A full range of books on music from the 16th to the 20th centuries, including mostly first and early editions, with emphasis on books on musical instruments (especially the violin family), 19th century biographies and difficult-to-find reference material - dictionaries, thematic catalogues and scholarly works in all areas. Many of the books are in fine bindings.

• Abele, Hyacinth and Friedrich Niederheitmann The Violin: Its History & Construction, Illustrated & Described, From Many Sources, Together with a List of Italian and Tyrolese Violin Makers, 29 Illustrations and a Folding Example of the First Music for Lute, Fiddle and Voice London Small octavo. 151 pp. Good condition.
  Bookplate of Rudolph Wurlitzer
  BKS-07474 $35Inquire
• Abele, Hyacinth and Friedrich Niederheitmann The Violin: Its History & Construction, Illustrated & Described, From Many Sources, Together with a List of Italian and Tyrolese Violin Makers, 29 Illustrations and a Folding Example of the First Music for Lute, Fiddle and Voice Translated by John Broadhouse. William Reeves: London, nd. Small octavo. 151 pp. Cloth. Very good condition. BKS-09491 $30Inquire
• Alton, Robert Violin Making and Repairing Cassell & Co.: London, 1923. Small octavo. 152 pp. Wrappers. Top and bottom of spine lightly frayed, otherwise very good condition.
  Considered one of the most important works on the contruction and repairing of violins.
  BKS-05015 $35Inquire
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  AMERICAN MUSICAL DIGEST American Musical Digest American Musical Digest, Inc.: New York, 1969. Complete run and Prospectus (Sept. 1968). Quarto. Seven issues, each 46 pp. plus cover. Many illustrations, mostly black and white. As new.

  The American Musical Digest was a highly successful but short-lived magazine created by the Music Critics Association in contract to the National Endowment for the Arts. Non-profit and with no advertisements, it reprinted reviews and articles about American composers and performers ("American" meant "of the Western hemisphere"). With the advent of the Nixon presidency in 1970, government funding was precipitously withdrawn and the magazine closed.

  The government burned all copies of the American Musical Digest at the time of its closing, so those remaining were the personal copies of the editor; hence, they are now scarce.
  BKS-13997 $200Inquire
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  Anderson, Marian (1897-1993) My Lord, What a Morning: An Autobiography by Marian Anderson Viking Press: New York, 1956. Christian Herald's Family Bookshelf Edition. Octavo. 312 pp. Cloth. D/j chipped, otherwise fine.
  BKS-09650 $25Inquire
• Arteaga, Esteban (1747-1799) Le rivoluzioni del teatro musicale italiano dalla sua origine fino al presente opera C. Trenti: Bologna, 1783-88. first edition. Small octavo. Three Volumes: 411 pp, 214 pp, 207 pp. Early half calf with decorated paper board. Spines slightly worn, otherwise sound, clean copy. BKS-04617 $400Inquire
• Auer, Leopold (1845-1930) Violin Playing as I Teach It Frederick A. Stokes: New York, 1921. first edition, sixth printing. Octavo. 225 pp. Cloth with inlaid photograph. Very good condition. BKS-07461 $40Inquire
• Auer, Leopold (1845-1930) Violin Playing as I Teach It Frederick A. Stokes: New York, 1921. first edition, first issue. Octavo. 225 pp. Cloth with inlaid photograph. Very good, several light pencil markings. BKS-07462 $35Inquire
• Azzolina, Umberto Liuteria Italiana dell'ottocento e del novocento Casa Editrice Ceschina: Milan, 1964. first edition. Large quarto. 64 pp. of text. 105 color plates, all with 3 views. Wrappers, with d/j. Fine (wraps just starting).
  Ex Wurlitzer copy with signature of Lee Wurlitzer on first blank.
  BKS-07476 $350Inquire
• Azzolina, Umberto Liuteria Italiana dell'ottocento e del novocento Casa Editrice Ceschina: Milan, 1964. first edition. Large quarto. 64 pp. of text. 105 color plates, all with 3 views. Wrappers, in slipcase. Fine (upper part of wraps just starting). BKS-09489 $350Inquire
• Bachmann, Alberto (1875-1963) An Encyclopedia of the Violin Translation by Frederick H. Martens. Introduction by Eugene Ysaÿe. Edited by Albert E. Wier. D. Appleton-Century: New York, 1937. Octavo. 470 pp. Extensive illustrations & music examples. Cloth. Very good condition. BKS-05022 $40Inquire
• Bachmann, Alberto (1875-1963) Les Grands Violinistes du Passé Librairie Fischbacher: Paris, 1913. Folio. 468 pp. on coated paper. Extensive illustrations, fold-out plates & music examples. Modern buckram binding with the original covers bound in. Minor repair to top of bound-in original cover, otherwise fine.
  This impressive and rare volume was Josef Gingold's copy with his name gold-stamped on cover (also inscribed to him by Stefan Sopkin 1944 and additionally a note to Gingold tipped in by a student who had it bound for his 80th birthday in 1989).
  BKS-05023 $1,200Inquire
• Bagnoli, Giorgio La Scala Encyclopedia of the Opera Translated by Graham Fawcett. Simon & Schuster: New York, 1993. Quarto. 398 pp. B/w & color plates. Buckram with d/j. Fine condition. BKS-05012 $35Inquire
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  Baini, Giuseppe (1775-1844) PALESTRINA: Memorie storico-critiche della vita e delle opere di Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Societa tipografica: Rome, 1828. first edition. Quarto. Two volumes bound in one: Vol. 1: 377 pp.; Vol. 2: 440 pp. + 22 pp. Index + 2 pp. list of Palestrina's works. Frontispiece portrait of Palestrina. Three-quarter red morocco with red leather boards and blue marbled end papers. Spine with raised bands, embossed gold decorative stamps and leather label. On nice wove paper with wide margins. Covers a little spotted and shelfworn, internally excellent and crisp.

  Giuseppe Baini (1775–1844) joined the Sistine Chapel Choir in 1795 and served as its director and archivist until his death. His Memorie of Palestrina was the first biography of a Renaissance composer. He considered Palestrina not only the master of counterpoint but the "savior of Church music".

  A beautiful copy of the scarce first edition.
  BKS-13327 $850Inquire
• Balfoort, Dirk J. (1886-1964) Antonius Stradivarius Translated by W.A.G. Doyle-Davidson. Continental Book Company: Stockholm, c 1950. Quarto. 60 pp. 33 illustations. Boards. Boards warped & lower spine missing. BKS-09487 $25Inquire
• Balfoort, Dirk J. (1886-1964) Antonius Stradivarius Translated by W.A.G. Doyle-Davidson. Continental Book Company: Stockholm, c 1950. Quarto. 60 pp. 33 illustations. Boards. Upper spine missing, cover warped, otherwise fine. BKS-09488 $20Inquire
• Ballantine, Bill The Violin, An Introduction to the Instrument Franklin Watts: New York, 1971. first edition. Octavo. 127 pp. Extensive b&w illustrations. Boards. As new. BKS-09924 $20Inquire
• Baruzzi, Arnaldo La Casa Nuziale: The Home of Antonio Stadivari, 1667-1680 Translated by Desmond Hill. W.E. Hill & Sons: London, 1962. Small quarto. 85 pp. Extensive b&w plates of documents, maps, instruments from this period etc. Cloth. Very good condition. BKS-05026 $35Inquire
• BAYREUTH FESTIVAL Bayreuth: The Early Years, An account of the Wagner Festival 1876-1914, as seen by celebrated visitors & participants Robert Hartford, ed. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1980. Large octavo. 284 pp. Multiple plates. Gold-stamped purple buckram. As new. BKS-09624 $40Inquire
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  Becker, John J. (1886-1961) Signed biographical pamphlet  Signed and inscribed by Becker on inside front cover. Forest Leaves, Barat College of the Sacred Heart: Lake Forest, Illinois, 1945. Octavo. 8 pp. Orange wraps. In excellent condition. Wraps just a bit dusty with minor stain at back.

  John Becker has signed and inscribed the inside front cover of this little pamphlet on his life and works: To my friend, Richard Kirckhoff - with esteem, John J. Becker. Chicago /48/. The pamphlet includes a brief biography, works list, and an essay by the Becker entitled "A Composer Looks At Aesthetics".

  John Becker was a composer and author on music. His successful career also included several appointments in administrative roles at collegiate music departments, most notable among them a ten-year tenure at Notre Dame University. An advocate for modern American music, Becker gave the midwestern premieres of works by Ruggles, Riegger, and Ives, his close personal friend.
  BKS-15282 $20More Images/Inquire
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  BEETHOVEN - A FRIEND'S NOTES Nohl, Ludwig (1831-1885) and Fanny Giannatasio del Rio Eine Stille Liebe zu Beethoven. Nach dem Tagebuche einer jungen Dame. Ernst Julius Günther: Leipzig, 1875. first edition. 24mo. 266 pp. Paper wraps. In good condition. Original front wrapper has been trimmed and laid down on another sheet, detached, which is chipped at the right margin. Tear to textless back wrapper. Internally crisp and clean.

  This little book contains references to Beethoven from the diary of his friend, Fanny Giannatasio del Rio. Beethoven was close to several members of the musical Giannatasio del Rio family; he wrote multiple works for them and some of their correspondence survives.

  Fanny's recollections proved so immediately and enduringly popular in German, English translations were published in both 1876 and 1890.

  Ludwig Nohl, the compiler, was a widely read German music scholar. He is best remembered today for discovering and first publishing Beethoven's Für Elise.
  BKS-15763 $30Inquire
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  BEETHOVEN - ESSAYS ON THE PIANO SONATAS Beethoven's Klavier-Sonaten. Bemerkungen eines Unpartheiischen. Ed. Bote & G. Bock: Berlin, 1863. Octavo. 36 pp. Original blue paper wraps. Spine reinforced. A bit dusty; wrappers chipping. In good condition otherwise.

  An "impartial" unidentified author offers commentary on all of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. The pieces are discussed in chronological order with the occasional reference to an in-text musical example.
  BKS-15775 $25Inquire
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  Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827) Beethoven Zentenar-Ausstellung der Stadt Wien. 1927. 'Beethoven und die Wiener Kultur seiner Zeit.' Wien I., Rathaus, Historisches Museum. Selbstverlag der Gemeinde Wien: Wien, 1927. Small ocatvo. 248 pp. Original paper wraps. In excellent condition.

  A catalog for the Beethoven centenary exhibition held at Vienna's Historisches Museum in March 1927. Includes three-page letter facsimile and one-page (music) manuscript facsimile.
  BKS-16241 $35Inquire
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  Bein & Fushi The Miracle Makers: Stradivari, Guarneri, Oliveira Bein & Fushi, Inc.: Chicago, 1998. first edition. Large Quarto (Square). 88 pp. Complete with 3 CDs, colored illustrations throughout. Black watered silk with original DJ. As new.

  Elegant coffee table-sized book with histories of each instrument.
  BKS-14353 $200Inquire
• Bekker, Paul (1882-1937) Gustav Mahlers Sinfonien Schuster & Leoffler: Berlin, 1921. 4to. 360 pp. Musical examples throughout. Red boards. Paper very brittle, title page detached, some fading to cover; otherwise clean and tight. Stamped with previous owner's name: Erst Rudolf Mayer. BKS-13397 $25Inquire
• Bekker, Paul (1882-1937) Wagner: das Leben im Werke Deutsche Verlags: Berlin, 1924. Quarto. 588 pp. Cloth. Minor scratches on cover, otherwise fine. BKS-05275 $40Inquire
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  BELLMAN BIOGRAPHY Austin, Paul Britten The Life and Songs of Carl Michael Bellman: Genius of the Swedish Rococo. Allhem Publishers: Malmö, 1967. Quarto. 175 pp. With folding plate map of Stockholm at back. Ivory boards with original D/J. Book is pristine; D/J in poor condition.

  The first English biography of the eighteenth-century songwriter Carl Michael Bellman, who has been called the supreme exponent of Swedish poetry and guitar song and the last great troubadour.
  BKS-13417 $50More Images/Inquire
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  BERG Vogelsang, Konrad Alban Berg. Leben und Werk. Max Hesses Verlag: Berlin-Halensee, 1959. first edition. Small octavo. 88 pp. Folding plate of Berg family tree at back. In very good condition.

  Formerly the copy of conductor Wilfrid Pelletier with an inscription to him dated March, 1959 by the author, Konrad Vogelsang.
  BKS-15793 $15Inquire
• Berr, Albert Geigengeschichten: Erinnerungen und Notizen Atlantis Verlag: Zürich, 1949. Octavo. 191 pp. Cloth with d/j. Very good condition. BKS-05029 $45Inquire
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  Biddulph, Peter The Violin Masterpieces of Guarneri del Gesù: An Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Maker's Death Peter Biddulph: London, 1994. Quarto. 71 pp. Wrappers.

  Now out of print and quite scarce.
  BKS-16124 $325Inquire
• Blunt, Wilfrid John Christie of Glyndebourne Theatre Arts Books: New York, 1968. Octavo. 303 pp. Plates. Buckram with d/j. As new. BKS-04978 $15Inquire
• Bonaventura, Arnaldo (1901-1908) Niccolò Paganini A.F. Formíggini: Modena, 1923. Third edition. 16mo. 96 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Wrappers. Cover detached, evenly browned, splitting at center signature, but a very nice, unopened copy. BKS-05030 $35Inquire
• Borras, Jose Garcia Pablo Casals - Peregrino en America Mexico, 1957. first edition. Large octavo. 349 pp. Extensive b&w illustrations. Cloth boards with gold stamping. Excellent condition. BKS-09922 $65Inquire
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  BOSTON MAGAZINE - EARLY AMERICA The Boston Magazine Norman & White: Boston, October 1783. Octavo. Disbound. In very good condition, especially for ephemera of its age. Title page lightly soiled with only occasional stains internally. Last ten pages detached. Folding plate with small tear at center (music affected but legible). Page 5 with a few markings in a contemporary hand; the page was also bound askew and the righthand margin is consequently trimmed so that it is missing just a few letters.

  The very first issue of The Boston Magazine, published just one month after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War. This issue includes a folding plate of "A New Song" by an A. Hawkins that sets the charming text: Throw an apple up a hill, Down the apple tumble's still; Roll it down it never stops, 'till within the vale it drops, So are all things prone to love, all below and all above.

  It is remarkable to think that this very booklet was read by the first citizens of the new nation. The Historical Chronicle on pages 35 and 36, by none other than John Hancock, reflects on the point: Our country, after a long and arduous contest for her rights and independence, is at length blessed with peace. A peace…that closes such scenes of devastation and blood as we have beheld…I hope that ardent affection for liberty and independence, which has already carried us successfully thro' so many difficulties, will still animate us to act up to the grand intention, and the true spirit of the confederation.

  The Boston Magazine was a monthly publication that ran from October 1783 to December 1786. Its columns engaged a wide variety of topics that encompassed politics, foreign and domestic news, history, morality, aesthetics, poetry, and literature. The magazine also often included a modest musical publication, as this issue does.
  BKS-15315 $1,350Inquire
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  BOSTON MUSIC HISTORY Fisher, William Arms (1861-1948) Notes on Music in Old Boston Oliver Ditson Company: Boston, 1918. Octavo. 105 pp. Gray paper boards. In excellent condition.

  This book is a reproduction of an important historical work first published in 1918 and containds 57 illustrations and maps, 9 music scores and 23 portraits. William Arms Fisher (1861-1948) was an American composer, music historian and author, as well as a pupil of Antonin Dvorak.
  BKS-03751 $10Inquire
• Bouvier, René Farinelli: le Chanteur des Rois Éditions Albin Michel: Paris, 1943. Octavo. 284 pp. Plates. Wrappers. Spine chipped at both ends, otherwise good condition. BKS-04984 $35Inquire
• Boyden, David D. The Hill Collection of Musical Instruments in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Oxford University Press: London, 1969. Deluxe edition. Small quarto. 51 pp. of text; 44 pp. of illustrations. Red half leather with green cloth, boxed. As new. BKS-09931 $300Inquire
• Briggs, John (1812-1845) Requiem for a Yellow Brick Brewery: A History of the Metropolitan Opera Little, Brown & Company: Boston, 1969. Large octavo. 359 pp. Many photos including frontispiece. Cloth. D/j slightly worn, otherwise fine. BKS-04941 $25Inquire
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  Burney, Charles (1726-1814) A General History of Music, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Period. Printed for the Author: London, 1789. Second edition of Vol. I (1789); first editions of Vols. II-IV (1782, 1789, 1789). Large quarto. Portrait of Burney (after the Reynolds painting) in the first volume, engraved plates throughout including several foldouts and musical examples. Attractive new brown linen binding with leather labels. Overall crisp, fine copies; a couple of plates with light foxing.

  A very nice copy of Burney's influential history which spans ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt, through to the operas of the late eighteenth century. Burney, an eminent music historian, composer and organist, was certainly the foremost writer on music in England and had enormous influence.
  BKS-13556 $1,200More Images/Inquire
• Carpani, Giuseppe Le Rossiniane ossia Lettere Musico-Teatrali di Giuseppe Carpani Tipografia della Minerva: Padua, 1824. Octavo. 230 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Quarter-leather with marbled boards, leather label. Covers rubbed, corners bumped, spine slightly chipped, otherwise solid and very good. BKS-04900 $600Inquire
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  Carrieri, Raffaele La Danza In Italia, 1500-1900 Editoriale Domus: Milan, 1946. first edition. Number 866 of 994 copies. Folio. 119 pp. Brown cloth binding with decorative white stamping. Spine top and bottom a little chipped but overall very good.

  An exceptionally handsome book and a tribute to the history of dance in Italy.
  BKS-10788 $150Inquire
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  Caruso, Enrico (1873-1921) Caricatures by Caruso. Complete Collection Issued with the Approval of the Artist. Marziale Sisca, ed. La Follia di New York: New York, 1951. first edition. Quarto.

  An intelligent showing of many of the famous tenor's well-known caricatures.
  BKS-14768 $85More Images/Inquire
• Caruso, Enrico (1873-1921) How to Sing The Opera Box: Brooklyn, nd. Reprint. Small octavo. 61 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Decorated boards (clear plastic d/j). As new. BKS-09642 $12Inquire
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  CHAGALL AT THE MET Genauer, Emily Chagall at the Met. Tudor Publishing Company for the Metropolitan Opera Association: New York, 1971. Small folio. 149 pp. Linen boards with gilt imprinted title at front; original D/J. Blue slipcase. As new, except for light spotting to D/J spine.

  A collection of 52 full-page color reproductions of Chagall's works for the Metropolitan Opera related to Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. With a commentary by art critic Emily Genauer.
  BKS-16272 $50More Images/Inquire
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  CHOPIN BIOGRAPHY Karasowski, Moritz (1823-1892) Friedrich Chopin: Sein Leben und Seine Briefe. Verlag von Ries & Erler: Berlin, [1877, as per WorldCat]. first edition. Octavo. 388 pp. Frontispiece portrait of Chopin with facsimile signature. Brown cloth with black and gilt decorative stamping at front cover and spine. Back cover with floral embossed border. Decorative end-papers. Marbled edges. In excellent condition with an attractive binding.

  A beautifully bound, first-edition copy of Mortiz Karasowski's biography of Chopin, which has remained an important study on the composer since its publication.

  Karasowski was a Polish cellist, composer, and author on music and was friends with the Chopin family.

  BKS-04470 $200More Images/Inquire
• Christen, Ernest Ysaÿe. Preface de Jaques-Dalcroze Editions Labor et Fides: Geneva, 1946. Octavo. 228 pp. 9 plates. Front cover and spine missing, back cover detached; internally fine. BKS-09564 $30Inquire
• Clarke, A. Mason The Violin and Old Violin Makers, being a Historical & Biographical Account of the Violin, with Facsimiles of Labels of the Old Makers William Reeves: London, c 1933. Reprint of 1909 edition. Small octavo. 120 pp. Includes 48-page catalogue: Reeves' Musical Literature List, Catalogue B. Cloth. Very good. BKS-05043 $40Inquire
• Clarke, A. Mason The Violin and Old Violin Makers, being a Historical & Biographical Account of the Violin, with Facsimiles of Labels of the Old Makers William Reeves: London, c 1933. Reprint of 1909 edition. Small octavo. 120 pp. + 47 pp Reeves Catalog. Includes 48-page catalogue: Reeves' Musical Literature List, Catalogue B. Frontispiece picture of an Ole Bull Gasparo da Salo. Paper boards. Taped spine, otherwise very good. BKS-07471 $35Inquire