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Catalogue 257 The Streeter Sale Revisited |
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Section II: California to Cook |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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The California Declaration of Independence: 34. [California]:
EN EL PUERTO DE MONTERREY DE LA ALTA CALIFORNIA, A LOS SIETE DIAS DEL MES
DE NOVIEMBRE DE MIL OCHOCIENTOS TREINTA Y SEIS...LA ALTA CALIFORNIA SE
DECLARA INDEPENDIENTE DE MEJICO MIENTRAS TANTO NO RESTABLESCA EL SISTEMA
FEDERAL QUE SE ADOPTO EL ANO DE 1824 [caption title and later text].
[Monterey: Santiago Aguilar, Nov. 7, 1836]. Broadside, 12¼ x 8½ inches.
Old fold lines. Small hole at one fold, touching two letters, very light
marginal stain, else fine. In a half morocco clamshell case. The
Thomas W. Streeter copy, with his bookplate and pencil notes on the verso. A remarkably early and important California imprint, this is the official
notice of California’s Declaration of Independence from the central
Mexican government. Juan
Alvarado and his cohorts toppled the Mexican military authorities at
Monterey on Nov. 3, 1836. The
new government declares itself independent from Mexico “for as long as
the Federal system it adopted in 1824 remains unrestored.”
The California rebels were revolting against a Centralist system of
government that ruled without much consideration for the outlying
provinces, and they hoped that a return to the Federal system would return
more autonomy to the states. The
Declaration sets up a full government for California, including a system
for appointing leaders, establishing a legislature, and creating a
constitution. The third
provision of this Declaration establishes the Roman Catholic church as the
only faith that may be publicly practiced, but also notes that citizens
will not be persecuted for the private practice of other faiths.
Occurring in the same year as the Texas Revolution – though more
conservative in nature – the actions of the Californians clearly showed
the ineffectiveness of centralized Mexican control of the states.
The text is signed in print at the end by Juan Albarado (i.e.
Alvarado), who led the independence movement and declared himself
governor, serving in that role until 1842; José Castro, who served as
Alvarado’s military chief; Antonino Buelna; and José Antonio Noriega.
Alvarado served as governor of California until he was removed in
1842, then staged another successful revolt against governor Manuel
Micheltorena in 1844, ruling until the Bear Flag Revolt, and John C.
Fremont toppled him in 1846. This broadside is also significant from a printing history standpoint, as
it is the second imprint by the second printer in California, Santiago
Aguilar. California’s first
printer, the famed Agustin Zamorano, was forced into exile by Alvarado and
Castro on Nov. 4, 1836, three days before the date of this broadside, and
they installed Aguilar in his place. Aguilar
himself would be thrown out of his position a few months later when he
backed the wrong side in a political revolt in Monterey. Greenwood locates this Streeter copy, as well as copies at the Huntington
and Bancroft libraries. This
copy brought $4500 at the Streeter sale in 1968.
Rare and very desirable, documenting a landmark moment in the
political history of California. This seminal document went to the Carnegie Book Shop at $4500 at the
Streeter sale, for collector Harry Sonneborn.
At his disastrous sale at Sotheby’s in June 1980, it went to
Heritage for $3000. It now
reappears here twenty-seven years later. An Extraordinary Collection 35. [California]:
CALIFORNIAN. Monterey & San Francisco. Aug. 29, 1846 – Sept. 15,
1847. Together twenty-seven numbers, each 4pp. First volume in quarto
format, folded sheets, unbound as issued. Second volume in folio, as
issued. Sixteen numbers of the first volume are in excellent condition. Of
the others, No. 3 has a large hole through both leaves, obliterating some
text; No. 5 is silked and separated at fold; No. 15 is silked; No. 28 has
a small hole; No. 29 is silked and separated at fold, with small hole and
corner missing. Four numbers of the second volume have small sections
missing, either clipped or torn out. In two half red morocco and cloth
boxes. An
extensive run of the first California newspaper, comprised of twenty-one
issues of the first volume and six numbers of the second volume.
The set offered here is likely the most complete to appear on the
market since the Streeter sale in 1968.
The California State Library’s set is less complete – as is
every other known run of the newspaper save for a complete set handled by
Howell and a run of thirty-eight numbers sold at the Streeter sale (for
$17,500 in 1968). A set
belonging to the California Pioneers was destroyed by fire. The Californian was edited by Walter Colton, author of Deck and Port (1850) and Three
Years in California (1850), and Robert Semple, a frontier doctor from
Kentucky. The first issue
appeared on Aug. 15, 1846, and the newspaper continued to be published
weekly in Monterey, in English and Spanish on the Zamorano Press, the
first printing press in California. Paper
was so scarce that a few issues had to be printed on cigar wrapping
papers. Much of the news is
comprised of firsthand accounts of local happenings.
When there was a scarcity of news items, Colton and Semple used
fillers of poetry and fiction, or culled from newspapers received in
exchange. The paper was
printed every Saturday until No. 36, April 24, 1847, when Colton turned
the business over to Semple due to ill health.
Number 37, here present, notes the change, and that number and the
next issue, the last published in Monterey, appeared on Thursday rather
than Saturday. Semple moved the paper almost immediately to San Francisco, where he
began publication in a larger folio format on May 22, 1847.
The paper bore the masthead, The Californian, until No. 15,
Aug. 28, here present, when “The” was dropped.
B.R. Buckelew took over as publisher on July 17, Robert Gordon on
Oct. 27, and Buckelew again on Jan. 26, 1848. The Californian served as a vital source of news for the American forces during their
occupation of California in the Mexican War.
The paper continued in its important role after the war with its
support of the new government, printing the texts of the various official
proclamations, and strongly advocating a territorial relationship with the
United States as a first step toward annexation.
The issues included here include Part I of a review, with extracts,
of Melville’s Typee (Vol. I, No. 21), a reprinting of the
prospectus for the paper establishing editorial policy (Vol. I, No. 30),
and an account of the rescue of the Donner party survivors (Vol. I, No.
32), among many other items of great historical interest. The only opportunity likely to present itself to acquire a fabled
California rarity. This set is not an exact match, since twenty-seven numbers are offered
here and Streeter had thirty-nine, with some overlap and some differences.
The Streeter lot was the thirteenth most expensive at the entire
Streeter sale, going to Howell for $17,000.
His notes in his copy of the catalogue suggest he was holding a
$10,000 bid from the San Francisco Public Library, which he obviously
exceeded. We are not sure
where the material ended up, but possibly at the Bancroft Library. The Streeter Copy 36. [California
Gold Rush]: Gallaer, William W.: THE SAN FRANCISCO LETTER SHEET PRICE
CURRENT, AND REVIEW OF THE MARKET FOR JULY. San Francisco. July 31,
1850. [1]pp. on a quarto sheet, lacking the integral blank leaf. Addressed
in manuscript on the verso for mailing to: “W.W. Woodbury Esq. Portland,
ME.” Quite torn and chipped at left and right edges, costing about fifty
words in the left column of text and touching the prices on several lines
on the right side. Fair. The
Streeter copy, with his pencil notes in the upper margin of the recto, and
his bookplate on the bottom corner of the verso.
This copy was acquired by Streeter from the Massachusetts
Historical Society and is not noted by Wagner. A very rare letter sheet reporting on the prices of goods and the state
of the market in the early months of the California gold rush.
These ephemeral reports are a vital component in understanding the
economy and material culture of San Francisco and California during the
boom and bust years when thousands of gold seekers and tons of goods
flooded the region. Gallaer’s
San Francisco Letter Sheet and Price Current was the earliest such
publication to appear in San Francisco, with the first issues produced in
September 1849. It was
published twice monthly by William Gallaer, who was customs collector for
the District of Sonoma and revenue inspector for the port of Benecia, a
town in the northern part of San Francisco Bay and a gateway to the river
system. Each issue carries a
brief notice of fees for transporting freight, both at sea and inland by
river; a review of general and specific trends in market prices; and an
extensive list of the prices for scores of goods.
Sometime in the late spring or early summer of 1850 the San
Francisco merchant firm of Hinrichsen, Reincke & Co. took over the
sponsorship and partial distribution of the ...Price Current,
though Gallaer apparently continued as the editor.
In the present issue Gallaer reports that “the market for the
past two weeks has shown an unusual activity, and the state of trade
generally is highly gratifying. Large
amounts of goods have changed hands at rates favorable to shippers, and
the closing transactions of the month were on terms calculated to inspire
the fullest confidence.” Gallaer
vigorously refutes the notion he hears is circulating in eastern
mercantile houses, that the San Francisco markets are about to fall into a
state of “general ruin and bankruptcy,” and notes that emigrants
continue to stream into San Francisco and the mining region and that they
are desperate for goods. This
issue of the ...Price Current also includes lists giving the prices
for scores of goods in San Francisco. This issue is not located by Wagner, though there appears to be a copy at
the Bancroft Library. Rare,
and filled with valuable information on the gold rush economy in 1850. This was also one of six in a lot bought by Howell. The Streeter Copy 37. [California
Gold Rush]: Gallaer, William W.: SAN FRANCISCO LETTER SHEET PRICE CURRENT
AND REVIEW OF THE MARKET. Vol. 1. No. IX. San Francisco: Pacific News
Press, Feb. 27, 1850. [2]pp. on a quarto sheet, lacking the integral blank
leaf. Small smudge on the first page. Torn roughly along left edge, but
with no loss of text. Very good. The
Streeter copy, with his pencil notes in the upper margin of the recto, and
his bookplate on the bottom corner of the verso. A very rare letter sheet reporting on the prices of goods and the state
of the market in the early months of the California gold rush.
These ephemeral reports are a vital component in understanding the
economy and material culture of San Francisco and California during the
boom and bust years when thousands of gold seekers and tons of goods
flooded the region. Gallaer’s
San Francisco Letter Sheet and Price Current was the earliest such
publication to appear in San Francisco, with the first issues produced in
September 1849. It was
published twice monthly by William Gallaer, who was customs collector for
the District of Sonoma and revenue inspector for the port of Benecia, a
town in the northern part of San Francisco Bay and a gateway to the river
system. Each issue carries a
brief notice of fees for transporting freight, both at sea and inland by
river; a review of general and specific trends in market prices; and an
extensive list of the prices for scores of goods.
In the present issue Gallaer reports that the market is sluggish:
“the extreme tightness of the money market has had a tendency to check
operations and the absence of purchasers for the mining districts, but
very few as yet arrived, continue to keep our markets depressed.
A gradual improvement, however, is confidently looked for, after
the sailing of the steamer, on the 1st proximo.”
Cuban cigars are reported as scarce and in high demand, as are
spices and sugar, while the market for liquor is dull and the lumber
market continues to be flat. We can locate only one other copy of the present issue, at the Bancroft
Library. Rare, and filled with
valuable information on the gold rush economy in 1850. This was one of six pieces bought by Howell at the Streeter sale for
$160. Streeter Copies 38. [California
Gold Rush]: Hussey, Bond & Hale: [TWO CIRCULAR LETTER SHEETS GIVING
REPORTS ON THE PRICES OF COMMODITIES IN SAN FRANCISCO IN THE EARLY MONTHS
OF THE GOLD RUSH]. San Francisco. Dec. 1, 1850; Jan. 1, 1851. Two
issues. The December issue is [1]p. on a single quarto sheet, lacking the
integral blank. The January issue is [1]p. on a quarto sheet, with the
integral blank attached and addressed for mailing in manuscript on the
verso. Light staining and small marginal tears and wear. Very good. The
Streeter copies, with his pencil notes in the upper margin of both sheets.
A very rare pair of circular letters, giving important information
on the market and prices for goods in the early months of the California
gold rush. The letters were
issued by the Boston commercial firm of Hussey, Bond & Hale and
published twice a month. The
issue for Dec. 1, 1850 notes that the market for goods in San Francisco is
in a state of “continued dulness,” experiencing “a further
depression in prices of almost every article of import.”
They note that this is partly because of a large supply of goods
that have come into the harbor and been sent out to the mines in
anticipation of a rainy season. They
also note a glut of building supplies, and the text describes the imports
that are arriving from Manila, China, and Chile.
The Jan. 1, 1851 issue notes that “the market has continued
inactive, with a downward tendency in all descriptions of merchandise.”
They explain that the large stock of goods already sent to the
mines has not been exhausted, and the text goes on to describe the amounts
of goods that are being imported to San Francisco from abroad.
This issue contains a very helpful table listing the amount of
goods, broken down by month, that have been imported into San Francisco
during 1850, including flour, sugar, coffee, tea, pork, lard, and butter. OCLC locates only a single issue of a Hussey, Bond & Hale circular
letter relating San Francisco market conditions – for January 1852 –
at the Bancroft Library. An
important and rare source of information on economic conditions in San
Francisco during the gold rush. These two pieces were sold to Howell at the Streeter sale for $25. The Laws of the Diggings 39. [California
Gold Rush]: COLUMBIA MINING LAWS [caption title]. [Columbia,
Ca.: Gazette Print, 1853]. Broadside, 11 x 8¼ inches, printed in three
columns. A bit of wear at right edge, light foxing in left and bottom
margins. Very good. A
rare broadside printing of the laws of the Columbia Mining District in
California in 1853, created and enforced by the miners for their own
self-government. The seventeen
articles all deal with regulations for mining and claims.
The first nine set out rules for making and operating claims.
The next three address foreign ownership of claims.
Article 10: “None but Americans and Europeans who have or shall
declare their intentions of becoming citizens, shall hold claims in this
district....” Article 11:
“Neither Asiatics nor South Sea Islanders shall be allowed to mine in
this district, either for themselves or for others.”
Article 12 sets out a punishment for any miner who sells a claim to
an Asian or Polynesian. The
final five articles set out rules for enforcing the laws, including the
creation of a Miners Committee, and a system of binding arbitration.
According to the text, the laws were adopted “at a meeting of the
Miners of the Columbia Mining District, held Oct. 1st, 1853...,” and the
laws are signed in print by “C.H. Chamberlain, Pres.” and “R.A.
Robinson, Sec’y.” “The item is of basic importance...as an example of how the California
miners – or men beyond the reach of government anywhere else in our
States and Territories, for that matter – banded together and enacted
and enforced codes of law for their own protection” – Eberstadt.
The Columbia Gazette (which printed this broadside) was,
according to Kemble, the second newspaper to operate in Columbia, starting
operations in the fall of 1852. The
first newspaper in the area, the Columbia Star, apparently printed
only two or three issues in October-November of 1851, before the printing
press was destroyed by vandals. Greenwood locates only three copies, at the California Historical
Society, the Bancroft Library, and the Streeter copy, which was later sold
at the Clifford sale in 1994. Rocq
lists a copy at the Huntington Library.
OCLC adds copies at Yale, Library of Congress, University of
California at San Diego, and DeGolyer Library at SMU (the Harvard Law
Library copy listed is for a microform).
A rare and interesting example of the search for order in the
tumult of the gold rush. The Streeter copy went to Howell for $550, and was later sold to
collector Henry Clifford, reappearing at his sale in 1994. 40. Callender,
John: AN HISTORICAL DISCOURSE ON THE CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS OF THE
COLONY OF RHODE-ISLAND AND PROVIDENCE PLANTATIONS IN NEW-ENGLAND IN
AMERICA. FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT 1638, TO THE END OF FIRST CENTURY.
Boston: Printed and sold by S. Kneeland and T. Green, 1739. [1], 14,
120,[1]pp. including errata on final printed page. Later 19th-century
maroon pebbled morocco, gilt-stamped spine. Contemporary ownership
signature on front free endpaper and head of titlepage, old institutional
stamp on first page of dedication. Neat bookplates on front pastedown of
John Carter Brown Library and noted Americana collector Matt B. Jones.
Scattered foxing. Very good. An
important colonial history containing a good deal of information
concerning Roger Williams, religious freedom, Indians and Indian wars,
etc., by the pastor of the Baptist church in Newport, Rhode Island, the
second Baptist church in the United States.
A note on the John Carter Brown bookplate indicates this volume was
sold as a duplicate in 1934, presumably to Matt Jones.
Jones sold his collection through Goodspeed’s in 1940.
An excellent Rhode Island item.
A far nicer copy than the Park copy, which brought $2040. The Streeter copy was bought by Seven Gables Book Shop for $140. “The first epic poem to celebrate 41. Camoens,
Luis de: THE LUSIAD, OR PORTUGALS HISTORICALL POEM: WRITTEN IN THE
PORTINGALL LANGUAGE BY LUIS DE CAMOENS; AND NOW NEWLY PUT INTO ENGLISH BY
RICHARD FANSHAW, ESQ. London: Printed for Humphrey Moseley, 1655.
[22],224pp., plus full-page engraved portraits of Prince Henry the
Navigator and Vasco de Gama (portraits supplied from another copy, see
below). Engraved portrait frontispiece of Camoens with verses below.
Folio. Early 18th-century mottled calf, ruled in gilt and gilt-tooled with
thistle devices, gilt arms of Michael Wodhull on the front board, expertly
rebacked in modern matching calf preserving the original gilt morocco
spine label, a.e.g. Boards lightly rubbed and shelfworn. Portrait of
Prince Henry folded over at left foredge (as usual), portrait of de Gama
trimmed along right edge. Very clean internally. A very good copy. A
copy with a remarkable provenance. This
copy contains a presentation inscription (on a sheet tipped in at the
conclusion of the dedication) in the hand of the translator, Richard
Fanshawe, to his brother-in-law, Sir George Boteler.
The presentation is dated Aug. 22, 1655 and reads, “For my
honor’d friend Sir George Boteler from his most affectionate servant
& countryman, Richard Fanshaw,” and is followed by a line of text in
Spanish. Fanshawe (modern
spellings add an “e” at the end of Fanshaw) has made a number of
corrections in the text, and more extensive corrections in pencil have
been made by B. Fanshawe, which he transcribed from a presentation copy to
Thomas Leventhorpe. Presentation
copies from Fanshawe are extremely scarce. Further, there are notes on the front free endpaper in the hand of noted
book collector, classical scholar, and first translator English translator
of Euripedes, Michael Wodhull (1740-1816).
Wodhull notes that he purchased this copy on Feb. 11, 1782 at the
Faulder sale, that he supplied the two portraits from another copy, and
that he had it bound with his arms on the front board.
Several other notes on the front pastedown and endpaper trace this
copy’s provenance since Wodhull’s ownership. The first English-language edition of the epic poem of Portuguese
exploration, a monument of Portuguese literature, and a work that gave a
Homeric form to Renaissance-era travels and discoveries.
“The Lusiads, as a synthesis of national sentiment and
literary development, stands unchallenged as the epic of the Portuguese
nation, and it celebrates more than anything else the voyage of Da Gama
and the intrepid bravery of the Portuguese on land and sea” – Lach.
Camoens’ work was first published in Lisbon in 1572. In the early 1530s the great Portuguese historian, Joao de Barros, most
famous for his Decadas de Asia, called for an epic poem of
Portuguese exploration and discovery.
That call was answered later in the century by Luis de Camoens
(1524-80). Camoens was
educated in a monastic school in Coimbra, and produced poetry and plays at
a young age. In his early
twenties he was banished from Lisbon after producing a play thought to be
disparaging of the royal family. He
served as a soldier in the Portuguese forces besieging Ceuta in North
Africa, where he lost an eye. Camoens
returned to Lisbon in 1550, but found himself in more trouble, and was
pardoned by the King on condition he serve the Crown in India for five
years. He arrived at Goa in
late 1553 and stayed there briefly before joining an expedition to the
Malabar Coast. Later he
participated in a campaign against pirates on the shores of Arabia.
In 1556 he left Goa again for the East Indies, taking part in the
military occupation of Macao, where he remained for many months.
On his return trip to India, Camoens was shipwrecked off the Mekong
and wandered in Cambodia before getting to Malacca and eventually back to
Goa. He did not return to
Lisbon until 1570. Camoens’ inspiration for his epic poem, composed in ten Cantos, was
Virgil’s Aeneid. Camoens
made explorer Vasco de Gama his hero, using his exploits as a way to
glorify the achievements of the Portuguese nation, the “sons of Lusus”
(the mythical first settler of Portugal).
Camoens likely wrote parts of Cantos III and IV, which deal with
Portuguese history, before his departure for the East, but Lach and others
make a convincing case that the bulk of the poem could only have been
written after Camoens had his long firsthand experience in India and Asia.
Indeed, Camoens wrote much of the work while in the East.
Cantos VII to X deal most directly with Asia, beginning with de
Gama’s arrival in India and ending with his return to Portugal.
Canto X also includes references to Mexico and Brazil.
The Lusiad is a fine description not only of Portuguese
exploits in the East, but also of the flora and fauna of Asia and India,
the ethnographic details of the peoples there, and of the geography of the
region, informed by Camoens’ own experiences as well as familiarity with
Ptolemy and Barros. The
Lusiad was immensely popular upon its publication in 1579, appearing
in several Portuguese and Spanish editions, and serving as a source for
Linschoten in the preparation of his Itinerario in 1595.
Camoens’ epic poem not only sang the praises of the Portuguese
nation, it also appealed to Christian Europe in calling for a common
crusade against the Turk and Moslem Asia. “The Lusiads is indeed the national poem par excellence and the
supreme epic of Portugal’s conquests in the East...In its stately
grandeur, the Lusiads is to Portuguese poetry what Barros’ Decades
are to Portuguese prose. Their
national literature never again reached such heights, or has the
literature of any other country writings to surpass these two masterpieces
in their special fields” – Penrose.
“The Lusiads is a synthesis of all the elements included
in the reality and myth of Portugal’s overseas expansion.
It captures the heroism and the suffering, the glory and the
disillusionment, the generosity and the avarice which characterized the
national enterprise. The
author himself was the only major Portuguese poet to participate
personally in the voyage, the wars, and the rigors of life in Asia.
His epic successfully combines the personal with the national
experience and provides thereby an intelligible, individualistic
expression of the collective enterprise in which Portuguese of all walks
of life had engaged either directly or indirectly” – Lach. A most important work of epic poetry and of the literature of overseas
expansion and the exploration of Asia, here in a copy with remarkable
provenance. The Streeter copy, which did not have any special features as does the
present copy, was bought by Rostenberg for $550. 42. Campbell,
Archibald: A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, FROM 1806 TO 1812; IN WHICH JAPAN,
KAMSCHATKA, THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, AND THE SANDWICH ISLANDS, WERE VISITED.
INCLUDING A NARRATIVE OF THE AUTHOR’S SHIPWRECK ON THE ISLAND OF SANNACK,
AND HIS SUBSEQUENT WRECK IN THE SHIP’S LONG BOAT. WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE
PRESENT STATE OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS, AND A VOCABULARY OF THEIR LANGUAGE.
Edinburgh. 1816. 288pp. Folding frontispiece map. Half title. Modern
speckled calf, paneled in gilt, spine richly gilt in a nautical design,
gilt morocco labels. Boards a bit bowed. Bookplate on front pastedown. Ex-Cranleigh
School Library, with their ink stamp at the bottom of the titlepage. A bit
of light, scattered foxing. A very good copy. The
scarce first edition of this valuable account of Campbell’s voyage to
Japan and China, with much useful information on Hawaii and Alaska.
While in China, Campbell joined the crew of the American ship,
Eclipse, sailing out of Boston and captained by Joseph O’Cain (called
“O’Kean” in the text here). He
departed China and went on to Japan and Kamchatka, and thence to Alaska,
where the Eclipse was shipwrecked in 1807.
Campbell gives an important and early description of Alaska.
He wintered at the Russian base at Kodiak in 1808, where he met
Baranov, who happened to be there at the time, and gives a valuable
description of life on Kodiak. After
his shipwreck on Kodiak, both of Campbell’s feet froze, and they were
eventually amputated. After the amputation, Campbell was sent to Hawaii to rehabilitate and
became friendly with King Kamehameha I, for whom he made sails.
“Campbell’s account of his stay in Hawaii...is of the greatest
importance, being the first narrative from the viewpoint of a resident
rather than as a visitor...The author lived among the chiefs and then with
Isaac Davis, and he identifies some of the earliest foreign residents of
the islands, a number of whom were Botany Bay men.
His keen firsthand observations on the social structure and
agricultural practices of Hawaiians are of great importance” – Forbes.
A twenty-five-page appendix contains a Hawaiian vocabulary, and an
additional three pages contain Hawaiian phrases useful to seamen.
The map is a rather detailed chart of the Northwest Coast, showing
the “Track of the Eclipse’s Long Boat from Sannack to Kodiak 1807.”
After his time in Hawaii, Campbell spent two years in various
businesses in Rio de Janeiro, also discussed in this narrative.
This account of his adventures, edited by James Smith, was
published in an attempt to benefit Campbell. A scarce Pacific voyage, with much early information on Alaska and
Hawaii. The Streeter copy was bought by Tamayo for $175. Crossing the Isthmus in 1849: 43. [Carrington,
John W.]: THE PASSAGE OF THE ISTHMUS: OR, PRACTICAL HINTS TO PERSONS ABOUT
TO CROSS THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. WITH A MAP. By One Who Has Recently
Crossed. New York. 1849. 14pp. plus folding frontispiece map. Modern
three-quarter red morocco and cloth boards, spine gilt. Map wrinkled,
repaired on the verso with tape resulting in minor loss at one fold. A
very good copy. The
Thomas W. Streeter-Frank S. Streeter copy, with their bookplates on the
front paste-down. A very rare
guide for Americans crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1849 – a group
that would have been comprised largely of gold seekers headed for
California. Carrington gives a
very detailed account of the route across, beginning in Chagres and
progressing through Gorgona to the Pacific Coast.
There is much practical advice, especially on transport by river,
costs, the carrying of weapons, and provisions.
The very good map is by J.A. Lloyd.
“Especially interesting for the full account of the outfit
recommended for forty-niners; provisions; arms; costs, etc.
Carrington was long familiar with the region” – Eberstadt.
OCLC locates only three copies, at Yale, Harvard, and the New-York
Historical Society, and the NUC adds only the Library of Congress. A rare book giving important instructions for travellers heading for the
California gold rush. This copy sold to Helen Card at the Streeter sale.
Later it went into the library of Frank Streeter, and was purchased
by us at his auction in 2007. With Handcolored Illustrations 44. Catlin,
George: ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND CONDITION OF THE NORTH
AMERICAN INDIANS WITH LETTERS AND NOTES WRITTEN DURING EIGHT YEARS OF
TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE AMONG THE WILDEST AND MOST REMARKABLE TRIBES NOW
EXISTING.... London: Henry Bohn, 1866. Two volumes. 264; 266pp. 313
handcolored etchings on 180 plates, including three maps (one folding).
Contemporary three-quarter red morocco and marbled boards; spines tooled
with gilt devices of Indian heads, tomahawks, and peace pipes; gilt
morocco labels; a.e.g. Very good. In a cloth slipcase. Deluxe
issue of the tenth edition, one of “twelve or more” with the plates
printed in outline and colored by hand.
The London publisher, Henry Bohn, took over publication in 1845 and
altered the title to that given above.
What is important in this copy is the colored plates.
According to Sabin (who knew Bohn quite well and was certainly in a
position to be aware of the facts), “Mr. Bohn had twelve or more copies
colored after the fancy of the artist who did the work, but tolerably
well. Such copies are worth
$60 a set.” In fact, a set
brought $24 at the Field sale in 1875.
By comparison, a copy of the Catlin’s North American Indian
Portfolio... sold for only $1.50 at that sale.
Howes disagrees with Sabin and states that various editions
published by Bohn appear with the plates colored; however, given the
quality of the work involved and the lack of any contemporary evidence
amongst Bohn’s advertising material of a more generally available
colored issue, it would seem likely that Sabin is correct, and only about
a dozen were produced. The
plates themselves are clean, fresh, and very handsomely colored.
It is impossible to identify the colorist, but it was quite
possibly one of the Catlin copyists working in England at that time, John
Cullum or Rosa Bonheur. The
plates illustrate scenes of Indian life in the West, or are portraits of
individual Indians. The book was and is one of the most widely circulated works on American
Indians written in the 19th century, and the illustrations so beautifully
presented herein remain the most important body of illustrative material
for wild Indian life in the American West. The Streeter copy was bought by Peter Decker for $800. 45. [Cherokees]:
MEMORIAL OF JOHN ROSS AND OTHERS, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CHEROKEE NATION
OF INDIANS, ON THE SUBJECT OF THE EXISTING DIFFICULTIES IN THAT NATION,
AND THEIR RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES.... [Washington. 1846].
59pp. Dbd. Fine. 29th
Cong., 1st Sess. The Cherokee
nation claims financial restitution for their lands under treaties of
previous years, including those of 1828 and 1833. Nebenzahl paid $150 for this, the price we now ask.
What got into him? Generations
of booksellers have now cited this price against theirs as proof of their
reasonableness. It was common
then and it’s common now. 46. Chittenden,
Hiram M.: THE AMERICAN FUR TRADE OF THE FAR WEST. New York. 1902.
Three volumes. 1029pp. total, plus folding map. Half title in each volume.
Frontispiece in first and second volumes. Original green cloth,
gilt-stamped spines. Internally bright and clean. Near fine, partially
unopened. From
the library of noted Americana collector Frank Cutter Deering, with his
bookplate on the front pastedown of each volume. After all these years,
still the standard work on the subject.
This is the handsome first edition, published by F.P. Harper, and
the essential starting point for research on the fur trade. Howell paid $90 for the Streeter copy. Franklin’s Printing of Cato Major 47. Cicero,
Marcus Tullius: M.T. CICERO’S CATO MAJOR, OR HIS DISCOURSE OF OLD-AGE:
WITH EXPLANATORY NOTES. Philadelphia: Printed and sold by B. Franklin,
1744. viii,159pp. Modern pebbled calf, spine and boards gilt, inner
dentelles gilt. Contemporary annotation in Latin on p.24. Preliminary
leaves slightly browned, minor occasional foxing in margins of text. A
very good copy. A
nice copy of one of Benjamin Franklin’s most noteworthy publications,
and one of the few handsome pieces of printing produced in the British
colonies, notable for its striking titlepage in black and red, with ample
letter spacing. This is the
first edition, second issue, with “ony” corrected to “only” in the
fifth line of page 27. “Next
to the almanacs the Cato Major is probably Franklin’s best-known
publication; many think it his most handsome piece of printing, and for a
large number of important collectors in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries, it was the only Franklin imprint worth having in
their collections” – C. William Miller.
“This work was translated, with explanatory notes, by
Chief-Justice James Logan, next to Penn and Franklin the most important
character in the early history of Pennsylvania.
It is generally conceded to be the finest product of Franklin’s
press, if not of the American press of the eighteenth century.
It is really a beautiful specimen of the printer’s art” –
Church. Sessler paid $1400, a lot at the time, for the Streeter copy. 48. Clap,
Thomas: THE RELIGIOUS CONSTITUTION OF COLLEGES, ESPECIALLY OF YALE-COLLEGE
IN NEW-HAVEN IN THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT. New London: Printed and
Sold by T. Green, 1754. [2],20pp. Modern plain wrappers. Very good and
clean. An
early account of Yale College by its first president.
Clap traces the history of colleges and universities, focusing on
the particular case of fifty-three-year-old Yale College.
He describes the establishment of the college, its charter,
government, religious mission, etc. “Clap,
a strict Calvinist, became head of Yale in 1739 as rector and under the
charter of 1745 became its first president.
He was opposed to Whitefield and the ‘Great Awakening’ of the
early 1740s. Being
dissatisfied with the liberal theology of the First Church of New Haven,
the college authorities claimed the right to have students attend services
at the college rather than at the First Church.
In this pamphlet, Clap defends the right of the college to conduct
separate services” – Streeter. The Streeter copy went to Goodspeed’s for $60. 49. Clark,
C.M.: A TRIP TO PIKE’S PEAK AND NOTES BY THE WAY, WITH NUMEROUS
ILLUSTRATIONS: BEING DESCRIPTIVE OF INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS THAT ATTENDED
THE PILGRIMAGE; OF THE COUNTRY THROUGH KANSAS AND NEBRASKA; ROCKY
MOUNTAINS; MINING REGIONS; MINING OPERATIONS, etc., etc. Chicago.
1861. vii,[1],134pp. plus frontispiece, plates, and errata leaf. Original
cloth, rebacked. Some scattered soiling and foxing. Manuscript note on
frontis. Else quite good. Clark
was a Chicago physician who went to Colorado to prospect for gold in 1860,
without success. He describes
in detail the frontier town and expresses distaste with some of its
aspects, such as the gambling, crime, and language.
His narrative is considered to be one of the few authentic and
truthful accounts of life and travel in Colorado of the day.
The plates offer many fine illustrations of Denver and other
western towns. “One of the
best of the few contemporary accounts of the Pike’s Peak gold rush...”
– Wilcox. “[Clark’s] is
one of the few authentic accounts of that year’s travel to the
Rockies” – Wagner-Camp. The Streeter copy went to the Nebraska Book Co. for $250. 50. Clark,
Daniel: PROOFS OF THE CORRUPTION OF GEN. JAMES WILKINSON, AND OF HIS
CONNEXION [sic] WITH AARON BURR.... Philadelphia. 1809.
[2],150,199pp. Modern paper boards, paper label. Scattered foxing. Very
good, untrimmed. Clark,
a former resident of New Orleans and business associate of Wilkinson,
produced considerable testimony against the General in the course of the
Burr trial, for which he was subjected to much abuse by Wilkinson
partisans. He published this
book to present his case and clear his own good name.
He demonstrates that Wilkinson was receiving payments from the
Spanish government, and that he was actively involved in the Burr
Conspiracy and plots for the Southwest to separate from the Union. Bayou Books paid an outrageous $700 at the Streeter sale.
This is one of the chief books on Burr-Wilkinson, but not that
rare. $150 would have been
more like it at the time. John R. Bartlett’s Copy 51. Clever,
Charles P.: NEW MEXICO: HER RESOURCES; HER NECESSITIES FOR RAILROAD
COMMUNICATION WITH THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC STATES; HER GREAT FUTURE.
Washington: McGill & Witherow, 1868. 47pp. Late 19th-century
three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Extremities worn, old unobtrusive
blindstamp on titlepage. Internally clean and nice. Very good. John
R. Bartlett’s copy, with his signature on the front wrapper, and a
presentation inscription from the author: “...with the compliments of
C.P. Clever.” Clever was a
delegate to Congress from New Mexico.
In this interesting pamphlet he devotes much space to a description
of the mineral resources of New Mexico, finally outlining the importance
of building a western railroad from Memphis, through New Mexico,
terminating in San Diego, California.
A nice association copy, once owned by John R. Bartlett, author of Personal
Narrative of Explorations in Texas, New Mexico, California... (1854). The Streeter copy sold for $50. 52. Colby,
Charles: HAND-BOOK OF ILLINOIS, ACCOMPANYING MORSE’S NEW MAP OF THE
STATE. New York: Rufus Blanchard..., 1854. 36pp. plus large color
folding map. Titlepage vignette. Original gilt cloth, with original rear
printed wrapper bound in as usual. Spine perished, reinforced with tape.
Some tears in folds of map. Otherwise very good. The
text provides an account of the history of the state, its physical
characteristics, resources, population, government, and internal
improvements, with sketches of the settlements and towns, through 1853.
The map, with boundaries of counties colored, shows towns, cities,
rivers, creeks, proposed and completed railroads, and canals, and includes
eastern Missouri and part of southeastern Iowa.
The top of the map bears handsomely colored locomotive and railroad
cars. “Very scarce, this is
the only copy known outside of the Illinois State Historical Society”
– Paullin sale (1929). The Streeter copy sold to Goodspeed’s for $40. 53. [Colorado]:
THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN DIRECTORY AND COLORADO GAZETTEER, FOR 1871. Denver:
S.S. Wallihan & Co., [1870]. [7]pp. of ads, 442pp. plus [59]pp. of
ads, and [144]pp. of ads interspersed in the text. Original gilt cloth.
Head and toe of spine frayed and bit chipped. Somewhat sunned, especially
the spine. Contents a bit shaken. Internally very good. This
directory, here in its first year of publication, is an extremely detailed
compendium of information and statistics on virtually every aspect of the
territory, covering its history, geography and geology, natural resources,
etc. “This Directory gives
useful information on the early territorial history of Colorado, including
the various conventions and forms of government in the early days,
railroads, colonization, and early mining” – Streeter.
The volume also includes an accurate directory for Denver, Golden
City, Black Hawk, Central City, Nevada, Idaho, Georgetown, Greely,
Colorado City, Pueblo, Trinidad, etc.
A more useful and comprehensive guide to pre-statehood Colorado
would be difficult to find. Not
in Eberstadt, Graff, or Decker. Howell bought the Streeter copy for $110. Map of the Gold Regions 54. Colton,
J.H.: MAP OF THE UNITED STATES THE
BRITISH PROVINCES MEXICO
&c. SHOWING THE ROUTES OF THE U.S. MAIL STEAM PACKETS TO CALIFORNIA
AND A PLAN OF THE GOLD REGION. New York. 1849. Folding map, 25½ x 19
inches inclusive of decorative border. Dbd., matted. Professionally
repaired on folds. Good. Lacks the 11pp. of text. This
important map is one of the most up-to-date views of the West published in
the exciting year of 1849. Various
emigrant routes across the continent are shown, and the gold regions are
specifically identified for the first time on a Colton map.
Boundaries and explorers’ routes are colored by hand, and the
gold region is colored yellow. There
are insets of the gold region and South America, and an illustration above
the title shows Pyramid Lake in Upper California as discovered by Fremont
in 1844. This is one of
several variant issues of this map, each adding some more information
about the gold regions. This
copy has the most information, with an inset gold region map, and the land
along the Feather River designated as “El Dorado or Gold Region.” Not exactly an even comparison, since Streeter’s copy has the eleven
pages of text and this does not. However,
the Streeter copy, which sold to Howell for $275 at the sale, was sold by
him for $450 in his catalogue 50, and later purchased by us and sold to
collector Jay Snider in 2000. It
sold for $3840 at the Snider sale in 2005. 55. Colton,
J.H.: CALIFORNIA. New York: J.H. Colton, 1854. Folding color map, 13 x
17 inches. Tipped into original brown cloth folder, gilt-stamped cover.
Bright and clean. With an advertisement for a Colton publication on the
front pastedown of the folder. Near fine. In a half morocco and cloth box. Identical
to Colton’s 1853 map of California, save for the new date on the
imprint. The map was published
in two formats, the present one and that which appeared in E.S. Capon’s History
of California... (Boston: John P. Jewett, 1854).
It was reprinted again in 1855 for Colton’s American Atlas...,
though with some changes and omissions.
San Francisco is displayed in a 5 x 5-inch color inset.
“This was probably the best-known map of California in the
eastern states during the ‘fifties.
It was republished annually for a time, with little or no change”
– Wheat. Nebenzahl bought the Streeter copy for $50. 56. [Connecticut
Land Company]: THE CONNECTICUT GORE TITLE, STATED AND CONSIDERED, SHOWING
THE RIGHT OF THE PROPRIETORS, TO THE LANDS LATELY PURCHASED BY THEM, FROM
THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT: LYING WEST OF THE DELAWARE RIVER. Hartford:
Printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1799. 80pp. Gathered signatures,
stitched, original rear wrapper present. Tanned. A good copy in original
state, untrimmed. A thorough examination of the history and right of title to these lands,
which was being contested between New York and Connecticut for many years
preceding this document. The Streeter copy sold for $225. America’s Magna Carta 57. [Constitutions]:
CONSTITUTIONS DES TREIZE ÉTATS-UNIS DE L’AMÉRIQUE. A Philadelphie;
et se trouve à Paris.... 1783. [2],540pp. Contemporary French cat’s paw
calf, spine richly gilt in six compartments, gilt morocco label. Minor
wear to upper portion of hinges. A touch of soiling on final three leaves,
else internally clean and bright. A fine and very lovely copy. The
Franklin-inspired French edition of the constitutions of the original
thirteen states of the newly created United States of America.
Only 600 copies were printed for Franklin, of which 100 were on
large paper. Franklin was then
ambassador to the French Court and had just completed negotiations with
Great Britain for the independence of the United States. The work was
translated by the Duc de la Rochefoucauld at Franklin’s suggestion and
includes over fifty footnote annotations by the latter.
“Franklin’s grand gesture in publishing and distributing these
constitutions, about which there was an intense interest and curiosity
among statesmen, was one of his chief achievements as propagandist for the
new American republic” – Streeter.
Also included are the Declaration of Independence, Articles of
Confederation, and the treaties between the United States and France, the
Low Countries, and Sweden. The
titlepage bears the first appearance in a book of the seal of the United
States designed by Franklin (the eagle, stars, and stripes). Streeter had one of 100 large paper copies, for which Carnegie paid $2500
at the sale. That issue would
be worth $60,000 today. This
is one of the regular sized ones. 58. [Cook,
James]: [Magra, James]: A JOURNAL OF A VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD, IN HIS
MAJESTY’S SHIP ENDEAVOUR, IN THE YEARS 1768, 1769, 1770, AND 1771;
UNDERTAKEN IN PURSUIT OF NATURAL KNOWLEDGE, AT THE DESIRE OF THE ROYAL
SOCIETY: CONTAINING ALL THE VARIOUS OCCURRENCES OF THE VOYAGE, WITH
DESCRIPTIONS OF SEVERAL NEW DISCOVERED COUNTRIES IN THE SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE; AND ACCOUNTS OF THEIR SOIL AND PRODUCTIONS; AND OF MANY
SINGULARITIES IN THE STRUCTURE, APPAREL, CUSTOMS, MANNERS, POLICY,
MANUFACTURES, &c. OF THEIR INHABITANTS. TO WHICH IS ADDED, A CONCISE
VOCABULARY OF THE LANGUAGE OF OTAHITEE. London: Printed for T. Becket
and P.A. De Hondt, in the Strand, 1771. [2],ii,130,[3]pp. Quarto. Modern
half calf and marbled boards. Expert paper repair at bottom of titlepage,
slight scattered foxing. Very good, with the suppressed dedication leaf. The
first published account of Cook’s first voyage, and thus the first
appearance of any narrative of this epochal voyage.
It was issued two years before the official account by Hawkesworth.
As it was printed anonymously shortly after the return of the
Endeavor and without authorization, the question of authorship has plagued
bibliographers for some time. Sabin
is adamant in declaring that the author was not Sir Joseph Banks, nor
Capt. Cook, nor Hawkesworth. Beaglehole
and other Cook authorities seem to agree that the author was American
sailor James Magra. Others
insist on attributing the work to Richard Orton and William Parry, or to
Solander and Banks. “It is
the first work chronologically in a bibliography of Cook...” – Hill.
“The importance of this work cannot be overstated as it is not
only the first published account of the voyage but it is also an
interesting narrative of the expedition...[The first issue] is of the
greatest rarity, and copies of the book containing the dedication are far
more valuable than those without it” – Davidson.
“Magra is the best voyage book” – Derek McDonnell.
The dedication leaf to the Lords of the Admiralty which appears in
this copy seems to indicate that the publication was officially
sanctioned, which it was not. The
second issue lacks the dedication leaf. An exceedingly important travel account, and extremely rare in its
unsuppressed state. The Streeter copy sold for $400, although it is not clear from the
catalogue if it is the first issue. A Complete Set of Cook’s Voyages 59. [Cook,
James]: Hawkesworth, John: AN ACCOUNT OF THE VOYAGES UNDERTAKEN BY THE
ORDER OF HIS PRESENT MAJESTY FOR MAKING DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE...PER-FORMED BY COMMODORE BYRON, CAPTAIN WALLIS, CAPTAIN
CARTERET AND CAPTAIN COOK.... London. 1773. [with:] Cook, James: A
VOYAGE TOWARDS THE SOUTH POLE, AND ROUND THE WORLD...IN THE YEARS 1772,
1773, 1774, AND 1775.... London. 1777. [with:] Cook, James: A
VOYAGE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.... London. 1785. Together, eight volumes
plus atlas. A complete set of Cook’s three voyages, the first and third
being second editions and the second voyage in a first edition.
With the folio atlas, containing two large folding maps and
sixty-one engraved plates. Without the rare Death of Cook plate, which is
only found in a few copies. Quarto text volumes and folio atlas all in
matching contemporary Russia leather, boards and spines finely gilt,
leather labels. Slight wear at top and bottom of some spines, some outer
joints skillfully repaired. A few contemporary annotations in the text, a
few clean tears in text of second voyage. A very fine set of Cook’s
three voyages, with the atlas. A
remarkable set of Cook’s voyages, a basic set for the history of Pacific
exploration, bound in matching contemporary Russia leather with finely
gilt decoration. The first
voyage describes Cook’s explorations of New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti,
and other islands; the second describes his southern voyages in search of
a southern continent; and the third is an account of his north Pacific
explorations of Alaska, the Northwest Coast, and Hawaii, where the great
navigator met his death. Of
equal importance as a text of exploration, a cartographical source for the
numerous maps and charts included in the work, and a visual source for the
engravings of fauna, flora, and inhabitants of the Pacific.
In all, the entire set contains more than 200 maps and plates.
The foundation for any collection of Pacific voyages, or indeed any
collection of travel and exploration. The price of sets of Cook depends heavily on their physical condition.
The Streeter copy sounds like it was not very nice; it realized
$1050 to Howell. A Ground-breaking Cook Rarity 60. [Cook,
James]: Pringle, John: A DISCOURSE UPON SOME LATE IMPROVEMENTS OF THE
MEANS FOR PRESERVING THE HEALTH OF MARINERS. DELIVERED AT THE ANNIVERSARY
MEETING OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY.... London: Printed for the Royal
Society, 1776. [4],44pp. Half title. Small quarto. Three-quarter
20th-century calf over marbled boards, gilt label. Leaf C4 (signed C3) a
cancel, as usual. Occasional minor foxing, ink stain on p.2. A very good
copy, bound with five other works by Pringle, listed below. Extremely
rare. One of the most
significant of all the printed works relating to Cook’s voyages and
their importance. This is the
first appearance in print of Cook’s epoch-making account of the
successful measures taken against scurvy on his first two voyages.
There were several later versions and translations, but the
original edition of this milestone publication has long been acknowledged
as a major rarity. The paper
on scurvy was read to the Royal Society by its president, Sir John Pringle
(in the absence of Cook himself, then just beginning his final voyage), as
the year’s Copley medal award winner, and immediately published in this
form. Pringle’s long
presentation address, quoting directly from Cook and other sources, is
followed by Cook’s paper and an extract from a letter by Cook to Pringle
written from Plymouth Sound in July 1776.
The paper subsequently appeared in the official account of the
second voyage and in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
Society. In 1783 a series of
six of Pringle’s discourses at the annual presentations of the Copley
medal was published in one volume. “In Pringle’s discourse on preserving the health of mariners he
includes the first printing of Captain Cook’s important paper entitled:
‘The Method taken for preserving the Health of the Crew of His
Majesty’s Ship the Resolution during her late Voyage round the World.’
In this paper, which Cook communicated to Pringle, President of the
Royal Society, Cook describes the supplies carried on the voyage and his
maintenance of the cleanliness of his ship and crew.
It was included by Pringle in his discourse commemorating Cook’s
receipt of the Copley medal” – Norman sale.
The winning of the battle against scurvy was one of the most
important achievements in the general field of exploration.
It made possible the major voyages that followed.
As Robert Hughes has so aptly put it in The Fatal Shore:
“malt juice and pickled cabbage put Europeans in Australia as microchip
circuitry would put Americans on the moon.” This copy is very appropriately accompanied by five other Royal Society
discourses of the period. A
Discourse... is here bound chronologically with five other Pringle
first editions: A Discourse on the Different Kinds of Air (1774), A
Discourse on the Torpedo (1775), A Discourse on the Attraction of
Mountains (1775), A Discourse on the Invention and Improvements of
the Reflecting Telescope (1778), and A Discourse on the Theory of
Gunnery (1778). The
Streeter-Norman copy of the Discourse...for Preserving the Health of
Mariners was also bound with these five additional works by Pringle. Streeter had a copy bound as this one, with the additional tracts by
Pringle, sold to Howell for collector Haskell Norman.
It appeared in the Norman sale in 1998, where it realized $16,800,
and ultimately passed to collector David Parsons.
It appeared in the catalogue of his collection issued by Hordern
House in 2006, priced $80,000 Australian. |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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Questions or comments?Write us at amorder@reeseco.com |
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