Chicago: J.V. Mortenson, 1913. Hardcover. 12mo. Burgundy blind-embossed cloth with gilt lettering. 138pp, (2pp). Frontispiece, illustrations. Near fine. Wonderfully tight and bright first edition of this slim account of the murder of Christian missionaries in Sian Fu, China in October 1911. A handsome, gleaming copy. This edition is also seen..... More
New York: New Directions, 1952. Hardcover. 8vo. Blue cloth with gilt spine lettering, pictorial dust jacket. 192pp. Very good/good plus. Jacket a bit edgeworn, with a few small edge chips. First edition of Brossart's first book, tight and attractive -- delightful front jacket graphics. A classic beatnik novel. Scarce. More
French composer. Rare ALS in French, 2pp, 8¼" X 10½", n.p., n.y. September 4. Near fine. Long, chatty letter with much musical content. In part: "I finished a new collection of songs... It is made up of Two Sonnets of Mallarme that I will show you when I get back..... More
This English nobleman (12th Baronet of Stratton Hall) emigrated to America and became a bartender and played cowboy, among other things, before becoming a minister; he authored the 1928 memoir "From Cowboy to Pulpit." ALS, 1p, 8½" X 11", ornate Salvation Army Industrial Home letterhead, Chester, PA, 1912 July 4..... More
On October 4, 1929 a bit of aviation history took place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, when the Grube Airport officially opened and the first airmail from that airport was flown; Transcontinental Air Mail Service Datin flew 2,200 letters to Pittsburgh, 300 of them signed by him; two days later he died..... More
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1954]. Hardcover. 8vo. Black cloth with gilt spine lettering, dust jacket. 159pp, (1pp). Near fine/very good. Typically sunned spine to otherwise sharp jacket. Quite attractive, tight first U.S. edition of this comic verse play -- with choice autograph addition: Tipped to front flyleaf is..... More
This obscure seaman was apparently just your run-of-the-mill sailor; apparently he did see Civil War service, as he appears in the rolls of Civil War veterans from Connecticut. Interesting ALS describing a journey up the Orinoco River in Venezuela, 3pp (lettersheet), 7½" X 10", Angostura, Venezuela, 8 November 1858. Addressed..... More
This popular historian and philosopher advocated the theory of evolution and applied it to his theory of "inevitable historical progress" in such books as "Darwinism and Other Essays" and "Excursions of an Evolutionist." ANS, 2pp, 4" X 2½" heavy stock card, n.p., 1897 August 20. Near fine. This note to..... More
This Mercury VII astronaut, the third astronaut in space (1961), was killed in a flash fire during the simulation of the Apollo I launching. Color PS, irregular 3½" X 6 3/4", n.p., n.d. [ca. early 1960s]. Good only. Single 1" tape stain near lower left edge; this lower left edge..... More
Gaithersburg, MD: Flower Valley Press, [1994]. Hardcover. Square 4to. Black cloth with white spine lettering, pictorial dust jacket. 132pp. Extensive color illustrations, decorative endpapers. Near fine/near fine. Tiny spot on front board; light vertical fold on front flyleaf (likely printing flaw). A handsome and tight first edition of this large..... More
This Revolutionary War patriot was a noted Massachusetts physician and statesman who served as Continental Congressman, a member of the state constitutional convention, many terms as state senator and from 1793-95 as U.S. representative. ADS (within text), 1p, 7 3/4" X 2¼", Danvers, MA, 24 June 1791. Very good. Faint..... More
This Union officer served on the staff of Brigadier General James Shields (whose troops faced Stonewall Jackson's Confederate troops in the Shenandoah Valley in June 1862) and later commanded the Second Louisiana Regiment Cavalry; he was a good friend of famed Irish soldier Miles W. Keogh (1840-76, killed in the..... More
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922. Hardcover. Small 8vo. Tan cloth with green lettering and white/black/green pictorial stamping. xliii, 289pp. Very good. Faint binding wear only, mainly some chipping of the white on the front board graphic depicting a film screen in a movie theatre. Tight, handsome revised edition of..... More
New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1977-79. Hardcover. 4to and small 4to (respectively). White pebble-grain paper over boards with green and orange lettering, pictorial dust jacket; stiff glossy pictorial wrappers. 192pp; 192pp. Extensive illustrations. Fine/near fine; near fine. In 1955 Edward Steichen curated the famed exhibit "The Family of Man," which..... More
Monterey: Hotel del Monte, n.y. Mora (1876-1947) was the cowboyest cowboy of them all -- though born in Uruguay, not the U.S.; painter, illustrator, muralist, cartoonist, sculptor, photographer, author, historian and more, this multi-talented Renaissance Man also lived with the Hopi and Navajo in Arizona for a time, photographing, drawing..... More
Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1843. Hardcover. Complete 3-volume set. 8vo. Quarter calf with gilt spine lettering and blue marbled paper over boards. viii, 597pp; iv, 592pp; iv, 648pp. Numerous illustrations and partly-colored maps, 1 foldout colored map. Very good overall. Binding a tad edgeworn, with marbled paper well scuffed, though..... More
One of the founding fathers of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this leading man was a romantic star of the 1920s and '30s; his work on the Motion Picture Relief Fund earned him a special Oscar in 1947. TLS, 1p, 7½" X 10½", Detroit, MI, 1932 March..... More
New York: Farrar & Rinehart, [1944]. Hardcover. 12mo. Tan cloth with brown lettering and device, pictorial dust jacket. 280pp. Fine/very good. Jacket lightly edgeworn. Wonderfully handsome, bright and tight first edition -- so noted "War Edition" -- of the first of a dozen titles by this American mystery writer (1901-76)..... More
Racine, WI: Whitman Publishing Company, [1952]. Hardcover. Illustrations by E. Deane Cate. Small 8vo. Pale blue paper over boards with light and dark blue pictorial stamping, pictorial dust jacket. 250pp, (2pp ads). Line drawings, pictorial endpapers. Near fine/near fine. Faintest bit of minor jacket edgewear. A spectacular, tight and handsome..... More
New York: Random House, 1945. Hardcover. 8vo. Rebound in full blue calf, gilt, compartments. 259pp. speckled blue endpapers. Speckled blue endpapers. Sewn-in blue silk page marker. Near fine. New binding is of course fine; text block is lightly age toned; outer edge of boards (not text block) is slightly splayed..... 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: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, [1925]. Hardcover. 8vo. Blue blind-embossed cloth with gilt spine lettering, dust jacket. xviii, 445pp. Frontispiece, illustrations, tables. Fine/very good. Faint edgewear and light age toning to jacket, with large chip at head of spine and several quite small edge chips; expert, discreet archival mends..... More
Minneapolis: Harrison & Smith, 1895. Hardcover. 8vo. Green cloth with gilt lettering and black rules and decorations. 176pp. Tissue-guarded frontispiece. Near fine. Faintest of minor binding edgewear only. Outstanding, exceptionally "tight 'n' bright" third edition of this popular memoir (first published 1888) by the first white woman born in the..... More
Coral Gables, FL: Parker Art Printing Association, 1941. Hardcover. Small 4to. Burgundy cloth with gilt lettering. xi, 144pp, (10pp). Near fine. Bit of faint spotting to top page edges. A tight, attractive first edition of these notable English and early American lines, signed and inscribed large and bold in blue..... More