CATALOGUE THREE HUNDRED NINETEEN Western Americana WILLIAM REESE COMPANY 409 Temple Street New Haven, CT 06511 (203) 789-8081 A Note This catalogue is our annual rendition of new material in Western Americana accumu- lated over the last year. It begins with French and Spanish incursions into the Southwest and California, with some important items listed by Wagner in his Spanish Southwest bibliography (see Venegas, Villavicencio, and Sales in particular), and such voyages as Marchand and Vancouver. There is a strong representation of classic Western Americana of the Wagner-Camp period from 1800 to 1865, including a great Sam Houston letter, the Gifford and Muybridge panoramas of San Francisco, the Mormon 1846 announce- ment of the proposed move to Utah, the Kendall and Whiting portfolios of Mexican- American War views, and a series of important Texas items. Post-1865 there is the famous Russell “Golden Spike” photograph (see catalogue cover) and other interesting albums and photographically illustrated books (Hayden, [Alaska] Dobbs), a number of Alaska items, and many pieces on the Army in the West. Overall, a broad sample of the story of the American West. Available on request or via our website are our recent catalogues 315 The Only Copy For Sale, 317 The Crucible of War: Conflict in North America 1757-1792, and 318 The Carib- bean, as well as Bulletins 34 Adams & Jefferson, 35 American Travel, 36 American Views & Cartography, 37 Flat: Single Significant Sheets, and many more topical lists. Some of our catalogues, as well as some recent topical lists, are now posted on the internet at www.reeseco.com. A portion of our stock may be viewed via links at www. reeseco.com. If you would like to receive e-mail notification when catalogues and lists are uploaded, please e-mail us at [email protected] or send us a fax, specifying whether you would like to receive the notifications in lieu of or in addition to paper catalogues. Terms Material herein is offered subject to prior sale. All items are as described and are con- sidered to be on approval. Notice of return must be given within ten days unless specific arrangements are made. Connecticut residents must be billed state sales tax. Postage and insurance charges are billed to all nonprepaid domestic orders. Overseas orders are sent by air unless otherwise requested, with full postage charges billed at our discretion. Payment by check, wire transfer or bank draft is preferred, but may also be made by MasterCard or Visa. William Reese Company Phone: (203) 789-8081 409 Temple Street Fax: (203) 865-7653 New Haven, CT 06511 E-mail: [email protected] www.williamreesecompany.com COVER: 125. Russell, Andrew J.: Laying Last Rail & Driving Last Spike. [May 10, 1869]. 1. [Abert, James W.]: REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR, COMMUNICATING...A REPORT AND MAP OF THE EXAMI- NATION OF NEW MEXICO, MADE BY LIEUTENANT J.W. ABERT...[caption title]. Washington. 1848. 132pp. plus folding map and twenty-four lithographed plates. Modern half calf and marbled boards, spine gilt. Scattered light foxing, mostly on text leaves, first six plates, and the map. Very good. One of the great southwestern government-sponsored explorations, here in its earli- est form, according to Wagner-Camp. The lithographed plates, attributed to Abert himself, include views of Santa Fe, Fort Marcy, San Felipe, the Pueblos, Indians, etc., and are among the most celebrated depictions of the region. The text describes Abert’s trip from Fort Leavenworth over the Santa Fe Trail via Bent’s Fort, his survey of the northern part of New Mexico, and return via the Trail. The map is the most detailed survey of New Mexico then extant. Also included are the numerals and vocabulary of the Cheyenne. “...A basic SFT document” – Rittenhouse. HOWES A11. FLAKE 726. RITTENHOUSE 2. GRAFF 5. WAGNER-CAMP 143. SABIN 57. STREETER SALE 168. WHEAT TRANSMISSISSIPPI 532. PILLING, PROOF-SHEETS 2. $2000. A Superb Photograph Album of Far Northern Alaska 2. [Alaska]: Dobbs, Beverly B.: [ALASKA PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM, FEATURING IMAGES OF THE INUIT PEOPLE AND THE GOLD RUSH]. [Nome, Ak. ca. 1900]. 117 mounted silver gelatin prints (two handcolored, three cyanotypes), mostly 8 x 10 inches, with some smaller and some panoramic views. Oblong folio. Eastman Kodak photograph album in original pebbled cloth. Minor edge wear and rubbing. Paper provenance description affixed to each pastedown. A handful of photographs with taped or bent corners. The last photograph, a large panoramic view of Little Creek, with three vertical folds. Very good. A wonderful collection of Gold Rush-era Alaskan photography. Many of the images are signed and titled in the negative by Bev- erly Dobbs. Images by Frank H. Nowell and George Cantwell are also included towards the back of the album. Highlights include elegant portraits of the Inuit, their dwellings, numerous images of the gold rush town of Nome, walrus hunting, gold mining claims and the assay process, and images of the vast Alaskan landscape. According to the paper label affixed to the pastedowns, the album was assembled around 1900 by Arthur Kah of Sidney, Ohio. Kah moved to Alaska to operate the Gold Assay Headquarters, a company that worked in Nome to determine the weight of gold dust and nuggets brought in by gold miners for evaluation. An exceptional album illustrating the rough-hewn nature of Nome and its sur- roundings at a pivotal time in Alaska’s development and history. $9000. 3. [Alaska]: [EARLY ALASKA AND YUKON TERRITORY PHO- TOGRAPH ALBUM]. [N.p. ca. 1910]. Sixteen gelatin prints, each ap- proximately 3¼ x 5¼ inches. Gray paper-covered boards, string-bound, gilt on front cover. Light surface wear to the photos, creasing to some corners, else in excellent condition. A lovely collection of vernacular photography from a highly interesting period of Alaskan history, chronicling the territory in the years just after the Klondike Gold Rush. Subjects of the individual photographs include sled dogs, a harbor scene, a great street scene on the occasion of a patriotic parade, miners at work on a large sluice, fishermen and their boat, a couple of shots featuring the Yukon steamboat Selkirk, an early automobile, campers, Native Americans, a log house, a street scene showing log buildings, and more. From the types of vehicles shown, the images date from the early 20th century, no earlier than 1905, since the Arcade Cafe fea- tured in one of the photos opened then; and no later than 1920, since the Selkirk steamboat sank in that year. $1000. 4. [Alaska]: [EARLY ALASKA AND YUKON TERRITORY PHOTO- GRAPH ALBUM]. [N.p. ca. 1910]. Twenty-six small silver gelatin prints, each approximately 2¼ x 3 inches to 4¼ x 3¼ inches. Small photograph album bound in full black calf, photographs pasted in. Some edge wear, spine head chipped, front joint split. Some photographs unevenly trimmed, most loose. In very good condition. An outstanding collection of early Alaskan vernacular photography. Images include Indian totem poles, several shots of a family in winter dress, snow-capped mountains, scenic forests, lake or harbor scenes, glaciers, icebergs, and more. Well-composed photos, obviously by a photographer with an artist’s eye, including rare views of native totems. $1250. 5. [Alaska]: [SMALL ARCHIVE OF PHOTOGRAPHS, MAPS, BUSI- NESS AGREEMENTS, AND A LETTER, RELATING TO THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CHICKALOON COAL MINING COM- PANY OF ALASKA]. [Various places in Alaska & California. 1917-1920]. Includes one large colored folding map, 20 x 40 inches; three folding blueprint maps (two of them 13½ x 21½ inches, the third 9¼ x 13 inches); a folding cross-section; four photographs (three of them 3¼ x 5 inches, mounted to card – one a cyanotype); three folding printed legal documents; a [2]pp. typed letter, signed, to the manager of the company; and a pamphlet on coal mining (see below). Large map with stains in margins, small areas of separation at cross-folds. Other items with light wear. Overall, very good. An interesting archive relating to the early operations of the Chickaloon Coal Com- pany of Chickaloon, Alaska. Chickaloon, located some seventy-five miles up the Matanuska River from Anchorage, remains an area of interest to those who would mine coal there. The company was founded in 1917 by a Californian who leased the land for his mines from the federal government. The collection documents the formation of the company and its capitalization, and includes maps of the area. The largest of the maps is a USGS “Topographical Map of Lower Matanuska Valley Alaska,” dated 1918 and based on surveys done in 1909 and 1913. The location of the “Anthracite Ridge” is printed on the maps, and lots 10, 11, and 12 of the Chickaloon Coal Company are highlighted in red ink, as are a couple other areas of concern to the company. The two larger blueprint maps show the progress of prospecting in Leasing Unit No. 11, one of them corrected to April 7, 1918, the other to June 1, 1918, with shading showing the work done in various months. The smaller blueprint map, dated June 13, 1918, shows the proposed wagon road from Chickaloon to King River. The cross-section shows the “folding of measures” in the Chickaloon area. The three printed legal documents were all executed in California. The ear- liest is dated 1917 and early 1918, being an indenture describing the actions of Lars Netland of Oakland and his wife, in leasing coal land in Alaska from the U.S. government. The second document, dated Feb. 15, 1918, records the loan of $4000 by M.J. Fontana to the Chickaloon Coal Company in return for stock in the company.