Rare books from Kurt A. Sanftleben, LLC

"It is terrible to see the enemy so near that you see the blood lust in each other's eyes. I killed my Germans at Chateau Thierry."
Marne River and the Argonne Forest, 1918.
An amazing first-hand account by one soldier of heroism and bloody hand-to-hand fighting at the Marne River and in the Argonne Forest, two battles that turned the course of World War One.
This grouping consists of two combat letters, a French Croix de Guerre, and one newspaper clipping.
The earliest letter, dated July 25, consists of four pages and is enclosed in an envelope postmarked with an indistinct flag cancelation from APO 2 (Paris).
The second letter, written from a Base Hospital and dated 31 October 1918, has seven pages and is enclosed in an envelope, dated November 5, from APO 798 (Meaves-sur-Loire).
The Croix de Guerre has a bronze star affixed to its ribbon.
he newspaper clipping recounts Wild's action at the 2nd Battle of the Marne. Everything is in very nice shape except the envelopes which are worn and have… Read More

"Extortion and want of Virtue has taken almost possession of Every Person upon this Continent, the Enormous sums of Public money which is daily expended and the great depreciation of it will if not shortly put stop to end in our ruin. . .."
Philadelphia to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 1779.
This two-page letter, datelined Philad'a 15th Feb'y 1779, was sent by Colonel Ephraim Blaine, the Commissary-General for the Middle District of the Continental Army, to Colonel John Davis, the Deputy Quartermaster General for Army's Western District who was located at Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
In it, he apprises Davis of his difficulties in raising funds and obtaining supplies. He also provides a summarized status of the leaders of the Quartermaster Corps.
"Nothing material has passed since your departure from this city. Genl. Green left it the Second Morning after you. I convey'd him and Colonel Wadsworth fifteen miles, the morning he set out had some little conversation with him about the Western department, but nothing… Read More

"The cold season and scarcity of bread stuffs makes the Indians very uneasy and discontented. There is much talk among them of removing to Missouri. . .."
Duck Creek Reservation, Wisconsin, 1843.
This three-page stampless letter measures 15½" x 12½" unfolded. It was sent by Henry Root Colman to his brother-in-law, Richard P. Speir, who had recently settled in New Orleans. It is datelined "Duck Creek June 17th 1843" and bares a manuscript postmark reading "Duck Creek / W.T. June 19" and a "25" rate mark.
In this letter, Colman explained,
"An Indian Missionary does not see much of the world or have the privilege of sharing very largely in the blessings of civilized life. But all this we expected before we came here. We have been and are still endeavoring to labor for the good of the Indians. We have had some success among them but have not as yet seen any general outpouring of the spirit in the awakening and conversion of souls. We hope however to soon sow the seeds which may yet produce a plenteous… Read More

"What ever you do now or hereafter look before you leap. . .. Getting a Whale Ship or have a part in one it would be far better than buying a House. . .."
England, Wales, Ireland, and New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1849.
This fascinating archive of 12 letters containing 28 densely packed pages of text was saved by the Reverend James Austin Roberts and his wife Sarah Gilby Robert. Besides addressing religious matters, they are filled with insight into 19th-century immigration law, westward expansion, social mores, family relationships, and concerns about health, illness, and death. They additionally provide glimpses into abolitionist thought, businesswomen, whaling, canal investments, and British politics. The letters bear a myriad of U.K. and U.S. postal markings. In nice shape. Transcripts will be provided.
Roberts was born in England and attended the Hackney Theological Seminary. Upon graduation, he was sent to serve in Ireland. Upon his return, he left the Anglican church and became a nonconformist… Read More

"The Tribunal declares a Good Prize the Merchandizes of the Cargo of the said Sloop Diana of Alexandria . . . and awards them to the Owners, Captain and Crew of the said French Privateer le Trepied, Captain Antoine Pellegrin. . .."
Various locations, 1798.
This archive consists of 11 documents related to the voyage, seizure, plundering, and eventual return of the Sloop Diana out of Alexandria, Virginia. The ship was captured twice by French privateers while bound for Cape Nicholas Mole, Saint-Domingue, and Port au Prince, Haiti. This was one of the incidents that led to the United States' Quasi-War with France between 1798 and 1801.
On 15 December, Captain Henry Nicoll departed Alexandria, Virginia, on the Sloop Diana with a cargo of flour, pilot bread, butter, beef, pork, onions, and spermaceti candles.
Although just "off the pitch of Cape Henry [with] the wind blowing fresh, one of his Crew, named Thophilus Townshend, fell overboard and was drowned." Nothing else out of the ordinary occurred until… Read More

Newburyport, Massachusetts, 1802. Unbound. Very good. This partially printed shipping document dated "June 8th, 1802" measures 8" x 6¼". It is illustrated with a large capital 'S' that depicts an oceangoing ship in the background. In it, Moses Brown of Newburyport, commits to transporting rum and sugar to Amsterdam via the Brig Respect, captained by John March. In nice shape with some toning and storage folds. Of note, the document is franked with a colorless, embossed, two-part 20-cent revenue stamp (Scott # RM261a) from the Second Federal Revenue Issue, which was in use from 1 March 1801 until 30 June 1802. The first part of the stamp shows an eagle and shield and is denominated 10 cents. The second part, known as a counter stamp, shows a wreath with 13 stars; it is labeled "COM. REV. C.S." (Commissioner of Revenue Counter Stamp) and bears the denomination "X CENTS". Both parts appear along the left margin, under the S/Ship illustration. The document reads in part: "Shipped, in good order,… Read More

Shanghai, China, 1854. Unbound. Very good. This two-page stampless folded letter between merchants measures approximately 16" x 10" unfolded. It was sent from Smith, King & Company in Shanghai to Dane, Danet & Company in Boston. It is datelined "Shanghai / 11th April 1854" and bears a bold "24" rate marking along with a London District postmark on its front evidencing its transport from Shanghai to London via the ship Marseilles. Subsequently it was sent to Boston via the ship Atlantic; a London forwarding agent handstamp and Boston receiving postmark are on the reverse. In nice shape. A transcript will be provided. In this letter the Smith, King & Co. agent relates the excitement that had occurred in Shanghai's recently established foreign business community as the Taiping Rebellion was rollicking China. "Our community has been in considerable excitement. The Imperial soldiers in the rear of the foreign residences made several attacks upon parties of gentlemen who were out walking & some of… 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 5¼" 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

Very good. Three items related to the culmination of John F. Kennedy's campaign tour through Texas at a "Welcome Dinner" in Austin that had been organized by the State Democratic Executive Committee. A 7" x 9¾" invitation to the event which was to be held "on Friday evening the twenty-second of November / One thousand nine hundred and sixty-three / at half after seven o'clock / at the Municipal auditorium / in the City of Austin" In nice shape; original mailing fold. Minor tape scuffs on reverse. An 8 x 11" glossy souvenir brochure, "Texas Welcome / Texas welcomes the President / of the United States / and the Vice President of the United States." Complete. It contains short bios of John & Jackie Kennedy, Lyndon & Lady Bird Johnson, Texas Governor John Connoly, and Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough. It also includes a welcome letter from Connoly, a program of events, a list of the Texas Congressional Delegation, the Bill of Rights, and several pages of advertisements. In nice shape. An 8½ x… Read More

1809. Unbound. Very good. This turned, two-page stampless folded letter, measuring 16" x 13" unfolded, was first sent by Moses Rogers, master of the steamboat Phoenix which traveled between New York Harbor and the Delaware River on the first steam-powered, ocean-going voyage in American waters between New York Harbor and the Delaware River. The letter was answered by General Jedidiah Huntington, the "Collector of the Port" in New London, Connecticut on August 30, 1809. It bears a "17" rate mark, a curved "PAID" handstamp, and an indistinct circular handstamp. It was turned, i.e., returned and addressed to Rogers "onboard the Steam boat Phanex (Phoenix), with a "17" rate mark and a manuscript postmark reading "N. London / Septr 5". (This is likely the fourth earliest known steamboat-carried letter and the first that was not carried by Robert Fulton's North River Line). In nice shape. In it, Rogers requested that Huntington issue his associate, a "sick & disabled' merchant seaman named Martin A.… Read More

Canton, China to Philadelphia, 1816. This stampless folded letter from Philip Ammidon (an early American opium dealer, in Canton, China) to Benjamin Ives Gilman in Philadelphia measures 16½" x 9½" unfolded. It was sent on 30 November 1816 and is one of two copies sent by Ammidon to ensure his message was received. As this letter was sent long before mail from China was officially routed through the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai, it was privately carried and bears no postal markings. It is likely the second earliest extant commercial letter sent to the United States from China. In nice shape. It reads in part: "I am shipping, on board the Ship North Point , John C. Paneson, a quantity of Teas & Silk, & I request that immediately upon receipt of this, you will affect insurance for my account on Said property, to Amount of Fourteen thousand five hundred Dollars ($14,500) at from Whampow to Baltimore, or a port of discharge in the United States, against all risk. The North Point is a fine . . . Ship,… Read More

California, Nevada, Arizona. Known as the "Silver Senator" Stewart, somewhat famous for having once employed Samuel Clemons as his secretary, was the drafter of the 15th Amendment that granted African-American men the right to vote. He was an original California Gold Rush pioneer and amassed a fortune as a mining litigator. He held political offices in California before moving to Nevada in 1860 where he became a senator in 1864. Stewart was instrumental in in developing the Comstock lode and was a 'founding father' of Death Valley's Panamint Silver Mines. Several episodes of the classic television show, Death Valley Days are based on events in Stewart's life. After relocating to Tombstone, Arizona, he represented the Contention Mine throughout the 1880s and while living there witnessed the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Stewart Street in Santa Monica was named in his honor, and he was later inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.… Read More

Various, 1864. Various. Very good. This group of eight documents and letters is associated with Major Pleasant W. White, the Confederacy's Chief Commissary for Florida, and Captain James McKay, of the Fifth Confederate Commissary District. A good case could be made that they were the two most important officers in the Confederacy as it was their effort providing the food, especially beef, that kept the Confederate Army in the field. The archive contains: 3 August 1863 - Special Order from the Secretary of War's Office in Richmond directing Captain Bryant to "report to Major P. W. White Chief Commissary State of Florida for assignment to duty." 27 October 1863 - Letter from the Assistant Quartermaster General's Office in Richmond to White , a native of Quincy, authorizing him, as well his officers and agents, to receive a "'tax in kind' in east and south Florida." The letter is docketed and endorsed by "P. W. White." 30 October 1863 - Special Orders No. 258 from the Adjutant and Inspector… Read More

Ta-ku, China, 1901. This archive from Admiral Kempff's personal files consists of five densely packed, typed "Bulletins" and letters detailing the U.S. Navy's participation in the conflict including its ground fighting at Ta-Ku which he personally directed. Over twelve pages of typed text. The documents contain some details not included in the official history of the action, The Boxer Rebellion: Bluejackets and Marines in China: 1900-1901, published by the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. In the spring of 1900, Admiral Kemph commanded the U.S. naval squadron that was ordered to China waters to support allied land forces in their attempt to relieve the international legations at Peking (today Beijing). During that time, he directed American ground actions in and around Ta-Ku at the mouth of the Pai (today Pei-ho) River. In response to a request from British Admiral Sir Edward Seymour that relayed a request from the foreign legations at Peking, Kempff ordered Bowman H. McCalla, the Captain of… Read More

Eagleswood, New Jersey, 1856. Envelope or Cover. Very good. Abby Kelley was a major figure in the national anti-slavery and women's suffrage movements despite a split with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton over the 15th Amendment. As a principal leader of the ultra-radical abolitionists, perhaps second only to William Lloyd Garrison, she traveled throughout the country for over twenty years, often with her equally radical husband, Stephen Symonds Foster, demanding not only immediate emancipation for all slaves, but full civil equality for blacks. After the Panic of 1837, Kelley became the corresponding secretary of the Lynn Anti-Slavery Society, and served as a national delegate to the first Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women. To the disgust of more moderate abolitionists, she began giving speeches to "mixed-gender" audiences, something that simply wasn't done by women of her time, and in 1843, Kelley addressed the attendees at the Liberty Party [an anti-slavery party whose… Read More