but 1904.]. Oblong 4to, pp. [3]-59, [3], including 14 pages of chromolithograph figures to be cut out (with blank versos); small neat tear at bottom of p. 11, head of p. 46 with tear just touching border, pp. 44 and 47 with larger nicks with some loss, though not touching text; paper somewhat browned throughout, due to quality, but in the original green linen backed pictorial boards, with polychrome illustration on upper cover, head and tail of spine slightly worn, rear cover cracked with neat paper repair, some minor soiling and staining to boards, corners a little worn; a good copy. First edition, and unusual in that the present copy has been unused. One of a series of cut-out costume books illustrated by the noted French artist and children’s illustrator ‘Job’, with text by Aristide Fabre (180-1936) the present volume describes and illustrates ‘Warriors and Great Lords’ throughout French history, from the Gauls to the students of Saint-Cyr.
Jacques Marie Gaston Onfroy de Bréville (1858-1931) known by the pen name ‘Job’ after his initials contributed to numerous works, though is best remembered for his illustrations for children’s books. Having served for some time in the French army, during his artistic career he maintained a keen interest in military, patriotic, and nationalistic subjects, as reflected here, which displays his keen eye for detail, reproducing the uniforms with great precision.

1951. 8vo, pp. xxiii, [i], 558; with a number of diagrams within text; pp. 224-5 creased with small tear at lower margin, p. 258 creased, gutter exposed at p. 383, lightly toned throughout; in the original blue publisher’s cloth, spine lettered in gilt, lower corner of upper board bumped, with the original grey price-clipped dust-jacket, spine somewhat browned with a few small chips and splits, preserved within protective glycine jacket; with the signature of Phyllis Fox and the date ‘Jan 31, 1956’ on front free endpaper; a very good copy. Second edition, and a nice association copy, of this classic textbook on applied mathematics, originally published in 1933, once belonging to the noted American mathematician and computer scientist Phyllis Fox (1923-2017), with her signature on the front free endpaper. The signature is dated January 31, 1956, Fox purchasing the volume while working on the numerical solution of partial differential equations for UNIVAC for the Computing Center of the United States Atomic Energy Commission at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University.
In addition to the present work, the English applied mathematician Louis Melville Milne-Thomson CBE FRSE RAS (1891–1974), is best remembered for his works on Theoretical Hydrodynamics (1938), and Theoretical Aerodynamics (1948), as well as for his work developing mathematical tables such as the Jacobian Elliptic Function Tables (1932). The Milne-Thomson circle theorem and the Milne-Thomson method for finding a holomorphic function are named after him. His works proved popular and went through several editions.

1924. Large 4to, pp. [ii], [x], 296; with over 468 illustrations within the text including photographs (some enhanced with additional colouring) and colour diagrams; some occasional minor foxing and soiling but otherwise clean and crisp; in the original black cloth, ruled in gilt and blind, spine lettered in gilt, head and tail a little nicked and worn, spine slightly faced, with light wear to surfaces and extremities, book block a little shaken, without the original dust-jacket; still a good copy. First Edition of this contribution to ‘a new genre of artistic anatomies originated in modern teaching methods for students of medicine whose main emphasis lies in the function of and correlation's between osteology and myology’ (Röhrl p. 278). ‘Perhaps the first scientific textbook in which an experiment was undertaken to expound the body’s functions and to explain the surface form for art students. In all chapters of the book, osteology and myology are explained in connection with each other. The work was developed from modern teaching methods for medical students. The complex structure is not understandable to readers without deeper medical knowledge’ (ibid, p. 424).
The physician Mollier (1866-1954) trained at the Munich Anatomical Institute, eventually becoming its director. In this role he taught anatomy courses for artists for over four decades, and in 1924 published the present work, considered by the Deutsche Biographie to be ‘a sophisticated and ground-breaking work’ of particular note for his precise functional analyses of movement. ‘The explanations begin with the foot and leg and a subdivision into functional areas is made so that the lower extremities, for example, are divided up in this order: foot, lower leg, ankle, thigh, knee joint, pelvis and hip joint. In this way, an arrangement into small parts which could all be explained separately was effected. The conception has several advantages, as the changes of the surface form during movement could be illustrated, for example, photographs of changes in the abdomen during respiration and of the visible parts of the skeletal framework during movement illustrate the text’ (ibid p. 279). Röhrl is however a little critical of the photographic material, which he notes ‘does not produce a very engaging effect. The models were photographed in unnatural and cramped poses that remind one of a circus. These stance might have been intended to demonstrate changes in the body’s surface in an extreme stretch of the joints and to show to what extent joints can be strained; yet, motion studies like these are not related to the depiction of the human figure in art’ (ibid). Some of the photographic poses are certainly reminiscent of those of the pioneering German bodybuilder Eugen Sandow (born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller 1867-1925), who travelled the world displaying his strongman prowess, establishing an institute of physical culture, and was highly influential in promoting and encouraging popular physical fitness. The present work clearly reflects this recent focus upon physicality, but to the modern eye, a number of the images make for uncomfortable viewing, redolent of the eugenics movement somehow. In subsequent years, however, Mollier was one of a few anatomists in the professional society the Anatomische Gesselschaft who challenged the measures demanded by the National Socialists in 1934 to transform the traditionally international society into a purely German entity and exclude “non-Aryan” members.
Hermann Sachs, the illustrator of Mollier’s work, was one of the leading German Expressionist artists of the first half of the 20th century. He spent the 1910s in Munich, where he founded the Munich School of Expressionists and no doubt became acquainted with Mollier. He moved to Los Angeles in 1925 and designed the interiors of many landmark Los Angeles buildings, including Union Station and the Los Angeles City Hall.

1776. 8vo, pp. [xxiv], 594, [14]; without the four page dedication, which is sometimes present; with 109 naive woodcuts within text, and large woodcut vignette on final verso; lower corner of page 84 torn with loss of paper not text, and with neat discrete paper repairs to pp. 341-42, 359-60, 413-14 and 541-42, stain affecting pp. 433-437, the whole text lightly foxed and browned, with some occasional minor marginal dampstaining, otherwise clean; in contemporary half calf over marbled boards, spine in compartments with raised bands, ruled in gilt, with orange paper lettering label, spine slightly cracked, with both joints starting but holding firm, with slight loss to rear joint, covers a little scuffed, and recornered to style; with the bookplate of Lennart Ragnemark on front pastedown; a good copy. Second edition of this ‘introduction to the knowledge of animals’ by Magnus Orrelius (1717-1794), of particular appeal for the numerous charming woodcuts, which though perhaps not all original, are believed to have been done by the author himself. The work was first published anonymously in 1750-1751 in weekly parts as Historia animalium, and is considered to be Sweden’s first vernacular zoological handbook.
The Royal Swedish Academy was founded in 1739, on the initiative of Linnaeus amongst others. One of the aims was to promote the economic benefits of the natural sciences, a principle which naturally favoured botanical and zoological research, with the hope that the discovery of new animal and plant species could be of use to man. Up to this time, little had been written about the plant and animal kingdom, with most published being in Latin, and so a number of manuals and textbooks were published to fill this void, and disseminate knowledge more widely. Linnaeus himself, famously published his Fauna Svecica, the first Swedish natural fauna, in 1746, though this was once again published in Latin, and whilst ground-breaking, was not really a handbook for general use.
In October 1749, advertisements appeared in Stockholm for a work on the history of animals written ‘in the Swedish tongue’, to be published by subscription in parts to make it more affordable and cheaper to print. The anonymous author borrowed the title Historia Animalium from Conrad Gessner’s famous work. According to Martin Biinsow, when Linnaeus saw the advertisement he was greatly perturbed, fearing plagiarism of his popular lecture notes. ‘In a letter to the Academy of Sciences' secretary, Wargentin, Linné writes that, if there is plagiarism, he will withdraw not only from the fauna, but from all work. However, the great man could breathe a sigh of relief when the work started to come out. There was no question of any plagiarism, even if the author had picked up a lot of facts from Linné’ (Biinsow, I Var Herres Hage, Svensk zoologi i Kunskapskallan, p. 5 a google translation). Indeed, for this second edition, a letter of recommendation by Wargentin himself is included on the verso of the title-page – a sign of Academy approval no doubt.
The author, in fact, was Magnus Orrelius (1717-94), a member of the Moravian Brethren in Sweden, active as a writer, translator and woodcutter, though not part of traditional academic circles. From an impoverished background, and born as Mans Fanberg, he funded himself to study at Uppsala, at which point he changed his name. His poor financial situation meant that his studies were fragmented and he never took his degree. He worked as a personal tutor, and then as an accountant, but made most of his living as a writer, as well as penning a number of pamphlets and articles on social issues such as child-rearing, and population decline.
The Historia Animalium was his first work, and whilst it claimed to describe all animals existing on the globe, was confined principally to mammals, including man, Orrelius adopting Linnaeus’ classification and system. This second edition has been substantially revised and enlarged when it comes to the number of species described, but for cost reasons the descriptions were kept shorter and are limited, as previously, to mammals. As acknowledged in the preface, the work draws upon a number of sources, including Pliny, Aristotle, Olaus Magnus, as well Linnaeus. Whilst clearly aiming to be a serious scientific treatise, Orrelius often trying to distance himself from some earlier myths and legends, (notably the unicorn an Aristotelian invention according to Orrelius), the information provided is often of varying reliability. Far from being an objective commentator, his own moral judgements and opinions pervade the work, which often make for entertaining reading. His theological leanings ensure too, that in line with fellow 18^th century scholars, his work very much recognises and celebrates the wonders of Creation, stressing how an appreciation of the beauties of nature can lead to a greater understanding of God.
Focusing more upon behavioural traits than anatomical descriptions, Orrelius often imparts human qualities to the animals under discussion, seeing animals as images of human characteristics. About the ‘natt-människan, homo nocturnus, troglodytes’ (the orangutan, p. 41), Orrelius notes that ‘they speak in a whispering manner, think and draw conclusions like rational creatures, imagining that the whole globe was created for their sake, and that they once will come to his former power over the inhabitants of the earth’. He describes the ‘lurfwige bawianen’ of Sumatra (p. 51), as whilst not ugly, ‘is nevertheless terrifying in appearance, after that he always grinds his teeth, and gives signs of anger. It is sometimes the meanest and rudest of all animals’. Mammals from all corners of the globe are described, from Africa to America, including elephants, rhinocerus, whales, lions, camels, sloths, porcupines, domestic beasts such as dogs and cattle, as well as the walrus (p. 94) and the racoon (p. 262). The animals are frequently described as being greedy, or ferocious, or blood-thirsty, and though perhaps not believing in unicorns, he does subscribe to various traditional ‘forest’ myths, superstitions and beliefs.
The work includes 109 charming if somewhat naive woodcuts of mammals, believed to be the work of Orrelius himself. In discussing the first edition, Biinsow notes that a number of the woodcuts appear to have been copied for earlier works by Olaus Magnus, as well as Albrecht Dürer (notably his 1515 woodcut of a rhinocerus), and some from Johnston’s Historiae naturalis (1650-1654). It is interesting to note that all appear to have been revised and re-engraved for the present second edition, the similarities not nearly so obvious. Much less refined, they have a charming, naive quality. An important, if less well known contribution, to the zoological canon.

ca. 1880-1900.]. Chromolithograph decorative lidded box, 405 x 320 x 50mm; interior divided into three compartments, the larger containing three large chromolithograph playing boards, each with a sliding graduating scale on which the bear can slide, the two side compartments containing a pink cotton drawstring bag of bone tokens, two card ‘faux crocodile skin’ die shakers and two bone die; some signs of wear to all three playing boards, with some minor loss of paper in places, all three somewhat browned and aged; with mounted rules on the inside lid; in the original decorative box, with chromolithograph scene mounted on upper lid depicting the Jardin de Plantes, with a large group of spectators looking down into bear pit, lid a little darkened and soiled, with some darkening and soiling around the edges, some slight scuffing and loss of paper to base, some edge-wear as to be expected; an appealing complete example of a rare and fragile item. A striking game of chance, though very much of its time, ‘celebrating’ the famous bears of the Paris Jardin du Roi. A speed race comprised of three playing boards, each player chooses a bear - either Martin, Coco, or Lebernois, and taking turns to throw the dice moves their bear up the graduated ‘pole’ according to the numbers thrown. Like all games of chance, players risk landing on forfeit squares, printed in red and green, which will force either a return to the start, or to slide several places back down the pole. The first to the top (40) wins and claims the stake pot.
The game is similar in style to another Saussine production, ‘Jeu du Mat de Cocagne’ another race game, this time carnival based and racing three male climbers up a greased pole. The present game was reissued during the 1920s.
The Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris was famed not only for its collections, but for its ménagerie located within the botanical gardens of the Jardin du Roi. Formalised in 1794 after the revolution, guide books for the museum and the gardens soon became popular, published regularly, and which took visitors on a walking tour of the various notable attractions, including cages of ‘ferocious beasts’, an aviary, a monkey gallery, the famous rotunda housing large herbivores, including giraffes and elephants. Bear pits were first created in 1805, and early residents were confiscated from bear trainers, and soon gained a reputation for their ferocity, after two visitors (in 1814 and 1820) were killed having rashly entered the enclosure. Indeed the latter incident prompted something of a public outcry, the first ‘Martin Bear’ (‘L’ours Martin’ so named after Saint-Martin, protector of the poor and ‘bear hunter’) effectively put on trial for his crime. This ‘homicide’, whilst treated by some as a legitimate crime, also became the focus of various parodic pamphlets, putting humanity itself on defence for wrongly ‘oppressing’ others of Martin’s kind, who were only acting according to nature. These tragic incidents nevertheless helped to create public sympathy for the bears, and they became a popular attraction, entertaining generations of families through both their antics and ferociousness. As the present end of the century games suggests, they were still a major attraction, the animal collection seen as a positive way to broaden the horizons of Parisians and those from further afield.

[n.d. but ca. 1821-1823.]. 8vo, ff. [18] leaves, printed on one side only, with hand-coloured engraved frontispiece and a further 14 hand-coloured engraved illustrations in the text to make a total of 15 not 16 illustrations as stated by title (other editions make a similar error); all slightly crudely coloured; lightly browned and soiled throughout, with some occasional offsetting and bleed through from ink and colour; stitched, as issued, in original publisher's printed pictorial salmon wrappers, spine rubbed and worn with some loss, with 5cm split at tail but still holding firm, wrappers rubbed and dust-soiled, with some surface loss notably at lower rear corner; though a little dog-eared, overall an appealing copy. Uncommon and attractively illustrated late Regency rhyming riddle game for children, and seemingly an early edition with the A.K. Newman & Co. Dean & Munday imprint. A test of both memory and counting, the format is akin to that of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, and indeed its appear to date back to a similar time. Of the party who intend on playing one is appointed Treasurer who begins the game by passing an item, 'a penknife, pocket-book, or thimble' are among the suggestions to the person sat next to him stating 'Take this', the player responds 'What's this?', to which the Treasurer replies 'A gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling Frog'. The sequence is repeated, a line added to the nonsense verse with each turn. If a player misremembers a part of the increasingly complex rhyme he or she forfeits and must enact a penalty. Suggested penalties include 'Submit to be tickled by the company for five minutes', and 'Spell and pronounce this word twice within ten minutes, without a blunder - Al-di-bo-ron-ti-phos-ky-phor-ni-os-ti-kus'.
As with many similar chapbooks of the time, dating of the first edition seems unclear. As far as we have been able to establish, one of the earliest appearances of the rhyme in print was in ‘Mirth without Mischief. Containing the Twelve Days of Christmas, the play of the Gaping-wide-mouthed waddling frog, love and hatred, the art of talking with fingers, and Nimble-Ned’s alphabet and figures’ published by Davenport in 1780. It seems likely that, was in the case of the French inspired Twelve Days of Christmas, that the recited rhyme in various forms was already popular. In 1817 E. and J. Wallis issued ‘The Gaping Wide-mouthed Waddling Frog, adapted to a Game of Forfeits, coloured Plates’. The Osborne copy, and which appears to compare to the present copy, is dated to 1822 - from an manuscript inscription. A watermark date can be seen on [f.6] of 1821. A copy which sold at Christies in 2003, and which they suggested was 1822, had a variant title-page correcting the number of embellished engravings from sixteen to 15 as is in fact the case. Interestingly, that copy had ‘just 13 illustrations which are fully paginated’ (Christies, Dr Nigel Temple Collection of Children’s Books, 2003, lot 53).

1820-30. Series of nine oval die-cut ‘lace’ cards, 64 x 88mm, alternately cream and blue, tied together with blue silk, with 18 riddles neatly penned in a single hand (1-9 on recto, 10-18 on verso); some occasional light foxing and soiling, but otherwise clean and bright; now housed within custom made box. A charming, seemingly late Regency or early Victorian handmade parlour game, consisting of a series of 18 quite fiendish enigmas, charades and riddles - sadly without the answers - though attesting to the popularity of such games during the 19th century! Neatly written on nine oval die-cut cards, redolent of papers which became synonymous with Victorian Valentine’s Day card, this attractively produced set may perhaps have been given as a love token, although none of the riddles are on the theme of love. The riddles are as follows:
1. ‘Why is the famous Mr McAdam like one of the seven wonders of the World’; 2. ‘What colour are the winds and storms?’; 3. ‘My first is a prop, my second is a prop and my third is a prop’; 4. ‘My first I do, my second I do not and my third is what you are’; 5. ‘My first is a story, my second a story and my whole are(?) number of innocence’; 6. ‘Spell the archipelago in three letters’; 7. ‘My first supplies equality, my second inferiority, and my whole superiority’; 8. ‘Why are a pair of skates like an apple’; 9. ‘Why are fixed(?) stars like pen ink and paper?’; 10. ‘Name me and you break me?’; 11. ‘What word of ten letters can be spelt with five?’; 12. ‘Take a noun of plural number, to it add the letter ‘S’, plural’s plural now no more, sweet’s what bitter was before’; 13. ‘A letter in the Dutch alphabet named makes a lady of the third rank’; 14. ‘Why is grass like a mouse?’; 15. ‘If a pair of spectacles could speak, what ancient historian would they name?’; 16. ‘What sea would make a good sleeping room?’; 17. ‘What is majesty without it’s extremes?’; and finally 18. ‘My first is a proposition, my second is a composition and my third an acquisition’ (the answer we have worked out is fortune).
McAdam (1756-1836) became famous in the 1820s, question 1 being written in the present tense suggests the date of composition to be before his death in 1836.

1890. Large 8vo, pp. vii, 636; with twelve plates, of which 11 are mounted Woodbury types, and one engraved plate, together with numerous figures within the text; plate 3 without tissue guard; paper a little browned throughout due to quality, some light marginal dampstaining to preface and table of contents from p. 626, with further occasional light spotting and soiling including ink staining on p. 48; in contemporary half roan over marbled boards, spine in compartments with raised bands, slightly faded and sunned, head of spine lightly worn, with some scuffing to upper cover, extremities lightly rubbed and bumped; a presentation copy from the author and inscribed on the half-title to ‘Monsieur le Docteur Widal’. First edition, and a presentation copy, of this noted work on epilepsy, including 11 mounted Woodbury types, highlighting physical pathologies associated with epilepsy and epileptic seizures. The lithograph plate shows histological lesions of the cerebral cortex.
‘In 1890, for the first time, a monograph was published which addressed epilepsies in the plural... a classification appeared to be required to provide structure to the increasingly heterogeneous field. Féré distinguished primarily partial and generalised paroxysms and subdivided the latter into: 1) the complete attack; 2) the incomplete attack; 3) abnormal attacks; and 4) isolated symptoms’ (Peter Wolf, History of epilepsy: nosological concepts and classification, in Epileptic Disorders: International Epileptic Journals, Sept 2014; I6 (3): 261-9). ‘A monumental undertaking by an important member of the Charcot circle, this volume is a synopsis of all that was understood and documented on neurologic disorders up to the time of its publication in 1890. Féré cites case histories and observations from over 800 physicians and presents his own classification of hystero-epileptic disorders’ (Mark Rowley, artandmedicine.com). He goes on to suggest that the photographs may have been taken by Albert Londe (1858-1917), who had established a photographic laboratory at the Salpêtrière during Charcot’s tenure, and would no doubt have been known to Féré.
Féré began his medical studies at Rouen and completed them in 1882 at Paris. He interned in surgery but whilst assisting Jean-Martin Charcot at the Salpêtrière, changed to neuropathology. In 1887 he was appointed chief medical officer at the Bicêtre, where he remained for the rest of his career. A specialist of ‘hystero-epilepsy’, he published extensively with studies on the anatomy of the nervous system, sexuality, hypnosis, Darwinism, and criminology.
The work is inscribed to ‘Monsieur le Docteur Widal’ - either Henri Victor Widal (1826-1894), the military physician and member of the Academy of Medicine, or perhaps more likely to his son Georges-Ferdinand (1862-1929), the noted pathological anatomist, who published essays on the nervous system, and most notably on infectious diseases.

but 1785]. Folio, [iv], 111, [1]; with one large folding engraved plate; entirely engraved throughout; some impressions a little faint, others darkened; without front free endpaper or half-title; some occasional light staining and soiling, mainly marginal; in contemporary green boards, title in ms on upper cover, head and tail of spine bumped and lightly worn, joints lightly rubbed, covers somewhat soiled and darkened, extremities lightly bumped and worn; signed by the publisher Blondeau at the tail of title-page. An attractive book of composition and theory, engraved throughout. Jean Joseph Rodolphe (1730-1812) had a brilliant career as a violinist, horn player and composer during the second half of the 18th century. Rodolphe was close to the Italian composer Jommeli and befriended the young Mozart during the latter’s visit to Paris in 1778. From 1784 until the Revolution, Rodolphe taught composition at the École Royale de Chant et de Déclamation and was later was Professor of solfège at the Paris Conservatoire. (1798–1802). The present copy has been signed by the publisher Blondeau. A small note states that this is ‘Oeuvre II’ but the work appears complete in itself. The British Library and Berlin note this issue point
OCLC also locate copies at Harvard, Pennyslyvania, Stanford, and the Plantijn Hogeschool, though without mention of part information.

1803. 8vo, pp. [viii], xxxii, 156, [2], with one folding engraved plate signed by C.G. Geissler and dated 1803, with woodcut illustration of Pythagoras' theorem on title-page; copy no. 399 signed by the author on authentication leaf; some occasional light foxing and soiling, but otherwise clean and crisp; in contemporary half green roan over paper boards, spine attractively lettered and tooled in gilt, head and tail of spine a little bumped, some light scuffing to upper joint, covers lightly soiled, extremities a little bumped and rubbed; the Erwin Tomash copy with his book-plate on front paste-down; a good copy. First edition of this rare contribution to the geometrical problem of ‘squaring the circle’, by the Italian Gaetan Rossi de Catanzaro (1767-1826). Describing himself as a ‘man of letters and law’ (p. iv) and resident of Geneva, as becomes apparent from his florid and rather pompous introduction, Rossi was clearly an enthusiastic amateur mathematician, who like many before him, believed that through ‘assiduous and methodical work’ (ibid) that he had found a solution to the problem of the quadrature of the circle, and believes that in publishing his essay and demonstrating his solution and invention, that he will convince fellow mathematicians to correct their false theories. It is a discovery of the greatest importance not only for science and literature, but for humanity in general. The proportional compass referred to in the title is discussed in theoretical terms and is not illustrated. The final fifty pages contain an alphabetical listing of the mathematical terms used in the work.
This was not his only published contribution to the subject, his preface revealing that he had previously published a circular announcing his solution, and which it appears he distributed to a number of European Societies. Indeed the Royal Green Observatory appears to hold a copy of this ‘Equisse’ in a volume of pamphlets submitted to the Board of Longitude and which is dated May 20th 1803: ‘Esquisse sur la quadrature du crecle, addressée a tous les savans ge2ométres, et à toutes les sociétés, politiques, commerçantes, et littéraires, qui existent sur la surface de la terre’ (in RGO 14/54 Papers of the Board of Longitude). OCLC also locates a tract of 1804, penned in Italian but with a London imprint: Soluzione esatta e regolare del difficilissimo problema della quadrature del circolo’, which appeared in a second edition, a seeming testment to his self-confidence in his theory.
Provenance : Erwin Tomash (1921-2022), an American engineer recognised for his early pioneering work with computer equipment peripherals.

1877. 8vo, pp. 31, [1]; paper lightly browned throughout due to paper quality, small vertical tear at head of first couple of leaves without loss, with some further minor edgewear, and some light creasing in places; stitched as issued in the original printed wrappers, small tear at upper margin of upper cover, with some staining affecting the lower margin, further light soiling, and extremities very lightly nicked and worn. Uncommon first edition of this short historical treatise highlighting the life and work of some famous women, both ancient and modern, in the fields of medicine and science. Franceso Scalzi (1821-1889), described as ‘Ispettore Medico nel mosocomio di santo spirito in Roma’, dedicates his work to Contessa Elena Borghese, and presents a brief A-Z, beginning with Abella of Salerno, concluding with Vittorio, and including the Scottish herbalist Elizabeth Blackwell, the French midwife Louise Bourgeois, the sixteenth-century alchemist Isabella Cortese and ‘Miss Nightingale’. The most detailed biography is given over to Anna Manzolini, who held the Chair of Anatomy at the University of Bologna in the eighteenth century.
The brief entry for ‘Nightingale (miss)’ reads: ‘She dedicated her whole life and her vast wealth to the benefit of the poor. She distinguished herself as a nurse during the Crimean war. She later founded the Barak Hospital [sic] in London, a vast institution capable of accommodating over three thousand patients’ (online translation).

1880s?. Oblong small 8vo, ff. 40 leaves of chromolithograph plates; some very light marginal browning and foxing; in contemporary navy and light blue cloth backed boards, upper cover lettered in gilt, spine lightly sunned, covers a little stained and soiled. A scarce and beautifully illustrated late Victorian trade catalogue, issued by the Kent based coach building company W. P. Love, with forty chromolithograph illustrations of horse-drawn coaches and carts, and showing a variety of commercial, utility and multi-passenger vehicles, some of which include oil-lamps. A wonderful catalogue, the images ‘transport’ us back to a bygone era of horse-drawn travel - the ultimate green form of transportation.
Despite living only 15 miles from Paddock Wood, we have sadly been unable to find out any further information about W. P. Love, though believe that they remained in operation on Commercial Road until the late 20th century.

1831. 8vo; pp. [iv], 15, [1] blank, 15-473, 475 488, [9]; penned in a single hand throughout; dampstain affecting fore-edge from pp. 9-160 though never touching text, some occasional light foxed and soiling, a few corners a little creased, otherwise generally clean and bright; contemporary sheep-backed marbled boards, spine tooled and lettered in gilt, head of spine worn exposing headband, with loss at both upper joints, with further cracking and loss at tail of upper joint, covers scuffed and faded, extremities rubbed and somewhat worn. An extensive and neatly transcribed early 19th century manuscript course on zoology, the work of Jean Borros, whom we believe was a student at the recently opened Toulouse Veterinary School, thus providing an insight into part of the required curriculum in the early days of the establishment. Densely penned in a tight, neat hand, Borros has signed his name on the first leaf, below which is inscribed ‘eleve veterinaire’, and the manuscript is dated October 16th 1831 at its conclusion on p. 438. Purely zoological, the manuscript opens with a general introduction, before a section ‘Division du regne animal’ (pp. 42-143). The remaining portion of the manuscript comprises a ‘Tableau méthodique des mammifiéres’, subdivided into 8 orders (two-legged, four-legged, carnivores, rodents, toothless, pachyderms, ruminans and cetaceans) each order then further divided into subclasses and genre. Both domestic and exotic animals are covered, with details about characteristics and habitats described, with mammals such as kangaroos (p. 218) and buffalo and bison (p. 370-371), pangolins (260) and elephants (263) included.
France was at the forefront of establishing veterinary medicine as a profession and Toulouse was the third dedicated veterinary school to open in France in 1825, following those of Lyon (1762) and Alfort near Paris in 1766, both founded by Claude Bourgelat (1712-1779). Up until 1761, veterinary ‘art’ was practised mostly by farriers and farmers, who were either self-taught or had moved through unregulated apprenticeships. Increasing livestock plagues at the beginning of the 18th century, however, were becoming so devastating that leading figures such as Pope Clement XI, commissioned reports into ways to address the situation. France was not immune to similar outbreaks and King Louis XV and his government was equally keen to bring an end to such epidemics, as well as seeking wider agricultural reforms. Bourgelat, Director of the Lyon Academy of Horsemanship, in his 1750 work Élémens d'hippiatrique ou nouveaux principes sur la connoissance et sur la médecine des chevaux, had already argued for the need of a veterinary school, and this hope became reality in 1762, having been giving a small grant by King Louis XV to established the Lyon school. The more rigourous, standardised scientific training, soon bore fruit, and within a short time diseases such as rinderpest were stayed. As a result Louis XV officially gave Lyon the title of Royal Veterinary School in 1764, with the Alfort school opening in the following year. These schools were the first real attempts to standardise veterinary practices and science, and Bourgelat is considered to be the father of modern veterinary science.
Jean Borros is found in the Recueil de Médicine Vétérinaire pratique Journal in a list of veterinary graduates in 1834 (p. 440), and went on to practice in the Dordogne. This suggests that it was a four year course, and that this general introduction to zoology may well have been part of the first year curriculum.

1764-1774?]. Three works in one volume, 8vo; I. ff. [i] engraved frontispiece signed ‘G. Bickham sculp’, [i] engraved title-page, 3 - 61 engraved and letterpress plates of different styles of handwriting, printed on recto only, 57-59 mainly letterpress with engraved numbering, leaf 9 an additional title-page ‘A specimen of the various characters now principally us’d in printing & writing curiously engrav’d by the best hands, MDCCXXXIII’; II. ff. [i] engraved title page bound horizontally, 2 - 13 leaves of engraved plates, plate 2 signed ‘G. Bickham junr sculp’, plates 5 ‘G. Bickham junr sculp 1732’, plate 6 slightly obscured by possibly ‘Wickham junr sculp’ though could also be G Bickham, plates 9 ‘G. Bickham junr sculp 1733’, and plates 8, 10, 11 signed ‘B Cole sculp’; III. pp. 32; all three works lightly browned, with some dust-soiling and spotting, some occasional ink splattering and staining, with more prominent ink stain affecting the fore-edge, and which is more prominent in the final work but not intrusive; in early 20th century green publisher’s cloth, spine ruled and lettered in gilt, extremities lightly rubbed and bumped; with contemporary signature of ‘Mary Stone, February 15 1771’ on front free endpaper, and of ‘Elizabeth Webster, 1758’ on verso of final free endpaper. Bound together three popular 18th century writing manuals and copybooks, of particular appeal bearing as it does the signatures of two contemporary female readers, Mary Stone and Elizabeth Webster.
The engraver George Bickham is associated with a number of writing manuals, with perhaps his most influential being the ‘Universal Penman’ (1733-1741), a noted collection of writing samples from the most prominent masters of the time. Whilst the Young Clerks Assistant is anonymous, he was responsible for the frontispiece engraving, and a number of the plates in the Picart are signed by either G. Bickham and G. Bickham Junr, with two being dated 1732 and 1733. An additional engraved title-page within the Young Clerks Assistant, ‘A specimen of the various characters now principally us’d in printing & writing curiously engrav’d by the best hands’ is dated 1733. The present copy bears a similarity to ESTC T155495 and which they date to ca. 1764, apparently based on the imprint of the Leekey (printed for C. and R. Ware, 1764). Maxted, however, suggests that Richard Ware only came to be listed individually in directories from 1774-1777 (London Book trades 1775-1800, p. 239). Whilst it is possible that the first two works are here in first editions, it seems more likely that they could all be later issues.
On the front free endpaper is the inscription ‘Pater Honerandum Mary Stone February 15, 1771’; whilst the final verso bears the signature ‘Elizabeth Webster, 1758, Pater Honorandum 1758’, together with further practice attempts. Of interest honerandum has been spelt with an ‘a’ on the front free endpaper, and with an ‘o’ by Elizabeth.
All editions appear scarce, and the evidence of female ownership makes the present copy of especial appeal.