Book History, Education, Learning & Printing

CSOMA DE KORÖS, Alexander (Sándor KORÖSI CSOMA). A grammar of Tibetan language in English. Prepared, under the patronage of the government and the auspices of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Calcutta, the Baptist Mission Press, 1834. Small folio (27 x 20 cm). Printed in Tibetan and English, complete with a 40-page syllabic schema of the Tibetan language and the Tibetan alphabet in Bámyik, Bruts'ha and Lánts'ha characters. 20th-century red cloth, title in gold on spine. XII, 204, [1 blank], 40, [1 blank] pp. Full description

DAM, Jan Albertsz. van. Nieuw geinventeerde koopmans comptoir- en schrijf-almanach, op het schrikkel-jaar onzes heeren J. Christi M DCC XII. Na de nieuwe styl. Versien met de jaarmarkten, paarde- beeste- en leer-markte, en de dageliksche uure van de maans op en ondergang.
Amsterdam, the heirs of Albert Magnus, [1711 (for the year 1712)]. 12mo. Printed in red and black throught, the title-page with Magnus's woodcut device (Atlas with an armillary sphere on his shoulders), numerous typographical symbols in the text: for example a horse and a goat representing horse and other animal market days, moons in different phases, planetary signs and manicules (pointing hands). With a small etching of an angel (39 mm tall) holding a wreath, cut out of an unidentified source and loosely inserted between 2 blank pages at the end of the book. Contemporary, elaborately gold-tooled mottled calf over thin wooden boards by the so-called Art Book Bindery (1705-1741) in the style made famous by Albert Magnus himself, with more than 100 impressions of about a dozen stamps and one roll, gold-tooled board edges. Further with 4 silver anchor plates (2 on each board), each with the coat of arms of the States of Holland in a decorative cartouche, and each with a silver eye extending over the fore edge, with a silver combination stylus/lead pencil used to fasten the book through the eyes, gilt edges. [120] pp. bound with 46 blank free endleaves: [12] pp. at the front and [22 (coated paper)], [12] pp. at the back. Full description

DAM, Meyndert Dirksz. van. D'erven Stichters comptoir almanach, op t schrikkel-jaar onses heeren Jesu Christi, 1788 ...
Amsterdam, the heirs of the widow of Cornelis Stichter, [1788]. 4to. With the title-page and 23 calendar pages printed in red and black, a half-page woodcut vignette (depicting Father Time pointing at an armillary sphere) by Hendrik Numan on the title-page and 12 half-page woodcut illustrations for the 12 months (each ca. 7 x 11 cm) by Hendrik Numan, nearly all signed in the block (including two dated "1779"). Contemporary gold-tooled brown mottled calf, bound by the so-called Acorn-and-Foliage Tool Bindery in Amsterdam (Storm van Leeuwen). Both boards show the large gold-tooled monogram of the Amsterdam chamber of the VOC as a centre piece sandwiched between the gold-tooled date "Anno 1788", all within a gold-tooled floral frame with floral corner pieces in the inside corners. [16] ll. interleaved with 24 blank (except for manuscript annotations) ll. Full description

DAMMANN, Carl Victor and Friedrich Wilhelm. Ethnologischer Atlas sämmtlicher Menschen-Racen in Photographien, . . .
Hamburg, Otto Meissner, [1876]. With letterpress title-leaf and 179 albumen prints mounted on 25 paperboard leaves (31.5×46.5 cm), each leaf with a short general description in German, and all photos with irregularly numbered captions. Loose in a modern black half cloth clamshell box, with the original printed title-wrapper mounted on front. Full description

DE BURE, Guillaume-François. Bibliographie instructive: ou traité de la connoissance des livres rares et singuliers.
Paris, 1763-1769. 9 volumes. 8vo. Contemporary mottled calf, richly gold-tooled spines. Supplement volumes (vol. 8-9) in slighty different mottled calf with gold-tooled spines. [2], IV, III-LXXVI, 603, 17, 80; XXVIII, 772; XVI, 734; 544; XXIII, 631; 685; 687; XL, 621; 491, [1] pp. Full description

DE BURE, Guillaume-François. Supplement a la bibliographie instructive ou catalogue des livres du cabinet de feu M. Louis-Jean Gaignat, ... disposé en mis en ordre ... avec un table alphabetique des auteurs.
Paris, Guillaume-Francois de Bure (colophon: printed by Didot), 1769. 2 volumes. 8vo. Modern half calf. XXXIX, [1], 621; 491, [1] pp. Full description

[DÉCADE ÉGYPTIENNE]. La décade égyptienne. Journal littéraire et déconomie politique.
Cairo, Imprimerie Nationale, an VII-VIII [1798-1801]. 3 volumes. Small 4to. Set in roman, italic and naskh Arabic types. Near-contemporary half calf, gold-tooled spines, green paper sides. [2], 300; [2], 300 pp. 316 pp. Full description

DEMETRIUS, Andreas and Johannes POLYANDER (translator). Les actes memorables des Grecs. Contenant leurs haults & vaillans exploits...
Dordrecht, [published by Isaac Jansz. Canin and printed by Guillaume Guillemot] for Andreas Demetrius, 1602. 8vo. With a large woodcut printer's device on the title-page and with folding engraved map of ancient Greece, signed Ioan: Doetechomius Jr, inserted before p. 1, woodcut decorated initials and woodcut manicules in the margins. Contemporary gold-tooled overlapping vellum, sewn on 4 vellum tapes laced through the joints, with the manuscript title on the spine and the gold-tooled armorial supralibros of the Signet Library as a centre-piece on both boards. [1], [1 blank], [14], 749, [1 blank] [25], [1 blank], [1], [1 blank] pp. Full description

DESGODINS, Auguste. Essai de grammaire Thibétaine pour le langage parlé, avec alphabet et prononciation.
Hongkong, Imprimerie de Nazareth, 1899. 12mo. With the printing offices device (an Asian style temple with "Nazareth", "venite seorsum" and an "ME" monogram with cross) on the title page and several tailpieces. Original publishers half tan morocco, with "GRAMMAIRE|THIBÉTAINE" in gold in the 2nd compartment and the printer-publishers "ME" monogram with cross at the foot of the fifth, "Gustav"-marbled sides (tan on yellow), decorated endpapers, sprinkled edges. [9], 91, [1] pp. Full description

DIDEROT, Denis. Oeuvres de Denis Diderot, publiées, sur les manuscrits de l'auteur, par Jacques-André Naigeon, de l'Institut National des Sciences, etc. Tome premier[-quinzième].
Paris, Desray, Deterville (back of half-title, vol. I: printed by [Charles] Crapelet), an VI [=] 1798. 15 volumes. 8vo. With a frontispiece portrait of the author engraved by Charles Étienne Gaucher after a 1766 drawing by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 16 engraved plates and a folding letterpress table of all kinds of human knowledge for the Encyclopédie (52 x 37.5 cm). Contemporary, uniform half sprinkled calf, richly gold-tooled spines. [in total about 7500 pp.]. Full description