A group of 90 H.P. Kraus rare book catalogues, 1940s-2000s

The legendary Austrian-born New York antiquarian book seller Hans Peter Kraus (1907-1988) has been described by William Reese as ‘without doubt the most successful and dominant rare book dealer in the world in the second half of the 20th century’. His catalogues, filled with a breathtaking array of mediaeval illuminated manuscripts, incunables (books printed before 1501), and rare books of the 16th and 17th centuries (and to a lesser extent, later periods) are now regarded as reference works in their own right and are highly valued by collectors.

A rare opportunity for bibliophiles, the present group comprises 90 individual catalogues out of the (at least) 223 catalogues issued by Kraus over several decades. The catalogues are in various formats (octavo to quarto), in the original wrappers (or boards, as a few catalogues were hardbound), and in uniformly good condition. The earliest (#36) is from 1945, and the most recent (#219) is from 2002.

1. #36. The Old and the New world.
2. #58. Old books from many countries for collectors, students, libraries.
3. #66. A myrrour of four centuries.
4. #80. Remarkable manuscripts, books and maps from the IXth to the XVIIIth century.
5. #85. Distinguished books and manuscripts.
6. #89. History and art of the printed book.
7. #90. English books, manuscripts, incunabula, voyages, Americana, geography, bindings, natural history.
8. #91. The sixteenth century, part one.
9. #92. From Columbus to Lincoln, fifty distinguished Americans
10. #93. Incunabula, including many famous woodcut books.
11. #103. 175 printed books.
12. #108. The illustrated book.
13. #111. 175 manuscripts & books.
14. #112. Portugal & Spain.
15. #113. Autographs.
16. #114. The Spanish and Portuguese overseas empire.
17. #115. 24 x 12. Manuscripts & books.
18. #116. Geography.
19. #122. Seventy French books with seventy illustrations from the fifteenth century.
20. #123. Book illustration.
21. #125. One hundred and eighty rare books & manuscripts.
22. #133. English literature with a few American authors.
23. #134. English literary autographs and manuscripts.
24. #135. Important French illustrated books of the 15th and 16th centuries.
25. #136. French literature. 19th – 20th century. Books & manuscripts.
26. #137. Important works in the field of science.
27. #139. Americana.
28. #140. Four Caxtons and two other English incunabula.
29. #141. English books principally in the field of literature and history.
30. #142. Gardening, herbals, flower paintings.
31. #143. Around the world in old maps.
32. #145. Books about books from the library of the late A. N. L. Munby, Cambridge, and from other sources.
33. #147. Typography.
34. #149. England: the first three centuries of printing.
35. #151. Bibliography.
36. #152. Reverend Thomas Bray, a selection from his papers.
37. #154. Incunabula.
38. #155. Science, from the 13th to the 19th centuries.
39. #157. Documents & autographs relating to England, Scotland, and Ireland.
40. #158. Continental books from the 16th & 17th centuries.
41. #160. Americana.
42. #161. A selection of printed books.
43. #162. Bibliography.
44. #163. Illustrated books and fine bindings.
45. #164. Science including medicine.
46. #166. The arts.
47. #167. The seventeenth century.
48. #168. The history of science including navigation.
49. #169. The history of science including navigation.
50. #170. A selection of printed books in various fields of the humanities including at least one title from each year of the century.
51. #171. The history of science including navigation.
52. #173. The fifteenth century.
53. #174. Varia.
54. #175. Bibliography.
55. #176. Books and documents of the sixteenth century.
56. #177. Europe in the seventeenth century.
57. #178. Voyages, travels & ancillary sciences.
58. #179. Illustration.
59. #180. Miscelanea.
60. #182. Incunabula.
61. #183. The largest collection of incunabula in private hands.
62. #184. From Trithemius to Proctor bibliography and reference books before 1900.
63. #186. Science, including medicine and the occult.
64. #187. Bibliography and reference books after 1900.
65. #189. Classics and humanism. Annotated books & manuscripts.
66. #190. Catalogus catalogorum (predominantly post-1900).
67. #191. Rare books and manuscripts.
68. #192. Science.
69. #195. Recent acquisitions.
70. #196. Spain, Portugal and their overseas empires.
71. #197. New arrivals.
72. #198. The low countries.
73. #199. Law, diplomacy, political science, economics, politics.
74. #202. European literature.
75. #203. New arrivals.
76. #204. Italy.
77. #205. From soul to psyche. Books on the soul, senses, emotions & behaviour.
78. #207. Eleven subjects.
79. #208. Performing arts. Books on music, dance, theatre, & festivities.
80. #210. Greece and Rome.
81. #211. War and revolution. Rebellion and treason.
82. #212. Holiday miscellany.
83. #213. Illustrated books from the sixteenth to the twentieth century.
84. #214. France.
85. #215. Science.
86. #216. Varia.
87. #217. Varia II.
88. #218. Illustration. Illustrated books from six centuries together with some prints and drawings.
89. #219. Antiquarian bibliography. Together with some later sections.
90. List #189. Text manuscripts from the middle ages to the XVIII century. (1958)