Few 19th century clergymen achieved the level of household-name fame and influence as this renowned Congregationalist minister, the most fiery of the fire and brimstone preachers; the brother of writer Harriet Beecher Stowe of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" fame, Beecher too was an outspoken social reformer, abolitionist and lecturer whose oratory..... More
New York: H. De Marsan, n.y. Broadside. Small 4to (6¼" X 10"). Very good. Faint age toning; old mounting strip on verso along top edge. This clean and quite attractive patriotic poem is a lively and colorful (if inaccurate) Union version of this famed ironclad encounter of March 9, 1862..... More
This American poet published his first collection ("An Ode to Harvard and Other Poems") in 1907, acting as editor at "McClure's Magazine" briefly and taking part in the famed Spectra literary hoax in 1916; in 1922 he relocated to Santa Fe and became a mainstay of the rich literary scene..... More
One of the original "Mercury Seven" astronauts, Carpenter was a versatile aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot -- second American to orbit the earth (after Glenn), fourth American in space. IPS (newspaper), 5" X 8", n.p., n.y. Very good. Lightly age toned. Newspaper portrait, an artist's head-and-shoulders rendering of Carpenter in..... More
American physicist noted for his research on X-ray photography and photoelectricity. TLS, 1p, 5 3/4" X 7 3/4", Cambridge, MA, 1940 October 8. Addressed to noted Lincoln and Civil War scholar Arnold Gates. Near fine. On letterhead of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (of which Compton served as president, 1930-48)..... More
New York: Random House, 1957. Hardcover. 8vo. Terra cotta cloth with black lettering, pictorial dust jacket. 371pp. Near fine/very good. Mild jacket edgewear. A handsome and tight first trade edition of the middle child in the Snopes trilogy. Later state, with the misprint on page 327 and no "5/57" on..... More
New York: Derby & Jackson, 1857. Hardcover. Complete 4-volume set. Small 8vo. Quarter calf with raised bands and gilt lettering and marbled paper over boards. 492pp; 443pp; 547pp, (4pp ads); 500pp, (2pp ads). Frontispiece, marbled endpapers and page edges. Very good. Faintest of edgewear. Supremely tight and handsome first of..... More
London: J. Churchill, 1839. Hardcover. 8vo. Original blind-embossed black cloth, gilt. xix, 296pp. Frontispiece. Very good. Bit of mild edgewear, yet overall a tight and nice first edition of this study. Front pastedown bears 1898 "Library of the Royal United Hospital, Bath" bookplate. Uncommon. Tipped in after the last text..... More
London: Seeley and Co. Limited, 1897-98. Hardcover. Two volumes. Small 4to. Brown cloth with gilt spine and red cloth with gilt spine and front board (respectively). 100pp; 96pp. Top edge gilt (second volume only). Color frontispieces, numerous full-page plates (many color). Very good overall. Mild edgewear and bit of scuffing..... More
New York: Oxford University Press, 1937. Hardcover. Notes on Costume, Scenery and Stage Business by John Gielgud. 8vo. Black cloth with gilt spine lettering, pictorial price-clipped dust jacket. 234pp. Frontispiece, illustrations, pictorial endpapers. Near fine/good only. Jacket quite rubbed and age toned and edgeworn, with numerous small chips along edges..... More
The influential English geologist is actually best known for his "Origin, History and Principles of Gothic Architecture," a 1797 lecture delivered in Edinburgh that was subsequently published in a number of editions; he was father of the noted travel writer Basil Hall (1788-1844). Excellent content ALS, 2pp, 7¼" X 8..... More
Influential banker and lawyer who helped his friend and fellow Ohioan William McKinley gain the presidential nomination in 1896 and went on to become governor of Ohio; he served twice as U.S. ambassador to France, and died there in the embassy building he had bought and given to the United..... More
Twice this Hungarian Communist Party leader served as that country's prime minister (1956-58, 1961-68); under his totalitarian regime all non-Communist forces and influences were ruthlessly squelched. PS, 3½" X 5½", n.p., 1988 August 24. Very good. Handsome later life portrait, boldly signed and dated on the blank lower margin. Rather..... More
Alexandria: Lindsay Smith Publishers, [1994]. Paperback. 8vo. Stiff glossy pictorial wrappers. xiv, 406pp. Illustrations (some color). Fine. Quite tight and lovely first softbound edition of this "biography" of the iconic U.S. Forest Service character -- drawn by different artists but established, made loveable and household-name famous by Rudolph Wendelin (1910-2000)..... More
Although he had a distinguished career in economics and banking -- he is responsible for instituting bank holidays and other reforms -- it is as a writer on entomology and archeology that he is remembered; his "Pre-historic Times" (1865) was long the standard textbook on archeology. ANS, 1p, 4½" X...... More
Berlin: Verlag von Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn, 1896. Hardcover. Folio. Green cloth with gilt spine lettering. Very good. Binding a bit handled and faintly edgeworn, though internally tight, bright and near fine; faint dampstain to outer page edges; contemporary ownership signature on front pastedown and title page. A tight, attractive..... More
New York: Benziger Brothers, 1889. Hardcover. Small 4to. Emerald green cloth with ornate gilt and black lettering and pictorial stamping. 698pp. Tissue-guarded frontispiece, illustrations, 2 heavy stock tissue-guarded full-page plates, marbled endpapers. Very good. Slightly edgeworn (mainly at spine head and tail), else tight and internally near fine; inoffensive archival..... More
This American composer and pianist studied under the great Theodore Leschetizsky in Vienna and Joseph Rheinberger in Munich, and as a long-time Chicago educator counts composer Howard Hanson among his pupils; his own music includes chamber music, symphonies, solo pieces and more. Printed Document (unsigned), 1p, 7¼" X 10¼", Evanston..... More
Moscow: N.p., 1892. Plate X from a set of twenty loose black and white prints originally sold as a set in a portfolio, printed in Moscow in 1892. This untitled set of large, high quality photographic prints (each measures 25" X 18") commemorates some unidentified imperial autograph collection, with each..... More
Chicago: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1918. Hardcover. 16mo. Green cloth, gilt. xxii, 186pp. Top edge gilt. Frontispiece. Near fine. Tight, attractive copy of this early "Lakeside Classic," the annual keepsake presented by this printer/publisher to friends and clients starting in 1903. This volume contains Morris Birkbeck's "Observations of an..... More
Auto safety pioneer long before Ralph Nader popularized the topic in "Unsafe at Any Speed," this University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor (1931-63) patented the first retractable safety seat belt in 1963 and the "black box" flight recorder in 1960; he also improved hydraulic bumpers, dashboards and collapsible steering columns..... More
This German Luftwaffe ace and Knight's Cross winner fought in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain and is credited with downing 93 enemr aircraft -- before he himself was shot down and killed at age 28 over Estonia. PS, 4" X 5 3/4", n.p., n.y. Fair only. A...... More
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1921. Hardcover. Small 4to. Black cloth, gilt spine lettering. ix, 538pp. Frontispiece, illustrations, 2 foldout maps at rear, pictorial endpapers. Very good. A bit drab and rubbed, with mild edgewear (mainly at head and tail of spine) and bit of cloth rippling on front board;..... More
This highly-regarded, versatile and prolific leading man -- considered by many one of the greatest actors ever -- won an Oscar for "Captains Courageous" (1937) and "Boy's Town" (1938). IPS, 8" X 10", n.p., n.d. Very good. Slightest of edgewear, with faint tape stain at each corner. Handsome studio portrait..... More