Rare books from Harropian Books, IOBA

Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, Limited, 1986. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Signed by both the author and Bill Reid directly onto the title page in black ink. Black cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto upper board and spine, square quarto, (9-3/4 inches tall), colored endpapers, pp. 192, illustrated throughout, select bibliography, list of illustrations, color pictorial dust jacket. Volume w. light fade to top edge of boards and a tiny spot on top edge of text block, jacket w. minor rubs and wear, else fine and unclipped. First printing of the first edition with numberline to "1

London: J. M. Dent, 1909. First U.K. Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Green decorative cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto top boards and spines, top edges gilt, patterned endpapers. Text fine and unmarked in all three volumes. Vol 1 - xvi, 179 pp; Vol 2 - 164 pp; Vol 3 - 157 pp. Extensively illustrated with hand colored plates, monochrome photos and B&W illustrations throughout. Some fading and minor rubbing to boards. An excellent and in depth work showing the clothing and fashions of the 19th century. Translated by M. Edwardes with an introduction by Grace Rhys. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. at the Ballantyne Press, Edinburgh.

London: John Murray, 1824. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Marbled paper over boards, half bound in leather, title tooled in gilt onto six compartment spine, all edges trimmed, leather headbands, 4to (10-1/2 x 8 inches [26.7 x 20.4 cm]) pp. (8), xxx, (2), 571, errata, 4 fold-out charts and 4 numbered fold-out views "Appearances of Lands" bound at rear, 31 plates [inc. frontis], 5 of which are maps. Maps and plates are not included in pagination, whereas all tables are. Collated, complete and tightly bound. Stain to spine leather, rubbing to boards, light offset and browning to some foldout maps and views, occasional foxing to tissue guards and pages. Crack in front hinge near the binders twine used to sew down front endpaper - as per book binding methods of the time where "...until the early years of the nineteenth century all endpapers, were sewn on, and never merely tipped on with paste as they sometimes are today." [Middleton, 4th edition, p. 108-111]. Sent by the Admiralty… Read More

Shipboard Publication. (all 8 datelines state "On board M.S. Kungsholm"): Swedish American Line, 1934. First Edition, First Printing. Paperback. Near Fine. (No. 1, Saturday March 10th, 1934 to No. 8, Tuesday, March 27th, 1934) O'Hara's first - and rarest - "A" item, with no records found of "Reminiscences" ever having been seen at auction and OCLC locating just the single copy held in Kent State's Special Collections from the personal library of O'Hara's bibliographer, Matthew J. Bruccoli. Staple-bound burgundy card wrappers, title and decorations stamped in gilt onto upper and lower covers, 8vo (9 inches [23cm] tall), pp. unpaginated [42 inc. titles], illustrated throughout with line drawings and B&W photo reproductions, ads. Half-title states 'Reminiscences from "Kungsholm" West Indies Cruise March 9-March 28, 1934', title verso states "Editor.....John O'Hara" and each single issue also states "John O'Hara, Editor". An 18 day cruise aboard the Swedish American Line's M.S. Kungsholm, listing the… Read More

Ottawa, ON: Department of the Interior, Dominion Lands Office, 1877. Broadside. Very Good. A rare Public Notice and an unlikely survivor, given that many of these broadsides would likely have been posted onto public buildings and exposed to the elements. The title reads " Public Notice / In the matter of the Grant of 1,400,000 Acres of Land to the Children of Half-Breed Heads of Families, pursuant to Section 31 of the Act 33 Vic., Cap. 3, and the Orders in Council, dated severally the 25th April, 1871 and the 7th September, 1876 the following claims have been approved for the Parish of St. Anne :" The Notice then lists all 221 of the eligible claimants in the Parish, giving their name, date of birth and the legal description of their individual allotment. The Broadside is printed in black ink onto heavy paper measuring 24 x 17-3/8 inches wide and is expertly laid down onto Japanese tissue. Broadside with toning, stains and minor finger soil, old fold line creases and some tiny losses near edges and… Read More

Vancouver, BC: Bailey Brothers, 1892. Mounted Photographs. At Least Very Good. Two gold-toned silver collodion POP prints - one of a young indigenous hunter holding a rifle while standing in front of his tipi encampment at Medicine Hat Alberta and the other, a herd of buffalo at Cascade Mtn. in Banff, Alberta - The Hunter and The Hunted - so to speak. Both mounted dos-à-dos onto thick green card measuring 8-7/8 x 10-1/2 inches wide. The Cree Indian Camp photo measures 7-1/2 x 9-1/2 inches wide and the Buffalo Herd photo measures 7 x 9-1/8 inches wide. Printed in negative along the bottom of the Indian Camp photo is "X 803 Cree Indian Camp, Medicine Hat / Bailey Bros., Photo.. Vancouver, B.C." the other photo is not attributed but has the caption "Buffalo foot of Cascade Mtn." written below in black ink. Both images have some rubbing with tiny losses to emulsion. A captivating set of images. The Bailey Bros. Cree Indian Camp photo is circa 1892, as from December 1890, the firm was known as the… Read More

Sarnia, Ontario, 1927. Flexible Leather. Near Fine. An artistic, and sometimes intimate look at the Canadian Scouting movement (1927-1939) as seen through the eyes of some members of the 7th Sarnia (Ontario) Scout Troop. String bound photo album in black flexible cowhide leather covers, oblong 4to (10 inches tall x 12-3/4 inches wide), 106 pages [53 leaves], containing 456 gelatin silver photographs mounted onto leaves both recto and verso with clear corner mounts. Most photos measure 2.5 x 4.25 inches high or reverse, some larger at 6 x 10 inches or reverse and some earlier photos at 2.25 x 3.25 inches wide or reverse. All photos are in very good condition with a few being RPPCs measuring 3.5 x 5.5 inches. Most photos are captioned either recto or verso with names, dates, events, etc. and explain the pertinent people, places and happenings at hand. Some photos have come loose and have been placed in archival sleeves at their pages. A captivating album, with many varied events being shown including,… Read More

n.p.. Archive. At Least Very Good. Drayton Holcomb - Photographer. An exceptional multi-decade American Civil Rights archive, documenting the surveillance of U.S. citizens by the FBI, Detroit City Police, and the Michigan State Police. The archive consists of original photographs, c. 1,200 copies of official police reports, letters and evidence collected by government "Red Squads" over many years. Red Squads were formed to combat the threat of Communism, (aka the "Red Scare") in the U.S. One imperative document included in this archive is a photocopy of an order signed by the head of the FBI [blacked out of course] to commence a smear campaign against Dr. David Herreshoff. This letter was an affirmative answer to an earlier Detroit FBI office letter requesting permission to proceed with the action, with an attached a six-page sample letter to that effect, signed "A Fed-up Taxpayer". Herreshoff's original [and later] typed response letter is also present, along with his occasional holograph notations… Read More

London: Rowland Ward, Limited, 1899. First Limited Edition. Hardcover. At Least Very Good to Near Fine. A scarcely utilized copy, nicely rebound in handsome half-leather with many text leaves still remaining unopened and the publisher's original advertisement sheet loosely inserted. Modern half-leather and cloth over boards, title stamped in gilt onto spine, large 4to size (11-5/8 inches tall), pp. [i]-xx, [1]-612, illustrated w. fifteen hand-colored plates, 55 photogravure text illustrations, tables, index. Volume w. a touch of sun to spine and very occasional soil to text, varying amounts of modest browning to color plates and captioned tissue guards - the actual hand-colored images, text pages and photogravure illustrations remain clean and bright. Signed and numbered on the limitation page by the publisher, this being copy number 136 of 500. A beautiful copy of an important 19th century big game hunting book. "A sumptuous Victorian-era work that details scientific knowledge of African big game… Read More

Birmingham, UK: Printed by John Baskerville for the Author, 1766. Hardcover. Near Fine. Virgil's epic the Aeneid, here bound together with his Pastorals and Georgic works, all translated into English by Robert Andrews and printed by the legendary John Baskerville in Birmingham. Title page with "Printed by John Baskerville for the Author" (1776) at foot. Half leather over marbled paper boards, title stamped in gilt onto red spine label, headbands, all edges sprinkled, binder's stamp inside corner of front pastedown, 8vo size (text block 9 inches tall - thus slightly trimmed but maintaining wide margins), pp. [6], 1-16, [3]-536], errata. Volume with minor wear, tp. foxed and browned w. tidy period name in ink, scant spotting to balance of text - save last two leaves which are also browned and spotted, pp. [1] (Dedication) with a 2.5 inch closed tear at bottom edge. A nice clean copy in a later binding. "The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary… Read More

Smyrna: Photographie Parisian, 1870. Mounted Photograph. At Least Very Good. An expansive, pre-fire Rubellin image of Smyrna, displaying his early rubber stamp "PHOTOGRAPHIE PARISIAN / RUBELLIN / SMYRNE" to one panel verso along with "Smyrne" written in a cursive hand in pencil. Circa 1870, before the company name was changed to "Rubellin et fils" or even later "Rubellin père et fils". Three albumen silver prints forming a three-plate panorama (8.25 x 27.5 inches wide) of Smynra - now Izmir, Turkey - giving sweeping detail of the seaport city with sailing ships, people and construction projects all clearly visible. Photo with some fading and minor crinkles evident, else at least very good. Paper mount (9 x 12 inches wide) is adhered to center panel only, and has some spotting. "The Rubellin family (father and son(s)) operated a photography studio in Smyrna from the 1870s through the 1910s. In its earlier years the studio, known variously as Rubellin, Rubellin et fils, and Rubellin père et fils,… Read More

Washington, DC: McGill & Witherow, Printers & Stereotypers, 1864. Paperback. Very Good. Representing California, Cole delivered his speech "on Arming the Slaves" to the House of Representatives in Washington, on Feb. 18th, 1864. His timing coincided with Sherman's "Scorched Earth" policy, which was meant to disrupt Confederate infrastructure and communications and helped lead to the fall of Atlanta in September, 1864. His speech concludes with "Mr. Speaker, if you would put an end to this cruel war be sure in good faith to take good care of these oppressed people. Arm the men. Put sharp weapons in every brawny hand among them ; and then soon will the ex-Secretary of War cry out to his followers, in the language of his great prototype : "Long is the way / And hard, that out of hell leads up to light." Extracted sewn paper wraps, 8vo size (8.75 inches tall), pp. 15. An at least very good copy, with toning, minor soil and some stains and creases, else unmarked. Cole's earliest published work and a rare… Read More

Oklahoma City, OK: Daily Oklahoman, 1901. Map Illustrated Advertisement. Near Fine. A seminal promotional piece by an American oil company, offering a nascent map of the rich Spindletop drilling area in Southern Texas during it's proving and cash-raising stages. Published in the Daily Oklahoman newspaper in 1901 to encourage investors to "buy-in" to the excitement of the oil boom, this enticing ad worked her wallet-opening charms well, as the region ultimately became famous for both it's quality and quantity of sustained oil production. The ad measures 19.5 inches tall x 14 inches wide with some toning and faint fold lines barely evident. It has been deacidified and linen backed with a few tiny archival repairs to top and left edges. A significant and early piece of Texas Petroliana.

Toronto, ON: William Briggs, 1913. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. A most desirable, author signed copy of a scarce and important work providing much insight into the early Canadian west. As Dora Hood noted on p. 200 in her book 'The Back Door' - [The Range Men was] "... printed at the request of Kelly but that by the time it was ready... the author had disappeared. After waiting a suitable time the books were sold by the publisher at a substantial price and a good profit was realized... booksellers always had a long waiting list for it." making author signed copies scarce indeed. Publisher's original red decorative stamped cloth, 8vo size, (9 inches tall), pp. [1-6], 7-468, top edges gilt, tissue-guarded frontis, plates, tables. Illustrated throughout w. halftone photo reproductions and six tables, some leaves still remaining unopened (7-10, 395-398, 411-415), all illustrations present as called for, collated. Ownership name in fountain pen ink "N.C. [?] Christie / Oct. 1912 [?]" to front… Read More

n.p.: [Artist], 1978. Signed Limited Edition. Unframed Print. Near Fine. A mixed media, fine art print of music legend Elvis Costello, seen here performing at his "Catch a Rising Star" show in Portland, Oregon, during his inaugural 1977/78 North American Tour. This image of Elvis is from a live performance photograph captured by the print artist while attending Costello's performance. According to the artist "... He was in his 'angry young man' phase and stormed off the stage halfway through the show because of audience apathy." The print is #15 of a limitation of 39, is titled "Out of Time" and signed by the artist along the lower edge of the print. The print is on heavy, fine art paper and measures 26.5 x 34 inches wide. Some minor, marginal handling creases noted (not affecting print) else a fine, bright copy. Further from the artist's statement "... the silicone bead [along the lower edge of the print] is representative of a time line, half past and half future. Easter egg: If you look closely… Read More