Philosophy & Religion Books

Lyon: Iohnnes Clein, 1515. Hardcover. See Description. [c.1515]. 4to. pp. [280]. p.[280 blank]. Colophon dated "nono kale[n]das Octobris" (23 Sept.). Title page printed in red and black inside woodcut architectural border. Woodcut printer's device (Sylvestre 132). Printed in Roman font with the surrounding commentaries printed in Gothic. Text contains decorative initials. Bound in contemporary blind stamped paneled calf boards; re-backed preserving original spine. Later antique endpapers with inscription on front-free endpaper dated "1925"; front and rear blank fly-leaves worn. Pages are generally clean with occasional marginalia in an old hand (i.e. several small inscriptions written on the title page); minor spotting; lower corner of leaf c7 clipped in margin; The hinges and inner margins to the first gathering are neatly strengthened / repaired. The outer edges to this same gathering show some wear - i.e. a few marginal tears (sealed), and light soiling. The bottom margins… Read More

Octavo, contemporary half calf and marbled boards, black morocco label, engraved portrait of Pestalozzi + (1) + 390pp, an excellent copy.
Printing and the Mind of Man, no.258.
First edition containing an exhaustive exposition of Pestalozzi's principles of education and the book on which Pestalozzi's fame rests. "How Gertrude teaches her children" proclaimed something entirely new in the field of popular education – the principle of self-activity in acquiring and using knowledge in its first stages. The most important and forward-looking of his ideas, which he stressed continually in practice as well as precept, was that the true method of education is to develop the child, not to train him as one trains a dog. The pupil must be regarded as more important than the subject and the 'whole man' must be developed.

1933. Warszawa, 1933. Small 4to. Orig. printed wrappers, sunned at the edges, but otherwise near mint condition, also internally. An excellent copy. VII, (1), 116, (1, - errata) pp. The exceedingly scarce first printing of Tarski's most important and influential work, "The Concept of Truth in Formalized Languages", which founded modern logical semantics.The work appeared in an extremely small number, in Polish, and many copies of the article have later been destroyed, thus, the work is of the utmost scarcity. In this seminal article the Polish-American logician and mathematician Alfred Tarski devotes himself to "the definition of truth". "Its task is to construct -with reference to a given language- a materially adequate and formally correct definition of the term "true sentence"." (Introduction, English translation, 1956). With this work the face of logic was changed forever. The "Concept of Truth" constitutes a landmark event in 20th century analytic philosophy, and it ranks as one of the most… Read More

London: B. Alsop & T. Fawcet, 1639. Calfskin. Good. Full original calf, with both fixed endpapers freed from the boards but still attached to the page block; the front hinge is now covered by the large bookplate of Hugh Cecil Lowther, Fifth Earl of Lonsdale, accompanied but not obscured by a small, penned note and the plate of Dallas oil giant John W. McReynolds; the binding is relaxed enough to show cords, but secure. Pages bear mild age-toning around the margins and light foxing at preliminaries and terminals, with only ghosts of decoration at block edges; chestnut leather bears an open pull sign at the spine head, only residue of the title plate, long scuffs at both shoulders and a shorter one at upper spine with some cracking and a tiny bore stopped along the spine, wear down to the follicles around the front board (less so on the rear) approaching exposure at free corners, mere score lines around board edges and across spine where once was gold, and a few stray, small ink spots and droplet… Read More

Antwerp: Christoffel Plantijn [printer], 1600. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. With Typus Mundi in Quo Eius Calamitates et Pe ricula nec non Diuini Humanique Amoris Antipathia (R.R.C.S.I.A.). Antwerp, Johannes Cnobbaert, 1652.Third Edition. 32mo. Full calf binding. Morocco label on spine. In custom slip case. Book I: 319 p.p., text illustrated with beautiful b/w engravings of emblems throughout. Collation: A-D8, F-F8, E-I8, K-K8, L-T8, V-V8. Book II: 240 p.p., 2 p.p. publishing information, in-text illustrations throughout. Collation: A-F12. Bookplate 'Kirchen' on front pastedown endpaper, from the library of the Dukes of Arenberg, Germany. Second newer bookplate on front free endpaper, 'Bibliotheque I.G. Schorsch.' Minor rubbing to spine and extremities. Bumped edges. Some errors in pagination and stained pages, light foxing. In second book, some trimmed pages affecting text in a minor way. Tight boards. A scarce and near fine copy. Claudius Paradin and Gabriel Simeoni's book of heroic symbols and… Read More

Ingolstadt: Gregorium Haenlin, Sumtu Ioannis Wagneri, 1647. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. 8vo. Bound in full vellum with yapp edges. Two paper labels hand lettered, plus faded early hand lettering on spine. Remnants of ties on front and rear covers. [16], 636, [52] p.p. Vignette engraving of a creature by T. Kilian on title-page. Some soiling to boards and edges. Head of title page covered with small strip of paper [7mm] not affecting text. Closed tear to foot of title page, previously repaired with paper. Slight damp stain to lower corner of first 4 leaves. Early ownership inscription of Franz Siegfried Hoffmann von Thunau, a bailiff at Immenstadt, is dated 1702. Otherwise in very good condition. Georg Stengel [1584-1651] was a Jesuit Theologian and scholar who was a professor of theology at the University of Ingolstadt from 1618-1629, where he taught dogmatics and controversial theology. This work is a discussion of monsters and monstrosities, both physical and moral, and discusses mythical… Read More

Strasbourg: Argentinae: Ex officina Martini Flach junioris, 1501. Half leather. Fine. Folio, printed in Strassburg by Martin Flach, 7 February 1501; 161 unnumbered leaves. BINDING: new Gothic hand-sewn oak binding by Arthur Green of Malvern; tawed quarter leather over quarter-sawn oak boards, quires hand-sewn on four double-cords creating four raised spine bands, board leather blind-tooled with period style rosettes and fleurs-de-lys within panel of diagonal blind triple fillets, hand-sewn Gothic double headbands of alternate hand-dyed indigo and undyed linen thread, hand-made brass hasps and clasps ornamented in period style; an exceptionally attractive recreation of a Gothic hand-sewn binding employing medieval techniques contemporaneous with the date the book was printed. COLLATION: [pi]6, a2-8, b-y6, z8, zeta6, antisigma8; leaf a1 excised and subsequent first few lines of a2[recto] redacted in black ink in the sixteenth century by the inquisitor for its heretical content (see below). TEXT: Double… Read More

Originally published as three essays in Fraser's Magazine in 1861, this is the first appearance of this important work in book form. Parker, Son and Bourn, 1863. Original cloth. Backstrip is missing, corners are worn, hinges are cracked and fragile but boards are still attached, binding is a little weak but no loose pages, text is unmarked. Previous owners' names on title page and front endpage, mostly in pencil but one in ink. See photos. An excellent candidate for restoration.

Paris: Guliemi Rouillij et Philippi G. Rouillij, 1563. First Edition. vellum. Very good. The Nature of Things (PMM 87) LUCRETIUS, Carus Titus. De Rerum Natura. Libri Sex. A Dionysio Lambino. Monstroliensi litterarum Graecarum in vrbe Lutetia, doctore Regio, locis innumerabilibus ex auctoritate quinque codicum manuscriptorum emendati, atque in antiquum acnatiium statum fere restituti, & pretarea breuibus, & perquam vtilibus commentariis illustrati. Guliemi Rouillij et Philippi G. Rouillij, Paris, 1563. 1 blank leaf + TP + [iii] - [xiv] = Karolo Valesio Nono + [xv] - [xvi] = Dionysius Lambinus + [xvii] - [xix] = Idem erudito Lectori + [xx] = Avratus in Lucretium + [xxi] - [xxii] = Philippus Galterus + [xxii] - [xxiv] = errata + 1 - 559 + 1 blank leaf, Small Quarto. First Lambin Edition. PMM 87 Denis Lambin [1520-1572] was a French classical scholar and professor of Latin & Greek. One of the grandest and most moving poems in the Latin language, Lucretius' work has delighted inquiring minds in every… Read More

A truly scarce sighting of an inscribed copy!
First edition, "service de presse" review copy, original wrappers. Pronounced foxing on front cover and first few leaves, small split to front lower joint, small chip to upper corner of front endpaper, usual textblock toning due to cheap paper stock, general wear mainly at the edges, uncut, binding solid. Overall, a sound, unread Good copy – other than two leaves from the first gathering, it's completely unopened.
Inscribed by Fanon on the front endpaper.
The legend died of leukemia at only 36, and his signed books are exceptionally scarce – I've only seen one other copy in the trade, and none appear in the sales records.
"Though just 27 at the time of its publication, the work displays incredible literacy in major intellectual trends of the time: psychoanalysis, existentialism, phenomenology, and dialectics, as well as, most prominently, the early Négritude movement and U.S. based critical race work in figures like Richard Wright. Modest in length,… Read More

London: Printed for Henry Sampson Woodfall in Pater Noster Row, 1773. Small octavo. Two volumes. Leather bound in full period calf unlettered with gilt fillets. Rubbing to corners and minor spotting and toning throughout, else near-fine.. A superb copy of the collected edition of the Junius Letters. Originally published in the London Public Advertiser from January 21, 1769 to January 21, 1772 under the pseudonym "Junius," the so-called "Junius Letters" were polemical letters directed to, and highly critical of, the government of King George III. In the letters, Junius poured brilliant and slanderous invective upon Tory-minded English ministers on account of various public policies that allegedly ruined England and drove the American colonies toward rebellion. The letters were widely regarded as polemical masterpieces by English and American observers, and they were widely reprinted in English and colonial newspapers, lending moral support to the early revolutionary cause in America. Among other… Read More

Roma: Fratelli Bocca, 1896. First edition (in Italian). Octavo. Contemporary half-leather binding with purple percaline boards intricately embossed with a floral motif. Boards worn and scuffed, particularly along spine, with wear to joints; toning to leaves with spotting and minor staining throughout; one-centimeter closed tear to front free endpaper; pencil annotation to title verso page; neat colored pencil marks to several leaves, else a superb copy of this rare and foundational work of elite theory.. Scarce first edition of Gaetano Mosca's (1858-1941) definitive work of elite theory and the doctrine of the ruling class. Mosca earned his law degree from the University of Palermo in 1881 and thereafter taught law in a variety of Italian institutions, including at the University of Turin and the University of Rome. In 1909 Mosca was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Italy, a parliamentary position that he held until 1919, the year he was nominated a life senator of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1925… Read More

London: Longmans, Green & Co, 1958. Revised edition. Octavo. Original cloth boards and dust jacket (not price-clipped). Foxing and toning to endpapers and pastedowns; foxing, spotting, and rubbing to dust jacket with edgewear, particularly at jacket folds and along head and foot; sunning to spine; small ink inscription to front pastedown; general wear to dust jacket. Signed by Bernard Lonergan on the front free endpaper with message: "Bernard Lonergan S.J. / The fundamental principle is [...] conversion / eg. P. xxii, f. 'The hard fact is...'" Very good in good-plus dust jacket. Scarce with Lonergan's signature and personal annotation.. Bernard Lonergan's (1904-1984) masterpiece, Insight: A Study of Human Understanding, with Lonergan's rare personal signature and inscription to front free endpaper. Lonergan's Insight was born out of the success of a 1945 lecture that he gave at the Thomas More Institute in Montreal entitled "Thought and Reality." In the following years he wrote Insight in order to… Read More

Florence: G. Barbéra, 1916. First edition, first impression (in Italian). Octavo, two volumes. Original paper wrappers printed in black, partially unopened. Front joint of volume one repaired; closed tear to front wrapper of volume two, and repaired vertical split to book block of volume two; small library labels at head of each volume; some chipping to spines; a little light spotting internally. From the private library of economist Enrico Barone, with his stamp on front free endpaper of each volume. Very good.. First issue of Vilfredo Pareto's (1848-1923) foundational work of elite theory from the library of influential Italian economist Enrico Barone (1859-1924). Pareto was an Italian civil engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist, and philosopher who made numerous groundbreaking contributions to the developing fields of economics and sociology. Perhaps his best-known work, Trattato di Sociologia Generale was first published in Italy in 1916, and was later published in English by… Read More

Five rare books and associated ephemera (all published in French) from the private library of Maurice de Gandillac, 1930-1966. Maritain, Jacques: Éléments de Philosophie (I): Introduction Générale a la Philosophie, Paris: Pierre Téqui, Libraire-Éditeur, 1930. Reprint of the original 1920 edition. Original wrappers. Minor smudging and toning to wrappers and slight creasing to corners and faint staining to spine; minor toning to leaves. Portions uncut. Very good. Signed and inscribed by Jacques Maritain to Maurice de Gandillac on half-title page: "To Maurice de Gandillac / With affection / Jacques Maritain." Volume 1. Maritain, Jacques: De la Philosophie Chrétienne, Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1933. First edition. Original wrappers. Small red ink spot to foot of front wrapper; minor toning to leaves. Very good. Signed and inscribed by Jacques Maritain to Maurice de Gandillac on the front free endpaper: "To Maurice de Gandillac / Very affectionately / Jacques Maritain." Maritain, Jacques: Science… Read More