June 2018 New Acquisitions Eastern Promises

June 2018 New Acquisitions

Eastern Promises: Americana East of the Mississippi

Early American Discourse on Columbus’s Discovery, And On the American Origins of the Honey Bee 1. Belknap, Jeremy: A DISCOURSE, INTENDED TO COMMEMORATE THE DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS; DELIVERED AT THE REQUEST OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN MASSACHUSETTS....TO WHICH ARE ADDED, FOUR DISSERTATIONS. Boston: Printed at the Apollo Press, by Belknap and Hall, 1792. 132,[2]pp. Early twentieth century three-quarter morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt, raised bands. Half-inch by 2¼ - inch portion clipped from upper outer corner of titlepage, not affecting text. Occasional minor tanning and foxing. Very good.

A significant early work of American historical examination by the notable Federal-era historian and Congregational clergyman, Jeremy Belknap, a founder of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The central work was delivered to commemorate the three hundredth anniversary of Columbus's voyage and discusses his discovery at some length, with a brief consideration of the introduction of African slavery, "this detestable species of traffic," into the New World. Also included are other "dissertations" by Belknap: on a claim of Martin Behaim to a pre-Columbian discovery of America; on the early circumnavigations of Africa; and on the complexion of Native Americans. The fourth dissertation, on the question of the American origins of the honey bee (Belknap says the bee IS American), "significantly provides one of the earliest investigations and discussions of this matter" (Mason), which led to a further inquiry by Benjamin Smith Barton. EVANS 24085. SABIN 4431. MASON, AMERICAN BEE BOOKS B49. JOHANSSON, APICULTURAL LITERATURE 54. $675

Attacking the Moral Watchdogs of Boston 2. [Benton, B.H.]: ROB ROY'S PELLETS VOL. 1. NO. 1. NOVEMBER, 1916 [all published?]. [Boston. November, 1916]. 32pp. Original pictorial wrappers. Wrappers detached, but present. Wrappers lightly soiled, and with some small chips in the edges. Printed on very poor paper, with some small edge chips, and with the lower outer corners of the text leaves chipped away (not affecting the text). Good.

A rare satirical journal - quite likely the only issue published - attacking the activities and personalities of New England's Watch and Ward Society, a group of moral watchdogs intent on (as the headline of a critical profile in Mencken's AMERICAN MERCURY put it) "Keeping the Puritans Pure." Specifically, Rob Roy's pellets are aimed at the Rev. J. Franklin Chase, leader of the group and a powerful figure in Massachusetts politics. The Watch and Ward Society went after supposedly pornographic publications and images, gambling, prostitution, drugs, and other vices, and was emblematic of what Miller

and Rotundo describe as a masculinization of the reform movement in the post-Victorian era. In the mid- 1910s, Chase was himself involved in a scandal, as it was discovered that one night he checked into a hotel under an assumed name with a woman who was not his wife. That episode and other accusations against Chase are discussed in this publication, which accuses Chase himself of usurping police authority, having more political power than the state legislature, and of betting on horses, among other things. "Rob Roby" was the pseudonym of BOSTON POST journalist B.H. Benton, and he presents a thorough and highly-detailed indictment of Chase and the actions of the Watch and Ward Society, which he criticizes as corrupt and hypocritical. He also offers his thoughts on a variety of social issues, including immigration, business, and sports (particularly boxing).

No copies are located in OCLC. The only reference I could find to this journal is in chapter five of Neil Miller's BANNED IN BOSTON: THE WATCH AND WARD SOCIETY'S CRUSADE AGAINST BOOKS, BURLESQUE, AND THE SOCIAL EVIL (Boston. 2011). $300

Against the Jay Treaty and in Favor of a Nationalist Trade Policy 3. [Bowdoin, James]: OPINIONS RESPECTING THE COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE DOMINIONS OF GREAT-BRITAIN, INCLUDING OBSERVATIONS UPON THE NECESSITY AND IMPORTANCE OF AN AMERICAN NAVIGATION ACT. Boston: Printed and Sold by Samuel Hall, 1797. 61,[1]pp. Errata note printed at foot of page 61. Half title. Contemporary blue wrappers, string-tied as issued. Wrappers lightly stained, most of the spine paper chipped away. Old stain in upper outer corner of most text leaves. Very good. Untrimmed and unopened.

Published anonymously but written by James Bowdoin, the son and namesake of a Revolutionary statesman and former Massachusetts governor; grandson of one of the leading merchants of New England, this is a sharp criticism of British trade practices and the recently-concluded Jay Treaty between the United States and England. Bowdoin's argument is an interesting mixture of Jeffersonian criticisms of docile policies toward England, coupled with a strong statement from a New Englander in favor of promoting domestic manufactures. "In its strictures on British trade regulations, its keen analysis of commercial principles, and its vigorous demand for a retaliatory policy, [it] is reminiscent of some of his father's pronouncements thirty years before" - DAB.

Bowdoin joins James Madison and other prominent Democratic-Republican voices in criticizing the Jay Treaty for granting too many concessions to England and marshals statistics to show the American trade deficit with Britain. He also encourages the development of domestic manufactures, favors trade restrictions, and argues for an "American Navigation Act," which would put the United States on a full reciprocity trade footing with other nations. Despite his Jeffersonian politics Bowdoin served in a number of Massachusetts political offices and, like his forebears, was a successful merchant. In 1804 Jefferson named him minister to Spain. EVANS 31857. SABIN 7015. KRESS B3351. GAINES 97-38. ESTC W6694. DAB II,pp.501-502. $575

The Copperhead Conspiracy Exposed, and Names Named 4. [Civil War]: COPPERHEAD CONSPIRACY IN THE NORTH-WEST. AN EXPOSE OF THE TREASONABLE ORDER OF THE "SONS OF LIBERY." VALLANDIGHAM, SUPREME COMMANDER [caption title]. [New York]: Printed by the Union Congressional Committee, [1864]. 8pp. Printed on two folded quarto sheets, new stitching. A bit of old staining, else near fine. In a printed Goodspeed's Book Shop envelope.

An outgrowth of the harshly-contested 1864 election in the Union, in which Lincoln's Republican Party did all it could to attack the actions of the "Peace" Democrats, so-called "Copperheads" who called for an end to the Civil War at the cost of an independent Confederacy. The text begins: "The more effectually to aid the Southern traitors in their efforts to destroy the Government, many of the leaders of the Democratic party in the North, who are in sympathy with such efforts, determined to form secret, oath-bound, treasonable associations throughout the Northern States to act in concert with those already existing in the States in rebellion." The Ohio politician, Clement Vallandingham, who had been convicted essentially for sedition in 1863 (his arrest had been a prominent challenge to Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus) and exiled to the South, was the putative head of the movement, though it was much more far-reaching. The text describes the allegedly treasonous behavior of the Sons of Liberty and other allied organizations in the Midwest, giving the names of their leaders, and printing excerpts from Copperhead literature.

Published by the Union Congressional Committee, this pamphlet was actually printed by John A. Gray & Green of New York. OCLC locates five copies, at the American Antiquarian Society (which has two copies), Harvard, Hamilton College, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Scarce in the market - Rare Book Hub notes a different copy sold at auction in 2017, and then not another since Goodspeed's offered a copy in 1965. The present copy was offered by Goodspeed's in 1950. SABIN 16706. OCLC 82444492, 950923600. GOODSPEED 437:225 (this copy). $300

Offering Premiums for Exports from the American Colonies 5. [Colonial Commerce]: PREMIUMS OFFERED FOR THE ADVANTAGE OF THE BRITISH COLONIES BY THE SOCIETY INSTITUTED AT LONDON FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE. London: Printed by Order of the Society, 1762. 44pp. Late nineteenth-century half cloth and marbled boards, manuscript paper label on front board. Boards edgeworn and lightly rubbed. Occasional tanning and light foxing. Very good.

A scarce work, one of a flurry of such titles issued during the Seven Years' War to encourage imports to England from the North American colonies. The text lists the premiums to be paid for imports from New England to the southern colonies in a wide variety of categories, including sturgeon, silk (and silk cocoons), olive trees, potash, scammony, wine, raisins, opium, hemp, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. An appendix describes a method for making potash. Instituted at London in 1753 by William Shipley and continuing into the present as the Royal Society of Arts, the Society for Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, the group aimed to use financial incentives to promote agriculture, manufactures, and the arts and to encourage commerce. Several prominent men are listed as "correspondents" of the Society in America, including Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. They first announced their "Premiums" in a publication of 32 pages issued in 1761; this 1762 edition is not listed in OCLC. The most recent copy of this 1762 edition in auction records was sold at Swann Galleries in 1999. ESTC lists six copies, at Bowdoin College, the Baker Business School Library at Harvard, the John Carter Brown Library, Massachusetts Historical Society, University of Pennsylvania, and the Pequot Library. Good evidence of the British view of the North American colonies as an important supply of a variety of raw and processed materials in the years preceding the Revolution. SABIN 65054. ESTC N22173. GOLDSMITHS-KRESS 09667.9 (1761 edition). $850

“Know Nothings” at the Ballot Box, and at Home 6. Eastlack, Francis F.: THE GREAT KNOW NOTHING SONG, "I DON'T KNOW." [Philadelphia]: H.J. Kehr, [ca. 1850-1856]. Small broadside, 9¼ x 6¼ inches, with ornamental border. Light edgewear. Near fine.

An interesting mid-nineteenth century song sheet, adroitly mixing the politics of the day with more homebound concerns. In eight stanzas, and meant to be sung to the tune of the popular composition, "Bow, Wow, Wow," Eastlack's song begins by asking "who are the know nothings?" This reference to the disruptive, nativist political party that enjoyed a brief ascendancy in the 1850s, carries on to the next stanza, describing the characteristic non-response of "Know Nothings" when asked about their party: "They beat both Whigs and Democrats, wherever they may go, sir, And if you ask them any thing they'll answer, I don't know, sir." Eastlack carries this theme of frustration to his interactions with his wife (and women in general) and his son, in a rather witty song about personal and political obfuscation. OCLC locates nine copies under three accession numbers (one of them incorrectly called an "internet resource"), and there is also a copy at the Library of Congress. WOLF, AMERICAN SONG SHEETS, 815. OCLC 945086961, 815605300, 60653745. $225

Rare Florida Broadside Defending Slavery and Protesting The Distribution of Abolitionist Literature Through the Mail 7. [Florida]: Walker, N.W.: THE SHELL POINT MEETING [caption title]. [Tallahassee? September, 1835]. Broadside, 19½ x 11½ inches, printed in three columns. Three instances of contemporary ink manuscript marginalia. [with:] [1]p. autograph letter, signed, from N.W. Walker to New Jersey Governor Peter Vroom, sending the broadside, written on a folded folio sheet, addressed for mailing and postmarked. Some offsetting from the broadside onto the letter, and the letter with tears at folds and old tape repairs. The letter in good condition. The broadside formerly with a neat vertical split, now expertly repaired, slightly affecting six letters of text. Minor staining. Very good. (partial)

A rare and highly interesting Florida broadside, transmitting the resolutions of an anti-abolitionist meeting held in the small rural community of Shell Point, Florida, on the Gulf Coast directly south of Tallahassee, the territorial capital. The broadside, which defends slavery against abolitionist agitation and protests the distribution of anti-slavery literature through the U.S. postal system, is accompanied by the original letter transmitting this copy to the sitting Governor of New Jersey.

African-American slavery existed in Florida throughout the period of Spanish rule, and expanded rapidly after Florida became a United States territory in 1821-1822. American settlers from the southern states rushed to Florida Territory, bringing plantation system agriculture with them. As early as 1830, nearly one-half of the population of Florida consisted of enslaved people of African descent, numbering more than 15,000. This anti-abolitionist meeting took place in Shell Point on September 19, 1835, as paranoia among whites in Florida toward the idea of free African-Americans in their midst was being further stoked by the rising tensions that led to the outbreak of the Second Seminole War, in which the Seminoles were aided by African-American allies. In such an atmosphere it is not surprising that the local populace would take a highly negative view of the distribution of abolitionist literature in their midst.

This meeting was apparently prompted by the activities of the American Anti-Slavery Society, which was founded in 1833 by William Lloyd Garrison, brothers Lewis and Arthur Tappan, and others. The strident activities of the Society were resisted throughout the Union - in 1834, anti-abolition riots in New York targeted Tappan's store. "In midsummer 1835 Lewis Tappan set in motion a special mailing of abolitionist materials, distributed nationwide, particularly to leading churchmen. Southerners reacted in fury. Mobs burned the offending documents. In the North, before huge city crowds, spokesmen - chiefly Democratic politicians - denounced the Tappans and their cause for threatening federal unity" - ANB. In July, 1835, a mob removed their publications from the post office at Charleston, South Carolina and burned them. Postmaster-General Amos Kendall wrote postmasters in the South sanctioning the removal of such literature. In southern states including Louisiana and Alabama rewards were issued for Arthur Tappan's apprehension.

The text of this broadside defends slavery and argues that slaves in the South were in fact treated better than free laborers in the North. It condemns the abolitionist movement for its "destructive influence upon the social feelings and body politic of the whole community - its unavoidable influence upon the legislation of Congress, and its deleterious effect upon the unity of the States." The meeting of the citizens of Shell Point resolves that slavery is a question best left to local sentiment and that northern abolitionists should stay out of southern affairs. They appoint a local committee "of Vigilance, Correspondence and Safety [to] take every necessary step to enforce the true spirit of our laws upon the subject of the migration or sojourning of free persons of color in our Territory," and call on southern legislatures to "make it highly penal for any Post Master to deliver within their respective limits such stuff [i.e. abolitionist literature]." The text concludes by endorsing the premiums offered by several states for the arrest of Arthur Tappan, and calls for these resolutions to be printed in newspapers throughout the South.

This copy of the SHELL POINT MEETING broadside is accompanied by the original transmittal letter and folding cover, addressed to New Jersey Governor Peter Dumont Vroom, a Democrat who served as governor from 1833 to 1836. The letter is datelined at Shell Point and dated September 30, 1835 (thus definitively dating the broadside) and is postmarked at Tallahassee. Written by meeting chairman N.W. Walker, the brief letter to Governor Vroom reads "Dear Sir, I have the honor to transmit to your excellency under the enclosed resolution the proceedings of the meeting held at Shell Point on the 19th inst."

This broadside is not listed in Hummel's bibliography of southeastern broadsides, nor is it in Servies or in OCLC. I am aware of one other copy that has appeared in the market in the past decade. Rare, and highly interesting in the history of abolitionist and pro-slavery movements in Florida. Edwin L. Williams, Jr., "Negro Slavery in Florida," in THE FLORIDA HISTORICAL QUARTERLY, Volume 28, Number 2 (October, 1949), pp.93-110. ANB (online). $3,250

Used by a Missionary of Oneida Heritage Among His Tribe in Wisconsin 8. [Gospel of St. Mark in Mohawk]: Brant, Joseph (translator): THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK, TRANSLATED INTO THE MOHAWK TONGUE, AS ALSO SEVERAL PORTIONS OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES, TRANSLATED INTO THE SAME LANGUAGE. NE ROYADADO KENGH TY ORIGHWADOKENGHTY ROGHYADON S. MARK, DEKAWENNADENYONK KANYENKEHHAKA KAWENNONDAGHKONH.... New York: Published by the New-York District Bible Society, M'Elrath & Bangs, Printers, 1829. 239pp., text in English and Mohawk on facing pages. Two titlepages, in English and Mohawk. 12mo. Contemporary sheep, gilt leather spine label. A bit shelfworn and rubbed, small chips at spine ends, spine label slightly chipped, affecting two letters of text. One-inch tear (with no loss) in English-language titlepage. Moderate tanning, scattered light foxing. Contemporary ownership information on two text pages (see below), other provenance information on a third page, crossed-out in an early hand. A good copy.

An uncommon Native American- language Bible text, with contemporary provenance by a missionary, apparently of Oneida heritage. An ownership signature on page 177 of this copy reads "Joseph W.O. Powless...Sept. 1830. Oneida Mission." On page 36 is a long presentation inscription from Powless, reading "John Staid's book / presented by Joseph W.O. Pollus [sic] missionary to D[uck] Creek, Oneida West, M.E. Church 1833." Apparently, Powless reclaimed this copy a few years later, as the inscription on page 36 has been lined out, and another one added on page 37 reading "Rev. Joseph Powless Oneida West Oneida Mission Green Bay 1837." A further clarifying date of January 17, 1837 has been added in manuscript. The Oneida were led to Wisconsin from New York in the 1820s by Eleazer Williams, the first Episcopal missionary in Wisconsin, and settled at Duck Creek. "Powless" is a not- uncommon Oneida name, and a "diary" that provides important genealogical information on Oneidas at Oneida Castle, New York, and the Oneida West Mission at Duck Creek was kept for many years, in Mohawk, by a Joseph O. Powless. He is identified as "Clerk of the Oneida Nation" at Green Bay in several sources. Mohawk was a language spoken by the Oneida, and it is clear that Rev. Powless used this volume in his missionary work among his tribe Oneida in Wisconsin.

The text, in English and Mohawk on facing pages, is adapted from a translation that Joseph Brant undertook with the Anglican missionary, John Stuart, in the 1770s, which included the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER and the Gospel of St. Mark, and which was published in London in 1787. Joseph Brant (1743-1807) was born in the Ohio country and was educated at Eleazar Wheelock's Indian Charity School in Connecticut. He had a close relationship with British authorities from his youth, eventually fighting alongside English forces in the French & Indian War and in the American Revolution. The present text prints not only the Gospel, but also includes chapters from Genesis, the Gospel of St. Matthew, and a concluding "collection of sentences of the Holy Scriptures, for knowledge and practice" (pp.178-239).

One of the printers of this work, Nathan Bangs, was a cousin of the pioneering Texas printer, Samuel Bangs (who worked for the New York firm briefly, in the mid-1820s). Uncommon in the market, and with excellent contemporary missionary provenance. AYER, INDIAN LINGUISTICS (MOHAWK), 4. PILLING, IROQUOIAN, pp.16-17. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 439. DARLOW & MOULE 6800. SABIN 49845. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 37835 (misprinting the Mohawk-language title). AMERICAN NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY (online). $1,850

The Most Famous American Gambler of His Time 9. Green, Jonathan H.: THE REFORMED GAMBLER; OR, THE HISTORY OF THE LATER YEARS OF THE LIFE OF JONATHAN H. GREEN, (THE "REFORMED GAMBLER") TO WHICH IS ADDED A COMPLETE AND FULL EXPOSITION OF THE GAME OF THIMBLES; DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND, OR THE GENTLEMAN'S GAME; DEAD OPEN AND SHUT; CHURCH GAMBLING; FIVE ACES BEATEN; LOTTERIES; POST OFFICE GAME; POUND CAKE, OR RING GAME; THE PREACHER AND THE GAMBLER; GRAB LOO, ETC., ETC. Philadelphia: T.B.

Peterson and Brothers, [1858]. 259pp., plus [28]pp. of ads. Portrait. Original stamped brown cloth, pictorial spine. Light wear at spine ends and corners. A bit of light foxing, old stain in upper outer corner of some twenty leaves. An uncommonly nice copy, in very good condition.

First and apparently only edition of this later work from the pen of the "reformed gambler" Jonathan H. Green, the most famous (and perhaps prolific) American gambler of the nineteenth century. After decades of fleecing his victims, and several run-ins with the law, Green found religion and announced that he was changing his ways. He became a public speaker and wrote a series of successful books recounting his adventures and exposing the tricks used by gamblers to prey upon the innocent and the greedy. Of course, such works often become a handbook for the unscrupulous in how to succeed at gambling and confidence games. Published eight years after he began his reform efforts - and fifteen years after his first published work - Green addresses those who might question his motives. He gives an account of his life as a gambler and of his work in the years since his twelve-day incarceration in the Tombs in New York in 1850, his conversion to Methodism, efforts in solving crimes (including the murder of the Smith family in New Haven's "East Rock" neighborhood), political activities, notices of his arrests and trials, and much more. A good portion of the book describes in detail the various games and tricks used by gamblers (described in the subtitle), and concludes with a lengthy appendix printing endorsements of Green's good works.

If alive today Green would almost certainly be a wildly successful "consultant" to the gaming industry. How he would react to a nation that failed to heed his warnings about the perils of gambling, I would hesitate to guess. Not in Howes or Sabin, both of whom list other works by Green. JESSEL 667. TOOLE- STOTT 900. $1,500

Details of the American Seizure of a British Ship at New Orleans 10. [Herring, Charles]: FULL PARTICULARS OF THE ILLEGAL SEIZURE AND CONDEMNATION OF THE BRITISH SHIP "FRANCIS & ELIZA," DETAILING AN ACT OF GROSS OUTRAGE COMMITTED UPON SUBJECTS OF GREAT BRITAIN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. London: Pelham Richardson, 1839. 34pp. Modern plain wrappers. A bit of light foxing. Very good.

An interesting - and rare - account of an Anglo-American maritime incident in the years following the War of 1812, this pamphlet is evidence that the political tactic of "what about"-ism is not a modern phenomenon. Charles Herring acknowledges a part of his motivation when he writes in the preface: "The detail of facts which the following pamphlet discloses for the first time to the Public, would not even now have been brought under their notice, but for the high tone assumed by the citizens of the United States regarding the boundary question, and more particularly on account of the notice furnished to our Minister at Washington, by Mr. Forsyth, demanding redress at the hands of the British Government for the destruction of the steamer 'Caroline' by British subjects...." The late 1830s saw a period of heightened tensions between the United States and Great Britain, specifically over the question of the boundary between Maine and Canada, and over redress of the Canadian destruction of the American steamer, Caroline, which was carrying military supplies across the Niagara River to William Mackenzie's rebel forces and which was sunk by British volunteers.

In this pamphlet, Charles Herring, a co-owner of the British ship, Francis & Eliza, complains of the "illegal" capture of his ship by the Americans twenty years earlier. The Francis & Eliza was a busy vessel, transporting convicts to Australia and running arms and men to aid Simon Bolivar in South America. In late 1819 the ship was on its way to New Orleans to take on cargo and supplies when she was seized by an American revenue cutter as being in violation of the United States' Navigation Act. The Francis & Eliza was taken into port and ordered by the District Court of Louisiana to be forfeited and sold. Herring

recounts the details of the case, compares the facts to those of the "Caroline" affair, and prints the text of the American Navigation Act which formed the "unjust" and "illegal" (as he says) basis for the seizure of his ship. He also includes the text of his memorial to the U.S. Congress seeking redress for his losses, and the Congressional reply.

Sabin lists another, similarly-titled work of 1839 regarding the capture of the Francis & Eliza, but not the present title. OCLC locates four copies, at Case Western Reserve, Heidelberg Univ., Huntington Library, and Kings College, London. Rare. OCLC 83763223, 314735102, 84396178. SABIN 97926 (ref). $450

Andrew Jackson a Self-Loathing Irishman? 11. [Jackson, Andrew]: THE FOLLOWING LINES ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO ANDREW JACKSON, AND THE REV. DR. ELY & CO. [caption title]. [N.p., circa 1830]. Small broadside, 7½ x 5 inches. Ornamental border. Lightly tanned and a touch of foxing. Three old stains on verso, two of which show through to recto. Very good.

An apparently unrecorded anti-Jackson broadside, issued in the wake of the Eaton scandal and lambasting Andrew Jackson for his perceived anti-Irish actions. The text - in seven quatrains - begins: "You true born sons of Erin, draw near awhile to me, that left your shores for to explore this land of Liberty! Mark well their laws in Jackson's cause, be steady every one; Turk, Jew or Atheist they will greet, but not an Irishman!" The text castigates Jackson and his counselor, Rev. Ezra Stiles Ely, for not intervening in the fate of one Mr. Porter, of Irish descent and condemned to death. Jackson, though of Irish heritage himself ("a native of our land"), is condemned as a "Barrabas" for not coming to Porter's aid. Other perceived anti-Irish slights on the part of Jackson are also mentioned. Rev. Ely had come to some prominence for counseling the president during the recent "Petticoat affair," a scandal involving Jackson's Secretary of War, John Eaton, and Eaton's wife, Peggy. Not listed in OCLC. $375

A Celebration of Union Textile Workers During the Depression, In Words and Images 12. [Labor]: International Ladies Garment Workers Union: ILGWU ILLUSTRATED. 23rd CONVENTION MAY 1937 ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. [cover title]. [N.p., but New York? 1937]. [66]pp., heavily illustrated. Folio. Original printed stiff wrappers, comb-bound. Slight wear at edge of wrappers. Near fine.

A profusely-illustrated volume celebrating the history and work of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, issued at the time of its twenty-third convention. Crippled by the effects of the Great Depression, this volume was issued at a time when the ILGWU was on the rise, its membership, political influence, and power increasing. This handsome volume is profusely illustrated with photographic images showing the leaders and members of the union; documenting the group's history, struggles, and achievements; its multi-ethnic character; the effectiveness of its strikes; its social activities; and its goals for the future, including a thirty-hour work week. The text was edited by Max D. Danish, publicity director of the ILGWU and editor of its official publication, called JUSTICE, and was designed by Edmund Marein. A marvelous visual history and political statement. $200

A Remarkable Letter from Revolutionary War Hero “Light-Horse Harry” Lee, Instructing His Son on What to Read in College, and on the Development of Personal Character 13. Lee, Henry: [AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, FROM HENRY "LIGHT-HORSE HARRY" LEE TO HIS SON, CHARLES CARTER LEE, A STUDENT AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY, ADVISING HIM ON A COURSE OF READING IN HISTORY AND ETHICS, AND ON QUALITIES OF PERSONAL MORAL CHARACTER]. Nassau, New Providence [Bahamas]. December 1, 1816. [4]pp. autograph letter, signed, on a folded folio sheet. Additional folio sheet used as cover for mailing and addressed in manuscript. A total of approximately 850 words. Old folds. Ink a touch faded but still very legible. Two small tape reinforcements at center vertical fold. Address leaf with four small tape reinforcements and a tear from the wax seal. Very good.

An outstanding letter from the great Revolutionary War hero, "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, to his son, a student at Harvard, instructing him on which historians and moral philosophers to read, and reflecting on how his own readings and the influences of his ancestors, have shaped his character. Lee discusses a variety of authors, emphasizing the importance of John Locke (who had so much influence on the Founding generation), and the personal qualities of virtue, modesty, and an even temper. Though addressed directly to Charles Carter Lee this letter and others like it, as demonstrated by historian William C. Davis, certainly had a role in shaping the character of Henry Lee’s youngest son, the future Confederate commander, Robert E. Lee.

Henry Lee (1756-1818), better known as "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, was one of the great heroes of the Revolutionary War. His plans to study law in London following graduation from the College of New Jersey in 1773 were interrupted by the impending Revolution, and in 1776 he was appointed a captain in the Virginia cavalry. "Lee's soldierly qualities were recognized from the first and, young as he was, he was admitted to Washington's friendship and confidence. The relations between the two men continued to be intimate until death separated them" - DAB. Henry Lee rose quickly through the ranks, and was responsible for important victories throughout the Revolution, especially in the south. He resigned his commission after the victory at Yorktown, married, and became involved in Virginia and national politics, participating in the Virginia convention that ratified the Constitution. While governor of Virginia, in 1794, Washington chose him to lead the federal forces that suppressed the Whiskey Rebellion. When his first wife died, Lee married again, and had several children, including Charles Carter, and the youngest son, Robert E. Lee. Following George Washington's death he famously eulogized him as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen." Unfortunately, Henry Lee was not an adept businessman, and the large expenses of his plantation ruined him financially. In 1812 he was severely injured during the Baltimore riots, and eventually left for the West Indies to recuperate. He died in 1818 on his return to the United States.

"[Henry] Lee was a great cavalryman, intelligent and resourceful, who provided his commanders with reliable information and provisions. Also, he was adept at surprising enemy detachments and maneuvering rapidly to escape from harm’s way. He owed his battlefield triumphs to both his family’s military tradition and his own fine moral character" - ANB.

Henry Lee begins by gently admonishing his son for not writing him, "My dear Carter has never answered one of the many letters I have written from the day I understood he was placed by his dear mother at Cambridge," though he continues by saying that he does not doubt his son's love for him. Lee quickly gets to the matter at hand for his son - a course of reading while at Harvard: "I occasionally sent a book which I commended to your serious study, but whether any of the few ever reached you I do not know. Now I must urge you, as the library of Cambridge will present to your discrimination a large collection, to avoid all frivolous authors, such as novel writers & all sceptical authors whether religious, philosophic or moral. Adhere to history & to ethical authors of unrivalled character. First of all of the latter description is John Locke, do not only read him but study him, do not only study him, but consult

him as the Grecians did the Delphic oracle - make him the director of your mind & the guide of your lucubrations."

Lee continues with his assessments of other English authors: "Francis Bacon (Earl of St. Albans I believe) is wonderfully instructive tho of cowardly despicable character....Dean Swift commands your high admiration & is truly instructive as well as infinitely agreeable. David Hume is at the head of English historians & his essays abound with sterling information to the mind, as do Dr. Johnson's works. Among the English poets, prefer Pope, he is worthy of universal applause, far superior to Milton as his Iliad compared with Paradise Lost evinces."

Turning to classical authors, Lee urges his son to "pour over Tacitus, Xenophon, Julius Caesar & Polybius in prose and Homer and Sophocles in verse." He prefers Homer over Virgil, "his excellent imitator, but far below the transcendent Greek." Lee also recommends Lucretius's De Rerum Natura but criticizes the philosopher for his atheism: "If I had not read him partly I never could have believed there ever had lived a man who was in judgement an atheist." He returns to Locke, telling his son that "if you have not Locke in the college library, tell me & I will furnish you, as I will with the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius the great & good Emperor adopted by the Emperor Antoninus his equal in virtue, whose name he bears in history generally. In the first of his Meditations he thus speaks of himself, which I give summarily to excite yr. desire to become intimate with him & imitate him."

Henry Lee then turns to a fascinating discussion of the influences his own family has had on him, discussing the qualities he learned from his parents and grandparents and how their examples influenced his disposition and temper. "From my own father I learned to behave with modesty yet with a manly firmness on all occasions. [From] My mother I have inherited a piety & have been taught not only to abstain from vice, but to abhor the thought of it, & she taught me to be simple & abstemious in diet." He continues by describing how his own ancestors, as well as ancient philosophers, have taught him lessons in patience, communication, and keeping an even temper: "In Sextus I had an example of a truly benevolent disposition & of a family governed with paternal care & affection. Like him I determined to live according to nature, simple & unaffected & like him to acquire reputation without noise & deep learning without ostentation. I imitate my relative Severus in love of my relations of truth & of justice; & from Claudius I learnt always to be master of myself, & never to yield to passion." Henry Lee closes by imploring his son to keep his letters, and tells him that "I hope to leave this place in April, if I live."

Some fifty years after it was written a copy of this letter, and others of this period, was supplied by Carter Lee to his famous younger brother, General Robert E. Lee, who was preparing to republish his father's account of the southern campaign and to include with it a memoir of his father. Robert E. Lee included the text of this letter (with some edits and rewriting) in that volume, published in 1869, on pages 61-63. Autograph letters, signed, by Henry Lee are relatively uncommon. A similar letter to Charles Carter Lee, written from the West Indies two months before the present letter (and also printed in the 1869 edition of Henry Lee's MEMOIRS), sold at auction for $4720 in 2013.

Henry Lee (edited by Robert E. Lee), MEMOIRS OF THE WAR IN THE SOUTHERN DEPARTMENT OF THE UNITED STATES, (New York. 1869), pp.61-63. William C. Davis, CRUCIBLE OF COMMAND, (Boston. 2014), pp.3-4. DAB XI, pp.107-108. ANB (online). $3,500

Financial Claims Made Under the Jay Treaty – the British Side of the Dispute 14. [Macdonald, Thomas]: A BRIEF STATEMENT OF OPINIONS, GIVEN IN THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, UNDER THE SIXTH ARTICLE OF THE TREATY OF AMITY, COMMERCE, AND NAVIGATION, WITH GREAT BRITAIN: WITH AN APPENDIX...AND REFERENCES TO CERTAIN OPINIONS DELIVERED BY JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED

STATES: By One of the Commissioners Under the Said Sixth Article. Philadelphia: Printed by James Humphreys, 1800. viii,71pp. Half title. Modern brown cloth, spine gilt. Ex-Univ. of Michigan libraries, with the inkstamp of the Transportation Library on the titlepage and page 35, and the bookplate of the Clements Library (noting this copy was withdrawn in April, 2000) on the front pastedown. Light, even tanning. Final page silked. Good. Untrimmed.

The treaty that John Jay made with Great Britain in 1794 engendered much opposition from Jeffersonian- Republican politicians who criticized it for giving too many concessions to England - especially in not doing enough to protect neutral trading rights or ensuring that the British would evacuate their military outposts in the Old Northwest. An innovative feature of the treaty was its establishment of bilateral commissions to arbitrate outstanding financial claims. Article Six of the treaty established a commission to adjudicate claims of British spoliation against American shipping, and settle American debts owed to British interests. This volume, anonymously authored by British commissioner Thomas Macdonald and published in the United States, describes a number of financial claims by British subjects and American Loyalists, and prints relevant opinions by Supreme Court justices in cases involving Article Six. In the end, the debt commission was unable to resolve the many cases before it and the question of British claims was finally settled by an Anglo-American treaty of 1802 which annulled Article Six of the Jay Treaty and paid a lump sum of 600,000 pounds to the British government.

Evans favors Thomas Fizsimons, an American commissioner, as the author, but Gaines, in his William Cobbett bibliography, makes a strong case for authorship by Thomas Macdonald: "The British Commissioners under the Jay Treaty were in the United States from 1797 to 1800 but were unable to conclude any business because the two United States Commissioners, Thomas Fitzsimons and Samuel Sitgreaves, seceded. The present work recounts the proceedings from the British viewpoint. Macdonald, a British commissioner, was a friend and customer of Cobbett's. Cobbett attributed authorship to him in PORCUPINE'S WORKS....The attribution to Fizsimons suggested by Evans 37428 clearly is not correct because Fitzsimons was on the other side of the fence." G.D.H. Cole, who edited William Cobbett's letters to Edward Thornton, states that Cobbett in fact helped Macdonald write this pamphlet. EVANS 37428, 37869. SABIN 7904. GAINES 00-08. GAINES, COBBETT 169. BEMIS, JAY'S TREATY, pp.438-441. $200

Owned by an Important Continental Army Officer and George Washington’s Cousin, And With Additional Notes by a Hero of the Battle of Cowpens 15. Mackenzie, Roderick: STRICTURES ON LT. COL. TARLETON'S HISTORY "OF THE CAMPAIGNS OF 1780 AND 1781, IN THE "SOUTHERN PROVINCES OF NORTH AMERICA." WHEREIN MILITARY CHARACTERS AND CORPS ARE VINDICATED FROM INJURIOUS ASPERSIONS, AND SEVERAL IMPORTANT TRANSACTIONS PLACED IN THEIR PROPER POINT OF VIEW....TO WHICH IS ADDED, A DETAIL OF THE SIEGE OF NINETY SIX, AND THE RE-CAPTURE OF THE ISLAND OF NEW-PROVIDENCE. London: Printed for the author, 1787. [4],vi,[2],186pp. Errata note on page vi. Half title. Original paper-covered boards with new red morocco backstrip and corners, spine stamped in gilt. Boards a bit wavy. Early ownership signature on front board and two instances of ink marginalia within, manuscript letter tipped in at front (see below). Later ownership signature on titlepage. Small tear in upper edge of titlepage, not affecting text. Scattered foxing. Very good. Untrimmed.

A remarkable copy of this important contemporary work on the military history of the American Revolution in the South, bringing together two heroes of the Battle of Cowpens and of other engagements in South Carolina, William Augustine Washington and John Eager Howard.

Roderick Mackenzie was a lieutenant in the 7th Regiment of the British Army during the Revolution, and this work is an early and important (though not un-critical) defense of Lord Cornwallis, and an attack on Banastre Tarleton's then just- published history of the southern campaigns during the war. Mackenzie is highly critical of Tarleton, who made a name for himself in the South thanks to his brutal tactics in command of a British cavalry unit. Mackenzie himself was wounded at Cowpens, and this work describes that significant battle, as well as several other crucial southern engagements. He criticizes Tarleton for his "numerous incoherencies, misrepresentations, and contradictions," and writes that his "elaborate performance, though ingeniously worked up, abounds with misrepresentation and error; it does injustice to a number of respectable officers; wants on reflecting unmerited disgrace on entire corps of the army, and is replete with palpable inconsistencies." Mackenzie offers this series of "letters to a friend" as his own "journal of the war in the Southern provinces" and discusses engagements in Georgia and the Carolinas, the sieges of Savannah, Charleston, and "Ninety-Six," and the recapture of the island of New Providence in the Bahamas.

Mackenzie's letters nine, ten, and eleven in the book are devoted to the Battle of Cowpens, an important victory for the Continental Army and a turning point in the American re-conquest of South Carolina. Two instances of contemporary ink marginalia in the tenth letter are almost certainly in the hand of John Eager Howard (1752-1827), whose maneuvers at Cowpens were crucially important in securing the American victory. The battle took place January 17, 1781 in a rural part of upcountry South Carolina and featured Tarleton's forces against Americans commanded by Gen. Daniel Morgan, with Colonel Howard in charge of the right flank. When Howard ordered his men to re-engage the enemy they misunderstood and began to retreat. Rather than struggle to correct the mistake, Howard led a cautious retreat and then suddenly ordered his troops in an about-face, and they fired with extreme precision on the surprised British regulars. The sudden shock of the volleys caused disarray among the enemy troops and Howard's subsequent attack secured victory for the Americans.

On page 94 of this copy is manuscript marginalia reading "the sole cause of this maneuvre was to bring back the riflemen after the first charge, that the Continentals might engage the British with their own weapons while the Riflemen [?] in the war, to [?] again." On page 98, the marginalia reads: "while the Militia was called to retreat for to shun British bayonets, they thought they were beat - this was done in order that the Continentals might engage them with the Bayonet."

The contemporary ownership signature on the front board of this copy reads "Washington," and appears to be that of William Augustine Washington (1752-1810), a second cousin of George Washington and a prominent Continental Army officer in the southern campaigns during the Revolution. Primarily a commander of light dragoons, William Washington distinguished himself as a cavalry commander in several southern engagements, and he led a decisive charge at Cowpens; his actions earned the praise of Nathaniel Greene and Henry Lee. Both William Augustine Washington and John Eager Howard were awarded Congressional medals for their actions at Cowpens, and it seems that Eaton added this marginalia to Washington's copy of Mackenzie's STRICTURES at Washington's request.

After the war, John Eager Howard married Margaret Chew, the eldest daughter of noted Maryland jurist, Benjamin Chew, and they had nine children, including Charles Howard. Colonel Howard went on to a distinguished career in Maryland politics, including service as governor and United States Senator. Tipped-into this copy is an autograph letter, signed, from John E. Howard (1828-1911), grandson of John Eager Howard. Dated November 9, 1850, the letter reads: "Dear Sir, Receive my thanks for your kindness. The writing is I think that of my grandfather." Captain John Eager Howard (1828-1911), son of Charles Howard and Elizabeth Phoebe Key Howard and a native of Maryland, fought in the Mexican-American War, and for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

The recipient of John Eager Howard's letter was Dr. Joshua I. Cohen (1801-1870), the noted Baltimore physician, mineralogist, and antiquarian whose pencil ownership signature appears on the titlepage. Cohen assembled a complete collection of autographs of the signers of the Declaration of Independence in the mid-nineteenth century, and assembled a second collection of signers' autographs lacking only two signatures. He also built a significant collection of Hebrew books, and taught geology and mineralogy at the University of Maryland. This copy appeared in the sale of the Laird Park collection at Sotheby's in November, 2000, where the ink marginalia was alluded to but not investigated, and the ownership signature on the front board unmentioned. It was bought by the William Reese Company, which contributed added information as to the provenance, which has now been further enlarged.

Relatively uncommon in the market, described by Sabin as "scarce," and with outstanding provenance. HOWES M138. SABIN 43431. ESTC T92989. LAIRD PARK SALE 220 (this copy). $5,250

Marshall’s Life of Washington, Lavishly Extra-Illustrated 16. Marshall, John: THE LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE AMERICAN FORCES DURING THE WAR WHICH ESTABLISHED THE INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY, AND FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. COMPILED UNDER THE INSPECTION OF THE HON. BUSHROD WASHINGTON, FROM ORIGINAL PAPERS BEQUEATHED TO HIM BY HIS DECEASED RELATIVE. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED AN INTRODUCTION, CONTAINING A COMPENDIOUS VIEW OF THE COLONIES PLANTED BY THE ENGLISH ON THE CONTINENT OF AMERICA. London: Printed for Richard Phillips, 1804- 1807. Five volumes: xxxvi,576; viii,633[1] (i.e. 625); viii,572; viii,684; viii,843,[1]pp.plus twelve folding maps (laid into pockets in the rear of volumes four and five), three colored frontispieces (in the first three volumes, two folding), and vignette illustration on final page of volume three. Extra-illustrated with an additional 138 plates (forty colored). Without terminal advertisements leaves at the end of volume five.

Octavo. Late nineteenth century full red morocco by Bayntun, ruled in gilt and with gilt tooling on the boards and backstrips, raised bands, a.e.g., gilt-tooled inner dentelles. Each volume either neatly rebacked (with the red morocco backstrips laid down) or with joints repaired. Light scuffs to backstrips, leather with some occasional oxidization. Very clean internally. In very good condition.

First English octavo edition, appearing the same years as the Philadelphia first edition, but generally considered to be more handsomely produced than the American edition. This is a lavishly extra-illustrated set, with 138 inserted plates (forty in color) and bound in full red morocco by Bayntun. The plates show important personages and events described in the text.

A landmark work in the early historiography of the American Revolution and the Federal period, and a biography that did much to shape the view of George Washington and his era for generations. Marshall "became America's first nationalist historian. He wrote about Washington and the United States as if they were inseparable" (Smith). Written in the early years of his tenure as Chief Justice of the United States, and at the encouragement of his Supreme Court colleague, Bushrod Washington (George Washington's nephew), Marshall not only had access to Washington family papers, he had been extremely close with the President in his final years. The text is written in Marshall's judicious prose, and is particularly strong on the aspects of the Revolution in which he participated, and on the partisan politics of the 1790s. Further, a close reading of Marshall's account of the origins of the Constitution offers insights into the Chief Justice's own views concerning the Constitution. Volumes two, three, and four cover Washington's life through the Revolution, and the fifth is a history of his presidency - the concluding volume caused much partisan rancor when published in 1807. Marshall's history of the colonial period is the subject of the first volume, and it was omitted from later American editions. The maps are mostly concerned with Revolutionary War engagements.

Jared Sparks, who compiled an edition of Washington's writings in the 1830s, commented that "after the able, accurate, and comprehensive work of Chief Justice Marshall, it would be presumptuous to attempt a historical biography of Washington" (quoted in Sabin). Thomas Jefferson was an original subscriber to the Philadelphia edition of Marshall's biography, and viewed it through the partisan politics of the day. In an 1802 letter to Joel Barlow, Jefferson wrote that he expected the work, due out at the time he would stand for re-election to the presidency, to be "written therefore principally with a view to electioneering purposes" (i.e., in contradistinction to Jefferson's policies). In fact, Jefferson encouraged Barlow to write his own history of the same period, which would correct the expected "perversions of truth" in Marshall's work. Jefferson's view of Marshall's LIFE did not improve with time, he quarreled with it well into old age. The political paranoia cut both ways - Marshall's publisher was C.P. Wayne, editor of the GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES, a Federalist organ, and he feared that the local postmasters (Jefferson appointees) who were charged with soliciting subscriptions to the work might not have put their hearts into it.

HOWES M317. SABIN 44788. REESE, REVOLUTIONARY HUNDRED, 92. LARNED 1561 (American edition). SOWERBY 496 (note). Jean Edward Smith, JOHN MARSHALL: DEFINER OF A NATION, pp.328-333. $7250

Revolutionary War Correspondence of Henry Laurens, Extra-Illustrated and With an Autograph Note in His Hand 17. Moore, Frank: [Laurens, Henry]: MATERIALS FOR HISTORY PRINTED FROM ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS. WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY LAURENS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. New York: Printed for the Zenger Club, 1861. [9]-240pp., plus frontispiece portrait. Extra-illustrated with thirty-eight inserted illustrations, including engravings, etchings, a photogravure, and a mezzotint. Plus an original autograph note, mounted and tipped-in, signed by Henry Laurens. Quarto. Full gilt morocco by Morrell, spine gilt extra, raised bands, boards paneled in gilt and with gilt ornaments, t.e.g., gilt inner dentelles, silk-covered endpapers and pastedowns. Minor wear at corners and foot of spine, rear hinge expertly and unobtrusively mended. Some offsetting from the plates, else quite clean internally. Near fine.

From an edition limited to 250 copies, this copy is handsomely bound and is extra-illustrated with thirty- eight engravings and an original autograph note in the hand of Henry Laurens.

This volume contains the important revolutionary correspondence of Henry Laurens of South Carolina. One of the wealthiest and most respected merchants in Charleston, Laurens (1724-1792) succeeded John Hancock as President of the Continental Congress. In 1780 he sailed for the Netherlands, charged with negotiating a loan and treaty of friendship and commerce with the Dutch. Captured by the British en route, he was held prisoner for two years until his release as part of an exchange involving Lord Corwallis, who had been taken prisoner at Yorktown. Laurens then joined Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay as part of the commission at Paris that negotiated the treaty with England that ended the Revolutionary War. The more than three dozen illustrations inserted into this copy are culled from a variety of eighteenth and nineteenth century publications, and include portraits of Laurens, his many correspondents, and other noted figures of the era. Among these is a signed proof engraving of Silas Deane by T. Johnson. The original manuscript appears to be the address portion of a piece of correspondence to Richard Hockley, a Philadelphia merchant, and is signed by Henry Laurens at Boston, July 9, 1746, "Fowarded by Sir, Your most Humb. Servant, Henry Laurens."

"The Zenger Club consisted of one person, and for some unexplained reason many copies terminate abruptly. The Club collapsed with this publication" - Sabin. As explained by Growoll, this volume (designated as part of the "First Series") is all that was ever issued of the "Materials for History" series planned by editor Frank Moore. Subscribers, who paid $5 in advance and were expecting four "parts" to be issued each year, were left with only this title for their investment. Scarce in the market - the most recent copy listed in Rare Book Hub appears to be this same extra-illustrated copy, offered by Goodspeed's in 1956 for $37.50. HOWES M767. SABIN 50360. GROWOLL, AMERICAN BOOK CLUBS, pp.97-100. $1,150

Laurens Correspondence, 1 of 250 Copies, Not Extra-Illustrated 18. Moore, Frank: [Laurens, Henry]: MATERIALS FOR HISTORY PRINTED FROM ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS. WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CORRESPONDENCE OF HENRY LAURENS OF SOUTH CAROLINA. New York: Printed for the Zenger Club, 1861. [9]-240pp., plus frontispiece portrait. Quarto. Original printed grey wrappers bound into slightly later green calf, boards paneled in gilt, spine ruled and tooled in gilt, raised bands. Leather worn at corners and joints, lightly shelfworn. Very clean internally. Very good.

From an edition limited to 250 copies, this copy retains the original printed wrappers. HOWES M767. SABIN 50360. GROWOLL, AMERICAN BOOK CLUBS, pp.97-100. $500

New Testament in the Choctaw Language: A Presentation Copy From One of the Translators 19. [New Testament in Choctaw]: [Wright, Alfred, Rev., and Rev. Cyrus Byington (translators)]: THE NEW TESTAMENT OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, TRANSLATED INTO THE CHOCTAW LANGUAGE. PIN CHITOKAKA PI OKCHALINCHI CHISUS KLAIST IN TESTAMENT HIMONA, CHAHTA ANUMPA ATOSHOWA HOKE. New York: American Bible Society, 1848. 818pp. Thick 12mo. Contemporary speckled calf, spine ruled in gilt. Calf scuffed at extremities and joints, closed tear in upper portion of spine. Faint tideline throughout the text, mostly in the gutter. Good plus.

A presentation copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper by one of the translators, Rev. Cyrus Byington. On the front free endpaper Byington writes: "Wheelock Choctaw Nation Jan: 5, 1851 Communion Sabbath. To my Friend W.O.[?] Peak, about leaving us for Delaware Ohio - Cyrus Byington." Below this, in pencil, he adds: "Much love to Rev. Van Deman & family & church - whom I still remember with affection. C.B." The Van Demans were a notable of Presbyterian ministers in Delaware County, Ohio. On the following leaf Byington adds another note in pencil: "Br. Peak - Read Numbers Chap: VI, verses 24, 25, & 26 - "The Lord Bless thee."

This is the first edition of the first complete New Testament in the Choctaw language, translated by the Oklahoma missionaries, Alfred Wright and Cyrus Byington. A language of the Muskogean family, Choctaw was spoken by Native Americans who were removed from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama to Indian Territory in Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears. The text is in Choctaw throughout. Presbyterian missionaries, Alfred Wright (1788-1853) and Cyrus Byington (1793-1868) devoted most of their lives to missionary work among the Choctaw, beginning their work in Mississippi. The two first collaborated on translating a spelling book into Choctaw, published in 1825, and were responsible for many religious and instructional books in the Choctaw language. Wright, who founded the Wheelock Mission in present-day Oklahoma in 1832, was plagued by heart and lung problems that made his labors a remarkable feat of dedication. Not in Gilcrease, who does list other works by Wright & Byington. AYER, INDIAN LINGUISTICS (CHOCTAW), 9. PILLING, MUSHKOGEAN, p.101. PILLING, PROOF- SHEETS, 2744. DARLOW & MOULE 3051. $1,750

The Definitive, Illustrated Guide to the Subject 20. Paulinetti, P.H.: THE TRUE ART AND SCIENCE OF SINGLE HAND BALANCING AND HAND-TO-HAND BALANCING THE FIRST AND ONLY TEXT BOOK EVER PRINTED ON THIS SUBJECT AN ELEMENTARY AND HIGHLY ADVANCED TREATISE ON ALL BRANCHES OF THIS ART. [Philadelphia: Privately Printed, 1931]. 95pp., profusely illustrated with images from photographs and drawings. Original printed green wrappers. Spine darkened, old price (19 cents) written in thick black marker on front wrapper. Some strain from the original staples to the preliminary and final leaves, else very clean internally. Very good.

An interesting instructional volume by a little-known figure in the early twentieth century physical culture movement in the United States. "Professor" Philip H. Paulinetti was a remarkably talented gymnast and acrobat, "teacher of many of the greatest artistes of the time," and "master mind on this subject" (i.e. hand

balancing). The text and illustrations are a thorough instructional on all methods and modes of the craft, from simple handstands to walking on ones hands, the "alligator walk," jumping on one hand, balancing on the head, balancing a partner in the air with your hands, feet, or head, etc. The achievement for which Paulinetti was best known, however, and which receives due attention, is the "planche," by which he would balance himself on one or two hands while extending his body parallel to the ground. The exercises and methods in this guide - all of them illustrated by drawings or through photographs - would appeal to gymnasts, acrobats, and cheerleaders alike. This is the only work attributed to Paulinetti in OCLC, and would appear to be his "summa acrobatica." OCLC locates only two copies, at the New York Public Library, and Carleton University in Ontario. OCLC 862100243. $150

The Copy Presented to the Artist John Sartain, Who Drew the Dramatic Mezzotint of Pennsylvania Hall on Fire 21. [Sartain, John (his copy)]: [Webb, Samuel (editor)]: HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA HALL, WHICH WAS DESTROYED BY A MOB, ON THE 17th OF MAY, 1838. Philadelphia: Printed by Merrihew and Gunn, 1838. 200pp., plus three plates (hand-colored lithographic frontispiece, a mezzotint, and an engraving). Errata slip. Original floral-patterned brown cloth, front board gilt. Neatly rebacked, using the original cloth backstrip. Pages 13-14 bound in before 11-12. Occasional light foxing. Very good.

A presentation and association copy of a high order, inscribed on the front free endpaper: "Presented by the Managers and Stockholders of the Pennsylvania Hall Association to John Sartain." Sartain produced the most striking of the three illustrations in this volume, a beautiful mezzotint showing Pennsylvania Hall in flames, "drawn from the spot." John Sartain (1808-1897) was among the most talented illustrators of his era. Born in London, he apprenticed as an engraver while still a teenager, spending several years in the employ of John Swaine, after which, in 1830, he sailed for America. Sartain settled in Philadelphia and found ready work as an engraver and illustrator, especially for GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE and other periodicals, through which he helped "introduce pictorial illustration as a distinctive feature of American periodicals" (DAB). Eventually he became a magazine publisher himself, with uneven success, though he did publish the work of Longfellow, Poe, Harriet Martineau and other notables. A versatile and talented artist, Sartain was proficient in a number of media, and "his expertise with mezzotint engraving was unique and the rich pictorial effects of light, shadow, and texture he created attracted the attention of Thomas Sully...." (ANB).

This volume was published to commemorate Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Hall, which was built in 1838 as a meeting place for abolitionist activists, and which was destroyed by fire on May 17, a few days after its completion. The text prints letters written and orations made for the multi-day opening ceremonies of the building, with much on the duty of citizens to participate in public life and effect social change. Also included is a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier written for the occasion, as well as remarks by William Lloyd Garrison and other notables. The text of the police report on the riot that destroyed the building is included, and notes that the mob appears to have been motivated by "reports of indiscreet or unpatriotic speeches" made in the hall. The three illustrations, each depicting Pennsylvania Hall, were executed in three different methods. The frontispiece, showing the completed and undamaged hall, is a hand-colored lithograph, and shows the beauty of the Greek-revival building in its urban setting. Sartain's dramatic mezzotint perfectly captures the dramatic conflagration, while the image of the burned-out hulk of the building is an engraving by R.S. Gilbert. Editor Samuel Webb was a noted abolitionist. HOWES W189. SABIN 102228. AMERICAN IMPRINTS 159589. LIBRARY COMPANY AFRO AMERICANA 11001. BAL 21711. DAB XVI, pp.371-372. ANB (online). $1,000

Rare Memoir of a Con Man in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary 22. Stillson, Chauncey J.: PRISON TRAGEDIES. Indianapolis: Prison Problem Magazine, 1926. 118pp. Original printed green wrappers. Light wear to wrappers, else fine.

Chauncey Stillson was incarcerated in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary beginning in December, 1919, and spent fourteen months and twelve days in prison. "He wrote PRISON TRAGEDIES while serving time there. No better opportunity could have been found to secure data and study the questions involved in prison life than was afforded him during his stay in Atlanta....He has clearly shown that any prison system is unworthy of any civilization and that all prisons should be abolished." Born in Indiana and college- educated, Stillson made his living as a con artist, and the first two dozen pages of this book recount some of his scams. A talented sprinter, he boasts that he could run the 100 yard dash in less than ten seconds, and would lure the overconfident into races against him. Stillson was also practitioner of a con called the "Big Store Racket," and he explains it at some length. An adept writer, much of his memoir is an account of his time behind bars: the numbing routine, the prison diet, the brutality of guards, his experiences as a "rangeman," and the way in which incarceration can turn a person into a career criminal. Stillson makes a strong argument for putting the emphasis on rehabilitation, education, and moral structure, and believes prisons should be abolished. Though Chauncey Stillson is identified as the author on the front wrapper, his name does not appear on the titlepage. Not in Suvak's MEMOIRS OF AMERICAN PRISONS. OCLC locates only two copies, at Indiana State University, and the Universite de Geneve. Rare. OCLC 32575615, 718598194. $600

Against the Extension of Slavery, But No Friend to Slaves 23. Weston, George M.: THE POOR WHITES OF THE SOUTH [caption title]. [Washington: Buell & Blanchard, 1856]. 7,[1]pp., printed in double columns. Dbd. A bit of light foxing and staining. Very good.

This essay is emblematic of the increasingly complex attitudes toward slavery and its extension in the years leading up to the Civil War. Weston was a Democratic newspaper editor from Maine who published a few political tracts in the years leading up to the Civil War, including this examination of the effects of slavery on the wages of white workers. Soon thereafter he moved to Washington, DC and became a Free Soiler, arguing against the extension of slavery westward - not out of egalitarian principles but because he thought proximity to blacks would only degrade whites. This particular title was issued during the 1856 election season, and was published again for the 1860 elections, the later edition apparently issued by the Republican Party, who removed the reference to Weston's earlier Democratic affiliation. This tract is part of the general argument - fastened upon by some abolitionists - that African slavery depressed the value of labor, and therefore undercut the interests of white laborers and non-slaveholders in the South. Sabin lists only the 1860 reprint, under the title. WORK, p.289. DUMOND, p.115. LIBRARY COMPANY AFRO-AMERICANA 11091. SABIN 64093. $225

Newspaper By and For American Soldiers in France, in 1919 24. [World War One]: NOUVELLE GARE NEWS VOL. 1 - NO. 3 MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1919. La Rochelle: Imprimerie de L'Ouest, March 10, 1919. 24pp. Illustrations. Large quarto newspaper. Light edgewear. Near fine.

A rare survival of the American military presence in France during and immediately after World War One, this is the third (and likely final) issue of a newspaper produced by the 21st Grand Division, Transportation Corps, of the 35th Engineers at Camp Pullman in La Rochelle. The engineers are described on the front page as "Champion car creators and war winners...to France with the first one hundred and twenty thousand in 1917, they opened the port of La Pallice." A text box on page seven

explains that "this third number, no doubt, will be the last issue of the NOUVELLE GARE NEW [sic] to appear on foreign soil. However, plans are completed which assure the publication of this journal back home in the States as a monthly magazine devoted to 'beau coup' news and views of special interest to the members of the American Expeditionary Forces who have made this Base Section their overseas address for a time." The division was clearly expecting to be sent home soon, and several pieces allude to their impending departure. The text is filled with news for soldiers and officers at the base, including comings and goings of men at Camp Pullman, a description (possibly invented) of the "First and Last Annual Reception & Ball" given by the enlisted men, cartoons parodying military life and the soldiers' adventures in France, descriptions of camp life and of La Rochelle and the surrounding area, humorous reports of adventures by enlisted men, photographic illustrations of the region, and even some doggerel verse. The final two pages contain advertisements for local establishments, including the "Texas Restaurant," described as "the place to visit for a real American meal cooked to perfection" (able to provide chili con carne as well as pommes de terre) and the Olympia Cinema, which featured a "new program of first run American films."

Though without an ownership signature, this copy of NOUVELLE GARE NEWS comes from the collection of soldier and cartoonist, Bill Owen, who drew two of the cartoons in this issue (attributed to him in print) and possibly three others that are unattributed but are in the same style. I have had one other World War One-era title printed in La Rochelle, France at "Imprimerie de L'Ouest", a copy of the American soldier-poet Joshua Bryan Lee's SOLDIER RHYMES WRITTEN WHILE IN THE SERVICE. As with that title, I can find no copies of NOUVELLE GARE NEWS (any issue) listed in OCLC, and in fact only one title under this imprint from the period of the Great War. Rare, and quite interesting. $200