Bauman Rare Books – 80 Great Books Catalogue

80 Great Books Catalogue

A Bauman Rare Books lançou o seu novo catálogo – 80 Great Books Catalogue, que como o seu título deixa subentendido, compreende uma selecção de 80 obras de elevada raridade e valor bibliófilo, algumas de maior interessse para o mercado americano embora outras possam despertar o interesse de qualquer bibliófilo independentemente da sua nacionlidade,

Na sua nota sobre o ncatálogo a Bauman Rare Books escreve:

Every year at this time we like to challenge ourselves to put together an offering of books, manuscripts and autograph material that we believe qualify as “great,” whether due to their importance, their rarity, their desirability, their provenance, their beauty, or any combination thereof. […]

Every book has its own history, every document its own story. We are pleased to offer this selection of great books and documents, and hope that you find them every bit as fascinating—every bit as ‘great’—as we do.

Não quero deixar de vos apresentar a página inicial deste bom catálogo, pelo menos com grande interesse para referenciação e consulta bibliográfica, mesmo que não possamos adquirir nenhuma das obras nele incluidas, que reflecte o espírito com que este foi elaborado.

 

What makes a book "great"?

[Para uma visualização da imagem, em tamanho real,

clicar no botão direito do rato e abrir a hiperligação]

Das obras que este catálogo apresenta, destaco alguns exemplos.

1. NEWTON, Isaac. The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. London, 1729. Two volumes. Octavo, 18th-century calf covers laid down over new boards, rebacked in period-style, custom cloth clamshell box.

4. MILTON, John. Paradise Lost. A Poem in Ten Books. London, 1668. Small quarto, early 20th-century full red morocco gilt rebacked with original spine laid down.

5. SHAKESPEARE, William. Mr. William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. Published according to the true Original Copies. Unto which is added, Seven Plays, Never before Printed in Folio… The Fourth Edition. London, 1685. Folio, 19th-century crushed burgundy full morocco gilt.

E encontramos uma das obras mais procuradas em bibliofilia a famosa Crónica de Nuremberga.

10. (NUREMBERG CHRONICLE) SCHEDEL, Hartmann. Liber Chronicarum. Nuremberg, 12 July 1493. Tall folio, splendidily rebound in 18th-century full blind tooled calf, metal clasps, renewed endpapers; ff. 326 (of 328—without two final blanks only), custom clamshell box.

Seguem-se três obras clássicas na temática de livros sobre “viagens / descobrimentos”:

12. HAKLUYT, Richard. The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation, made by Sea or overland, to the remote and farthest distant quarters of the Earth. London, 1599-1600. Three volumes bound in two. Quarto, early 20th-century full olive morocco gilt, full morocco pull-off boxes.

13. (PACIFIC VOYAGES) (COOK, James). Cook’s Three Voyages. Comprising: HAWKESWORTH, John. An Account of the Voyages undertaken… for making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere. Three volumes. WITH: COOK, James. A Voyage towards the South Pole, and Round the World. Two volumes. WITH: COOK, James and KING, James. A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean… for making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. Four volumes (three quarto volumes plus atlas folio). London, 1773, 1777, 1784. Nine volumes altogether. Quarto (atlas volume large folio, measures 17 by 22 inches), uniform period-style three-quarter speckled brown calf gilt.

 

76. CORYATE, Thomas. Coryats Crudities. Hastily gobled up in five Moneths travels. London, 1611. Octavo, late 19th-century full brown paneled morocco gilt.

Termino com este exemplar soberbamente ilustrado sobre as tribos dos indios da América do Norte.

21. MCKENNEY, Thomas and HALL, James. History of the Indian Tribes of North America. Philadelphia, 1838-44. Three volumes. Folio (14-1/2 by 19-1/2 inches), period-style half green morocco gilt.

Muitas outras obras poderiam, ou mesmo deveriam ser referidas, mas estas foram aquelas que despertaram a minha atenção numa primeira leitura.

Com sempre, resta a vossa leitura e consulta atenta, para descobrirem outras preciosidades que vos possam interessar mais. Notarão seguramente que muitas das obras se repetem, mas convenhamos que os preços nem sempre são acessíveis…

Saudações bibliófilas.