William Reese Company

 

Catalogue 254

New Acquisitions
in Americana 

 
 

Section IV:  Ellet to Hitchcock


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An Extravagant Example
of American Chromolithography

71. Ellet, Elizabeth F.: THE CHARM: A SERIES OF ELEGANT COLORED GROUPS. WITH DESCRIPTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS. Philadelphia: Carey and Hart, 1848. 30pp. plus chromolithograph added titlepage, six chromolithograph plates with hand-coloring, and one additional color manuscript illustration of flowers inserted by an early owner. Folio. Original publisher’s elaborately decorated and gilt boards, spine sympathetically rebacked in plain maroon cloth, a.e.g. Boards somewhat worn at edges. Plates clean and fresh, offsetting from plates onto blank facing leaves (as usual). A very good copy.

A marvelous mid-19th-century American color plate book, with seven finely chromolithographs printed by James Ackerman. Each plate (including the added titlepage) has the same elaborate border surrounding an oval which contains the image (or in the case of the title, the text). The illustrations depict pairs of young ladies in various costumes, accompanied by romantic stories. "Mrs. Elizabeth Fries Lummis Ellet’s The Charm (Philadelphia, 1848) has six conversation pieces and an elaborately illuminated title. Each of these plates is surrounded by a delightfully complex border. The borders are very fine chromolithography, but the narrative pictures within them are all hand-colored. Here is the typical early use of chromolithography for formal, rigid, geometrical patterns requiring little or no over-printing, with hand-coloring being retained for the more subtle and delicate decoration" – McGrath. "The plates are six stilted but very finely colored lithographs, within one repeated colored border. Each plate shows two self-conscious female figures in ‘graceful attitudes’: at the piano, kneeling before a Madonna, one placing a wreath on the brow of the other, etc. The acme of marvelous Victorian workmanship and silly Victorian ‘art’" – Bennett. BENNETT, p.38. McGRATH, pp.90, 124-25. MORRIS & LEVIN, THE ART OF PUB-LISHER’S BOOKBINDING 165. Last, The Color Explosion: Nineteenth-century American Lithography, p.30 (Ackerman). $2250.

72. Elliott, F.R.: HAND BOOK OF PRACTICAL GARDENING DESIGNED FOR CITY AND SUBURBAN RESIDENCES, AND COUNTRY SCHOOL-HOUSES, CONTAINING DESIGNS FOR LOTS AND GROUNDS, FROM A LOT 30 x 100 FEET TO A 40 ACRE PLOT. Rochester: D.M. Dewey, Horticultural Books, 1885. 96pp. plus sixteen chromolithographic plates and one uncolored lithographic plate. Original publisher’s brown cloth, spine and front board gilt. Binding slightly soiled. Text block beginning to spring, very light age toning. A good copy.

The second edition, "enlarged and improved," of this thoroughly practical work aimed at "the plain, common-sense man" interested in both gaining personal pleasure and increasing the value of his real estate by planned landscaping. The plates in this edition are further captioned "Drawn for Elliott’s Landscape Gardening." McGrath only lists the 1881 edition, but neither edition is in Bennett. McGRATH, p.192 (1881 ed). REESE, STAMPED WITH A NATIONAL CHARACTER 71 (1877 ed). $1000.

"The most famous and important
frontier book
of the period" – Vail

73. Filson, John: THE DISCOVERY, SETTLEMENT AND PRESENT STATE OF KENTUCKE: AND AN ESSAY TOWARDS THE TOPOGRAPHY, AND NATURAL HISTORY OF THAT IMPORTANT COUNTRY...THE ADVENTURES OF COL. DANIEL BOON, ONE OF THE FIRST SETTLERS...AN ACCOUNT OF THE INDIAN NATIONS...THE STAGES AND DISTANCES BETWEEN PHILADELPHIA AND THE FALLS OF THE OHIO; FROM PITTSBURG TO PENSACOLA AND SEVERAL OTHER PLACES.... Wilmington, De.: Printed by James Adams, 1784. 118pp. plus final original blank. Contemporary wrapper, with original side stitching, untrimmed. Contemporary ownership inscription on front wrapper: "Toeb——[?] Hopkins, Book, Discovery and Settlement of Kentucke, 1769." Two brief references to passages in the text in a contemporary hand on recto of rear wrapper. Wrapper worn and soiled. Titlepage worn and soiled, with repaired tear (affecting half a dozen words). Second contemporary ownership inscription on verso of final original blank, "Connell Israell Angell His Book Thare was a garl [sic] and she." A few ink marks in margins of a few pages, upper outer corner of pp.95-96 torn (no loss). A very good copy. In a half morocco and cloth box.

A remarkable copy of this key work of late 18th-century Americana in a contemporary binding with contemporary inscriptions, and with the text pages untrimmed. According to Vail, Filson’s Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke is the "most famous and important frontier book of the period." The first accurate description of the beautiful country south of the Ohio River and west of the Alleghenies just beginning to open to American settlement, the work also brought to the American public for the first time the figure of Daniel Boone, the quintessential American frontiersman whose adventures are described here in detail. Boone’s experiences with Indians and his numerous captivities and escapes are covered. Filson himself was later murdered by Indians in Kentucky. Filson’s map, which is described on the titlepage as accompanying the book, was in fact issued in Philadelphia, and is virtually never found with the book.

The first edition of ...Kentucke... is of the greatest rarity. One of the key American frontier books, here in a remarkable contemporary binding with contemporary inscriptions. STREETER SALE 1621. VAIL 694. EVANS 18467. CHURCH 1202. SABIN 24336. GRAFF 1323. RINK, DELAWARE 182. HOWES F129, "d." $30,000.

74. Finley, Anthony: A NEW GENERAL ATLAS, COMPRISING A COMPLETE SET OF MAPS, REPRESENTING THE GRAND DIVISIONS OF THE GLOBE...COMPILED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES, AND CORRECTED BY THE MOST RECENT DISCOVERIES. Philadelphia: Anthony Finley, 1825. Engraved title, engraved index leaf, fifty-eight handcolored engraved maps, two handcolored engraved comparative charts of mountains and rivers. Imperial quarto. Expertly bound to style in red straight-grained morocco, incorporating original marbled paper-covered boards, original orange-toned engraved title label on upper cover, the flat spine gilt in six compartments, divided by horizontal fillets, lettered in gilt in the second compartment, Finley’s small format letterpress trade label (2¾ x 3½ inches) mounted on front free endpaper. In a modern red cloth box, dark red morocco lettering piece. Provenance: pencil signature on front free endpaper.

A fine copy of the second edition (after the first and second issues of the previous year), from one of the greatest American map publisher’s of the period.

A contemporary review of the first edition applies to the present second: "The number of elegant maps and atlases which have come from the press within a short time in the United States, is a most flattering proof of increased attention of the community to the important study of geography. The present work contains sixty maps, about half of which are devoted to the American continent, and the remainder to other parts of the world, chiefly to Europe. The engraving is done almost uniformly with remarkable distinctness and the face of the maps is frequently beautiful, not overloaded with a confusion of useless names" (North American Review, July 1824, pp.261-262).

The same points which distinguish the first and second issues of the first edition also distinguish the present edition from the first issue. The most obvious are on the engraved index leaf: the Eastern Hemisphere is listed as number 1 in the first issue and number 2 in the second; in the first issue number 11 is Connecticut and number 12 is Rhode Island; in the second issue number 11 is Rhode Island and number 12 is Connecticut.

Little is known of Anthony Finley other than his published work, "but he was probably born around 1790. Judging from contributors to his atlases, he apparently moved in the same Philadelphia circles of engravers and compilers as other contemporary publishers" (Ristow, p.268).

This edition of Finley’s celebrated atlas is quite rare. Not on OCLC. PHILLIPS ATLASES 4314 (another ed). RISTOW, p.268 (ref). RUMSEY, p.109 (another ed). $8500.

75. Fisher, Joshua: A CHART OF DELAWARE BAY AND RIVER, CONTAINING A FULL AND EXACT DESCRIPTION OF THE SHORES, CREEKS, HARBOURS, SOUNDINGS, SHOALS, SANDS, AND BEARINGS OF THE MOST CONSIDERABLE LAND MARKS.... London: Laurie & Whittle, 1794. Engraved map. Plate mark: 19 1/4 x 27 5/8 inches. Sheet size: 20 x 28 3/16 inches. A fine copy.

An excellent uncolored example of the Laurie & Whittle issue of Fisher’s important and detailed navigation chart of Delaware Bay and the Delaware River upstream to the city of Philadelphia.

Fisher’s map was originally published in Philadelphia in 1756, but was suppressed because it was thought it might aid the French in the French and Indian War. This London printing comes from the revised edition of the map, printed in Philadelphia circa 1776. The area covered by the map stretches from Rehoboth Bay in the south to Philadelphia in the north, and is drawn on a fairly large scale. Important towns and inlets along the bay and river are shown, and the map includes the tide table from Cape May (on the southern tip of New Jersey) to Philadelphia. An inset carries an attestation as to the excellence and accuracy of the map by twenty-two ship pilots who plied the Delaware waters on a regular basis. This same map appeared as part of Laurie and Whittle’s North American Pilot, published in 1800. PHILLIPS MAPS, p.263. $3500.

A Rare View of Slavery
in Early Puerto Rico

76. Flinter, George Dawson: A VIEW OF THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SLAVE POPULATION IN THE ISLAND OF PUERTO RICO, UNDER THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT. SHOWING THE IMPOLICY AND DANGER OF PREMATURELY EMANCIPATING THE WEST INDIA SLAVES. WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THE DESTRUCTIVE TENDENCY OF INJUDICIOUS REFORM AND REVOLUTIONARY PRINCIPLES ON THE PROSPERITY OF NATIONS AND COLONIES. ILLUSTRATED BY FACTS, AND SUPPORTED BY OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS. Philadelphia: Adam Waldie, 1832. [2], 117pp. plus advertisement leaf for the author’s A View of the Island of Puerto Rico. 20th-century three-quarter calf over marbled boards, spine gilt. Spine and corners slightly rubbed. Titlepage lightly browned, a few pencil annotations in the text, a few pages dampstained and soiled. A very good copy.

A rare account of the condition of slaves in Puerto Rico in the early 19th century, with additional information about slavery in other regions of the New World and in Africa. Flinter was a British soldier who arrived in Caracas in 1815, when the civil war there was in a particularly violent phase. He served as interpreter to the British embassy and later as a translator between the Spaniards, the English, and the Americans. In addition to this monograph on slavery, Flinter also wrote A History of the Revolution of Caracas (London, 1819), An Account of the Present State of the Island of Puerto Rico (London, 1834), and other works concerned with the Spanish-American colonies.

A rare survey of slavery in Puerto Rico. OCLC records a single copy at NYPL; NUC adds copies at LC and the University of Minnesota. SABIN 24801. PALAU 92259. OCLC 47911938. $2250.

77. [Florida]: THE FLORIDIAN. Vol. 1, No. 37. Pensacola, Fl. May 12, 1822. [4]pp. Folio newspaper. Contemporary annotation above title on p.[1]. Split at fold. Lower inner margin pp.[3-4] closely trimmed, affecting a few letters. A few closed tears in outer margins, not affecting text. Age-toned, some foxing. A good copy.

The thirty-seventh issue of the second newspaper published in Territorial Florida, preceded only by the Florida Gazette of St. Augustine, which began publication in July 1821. Pensacola became a permanent part of the United States under the terms of the Adams-Onìs Treaty of 1819. This issue reports news from the United States Congress, including a report from the Secretary of War "devised and pursued for the Civilization of Indian Tribes, within the United States." Other articles cover a variety of subjects such as crop rotation, the mocking bird, and a letter George Washington wrote to the Emperor of Morocco concerning the captivity of mariners. There are also advertisements for local businesses, professional services, dry goods, furniture, and a bakery, as well as ads for the Pensacola Book Store and the Pensacola Reading Room. A rare early Florida imprint. SERVIES 1076. $1250.

Secession Convention of Florida

78. [Florida]: JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE OF FLORIDA, BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CAPITOL IN THE CITY OF TALLASSEE [sic], ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, A.D. 1861. Tallahassee: Office of the Floridian and Journal, Printed by Dyke & Carlisle, 1861. 112pp. Gathered signatures, stitched as issued. Tear in lower foremargin of titlepage with some paper loss, not affecting text. Else a clean copy. Very good, untrimmed.

The proceedings of the Florida secession convention. Florida seceded from the Union on Jan. 10, 1861. The proceedings of the session begun on Jan. 3 include the printing of the Ordinance of Secession passed on the tenth, with much discussion on the subject. "We meet together under no ordinary circumstances. The rapid spread of Northern fanaticism has endangered our liberties and institutions, and the election of Abraham Lincoln, a wily abolitionist, to the Presidency of the United States, destroys all hope for the future." PARRISH & WILLINGHAM 2727. AII (FLORIDA) 207. SERVIES 4576. $1250.

79. Force, Peter: TRACTS AND OTHER PAPERS, RELATING PRINCIPALLY TO THE ORIGIN, SETTLEMENT, AND PROGRESS OF THE COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA, FROM THE DISCOVERY OF THE COUNTRY TO THE YEAR 1776. Washington. 1836-1846. Four volumes. 19th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled paper, gilt, spines gilt. Spines slightly darkened. Bookplate on front pastedowns. Very light, scattered foxing, confined to first two volumes. Very good, untrimmed.

An important collection of accounts of the early history of the American colonies, gathered by the assiduous Peter Force. Among the items reprinted, all with their own titlepages and paginations, are A True Declaration of the Estate of the Colonie in Virginia (1610), Smith’s ...New England..., the first printed version of Oglethorpe’s A Brief Account of the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia..., and works by the Gentleman of Elvas and Nathaniel Byfield. "A most interesting and valuable series of reprints of the rarest of tracts relating to America, all of which are noticed in this dictionary, under their respective names" – Sabin. "Some of these fifty-two tracts appeared here in print for the first time" – Howes. "This collection of tracts on early American history is indispensable to all students, whether of the north or the south, and by frequent reprints should be made accessible to all" – Larned. Force formed a very large collection relating mainly to American history, which he sold to the Library of Congress. HOWES F247, "b." LARNED 848. SABIN 25059. $4000.

80. Franklin, Benjamin: AN HISTORICAL REVIEW OF PENNSYLVANIA FROM ITS ORIGIN. Philadelphia: E. Olmsted & W. Power, 1812. [20],444pp. Contemporary plain paper boards, rebacked in period style. Minor wear to covers. Old institutional stamp on titlepage and verso of last leaf. Internally clean. Very good, untrimmed and partially unopened.

Later edition, after the first London edition of 1759, using leftover sheets from that edition, with the addition of a new titlepage and without the original dedication.

"This work is generally attributed to Benjamin Franklin, although Sparks, in his life of Franklin, states, ‘It has recently been ascertained that he was not, in fact, the author, although it was written under his direction, and doubtless from copious material furnished by him.’ However, it was published under Franklin’s name in Philadelphia in 1812 [the present edition], and is included in his collected works. The work is dedicated to Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons, and the author states: ‘The Subject of the following Sheets is an unhappy one: – The Controversy between the Proprietaries and successive assemblies of Pensylvania.’ In it are traced many of the grievances which finally led up to the War of Independence" – Maggs. SABIN 25513. BRADFORD 1771. BRINLEY 3057. MAGGS BIBLIOTHECA AMERICANA 429:2127 (another ed). $1500.

First Cabinetmaker’s Guide
Published in America

81. [Furniture]: [Siddons, G.A.]: THE CABINET-MAKER’S GUIDE: OR RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ART OF VARNISHING, DYING, STAINING, JAPANNING, POLISHING, LACKERING AND BEAUTIFYING WOOD, IVORY, TORTOISE-SHELL AND METAL. WITH OBSERVATIONS ON THEIR MANAGEMENT AND APPLICATION. Greenfield, Ma. 1825. 108pp. Publisher’s ads on rear board. 16mo. Original printed boards. Worn at spine ends, along outer hinges, and at corners. Pencil notes and drawings on front and rear endpapers. Scattered foxing, one leaf with a closed tear (no loss of text). Still an excellent copy, in original condition. In a half morocco and cloth box.

"A new edition, with considerable additions. Including an appendix containing several valuable tables." The first printing of the first American furniture finisher’s manual, reprinted from the original British edition by G.A. Siddons. Clear and concise instructions are given for dying and staining woods, making glue, making and applying varnish, polishing, japanning, cleaning woods and metals, and much more. For example, to make furniture oil: "Take linseed oil, put it in a glazed pipkin, with as much alkanet root as it will cover; let it boil gently, and you will find it become of a strong red color: let it cool, and it will be fit for use." Six tables in the appendix provide assistance for figuring lengths and weights, and an index follows.

The preservation of the present copy in such pristine condition is a remarkable survival, as most copies were used to pieces. Western Massachusetts was obviously a place of great architectural and design innovation during the American federal period as both the present title and Asher Benjamin’s landmark architecture book, The Country Builder’s Assistant..., were printed in Greenfield. Not in American Imprints. Rare and desirable, in marvelous condition. RINK 1793. OCLC 21296631, 8735793, 6440070. $5000.

Extra-illustrated

82. Gardiner, Henry: NEW ENGLAND’S VINDICATION. Portland, Me.: The Gorges Society, 1884. 83,[1]pp. plus thirty-six plates. Original printed wrappers bound into modern brown morocco, gilt-tooled spine and cover, gilt inner dentelles, t.e.g. Internally bright and clean. Fine.

Gilt morocco bookplate of noted Americana collector Frank Cutter Deering on the verso of the front free endpaper, with an extra half title identifying him as the extra-illustrator, opposite which he has inserted his portrait. From an edition limited to 160 copies, this being the editor’s copy, with a presentation inscription to Deering on the front wrapper and additional leaf. An interesting reprint of this important colonial work, which the editor, Charles Banks, posits was actually written by Edward Godfrey and that Gardiner simply bore the expense of printing it. This is the first installment in the Gorges Society reprints. A lovely copy, rendered unique by Deering’s illustrative effort. $850.

83. [Gordon-Miller, William L.]: RECOLLECTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY. A SERIES OF THRILLING TALES AND SKETCHES. BY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER. WRITTEN DURING A PERIOD IN "THE SERVICE," SINCE 1830. Boston. 1845. xi,[1],167pp. including eight plates (most touched with red and/or yellow). Frontis. Publisher’s cloth, stamped in blind, spine stamped and lettered in gilt. Cloth faded, with scattered waterstains. Occasional foxing, but generally clean internally. Overall very good.

Second edition, after the first of the same year. Stories of army life in the West and in Florida, with several charming wood-engraved plates, including one of an Indian council. The introduction to the volume is a scathing attack on West Point, "now an engine of favoritism, mainly filled with the pets of scheming and other influential men" (p.vi). Howes attributes authorship to William L. Gordon-Miller, an English-born veteran of the Prairie dragoon campaigns, who was also likely the true author of Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains... (1836). Not in Servies. A little-known but important source for American military actions in Florida and the West. HOWES G257, H471 (ref). SABIN 68379. $1000.

84. Graves, Robert: A POCKET CONSPECTUS OF THE LONDON AND EDINBURGH PHARMACOPOEIAS. Philadelphia. 1803. 132pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf, paper label with manuscript title affixed to front board. Boards worn. Titlepage chipped along foredge, first two signatures chipped in upper corner. Tanned. Good.

First American edition, "from the Second London Edition, corrected and improved." Gives brief descriptions and uses for hundreds of medicines. Also included is a table listing the new and old names of many materials. Quite technical in nature, Graves’ book was meant for use by physicians rather than the public in general. A rather scarce and early American pharmacopoeia. AUSTIN 832. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 4308. $850.

85. Gray, Asa: ELEMENTS OF BOTANY. New York: G. & C. Carvill & Co., 1836. xiv,428pp. Illustrations. Original patterned terra-cotta cloth, spine gilt. Cloth a bit sunned, spine ends worn, cloth along backstrip cracked and with small tears. Light scattered foxing. Very good. In a cloth chemise and slipcase, gilt label.

The Josiah K. Lilly copy, with his bookplate on the front pastedown (and a Lilly Library deaccession stamp on the final text page). Also the Carroll Atwood Wilson copy, with his bookplate on the front pastedown.

The Grolier American One Hundred... describes this as "one of the great American intellectual feats, which popularized botany in America. Gray was only 26 when he wrote it, but this key work and the other works by him which grew out of it dominated the subject in America for 50 years. Gray’s final edition (the ninth) was in 1887, and it is still the standard American reference work. ‘The botanist is yet to be born who could write a more clear, compact and accurate account of the flora of any country,’ according to William G. Farlow...." "As a taxonomist and nomen-clator Gray reigned supreme in American botany as no one else either before or since" – Norman. GROLIER AMERICAN 100, 41. NORMAN LIBRARY 936. TAXONOMIC LITERATURE 2121. BM NATURAL HISTORY II:709. PRITZEL 3522. $2000.

86. Griswold, Roger: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, BY CONNECTICUT FEDERALIST ROGER GRISWOLD TO ANDREW HUNTINGTON IN NORWICH CONNECTICUT, REPLYING TO HUNTINGTON’S REQUEST FOR PAPER MOULDS AND REPORTING ON EVENTS IN CONGRESS IN JANUARY 1796]. Philadelphia. Jan. 23, 1796. [1]p., 9½ x 8 inches, with integral address leaf, with frank marks. Light fold lines. Paper age-toned. Old paper repair and remnant of wax stamp on integral leaf. Integral leaf cleanly separated from letter along fold. In very good condition.

An autograph letter, signed, by United States Representative from Connecticut Roger Griswold, to Andrew Huntington of Norwich, Connecticut. Griswold served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1795 to 1805 as an "engaging, skilled speaker and as an energetic, partisan Federalist. The Federalist party was then in the majority in Congress and for another two decades was the effective monopoly party of Connecticut. His firm support of the policies of the George Washington and John Adams administrations and his opposition to those of Thomas Jefferson were the stands of an extreme Federalist" – ANB. Griswold also achieved everlasting notoriety for initiating the first recorded physical brawl on the floor of the House of Representatives – an event memorialized in a popular political cartoon of the day.

In his letter of Jan. 23, 1796, Griswold first replies to a request from Huntington for paper manufacturing equipment. Huntington built a mill in Norwich circa 1790, and later had ordered paper moulds from N. & D. Sellers of Philadelphia which were completed in early 1796: "I have received your letter of the 12th inst[ant] and agreeably to your request I have engaged the paper moulds to be made & forwarded as soon as possible." The remainder of the letter reports on recent activity in Congress, which had been very slow. "Nothing very interesting has taken place here, within a few days – no business has been completed in Congress – those subjects which may probably produce altercation have not been touched – they must come forward before the session closes, I will probably derange the good humour we now enjoy." DAB VIII, pp.10-11. ANB 9, p.643. $750.

A Major Manuscript Map of
the Scene Depicted in "Glory":
The Battle for Charleston Harbor

87. Hall, William E.: [South Carolina]: [Civil War Cartography]: MAP OF SIEGE OPERATIONS AGAINST THE DEFENSES OF CHARLESTON HARBOR 1863. SHOWING BATTERIES COVERING THE DESCENT UPON MORRIS ISLAND, JULY 10, AND THE SUBSEQUENT OPERATIONS RESULTING IN THE DEMOLITION OF FT. SUMTER AND THE CAPTURE OF FT. WAGNER & BATT. GREGG, SEPT. 7. Lieut. Wm. E. Hall, A.D.C. Del. [manuscript title]. [Morris Island, S.C. nd, but between September 1863 and May 1864]. Manuscript map, 19¼ x 63 inches. Plus four small ink sketches, measuring 2 x 5 inches on average, of topographical details on the large map; six original albumen photographs, each measuring 4¼ x 6¾ inches and mounted on captioned card stock, of the Fort Sumter/Morris Island area in 1863; and two military orders, printed in Hilton Head, completed in manuscript, and dated 1862 (all described further below). Several small holes in the outside edge of the map sheet, all confined to the extreme outer border and not affecting the image. A bit of foxing and soiling, tanned. On the whole in very good condition, and an incredible display piece, beautifully framed. The photographs a bit faded, but in very good condition. The sketches and orders are near fine. All these are in individual archival mats, in a cloth case, leather label.

A truly remarkable manuscript map, and an astounding piece of Civil War and South Carolina cartography. This map was created by Lieut. William E. Hall, an engineer assigned to the forces of Union general Quincy Adams Gillmore, which waged a prolonged attack on Morris Island, Fort Sumter, and Charleston Harbor in the summer of 1863. The map is drawn on a massive scale, twelve inches to the mile, and gives a superb view of Morris Island, which was instrumental to the defense of Charleston Harbor. It was from a battery on Morris Island, in the early morning hours of Jan. 9, 1861, that the first shots were fired in what would become the Civil War, as the ship, Star of the West, was fired upon as it attempted to supply Fort Sumter. Historian Stephen Wise persuasively argues that the battle for Charleston Harbor ranks alongside Gettysburg and Vicksburg as the three campaigns of the summer of 1863 that turned the tide of the Civil War. It was on Morris Island on July 18, 1863, in the period depicted on this manuscript map, that the African-American Massachusetts 54th Regiment made its charge, famously depicted in the film, "Glory." This magnificent map is accompanied by six original albumen photographs of the Fort Sumter and Morris Island area in 1863, four small ink sketches explaining topographical details of the map, and two partially printed military orders, completed in manuscript and dated 1862.

The topography of Morris Island has changed over the last 150 years, as decades of ocean erosion have refigured its coastline. This manuscript map, done shortly after the events depicted, gives an incredibly accurate view of the island as it was in 1863. The important arsenals of Fort Wagner and Battery Gregg are clearly shown, as are the other significant military sites and fortifications on the island, including the engineer’s depot, "department headquarters," and reserve magazines. Very importantly, the location of the "Marsh Battery," more commonly known as the "Swamp Angel" – a Union gun capable of firing a two-hundred-pound shot – is shown on the western end of the island. The location of the wreck of the Confederate blockade runner, Ruby, as well as a wrecked steamship in Lighthouse Inlet, are given, and the topography of small, marshy Morris Island is clearly shown. A legend in the upper left corner, dated July 10, 1863, lists the Union batteries used and the Confederate batteries captured on the day that the siege of Charleston Harbor by Union troops began. The battle would last until September, as Confederate and Union forces on Morris Island fired on each other at close range in a fierce engagement, and as Union troops rained artillery on Fort Sumter, pictured in the left part of the map.

This manuscript map, signed by Lieut. William E. Hall in the lower right, is undated, but it was certainly created in the time between the end of 1863 and the end of 1865. A printed version of this map appears in Gen. Gillmore’s 1865 work, Engineer and Artillery Operations Against the Defences of Charleston Harbor in 1863, published in New York by Van Nostrand, with Hall’s map lithographed by Julius Bien. This map is, in fact, the most important and comprehensive map accompanying Gillmore’s report. The printed map is identical to this manuscript original in nearly every detail, except that Lieut. Hall’s name does not appear on the printed version. Nor does Hall’s name appear on the printed version of this map found on plate 38 of the Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, published by the Government Printing Office between 1891 and 1895.

Lieutenant William E. Hall was an engineer, quite possibly with the New York Volunteer Engineers who were assigned to Gillmore’s command, and after Morris Island was retaken from the rebel forces, he was one of the engineers charged with rebuilding the fortifications there. In May 1864, Gillmore’s army was reassigned to fight in Virginia. Military records show that a William E. Hall, of Company A of the New York Volunteers, 118th Regiment, was killed at Fair Oaks, Virginia in October 1864. If this is the same William E. Hall that drew the present map, and it seems likely that it is, then we can accurately date the creation of this manuscript map to between September 1863 and May 1864.

Accompanying the map are six original albumen photographs, taken in the summer of 1863 by the photographic firm of Haas & Peale, of "Morris Island & Hilton Head, S.C." Philip Haas enlisted in the Union Army in 1861 at the age of fifty-three, and was assigned to special service in photography and attached to Gen. Gilmore’s army in 1862. His assistant was Washington Peale, the landscape painter and grandnephew of Charles Willson Peale. Due to ill health and the rigors of war photography, Haas resigned from the army in May 1863, but the "Haas & Peale" photographic entity apparently continued through at least 1863. The photographs all show scenes on Morris Island and Fort Sumter and are captioned (in print, except where noted) as follows: "No. 9. Bombproof, for Telegraph Operator in Trenches"; "No. 42. Fort Sumter, August 13, 1863 – trial shots" (rather than referring to trial photographs, "trial shots" in this instance refers to the fact that, on Aug. 13, Union troops engaged in practice firing against Fort Sumter. This photograph was taken during that period of testing); "No. 39. Bursted gun, in Battery Brown"; an uncap-tioned photograph of a series of tents, with the names of the officers occupying them supplied in pencil; another photograph without a printed caption, but with a penciled caption identifying the scene as Morris Island in 1863; "No. 18. General Gillmore & Staff" (the names of several of the staff members have been filled in in pencil).

Also included with the manuscript map here are four detailed drawings identifying the method used to denote topographical features on the larger map, including drawings of "swamps," "mountains, sandridges &c.," "shore lining and sand beach," and "wooded country." This final topographical sketch is signed with the initials, "W.E.H.," identifying William Hall as the artist of this original map and the smaller sketches. There are also two partially printed forms, dated Hilton Head, South Carolina on June 1 and June 2, 1862, completed in manuscript and signed by Post Adjutant James Richardson. One gives the countersign for the day ("buena vista"), and the other names the "field officer" and "outlying pickets" for the day.

Original manuscript maps of major Civil War battles created by participants are virtually unheard of in the marketplace. This magnificent manuscript map, created by a Union engineer who was on the scene as the battle for Charleston Harbor raged, is a truly exceptional work of cartography, and an evocative and important artifact of American history. Stephen R. Wise, Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863 (Columbia, S.C. 1994) is the best modern study of the battle for Charleston. $60,000.

88. Hamilton, Alexander: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM ALEXANDER HAMILTON TO BENJAMIN LINCOLN, COLLECTOR OF THE PORT OF BOSTON, REGARDING USE OF A GOVERNMENT CUTTER]. Philadelphia. July 27, 1791. [1]p. Quarto. Clean tears along old fold lines. Light browning at margins and old folds, occasional minor soiling. In very good condition. In a half morocco box.

An autograph letter, signed, by Alexander Hamilton and addressed to Benjamin Lincoln, the collector of the port of Boston. Lincoln had served as a general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and later commanded the militia that put down Shay’s Rebellion. He also served as the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts in 1788-89. Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, responds positively to a request Lincoln had submitted in an earlier letter regarding the use of a government ship.

"It is quite agreeable to me that you make the little excursion you mention, and as it is a very temporary one I forbear to trouble the President for his permission. If you think any object of utility can be answered by making use of the Cutter or [?] that it will give occasion to no unpleasant criticism, the doing of it will also be perfectly agreeable to me."

A brief letter to from one of the founders of the United States, serving in his capacity of first Treasury Secretary. $9000.

89. [Hamilton, Alexander]: TREASURY DEPARTMENT, DEC. 7th, 1792. SIR, I HAVE THE HONOR HEREWITH TO TRANSMIT CERTAIN STATEMENTS, PURSUANT TO A RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 13th ULTIMO, RELATIVE TO THE DISBURSEMENTS MADE BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR...[caption title]. [Philadelphia: Printed by Childs and Swaine, 1792]. 8pp. Folio. Gathered signatures, stitched as issued. Light age toning, particularly at edges; old minor folds at lower outside corner. A very good copy. In a cloth clamshell box, leather label.

A scarce printed letter of transmittal from Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, documenting statements of disbursements by the Department of War in 1790 and 1791. These comprise the accounts of Henry Knox, Secretary of War, and Joseph Howell, Junior and Acting Paymaster-General. Knox’s account records individual payments for specific sections of the War Department, including the Quartermaster’s, Ordnance, Indian, Surveyor’s, and Subsistence departments. Howell’s two reports document disbursements to other paymasters as well as to named officers on behalf of themselves and men under their command. While the majority of the payment descriptions are quite concise, one disbursement to Captain Henry Burbeck was intended for "himself, two lieutenants, one surgeons mate, three serjeants, two corporals, one musician, and thirty privates; also three months pay for one musician and three privates of his company."

A very good copy of a scarce early federal-era report on finances. NAIP records six copies, while OCLC notes only microfilm and digital copies. EVANS 24942. NAIP w005481. $1000.

90. [Hamilton, Alexander]: AN ACCOUNT OF THE RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES OF THE UNITED STATES, COMMENCING WITH THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT, UNDER THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT, AND ENDING ON THE THIRTY-FIRST DAY OF DECEMBER ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-ONE. Philadelphia: Childs and Swaine, 1793. 58pp. Folio. Gathered signatures, stitched as issued. Lacking p.61 and folded table inserted after p.58. First and last leaves soiled, dampstained, age-toned, and chipped. Foredges soiled with some chipping. Bottom fourth of p.9 lacking (no text loss). Upper outer corner of final nine leaves abraded (no loss). Internally, text clean and crisp. A near good copy.

A report issued by the United States Department of the Treasury under Alexander Hamilton, documenting the receipts and expenditures of the federal government from the establishment of the department in 1789 through Dec. 31, 1791. The "accurate statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public monies... distinguishing the amount of the receipts in each state or district, and from each officer therein" was published by order of the House of Representatives, in pursuance of a standing order. A chart showing the amount of duties generated by each state on "imports and tonnage, of fines, penalties and forfeitures, of payments for drawbacks on merchandise, and bounties on salted fish and provisions exported, and of the expenses on collection of the revenue" is included. The account of expenditures includes funds for the War Department, negotiations or treaties with the Indian tribes, a treaty with the new emperor of Morocco, reduction of the public debt, and support and repairs of light-houses, beacons, buoys, and public piers. This copy lacks the folding table and the final statements of appropriations and expenditures and receipts and expenditures on page 61. EVANS 26341. NAIP w036743. $1000.

Hamilton Promotes a Hudson River Painter

91. Hamilton, Alexander: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM ALEXANDER HAMILTON TO AN UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT, REGARDING THE PROMISING YOUNG PAINTER, WILLIAM WINSTANLEY]. Philadelphia. April 10, 1793. [1]p. Quarto. Light fold lines. Slight minor soiling in margins. In near fine condition.

An autograph letter, signed, by Alexander Hamilton concerning William Winstanley, a British-born artist who was one of the earliest landscape painters in America. In the course of his recommendation of the promising young painter, the first Treasury Secretary of the United States also mentions John Jay and Martha Washington.

"Mr. Winstanley brought me a letter of introduction from Chief Justice Jay, stating him to be a Young Gentleman from England, who, without having made it a profession, has made some promising essays in Landscape Painting. There are two views of situations on Hudson’s River painted by Mr. Winstanley, in the drawing room of Mrs. Washington, which have great intrinsic merit – and considered with reference to his opportunities, as related, announce a very superior genius in the branch of painting, worthy of encouragement."

Winstanley arrived in the United States as a youth prior to 1793, and soon sold two Hudson River paintings to George Washington. These works, entitled "Morning, Hudson River" and "Evening, Hudson River," are now in the collection of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association in Virginia. Winstanley’s scenes of the Potomac were also purchased by the first president, and two other early landscapes are now in the collection of the Smithsonian. Falk notes that the artist "also took up portrait painting and made copies of one of Gilbert Stuart’s Washington portraits, which some sources say Winstanley then tried to sell as his own...The Washington portrait in the White House is said to be one of these copies."

A fine Hamilton letter concerning the early career of one of the earliest landscape painters in the United States. FALK III, p.3606 (Winstanley). $13,500.

92. Hanson, Elizabeth: AN ACCOUNT OF THE CAPTIVITY OF ELIZABETH HANSON, LATE OF KACHECKY IN NEW-ENGLAND: WHO, WITH FOUR OF HER CHILDREN, AND SERVANT-MAID, WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE BY THE INDIANS, AND CARRIED INTO CANADA. SETTING FORTH THE VARIOUS REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES, FORE TRIALS, AND WONDERFUL DELIVERANCES WHICH BEFEL THEM AFTER THEIR DEPARTURE, TO THE TIME OF THEIR REDEMPTION. A NEW EDITION. TAKEN IN SUBSTANCE FROM HER OWN MOUTH, BY SAMUEL BOWNAS. London: Printed and Sold by James Phillips, 1787. 28pp. plus advertisement leaf. Modern plain wrappers. Some light dust soiling on titlepage. Very good.

Later London edition, after the first London edition of 1760 and still earlier American editions beginning with the original Philadelphia edition of 1728. Elizabeth Hanson (1684-1737), wife of a Quaker farmer in New Hampshire, was captured along with her children (except for two who were killed by the Indians) and maid. Hanson was forced to travel with the Indians to Canada, where she was rescued by the French. Her story as related by Samuel Bownas became a bestseller, partly due to the Society of Friends which kept the text in circulation. Bownas was a well-known Quaker missionary who had visited American in 1726-27 and met Hanson in New Hampshire. "There are two versions of the story, differing in diction but not in substance. That reprinted in Drake’s Indian Captivities (Boston, 1839) differs from the one here described" – Church. The earlier American editions of this work are extremely rare. AYER 27. VAIL 756. HOWES H171. SABIN 30265. CHURCH 1031 (2nd ed). $750.

93. Harmon, Daniel W.: A JOURNAL OF VOYAGES AND TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOUR OF NORTH AMERICA, BETWEEN THE 47th AND 58th DEGREES OF NORTH LATITUDE, EXTENDING FROM MONTREAL NEARLY TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, A DISTANCE OF ABOUT 5,000 MILES, INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL OCCURRENCES DURING A RESIDENCE OF NINETEEN YEARS, IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.... Andover. 1820. 432pp. plus folding map. Without the errata slip. Portrait. Half title. Contemporary calf, gilt morocco label. Binding worn and rubbed, hinges cracked. Foxing, some light staining. A good plus copy.

The first edition of this interesting work, edited for publication by Daniel Haskell (who surreptitiously inserted some religious maunderings not found in the author’s manuscript). Harmon joined the North West Company in 1780 and travelled to Lake Winnipeg and the Assinniboine, where he stayed some seven years. His later travels took him to Fort William, New Caledonia, Fort Vermillion, Fort Chipewyan, etc. Contains vocabularies of the Crees and Tacullies. The map, engraved by Annin & Smith of Boston, shows the northern United States and Canada to the Pacific Ocean in some detail. "An important book" (Howes), containing valuable firsthand information on the early fur trade. WAGNER-CAMP 17. SABIN 30404. FIELD 656. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 1664. GRAFF 1786. HOWES H205, "b." AMERICAN IMPRINTS 1518. STREETER SALE 3692. PEEL 71. LANDE 1216. TPL 1171. $1500.

The Early Years of HARPER’S

94. [Harper & Brothers]: HARPER’S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE. Volumes I-XI. New York: Harper and Brothers: 1850-1855. Eleven volumes. Late 19th-century three-quarter calf over marbled boards, spines gilt. Covers and spines moderately worn, a few instances of marbled paper abraded on covers. Slight age-toning at outer edges, occasional light instances of foxing and dampstaining, some leaves browned. A very good set.

A very good set of the first eleven volumes of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. Each volume covers six months of the calendar year and included numerous articles intended "to combine entertainment with instruction, and to enforce, through channels which attract rather than repel attention and favor, the best and most important lessons of morality and of practical life." Poetry and prose, historical items, travel, biography, literary notices, and current events (both domestic and foreign) are complemented by hundreds of illustrations. In the present set, the third volume is of interest for its inclusion of the first appearance in print of any part of Moby Dick. "The Town-Ho’s Story" on pages 658-665 is "from The Whale. The title of a new work by Mr. Melville, in the press of Harper and Brothers, and now publishing in London by Mr. Bentley." $1000.

Presentation Copy
from William Henry Harrison

95. Harrison, William Henry: A DISCOURSE ON THE ABORIGINES OF THE VALLEY OF THE OHIO. Cincinnati: Printed at the Office of the Cincinnati Express, 1838. 51pp. plus folding map. Original yellow printed wrappers, front cover inscribed by Harrison to William Cabell Rives. Covers dampstained, rear cover worn with small piece (3 x 2 inches) missing, top and bottom of spine worn. Foxing and dampstaining throughout. Occasional corrections in the text by Harrison. A good copy. In a half morocco and cloth clamshell box, spine gilt.

A rare presentation copy from William Henry Harrison of the first edition of his only published work which does not discuss political matters. The original printed wrapper is inscribed in Harrison’s hand: "To the Hon[ora]ble W.C. Rives, Esq., Milton, Albemarle County, Virginia. With Respects of the Author." William Cabell Rives, minister to France during the Jackson, Taylor, and Fillmore administrations, served four terms in the United States Senate between 1832 and 1845. Harrison autographs are scarce and presentation copies of his publications even more so.

Although several of Harrison’s speeches were published, this pamphlet is his only non-political work to be printed. Harrison’s firsthand experience with the Indians of the Ohio Valley began in the 1790s, when he was an ensign in the First Infantry of the Regular Army. He was involved in a series of battles which culminated in victory over a coalition of tribes at Fallen Timbers in 1794. Harrison’s own campaign against Indians in the Northwest Territories met with mixed success, despite his victory at Tippecanoe in 1811, and his efforts to pacify the native populations continued through the War of 1812. After he resigned his Army commission in 1814, Harrison was instrumental in obtaining peace agreements with Indians on the western frontier.

Returning to civilian life, Harrison retired to his farm in North Bend, Ohio, where he was able to pursue his interest in the cultures of the tribes who had once occupied the region. The results of his life-long study are found in A Discourse on the Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio, issued at the request of the Historical Society of Ohio and first published in 1838, two years before Harrison was elected President. The pamphlet reveals the author’s careful study of the origin and development of Indian life in the Northwest Territory. He contends that the Mound Builders of Ohio developed a more advanced state of civilization than the Indians whom the Europeans had first encountered in the area in the 17th century. Harrison also contests the accepted opinion regarding the conquest of that valley by the Iroquois, or Six Nations, in the 17th century. This theory had been supported by the likes of Colden, Pownall, Franklin, Clinton, and Haywood. "These topics are considered at some length, and all are presented in a clear, forcible, and interesting manner" – Thomson.

Harrison’s intense interest in the subject and his high regard for this publication is evident in several ways. The work concludes with seven pages of scholarly notes and includes a map of the Indian mound that lay adjacent to Harrison’s farm. This copy also includes a half-dozen textual corrections made by Harrison throughout the text.

A rare presentation copy from the ninth United States president. HOWES H245, "aa." SABIN 30571. THOMSON 514. FIELD 660 (1840 ed). AMERICAN IMPRINTS 50738. OCLC 5043993. $12,500.

96. [Hastings, Susannah Willard Johnson]: A NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY OF MRS. JOHNSON. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HER SUFFERINGS DURING FOUR YEARS WITH THE INDIANS AND FRENCH. Walpole, N.H.: David Carlisle, jun., 1796. 144pp. 12mo. Contemporary calf, leather label gilt. Covers slightly worn, top of spine slightly worn. Top one-half inch of titlepage clipped, letter "A" lacking from title. Some light staining and foxing. Still, a very good copy. In a half morocco and cloth box.

First edition of this popular captivity narrative which was reprinted in Scotland, England, and America through the first half of the 19th century. Mrs. Johnson was captured with her family in 1754 by Abanaki Indians and taken to Canada. Along the way she gave birth to a daughter whom she named Captive. Well treated by the Indians during their journey, the prisoners were divided among several Indian families and eventually sold to the French in Montreal. After three years Mrs. Johnson was exchanged and sent to England before returning to New York and then New England. Her husband also returned in 1758, but was killed in battle at Ticonderoga later that year.

According to a note printed on the verso of the titlepage, "part of the text was dictated by Mrs. Johnson, now Mrs. Hastings, herself, and part were taken from minutes made by Mr. Johnson and herself, during their imprisonment. She is much indebted to her fellow prisoner, Mr. Labaree, by whose assistance many incidents are mentioned, which had escaped her attention."

A good copy of one of the classic New England Indian captivities. HOWES J153, "b." AYER 117. SABIN 36324. VAIL 1074. EVANS 30180, 30641. NAIP W013745. OCLC 13625235. $7500.

97. Hinton, Henry L.: SELECT HISTORICAL COSTUMES COMPILED FROM THE MOST RELIABLE SOURCES. New York: Wynkoop & Sherwood, 1868. Thirty numbered handcolored lithographs, each followed by two or three leaves of text. Original brown cloth, elaborately gilt, spine gilt. Chipped at head and toe of spine, corners worn. Illustrations and text are clean and bright. Very good.

While most of the costumes depicted are from the Middle Ages and give preference "to those costumes that combine the quaintness of the past with an artistic grace and beauty," they are also costumes "suited to the stage." Hence the dedication of the volume to the noted actor, Edwin Booth. McGRATH, p.199. HILER, p.432. $750.

98. Hitchcock, Edward: SUPPLEMENT TO THE ICHNOLOGY OF NEW ENGLAND. A REPORT TO THE GOVERNMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS IN 1863. Boston: Wright & Potter. 1865. Twenty plates (thirteen lithographs by A. Meisel [three folding], seven plates of mounted salt print photographs by J.L. Lovell). Quarto, 12 3/8 x 9 1/4 inches. Original brown cloth, covers blocked in blind, spine blocked in gilt and blind. Head and foot of spine and corners worn. Expert neat repairs to final plate. Else very good.

A rare early photographically illustrated work. Hitchcock, a professor at Amherst College, published his original report in 1858. The present supplement amounts to a significant addition to the study of the tracks of dinosaurs, reptiles, insects, arthropods, and other invertebrates in New England, describing thirty-seven new species and including a descriptive catalogue in the appendix of all the specimens held in "Hitchcock’s Ichnological Cabinet." The seven plates of photographs include fourteen mounted salt prints, all by J.L. Lovell of Amherst. This early photographically illustrated book is not listed in The Truthful Lens. $800.

 

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