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17 BLIXEN, Karen. Out of Africa. London: Putnam, 1937 First edition, a review copy, with Putnam’s slip loosely inserted. Octavo. Original red cloth, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. Card with a previous owner’s notes on the book loosely inserted. Cloth slightly mottled, edges and endpapers foxed. A very good copy in the scarce dust jacket, extremities lightly creased and rubbed, spine panel a little sunned, short closed tear at head of front fold. £4,000 [153414] 18 BOYLE, Robert. The General History of the Air. London: for Awnsham and John Churchill, 1692 ON THE COMPOSITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE First edition of a work of considerable importance in the history of science, in which Boyle advances some novel and carefully studied theories as to the composition of the atmosphere. Although Boyle’s explanation of the composition of the air is rudimentary by later standards, it alerted scientists to the fact that the atmosphere is not a simple substance, and that air is a mixture of gases, only some of which take part in the process of calcination. Boyle’s belief that there was an inexplicable something, a “vital substance” in air,
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A spectacular GRAINGERIZED SET A wonderful and rare “special ex libris, monogram, and extra illustrated copy” of Brinkley’s classic work, embellished with over 600 original watercolours and paintings on silk, lacquer, and cut velvet, in addition to the over 350 prints, photographs and plates called for. One of a very small group thus illustrated, issued purely by subscription, this copy is elegantly bound by Rivière. Records show just a handful of sets of this ultimate edition appearing at auction over the last century. The illustrations for the extra illustrated copies were supplied by a team of artists and photographers including the influential photographer Ogawa Kazumasa (1860–1929). Kazumasa spearheaded the development of photography and photochemical printing in Japan and, “While Commodore M. C. Perry opened Japan to the world in 1854, it was the distinguished and influential artist Ogawa, many years later, who put the country on display for all the world to see and appreciate” (Smith).
which he was unable to fathom, later became the basis of the phlogiston theory of combustion. The work was published posthumously the year after Boyle’s death under the aegis of his close friend, John Locke,andcontainssomeofLocke’sownmeteorological observations. Locke wrote the “Advertisement to the Reader” on pp. iii–v. The manuscript of the book survives amongst Locke’s papers in the Lovelace Collection in the Bodleian Library. Quarto (188 × 157 mm). Contemporary speckled calf, red morocco spine label, sides ruled in blind. Small ink initials at upper outer corner of title page recto, small stamp of the Selbourne library at foot of title verso and H2r. A little rubbing, label chipped, a few minor marks and stains, still an excellent copy. ¶ Fulton, Boyle, 194; Wing B3981. £15,000 [153882] 19 BRINKLEY, Francis. Oriental Series: Japan and China. History, Arts and Literature. Boston and Tokyo: J. B. Millet Company, 1901–02
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SPRING 2022
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