Forum Rare Books

Forum Rare Books Rare and antiquarian books Dealers in rare and antiquarian books, prints, maps, manuscripts and drawings, established in 1970.
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Dominicus Baudius (1561-1613) was a French Neo-Latin poet, scholar and historian who taught at Leiden from 1603-1613 whe...
09/06/2026

Dominicus Baudius (1561-1613) was a French Neo-Latin poet, scholar and historian who taught at Leiden from 1603-1613 where he became friends with luminaries such as Justus Lipsius, Janus Dousa, Daniel Heinsius, and Hugo Grotius. His private life was troubled by his drinking habits and love affairs, but he was considered as one of the best letter-writers and Neo-Latin poets of his time.

Depicted here is a first and only edition of an amorous compilation of Latin poems and other texts, including letters, orations, disputations, text editions with notes, and commentaries. The texts, all on the subjects of love and marriage, were written by various authors, such Heinsius, Dousa, Erasmus, Thomas More, Scaliger, Cl. Salmasius, L. Capilupi, Ausonius and others. However, the editor of this collection, the well-known humanist and scholar Petrus Scriverius (1576-1660) brought Baudius to the fore as the main author. The work includes poems that were omitted from the editions of Baudius' own "Poemata" as well as a number of his letters, recounting his, often unsuccessful, amorous adventures.

Our copy comes from the library of Charles Pieters, the well-known bibliographer and author of the "Annales des Elzevier", and is beautifully bound by an unknown binder in 19th-century gold-tooled dark blue-green morocco, in a style somewhat similar to the Bozerian binding we shared a week ago.

Find out more on our website:
www.forumrarebooks.com/item/baudius_dominicus_and_petrus_scriverius_editor__amores_edente_petro_scriverio_inscripti_th_graswinckelio_.html

Our book of the day once belonged to János Nagyváthy (1755-1819), a Hungarian pioneer of agricultural science. His name ...
08/06/2026

Our book of the day once belonged to János Nagyváthy (1755-1819), a Hungarian pioneer of agricultural science. His name is written on one of the endpapers in this copy of the first edition of Johann Friedrich Henckel's "Flora saturnizans" (Leipzig, 1722), a study of the relation between plants and minerals, generally recognized as Henckel's first major work.

In this book, Henckel (1678-1744) compares the formation of minerals to the growth of plants, used chemical techniques, recognizes the alkali content of plants, already present to some extent in living specimens but increased by burning, and finally describes a method for making blue glass. The illustrations include both living and fossil plants, as well as a shell.
Johann Friedrich Henckel worked as a physician in the mining town of Freiberg in Saxony. In 1730 he was appointed councillor of the mines and was able to establish a large laboratory, where he resumed his course in metallurgical chemistry, which became renowned throughout Europe.
János Nagyváthy is best known for his influential 1791 book "A szorgalmatos mezei gazda" ("The Diligent Farmer").

Here's another highlight from the short list Early Printing - 16th Century we've sent out earlier today. This beautiful ...
03/06/2026

Here's another highlight from the short list Early Printing - 16th Century we've sent out earlier today.

This beautiful binding by Georges Trautz (1808-1879) and Antoine Bauzonnet (1795-1882), the leading bookbinders of 19th-century France, holds an extremely rare 1576 Paris edition of Ortensio Lando's "Questions diverses, et responces d'icelles", a highly interesting work that explores love, nature, and morality through a series of question and answers.

This engaging Humanist text was originally published in Venice in 1552 and quickly became popular, with numerous editions and translations recorded. The first French translation appeared in Lyon in 1558 and was subsequently reprinted several times. The present Paris edition, however, appears to be particularly scarce and is only recorded by Gay.

Ortensio Lando, or Landi (ca. 1510-ca. 1560) was an author and translator. He studied arts in Milan and medicine in Bologna, but his temper and heterodox religious views repeatedly brought him into conflict with the authorities. Forced to leave Italy in 1534, he settled for a time at Lyon, where he met and worked with the celebrated printer and humanist Étienne Dolet (1509-1546). He moved back and forth between Italy, Switzerland, and France several times, but returned once more to Italy, where he was welcomed in Brescia by the Venetian governor Antonio da Mula. After travelling extensively through Italy and attending the opening stages of the Council of Trent, he eventually settled in Venice, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Other than the present work, he translated works by Cicero and Thomas More, and authored a series of twenty short essays defending unconventional propositions, such as that poverty is better than wealth. His works often contain comments on the morality and customs of the time, innovative philosophical and literary ideas, and sometimes even overt attacks on the prevailing religious ideas of his time. All of his books were placed onto the Index.

Order it here:
www.forumrarebooks.com/item/_lando_ortensio__questions_diverses_et_responces_d_39_icelles_divisees_en_trois.html

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"Besides the two men I have already mentioned, Cecilia has another lover who is of the bourgeois order; but he is a man ...
02/06/2026

"Besides the two men I have already mentioned, Cecilia has another lover who is of the bourgeois order; but he is a man more likely to reduce her to his own rank, than to elevate himself to her's. He boxes, gets drunk, and keeps girls, like the German noblemen, and young English lords, with whom he associates: he is handsome, and in other respects amiable enough, but his morals frighten me. His indolence disgusts Cecelia; and although he is rich, yet his fondness for imitating those who are more so, must inevitably ruin him."

Our book of the day is a classic series of fictional letters by the famous Dutch novelist and playwright Belle van Zuylen (1740-1805), known as Isabelle de Charrière after her marriage to the Swiss teacher Charles-Emmanuel de Charrière de Penthaz (1735-1808). In this work the author examines conflicts that arise from differences in wealth and social status, especially as it affects courtship rituals. The first part is told from the viewpoint of an anonymous mother, who wishes to see her daughter Cécile (Cecilia in the English translation) married. The second part is narrated from the viewpoint of a man, William, who is in love with a woman called Caliste.

According to Charlotte Daniels, in her book "Subverting the Family Romance: Women Writers, Kinship Structures, and the Early French Novel", "the two parts of Charrière's project, radically different in content and tone, are thematically and structurally linked by the relationship between the original narrator (Cécile's mother) and William, the ubiquitous guest in the narrator's parlor throughout the first story".

Our copy of this classic work of literature has the bookplate of the well-known French book collector Saulot de Bospin. Order it here:

www.forumrarebooks.com/item/_charriere_isabelle_de_belle_van_zuylen__lettres_eacute_crites_de_lausanne_including_caliste_ou_suite.html

There's theologians and there's the Theologian. This epithet was given to Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390 CE), Archbishop ...
01/06/2026

There's theologians and there's the Theologian.

This epithet was given to Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390 CE), Archbishop of Constantinople and one of the most influential Fathers of the Eastern Church, celebrated not only for his doctrinal authority but also for the literary brilliance of his prose. His theological orations, 45 of which survive, were admired by Renaissance Humanists for their rare union of Christian piety and classical eloquence.

Depicted here is our copy of the first edition of "Orationes novem elegantissimae", a collection of key text by Nazianzus and his close friend Gregory of Nyssa (335-395 CE), published by the Aldine Press in Venice in 1536.

This edition belongs to the wider humanist revival of patristic literature (the studying of the works of the Church Fathers) in the early 16th century. While Aldus Manutius (1449-1515) had already published the Editio princeps of Gregory of Nazianzus poems in 1504, the present work reflects the growing recognition that Gregorys most enduring achievement lay in his theological prose rather than his verse. The work provided a crucial foundation for later Latin and vernacular translations, including those associated with Erasmus and the Froben press in Basel.
The present work is bound in a French binding signed "Rel. P. Bozerian Jeune", the distinctive mark of François Bozerian (1765-1826), one of the most celebrated Parisian bookbinders of the Napoleonic period. Active primarily between circa 1801 and 1818, Bozerian was renowned for the elegance, precision, and restrained classicism of his bindings, many of which were commissioned for important scholarly and aristocratic libraries.

This classic work is one of the highlights in our upcoming short list on Early Printing!

More information on our website:
www.forumrarebooks.com/item/nazianzenus_gregorius_and_gregorius_nyssenus__orationes_novem_elegantissimae_gregorii_nuysseni_liber_de_homine_.html

In 1862 the Shogunate of Japan sent two barons, Nishi Amane and Tsuda Mamichi, both in their early thirties and both ver...
27/05/2026

In 1862 the Shogunate of Japan sent two barons, Nishi Amane and Tsuda Mamichi, both in their early thirties and both very much interested in modern European ideas, to the Netherlands, to study western political science, law and economics. They traveled with the Dutch physician Johan Pompe van Meerdervoort, who had lived in Japan for more then five years.

After their arrival, the two Japanese studied with Professor Simon Vissering, who introduced them to Freemasonry, of which they would become the first Japanese adherents. Nishi returned to Japan in 1865, but not before he had written a preface to the Dutch edition of Rudolf Lindau's description of Japan. He pronounced that Lindau's work, in sharp contrast with those that came before, is largely "very accurate and in agreement with the truth", though he notes it is "not entirely free of errors on political matters" and the rendering of some Japanese words with the Latin alphabet. At the end of the preface, his own name is written as Nisi Sioesoeke.

Back in Japan, Nishi would play a major role as a reformer in the Meiji Restoration. He was a founder of both the intellectual society Meirokusha (Meiji 6) and its influential journal "Meiroku zasshi, which played a very important role in promoting Western ideas in Japan. He also coined the word tetsugaku to translate the concept of philosophy into Japanese. As a result of his efforts, Nishi Amane is often named the father of Western philosophy in Japan.

Our new short list on Travel Asia, which we will send out later today, contains both the Dutch edition of Lindau's travel account (with Nishi's preface) and Pompe van Meedervoort's very interesting account of his own stay in Japan, during the great changes that took place in that country.

Find out more about these books on our website:

www.forumrarebooks.com/item/lindau_rudolf__japan_eene_reisbeschrijving_leiden_de_breuk_amp_smits_1865__2.html

www.forumrarebooks.com/item/pompe_van_meerdervoort_johan_lidius_cathrinus__vijf_jaren_in_japan_1857_1863_bijdragen_tot_de_kennis_van.html

In our next newsletter we will present 12 travel books concerning Asia, including this rare 17th-century English edition...
26/05/2026

In our next newsletter we will present 12 travel books concerning Asia, including this rare 17th-century English edition, with about 60 different woodcut illustrations, of a classic and partly fictional 14th-century account of travels presented as voyages of Sir John Mandeville through Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria, Persia, Arabia, India and the East Indies. It was originally written in French and is thought to have been compiled from various sources by Jehan d'Outremeuse (1338-1400) of Liege. Find out more on our website:

www.forumrarebooks.com/item/mandeville_john_jehan_d_outremeuse__the_voyages_amp_travels_of_sir_john_mandevile_knight_.html

It's on! Come visit our virtual stands at Vialibri's May 2026 Showcase for 50 interesting rare books and manuscripts, in...
20/05/2026

It's on!

Come visit our virtual stands at Vialibri's May 2026 Showcase for 50 interesting rare books and manuscripts, including this large-paper copy of the first Dutch edition (1733) of a beautifully illustrated explanation by Antoine de la Barre de Beaumarchais of the classical fables, in a sumptuous binding by the Three Acorn Bindery in Amsterdam. Check the links in the comments.

Today, our book of the day is actually two books, both in manuscript, and both containing prayers in German. Both of the...
19/05/2026

Today, our book of the day is actually two books, both in manuscript, and both containing prayers in German. Both of these were produced at the end of the 18th century and both have interesting bindings. Both are written in a very neat script, one by a man named Johann Karl Erbes, the other by an anonymous author who was most likely from the diocese of Würzburg. One of the manuscripts has two beautiful two mezzotint engravings of Christ carrying the cross and Christ's Vera effigies with a crown of thorns, while the other has very nice blue paste paper endpapers and a pretty floral frame on each page. Both have full descriptions on our website, and both can also be ordered there:

www.forumrarebooks.com/item/_manuscript_prayer_book_german__andachts_eyfer_worinnen_enthalten_fruh_abend_meess_beicht_und.html

https://www.forumrarebooks.com/item/_manuscript_prayer_book_german__geistlicher_seelen_wecker_allen_in_gott_christlich_glaubenden.html

After New York and London our next fair destination will be a virtual one: the viaLibriVirtual Showcase (May 20-25). A f...
18/05/2026

After New York and London our next fair destination will be a virtual one: the viaLibriVirtual Showcase (May 20-25).

A first highlight from our online stand is this fascinating album amicorum of Carl Gottlieb Heinrich from Bischofswerda. As so many Germans, he moved to the Netherlands in 1802 to enter into the service of the Batavian Army. His career can be traced in the "Stamboek" (military registration book) held in the National Archives in The Hague: he was born 2 April 1771. His father was Johan Christopf Heinrich (b. 1706); his mother Johanna Elizabeth (d. 1771) who died probably in childbirth (in the present album Johanna Magdalena signs as his (step-?) mother on p. 2). He had brown eyes, his nose and mouth were normal and he could speak German and Dutch.

In 1804, he was a 1st Lieutenant Light Infantry, in 1805 he was with 2nd Regiment Jagers, in 1808 with the Garde Jagers, and in 1809 he was made Captain. Heinrich had been in the service of the French army since 1792, during which he was stationed in Flanders and Brabant.

The stories of Heinrich's adventures in later life are told in the 91 entries in the present album, including 22 entries written in Dutch. The first entry on p. 6 was written by his brother F.C. Adolph Heinrich (Bautzen, 29 January 1802). Apparently he travelled the following months in the surroundings of Bischofswerda to pay ca. 25 farewell visits to family and friends in Bautzen, Dresden, Kamenz, Seeligstadt, Stolpen, and Struppen, before he left for the Netherlands, via Leipzig (19 May 1802) and Zwolle (29 May). He arrived in Kampen at the end June that same year and was garrisoned there until the spring of 1803 (entries from 26 June 1802 till 13 February 1803). Between 1804 and 1810, we find him in Harlingen (May-June 1804), Alkmaar (December 1804), The Hague (April 1806), Breda (July 1806), Overveen (July 1807), Haarlem (August 1807), Amsterdam (October 1807). In July 1810, Heinrich visited members of the Van Oldenbarnevelt (named Tullingh) family at their house Overheijde in Monster.

At the end of 1810, he is in Nantes from where he would sail for Batavia in the Dutch East Indies, where he would arrive in June 1811. Once there, he is - together with his regiment - stationed in Weltevreden, just outside Batavia, and he arrived just in time to be ready to defend Java under the new Governor-General Janssen against the English. After the English easily defeated the Dutch, who subsequently lost their colony to England, Heinrich escaped via Surabaya to Bengal in January 1812 and from there he sailed to Europe. The interesting drawing of Jamestown on St. Helena is by J.D. van Schelle in memory of their journey back (Reading, 7 November 1813). In 1814, Heinrich is garrisoned back in the Netherlands, in Steenbergen, Zwolle, and The Hague. The last entry in the present album was written in Maastricht and dated 12 August 1818.

www.forumrarebooks.com/item/_album_amicorum_heinrich_carl_gottlieb___album_amicorum_of_carl_gottlieb_heinrich_with_entries_written.html

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