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David M. Lesser

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THE FAMILY BIBLE OF HENRY CABOT LODGE, SR. . . THE HOLY BIBLE: CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS: TOGETHER WITH THE APOCRYPHA: TRANSLATED OUT OF THE ORIGINAL TONGUES, AND WITH THE FORMER TRANSLATIONS DILIGENTLY COMPARED AND REVISED , BY THE SPECIAL COMMAND OF KING JAMES I, OF ENGLAND. WITH MARGINAL NOTES AND REFERENCES TO WHICH ARE ADDED AN INDEX; AN ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF ALL THE NAMES IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS WITH THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS, TABLES OF SCRIPTURE WEIGHTS, MEASURES AND COINS; JOHN BROWN’S CONCORDANCE, &C, &C, &C. EMBELLISHED WITH TEN MAPS AND TWENTY HISTORICAL ENGRAVINGS

[Lodge, Henry Cabot] Inscribed on front flypaper: "The Family Bible of John Welland Blake | Then of his daughter Anna Sophia (Blake) Cabot | Then of Anna Cabot Lodge." Bookplate of Henry Cabot Lodge. 9-1/2" x 11". [2], 1080, 72 [Concordance] pp. Folding frontis, several illustrated plates and maps [some folding], with separate title page for the New Testament. Original full heavy red leather with raised spine bands, gilt tooling on spine, black spine label [damaged], corners bumped and worn through]. Scattered foxing. The Concordance has a separate title-page with imprint: Brooklyn, Printed by Thomas Kirk, 1807. Several pages bound in before the Apocrypha for tracking births, deaths and marriages. Two additional pages tipped in to add additional room for family records. Bookplate of Henry Cabot Lodge. Very Good. The Lodge Family Bible originally belonged to John Welland Blake [1761-1818], the maternal grandfather of Henry Cabot Lodge. Blake's direct ancestor was John Howland [c.1593-1673] of the Mayflower; Howland was servant to John Carver, thirteenth signer of the Mayflower Compact. Admitted to the Windham County Bar in 1790, Blake became a prominent lawyer and influential citizen of southern Vermont. He was Brattleboro postmaster [1790-1792]; received an exclusive charter for a toll bridge across West River and Turnpike Road from Rockingham to Brattleboro; and was a Brattleboro legislator [1798, 1799, 1802]. The next owner of the bible was his daughter, Anna Sophia Blake Cabot, Henry Cabot Lodge's mother. It was passed down to Henry's wife, Anna Cabot Lodge [1821-1900]. [Roser: MAYFLOWER BIRTHS AND DEATHS. . . Baltimore: Genealogical Publ., 1992.] Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. [1850-1924], elected to the U.S. Senate in 1892, served until 1924. He engaged in the great issues of his day including, of course, the League of Nations debate; wrote prolifically; and was a powerful force in domestic and international affairs. The great-grandson of George Cabot, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts from 1791-1796, Henry was the grandfather of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. [1902- 1985]. ["Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr." and "Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.", biographies from the U.S. Senate website]. The book contains manuscript notes of family births, marriages and deaths. Births include Henry Cabot Lodge Sr. [5/12/1850]; Anna Sophia Cabot [6/15/1826, mother to Henry Cabot Lodge]; Henry Cabot [7/13/1783,grandfather to Henry Cabot Lodge]; Henry Jones Blake [b. 3/4/1792]; John Rice Blake [b. 2/3/1794]; Anna Sophia Blake [b. 7/2/1796]; Charlotte Smith Blake [4/7/1798]; Frances William Blake [10/10/1800] ; Harriot Barker Blake [9/6/1802]; William Caldwell Blake [7/10/1804]; Mary Welland Blake [3/30/1806]; George Baty Blake [5/19/1808]; George Cabot [2/10/1817]; Elizabeth Cabot Lodge [4/28/1843]. Deaths include: Abigail Blake 12/14/1808; John W. Blake 10/27/1818-19; Frances W. Clarke 9/30/1828; Mrs. Lucy Blake 9/29/1829; William Caldwell Blake 8/17/1836; Hon. George Blake 10/6/1841; Henry I. Blake 11/30/1822; Augusta Blake 9/20/1817 to 2/28/1820; Mrs. Elizabeth Higginson Cabot 7/14/1826; Hon. George Cabot 4/18/1823; Gertrude Louisa Blake 12/1/1829; George Cabot 7/17/1850; John Ellenton Lodge 11/26/1807 to 9/11/1862; Henry Cabot 8/18/1864; and Anna Sophia Cabot 3/22/1845. Marriages include: John R. Blake (1794-1873] m. Lucy Goodhue on 5/6/1816; Frances W. Blake m. Edward Clarke of Boston on 6/13/1823; John W. Blake m. Abigail Jones by Gardner Chandler at Brattleboro 5/24/1790; Anna Sophia Blake m. Henry Cabot Esq. of Boston on 3/23/1814 by Elnathan Allen Esq. [Revolutionary War soldier] at Brattleboro; George B. Blake to Anna H. Blake, daughter of Josiah Blake of Boston, 5/6/1833; Henry Jones Blake m. Gertrude Blicker? 2/18/1816; Mary W. Blake m. Frederick S. Hill of Boston 6/7/1828; Harriette B. Blake m. James Houghton 12/10/1827; George Abbot James m. Elizabeth Cabot Lodge 4/21/1864; John Ellerton Lodge m. Anna Sophia Cabot 6/30/1842 at Boston.
  • $7,500
  • $7,500
book (2)

MR. M.B. CURTIS AS SAM’L OF POSEN. DER DRUMMER IS THE MOST INNOCENT MAN ON THE ROAD

[Strelinger, Mauritz] [4] pp, 3" x 4-3/4". Thick card stock. Illustration on first page of Sam'l carrying his bags of salesman's samples. Short closed tear to blank outer edge, uniform light toning. Very Good. A rare promotional for this immensely popular, long-running play about a Polish Jew who immigrates to America, achieves success as a traveling salesman, and lives a life of ease. The play, 'Sam'l of Posen; The Commercial Drummer', was written by George H. Jessop, and commissioned by Maurice B. Curtis, born Mauritz Strelinger in Bohemia. This little card explains the personality of The Drummer. "The drummer is the only man who dares address hotel clerks by their Christian names. He knows every hotel in the country and every room in every hotel.In the dining room the drummer is a favorite with the colored waiters." The "Drummer's Balance Sheet" lists the number of times he has "Lied," "Left by back door," "Tried to cheat," "Attended horse races," "Got drunk," "Cigars smoked," etc. The last page is a Poem, purportedly by "Chas. Francis Adams," entitled "Poem of Der Drummer." It begins, "Who stops at der best hotel,/ Und takes his Oysters on der shell,/ Und mit der ladies cuts a swell? / Der Drummer." Maurice B. Curtis [a/k/a Mauritz Strelinger] [1849-1920] was a Jewish actor who came to the United States as a young boy. He ran away from home in his early teens and tried to join the Union Army as a drummer boy but was refused due to his extreme youth. He became a well-known actor, performing over 200 roles from comedy to Shakespeare; but he was best known for his character Sam'l of Posen. In November1886, after the Statue of Liberty's light went dark due to funding, Curtis personally paid to keep the statue lit during the week of his play at the Fourteenth Street Theater, earning him the distinction of being the only individual American citizen to pay to keep Lady Liberty lit. Curtis was arrested in 1891 for shooting to death a San Francisco officer, Alexander Grant. Curtis was tried at least three times for the murder, with two ending n hung juries and one with a procedural dismissal. He was found innocent in 1893, but his reputation never recovered. He founded the M.B. Curtis Afro-American Minstrel Company [a/k/a Afro-American All Star Carnival] in 1899 and traveled worldwide with the group until abandoning them in Australia later the same year due to disagreements with the members. Curtis spent several years managing actors before giving up the business. He died a pauper, having spent his entire fortune defending his murder charges years earlier. [Schwartz, Richard: THE MAN WHO LIT LADY LIBERTY: THE EXTRAORDINARY RISE AND FALL OF ACTOR M.B. CURTIS, RSB Publishing: 2017; "'Sam'l o' Posen' Passes Away in L.A. Hospital. . . His Fortune Spent in Defense of Murder Charge", Obituary of M.B. Curtis, Oakland Tribune, 29 December 1920; Erdman, Harley: M.B. CURTIS AND THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN STAGE JEW, Journal of American Ethnic History, Vol. 15, No. 1 (Fall, 1995), pp. 28-45.] OCLC 51322004 [1-Brown Univ.].
  • $450
book (2)

AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, TO CAPTAIN A.H. BOWMAN OF THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS, 16 SEPTEMBER 1850, REPORTING ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WORK ON FORT SUMTER

Kurtz, John D. Autograph Letter, signed by Kurtz of the Corps of Engineers. Written on recto of first page only. Single leaf folded to 8" x 10." [1], [3 blanks] pp. Very Good. The Letter, reporting on construction at Fort Sumter in 1850, is of obvious interest for understanding the military operations of the Civil War, particularly its beginnings ten years later. Lieutenant Kurtz reports that the "work at Ft: Sumter has progressed steadily" during Captain Bowman's temporary absence from Charleston. "The course of brick work on the gorge being now completed through its length. The concreting is advanced to the middle of the North face." Kurtz also described problems that he had encountered: "Walker's Lighter starts this morning for bricks, having been unable sooner to obtain a crew. Johnson is sick with 'broken bone fever.' Mulvaney has not arrived, the two lighters, in consequence, are idle. The Ft. Sumter men are all at work again. Mr. Rabaski is still confined to the house." Lieutenant John D. Kurtz, an 1842 West Point graduate, was assigned to the Corps of Engineers as a second lieutenant at Charleston. In 1852, assigned to Washington, he worked in the office of the Chief of Engineers. During the Civil War, he remained with the Union. Captain Alexander Hamilton Bowman (1803-1865), an 1825 West Point graduate, was a veteran member of the Corps of Engineers along the Gulf Coast and South Carolina. He supervised military construction in and around Charleston harbor, a position he retained until 1851. From March 1861-July 1864, Bowman was Superintendent of the United Sates Military Academy at West Point.
  • $450
book (2)

THE WHITE SLAVE

[African-Americana] Two nearly identical stereoview albumen prints, mounted side-by-side on cardstock. Oblong 7" x 3-1/4." Applied paper title-- "The White Slave" -- and publisher/vendor label on verso. Housed behind glass in a nice wooden contact print frame [not examined out of frame]. Very Good. In each print, a young African-American man is dressed to the nines in boldly checked and striped pants, frock coat, large top hat, and expensive shoes. A young white boy shines his shoes. The setting indicates dissatisfaction with Emancipation and Republican Reconstruction. Many whites, North and South, experienced Reconstruction, not as an effort to elevate Blacks to first class citizenship; but as a reversal of fortune for whites, diminishing their social and economic status, displaced by upstart African Americans. The Library Company describes this rare double print as follows: "Stereograph, possibly published in London, depicting a scene satirizing race relations in America. Shows the dandy standing and with one foot on the boy's shoe shine box in front of a back drop depicted as a wall adorned with broadsides referencing abolition, slavery, and emancipation. The dandy is attired in striped and checkered pants, a jacket with tails, a ruffled shirt, and top hat. He holds a walking stick under one arm and a cigarette in his other hand. The boy kneels and shines the dandy's shoes with his shining supplies and tools by his box. Broadsides include a "playbill" reading "Adelphi. Tonight The White Slave. Octoroon Farce" and an advertisement for "Fast Clipper. Clyde. For New Orleans." Other posts read "No Slavery. Freedom" and "Great Meeting. Negro Emancipation. Poor Slaves." The Adelphi, the Library Company points out, was a London theater; hence, the possible attribution to a London source. On the other hand, the hub of the Clyde Steamship Company, founded in 1874, was New York City, equally suggesting the possibility of a New York imprint. LCP P.2014.29 on line.
  • $1,500
  • $1,500
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TO ADOPTED CITIZENS! AND WORKINGMEN! NOW IS THE TIME TO REMEMBER AND REWARD YOUR ONLY TRUE FRIEND, HIS HONOR MAYOR FERNANDO WOOD! RALLY TO HIS SUPPORT FOR CONGRESS. ELECTION NOVEMBER 6TH. VOTE FOR HIM FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: HE CRUSHED OUT THE KNOW-NOTHINGS, WHO WERE OPPOSED TO FOREIGNERS VOTING! . .

[Wood, Fernando] Broadside, 5-7/8" x 9-1/2." A variety of bold type faces. a few light fox spots, Very Good plus. Wood was a product of Tammany Hall, New York's powerful Democratic organization. During the Civil War he gained notoriety for his Copperhead views, even suggesting that New York City should join the Rebel States in secession. He allied himself with white immigrants, opposed civil rights for Negroes, and fought adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment. Wood seeks to corner the immigrant vote. He is "The friend of the White Man!" Also, "The friend of the German!" and "The friend of the Irish!" Endorsed by "the several German Wood Clubs," he has "favored and protected the religious and benevolent institutions and asylums of all people, without reference to politics, religion or nationality!" Dating this broadside poses some questions: Wood was Mayor at several different times, and a candidate for Congress in more than one election. Although an 1862 date is entirely possible, the broadside does not mention the ongoing Civil War. Wood may have concluded that his anti-Lincoln, Copperhead stance would cost him support. Not located in Sabin, Eberstadt, or on OCLC as of February 2023, or at the online sites of AAS, NYPL, NYHS, Morgan Library.
  • $950
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DIGEST OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE YEAR 1783 TO JULY 1818; TO WHICH ARE ANNEXED, EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE WHICH RELATE TO THE CITY OF CHARLESTON

Charleston Red morocco presentation binding [rebacked, portion of original spine laid down], decorated in gilt, gilt spine title and rules; lettered in gilt on front cover, ' B.J. Howland. esq. | Warden Ward No. 3.' 268 [i.e., 269] pp, page 21 having been printed as '20,' as issued], [1 blank], 36, 21, [1 errata]. Scattered toning and foxing. Good+. This is the first digest of Charleston's Ordinances, organized alphabetically; a reprint and update would be published in 1844. The Digest goes from Accounts, Amusements, Assize of Bread, and Auctions, to Weights & Measures, Wells & Pumps, and Work-House. An elaborate Negro and Slave Code is included, as are an Appendix and Index. II Turnbull 29. Cohen 8744. Sabin 12048. AI 43585. Not in Marvin, Marke, Harv. Law Cat. The following Ordinance Collections, each a separate imprint and collated complete, are bound with the above Digest. They are lightly to heavily foxed and toned. Good+. [bound with] A COLLECTION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE TWENTY-EIGHTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1818, TO THE TWELFTH OF AUGUST, 1823. Charleston: Archibald E. Miller. 1823. [4], 57, [3 blanks] pp. II Turnbull 103. AI 12102. [bound with] A COLLECTION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE THIRD OF FEBRUARY, 1824, TO THE THIRTIETH OF MAY, 1826. Charleston: Archibald E. Miller. 1826. II Turnbull 149. [bound with] A COLLECTION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE 10TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 1826, TO THE 13TH DAY OF MARCH, 1832. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, THE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, RELATING TO THE CORPORATION OF CHARLESTON, PASSED IN AND SINCE DECEMBER, 1825. Charleston: Archibald E. Miller. 1832. 90pp. II Turnbull 262. AI 11725. Sabin 12044.
  • $850
book (2)

DIGEST OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE YEAR 1783 TO JULY 1818; TO WHICH ARE ANNEXED, EXTRACTS FROM THE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE WHICH RELATE TO THE CITY OF CHARLESTON

Charleston Red morocco presentation binding [lightly rubbed], decorated in gilt, gilt spine title and rules; lettered in gilt on front cover, 'John Hunter | Alderman of Ward No. 4.' pp 268 [i.e., 269, page 21 having been printed as '20,' as issued], [1 blank], 36 [Appendix], 21 [Index], [1 errata] pp. Toned, scattered foxing. Tear at leaf 11-12 [first count] costs several words in the Ordinance on Public Auctions. Good+. This is the first digest of Charleston's Ordinances, organized alphabetically. The Digest goes from Accounts, Amusements, Assize of Bread, and Auctions, to Weights & Measures, Wells & Pumps, and Work-House. An elaborate Negro and Slave Code is included, as are an Appendix and Index. II Turnbull 29. Cohen 8744. Sabin 12048. AI 43585. Not in Marvin, Marke, Harv. Law Cat. The following Ordinance Collections, each a separate imprint and collated complete, are bound with the above Digest. They are lightly to heavily foxed and toned. Good+. [bound with] A COLLECTION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE TWENTY-EIGHTH OF SEPTEMBER, 1818, TO THE TWELFTH OF AUGUST, 1823. Charleston: Archibald E. Miller. 1823. [4], 57, [1 blank] pp. Lacking a blank leaf. II Turnbull 103. AI 12102. The 'A' beginning the title is faded. [bound with] A COLLECTION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE THIRD OF FEBRUARY, 1824, TO THE THIRTIETH OF MAY, 1826. Charleston: B.R. Gitsinger. 1838. 63, [1 blank] pp. II Turnbull 402. AI 49658. [bound with] A COLLECTION OF THE ORDINANCES OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF CHARLESTON, FROM THE 10TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 1826, TO THE 13TH DAY OF MARCH, 1832. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, THE ACTS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, RELATING TO THE CORPORATION OF CHARLESTON, PASSED IN AND SINCE DECEMBER, 1825. Charleston: Archibald E. Miller. 1832. 90pp. II Turnbull 262. AI 11725. Sabin 12044.
  • $850
book (2)

AUTOGRAPH LETTER, SIGNED, BY A MAINE REPUBLICAN TO N.A. BURPEE, HIS FORMER COLLEAGUE IN THE MAINE LEGISLATURE, DENOUNCING PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON AND HIS RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

Lowell, William 3, [1 blank] pp on a lightly lined , folded sheet of stationery. Old folds, Very Good. This incisive Letter brilliantly expresses Republican anger at President Johnson and the erstwhile Rebels. Lowell and Burpee had been Whig colleagues in the 1854 Maine Legislature. After the dissolution of the Whig Party in the late 1850s they joined the new Republican Party. Lowell's Letter perfectly mirrors the betrayal Republicans experienced after Johnson became the Nation's "accidental president." A loyal, brave Border State man, Johnson opposed Slavery only because he hated the pretensions of the planter class. After the War, he opposed citizenship and civil rights for the freedmen, and attracted the support of former rebels and Copperheads. Lowell and other Republicans were furious. After some introductory remarks Lowell writes, "I feel, Sir, as the republican party in general must grant mortification in the course of Johnson. He is a base man -- false to his oft expressed opinions of treachery & treason, & the punishment due such crimes-- false to the men who gave him his plan & to whom he owes all that now give him power & influence- now binds all that influence to bolster up the Rebels in their defiance of the government. How easy all the sequels of the war could have been settled after the surrender of Lee. The Rebels would have yielded to any terms to serve their needs; for indeed they expected punishment, & many of them fled & were fleeing the country, to rid themselves of acknowledged penalties. But who among them all, have been punished, or ever will be? It is now with them an honor to have been engaged in the rebellion & the bravest of them pardoned by the accidental Prest. Those Rebels sought "to destroy the only government that had nurtured them, & had never oppressed them by any Congressional act-- always shared largely & far above their fair proportion of the offices in the nation & in laws that in fact were oppressive to the north & unjust in their demands upon us. Yet, we were willing to wait their repeal that we believed 'the sober, second thought' would produce. They all the while demanding more rigorous enactments until we began to feel our rights & our manhood. They, as often before, exercising threats of disunion, not finding us as often before, so flexible & easy to be entreated, arraigned themselves in battle array- believing still, they should bring us to terms & if fight we would, one southern man would be able to whip three Yankees & they to come off conquerors in the end. But how mistaken! With all their pertinacity & barbarity they were obliged to lay down their arms at the feet of Gen. Grant & his hosts. Now, Sir, until they shall acknowledge the authority of the government & submit to equal rights let them remain outside of the Union. . ."
  • $650
book (2)

LOT OF FIVE AUTOGRAPH RECEIPTS FOR HAY, SIGNED AND SOLD BY REVOLUTIONARY WAR GENERAL HORATIO GATES THROUGH THE FIRM OF JOHN & GILBERT COUTANT OF THE BOWERY DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CITY, DATED FROM 30 APRIL 1791 TO 12 APRIL 1793

[Gates, Horatio] Five printed receipts completed in manuscript. Average size 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" to 3" x 4". All printed with decorative border and "New-York, Bowery, "179 / C. Q. lb./ HAY" with variations of "from Mr./ For Mr. / At. " "J. & G. Coutant" at bottom of each receipt. Completed in ink manuscript with year, name, amounts and price. Light wear. Else Near Fine. Receipts include: 30 April 1791 for Mr. E. Williams; 28 Feby 1792, 5 April 1793, and 30 Janry 1793 for Mr. Stout; and 12 February 1793 for Mr. Hillyerd. Revolutionary General Horatio Gates [1727-1806] is credited with the American victory at Saratoga, and blamed for the defeat at Camden. In 1790 Gates sold his Virginia plantation and moved with his wife to the Rose Hill Estate, a 92-acre farm a few miles outside New York City on the banks of the East River. The farm boasted an elegant dwelling, large farm house, barn with carriage house, fowl house, 260 apple trees, 9000 fruit trees, fruits, vegetables, several acres of wheat and rye, and much more. John Coutant [1757-1795] and Gilbert Coutant [1766-1845] owned and operated a store at "Two Mile Stone" in Bowery Village. Gilbert was a manager of the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents in the City of New York from 1824-1826; member of New York State Assembly in 1825 and 1827; Alms House Commissioner about 1831; and father-in-law to Ely Moore, a U.S. Representative from New York. John Coutant died at age 38 during a Yellow Fever epidemic.
  • $1,250
  • $1,250