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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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50 Fine Books for 2007 from Shapero Rare Books Fifty Fine Books from Bernard J. Shapero by Michael Stillman Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books has issued its catalogue of 50 Fine Books 2007. This is a collection of fifty stunningly beautiful illustrated books. Most are colored, though those that are not are still exceptional. Topics are varied. There are beautiful bird books from Britain, Europe, Australia, North and South America. Quadrupeds, insects, and conches also get their due. There are several looks at Russia from the time of the czars, Egypt when its antiquities were just being rediscovered, fantastic views of the Himalayan and Pyrenees Mountains, Vienna, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Pompeii. There are displays of horsemanship, both good and bad. There are portraits of the emperors of Turkey and the Indians of North America. Flora and gardens can be seen. There are beautifully illustrated tropical fish to be found. This truly is a magnificent collection of fine books, and here are a few examples. Item 48 gives us one of the best looks available at America's Indians while their lives were still mostly untouched by Europeans. From 1832-1834, German Prince Maximilian traveled through America, going all the way up the Missouri River to present-day Montana. He wrote down his experiences with the tribes he met, while Artist Karl Bodmer painted their likenesses. Offered is a first edition from 1839-41 of Reise in das innere Nord-America..., four volumes with numerous hand-painted illustrations. Priced at £175,000 (British pounds, or approximate US equivalent of $337,988). French explorer Jean-Baptise Chappe D'Auteroche visited Siberia in 1761. His journey was to observe the transit of Venus, but as his book will attest, he observed much more. His illustrated look at Siberia, its climate, people, wildlife and minerals, is presented in Voyage en Siberie, published in 1768. It also includes a translation of Krasheninnikov's description of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Chappe D'Auteroche would travel to observe another transit of Venus off the California coast a decade later, but was fatally struck down by disease. Item 9. £11,000 (US $21,250). For an even earlier view of Russia, item 8 is Reizen over Moskovie, door Persia en Indie... by Cornelis de Bruyn. De Bruyn was a Dutch painter who visited Moscow, Persia and India in 1701. This 1714 first edition includes a picture of Moscow, looking like not much more than a rural village. £9,500 (US $18,350).
50 Fine Books for 2007 from Shapero Rare Books Some of the fabulous birds of Brazil Item 1 is Henry Alken's Qualified Horses and Unqualified Riders... It is an amusing illustrated look at horsemen struggling to hold on. £5,000 (US $9,658). Item 2 is another Alken work, Sporting Discoveries, or the Miseries of Shooting...By Ben Tally-Ho... These plates depict such scenes as a hunter who has shot a sheep, and another who shoots in the direction of a scared bystander. Does he look a little like Dick Cheney? £6,000 (US $11,590). For those who like to relive Britain's great military triumphs, James Jenkins offers two exciting works. They retell Britain's victory over Napoleon, on land and on sea. Item 24 is The Martial Achievements of Great Britain and her Allies from 1799-1815. £2,750 (US $5,311). Item 25 is The Naval Achievements of Great Britain from the Year 1793 to 1817. Most notable here is the Battle of Trafalgar. £11,000 (US $21,247). Denis Diderot's great Encyclopedie was a monumental work of art, science, history, and notably, enlightenment. It promoted the novel idea that government should serve the people, rather than the other way around. The 21-volume work was an inspiration for the French Revolution, though Diderot could not have imagined how that event would turn out. £50,000 (US $96,579). Several great, illustrated bird books are offered. There is John Gould's classic The Birds of Great Britain, the large folio five-volume first edition from 1862-73. £65,000 ($125,712). There is Theodore Descourtilz' Ornithologie Bresilienne, the birds of Brazil, published in 1856. £25,000 (US $48,351). Gregory Mathews created one of the last of the great bird books, the 13-volume The Birds of Australia, published in a limited edition of 225 copies in 1910-27. £17,500 ($33,845). Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books may be found online at www.shapero.com, telephone +44 (0)20 7493 0876.

50 Fine Books for 2007 from Shapero Rare Books

Fifty Fine Books from Bernard J. Shapero

by Michael Stillman

Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books has issued its catalogue of 50 Fine Books 2007. This is a collection of fifty stunningly beautiful illustrated books. Most are colored, though those that are not are still exceptional.

Topics are varied. There are beautiful bird books from Britain, Europe, Australia, North and South America. Quadrupeds, insects, and conches also get their due. There are several looks at Russia from the time of the czars, Egypt when its antiquities were just being rediscovered, fantastic views of the Himalayan and Pyrenees Mountains, Vienna, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Pompeii. There are displays of horsemanship, both good and bad. There are portraits of the emperors of Turkey and the Indians of North America. Flora and gardens can be seen. There are beautifully illustrated tropical fish to be found. This truly is a magnificent collection of fine books, and here are a few examples.

Item 48 gives us one of the best looks available at America's Indians while their lives were still mostly untouched by Europeans. From 1832-1834, German Prince Maximilian traveled through America, going all the way up the Missouri River to present-day Montana. He wrote down his experiences with the tribes he met, while Artist Karl Bodmer painted their likenesses. Offered is a first edition from 1839-41 of Reise in das innere Nord-America..., four volumes with numerous hand-painted illustrations. Priced at £175,000 (British pounds, or approximate US equivalent of $337,988).

French explorer Jean-Baptise Chappe D'Auteroche visited Siberia in 1761. His journey was to observe the transit of Venus, but as his book will attest, he observed much more. His illustrated look at Siberia, its climate, people, wildlife and minerals, is presented in Voyage en Siberie, published in 1768. It also includes a translation of Krasheninnikov's description of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Chappe D'Auteroche would travel to observe another transit of Venus off the California coast a decade later, but was fatally struck down by disease. Item 9. £11,000 (US $21,250).

For an even earlier view of Russia, item 8 is Reizen over Moskovie, door Persia en Indie... by Cornelis de Bruyn. De Bruyn was a Dutch painter who visited Moscow, Persia and India in 1701. This 1714 first edition includes a picture of Moscow, looking like not much more than a rural village. £9,500 (US $18,350).

50 Fine Books for 2007 from Shapero Rare Books

Some of the fabulous birds of Brazil

Item 1 is Henry Alken's Qualified Horses and Unqualified Riders... It is an amusing illustrated look at horsemen struggling to hold on. £5,000 (US $9,658). Item 2 is another Alken work, Sporting Discoveries, or the Miseries of Shooting...By Ben Tally-Ho... These plates depict such scenes as a hunter who has shot a sheep, and another who shoots in the direction of a scared bystander. Does he look a little like Dick Cheney? £6,000 (US $11,590).

For those who like to relive Britain's great military triumphs, James Jenkins offers two exciting works. They retell Britain's victory over Napoleon, on land and on sea. Item 24 is The Martial Achievements of Great Britain and her Allies from 1799-1815. £2,750 (US $5,311). Item 25 is The Naval Achievements of Great Britain from the Year 1793 to 1817. Most notable here is the Battle of Trafalgar. £11,000 (US $21,247).

Denis Diderot's great Encyclopedie was a monumental work of art, science, history, and notably, enlightenment. It promoted the novel idea that government should serve the people, rather than the other way around. The 21-volume work was an inspiration for the French Revolution, though Diderot could not have imagined how that event would turn out. £50,000 (US $96,579).

Several great, illustrated bird books are offered. There is John Gould's classic The Birds of Great Britain, the large folio five-volume first edition from 1862-73. £65,000 ($125,712). There is Theodore Descourtilz' Ornithologie Bresilienne, the birds of Brazil, published in 1856. £25,000 (US $48,351). Gregory Mathews created one of the last of the great bird books, the 13-volume The Birds of Australia, published in a limited edition of 225 copies in 1910-27. £17,500 ($33,845).

Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books may be found online at www.shapero.com, telephone +44 (0)20 7493 0876.