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Venice, Bartholomaeus de Zanis, April 16, 1505. 8vo (19x13,5 cm). Bound in a lovely 20th century full calf binding with three raised bands to spine. Blindstamped ornamentations to spine and simple, elgant blindstamped ornamention to boards and "BUR/LAMAC/CHI" in blindstamped lettering to lower back board. Spine darkened and leather at hinges worn. A nice, charming, and solid binding, presumably from the collection of Maurizio Burlamacchi. Light soiling to first and last leaves and a small repair to lower blank margin of final leaf and tiny restoration to blank margin of AIII and AIIII. Overall nice and clean. First three leaves with a few later annotations. Beautifully printed, on good paper, with numerous lovely woodcut ornamental capitals throughout. 82 ff. Exceedingly scarce, beautifully printed post-incunable. This "Mirror of Prudence" by the hermit monk Beltrame da Ferrara was seemingly printed for the first time around 1490 (at least according to Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke), but be have not been able to trace a single copy of that edition anywhere. It is not listed at all on OCLC and is seemingly not in any libraries anywhere. We have also not been able to find it sold at auction ever, and we have not found mention of it in any other bibliographies. The present edition printed in 1505 is of the utmost scarcity with only four copies in libraries worldwide and no other copy listed in auction records. We have also not been able to find it mentioned in any bibliographies (apart from Gesamtkatalog der Wiegendrucke - 03807). This moral work that teaches the importance of careful consideration, thoughtful planning, and the ability to learn from experience in order to make wise and ethical decisions in all aspects of life was written some time between late 14th century and ca. 1440, when Beltrame da Ferrara died. He was a monk in the congregation of San Piero in Pisa, and in 1404, he took over the leadership of the hermit convent of S. Felicitatis de Romano. The Burlamacchi family is an ancient family from Lucca. Mauritzio Burlamacchi (1930-2016) was a known bibliophile and collector, specialised in early printed works. He is the author of a book on the spas of Lucca and historical lecturer. In 2006, he was accepted into the Order of Malta as a Knight of Honour and Devotion.

Genff, Widerhold, 1681. Folio (340 x 210 mm). Recently bound in a magnificent pastiche-binding of brown half calf with gilt red leather title-label to elaborately gilt spine. Vellum corners. Title-page with stains. A few marginal repairs, not affecting text. (8), 82 pp. Exceedingly rare first German translation of Chardin’s “Le Couronnement de Soleimaan troisieme” (1671) - his report on the coronation of the new Persian king and what happened during the first years of his reign. Returning to Persia on the way home to Europe, Chardin witnessed the coronation of Suleiman III in 1669. Chardin’s works are considered some of the finest works of early Western scholarship on Iran and the Subcontinent in general, and the present work offered Europe a rare glimpse into the customs of the Royal house of Persia. “Chardin details the ceremonies in [the present work], with a preface that laid out the parallels between the French and Persian monarchies. Chardin portrays a filial bond between the two monarchies. The Persian shah, he declares, calls “Your Majesty [Louis XIV] his brother” due to their shared grandeur. Chardin proclaims, “The Kind of France is the greatest Emperor in Europe as he [the shah] is the most powerful Prince in Asia.” He emphasizes his admiration for Persia and its likeness to France: “Of all the vast Empires of the Orient … there is not one that should not yield to Persia, for the temperature of the air, for genius that is more reasonable than other places and is closest to our own, and for all the excellent and rare things that are found there in abundance.” (Mokhberi, The Persian Mirror) Born in Paris in a Hugenot (Protestant) family, Jean Chardin (1643-1713) undertook his travels to Persia because of his father's position as a jeweler and shareholder in the French East India Company. Chardin set out in 1664, traveling through Turkey, the Black Sea, Georgia and Armenia. Soon after his arrival in Persia he received a commission to create jewelry for Shah Abbas II, who died in 1666 and was succeeded by Shah Safi. After witnessing the latter's coronation [Described here], Chardin went on India and finally returned to Paris in 1670. In 1671, he published an account of the coronation and in the same year set off for Persia again, arriving in Isfahan in 1673 and remaining there for several years, before once more visiting India and returning home in 1677. With the persecution of the Hugenots in France, he moved to England in 1680. "Travel restarted with 17th-century missionaries, whose medical and pedagogical expertise helped counterbalance Orthodox (or pagan) reservations. Dominican Prefects Dortelli D'Ascoli and Giovanni da Lucca (1630s) extended Giorgio Interiano's description of Circassia (and Abkhazia). Theatine proselytisers targeted Mingrelia/western Georgia (Capuchins the eastern provinces) - the Vatican's Fide Press further contributed by printing the first Georgian books (Chikobava/Vateishvili). Many, including mission-head Don Pietro Avitabile (1626-1638), recounted their experiences. Prefect to Mingrelia, Joseph Marie Zampi, a 23-year denizen from approximately 1645, contributed a third significant source in his description of Mingrelian religious practice. This he handed to Jean Chardin (1643-1713) in 1672. A French traveller who became English(!) ambassador in Holland, Chardin translated and incorporated it as a substantial part of his own description of a sometimes perilous journey through Transcaucasia (1672-3), which reflects Ottoman and Persian influence in western and eastern parts, respectively - a Turkish organized slave-trade flourished from various Mingrelian ports. Linguistically, Zampi revealingly observed that the ecclesiastical language, Georgian, was as difficult for even the Mingrelian priesthood to understand as Latin was for Italian peasants!" (Speake, The Literature of Travel and Exploration, 1, 199-202). (Brunet I, 1802 – A later French edition). (Graesse II, P. 121).

Paris, Francois Regnault, (1520). 8vo. Bound in a splendid contemporary full goatskin binding with raised bands to richly blindstamped spine. Remains of paper title-label to spine. Boards with blindstamped double line-borders and oval kamé-centre-pieces with the famous Apollo and Pegasus. The clouds are in relief, the wheel of the carriage has four spokes, Apollo's clothing covers almost the entire body, the front of the whip is above the head of the horses, and the top front leg of the horse is close to straight. Boards covered in rich ornamental gilding and with gilt Greek lettering around the kamés. Neat professional restoration to spine and hinges and renewed cords. A lovely contemporary full goat binding from Venice with later elaborate ornamentation over the original. First and last leaves with a bit of soiling and brownspotting. (16), 396 ff. With the woodcut printer's device of Regnault to title-page and verso of final leaf. A lovely copy of one of the so-called pseudo-Canevari-bindings. In the 1870'ies, the name Demetrio Canevari started appearing in connection with a certain style of Renaissance bindings that all contained books printed before 1520, many from the 1540'ies. They all have certain traits in common: olive green or brown or dark red morocco, a certain type of gilding and an oval centre-piece depicting Apollo in his chariot and Pegasus on a cliff. In the 1930'ies, about 90 volumes of these bindings were known and they were all paid for with extremely high prices. Demetrio Canevari was born in 1559 and became the life doctor of Pope Urban VII. He ammassed a library of 5.000 volumes and died in Rome in 1625. The Jesuits ended up inheriting most of the remaining library in 1844, and by 1891, two librarian could conclude that there were 2.000 volumes left. Amongst those 2.000 volumes, there was not a single one bound in what we now call the Canevari-style. How they have come to be detremined as such has been somewhat of a mystery. But at the beginning of the 20th century, the mystery was solved by the librarian and professor Fumagalli - the alleged provenance of the bindings was simply made up by a daring antiquarian bookseller, who was also a book thief, the famous Count Libri Carrucci. He invented a provenance and a story for what he wanted to sell. In his catalogue from 1859, he had three books with the Apollo-centrepiece, all described with an unknown provenance. In his catalogue from 1862, these bindings were now described as coming from either Mecenate or Demetrio Canevari. This was quickly picked up by other antiquarian booksellers, and by 1883, Quaritch announced that these bindings presumably came from Demetrio Canevari's father Mecenate. It soon became a stable fact in the book world that these poetic bindings wth the "super ex-libris" came from Canevari's collection. They became a matter of mythical status and the Canevari-bindings were mentioned with the same awe at the collections of kings and popes. These magnificent bindings stamped with the distinctive Apollo and Pegasus medallion were thus celebrated long before their original Renaissance owner was correctly identified, namely as Genoese Giovanni Battista Grimaldi. This also opened the path for a highly skilled book-binder to make forgeries that would long be misten for originals. It turned out, as Fumagalli woud unravel, that a bookseller (M.) and a book binder (Villa) had set up a business together forging old book bindings, among them the so-called Canevari-bindings. Several dealers, among them Quaritch in London, bought these, not knowing they were forgeries, and sold them on. The crave for so-called Canevari-bindings did not die, however, and even the forgeries are now highly sought after. Due to extensive research, they are now fairly easy to distinguish from the originals (that still have nothing to do with Canevari) as they vary in size and stamping manner, but are still of very high quality and are utterly charming. The myth surrounding these magnificent bindings make them even more desired, as they occupy a central place in the history of book binding and book collection. The original Canevari-bindings are extremely rare on the market, as are the forgeries. In all, 144 bindings with the Apollo and Pegasus medaillion have been identified to be original, whereas Wittock 1998 lists 45 falsified ones. These are all of great interest to the serious binding collector. This book is nr. 57 in Fumagalli's register. It has belonged to the director of applied art in Frankfurt, F. Luthmer, who bought it in 1885 in Milan. It was sold in 1921 by David and Orioli in London. In 1922 it featured in Ernst Fischer: The History of the Binding, described as a book from Canevari's library. It is depicted and described as nr. 3. in Anker Kyster's study of fake Canevari-bindings from 1934.

Tübingen, J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1916. Lex 8vo. Uncut and unopened in the original printed wrappers. A stain to the front wrapper, from the removal of a bookplate on verso, which has also removed some of the advertisement-print to the top of the inside of front wrapper. Apart from this removed book plate the only real flaw that the copy has is a vertical break down the middle of the spine, from opening the block. Otherwise there is just minimal edgewear and slight brownspotting to the title-page. Inscribed by Heidegger "Vom Verfasser/ M.H." to top of title-page. (8), 245 pp. The scarce first edition, extremely rare presentation-copy, of Heidegger's Habilitationsschrift, in which he introduces his "Hermeneutik der Fakticität". In 1913 Heidegger was given a Ph.D. for his work "Die Lehre vom Urtheil im Psychologismus". Already in 1915 he had written his Habilitation on Duns Scotus, which was published the following year, in 1916. These two works, together with a few articles from the same period, constitute the beginning of Heidegger's path towards the question of being - the subject because of which he later became the most famous philosopher of the 20th century, establishing the philosophy that has dominated Western thinking ever since. Heidegger's Habilitation was supervised by Heinrich Rickert, and as the title indicates, it dealt with the categories of theory of meaning of Duns Scotus. The work, around which the dissertation revolved, was the "Grammatica Speculativa", which was then ascribed to Duns Scotus but which is now considered a work by Thomas von Erfurt. The "Grammatica Speculativa" is a work about types of ways of expressions in language and the corresponding ontological categories. Heidegger's interest in this shows an early interest in the relationship between language and being. Here, he attempts to unite a Medieval signification theory with neo-Kantian logical theory and the intentionality of Husserl, which was then in the beginning of its influence. It is generally accepted that Heidegger already in his Habilitation anticipates his seminal account of Dasein later fully developed in "Sein und Zeit". Though Heidegger's Habilitation has been overlooked for many years, it is now widely believed that there is a very direct connection between Scotus, Thomas of Erfurt, Husserl and Heidegger, leading the young Heidegger directly towards his "hermeneutical intuition" and being closely connected to the ideas that he develops fully in "Sein und Zeit".The work itself is very rare in the first printing, and when seen, it is often in bad condition and/or lacking the wrappers. Inscribed copies are of the utmost scarcity.

(London, Harrison & Sons, 1909). Large 4to. Original printed wrappers; wrappers loose and with lack of paper, mostly to back wrapper, which is quite chipped and nicked, with tears, and lacking a bigger part of the upper right corner. Front wrapper merely lacking a few smaller pieces at the top, not affecting the presentation inscription. Pp. 281-317. Extremely scarce first edition, off-print issue with presentation-inscription, of Bohr's first published paper, constituting his only ever work in experimental physics. "His first research project, a precision measurement of the surface tension of water by the observation of a regularly vibrating jet, was completed in 1906, when he was still a student, and it won him the gold medal from the Academy of Sciences. It is a mature piece of work, remarkable for the care and thoroughness with which both the experimental and theoretical parts of the problem were handled." (DSB).The work is inscribed to renowned Danish physicist and meteorologist Dan la Cour (1876-1942), son of the great Poul la Cour (1846-1908), who is considered the "Danish Edison". The inscription reads as thus: "Hr. Docent D. la Cour/ ærbødigst/ fra/ Forfatteren." [In Danish, i.e.: "Mr. Assistant Professor D. la Cour/ with great respect / from/ the author."].Dan la Cour was the assistant of Niels Bohr's father, Christian Bohr, and a well known scientist. From 1903, he was head of the department of the Meteorological Institute, and from 1923 leader thereof. From 1908 he was Associate Professor at the Polytechnic College. His original scientific works are highly respected, as are his original apparati for measuring earth magnetism which are considered highly valuable. "His original intelligence, which in many ways resemble that of his father, also bore fruit in his patenting of various inventions: the "Pyknoprobe", developed to quickly determine the different layers of the sea; a use of termite in quickly heating food and drinks out in the open under unfavourable weather conditions." (From the Danish Encyclopaedia - own translation). He wrote a number of important and esteemed works and was member of the Danish Scientific Academy as well as many prominent international scientific commissions of meteorology and geophysics (i.e. president of the International Geodetical and Geophysical Union). He was also honorary Doctor at the George Washington University. This Bohr's fist paper grew out of a work which Bohr did in 1906, and for which he won a gold medal from the Academy of Sciences. The subject was to experimentally investigate a method, proposed by Lord Rayleigh, for measuring the surface tension of water by the observation of a regularly vibrating jet. "Bohr [...] included in his work essential improvements on Rayleigh's theory by taking into account the influence of the liquid's viscosity and of the ambient air, and by extending the earlier theory from infinitesimal to arbitrary large vibration amplitudes. In order to execute his experiments he had first of all to cope with one complication. The university had no physics laboratory." (Pais, p. 101). Bohr thus constructed many of the instruments himself using his father's laboratory. ""I did the experiments completely alone alone in the physiological laboratory... it was a great amount of work", which was technically demanding." (Pais, p. 102). In spite of being Bohr's only ever work in experimental physics, it documents his deep understanding of the methods of experimentalists."On 23 February 1907 the Academy notified him that he had won its gold medal. In 1908 he submitted a modified version to the Royal Society in London. It was his first and last paper on experiments he himself performed. His second publication was his last to deal with surface tension of liquids; it was purely theoretical. Both papers were favorably referred to in later literature.The manuscript of the prize essay, never published in its original form, is preserved in the Bohr Archives. It is handwritten, by Harald Bohr [i.e. his brother]." (Pais, p. 102), Rosenfeld, Bohr Bibliography No. 1. Rosenfeld, Dictionary of Scientific Biography II, pp. 239. Pais, Niels Bohr's Times, pp. 101-02.

Stockholm, Anders J. Nordström, 1783. 8vo. Contemp. hcalf. Raised bands, gilt spine, titlelabel with gilt lettering. A very small nick to foot of spine. XV,766 pp., 9 folded engraved plates, 1 large folded engraved map. A fine clean copy. The scarce first edition (the first part only, but alone-standing) of Sparrman's famous travelling account which has been called the '"most trustworthy account of the Cape Colony and the various races of people then residing in it" that had been published in the 18th century. The work is one of the most important investigations of the South African fauna in the second half of the 18th century. He sailed for the Cape of Good Hope in January 1772 to take up a post as a tutor. When James Cook arrived there later in the year at the start of his second voyage, Sparrman was taken on as assistant naturalist to Johann and Georg Forster. After the voyage he returned to Cape Town in July 1775 and practiced medicine, earning enough to finance a journey into the interior.Du Reitz, Bibliotheca Polynesia, 1218 Mendelssohn 4, p. 360

S.-Peterburg, 1864. 8vo. Bound in a beautiful half calf recent pastiche-binding with marbled papers over boards and elegant gilding to spine. End-papers renewed. Stamp to half-title, title-page and first leaf of text. First leaves evenly browned and dampstain to outer margin affecting last 50 ff. A few occassional brownspots throughout. XIV, 399, (1) pp. + 1 plate with genealogical tree (between pp. 92/93). First edition of the first Russian translation of Darwin's "Origin of Species", a main reason for the widespread effect of Darwinism in Russia, where the theory met less resistance in the 1860'ies than it did in Western Europe. In Russia, Darwinism had a profound influence not only upon the different sciences, but also on philosophy, economic and political thought, and the great literature of the period. For instance, both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky referenced Darwin in their most important works, as did numerous other thinkers of the period."In 1864, S.A. Rachinsky, professor of plant physiology at St. Petersburg University, produced the first Russian translation of the "Origin". Although not a masterpiece of translation art, the book sold out so quickly that in 1865 it went through a second printing. By this time Darwin's ideas were discussed not only by scientists but also by such popular writers as Dmitri Pisarev and M. A. Antinovich." (Glick, p. 232). Rachinsky began translating the "Origin" in 1862 and wrote an important article on the theories presented in it, while working on the translation. This article and the translation of the "Origin" into Russian were responsible for the great success and rapid, widespread knowledge of Darwinian theory of evolution in Russia. "Darwin was concerned that the "Origin of Species" reach naturalists across the world, but translations of that complicated work raised problems for Darwin. If he found it difficult to make the reader "understand what is meant" in England and America, at least in those two countries he and the reader were discussing the "Origin of Species" in the same language. Foreign language editions raised not only the thorny question of translating Darwinian terms, but also the problem of translators, who often thought it proper to annotate their editions to explain the "significance" of Darwinism. The first Russian translation of the "Origin of Species" (1864) appeared, however, without any comment whatever by the translator, Sergei A. Rachinsky, professor of botany at the University of Moscow. Rachinsky had begun the translation in 1862 and published an article on Darwinism while continuing work on the translation in 1863." (Rogers, p. 485). In the year of publication of the translation, 1864, Pisarev wrote a long article in "The Russian Word", which purports to be a review of this translation; the critic complains about the absence of notes and commentaries by the translator. Pisarev furthermore points to several errors in the translation and to numerous infelicities of expression. Acknowledging the importance of the work, however, and of the spreading of Darwinism in Russia, he goes on in his own essay to provide a much more popular account of Darwin's theory and to impress upon his readers its revolutionary significance.Nikolai Strakhov also reviewed the translation immediately upon publication, acknowledging the effect it would have. Strakhov, however, recognized potential dangers inherent in the theory and expressed them in his review of Rachinsky's translation. He praised the work for its thoroughness and rejoiced in the evidence that man constituted the highest stage of organic development; but then he went on to argue that by moving into questions of philosophy and theology, the Darwinists were exceeding the limits of scientific evidence. Like Pisarev, Tolstoy enthusiastically embraced Darwinism. "The first mention of Darwin in Tolstoy's literary "Nachlass" is found in one of the drafts to "War and Peace". There Darwin is listed, apparently quite favorably, among leading thinkers "working toward new truth" [...] Thus by the late 1860's the name of Darwin as a leading scientist was already familiar to Tolstoy and duly respected." (McLean, p. 160). A fact which is often overlooked is that Tolstoy actually knew Rachinsky quite well. Interestingly, it was in a letter to Rachinsky, in reply to a question about the structure of "Anna Karenina", that Tolstoy made the famous statement (that all Tolstoy scholars and lovers know by heart): "I am proud of the architecture - the arches are joined in such a way that you cannot discover where the keystone is". Like Strakhov, however, Dostoevsky, acknowledging the significance of the "Origin", saw the dangers of the theory. In the same year as the publication of Rachinsky's translation, he lets the narrator in "Notes from Underground" (1864) launch his attack on Darwinism , beginning: "As soon as they prove you, for instance, that you are descended from a monkey, then it's no use scowling, you just have to accept it."In "Crime and Punishment" (two years later, 1866) the Darwinian overtones inherent in Raskolnikov's theory of the extraordinary man are unmistakable. He describes the mechanism of "natural selection," where, according to the laws of nature, by the crossing of races and types, a "genius" would eventually emerge. In general, Darwinian themes and Darwin's name occur in many contexts in a large number of Dostoevsky's works.Freeman 748. See: James Allen Rogers: The Reception of Darwin's Origin of Species by Russian Scientists. In: Isis, Vol. 64, No. 4 (Dec., 1973), pp. 484-503.Thomas F. Glick: The Comparative Reception of Darwinism. 1974.Hugh McLean: In Quest of Tolstoy. 2008.

St. Petersburg, 1868 [but in fact 1867-1869]. 8vo. In contemporary half calf with renewed spine. Inner hindges with repairs and boards with soiling and a few marks and holes to volume 1. Light foxing throughout, primarily affecting margins and plates. Overall a good copy. IV, 443, (1): ill; V.2: 462, (I)-VI pp. The very first publication of Darwin's 'Variation under Domestication' in any language. The title-page states 1868 but they two volumes were in fact published, respectively in November 1867 and 1869."In August, 1867, Darwin wrote to Lyell that he was visited by a young Russian "who is translating my new book into Russian.". The book was the 'Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication', and the youngRussian was Vladimir Kovalevsky, who subsequently became a well-known evolutionary palaeontologist. At that time the 'Variation' was not yet published, and it seems most probably that the translation was made from a set of proofs given to Kovalevsky by Darwin. Thanks to Kovalevsky's rapid work, the first section of the Russian translation of the Variation was published several months prior to the publication of the English original." (Glick, The Comparative Reception of Darwinism, p. 235)"The first Russian edition, which is dated 1868 on the volume title page, is of particular interest. It is the only work, in his lifetime, of which any part appeared in foreign translation before it appeared in English. Correspondence at Cambridge shows that the translator was sent copies of corrected proofs as they were ready. It was published in seven parts of which four, perhaps to the end of Chapter XV, appeared in 1867; the next two appeared in 1868, and the last not until 1869, because he had been away in Russian Asia. The title is given in full, in English translation, under No. 925 and has been discussed above" (Freeman).Vladimir Kovalevsky (1842-1883), the translator of this book, was a Russian biologist and the founder of evolutionary palaeontology. His own scientific works were printed between 1873 and 1877, and according to Henry Osborn (Osborn, H. The rise of Mammalia in North America // Proc. Amer. Assoc. Sci. 1894. vol. 42, pp. 189-227) they ''dare away'' all traditional and dry European paleontology. That was mainly because Kovalevsky was a devoted Darwinist and adapted Darwin's ideas to palaeontology. Luis Dollo, the Belgian palaeontologist, a contemporary of Kovalevsky's, described him thus: ''No palaeontologist embodies so perfectly our epoch, as the brilliant and miserable Vladimir Kovalevsky, friend and guest of the immortal Charles Darwin''. Indeed, Kovalevsky was a friend of Darwin's and they corresponded extensively. When visiting Darwin in 1877, the Russian botanist, Timiryazev, asked Darwin about his views on Russian science and Darwin surprised him with an answer that Vladimir Kovalevsky (little known at the time) was the bright hope of palaeontology.Kovalevsky was very eager to translate Darwin into Russian as soon as possible so he asked Darwin to send him the proofs of his book chapter by chapter as soon as Darwin finished them. Kovalevsky translated with great speed (the complete book contains 900 pages) and he began to print the chapters from July 1867 (the first English edition appeared on 30th January 1868). The chapters were printed one after another as the translation went on. It is unclear whether any part of it appeared before the English edition.Vladimir Kovalevsky translated another of Darwin's books, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals [O vyrazhenii emotsyi u cheloveka I zhyvotnikh] that appeared the same year as the English edition (1872).Kovalevsky committed suicide at the age of forty after the breakdown of his marriage to the celebrated mathematician, Sophia Kovalevskaya who became the first female professor of mathematics in the world.OCLC finds only three complete copies worldwide (Cornell, American Philosophical Society (US) and Thomas Fisher Library, (Canada)). Freeman 925

Paris, 1903. 8vo. Nice contemporary half calf with raised bands and gilt lettering to spine. Inner hinge a bit weak, but still tight. 3 leaves with a tear, no loss. Otherwise a nice and clean copy. Inscribed by the author to half-title, to the preeminent Russian Byzantinist F.I. Uspenky. (6), II, 399 pp. First edition, first issue, presentation-copy, of the groundbreaking work, in which Metchikoff coins "gerontology" and establishes the field, which today is considered more important than ever, namely the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.Earlier on, Metchnikoff had made pioneering studies in immunology, and these led him on to the problems of biological ageing. His first work on the subject is the present, in which he coins the term "gerontology" and advances the idea that senile changes result from the toxins produced by bacteria in the intestine. In order to prevent these "unhealthy fermentations", Metchnikoff advocates the inclusion of sour milk on one's diet. As his ideas of "right living" were so closely connected with the consummation of large amounts of fermented milk or yoghurt made with a Bulgarian bacillus, his name actually came to be associated with a popular commercial preparation of yogurt (although he received no royalties). His studies into the potential life-lengthening properties of lactic acid bacteria, inspired Japanese scientist Minoru Shirota to begin investigating the causal relationship between bacteria and good intestinal health, which eventually led to the worldwide marketing of Kefir and other fermented milk drinks or probiotics, still extremely popular today.Apart from the consummation of yoghurt, Metchnikoff warned of eating uncooked foods, claiming that the bacteria present on them could cause cancer. Metchnikoff claimed he even plunged bananas into boiling water after unpeeling them and passed his silverware through flames before using it."In his "Nature of Man" Metchnikoff argued that when diseases have been suppressed and life has been hygienically regulated, death would come only with extreme old age. Death would then be natural, accepted gratefully, and robbed of its terrors." (D.S.B. IX: 334-35).He continued writing on ageing and death until 1910. In 1908 he shared the Nobel Prize for medicine with Ehrlich for his work on immunity.The interesting presentation-inscription reads: "Dorogim Naste I Fedoru/ Ivanovich Uspenskim/ na dobruyu panijat ot Il. Metchnikova." [In Russian, i.e.: For dear Nastya and Fyodor/ Ivanovich Uspenski/ in good memory from Il. Metchnikov." Fyodor Ivanovich Uspensky or Uspenskij (1845-1928) was the preeminent Russian Byzantinist in the first third of the 20th century. His works are considered to be among the finest illustrations of the flowering of Byzantine studies in Tsarist Russia.Uspensky was educated at the University of St. Petersburg, with his first thesis (1872) dedicated to Nicetas Choniates. For two decades (1874-94) he read lectures at the Novorossiysky University in Odessa. This position allowed him to spend considerable time abroad.Uspensky's doctoral thesis (1879) dealt with the foundation of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Although he specialized in the Byzantine-Bulgarian relations and investigated the Slavic influence on the Byzantine economy, Uspensky also researched and wrote extensively on the Crusades.In 1894 Uspensky, who shared Slavophile ideals, decided to move to Constantinople in order to study and protect the surviving monuments of Byzantine antiquity, which had been neglected by the Ottoman authorities for centuries. He founded the Russian Archaeological Institute (headquartered at Studion) and presided over its pioneering archaeological research in Constantinople, Asia Minor, Macedonia and Bulgaria. In 1900, he was elected into the Russian Academy of Sciences. With the outbreak of World War I, Uspensky was forced to abandon his work and flee Turkey.Back in Petrograd, the 70-year-old professor was invited to edit the organ of Byzantine studies, "Vizantiysky Vremennik". After the October Revolution, he delivered lectures at the Leningrad University (1922-27) and, enduring criticism of the Bolshevik authorities, prepared for publication the results of a lifelong study - a monumental three-volume account of the history of the Byzantine Empire.Uspensky died in Leningrad in 1928. The posthumous publication of his magnum opus, based on numerous unpublished sources and unprecedented in scope, demonstrated the wide range of his scholarship. His book about the Trapezuntine Empire also appeared posthumously.

Erevan, Armenia, Gosizdat, 1936. 8vo. In publisher's original full cloth with title in silver lettering to spine and front board. A picture of Darwin embossed to front board. Hindges weak. "75" in ink to spine and front board. Stamp and a few annotations to title-page, otherwise nice and clean. (2), 765 pp. + frontiespiece and plate with genealogical tree. The exceedingly rare first Armenian translation of Darwin's landmark work.Only two Armenian translations of 'Origin of Species' has been made. The present first a second from 1963, both translations are of the upmost scarcity. Due to the relatively low number of people speaking Armenian (approximately 3 million in Armenia and 7 million outside) books in Armenian were printed in comparatively low numbers. OCLC locates no copies. Freeman 630.R.B. Darwin Online, F630.

Amsterdam, Jacob van Meurs, 1665. Folio. Contemp. full mottled calf. Richly gilt spine. 6 raised bands. Gilt lineborders on covers. Cracking to leather on hinges, externally repaired with thin leather-strips. Corners reinforced. Engraved title-page and printed (in red/black). (10),208,258,(10) pp., Engraved portrait, large folded engraved map, 2 engraved plates with coat of arms, 34 double-page engraved views, 110 large engraved textillustrations. A faint dampstain to upper margin of the last few leaves. The 2 plates with coat of arms a bit frayed in right margins and a faint dampstain in upper margin. A bit of browning to the first 5 leaves. otherwise internally clean. First edition of Nieuhof's famous travel round China, a trip of 2,400 km from Canton to Peking, in 1655-1657, which enabled him to become an authoritative Western writer on China. He wrote this "An embassy from the East-India Company", the written account of this journey which he undertook for the Dutch-Indian Compagny. He deals with nearly all aspects of Chinese life, folklore, religion, crafts, topography, architecture, zoology, geography, geology etc. etc. The work is one of the first illustrated books to describe China, and it profoundly influenced the Western view on China.Brunet IV, 77. - Cordier, 2344.

Christiania, Chr. Gröndahl, 1835-64. 4to. Indbundet i 6 senere hshirtbd. (Hefte 6 afvigende indbundet) med rygforgyldning, alle med det originale blå blanke foromslag. Stempel på titelbladene. Velbevarede eksemplarer. Disse kortbeskrivelser er forløberne for "Den Norske Los". Omfatter: 1. Fra Haltenöe til Leköe. 1835. VIII,18 pp. - 2. Fra Leköe til Dönnaesöe. 1836. 19 pp. - 3. Fra D¨nnarsöe til Fleina og Sandhornet. 1837. 18 pp. - 4. Fra Fleina og Sandhornet til Tranö med den sydlige Deel af Lofoten... 1839. 27 pp. samt 1 foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 5. Fra Tranö til Gisund. 1841. 28 pp. samt 1 foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 6. Fra Andö til Gisund. 1842. 23 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 7. Fra Kvalö og Grötsund til Söröen. 1844. 19 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 8. Fra Söröen til Nordkap. 1845. 14 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 9. Fra Nordkap til Tanahorn. 1847. 11 pp. - 10. Fra Tanahorn til grændsen mod Russisk Lapland. 1848. 11 pp. - 11a. Fra Christiania til Tönsberg, Torgersö Fyr og Rauö. 1852. 17 pp. - 11b. Fra Rauö til Idefjorden med den tilgrændsende Kyst. 1852. 14 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 11c. Fra Tönsberg og Torgersö Fyr til Jomfruland. 1853. 23 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 12a. Fra Jomfruland og Kragerö til Arendal. 1855. 36 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 12b. Fra Arendal til Christiansand. 1856. 67 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 13a. Fra Christiansand til Lindesnæs. 1857. 57 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 13b. Fra Ekersund til Lindesnæs. 1858. 36 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 14a. Fra Hvidingsö og Stavanger til Ekersund. 1860. 66 pp. samt 2 foldeplancher (landtoninger). - 14b. Fra Espevær ved Bömmelö til Hvidingsö og Byfjorden ved Stavanger. 1863. 126 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger). - 15. Fra Espevær ved Bommelö til Korsfjord. 1864. 56 pp. samt foldeplanche (landtoninger).

Tokyo, Nishimura Tomijiro, Fukuda Eizo, Meiji 21 [1881]. 8vo. In the original cloth binding with printed front board (depicting a monkey reading a newspaper). Light wear and soiling to extremities and end papers soiled, otherwise in fine condition. 285 pp. + 3 plates. The rare first Japanese translation of W. P. Lyon's anti-evolutionary text ' Homo versus Darwin'. It constitutes the very first publication in Japanese to reject Darwin's theory. A year after the publication, the book was banned for 'corrupting public morals'.The present work is Lyon's reply to the publication of Darwin's The Descent of Man. Here, he sees Darwin being charged by Homo of denying him from being a creature made by a God and declaring man to be merely some kind of animal. The author is recorded as being 'Eisa Gurei' [Asa Gray], but in 1986 a study confirmed the text to be a translation of Lyon's work.'Saru no Saiban' is an important work in the history of the reception of Darwinism in Japan. Darwin's theories had a profound influence on Japan and Japanese culture but in a slightly different way than in the West: Darwinism was marked as social and political principles primarily embraced by social thinkers, philosophers and politicians to advocate the superiority of Japanese culture and society (and military) and not by biologists and zoologists. "It was as if Darwin's famous oceanic journey and the meticulous research into the animal and plant kingdoms that he spent his life undertaking had all been staged as an elaborate excuse for composing a theory whose true object was Victorian society and the fate of the world's modern nations." (Golley, Darwinism in Japan: The Birth of Ecology).

Paris, Imprimerie Royale, 1773. 4to. 2 nice contemp. full mottled calf. 5 raised bands. Richly gilt spines, tome-and titlelabels with gilt lettering. Neat repairs to top of spines. Stamps on title-pages. Corners a bit bumped. (4),LXXIX,803;(4),622 pp., 5 folded engraved maps, 1 engraved plate and 5 folded tables. Light browning to a few quires. Lower right corners on the last 3 leaves in volume 1 with a mild foxing. First edition of this splendid work, in which the observations from the testing of Berthaud's marine chronometer were presented for the first time. Fleurieu took part in a one-year sea campaign to test Berthoud's first marine chronometer, in an attempt to beat Britain in the race to find a reliable way to calculate longitude. The chronometers he thus refined with Ferdinand Berthoud for their later experiments, were the object of major struggles with the king's horologer, Pierre Le Roy. Finally, Claret de Fleurieu and Berthoud were entrusted with the task, setting out on the testing expedition from autumn 1768 to 11 October 1769 on the frigate Isis under Fleurieu's command. The chronometers almost invariably indicated the hour as accurately after the ship had left port, as if they were still on land. Knowing the actual local time at each present location by astronomy, they could easily determine the ship's exact position and longitude on a chart. The results of their observations were published in 1773 under the title Voyage fait par ordre du roi, pour éprouver les horloges marines ("Voyage made by order of the king, to test marine chronometers").Sabin, 24750.

Napoli, Apud Iosephum Cacchium, 1570. 4to. Bound in 18th century marbled boards. Completely fresh and clean copy. Two small marginal holes to last two leaves, far from affecting text. Good, wide margins. Telesio's woodcut title-device (a beatiful naked woman, all alone, far from the troubles of the world, illuminated by the sun, surrounded by a border carrying the saying in Greek: "mona moi fila" - presumably depicting the goddess of Truth), and 11 lovely, illustrated woodcut initials. 12 ff. The rare first edition of one of Telesio's smaller scientific treatises, his treatise on the sea, which was based on purely empirical knowledge. The work constitutes a corrective to Aristotle and a continuation of his magnum opus on the things of nature, the important second edition of which was printed in the same year, also by Cacchium. The empiricism that Telesio propounds in his novel, empirically based scientific treatises, like the "De Mare", caused him to be to be considered "the first of the moderns" (Francis Bacon),"Bernardino Telesio (1509-1588) belongs to a group of independent philosophers of the late Renaissance who left the universities in order to develop philosophical and scientific ideas beyond the restrictions of the Aristotelian-scholastic tradition. Authors in the early modern period referred to these philosophers as 'novateurs' and 'modern'. In contrast to his successors Patrizzi and Campanella, Telesio was a fervent critic of metaphysics and insisted on a purely empiricist approach in natural philosophy-he thus became a forerunner of early modern empiricism. He had a remarkable influence on Tommaso Campanella, Giordano Bruno, Pierre Gassendi, Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes and authors of the clandestine Enlightenment like Guillaume Lamy and Giulio Cesare Vanini." (SEP).Telesio was born in Cosenza "and in a sense he opens the long line of philosophers through which the South of Italy has asserted its Greek heritage, a line that links him with Bruno and Campanella, with Vico in the eighteenth century, and with Croce and Gentile in our own time." (Kristeller, Eight Philosophers, p. 97). He was educated by his uncle, the humanist Antonio Telesio, in Milan and Rome, and he studied philosophy and mathematics at the university of Padua, where he got his doctorate in 1535. He had a great respect for the famous Aristotelian Vicenzo Maggi, with whom he discussed his magnum opus, obtaining his approval before publishing the seminal second version of it in 1570. He was closely connected not only with Maggi, but also with the other leaders of the most intelligent and official Aristotelianism of his age. But Telesio opposes the Aristotelianism of both his own and earlier times, claiming that they all erected arbitrary systems that consisted of a strange mixture of reason and experience. They created their systems without consulting nature, and thus they merely obtained arbitrary ideas of the world. What separates Telesio and his contemporaries from the great Renaissance thinkers that had gone ahead is not merely the passing of a few decades, but the emergence of a completely different intellectual atmosphere. "The tradition of medieval thought, which was still felt very strongly in the fifteenth century and even at the beginning of the sixteenth, began to recede into the more distant background, and it was now the tbroad thought and learning of the early Renaissance itself which constituted the tradition by which the new generations of thinkers were shaped, and against which their immediate reactions were directed." (Kristeller, Eight Philosophers, p. 91). Telesio belongs to a group of thinkers that we call the Renaissance philosophers of nature. They are considered a group by themselves, different from the humanists, Platonists, and Aristotelians that we usually group other Renaissance thinkers into. What distinguished these philosophers of nature, however, was not a different subject matter from that of the Aristotelians and the Platonists (of both contemporary and earlier times), but their clear claim to explore the principles of nature in an original and independent way, tearing themselves loose of an established tradition and authority that kept them in binds. They formulated novel theories andfreed themselves from the ancient philosophical authorities, especially Aristotle, who had dominated philosophical speculation, not least natural philosophy, for centuries. Telesio, of course, did not stand alone in this group of bold, original thinkers that we call the Renaissance philosophers of nature, and whose quest it was to make new discoveries and to attain knowledge unaccessible to the ancients, it also included for instance Fracastoro, Cardano, Paracelsus, and Bruno. But Telesio in particular protrudes, as his thought is distinguished by such clarity and coherence, and his ideas anticipate important aspects of later philosophy and science. "Telesio dedicated his whole life to establishing a new kind of natural philosophy, which can be described as an early defense of empiricism bound together with a rigorous criticism of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Galenic physiology. Telesio blamed both Aristotle and Galen for relying on elaborate reasoning rather than sense perception and empirical research. His fervent attacks against the greatest authorities of the Western philosophical and medical traditions led Francis Bacon to speak of him as "the first of the moderns" (Opera omnia vol. III, 1963, p. 114). He was perhaps the most strident critic of metaphysics in late Renaissance times. It was obviously due to his excellent relationships with popes and clerics that he was not persecuted and was able during his own lifetime to publish his rather heterodox writings, which went on the index shortly after his death." (SEP)."Giordano Bruno speaks of the "giudiciosissimo Telesio" in the third dialog of "De la causa", whilst Francis Bacon based his own speculative philosophy of nature on a blend of Telesian and Paracelsian conceptions (Giachetti Assenza 1980; Rees 1977; 1984). Thomas Hobbes followed Telesio in the rejection of species (Schuhmann 1990; Leijenhorst 1998, p. 116ff.) The physiology of René Descartes in "De homine" shows close similarities to Telesio's physiological theories as they are presented in "De natura rerum" (Hatfield 1992). Telesio also had some influence on Gassendi and on libertine thinkers (Bianchi 1992)." (SEP).Adams: T:291.

Lugduni [Lyon], Apud Ioannem Thioly, 1670. 8vo. Contemporary half calf with simple gilding to spine. Gilt title-label to spine partly missing. Four tiny worm-holes to upper front hinge, just touching front free end-papers and nothing else. Minor edge-wear, but a nice, clean, and tight binding. Ex-libris stamps to title-page (one being R.D.-E. Gelin's, the other unlegible but probably a theological library). Mostly very faint marginal dampstaining to lower margin thorughout, not touching text. Neat old owner's name to inside of front board (Soldner). Without the two blank leaves between the end of the dedication and the beginning of the text (there is clearly no leaf with any text lacking; there is either a pagination-error, or there has been one or two blank leaves between the end of the dedication and the beginning of the work. In the other copies that we have been able to find collations of, there has been no leaf a4 nor A1 either - there is no doubt that the text is complete), and without the blank leaf after the end of Part One, but with two blanks at the end of Part Two. (8) pp., pp. 3-302; 140 pp. + two blank leaves. Etremely scarce first edition of Jacques de Billy's mathematical magnum opus, known primarily as "Diophantus Redivivus" (i.e. "Diophantus Restored"), in which he gives some of the most important solutions to Diophantine problems, of which he was an expert. The work is highly important within the field of number theory and counts as one of the greatest testimonies to the early development of this branch of mathematics. The copy has belonged to the famous mathematician Johann Georg von Soldner (of the Soldner coordinate system). It was partly due to the rediscovery of Diophantus in the 16th century that Fermat reached his famous "last theorem" in the middle of the 17th century, when reading Diphantus' "Arithmetica" and engaging himself with the problems presented here. Jacques de Billy (1602-1679), a French Jesuit, who taught mathematics and theology and received the first professorship of mathematics at the Collège de Dijon, was highly interested in the problems that Diophantus had presented in his famous work, and some time before 1659, an active correspondence began between himself and Fermat, which led to, among other things, the his important "Diophantus Redivivus". The work includes many of Fermat's discoveries within the field as well as Billy's own take on them.Before a professorship of mathematics had been created at the Collège de Dijon, the mathematical enthusiast Jacques de Billy was master of studies and professor of theology. His love for mathematics meant, however, that he taught the students privately, and one of the most eager students that he thus privately taught was Jacques Ozanan, in whom Billy instilled a profound love for calculus.The only auction-records that we have been able to locate of the present work are that of Macclesfield (2004) and that of Honeyman (1978), both of which are without leaves between a3 and A2, thus lacking these two blanks (if they have ever been there). The Macclesfield-copy has the blank leaf after Part One and the two final blanks at the end of Part Two, but not the other (possible) blanks. The Honeyman-copy lacks all blank leaves, but only these, it seems.Brunet I: 946, stating "Recherché et rare" (collation: 302 et 140 pp.). Not in Poggendorf, not in Graesse.The previous owner Johann Georg von Soldner (1776-1833) was a famous German physicist, mathematician and astronomer, early on renowned for his great talent for mathematics (though almost completely self-taught). The Soldner coordinate system, which was in use until the middle of the 20th century in Germany, was named after him, as was the Ramaunajan-Soldner constant, but today he is probably primarily remembered for the final conclusion of light being diverted by heavenly bodies. It was Soldner that Einstein was accused of plagiarizing, when he calculated and published a value for the amount of gravitational light-bending in light skimming the Sun in 1911."Soldner was simple and reserved in manner, and he valued ral scholarship for its own sake. His painstaiking observational work on the detection of motion among fixed stars could be of value only to future generations of astronomers and illustrates the unselfish spirit of his work. His writings are clear and concise, and he avoided repetionon of what was already common knowledge." (D.S.B. XII:518).

Moscow, Izdanie Vladimira Bonch-Bruevicha, 1896. 8vo. In a later modest black half calf binding with marbled boards. Traces of stamp to verso of front and back board. Title-page slightly rubbed. Occassional underlignings in text and margins. Pp. 145-146 reinforced in margin. Otherwise a fine copy. XII, (4), (1)-160 pp. Exceedingly rare first Russian translation of this groundbreaking work, in which Marx first presents his revolutionizing theories of capitalism. For years, the present work was largely overshadowed by ‘Das Kapital’, and despite being published 8 years earlier (The original being published in 1859, ‘Das Kapital’ in 1867), the present work was not translated, until ‘Das Kapital’ had made Marx a household name in socialist and revolutionary circles, making the present translation comparatively early (the first English translation being from 1904).The Russian censorship cut Marx’ preface in this first translation - the full text did not appear until the revolutionary decade of 1905-1917. This Manuilov/Rumiantsev-translation remained the canonic-translation throughout the Soviet rule. The translation was made by Bolshevik revolutionary Petr Rumiantsev (1870-1924), who left the party in 1907 and emigrated in 1918, but the success of the present translation is primarily due to editor Manuilov. Editor Alexander Appolonovich Manuilov (1861-1929) was a Russian economist and politician, famous not only as one of the founding members of the Constitutional Democratic party (known as the Kadets), but also as the Russian translator of the present work. "Manuilov graduated from the law department of the University of Novorossiia (Odessa, 1883). He began scholarly and pedagogical work in political economy in 1888. In 1901 he became head of a subdepartment at Moscow University, becoming assistant rector in 1905 and serving as rector from 1908 to 1911. He was dismissed by the tsarist government for attacking the "extremes" of Stolypin's agrarian legislation. In the 1890's he was a liberal Narodnik (Populist), later becoming a Constitutional Democrat (Cadet) and a member of the Central Committee of the Cadet Party. Manuilov's draft on agrarian reform (1905) was the basis for the Cadets' agrarian program. V. I. Lenin sharply criticized Manuilov, calling him one of "the bourgeois liberal friends of the muzhik who desire the 'extension of peasant land ownership' but do not wish to offend the landlords" (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 11, p. 126, note)."At the beginning of his scholarly career Manuilov accepted the labor theory of value. In 1896 he translated K. Marx' work A Contribution to the Criticism of Political Economy (Zur Kritik der Politischen Oekonomie). During the years of reaction he espoused subjectivist and psychological views in political economy. In 1917 he was minister of education of the Provisional Government. After the October Revolution in 1917 he emigrated but soon returned and cooperated with Soviet power. He participated in the orthographic reform (1918). In 1924 he became a member of the board of Gosbank (State Bank). He taught in higher educational institutions. Changing to Marxist positions and relying on Lenin's works, he criticized the revisionists and neo-Narodniks on the agrarian question." (Encycl. Britt.). For many years, the exclusive focus on "Das Kapital" meant that the "Kritik" was overlooked. Since the beginning of the 1960's, however, scholars have become increasingly aware of its importance as the blueprint for the social and economic theory Marx shall go on to develop (see for example Raymond Aron, "Le Marxisme de Marx", 1962). It is here that Marx outlines the research programme to which he shall devote the rest of his working life. He himself described "Das Kapital" as a continuation of his "Zur Kritik der politischen Oekonomie" (see e.g. PMM 359), in which his primary concern is an examination of capital and in which he provides the theoretical foundation for his political conclusions later presented in "Das Kapital". "I examine the system of bourgeois economy in the following order: capital, landed property, wage-labour; the State, foreign trade, world market. The economic conditions of existence of the three great classes into which modern bourgeois society is divided are analysed under the first three headings; the interconnection of the other three headings is self-evident. The first part of the first book, dealing with Capital, comprises the following chapters: 1. The commodity, 2. Money or simple circulation; 3. Capital in general. The present part consists of the first two chapters." (Preface to the present work, in the translation (by S.W. Ryazanskaya) of the Progress Publishers-edition, Moscow, 1977). Apart from the obvious importance of the work as the foundational precursor to what is probably the greatest revolutionary work of the nineteenth century, the "Kritik" is of the utmost importance in the history of political and economic thought, as it is here, in the preface, that Marx outlines his classic formulation of historical materialism. This preface contains the first connected account of what constitutes one of Marx's most important and influential theories, namely the economic interpretation of history - the idea that economic factors condition the politics and ideologies that are possible in a society. "The first work which I undertook to dispel the doubts assailing me was a critical re-examination of the Hegelian philosophy of law; the introduction to this work being published in the Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbucher issued in Paris in 1844. My inquiry led me to the conclusion that neither legal relations nor political forms could be comprehended whether by themselves or on the basis of a so-called general development of the human mind, but that on the contrary they originate in the material conditions of life, the totality of which Hegel, following the example of English and French thinkers of the eighteenth century, embraces within the term "civil society"; that the anatomy of this civil society, however, has to be sought in political economy. The study of this, which I began in Paris, I continued in Brussels, where I moved owing to an expulsion order issued by M. Guizot. The general conclusion at which I arrived and which, once reached, became the guiding principle of my studies can be summarised as follows. In the social production of their existence, men inevitably enter into definite relations, which are independent of their will, namely relations of production appropriate to a given stage in the development of their material forces of production. The totality of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which arises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness. At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or - this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms - with the property relations within the framework of which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution. The changes in the economic foundation lead sooner or later to the transformation of the whole immense superstructure." (Preface to the present work, in the translation (by S.W. Ryazanskaya) of the Progress Publishers-edition, Moscow, 1977). OCLC lists merely three copies, all in the US (Havard, Wisconsin, and Hoover Institute on War).

Venetiis, In Officina Valgrisiana, 1559. Folio. (31,5x22,5 cm) Contemporary full Italian vellum. (100),776 pp. + Apologia (having its own title page) 46,(1) pp. Printers woodcut-device at both titles and on last leaf verso. With more than 700 fine wood-cuts in the text (of animals and plants). Light browning to title page, 2 corners repaired, no loss of text, 6 last leaves strengthened in outer margins, no loss of text. A few scattered brown spots and a few marginal notes. In general fine and clean, printed on good paper. Old name on title, Wolffgangus Hendl, 1564 P.V.Q. Scarce third Latin edition of this, the most famous commentary on the Materia Medica of Dioscorides, having here also the text of Dioscorides, who was the originator of the Materia Medica of antiquity. The first edition was printed 1554 and it had fewer and smaller illustrations in the text. "The use of illustrations to aid in describing and identifying plants was taken up enthusiastically by the Italian botanists. Ghini himself planned an illustrated work which was not carried out, but he helped and encouraged Mattioli to proceed with his Commentarii in VI Dioscoridis Libros which appeared with over 500 mostly excellent figures only a dozen years after Fuchs, and a few years later was reissued with some 1200 figures...his commentaries on Dioscorides became practically a general flora: they were immensely popular in Europe because of their mostly excellent illustrations, and many edition were published in Latin, Italian, German and Czech." (A.G. Morton). In Germany it was published under the title "New Kräuterbuch" and according to Sarton, Mattioli became a magnet of botanical information. - Pritzel 1559. - Choulant p. 80 - Nissen BBI: 1305.

Lugd. Batav. (Leiden), 1683 & Lugd. Batav. (Leiden), 1683. 12mo. Bound in one cont. full vellum. Title in old hand on back. De Musculis: (4), 111 pp. and 1 folded engraved plate with 4 figs. - Observationes Anatomicæ: (12), 108 pp. and 3 folded engraved plates. Light scattered brownspots, but good copies. Two very scarce works by Steensen describing his exceptional discoveries relating to the Ducts, the Glands and the mechanics of Muscles."De Musculis..." is the Leiden issue, the third publication and the second printed outside Denmark. The first edition was published in Copenhagen in 1664. The work, which is divided into two parts, contains Steensen's famous investigations on the anatomy and physiology of the different types of muscles, in which he classifies them according to fibres and fibre-functions, and concludes that the heart is a muscle with automatic movement, totally against classical and contemporary authorities. The second part deals with the Ducts and Glands giving a survey of his earlier findings, such as Stensen's Duct, which gave rise to the controversy about priority with Blasius. And then he published a long row of new discoveries on the lymphatic glands, in reality he here lists 11 new discoveries. "In this work (De Musculis et Glandulis) Steno laid the foundation of our present conception of muscular mechanics. He "at once grasped the significance of the fibrillar structure of skeletal muscle and realised that the tensile forces developed in each individual fibra became summated into the response of the muscle as a whole" (Fulton). He proved the muscular nature of the heart." (Garrison & Morton)."Observationes Anatomicæ" is the second printing, the first issued 1662, and it contains Stensen's famous findings from his first year in Leiden of the 3 main Ducts, among these the first account of the excretory duct of the parotid gland "STENSEN'S DUCT". The work is divided into 4 parts and describes the findings of the ducts and glands of the eye, the mouth and the nose.Waller Nos 9219 & 9227 - Osler Nos 4020 & 4018 (1662 ed.) - Gosch III: Stensen 4:2 & 2:1 - Garrison & Morton Nos 576 (1664) & 973 (1662).

Paris, Tresse & Stock, 1892. Small 8vo. Original printed red wrappers. A few tears and nicks to extremities. The extremely fragile spine miraculously preserved, very neatly restored. A very fine, completely uncut copy. XV, (1), 297, (1) pp. + (1, contents) f. The very rare first edition of Kropotkin's main work, "The Conquest of Bread", the great constructivist work of the libertarian tradition and the greatest modern work of anarchism. By 1880, Kropotkin had broken with the Bakunist idea of remuneration for labour in the post-revolutionary society. While Bakunin and the Federalist wing of the First International suggested a period of economic transition between Capitalism and Libertarian Communism, Kropotkin believed it necessary to leap from one to the other, from day one of the revolution. Any retention of the wages system in whatever form, such as labour cheques or time coupons, would only result in further exploitation and injustice. The revolution has to consist in the belief that all things are the common inheritance of humanity and should also be held in common; therefore, Kropotkin states in his magnum opus, collectivists merely tinker with the wages system in stead of destroying it, and the only way forward is to get rid of it completely. Kroptkin's groundbreaking "The Conquest of Bread" constitutes a work of anarcho-communist economics and history rather than a mere text book on revolutionary organization. "[I]n "The Conquest of Bread", [h]e doesn't seem to see anarchism as a political ideology on a par with, say Marxism, but rather he sees it as a constantly present tendency within human groups. Anarchism, then, is more of an anthropological category than a political one for Kropotkin... He highlights events from the French revolution where associations of labourers sprang up to till the soil together. He looks at aspects of Russian and Swiss peasant communal land use as well as the English lifeboat crews who voluntarily aid seamen in distress. This is where Kropotkin's real worth is - in the field of history and ethics. Of course some of his historical conclusions can be criticised: medieval cities were not as democratic and peaceful as he would have us believe. But he did illuminate an aspect of human history which had been completely neglected. Academics of the nineteenth century were heavily under the influence of neo-Darwinist ideas which sought to justify both capitalism and imperialism. Kropotkin was one of the very first to attempt to refute the 'survival of the fittest' idea. The basic point that humanity has made most progress under conditions of co-operation runs through the length and breadth of "The Conquest of Bread".The book contains much of interest for present day libertarians. Kropotkin touches on "integral education", agricultural production in cities, international trade, the decentralisation of industry and much else of importance currently. It is, to reiterate, one of the great constructivist anarchist works". (Gary Heyter, A Review of Kropotkin's "The Conquest of Bread"). Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (1842 -1921) was a Russian activist, scientist, and philosopher, who advocated decentralized government and anarchism. Kropotkin was a proponent of a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between workers. He wrote many books, pamphlets and articles, the most prominent being his groundbreaking "The Conquest of Bread" from 1892. He also contributed the article on anarchism to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition."The Conquest Of Bread" first appeared in Paris in 1892, after having been serialized in the anarchist journals "La Révolté" and "Le Révolte". After the appearance of the book, it became extremely influential and was serialized again, though only in part, between 1892 and 1894 in the London journal "Freedom". It quickly reached an extremely large audience and was translated an reprinted numerous times. It was translated into Norwegian already in 1898, and in Japanese in 1909."The Conquest of bread" came to play an enormous role in the modern development of anarchism and is the most significant modern work of the libertarian tradition.

Berlin, S. Fischer Verlag, 1912. Royal 8vo. Volumes 1 and 2 (i.e. the entire year) of "Die neue Rundschau, 1912" present, in the original half vellum bindings with gilt title to spines, top edge gilt. In remarkably fine condition, with just a bit of soiling to spines and a small crack to upper hinges of volume 1 ("Der Tod in Venedig" is in vol. 2). Small stamp in Hebrew to front boards and to title-pages. Large engraved book plates ("E. Schwabach-Märzdorff") to inside of front boards and to front free end-papers. A very nice and clean set. The true first printing of Thomas Mann's masterpiece, "The Death in Venice". Contrary to what is generally believed, the actual first appearance of "The Death in Venice" was not the extremely scarce de luxe-edition that appeared in 100 numbered copies in 1912. In fact the work originally appeared (and in its entirety) in the October and November issues (i.e. in the second volume, on pp. 1368-1398 + 1499-1526) of "Die Neue Rundschau", 1912. Simultaneusly with this first appearance, Poeschel und Trepte in Leipzig were preparing the luxury edition of the work for Hans von Weber's Hyperionverlag in Munich, as one of his "Hundertdrucke". Probably due to the controversial theme of the work, Thomas Mann was hesitant to immediately handing over the manuscript to his regular publisher S. Fisher for him to publish it directly and had settled on the bibliophile edition already before finishing the work. He did give Fischer the work to publish, though, and thus it came to appear both in Fischer's "Neue Rundschau", over two months, and with Weber's Hyperionverlag. While the first part of the work was being published in "Die neue Rundschau", the luxury edition was being prepared, and in the end, the luxury edition was only issued (shortly) after the second and final part had appeared in "Die neue Rundschau" in November 1912. Shortly after the famous luxury edition, in 1913, Fischer published the first trade edition in book form. By 1924, 50.000 copies of the work had appeared in this form. Thomas Mann's disturbing masterpiece, probably the most famous story of obsession ever written, is considered one of the most important literary productions of the 20th century.

Augsburg, Johann Andreas Pfeffel, 1744-48. Folio. Bound in 4 uniform cont. full calf, 5 raised bands, titlelabels. Compartments richly blindtooled. Lower compartments of spines with a paperlabel pasted on. A stamp on title-pages. A few scratches on covers, corners slightly bumped. Monogram of King Frederik V tooled in blind on red leather on both covers.4 engraved frontispieces (one of which double-page), 1 engraved portrait. (12),164,(5);(22),182,(13);(12),122,(11);(8),102,(9) pp., 4 engraved vignettes and 30+51+70+86 fine engraved plates ( a total of 237, of which many double-page). The two first leaves in volume IV with some dampstaining. A few plates brownspotted. Clean and fine, on good paper. First edition. - Poggendorff II,400. - Graesse V,195.

Rome, Nicoloò Angelo Tinassi, 1672. Small8vo. In 18th century half calf with red leather title-label to spine and gilt lettering and ornamentation. Lower capital with a bit of wear and corners slightly bumped. Frontispiece mounted and with a closed tear (no loss). Title-page with light soiling and previous owner's name in contemporary hand. Dampstain affecting lower part of outer margin of Pp. 397-432 and Pp. 449-455. Some occasional browning and brownspotting, but overall fine; a nice copy. (26), 455, (1) pp. Engraved frontispiece. The rare first edition of the first book devoted entirely to surgical anatomy. Genga's milestone work founded the discipline of anatomical surgery; it was frequently reprinted and remained a widely used manual for decades after its first appearance. Genga furthermore, in the tract appended to this work (i.e the "Breve Discorso" on the circulation of the blood, pp. 420-448), showed himself to be one of the first Italians to accept Harvey's theory on the circulation of blood. "Though anatomy was hitherto cultivated with much success as illustrating the natural history and morbid states of the human body, yet little had been done for the elucidation of local diseases, and the surgical means by which they may have been successfully treated. The idea of applying anatomical knowledge directly to this purpose appears to have originated with Barnardin Genga, a Roman surgeon, who published in 1672, at Rome, a work entitled "Surgical Anatomy, or the Anatomical History of the Bones and Muscles of the Human Body, with the description of the Blood-vessels". This work, which reached a second edition in 1687, is highly creditable to the author, who appears to have studied intimately the mutual relations of different parts." (Encyclopaedia Britannica). This foundational work, Genga's first work, was extremely influential and widely used. It was reprinted a number of times within the following decades. The first edition of it is of great scarcity. Most of the bibliographies only have later editions, and one of the few copies that are listed on OCLC is incomplete, lacking the title-page. We have only been able to locate one copy at auction within the last 40 years (in 1979). Heirs of Hippocrates: 337 (1687-edition)Wellcome III:102 (only later editions)Garrison-Morton: 387 ("First book devoted entirely to surgical anatomy").

Venegia (Venice), Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1561. Small 8vo. Contemp. full vellum. Covers a bit soiled and with remains of ink-writing on both covers. Small nicks to edges. Endpapers renewed with old paper. Old written owners name on titlepage: Antonio Cappini. 304,(32) pp. A few stains and a few scattered brownspots. Faint browning to lower margin of some leaves. Fine woodcut initials throughout. The extremely scarce first edition of this botanical classic, which still remains an important source for historical nomenclature and floristic studies. "Little is known of Anguillara's early life. In 1539 he became associated with Luca Ghini at the latter's private botanical garden, first in Bologna, then in Pisa in 1544. Two years later, Anguillara became the first director of the botanical garden in Padua, the oldest of its kind in Europe. He remained at Padua, supervising a garden that received favorable notice from many distinguished visitors, until 1561... He became herbalist to the Duke of Ferrara and continued his botanical travels." (D.S.B. I:167). The present work is Anguillara's only known book. The work was written over a long period (1549-60) and is divided into fourteen 'pareri' ("opinions"), each of which is dedicated to a contemporary Italian physician. "(t)he book is principally devoted to the identification of the plants known to Dioscorides and the other ancient writers on materia medica. Because of his travels in Greece, Italy, France, and Asia Minor and his great personal knowledge of plant life throughout the Meditarranean basin, Anguillare was among the best-equipped of sixteenth-century botanists to make such a study.Approximately 1,540 plants are discussed by Anguillara, but in no discernible systematic order. Each plant is described, its classical name established (often with vernacular synonyms appended), and its medical and alimentary uses mentioned, along with its habitat, literary references, and the location where Anguillara found it. The descriptions are sufficiently full and accurate that the majority of his plants have been identified by modern historians of botany. Frequently cited by seventeenth-century botanists, the "Semplici" still remains an important source for historical nomenclature and floristic studies. He is commemorated today by the genus "Angillaria (Liliaceae)" named in his honor by Robert brown (1810)." (DSB, I:167). Greene in his "Landmarks of Botanical History", calls this book "The greatest book of botany which had ever been written in Italy."- Pritzel: 187. - Waller: 430 - Graesse I: p. 131. - Not in Wellcome, not in Hunt, not in Jackson.

Leiden, Elzevier, 1624. 4to (194 x 150 mm). Bound in a beautiful contemporary full calf binding with gilt centrepieces blindstamped lines and four raised bands and gilt ornamentations to spine. Spine neatly restored. Old owner's names to title-page, one of them crossed out. Occassional very light browning or soiling. An excellent copy. With the book-plate of Paul Heilbronner to inside of front board. (54), 109, (1) + (2), 62 (being tables), (1 - errata), (1) pp. + 3 engraved plates (one being in the text, on p. 101, but full-page). Woodcut illustrations and tables in the text. Scarce first edition of one of Snell's main works, his important lessons on navigation, in which he coined the term "loxodrome" and foreshadowed the differential triangle of Pascal. "The idea and figure of what is now called the differential triangle had appeared on several occasions before the time of Pascal, and even as early as 1624. Snell, in his "Tiphys Batavus", had thought of a small speherical surface bounded by a loxodrome, a circle of latitude, and a meridian of longitude as equivalent to a plane right triangle." (C.B. Boyer, The History of the Calculus and its Conceptual Development, p. 152). "In 1624 Snel published his lessons on navigation in Tiphys batavus (Tiphys was the pilot of the Argo). The work is mainly a study and tabulation of Pedro Nuñez’ so-called rhumb lines (1537), which Snel named "loxodromes". His consideration of a small spherical triangle bounded by a loxodrome, a parallel, and a meridian circle as a plane right triangle foreshadows the differential triangle of Pascal and later mathematicians." (D.S.B.). Paul Helbronner (1871-1938) was a French topographer, alpinist, and geodosist, who pioneered cartography of the French Alps. Pointe Helbronner in the Mont Blanc massif is named in his honour.