Altrock was a pitcher who debuted in 1898 with the Louisville Colonels, also playing for the Chicago White Sox (winning 20+ games for the 1906 "Hitless Wonders") and Washington Senators before retiring in 1933; as a Washington Senators coach, he and Schacht became renowned for their comedy routine performed on..... More
New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1955. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Burgundy buckram with black lettering. 190pp. Near fine. Text front endpaper. Volume 27, Number 4, in "The Reference Shelf" series that gathered roughly 20 important speeches and reprinted them in this annual compilation, divided into six categories (Foreign Relations, Economic..... More
[London]: Oxford University Press, 1903. Hardcover. Complete 2-volume set. 8vo. Green cloth, dust jacket (Volume II only). xlii, 419pp; v, 480pp. Frontispieces. Very good/very good. Both volumes tight, clean and lovely, with spine gilt bright and fresh, the only flaw being some age toning to all endpapers; dust jacket (Volume..... More
New York: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1892. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Green cloth with gilt and silver lettering and decorations. 334pp. Top edge gilt. Tissue-guarded frontispiece, floral endpapers. Very good. Tight and fairly attractive, with lightly shellacked spine (thus glossy) and front hinge bearing old but strong archival cloth tape..... More
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [1937]. Hardcover. Illustrations by Paul Laune. Small 8vo. Tan cloth with brown lettering and decoration, pictorial dust jacket. iii, 212pp, (6pp ads). Red pictorial endpapers. Near fine/very good. Mild jacket edgewear; lacks frontispiece. Tight and quite lovely first edition, second state of #16 in the..... More
Debuting in 1927, black comic character actor Lincoln Perry portrayed the offensively mumbling, shuffling sidekick -- billed "The Laziest Man in the World" -- in countless films and is often considered the first African-American to have a true career in Hollywood. PS, 4¼" X 5½", n.p., n.d. [ca. 1965]. Very..... More
This powerhouse British statesman and politician served four terms as Prime Minister (between 1868 and 1894) and four terms as Chancellor of the Exchequer, among many other important posts. ANS (third person), 2pp (single leaf), 4½" X 7½", Whitehall, U.K., 14 October 1861. Very good. Inoffensive glue stains to lower..... More
Paris: Librairie de Lucien Gougy, 1898. Hardcover. 8vo. Quarter polished red calf with gilt spine lettering and raised bands and marbled paper over boards. 212pp, I-CCCCLVIII. Top edge gilt. Foldout frontispiece. Near fine. First edition, a superbly tight and handsome modern (likely early 20th century) rebind of the original pamphlet..... More
New York: William Morrow and Company, 1962. Hardcover. Illustrations by Leonard Everett Fisher. 8vo. Red cloth with white lettering and emblem. 128pp. Illustrations. Very good. Internally tight and fine, with just minor scuffing to front board. Tight and nice first edition of one volume from Johnson's "The Government" trilogy for..... More
New York: Great Island Conference, 1947. Paperback. 8vo. Stiff tan wrappers. 6pp. Very good. Outer wrappers (only) lightly age toned, else tight and internally fine. First separate printing of this Alfred Friendly article that originally ran in the "Washington Post" on February 4, 1947 concerning the Senate's ratification of President..... More
Chicago: R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, 1922. Hardcover. Edited by Milo Milton Quaife. 16mo. Dark green cloth with gilt lettering, rules and medallion. xxx, 238pp. Top edge gilt. Foldout frontispiece map, illustration. Near fine. Faintest of edgewear. A tight and handsome copy of this early "Lakeside Classic," the annual keepsake..... More
London: Printed for the Author, 1791. Hardcover. 4to. Full calf with extensive decorative and diced blind-embossing, raised bands with gilt lettering, rules and decorations, inner dentelles. x, (2pp), 295pp. All edges gilt. Folding map frontispiece, marbled endpapers. Very good. 19th century rebind quite attractive, but a tad worn at hinges..... More
New York: The Viking Press, 1960. Hardcover. Foreword by W.H. Auden. 8vo. Teal blue cloth with silver spine lettering, pictorial price-clipped dust jacket. xvi, 304pp. Very good/very good. Binding front board lightly sunned and bearing ghostly image of jacket front panel, else tight and internally fine; jacket a bit age..... More
This American historian and diplomat is largely remembered for his 1856 3-volume "History of the Dutch Republic," one of the most lauded of mid-19th century histories. ALS, 2pp (lettersheet), 4½" X 7", Grove Farm, Leatherhead (Surrey, U.K.), 8 September 1867. Addressed to Lord Beauchamp (Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp, 1830-91)..... More
Rio de Janeiro: Officinas de Artes Graphicas da Bibliotheca Nacional, 1905. Hardcover. Small 4to. Burgundy cloth with paper spine label; original stiff front wrapper bound in. 96pp. Illustrations. Very good. Tight and internally near fine, with slight rubbing to binding (mainly along spine). Tight and quite nice first edition of..... More
Italian-born American composer and pianist. TLS, 2pp, 6½" X 8", Brooklyn, NY, 1925 May 16. Addressed to pianist John Leiser. Fine. Fascinating, lengthy explanation of how he came to write "Secrets of the Success of Great Musicians." In part: "Why was it, for instance, that some well educated, intelligent person..... More
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1957]. Hardcover. Small 4to. Grey cloth with black lettering, pictorial dust jacket. xvii, 459pp. Illustrations. Near fine/very good. Jacket a bit edgeworn. A tight and nice first edition of this compilation of Sandburg's poetry and prose. As jacket front panel notes, this is "The..... More
Mercury 7 and Apollo 14 astronaut and moonwalker, the first American to travel in space (1961). IPS, 7 ¼" X 9", n.p., n.y. Near fine. Black and white magazine photograph trimmed from the May 19, 1961 "Life" magazine profile. Candid closeup of Shepard gazing with left hand to forehead, boldly..... More
The Bureau of Standards was based on a report and bill drafted by this noted University of Chicago physicist; the bill passed in 1901, and Stratton became its first director, a position he held until 1923, turning the fledgling organization into a renowned research center; he then capped off his..... More
This Russian-born American composer ended up in France after the Russian Revolution, where he performed and composed prolifically -- symphonies, orchestral pieces, piano concertos, operas, ballet and choral music; post-WW2 he emigrated to Chicago, where he taught and composed. Remarkably beautiful ALS, 1p, 6" X 11", Vanves, France, n.y. [likely..... More
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1927. Hardcover. Small 8vo. 187pp. Black cloth spine with paper label and green/red patterned paper over boards, slipcase with paper labels. Near fine/good plus. Front pastedown ownership signature; while slipcase is complete, strong and fairly attractive, it has been expertly and archivally restored and strengthened..... More
Harlan Stone's successor as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1946-53) was known as a strong liberal and a civil rights champion; previously, he served as a Kentucky representative and as treasury secretary under Truman. TNS, 1p, 8" X 10½", Washington, DC, 1924 February 18. Addressed to A.N. Marquis..... More
New York: S. Augustus Mitchell, Jr., 1863. Folio (15¼" X 12¼", image area 14¼" X 11 3/4"). Hand colored. Very good. Faint age toning. Wonderfully richly and nicely colored map of these two side-by-side southern states, published the same year that this breakaway state achieved statehood. From the 1864 edition..... More
New York: W.J. Widdleton, Publisher, 1863. Hardcover. Edition revised by R. Shelton Mackenzie. Complete 5-volume set. 8vo. Quarter calf with gilt spine lettering and decorations and paper labels (expert contemporary replacements) and marbled paper over boards. xxxii, 486pp; xxxvi, 432pp; xvi, 469pp; xxii, 468pp; xxxii, xii, 465pp. Frontispieces, marbled endpapers..... More