Collections

Unbound. Fine. A magnificent archive consisting of 21 Typed Letters Initialed (as either "H." or "H.C.") from the elusive and fiercely private B. Traven, nearly all of the letters to the actress Ruth Ford, for whom he professes great love in many of the letters. Accompanied by three books, including a first American edition of *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*, and assorted clippings. All of the letters Initialed by Traven as "H.C" or "H." as Hal Croves. Croves, one of several aliases used by Traven, was invented by the author in order to present himself as Traven's literary agent, and used mostly in his interaction with legendary film director John Huston throughout the development and filming of Traven's novel *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*. The letters start in early 1947 and end in 1961, but the majority of them were written during 1947 and correspond with the production of the classic film. Many include references to day-to-day events of the film's production. These are dense letters,… Read more

Near Fine. A remarkable collection of 235 H.P. Lovecraft items with over 200 rare amateur press appearances dating as early as 1914 and nearly 20 miscellaneous appearance by Lovecraft or directly relating to his writing. While a couple items are bound in boards, the rest are bound in stapled or sewn wrappers, nearly all with the tiny book label of Black Sparrow Press founder John K. Martin on the rear pastedown or wrap. Overall near fine with exceptions noted in the detailed list.

London: William Pickering, 1825. Hardcover. Very Good. 3.5" x 2" Miniature edition of t he Plays of Shakespeare in 9 volumes, in custom slipcase. Vol 1: [vi] 306 p.p.; vol 2: 279 p.p; vol 3: 294 p.p; vol 4: 326 p.p; vol. 5: 321 p.p.; vol. 6: 348 p.p.; vol. 7: 320 p.p.; vol. 8: 315 p.p.; vol. 9: 279 p.p. [liv]. Full green morocco bindings, with some wear and scuffs. Spine rebacked with new black leather with original spine laid down on volume 1 only. Gilt titles on spines and gilt ruling on inner edges. 38 B&W plates, incl. frontis. engraved by Augustus Fox, from a picture painted by T. Stothard R.A. from the rare print by Droeshout. Browning to pages and illustrations, sporadic light foxing throughout. Water staining to volume 6, not affecting text. William Pickering was an English publisher notable for introducing cloth binding to British publishing. Dedicated to Earl R.H. George John Spencer, the 2nd Lord Spencer, noted for his interest in literature, particularly early examples of printing.… Read more

New York: Popular Science Publishing Company, 1931. Magazine. Near Fine. Magazine. First Printings. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. 12 issues, the complete run for the year 1931. Very Good Plus to Near Fine, four with light wear at spine ends, pencil inscription front cover and ink inscription rear cover of January issue. The August issue of particular interest due to the first coverage of August Piccard and Paul Kipfer's hot air balloon expedition to the new height of 9.8 miles above the Earth's surface, thus becoming the first human beings to enter the stratosphere. A great time capsule of popular scientific thought, with numerous articles, photos, and advertisements, and those wonderful and colorful covers !.

198 lithogr. pages with columns for subject, volume-number, number of volumes, author, title, section and row. Pages 1-142 with manuscript entries, pages 143-198 blank. Cont. half leather, gilt spine and gilt title to front cover. Front paste-down a with stationary ticket of Jos. Levy & Bros.Co, New Orleans. Folio. Spine and corners renewed. Covers soiled. Library catalogue of Constantine Lawrence Lavretta (1858-1921), mayor of Mobile, Alabama from 1894 to 1897. A businessman, head of the firm begun by his father, Lavretta also served as a state legislator, a member of the board of public works, and an Alabama delegate to the Democratic national convention of 1900. He is considered the first Italian-American mayor of a major city in the United States. His catalogue is divided into 11 sections (headed 'groups') including history, heraldry, natural history, dictionaries, drama, literature, erotica, etc. containig over 5000 titles. 2 out of 3 leaves with typewritten contents of the various sections… Read more

Engraved portrait front. of Cornelis Ploos van Amstel signed R Winkeles sculp. 1799 - J. Buys pinx. 1766. XXIV, (2), 319 pages; 227 (1), 82 pages. Priced throughout in a contemporary hand, including two manuscript total values at the end of each volume. Cont. Dutch red half vellum bindings, with gilt black morocco labels. First volume with printed original front wrapper with title mounted onto front cover. Lower spine end of volume I minimally frayed. (222 x 138 mm). Covers rubbed. Nagler, Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon, XIII, p. 28 and Wurzbach, Niederländisches Künstler-Lexikon, II, p. 333. Nieuw Nederlandsch biografisch woordenboek VI, pp. 1139-1140. First and only edition of this sale catalogue of a remarkable collection of prints, drawings and paintings, illustrated books, Kunstkammer pieces, and optical and mathematical instruments and including a major collection of Rembrandt prints brought together by Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726 - 1798), a painter, engraver, printer and publisher… Read more

Terre Haute, IN: Self-published, 1926. Book. Very Good. Ring Bound. ,. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. An exceptionally documented and detailed scrapbook and photo album compiled by Edward Lathrop, a Lone Scout from 1917-1924 and a Scoutmaster and Camp Director at Camp Sandison, Turkey Run State Park, Terre Haute, Indiana from 1926-1930. Bound in a wood panel-sided 3 ring binder with Boy Scout decal front cover, prior owner name label verso front cover, Very Good, 106 pages with black card stock backgrounds, with 130 black and white photographs ranging in size from 2" x 3" to 5" x 8". The photographs are annotated in ink. Also with six Scouting publications, 15 programs, 21 letters, 12 Scout cards, seven certificates, one drawing, and numerous newspaper and magazine clippings. The bulk of the material is from the period 1931-1935, with later material as late as 1951. Lathrop was a Reverend in the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Of special interest is a US War… Read more

The Coffee Gallery, 1353 Grant Av., San Francisco: Humble Publications, 1974. Book. Near Fine. Pictorial Printed Wrappers. First Printings. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. RARE. 25 separate numbers, 1- 18 and 20 - 26, plus "Festival of Poetry Summer Solstice" August, 1974, for a total of 26 publications. Lacking No. 19, which should have been published Oct. 2, 1974. Vol. 1, No. 1 published 1974 ( no month and day given), starting with Vol. 1, No. 2 published March 6, 1974, each copy dated by day and month up to Vol. 1, No. 26, December 11, 1974. All copies Fine except No. 4 , horizontal tear front cover appears to be a paper flaw, and No. 26, a 2" tear with chip top edge front cover, and a horizontal tear with paper loss rear cover, again appears to be a flaw in the paper. By 1974 "The Coffee Gallery", home to these Wednesday night poetry readings, had a long history as a Beat and Bohemian hangout, hosting the likes of Kerouac, Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti… Read more

London: Bernard Quaritch, 1911. First, Limited Edition. Near fine/Very Good / Fair. 2 volumes, large 4to; pp. 12 3/4 x 10 1/2 (324 x 267 mm); each vol. approx. 3 inches (75 mm) thick;Vol. I: xxxviii, [2 (blank l.)], 280, [2 (blank l.)]; Vol. II: [2 (blank l.)], [16 (preliminaries)], 248, [2 (index of provenances, verso blank)], [2 (blank l.)]; 254 color-printed and monochrome plates, gilt highlighting on some, 6 folding plates, all with original tissue guards, facing text descriptions in English and French, index. Original cream-colored cloth, top boards with blocked gilt design and gilt lettering on top board and spine, t.e.g., others uncut. Rare dust-jackets present, with tears and sections missing, especially Vol. 2. Bindings tight, paper evenly toned with some staining on the endpapers and occasional small chips to some pages, not affecting text or plates. Copy number 741 of a LIMITED EDITION of 1000. One of the most important reference works on Chinese porcelains, this opus was written by… Read more

London: Bernard Quaritch, 1911. First, Limited Edition, SIGNED. Very good +. 2 volumes, large 4to; 12 3/4 x 10 1/2 (324 x 267 mm); each vol. approx. 3 inches (75 mm) thick; pp. Vol. I: xxxviii, [2 (blank l.)], 280, [2 (blank l.)]; Vol. II: [2 (blank l.)], [16 (preliminaries)], 248, [2 (index of provenances, verso blank)], [2 (blank l.)]; 254 color-printed and monochrome plates, gilt highlighting on some, 6 folding plates, all with original tissue guards, facing text descriptions in English and French, index. Original cream-colored cloth, top boards with blocked gilt design and gilt lettering on top board and spine, t.e.g., others uncut. Hinge of vol. 2 partially cracked but bindings tight, corners lightly bumped and thumbed, cloth with occasional bubbling; paper evently toned, with a few chips on larger blank pages between chapters, sporadic foxing on endpapers. Copy number 241 of a LIMITED EDITION of 1000, SIGNED by Edgar Gorer in ink on the limitation page. Bookplate of Erving & Joyce Wolf pasted… Read more

Various Places: Various Ephemera. Fine. Unbound. Various. A remarkable collection amassed by a single collector from the 1940s-1970s whose original inventory sheet (included) lists 39,744 labels from 49 countries spanning the globe. The countries with the highest counts include Belgium, 8000+, France, 5100+, Spain, 4400+, and Switzerland, 3500+. The collector sent letters requesting their unused labels to wineries, breweries and distilleries. Consequently, almost all are unused and most are stored in the original contemporary return envelopes, with a count and sometimes a country on the outside for each envelope. A good number of duplicates and variants noted. Total inventory numbers not verified, although a good representative sampling of envelope counts confirms the accuracy of the count. Various sizes of labels, with complete bottle sets noted. Almost all are in Fine condition, with some creases and light wear from storage. The entire collection completely fills three bankers boxes. Provenance:… Read more

Această colecție rafinată de lucrări ale lui François-René de Chateaubriand este o descoperire rară, prezentând unele dintre cele mai influente scrieri ale romantismului francez. Frumos legat în piele de epocă, aceste volume includ "Atala", "René" și "Génie du Christianisme", printre altele. Fiecare carte reflectă profunzimea literară și semnificația istorică a contribuțiilor lui Chateaubriand la literatură și cultură. Perfect pentru colecționari și entuziaști ai literaturii franceze clasice, acest set nu este doar un plus valoros pentru orice bibliotecă, ci și o bucată de istorie atemporală, păstrată cu meticulozitate de-a lungul anilor.

Nashville, Tennessee: Various, 1960. Scrapbook. Very Good. Pictorial Printed Wrappers. An important and substantial archive of material consisting of the Country Music Fan Club collection of Opal May Hardyman, superfan and President of the Carl Butler and Pearl Fan Club, which provides a comprehensive view of the dawn of the Country Music Fan Club era. While the Loretta Lynn Fan Club, organized in 1963 by the Johnson sisters, Loudilla, Loretta and Kay Johnson, is widely recognized as the first CM Fan Club, the Carl Butler and Pearl club was organized in November of 1962, and with the publication of the Butler Bulletin in February of 1963, it may actually hold that distinction. Female fans have been a driving force behind the popularity of country music since its inception.Their unwavering devotion and loyalty have played a crucial role in shaping the genre's cultural significance. The 1960s witnessed a surge in the formation of country music fan clubs, often spearheaded by women who were… Read more

New York: Reporter Publications, Inc., 1951. Magazine. Very Good. Magazine. 1st Edition. Twenty-two issues, the complete run of this iconic mid-century men's magazine, spanning Number 1, Winter 1951 through Number 22, Spring 1957. The collection Very Good Plus to Near Fine, with varying degrees of light wear, mainly at spine ends. The first 18 issues were issued under the auspices of William C. Segal, Publisher, while Sidney Carroll edited Nos. 19-22. Elaborate graphic design throughout on multiple paper stocks and various printing effects, with packets of seeds, pamphlets, and multiple paper samples tipped in. Clothing ads featuring tipped in fabric and leather samples. All inserts present, including the Ty Cobb baseball card in the Fall 1956 Number. Associated publisher's ephemera addressed to the original subscriber of this set laid in to #21. Uncommon as a complete original set. .

PLEASE SEE PHOTOS OF THE ITEMS HERE ARE SOME DETAILS.
Battle Hymn of the Republic Signature/Inscription by Julia Ward Howe Book: Julia Ward Howe 1819-1910 DETAILS: BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC: (from the book by Laura E. Richards and Maud Howe Elliott: titled "JULIA WARD HOWE 1819-1910 PAGES 91-95). "In the Autumn of 1861 she went to Washington DC in the company of Friends. In a carriage ride back home they were surrounded by and delayed by marching troop some were singing John Brown's Body. During the night she awoke but before the dawn, the words formed inside head with the praise 'Mine eyes had see the glory of the coming of the Lord--' and words and lines came to her all at once with the sound of marching feet. In the silence of the words ending, she sprang from her bed and scrawled the words with pen and paper in the dark. She then went back to bed and fell asleep. Upon waking she realized she had forgotten the words. The poem was first published in the "Atlantic Monthly for FEB 1862" Here is an… Read more