Antique Prints

[Very early printed portraits of four Roman Emperors]

Hartman Schedel.
Linea Imperatorum. Julianus. Jovianus. Valentinianus. Valens.

Nuremburg, 1493, Latin edition. Woodcuts in letterpress. Sheet 460 x 3405mm. Early red lines.
An incunable sheet featuring four portraits of Roman emperors: Julian (sole ruler AD 361-363), Jovian (363-364), Valentinian (emperor of the West 364-375) & Valens (Eastern Roman Emperor 364-378). On the reverse are seven more woodcuts, portraits of a religious theme, including Macedonius I of Constantinople, the heretic bishop c.AD 350.
SCHE0005

£175

[Print of a sea monster.]

Alain Manesson Mallet.
Des Poissons.

Paris, 1683. 150 x 100mm. Coloured.
A small print of a twin-spouted whale, with a whaling fleet behind.
MALL0111

£125

[Allegorical print of Geography]

W.H. Brown
Minerva instructing Britannia in the Science of Geography: In the foreground are allegorically represented the four Quarters of the World...

London, C.Cooke, 1801. Image 190 x 120mm. Slight spotting.
A circular scene of the Four Continents, Minerva and Britannia, with a border surmounted by a figure of Neptune, with medals with the names of famous explorers from Magellan and Drake to Anson, Cook and La Perouse. Engraved by R. Woodman after a design by W.H. Brown.
BROW0002

£49

[Allegory of Britannia]

T. Stothard.
Britannia, whose seat is as permanent as a Rock, supported by Wisdom and Strength, under the Characters of Minerva and Hercules; whilst Mars and Neptune as protectors of Commerce introduce her with the Product of the Universe in her Train.

London, Mackgowan & Davis, 1780. 230 x 170mm.
An allegorical scene of Britannia, engraved by Trotter after Stotard.
STOT0002

£49

[Ancient picts]

Theodore de Bry.
[Set of Five Ancient Britons.]

Frankfurt, 1590 [-1630?]. Five engravings, each c. 225 x 160mm, with five pages of Latin text describing the figures.
Five plates, numbered 1 - 5, showing the costumes and tattoos of the ancient Picts, with both men and women armed with swords and spears. Despite the antiquity of the dress the ships, buildings and the trophy heads have a very sixteenth century look. Originally published in 1590, Matthias Merian, De Bry's son-in-law, published another edition in 1630.
DEBR0001

£325

[Early illustrations of Coffee]

Jacques Nicolas Bellin.
Arbre du Caffé, Dessiné en Arabie...

Amsterdam, 1756.
An illustration of a coffee bush, 'drawn in Arabia', with diagrams of a berry and bean. Engraved by Schley for a Dutch edition of Prevost.
BELL0178

£95

[Miniature scene of refining indigo]

Alain Manesson Mallet.
Indigotoire.

Paris, 1683. 145 x 105mm. Coloured.
An indigo refinery in the Caribbean, worked by slaves, published in Mallet's 'Description de l'Univers'.
MALL0093

£95

[Miniature scene of sugar refining]

Alain Manesson Mallet.
Sucerie.

Paris, 1683. 145 x 105mm. Coloured.
A sugar refinery in the Americas, worked by slaves. On a mound is grinding mill driven by donkeys in an open-sided building, with a pipe feeding the cane juice downhill to an evaporating shed where it is reduced over fires. In the background workers cut the sugar canes in fields. Published in Mallet's 'Description de l'Univers'.
MALL0092

£95

[Miniature scene of Tobacco cultivation]

Alain Manesson Mallet.
Tabacs.

Paris, 1683. 145 x 105mm. Coloured.
A tobacco plantation in the Caribbean, worked by slaves, published in Mallet's 'Description de l'Univers'.
MALL0094

£95

[Roberts view of Karnac]

David Roberts.
Karnac.

London: F.G.Moon, 1849. Lithograph printed in two colours. Printed area 520 x 330mm.
Karnac view.
ROBE1003

£800

[Blome Fishing print]

Richard Blome.
Fishing.

London, c.1686. 315 x 215mm. Coloured.
Engraving depicting the various types of fishing, including angling and trawling, published in Blome's 'Gentleman's Recreation'. Under the plate is a dedication to the Duke of Albermarle, listing his extensive titles and posts, including Captain of the Life Guards.
BLOM0001

£125

[Gould's Mountain Trogon in Original Colour]

John Gould.
Harpactes Oreskios.

London, 1875. Lithograph in original colour. Printed area 440 x 310mm.
The Mountain Trogon, a native of Java, drawn by John Gould and H.C. Richter and published in Gould's 'A Monograph of the Trogonidae or Family of Trogons'.
GOUL0001

£495

[Gould's Mexican Trogon in Original Colour]

John Gould.
Trogon Mexicanus, SW.

London, 1875. Lithograph in original colour. Printed area 440 x 310mm.
The Mexican Trogon, drawn by John Gould and H.C. Richter and published in Gould's 'A Monograph of the Trogonidae or Family of Trogons'.
GOUL0003

£495

[An Arabian Horse]

Henry Alken.
The Arabian.

London: 1820-1904. Offset lithograph. 175 x 235mm.
A copy of the scarce original aquatint, showing an arabian horse in the desert, with pyramids in the background.
ALKE0001

£98

[View of the Lighthouse of Alexandria]

John Hinton.
The Pharos of Ptolomy King of Egypt.

London, Hinton, 1750. 200 x 255mm.
View of the Pharos, the lighthouse built in Alexandria c.280BC, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Published in the 'Universal Magazine'.
HINT0003

£125

[Sri Lankan monkeys]

Middleton.
Various Species of Monkeys in the Island of Ceylon.

London, c.1780. 290 x 170mm.
Bizarre-looking monkeys, supposedly inhabitants of Sri Lanka. Published in 'Middleton's Complete System of Geography', with a decorative border.
MIDD0004

£49

[A Polish monster]

Sebastian Munster
C'est cy la figure d'un monstre nay en Craccouie au moys de Fevrier l'an de grace 1547, lequel ne vesquist que trois heures.

Basle, 1552, French text. Woodcut. Printed area 130 x 70mm, set in letterpress text.
A woodblock illustration of a monster born in Kracow in Feburary, 1547. The male figure stands upright on webbed feet, with dog-head elbows and knees, monkey-head nipples and a second face on its belly. Underneath is another woodcut of a Lithuania nobleman.
MUNS0035

£60

[Portrait of a chief architect of the Glorious Revolution and the Act of Union]

Sir Godfrey Kneller.
John Lord Somers.

London: J. & P. Knapton, 1747. Engraved portrait. 360 x 220mm.
Portrait of John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, (1651-1716), engraved by Jacob Houbraken after Kneller, published in George Vertue's 'eads of Illustrious Personages of Great Britain'.
KNEL0001

£95