New York: George Braziller, 1970. Hardcover in an Illustrated Slipcover. The Book of Hours of Engelbert of Nassau, housed in the Bodleian Library at Oxford as MSS. Douce 219–220, is a splendid example of a book of hours following the Dominican Rite. Crafted in Ghent during the late 1470s or.....

Franklin Center, PA: The Franklin Library, 1979. Illustrated by by Murray Tinkelman. Translated by G. H. McWilliamill. Written in the 14th century, The Decameron is considered one of the masterpieces of Italian literature and a foundational work in the development of Western literature. The Decameron explores various aspects of human.....

Boston: W. Andrews and L. Blake, Greenough and Stebbins, printers, 1807. First American Edition, from the Fifth London Edition. Full Leather Hardcovers. A complete set of Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson originally published in 1791.James Boswell was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer born in Edinburgh. He is best.....

London: A. Millar, 1752. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE —Moses Browne’s trajectory from a struggling pen-cutter to a favored protégé of the Countess of Hertford is a classic Enlightenment success story. This 1752 collection was instrumental in securing his reputation, eventually leading to his ordination. By framing the 'Universe' as a subject of.....

Chicago: M. A. Donohue & Co., c1900. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — A CLASSIC OF CHRISTIAN ALLEGORY. First published in 1678, John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress became one of the most widely read works of English religious literature. Its allegorical account of Christian’s journey from the City of Destruction toward the Celestial.....

London: John Walthoe et.al. c.1744–1746. Originally published in Volume II of Churchill’s A Collection of Voyages and Travels, one of the major English compilations of global travel narratives, this plate sits at the intersection of:+++ Early European visual documentation of the Atlantic islands,+++ Portuguese imperial presence, and+++ Enslaved African labor.....

London: Golden Cockerel Press, 1950. No. 204 of a Limited Edition of 370 copies. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE -- Comenius wrote the Labyrinth while a religious refugee during the Thirty Years' War. His vision of the world as a city where everyone wears 'rose-colored glasses' of delusion remains one of the most.....

New York: George H. Doran, [1928]. Illustrations by Edmund Dulac. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. Edward Fitzgerald translated these 11th Century Persian Poems in 1859, and they became a sensation in the circle that included Browning, Rosetti and Tennyson. Omar Khayyam was renowned as a mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, and although.....

London: John Watts & T. Read, 1749 & 1729. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE –John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera remains the sole enduring example of the satirical ballad opera, a genre that weaponized popular tunes to expose social injustice and the absurdity of the Italian opera craze. Its sequel, Polly, became a cause.....

USA: Minature Books: The Rodale Press, 1955. Illustrated by John O'Connor. First Edition, Thus. Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" holds a significant place in English literature. The poem explores universal themes such as mortality, the passage of time, and the inevitability of death, irrespective of one’s social standing. Gray.....

Rutland, Vermont & Japan. Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1970. First Edition, Thus. Hardcover with Dust Jacket. 12 traditional Chinese folktales that delve into themes of human desire, emotion, nature, and ambition. They explore the blurred lines between reality and illusion, a recurring motif in Chinese literature. The tales are drawn.....

Paris: Chez Desaing & Saillant and Durand, 1759. Copper-plate engraving by Laurent Cars, after Jean-Baptiste Oudry. Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables, first published between 1668 and 1694, remain foundational texts of French literature. Drawing on classical, medieval, and Eastern sources, La Fontaine transformed traditional moral tales into supple French verse.....

Ultrajecti (Utrecht): Apud Franciscum Halman, 1692. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE — Lactantius serves as the primary bridge between the classical Roman world and the emergence of Christian historiography. His work sought to demonstrate the 'divine vengeance' that befell the emperors who persecuted Christians, written with a Ciceronian polish that made him a......