DAVID MASON BOOKS

HUNTER, William Stanley. Hunter's Ottawa
Scenery, in the Vicinity of Ottawa City, Canada.
Ottawa City, Canada West: William S. Hunter, Jr., 1855. lithographed by J.H. Bufford, Boston. Folio, covers gold and blind embossed original cloth, 19 p., complete with lithographed pictorial title-page and 14 sepia or grey tinted lithographed plates. Head and foot of spine chipped, folding map, clean and very good, with plates in fine condition.

Homer was apprenticed to J. H. Bufford's lithographic shop in Boston at the time Hunter sent these drawings to be lithographed. Seven of the 15 lithographs have been attributed to Winslow Homer, by Tatham, and, one of them, "View of the Locks, Entrance of the Rideau Canal" is initialed: "WH."

$2,000.00 (CAD)

Art Work On Toronto. Published in Twelve Parts. (Toronto): W.H. Carre, 1898. In twelve parts. First edition. Folio, orig. purple wrappers, (18)pp. text, 76 plates (over 100 views).

There is some fading to the spines and some light fading to the edges of some wrappers; the fading is most pronounced on the upper wrapper of the first part which has at some time been left in the light with d smaller book on top causing a band of fading around the perimeter approx. 2" in width. However, this is in fact a beautiful copy. We would call it the finest copy that we have seen except that we have never seen another copy in 40 years. Queries throughout the trade have resulted in knowledge of two other copies noted in the collective memory of the trade over the last 40-50 years, and only one of these was in wrappers. Only "Toronto In The Camera" (1868) would equal this rarity, although a copy of "Toronto In The Camera" would bring a much higher price, probably two to two and half times greater. Like "Toronto In The Camera" this book, "Art Work On Toronto" provides stunning views of the principal buildings in Toronto, many of which are now gone. There was a reprint done in 1984 and it is a beautiful book and can of course still be obtained. However, it is unlikely that one would ever be able to obtain a finer copy of the first edition in the rare original parts than the copy described above.

$6500.00 (CAD)