Browse the latest catalogs, newsletters, and e-lists of rare books, fine bindings, incunabula, print ephemera, and much more from the members of the ABAA below. (Also includes podcasts, blog posts, and other digital formats.)
*New* indicates any catalogs brought to our attention since the early May 2024.
AARDVARK BOOKS/EZRA TISHMAN BOOK APPRAISALS
- March Exit Stage Left List
- March Lion List (March 2024)
Featured item:
Mitchell, Samuel Augustus
MITCHELL'S NATIONAL MAP OF THE UNITED STATES; (Leather, with Brass Clasp and Two Foldout Maps)
Philadelphia, PA: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1843. First Edition. Leather-bound. 12mo. (7 1/4 in. x 4 1/2 in.) Rich dark-brown leather, double ruled in blind, brightly lettered and ornamented in gilt. Rays of the sun in an arch above the lettering to front board; this repeated to rear board with the addition of an eagle, with wings outspread holding an American shield in its beak, grasping an olive branch with his right talon, and a brace of arrows in its left. All this above ta cloud-construct with a large banner ("E. Pluribus Unum" above and "United States" below. Recent conservator's touch-up to previously lightly rubbed extremities.
Two lovely colored mounted folding MAPS in clean, bright condition.
The first map (34 1/2 in. x 25 1/2 in, and bordered in lovely rose and yellow) is entitled: "A CONCISE VIEW OF THE NUMBER, RESOURCES, AND INDUSTRY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, IN THE YEAR 1840: Comprising the Different Classes of the Inhabitants, Population of the Principal Cities and Towns, THE CHIEF AGRICULTURAL, MINERAL, AND MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS, EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF EACH SEPARATE STATE; The most important Canals and Rail-Roads, the Lengths of the Principal Rivers, and the Heights of the Principal Mountains in the United States". The format is a large central chart of statistics, surrounded by 32 separate 3 1/2 in. x 3 in. mini-maps in yellow, green, rose and black, depicting Vicinities of various U.S. cities or states. The larger central chart (16 1/2 in. x 16 in.) includes statistics on Aggregate of the Different Classes (Men, Women, White, Colored, Number of Slaves); Several very short tears along folds.
The second fold-out map is a bright, multicolored map of the (then) entire United States, the title of which is: "Mitchell's National Map of the American Republic Or United States of North America (Together with Maps of The Vicinities of Thirty-Two of the Principal Cities and Towns in The Nation), Clearly intended as the overall title to the entire two-map leather-housed, brass-clasped endeavor, including the first map described above. A lovely copy of this beautiful cartographic endeavor, drawn by H. Young and engraved by J.H. Brightly, with classy gilt designs to both front and rear boards. Near Fine.
Offered by Aardvark Books and found in "March Lion List."
Featured item:
BARNUM, P. T. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS).
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Bridgeport, CT, 30 January 1877. A two-page letter on the front and verso of a 5-1/8" x 8" sheet with a blue ink stamp of Barnum addressed to an unknown recipient regarding employment and SIGNED as "P. T. Barnum."
In part: "You are declining the American tour…. My respected father-in-law is I fear rather too timid. My son-in-law … filled the position of traveling Treasurer 4 or 5 years without inquiry, and hundreds are doing the same every year. We think it is a most healthy calling. It is lively, busy & exciting, but not sickening nor killing. My partners would only have allowed $25 per week & I should have paid the other $15 from my own pocket for the sake of having you see if the business would suit you, and also see if an opening could be made for you whereby you could gain an independence. The disappointment to me is not at all serious on my account—more so on yours. But it is all for the best no doubt. I still think I shall have a permanent place of amusement in New York City, where you can have a situation & a chance to own an interest which will be sure to be valuable. We will talk it up when we meet.”
Scattered toning and soiling,
Offered by Charles Agvent and found in "African-Americana, Magic/Circus, Etc."
- Americana *New*
- April Miscellany
ANTIPODEAN BOOKS, MAPS, PRINTS
- E-list #44 ~ W.W.I., Americana, Australia, Photographs, Maps, Ephemera
- E-list #43 ~ Antipodean Books at the Brooklyn Virtual Book Fair
Featured item:
Nissen, Georg Nikolaus von.
Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1828. Large octavo, 6 x 8.25 in (15 x 21 cm), two parts in one volume, including the supplement (Anhang); xliv, 702, 220 pages. Contemporary paper boards; expertly rebacked. Moderate external wear, light occasional foxing to contents, overall an attractive copy. All illustrations, facsimiles, etc. are present, except the family portrait that is usually missing. There are 8 lithograph plates, ; a manuscript music facsimile; a text facsimile of Nissen’s tombstone; and 8 folded music plates.
This collection of family letters, journals, contemporary criticism, etc. was assembled with connecting text by Danish diplomat Georg Nikolaus von Nissen, the second husband of Mozart’s widow, Constanze. She edited it for publication after Nissen’s death. It remains one of the most important collections of primary source material on the composer.
Offered by Archway Books and found in "A Short Musical List."
- American Maps & Views (May 2024) *New*
- “That’s what she said”: Women in Manuscript *New*
- Artists' Books and Exhibition Catalogues: Electronic List 146 *New*
- French World War I Print Portfolios, Drawings, Photographs, Periodicals & Livres d'artistes: Electronic List 145
- EVOLVING HISTORY of IDEAS (New York Book Fair)
- Catalog 24: LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN – THE MAN and HIS THOUGHT
-
19th Century Decorated Paper Bindings, Decorated Cloth Bindings and Historic Works New York Book & Ephemera Fair Catalog
W. C. BAKER RARE BOOKS & EPHEMERA
- Architecture & Design *New*
- New Arrivals in History (Newsletter)
- eList 204: Music *New*
- eList 203: Thomas Pynchon - Including Uncommon Foreign-language Editions *New*
- Catalog 264: Literature *New*
- eList 202: A Collection of American Bookbindings 1791-1900 *New*
- eList 201: Mystery *New*
Featured item:
[Vinyl Record]: "By Deeds Alone" - 4th Armored Division and Pamphlet
Germany: 1964.
Unbound. Original 45 RPM vinyl record. Fine record in a near fine sleeve with some toning and edgewear. A single released by the 4th Armored Division Association along with a stapled pamphlet with the history of the division. The album includes songs written by CWO Ernest K. Hock and performed by the 4th Armored Division Band and Chorus under direction of CWO Hoch. The title track, "By Deeds Alone" was based on the division's motto, "they shall be known by their deeds alone." An uncommon album.
Offered by Between the Covers Rare Books and found in "eList 204: Music."
- Featured Items *New*
- Catalogue 62: Picturing Horses *New*
- Catalogue 61: Forty More Fine Horse Books & Ephemera
BLUEMANGO BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS
- Top Books by State Series: South Dakota *New*
- Caldecott Winning Illustrators Series: Peggy Rathmann (Blog) *New*
Featured item:
A fine plan, quite scarce, of the shambolic British attack on Charleston, South Carolina in June 1776. Blessed by a fine harbor and proximity to the Lowcountry indigo and rice plantations, Charleston had the largest urban population south of Philadelphia and was the wealthiest city in the Colonies. During the Revolution it was much coveted by the British, who worked under the false assumption that the South had a high percentage of Loyalists, needing only some encouragement to rise up and help put down the rebellion. Charleston was thus the target of not one but two major British campaigns, in 1776 and again in 1780. This plan depicts the first, which ended quickly and ignominiously at the June 1776 Battle of Sullivan’s Island, where South Carolina militia withstood a British attack on the fortifications protecting the seaward approaches to the city. The British plan suffered from imperfect intelligence about both the strength of the American fort at Sullivan’s Island and the hydrography of the surrounding waters. The attacking fleet suffered heavy casualties and serious damage to many of its vessels, and subsequently limped north to join Howe’s New York campaign. This rare and important British chart depicts Charleston Harbor and its immediate surroundings, with a detailed treatment of the battle. The chart was based on surveys conducted by the Royal Navy during the campaign and was first published on August 31, 1776, little more than two months after the battle. The example offered here is a slightly-later issue bearing a date of 1791, with very substantial re-engraving of the waters around Charleston. It seems plausible that this new information was obtained from surveys conducted during and after the British capture of the city in 1780. The Charleston campaign of 1780 was a different matter altogether: In May of that year a British army under Lord Cornwallis captured the city after a siege and took thousands of American prisoners, marking one of the worst Continental Army defeats of the war. In all, a most interesting plan, depicting an important American victory early in the Revolution. Nebenzahl, Atlas, pp. 55-57 (illus.) Nebenzahl, Bibliography, 65. Sellers & Van Ee, 1548 (noting only the 1776 edition).
Offered by Boston Rare Maps and found in "From Riot to Revolution."
- Brattlecast #180: Life Magazine Trends (Podcast)
- Brattlecast #179: The Bartending Book (Podcast)
- Environmental Justice *New*
- 2024 Capital Rare Book Fair (Full Size) *New*
- 2024 Capital Rare Book Fair (Miniature Books) *New*
Featured item:
Rian, Kirsten
Henkin, Lauren (illus.)
(Portland, OR: Vela Noche, 2010). Folio. (17)ff. One of thirty copies, this one being out of series. Fourteen of Lauren Henkin's photographs make up the majority of the book, with Kirsten Rian's poem, "Fieldnotes," appearing on the penultimate page. The poem, from which the book's title derives, meditates with equal parts fondness and sadness on the quietude of memory, and the tension that lies between recording a moment and letting it pass away. Henkin's photographs capture this same feeling, depicting different views of a single field located in Acadia, Maine. Her images target the field's present state, but even so, let the present slip; they are black and white, leaving color up to the inaccuracies of the viewer's imagination. The field of memory—and of photographic record—is already past, a different place by the time the images have reached publication. Printed on Japanese kozo paper, the book is a collaboration between five Northwest women artists: Rian, Henkin, Sarah Horowitz (cover etching), Inge Bruggeman (letterpress printing), and Sandy Tilcock (binding). Bound in Bhutan Mitsumata over boards, with Horowitz's etched branches reaching over both covers. Near fine, with single long, thin scuff to upper board. Prospectus laid in.
Offered by Bromer Booksellers and found in "Environmenttal Justice."
- e-List #76: LGBTQ+ Pride *New*
- e-List #75: Egyptology *New*
- e-List #74: Psychology *New*
Featured item:
Roberta Cowell's Story by Herself
Cowell, Roberta; Canon Millbourn [Preface]
London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1954. First edition. xii, 154 pp. Bound in publisher's navy cloth with silver spine lettering. About Very Good with light dampstaining to cloth along bottom edge, slightly musty smell, a little foxing along top edge, in About Very Good dust jacket with toned spine panel, head and tail chipped, dampstaining along bottom edge. Uncommon.
In The SAGE Encyclopedia of Trans Studies Genny Bemyn calls this "an account by the woman who had the first known vaginoplasty in England and who was legally recognized as female in 1951. Being the first British trans woman to undergo surgery and having achieved some fame previously as a race car driver, Cowell’s transition made headlines in Britain."
Offered by Burnside Rare Books and found in "e-List #76: LGBTQ+ Pride."
ANDREW CAHAN, BOOKSELLER, LTD.
- E-List 26: Fifteen Unique-ish New Arrivals *New*
- E-List 25: Highlights at the 64th New York International Antiquarian Book Fair
- From the library of John Henry Nash -- list available on request from info@carpediemfinebooks.com...
- New Arrivals
- Inhabited by Winston (January 2022)
- Winston for Your Walls
- En Vogue *New*
- Speak of the Devil *New*
- Voyages to the East: The Parsons Collection *New*
- In Her Own Words *New*
- April Arrivals *New*
Featured item:
(Burton, Richard F) Camoens, Luis de.
London: Bernard Quaritch, 1880, 1881, 1884. First editions. 6 vols. Small 8vo. Publisher’s light green cloth gilt, t.e.g. Very good plus, clean fresh copies. Penzer pp. 104-5.
Offered by James Cummins Bookseller and found in "April Arrivals."
- THE LUNAR VOYAGE FROM THE 17th CENTURY TO THE PRESENT -- In conjunction with the RBMS and the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing -- Offered jointly with John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller
- Popular Fiction 1814-1939: Selections from the Anthony Tino Collection -- Offered jointly with John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller
- E-list: Photographic Archives, Latin-Americana, African-Americana, Lincoln Conspirators, American Indian History, and More -- Joint catalog with Auger Down Books
DE SIMONE COMPANY, BOOKSELLERS
- New Arrivals (May 28, 2024) *New*
- Shaker Books, Ephemera and Photography
- Poetry *New*
- Fall New Arrivals
Featured item:
Hours of Fun. [Patty Hearst Ident-i-Kit]
[Zephyrus Image & Tom Raworth]
[San Francisco]: [Hermes Free Press], [1974]. Diminiutive paper sculpture, made of two sheets of paper glued together with die-cut flaps [folded size 2 1/4 x 1 1/2"].
One of the most provocative and ingenious publications of the Zephyrus Image. After the Los Angeles shoot-out, Patty Hearst and members of the SLA went into hiding in the Bay Area, at which time the San Francisco Chronicle published artist's renderings showing how Patty might appear in disguise. According to Johnston, Tom Raworth conceived of the idea in conversation with Michael Myers after "a liquid lunch, and the team sprang into action, turning the book out overnight." [Johnston p. 99].
In our experience, the rarest book of the press.
Horizontal crease the back cover, with some rubbing to extremities. Very good.
Offered by Division Leap and found in "Poetry."
- Catalog #88, Medical Books from the Fifteenth to the Twentieth Centuries -- This catalog is print-only. To request a copy, contact MedBks@aol.com...
Featured item:
In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas [Bibliographically Significant "Skycrapers" Copy]
McMurtry, Larry
Notes: A rare copy of the first edition of this legendary literary rarity, the first printing of Larry McMurtry's first book of essays. The book is well-known among book collectors as the "skycrapers" printing, because of that typo on line 12 of page 105. This copy has page 105 (specifically the sheet with pages 105 to 108) in BOTH issues, with skyscrapers spelled correctly and incorrectly.
However, this copy does not have the other errors, like "in in" on page 56, line 2; or the line beginning "Mr. Brammer" duplicated in paragraph two of page 134. A year after the publication of this book, Deborah Detering Pannill, a University of Texas at Austin student, wrote a thorough term paper on Encino Press and interviewed the publisher, Bill Wittliff. After the errors in McMurtry's book were discovered, "at first Wittliff thought he could salvage some of those printed but finally they decided to destroy the edition and reprint it.”
What Wittliff meant by "salvage" was not clear until this copy came to light. Only part of the edition had been bound when the errors were discovered. This copy proves that Wittliff attempted to salvage the book by reprinting the pages with errors and replacing them in the unbound copies. In the case of this copy, the corrected sheet was laid on top of the incorrect "skycrapers" text, causing pages 105 to 108 to be duplicated.
McMurtry's first collection of essays, covering Texas history, Texas writers, cowboys, and as a coda to The Last Picture Show, sex in Archer City, Texas has been popular with collectors since its first publication. This is (so far) the only known copy with the famous "skycrapers" page in both issues.
Estimates of the number of surviving copies of the "skycrapers" first printing vary, with typical numbers given as 10–20. The book is not that rare. Realistically, the number of copies is probably two or three times that many. Even so, for a book distributed to the public (as opposed to a limited edition destined for collectors), 50 copies is vanishingly small print run in a state as large as Texas. Probably the scarcest of all McMurtry books.
Your cataloguer has published an essay and bibliography of this book on his Substack.
Edition + Condition: First edition (first printing with the "skycrapers" error). A near fine copy in a very good, first issue dust jacket (with "wtih" in paragraph five, line three of the front flap). The jacket has light shelfwear and a crease along the front flap edge. The book is signed by McMurtry on the front free endpaper. A previously unrecorded and perhaps unique variant of the first printing, in above average condition for this book.
Publication: Austin, TX: Encino Press, 1968.
Offered by Downtown Brown Books and found in "List 106: Some Interesting Associations."
- Eclectibles e-list 102 Miscellany: Citrus Wrappers, Everlasting Silver Leaves, Computer Woman & Of Course, the Children *New*
- New York Book Fair 2024
Featured item:
Printed Sicilian Citrus Fruit Wrappers Marketing to American Consumers.
Sicily, Italy. 1920s. A group of eleven (11) illustrated citrus fruit wrappers from Sicily, featuring fabulous bits of design marketing the fruit to American consumers. Used to wrap individual pieces of fruit, the wrappers protected the product while it was being transported to its final destination in a shop and finally the consumer. As might be surmised, these items rarely survive due to their ephemeral nature. These examples feature clever design, many which make the fruit appear to be a sunburst. Two of the designs feature patriotic American-centric themes. The fruit producers and exporters represented here include Nicolo Pietro Zito (Palermo, Italy); V. Cutietta (Carini, Italy); A. Venuti (Palermo, Italy); Cuneo Fruit & Co. (Palermo, Italy); and Gius. Sacca di Fsco. (Messina, Italy). Each measures approx. 8.5" by 7.25" and is printed on delicate tissue paper.
Citrus fruit wrappers are ephemera produced to both protect the fruit in transit and represent the brand in a colorful way. Very good. Some toning, wrinkles/creasing, staining, short tears or nicks.
Offered by Eclectibles and found in "e-list 102."
EDITIO ALTERA RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- New York Book Fair 2024 (Revised)
- The Century of Women
- Comic collection of William "Gatz" Hjortsberg -- Details available upon request from info@elkriverbooks.com...
- Highlights from the ABAA Virtual Book Fair
- May 2024 *New*
- April 2024 *New*
Featured item:
De Sibour, Violette. Flying Gypsies: The Chronicle of a 10,000 Mile Air Vagabondage.
New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1930. First edition. 8vo. [2], iii-iv, 1-306, [4] pp. Black cloth with green lettering on the front board and spine; green topstain. Price of $2.50 on the front flap of the dust jacket. Maps on the endpapers and pastedowns, drawn by Vicomte Jacques De Sibour. With 24 illustrations, including a black and white photograph frontispiece of the plane the author and her husband used in their travels. The other 23 illustrations are black and white photograph plates, showing scenes from the author’s trip around the world. With several full-page maps drawn by the author’s husband. Very near Fine. A touch of offsetting to the jacket’s reverse. Library Thing, “People/CharactersViolette De Sibour.” Violette De Sibour and her husband Jacques became the first couple to fly around the world. Violette herself trained as a pilot, and is considered an early female aviator. A fascinating female travel narrative, written by a trailblazer.
Offered by Evening Star Books and found in "May 2024."
RODGER FRIEDMAN RARE BOOK STUDIO
- OCCASIONAL LIST 22: A Miscellany: Original Art Work; Small Archive of Major English Watercolourist; Interesting Theatrical Pieces; Manuscript Material, Etc., Etc. -- available on request from fgrare@fgrarebooks.com...
- Has the following lists available: California, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, Louisiana, Colorado, Ohio and New York. Will email to interested parties. Contact info@ginsbook.com to request...
Join the ABAA-Public Google Group, a listserv where ABAA members announce select books for sale, share information on their participation in upcoming book fairs, and showcase their recent catalogs!
The ABAA-Public Google Group is a read-only email group, so email traffic is kept to a minimum and only ABAA members can announce books for sale — ensuring all items are in full compliance with our Code of Ethics.
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THOMAS A. GOLDWASSER RARE BOOKS
DAVID A. HAMILTON AMERICANA BOOKS
- Antiquarian Miscellany (May 28, 2024) *New*
- Landscape Design, Gardens, Horticulture *New*
- Botany *New*
Featured item:
DYKES, William Rickatson (1877-1925), DYKES, Elsie Katherine (d. 1933)
Notes on Tulip Species
London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 3 York Street St. James's, 1930. Folio. (15 x 10 3/4 inches). First edition. [1]-108. 108 pp. 54 color plates of tulips. Half-title, Title, Contents, Plates, Bibliography, Introduction by A. Daniel Hall, Biographical note on W. R. Dykes by E. K. Dykes, 54 plates with explanatory text, Index.
Publisher's green cloth with gilt-lettering on spine, publisher's tan dust jacket printed black in brodart, uncut
First edition example in the publisher's rare dust jacket, with 54 color plates of tulips by Elsie Katherine Dykes.
William Dykes, a "true student and great lover of plants," as A. Daniel Hall states in the introduction, served as the Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society and was a noted authority on tulips. The present work was compiled from his notes and beautifully illustrated by his wife, Elsie Katherine Dykes. This work includes detailed descriptions of each species and notes on cultivation. The Dykes' own garden was planted with over 30,000 tulips. "Elsie Katherine Dykes was a grower and hybridizer of irises and tulips, esteemed in that role by her peers in London's horticultural circles in the first quarter of the 20th century. It is her paintings for Notes on Tulip Species, however, that set her apart. When her husband, William Rickatson Dykes, Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society and known for his work with irises, met his untimely death by accident, Katherine edited his notes for posthumous publication and added 54 stunning paintings of the tulips with which he had been working.
Offered by Donald A. Heald Rare Books and found in "Botany."
JONATHAN A. HILL, BOOKSELLER, INC.
- elist 245 New Arrivals in Poetry Photography Art Literature *New*
- elist 244 New Arrivals in Poetry Photography Art Literature *New*
Featured item:
BOWLES, Paul
A Little Stone
London: John Lehmann, 1950. First edition and first printing. Hardcover. 222 pages. Bowle's second book of fiction, a collection of 12 short stories. A clean and tight near fine copy in light green cloth boards with some slight sunning to the spine ends and in a very near fine dust jacket with some very minute wear. A bright copy of this early book from the author of the classic novel "The Sheltering Sky."
Offered by Jeff Hirsch Books and found in "elist 244."
Featured item:
Theodore M. Hampe. “The Spider and the Fly.”
No place, circa 1905. $4800. Original illustration by California artist Theodore Hampe (1877- 1965) for an unidentified publication of Mary Howitt’s 1829 poem “The Spider and the Fly.” Hampe’s male arachnid luring a female fly into his web illustrates Howitt’s opening line: “Will you walk into my parlour?” That famous line, often misquoted as “come (or step) into my parlour,” remains a widely recognized aphorism for false overtures of friendship. So well-known was Howitt’s cautionary tale that Lewis Carroll parodied it in his “Mock Turtle’s Song” in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The expressions of the two figures and exquisite details of their costumes exemplify Hampe’s deft hand at small brush technique and mastery of color and shading. The fly perches on the bottommost line of the web, which leads the viewer’s eye back to the seductive host at its epicenter, completing a visually satisfying composition. A splendidly detailed and preserved illustration.
Offered by Honey & Wax Booksellers and found in "Graphic and Performing Arts."
Featured item:
1950s THEATER and FILM MAKE-UP and LIGHTING EPHEMERA COLLECTION
9.5" x 12.75" notebook with photos and ephemera on lighting and make-up for the theater and films. It includes ten 4"x 5" snapshots with eight snaps of a woman in different stages of make-up, six duplicate brochures of "Makeup for the theater," bags with an illustration of a woman putting on lipstick, hand-drawn illustrations, a typewritten report "an introduction to motion picture lighting" by Norman G Dyhrenfurth, who was a Swiss American mountaineer and filmmaker. He was the leader of the successful American Mount Everest expedition of 1963. There is also a bill to Gil Haimsohn, who was a known Hollywood Sound Editor and a Clairol Hair-coloring workbook.
Offered by House of Mirth Photos and found in "Spring 2024."
- Maps & Atlases *New*
- Zines *New*
- You've Got Mail *New*
- Black American Artists *New*
Featured item:
Keefer, A.M. "Bert"
Four holographic letters written between 1908 and 1913 by hard-rock miner A.M. “Bert” Keefer to his friend Frank M. Duncan in Carson City and Reno, Nevada. The letters informally report on the progress in underground mining operations in Nevada, as well as the social news.
Keefer’s first letter, dated November 9, 1908, was written in “Sonoma” and postmarked Sweetwater, Nevada. “I am working in the tunnel for the Judge,” he wrote. “I have been in solid quartz for 13 feet, I struck it the second day I worked. It is harder than blazes and some of it looks good.” He also wrote about closing his saloon and selling off the equipment.
In 1911, Keefer wrote that he was still working mines in Sweetwater, where he had to dig 185 feet for a vein: “It will take about a week to cross cut the vein, and if it don’t show any values, I think it will be off … it is the best looking vein on the surface I have seen in the country and should carry some values if there is any in the country. But you know, gold is pretty scarce in this country.”
On June 15, 1913, Keefer wrote that he was working on the Reno Yerrington Mine, four miles from the town of Yerrington. Due to its remote location, his wife, Della, and child are not with him: “I stay up at the mine and walk down twice a week for mail,” he wrote. “I am working in the shaft sinking, it is ninety feet deep and real good hard rock too.”
Two of Bert’s letters, in 1911 and 1912, include gossipy notes written by Della to Pearl, apparently Frank’s daughter, about current events and people. There is also one letter written to Frank by George P. Cortigue from Sweetwater about mining efforts.
The letters are in very good condition and are housed in their original mailing envelopes. They provide an interesting view of the difficult and transient nature of mining life in the early 1900s.
Offered by johnson rare books & archives and found in "You've Got Mail."
- Flowers and Gardens - Book Arts & Antiquarian *New*
- New Arrivals in Book Arts, Papermaking, and More *New*
- Earth Day Book Arts (Part II) - Celebrating the Earth *New*
Featured item:
Austin, Alice.
To the Ocean.
Philadelphia: Alice Austin, 2018.
Special edition with unique hand-made wooden box. Number 7 of 15 copies. This piece was produced in 3 different versions: the deluxe edition (1-6) is now sold out; the special edition (7-11) is issued in unique wooden boxes with specimens; and the regular edition (12-15) is the book only. In this elaborate work comprised of a hand-printed book, a collection of specimens, and hand-made box, Austin memorializes her walks along the shores of the ocean through poetry and lino-cuts. Her verse describes creatures encountered and beaches traversed. The supporting lino-cut illustrations depict an array of shells, horseshoe crab, and more. Physical specimens of most of the items illustrated are included in the accompanying box.
The accordion book is bound in Twin Rocker hand-made grey paper wrappers with black title and blue lino-cut scallop shells to the front panel. It is letterpress printed in Cheltenham Italic type on Somerset paper. Housed in a custom made unique cherry wood box with legs, with a vintage type drawer incorporated. The box was hand-made by Wilfredo Rodriquez of Philadelphia. It contains multiple compartments within, which hold treasures from the ocean including: a dog whelk, slipper snail, beach glass, periwinkle (Maine); moon snail, scallop, horseshoe crab tail (New Jersey); fishing float fragment, limpet (Ireland); an origami boat and a booklet listing the contents - both created by the artist.
Alice Austin is a printmaker, book artist and painter living and working in Philadelphia. She has been on the faculty at the University of the Arts, teaching book structures, and has also taught workshops at the Center for Book Arts in New York, Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ireland, The Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, and other institutions. She earned a BFA from the Philadelphia College of Art and has been an active member of the Guild of Book Workers since 1998. She worked as a rare book and paper conservator for over 20 years at the Library Company of Philadelphia. Alice has also been awarded several artist residencies in Europe, and her work is widely held in private, public and special collections worldwide.
Book Size: 8.5 x 9.5 x 1 inches. Box size: 12.5 x 12.75 x 3.5 inches. Fine.
Offered by Kelmscott Bookshop and found in "Earth Day Book Arts (Part II)".
JOHN W. KNOTT, JR., BOOKSELLER
Featured item:
THE FEDS. June 1937. (Volume 2, No. 4). John L. Nanovic, editor.
New York: Street and Smith Publishing, Inc., 1937. Octavo, single issue, pictorial wrappers. Pulp magazine. Lead feature is "Public Hero No. 1-The Life Story of John Edgar Hoover and the F.B.I." Also includes a Steve Fisher novelette. Cook, Mystery, Detective and Espionage Magazines, pp. 237-239. Tanning to text paper, still supple, mild edge wear, small paper loss at the head of the spine, light damp stain to verso of lower front edge.
Offered by John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller and found in "New Arrivals: Pulps."
- Catalog #74: 100 Rare Books -- with an emphasis on history and military affairs. Please request from mail@kubikbooks.com...
MICHAEL LAIRD RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Recent Acquisitions: English & American Law, 1645-1965 (May 28, 2024) *New*
- “Apparently Unrecorded” (May 21, 2024) *New*
- Manuscripts, 1664–1965 (May 14, 2024) *New*
- Annotated Books and Pamphlets, 1524-1859 (May 7, 2024) *New*
- Thirty Association Items (April 30, 2024) *New*
DAVID M. LESSER, FINE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS
- Colonial, Revolutionary, and Federal Americana *New*
- Illustrated Afro-Americana *New*
- Universities and Student Societies *New*
- African Americana, April 2024 *New*
LIBER ANTIQUUS, EARLY PRINTED BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- September Illustrated and Children's New Arrivals
- Fitzgerald's Rubaiyat and Related Persian Expressions
- Primary Source Material - Archives, Manuscripts, Diaries *New*
- Recently Cataloged - Manuscripts, Agriculture, Food & Drink *New*
J. & J. LUBRANO MUSIC ANTIQUARIANS
- NEW ANTIQUARIAN MUSIC ACQUISITIONS May 2024 *New*
- Rare First and Early Editions of the Works of George Frideric Handel 1685-1759 *New*
Featured item:
Aetius [Ezio] an Opera as it is Perform'd at the Kings Theatre in the Hay Market.
London: Printed for and Sold by I: Walsh Musick Printer & Instrument maker to his Majesty at the Harp and Hoboy in Catherine Street in the Strand, [1732]. Folio. Modern quarter mid-tan calf with marbled boards, dark red morocco title label gilt to upper. 1f. (title), 1f. (recto "A Table of Songs," verso blank), 91, (blank) pp. The music comprises the overture, arias, and final chorus. Named singers include Senesino and Signoras Strada, Bagnolesi, and Bertolli. Text added in pencil to pp. 47-51. Binding slightly worn and bumped. Occasional light browning, soiling, and small stains; several leaves trimmed at lower margin with loss to figured bass; loss to lower outer margin of p. 47, not affecting music; foot of page 50 trimmed, just touching bass figuring. A very good copy overall.
Provenance: The noted Handel collector Godfrey E. Arkwright (1864-1944), and then Gilbert Samuel Inglefield (1909- 1991), Lord Mayor of London, with their bookplates to front pastedown and front free endpaper, respectively; small decorative oval handstamp "Thos. Gill No. 18" to title. First Edition. Smith p. 23, no. 1. BUC p. 426. RISM H130 and HH130 (3 copies only in the U.S.). Aetius, to a libretto by Metastasio, was first performed in London at the King's Theatre on 15 January 1732. "The opera was a failure, attaining only five performances, the lowest total for any of Handel's London operas before Berenice. ... The first modern revival was at Göttingen in 1926, two years after Leichtentritt had described it as one of the most stageworthy of Handel's operas." Dean: Handel's Operas 1726-1741, p. 206.
Offered by J. & J. Lubrano Music Antiquarians and found in "Rare First and Early Editions of the Works of George Frideric Handel."
STUART LUTZ HISTORIC DOCUMENTS
- Mags and Rags *New*
- Spring Occult List *New*
- List of 77 Mark Twain First Editions and Ephemera available by request from info@macdonnellrarebooks.com (specify elist or paper copy).
MAIN STREET FINE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- List of Early Printing (May 2024) *New*
- Italian Renaissance Theater
- Ten New Arrivals for May *New*
- May Miscellany of 14 items spanning Black Power, Punk, Pinbacks, Posters, Underground Press, Planned Parenthood, etc. *New*
- MEXICAN ILLUSTRATED BOOKS. 50 YEARS OF ILLUSTRATED BOOKS PUBLISHED IN MEXICO -- catalog available to institutional buyers by request from mmbooks@comcast.net *New*
- Illustrated Catalog on Carlos Merida (1891–1984) -- Mexican painter, sculptor, writer and graphic designer -- available by request from mmbooks@comcast.net
MARTAYAN LAN RARE BOOKS & MAPS
- A New Perspective
- A Selection of 22 Broadsides, Separately Published Prints, Maps and Pamphlets, 1568-1872
Featured item:
JAMNITZER, Wenzel / AMMAN, Jost. Perspectiva corporum regularium.
Nuremberg, Christoph Heussler, 1568. Folio. Engraved title, 49 full page illustrations, engraved by Jost Amman after the drawings of Jamnitzer. 18th-century half vellum over boards, green silk ties.
First and only edition of this remarkable work, an exceptional collaboration between the most famous goldsmith of its time, the personal goldsmith to four kings, Wenzel Jamnitzer (ca. 1507-1585) and the prolific Swiss engraver Jost Amman (1539-1591), considered the creator of the German illustrated book. The Perspectiva is regarded as the most important illustrated work on the solid bodies of the 16th century in the German-speaking world.
Offered by Martayan Lan Rare Books & Maps and found in "A New Perspective."
- e-catalog #99: Books from the Collection of Cameron Allan
- Children’s Dance Theater Archive of Carla Blank and Jody Roberts -- Offered jointly with Kate Mitas, Bookseller. Details available on request from maser@detritus.com...
- List 54, African Americana *New*
- List 53, Mexico *New*
Featured item:
Akin, Emma
Negro American Series. Book One [-Four]
Oklahoma City: Harlow Publishing Corporation, 1938. Four volumes: 251; 135; 184; 217pp. Profusely illustrated with photographic and silhouette illustrations. Original pictorial cloth of various colors. Minor wear and soiling to covers, a couple of volumes with mild fraying to spines. Occasional light foxing to text. One volume ex-library, with stamps to endpapers, inked call number to spine tail, and pocket on rear endpaper. Overall, a nice set. Very good.
A complete set of four titles published as part of the "Negro American Series" of textbooks intended for African-American primary school students in the American South. The books were written by a white teacher, Emma E. Akin, who was working at an African-American school in Dunbar, Oklahoma when she noticed a lack of textbooks focusing on Black history and achievements. The four titles are Negro Boys and Girls (designated as "Book One" on the spine); Gifts ("Book Two" on the spine); A Booker T. Washington School ("Book Three" on the spine); and Ideals and Adventures ("Book Four" on the spine).
The books contain biographies of prominent African Americans, as well as many short stories that follow the daily lives of Black students, in which they participate in daily lessons and learn about their heritage, along with reading and counting lessons, poetry, advice on how to make new friends, vocabulary lists, study questions for students, and more. An example of a couple of study questions, which follow a biography of Dr. Alphonso Mitchell, is stated as follows: "How many colored doctors do you know?" and "Why are there so few Negro dentists?" The text is enhanced with photographs taken in the Dunbar School in an effort to provide Black students with imagery with which they could identify. The acknowledgements section of the books gives thanks to fellow teachers, as well as parents and students at the Dunbar School for their contributions to the textbooks. Among those thanked by Akin is Mary McLeod Bethune (who is also profiled in the book) as well as other prominent African-American educators who contributed information and photographs or pictures. The dedication page in each volume reads simply: "This book is dedicated to America's Negro Boys and Girls."
According to a seminal work on the societal impact of children's literature, Defining Print Culture for Youth, the Cultural Work of Children's Literature: "The Negro American Series cut against the prevailing stereotypes in textual theme and content as it did in its illustrations. Each volume includes information on the accomplishments of at least one notable African American, from Paul Laurence Dunbar to Roland Hayes to Phillis Wheatley, to lesser-known figures as well. Farm children and children who live in town are treated with equal respect. Families are described as loving and concerned. Class differences are never mentioned.... Neither children nor adults are depicted as menials or buffoons.... Race progress and uplift are constant themes."
A rare opportunity to obtain the full four-volume set of these scarce publications intended to educate and uplift African American schoolchildren in the Jim Crow South.
Offered by McBride Rare Books and found in "List 54."
BRUCE MCKITTRICK RARE BOOKS, INC.
- Firsts London 2024 *New*
- 2024 Capital Rare Book Fair *New*
- New York Book Fair 2024
- Art (in) Books: 16th-19th-century books and manuscripts relating to painting, icons, portraiture, ornament, or the decorative arts
- Louis M. Jason's book Literary (and Other) Celebrity Doodles II is now available. Contact the store at info@mysterypierbooks.com to order...
- Father's Day Gift Offerings
- May Catalog *New*
- March Catalog
Featured item:
A unique Depression-era map set from a San Francisco Fireboat.
Title: Fire Boat No. 2. S.F.F.D.
Cartographer: San Francisco Fire Department
Place/Date: San Francisco, 1931 Dimensions: 25.5 x 17.75 inches.
An extraordinary atlas of 11 San Francisco Fire Department maps published in 1931 under pioneering fire chief Charles J. Brennan.
A bound set of maps in a black canvas folder that rolls into an original leather embossed tube, marked ‘Fire Boat No. 2 S.F.F.D.’ in distinct black lettering. The water-resistant materials indicate that this atlas would have been kept on the fireboat, presumably as part of its official inventory. It is a fascinating survival of Depression-era cartography for one of America’s most important maritime cities.
Two steam-powered fire boats were put into active duty following the 1906 Earthquake: the David Scannel and the Dennis T. Sullivan (named after the SF Fire Brigade’s Chief Engineer, who was killed in the 1906 earthquake). Both fireboats were built by the Risdon Iron & Locomotive Company in San Francisco and launched in 1909. As our map book belongs to Fire Boat No. 2, we know it was from Dennis T. Sullivan, not the Scannel. Each map is numbered (1-11), dated 1931, and labeled as coming from the office of Chief Engineer Charles J. Brennan.
Brennan’s tenure as fire chief (1929-1943) left an enduring impact on fire safety and emergency response in San Francisco. Assuming the role of Chief Engineer amidst the economic upheaval of the Great Depression, Brennan was tasked with steering the Fire Department through turbulent financial waters. He reorganized and fortified its structure despite stringent budget constraints and spearheaded modernization efforts. This unique survival reflects Brennan’s efforts to create reliable fire infrastructure maps designed to be kept on fire-fighting units.
The maps cover the area from today’s Marina District and Fort Mason, the Embarcadero, and down to Islais Creek. The scope extends across most of the San Francisco peninsula, including the eastern part of Golden Gate Park and as far south as Twin Peaks (which has a reservoir) and Bernal Heights. Each map shows a distinct area and includes features such as hydraulic infrastructure (cisterns, pumps, hydrants, water mains, distribution stations, and gate valves) and the delineation of dedicated zones within the city.
Census: This atlas is entirely unrecorded. We assume a single copy was made for each fireboat, and others were held at firehouses. It is unclear to what extent such a set was unique to San Francisco. Cities like New York, Seattle, and Vancouver have all employed fireboats, but no records of equivalent map books exist. It is unclear which maps the SFFD used before compiling this set, but a likely source was Sanborn Insurance Maps
Offered by Neatline Antique Maps and found in "May 2024."
- Catalog 52 *New*
- Catalog 48
Featured item:
[Adams, Katharine- Binding and Original Stunning Illuminations By Allan Vigers]
Morris, William. Art and the Beauty of the Earth.
London: Longmans & Company; The Chiswick Press, 1898. First Edition. 8vo, 8 ¼ x 5 ¾ inches. EXQUISITELY ILLUMINATED BY ALLAN F. VIGERS (1858-1921), including half-title decorated with white rose blossoms and leafy tendrils hanging down in multiple colors, verso with square illustration of flowers in garden, with striking blue ornamental background, opening text leaf with stunning full-page wide border design in multiple colors composed of dozens of flowers in bright red bordered design panels, and two graceful long-beaked birds at the bottom (dated “1903”), large illustration on the colophon page including the two birds facing each other in a garden, with 12 roses overhead, bright blue background, and red bordering panels, and approximately 48 tendril and flower infills within the text in various colors--all in watercolor; the colophon illumination is signed below by Vigers: “1903 A.V.F.” This wonderfully illumined masterpiece is further complemented by its superb binding by KATHARINE ADAMS, one of the top bookbinders in the modern era, who became an acclaimed and highly sought-after bookbinder in Britain and abroad, creating intricate gold-tooled bindings with tools she herself had designed. Adams became the second president of the Women’s Guild of Art, and bound many books which have become legendary in the trade by famous publishers such as the Doves and Kelmscott Press. Bound in full crushed green morocco, signed and dated “K.A. 1906,” on lower dentelle, lettered on upper cover and spine, top edges gilt, and dentelles made up of small circles; joints slightly rubbed, internally fine. Printed at the Chiswick Press in Golden type designed by William Morris for the Kelmscott Press.
Allan Francis Vigers (1858-1921) was trained as an architect, but was best-known (like Morris) as a designer of textiles, furniture and especially beautifully designed wallpaper in distinctively Arts & Crafts modalities. Vigers joined the Art Workers Guild in 1903, and exhibited at the Royal Academy and at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1910, and took a highly individualistic approach to pattern design, informed by his skills as an illuminator. He specialized in intricate florals, composed of a mass of small flower heads, mounted like jewels on white or dark-blue backgrounds. At once naturalistic and symbolic, his patterns feature typical English garden flowers... simply and accurately depicted, but arranged in consciously artful synchronized formations.
Offered by Nudelman Rare Books and found in "Catalog 52."
- William Pickering: New Acquisitions *New*
- Fine & Private Press: New Acquisitions *New*
- Specimens of Typefaces *New*
- Extravagant Taste: Examples of Fine Book Design *New*
- New Acquisitions, May 2024 *New*
Featured item:
Nash, Ray.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press for the Society of Printers, 1955. 8vo. cloth-backed patterned paper-covered boards, dust jacket. xii, 144 pages of text followed by 64 pages containing 80 reproductions of title pages.
First edition, limited to 1500 copies. Jacket spine toned, else a near fine copy. Issued on the 50th anniversary of this distinguished group of printers. Traces the "development of printing processes, typographic styles and the arts and crafts movement." Reference to Dwiggins, Rogers, etc.
Offered by Oak Knoll Books and found in "Extravagant Taste: Examples of Fine Book Design."
- Catalog 65, May 2024 -- by subscription only. Contact oldwestbooks@earthlink.net for details about obtaining a copy.
- Quirky New Arrivals (Newsletter) *New*
- Tom Lea: Texas Original *New*
- Occasional List (May 2024) *New*
- Occasional List: The Arts
- Timm Ulrichs: A Pioneer of Concrete Poetry, Computer Art and Copy Art *New*
- Fugitives from Culture: The Polish Neo-Avant-Garde and Beyond *New*
- The German Squatter Movement, 1970–1984 *New*
PHILLIP J. PIRAGES FINE BOOKS & MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS
- 2024 New Acquisitions List #10 *New*
- 2024 New Acquisitions List #9 *New*
- 2024 New Acquisitions List #8 *New*
Featured item:
SOUVENIRS DE MADAME DE CAYLUS.
(VELLUM PRINTING). (BINDINGS - GRUEL). CAYLUS, [MARTHE-MARGUERITE LE VALOIS DE VILLETTE DE MURÇAY], COMTESSE DE.
(Paris: J. Techener, 1860). 198 x 125 mm. (7 3/4 x 4 3/4"). 2 p.l., xlv, [iii], 268, [4] pp. Nouvelle Edition, ONE OF TWO KNOWN COPIES PRINTED ON VELLUM.
SUPERB CRIMSON CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT, BY GRUEL (stamp-signed at foot of spine and on front doublure), covers gilt in an animated design featuring a central lion rampant surrounded by three frames formed by volutes, fleurons, and gilt rules, raised bands, spine compartments with central fleur-de-lys within a similar frame, gilt lettering, NAVY MOROCCO DOUBLURES framed by gilt rule and catkins forming compartments with fleurs-de-lys and fleurons, leather hinges, burgundy silk free endleaves, all edges gilt. Text within gilt-ruled borders, title page with hand-painted arms of Madame de Caylus in colors and brushed gold, and FIVE SEPIA PEN-AND-WASH DRAWINGS THAT WERE USED AS THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK FOR THE ENGRAVINGS in this work, all framed in gold, the illustrations comprising: the portrait of Madame de Caylus after a painting by Daullé in her lifetime; Madame de Montespan acting as Femme de Chambre to Mademoiselle de la Vallière; the Reconciliation of the King with Madame de Montespan; the Promenade of Madame de Maintenon and Madame de Montchevreuil in the Forest of Fontainebleu; and the Prince de Condé seized by smallpox. A Large Paper [Vellum] Copy. Verso of front free endleaf with morocco bookplate of Robert Hoe. Brunet I, 1705: "One copy printed on vellum with the arms of M[adame] de Caylus painted on the title page, a gold frame and five original sepia drawings enhanced with gold, 660 fr sold from the Jos. Techener bookstore (1865)."
Half title and final page with faint overall toning, margin of one plate with one-inch ink mark (possibly done during production?), isolated faint smudges, other trivial imperfections, but A VERY LOVELY COPY, the vellum smooth and creamy, and the unworn the binding with especially lustrous leather and glittering gilt.
This is a beautifully bound, appropriately ultra-deluxe copy of a luxurious edition of the memoirs of a noblewoman raised at the court of the Sun King, the book printed on vellum and from a very distinguished private collection. In the text, Madame de Caylus (1673-1729) offers an insider's account of perhaps the most glittering court Europe has ever known. As the cousin of Madame de Maintenon, Louis XIV's morganatic wife, she was privy to all the intrigues surrounding the royal household. This work was first published by Voltaire in 1770, but the present edition is considered the best. Brunet mentions one vellum copy that matches the description of this one; we have seen one other copy on vellum, but its plates were without the gilt frames seen here, and the title page did not have the hand-painted coat of arms. The splendid binding is the work of one of the greatest French binding dynasties. In her "Bookbinders and their Craft," Prideaux says that the Gruel firm, founded in 1811, "has always had the highest reputation . . . for initiative in artistic matters, as well as for irreproachable execution in the detail of its many-sided achievements." Our binding stands as testament to the truth of this statement. The tooling is remarkable for the almost three-dimensional quality of the leaves, blossoms, vases, and volutes. There is a regal quality befitting the court of Louis XIV, with symbols of monarchy rendered in lavish gold, and with materials and workmanship of the highest quality. The Gruel bindery was managed by several family members over the years, most famously by Léon Gruel (1841-1923), and the list of binders who trained at the Gruel atelier is the most distinguished in Europe. The volume's provenance is suitably distinguished. According to Beverly Chew, the library of Robert Hoe (1839-1911), founding member and first president of the Grolier Club, was "the finest [America] has ever contained." Hoe acquired illuminated manuscripts, early printing (he owned a Gutenberg Bible on paper and one on vellum), fine bindings, French and English literature, and Americana, and when his library was sold in 1911-12, it fetched nearly $2 million, a record that held until the Streeter sale more than 50 years later.
Offered by Phillip J. Pirages and found in "2024 New Acquisitions List #8."
PRIMARY SOURCES, UNCHARTED AMERICANA
RABELAIS BOOKS ON FOOD & DRINK
RICHARD C. RAMER, OLD & RARE BOOKS
- E-list - Recent Acquisitions in Illustrated Americana & Literature *New*
- E-list - Recent Acquisitions in Illustrated Americana & LiteratureFirsts London Rare Book Fair *New*
- Voyages to the East: The Parsons Collection *New*
- E-list: American Photograph Albums *New*
- Americana E-list: Education *New*
- E-list - Wagner-Camp: Exploration, Travel & Adventure in the American West *New*
Featured item:
Borthwick, J.D.
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1857.
Considered one of the best accounts of life in the mines during the California gold rush, with excellent illustrations. J.D. Borthwick, a Scottish artist and journalist, left his native land in 1847 to see North America. Like many young men of his generation, Borthwick caught gold fever, and moved to San Francisco in 1851. He spent the next three years travelling throughout the California gold country, eagerly observing and sketching the people and places he encountered. This memoir about his time in gold country includes his experiences in mining camps near Sacramento, Coloma, Nevada City, San Andreas, Sonora, Jacksonville, Downieville, and Placerville. The book is generally regarded as one of the most entertaining first-person accounts of the early Gold Rush period. Wheat calls it "an outstanding account of mining life," while Streeter says, "I do not know of another story by an actual miner that is so well written and so true to that wonderful life in the Days of Gold." The handsome illustrations, drawn by the author, depict card games, dances, mining operations, and Chinese immigrants.
vi,[2],384pp. plus 16pp. of advertisements and eight lithographic plates including frontispiece. Publisher's blindstamped red cloth, spine gilt, expertly rebacked with original backstrip laid down. Cloth rubbed and lightly soiled, corners bumped. Modest tanning and foxing. Very good.
GRAFF 358. SABIN 6436. HOWES B622. ZAMORANO 80, 8. HILL 156. STREETER SALE 2817. COWAN, p.64. KURUTZ 65. WHEAT GOLD RUSH 21. REESE, BEST OF THE WEST 143.
Offered by William Reese Company and found in "Recent Acquisitions in Illustrated Americana & Literature."
- Catalog 53
- Catalog 52 (October 2023)
ROOTENBERG RARE BOOKS & MANUSCRIPTS
- Witches, Mystics & Quacks *New*
- History of Medicine *New*
Featured item:
ETTEILLA [ALLIETTE, Jean-Baptiste] [Jeu de tarot].
[Paris: B.P. Grimaud, 1890]. Deck of 78 chromolithographed playing cards, each with a central vignette with text above and below, a black line border around the vignette and outer edge, and the card number in the upper left and lower right corners. Versos are alike with a repeating blue floral field. In excellent condition. Later printing of the first 78-card tarot deck specifically designed for cartomancy. Designed by Jean-Baptiste Alliette, who went by the anagram Etteilla, this deck first appeared in 1788 and remains the standard of tarot today. Prior to its production, tarot decks varied widely, had fewer cards, and were not used to tell fortunes. Etteilla claimed that he learned about the 78-card method by reading the so-called “Book of Thoth,” a work of magic purportedly belonging to the Egyptian god of wisdom and later known as Hermes Trismegistus.
Offered by Rootenberg Rare Books & Manuscripts and found in "Witches, Mystics & Quacks" (item #3).
BARRY LAWRENCE RUDERMAN ANTIQUE MAPS, INC.
- Memorial Day *New*
- Recent Acquisitions (May 21, 2024) *New*
- Recent Acquisitions (May 14, 2024) *New*
- Recent Acquisitions (May 7, 2024) *New*
- Recent Acquisitions (April 30, 2024) *New*
- E-Catalogue #58: 30 Holiday Gift Ideas for 2023
- E-List #57 - Another World: Fantasy & Science Fiction
- Catalog 24-2: Suppression of Contagious Diseases
- Catalog 24-1 (January 2024)
Featured item:
Leipzig, Germany. Illustrite Zeitung (Illustrated Newspaper), Circa 1845. Disbound.
This wood engraving clipped from an unidentified edition of the Illustrite Zeitung (Illustrated Newspaper), known colloquially as the ‘Leipziger,’ is undated, but information on the reverse indicates that it was published by J. J. Weber of Leipzig, Germany. It is titled, Quarantine und Marinehosital fur Einwanderer auf Staten Island, Newyorf (Quarantine Station and Marine Hospital for Immigrants at Staten Island, New York). It is in nice shape with some light toning.
It can be dated as locations of the buildings and dock exactly as shown almost identically match those shown on a map of the grounds, “Marine Hospital Ground, Staten Island . . . made by John Ewein. Dated March 1845 . . . City Surveyor.” The large building in the foreground is “[St. Nicholas] Hospital.” The center building on the hill is the “Yellow Fever Hospital.” The building to the far right is the “Small Pox Hospital.” The small buildings on the “Wharf” and “Pier” are a “Shed” and “Store House.”
Between 1795 and 1798, Yellow Fever killed thousands in New York City, spurring passage of a quarantine law that funded the construction of the New York Marine Hospital on this site. At its peak, the hospital could house 1,500 patients and was treating more than 8,000 per year. Before landing at New York, all vessels were boarded by inspectors, and if they found any trace of disease, everyone was unloaded at the Quarantine. First-class passengers spent their quarantine at the St. Nicholas while lower-class passengers were held in shanties not visible in the wood engraving.
There was considerable local opposition to the hospital, both from land developers who wished to use the grounds for projects and locals who blamed outbreaks of disease on the passengers under quarantine. The tension escalated and in 1856, a local health board prohibited anyone, including staff, from exiting the building by land. On the first of September 1858, the same board passed a resolution declaring the facility to be ”a pest and a nuisance of the most odious character, bringing death and desolation to the very doors of the people [who must abate] this abominable nuisance without delay.” That night a giant mob attacked the hospital, and after evacuating patients and staff from the buildings, burned most of the complex to the ground. The following night, they burned the rest. When later brought to trial, the mob leaders were acquitted, the jury deciding that they had acted in self-defense.
In his semi-autobiographical novel, Redbun: His First Voyage, Herman Mehlville recounts a typical chaotic scene as ships were searched and inspected by health officials and later expresses relief when upon returning to New York harbor as his ship passed the Staten Island complex, apparently unnoticed by port officials, and escaped inspection.
(For more information, see Stephenson’s “"The Quarantine War: the Burning of the New York Marine Hospital in 1858" in the Jan-Feb 2004 issue of Public Health Reports, available online.)
Uncommon. Wood engravings of the Staten Island hospital from illustrated magazines and auctions occasionally appear at auction. The majority are post-attack illustrations showing the ruins or replacement buildings.
Offered by Kurt A. Santfleben, LLC. and found in "Catalog 24-2."
- A Handfull of 19th Century American Books
- Wines and Viticulture - 17 items from 4 centuries
- List: 150th Anniversary of Mendeleev's Periodic System
- California Book Fair 2019: 130 Items on Science and Medicine is now available on request from scientiabk@gmail.com...
- Occasional List 84, Type Specimens and Printing *New*
- Occasional List 83: Numerous Convolutions of Tubes
Featured item:
Letterproef: Spécimen de Caractères.
[Amsterdam]: N. V. Lettergieterij “Amsterdam” voorheen N. Tetterode, [1932]. First edition. Large 8vo (10.63 x 7.88 inches), original red cloth stamped in silver, xx, 432 pages + 114a-h. Illus. Some darkening to the cloth, spine just a trifle rubbed; a nearly fine copy.
A later issue of the [1932] specimen, bound with (as issued) the [ca. 1935] supplement. A substantial specimen, including ornaments and borders, with the promotional text in both Dutch and French. Dating of this specimen taken from the catalog record at the Dutch Koninklijke Bibliotheek, which notes the publication of a separate supplemental price list dated January, 1933. Contemporary violet ink stamp to the front free endpaper for the Swedish sales representative in Stockholm.
Offered by Garrett Scott, Bookseller and found in "Occasional List 84."
- E-List #88: New Arrivals *New*
- E-List #87: Multi-Volume Sets *New*
- E-List #86: New Arrivals *New*
- E-list #85: Horology, Mechanics, and the History of Science *New*
- E-List #84: New Arrivals *New*
MARC SELVAGGIO, BOOKS & EPHEMERA
- May Miscellany II, a FS List *New*
- May Miscellany, a for sale list *New*
- National Nurses' Week. A FS List *New*
Featured item:
U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, U.S. Public Health Service / Federal Security Agency - Contributors. Edmundson, Carolyn Moorhead [1906 - 1992] - Illustrator.
New York, NY: U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, (n. d.). Single poster, printed recto only. Large color half-tone illustration by Edmundson of a hopeful and beautiful Cadet Nurse, looking off into the distance in uniform. 20" x 14-1/8". Buff paper, printed in color. Now housed in a clear archival mylar sleeve. Light age-toning. Horizontal & vertical fold lines. A VG+ copy.
The Cadet Nurse Corps program was passed by Congress unanimously and became effective in July of 1943. The Corps was supervised by the United States Public Health Service to train (hopefully) 124,000 young women as nurses during World War II. The plan was to subsidize over 1000 nursing schools for a three-year training program after which they graduates could, if they so desired, become commissioned officers in the Army or Navy nurse corps. The war ended before the first Cadets graduated and only a few entered the military. In its lifetime (1943-48), it was the largest training program in the history of nursing in the United States.
Offered by Tavistock Books and found in "National Nurses' Week."
Featured item:
Broadside. Gerold & Son, ( ca. 1900), Vienna. Color lithograph, 28 x 38 1/2 inches.
I just love this image – the happy old fellow cavorting in Arctic seas, with no idea of the trouble he’s about to encounter. Gerold & Son were an old Austrian printing firm. Between 1880 and the 1920s they produced “Hartinger’s Wall Plates for the Education in Natural History,” a series of zoological and botanical chromolithographs designed for educational use in schools. This delightful image by Joseph Fleischmann shows a right whale, floating impossibly high in the water (for educational reasons, I’m sure) with a whale boat bearing down and the mother ship in the distance. As befits its subject, the lithograph is huge, measuring 28 x 38 1/2 inches. Very good condition.
Offered by Ten Pound Island Book Company and found in "Maritime List 343."
MICHAEL R. THOMPSON RARE BOOKS
- Advertising: Cosmetics, Home Goods, Quack Medicine, School Supplies, and More
- Illustrated Books: Chromolithography, Fables, Fine Printing, Women Illustrators, and More
Featured item:
Adams, Richard
New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., (1973). First US edition. Fine. Hardcover / Near fine. 8vo. ix,(3),429,(1) pp. A fine copy. The dustwrapper is clipped, and we note a small, nearly invisible stain on the rear cover, else it is near fine.
The first printing of the US edition, with the full number line on the copyright page; cream-colored binding; and with 70003 on the rear board. The dustwrapper is also first state, with the rabbit and compass repeated on the rear panel; a price of $6.95; and blurbs from UK entities. Author's first book and a classic adventure novel. Winner of the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize.
Offered by Thorn Books and found in "May Short List."
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by James Baldwin
1962. First edition, review copy with publisher's publicity photo laid in of novel that Baldwin said "makes GIOVANNI seem conservative—almost square."
Fine in very good plus jacket.
Offered by Type Punch Matrix and found in "James Baldwin Catalog."
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[214] pp., including 90 full-page illustrated plates (most full colour) of maps, graphs and photographs. Folio, 470 x 360 mm., bound in half black cloth with illustrated covers. Athens: Aspioti-Elka, 1945.
An astonishing piece of bookmaking, especially given the time at which it was produced. The illustrations, many of which involve Isotypes, are nothing short of stunning, and completely overshadow the subject matter, much in the manner of the pre-war Soviet books. Of great rarity, with OCLC recording only one copy, at the University of Alberta.
Offered by Ursus Rare Books and found in "Isotypes & Infographics."
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JOHN WINDLE ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLER
Feaured item:
ANONYMOUS. A mid-18th century manuscript ‘price book’ for the costs of building construction.
Tours, 1758. A very fine copy in the original motttled calf binding, with beautifully gilt spine and dark red lettering piece. Entirely written in one hand, easily legible throughout. The work, probably written by an entrepreneur (or in modern terminology a ‘developer’) for his own use of for the training of his workmen, reports the costs of the different materials and estimates for projects: excavation and embankment, masonry, plastering, framing, tile roofing, straw or slate ditto, carpentry, locksmithing, painting, glazing, etc. - all the various building t r ade s. Such ‘p rice books’, as they are called in English, were more common in the U. K. than in France (at least to judge by the survival of printed price books). The book also includes prices for horse-drawn carts and carriages, combining carpentry, metal working and harness making.
8vo, bound in full mottled calf, gilt spine, red edges. 14+(ii) +149 pp. As noted. a beautiful copy. Unique.
Offered by Charles B. Wood, Bookseller and found in "Catalogue 197."
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ST. VINCENT DE PAUL (1581-1660)
Regulae seu constitutiones communes congregationis Missionis
Paris: 1658. The first edition of the rules of the Congregation of the Mission, the religious society founded by St. Vincent de Paul. Founded in 1625, the society was concerned especially with charitable works and expanded rapidly in Europe and abroad. The edition offered here is the only one published during the saint's lifetime and includes an exhortation by Vincent to this followers. There are several variants of this first edition, some have a different engraved portrait of Vincent, others have a different spelling on the title-page, and still others include an errata sheet at the end (this one does not). 12mo (12 x 6.5cm), [iv], 112pp., [ii]. Engraved title-page, engraved portrait, and engraved plate of Christ. Bound in contemporary calf, some wear to spine.
Offered by Zinos Books and found in "New Arrivals."
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