The English Dance of Death, From The Designs Of Thomas Rowlandson, With Metrical Illustrations. By The Author Of Dr. Syntax. London: Printed By J. Diggens, St. Ann’s Lane; Published by R. Ackermann’s Repository Of Arts, 101, Strand; And To Be Had Of All the Book and Print-sellers in the United Kingdom. 1815 at the bottom of the title page in the first book and 1816 at the bottom of the title page in the second book. A first edition set, in two volumes. With five raised bands, six-gilt-ruled compartments and elaborate gilt tooling on the spines, gilt lettering on orange brown panels, double gilt-fillet borders with corner devices on the calf boards, marbled endpapers, followed by a quill pen inscription on a front-free endpaper which reads “Wm Coombe the author of this book is well known never to have affixed his name to any of his books _ For a list of them vide Gents. Mag: vol xciv _ Pub. pt 2nd _ 1824 _”, then the terrific colored frontispiece and the vignette title page, the title page, a three-page advertisement, 295 pages of text in Volume I and 297 pages of text in Volume II, with a four-page index at the end of both volumes, and all the edges are gilt. “William Coombe Esqre” is also inscribed in quill pen below “Doctor Syntax” on the title page of the first volume. There are seventy-four hand-colored aquatint plates altogether, including the frontispiece and vignette title page in Volume I, all designed by Thomas Rowlandson, and the second plate in the text of Volume I says it was published April 1, 1814 and the last plate in the second volume says it was published March 1, 1816. (We couldn’t read the date on the first plate in Vol. I because it was too close to the binding.) The advertisement in the first book also says there were twelve successive numbers in the first volume of the English Dance of Death and “The Second Volume will follow in the same mode of Publication”, so the title came out in twenty-four monthly parts before it was published in book form. William Coombe’s name was never mentioned anywhere except for the hand-written inscriptions in the front of Volume I, but he was the author of this lengthy poem. He was a British miscellaneous writer who spent a lot of time in prison for debt, and Rowlandson was an English artist known for his political satire and one of the top illustrators of the eighteenth century. The books are 8vo. and measure 9 3/4 x 6 3/8 in. wide, the bindings are tight, the text is very clean, with a little offset from some of the plates, light rubbing at the crowns and heels of the spine, modest rubbing on the edges of the spines and at the tips, and very light browning on some of the plates. “London” is faded at the heel of the first volume and bright on the heel of the second one, and a small abrasion on the front of Volume II. Still an attractive first edition of this main work of Rowlandson, with all the satire and humor you’d ever want to find in artwork that poked fun at the grim ways people viewed death in the Middle Ages, and a much easier way to read this poem without trying to find all the monthly parts, which is nearly impossible.
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This is a two-volume set of The Life of Samuel Johnson, written by James Boswell and published in 1791, and it is a first edition in the first state. The title page reads The Life Of Samuel Johnson, LL.D., Comprehending An account of the Studies And Numerous Works, In Chronological Order; A Series Of His Epistolary Correspondence And Conversations With Many Eminent Persons; And Various Original Pieces Of His Composition, Never Before Published. The Whole Exhibiting A View Of Literature And Literary Men In Great Britain For Near Half A Century, During Which He Flourished. In Two Volumes. By James Boswell, Esq. London: Printed By Henry Baldwin, For Charles Dilly, In The Poultry, MDCCXCI. [1791] Volume I has a red label, gilt lettering, gilt decorations, and six gilt-ruled compartments on the spines, a fancy gilt border on speckled calf boards, blank endpapers, with the bookplate of Sir John C. Hobhouse Bt. on the front paste-down of each volume. and a frontis portrait of Samuel Johnson done by James Heath after a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds. After the title page, there’s a three-page dedication to Joshua Reynolds, an advertisement by Boswell thanking people for helping write the book, fifteen pages of an Alphabetical Table of Contents, then a leaf with Corrections for both volumes. Volume I has 516 pages of text and the second volume has 588 pages of text, and all the uncorrected errors are present in both volumes to make this a first edition, first issue set. The first volume has the all-important “gve” misprint on line 10 of page 135, and this is required to be a first issue; “gve” is the earlier state, while later states were corrected to read “give”, and only 1750 copies with “gve” were ever printed in the first print run. The two plates in both volumes are present, as called for - the Round Robin plate on page 92 of Volume I and the facsimiles of Johnson’s handwriting on page 588 of the second volume. All the mistakes described on the Corrections And Additions page in Volume I are present and uncorrected here; there are a total of twenty-four uncorrected mistakes in the two volumes that need to be present to make this a first issue - thirteen in the first volume and eleven in the second volume - and they are all uncorrected and present here. Several page numbers were misnumbered and these uncorrected mistakes are all here - pages 229, 408, 497, 504, and the last three leaves of Volume II are all mispaginated, as called for. All of these details are present and make this set a first edition in the first state. Samuel Johnson (1709 - 1784), often called Dr. Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer, and The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography calls him "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". He also squabbled with Lord Chesterfield over publicity for a project that was near and dear to Dr. Johnson’s heart - his writing A Dictionary of the English Language - and that squabble is detailed in the books about Lord Chesterfield’s Letters To His Son in the auction here. Boswell (1740 - 1795) was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer who is best known for his biography of his friend and writer Samuel Johnson, which is commonly said to be the greatest biography written in the English language. John Cam Hobhouse (1786 - 1869), whose name is on the booklplates, was an English politician also known as Baron Brighton and good friends with Lord Byron when they attended Cambridge together, and after Byron died, Hobhouse read the will and took care of the funeral arrangements for Byron. He also had a sympathy for Napoleon which caused a stir after Hobhouse wrote a pamphlet speaking out against the governments in both England and France, and the French translation was seized and the translator and printer were imprisoned in France for the contents of the pamphlet. The two Johnson books are 4 to. and measure 11 1/4 x 9 in. wide, the hinges are tight and secure, there are wide margins, and there are light scuffs on the covers, light wear at the tips and on the edges of Volume II, and light foxing in the second volume. There’s also an old ink note from a quill pen and a couple of pencilled notes dating from 1843 in the margins of the second volume - they seem to be related to the uncorrected mistakes in Volume II - and there’s a short poesy pencilled in on page 345 of the second volume, and they don’t detract from the texts, but seem to add history to the books. The Life of Samuel Johnson was one of the greatest biographies in English literature, and a must-have for a serious collector of British biographies in the first state of the first edition.
An Account Of The Mutinous Seizure Of The Bounty, With The Succeeding Hardships Of The Crew. To which are added, Secret Anecdotes of the Otaheitean Females. London: Printed for Bentley and Co. No. 22, Fette Lane; and sold by H.D. Symonds, Paternoster Row. It has an engraved frontis titled “The Pirates seizing Captn. Bligh”, with References To The Principal Incidents following the title page, text pages running from B [page 9] to 69, followed by seven pages for a chapter titled “Secrete Anecdotes Of The Otaheitean Females”. The book is 3/4 bound with a gilt title on the spine, two raised bands, pebbled marbled boards, with blank endpapers and a pencilled note on the front paste-down which reads “Maggs Bros. London £14 - 10 - 0 1936, note engraved plate of the Pirates seizing Capt. Bligh, Small 8 Vo. half calf @ 1800”, with the bookplate of Francis Stanton Blake on the front paste-down. There are inked notes from a quill pen in the margins of the last chapter, the notes are about [Edmund] Burke and the morality of sex, with references to King David and Herod, and the notes are dated May 24, 1823. The crew actually mutinied and seized the Bounty in 1789 - it was real story - and this anonymous narrative about the open boat voyage endured by Captain Bligh was taken from the original first edition of 1790 and the third edition of 1792. Both editions are extremely rare, and apparently the third edition is not even listed among the holdings of the British Library. This copy was likely printed between 1790 and 1792, and may well be a first edition of the Bentley printing. This rare narrative is a small 8vo. and measures 7 5/8 x 5 in. wide and has light browning or foxing here and there. We’ve only seen two copies sold at auction in the last twenty years - one sold for £5019 at Christie’s in 2004 and the other sold for £7563 at Bonhams in 2020, and this would be a wonderful addition to any collector who is looking for Bounty.
A rare oversize silver telescopic propelling pencilSampson Mordan & Co, French import mark double-struck for pre 1893, incuse stamped S. MORDAN & CO Tapering cylindrical in form, a monumental telescopic propelling pencil, when pulling open from shut, the decreasing tapering sections appear one by one, enabling the oversize writing lead to emerge, the whole concertinas up into a cylindrical case, a large suspension ring attached, length open 76cm, weight 13oz.Footnotes:Sampson Mordan (1790–1843) was a British silversmith and a co-inventor of the first patented propelling pencil. His partner at the time was John Isaac Hawkins and they filed a patent for their invention in 1822. Mordan quickly bought out Hawkins and in 1823 registered his first silver mark. By October of 1823 he had formed another partnership, this time with a wealthy stationer by the name of Gabriel Riddle. Under the name of 'S. Mordan and Co' they carried on business as Mechanists and Manufacturers of Patent and other articles, at 22 Castle Street, Finsbury, London.Although 'S. Mordan & Co' had begun primarily manufacturing propelling pencils, the company also produced other products of excellent design and quality. By 1842 they were advertising a multitude of products, including: patent pencil cases in various designs, novelty pencils in shapes of pistols and flutes etc, pencil leads, cedar drawing pencils, self-adjusting pen holders, patent oblique pens, portable quill pens, letter copying presses, locks, book edge locks, cash and deed boxes, fireproof merchant chests, medicine chests, smelling bottles, fountain ink stands, travelling ink wells and seal presses for stamping paper. Sampson Mordan (Senior) died on 9th April 1843 and the company was passed into the hands of two of his sons, Sampson Mordan Junior and Augustus Mordan. At this time the company were listed as having premises at 41 City-Road, Finsbury, in the County of Middlesex and also at 72 Cheapside in the City of London. The company continued to flourish, and the two brothers were joined in partnership by Edmund George Johnson and Zachariah Watkins.In the 1870s Sampson Mordan Junior retired to live in France, eventually dying in Paris in 1881. It has been mooted that this unusual monumental silver propelling pencil was especially commissioned and given to Sampson Mordan Junior on his retirement, as a gift from the company. This would explain the French import marks and the fact that it appears to be the only one of its type and size. However, this is just hearsay. The other theory is it could possibly have been used as a display model for a shop in France, which would also explain its size and the import marks.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
TV & Film Collection of 10 Signed Photos approx size 10 x 8, Photos from Harry Potter, CI5 The Professionals, Merlin, Highlander, Class, The Avengers, Includes Anna Batak, Helen Pierce, Molly Kingsley, Andrea Quill, Wanda Ventham, good condition. Good Condition. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Spitfire Test Pilot Jeffrey Quill and Air Cdr Cozens signed HA1b R.J. Mitchell CBE AMICE FRAeS cover from RAF WW2 Flown Historic Aviators official cover series. Has career info inside, the cover is numbered and certified to the back. All autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
Hasbro Marvel Legends Infinite Series action figures x six including Drax, Rocket Racoon, Peter Quill, Gamora, Iron Man, Marvel's Nova, all Mint, within Good Plus to Excellent sealed packaging. Diamond Select Toys Ghostbusters Egon Spengler and Peter Venkman figures, Mint, within Good Plus sealed packaging. (8)
A 19th century Spanish tin glazed Faience earthenware table top inkwell, of lobed design, central well with lid surrounded by eight quill/pen holes, painted in ochre, blue, and green, with flowers, landscapes, buildings, and animals, painted marks to the base include "Montemayor Talavera 3234" 17cm in diameter
Guardians Of The Galaxy - an original ' FZ Merchandise ' made Guardians Of The Galaxy replica Star Lord / Peter Quill style leather jacket costume. Burgundy leather with stand up collar, front zip, open hem belted adjustment on both sleeves. Measures approx 55cm across the back (arm pit to armpit) and 70cm in length.
RAF Test Pilot Jeffrey Quill Signed Scientific Achievements Royal Mail First Day Cover. 13 of 15 Covers Issued. 4 British Stamps with Two 5 March 1991 Sir Frank Whittle Postmark. Good condition EstAll autographs come with a Certificate of Authenticity. We combine postage on multiple winning lots and can ship worldwide. UK postage from £5.99, EU from £7.99, Rest of World from £9.99
A late 19th century white metal sliding dip pen, stamped 'S. Mordan & Co', with hexagonal matrix and porcupine quill body, length 14cm, together with a silver cheroot case, length 6.5cm, a mother-of-pearl and silver folding fruit knife, a silver cased lace hook and a small penknife.Buyer’s Premium 29.4% (including VAT @ 20%) of the hammer price. Lots purchased online via the-saleroom.com will attract an additional premium of 6% (including VAT @ 20%) of the hammer price.
AN 'OPUS ANGLICANUM' ORPHREY PANEL 15TH / 16TH CENTURY worked with silk and gilt threads in a variety of stitches including split and satin, on a linen ground, depicting St Peter and a female saint, possibly St Cecelia holding a quill, both standing beneath Gothic style trefoil arches 78cm high, 18cm wide Catalogue Note See the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number 817-1901, item record 0364885 for an altar frontal with four panels depicting figures under similar Gothic arches and worked using silks in similar colours.
A VICTORIAN SILVER NOTEPAD HOLDER by W & G Neal, London 1900, with cartouche-shaped base, weighted. 10cm wideGood condition. Assay marks are clear and visble. The notepad cover is slightly bent but spring hinge is good. We assume the pad cover stays down if pen/quill is inserted into the gap above it.
Marco Pitteri after Piazetta - St John the Evangelist, / Description: Sanctus Johannes, from the series: The Holy Family and Apostles from 1742. St John the Evangelist, head and shoulders writing with a quill, with title and producer names: 'Joannes Bapta Piazzetta pinxit' and 'Marcus Pitteri sculpsit' and numbered IV, with the Venetian privilege 'Venetiis cum privilegio Excellentiss. Senatus'. Print made by Marco Pitteri, after Giovanni Battista Piazzetta. / Dimensions: 43,70 x 34,00 cm / Condition: Good impression on watermarked laid paper. Trimmed on plate border with mostly tread margins. / Literature: Marco Pitteri (1702-1786) Engraver, sometimes called Giovanni Marco. Worked Venice, especially in collaboration with Piazzetta, and (after his death in 1754) with Longhi. Obtained a Venetian privilege for ten years in 1742 for his set of heads of Apostles after Piazzetta. Developed an original method of engraving (not etching), using parallel lines, which are thickened at regular intervals along their length with more deeply engraved sections. / Medium: Engraving /Circa: 1742
FRANK SHAY (ED): IRON MEN & WOODEN SHIPS DEEP SEA SHANTIES, ill Edward A Wilson, New York, Doubleday Page, 1924 (200), numbered (81), inscription on limitation leaf, 4to, original parchment backed, cloth gilt, slip case, pictorial paper label, vgc plus C W SCOTT: HISTORY OF THE FASTNET ROCK LIGHTHOUSES.., County Cork, Schull Books, 1993, (500), 4to, original cloth gilt, vgc plus C E KENNEY: THE QUADRANT AND THE QUILL A BOOK WRITTEN IN HONOUR OF CAPTAIN SAMUEL STURMY.. AUTHOR OF THE MARINER'S MAGAZINE 1669, London, 1947, first edition, 4to, cloth backed boards a little worn (3)
A 9CT GOLD SILVER QUILL by Mappin and Webb, London, 20th century, with an inscription to read 'R.E.L. FROM E.W. 25.4.39' in its original presentation case, 25.5cm long, gross weight c. 35grams. together with A George VI Order of the British Empire CBE medal, in original fitted box, by Garrard & Co, awarded to Richard Edmund Relfe Luff CBE (1887-1969) (2)
AN EDWARDIAN SILVER SOVEREIGN HOLDER, maker possibly H. Humphries, Chester 1904, of typical form with remains of engraved initials, together with an ebony and steel quill pen nib cutter, 3 3/4" long (2) (Est. plus 21% premium inc. VAT)sovereign holder weighs 16.8g, hinge and spring good, nib cutter good
TWO 18TH CENTURY TOBACCO TINS The first English brass, engraved "William Everard September Ye 10 1740", reverse with engraved scenes from the life of Christ12.5cm wideThe second Dutch copper, engraved with hand and quill the reverse with Dutch script translating as "Thomas Lloyd Colchester ***** Engels & Duyts Rotterdam"12cm wideProvenance: Property from the Phillip Lucas Collection, Spitalfields HouseA rough translation of the inscription to the second tobacco tin would be 'Thomas Lloyd of Colchester serves merchants in English and Dutch in Rotterdam'. Condition Report: Both with knocks and wear from use- notably to edges, engraving worn- first with old solder repair to lid beneath date- which has partially failedWear, marks, knocks and scratches as per age, handling, use, and cleaning. Please see additional images for visual references to condition which form part of this condition report.All lots are available for inspection and Condition Reports are available on request. However, all lots are of an age and type which means that they may not be in perfect condition and should be viewed by prospective bidders; please refer to Condition 6 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers. This is particularly true for garden related items.We must advise you that we are not professional restorers or conservators and we do not provide any guarantee or warranty as to a lot's condition. Accordingly, it is recommended that prospective buyers inspect lots or have their advisors do so, and satisfy themselves as to condition and accuracy of descriptionAll lots are offered for sale "as viewed" and subject to the applicable Conditions of Business for Buyer's condition, which are set out in the sale catalogue and are available on request. Buyers are reminded that liability for loss and damage transfers to the buyer from the fall of the hammer. Whilst the majority of lots will remain in their location until collected, we can accept no responsibility for any damage which may occur, even in the event of Dreweatts staff assisting carriers during collection. Condition Report Disclaimer
A Royal related porcupine quill and silver mounted dip pen by S. Mordan & Co, the silver collar engraved 'Used by HRH The Princess Royal 3-11-34', length 27.5cm, together with a silver mounted mother-of-pearl dip pen, length 13.5cm.Buyer’s Premium 29.4% (including VAT @ 20%) of the hammer price. Lots purchased online via the-saleroom.com will attract an additional premium of 6% (including VAT @ 20%) of the hammer price.
Interesting wax Turkish Peddler gentleman, mid- 19th century, the tinted bees wax head with painted features, hair and beard and wearing a yallow turban, on a kid leather body with carved wooden lower arms and legs, wearing original robes, carrying a tray of ‘fancy goods’ including slippers, scissors, quill, knife, cup and ball game, comb, paper clocks, rug and more, standing and fixed to circular wooden base, 10 ½” (27cm) tall, (condition: red silk trousers frayed ).
A Flight and Barr Worcester inkstand with two liners, pounce pot and one cover, circa 1800-05Elaborately modelled with scrolling edges and set with three separate reservoirs, two containing liners, the third with a pierced pounce pot, only one retaining its cover, a serpent-headed taperstick handle and two quill holders applied at the back, a pen tray in front, decorated with a 'Barr's Orange' ground gilt with stars, the principal panel painted with a frieze of 'fancy birds' in a landscape, 22.5cm wide, incised B marks (5)Footnotes:ProvenanceLord and Lady Flight CollectionFor further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
QUILL JEFFREY: (1913-1996) British test pilot who served with the Royal Air Force during World War II; the second man to fly the Supermarine Spitfire who also went on to test fly every mark of Spitfire. Selection of signed printed images by Quill, each neatly removed from books or magazines, of varying sizes (largest 8.5 x 11), most depicting various Spitfire aircraft, some in flight, one image showing Quill meeting King George VI, etc. One is also signed by Air Commodore Henry Iliffe Cozens (1904-1995) who was a Commanding Officer of 19 Squadron at Duxford in 1938, the first RAF station to receive Spitfire aircraft. Together with two further printed images signed by Cozens and two A.Ls.S. by Gillian Cozens, his wife, in one stating that her husband had left 19 Squadron before the Battle of Britain and that his operational service was with Lancaster bombers in 1942-43. A few with slight surface creasing, generally VG, 13
A RUSSIAN NAVAL SWORD, 1855 PATTERN, LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY the blade double-edged for the last third and terminating in a quill point, the gilt-brass hilt with downscrolled rear quillion and flat hexagonal langets, pommel and back-piece in one, with ribbed wire-bound wooden grip, the back edge of the blade engraved with lettering (Cyrillic?), the gilt-brass mounted black leather scabbard with gilt-brass locket, chape and suspension mounts, with two rings, (a/f). 87.5cm long, excluding scabbardSeveral black spots to the brass on the scabbard, the scabbard leather is dried and it has split into three, the sword is in good condition commensurate with age. Blade length 73cm, breadth 3.5cm
An American metalwares Masonic Grand Officer's neck badge, for the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, circular enamelled top section with the Lodge's arms and an outer border of white enamel inscribed 'COMMISSIONER OF APPEALS', suspending a laurel wreath with central square and compasses, enamelled two tablets of the 10 commandments, sword and quill pen, verso engraved 'PRESENTED TO R.W. LOUIS E. BOMEISLE AS A TOKEN OF LOVE AND ESTEEM BY ACANTHUS No.719 F. & A.M', pin and revolver brooch fitting with a hinged bale, length including bale 8.5cm, width 4.8cm, unhallmarked, stamped '14K', weight 27.4g
A George III rolled paper work weighted netting box, circa 1780, of rectangular form, the sides and top with panels of geometric quill work within satinwood and rope strung borders, bone oval escutcheon. The interior lined in original salmon pink paper with a bone multiple reel, box form pin cushion, and other fittings, 21.5 x 13.2 x 7cms. From a distinguished UK Private Collection
A complex walnut and paper decorated sewing and games, toilet and writing box, Vienna 1802, in a fine state of preservation. For a video of this box with expert commentary, see: bit.ly/sewing_box The rectangular walnut box inset with panels of pierced pressed paper on a duck egg blue ground, the lid with four bone roundels to the corners, oval steel escutcheon. The lower section of the box compartmentalised and lined with marble paper with five removable fitted boxes and a pair of glass inkwells with silver plated tops. Each box with insets of pressed and pierced paper comprising a rectangular box between the inkwells with a drawer containing a toothbrush and a tongue scraper, a further rectangular box with tray top fitted with bone lucet, bone bodkin and ivory salve box, over an end drawer containing a two part steel and brass sewing clamp with detachable pin cushion top, ivory thimble and a sliding platform with six numerical needle tubes. The front with three square boxes each with a drawer one containing six dice and a complete set of thirty two miniature playing cards, (4.2 x 2.5cms), another fitted with a tray with circular bone box labelled 'Rouge S.F.', and with miniature brush, the last containing a circular cardboard box labelled 'Denten Pulver'. The plinth incorporating a secret compartmentalised drawer with internal latch and the following fittings, sliding top pin box, bone tambour hook, folding rule in three parts, a slate over five printed cards, a steel corkscrew, an almanac in gilt decorated leather cover dated 1802, a pair of multiple thread winders, a pair of steel and gilt scissors, a pencil, a bone ribbon threader, a bone cylinder needle case, a matching cylinder container with fitted slate scribe, a single blade folding knife with tortoiseshell guards, and a set of steel knitting pins in original paper wrap. The lid fitted with two secret shallow drawers, one containing two bundles of envelopes in original paper wraps over a printed chart of clothing and accessories, the other a quill, sealing wax, a ruler and a compartment for wafers. The lid interior with central framed mirror within conforming paper panels, borders and medallions, 23 x 17 x 7.2cms. For a video of this box, see: https://bit.ly/sewing_box Ivory Self-declaration Submission Reference Number TAH2TWDF
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5306 item(s)/page