Bibliomania or Book Madness by Thomas Frognall Dibdin, 1842

Presenting an extremely rare first edition hardback copy of The Rural and Domestic Life of Germany with Characteristic Sketches of its Cities and Scenery, Collected in a General Tour...

Presenting an absolutely gorgeous and extremely unique and rare 19th century British Tunbridgeware hair pin/bobbin or slide. This slide is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before…. it is a very rare survivor ! From circa 1860–1880. Made of walnut with gorgeous marquetry inlay on the entirety of the front with classic Tunbridgeware micro-mosaic all over the front. The rear is walnut. The marquetry inlay appears to be various different woods, namely, maple, walnut and satinwood. Would have been worn in a Lady’s hair bun with the micro-mosaic facing forward. This would have belonged to a very elegant lady in the mid to late 19th century. Tunbridge ware is a form of decoratively inlaid woodwork, typically in the form of boxes, that is characteristic of Tonbridge and the spa town of Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent in the 18th and 19th centuries. The decoration typically consists of a mosaic of many very small pieces of different coloured woods that form a pictorial vignette. Shaped rods and slivers of wood were first carefully glued together, then cut into many thin slices of identical pictorial veneer with a fine saw. Elaborately striped and feathered bandings for framing were pre-formed in a similar fashion. There is a collection of Tunbridge ware in the Tunbridge Wells Museum and Art Gallery in Tunbridge Wells. The famous makers of Tunbridge ware were in the Tunbridge Wells area of Kent; their most notable work was from circa 1830-1900. Early makers of Tunbridge ware, in Tunbridge Wells in the mid-18th century, were the Burrows family, and Fenner and Co. In the 19th century, around 1830, James Burrows invented a technique of creating mosaics from wooden tesserae. Henry Hollamby, apprenticed to the Burrows family, set up on his own in 1842 and became an important manufacturer of Tunbridge ware, employing about 40 people. Edmund Nye (1797–1863) and his father took over the Fenner company when William Fenner retired in 1840, after 30 years in partnership with him. Thomas Barton (1819–1903), previously apprenticed at the Wise factory, joined the Nyes in 1836, and worked as Nye’s designer; he took over the business in 1863 and continued there until his death. In Tonbridge (near to Tunbridge Wells), George Wise (1703–1779) is known to have had a business in 1746. It continued with his son Thomas, and Thomas’s nephew George (1779–1869), who took over in 1806. In its early years the company made articles such as workboxes and tea caddies with prints of popular views; later items had pictures created from mosaics. Their workshop in Tonbridge, Wise’s Tunbridge Ware Manufactory, was next to the Big Bridge over the Medway; the building was demolished in 1886 to widen the approach to the bridge. Tunbridge ware became popular with visitors to the spa town of Tunbridge Wells, who bought them as souvenirs and gifts. Articles included cribbage boards, paperweights, writing slopes, snuffboxes and glove boxes. At the Great Exhibition of 1851, Tunbridge ware by Edmund Nye, Robert Russell and Henry Hollamby was shown; Edmund Nye received a commendation from the judges for his work. He exhibited a table depicting a mosaic of a ship at sea; 110,800 tesserae were used in making the picture. The manufacturers of Tunbridge ware were cottage industries, and they were no more than nine in Tunbridge Wells and one in Tonbridge. The number declined in the 1880s; competent craftsmen were hard to find, and public tastes changed. After the death of Thomas Barton in 1903 the only surviving firm was Boyce, Brown and Kemp, which closed in 1927. Marquetry was an old technique which was continued by Nye and Barton to create images such as birds or butterflies. ‘Green Oak’ as caused by the fungus Chlorociboria aeruginascens. Stickware and half-square mosaic was invented by James Burrows in about 1830: a bunch of wooden sticks of different colours, each having triangular or diamond-shaped cross section, were tightly glued together; in the case of stickware, the resulting block was dried, then turned to form an article such as the base of a pincushion. For half-square mosaic, thin slices were taken from the composite block, and applied to a surface.[1][2][4] Tesselated mosaic, was a development by James Burrows of half-square mosaic; it was adopted by George Wise and Edmund Nye. Minute tesserae were used to form a wide variety of geometric and pictorial designs. Many sorts of wood were used for the various colours; about 40 were in regular use. Only natural colors were used; green was provided by “green oak”, produced by the action of fungus on fallen oak. Designs for articles were often taken from designs of Berlin wool work.

PRESENTING A UNIQUE AND IMPORTANT Original Scrap Book and Photograph of Major WA Obenchain, pertaining to Ogden College, Bowling Green, KY. The photograph is ‘new’ to the market and has never left family ownership until NOW! It is a previously, unseen image, of a significant historical figure, Major William Alexander Obenchain, who served on General Robert E. Lee’s Staff during the Civil War and was President of Ogden College in Bowling Green, Kentucky between 1883 – 1906. We are of the opinion that the photo was taken, whilst, Major Obenchain was President of Ogden College, and circa 1890-1900. It bears the stamp on the bottom right for “McClure of Lexington, KY”. Framed and under glass. The Scrap Book is his personal Collection of numerous and various newspaper article cuttings, letters, speeches and other historical items of memorabilia, MAINLY, relating to Ogden College (now part of Western Kentucky University), from the 1870’s up to 1918. Signed in ink, by the Major, on the inside of the front cover and hand-written annotations by him, throughout. It also includes newspaper article cuttings and other historical items of memorabilia personally relating to Major Obenchain and his family, including: Articles relating to the ‘Stone’ Criminal Trial in Dallas, TX in 1876 for the almost fatal shooting of his brother, James T Obenchain , Merit Certificate for distinguished academic achievement by Major Obenchain, from the Buchanan Collegiate Institute dated July 6th 1849, et al. Over 53 Pages of content! An EXCEPTIONAL and UNIQUE Collection that is ‘new’ to the market, has never been seen by the public before and has never left family ownership until NOW! A UNIQUE HISTORICAL RECORD OF OGDEN COLLEGE/WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY and BOWLING GREEN! William Alexander Obenchain. Born April 27, 1841 at Buchanan, Botetourt Co., Virginia. Parents: Thomas Jefferson Obenchain and Elizabeth Ann Sweetland. Entered VMI on July 18, 1859 as a member of the VMI (Virginia Military Institute...

Presenting a fabulous and very rare, original early-19th century chromolithograph engraving after a painting by John Frederick Herring Snr., engraved by Ch...

Presenting a rare first edition hardback copy of The Wandering Jew by Eugene Sue, Complete Edition IN ONE VOLUME with Illustrations by GAVARNI and GIRARDET, published by George Routl...

Presenting a very rare eleventh edition hardback illustrated copy of The Life of Francis Marion W. Gilmore Simms. J.C. Derby 119 Nassau Street, New York...

Yves Thomas, Vagues et Tempetes (Waves and Storms), French-English book by Yves Thomas, 2011. Yves Thomas is a recognized listed French artist born in Normandy, France, in 1937. The most beautiful works of Yves Thomas have something musical, sonata, and symphony mingle in the light of the painting. The black rocks declined in purple-gray, are like the shadows of a mysterious world whose surprising beauty we can observe. In these "visionary" paintings, everything evokes the passage of time, from the wear and tear of stones to stranded ships. And yet, the light of the artwork escapes this erosion so much it is alive and plays with its timelessness. Islands, reefs, and rocks do not belong to any identifiable country. Only light gives life and meaning to these landscapes taken from the soul. This light merges with time which gives birth to these spaces. This time-light stands at the heart of emotion itself. This spiritual time haunts us with its intrinsic presence and escapes the intellect to exist better. It offers the spectator the possibility of becoming clairvoyant in turn. The art of Yves Thomas is an invitation to an inner journey but also the authentic testimony of an artist working beyond fashions and having been able to remain faithful to his dreams. He allowed the light of his paintings to flourish. Through the miracle of creation, Yves Thomas bears witness to the light of our dreams. (credit: Artthomparis) About the Artist: At the age of 14, Yves Thomas copied a large painting by Antoine Jean Gros, named "The plague-stricken of Jaffa," in the Louvre Museum Yves Thomas readily admits that "the result was not completely satisfactory" but, coming out of adolescence, he mastered drawing. At 17, Yves Thomas joined the French Navy for five years. One can imagine the artist scrutinizing the ocean waves and attempting to capture their moving forms in his sketchbooks. During this period, he discovered and practiced "The Camera Lucida" technique assiduously. An increasingly rigorous design naturally leads to his "Ingres" period. Open to different trends and curious by nature, Yves Thomas began, a few years after, abstract paintings and then returned to a hyperrealistic drawing...

Painting in Islam: A Study of the Place of Pictorial Art in Muslim Culture. Painting in Islam by Sir Thomas W. Arnold (1965-07-01). Paintings in Islam indicates the place of painti...

Antique print titled 'Sir Thomas Peyton'. Old print of Thomas Peyton, sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. This print originates from 'A critical inquiry into antient armou...

Antique print titled 'Thomas Montacute Earl of Salisbury and a Knight'. Old print of Thomas Montacute, Earl of Salisbury. This print originates from 'A critical inquiry into antient ...

Set of 5 volumes with 856 pages in total, including 278 color and black and white photographs and 341 drawings, sketches and plans. He is undoubtedly one of the most influential cont...

Antique print titled 'A Knight'. Old print of a knight. This print originates from 'A critical inquiry into antient armour as it existed in Europe (..)' by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick. ...