Books on Music

• Fuchs, Albert Taxe der Streich-Instrumente: Anleitung zur Einschätzung der Geigen, Violen, Violoncelli, Kontrabässe usw. nach Herkunft und Wert, Neu bearbeitet von Otto Möckel Merseburger: Leipzig, 1929. Fourth edition. Octavo. 208 pp. Cloth. Spine tips bumped, but very good. BKS-07456 $60Inquire
• Fuchs, Albert Taxe der Streich-Instrumente: Anleitung zur Einschätzung der Geigen, Violen, Violoncelli, Kontrabässe usw. nach Herkunft und Wert. Neu bearbeitet von Otto Möckel Friedrich Hofmeister: Frankfurt am Main, 1955. Fifth expanded edition. Octavo. 183 pp. Several b/w plates and diagrams. Cloth with d/j. Fine. BKS-09494 $45Inquire
• Fuchs, Albert Taxe der Streich-Instrumente: Anleitung zur Einschätzung der Geigen, Violen, Violoncelli, Kontrabässe usw. nach Herkunft und Wert. Neu bearbeitet von Otto Möckel Merseburger: Leipzig, 1918. Second edition (first was 1907). Octavo. 177 pp, unopened. Several b/w plates and diagrams. Paper wraps. Spine chipped & almost split; internally very good. BKS-09517 $45Inquire
• Fuhr, Karl Die akustischen Rätsel der Geige: die endgültige Lösung des Geigenproblems Friedrich Hofmeister: Frankfurt am Main, 1958. Octavo. 186 pp. Cloth. Very good. BKS-05082 $20Inquire
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  Furtwängler, Wilhelm (1886-1954) and Henning Smidth Olsen Wilhelm Furtwängler, Konzertprogramme Opern und Vorträge, 1947 bis 1954. F. A. Brockhaus: Wiesbaden, 1972. Octavo. 64 pp. In excellent condition (a little sunned at spine).
  BKS-12023 $25Inquire
• Galamian, Ivan (1903-1981) Principles of Violin Playing & Teaching Prentice-Hall: New Jersey, 1985. Second edition, expanded by 3 extra chapters. Quarto. 144 pp. Frontispiece portrait of Galamian in his studio and one other portrait. 35 illustrations showing position. Buckram, with d/j. Fine. BKS-09533 $50Inquire
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  Gallay, Jules (1822-1897) Un Inventaire sous La Terreur (État des Instruments de Musique) Georges Chamerot: Paris, 1890. No. 258 of 300. Quarto. 238 pp. Fine half-leather binding with raised bands, marbled boards. Original covers bound in. Excellent.

  Exceptionally fine copy of this rare book, listing instruments at the time of the French Revolution.
  BKS-08455 $1,500More Images/Inquire
• Garden, Mary (1874-1967) and Louis BIANCOLLI Mary Garden's Story Michael Joseph: London, 1952. Small octavo. 276 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Cloth. Front hinge reinforced, otherwise good. BKS-00114 $10Inquire
• Gavoty, Bernard and Roger Hauert Pierre Fournier Édition René Kister: Geneva, 1955. Quarto. 32 pp. Wonderful photographs throughout by Roger Hauert. Soft paper boards with d/j. Excellent except d/j a little soiled and slightly frayed along edges. BKS-09953 $75Inquire
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  Gay, John (1685-1732) Achilles. An Opera. [Libretto]. With the Musick prefix'd to each Song. J. Watts: London, 1733. first edition. Small octavo. 68 pp. Three-quarter red leather with matching red buckram. Marbled end-papers and edges. In excellent condition. Binding a bit worn at spine and corners.

  A scarce first edition with the scarce half title.

  Although Gay is best known now of course for The Beggar's Opera, his final opera Achilles was well received in its day. The burlesque parody tells the story of Achilles on Skyros.It premiered posthumously at Covent Garden in February 1733 and ran for over a month, constituting an emphatic success by eighteenth-century standards. The work uses popular melodies alongside borrowings from the concertante works of Arcangelo Corelli.
  BKS-15528 $325More Images/Inquire
• Gilbert & Sullivan Three Operas of Gilbert and Sullivan (Pinafore/Mikado/Gondoliers) Grosset & Dunlap: New York, 1940. Boxed and numbered 425. Octavo. 46+47+47 pp. Leather with gold tooling. Spine chipped, otherwise very good.
  The stories of the three operas, adapted for young listeners, with charming illustrations in color, parts of the libretto and simple lines of music.
  BKS-00101 $30Inquire
• Gilman, Lawrence Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande: a Guide to the Opera Schirmer: New York, 1907. Octavo. 84 pp. Frontispiece portrait of Mary Garden. Music examples. Cloth. Corners bumped, otherwise very good. BKS-04969 $20Inquire
• Gilman, Lawrence Strauss Salome: a Guide to the Opera with Musical Illustrations John Lane: London, 1907. Small octavo. 85 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Music examples. Cloth. Corners a little bumped, otherwise very good. BKS-04968 $15Inquire
• Giltay, J. W. Bow Instruments: Their Form and Construction, Practical and Detailed Investigations and Experiments Regarding Vibration, Sound Results & Construction, including the Examination of the Views of Authors in Various Languages on the Physical and Mechanical... William Reeves: London, nd. Octavo. 129 pp. Cloth. Slight shelf wear. BKS-05085 $50Inquire
• Gingrich, Arnold A Thousand Mornings of Music: the Journal of an Obsession with the Violin Crown Publishers: New York, 1970. Quarto. 256 pp. Illustrations. Cloth with d/j. As new. BKS-09926 $50Inquire
• Gipson, Richard McCandless The Life of Emma Thursby New-York Historical Society: New York, 1940. Small quarto. 470 pp. Frontispiece photograph. Photographs throughout. Cloth. Fine.
  Inscribed by the author; dated 1941.
  BKS-00169 $40Inquire
• Glackens, Ira Yankee Diva: Lillian Nordica and the Golden Days of Opera Coleridge Press: New York, 1963. Large octavo. 366 pp. Frontispiece photograph. Many photos. Buckram. D/j slightly frayed, otherwise fine. BKS-09631 $25Inquire
• Glass, Beaumont Lotte Lehmann: a Life in Opera and Song Capra Press: Santa Barbara, 1988. Quarto. 3 pp. Plates. Cloth with d/j. Fine.
  Inscribed by the author to Rose Bampton.
  BKS-04940 $45Inquire
• Greilsamer, Lucien L'Hygiène du Violon, de l'Alto et du Violoncelle: Conseils pratiques sur l'acquisition, l'entretien, le réglage, et la conservation des instrument à archet Ch. Delagrave: Paris, 1910. first edition. Octavo. 124 pp. 4 plates. 50 illustrations. Wrappers. Very good, some shelf soiling. BKS-05087 $85Inquire
• Grillet, Laurent Les Ancêtres du Violon et du Violoncelle: les Luthiers et les Fabricants d'Archets, Précédés d'une préface par Thédore Dubois Librairie Générale des Arts Décoratifs: Paris, 1901. Quarto. 2 vols. Illustrated throughout. Limp boards. Covers rubbed.
  Ex-Wurlitzer copy, each volume signed in Rudolph Wurlitzer's hand: "June 14/21 The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company".
  BKS-07470 $750Inquire
• Grillet, Laurent Les Ancêtres du Violon et du Violoncelle: les Luthiers et les Fabricants d'Archets, Précédés d'une préface par Thédore Dubois Librairie Générale des Arts Décoratifs: Paris, 1901. first edition. Quarto. 2 vols. Illustrated throughout. Two unmatched volumes, one paper wraps, one bound in three-quarter leather (cover detached). BKS-07489 $350Inquire
• Grillet, Laurent Les Ancêtres du Violon et du Violoncelle: les Luthiers et les Fabricants d'Archets, Précédés d'une préface par Thédore Dubois Librairie Générale des Arts Décoratifs: Paris, 1901. Quarto. 2 vols. Illustrated throughout. Three-quarter leather with marble boards & raised bands. Binding rubbed, two pages loose.
  Bookplate of Rudolph Wurlitzer
  BKS-07490 $750Inquire
• Guilbert, Yvette How to Sing a Song: The Art of Lyric and Dramatic Interpretation Macmillan: New York, 1918. Small octavo. 136 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Several plates. Decorated boards. Slight sunning, otherwise very good. BKS-09649 $20Inquire
• Hamma, Fridolin German Violin Makers, A Critical Dictionary of German Violin Makers, With a Series of Plates Illustrating Characteristic and Fine Examples of Their Work William Reeves: London, 1961. Reprint of 1948 German edition. Folio. 49 pp. of text, 80 pp. of plates. Buckram with d/j. Excellent. BKS-09707 $450Inquire
• Hamma, Fridolin Meister Deutscher Geigenbaukunst Schüler: Stuttgart, 1948. No. 641 of a limited second edition of 1,200. Large quarto. 70 pp. 70 illustrations of violins (2 views & scoll each, often label), color portrait of Fridolin Hamma, woodblock portrait of Stainer. Quarter vellum, cloth boards with gilt crest. Very fine, with original protective cover. BKS-09511 $350Inquire
• Hamma, Fridolin Meister Deutscher Geigenbaukunst Schüler: Stuttgart, 1948. Limited second edition of 1,200. Large quarto. 70 pp. 70 illustrations of violins (2 views & scoll each, often label), color portrait of Fridolin Hamma, woodblock portrait of Stainer. Quarter vellum, cloth boards with gilt crest. Internally fine; corners a little bumped; spine a little soiled. BKS-07457 $300Inquire
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  Handel, George Frideric (1685-1759) Judas Macchabæs. A Sacred Drama. As it is Perform'd at the Theatre-Royal in Covent-Garden. [Two bound librettos]. J. Watts: London, 1760, c 1752. Early editions. Octavo. 20 pp. + 22 pp. Modern paper wrappers; back detached. Both librettos clean and in very good condition. A few penciled plus signs (+) at margins of c. 1752 edition.

  Two early editions, bound together, of the libretto to Handel's celebrated oratorio Judas Maccabæs, the first dating from c. 1752 and the second from 1760.

  Following its premiere in 1747, Judas Maccabæus was subjected to various changes, cuts, and interpolations throughout the first decade of its performance history. These librettos evidence some of those modifications:

  The libretto from c. 1752 reflects changes Handel himself made by 1751: he moved the Israelite recitative "O Judas" to the end of Part I and swapped the original air "O Liberty" for "Endless Fame thy Name adorning" (which originates in his own earlier oratorio Ester). In this copy, someone has pasted the texts for the recitative and air, which were originally published on an insert, onto page 11 (see images).

  The same Israelite recitative is followed by yet a different air, "Far brighter than the Morning", on p. 10 of the libretto from 1760. This switch was evidently made for a performance in late 1756 and remained in favor through at least the early 1760s.

  Both librettos contain a dedication page to Prince William, Duke of Cumberland. Handel wrote the oratorio to mark the Duke's victory at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
  BKS-15529 $275More Images/Inquire
• Harding, Bertita Magic Fire: Scenes Around Richard Wagner Bobbs-Merrill: Indianapolis, 1953. first edition. Octavo. 451 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Plates. Cloth. Fine. BKS-05280 $15Inquire
• Hart, George The Violin And Its Music Dulau & Co.: London, 1885. Second London edition. Octavo. 484 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Gold-stamped, embossed cloth. Some edge chipping, hinge repair, otherwise very good. BKS-09694 $85Inquire
• Hart, George The Violin: Its Famous Makers and Their Imitators Dulau & Schott: London, 1887. Small octavo. 450 pp. Patterned cloth. Cover and advertisement page have slight water-damage, otherwise good. Pages uncut.
  This is not the version of the edition that includes 60 engravings on wood that was published at the same time as this copy.
  BKS-05097 $45Inquire
• Hartnack, Joachim Grosse Geiger unserer Zeit Rütten & Loening: Munich, 1967. Folio. 335 pp. 16 pp. of b/w portraits. Cloth and d/j. Slight rip on d/j, otherwise very good. BKS-07978 $90Inquire
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  Harvey, Brian W. The Violin Family and its Makers in the British Isles: An Illustrated History and Directory Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1995. first edition. Quarto. 432 pp. Lots of illustrations, mainly black & white, a few colored. Dark blue buckram with original DJ. As new with original DJ.

  One of the latest and very well-regarded books on this subject
  BKS-14351 $225Inquire
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  HAYDN & MOZART The Lives of Haydn and Mozart, with Observations on Metastasio, and on the Present State of Music in France and Italy John Murray: London, 1818. Second edition. 8vo. 496 pp. Internally fine except last two pages detaching. Missing covers. Original itle page and table of contents not present, but reproduced in facsimile.
  BKS-12887 $30Inquire
• Hayes, Gerald R. Musical Instruments and Their Music, 1500-1750. Vol. II: The Viols, and Other Bowed Instruments, with an Introduction by Arnold Dolmetsch Oxford University Press: London, 1930. Octavo. 265 pp. 11 plates. Cloth. Unopened. Tears on spine, otherwise very good. BKS-05099 $50Inquire
• Hayward, John D. Chamber Music for Amateurs: Notes from a Library "The Strad" Office: London, 1923. Small octavo. 81 pp. Cloth. Spine tips bumped, otherwise fine. BKS-05100 $30Inquire
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  Heck, John Casper (1740-(?)) A Complete System of Harmony or a Regular and Easy Method to Attain a Fundamental Knowledge and Practice of Thorough Bass; with the Nature and Various Use of Concords and Discords explained, Conformable to the Modern Composition. Illustrated by a Variety of Examples. Entered at Stationer's Hall, and Published according to Act of Parliament. Printed for, and Sold by the Author, in Cambridge-Street, five Doors from the sign of Newcastle, Broad-Street, Soho Self-published: London, [1762/1768]. Small Quarto. 46 pp. (26 pp. text + 20 pp. musical examples). . Period marbled boards with vellum spine with gold tooling and leather label. Some foxing on a few pages and some transfers, but overall a very attractive copy.

  A scarce work of the English music theorist who is known for bringing to his work a knowledge of German music and musical theory.
  BKS-12661 $225Inquire
• Hegermann-Lindencronse, Lillie de In the Courts of Memory, 1858-1875, from Contemporary Letters Garden City Publishing Co: Garden City, NY, 1912. Octavo. 449 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Cloth. Tips rubbed, slightly worn, otherwise very good.
  The author is also known as Mme. Charles Moulton.
  BKS-04996 $15Inquire
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  Hellborn, Kreissle von and Arthur Duke Coleridge, translator. The Life of Franz Schubert. With an Appendix by George Grove. Vols. I & II. Longmans, Green, and Co.: London, 1869. first edition of English translation. Small octavo. 318 pp. + 336 pp. Frontispiece portrait of Schubert. Half-leather bound with marbled boards and edges. Raised bands at spine with gilt title and decoration. In excellent condition. Boards just very slightly rubbed; title label of Vol. I beginning to detach from spine.

  A very beautifully bound first-edition English-language set of the first biography of Franz Schubert, translated from the original German with an appendix by the famed music historian George Grove. (The first German edition was published in 1865.)
  BKS-15243 $400More Images/Inquire
• Henley, William Antonio Stradivari, Master Luthier, Cremona, Italy, 1644-1737: His Life and Instruments Revised and edited by Cyril Woodcock. Amati Publishing: Brighton, 1961. Octavo. 98 pp. 95 b/w plates of violins. Green gold-stamped leather. Near fine. BKS-05101 $60Inquire
• Henley, William Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers Amati Publishing: Brighton, 1973. One-volume reprint of the 1959-60 edition. Small Quarto. 1270 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Leather. As new with d/j. BKS-01075 $500Inquire
• Henschel, Horst and Ehrhard FRIEDRICH Elisabeth Rethberg: Ihr Leben und Künstlertum Städtischer Geschichtesverein: Schwarzenberg, 1928. One-volume reprint of the 1959-60 edition. Small octavo. 119 pp. Frontispiece portrait. Boards. Fine. BKS-05004 $35Inquire
• Hepworth, William Information for Players, Owners, Dealers & Makers of Bow Instruments, also for String Manufacturers, taken from Personal Experience, Studies & Observations William Reeves: London, [c 1920]. Reeves reprint (first edition was 1899). 12mo. 89 pp. + Reeves catalog. Cloth. Fine. BKS-07491 $25Inquire
• Hepworth, William Information for Players, Owners, Dealers & Makers of Bow Instruments, also for String Manufacturers, taken from Personal Experience, Studies & Observations William Reeves: London, [c 1920]. Reeves reprint (first edition was 1899). 12mo. 89 pp. + Reeves catalog. Buckram. Front cover waterstained, otherwise very good. BKS-09514 $20Inquire
• Heron-Allen, Edward Violin-Making As It Was and Is; Being a Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Science and Art of Violin-Making.. Ward Lock & Co, Ltd.: London, 1885. Second edition. Upwards of 200 illustrations, with 3 fold-out plates. Cover mostly detached, sewing loose; a good working copy. BKS-09495 $25Inquire
• Heron-Allen, Edward Violin-Making As It Was and Is; Being a Historical, Theoretical, and Practical Treatise on the Science and Art of Violin-Making.. Ward Lock & Co, Ltd.: London, 1885. Second edition. Octavo. 366 pp. Upwards of 200 illustrations, with 3 fold-out plates. Red cloth with gilt title. Fine condition with dust jacket (inscription on flyleaf). BKS-14156 $110Inquire
• Hill & Sons The Tuscan and Le Messie W.E. Hill & Sons: London, 1976. No. 158 of 2,000. Reprints of the 1889 and 1891 editions. Quarto. 60 pp. 6 color + 4 b/w plates. Cloth with leather spine. As new. BKS-07966 $75Inquire
• Hill, W. Henry and Arthur F. HILL and Alfred E. HILL Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work (1644-1737), with a new Introduction by Sydney Beck and new Supplementary Indexes by Rembert Wurlitzer Dover Publications: New York, 1963. Third edition. Octavo. 314 pp. 53 b/w illustrations. Paperback. As new. BKS-05112 $35Inquire
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  Hill, W. Henry and Arthur F. HILL and Alfred E. HILL Antonio Stradivarius: His Life and Work (1644-1737), with an Introductory Note by Lady Huggins William W. Hill & Sons: London, 1902. Deluxe first edition, no. 54 of 100. Grained half-leather with raised bands and gold tooling, green buckram boards. Folio. 303 pp. 27 color plates and numerous b/w illustrations. Half-leather, cloth boards. Fine, spine a bit rubbed. Slightly cocked.

  An excellent copy of the rarest of the Hill's remarkable tomes on violinmakers.
  BKS-09504 $2,500Inquire