd. d.w. All v. good. (3)

Lot 263/0237

Co. Waterford interest: Beresford – Farewell Dinner to Lieut. Col. Lord Wm. Beresford, V.C., C.I.E., Town Hall, Calcutta, … 30th December 1893. Roy 8vo Calcutta 1894. Sole Edn., with orig. photos, illus. & signatures, cloth; Morrison (S.) Curraghmore, A Poem, 12mo Waterford 1825. First, lacks title, cont. mor. (2)

Lot 264/0237

Bibliography: Co. Wexford: Catalogue of the Library of John Ussher Congreve, Esq. Mount Congreve, MDCCCXXVIII, 4to Waterford (John Bull) 1827, Sole Edn., hf. title, 35pps. (some blanks for additions) orig. blue paper boards. Scarce. (1)

Lot 265/0237

One of 12 Specials
Signed Limited Edition

Muldoon (Paul) Feet of Clay, imp. 8vo Oxford (Four Candles Press) 2011 . VIII (12) Specially Bound from Edition of 112, Signed. Cold. decor. title, uncut, mor. backed black cloth. V. Fine. Rare. (1)

Lot 266/0237

Beckett (Sam.) Poems in English, L. 1961, First, d.w.; and As the Story was Told, 4to Cambridge 1987. Lim. Edn. 207 (325), cloth backed decor. boards; The Shack, Irish Poets in the Foothills and Mountains of the Blue Ridge, 4to n.d. illus.; Yano (Kazumi) A Garland of Irish Verse, folio Tokyo 1979. Signed by Author, 1983, gilt decor., cloth; & a volume on Croagh Patrick. As a lot. (5)

Lot 267/0237

Scarce Limited Edition

Heaney (Seamus), Ormsby (Frank) & Carson (Ciaran) The Blackbirds Nest, An Anthology of Poetry from Queens University Belfast, 8vo Belfast (The Blackstaff Press) 2006, Signed Limited Edition 101 (250), in mor. backed boards, & slip case. (1)

Lot 268/0237

Signed by The Contributors

Robertson (Robin)ed. Love Poet, Carpenter, Michael Longley at Seventy, 8vo L. (Enitharmon Press) 2009, First Edition, signed Ltd. 182 (195) Edition, with signatures of 59 contributors, blue cloth with small inset portrait of Longley, gilt lettered spine & matching slip case. (1)

Lot 269/0237

Periodical: [Vigors (Capt. P.D.)]ed. Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, Vol. I – Vol. XII, together 12 vols. plus Index to Vols. I – VII, together 13 vols. and 2 other Index vols. (wrappers)., D. 1888 – 1931, illus. (fold. & others) 11 vols. uniform hf. mor., & 2 vols. bound to match. Purchased at Percy Paley’s Sale at Castlehacket. As a periodical, w.a.f. (13)

Lot 270/0237

In Fine Binding

Taylor (George) & Skinner (Andrew) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, 8vo D. 1778, First Edn., engd. t.p., dedit, lg. fold. map, 288pps of engd. strip maps, 16pps list of subs at end, marble end papers, full calf, gilt decor. boards & gilt decor. spine. (1)

Lot 271/0237

Rinuccini: Aiazzi (G.)ed. Nuuziatura in Irlanda di Mons. Gio. Batista Rinuccini, 8vo Firenza 1844, orig. mor. backed boards; also La Dafne di Otavio Rinuccini, Lg. 4to Firenze 1810, in 8 loose Gatherings, disbound. (2)

Lot 272/0237

Special Edition of 50 Copies Only

Gordon Bowe (Nicola) The Life and Work of Harry Clarke, 4to D. 1989. Special Limited Edition No. 35 of 50 Copies, Signed by Author, Illus. thro.-out, t.e.g., in fine mor. backed boards, spine profusely gilt, & slipcase. (1)

Lot 273/0237

Cogan (Rev. A.) The Diocese of Meath Ancient and Modern, 4 vols. 1992 Reprint; O’Hanlon (J.), O’Leary (E.) & Rev. M. Lalor, History of The Queen’s Country, 2 vols. roy 8vo Kilkenny Reprint 1981. Lim. Edn. 279 (1000), cloth & slipcase. V. good. (6)

Lot 274/0237

Toibin (Colm) Beauty in a Broken Place, 8vo D. (Lilliput Press) 2004. Lim. Edn. 48 (75) Signed by Author, cloth; also Gregory (Lady A.) Irish Myths and Legends, imp 8vo L. (Folio Society) 2011. Intro. by Colm Toibin, illus. by Jillian Tamaki, orig. mor. backed decor. boards, slipcase. Good. (2)

Lot 275/0237

Important Work by Robert Boyle

Boyle (Robert) Some Considerations Touching the Usefulness of Experimental Natural Philosophy, 2 vols. in one, 4to, Oxford (Hen. Hall for Ri Davis) 1664 – 1671. Second Edn., hf. title to Vol. II, very clean copy, recent antique mottled calf, one blind tooled border each board, raised bands, mor. label. Good. (1)

Lot 276/0237

The Ones & Zero’s that Changed The World
Boole’s Masterpiece – Rare Presentation Copy

Boole (George) An Investigation into the Laws of Thought, 8vo L. & (Cambrus Walton & Maberly) 1854. First Edn. First Issue, errata leaf at end, occasional light spotting or dust marks, original black blind stamped cloth, covers a little damp marked. [Norman 266; Origins of Cyberspace 224] A very good copy of this rarity of modern science.

* Presentation Copy, inscribed, ‘Mrs. Hill with the Author’s respects. Boole was the first Professor of Mathematics at University College, Cork. This presumably is the first of the three issues identified by Norman: the first with Walton and Maberly imprint, errata at end, and binding as described above: the second still with imprint as above but with errata after preliminaries, an additional “note” leaf at end, publisher’s catalogue at end, and differences to the binding; and a third (as in the Norman copy), with cancel title, new imprint, and third (as in the Norman copy), with cancel title, new imprint and green cloth binding with Boole’s name on spine for the first time. A landmark of science. “Boole invented the first practical system of logic in algebraic form, which enabled more advances in logic to be made in the decades of the nineteenth century than in the twenty-two centuries preceding. Boole’s work led to the creation of set theory and probability theory in mathematics, to the philosophical work of Peirce, Russell, Whitehead and Wittgenstein, and to computer technology via the master’s thesis of C.E. Shannon (1937), who recognized that the true/false values in Boole’s two valued algebra were analogous to the open and closed states of electric circuits. This invention of the binary digit or “bit” made possible the development of the digital computer” (Norman).
Today nearly everyone who uses a computer is familiar with Boolean Logic but the book that launched the theory is Extremely Rare. (1)

Lot 277/0237

Medicine: Castro (Roderick) De Universa Muliebrium morborum MedecinaI In Two Parts 2 vols. 4to Cologne 1689. Quinta Editio, Auctior et Emendatior cont. sprinkled calf, worn, now spine Vol. I, cover loose Vol. II. S.N.S.R. (2)

Lot 278/0237

Signed Presentation Copy

Seuss (Dr.) The Cat in the Hat, sm. folio N.Y. (Random Press) 1957. First Edn. fine coloured illustrations, pictorial ends, & glazed pictorial boards. V. good. (1)

* Pres. Copy, inscribed ‘For PAM with many thanks! … Dr. Seuss.’

Lot 279/0237

First Edition of a Classic

Fleming (Ian) Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, The Magical Car. 3 vols. roy 8vo L. 1964 – 1965. First Editions. Illustrations by John Burningham, decorated ends, & pict. boards, with orig. pictorial d.w.’s Good. (3)

Lot 280/0237

Fleming (Ian) The Diamond Smugglers, L. 1957. First Edn. illus., with fine cold. pict. d.w.; also Thrilling Cities, N.Y. (New American Library) 1964. First Edn., illus. by Milton Glaser, cloth, & pict. d.w. Both v. good. (2)