Catalogue 135 - Rare Books, Including Recent Aquisitions
subscribed to by lincoln and grant
301. REDDEN, LAURA C. Idyls of battle and poems of the rebellion. By
Howard Glyndon (Laura C. Redden). New York: Hurd & Houghton, 1864. $1,250
Issued by subscription, and with a list
of 55 subscribers, including Abraham Lincoln and U. S. Grant. Lincoln signed a
testimonial directly onto Redden’s manuscript about the poetry in Idyls. Lincoln wrote, “I have read these
poems at the request of the author and find them very patriotic and many quite
pretty.” This Lincoln note remains in the family’s hands but they have now
finally agreed to allow the Lincoln Papers to photograph it and add it to the
known Lincoln writings.
An
early, if not the first book of poetry on the Civil War. And it’s scarce:
Michigan and Stanford only in OCLC. Laura C. Redden Searing (1840-1923) was a
Deaf poet who shaped the American literary landscape during the Civil War. Also
known as Laura C. Redden in the Deaf community, Searing published more than 600
poems in her lifetime, most under the pen name Howard Glyndon. Searing’s double
identity was well-known throughout her literary career, and she counted Abraham
Lincoln, Samuel Clemens, Angie Fuller Fisher, Celia Thaxter, and Alexander
Graham Bell among her admiring readers and professional correspondents.
First
edition, 12mo, pp. vi, 152; a very good copy in original green cloth, gilt
lettered on spine.
n Harris
Collection, p. 218; see also item 321, below.
302. [REYNOLDS, JOHN.] My own times embracing also, the history of my life. [Belleville], Illinois: [printed by B. H. Perryman and H. L. Davison], 1855. $1,500
“Of 400 copies printed, 300 burned in
the first Chicago fire” (Howes). Reynolds himself, however, in a letter of 1856
states that 1000 were printed.
First
edition, 8vo, pp. 600, xxiii, [1]; engraved frontis portrait; orig.
blindstamped green cloth, gilt-lettered spine; a near fine copy of a fragile
book; the covers have old residue from the felt-lined solander case which has
housed this volume for the better part of the last century. Old ink
inscriptions on pastedown and front free endpaper of Wm. A. Meese and Myron
Phelps, August 1856.
n Howes
R-236: “Best picture of Illinois pioneer life.” Byrd 2343; Streeter 1510.
303. REYNOLDS, JOHN. Sketches of the country on the northern
route from Bellevue, Illinois, to the city of New York, and back by the Ohio
Valley; together with a glance at the Crystal Palace. Bellevue: printed by
J.A. Willis [and Cave Johnson], 1854. $2,250
“Contains detailed historical and
descriptive notes of places along the route: Bellevue, Illinoistown (East St.
Louis), St. Louis, Alton, Carlinville, Springfield, Bloomington, Peru, LaSalle,
Ottawa, Morris, Joliet, and Chicago, and on the return route, of the places
along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, including Cairo” (Buck). “Pp. 213-243 of
this scarce work give a description of the author’s trip down the Ohio River in
1853, with sketches of Cincinnati and other cities along its banks” (Thompson).
First
edition, 8vo, pp. 264; small neat repairs to spine extremities, otherwise a
near fine copy of a fragile book, in orig. brown cloth, gilt lettering direct
on spine; quarter red morocco slipcase.
n Buck,
510; Byrd 2172; Howes R238; Sabin 70422; Thompson, Bibliography of the State of Ohio, 985.
304. RINGGOLD, CADWALADER, Commander. A series of charts, with sailing directions,
embracing surveys of the Farallones, entrance to the bay of San Francisco, bays
of San Francisco and San Pablo, straits of Carquines and Suisun Bay, confluence
and deltic branches of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers and the Sacramento
River (with the middle fork) to the American River, including the cities of
Sacramento and Boston, State of California. Washinton: printed by Jno. T.
Towers, 1851. $3,500
Ringgold (1802-1867) accompanied Wilkes
on the Wilkes Exploring Expedition where he had command of the USS Porpoise, 1838-42. In 1849 and 1850 he
led a survey party mapping the Sacramento River as far as Colusa, and also
parts of San Francisco Bay. These surveys, made during the Gold Rush, helped
open up the river delta and upstream communities to increase trade with the San
Francisco Bay area.
“The
charts, which include much of the shore and give many place names, together
with the views give a picture of how the country from the Golden Gate to
Sacramento appeared in 1850, which is of great interest. Though Cowan calls the
1852 edition with its eight plates ‘the best edition,’ the textual additions in
the 1852 edition are unimportant, while the plates in the 1851 edition are
certainly preferable to those in the 1852 edition. This is especially the case
with the plates in what I call the first issue” (Streeter).
First
edition, thin 4to, pp. [3]-44; 11 lithograph plates (Cowan calls for only 7,
and Sabin calls for 8) and 6 large folding charts; original pictorial brown
cloth stamped in gilt on upper cover, and stamped in blind on the lower, neatly
rebacked to match; prelims and terminals, including the frontispiece foxed,
several of the plates also foxed but generally on the verso, the 6 charts are
perfect, with no tears or miscreases.
n Cowan
(1933), p. 535; Sabin 71425; Streeter II, 2679.
305. ROOSEVELT, FRANKLIN D. President Roosevelt’s war message to the Congress of the
United States December 8, 1941. Declaration of war with Japan. Recorded by: May
M. Pierce. Special recorder. Los Angeles: Crystal Tone Records,
made for Kierulff & Co., n.d., [ca. 1942?]. $500
Four 78 rpm 6-inch red vinyl discs in
original sleeves; condition fine; recording with usual scratches, but entirely
audible.
beautiful copy
306. SMITH, J. CALVIN. The
illustrated hand-book, a new guide for travelers through the United States of
America: containing a description of the states, cities, towns, villages,
watering places, colleges, etc., etc.; with the railroad, stage, and steamship
routes, the distances from place to place, and the fares on the great traveling
routes. Embellished with 125 highly finished engravings. Accompanied by a large
and accurate map. New York: Sherman & Smith, 1847. $3,000
16mo,
pp. [2] ads, 233; steel-engraved frontis, wood-engraved vignette title-p., 123
wood-engraved illustrations in the text; plus a large (21” x 26”) folding map,
with contemporary hand-coloring in outline, with 4 inset maps, including “Rail
Road Route from New York to Philadelphia,” “Rail Roads between the cities of
New York, Boston, and Albany,” “Rail Road and Canal Routes from Albany to
Buffalo,” and, “Oregon, Northern California, Santa Fe, etc.” Original red cloth
gilt-stamped on upper cover and spine.
n Howes
S-614; Sabin 82928.
307. SMITH, J. GRAY. A brief historical, statistical, and descriptive review of
East Tennessee, United States of America: developing its immense agricultural,
mining, and manufacturing advantages. With remarks to emigrants. Accompanied
with a map & lithographed sketch of a Tennessee farm, mansion house, and
buildings. London: J. Leath, 1842. $4,500
With a preface extolling the virtues of
the new world over the old, this book was expressly produced to encourage
emigration, and goes into great detail concerning the natural riches of the
region and the range of produce and minerals to be found there.
“The
foreword, dated at London on July 21, 1842, advocates British emigration to
America. The author claims to have resided some years in the valley of East
Tennessee...he describes east Tennessee, includes numerous statistics, lists
the types of occupations that would insure ready employment, and gives advice
to prospective emigrants” (Clark).
“It
appears that the book was issued to promote the sale of 179 farms in East
Tennessee by the East Tennessee Land Company” (Streeter).
First
edition, slim 8vo, pp. xii, 71; engraved folding frontispiece of a Tennessee
farm, and a large folding map of eastern Tennessee (both washed), the map also
with some professional repair; light marginal browning to some early leaves;
original blindstamped purple cloth, printed paper label on upper cover; fine.
n Clark, Travels in the Old South, III, 239:
Kress, Library of Economic Literature,
32580; Sabin 82755; Streeter 1671.
the brinley-streeter copy
308. SMITH, WILLIAM. An
account of the proceedings of the Ilinois [sic] and Ouabache Land Companies in
pursuance of their purchases made of the independent natives, July 5th, 1773,
and 18th October, 1775. Philadelphia: William Young, 1796. $8,500
First edition, 8vo, pp. [16], 55; Evans
30618; Graff 3867; Sabin 84577 (with a long note explaining the contents and
the circumstances of publication); Siebert 322;
bound
with: Memorial of the Illinois
and Wabash Land Company. 13th January, referred to Mr. Jeremiah Smith, Mr.
Kittera, and Mr. Baldwin. Published by order of the House of Representatives,
[Philadelphia, 1797], first edition, first issue, pp. 8, 8, 7, [1], 7; in 2
different type faces and on 3 kinds of paper; Evans 32977 cites a reprint only
of 26pp. which conforms to Sabin’s second issue (see below); not in Siebert or
Graff; Sabin 34294 and 84577 (pagination as above, but Sabin’s title divided
“House of / Representatives.” Both are other editions with the imprint on the
title-p. of “Philadelphia: printed by Richard Folwell, [1797].”
Both
titles ex-George W. Brinley, his sale Part III, 1881, lot 4627 with his
accession label on front pastdown; and ex-Thomas W. Streeter, with his book
label laid in and his extensive notes in pencil on the front blank flyleaf (his
sale, Part VII, lot 4025.
Sabin:
“Dr. Smith was one of the gentlemen appointed by the Illinois and Wabash Land
Companies to manage their affairs in Congress ... The historical introduction
of 13 pages gives a sketch of the purchase of lands on the east side of the
Mississipi River, from the Kaskaskia, Peoria, and Cahoquia tribes of the
Illinois Indians, by William Murray and others for the Illinois Company, in
July, 1773; and of the purchase of lands on both sides of the Wabash River,
from the Piankashaw Indians, by Lewis Viviat and others for the Wabash Land
Company, in October, 1775; together with an account of the merging of the two
companies ... April 29, 1780, under the name of the United Illinois and
Ouabache Land Companies. The two Indian Deeds of 1773 and 1775 form pp. 1-26;
and are followed by a “State of Facts,” dated December, 1791 ... with
arguments, documents, and memorial submitted therewith to the Senate and the
House by the committee, James Wilson, William Smith, and John Shee ... and the
reports of the Senate and House commitees...”
The Memorial of 1797 contains “three
additional statements relating thereto” which had evidently been issued at
separate times for distribution to members of Congress, hence the differing
paper stock and type styles. Sabin continues: “The supplies of the three statements
following the Memorial evidently gave out, and a new printing of that part of
the pamphlet was included with copies that were issued later, paged
continuously with the Memorial, p.
9-26.”
Streeter,
citing Albert Volwiler, in George Crogham
and the Westward Movement (Cleveland, 1926) describing the 1779-1780
negotiations between various land companies and the Federal Government: “The
committee also recommended that the petition of the Illinois-Wasbash Company be
dismissed because of the irregular manner in which purchases had been made from
the Indians. The report [of the Continental Congress committee in 1780] closed
by urging federal control of Indian affairs ... and the creation of new states
in the West.”
19th
century quarter vellum over marbled boards, brown morocco labels on spine, with
a 3-line contemporary inscription at the top of the title-p.
309. [SMITH, WILLIAM R.] Observations on the Wisconsin Territory; cheerfully on that
part called the “Wisconsin Land District.” With a map, exhibiting the settled
parts of the territory... Philadelphia: E.L. Carey & A.
Hart, 1838. $2,500
At the time this was published,
virtually all of the present-day state of Minnesota was still part of the
Wisconsin Territory, and while most of the text is devoted to what is now
Wisconsin, there are descriptions here of the St. Croix River, the Falls of St.
Anthony, Hennepin’s travels, Red River Valley, and other material of interest
to Minnesotans, and all of Minnesota is pictured in the inset of the map.
“Aside from Lea’s Notes, [this is]
the earliest extensive description of Wisconsin. The ten pages on “Iowa
Territory” is the first account of it under that designation” (Howes).
First
edition, 12mo, pp. viii, 134; large folding hand-colored map by Hinman &
Dutton; orig. maroon muslin faded and stained, short cracks in cloth along top
joint, minor foxing, but generally a good, reasonably sound unrestored copy
with the map in fine condition.
n Howes
S-721: Streeter III, 1931; Sabin 84865; Graff 3869.
310. STARBUCK, ALEXANDER. The history of Nantucket: county, island,
and town, including genealogies of first settlers. Boston: C. E. Goodspeed
& Co., 1924. $750
Written in 1847 by the author of History of American Whale Fishery, the
book was not published until Goodspeed undertook it in 1924.
First
edition, 8vo, pp. 871; 4 folding maps, a number of illus. in the text, tables,
errata slip at p. 703; very good in original blue cloth, gilt-lettered spine.
311. STEUBEN, FRIEDRICH WILHELM, Baron Von. Regulations for the order and discipline of the troops of
the United States. Part I [all published]. Hartford: printed and
sold by Nathaniel Patten, n.d., [1783]. $6,500
12mo, pp. 107, [1]; 8 folding engraved
copperplates after J. Norman; full contemporary sheep rubbed but sound; text
occasionally spotted; mild dampstaining to some of the plates, mostly confined
to the margins; a good, sound copy or better.
n Evans
18267; Howes S-951; Sabin 91400. RLIN finds the AAS, Yale and Clements copies,
to which OCLC adds Harvard, the Society of the Cincinnati, and the Connecticut
Historical Society.
312. STILES, EZRA, Reverend. A history of three of the judges of King
Charles I. Major General Whalley, Major-General Goffe and Colonel Dixwell, who,
at the restoration, 1660, fled to America; and were secreted and concealed, in
Massachusetts and Connecticut for near thirty years. With an account of Mr.
Theophilus Whale, of Narragansett, supposed to have been also one of the
judges. Hartford: Elisha Babcock, 1794. $1,250
First edition, first issue, with the
errata slip. A history of three members of the tribunal which had Charles I
beheaded in 1649, by the president of Yale College, 1778-1795.
12mo,
pp. 357, [2]; stipple-engraved frontispiece of Stiles by Amos Doolittle after
B. Molthrop, 7 other plates (3 folding), numbered I-VIII, without plate VII, as
issued; errata pasted in at p. 357; advert pasted in on following blank leaf,
both as issued; contemporary full calf, red morocco label on spine; a few minor
chips and cracks, but a very good, sound copy.
n Evans
27743; Howes S-999; Sabin 91742.
313. [THOMPSON, HUGH L., Co. C, 3rd Wis. Cav. V
& camp scout.] Baxter Springs as a
military post. Price 15 cents per copy. Written from memory, by the only man
who was sent there at all times when the U.S. troops occupied the place. [Kansas
City, Mo: press of Jerry Ward], n.d., [1895]. $1,250
First edition of a rare Civil War
pamphlet, a history of Union encampments at Baxter Springs, KS, from the summer
of 1862 through October of 1863, recounting conflicts with Confederate
guerrillas along the Kansas-Missouri border.
8vo,
pp. 32; photo portrait of Thomson, 8 illus. in the text; orig. green printed
wrappers; minor staining otherwise about fine.
n Not in
any of the likely bibliographies. OCLC locates the title in 5 obvious
libraries.
314. [THWAITES, REUBEN GOLD, Editor.] The Jesuit Relations and allied documents.
Cleveland: Burrows Brothers Co., 1896-1901. $7,500
Edition limited to 750 no. sets, 8vo,
73 volumes, including index volumes; some soiling and smudging, one or two
minor imperfections on a couple of the bindings, but generally a good, sound
set, or better, without library markings and scarce thus. One of the greatest
treasure-troves of early American exploration, containing the original French,
Latin and Italian texts, with English translations and notes, of the travels
and explorations of the Jesuit Missionaries in New France 1610-1791.Over 21,000
pages, illustrated with portraits, maps and facsimiles. The most important
historical work dealing with early French-Canada and its indigenous peoples.
315. TISSANDIER, ALBERT. Six mois aux É tats-Unis. Voyage d’un
touriste dans l’Amerique du nord suivi d’une excursion a Panama. Paris: G.
Masson, [1886]. $500
A journey westward from New York
including Philadelphia, Washington, Louisville (where he visited Mammoth Cave),
Kansas City, Manitou Springs, Colorado, Salt Lake City, Utah, Arizona, San
Francisco, Portland, and eventually Panama, with emphasis on transportation
including trams, railroads and ferry boats, and other institutions such as
hospitals, stockyards, and agriculture.
First
edition, 8vo., [4], 298, [1]; 8 double-page wood engravings, 2 maps, and 82
other wood engravings in the text, (25 full-page); a fine, bright copy in
original decorative maroon cloth elaborately stamped in black and gilt, a.e.g.,
issued in the publisher’s Bibliotheque du la Nature series under the general
editorship of Tissandier.
316. [U. S. ARMY, CORPS OF ENGINEERS.] Regulations for the government of the United
States Engineer Department. Washington: printed by Jacob Gideon, 1840. $1,250
First edition of the first set of
regulations for the U.S. Corps of Engineers.
Small
8vo, pp. xvi, 89; 3 pages are folding making for erratic pagination, but the
book is complete; several manuscript notes in ink and pencil in an early hand
in the margins, likely those of William D. Fraser, Capt., Eng. whose
contemporary ownership signature is on the front free endpaper; contemporary
full unadorned sheep, worn, but sound. Issued under the superintendence of Joel
R. Poinsett, War Department. The history of the Corps of Engineers goes back to
1775, but it was not sanctioned by Congress until 1802. This is the first
separately published book of regulations for the Corps.
“The
officer with whom [Robert E.] Lee had the closest official relations, from the
very day he reached San Antonio [in September, 1846], was Captain William D.
Fraser of the corps of engineers, a New Yorker who had graduated from West
Point at the head of the class of 1834. Fraser was seven years younger than Lee
but had risen fast in the army and had been commissioned captain on the same
day as Lee, who doubtless had met him before they came to Texas.” For an
account of the relationship between Lee and Fraser, and their building of roads
and bridging streams, see Freeman, Robert
E. Lee, a Biography, chapter 13.
n Only 5
in OCLC; not in Sabin.
317. VAN MILL, R. Tweede spel-en leesboekje voor scholen en
huisgezinnen. Holland, Michigan: J. Binnekant, 1863. $650
Spelling book, in Dutch, for the use of
Dutch immigrants.
12mo,
pp. 24; old library blindstamp on cover else near fine in orig. brown printed
wrappers.
n NUC
Supplement locates only a single copy at Detroit Public Library; not in OCLC.
318. VASCONCELLOS, JOSÉ DE. Almanak administrativo, mercantil e industrial da provincia
de Parnambuco para anno de 1861 ... 2.° anno. Pernambuco, [Brazil]: typ. de Geraldo Henrique de Mira & C.,
1861. $7,500
The text includes woodcut ornaments,
dingbats, tables, solar and lunar calendars, information on local businesses,
civic institutions, churches, hospitals, banks, government offices and
officials, tradesmen and professionals, including printers, librarians,
professors, lawyers, doctors and dentists, police, the military in all its
branches, harbormasters, etc., with virtually every conceivable bit of
information needed to negotiate the port, including port regulations, election
regulations, local ordinances, commercial and agricultural regulations, etc.,
for both Pernambuco and Recife (now collectively Recife), the easternmost port
in all of South America, originally settled by the Portuguese in 1530, and an
agricultural and commercial center for sugar and cotton from the 17th to the
early 20th century.
16mo,
pp. [2], ii, 543; bound with: Supplemento do almanak ou collecc¾es de documentos officiaes e
informaç¾es uteis, Pernambuco: typographia de Geraldo Henrique de Mira,
1860, pp. 87, [1], 14 (index), [20] ads printed on blue and yellow paper (and
each within a different elaborate woodcut border); the second title with a
sectional title-p. for Roteiro
telegraphico da cidade do Recife en Pernambuco, Recife, 1860, which occupies
pp. [73]-87 of the Supplemento, and
includes a hand-colored plate of 5 numbered signal flags, followed by a leaf of
explanation, and a 5-p. code list based on the 5 flags.
Contemporary
and native quarter red morocco, 5 rather elaborate gilt fillets on spine,
gilt-lettered direct; a worn copy, with occasional mild dampstains, but sound.
Early ownership signature dated January, 1861; the preface is dated Jan. 20,
1861.
n OCLC
records another book by the same author, Datas
celebres e factos notaveis da historia do Brazil desde a sua descoberta até
1870, Pernambuco, 1870. Not in OCLC, RLIN, NUC, or Palau.
319. WASHINGTON, GEORGE. The writings of George Washington from the
original manuscript sources 1745-1799. Prepared under the direction of the
United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission and published by
authority of Congress. John C. Fitzpatrick, editor. Washington, D.C.:
Government Printing Office, 1931-1944. $2,000
39 volumes including the 2-vol. index;
8vo, orig. blue cloth gilt-lettered direct on spine; a trace of mustiness, else
a very good to fine set.
320. WELD, ISAAC. Travels through the states of North America,
and in the provinces of upper and lower Canada, during the years 1795, 1796,
and 1797. London: John Stockdale, 1799. $2,250
Weld, an Irish-born topographer,
arrived in Philadelphia in 1795, and his subsequent travels took him through
the mid-Atlantic states where he had the privilege of meeting George Washington
at Mount Vernon. The author then continued to Montreal and Quebec and,
following the St. Lawrence River, journeyed to the lakes of Kingston, Niagara
and Detroit. His views of the country and its settlements are written with a
certain harshness and asperity which he states “may not be ascribed to hasty
prejudice, and a blind partiality for every thing that is European... [but]
resulted from a cool and dispassionate observation of what chance presented to
his view when abroad.”
First
edition, 4to, 11 engraved plates and 5 maps (1 colored, folding), with the
errata slip and 8pp. publisher’s advertisements at the back; original drab
paper-covered boards, spine cracked and paper largely perished, but paper label
is preserved with the loss of just one letter, front board neatly reattached;
nonetheless, a compelling copy, preserved in a new cloth folding box.
n Howes
W-235; Sabin 102541; Staton & Tremaine 708.
321. WILLARD, FRANCES E. & Mary A. Livermore. A woman of the century. Fourteen hundred
seventy biographical sketches accompanied by portraits of leading American
women in all walks of life. Buffalo, Chicago, & New York: Charles Wells
Moulton, 1893. $1,500
An uncommon book by two early American
feminists, enhanced by a presentation “To Laura C. Redden Searing - ‘Howard
Glyndon’ - With regards of Josephine Clifford McCrackin.” McCrackin was an
author, conservationist, confidant of western writer Bret Harte, and a
journalist for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
She once owned “Rancho Pariso” where gathered San Francisco’s Bohemian writers,
artists and poets such as Ambrose Bierce and Jack London. But when the ranch
burned in an 1899 forest fire, she realized the redwoods had taken centuries to
establish, and joined others in forming the Sempervirens Club to save the
California redwoods. Her greatest success came in 1902, when the movement
created Big Basin as the nations first State Redwood Park.
Laura
Redden Searing, a.k.a. Howard Glyndon (see item 301, above), was an esteemed
poet, journalist, and writer, was rendered deaf as a result of spinal
meningitis at age 11. As a correspondent for the St. Louis Republican she was
sent to New York where she interviewed Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant and other
war heroes, and visited several Civil War battlefields. Later she served as a
foreign correspondent from France, Italy, and Germany. She also studied oral
speech techniques with Alexander Graham Bell.
“Among
all cyclopaedias and books about famous women, this is intended to be unique
and to supply a vacant niche in the reference library. The nineteenth century
is womans century. Since time began, no other era has witnessed so many and so
great changes in the development of her character and gifts and in the
multiplication of opportunities for their application. Even to those best
informed on this subject, we believe that a glance at these pages will bring
astonishment at the vast array of womans achievements here chronicled, in
hundreds of new vocations and avocations. Few eminent names and faces will hee
be missed, while many worthy names, which can not be found elsewhere, are
strung upon this rosary of nineteenth-century achievement. Every department of
life and work is here represented. This book is not alone a book of record of
famous names, but one which aims to show what women have done in the humbler as
in the higher walks of life. It is a record of American women offered, at the
close of four centuries of life in the New World, to the consideration of those
who would know what the nineteenth century of Christian civilization has here
brought forth, and what are the vast outlooks and the marvelous promise of the
twentieth century” -from the authors preface.
First
edition, 4to, pp. [4], 812; illustrated in the text throughout with portraits
of the women; original brown morocco-backed blue cloth, cloth stamped in gilt,
gilt-lettered direct on spine; upper hinge tender, the whole a little shaken; a
good, bright copy.
322. [BAKER, RICHARD T. & Henry G. Smith.] A research on the eucalypts especially in
regard to their essential oils... By Richard T. Baker and Henry G. Smith. Sydney:
William Applegate Gullick, government printer, 1920. $375
Second edition, and much enlarged over
the first edition which did not contain the color plates, and representing over
30 years of research into the hundreds of species of eucalyptus trees and their
oils.
Large
4to, pp. xv, [1], 471, [1]; 120 plates (52 in color); a very good, recased copy
in orig. maroon cloth, gilt lettering on spine and upper cover. Issued as no.
24 in the Technical Education Series, Department of Education, New South Wales.
323. BEHRENS, GEORG HENNING. The natural history of Hartz-Forest, in His Majesty King
George’s German dominions. Being a succinct account of the caverns, lakes,
springs, rivers, mountains, rocks, quarries, fossiles, castles, gardens, the
famous pagan idol Pustrich or Spit-fire, dwarf-holes, pits, moving islands,
whirlpools, mines, several engines belonging to them; ores, the manner of
refining them; smelting houses; several sorts of ovens, hammer-mills, vitriol
and glasshouses, &c. in the said forest: with several useful and entertaining
physical observations. London: by W. Pearson, for T. Osborne,
1730. $600
Behrens here describes the natural
wonders of the Hartz forest—mostly geological—but he also writes about
remarkable fossil discoveries, including the remains of a unicorn: “Here is
also found the fossile Unicorn, but not near in such quantity as formerly,
because the Peasants, who used to dig for it and to sell it to the Apothecaries
and Druggists, have almost exhausted the place” (p. 22).
First
edition in English, 8vo, pp. [16], 164, [8] index, [4] publisher’s ads;
contemporary full paneled calf, small autograph paper label on spine; some wear
at extremities, the joints beginning to crack, and small rectangular pieces
scissored from the top edges of the title and dedication pages, not affecting
text; a handsome copy overall. Translation by John Andree, founder of the
London Hospital, of the author’s Hercynia
curiosa, first published in German in Nordhausen (1703).
324. BOEHMER, L. & CO. Catalogue of Japanese plants, bulbs, and seeds. Yokohama: L. Boehmer, n.d., [ca. 1903]. $1,250
Fourth edition, small 4to (24 x 18
cm.), pp. 70 (including pastedowns) on double leaves, approx. 42 color
illustrations throughout; original pictorial paper-covered boards backed in tan
paper, spine a bit cracked and binding slightly loose, else a very good copy.
At the time, Boehmer was the only European nursery in Japan.
325. [BRABOURNE, LORD, & Charles Chubb.] The birds of South America.
London: R.H. Porter [et al.], [1912]-17. $1,750
First edition, quarto text (vol. I, all
published), and folio atlas (Illustrations
of the Game Birds and Water Fowl of South America, by H. Gronvold, London,
1917) containing 38 hand-colored lithographs; the work was projected in 16
volumes with 400 plates but was left unfinished after just one volume of text
due to the hostilities of World War I and the death of Chubb. The volume of plates
was intended to accompany volumes II and III. Fine set in recent 1/2 green
morocco over marbled boards, preserving the original blue printed wrappers in
the quarto.
326. CORY, CHARLES B. The birds of Haiti and San Domingo... Boston:
Estes & Lauriat, 1885. $2,000
Edition limited to 300 copies for
subscribers, 4to, 4 parts in one, pp. 198; 1 map and 22 hand-colored plates;
slightly later 3/4 dark maroon morocco with gilt-lettered spine, all original
wrappers bound in at the end, an ex-library copy with minor wear to extremities
and rubbed area on spine from removal of call numbers, some spotting to plates,
still a very good copy.
327. [DALL, WILLIAM HEALEY.] Spencer Fullerton Baird: a biography. Including selections
from his correspondence with Audubon, Agassiz, Dana, and others. Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1915. $750
Baird was the second Secretary of the
Smithsonian Institution and the organizer and first commissioner of the United
States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, and the author of The Birds of North America (Philadelphia, 1860).
Laid
in are 2 autograph letters signed from Baird on Smithsonian letterhead,
totaling 6 pp., one regarding the publication of some pamphlets, the other on
specimens for his “catalogue of Middle American birds.”
First
edition, 8vo, pp. xvi, 461; 19 plates; near fine in original blue cloth, gilt
lettering on spine and upper cover, t.e.g.
328. DYKES, W.R. Notes on tulip species ... edited and
illustrated by E. Katherine Dykes. Introduction by Sir A. Daniel Hall. London:
Herbert Jenkins, [1930]. $750
Published posthumously, this work is
compiled of Dykes’ notes, organized by his wife after his death.
First
edition, folio, pp. 108; 54 color plates, printed on dull, slightly textured
paper after paintings by E. Katherine Dykes, the author’s wife, each showing
one or two tulips with leaves; very good copy in original green cloth, gilt
lettering on spine, t.e.g, with most of the original dust-jacket.
329. FORBES, ARTHUR HOLLAND. Architectural gardens of Italy. A series of photogravure
plates from photographs made for and selected by A. Holland Forbes. New
York: Forbes & Co., Ltd. [and] sold exclusively in the United States by
Jas. E. O’Neill, 1902. $1,850
Forbes (1863-1927) was a wealthy
balloonist who organized the Aero Club of Connecticut and wrote the basic draft
for the first aeronautical law in the United States, passed by the Connecticut
Legislature and signed into law by Governor Simeon Baldwin on June 8, 1911, and
was appointed Connecticut’s first Commissioner of Aeronautics.
Edition
limited to 750 sets (this being set no. 62), 3 pictorial green cloth portfolios
(approx 17 ½” x 13 ½”) containing a total of 196 gravure plates; 1 portfolio
rebacked, the other 2 with short tears at spine ends; plates are generally fine
throughout.
in contemporary multi-color morocco
330. JARDINE, WILLIAM. The
naturalist’s library. Edinburgh, London [et al.]: W. H. Lizars, n.d.,
[1845-6]. $15,000
“In addition to the description and
depiction (mostly finely coloured plates) by various well-known contributors to
almost the whole range of the subject, the series is supplemented by
biographies of famous naturalists of all times and all countries ... It is well
described as a remarkable little library of early nineteenth zoology, as well
as a brief account of the lives of the chief zoologists of all time” (Casey
Wood).
Second
edition, small 8vo, 40 volumes, contemporary half morocco of different colors: Birds 14 volumes in red morocco, Mammals 13 volumes in green morocco, Insects 7 volumes in blue morocco, and Fish 6 volumes in maroon morocco; tartan
endpapers of differing design in each group; engraved armorial bookplates of
Edward Salvin Bowlby; each volume with engraved portrait and half-title, and
upwards of 1,280 plates, mostly hand-colored; fine and very attractive.
n Zimmer,
p. 326; Nissen 4708.
331. KEARTON, CHERRY. Wild life across the world. Introduction by Theodore
Roosevelt. London, N.Y. & Toronto: Hodder and Stoughton, n.d.,
[1914]. $600
Says Teddy Roosevelt in his
Introduction: “His feats in photographing great and dangerous game, and
especially in taking moving pictures of these animals, have not been
paralleled. I have long followed the extraordinary work ... in photographing
English birds; and on my invitation [the Kearton brothers] gave an exhibition
of their work in the White House. Later, I met Mr. Cherry Kearton in Africa,
and there saw him at work. One of the prime qualities of Mr. Kearton’s work is
its absolute trustworthiness ... His work ... is of first rate scientific
importance.”
First
edition, 4to, pp. xxvii, [1], 286; inserted frontispiece and title-p., 105
illustrations from photographs on 91 plates; a fine copy in original pictorial
blue cloth stamped in white and gilt, and with a gilt medallion on the upper
cover of a bear’s head; preserving the original die-cut dust-jacket with one or
two minor tears on the back panel. Foreword by Richard Kearton.
332. [KEITH, A. VERNON, editor and publisher.] The Assam directory and tea areas handbook. [Calcutta: Assam Review Publishing Co., [1948]. $450
Includes sections on the government of
Assam, an Abstract of the Factories Act and Rules, wage schedules,
communication in Assam, railways, steamer services, list of dak bungalows in
Assam, clubs in tea areas, medical departments, public health, tea district
labor associations, tea associations, and a long list of tea companies, tea
estates and gardens in Assam, northern India and eastern Pakistan.
20th
edition, 8vo, pp. viii, 224; extensively illustrated with full-p. color and
b&w advertisements; very good and sound in orig. red cloth-backed pictorial
boards.
333. KENNEDY, ALEXANDER W.M. CLARK. The birds of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire: a contribution
to the natural history of the two counties. Eton:
Ingleton and Drake; London: Simpkin, Marshall, 1868. $750
First edition of the first
ornithological book illustrated with photographs, and published when the author
was a mere sixteen years old. “It was impossible at this time to photograph
live birds due to the absence of the telephoto lens and extremely light-sensitive
plates that would permit short exposures. Muybridge [Animal Locomotion, 1887] was the first to photograph birds in
flight. The author, perhaps also the photographer, is given the by-line “An
Eton Boy” (Truthful Lens).
Small
8vo, pp. xiv, [2], 232; four orig. hand-colored albumen prints of birds
(tasidermied specimens); orig. green cloth, gilt vignette on upper cover, gilt
lettering and vignette on spine; expertly rebacked with old spine imperceptibly
laid down; overall appearance is fine and bright.
n Truthful Lens, 96; Gernsheim 436.
334. MARTYN, THOMAS. Thirty-eight plates with explanations; intended to illustrate Linnaeus’s system of vegetables, and particularly adapted to the Letters on the Elements of Botany.