Wilkes, John. [Edited with Preface by R.des Habits]

Book Description: William F. Taylor, Harrow England: 1888. First Edition. 32 mo – approx 5 x 4 inches. Soft Cover. pp xxiv, 62, [pp 8 as Appendix un-numbered]. No 101 of a limited run of 166 printed for subscribers; all were probably custom-bound to order. The jacket of this copy is of soft vellum, the cover and the pages are of high-quality, hand-made paper. Tight, sound condition, cover scuffed and light stains, text page edges rough, overall very clean. Signatures printed in different coloured inks. We have ten illustrations of this book on our website in the GALLERY– please refer to these and contact us for further information. This is a very rare book. voss@shaw.ca

US $495

Chisholme, David

Book Description: G. Stobbs, Three Rivers, Quebec, 1832. First edition. Hard Cover. Book Condition: Fair; boards damaged, repaired, spine separated, block solid except for loose pages at the front but complete. 24mo – approx 5.25 x 3.25 inches. [i-viii], 300 pages,[Appendix: 1 +( i-xxi)]. Hand-written dedication to his brother Andrew Chisholme ahead of Preface, dated 8th of June 1832. A series of digital photographs on our website in the GALLERY show the dedication, the printing faults and problems with this very rare, early Canadian book. A good reading, working copy with some foxing and stains. For more details please contact us. voss@shaw.ca

US $895

1. Establishing Materials and Methods

We have a collection of 18th Century English soft paste pieces with damage: chips, cracks, breaks and repairs – pieces which we can see into and make measurements on. One aspect of the study is to establish the range of paste densities by simple non-destructive techniques, namely the weight in air, weight in water method.

The surface photography, some examples of which are shown here, is due to Victoria photographer Ryan Barry: he is now achieving high contrast clear definition images in and around chips, cracks and breaks. The object is to achieve the equivalent viewing, on a computer screen, of that of a 10 to 15 times magnification through a hand-held magnifier of the type used by gemologists, print makers and weavers. We are asking the basic question: can either or both these non-destructive tests aid in the identification of unmarked pieces. We know that in all of the factories making porcelain in the period their pastes varied day by day because of the variability of the raw materials as well as the continuous trial and error required.

We welcome suggestions and comments; we want to know who else has done this type of work. We buy damaged pieces which can be identified – damage can belarge or small. Please contact us by emailing Geoffrey Voss, voss@shaw.ca

Visitors by appointment please.

We begin by showing below some of the samples and images. The density of the smaller Bow sauceboat shown here is 2.71 +/- 0.04. In the following weeks we will present additional results and images.

Two Bow Sauce Boats c 1765, Tops and Bases

Shape, Stains and Damage to the Larger Bow Sauce Boat

Bow: a perfect sample for analysis

Broken Worcester Plate Identification, c 1775

High Contrast Image of the Break in the Worcester Plate

John and Elizabeth Gould: Grey Phalarope [Phalaropus platyrhynchus]
An original hand-coloured lithograph [approximately 560 x 380 mm] from Gould’s Birds of Europe , 1832 – 1837, with separate descriptive page.

Edge condition as shown; some mild toning of the wove paper with small foxing marks.

Additional digital images will be sent if required. Enquire: voss@shaw.ca

A8229………………………………………………………………………………………$695

One of a collection of original works of art by this Canadian First Nations artist to be exhibited during January 2009 at The Martin Batchelor Gallery, Cormorant Street in Victoria B.C. Some of the paintings which we own will be for sale there by silent auction, the proceeds donated to the shelter for homeless people in Prince Albert Sask. This shelter will be named after him by his niece Shelley Mike. [see: www. theseed.ca .

The example of his work shown above is signed “Wandering Spirit Angel (Copyright) 2000”; it is a hand-painted multimedia work, using paint over pencil and background print. His work forms a genre of its own, as bold and as original as was that of Emily Carr a century before him: very different but both had the same personal feeling for the world around them.

Alvin Elif Constant froze to death in Calgary during a cold night in December 2006. Articles about him can be found on the internet. A homeless, exceptionally kind nomad, he was a trained artist who chose to live the way he did on the streets of Victoria, Vancouver and Calgary. Many of his prints carry the letters “XTC” but none that we have seen is numbered; beer stains and fingerprints are not uncommon.

Another example of Constant’s work entitled Essence is seen below.

We will make a donation to Shelley Mike’s fund for each Constant painting which we show. Marks may appear on the digital print here which do not exist on the folio size original. For more information on our collection and our continuing interest in purchasing more Alvin Constant works, please write to us : voss@shaw.ca

The Birds of New Guinea
London, 1875 – 1888 Plate 57 of Volume 3.
W.Hart, del et lith …………………………..Mintern Bros.imp

2 pages : the lithograph and descriptive page; size of each approximately 370mm wide by 545 mm tall.

“The Birds of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, including many species discovered in Australia” was printed in 5 volumes of 25 parts in total with 320 lithographs. The descriptive page has the initials “ R.B.S.” at the lower right-hand side corner.

The condition is good, the colours a bright and true, a rare print in this clean state with mild age toning. The digital picture is true; has not been filtered.

A2518G7 ………………………………..2 pages ……………………………………………………………$575

Sir John Ross: Original Coloured Engravings from: “Narrative of the Second Voyage in Search of a North-West Passage and of a Residence in the Arctic Regions During the Years 1829,1830,1831, 1832, 1833…. Including the Reports of Commander, now Captain, James Clark Ross R.N, F.R.S. F.L.S. &c and the Discovery of the Northern Magnetic Pole.” London, A.M.Webster, 156, Regent Street. 1835

Three original colour prints are shown below. These are from a copy of the above book which suffered water damage in a trunk returning from China in the late 1930s. Over the years since, in the possession of a relative, it became disbound and mouldy in places; only some of the coloured and black and white engravings and lithographs could be rescued. These rare prints show damage and print-across from adjacent pages. Please inspect very carefully – our digital pictures have not been filtered and if anything the colours are more intense in reality than is shown by the pictures.

We will be posting other ones in time with more details.
The uncoloured ones for some reason suffered more edge damage and need cleaning. Some of those were drawn by Ross himself on stone [they are remarkably detailed lithographs].
Octavo size, wove paper, no watermarks.
Please write us for more details or come and inspect them [by appointment]

A2328. Set of Three. Condition as seen: $785:00

From: Birds of Europe [1832 - 1837]

Original hand-coloured lithograph; size approximately 545mm by 375 mm.
In good condition with lower edge cut ragged.

R6311-2 …………………………………………………………………………………………..$650

L. Fox after S.J.E. Jones; Engraved [aquatint etching with a la poupée and hand-colouring] by Geo. Hunt. Published by C.R. Sicklemore of Brighton.

Watermarked J. Whatman wove paper with 1825 date.

Plate size 200 x 415 mm. Good condition. Email us at voss@shaw.ca
for additional details and similar original antique prints.

A8208…………………………………………………………………………………$195

“Drawn from Nature on Stone by J & E Gould……..Printed by C Hullmandel”

Some foxing marks – see digital photograph – below the titles. Superb original hand colouring and definition. This is an early Gould original antique print, drawn, lithographed and hand-coloured by the Goulds themselves, mostly by Elizabeth Gould according to the records. This Imperial Folio print [ about 360 by 542 mm, or 14.3 by 21.5 in] is now rare; the song once heard, the print once seen can never be forgotten.

Offered as a single sheet without its text page and priced accordingly.

A8120RG………………………………………………………….……………………….$235