Orrin Schwab Books
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World History-Rare List
Last updated January 10, 2012
1. A'Beckett, Gilbert A. THE
COMIC HISTORY OF ENGLAND. 2 volume set. Illustrated with hand-colored plates by
John Leech.. London: Bradbury, Agnew, ca. 1880's.
This is a ca. 1880's edition published by Bradbury and Agnew of London. Some
wear and rubbing to spine and corners. Fading & scuffing to bindings. Front
hinges cracked on both volumes, & back hinge cracked on volume I, but
bindings are tight. With numerous black-and-white woodcut illustrations and 17
hand-colored steel engraved plates. Beautiful illustrations to this classic
publication. $40.00
2. Alcock, R.C. THE
ALPHABETS OF THE BRITISH LINE ENGRAVED STAMPS.. Bristol,
England: Harvey Barton & Son Ltd. , 1936. 80 pages. Some discoloration and
slight soiling to the light grey cloth binding. Corners are slightly bumped. The
binding is tight. There are 45 fold-out plates protected by tissue guards. All
plates are present and in very good condition. A rare and important British
philatelic book. This one just does not show up very often. $250.00
3. Berry, William. COUNTY
GENEALOGIES. DEGREES OF THE FAMILIES OF THE COUNTY OF HANTS. Collected From the
Heraldic Visitations And Other Authentic Manuscript Museum, And in the
Possession of Private Individuals.. London:
Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper, 1833. 379 pages. Ex-library, with tape over the
spine and library labels and marks on spine and inside covers. The binding is
tight. A rare British genealogical research book. Many illustrations of British
heraldly. $300.00
4. Brownell, Henry Howard. THE
EASTERN OR OLD WORLD; EMBRACING ANCIENT OR MODERN HISTORY. Set of 2 volumes.. Hartford,
Connecticut: American Subscription Pub., 1859. Two volume set. Red cloth covers
with gold decoration on the covers and spine. There is quite a bit of wear to
the edges of the spine and corners. The spines are darkened and the binding of
volume I has some soiling and darkening. Volume I also has some dampstaining to
the edges of some pages. Illustrated with dozens of hand-colored plates. A
beautiful illustrated set. $100.00
5. De Cabello, Don F.- translator. LOS
INCAS, O LA DESTRUCCION DEL IMPERIO DEL PERU POR MARMONTEL.. Paris,
France: Masson Y Hijo, 1822. Later-. Two volumes bound into one book, complete.
Bound in a beautiful black half-leather binding, with wristbands on the spine
and leather corners. There is a maroon leather label on the spine that says
"LOS INCAS". There is some wear to the edges of the spine and
corners.. A couple of small perforations to the bottom of the front joint where
it meets the spine. Binding is tight. With frontispiece woodcut illustration
and nine other nice woodcuts. An early and rare publication of the destruction
of the Incas of Peru. This copy was the personal copy of George M. Ottinger, and
is signed by him. Ottinger was born in 1833 and spent his early years in
Pennsylvania and New York. At the age of 16, he ran away and joined the crew of
a whaling ship, and by the age of 20 had traveled around the world. He joined
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 1861 and emigrated to Utah.
He became the first art instructor at the University of Deseret and later
president of the Deseret Academy in 1863. He was the first fire chief in Salt
Lake City. As well as being a prolific artist, he for a time partnered with C.R.
Savage in his photography business. Ottinger is one of the most prominent
19th-century Utah artists. He is noted for his landscape and historical scene
paintings. $750.00
6. De Silva, R.K. 19TH
CENTURY NEWSPAPER ENGRAVINGS OF CEYLON-SRI LANKA. Accompanied by Original Texts
With Notes and Comments.. London: Serendib
Publications, 1998. 404 pages. Very good in very good dust jacket. Jacket has
just a hint of wear at the bottom of the spine. Limited to 1,500 copies, of
which 500 copies are numbered. This is #373 of the numbered edition. A rare and
beautiful book. With hundreds of illustrations. $260.00
7. Jarrold & Sons, Ltd. PICTURES
IN COLOUR OF THE NORFOLK BROADS. WITH DESCRIPTIVE NOTES.. London:
Jarrold & Sons, Ltd, [n.d., ca.1890]. Some wear and rubbing to spine and
corners. Contains 50 color engravings. A beautiful book. $45.00
8. Jones, Myrta. THE
LAST DAYS OF PEKIN.. Boston: Little Brown &
Co, 1902. 296 pages. Colorful pictorial binding shows light shelf wear. A
beautiful copy. $125.00
9. Measom, George S. THE
OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY (INCLUDING THE CHESTER
AND HOLYHEAD LINE ), AND ALL THEIR BRANCHES.. London:
W.H. Smith & Son, 1859. 1145 pages. Original light brown cloth wiht gold
title on front cover and spine. There is wear and fading to the covers and some
darkened spots along the front joint. The front cover is detached and is held in
place by archival hinge tape. Some soiled spots to the binding. The pages are
tightly bound. Numerous woodcut illustrations. A few page edges are creased at
the right corner. A thick book, with over 1,100 pages of text. Two early
London railway guides bound together. Also bound at the end of the book is
"The Official Advertiser", containing nearly 200 pages of
advertisements for British and Scottish companies. $150.00
10. Murray, Hugh. THE
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ALL NATIONS: COMPRISING A COMPLETE PHYSICAL, STATISTICAL, CIVIL
AND POLITICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD. Volumes 1 and 2 complete.. San
Francisco: Henry Bill for Francis Dewing, 1863. Two volume set complete. Both
volumes are bound in full black leather with red leather labels on the spine.
The spine edges show wear. There are a few scuffs to the leather on the spine.
Corners are rubbed through and slightly bumped. The bindings are tight and the
pages are clean. The large multi-fold color illustration of the Battle of
Solferino has some long repaired tears. Illustrated with hand-colored plates
throughout. A beautiful set. $150.00
11. Old Mortality. QUAINT
LONDON: DESCRIBING A NUMBER OF INTERESTING RELICS OF OLD LONDON.. London:
Truslove & Shirley, [n.d., ca.1890]. Small flexible card covers with color
illustration on cover. Some wear, soiling and scuffing to covers. This is a
serie of views in and around London, with accompanying descriptive text. $18.00
12. Overs, Walter Henry. STORIES
OF AFRICAN LIFE.. New York: Edwin S. Gorham, 1924.
Signed by author. Shelf wear, else near VG in dust jacket with chips &
tears, and some soiling to the edges. Good photos of Africa landscapes and
people. A very scarce African narrative in a very scarce dust jacket. $25.00
13. Salignac, Francois. LES
AVENTURES DE TELEMAQUE, FILS D'ULYSSE. Par Francois Salignac de la Mothe-Fenelon..
Paris: Chez Bossange, 1807. This is the 1807
edition. Bound in half leather with marbled paper covers. Wear & rubbing to
spine and corners. Some scuffing to binding. Original leather and boards.
Binding tight. Text in French. $75.00
14. Savage, John-editor. PICTURESQUE
IRELAND: A LITERARY AND ARTISTIC DELINEATION OF THE NATURAL SCENERY, REMARKABLE
PLACES, HISTORICAL ANTIQUITIES, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, ANCIENT ABBEYS, TOWERS,
CASTLES, AND OTHER ROMANTIC AND ATTRACTIVE FEATURES OF IRELAND.. New
York: Thomas Kelly, 1878. 1st Edition. 649 pages. Scarce first edition, issued
in 1878. Beautifully bound in 3/4 maroon leather with raised bands and gold
borders on the spine. There is slight shelf wear only to the spine edges and the
corners, with corners lightly bumped. The text block is sound and the binding is
tight. There are about 10 pages near the end of the book that have small tears
to the edges (upper right-hand side), with the tears measuring about 0.5 to 1.5
inches. No loss of paper with the tears. This copy really is in extraordinary
condition. This book has hundreds of beautiful illustrations, including many
full-page steel engravings and some colored maps. Truly a beautiful book. $750.00
15. Spears, John R. THE
GOLD DIGGINGS OF CAPE HORN A STUDY OF LIFE IN TIERRA DEL FUEGO AND PATAGONIA.. New
York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1895. 319 pages. Front hinge just starting, but
holding fine. Some wear and rubbing to spine and corners. Binding tight and
pages clean. A rare first edition. Overall a very nice copy. $85.00