Niesenwurzel, Paul Arthur Amadeus
Doomsday Books
Printed for Herbert Rothchild for members of the Roxburghe Club, San Francisco: 1928
One of 150 copies printed by the Grabhorn Press. Edited by Peter Bissenschwitz. Tall quarto. Pp. [6], 9, [3]. Title page printed in black and red. Handset Janson type, Black cloth-backed gray boards. Small bookplate on inner cover, head and foot of spine quite worn and torn, inner hinges cracked. A very good copy. The "Printer's Note" at the end notes that "The Department of Literary Research of the Grabhorn Press cannot vouch for the authenticity of this manuscript. We are unable to verify the existence of either Dr. Bissenschwitz or Professor Niesenwurzel, and under the circumstances, it's a bit puzzling to account for how the manuscript got itself written and edited." This copy with a variant binding not noted in the Grabhorn Bibliography; normally bound in marbled boards with brown cloth back. [Grabhorn: 113].
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Historic Lithographs of San Francisco
Baird, Jr., Joseph Armstrong and Edwin Clyve Evans First edition. Oblong atlas folio (2x3 feet). Catalogue, 47 facsimile lithographs of San Francisco, many hand-tinted or exquisitely hand-colored (one folding). Light blue cloth. Ex-library. Binding extensively worn, cover nearly detached, cloth binding torn and frayed. Title page wrinkled and tape-repaired. Major damage, wrinkling, tape-repair to first two lithographs as well as to the large multi-folded center lithograph. Some other light wrinkling to other lithographs. Most pages soiled with fingerprints on verso. Overall, a good copy. A massive undertaking listing and collating over 230 lithographs of San Francisco during the 19th and early 20th centuries, with superb reproductions of some of the best examples. The facsimile lithographs were printed full size and hand-colored or tinted to match the originals. The stated limitation is 1000 copies. In fact, less than 150 copies were ever completed. Mr. William Burger has stated that no more than 120 copies of this book were produced (ie: hand-colored, bound and numbered). The present copy is numbered "23." This is an ex-library copy and does have some flaws, but the majority of the lithographs are still in fine condition. This item is oversized and extremely heavy; extra postage will be required. Size: Atlas Folio - over 23 - 25" tall The Illustrated Hand-Book, a New Guide for Travelers through the United States of America. accompanied by a Large and Accurate Map
SMITH, J. Calvin 16mo. (6x3¾ inches) Pp. 2 [advts], 233, 234 [blank]. Steel-engraved frontis, wood-engraved title vignette, 123 wood-engraved illustrations interspersed throughout the text, large folding hand-colored engraved map (21½ x 27 inches). Publisher's light green cloth, gilt lettering and design on front cover and spine, blind stamped on rear cover. Light wear to spine ends and corners, bookplate on inner cover. Light foxing to engraved frontis plate, a few tiny breaks at some fold junctions of map, 3 inch split to center of one fold. A very good copy and, with the exception noted, the map in very nice condition. New York: Sherman & Smith, 1850. First published in 1846, and reprinted with the same collation in 1847, '48, '49, and 1850. Rare in any of the early printings. The large folding map, with contemporary hand-coloring in outline is titled, "A New Map for Travelers through the United States of America showing the Rail Roads, Canals & Stage Roads. With the Distances., Published by Sherman & Smith. New York, 1850" (entered 1846). The important map was first published in the 1846 edition and then updated for the editions of 1848, 1849 and this edition (1850). This fine map includes engraved pictorial vignettes and 4 inset maps. The insets include "Rail Road Route from New York to Philadelphia," "Rail Roads between the cities of New York, Boston, and Albany," "Rail Road and Canal Routes from Albany to Buffalo," and "Oregon, Northern California, Santa Fe, etc." The latter inset (first published in the 1846 edition) is important for showing regions before the Mexican War. The map extends as far west as central Texas. [Howes I: S-614; Howes II: 622; Sabin: 82928; [see] Wheat, Mapping the Transmississippi West, volume 3: p. 267]. Size: 16mo - over 5¾ - 6¾" tall Gold Rush Port. The Maritime Archaeology of San Francisco’s Waterfront
Delgado, James P. First edition. Pp. xiv, 238 plus 33 diagrams, maps and photographs. Appendices, bibliography, index. Tan cloth, gilt. A very fine copy with pictorial dust jacket. Spine of jacket faded. Drawing on excavations of buried ships and collapsed buildings from the Gold Rush period, the author recreates San Francisco's unique maritime landscape, shedding new light on the city's remarkable rise from a small village to a boomtown of thousands in the three short years, 1848 to 1851. "Delgado, a versatile maritime historian, is a remarkable authority on the San Francisco waterfront." (Bob Chandler).- $60
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The Lance and the Shield. The Life and Times of Sitting Bull
Utley, Robert M. First edition. Presentation inscription, SIGNED by the author. xvii, 413 pp. plus 51 photographic illustrations; bibliography, extensive chapter notes, index. Cloth and boards. A very fine copy with pictorial dust jacket. Another of Utley's excellent historical works. Presents the flesh-and-blood Sitting Bull, a leader and a man of great complexity. To the U.S. government, Sitting Bull was a troublemaker and coward; to his people, a great warrior chief. Here, Utley provides a biography of Sitting Bull from the Lakota perspective. Unbiased and historically accurate. Public Libraries in California, 1849-1878
Held, Ray E. First edition. Pp. vii, [3], 193. Bibliographic notes, appendices, extensive notes, index of places. Original gray wrappers lettered in black. Spine a bit sunned, else a very fine copy. Volume 4 of the University of California Publications in Librarianship. Although reprinted, this first edition is quite scarce. Covers social libraries; special types of public libraries; the Public Library movement of 1877-78; organization and operation of the social library; etc. The appendices include the 1863 Act in reference to library associations; an Act to establish free public libraries; rules of the Monterey Library Association; and rules and regulations of the San Jose Library Association.- $90
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Disturnell’s Strangers’ Guide to San Francisco and Vicinity. A Complete and Reliable Book of Reference for Tourists and other Strangers visiting the Metropolis of the Pacific
Disturnell, W.C. First edition. This guide book was published with a map. Our copy lacks the small folding map but there is no indication of anything being removed. In this case, the book slipped through without the map.12mo. [7], 162, [13]pp. Numerous advertisements, including endpapers. Blind and gilt-stamped dark blue cloth. Mild rubbing to spine ends and extremities. A fine and clean copy. A comprehensive tourist guide to San Francisco. Provides an historical sketch of San Francisco and its municipal government, location of schools, the health department, the fire department and locations of apparatus and signal boxes, the police department, municipal buildings, wards and election precincts, Federal officers, the Post Office and Custom House, military posts and fortifications, lighthouses and fog signals, buildings and blocks, halls, the Sea Wall and dry docks, Consuls, banks and clearing houses, telegraph and express companies, water and gas works, churches of various denominations, Chinese missions, associations and societies, asylums, hospitals and cemeteries, libraries, private schools, newspapers, hotels, hack and cab ordinance, markets, baths, theatres, museums, public parks and squares, public gardens, race courses, private residences, manufacturing industries, the Chinese district, railroads, street railroads, ferries and river steamers, steamship lines and Atlantic steamship agencies, routes of travel from San Francisco to principal towns and Summer resorts, prominent localities (from Alcatraz Island to Visitation Valley), etc., etc. Also gives information on Alameda, Oakland, etc. The last 15 pages provides a fairly comprehensive business and hotel directory or "Purchaser's Guide" listing businesses offering everything from Apothecaries to Windmills. [Cowan: p.176; Rocq: 9168; not noted by Quebedeaux].- $900
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White and Doc Original Production Cel and Master Background from Courvoisier Galleries.
Walt Disney Studios and Courvoisier Galleries [DISNEY] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snow White and Doc Original Production Cel and Master Background from Courvoisier Galleries. 23.25" x 19.50" Plexiglas-fronted frame with a 15" x 11" mat opening. Courvoiser set-up of original cels of Snow White and Doc, on the Master watercolor background. Clear celluliod sheet over entire image, matted and framed. Some waviness to whole celluloid sheet, as usual. Overall, a beautiful image. San Francisco: Walt Disney Studios and Courvoisier Galleries, 1937. Rare hand-inked, hand-painted production cels of Snow White and Doc. Doc is warning Snow White to be careful of the Evil Queen as the dwarves leave to go to work for the day. The cels are on their hand-painted watercolor Key Master production background, showing the front of the dwarf's home. As hundreds of cels may have been required for a single scene, only one background was necessary, so master backgrounds such as this are extremely scarce. In late 1937, The Walt Disney Studios awed the world with the release of their first feature-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. With the tremendous success of the film, Guthrie Courvoisier, President of the highly respectable Courvoisier Galleries in San Francisco, saw the opportunity to showcase the artistic talents of Walt Disney and his team. Guthrie believed that the Disney paintings on celluloid that were used to create the animation of Snow White could be sold in high-end galleries and museums around the world as valuable pieces of art. In July of 1938, Walt and Roy Disney signed a contract with Courvoisier Galleries, giving them the exclusive rights to market and sell Disney original art. Guthrie closed his gallery in 1942, in order to help the War effort and manufacture parts for military aircraft, but he continued to market the original Disney cels through 1946.- $42,500
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Guide to Wisconsin Newspapers, 1833-1957.
Oehlerts, Donald E. [Compiler]. First edition. Pp. xiv, 338. Index. Green cloth. A fine copy. A bibliography of Wisconsin newspapers, listed alphabetically by county. Includes over 2,200 entries with details on each such as editor, publication dates, etc.- $90
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Basic Texas Books. An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works for a Research Library.
Jenkins, John H. 1st edition. Pp. xii [2] 648. 66 full-page plates, index. A very fine copy with pictorial dust jacket (top front edge of jacket crunched, spine lightly faded). An indispensable bibliography of 224 books. Each entry includes a substantial critical essay along with full bibliographical details on every issue and printing, how and why the book was written, a full description of it's contents, etc. An additional 1017 Texas books discussed and appraised, and an annotated guide to 217 Texas bibliographies is included. This first edition is extremely scarce, as many of the copies were destroyed in the Jenkins fire of 1985.- $225
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The Overland Stage to California. Personal Reminiscences and Authentic History of the Great Overland Stage Line and Pony Express from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean
Root, Frank A. and W. E. Connelley First edition. Very scarce, and quite rare in this condition! SIGNED by the author, "Sincerely and truly, Frank A. Root. Very rare thus! Pp. xvii, [1], 630. Frontis portrait, numerous photographic illustrations and portraits, folding map. Index, list of subscribers. Original pictorial light brown cloth stamped in black and gold on spine and front cover. Very minor rubbing to spine ends and corners. A very fine and clean copy. One of the most valuable narratives on the Overland Stage. As the agent of the postal department, Root oversaw the transportation of the mails over the great stage line. Connelley was a veteran writer who whipped Root's manuscript into shape. The narrative is packed with anecdotes and details and is abundantly illustrated. "The original is very rare and is considered the standard history of the early stage lines" (Six-Guns). "Root's Overland Stage is a classic account of this mode of travel under conditions of extreme peril" (Mattes). "A basic work about early Western transportation systems" (Paher). A number of years ago, a direct relative of Frank A. Root informed me that the reason the first edition of this work is so scarce is that there was a major flood of the Kansas River and most copies of the work were destroyed. [Cowan: p.541; Dobie: pp. 79, 81; Flake: 7417; Graff: 3562; Howes I: R-434; Howes II: R-434; Mattes: 1908 and 2027; Paher: 1689; Six-Guns: 1897; Streeter: 3117].- $1,500
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Lights and Shades in San Francisco
LLOYD, Benjamin E. First edition. Very scarce, especially in this condition. 523pp. Extra-engraved pictorial title, 18 plates. Handsomely bound in new three-quarter light tan calf, 2 gilt-lettered black spine labels, endpapers renewed. A fine copy, clean throughout with almost none of the usual foxing. A classic account. "Yet the best work descriptive of the familiar and unfamiliar features of old San Francisco" (Cowan). An extraordinary thorough portrait of the city where "life. is intense, and has marked peculiarities." A wonderful book covering every aspect of early San Francisco, with each of the seventy-six chapters covering a different subject: Thomas Starr King, the Palace Hotel, mining stocks, restaurant life, the Cliff House, Ralston, the Barbary Coast, Emperor Norton, Bank of California, the Elite, the police and fire departments, theaters, street railroads, saloons, earthquakes, Woodward's gardens, suicide and insanity, Golden Gate Park, cemeteries, the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, Hotels, charities, quacks, clubs, blackmailing and confidence games, street preaching, Golden Gate Park, and on, and on; nearly 100 pages are devoted to Chinatown and the Chinese. "The descriptive passages on the Chinese in California contained in this book. are some of the best to be found in any reference work listed in this bibliography. They are detailed to a degree which gives them excellent historical value for the researcher" (Hansen). [Cowan: p. 394; Hansen, Chinese in California: p.84; Howes I: L-404; Howes II: L-405; Rocq: 10249; Zamorano Select: 66].- $1,250
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Private Gold Coinage of California, 1849-55, Its History and Its Issues
Adams, Edgar H. First edition bound in the original four parts, as issued. xxviii, 110pp. plus numerous photographic plates of coins, portraits, etc. Original maroon cloth, gilt lettering on spine. A few inner hinges just starting (as usual), previous owner's bookplate and address label on inner front cover, minor offsetting to inner cover, light general wear to covers. Overall, a very good copy of this classic title, clean throughout. This is the extremely scarce first issue of all four parts, originally issued in The American Journal of Numismatics in 1911 and 1912. This work is considered the rare definitive reference on the subject of California's pioneer gold coins, and remains the "central information source for numismatists and scholars." The four parts cover Private Gold Coinage: I, The State Assay Office of California, 1850; II, The Moffat & Co. Issues, San Francisco, 1849-53; III, Various California Private Mints, 1849-55; IV, Pattern and Experimental Pieces of California, 1849-53. [Cowan: p.2; Rocq: 8027].- $250
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At the Sign of the Lark: William Doxey’s Publishing Venture. With an Annotated Bibliography
Harlan, Robert D. First edition. Limited to 550 copies printed and designed by Harold Berliner. 84pp. Portrait, facsimiles; notes, bibliography, index. Purple cloth, gilt. A very fine copy. A history and full annotated bibliography of Doxey's published material. Doxey was a San Francisco bookseller and publisher and was involved with The Lark by Gellette Burgess, as well as many other publishing ventures. Errata slip laid in.- $100
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The Voyage of the Resolution and Adventure, 1772-1773
Beaglehole, J.C. [editor] First edition by the Hakluyt Society. Thick octavo. Pp. clxx, 1,021. 82 plates, maps, facsimiles, many folding. Calendar of Documents, index. Blue cloth, gilt portrait of Cook on cover, gilt-lettered spine. A very fine copy with somewhat tattered and stained printed dust jacket. First edition by the Hakluyt Society. Scarce as a first. This work is volume II (complete in itself) of the six-volume set of The Journals of Captain Cook, published between 1955 and 1974. The first edition of this second volume is quite scarce. What is normally found is the reprint. The Hakluyt Society volumes are considered the definitive edition of Cook's three voyages from his own journals, supplemented with journals of officers and scholarly notes and introductions to the voyages by the editor, J. C. Beaglehole. Our volume II covers Cook's second voyage which was designed to circumnavigate the globe as far south as possible to finally determine whether there was any great southern landmass, or Terra Australis.- $175
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Ford Instruction Book. For Owners and Operators of Ford Cars
[FORD MOTOR COMPANY] Small Octavo. 7½x5 inches. 35pp. Detailed photographic illustrations throughout. Dark tan stiffer wrappers printed in black. "L. C. Firestine" (Ford dealer) stamp to front cover. Some soiling to wrappers and a few internal leaves. A very good copy. Covers it all: Starting the Engine; The Ford Lubricating System; the Ford Engine; Cooling System; Gasoline System; Ignition System; The Ford Starting and Lighting System; Transmission; Running Gear; Care of Tires, etc.- $45
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California Bankers, 1848-1993
DOTI, Lynne Pierson and Larry Schweikart First edition. Small quarto. Pp. viii, 263. Numerous photographs throughout. Appendices, Bibliography, index. Gold pictorial boards printed in black and red. Signature of original owner on inner cover. A very fine copy. Signed on inner cover by Bob Chandler, late Wells Fargo historian. Laid in is a typed letter, signed by Larry Kurmel, Executive Director of the California Bankers Association, presenting this copy to Bob and stating, "This project couldn't have been completed without the generous contributions of people like yourself." Also laid in is a typed letter, signed by Robert (Bob) J. Chandler to co-author Schweikart: ".At last you and Lynne have replaced Ira Cross as THE word on California banking." Bob is referring to the standard on the subject for years, Ira Cross' Financing an Empire. A History of Banking in California, 4 volumes, 1925. From the Bob Chandler collection. Excellent reference.- $90
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[ALAMEDA GOLD AND SILVER MINING CO.]. Stock Certificate.
ALAMEDA GOLD AND SILVER MINING CO.]. Stock Certificate. No. 996. Unused. 3¾x9¼ inches plus borders. Slightly toned. Minor wrinkling to center. Small thin spot to upper right corner, but fine and crisp. Oakland, California: printed by M. E. Mathews San Francisco, c.1877. The works of The Alameda Gold and Silver Mining Company were located in the Cornucopia Mining District, Elko County, Nevada. The company's offices were in Oakland, California. The company was incorporated April 24, 1876. Quite scarce.- $125
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The Pioneers: or, the Source of the Susquehanna, a Descriptive Tale
Cooper, James Fenimore Original period binding with drawings by F. O. C. Darley. Octavo. Pp. [2], 199. Extra-illustrated title and numerous full-page illustrations by F. O. C. Darley. Original blind and gilt-stamped dark blue cloth, beveled edges. Rubbing to corners, light surface rubbing to rear cover. A fine and clean copy. Originally published in 1823, this was one of Cooper's first efforts and the first of what became the group of Leatherstocking Tales. A nice copy of this American frontier classic, illustrated by a very collectible illustrator. Darley (1822-1888) was one of America's great nineteenth-century illustrators. One source states that The Pioneers was not the first American novel but the first that Americans actually read by Americans. Cooper's "presentation of a socially marginal hero as the essential American" gave Americans a reason to read." The Pioneers was widely popular in the United States, selling 3500 copies by noon on the day of publication.- $200
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Official Guide Book – 1940. Revised Edition. Golden Gate International Exposition on San Francisco Bay (cover title)
Small octavo. 8x5½ inches. 96pp. Profusely illustrated with photographs (some in color) ads, etc. Large folding color "cartograph," 16x19½ inches. Index. Slighter stiffer pictorial wrappers printed in color; gray cloth spine. Interior leaves toned. A very good copy with the original folding cartograph in fine condition. First Revised edition. Scarce with the folding map intact. The official guide book for the Treasure Island exposition. How to get there, what to see, services and rest rooms, food and refreshments, courts and gardens, outdoor art, etc. Printed with an Art Deco style cover, this guide includes the large folding color oblique bird's-eye-view "cartograph" by Ruth Taylor showing the entire island and all the buildings and exhibits (keyed by number or letter), with a portion of San Francisco in the foreground and the East Bay in the background. The verso of the cartograph shows detailed sections of the island. First Revised edition. Scarce with the folding map intact. The official guide book for the Treasure Island exposition. How to get there, what to see, services and rest rooms, food and refreshments, courts and gardens, outdoor art, etc. Printed with an Art Deco style cover, this guide includes the large folding color oblique bird's-eye-view "cartograph" by Ruth Taylor showing the entire island and all the buildings and exhibits (keyed by number or letter), with a portion of San Francisco in the foreground and the East Bay in the background. The verso of the cartograph shows detailed sections of the island.- $125
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[ADVERTISING POSTCARD]. Velvet Velox: Single Weight – Double Weight Post Cards.
Real Photo Advertising Postcard. 3¼x5¼ inches. Undivided back. Original silver-print photograph measures 2x2¾ inches. Slight silvering to the photograph. A very fine example. A very scarce real-photo advertising postcard for "Velvet Velox: Single Weight, Double Weight Post Cards, Velox Liquid Developer and Velox Liquid Hardener." The entire card is a "Sample of Velvet Post Card." Addressed and sent (with Postal cancellation) to "Dr. Deal. 22nd and Valencia St., City." The card is sent by "Charles Perry, 20th & Mission St." and advertises a "Demonstration at our Store" from 2 to 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19/'04. We're pretty sure this particular silver-print photograph shows an early San Francisco Bay ferry boat.- $175
- $175
History of Contra Costa County
Purcell, Mae Fisher First edition. Very scarce, especially in decent condition. 742pp. Illustrated throughout with plates, maps, portraits, etc.; bibliography, index to illustrations. Original light brown cloth, gilt-lettered spine. Minor extremity rubbing. A fine, tight copy. Covers early California history, historical geology of Mount Diablo, geography, climatology, Indians, Mexican land grants, early ranchos and cattle, American period, political history, water resources, the Central Valley Project, mining, mineral springs, agriculture, historical and modern transportation, education, organizations, library system, sports and recreational facilities, historical and modern banks and banking, county newspapers, history of manufacturing, towns and historic settlements, etc., etc. This work is extremely thorough and surprisingly elusive for the collector. [Rocq: 1491].- $350
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History of Contra Costa County, California.
First edition. Pp. xiii, [3], [17]-710. Illustrated with numerous portraits. Index. New brown cloth, black leather spine labels. Minor stain to upper gutter of first three laves, else a fine and clean copy. Includes geography, geology, topography, climatography, and historical descriptions of the Mexican grants, the Bear Flag revolt, the Mount Diablo coal fields, early history and settlement, names of early Spanish and Mexican pioneers, legislative history, separate histories of the various townships, population, agriculture, churches, fraternal societies, biographical sketches of leading citizens and pioneers, etc.- $450
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Letter of Hon. Whiting Griswold, in Reply to the Speech of Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, Delivered a Lowell, May 15, 1860, on the Proceedings of the Charleston Convention
GRISWOLD, Hon. Whiting First edition. Scarce. Octavo. 16pp. Sewn. Self-cover lightly soiled, 2 light horizontal creases to leaves, tiny light stain to fore-edge of text block. A fine copy. This speech was delivered at the official proceedings of the Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina. At Charleston, a number of nominations were made, and voting took place to decide the presidential ticket. However, delegates, at logger heads over the issues of slavery, failed to successfully reach the 2/3 vote necessary to nominate a presidential candidate at the 1860 Democratic Convention in Charleston. Whiting Griswold (1814-1874) was an American abolitionist, lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and in the Massachusetts Senate. The following, from part of this speech, says it all: "In conclusion you say you voted for Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Among the chief reasons for this vote was the fact that he assisted Massachusetts in securing her just dues, which she ought to have had and which Mr. Davis if within his power, ought to have Obtained for her years before. Now I have nothing to say against Mr. Davis. Massachusetts thanks him for his exertions in doing tardy justice to our State. Mr. Davis is a man of courage, a statesman of the extreme Southern sectional school, honest I doubt not, and patriotic in his views. But it is a curious fact, that, after the long struggle, so honorable to you, in favor of non-intervention, you should select as a candidate the only prominent statesman, almost in the country, who never indorsed the Cincinnati Plat form, who entered his protest in the outset, against the great doctrine of popular sovereignty in the territories. You may be able to reconcile his course of action in your own mind. I cannot do it myself" (Griswold, Letter of. p.11). [Sabin: 28909].- $175
- $175
A Cartograph of Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. Golden Gate International Exposition
Taylor, Ruth First edition, first issue. Large folding map in color. 16 x 19¼ inches. Printed in dark blue, yellow, green, orange, brown, pink, and purple. Minor creases where folded. A very fine copy. Scarce. Originally folded and bound with the Official Guide Book to the Exposition. This wonderful Art Deco style map shows the entire island and all the buildings and exhibits (keyed by number or letter), with a portion of San Francisco in the foreground and the East Bay in the background. The verso of the cartograph shows detailed sections of the island and its exhibits, printed in blue.- $75
- $75
