Search Results: Authors starting with B from Michael Brown Rare Books, LLC

No Binding. Very Good. quarto, one page, formerly folded, in very good, clean and legible condition. Bache, while traveling writes his father, summing up his opinions of Millard Fillmore's Washington: "My Dear Father, Supposing that a word from me will be expected. I will write these few lines. Our visit here has been reasonably pleasant and satisfactory. . To day we visit Mt. Vernon having delayed the view till now on a/c of the weather. I will not attempt to write my observations on "the Lions" at Washington - only to say "some ain't Lions" they being "apes." ." If the writer visited the United States Senat that week, he might have caught a glimpse of Henry Clay, Jefferson Davis, Stephen Douglas, Hannibal Hamlin, Lewis Cass, Salmon Chase, William Seward and Charles Sumner. Then again, he might have seen some of the other forty Senators who, in animal simile, were far from majestic lords of the political jungle.

369 letters, 1489 pp., dated 18 January 1875 to 31 December 1957; bulk from the 1900s-1910s; mostly handwritten, several typed; mostly incoming letters to sisters Vesta I and Ruth Margaret Bailey, with various correspondents including friends and family, or with each other; also included are approximately 300 pieces of ephemera, mostly used and addressed envelopes.Correspondence:
152 letters, 749 pp., dated 24 June 1905 to 22 October 1949; incoming letters written to Ruth Bailey, when she was either at home in West Somerville, Massachusetts, or in Port Arthur, New York, where she worked at one point; the letters are written by her sister Vesta I. Bailey, who wrote 17 letters to Ruth when Ruth moved to Port Henry; other letters are from cousins, Dorothea, Mabel, and Mildred, who live in Port Arthur, or in different locales in Vermont; her friend Bernice Avery, of Ferrisburgh, Vermont, wrote a number of letters, as do others, in particular an aunt from Johnson, Vermont; the bulk of the letters are from… Read More

small quarto, 4 pages, some light damp-staining, else in very good, clean and legible condition.
Baker writes to his brothers and reflects at some length upon the nature of suicide:
"… The frequency with which we read of the self-destruction of individuals and the common excuse urged of mental derangement is significant.
When we consider their daily occurrence and disastrous results of many to their own and others interests, the question arises, is the cause assigned for these rash acts, the true one? We can conceive that a man is laboring under insanity when he commits self-murder, but we cannot understand by what process of reasoning or mental struggle he arrives at his determination. With few exceptions, the majority of suicides are among the middle aged or elderly persons of mankind; an age which is considered the coolest and most ripe; when the mind, by long contention and warfare with the world, is hardened to the ordinary disappointments and… Read More

quarto, two pages of four page bi-folium, formerly folded, in good legible condition. Printed circular, one page folio, in very good condition. Two items which promote both the sale of stock of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company the letter also discusses Master's involvement as an agent for the company in Yates County New York. Balch's letter wherein he relates some of the history of his business dealings certainly leaves his track record in question.

"My Esteemed & Dear Sir,
Your kind letter of the 18th was forwarded to me with 30 others last Eve. From Newburyport which have come to hand the last 5 days since my short stay in this city & for your kind attentions & renewed assurances of friendship be pleases accept my best thanks. I have now only a moment to say in reply to your Enquiries that our constitution has been drawn up by Hon. Daniel Webster under the provisions of our own State Constitution as well as general co-partnership Law & any thing done here by Mr. Webster… Read More

quarto, 2 pages, written in ink, on thin, blue paper stock, formerly folded, some loss of paper at intersections of fold joints, with minimal effect upon several letters of text, else in good, clean and legible condition.
Discusses steam boat building and repair, and hopes that Douglass, who lives in the north, can find suitable employment for Elliott, possibly Banks' son:
"Dear Douglass,
... I have been busy as a Bee for two or 3 months & did not have time to write a long letter so concluded to lay it aside & write at leisure, will do so probably next Sunday. New boat done she is a fine boat & pretty fast had she been finished according to your plan she would have been of a sht draft as she now only draws 2 feet. The Bro has been fixed up her boiler patched & moved forward she now draws 14 ½ inches, 5 less than any boat on the River ... I am more anxious to try & get Charlie north with you out of this infernal place he stayed with Elliott until times got so hard then he came… Read More

No Binding. Very Good. octavo, two pages, folded, lacks mailing envelope, docketing information on last leaf, neatly inscribed in ink, in very good, clean legible condition. Dear Wife, I will give you a history of my voyage to Norfolk. We left new York Friday and arrived here Sunday. We stoped at fortries monrow but did not go A shore. We was out ov site of land all day we are in camp at fort rokue 1 ½ miles from the city of Norfolk within 20 miles of the rebs. Our pickets are out 20 miles as for my self I am better than I was my hans are about heald up. My cough is better thear is eny quanity of darkey here I saw some 200 yesterday from north carliany theay wear taken by a reg of colerd men theay have ben scowering the country. Theay got a number of gorilers and hung the most of them. Mrs. Lenards is in camp cooking for the orsifers. The old man regar is in the ranks whear he ought to be his sone came on bord at new York and brot him whisky and before we got 20 miles it was all… Read More

57 letters, 87 pages, plus 10 manuscript receipts and promissory notes, two printed circulars, in generally very good, clean and legible condition, several letters with splits along folds, otherwise very good.An interesting correspondence pertaining to the life and career of Isaac D. Barnard of West Chester, Pennsylvania. The letters touch upon his service in the War of 1812, legal career, his terms in the State Senate of Pennsylvania and as a United States Senator. The issues and politics of the day are discussed both at the statewide level and nationally. Political factionalism and party politics are discussed, as are economic issues including the beginnings of the States identity as an industrial powerhouse, and the nuts and bolts details of politics, dealing with influence and job seekers. Barnard was an interesting and promising man whose career was cut short by his untimely death at the age of forty three.Isaac D. Barnard was born at Chester, 1791, died at West Chester, 1834. He studied law a… Read More

Folio, two pages, plus stampless address leaf, formerly folded, some splitting along folds, light toning to text, else very good.
1809 Lucy Barns, author of "The Female Christian", first defense of Universalist theology by an American woman, writes her cousin six months before her death at 29.

Though she had never met her young cousin, Barns was happy to learn, from his father and sister, that he was "... engaged in the useful and pleasing theme of learning…I flatter myself you will make good improvement of what you learn. You are young, and now in the time to lay up in store a rich fund of knowledge and information, which may serve for use and entertainment, in a day of adversity, or in a more advanced period of life. I hope, therefore, you will attend closely to the cultivation of your mind; not only with regard to the various branches of literature, but also attend to the study of that pure and undefiled religion which is only acceptable in the sight of our heavenly Father. I am of opinion that… Read More

quarto, two pages, plus stampless address leaf, formerly folded, in very good, clean, and legible condition.
1842 Ohio Democrat - an emigrant from South Carolina - attacks his Whig opponents.
"…the new banking law is received here by the whigs – the Ohio Statesman [newspaper] has been in great [suspension?] to see the bill, it passed the house last evening, there was a meeting of merchants and others to take into consideration the propriety of petitioning the legislature for a Bank under the law. I understand that the law was generally approved of except by the Editor of the Times, who advised to wait until next winter and then… would elect men who would go in for Banking on safe principles etc.
There is much said and it will be greatly relied on for the electioneering purpose that means have not been provided in some way for the payment of bonds on the public works and for the completion of them, the southwestern part of the state will be made to believe I am afraid that their interest has been… Read More

Collection of 255 letters, 776 manuscript pp., (164 retained mailing envelopes), dated 1 April 1879 to 19 April 1918; the bulk of correspondence dates from the 1880s and 1890s; mostly handwritten, some typed; includes correspondence of Barrett family members of Hartford, Connecticut, to their son, Charles C. Barrett, as well as incoming business letters to Barrett, who worked for the Missouri Pacific Railroad as a traveling passenger agent, and later became a land developer and realtor at Edgar, Wisconsin; the archive also includes 1 diary of 1873-1874 kept by William J. Barrett; 12 small memorandum notebooks, dated 1884-1913; and over 340 pieces of related paper and manuscript ephemeral material.
There are several sections, or groups of letters, within the collection. Including a section containing family letters written by Mrs. Jane Barrett to her son Charles C. Barrett, as well as letters to Charles from his sister Grace and, his brother, Cliff; there are letters written to Barrett's wife Clara… Read More

Small folio, two pages, plus integral address leaf, in very good, clean, and legible condition.
1819 Grandson of a Signer of the Declaration of Independence supports "Toleration" School for religious liberty.
The grandson of Josiah Bartlett, the fist Governor of New Hampshire and second signer (after John Hancock) of the Declaration of Independence was not as active in national politics as his brother, Josiah, Jr., who served in the New Hampshire State Senate and in the US Congress, but Levi took a strong interest in political affairs in his hometown of Kingston, as reflected in this letter to a Methodist clergyman who was also a pioneer educator, heading three schools he helped found: An Academy in his own hometown of New Market, August College in Kentucky, and Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, a distant forerunner of Wesleyan University.
Which is why Bartlett informed Ruter about a controversy over the founding of a new Academy in Kingston. But first he gave Ruter an account of proceedings at the… Read More

No Binding. Very Good. Quarto, two pages, sheet tanned, upper right hand corner torn away, affecting two words of text, else in good, clean and legible condition. Dr Sir, . Your letter to S. W. Ruggles Esq. has been sent to him, but he is said to be out of business & poor, saying nothing of his utter unwillingness as is alleged, to pay his debts. Your suggestions about the President I believe to be entirely just. He is an honest man, and deserves well of his country. I suppose he is to be rechosen, in effect, by default, and an attempt to bring about an "era of good feelings" is being made. If it could be truly such I should rejoice, but I should view it only as the precursor of a scourge worse than war, pestilence & famine. You shall have the documents as printed. As yet I have recd but one copy of the report of the [Secret]ary of the Treasury. With that document [so] far as relates to the U.S. Bank, I am not well satisfied: in other respects it is generally applauded."

No Binding. Very Good. quarto, two pages, plus integral address leaf, in very good, clean and legible condition. Beaumont, a Pennsylvania legislator denounces a proposal to exempt "conscientious objectors" from jury duty in murder cases. "Dear Sir, . yesterday . a resolution was brought forward purporting to exempt persons having conscientious scruples against serving on juries in cases of murder or where the Indictment contains a count of murder in the first degree. The debate arose on the question of reference to the Judiciary Comm. The House agreed . to refer but the vote was not considered as the definitive expression of the sense of the House. Should such a bill or a Bill containing such principles pass .not at all likely . it would be establishing a monstrous principle in a free govt. when the burdens of civil society ought to fall equally upon all classes and where nothing should be sanctioned by the Legislature countenancing privileged orders and invidious… Read More

octavo, three pages, inscribed neatly in ink, very good, clean and legible condition.
Dr. Beebe writes to his brother describing the difficulties of setting up a new medical practice and also comments on a "diploma mill" in Philadelphia.

"Dear Brother,
… I some business but my patients are not very prompt about paying their bills. It is reported that I get drunk and several other things now you know that I am up to such work but when a fellow starts in the practice of medicine where any one can practice you may expect to hear a great deal, but I think that if they keep on talking I will be better off in the end. I have the advantage of one of them he bought a bogus diploma of a Dr. Buchanan of Philadelphia who was arrested lass [sic] fall and his name was found in Buchanan's office and a great many others the list of names of those who had purchased diplomas came out in the Physicians and Surgeon now he is quite docile…"

octavo, 8 pages, written in pencil, on the letter-head of the Jewish Welfare Board, American Embarkation Center, Le Mans Area, accompanied by original mailing envelope, in good legible condition.
Mr. Bellman, apparently a Jewish American soldier serving in the "MG Co 110 Inf", writes home to his sister and brother-in-law describing his thoughts just before embarking for his return home and he also describes an artillery barrage in which he was wounded and nine of his comrades were killed:
"My Dear Sister,
I let you know that I received your good long letter tonight and I cant tell how much I appreciate such a good letter … your letter found me in good health in le mans in a big camp and we stay hear till we leive for embarkation and that wont be so long any more we are the second division to sail in May that will be a nice time to sail and a nice time to come home… we got y.m.c.a to go and show and movie ad church and I was in church on Sunday and then I whent to here the… Read More

No Binding. Very Good. Quarto, two pages of a bi-folium, formerly folded, postal markings on address leaf, in very good, clean and legible condition. Bethune returns a copy of a letter to Mr. Eubank, writing: ". I do not like disguise - and have stated freely what seems to be the cool decision of us all -a declining of the Rice business, not knowing all the parties in so extensive a concern. It is much easier and less likely to offend to decline at the opening, than after we had engaged in it. Our total ignorance of Mr. Lucas as to his disposition, business talents, or actual property will be to any reasonable mind a good reason for not embarking so deeply in what may justly be deemed his schemes, without involving in it any distrust in Mr. Eubank. You know that my confidence in Mr. Eubank in stocks . &c for the last two years was firmer than yours - but I knew his integrity & circumspection in his own business. His control over Mr. Lucas' extended operations… Read More

Profiteering from the Indian trade in Indiana – Pennsylvania emigrant's letter, 1834. folio, two pages, plus stamp-less address leaf, in very good, clean and legible condition.

Ochnig Bird, then 21 years old had just moved from Pennsylvania to Indiana, traveling a thousand miles, having seen "a grate many places", some "quite sickly", but was now in "a first rate place for merchandising… on the Wabash River where the Indiana and Erie Canal is progressing."

He had been working on the Canal as an Engineer, but hoped to convince Pettibone to come join him as a business partner, to "speculate in Trade or in Land, there is a going to be some first rate lands sold here soon and those who have the Change, have the first opportunity, and the Trade from the Indians is Good in this Country. The Miami Indians… draw from Government every year $ 25,000 which all comes around threw the hands of the Merchants for Goods at a double profit… The Indians "- of the Miami and Pottawattomi tribes are… Read More

octavo, 2 pages, formerly folded, in very good, legible condition.
"I am very glad to hear from you in the Old Tammany proceedings and that you are active in the good cause of Democracy.
I am settled here and fighting the battle almost singlehanded against the Black R[epublicans] and K. N.s [Know Nothings] I have got up 2 meetings and am still doing the best I can for the party. You can rely on a good Report for our County. I hope you will attend the Convention the 30th and try and get the party united on a firm basis; I would be there surely but for affairs at home which will prevent it but my heart is with you, and anything I can do for the party or for you personally will be cheerfully done. I should be most happy to see you at my home this summer if you can possibly get time to come … As you are among the foremost in keeping up the excitement and getting up meetings, permit me to humbly offer my feeble assistance in making a noise at any time when the Democracy may call… Read More

octavo, 88, [1] pp., pamphlet, ex-library, handstamps on title-page, removed from bound volume of pamphlets, text, clean, else a good copy.

octavo, 63 pp., pamphlet, ex-library, handstamps on title-page, removed from bound volume of pamphlets, text, clean, else a good copy.