Manuscripts and Letters
79 items found
Escher, M. C.
Escher Adventures in Perception. [With handwritten letter by Maurits Escher to Han van Gelder, who produced an Oscar-nominated film about the artist and his work].
Laren, the artist, 1970. Handwritten letter in black pen, dated "Laren, 27-XII-'70", written on a folded postcard featuring Escher's "Cycle", produced in 1970 by The Vorpal Galleries in San Francisco, CA.
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Mertens, R.
[Original manuscript on the variability of the striped kukri snake, Oligodon octolineatus (Schneider)].
[Frankfurt am Main, 1969]. Handwritten in ink on rectos of 23 uniform, loose, ruled leaves (20.8 x 14.8 cm), a photocopy of a single leaf of G. A. Boulenger's Catalogue of the snakes in the British Museum, volume II (1894) with a few annotations by Mertens; and another 14 leaves of several sizes, a few with printed text.
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Harrison, D. L.
The Mammals of Arabia. Volumes I-III [Complete, and with author's dedications].
London, Ernest Benn, 1964-1972. Three volumes in three. Large 4to (29.6 x 20.3 cm). 670 pp. [I (1964) xx, 1-192 pp.; II (1968) xiv, 193-381 pp.; III (1972) xvii, 382-670 pp.]; three frontispieces, 465 distribution maps and text figures, 266 tables, one large folded map. Original uniform red buckram with gilt titles on spines.
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Tollmann, A.
Das Neogen am Südwestrand des Leithagebirges zwischen Eisenstadt und Hornstein. Dissertation zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades an der Philosophischen Fakultät der Universität Wien.
Wien, [not published], 1953. Small folio (29.8 x 21.0 cm). 226 pp.; 28 text figures (tipped in), three large, folded maps (one hand-coloured), five folded tables and graphs. Black half cloth. Hand-written label on the spine.
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Vuijk, J.
[Original orchid drawings and descriptions]
Amsterdam, [unpublished], ca. 1950-1975. A huge collection of more than a thousand sketches, drawings (b/w line drawings in pencil or ink, and in [full] colour) of wild orchids, with additional annotations - in Dutch, with Latin names. On 376 leaves, including 41 partially or (near) completely in original watercolours. Preserved in contemporary folders, titled by the author.
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[Ant, H.]
Manuscript based on Staudinger's printed list of Palaearctic Lepidoptera.
Not published, no date [but after 1936; probably ca. 1950]. Large 8vo (24.0 x 16.1 cm). 161 ruled pages with mounted strips with printed text. Mid-20th century black blind cloth over marbled boards.
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MacInnes, D.G.
A study of fossil Mammalia from East Africa [original manuscript].
Unpublished [n.d., but ca 1938.] 4to (26.0 x 20.4 cm). Original typed manuscript with 336 pp.; 143 original photographs in various sizes, and some original drawn maps. Full contemporary dark blue cloth with gilt title on spine.
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Capitani, F. di
Francesco di Capitani. [Manuscript design examples].
Roma, di Capitani, [ca. 1935]. Large, oblong cardboard binder with two metal pins. Folio (36.5 x 53.5 cm). 64 leaves with original drawings, of which 61 in full colour (crayon). Black morocco boards with embossed title and patterned pastedowns. Stiff brown endpapers.
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Reineck, A.
Anglertagebuch. Meine Erlebnisse am Wasser.
[Frankfurt am Main, unpublished, 1930-1933]. Oblong folio (20.5 x 26.4 cm). "Frontispiece" self-portrait of the author in pencil and watercolour; 40 pp. with handwritten text [in German] and numerous illustrations in pencil or ink, a cut-out ink drawing by the author mounted on the rear board. Bound in gilt-green-black pochoir "camouflage" boards. In a custom-made marbled slipcase (27.3 x 22.4 x 1.9 cm), with a photocopy of the latter drawing mounted on the front board.
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Lloyd, T.
Trevor Lloyd's sketchbooks of New Zealand.
New Zealand, ca. 1925. In two volumes. Folio (35 x 25 cm, and 36 x 33 cm). The first of white paper, with his name handwritten on the second leaf, and (68 groups of) illustrations, mostly on leaf rectos only, a few using both sides of a leaf. The second, largest, of brown paper, with his name written on the front cover. Inserted: one sheet of trace paper with pencil drawing, and 24 leaves with colour pencil sketches of New Zealand landscapes, and people.
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Jordan, D. S.
Fishes. [AND an autographed letter by the author].
New York, NY, D. Appleton, 1925. 4to (25.5 x 18.1 cm). xv, 773 pp.; Chromolithographed frontispiece with printed tissue-guard, and 17 other full colour plates after original watercolours, and 763 fine text figures. Original blind-stamped and gilt-lettered cloth. Top edge gilt.
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[Cars]
Large original watercolour illustration of a 1920's luxury model.
[No place, no publisher, ca. 1925-1930]. Large, oblong sheet (61.6 x 22.7 cm) with watercolour (partly paint-brushed) illustration of a ca. 1925 luxury car; mounted on another contemporary card board (same size).
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[Bertholet, D.]
Radiations. [Results of early experiment with radiated soil and vegetables]
Paris, unpublished, 1925. Two handwritten letters, dated "8 nov. 1925" and "24 12 1925", one letter typed (carbon copy) with two additional leaves, dated "le 22 novembre 1925", and a six pp. letter (carbon copy - versos blank), dated "II décembre 1925"". two cardboard sheets, with six and five photos respectively, showing "radiated" and "control" fields, or plants, mounted.
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Raspail, X.
Les procédés de Pasteur. Jugés en 1882 par l'éminent chemiste Duclaux, nommé en 1895, directeur de l'institut Pasteur, fonction qu'il a occupée jusqu'à sa mort, en 1904 [AND] Le centenaire de Pasteur, a servi, pendant 18 mois, à lui édifier une apothéose mondiale, par une accumulation journalière, dans la presse française, de faux scientifiques et de mensognes scandaleux.
Gouvieuz, [the author?], 1924. Small 8vo (17.3 x 11.0 cm). 20 pp. Original printed wrappers.
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Coupin, H. [E. V.]
Album général des cryptogames. Avec la collaboration de M[ademois]elle Fernande Coupin. Algae. [Complete].
Paris, E. Orlhac, [1911-1912]. 4to (27.5 x 18.6 cm). 394 plates with explanatory text leaves, title pages and indexes. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards. Spine with five raised bands and gilt title. Marbled endpapers.
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[Carriages]
Two fine, original drawings of carriages.
No place, no publisher, 1906-1907. Two oblong drawings: one in thin ink lines with fine gouache colouring, over 15.0 x 23.0 cm, in oblong cardboard frame (30.5 x 23.5 cm); the other in sharp pencil, and with an overlaying, smaller board with the carriage top (over 16.2 x 24.7 cm) in oblong cardboard frame (32.1 x 43.4 cm).
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[Original drawings]
Mongolian horsemen with falcons, cats and rabbits. [Eight original paintings on silk].
Mongolia, mid to late 19th to early 20th century. Oblong (27 x 35 cm). Eight paintings on silk, each mounted on large, iridescent silk sheets, and framed behind glass. Early to mid-20th century black varnished, bevelled wooden frames, each measuring 38.0 x 47.5 cm.
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Sand, M.
Manuscript of: Catalogue raisonné des lépidoptères du Berry & de l'Auvergne ( Cher, Indre, Creuse, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal) ( France centrale) Deuxième Partie - Microlepidoptera.
Paris, E. Deyrolle [published edition], 1871-[shortly before] 1879. 4to (22.1 x 14.6 cm). [179] pp., followed by ca. 100 blanks. Original green half sheep over marbled boards. Printed label on front board. [AND] 12 pages of manuscript text pertaining to this work and in particular the preface. In a contemporary envelope [AND]. A signed letter (draft?) 92 pp. (folded), by the author on paper with his blind-stamp, directed to one of his correspondents.
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Lacaze-Duthiers, [F. J.] H. de
Three important, published works by Henri Lacaze-Duthiers, including a collection of proof copies and handwritten notes and corrections to one of them.
Paris, 1877-1885. Various sizes. 468 pp. [160, 220, 88]; 28 [8; 14; 6] lithographed plates, of which 22 hand-coloured. Preserved in a clamshell box covered in burgundy cloth (30.4 x 25.2 x 9.2 cm) with printed label.
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Leuba, [F.]
Monographie du genre Morchella. Traité au point de vue historique, botanique et chimique.
[Switzerland], unpublished, 1875. Folio (31.2 x 24.0 cm). Script title page with watercolour vignette, handwritten preface by the author, dated 15 Août 1875 (verso blank), 16 pp. of handwritten descriptive text; nine watercolour plates with script captions. Later half morocco over marbled boards. Marbled endpapers.
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