|
||
|
Catalogue 254 New Acquisitions |
||
|
Section II: Brady to Coxe |
||
|
Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
|
After Daguerreotypes by Brady 21. Brady, Mathew B. [photographer], and Charles Edwards Lester [editor]: THE GALLERY OF ILLUSTRIOUS AMERICANS, CONTAINING THE PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES...OF THE MOST EMINENT CITIZENS OF THE AMERICAN REPUBLIC, SINCE THE DEATH OF WASHINGTON. FROM DAGUERREOTYPES BY BRADY – ENGRAVED BY d’AVIGNON. New York: M.B. Brady, F. d’Avignon, C. Edwards Lester, 1850. First series (all published). Letterpress presentation leaf. Twelve lithographic portraits, mounted on India paper, by d’Avignon, eleven after daguerreotypes by Brady and one after a painting by S. Gambardella. Folio, 21¼ x 15 inches. Original red cloth, covers with large elaborate blocked design, in gilt on the upper and blind on the lower cover, a.e.g., expertly rebacked in matching cloth. Some minor age-toning at edges of leaves, otherwise in near fine condition internally. A famous and very rare work, including portraits of John James Audubon, President Zachary Taylor, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay, from daguerreotypes by Mathew Brady, the most famous American photographer of the mid-19th century. The series is made up of twelve portraits, all but one from Brady’s daguerreotypes, accompanied by biographical descriptions. It was intended as a celebration of the United States during the first half of the 19th century through the "noble deeds" of its most famous citizens. "In this Gallery, therefore, will be grouped together those American citizens, who...have rendered the most signal [sic] services to the Nation, since the death of the Father of the Republic. As there is nothing sectional in the scope of this work, it will be comprehensive in its spirit; and it is hoped that it may...bind the Union still more firmly together" (from the prefatory "Salutation"). By the mid-1840s, Mathew Brady was one of the busiest and most prominent daguerreotype artists. Not content merely to take the portraits of ordinary Americans, he worked to lure the most prominent Americans of the age before his camera, seeking to immortalize them and to promote his own career in turn. Brady often offered desirable subjects a free sitting, asking only to keep the second and third exposures for his own collection. The Gallery... had its roots in 1845 when "Brady, the commercial photographer, became Brady the historian, who used a camera as Bancroft did his pen. It was in this year that Brady began work on the tremendous project of preserving for posterity the pictures of all distinguished Americans, which he planned to publish in a massive volume with the...title of The Gallery of Illustrious Americans...The year 1850 was...a milestone in Brady’s life; his dream of having his Gallery...published became a reality" – Horan. With Brady as the senior partner, the work was a joint publishing venture between the journalist and author, Charles Edwards Lester, who undertook to write the biographical sketches "with brevity, impartiality and truth"; lithographer F. d’Avignon, whose work was "regarded in the schools of Europe as equal to those of the best artists of London and Paris"; and Mathew Brady, who "has been many years collecting portraits for a National Gallery, and in accomplishment of his object he has experienced the utmost courtesy and encouragement from eminent men. His reputation in his art has been too long established to need commendation." "On the first day of the new year the book was issued by D’Avignon’s Press...It received fine notices from the Herald and other New York newspapers, but the public was apathetic and sales were disappointing. Brady had paid D’Avignon a hundred dollars apiece for each one of the lithographic stones and Brady soon recognized the book as a critical success but a financial failure" – Horan. The quality of Brady’s photographs and of d’Avignon’s lithographs is indeed indisputable. "The lithographs are among the finest ever produced from daguerreotype originals" – Pfister. Robert Taft notes that though The Gallery... was not a financial success, "its portraits are among the best surviving ones of the time; and again the credit must go largely to Brady." From the title it is clear that Brady originally planned to issue a second series of twelve portraits, but according to Horan, Brady "reluctantly abandoned the project." Sabin claims that the work was completed in 1856, but there are no extant copies of this second part, and it appears that Sabin was mistaken in this case. The subjects of the work are as follow: 1) "General Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States, Born in Orange County, Virginia, A.D. 1784. Died July 9th., 1850." 2) "John Caldwell Calhoun, Born in Abeville District, South Carolina, A.D. 1782. Died March 31st., 1850." 3) "Daniel Webster, Born in Salisbury, New Hampshire, 18 Jan. A.D. 1782." 4) "Silas Wright, Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, May 24, A.D. 1795. Died, Aug. 27, 1847." 5) "Henry Clay, Born in Hanover County, Virginia, April 12th, A.D. 1777." 6) "John Charles Fremont, Born in South Carolina, Jan., A.D. 1813." 7) "John James Audubon, Born in Louisiana, May 4th, A.D. 1780 [sic]." 8) "William Hickling Prescott, Born in Salem, Massachusetts, May 4th, A.D. 1796." 9) "General Winfield Scott, Born in Virginia, June 13th, A.D. 1786." 10) "President Fillmore, Born in Cayuga Co., New York, Jan. 7th, A.D. 1800." 11) "William Ellery Channing, Born in Newport, Rhode Island, April 7th, A.D. 1780. Died Oct. 2d., 1842." 12) "Lewis Cass, Born in Exeter, New Hampshire, October 9th., A.D. 1782." SABIN 40221 (mistakenly calls for a second series). J.D. Horan, Mathew Brady Historian with a Camera, pp.10-14. Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt, et al, Mathew Brady and His World, pp.47-48. Harold Francis Pfister, Facing the Light: Historic American Portrait Daguerreotypes, p.22. Robert Taft, Photography and the American Scene, pp.59-60. $22,500. Classic of Early Tennessee 22. Breazeale, J.W.M.: LIFE AS IT IS; OR MATTERS AND THINGS IN GENERAL: CONTAINING, AMONGST OTHER THINGS, HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE EXPLORATION AND FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE; MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS; THEIR WARS WITH THE INDIANS; BATTLE OF KING’S MOUNTAIN; HISTORY OF THE HARPS, (TWO NOTED MURDERERS).... Knoxville: James Williams, 1842. 256pp. 12mo. Original half cloth and paper covered boards, paper label. Boards lightly stained, paper label chipped and rubbed. Two leaves with closed tears but no loss of text. A few light fox marks, but on the whole very clean internally. Overall, a very good copy, in original condition. A most important book, recording in detail the history of conflict between the settlers in Tennessee and the Indians, from 1690 to date, including accounts of massacres, captivities, and depredations, the Cherokee war, Blount’s campaign, the effects of lack of federal military aid for the inhabitants during the wars with Britain, etc. Breazeale continues with a general history of Tennessee, an account of his expectations for future prospects, and a full chapter devoted to the notorious Harpes. "Deserves a place in every Tennessee historical library" – Horn. Rare, and very seldom offered for sale. HOWES B741, "aa." AII (TENNESSEE) 44. ALLEN, TENNESSEE IMPRINTS 1850. SABIN 7651. STREETER SALE 1670. SOME TENNESSEE RARITIES 39. HORN, TWENTY TENNESSEE BOOKS 9. $3000. The Terrors of the Colonies 23. [British Emigration]: Heath, Henry: THE DELIGHTS OF EMIGRATION! [Np, but England. nd, but ca. 1830]. Handcolored etching, 13½ x 9¾ inches. Edges closely trimmed (slightly affecting a few letters of title) and worn, corners cut. Colors bright and fresh, slight soiling to small portion image, margins age-toned. Mounted on two layers of backing paper. A good copy. Archivally matted, protected with mylar sheet. A fine satirical print by Henry Heath composed of two images illustrating a few of the difficulties for British emigrants in the tropics. The image on the left, "Rambling in a Wood enjoying the Beauties of retired Nature!," shows two Englishmen on a walk harassed by monkeys, scorpions, and snakes (including a brightly colored specimen wrapped around a tree). The companion image on the right, "Gardening under a Vertical Sun & worried by Musquitos!," shows three emigrants coping with mosquitoes while attempting to work in the mid-day sun. One man is swatting the insects with a shovel, a second attempts to protect himself with mosquito netting and a large hat, and the third is sitting down with fatigue. A black man in the background watches the three men with a smile. Drawn in a free, sketch-like style, with fine hand-coloring, the print provides a humorous view of British settlers in the tropics. Henry Heath, possibly the brother of watercolorist and caricaturist William Heath, was active as a draftsman, etcher, and lithographer between circa 1824 and 1850. "He was a versatile and imitative artist, working in the loose and coarse Heath manner between the years 1824-30. He did imitation caricatures in the style of John Doyle...and etched vignettes in the style of Cruikshank and lithographs in the style of Seymour from 1834. He was employed to make political caricatures by Spooner, the publisher, and his work was collected and published by Charles Tilt" – Houfe. Houfe, Dictionary of 19th Century British Book Illustrators, p.173 (Heath). MACKENZIE, BRITISH PRINTS, p.155 (Heath). $900. 24. Bullock, William: CATALOGUE OF THE EXHIBITION CALLED MODERN MEXICO; CONTAINING A PANORAMIC VIEW OF THE CITY, WITH SPECIMENS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW SPAIN, AND MODELS OF THE VEGETABLE PRODUCE, COSTUME, &c..... London: Printed for the Proprietor, 1824. 28pp. plus folding frontis. Modern half cloth and paper boards, gilt morocco label on front board. Near fine. Bullock, an Englishman, toured the Valley of Mexico in 1823, and mounted an exhibition of his natural history findings, also containing a large panorama of Mexico City, at Egyptian Hall in London the next year. In this pamphlet, intended to accompany the exhibition, Bullock describes the natural history he encountered, and describes the contents of dozens of the cases in the exhibit. The plate shows a scene of visitors examining Bullock’s exhibit at Egyptian Hall. The NUC identifies two, and OCLC three, differing versions of this text, all produced in 1824 and each known in only a few copies. We can locate three copies of the present issue, at the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Library of Congress, and the Boston Athenaeum. Rare. SABIN 9136. OCLC 47365564. $1000. A Great Rarity of Midwestern Travel 25. [Buttrick, Tilly, Jr.]: VOYAGES, TRAVELS AND DISCOVERIES OF TILLY BUTTRICK, JR. Boston: Printed for the author, 1831. 58pp. 12mo. Dbd. Old leather square affixed to verso of titlepage, causing the paper to wrinkle, otherwise very clean and fresh. A very good copy. In a half morocco box. Buttrick, a native of Massachusetts, had made a voyage to the Pacific and one to the West Indies. He was taken captive while travelling through Canada at the outbreak of the War of 1812 and held as prisoner on parole until an influential friend enabled him to be released. In July 1814, he commenced a journey down the Allegheny with four companions, covering 270 miles in eight days. They travelled on to Louisville and Cincinnati, returning by horseback. In March 1815, Buttrick left Olean on a flat boat, went to New Orleans, then returned to Cincinnati. "...The most interesting part of his narrative details his suffering in returning. This terrible journey from New Orleans through the Indian country to Cincinnati he performed entirely on foot, generally alone, always sick, often hungry, and sometimes nearly starved" – Thomson. He reached Cincinnati after a grueling forty-seven days. A rare work, earning a "c" from Howes, and the Streeter copy brought $900 in 1967. An interesting and very rare travel narrative which Streeter calls "One of the best accounts of a flat boatman’s return overland...." STREETER SALE 844. GRAFF 529. HOWES B1073, "c." JONES 214. SABIN 9679. THOM-SON 148. $10,000. Attack on Cotton Mather’s 26. Calef, Robert: MORE WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD: OR, THE WONDERS OF THE INVISIBLE WORLD, DISPLAY’D IN FIVE PARTS.... Salem, Ma. 1796 [i.e. 1797]. 318pp. plus [2]pp. ads. Contemporary calf, neatly rebacked, retaining original gilt morocco label. Titlepage and first few leaves of text heavily toned in margins, scattered foxing. Armorial bookplate of Philip Richard Fendall on front pastedown; gift inscription to Fendall on verso of title-leaf, signed "F. Parker." First American edition, after the first London edition of 1700, and not actually published before May 1797. This well-reasoned castigation of the proceedings of the courts in Massachusetts was written by Robert Calef, a Boston merchant, in response to Cotton Mather’s Wonders of the Invisible World, wherein Mather set forth his account of the supposed cases of witchcraft in Massachusetts. Calef attacks Mather personally, as well as the hysteria engendered by the witch scare. The first copies of the original edition of this book to reach Boston were supposedly burned. The present copy was part of the library of Philip Richard Kendall and bears his armorial bookplate and a gift inscription to him. Fendall (1794-1867) was District Attorney of Washington, D.C. from 1841 to 1845 and from 1849 to 1853. SABIN 9926. HOWES C25. EVANS 30149. $1250. With an Extraordinary Folding Plate 27. Campbell, Patrick: TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR INHABITED PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA. IN THE YEARS 1791 AND 1792. IN WHICH IS GIVEN AN ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS, AND THE PRESENT WAR BETWEEN THEM AND THE FEDERAL STATES, THE MODE OF LIFE AND SYSTEM OF FARMING AMONG THE NEW SETTLERS OF BOTH CANADAS, NEW YORK, NEW ENGLAND, NEW BRUNSWICK, AND NOVA SCOTIA; INTERSPERSED WITH ANECDOTES OF PEOPLE, OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOIL, NATURAL PRODUCTIONS, AND POLITICAL SITUATION OF THESE COUNTRIES. Edinburgh. 1793. [2],x,387,[1]pp. plus three plates and folding table. Half title. Modern three quarter speckled calf and cloth, ornate gilt tooled spine, t.e.g. Internally very clean. Minor repair at top of frontis. Very good, untrimmed. With the bookplate of noted Americana collector C.G. Littell, in a sturdy half morocco clamshell case typical of books from his collection. "The author, a Scottish gentleman, travelled to Canada and New York State for his own amusement and to determine whether his countrymen who planned to emigrate to America might be better off staying home. Despite this stated purpose, his narrative, written ‘on the stumps of trees occasionally’ while he travelled, is free of the prejudice against things American usually found in British tourists of the period. Campbell was particularly interested in the quality of the farms he saw on both sides of the St. Lawrence, and the pride freeholders took in their homesteads. The delightful plate ‘Plan of an American new cleared Farm’ illustrates both the raw, stump-filled landscape of the agricultural frontier and the uses to which the wood was put. Besides farm dwellings and outbuildings, four different types of wooden fence are shown: a plain log fence, a post and rail fence, the worm fence made of split poles, and the Virginia rail fence of crossed stakes" – Reese & Miles. Campbell’s itinerary included St. Johns, New Brunswick, Fredericton, Quebec, Montreal, Kingston, Niagara, Grand River, Genesee County, the Mohawk River, and Albany. The author travelled with his gun and faithful dog through the wilderness or in birch bark canoes (wonderfully depicted in the plates). Campbell includes an account of the life of his guide, David Ramsay, which in itself is a fascinating frontier and Indian captivity narrative. The Siebert copy realized $17,250 at Sotheby’s in May 1999. HOWES C101, "c." SABIN 10264. TPL 636. VAIL 933. REESE & MILES, CREATING AMERICA 49. LITTELL 134. $16,000. Early Wall Street Speculators 28. Capricorn, Cornelius [pseud]: SPECULATIONS ON THE COMET. New York: James Kelly, 1832. 43pp. 12mo. Original printed wrappers. Heavily worn, rear wrapper detached. Moderate foxing throughout. A good copy. The anonymous Capricorn as narrator encounters several individuals of varying classes, each of whom speculate on what an approaching apocryphal comet might mean for them. Wall Street as described in the introduction appears hauntingly familiar. WRIGHT 479 (3 copies). $750. Rare Edition of Carey’s Important Atlas 29. Carey, Mathew: CAREY’S GENERAL ATLAS. Philadelphia: M. Carey, 1800. Forty-nine engraved maps, including twenty-six double-page or folding. "A Map of the part of the N.W. Territory of the United States" printed on heavy paper and colored in outline in a contemporary hand. Folio, 17 x 14 inches. Expertly bound to style in half russia over contemporary speckled paper-covered boards, the flat spine divided into six compartments by double gilt fillets, red morocco lettering-piece in the second compartment. Occasional expert repairs in margins and at folds. Carey’s American Atlas, printed in 1795 with twenty-one maps, was the first atlas printed in America. Carey’s General Atlas was first published in 1796 with forty-five maps. Most of the present atlas is devoted to the Americas, with twenty-seven of the forty-nine maps being of the region. Of the twenty-seven, the majority concern the United States and its territories, and incorporate the latest geographical knowledge available by what was to become one of the premier mapping firms in the United States. Two additional important maps, not included in the 1796 edition, are map 46, "Seven Ranges of Townships...laid out by Congress," and map 47, "Part of the North Western Territory by Samuel Lewis," dated 1796. Not in Rumsey. PHILLIPS ATLASES 3535. SABIN 10858. $37,500. 30. Carey, Mathew: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHER MATHEW CAREY TO WASHINGTON, D.C. EDITOR AND ATTORNEY PHILIP R. FENDALL, JR., REGARDING FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS, AND CAREY’S VIEWS ON THE STATE OF THE NATION]. Philadelphia. Oct. 3, 1829. [2]pp. on a folded folio sheet, third page blank, fourth page with manuscript address and docketing. Old fold lines. Near fine. A pessimistic and despairing letter from the famed Philadelphia publisher and editor, Mathew Carey. The letter is written to Philip R. Fendall, Jr., a Washington, D.C. attorney who at the time was serving as editor of the National Journal, and would be the District Attorney of Washington, D.C. in the 1840s. Carey begins the letter by chastising Fendall for not writing to him, noting that he has sent Fendall two letters without a response. The first letter concerned the state of financial accounts between the two men. Carey writes: "In my second letter I gave you a full account of my views of the present state of things & the gloomy prospects of the country...We are a degenerate people, & unworthy of the splendid (though far from faultless) form of government bequeathed to us, which we shall not long enjoy." $750. Third and Best Edition 31. Carver, Jonathan: TRAVELS THROUGH THE INTERIOR PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE YEARS 1766, 1767, AND 1768.... London. 1781. [4],22,[18],543,[21]pp. plus six plates (three colored) and two partially colored folding maps. Contemporary calf, expertly rebacked. Internally quite nice and very good. A classic of American travel, in the third and best edition, with expanded text, a biographical sketch of the author, an index, and the added plate of the tobacco plant not found in the first two editions. Carver travelled farther west than any Englishman before the Revolution, going as far as the Dakotas, exploring the headwaters of the Mississippi and passing over the Great Lakes. The text contains the first published mention of the word "Oregon." The author comments on the Indians he encountered, as well as offering observations on natural history. The tobacco plant plate is handsomely colored. An important source book and stimulus for later explorers, especially Mackenzie and Lewis and Clark. This is the second issue, according to Howes, with the index. HOWES C215, "b." FIELD 251. SABIN 11184. VAIL 670. GREENLY 21. $3500. A Monument of Early Mayan Archeology 32. Catherwood, Frederick: VIEWS OF ANCIENT MONUMENTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA, CHIAPAS AND YUCATAN. London: F. Catherwood, 1844. Chromolithographed title by Owen Jones printed in red, blue, and gold; lithographic map printed in red and black, twenty-five tinted lithographic plates after Catherwood. Folio, 21¼ x 14¼ inches. Contemporary green moiré cloth-covered boards, titled in gilt "Catherwood’s Views / in Central America / Chiapas and Yucatan" at center of upper cover, expertly rebacked to style in green morocco, titled in gilt on spine, yellow glazed endpapers. Very good. "In the whole range of literature on the Maya there has never appeared a more magnificent work" – Von Hagen. This beautiful and rare plate book was printed in an edition of 300 copies. It is seldom found in presentable condition, and it is one of the first and primary visual records of the rediscovery of Mayan civilization. Until the publication of the work of Alfred Maudslay at the turn of the century, this was the greatest record of Mayan iconography. Frederick Catherwood was a British architect and artist with a strong interest in archaeology. these combined talents led him to accompany American traveller and explorer John Lloyd Stephens on two trips to the Mayan region of southern Mexico in 1839 and 1841. These explorations resulted in Stephens’ two famous works, Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan and Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. These immensely popular works, foundation stones in Mayan studies, were both illustrated by Catherwood and inspired him to undertake the larger portfolio. Views... was produced in London, although issued with both London and New York titlepages. Catherwood recruited some of the most distinguished lithographers in London to translate his originals onto stone: Andrew Picken, Henry Warren, William Parrott, John C. Bourne, Thomas Shotter Boys, and George Belton Moore. The beautiful titlepage was executed by Owen Jones. Three hundred sets were produced, most of them tinted, as in the present copy (there is a colored issue on card stock which is exceedingly rare). The views depict monuments and buildings at Copan, Palenque, Uxmal, Las Monjas, Chichen Itza, Tulum, and several scattered sights. The work of Stephens and Catherwood received great praise, but neither lived to enjoy it long. Stephens died in 1852 of malaria contracted in Colombia, and Catherwood went down on a steamship in the North Atlantic in 1854. "Catherwood belongs to a species, the artist-archaeologist, which is all but extinct. Piranesi was the most celebrated specimen and Catherwood his not unworthy successor" – Aldous Huxley. Not in Abbey. PALAU 50290. SABIN 11520. TOOLEY 133. Von Hagen, Search for the Maya, pp.320-24. GROCE & WALLACE, p.115. HILL 263. $75,000. Wonderful George Catlin Letter 33. Catlin, George: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM GEORGE CATLIN TO AMERICAN ARTIST GEORGE HARVEY, RELATING AN OFFER FROM THE FRENCH EMPEROR TO BUY CATLIN’S AMERICAN INDIAN PAINTINGS]. Ostende. Nov. 20, 1864. [4]pp. written on a single folded 8 x 10-inch sheet. Old stain along lower portion of center fold. One small tear in center fold expertly repaired, with no loss. Near fine. An interesting and evocative letter from George Catlin regarding his life’s work and the future of his Indian paintings. Financial troubles plagued Catlin throughout his life, and in this letter, written to his close friend, artist George Harvey, he relates a plan by which he might sell his collections to the French government. Catlin writes, in part: "...by the enclosed letter from Paris [not included here, as Harvey apparently returned it to Catlin – see below] – from the Emperor’s house, you will see I have a ‘nibble’ a symptom. This is a plan started without my knowledge (as this letter was the first I heard of it) in Paris by Monsieur Mérimeé, a member of Deputies, & Marshall Vaillant, Minister of the Emperor’s household, as you see, and, as you will say, ‘all the better.’ The gentleman who wrote the letter came expressly from Paris & spent a day with me to get my terms, inventory &c of my collections & has returned to Paris, to make his ‘Rapport.’ I have furnished him the following items – to make them short – for 50,000 dollars I will agree to sell my entire collection of North Amn Indian paintings & Indian manufacturies, as exhibited in Paris (furnishing them the catalogue) together with my collections made west of the Rocky Mountains in 1856 & 1857. I will agree to proceed immediately to N. York and take my collections all to Paris, spend an entire year in finishing up the paintings and arranging them, the gov’t – engaging to have ready at that time a hall sufficiently large to show to advantage the whole collections – with a central sky-light, lighting equally and clearly both walls, allowing me to arrange & classify the collections in my own way – the said hall – to perpetuate the collection in such hall [the previous three words struck through] under the title of ‘Catlin’s N. Amn Indian Collection’ and the 50,000 dollars to be paid when the collection is finished and arranged. "What may grow out of this I can’t tell – it may, possibly, result in the sale of my collection, though so un-like my luck, that I don’t believe it – yet ‘stranger things have happened.’ If it should so happen, none can better appreciate than yourself, the satisfaction I should feel in seeing the works of my toilsome life thus treasured up and protected for the world to gaze at after I am off, – and the satisfaction it would afford me of being elevated for a little time, just at the end of my life, above the atmosphere of thieves and blackguards. These gentlemen are setting a high value on my works, but I have not a particle of faith in the Emperor. "The plan is so far in secrecy, not a soul here knowing anything of it, and I wish you, at present, to keep it close. Be good enough in your next, to enclose the Paris letter." Catlin closes with a comment on the still ongoing American Civil War: "I have been so anxiously awaiting the news from N. York, and which we ought to have rec’d yesterday or today, that I am almost too nervous to write – I am imagining bloodshed & fires in the northern cities, at the time of the Election & I shall be thankful to Heaven if it has been avoided." George Harvey (1800-78), a British-born artist who moved to the United States in 1820, was best known for his portraits, landscapes, and "atmospheric views." In 1841 he published Harvey’s Scenes in the Primitive Forests of North America in a very small edition. Harvey was one of George Catlin’s most loyal friends, and it was Harvey who arranged for the exhibition of Catlin’s paintings in New York when Catlin returned to the United States after thirty years abroad. Harvey wrote a very sympathetic appreciation of Catlin for the New York Evening Post in December 1872 the day after Catlin died, in which he proposed a plan to permanently exhibit Catlin’s Indian paintings in New York. As it turned out Catlin’s paintings were not sold to the French government, nor were they permanently exhibited in New York. Much of his work was saved by the intercession of Philadelphia locomotive tycoon Joseph Harrison, eventually finding its way to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery of Art. Any substantive letter from George Catlin, especially one so clearly relating his ongoing frustrations with marketing and placing his work, is rare on the market. $8500. The Second American Census 34. [Census]: RETURN OF THE WHOLE NUMBER OF PERSONS WITHIN THE SEVERAL DISTRICTS OF THE UNITED STATES: ACCORDING TO "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE SECOND CENSUS OR ENUMERATION OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE UNITED STATES," PASSED FEBRUARY THE TWENTY EIGHTH, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED. Washington: Printed at the Apollo Press, by Wm. Duane & Son, 1802. [5]-88pp. plus folding table. Antique style half calf and marbled boards, leather label. Light tanning and foxing. Very good, untrimmed. The octavo edition of the complete returns of the second American census (the first to be printed by official order), following the very rare folio edition of the previous year. When the delegates of the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia in 1787, the population of America was a great unknown. Aside from the expected reduction in the male population due to the recent war, hoards of Loyalists had fled to Canada, while throughout the 1780s large numbers of families sought new opportunities in the frontier along the Ohio. These dramatic shifts, combined with a known but unquantified increase in the number of births per annum, created a definite need for some sort of official count. Under Madison’s leadership, six categories were determined for the first American census of 1790: heads of family, free white males over sixteen, free white males under sixteen, free white females, other free persons, and slaves. Despite the usual hesitancy of the people to offer such personal information to government officials, the effort was a resounding success. But due to rapid growth and increased contact with Indians, it was clear that the next census would require even more statistical enumeration. In early 1800, Congress passed an act mandating a new census. The present effort contains a new layer of schedules, including places of residence, new age group brackets for free white males and females, and, most importantly, the qualification that untaxed Indians be left off the roll of "other free persons." All of the states are represented, as well as the aforementioned territories and other regions such as the eastern and western districts of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the District of Columbia, here noted as part of Virginia. Such luminaries as Thomas Jefferson and Timothy Dwight of Yale called for even more specific information such as economic standing, occupation, and distinctions between immigrant and natural-born free people; but Congress, for now, ignored their appeals. The total population, with corrections, is given as 5,307,782. A most important record of the growth of the United States, at a key moment in the history of American demography. HOWES R221. SABIN 70147. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 3442. SOWERBY 3289. Anderson, The American Census, pp.14-23. Cassedy, Demography in Early America, pp.206-42. $1750. 35. [Chase Brothers Nurseries]: [NURSERY SPECIMEN BOOK]. Rochester, N.Y. [ca. 1880]. 164 leaves consisting of 157 chromolithograph plates and seven photomechanical plates (one handcolored, one with text on verso). Oblong 12mo. Later 20th-century calf, boards and spine gilt, "The Chase Nurseries" gilt on front cover. Some plates abraded with slight loss due to earlier adhesion of leaves, some plates lightly worn at edges. A few plates cracking near inner gutter, one plate torn (bottom half lacking). A good copy. A specimen book of fruits and flowers compiled for the Chase Brothers Nursery Company of Rochester, consisting primarily of chromolithograph plates printed by two firms in that city, the Rochester Lithography Company and the Stecher Lithography Company. The volume also includes seven photomechanical plates showing the nursery’s buildings, orchards, and specific products. There is no titlepage, but the first two leaves are both photomechanical reproductions with the caption "The Chase Nurseries The R.G. Chase Company." Other photomechanical plates also include the firm’s name. A good copy of a turn-of-the century nursery specimen book, displaying examples of both chromolithographic and photographic reproduction techniques. $1500. 36. Church, Elijah Dwight: A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS RELATING TO THE DISCOVERY AND EARLY HISTORY OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA FORMING A PART OF THE LIBRARY OF E.D. CHURCH. COMPILED AND ANNOTATED BY GEORGE WATSON COLE. New York. 1907. Five volumes. Illustrated with facsimiles. Quarto. Later red buckram. Very good. A classic and finely printed catalogue of Americana, covering the period from 1482 to 1884, especially useful for the early period of travel and discovery. Contains the best descriptions of the publications of De Bry and Hulsius. Church’s entire collection now resides at the Huntington Library. $3500. 37. [Civil War]: ON THE RUN! AN M.C. ON THE ROAD TO WASHINGTON, ON THE NIGHT OF THE FIGHT AT BULL RUN WHO ATTRIBUTED HIS SAFETY TO THE FACT THAT HE WORE A PAIR OF MAULDIN & CO’S IRREPRESSIBLE BOOTS! THE EASE, ELASTICITY, STRENGTH AND DURABILITY OF WHICH AIDED HIM IN DISTANCING ALL COMPETITORS!...[caption title]. [Indianapolis. 1861]. Broadside, 18¾ x 6¼ inches, with 4 x 4-inch woodcut illustration on top quarter of sheet. Old folds, very minor soiling. Pencil inscriptions of sums on recto. Entire verso inscribed in pencil with notes (accounts? inventory notes?) dated between Dec. 17, 1858 and July 10, 1860. A very good copy. A fine and amusing illustrated Civil War-era broadside advertising boots for sale at the Mauldin & Co. store in Indianapolis. Printed after the first major battle of the Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run, the text refers to the retreat of Union Forces on July 21-22, 1861 under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell, noting that an M.C. (assumedly a Member of Congress, portrayed on the run in the woodcut illustration) was able to safely escape due to his footwear from the Indiana firm. "A few more of the same sort are in store, and will be specially reserved for those who intend witnessing the next Great Battle, in which the gallant M’Clellan [Gen. George B. McLellan, who replaced McDowell] is destined to achieve a glorious victory! Not to be invidious, Mauldin & Co., have also a stock of boots and shoes, suitable for all ages, sexes and classes of society, the best they have ever had in Indiana, and in consequence of the war panic they will dispose of them at prices never before heard of in the Hoosier State." The broadside indicates prices for brogans for men, boys, and youth and a variety of footwear for children and ladies. A rare advertising broadside from the beginning of the Civil War, with no copies located on OCLC or RLIN. $1750. Mark Twain Plans "the cheerful jug, 38. Clemens, Samuel Langhorne: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM SAMUEL CLEMENS, a.k.a. "MARK TWAIN," TO HIS FRIEND, DEAN SAGE, CLARIFYING CLEMENS’ INTENTIONS FOR A FORTHCOMING VACATION TO SAGE’S HOME IN UPSTATE NEW YORK]. Hartford, Ct. March 28, [1875]. [2]pp. manuscript letter in a single folded sheet, totaling 145 words. Old fold lines. Small separations at cross folds, but with no loss of text. Lightly tanned. Very good. A funny, warm, and intimate letter from Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, written to his close friend, Dean Sage, and spelling out Clemens’ hopes for a leisurely vacation at Sage’s home, likely in Albany, New York. Clemens insists that despite what plans Sage may have made to fete and entertain him among local society, he and his family want only to enjoy a private visit with Sage, hoping for tranquility, privacy, and good drink, cigars, and conversation with his friend. Clemens enjoyed a warm relationship with Sage, to whom he was introduced by the Rev. Joseph Twitchell, a Hartford-based Congregationalist minister and one of Clemens’ closest friends. Dean Sage (1841-1902) is best known as the author of The Ristigouche and Its Salmon Fishing, describing fishing on the Ristigouche (more commonly spelled Restigouche) River in eastern Canada. Published in 1888, it is considered the rarest and most beautiful book on salmon fishing. Sage amassed a large and noteworthy library of fishing books. In his autobiography, Clemens describes Sage thusly: "Dean Sage was a delightful man, yet in one way a terror to his friends, for he loved them so well that he could not refrain from playing practical jokes on them. We have to be pretty deeply in love with a person before we can do him the honor of joking familiarly with him. Dean Sage was the best citizen I have known in America. It takes courage to be a good citizen, and he had plenty of it" (see Chapter 22 in Clemens’ autobiographical writings, published in the North American Review in 1906-7). Clemens goes on to describe at length a practical joke that Sage played on a mutual friend. The text of the letter reads, in full: "Hartford Mch 28. My Dear Sage – You’ve got the date right but we shan’t want to go outside of your own door-yard till we shove for Hartford – not even to attend prayer meeting. Don’t want to dine with anybody but you; don’t want any social intercourse that will take us outside of your snuggery. We are coming for a reposeful, tranquilizing, rejuvenating private [underlined in the letter] debauch, & a clandestine good time. We appreciate your good intentions, but they are misguided, my boy, & evince a vast misapprehension of the peculiar lusts of your guests & your own attractions. The cheerful jug, the contemplative cigar, holy conversation, & isolation from the world – these are the things that are precious to us; & all things else hold we to be valueless. We will telegraph you what time to expect us at your office. Truly yours, S.L. Clemens." A fine Samuel Clemens letter, showing the warm and private side of Mark Twain. $6000. 39. Cohen, E.A., & Co.: FOR 1834. A FULL DIRECTORY, FOR WASHINGTON CITY, GEORGETOWN, AND ALEXANDRIA: CONTAINING THE NAMES, RESIDENCE, AND OCCUPATION OF THE INHABITANTS, ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED; A REGISTER OF THE NAMES AND RESIDENCE OF THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS; A LIST OF THE HOTELS, BOARDING HOUSES AND MESSES...ETC..... Washington City. 1834. 21,62,22,[4]pp. Errata tipped in. Modern boards, original label preserved. Light foxing. Red United States Seal and bookplate of collector John J. Ford, Jr., on front pastedown. Good. The fourth directory issued for Washington, D.C., including lists of residents for Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, as well as advertisements for local businesses. The directory features much more than the typical civic information, providing an almanac for the whole year, population table for the country, a duty table, and the home addresses of most of the members of the government. Spear locates four copies. SPEAR, p.372. $2250. 40. Collins, John: THE CITY AND SCENERY OF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND. ILLUSTRATIONS, DRAWN ON STONE.... Burlington, N.J. 1857. 8pp. of text, including letterpress titlepage, plus two-color lithographic map of Newport and its environs, and thirteen tinted lithographic views by Collins, printed by Thomas Sinclair. Oblong folio. Original brown cloth, stamped in gilt and blind. Cloth faded and rubbed, worn at spine ends and extremities. A touch of foxing in the margins of a few plates, far from the images. In all, very clean and bright internally. A very good copy. This is one of the finest and most desirable of all works relating to Newport. The thirteen views and one map are the most comprehensive record of the appearance of Newport and its environs in the mid-19th century. "One of the most delightful and sought after of the American books of color views" – McGrath. A fine visual and written introduction to the city of Newport. The anonymous text starts with a general introduction, pointing out that the commercial life of the city was initially blighted by the British during the War of Independence when the population dropped from ten thousand to four thousand and that it did not start to recover until after the war of 1812. The text continues with much information about contemporary life in the city: the names of the best hotels (one of which is depicted), places suitable for sea-bathing, the most scenic places to visit, and descriptions of the best houses. According to Peters, Collins produced only two substantial groups of views: the present work, and a similar smaller-format work on the city of Burlington, New Jersey, published ten years earlier and including fourteen views, also printed by Thomas Sinclair of Philadelphia. Reps mentions only the work on Burlington. The plates are: "[Map of] Newport, Rhode Island and its Environs"; "City and Harbor of Newport from Fort Adams"; "State House and Parade"; "The Old Stone Tower"; "The Friends Meeting House"; "The Glen"; "Ocean House"; "Rocks near Purgatory"; "Easton’s Beach"; "The Reefs"; "Chateau sur Mer"; "The Spouting Rock"; "Fort Adams"; and "Lily Pond." SABIN 14442. PETERS, AMERICA ON STONE, p.133. McGRATH, pp.72, 122. REPS, pp.392-93 (ref). $6000. 41. Colton, G.W. and C.B.: COLTON’S NEW MAP OF LONG ISLAND. New York: Colton & Co., 1882. Folding map, two sheets together measuring 30 x 62¼ inches, with full period color. Bound into original tall brown cloth boards, stamped in blind and gilt, rebacked by white paper. Splits on folds neatly repaired. Very good. With a large inset of "Brooklyn, New York, Jersey City, Hoboken, etc." This is probably the largest commercially published map of Long Island to date, which indicates the increasing population and importance of Long Island. Development in the eighteen years since the publication of the 1865 map has been dramatic. Explosive growth can be seen throughout Queens, especially in Jamaica and Garden City. Railroads now crisscross the island, with the Brooklyn & Montauk Railroad extending along its southern coast as far as Sag Harbor. The map was evidently first introduced in 1873. Rumsey (167) lists a 1888 edition. Not in Phillips. $5750. 42. Comstock, J.L.: A HISTORY OF THE PRECIOUS METALS, FROM THE EARLIEST PERIODS TO THE PRESENT TIME; WITH DIRECTIONS FOR TESTING THEIR PURITY, AND STATEMENTS OF THEIR COMPARATIVE VALUE, ESTIMATED COST, AND AMOUNT AT DIFFERENT PERIODS; TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRODUCTS OF VARIOUS MINES; A HISTORY OF THE ANGLO-MEXICAN MINING COMPANIES, AND SPECULATIONS CONCERNING THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. Hartford: Belknap and Hamersley, 1849. 222,4pp. plus [4]pp. of manuscript notes at the end. Original blindstamped cloth, rebacked, with original gilt backstrip laid down. Upper portion of front free endpaper neatly excised, and with a late 19th-century pencil ownership signature. Pencil underscoring and margin notes throughout. One signature of text leaves loosening. Good. A very scarce book on world mining, with significant and timely sections on California gold mining. "The discovery of California gold made Comstock’s world survey appeal to a much wider audience. He hurriedly included information on California and added a final chapter entitled ‘Estimated Expenses of Outfits from the United States to California.’ He opened by saying his printer allowed him no time to fully develop the subject. Comstock also calculated the cost of going to California, the loss of labor in the eastern United States, and estimated that it would take $22,260,000 in California gold before the United States would realize a profit" – Kurutz. The four pages of pencil notes at the rear of this copy discuss the rise of the value of gold through history, and prices in the late 19th century. KURUTZ 154. COWAN, p.139. SABIN 15074. $1000. 43. [Confederate Imprint]: JOSEPH II. AND HIS COURT. AN HISTORICAL NOVEL, by L. Muhlback [pseud].... Mobile. 1864. Four volumes. 240; 240; 139; 152pp. First two volumes with original printed wallpaper wrappers bound into later three quarter calf and marbled boards, ornate gilt spine, black gilt morocco labels. Some tears in wrappers repaired on verso with no loss, light foxing. Third volume in gathered signatures. Light tanning. Fourth volume in original printed wrappers. Wrappers heavily worn, moderate tanning. Overall a very good set. All housed in a clamshell box. A complete offering of this "historical" novel published in the Confederate South, written by Frau Clara Mundt under the pseudonym of "L. Muhlback," and translated from the original German by Adelaide DeV. Chaudron. All Confederate-published fiction is scarce. PARRISH & WILLINGHAM 6437. OWEN, p.858. $850. Owned by the Signer and Governor 44. [Connecticut]: ACTS AND LAWS OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT, IN AMERICA. New London: Printed by Timothy Green: 1784-1786. 8,6,[2],265,267-307,309-346pp. Folio. Contemporary sheep. Front board and first leaf detached, sheep scuffed and worn. Minor marginal worming in first two leaves, not affecting images or text, light scattered foxing, contents otherwise very good. Contemporary ink annotation throughout; early 19th-century inscriptions on front endpapers. About very good. Early acts and laws of the state of Connecticut, printed with Connecticut’s colonial charter and the Articles of Confederation. The first section (through page 265), issued with a separate titlepage, is the second edition of the text, printed by Timothy Green in New London, and may have been printed in 1785 or later, according to Evans. The final three sections, of which the first and third were printed in Hartford by Hudson and Goodwin, are the first and official issues. The present copy of Acts... comes from the collection Samuel Huntington, signer of the Declaration of Independence and governor of Connecticut (1786-1796); and later John Turner Wait (1811-99), a prominent attorney from Norwich who served as a Republican representative from Connecticut in Congress from 1876 to 1887. The front free endpaper bears the following inscriptions: "Sam. Huntington (former Governor of the State) Statute Law Book. John Turner Waite [sic] June 24. 1837. Norwich Conn." While the inclusion of both Huntington and Wait’s names accurately reflects the volume’s family provenance, neither name appears to be an autograph signature of either owner. Huntington (1731-1796) was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the popular third governor of the state of Connecticut. EVANS 18410, 18413, 18414, 18964, 18967, 19568. JOHNSON 1143. DAB IX, pp.418-19. $1500. 45. [Connecticut Railroad Photographica]: THE MERIDEN AND CROMWELL AND THE MERIDEN, WATERBURY & CONNECTICUT RIVER RAILROADS [ALBUM OF OVER NINETY PHOTOGRAPHS, NUMEROUS ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES, AND MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS]. [Connecticut. ca. 1885-1940]. Approximately 180 photographs; fifteen postcards; nine reproduced photographic negatives; 81pp. of newspaper photostats; additional miscellaneous materials. Oblong quarto, 10 x 13 inches. Modern photographic album with black archival leaves. Extensive captioning on album leaves and verso of photographs. Photographs ranging in size from approximately 2½ x 2½ to 8 x 10 inches. Most photographs and other materials mounted with photo corners, some also with tape. A few photographs appear to be missing. Two card-mounted photographs chipped at corners. Leaves of album a bit worn, but nearly all collection materials in very good to fine condition. Album containing the photographic collection of noted Connecticut railroad enthusiast, James M.S. Ullman. Ullman (1933-94), an attorney based in Meriden, Connecticut, served on the boards of the Valley Railroad in Essex and the National Association of Railroad Passengers, Region 1. His extensive collection of photographs follows the early history of the Meriden & Cromwell and the Meriden, Waterbury & Connecticut River Railroads, featuring trains, structures, and various important events along the lines. Throughout, Ullman provides elucidating captions, identifying, dating, and otherwise describing numerous steam engines, bridges, stations, workers, train wrecks, etc. Most of the photographs are copy prints made circa 1950, but a number are vintage Of the approximately 180 photographs, over ninety are original prints; the remainder are later reproductions, made from prints rather than original negatives. The original photos include three stereo views of trains crossing railroad bridges, one stereo view of a haystack in front of the West Main Street Station in Meriden, one card-mounted print (approximately 4 x 5 inches) of the July 1889 train wreck in Meriden, and two card-mounted prints of train crews posing on and in front of steam engines (approximately 5 x 8 and 4 x 6 inches, respectively). A number of photographs and early photographic postcards chronicle Connecticut train wrecks, among which the July 19, 1889 wreck at Meriden features prominently. The West Main Street Station in Meriden is also captured in numerous photographs and postcards in the album, dating from the 1880s through the 1930s, during which time the station had experienced a flood and become the headquarters for a motorcycle club (both seen here). Together with the photographs and postcards, the album contains newspaper clippings, illustrated cards, manuscript notes and sketches, and a blueprint for the train station in Highland, Connecticut. Included with the album are eighty-one pages of photostat copies of newspaper articles from Middletown’s Penny Press, from 1888 and 1889, and nine photographic negatives apparently made from prints. Some of the material from the collection was used in the book, Connecticut Railroads an Illustrated History, by Gregg M. Turner and Melancthon W. Jacobus (Connecticut Historical Society, 1986). A unique and well-assembled collection of Connecticut train history in the era of steam. $850. A Superb New Haven Carriage Catalogue 46. [Cook, G. & D.]: G. & D. COOK & CO.’S ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF CARRIAGES AND SPECIAL BUSINESS ADVERTISER. New York. 1860. 226pp. Illustrated with ninety-nine lithographs of carriages, one tinted plate advertising Henry Austin (the architect), and numerous black and white engravings. Double frontis. Oblong octavo. Original cloth, stamped in blind. Inner hinges expertly repaired. A few light spots on the front free endpapers. Near fine. A handsomely produced catalogue of carriages and a commercial guide to New Haven and vicinity. Half of the pages are devoted to illustrating the line of carriages offered by G. & D. Cook, one of the leading makers at the time, when New Haven was the Detroit of the carriage industry. Other pages advertise all manner of Connecticut manufactures, mainly in New Haven, including billiard tables, tools, flour mills, harnesses, clothing, guns, etc., as well as a variety of business establishments in New Haven, New York, and Hartford. "Excellent tinted lithographic plates of every American carriage of the day" – Romaine. A wonderful and rare trade catalogue, with ninety-nine fine illustrations of carriages. ROMAINE, p.80. $2750. 47. [Coxe, Tench]: REPORT OF THE CASE OF THE COMMONWEALTH, vs. TENCH COXE, ESQ. ON A MOTION FOR A MANDAMUS, IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA: TAKEN FROM THE MANUSCRIPT OF THE FOURTH VOLUME OF MR. DALLAS’S REPORTS. Philadelphia. 1803. 137pp. plus folding table. Original printed wrappers bound into modern boards. Slight tanning, else a fine copy, untrimmed and unopened. The Reports alluded to in the title were the first published reports of the United States Supreme Court, compiled by Alexander Dallas, and covering cases from 1790 through 1800. The present case concerns land claims in Pennsylvania, especially concerning the Holland Company, which had extensive land holdings west of the Allegheny River. The decision of the Supreme Court was in favor of Coxe and the other representatives of the Holland Land Company. COHEN 11654. SABIN 60471. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 4026. $850. |
|
|
|
||
|
Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
|
|
|
Questions or comments?Write us at amorder@reeseco.com |
||
