Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Richard F. Burton.. The Book of the Sword.. Chatto & Windus, London, UK, 1884.
Price: US$450.00 + shipping
Description: First Edition (1884), unstated, but implied: no subsequent printings noted, according to Chatto & Windus' customary practice. MISSING PAGES 123 THROUGH 142, CONTAINING CHAPTER VII: THE SWORD: WHAT IS IT? (another text has been tacked into the spot where the missing pages were, a chapter III: Colored Stones: The Ruby, pages 145-194, with some color illustrations; the pages are much smaller than those of the rest of the book - appears to have been published in the late nineteenth century). Else,Good: Shows significant indications of use: the binding shows moderate lean; considerable wear to the extremities; some darkening, soiling, smudging, and rubbing to the panels and endpapers. A 1" tear in the fabric along the rear hinge; the gilt titles at the backstrip are dulled, but remain legible; unsightly ink states at the top edge (these don't penetrate into the text block); sparse, faint foxing to the fore-edge; the binding remains secure, though the interior hinges are weak and have been somewhat inexpertly reglued; the text is clean. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text, though the last 130 pages or so are bumped and thus lightly crimped at the upper corner. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia, but there is a short note in pencil by a previous bookseller concerning the missing pages noted above. A well-loved copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing some signs of aging, moderate wear, and a number of cosmetic flaws. Remains a sturdy copy with a clean text. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 4to. (10.75 x 7.65 x 1.6 inches). xxxix, 299 pages. Illustrated with 293 duotone drawings, photographs, diagrams, and designs. Numerous tables and other illustrative devises. Language: English. Weight: 3 pounds, 6 ounces. Maroon cloth over boards with gilt titles at the backstrip. Hardback: No DJ 'as issued'. First Edition (1884), unstated, but implied: no subsequent printings noted, according to Chatto & Windus' customary practice.
Seller: Black Cat Hill Books, Oregon City, OR, U.S.A.
Burton, Richard F. The Book of the Sword. Chatto and Windus, London, 1884.
Price: US$2500.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing. A beautiful copy bound in the publisher's ORIGINAL cloth. The book is in excellent condition with light wear to the spine. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning and the boards are crisp. The pages are clean with NO writing or marks in the book. A beautiful copy housed in a custom slicpase.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
Price: US$3542.72 + shipping
Condition: Near Fine
Description: Near fine copy of the first edition of THE source of information on swords by the noted British traveler Sir Richard Burton with 293 illustrations. In the original pictorial boards, corners bumped slightly. Spine, silver tooling & titles, edges bumped. Internally, half title, [9], (xii-xxxix), [1], [1], 2-299 pp, 293 illustrations, black end papers, printed in London by Spottiswoode. With its black slip case. (270*190 mm). This book traces the origin of the sword from prehistory to its full growth during the early Roman Empire. The author discusses the earliest weapons of stone, bone, horn and wood as well as variations. The swords covered include the sabre, broadsword, cutlass, scimitar, foil, and rapier as well as a host of other arms, including dirks, daggers, throwing knives, flails, and more. The text is enhanced by nearly 300 line drawings. Â FIRST EDITION of Burton's history of the sword as a weapon, intended to be the first of a three-volume work. "The history of the Sword is the history of humanity," he wrote, but his book "fell still-born on the public." On his death, his manuscript notes were so incomplete that no publisher would publish the subsequent volumes (Casada 27. Penzer 107/8).
Seller: Madoc Books (ABA-ILAB), Llandudno, CONWY, United Kingdom