Practical remarks on modern paper, with an introductory account of its former substitutes; also observations on writing inks, the restoration of illegible manuscripts, and the preservation of important deeds from the destructive effects of damp
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and T. Cadell, 1829. First edition. 8vo (190 x 110 mm). With half-title. xii+120 pages. Original dark blue paper boards, untrimmed (neatly rebacked with new printed paper label on spine, a nice copy). Provenance: Thomas Falconer (1805-1882), jurist and explorer (contemporary initials 'T.F.' and the date Aug. 7, 1829 on the blank front flyleaf, signature and inkstamp on title). Item #410766
A rare book, not included in Leonard Schlosser's exhibition of books on papermaking (1968, but only because he did not then have a copy). Despite its rarity, it is an important book and was reprinted by the Bird and Bull Press in 1981 with an introduction by Schlosser. He points out that Murray was concerned with using shorted paper fibres in mechanical papermaking machinery, the increased use of minerals in the pulp, the introduction of chemical bleaching, and the introduction of chemicals into the pulp. This copy is in the original boards untrimmed (but it has been rebacked). Fairly widely held in libraries (OCLC locates 14 copies in this country) but rare in the marketplace. Auction records list only one copy between 1975 and the present.
Price: $3,850.00