Ferguson, William M. and John Q. Royce.
First edition. Foreword by Linda Schele. Quarto. x, [2], 387pp. Profusely illustrated, mostly in color, including black & white diagrams, photographs, reproductions, text drawings, floor plans. Appendices, bibliography and index. Dark green cloth, gilt. A very fine copy with pictorial dust jacket (short tear to bottom edge). Beautifully produced, and quite scholarly, with an abundance of color photographs, this work focus on and describes the various sites area by area, stela by stela. All three sites were the great centers of religious ceremony, of political and commercial activity, and were the residences and power of the kings and nobles. The authors provide extreme detail on the architecture of the sites and describe in detail many of the artifacts and monuments.
Turner, Frederick Jackson
First printing. Very rare, most especially in this unopened state! 173pp. plus frontis and 2 further plates. [Turner's essay covers pp. 79-112]. Original gray wrappers printed in black. Minor repair with archival material to upper corner of front cover and first two leaves. Slightest of wear to spine ends. A very fine copy throughout, entirely uncut. The epochal thesis of Frederick Jackson Turner (1861-1932) as it was originally published in the Proceedings of the Wisconsin Historical Society for 1893. Considered the most influential American historiography. Turner argued that the open frontier and the moving western frontier exerted a strong influence on American democracy and in shaping the American character, as well as equal significance on our national identity. Turner's thesis had a tremendous impact. This was his keystone paper in which he suggested that "the uninterrupted search for 'free land' and its corollary, the constantly moving 'frontier,' with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating the American character" (Printing and the Mind of Man). [Grolier, American 100, 96. Streeter Sale: 4288; Howes I: T-422; Howes II: T-427; Graff: 4209; Printing And the Mind of Man: 379].
Darrah, William Culp
First edition. Signed by the author. Octavo. Pp. xii, 255. Illustrated throughout with reproductions. Geographical checklist, bibliography, index. Navy blue cloth, gilt. A very fine copy with the plain brown paper jacket. The classic work on the subject. Covers history, types, development, manufacture, distribution, etc. of the stereograph and stereoscope; Civil War views, Western views, foreign views, Underwood and Keystone images, collecting, values and prices, etc. Part II discusses forty different subject categories of stereo views, arranged alphabetically; part III provides a checklist of photographers and publishers, arranged both alphabetically and geographically, a bibliography and an index.
Darrah, William Culp
First edition. Signed by the author. Quarto. [6], 221pp. Profusely illustrated. Bibliography, indexes, notes. Red cloth lettered in gilt. A very fine copy with printed dust jacket. A comprehensive and authoritative survey of cartes de visite, the most popular type of photographs in the nineteenth century. The author divides his work into three sections: The history and diversity of Cartes de Visite; a guide to seventy subjects that were extensively photographed in carte format; and The Documentation and Interpretation of Cartes de Visite. Illustrated with 448 reproductions, this fine work includes notes, a bibliography, an index of photographers and publishers cited in the text, a geographic index of photographers, and an index to subjects. The works of nearly 1000 photographers are covered. Very thorough!
Bryant, William Cullen [Editor]
First Bristish edition. 4 volumes. Each volume published seperatly, one each subsequent year, in 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897. Quarto. 12x9 inches. Pp. xi, 278 + ix, 290 + ix, 287 + vii, 306. Profusely illustrated throughout with 48 steel engravings and a multitude of woodcuts. General index. Beautifully bound in the publisher's full teal cloth, decoratively stamped in maroon and gold, gold eagle at top of front cover, corners elaborately stamped, spine gilt, all edges gilt. Owner's small address stamp to upper corner of blank flyleaves. Just a hint of foxing to two or three ends, but a very fine and crisp set, almost as new. Picturesque America was first issued in America as a two-volume set of books describing and illustrating the scenery of America. It was published by D. Appleton and Co. of New York in 1872 and 1874, edited by the romantic poet and journalist William Cullen Bryant. The works essays, together with its hundreds of wood engravings and some four dozen steel engravings are considered to have had a profound influence on the growth of tourism and the historic preservation movement in the United States. The steel engravings in the original American publication are often found heavily foxed. Our engravings in this first British edition are pristine. The steel-engravings related to California include The Golden Gate, Mount Shasta, Mirror Lake (Yosemite Valley), and Californians Lassoing a Bear. Also included are Emigrants Crossing the Plains and The Rocky Mountains. All the remaining steel engravings show Eastern city views and major scenic sites. Each volume in this set has a quarto, 8-page Classified Catalogue of Cassell and Company's publications laid in.
First edition. Quite scarce, most especially in this condition. Tall 16mo. 6¾x3¾ inches. Double-page map. Maroon pebbled leatherette, gilt-lettered front cover. Tiny wear spot to foot of spine. A superb, very fine copy. A comprehensive little guide for the 1903 tourist in San Francisco, listing places to stay, places to see, where to eat, how to get around, a brief history, etc. Also covers the suburbs (Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, and other areas). This guide is much more comprehensive than the simple title would indicate, also including cab stands, horse races, bowling alleys, hospitals, educational institutions, ferry and local trains, libraries, resorts around the Bay Area, mineral springs, historic landmarks, and on, and on. This is one of those guides that shows up in institutional collections but is almost never offered. Most likely, copies burned in the fire & earthquake of 1906. The Argonaut Book Shop has handled only one other copy of this guide in the last 50+ years, in 1994. [Rocq: 8728; noted by OCLC; not noted by Cowan].
Brown, Marion
First edition. One of 500 numbered copies printed by the Grabhorn Press. SIGNED by both the author and the illustrator; the illustrator has also initialed the frontis illustration. Tall quarto. 104pp. Profusely illustrated from drawings by Jean Williamson. Printed in red and black. Beige linen spine lettered in red, pink boards. One lower corner just showing, else a fine copy. Chapters include the Early Settlers, Portsmouth Plaza, Little Italy and Telegraph Hill, Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Haunts of Epicures, Around the Town, and Rowboats to Bridges.
Corbett, Michael R.
First edition. Very scarce, especially as a hardback and in this condition. Quarto. Pp. xiii, [1], 273. Hundreds of photographs, color maps, text figures. Index of architects and buildings. Red cloth. Upper corners slightly jammed, but a very fine copy with spine-faded pictorial dust jacket. This book is very sought-after. This work presents an unparalleled resource of historical and planning information which delineates the historic contents of the San Francisco corridor along Market Street to the Civic Center and extending to Union Square, Chinatown and through the Financial District to the Bay. Each building, architectural element, etc. is given a system of criteria: Architectural/Historical/Cultural; Environmental Significance; and Negative Alteration. Includes forty maps and over five hundred detailed photographs.
Bugbee, Sumner W.
Frst and only edition. Very scarce. Small quarto. 9¾x6½ inches. Pp. [6], 75, [11, ads]. Advertisements to preliminary and end leaves, and inner covers. Orange wrappers printed in black. Covers rubbed, light wear to upper corner and spine ends. A very good copy, collated complete. Song book for the 1878 Grand Musical Festival held at the Mechanics' Pavilion in San Francisco. Very scarce. In bold letters at the bottom of the front cover, "Not To Be Taken Home." Obviously, someone cheated, thank goodness. There are numerous advertisements at the front and rear, but most of the text block is taken by the chorus and music for the Festival from such composers as Mendelssohn, Handel, Rossini, et al. [Not noted in the standard California bibliographies].