I have been in the rare and antiquarian book business for over forty years; my family has been in the rare books business since 1876. Rare books are in my blood.
Beauties & Defects in the Figure of the Horse:, The
London: , [1816]. Item #05806
"The Result of the Most Attentive Observations During Many Years
Entirely Devoted to the Pleasures of the Field" (Henry Alken)
ALKEN, Henry. The Beauties & Defects in the Figure of the Horse: Comparatively Delineated in a Series of Coloured Plates. London: S. & J. Fuller, [1816].
First edition. Small quarto (10 1/8 x 7 3/16 inches; 257 x 183 mm.). Engraved title page, 2 pp., eighteen hand colored soft-ground etched plates by Alken illustrating various aspects of the horse, explanatory text on the opposing pages.
Contemporary full diced russia, covers ruled in gilt, expertly rebacked to style and corners repaired. With the engraved bookplate of Maxine & Joel Spitz on front paste-down.
Some very light scattered foxing and browning but still an excellent copy of this scarce work.
The plates watermarked 1817.
"First edition of the first work by Henry Alken to bear his name." (Tooley).
The book was reprinted in 1821 with the imprint of James Toovey.
"Alken was about thirty-two years of age when he published this book, and states on p. 2 of the introduction that, "the author's remarks are the result of the most attentive observations during many years entirely devoted to the pleasures of the field."' (Schwerdt).
Bobins IV, 1638; Tooley, 20; Schwerdt I, p. 12; Podeschi 102.
Price: $950.00