AMERICANA
AFTER 1820
AMERICANA
AFTER 1820
Mystery — Scandal? 
In memoriam Elliott Speer, 1898–1934. East Northfield, Mass.: 1935. Small 8vo. 36 pp.; illus.
He
was shot to death in his study on 14 September by a still unknown gunman using
a shotgun! The Northfield Schools Bulletin.
Vol. XXIII, January 1935, no. 1.
Craig Walley's relatively recent Murder at Mount Hermon: The Unsolved Killing of Headmaster Elliott Speer has resurrected interest in the mystery.
• Original wrappers. Fine. (17126)
Verse & Prose Inspired by Charity Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. The Odd-fellows'
offering, for 1850. Embellished with elegant engravings, and a highly-finished
presentation plate. Contributed chiefly by members of the order. New York: Edward
Walker, 1850 (© 1849). 8vo (22.3 cm, 8.75"). Col. frontis., frontis., add.
engr. t.-p., 298 pp.; 8 plts.
Click the images for enlargements. 
illuminated
presentation plate, chromolithographed by Ackerman).
Binding: Publisher's textured denim blue cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped vignette of Friendship, Love, and Truth personified within an architectural frame; back cover with Truth stamped in gilt within the same frame stamped in blind. All edges gilt.
• Faxon 608. Binding as above, front cover and spine lightened to an attractive dark robin's egg blue, gilt showing minor rubbing and oxidizing. Presentation leaf unused. Guard leaves foxed, pages and plates generally clean. (26749)
“Our Ninth Annual Casket” — Verse & Prose Inspired by Charity Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The Odd-fellows' offering, for 1851. Embellished with elegant engravings, and a highly-finished presentation plate. Contributed chiefly by members of the order, their wives and sisters. New York: Edward Walker, 1851 (© 1850). 8vo (22.3 cm, 8.75"). Add. engr. t.-p., 204, [10 (adv.)] pp.; 10 plts.
Click the images for enlargements. 
illuminated presentation plate, chromolithographed by Ackerman). One plate, “The Joyous Procession of the Law,” has an additional Hebrew title carefully inked in by hand.
Provenance: The front free endpaper bears a neatly inked ownership inscription dated 1860 (J.C.W. Kempe) and an additional inked “sold to” inscription dated 1871 (Aden Mc Bowman); Bowman also signed another blank, and the presentation leaf is made out to Kempe as “P.G.J.C.W. Kempe.”
Binding: Publisher's deep blue/black diced sheep in imitation of morocco, covers with gilt-stamped vignette of Friendship, Love, and Truth personified within an architectural frame; spine gilt extra with column motif. All edges gilt.
• BAL 6877; Faxon 609. Binding as above, joints and extremities rubbed, spine gilt slightly dimmed. Inscriptions and presentation leaf as above. Poetry clippings, fabric swatch, and lock of hair laid in. Scattered staining, generally light, throughout; chromo very bright and nice. (27041)
“Cupid Befriend Me!” Ingraham, Joseph Holt. American lounger. Or, tales, sketches, and legends gathered in sundry journeyings by the author of “Lafitte,” &c. Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1839. 12mo. [10], 15-41, [5], 59-273 pp.
a story about General Washington entering a leaping contest and another involving the love affair between an illegitimate son of Charles I and a young maiden from a Native American tribe in Maine. 
WHITMAN
as
Herald
of Women's IndependenceIrwin, Mabel MacCoy. Whitman the poet-liberator of
woman. New York: Published by the author, 1905. 8vo (19 cm, 7.5"). Frontis., 77, [1] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. Binding:
Publisher's gray cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped title and green-stamped
grass vignette, spine with gilt-stamped title. 
Binding
signed “HP.” Top edge gilt.
• Binding as above, sunned and stained/spotted; front hinge (inside) cracked; frontispiece and title-page with small waterstain along inner margin. Pages mostly clean, with scattered light spotting. A copy with faults, but not faults to devastate its interest. (26629)
A “Period” Pleasure J., C.J. Otis Grey bachelor. Boston: Mutual Book Co., 1902. 8vo. Frontis., 95, [1] pp.; illus.
Scotch, champagne, and other beverages, attempts various sports and games — including
golf — with invariably disastrous results. The work is illustrated by E. Jep, and the cover signed “Bird.”
• Publisher's tan cloth, front cover stamped in black and white; binding a bit darkened overall, lacking dust wrapper. Top edges gilt. (16736)
Pre–Civil
War Railroad
Map of“the
West”Especially
the MID-West
J.H. Colton, Co. Colton's new railroad map of the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin & Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska & Kansas. Showing the township lines of the United States surveys. New York: J.H. Colton, 1860. Atlas folio folded to 12mo.
Click the images for enlargements. • Publisher's brown textured case, stamped in gilt on front cover; binding worn, and front cover no longer strongly attached to rear one except via the cloth of the spine. Map with fold tears. (26669)
Russia & the U.S. — Navigation & CommerceJackson, Andrew (President, 1829–1837). [drop-title] Treaty between the United States and the Emperor of Russia. Message from the President of the United States, transmitting copies of a treaty of navigation and commerce between the United States and his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias. May 14, 1834. Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. [Washington]: Gales & Seaton, printers, 1834. 8vo (22.7 cm, 8.9"). 10 pp.
Click the image for an enlargement. This is the first printing of the first treaty of commerce and navigation between the United States and Russia; the only prior convention between the two nations was the convention of 1824 concerning the Pacific Northwest. This treaty establishes
and confirms reciprocal trade, and commercial and navigation rights to vessels of both countries, and also applies the same rights to the
kingdom of Poland.
Government document: 23d Congress, 1st Session. Doc. No. 415. Ho. of Reps. Executive.
• Recent paper wrappers. Title-page with inked numeral in upper margin. Light spotting.
A Human RightsAppeal/Exposé — American Indian Advocacy Jackson, Helen Fiske Hunt. A century of dishonor[.] A sketch of the United States government's dealings with some of the Indian tribes. By H. H. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1881. 12mo. x, 457, [1 (blank)] pp.; 6 pp. (ads).
Click the images for enlargements. Jackson grew up in Massachusetts and was a close friend of Emily Dickinson. Her marriage in 1852 to a Captain Hunt ended tragically, for he and their two children were dead by 1865. For health reasons she moved to Colorado and in 1875 married a banker named William Jackson. She developed a keen interest in the plight of the American Indian and secured the extraordinary privilege of doing research in the Americana Department of the Astor Library in New York City during the morning hours before the doors officially opened.
She hoped this work would effect a reversal of government policy and herself purchased sufficient copies to send one to every member of both houses of Congress. She then turned to fiction as another avenue of attack: Her best-known novel, Ramona, was her attempt to produce for American Indians a work that would affect their lot as Uncle Tom's Cabin did the plight of black slaves.
A landmark book.
• BAL 10444. Publisher's brown cloth, lettered in gold. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate, call number on endpaper, rubber-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Two small areas of minor discoloration on spine where paper shelving labels removed. Overall a very nice copy. (26260)
“On
a brilliant day in May, in the year 1868
. . .”
James,
Henry. The American. Boston: Houghton,
Mifflin & Co., 1882. 8vo. 473, [1] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. • Edel & Laurence, Bibliography of Henry James (3rd. ed.), A4 (for first ed.); Wright, III, 2909 (for first ed.). Publisher's brown cloth, front cover and spine stamped in gilt and maroon; a bit cocked, rubbed, spine with area of discoloration from now-absent label, and some light patches to cover cloth. Ex–social club library: call number on blank side of preliminary advertisement, rubber-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Pages age-toned, with faint staining in upper margins towards back of volume. (26559)
Bernard & Gordon & Angela James, Henry. Confidence. Boston: Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1880. 12mo (19.4 cm, 7.6"). [2], [5]–347, [1] pp.
We have, at the moment, an interesting number of such “first American editions.” Please, enquire!
• BAL 10549; Edel & Laurence, Bibliography of Henry James (3rd. ed.), A11b; Wright, III, 2913. Publisher's terra-cotta cloth, spine with gilt-stamped title; extremities rubbed and cloth with areas of discoloration. Ex–social club library: call number on endpaper, rubber-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Pages with scattered light stains, still a very nice copy. (26637)
1st
U.S. Edition — The
Europeans
James,
Henry. The Europeans. A sketch. Boston:
Houghton, Osgood & Co., 1879. 8vo (19.4 cm, 7.6"). [2], 281, [1] pp.
• BAL 10537; Edel & Laurence, Bibliography of Henry James (3rd. ed.), A7b. Publisher's green finely cross-ribbed cloth, covers framed in blind, spine with gilt-stamped title; corners and spine extremities rubbed, sides with small spots of discoloration, spine darkened with lighter, rubbed patch under title. Ex–social club library; 19th-century call-number inked to a front blank and rubber-stamp to title-page, no other markings. (26569)
We
have, at the moment, an interesting number of such “first American
editions.” Please, enquire!
First American Edition
James, Henry. The Reverberator. London & New York:
Macmillan & Co., 1888. 8vo (18.1 cm, 7.1"). [4], 229, [1] pp.
• BAL 10583; Edel & Laurence, Bibliography of Henry James (3rd. ed.), A31b. Not in Wright. Publisher's blue cloth, upper edge of front cover and spine with gilt-stamped decorative band, spine with gilt-stamped title; binding very slightly cocked, very minor rubbing, spine with square of light discoloration from a now-absent label. Ex–social club library: 19th-century call number on half-title, title-page rubber-stamped. No other markings. (26537)
We have, at the moment, an interesting number of
Frontier City inAntebellum America Jefferson City (Missouri). Revised ordinances of the City of Jefferson, revised and digested by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-nine: To which are prefixed The Constitutions of the United States and of the State of Missouri, rules and orders for the government of the Board of Aldermen, and a list of the officers of the city. Jefferson City: W. G. Cheeney, printer, 1859. 8vo. [1 (blank)] f., 145, 14 pp.
Click the images for enlargements. Provenance: Released as a duplicate from the Library of Congress, with the requisite and expected stamps on the title-page and rear free endpaper.
Rare. We only trace one holding beyond the Library of Congress.
• NSTC 2J3897. 20th-century library binding; quarter red cloth shelfback over black paper boards, paper shelf label on front. Original (?) light-blue wrapper bound in, back wrapper lacking. Moderate foxing throughout. Paper flaw affecting but not costing some letters on p. 123. 19th-century library markings noted above. A very good copy. (24454)
The Months in Verse Jerningham, Matilda. Random rhymes from January to December. By Mrs. Jerningham. Baltimore: The Authoress (Pr. by Sherwood & Co.), 1873. 8vo. viii, 192 pp.
• Publisher's light-blue cloth, spine and front cover with gilt title, and front with black-stamped tree branch. Binding has small spots of discoloration, small ink stain on front, and patches of soiling and rubbing; spine with small chips at base, minor loss of cloth at tips. (23494)
For the INGALIKJetté, Jules. Canotlé Rannaga Kelékak. Délochét Roka. Winnipeg: Free Press no-rodeneletekteyar, 1904. 8vo (14.4 cm, 5.6"). 54 pp.
The Ingalik inhabited the middle part of the Yukon River Valley, Alaska.
Click the image to the right• Cf. Wickersham, 1050, for another title by Jetté with the same imprint. Not in Evans; not in Banks. Original stiff cloth wrappers. Pages very slightly age-toned, otherwise fine.
Marriage
Counsel
[Johnson, John]. The advantages and disadvantages
of the marriage state: An allegory.
Springfield:
G. & C. Merriam, 1837 (date from t-p.; cover reading 1842).
16mo (10.7 cm, 4.2"). 60 pp.
The much-reprinted allegory, which originally appeared some time prior to 1757, is followed here by two brief essays on marriage. The first comes from "James’ Family Monitor" and the second from Taylor’s "Marriage Ring."
Provenance: Merriam Co. archive, with publisher’s shelf label on the cover and ink-stamp on the verso of the title-page.
• Cloth spine over printed paper–covered boards, edges a bit abraded and spine fraying at top; shelf labels as above. Pencilled ownership inscription on front fly-leaf; small tear and dog-ears to two blank fly-leaves. Light waterstaining and foxing.
“My Legs A-Bein' Queer, They Never Let Me Walk” Johnson, Maurice. Songs of a cripple. New York: Grafton Press, © 1909. 12mo (15.5 cm, 6.1"). Frontis., xi, [1], 103, [1] pp.; 5 plts.
Click the images for enlargements. Signed by the author: With tipped-in typed sheet bearing inspirational message, signed in pencil. Also tipped in is a photograph of the author inan early motorized wheelchair.
• Publisher's tan cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped title and gilt and green laurel wreath, spine with gilt-stamped title and a little sunned; touches of rubbing and some pages with light to moderate spotting. A nice copy. (26621)
Important
(Grey Side)
Civil
War Journal
Jones, John Beauchamp. A rebel war clerk's diary at the Confederate States capital. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1866. 8vo (21 cm, 8.35"). 2 vols. I: 392 pp. II: 480 pp.
Click the images for enlargements. A successful novelist and journalist, Jones was wholeheartedly loyal to the Confederacy, and convinced right up until the end that the North would never conquer a united, determined South; he was also notably anti-Semitic, and there are a number of references here to the Jews being largely responsible for the country's economic woes.
• Howes J220; Nevins I, 115 & II, 173. Publisher's brown cloth, spines with gilt-stamped title; sunned and with some discolorations; corners rubbed and spine heads pulled/chipped. Ex–social club library: front pastedown with inked numerals in a 19th-century hand (partially obscured), title-page pressure- and rubber-stamped, a few other pages rubber-stamped. Front free endpaper of vol. I lacking. Pages with light waterstaining to upper inner portions in vol. I One leaf in vol. II with tear extending into text, without loss. (26297)
Irish Insurgency — American Imprint & Provenance Jones, John, of Dublin. An impartial narrative of the most important engagements which took place between His Majesty's forces and the insurgents, during the Irish Rebellion, in 1798; including very interesting information not before published. Carefully collected from authentic letters. Second edition, with additions and corrections. South Newberlin, NY: Levi Harris, 1834. 12mo (18.3 cm, 7.2"). Frontis., 227, [1] pp.
Click the interior image for an enlargement. Provenance: Inked inscriptions of James Mack of Windham, VT (1784–1860) on front free endpaper and rear fly-leaf. Although both inscriptions are dated 1840, one gives “Col. James Mack” and the other “Major James Mack.”
• American Imprints 25154. Contemporary treed sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; joints, edges, and extremities rubbed, spine leather darkened and cracked, boards very slightly sprung. Inscriptions as above. Light to moderate age-toning and foxing, more pronounced to frontispiece and title-page. Now housed in a cloth clamshell case with gilt-stamped leather spine label. (25116)
First Edition — Uncut Copy Jones, John Paul. Life and correspondence of John Paul Jones, including his narrative of the campaign of the Liman. New York: Stereotyped by A. Chandler [pr. by D. Fanshaw], 1830. 8vo (25.7 cm, 9.9"). Frontis., 8, [13]–555, [1] pp.
Click the images for enlargements. This is an uncut copy; uncut, however, though it may have been, this was carefully opened. It was read cover to cover!
• American Imprints 2078; Howes S91; Sabin 36551. Publisher's quarter brown cloth and light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label; binding rubbed and moderately stained, with front hinge (inside) reinforced some time ago. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate, call number on endpaper, frontispiece, title-page, and last page rubber-stamped. Inside the occasional spot or blot; page edges uncut. (27106)
Methodist Missionary & Chippewa Chief's HYMNSChippewa
& English Jones, Peter, tr. Collection of hymns for the use of native Christians of the Chipeway tongue. [added title-age in Chippewa:] Nahkahmoonun kanahnahkahmoowaudt ekewh ahneshenahpaigk anahmeahchik. Kahahnekahnootahpeungkin owh Kahkewaquonnaby. New York: Printed at the conference office by J. Collord, 1829. 12mo (13.2 cm; 5.125"). [1] f., pp. [1–2], 3, then 37, 37, 38–92 pp.
Click the images for enlargements. Peter Jones (1802–56) was a mixed-blood Missisauga chief and a Methodist missionary at New Credit, Ontario.
• Pilling, Proof-sheets, 2024; Pilling, Algonquian, 266; Shoemaker 39161. Not in Sabin; not in Newberry Library, Ayer Indians; not in Boston Athenaeum, Schoolcraft Collection. Contemporary brown calf, modest triple-rule border on covers in blind; rebacked and spine blind-tooled with ruled compartments containing blind-stamped devices. Lower outer corners of both title-pages torn away and paper repairs made, with partial loss of imprint information on each page; old library rubber-stamp to top of English one. Staining, sometimes heavy; chipping of page edges; pp. 39/40 with large semicircular tear with loss of text. Far from a perfect copy, but copies are extremely uncommon in commerce these days. (25853)
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Part XIII . . . |