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William Reese Company AMERICANA ● RARE BOOKS ● LITERATURE AMERICAN ART ● PHOTOGRAPHY __________ 409 TEMPLE STREET NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT 06511 (203) 789-8081 FAX (203) 865-7653 [email protected] www.williamreesecompany.com “BAD HOMBRES” (as some might call them) Fifty Works on Some of the Most Nefarious Scoundrels Poured Into or Forth From America and Great Britain 1. [African-Americana]: [PHOTOGRAPHIC WANTED POSTER FOR AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN MURDER SUSPECT IN TOLEDO, OHIO IN 1913]. Toldeo, Oh. Nov. 8, 1913. Broadside, 11 x 5½ inches. Contemporary processing stamps from the Toldeo Police Department, very faint staining, light original hori- zontal folds. Very good. A fascinating wanted poster for a 30 year-old African-American man named “John Sefears, alias John Leworth, alias Joseph Brown, alias ‘Poor Boy.’” Sefears is accused of murder for gunning down another “colored” man named George Harris “during an argument in a saloon.” Sefears is described as a short, small man from Detroit by way of Raleigh, N.C., with a forearm tattoo and a scarred face. The poster was issued by the Chief of Police, Perry D. Knapp. An intriguing artifact of early 20th-century crime, possibly a unique survival. $225. 2. [Arkansas]: [EARLY 20th-CENTURY YELL COUNTY, ARKANSAS, WANT- ED NOTICE]. Dardanelle, Ar. [ca. 1910]. Broadside, approximately 9½ x 5¼ inches. Small chip in upper left corner, light tan- ning. Very good. A “Wanted” notice from the Sheriff De- partment of Yell County Arkansas, offering a fifty dollar reward for the capture of a Jim Smith, charged with “carnal abuse,” i.e., statutory rape. With a photographic reproduction of the accused wearing a hat and baggy suit, seated and smoking a cigarette. $125. 3. [Boies, John]: REPORT OF THE TRIAL OF JOHN BOIES, FOR THE MURDER OF HIS WIFE, JANE BOIES, AT AN ADJOURNED TERM OF THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT, HOLDEN AT DEDHAM, FOR THE COUNTY OF NORFOLK, JUNE 2, 1829. Dedham, Ma.: H. & W.H. Mann, [1829]. 36pp. Early 20th-century buckram, gilt spine labels. Front hinge detached, cloth somewhat dust soiled, labels slightly chipped. Institutional blind and ink stamps, ownership inscription; blind stamps on subsequent two leaves. Light tanning, an occasional fox marks, final leaves with small patches of damp- staining. Good. A scarce account of the trial of John Boies for the vicious murder of his wife. According to the prosecution, Boies beat her constantly for a period of six months, before finally killing her with an axe that was discovered in his home by the authorities. He was convicted. OCLC locates only nine copies. McDADE 109. $750. 4. Brown, J. Cabell: CALABAZAS. OR AMUSING RECOLLECTIONS OF AN ARIZONA CITY. San Francisco. 1892. 251pp. Illus. Original front wrapper. Wrapper chipped, detached, and spotted. Else good. A vivid account of lawlessness in this refuge for bad hombres in the Santa Cruz valley. After the town was torn asunder by riots, the residents who remained mobile removed to Nogales, where, according to Ramon Adams, they “could keep one foot on the bar-rail and the other on the boundary line.” ADAMS SIX-GUNS 296 (“rare”). HOWES B845, “aa.” $150. 5. Buel, J.W.: THE BORDER OUTLAWS. AN AUTHENTIC AND THRILLING HISTORY OF THE MOST NOTED BANDITS OF ANCIENT OR MODERN TIMES, THE YOUNGER BROTHERS, JESSE AND FRANK JAMES, AND THEIR COMRADES IN CRIME.... St. Louis. 1881. 252; [2],160pp. plus frontispiece and 12 chromo- lithographs. Original brown cloth, stamped in blind and gilt. Spine faded, head and tail with chipping. Contemporary ownership signature on front flyleaf. Mild toning. Very good. The first edition of this account of the Younger and James gangs. The first section is devoted to to the Younger broth- ers, and the second comprises the story of Frank and Jesse James. With twelve color lithographic plates illustrating the bloody fights and robberies of the outlaws during the Civil War and after. Also contains an added chapter to the James Boys section on the Winston, Mo., train robbery of July 15, 1881. ADAMS SIX-GUNS 313. HOWES B933. GRAFF 466. $200. 6. [California Crime]: WANTED FOR THE MURDER OF MRS. ANN WILSON... [caption title]. San Francisco. 1903. Small broadside, approxi- mately 8 x 5½ inches. Previously folded. Small chips at upper corners, adhesive residue along top edge verso. Light soiling from handling. About very good. Pictorial wanted poster for a Charles George Smith, accused of killing a woman in San Francisco in November, 1903. A “sailor by occupation,” the description continues, “His forearms are hairy, anchor tatooed [sic] at the base of right thumb, end of right thumb amputated disfiguring nail, both thumbs seem to be disfigured at the ends, first joint of little left finger disfigured, small scar outer corner left eye, scar left jaw, burn scars on back left hand.” With a mugshot of the accused. $150. 7. [Dean, Cyrus B.]: THE TRIAL OF CYRUS B. DEAN, FOR THE MURDER OF JONATHAN ORMSBY AND ASA MARSH, BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE OF THE STATE OF VERMONT.... Burlington, Vt. 1808. 48pp. Early 20th-century buckram, gilt leather spine labels. Cloth somewhat dust soiled, spine labels slightly chipped, front hinge cracking. Paper shelf label on spine, institutional ink stamp and ownership inscription on titlepage. Titlepage partially detached and repaired. Some tanning and foxing. Good plus. The trial account of a case of murder resultant from international smuggling in northern Vermont during the first decade of the 19th century. “The victims were two revenue agents who tried to intercept smugglers taking potash into Canada. They were shot with a gun nine feet, four inches long. Dean was sentenced to hang” - McDade. McDADE 246. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 16344. $850. 8. Dimsdale, Thomas J.: THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, OR, POPULAR JUSTICE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. BEING A CORRECT AND IMPARTIAL NARRATIVE OF THE CHASE, TRIAL CAPTURE, AND EXECUTION OF HENRY PLUMMER’S ROAD AGENT BAND.... Virginia City, M.T. 1882. 241pp. 12mo. Original printed wrappers. Corners slightly chipped, spine extremities more heavily so; wrappers lightly soiled. Small bookseller’s ink stamp on titlepage, light tanning, else internally clean. Very good. Second edition. “Perhaps no book excells [sic] Dimsdale’s in presenting the picture of the lawless conditions that charac- terized the mining camps of the Rocky Mountain country. The author was editor of the Virginia City MONTANA POST and a participant in the extraordinary campaign against lawlessness” - Adams. Howes says of the first edition: “Not only the first, but textually the most important, book ever printed in Montana.” The first edition has now become almost unobtainable, and this second edition is very scarce. HOWES D345, “aa.” ADAMS SIX-GUNS 596. GRAFF 1086. REESE, BEST OF THE WEST 168 (ref). $1250. 9. [Earls, John]: REPORT OF THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF JOHN EARLS, FOR THE MURDER OF HIS WIFE, CATHARINE EARLS, LATE OF MUNCY CREEK TOWNSHIP, LYCOMING COUNTY, PENN- SYLVANIA.... Williamsport, Pa. 1836. 188pp. Early 20th-century buckram, gilt leather spine labels. Cloth slightly dust soiled. Paper shelf label on spine, institutional blind and ink stamps, early gift inscription on titlepage. Light tanning and foxing. Good plus. A scarce account of an 1836 murder trial in northern rural Pennsylvania, in which John Earls was tried and convicted of killing his wife. “Earls’ motive was the usual other-woman. He gave as his reason for purchasing the poison, ‘to kill mink and muskrats,’ an imaginative variant. He poisoned his wife the day after she gave birth” - McDade. The confession of the condemned follows the main account of the trial, with a separate title page but continuous pagination. McDADE 280. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 37220. $850. Texas Forger and Swindler 10. [Edwards, Monroe]: LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF THE ACCOMPLISHED FORGER AND SWINDLER, COLONEL MONROE EDWARDS. New York: H. Long & Brother, 1848. 152,6pp. printed in double-column format. Frontispiece portrait plus numerous in-text engravings. Original pictorial wrappers. Wrappers worn at edges, torn along spine. An occasional bit of foxing. In very good, original condition. Untrimmed. In a half morocco and cloth clamshell case. Edwards, a famous Texas slave smuggler and forger, based his operations at Chenango Plantation in Brazoria County. He made a specialty of smuggling slaves to Brazil from Africa, and then from Cuba to Texas. Eventually he was sentenced to Sing Sing prison for his large-scale forgeries. In an escape attempt in 1847 he was severely beaten by guards, and then died. “Accomplished swindler, forger and Texas adventurer” - Howes. Although sensationalized, this is an amazingly detailed primary source for the schemes, love affairs, and trials of this Texas adventurer. Streeter attributes the work to George Wilkes, one of the editors of the NATIONAL POLICE GAZETTE, wherein the account was originally published. “Because of the light the slave trade operation of Edwards throws on the slave trade in Texas and the public reaction to it, the general public interest in the doings of a resourceful and ingenious top-notch crook who happened to play a minor part in the history of Texas, a modern discus- sion of his life would seem to be an interesting subject for an article...” - Streeter. HOWES E62. SABIN 21980. STREETER TEXAS 1411 (ref). $3500. Early English Treason Pamphlets 11. [English Law]: [Popish Plot]: [SAMMELBAND OF FIFTEEN 17th-CENTURY BRITISH TRIAL ACCOUNTS FOR SERIOUS CRIMES AGAINST THE KING, PLUS ONE LATER TRIAL ACCOUNT FOR THE LAST BRITISH SUBJECT TO SUFFER EXECUTION BY BEHEADING]. London. 1679-1686, 1747. Publication details and pagination provided in the listing below. 20th-century tan buckram, spine gilt, leather label. Minor edge wear, soil- ing and staining, small gouge to top of front joint, binding broken after p.2 of first work. Library stamp to first titlepage, some short edge tears.