Susanne Schulz-Falster Catalogue Eighteen - International League ...

8vo, pp. [ii], 195, 5, with 80 copper engraved plates; clean tear to p.
41, no loss; contemporary sheep, spine in compartments, ruled in gilt,
sides with double gilt fillets; short tear at upper joint and head of spine
chipped, a very clean and crisp copy, with a charming early ownership
inscription to front free endpaper ‘William Akerman his book’, 1772.
A fine copy of the English translation of Le Clerc’s well-known and influential
geometry primer for artisans, painters, sculptors and architects, first
published nearly a century earlier (1669). It attests both to the importance
of his treatise and the charm of his illustrations that it was still being reprinted.
The fine engravings each show a geometrical design placed within
a charming landscape vignette or genre scene and are frequently cited as
highlights of scientific illustrations. The originals were engraved by Le
Clerc, the engravings for this English edition are reversed recuts.
ESTC t174069.
Nineteenth Century Book Thief
70. LIBRI, Guillaume. Réponse de M. Libri au rapport de M.
Boucly, publié dans le Moniteur universel, du 19 mars, 1848.
London, Schulze & Cie, 1848. £280
susanne schulz-falster rare books catalogue eighteen
8vo, pp. xii, 86; original printed wrappers, head of spine chipped and
frayed; else a good copy.
First London edition of Libri’s reply to a report made by Boucly, as Procureur
du Roi, charging Libri with a long series of thefts from the Bibliothèque
Nationale and other French libraries. The work was issued both in London
and Paris and includes bibliographical references. Guglielmo Libri (1802–
1869) was one of the most prolific book and manuscript thieves ever
known. He used his connections and reputation as a scholar to gain access
to France’s most valuable book collections, and in 1841 he was put in charge
of making an inventory of the manuscript collections of France – a perfect
opportunity for augmenting his own collection. The increasing size of his
own library attracted the suspicion of fellow collectors, who questioned
whether it could have been accumulated by legal means. By the late 1840s
the authorities were alerted and he left for England, having arranged for his
library of some 30,000 books and manuscripts to be shipped to England.
St Bride catalogue p. 537; for a full account, see P. Alessandra Maccioni Ruju and
Marco Mostert, The Life and Times of Guglielmo Libri, Scientist, Patriot, Scholar,
Journalist, and Thief: A Nineteenth-century Story, 1995.
The Dangers of the Literary Profession
71. [LINGUET, Simon Nicolas Henri.] L’aveu sincère ou,
Lettre a une mere sur les dangers que court la jeunesse en se livrant à
un goût trop vif pour la littérature. Londres, et se trouve a Paris,
L. Cellot, 1768. £850
[bound after:] [Georg Ludwig Schmid d’Avenstein, Traités sur divers
sujets intéressans de politique et de morale. Paris, [n.p.], 1760.
Two works bound in one volume, 8vo, pp. 99; vi, [3], 10–254;
attractively bound in contemporary sprinkled vellum, reusing a mss leaf,
spine in compartments, gilt-lettered spine label; names of both authors
added in manuscript; a fine copy.
First edition of Linguet’s outspoken warning to parents, or mothers in
particular, of the dangers of literature or the pursuit of literary life. Addressed
in particular to his sister, and clearly based on his own experiences as a
pamphleteer and provocative writer, he depicts the futility and pecuniary
poverty of a life as a writer, and advises other aspiring authors to chose more
lucrative and respectable professions. He describes the temptation of being
lured by literary ambition and pride in elegant and well-turned phrases,
but acknowledges that this only provides an illusion of social advance. He
deplores the increasing commercialisation of literature.
I. ESTC t188917; OCLC: Stanford, Cornell, Philadelphia, Cambridge, Oxford;
II. INED 2907; II. Barbier IV, 814.