Search Results: Authors starting with W from Kurt A. Sanftleben, LLC

Troy, New York, 1840. Envelope or Cover. Very good. This two-page stampless letter measures 8Âľ" x 12½". It was sent by C.W. Thompson in Troy on 12 February 1840 to business associates, the Nye Brothers, in Champlain, New York. It bears a circular red Troy postmark and a manuscript "18Âľ", the cost to mail a letter between 150 and 400 miles. In nice shape. A transcript will be provided. In this letter, Thompson keeps his promise to write the Nye Brothers to inform them of changes to the Hudson River. It reads in part: "The Ice in the river here broke up yesterday, it was about 18 inches thick & it was feared much damage would be done but there was verry little. I believe there was no Lumber carried off any of the docks on either side of the river. Although the water was verry high we now think the danger is over the water is Falling & will probably be off the docks tomorrow or the day after. . .." He goes on to report that he is making progress getting payment from creditors for several… Read More

Death Valley, California, 1950. Very good. This lot consists of a one-page letter from the National Park Service at Death Valley National Monument, dated 17 February 1950, and two photographs of graffiti that read, "J W ADE". The letter is signed L. F. Kellar, "Death Valley National Monument Park Naturalist" L. F. Keller. The photographs were mounted on a piece of bond paper with cello tape that has discolored over time. The letter reads in part: "On February 16, 1950, Mr. C. E. Choucher . . . directed us to the site in Greenwater Canyon where he located last week an inscription which he reported as 'C Wade'. "The inscription was 'J Wade' located 1.4 mile northeast of the petroglyphs and 6.9 miles southwest of the Lila C. Mine on a great vertical volcanic breccia 50 feet west of the road. . .. "The inscription seems to be old and could antedate 100 years. The letters are chiseled ÂĽ to ½ inches deep in the volcanic breccia, 6 inches height, and the entire name is 24 inches long. . .. "Since… Read More

New York: Firth, Pond & Co, 1861. First Edition. Sheet Music. Very Good. An uncommon piece of sheet music honoring Colonel E. E. Ellsworth that features his full-length portrait in the center of the front cover surrounded by eight detailed vignettes. From a privately bound home collection so with a rough left edge. 8 pages including the cover. Clean with three small light spots and a small music store stamp on the front cover. Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth, a friend of Abraham Lincoln, was the Commanding Officer of the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, a Zouave unit. He was killed shortly after his regiment arrived in Washington and began the occupation of Alexandria, Virginia. While securing Alexandria, Ellsworth noticed a Confederate Flag flying above an inn. Ellsworth assisted by three of his men climbed to the roof and Ellsworth cut down the flag. On their way back downstairs, Ellsworth was killed by a shotgun blast to his chest. Corporal Francis Brownell immediately killed the innkeeper who… Read More

"My business it is not worth having. . .. I am [now] dismissing my thick shoe makers for I have no orders nor do I expect to have any and I have amost all my shoes on hand that I had made, several thousand pr at any rate. . .."
Quincy, Massachusetts and Exeter, New Hampshire, 1845.
This archive consists of nine stampless folded letters between Nathaniel White at Quincy, Massachusetts, and his son, George, who attended Philips Exeter Academy and later Yale. The letters were written between 1841 and 1845; eight were written by Nathaniel and one by George. The letters bear a variety of manuscript and hand-stamped postal markings. In nice shape. Transcripts provided.
The archive also contains two anti-Democrat "Hard Times" tokens, ridiculing Presidents Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren whose fiscal policies caused the American economy to crash and enter a depression as least as deep and catastrophic as that of the 1930s.
Nathaniel White was a prominent and extremely wealthy Democratic politician who had… Read More

Various locations, 1895-1925.
This archive consists of four medical school tests, eight letters, and one handbill advertising the sale of Grace's mansion. All in nice shape, however, worn mailing envelopes accompany three of the letters.
Grace was the daughter of Abraham Hillard Frances, a prosperous physician who had graduated from the Philadelphia College of Medicine. Grace followed in her father's footsteps, attending the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women, one of the first and few medical schools that accepted females. After graduating in 1899, Grace married Claudius Franklin Wilson, a young lawyer. and both opened practices in Morristown, New Jersey; The couple apparently split time between there and Asbury Park and had homes, including a mansion known as "Eagles Nest", in both locations. Although Grace mothered several children, city directories show she practiced medicine until at least 1925. Highlights from this archive include:
Four different manuscript medical tests or, perhaps,… Read More

Envelope or Cover. Very good. Two-page letter and endorsement enclosed within a stampless cover. The letter was written by Justus Ingersoll on 6 December 1841 and endorsed by General Winfield Scott on 17 December before forwarding to the Secretary of War, John C. Spencer. The endorsement is signed "Winfield Scott", and a postscript is initialed, "W. S." The cover bears a circular "Detroit / Mich" postmark dated December 10 and a "FREE" handstamp. Additionally, a 5ÂĽ" x 8"print of Scott as a Lieutenant General is included. It was engraved and published by J. C. Buttre of New York, circa 1863. Everything is in nice shape. Ingersoll's request reads in part: "I do hope and trust General that it will be your good pleasure to give me the appointment at this place - of Military Store Keeper: as I candidly do not know how to support my family otherwise. [You] gave it to me before; at the last reduction I lost my place. I did suppose it was permanent. Do General, give me this situation for seeing that I… Read More

Various, 1986. Unbound. Very good. This archive consists of nine items. Drafts and copies of letters sent by Ralph E. Works of Chicago, Illinois to President Ronald Reagan, Senator Alan Dixon, Senator Charles Percy, and Representative Sidney R. Yates, in which he vigorously urged them to support the United Nations' 1984 Convention Against Torture which had grown out of Amnesty International's Campaign Against Torture begun in 1974. "Dear Mr. President . . . As you said in a recent speech there should be 'increased respect for human rights everywhere. . .. I know you are promoting democracy which make societies in which torture is unlikely. But it is now, in many countries, by government.'" Official response from President Reagan's Department of State assuring Works that "The United States is profoundly and unilaterally opposed to any and all forms of torture." Responses from Senator Percy noting he had introduced an anti-torture bill in the Senate, Senator Dixon noting he had cosponsored… Read More

Blanchester, Ohio, 1878. Card. Very good. This cabinet card photograph shows the Wrights dressed in their Sunday best as they pose before a country-scene studio backdrop. The card indicates that the photograph was taken by Spence, a photographer doing business in Blanchester, Ohio. The card is annotated on the reverse, "John Wright & / Persian wife. / Missionary to Persia / in 1878. / Cousin of Papas." The annotation is probably mistaken about the date of the photograph; other references indicate the Wrights visited the United States in 1888. In nice shape. . By far, the Presbyterians provided the largest numbers of missionaries in Persia. Although they were forbidden from proselytizing to Muslims, Persian authorities had no issue if they attempted to convert Nestorian-Christians, whose concept of Jesus Christ differed significantly from that held in western countries. As Nestorians were also allowed to missionize freely in Persia, the Presbyterians focused on them, believing that they might be more… Read More

San Clemente, California: 12 Gauge Press, 2005. First Edition. Soft Cover. Near Fine. 8vo. Presentation copy with signed original watercolor titles, hey, very pretty woman. Printing was limited to 500 books of which 14 were presentation copies. Sound perfect binding. Clean pages. Original art is bright and fresh. The book has almost no wear save for a tiny dot of scuffing on the front cover. The cover appears to have some discoloration, but it does not; it is simply the way it was intentionally printed. This is the sequel to Wright's first successful novel, The Whorehouse, and described by him as being "about the hippie generation and discovery, about strays coming in to the city, rock 'n' roll music and blues, classics and folk music." Fred Wright, who died in 2012 at the age of 71, was from Matoon, Illinois, but lived for years in the mountains of southern California. A well-regarded "psychedelic" artist, poet, and author, his works were regularly published in the small press. His work has been… Read More