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Catalogue 257 The Streeter Sale Revisited |
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Section IX: Ptolemy to Stoddard |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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The First Modern Atlas 251. Ptolemy,
Claudius: GEOGRAPHIE OPUS NOVISSIMA TRADUCTIONE E GRECORUM ARCHETYPIS
CASTIGATISSIME PRESSUM. Strassburg: Johann Schott, March 12, 1513. Two
parts in bound in one volume. [Title-leaf], [dedication leaf], 5-60
numbered leaves, [14 unnumbered leaves forming an index], twenty-seven
woodcut “ancient” maps (26 double-page), [supplement title-leaf],
twenty woodcut “modern” maps (19 double-page, the final single-page
map of Lorraine printed in three colors), [15 unnumbered text leaves].
Folio, 17 3/16 x 12 inches. Expertly bound to style in 18th-century red
morocco, paneled in gilt on the covers, spine simply gilt in seven
compartments with raised bands, lettered in gilt in the second
compartment. Margins of four of the “ancient maps shaved with slight
loss to the printed marginal notes [3] or the image area [1], six of the
“modern” maps shaved with loss (one with loss to the marginal notes,
five with loss to the image area), unobtrusive worming in lower blank
margins of text leaves to H1, single worm track from B5 to the end through
text and image areas, a second track from title through to G2 through text
only. In a half morocco and cloth clamshell box, spine gilt. Provenance:
Occasional early marginal notes in two scripts, in red or black ink;
Barlow (sale February 1890, bought by); Alfred T. White (penciled
inscription, noting purchase). A
unique copy of the first modern atlas, including two maps in early proof
states. A monumental and
important work, containing critical New World information, derived from
the latest voyages of exploration. “The
most important of all the Ptolemy editions” (Streeter), including the
earliest map devoted entirely to the new world. This copy has been carefully compared with the copy in the Library of the
State University of Utrecht, Holland, that was used to produce the Theatrum
Orbis Terrarum facsimile in 1966.
The present copy shows significant variation from the Utrecht copy
and from the descriptions given in the standard bibliographies.
At least thirteen pages of text are in a different setting: M2
recto and verso; M3 recto and verso; [N1] recto and verso; Nii recto and
verso; Niii recto; Niiii verso; Nv recto and verso; Nvi recto and verso.
Perhaps more significantly, two of the maps are in an earlier
state: both maps normally include both woodcut and letterpress elements.
The “ancient” map of Great Britain and Ireland “Tabula Prima
Europae” is without all the letterpress marginal notes and some words
from within the image area (“Oceanus Germanicus” and “et Britannicus”);
in addition, the letterpress words that are present are all in a different
setting. The final
color-printed map of Lorraine is without the letterpress colophon to the
second part, which is normally printed in the margin beneath the map (the
Phillips copy, number 359, also
shows this variation). In
addition it includes one place name (“Walde Mone”) printed in red that
was removed in the Utrecht version. A
third intermediate issue, with the letterpress colophon and the additional
place name in red, is illustrated by Bagrow in History of Cartography,
plate LXXV. The present copy
was in the collection of noted collector Alfred T. White, and contains his
pencil ownership inscription on the front fly leaf. This masterful atlas is one of the most important cartographical works
ever published. Known as the
first “modern” edition of Ptolemy, it is usually accepted as the most
important edition of the Geographica....
The first part of this atlas consists of twenty-seven Ptolemaic
maps, taken from the 1482 Ulm Ptolemy, or perhaps the manuscript atlas of
Nicolaus Germanus upon which the Ulm Ptolemy was based.
Work on the twenty maps in the Supplement began around the year
1505 by Martin Waldseemuller and Mathias
Ringmann, geographers based in Saint-Dié, and was partially funded by
Duke Rene of Lorraine. The
accompanying text was completed a bit later, and in 1508 all of the
materials for the atlas passed into the hands of two Strassburg citizens,
Jacobus Eszler and Georgius Ubelin, at whose cost the work was completed
in 1513. Among the twenty “modern maps” (the maps in the Supplement are
labeled as “Nova” and “Moderna et Nova”) which appear in this
edition for the first time, “Orbis Typis Universalis” and “Tabula
Terre Nova,” stand as important examples of early New World
cartographica. Indeed, the
latter is considered the earliest map devoted entirely to the New World,
and depicts the coast of American in a continuous line from the northern
latitude of 55° to Rio de Cananor at the southern latitude of 35°, with
about sixty places named. The
other map, “Orbis Typis,” depicts the outline of northeastern South
America, with five names along that coast, and the islands Isabella and
Spagnolla, and another fragmentary coast, as well as an outline of
Greenland. The text states
that the New World maps are based upon geographical information obtained
from “the Admiral,” possibly a reference to Vespucci, Cabral, or
Columbus. The latter is
actually referred to by name on the “Tabula Terre Nova” map, and is
described as a Genoese sailing under command of the king of Castile. With the twenty modern maps of the Supplement, compiled from the latest
available voyages, this atlas holds rightful title to being the first
modern atlas of the world. The
atlas also contains the first map of Lorraine, which is one of the
earliest maps to be printed in color, each color produced with a separate
block (black, red and green). Charles Traylen bought the Streeter copy for $6500 and sold it to the
British collector, Lord Wardington. At
the Wardington sale in 2006 it sold for $410,688 at the rate of exchange
at the time of the sale. This
copy is nicer than the Streeter copy. 252. Remington,
Frederic: PONY TRACKS. New York. 1895. viii,[2],269pp. Plates.
Original gilt pictorial cloth. Very good. First
edition, in the regular binding, of Remington’s first book. The Streeter copy brought $70. 253. Reynolds,
John: THE PIONEER HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, CONTAINING THE DISCOVERY, IN 1673,
AND THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY TO THE YEAR EIGHTEEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN,
WHEN THE STATE GOVERNMENT WAS ORGANIZED. Belleville, Il. 1852. 348pp.
Original cloth. Bookplate and ink ownership inscription on front
pastedown. Front free endpaper excised, scattered foxing. Else very good. “For
his history of the early French communities and the settlement of the
American Bottom, Reynolds relied on early pioneers still living” –
Streeter. An important early
history by a governor of the state who was in office at the time of the
Mormon troubles and the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. Newman paid $130 for the Streeter copy, for Sonneborn.
At the Sonneborn sale in 1980 we bought it for $220.
What did I do with it? Haven’t
a clue. The Complete Set, Seldom Found 254. Richardson,
John: FAUNA BOREALI-AMERICANA; OR THE ZOOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN PARTS OF
BRITISH AMERICA: CONTAINING THE DESCRIPTIONS OF THE OBJECTS OF NATURAL
HISTORY COLLECTED ON THE LATE NORTHERN LAND EXPEDITIONS, UNDER COMMAND OF
CAPTAIN SIR JOHN FRANKLIN...BY... RICHARDSON...SURGEON AND NATURALIST TO
THE EXPEDITIONS. ASSISTED BY WILLIAM SWAINSON...AND...WILLIAM KIRBY.
London (Vols. I-III), and Norwich & London (Vol. IV): John Murray
(Vols. I-II), Richard Bentley (Vol. III), and Josiah Fletcher &
Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans (Vol. IV), 1829-1831-1836-1837.
Four volumes. 110 plates (seventy-two handcolored) by C.M. Curtis after C.
Wagstaff, and by Thomas Landseer, William Swainson, and Waterhouse
Hawkins; forty-one wood-engraved illustrations. Two half titles only (of
three, without half title in second volume), errata slip at front of text
of second volume. Quarto, 10 11/16 x 8 1/4 inches. Vols. I-III: Uniform
contemporary half purple calf over marbled paper-covered boards, spines in
six compartments with raised bands, dark blue/black morocco lettering
pieces in the second and fourth compartments, the others elaborately
tooled in gilt with a design centering on a large sailing ship tool. Vol.
IV: Expertly bound to match, incorporating early marbled paper-covered
boards and early marbled endpapers. Light fading to spines of first
through third volumes, with light rubbing at extremities. Very good. A
rare complete set of this important and influential work on Arctic and
sub-Arctic natural history: it took eight years to produce and was issued
by three different publishers in two cities, and is most difficult to find
complete. The fine collection of plates is distributed as follows: Volume I
contains twenty-eight uncolored etched plates (one folding) of quadrupeds
by Thomas Landseer; Volume II includes fifty excellent handcolored
lithographic plates of birds by William Swainson; Waterhouse Hawkins is
responsible for all twenty-four plates in Volume III (two are handcolored
copper engravings after Hawkins, the remaining twenty-two are lithographs
by Hawkins, ten of these are handcolored, and three of the remaining
uncolored plates have folding flaps); the final volume includes eight
handcolored engravings of insects, all heightened with gum arabic and
engraved by C. Wagstaff after C.M. Curtis. A complete set of the natural history of the Franklin expeditions to the
Arctic, produced under the supervision of John Richardson, surgeon and
naturalist with both Franklin expeditions.
It is one of the earliest and most complete studies of the natural
history of far North America and the Arctic. Over the course of the two
expeditions (which lasted from 1819 to 1822 and 1825 to 1827), Richardson
spent seven summers and five winters in the North. Each species is
described in detail, including its habitat, physical characteristics,
colors, etc. William
Swainson’s beautifully executed and colored bird plates are particularly
noteworthy. The volume on the
fish was Richardson’s own work, whilst he was assisted by Swainson and
William Kirby on the volumes on quadrupeds and insects, and Swainson alone
did most of the work on the ornithology.
Richardson’s “contributions to the natural history of the
Arctic are particularly notable” (Wagner-Camp).
“The influence which this work exerted cannot well be
overstated...it was the chief source of inspiration of numberless writers
upon the same subject...” – Elliott Coues. Howell bought the Streeter copy for $350.
It sold at auction in 2006 for $14,400.
The bindings had suffered considerable wear. A Classic Early Pacific Voyage 255. Rogers,
Woodes: A CRUISING VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD: FIRST TO THE SOUTH-SEAS, THENCE
TO THE EAST-INDIES, AND HOMEWARDS BY THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. BEGUN IN 1708,
AND FINISH’D IN 1711...CONTAINING A JOURNAL OF ALL THE REMARKABLE
TRANSACTIONS...AN ACCOUNT OF ALEXANDER SELKIRK’S LIVING ALONE FOUR YEARS
AND FOUR MONTHS ON AN ISLAND.... London: Printed for A. Bell and B.
Lintot, 1712. xxi,[1],428,56, [14]pp. plus five folding maps. Early
20th-century speckled gilt calf, rebacked in period style, spine gilt
extra, gilt inner dentelles, a.e.g. Surface of boards crackled and
slightly abraded. Contemporary ownership inscription of R. Hopwood dated
1716. World map with a few small surface repairs, backed with linen. A
very good copy. First
edition of one of the classics of British buccaneering, and an important
Pacific voyage. Rogers went
out via Cape Horn, rescued Alexander Selkirk from the island of Juan
Fernandez (making this the source book for Robinson Crusoe, with an
account of his experiences), and then attacked Spanish shipping on the
west coast of South America and Mexico, succeeding in taking the Acapulco
galleon in 1709, as well as other prizes.
The expedition went as far north as California, and put into
various ports in South America. The
maps show the voyagers’ track around the world and the South Sea coast
of America from the island of Chiloe to Acapulco, in four parts.
An important narrative, one of the best known English buccaneering
narratives. Goodspeed’s paid $275 at the Streeter sale, acting for Frank Streeter.
At his sale in April 2007 it sold for $9600 to a telephone bidder. The Streeter Copy 256. Rosen,
Peter, Rev: PA-HA-SA-PAH, OR THE BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA. A COMPLETE
HISTORY.... St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Printing Co., 1895. 645,[1]pp. plus
plates. Frontispiece portrait. Original pictorial cloth. Gilt faded, inner
hinges cracked but holding. Overall a good plus copy. Thomas
W. Streeter’s copy, with his book label and pencil notes on the
endpapers. A scarce early
history of the Black Hills, well illustrated with photographic plates,
portraits, scenes in the Black Hills, Indian portraits, etc.
Rosen was a missionary in the Black Hills from 1882 to 1889.
“One of the best pioneer histories of the Black Hills” –
Streeter. A detailed account
of the region immediately after the end of the major Indian conflicts. The Nebraska Book Company paid $75 for this copy at the Streeter sale. 257. Rumsey,
James: A SHORT TREATISE ON THE APPLICATION OF STEAM, WHEREBY IS CLEARLY
SHEWN, FROM ACTUAL EXPERIMENTS, THAT STEAM MAY BE APPLIED TO PROPEL BOATS
OR VESSELS OF ANY BURTHEN AGAINST RAPID CURRENTS WITH GREAT VELOCITY.
Philadelphia: Printed by Joseph James, 1788. 26pp. plus final blank leaf.
19th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards. Extremities
somewhat worn, outer hinges cracked, chipped at head and toe of spine.
Contemporary ownership signature and touch of dust soiling on titlepage.
Else a very good, untrimmed copy, from the library of Haskell F. Norman,
with his bookplate. In a half morocco and cloth box. This
is one of the pioneering works on steamboats, whose advent bespoke a
technological revolution of profound implications.
Rumsey, a machinist by trade, was a trailblazer in steam
propulsion. As early as 1784
he exhibited to George Washington a model of a boat for stemming the
current of rivers by steam power. A
Short Treatise... initiated a controversy in the late 1780s between
Rumsey and John Fitch over who had priority in the development of their
respective steam-powered boats. Fitch
was the first to publicize his invention and obtained a fourteen-year
privilege for the manufacture of steam vessels, giving him a virtual
production monopoly in America. Rumsey
issued the present pamphlet as a reply to Fitch’s Original Steamboat
Supported (1788). This is
the corrected reissue of Rumsey’s A Plan, Wherein the Power of Steam
is Fully Shewn (1788). Goodspeed’s paid $425 for the Streeter copy.
It is now at the Cincinnati Public Library. 258. Ryan,
William Redmond: PERSONAL ADVENTURES IN UPPER AND LOWER CALIFORNIA, IN
1848-9; WITH THE AUTHOR’S EXPERIENCE AT THE MINES.... London. 1850.
Two volumes. x,[2],347; vi,413pp. plus twenty-three plates (including
frontispieces). Early 20th-century three-quarter red calf and marbled
boards, spines gilt, leather labels, t.e.g. Neat bookplate in each volume.
A fresh, clean, handsome set. Very good. The
author sailed from the East Coast to California via Rio de Janeiro and
Cape Horn, a journey to which he devotes three chapters.
He sought “relief from the monotony of civilized life, in a more
congenial and adventurous existence amidst the wilds and mountains of
California.” Includes a
chapter on the geographical features of the country, including mineral
wealth. “The charming
narrative of an artist and bohemian who left unrecorded but little that he
saw. His descriptions are
among the best of his time” – Cowan. “Both
text and illustrations are among the best of the period” – Howes. Howell paid $90 for the Streeter copy. A Foundation Work of Canadiana 259. Sagard-Theodat,
Gabriel: LE GRAND VOYAGE DU PAYS DES HURONS, SITUE EN L’AMERIQUE VERS LA
MER DOUCE, ES DERNIERS CONFINS DE LA NOUVELLE FRANCE, DITE CANADA....
Paris. 1632. [22],380,[2]pp. With the extra engraved title. [bound with:] DICTIONAIRE
DE LA LANGUE HURONNE. Paris. 1632. 12,[146],[14]pp. Small octavo.
18th-century calf, spine gilt, edges stained red. Slight separation at
upper front hinge. Leaves washed, titlepage expertly remounted on matching
paper. A few unobtrusive marginal repairs in main text, bottom edge of
leaves of Dictionaire... expertly restored. Withal, a very good
copy. In a half morocco and cloth box. Sagard
was a Recollet missionary who spent 1623-24 in Huronia as a missionary to
the Huron nation. His book,
based largely on his own experiences and those of his associates, as well
as contemporary letters and documents, are considered to be the main
authority for the history of the first Recollet mission in Canada in
1615-29, and the main source for Indian life and relations with the French
which does not stem from the Jesuits.
“Sagard and Champlain were the first explorers to give any very
definite statements about the Huron Indian country and what they had
learned from these Indians about the Great Lakes Country” – Greenly.
Most of the work is devoted to the life of the Hurons, and has been
called “a brilliant, astonishingly precise fresco.” The Huron dictionary is the first printed Huron vocabulary, a collection
of French expressions translated into Huron, to be used as a manual by
traders and missionaries. Sagard
assembled it from his own work and those of other missionaries, and it
remains “the most complete compilation extant dealing with the old Huron
language.” A major and important rarity of Canada, New France, and the Great Lakes
region. The Streeter copy sold for $1500. The Bishop of Quebec Reports 260. [Saint-Vallier,
Jean Baptiste]: ESTAT PRESENT DE L’EGLISE ET DE LA COLONIE FRANCOISE
DANS LA NOUVELLE FRANCE. Paris. 1688. [2],268pp. Original gilt calf,
leather label. Rubbed, front joint broken. Old private library stamp on
bottom of titlepage, not affecting printing. Else very good. In a half
morocco and cloth box. An
important and rare narrative of Indians and settlers in 17th-century
Canada. “The author was the
second bishop of Quebec...before his consecration in 1685 he visited
Canada in order to examine the state of the diocese.
On his return to France, he wrote this account in the form of a
letter addressed to one of his friends.
It describes the Indian tribes and their relations with the French
settlers” – Lande. “...Containing
an account of the missions there with considerable attention to relations
between the French and the Indians, including troubles with the
Iroquois” – Bell. This
work was also issued, using the same sheets but with a new titlepage, as Relation
des missions de la Nouvelle France.
Quite scarce, accorded a “c” rating by Howes. Eberstadt paid $500 for the Streeter copy, bidding for Yale. The United States Asserts Its Federal 261. [San
Francisco]: Riley, Bennett: PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF THE DISTRICT OF
SAN FRANCISCO: WHEREAS, PROOF HAS BEEN LAID BEFORE ME, THAT A BODY OF MEN,
STYLING THEMSELVES “THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF THE DISTRICT OF SAN
FRANCISCO” HAS USURPED POWERS...[caption title and introductory
text]. [Monterey or San Francisco. 1849]. Broadside, 13 x 8¾
inches, printed in two columns. Staining and wear at folds, split neatly
in half across the center horizontal fold. Contemporary ink numbers on
verso. Overall, still very good. In a cloth chemise and slipcase, gilt
leather label. The
Thomas W. Streeter copy (one of only two known perfect copies), with his
pencil notes at the top of the recto and his bookplate at the bottom of
the verso. Streeter bought
this proclamation from Edwin Grabhorn in 1936, and it sold at his sale in
1968 to the Carnegie Book Shop for $1800.
It was later offered by Warren Howell. At the time of this proclamation, California was still under the rule of
the United States military, a state of affairs in place since the Mexican
War. In this document Bennett
Riley, the military governor of California, denounces the actions of the
so-called “Legislative Assembly of the District of San Francisco,”
which formed as a civil government and attempted to make laws, create and
fill offices, and impose and collect taxes.
Further, Riley notes that someone “assuming the title of Sheriff
under the authority of one claiming to be a Justice of the Peace” had
seized the public records of the district from the lawfully constituted
Alcalde. Riley calls on all
law-abiding citizens to uphold the “legally constituted [i.e. federal]
authorities of the land.” He
urges San Franciscans to aid in restoring the records to the Alcalde and
in ignoring the claims to power of the “Legislative Assembly.”
Riley writes: “It can hardly be possible that intelligent and thinking men should be
so blinded by passion, and so unmindful of their own true interests and
the security of their property...as to countenance and support any
illegally constituted body in their open violation of the laws and
assumption of authority which in no possible event could ever belong to
them.” He closes by implying that if the Alcalde has in any way misruled,
federal authorities will provide a remedy.
Bennett Riley (1787-1853) served as the military governor of
California from April 12 to Dec. 20, 1849, and later assisted in creating
the civil government of the state, calling for a constitutional convention
and later a gubernatorial election. The
broadside is signed in print by Riley at the end, dated at Monterey, June
4, 1849, and also signed in print by H.W. Halleck as Secretary of State. “This proclamation was undoubtedly printed as a broadside but I have
not succeeded in locating a copy of it” – Wagner.
Greenwood locates only this copy and a copy at the Bancroft
Library. OCLC locates a copy
at the University of California, San Diego, which is defective, with a
large hole in the first nine lines of text.
A very rare and early California imprint, vividly describing the
political instability in San Francisco in the early days of the gold rush. Carnegie Book Shop bought this at the Streeter sale for $1800.
He sold it to Harry Sonneborn, and it brought $1760 to Howell at
his sale in 1980. It later
belonged to collector Daniel Volkmann. The First San Francisco Directory: 262. [San
Francisco]: CAMPBELL & HOOGS’ DIRECTORY, FOR FEBRUARY, 1850 [caption
title]. [San Francisco]: Faulkner & Allen, [1850]. [3]pp. on a
folded folio sheet, fourth page blank. Some old creases, but a fine copy.
In a cloth chemise, and half morocco and cloth slipcase. The
first issue of the first San Francisco directory – one of only three
known copies, and the only one not in an institutional collection.
This is the Streeter copy – with his notes at the top of the
first page. The existence of
any copy of the first issue of Campbell & Hoogs’ Directory
was unknown until the Streeter and Graff copies were identified.
The Graff copy is now at the Newberry Library, and the Bancroft
Library has the third copy. The directory is printed in three columns per page and lists all sorts of
businesses in the booming city, including importers, restaurants,
engineers, druggists, dental surgeons, auctioneers, and grocers.
The long advertisement for Simmons, Lilly, and Co., general
merchants, states that “persons going to the mines will find this the
most convenient place to get their supplies....”
An ad for Adams & Co. Express reads that they are in the
business of receiving gold dust – either for sale or for safe keeping.
A three-line listing for Sebastian Haner advertises his services as
a “professor of piano and singing.”
The names of the members of the San Francisco Town Council are
listed at the top of the first page and reads like a who’s who of early
San Francisco history, with names including Geary, Turk, Brannan, Ellis,
and Steuart. Campbell and
Hoogs were commission merchants and real estate brokers who created this
directory by soliciting business cards from local merchants who were
willing to pay two dollars to be listed.
“Extremely rare...The first directory of any sort, not only for
San Francisco, but for California as a whole” – Quebedeaux.
This first issue of Campbell & Hoogs’ Directory was
advertised in the Jan. 17, 1850 issue of the Pacific News, with a
notice that it would be available Feb. 1 and that 200 subscribers had
already been secured. Cowan and Wagner cite only the March 1850 issue, hypothesizing that a
February issue was produced, though they were unable to locate a copy.
Greenwood identifies only the Streeter copy in his bibliography of
early California imprints. Streeter
bought this copy from Edward Eberstadt in 1936. It
was bought by Warren Howell at the Streeter sale in 1968, and later
offered by him in his catalogue 50, the Jennie Crocker Henderson Library.
Rare, iconic, and quite desirable – the earliest organized
business information we have for San Francisco in the early days of the
gold rush. Howell paid $300 for this at the Streeter sale.
It appeared in his catalogue 50 in 1980 for $2500 and sold to
collector Dan Volkmann. 263. [San
Francisco]: B.F. Stilwell & Co., pub: SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS DIRECTORY
AND MERCANTILE GUIDE, FOR 1864-65. A GENERAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY FOR ALL
PERSONS THROUGHOUT THIS STATE; ALSO, OREGON, NEVADA TERRITORY AND MEXICO.
San Francisco: Agnew & Deffenbach, 1864. xvi,384pp., including
advertisements, plus folding map. Original blue ribbed cloth, elaborately
stamped in gilt. Boards a bit stained, spine rubbed. Old dampstain in
upper portion of a few rear leaves. Pp.101-102 torn in lower margin, but
with no loss. Map slightly wrinkled and stained. Overall, still in very
good original condition. A
great, rare, and interesting San Francisco directory, filled with a huge
amount of useful business information on the City and beyond.
It is especially valuable for the history it gives of scores of San
Francisco businesses. “This
highly unusual business directory was published by B.F. Stilwell, a San
Francisco advertising agent, who also produced the first general directory
of Oakland, issued for 1869. It
is really a specialized history of leading San Francisco business houses,
with very interesting advertisements of firms in the city and elsewhere”
– Quebedeaux. The directory
features a great number of advertisements for all sorts of businesses
(booksellers, boot makers, billiard table and piano dealers, carriage
makers, watchmakers, insurance agents), printed in a variety of
interesting typefaces. A
wonderful advertisement for “Squarza’s Punch” has to be one of the
earliest mentioning “California wines.”
There are several advertisements for San Francisco booksellers, and
also a short disquisition on incidences of insanity in California, a state
which “presents more cases of insanity than any other country.” The rare and important map, lithographed by Britton & Co., is
Gensoul’s “Railroad Map of the City of San Francisco, California.”
It is one of the first published railroad maps of the city, and is
also found as a separate publication (see the Norris and Streeter
catalogues, as well as Peters). Horse-car
railways emerged in San Francisco for the first time in 1860, followed by
steam-powered lines. The map
shows a large section of San Francisco, giving block and ward numbers, and
showing distances in concentric circles emanating from City Hall, then
located at the corner of Kearney and Washington streets.
Several railroad lines are shown on the map, including the Market
Street Railroad, Central Railroad, North Beach and Mission Railroad, and
Omnibus Railroad. A very informative, rare, and desirable western directory. Not an exact comparison, since Streeter had the map only.
It sold to Howell for $20. Gold Rush Rarity 264. Schmolder,
Bruno: NEUER PRAKTISCHER WEGWEISER FUR AUS-WANDERER NACH NORD-AMERIKA IN
DREI ABTHEILUNGEN.... Mainz. 1849. Three volumes bound in one.
[8],120pp. plus five plates (including frontispiece); [4],153,[1]pp. plus
frontispiece and colored folding map; [4],106pp. plus folding map.
Original brown cloth, stamped in blind and gilt, expertly rebacked with
original backstrip laid down. Scattered foxing. Paper restoration in upper
margin of pp.1-2 in the first part, not affecting text. Overall, a very
good copy. In a half morocco box. The
second issue of Schmolder’s work, the first having been published the
previous year without the maps and one of the plates.
Collations are otherwise identical, and it is possible that the
same sheets were used. The
author went overland from Missouri to California in 1843, and evidently
worked with John Sutter on a scheme for colonization.
This occupies the first part of the work, while the second is
devoted to the Middle West, particularly Missouri and Texas, and the third
to Iowa. Schmolder’s advice
to immigrants includes information regarding New Orleans as an entrance
point. The map entitled “Die
vereinigten Staaten von Nord-Amerika & Mexico...” is entirely
handcolored, with the states and territories differentiated.
The large “Topographische Karte von Iowa” shows the region
along the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Streeter’s copy contained a map of the West in the first part,
but it is almost never found with the book. A very rare work, of great importance to Continental immigration. The Streeter copy was most unusual in having all three maps, and
Nebenzahl was justified in paying $2250 for it that way.
However, his copy seems to have been missing one of the views.
We’ve had several copies with varying numbers of plates and maps. 265. Schoolcraft,
Henry R.: NARRATIVE JOURNAL OF TRAVELS, THROUGH THE NORTHWESTERN REGIONS
OF THE UNITED STATES EXTENDING FROM DETROIT THROUGH THE GREAT CHAIN OF
AMERICAN LAKES, TO THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. PERFORMED AS A
MEMBER OF THE EXPEDITION UNDER GOVERNOR CASS. IN THE YEAR 1820.
Albany. 1821. 419,[4]pp. plus seven plates (two colored), folding map, and
errata slip. Half antique calf and marbled boards. Very good. “This
expedition led by General Cass was one of the many that he made as
governor of Michigan for the purpose of visiting and negotiating with
various Indian tribes of the Old Northwest.
In this case, he also proposed to determine the source of the
Mississippi River” – Wagner-Camp.
The narrative is “interwoven with...a large number of incidents
of Indian history, personal experience among the tribes he visited, and
sketches of their principal characteristics” – Field.
The plates illustrate scenery and Indian artifacts. Streeter’s copy went to Fleming for $60.
He sold it to a private collector, from whom I bought it in 1991,
reselling it for $720. 266. [Seabury,
Samuel]: AN ALARM TO THE LEGISLATURE OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW-YORK,
OCCASIONED BY THE PRESENT POLITICAL DISTURBANCES, IN NORTH AMERICA:
ADDRESSED TO THE HONOURABLE REPRESENTATIVES IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONVENED.
New York: Printed for James Rivington, 1775. 13,[2]pp. Modern
three-quarter red morocco and marbled boards. Head of spine chipped, edges
bit rubbed. Three-inch clean scissor cut on titlepage through imprint text
with no paper loss. Bit tanned. Overall a good plus copy. Seabury
was the leading Tory spokesman in the American colonies as the Revolution
progressed. Herein he
addresses the Legislature of New York: “Only shew your willingness
towards an accommodation, by acknowledging the supreme legislative
authority of Great-Britain, and I dare confidently pronounce the
attainment of whatever you with propriety, can ask, and the legislature of
Great-Britain with honour concede.” Peter Decker paid $275 for the Streeter copy. A Key Work of King George’s War 267. Shirley,
William: A LETTER...TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NEW-CASTLE: WITH A JOURNAL OF
THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG, AND OTHER OPERATIONS OF THE FORCES, DURING THE
EXPEDITION AGAINST THE FRENCH SETTLEMENTS ON CAPE BRETON; DRAWN UP AT THE
DESIRE OF THE COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PROVINCE OF
MASSACHUSET’S [sic] BAY.... London. 1746. 32pp. Modern
three-quarter speckled calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Fine. First
printing of this account of important events of King George’s War in
1744-48. “The attack on
Louisbourg in 1745 was looked upon by Shirley only as a step towards a
complete conquest of Canada, and the success of the siege at once raised
his hopes. Instigated by him,
the English ministry approved of an expedition against Canada, and a force
of over eight thousand men was raised, principally from the northern
colonies. The British force
which was to have co-operated was, however, detained either by bad weather
or by the blundering of the ministry, and nothing came of the attempt”
– Lande. Shirley describes
the capture of Louisbourg by British naval forces and New England troops
under William Pepperell. Fleming paid $200 for the Streeter copy. Defending the Conestoga Massacre 268. [Smith,
Matthew, and James Gibson]: A DECLARATION AND REMONSTRANCE OF THE
DISTRESSED AND BLEEDING FRONTIER INHABITANTS OF THE PROVINCE OF
PENNSYLVANIA, PRESENTED BY THEM TO THE HONOURABLE THE GOVERNOR AND
ASSEMBLY OF THE PROVINCE, SHEWING THE CAUSES OF THEIR LATE DISCONTENTS AND
UNEASINESS.... [Philadelphia: William Bradford], 1764. 18pp. Modern
half calf and marbled boards, green gilt morocco label. Minor edge wear.
Occasional light spotting. Very good, untrimmed. A
defense of the conduct of the frontiersmen of Pennsylvania in the
Conestoga massacre. The
remnants of the Conestoga Indian tribe were suspected of connivance in a
series of Indian raids in Lancaster County during 1763.
A group of Scotch-Irish frontiersmen massacred some twenty
Conestogas, an act of brutality condemned by most Pennsylvanians,
including Benjamin Franklin, who wrote a pamphlet condemning the action.
This pamphlet is a declaration by supporters of the anti-Indian
forces. The text is a bitter
attack on the pro-Indian policy of the Philadelphia government. The Streeter copy went for a very cheap $130, to Goodspeed’s.
We later bought it and sold it to a private collector in 2002. 269. Smith,
Michael: A GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF THE BRITISH POSSESSIONS IN NORTH AMERICA:
COMPREHENDING NOVA SCOTIA, NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW BRITAIN, LOWER AND UPPER
CANADA, WITH ALL THE COUNTRY IN THE FROZEN SEA ON THE NORTH, AND PACIFIC
OCEAN ON THE WEST. WITH AN APPENDIX, CONTAINING A CONCISE HISTORY OF THE
WAR IN CANADA, TO THE DATE OF THIS VOLUME. Baltimore. 1814. 288pp.
18mo. Contemporary calf, red leather label. Extremities slightly rubbed.
Scattered light foxing. Overall very good. Incorporates
the author’s earlier book on Upper Canada, but adds a section covering
western Canada as far as the Pacific, and over sixty pages concerning the
War of 1812 on the northern frontier.
According to Howes, some of this edition was burned by the British
the following year. Nebenzahl paid $40 for the Streeter copy. 270. [Smith,
William]: ÉTAT PRÉSENT DE LA PENSILVANIE, OÙ L’ON TROUVE LE DÉTAIL
DE CE QUI S’Y EST PASSÉ DEPUIS LA DÉFAITE DU GÉNÉRAL BRADDOCK
JUSQU’À LA PRISE D’OSWEGO, AVEC UNE CARTE PARTICULIÈRE DE CETTE
COLONIE. [Paris]. 1756. 128pp. plus folding map. Contemporary calf,
spine gilt, leather labels, raised bands. Some light rubbing. A crisp,
near fine copy in a particularly handsome contemporary binding, with a
pair of nice engraved bookplates. Bound in this volume before the
translation of Smith is a work about the Lisbon earthquake of 1755: RÉLATION
HISTORIQUE DU TREMBLEMENT DE TERRE SUR-VENU À LISBONNE LE PREMIER
NOVEMBRE 1755.... La Haye. 1756. x,216pp. Sabin
and Howes attribute this translation to the Abbé Jean Ignace de la Ville,
the first commissioner to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Contained in the work is an abridgement of William Smith’s A
Brief View of the Conduct of Pennsylvania, for the Year 1755...,
in French, published the same year as the first separate edition.
One of the most important works relating to the state of affairs
between the Popular Party and the Proprietary Party at the time, Smith
attacks the Quakers and the Popular Party.
“This book...was evidently designed to make the French people
happy over the course of the struggle with the English in North America.
It abridges Smith’s Brief View with its portrayal of the
helplessness of Pennsylvania in repulsing Indian atrocities.
It must have made good reading in France, especially because of the
abbreviated and pungent way it was rewritten” – Streeter.
De La Ville has added to this edition some further remarks entitled
“Rélation contenant la suite de ce qui s’est passé en Pensilvanie,”
as well as a translation of an act establishing a Pennsylvania militia and
a brief description of Pennsylvania, illustrated with the attractive map. Nebenzahl bought the Streeter copy for $100.
It is now at the Cincinnati Public Library. The First History of New York 271. Smith,
William: THE HISTORY OF THE PROVINCE OF NEW-YORK, FROM THE FIRST DISCOVERY
TO THE YEAR M.DCC.XXXII. TO WHICH IS ANNEXED, A DESCRIPTION OF THE
COUNTRY, WITH A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE INHABITANTS, THEIR TRADE, RELIGIOUS
AND POLITICAL STATE, AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COURTS OF JUSTICE IN THAT
COLONY. London: Printed for Thomas Wilcox, 1757. xii,255pp. plus
folding double-page plate, here bound as frontispiece. Quarto.
Contemporary calf, sympathetically rebacked, gilt morocco label. Boards a
bit worn at edges and corners. Small ink note in corner of front fly leaf,
neat 19th-century ownership inscription on titlepage. Light, even tanning.
A very good copy. This
is the first edition of the first history of New York, based largely on
the works of Charlevoix and Colden’s History of the Five Nations....
Smith also drew from the journals of the Assembly and of the
Legislative Council. The
author was a graduate of Yale who became a distinguished New York lawyer
and eventually justice of the province.
A Loyalist during the Revolution, he moved to Canada at the war’s
conclusion and there became a chief justice.
This history covers the period up to 1736.
Smith wrote a continuation which remained in manuscript form until
it was published by the New-York Historical Society in 1826.
“Within the period subsequent to the English Revolution, Smith is
still without a successful rival. This
work ranks with Stith’s Virginia and Hutchinson’s Massachusetts,
as one of the worthiest examples of historical literature produced in
later colonial times” – Larned. A
foundation New York item. Seven Gables paid $200 for the Streeter copy. 272. Smith,
William: HISTORY OF CANADA; FROM ITS FIRST DISCOVERY, TO THE PEACE OF
1763.... Quebec. 1815. Two volumes. [6],iii,383,72; [2],235pp. plus
folding table. Modern three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Old ownership
signature covered with pasted slip on titlepage of first volume. Library
stamps on titlepages, some minor pencil underscoring, occasional fox
marks. Overall a very good ex-lib. copy. A
most important work. The
author was the son of the William Smith who wrote the history of New York.
The elder Smith, a Loyalist, brought his son to Canada as a small
boy, and he became important in Canadian governmental circles in maturity.
This work is highly colored against French Canadians, and evidently
its distribution was suppressed due to criticism from that quarter.
It was not circulated until the late 1820s.
Smith drew upon many documents at his disposal, as well as
published histories, and despite its prejudices, the work is valuable.
Sabin describes the odd printing history of the work in a long
note. A scarce early Canadian
history. Henry Stevens paid $300 for the Streeter copy. First Kansas City Book 273. Spalding,
Charles C.: ANNALS OF THE CITY OF KANSAS: EMBRACING FULL DETAILS OF THE
TRADE AND COMMERCE OF THE GREAT WESTERN PLAINS.... Kansas City. 1858.
111pp. plus seven plates. Original cloth, stamped in gilt and blind. Light
fraying at head and toe of spine. Foxed, plates generally clean. Overall
just about very good. In a cloth case. A
key book in Western Americana, both in regard to its importance as a
summary and projection of the history and prospects of Kansas Territory to
date, and to the interesting view it affords of the incidents of western
migration: the Santa Fe Trade, routes of travel and trade in New Mexico,
the exodus to California, etc. Also
included is some mention of many of the men who were then playing key
roles in the westward movement. The
development of industry and railroads in Kansas and the region west to the
Rockies is scrutinized, as is the status of Kansas City as the hub of the
Texas cattle trails. Two of
the plates depict the Catholic Church.
It has been suggested that this work may have been the first book
bound in Kansas City. Eberstadt paid $300 for the Streeter copy.
Later it was in the hands of bookseller Michael Heaston, who resold
it in 1987 for $3000. The Congress to Protest the Stamp Act 274. [Stamp
Act]: AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONGRESS HELD AT NEW
YORK IN MDCCLXV, ON THE SUBJECT OF THE AMERICAN STAMP ACT. [London].
1767. [2],37pp. Modern three-quarter calf and cloth, spine lettered in
gilt, initials “JMF” in gilt on front cover. Very minor rubbing to
extremities. About fine. The
first British edition, following the very rare first edition issued in
Annapolis, Maryland the previous year.
“The Stamp Act Congress (called by Massachusetts) met to protest
the Stamp Act as taxation without consent, a violation of one of the most
precious rights of Englishmen. The
Congress is significant in that parliamentary threats to colonial
self-government foddered the movement toward American national unity”
– Streeter. Sessler paid $475 for the Streeter copy. Vigorous Attack 275. [Stephens,
Thomas]: A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE CAUSES THAT HAVE RETARDED THE PROGRESS OF
THE COLONY OF GEORGIA, IN AMERICA: ATTESTED UPON OATH. BEING A PROPER
CONTRACT TO A STATE OF THE PROVINCE OF GEORGIA.... London. 1743.
[4],24,101pp. Later three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt.
Touch of wear at joints. Very good. Thomas
Stephens was the son of William Stephens, who succeeded Oglethorpe as
governor of the Georgia colony. Despite
his family association, Thomas Stephens was a leader of the discontented
forces in the colony. This
book is an attack on the handling of the government.
Stephens complains about the prohibition on Negro slaves and the
transportation of rum, the latter depriving the colonists of both drink
and a lucrative trade. The
appendix of 101 pages includes contemporary letters and protests
concerning conditions in Georgia. The Eberstadts paid $100 for the Streeter copy, which is now at Yale. 276. [Stephens,
William]: A STATE OF THE PROVINCE OF GEORGIA, ATTESTED UPON OATH IN THE
COURT OF SAVANNAH, NOVEMBER 10, 1740. London. 1742. 32pp. Half title.
Early 20th-century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards. Outer hinges
a bit rubbed. Bookplate removed. Internally clean. Just about very good. A
separate printing from the author’s A Journal of the Proceedings in
Georgia. This pamphlet
consists of statements made by various figures in Savannah in 1740 about
the future of the colony and its resources.
“With all the problems besetting the colony at this time, it
became the task of William Stephens, colonial secretary, to fire volleys
of responses to the questions raised by Tailfer and the other
malcontents...Stephens was an important cog in the machinery of colonial
government and his journals and reports to the Trustees form a revealing
account of operations in Georgia” – Willingham.
Includes an important account of the German Salzburger settlements
at Ebenezer. The Streeter copy went for $125. The First History of Virginia Printed There 277. Stith,
William: THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA:
BEING AN ESSAY TOWARDS A GENERAL HISTORY OF THIS COLONY. [bound with:]
AN APPENDIX TO THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY OF VIRGINIA....
Williamsburg: William Parks, 1747. Two volumes bound in one, as usual.
viii,331pp. (pp.305-341 misnumbered 295-331); v,[1],34pp. Contemporary
speckled calf, red gilt morocco label, ornate gilt spine in six
compartments, label renewed. Minor shelf wear. Faint toning. Signature X
printed on paper that has more foxing than the other signatures, as usual.
Very good. In a half morocco and cloth box. First
edition, third issue of Stith’s book, this issue possibly published as
late as 1753. Stith’s text
is one of the first American histories to be written and printed in the
British colonies, and the first such in Virginia.
Stith, who was well connected in the colony, had access to numerous
important sources, including the library of William Byrd of Westover, the
personal recollections of Sir John Randolph, county court books, the
official records of the London Company, and John Smith’s seminal Generall
Historie of Virginia. Printing
began in Virginia when William Parks established his press in Williamsburg
in 1730. This is one of the
earliest accessible Virginia imprints, and one of the most interesting. An appealing copy of a landmark book. Fleming paid $425 for the Streeter copy. 278. Stoddard,
Amos, Major: SKETCHES, HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE, OF LOUISIANA.
Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1812. viii,172,175-488pp. (complete). Later
half calf and marbled boards. Minor foxing, but very good. One
of the classic early descriptions of upper and lower Louisiana, based on
the author’s service there in the previous decade as civil and military
commandant. His book is one of
the earliest historical treatises concerning the regions extending to the
Pacific, including descriptions of Indian tribes of this virtually unknown
wilderness. As the western
boundary of Louisiana had not yet been established, there is some material
of relevance to Texas. Nebenzahl paid $60 for the Streeter copy. |
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Papers
on Book Collecting by William S. Reese
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