Authors beginning with F from Daniel / Oliver Gallery (6 items)

28pp; paper boards 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches
A fascinating, seemingly-unrecorded novella described as "a romance of Jack Johnson and his white wives," published in Des Moines, Iowa, by Mabel Cairns Farrell, c. 1916. It tells a fictionalized account of the life of Johnson's second wife, Etta Duryea (here called "Ettie Youree"). It touches on her suicide in Chicago in 1912 (in a chapter titled "The Scarlet Thing is Done") and then concludes with his marriage to Lucille Cameron and exile abroad. While certainly a product of its time, the text is rather remarkable for its choice of subject matter, sympathetic portraits, and frankness of tone.Though we cannot locate any extant copies of the book, it advertised in a pair of Black newspapers in 1916. One, published in the Des Moines Bystander, proclaimed the work has "drawn back the curtain of censure, cast aside the shackles of prejudice and writes from an intimate standpoint with an unbiased pen."Little is known about the book's author, Mabel Cairns Farrell.… Read more

Photo album; albumen prints (21); Each 6 x 4 inches; Each with caption in negative recto; 10-page booklet titled "A Pleasure Drive from Timaru to Mr. Cook" affixed to first page.
A rare album showing the landscape from Timaru, New Zealand, to Mount Cook, photographed and published by the Timaru artist William Ferrier.The album is titled "Mount Cook With Descriptive Notes & Map" By W. Ferrier, Timaru, N.Z. Mounted on the "title page" is the booklet of Descriptive text written by Ferrier that is titled "A Pleasure Drive From Timaru to Mount Cook". This contains a general narrative of the journey as well as specific descriptions of each of the album's photographs.Opposite the mounted booklet is a frontispiece photo of a map titled "Mt Cook (Aorangi) and Its Glaciers and Lakes." This is followed by panoramic views of the journey from Timaru to Mt. Cook with the vast majority showing the towering mountainous landscape and shots of the "tourist party" making the journey. Included of views of Lake Tekapo,… Read more

Silver print; 5 3/4 x 4 inches on larger mount; With photographer's credit and subject identification on image.
A previously unknown portrait of He Inyan Wi the "Woman Warrior" of the Lakota Sioux, also known as Amanda Rocky Buttes, or Cow Boy. She was the only woman who fought in the Battle of Little Big Horn, also called the battle of the Greasy Grass, and her experiences there were recounted in an interview with Bill Zahn by Colonel A.B. Welch in 1921. She was married to Blue Thunder, a Yanktonai Dakota tribal elder.

Pastel on paper (10) Each approx. 18 x 12 inchesSigned and (most) dated recto.
Born in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1900, Wy Log Fong moved to Portland, Oregon and by 1920 he was listed in the census with the occupation of "landscape artist." After taking classes at the Portland Art Association and exhibiting at the Portland Museum of Art, he found work with the city's West Coast Engraving Company, producing kitschy Chinese genre-scenes and illustrations that were reproduced as prints, often sold in similarly "Oriental" style frames. He eventually settled in Los Angeles, illustrating for magazines and working as a pastel portrait artist in LA's Chinatown. There is some speculation he may have worked in LA's China City in the 1940s.Though the present group of portraits do contain some of the same stereotypical elements he utilized in his commercial pursuits, there is a uniform depth and sensitivity to the works, which speak to his skills as an artist and to his experiences as a… Read more

Photo album; silver prints on postcard stock (283) Each 5 1/2 x 3 1/2 inchesWith caption and Frasher's credit in negative and manuscript inventory number print recto; Album cover embossed with Frasher's printed credit.
A massive sample album showcasing the work of the important and prolific photographer and publisher, Burton Frasher. The album is notable for the sheer volume of photos, and its focus on Nevada as well as Eastern California.The Nevada portion of the album consists of scores of compelling images showing main streets, hotels, saloons, restaurants, gambling parlors, mining operations, desert landscapes and more in places such as as Reno, Virginia City, Goldfield, Tonopah, Rhyolite, Gold Hill, Carson City, Mina, Beatty, Silver City, Hawthorne, Gardnerville, and elsewhere.There are a handful of views of the old Chinatown in Carson City, including a pair of portraits of Yee Bong, shown posed in front of his eponymous cafe. Born in Virginia City, Yee Bong worked as a cook in Comstock and Lake… Read more

Albumen print; 4 x 2 1/2 inches; with printed caption recto.
Christopher Oscanyan was the Consul-General of the Ottoman Government at the Port of New York City during the 1860s and 1870s. He gave at least one public lecture during 1863 where he was billed as "The Oriental Lecturer." Individuals who attended his lecture could purchase a short book describing the culture and traditions of the Ottoman Empire. Carte de Viste images of himself and his subjected were prepared and registered by Charles D. Fredricks & Co., 587 Broadway, New York.