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

"… I recd your letter of the 14th and I desire to see you first before paying for the pictures. I have something to mention to you respecting them. The frames of course I will pay at any time. Knowing we can adjust them when we meet without any difficulty, I hope you will wait till I have that pleasure. Hoping that you may have all manner of felicity as a married man and that you may call your first born boy after your humble servant …"
John Houston Mifflin (1807-1888) was born in Pennsylvania. An amateur poet, he studied portrait painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with Thomas Sully, and began exhibiting there in 1832. In 1836-37 he was in Europe for further study, along with G.P.A. Healy and several others. On his return to America, Mifflin worked in Philadelphia and Georgia. He moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he spent four years as an itinerant artist, wandering through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, painting portraits of wealthy families, as well as… Read More

221 letters, 1064 manuscript pp., (121 retained mailing envelopes); letters dated 10 May 1892 to 20 June 1926; the bulk date from 1892 to 1909 and only 2 letters written after 1909, those being from 1911 and 1926.
The collection consists of 221 letters comprising 1,064 manuscript pages; 21 of which are not dated.
The collection includes 109 outgoing letters written by Daniel A. Reed, of which 101 were written by Reed to his wife Georgia Tickner Reed. He wrote 2 letters to his brother-in-law B. Clifford Ticker; with the remaining 6 letters written to his parents, or his children, aunts and uncles, etc. Only one letter from 1926 was written while he was a sitting U.S. Congressman. A large portion of the letters were written in 1904 to 1909 when Reed worked in Albany for the State of New York State Department of Excise and his fiancé, later wife, was living in Dunkirk, New York.
There are 95 incoming letters to Daniel A. Reed. Reed's wife Georgia Tickner Reed, wrote 7, the rest were… Read More

octavo, map, 48 page pamphlet, original wraps, removed from bound volume of pamphlets, else a good copy.
In May 1863 General Joseph Hooker convened a court martial to hear charges that General Revere had abandoned the field without cause at the Battle of Chancellorsville. Revere had moved his troops, without orders, about three miles to the rear, as they were short of ammunition and without rations. General Sickles relieved Revere of command for doing this. Dismissed from the service, Revere here defends his conduct and his honor; President Lincoln revoked his dismissal in 1864, and allowed Revere to resign. Dornbusch 2350. Sabin 70181. Not in Nevins.

The Unicorn
Pen and ink and ink wash on paper, measuring 5 ½ x 4 3/8 inches, some toning, slight mat burn, the image is drawn on the back of a manuscript receipt, the receipt bears the signature of Benedict Reynolds, Zachariah's father.
A very nice, calligraphic, folk art image of a unicorn and a bird perched atop a curious structure.
A brief synopsis of the life of Zachariah Reynolds and his family history is here reprinted from the History of Washington County.
"D. L. REYNOLDS, who owns 160 acres of fine land, is situated in South Strabane Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, four and one-half miles east of Washington, was born in the old house which then stood on the present site of the barn, on this farm, December 31, 1828. His father was Zachariah and his paternal grandfather was Benedict Reynolds, while his mother was Mary Little and his maternal grandfather was Moses Little.
Benedict Reynolds was born in Maryland and from there he enlisted in the American Army. After serving for six… Read More

quarto, two page illustrated printed promotional circular letter, describing, and illustrating William H. Richardson's Patent Walking Cane Umbrellas, formerly folded, very good, clean condition.
The printed letter, from Richardson, lithographed on the first page of the circular, describes and promotes Richardson's umbrellas, particularly his "Patent Walking Cane Umbrella." Richardson describes his manufactory, which ran on steam power enabling him to make 1200 umbrellas a day, or "between 7 and 8000 umbrellas per week". This enabled him to keep his costs low and ensure a low price for prospective purchasers. Richardson claimed his was "the only manufacturer in the United States using steam, I have no fear that any, can or will, undersell me…" The circular states that umbrellas and parasols were 25 cents each. The illustration instructs the potential customer how to use the patent walking cane umbrella.

first edition, octavo, 94 pages, ex-library, hand and blindstamps on title page, bound in early 20th century plain linen, red and black spine labels, shelf label on spine, else a good copy, text clean.

Two letters, 12mo and octavo, respectively, two pages, some tape residue to edges of each letter, where formerly affixed to an album, else in good, legible condition.
Roberts thanks Pleasants for the gift of a book, and comments on his travels in England in the 1934 letter. In the 1937 letter he writes Pleasants commenting on points in his finest novel Northwest Passage, published in 1937:
"Dear Dr. Pleasants:
It was a pleasure to hear from you again, and I greatly appreciate the kind things you say.
I get your point about Carleton, but he just didn't fit into my narrative. My story was practically ended as soon as Rogers was disappointed in his attempt to find the Northwest Passage. Everything beyond that was extraneous and had to be told with the greatest possible speed. Thus I found it impossible to use some of the things that I would have liked to use – such as Rogers' courtmartial, for example.
It will be a great pleasure to see a copy of your book when it's published. Have… Read More

No Binding. Very Good. Quarto, two pages, neatly and legibly inscribed in ink, very good. Robins writes to William Bacon Stevens2, who later became Bishop of Pennsylvania, in 1848, the year he moved from Georgia to Philadelphia. "I beg to acknowledge receipt of yr. esteemed favor of 5 inst, and to fully reciprocate the kind and fraternal feeling expressed in it. I had written you a few days before its receipt, more particularly at the request of the Bishop who wished to know definitely the time you had fixed for your institution that he might arrange his appointments so as to be present on the occasion. I have not seen him since the receipt of yr last letter but I am induced to believe that he will commence a western visitation about the 1 Sept. and yet that month will be more suitable for your institution than an earlier date for the reason stated in your letter, many of the Congregation are absent during the months of July and August but resume their places about the beginning of September, I… Read More

quarto, 3 pages, plus stamp less address leaf, formerly folded, hole in last leaf due to careless opening, affecting several words of text, else in good clean legible condition.
Robinson, a New Hampshire native, had gone to Savannah for work, he was a "mechanic" and found employment with a Mr. Eastman, who evidently was selling many "guns and pistols" in the wake of the Nullification Crisis. Eastman was also manufacturing a "patent lever" clock, which Robinson was also involved with.
"Savannah March 11, 1833
Dear Brother,
… I like the place very well, and have got acquainted with several of the people and find them very sociable. The church that I attend the same that I spoke of in my last, it is the finest that I ever saw it is maid of hewn stone and cost $ 80,000. … the Preachers name is Preston is an Irishman by birth and is a fine man smartest speaker in the city and has the largest congregation it is full as large as Mr. Boutens, and has a large church, we have the most solem sacrament of any… Read More

13 letters, 42 manuscript pages, dated 30 July 1835 to 9 August 1840, plus 11 pages of manuscript papers written by the Rev. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer to "Rev. Dr. Vermilye, Pearl St," concerning Van Rensselaer's father, General Stephen Van Rensselaer (1764-1839). The Rockwood and Vermilye families were intermarried.Description of the Correspondence: 1 letter written by Erskine Hazard, Esq., to Charles G. Rockwood, addressed to him "Care of Wm. M. Vermilye, Esq., Cash'r Merch't Exc. Bank, New York," informing Rockwood of the death of his brother (Erskine) in Cuba from the Yellow Fever, dated Philadelphia, 30 July 1835. "Philadelphia, 30 July 1835....I rec'd your letter a long time since announcing your having changed your situation in business and intended before now to have written you but have been too much occupied -- I am now compelled to adopt this course as the one that would be most likely for your mother to received with the least shock the melancholy news of the death of your… Read More

Large collection of 326 images of Alaska, 98 photographs, 139 real photograph and 89 photochrome postcards assembled and taken by Carl W. Rogers, of Fairbanks, and Iditarod, Alaska, mainly of Iditarod and other now abandoned mining camps along the Iditarod River, including Dikeman, Georgetown, Ophir, Flat City, Flat Creek, Ruby, and many others. The images date between 1908-1911. Many of the images were taken by Rogers and some have his signature on the verso. The images record these now largely vanished settlements, mining camps, trading posts, Native villages, roadhouses, pioneer cabins at the beginning of the mining boom that brought thousands to the shores of the remote Iditarod River. The images also include inhabitants both Native and white.
The September 26, 1910, issue of The Alaska Citizen of Fairbanks, carries the following announcement concerning Rogers:
"Sendoff For Carl Rogers – Last Sunday evening about sixty members of the Christian Science church assembled at the home of Mr. and Mrs.… Read More

quarto, 2 pages, plus stamp less address leaf
"I thank you for Mr. Pettit's speech on the Oregon question. I go for Oregon – Strong – look back to 1800 & 1804 and say now what would have been the Situation of our Country if Jefferson had not had keenness of sight as a Statesman to secure Louisiana – what would have been the Situation of the Valley of the Mississippi if instead of the Stars and Stripes floating over the products of that…fertile region, some foreign power had secured the mastery of the great outlet? So in some quarter of a century will it be with Oregon and California. Plant there our standard. Spread there the benignity of our Laws. Infuse there the Anglo Saxon spirit and generations there will yet rise up and call those blessed who in the present did so much in [perfection?] for them…
I see Mr. Dix has been going the large figure for the NYork Pilots Repeal. Is it possible that the Repeal can find power enough in either House to secure its passage? I… Read More

Three letters, 4 pages, as follows:William S. W. Ruschenberger. Autograph Letter Signed (with initials, W.S.W.R.) Philadelphia, March 5, 1831. 1pg.+address leaf. To his mother, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. Hopes to pass his (medical) examination soon. Discusses various goods his mother had asked him to procure for her because they might be cheaper in Philadelphia than in Washington. Make several references to his mother's friend "Mr. Israel", with whom she regularly corresponded – possibly a descendant of the Jewish US Navy Midshipman killed while serving aboard the USS Constitution during the Barbary War,24 year-old Ruschenberger had already completed his first Naval cruise to the Pacific, during which he acquired the life-long habit of keeping painstaking diaries, as a Surgeon's Mate, and has just graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. One month after he wrote this letter, he was commissioned a US Navy Surgeon and was soon sent on the first of several long cruises to parts of… Read More

quarto, 4 pages, plus stamp-less address leaf, second leaf of the letter sheet is quite worn, and lacks a portion, which affects about 18 lines, as well as small portions at fold joints and a few lines at the lower portion of that page, else in good legible condition.
W. W. M. Ruschenberger, the future, famed United States Naval surgeon and scientist, writes as a 19 year-old Surgeon's mate on his first Naval cruise to South America, vividly describing collision and shipwreck of American vessels, and decries Bolivar as the "tyrant of the South".
The teenaged Ruschenberger had just received his appointment as a Surgeon's mate in the U.S. Navy; he wrote this letter to his mother on his first cruise to South America. On his return, he would graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, be commissioned a US Navy Surgeon and set off on the first of several long cruises to the Pacific, during which he would acquire the life-long habit of keeping painstaking diaries. He would… Read More

No Binding. Very Good. quarto, 2 pages, folded, docketing information on last page, in very good clean and legible condition. Russell in this letter gives a far-sighted view of American missionaries as first sources of "intelligence" from distant lands. It is Russell's retained copy, possibly in the hand of his wife Sarah, with her initialed note on the second page. "Rev. Dr. Anderson Dear Sir, I have just been reading the account of the proceedings of A.B.C.F.M. at their recent meeting in Philadelphia and saw with much regret the painful embarrassment of the Board in its pecuniary affairs. This called up anew a scheme, a wild one perhaps, that entered my mind some time ago, and I now with diffidence suggest it to you. If you deem it impracticable, or if carried into effect of no utility, the suggestion will do no harm, save the trespassing upon your time in making it known, which I hope good intentions will excuse. My idea was to get up a… Read More