Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2008 Issue
Fifty Recent Acquisitions from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books
A spectacular illustration worthy of Diderot's Encyclopedia.
Item 34 is an interesting retrospective atlas: An historical atlas: in a series of maps of the world known at different periods... Edward Quin put this collection together in 1830. It displays maps of the world as known at various times, the unknown portion of the globe shrouded in dark clouds and blackness. A succession of twenty maps, beginning with biblical times, displays the known world, with the shroud peeling away as discoveries are made. £2,800. (US $5,562).
For a beautiful look at India two centuries ago, item 23 is A picturesque tour along the River Ganges and Jumna, in India. This is one of the spectacular Ackermann publications, featuring 24 hand-colored plates and a folding map. The author was Lieutenant Colonel Charles Ramus Forrest, a British army officer stationed in Bengal. He made various excursions from his posts to compile this work, published in 1824. £7,500 (US $14,898).
Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books is found online at www.shapero.com, telephone +44 (0)20 7493 0876.
