(WALL STREET.)
A collection of 3 Wall Street cartoons in The Daily Graphic
New York: The Daily Graphic, 19 July 1880, 1 March 1882, 27 June 1882: 1880
- $2,800
Three issues. Large folio (20 x 14 in.) Neatly removed from bindings. Fine condition. These splendid front-page illustrations show the great bogeymen of Gilded Age Wall Street during the era of the robber barons. A colossal octopus labeled Corporate Greed clutches enormous bales and crates, its tentacles labeled Central R.R. New Jersey, Pennsylvania Railroad, NY Lake Erie and Western R.R., etc. Standard Oil Co. appears as an menacing octopus while in the surrounding vignettes citizens hold their noses in reaction to the smells of an oil refinery. The final cover depicts the bucolic scenes America s legitimate industries ruined with a large black ink blot labeled Wall Street. In the ink blot a bull and a bear do battle above a broker with a tickertape machine and the words calls, straddles, privilege, and spreads ruin. The Daily Graphic was America s first illustrated daily newspaper. This wonderful trio of large front page cartoons is ideal for display.
More from 19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop
Autograph letter signed to Miss Russell (Mary Howland Russell)
4pp. Fine. Emerson sends thanks for Russell s gifts of $100 each for his daughter Ellen and his aunt s brother, George Partridge Bradford. I wish you all the joy that your two magnificent presents sent through Lidian s hands can reflect. The children have conceived of you as some beatified person walking softly and invisibly to serve clouds of clients. Mary Howland Russell was a lifelong friend of Emerson s wife Lidian and was maid of honor at their wedding. She had surprised the Emersons with the generous gifts. Emerson goes on: Ellen read the mystic scrap of paper her mother brought her with puzzled eyes, & arrived very slowly, & not unassisted, at the meaning. A little additional gravity has marked her manners; but the cloud rises. Emerson goes on to tell Miss Russell that he has passed the payment for Bradford on to his banker and reports that Mrs. Ripley [Sarah Alden Bradford Ripley, Bradford s sister, married to Emerson s uncle Samuel] and Sophy [Bradford s niece] were as much delighted as our children. He concludes, I look upon the whole design as a spell you have read out of some book of magic to add a little youth & rose-leaves to all the beholders.
G. F. Watts
Cameron, Julia Margaret Albumen print (15 x 18 1⁄4 in., arched top). Original mount, titled in pencil and then in ink G. F. Watts. Minor expert conservation. Very good, strong tones. Minor foxing to mount. This splendid portrait is inscribed and signed on the mount by Cameron: G.F. Watts From Life not enlarged Julia Margaret Cameron. George Frederic Watts (1817-1904), the renowned English Victorian painter, was one of Julia Margaret Camerons closest friends and art mentors. Watts painted Camerons portrait in the early 1850s, and Cameron reciprocated with a number of photographic portraits in the years that followed. Watts lived for many years with the family of Camerons sister Sara at Little Holland House, where he was part of a long-lived artistic and literary salon. In the early 1870s Watts acquired a house at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, joining his friends Cameron and Tennyson there. How masterly are her straightforward, truthful portraits, which are entirely free from false sentiment. It is they which have made her work immortal in the annals of photography (Gernsheim). Cox & Ford, Julia Margaret Cameron: The Complete Photographs 828.- $22,000
- $22,000
Henry Clay, half plate daguerreotype
(CLAY, HENRY.) Montgomery Simons, attr. Half plate daguerreotype. Leather case. A classic, characteristic daguerreotype portrait of Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, a dominant force in American politics for decades. He represented Kentucky in Congress from 1806 until his death in 1852, with a few breaks for cabinet duty or a presidential campaignhe ran four times without success. A political moderate, he brokered the Compromise of 1850 that kept the United States intact. A nearly identical portrait of Clay was copyrighted by Philadelphia photographer Montgomery P. Simons. Simons wrote to the Photographic Art Journal in 1853 to discuss this sitting: My likeness of Mr. Clay, which has elicited so many encomiums from the press, and which you have been pleased to criticise so favorably, as a valuable likeness, is still more valuable for having associated with it a pleasing and characteristic anecdote of that great statesman. This anecdote made such a strong impression upon my memory, as being a most elegant impromptu, that I am now able to give it to you verbatim, although it has been several years since it happened. At the time I took the picture of Mr. Clay, he was on a visit to Philadelphia, and the guest of one of his warmest friends, Mr. Potter, who accompanied him to my Gallery. As Mr. Potter and myself were about arranging Mr. Clays drapery, I asked him if he had any choice of position; his answer was, None whatever, sir; I am Clay in the hands of a Potter, let him mould me as he will. Henry Clay of Kentucky had one of the most superlative political careers in American history. A lawyer by training, Clay served in almost every level of government possible in the 19th century: the Kentucky state house of representatives, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and the executive branch as Secretary of State. On top of that, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent ending the War of 1812, and ran for President three times over three decades on three different party tickets (Democratic Republican Party, 1824; National Republican Party, 1832; and the Whig Party, 1844). Despite being a political journeyman, Clays true home, he confessed, was in the House. He served as Speakerand resigned from the Speakershipon three separate occasions, but the exact timeline of his House career isnt as straightforward as we might expect from one of Americas foremost statesmen. The Kentuckian had served in the Senate twice before capturing a seat in the House in 1810, promptly winning election as Speaker on the first day of his first term (House of Representatives website). Provenance: early ink inscription on verso: given by Henry Clay to Isaac Fuller. By descent from the family of Abbott Fuller Graves; Dennis Waters; Swann Galleries, March 23, 2010, lot 33.- $32,000
- $32,000
La Historia di Italia
GUICCIARDINI, FRANCESCO Folio. (viii), 665 (i.e. 657), (1) pp, complete including the final leaf with the Medici arms. Eighteenth-century mottled calf, spine gilt. Washed. First quire reinserted, several leaves restored including lower corner of first few leaves and upper corner of last leaf. A handsome, wide-margined copy. FIRST EDITION. A masterpiece of scientific history, Guicciardinis History of Italy was undoubtedly the greatest historical work that had appeared since the beginning of the modern era. It remains the most solid monument of Italian reason in the 16th century, the final triumph of that Florentine school of philosophical historians which included Machiavelli (Britannica, 11th ed.). Born in Florence, Francesco Guicciardinis colleagues and contemporaries included Niccolò Machiavelli, Girolamo Savonarola, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and popes Leo X, Clement VII, and Paul III. Oliver Goldsmith wrote of him: He was at once (what seldom happens to be united in the same person) a scholar, a soldier, and a politician. This lent him a unique perspective on the history of the powerful nation-state of Florence and the role of Italy in Europe at the turning of the sixteenth century. The Historia dItalia was the first to discuss the Italian peninsula as a unified entity among the other nation-states in Europe. In his celebrated Historia, the first history of Europe (PMM), Francesco Guicciardini demonstrated the interdependence of political events across the continent, ushering in a new age of political and historical scholarship. He was less interested in the facts themselves than in their causes and effects; these he discussed with the perspicacity of a Renaissance politician and diplomatist, dissecting the intentions and actions of the chief players on the European stage and proving that worldly passion, ambition, and self-interest are the mainspring of human activity (Printing and the Mind of Man). The Historia covers the tumultuous years 1494 (the death of Lorenzo de Medici) to 1532 (the death of Clement VII). This period also produced Guicciardinis friend Machiavelli, with whom he is often compared as a political thinker. The father of modern history, Guicciardini (1483-1540) played a central role in the political events of his day as advisor and confidant to three popes, governor of several Italian states, ambassador, administrator, military leader, advisor to the Medicis, and close friend of Machiavelli. In 1537 he retired to his villa to write a history of his times. La Historia di Italia was published posthumously in 1561. Voltaire said of Guicciardini and his history: Italy found its Thucydides in Guicciardini, or rather its Xenophon, for he often commanded troops himself in the wars he recounts. Part of his expansive career was spent as the lieutenant general of Clement VIIs papal armies during the Sack of Rome, and his knowledge of the events as they transpired is undisputed. LHistoria dItalia strongly reflects the experience Guicciardini had while working under several popes and the anti-clerical tone that resulted. Several parts of this original 1561 edition were censored for their anti-papist sentiment and therefore this volume contains but 16 of the 20 books. These censored passages found their way into circulation by Protestant publicists as showing a dissolute and power-hungry papacy (Moulakis, 33). The reception of the Historia in its time was extraordinary. Within 20 years, it was translated into French and then English and recognized throughout Europe as a vital part of any scholars library. By 1600, it was available in at least six translations and had been reprinted, with some additions, ten times. A fine copy of a book now scarce in private hands, lHistoria dItalia is one of the greatest Italian works of the 16th century. Examples in collectors condition are rare in the market.- $28,000
- $28,000
Opus eruditissimum Divi Irenaei
IRENAEUS, SAINT (Bishop of Lyon) Folio. Contemporary blind-tooled pigskin over wooden boards, stained and with some wear and scratches, clasps, manuscript title on spine. Early inscriptions including marginalia and underlining, h4 repaired, small wormhole to last leaf. A very good copy. FIRST EDITION of the works of Irenaeus, the father of Christian theology, as he is widely known. Irenaeus is one of the most important of the early Church Fathers. Writing at the end of the second century, with the authority of direct links to the followers of the original Apostles, he defended the Church against existential threats and helped to establish its fundamental underpinnings. Irenaeuss principal work is Adversus Haereses (Against Heresies), one of the most precious remains of early Christian antiquity. The work comprises a refutation of the Gnostic heresies, then a serious threat to the Church, and exposition and defense of the Catholic faith (Roberts, ed. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies). This is the chief work of Irenaeus and truly of the highest importance; it constitutes an invaluable source of information on the most ancient ecclesiastical literature from its beginnings to the end of the second century. In refuting the heterodox systems Irenaeus often opposes to them the true doctrine of the Church, and in this way furnishes positive and very early evidence of high importance. Suffice it to mention the passages, so often and so fully commented upon by theologians and polemical writers, concerning the origin of the Gospel according to St. John, the Holy Eucharist, and the primacy of the Roman Church (Catholic Encyclopedia). Irenaeus is one of the few really original and creative thinkers in the history of the church He united the ethical and religious, the legal and the mystical, and so founded historic Catholicism To no other Father does Catholic theology owe so much (McGiffert). Irenaeus asserted in a positive manner the validity of the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament), which the Gnostics denied, claiming that it upheld the laws of the Creator God of wrath. Though Irenaeus did not actually refer to two testaments, one old and one new, he prepared the way for this terminology. He asserted the validity of the two testaments at a time when concern for the unity and the difference between the two parts of the Bible was developing. Many works claiming scriptural authority, which included a large number by Gnostics, flourished in the 2nd century; by his attacks on the Gnostics, Irenaeus helped to diminish the importance of such works and to establish a canon of Scriptures (Encyclopedia Britannica 11th ed.). Irenaeus, the earliest witness to the four gospels as canon, played a central role in establishing the canonical Christian Bible. Edited by Erasmus, this first edition of Irenaeus was central to Erasmuss effort to publish the works of the Church Fathers at the Froben Press at Basel. Erasmus was convinced that the Roman Catholic Church would only be fully reformed and renewed by turning again to the Bible as interpreted by the Fathers of the Church. More than any other single figure Erasmus brought to light the ancient writings of the Church Fathers. In the case of Irenaeus, Erasmus crowed in his preface, Why should I not call him mine, since I found him almost buried and have done my best to clear away the dust of ages and restore him to the light? The first edition of Irenaeus is very scarce in collectors condition. No example has appeared for public sale in the past thirty years. [Bound with the following work, which is first in the volume:] (CLEMENT I, Pope.) Divi Clementis Recognitionvm Libri X. Ad Iacobvm Fratrem Domini, Rvfino Torano Aqvileiense Interprete Basel: Froben, 1526. First edition. This work, once attributed to Pope Clement I, concerns on St. Peter and his disciple Clement. The ornamental borders are designed by Hans Holbein.- $7,500
- $7,500
he Historie of Twelve Caesars newly translated into English, by Philemon Holland
SUETONIUS 4to. Contemporary limp vellum (some stains), spine lettered in early manuscript Swetonius english. Marginal worming at beginning, some staining at beginning and end. STC 23423, with Hollands name on the title page. First edition in English of Suetonius dramatic biographies of the first Twelve Caesars, translated by Philemon Holland. This entertaining work is a principal source for one of the most eventful and scandalous periods in ancient history. Suetonius is the first biographer in Latin whose works have come down to us. Suetoniuss Twelve Caesars presents biographies of Julius Caesar and the eleven Roman emperors who succeeded him. He was well positioned to learn about the great events of the day as he served in a succession of posts at the imperial court, becoming director of the imperial libraries and finally Hadrians private secretary. There is an account of Caesars crossing the Rubicon, and a detailed narrative of his assassination; mention of his dark piercing eyes and his attempts to conceal his baldness. Augustus is said to have been short but well-proportioned, with and aquiline nose and eye-brows that met, careless in dress, frugal, and sparing in diet There is a vivid picture of the grotesque appearance of Caligula, of his waywardness and insane cruelties; of the awkward walk, loud guffaw, and stammer of Claudius The life of Nero reveals much about his stage displays and his passion for horses and that of Domitian records his restoration of the libraries which had been burnt down and his efforts to collect manuscripts (Oxford Classical Literature). The translator was the Elizabethan physician Philemon Holland (1552-1637), who also translated Livy, Pliny, Plutarch, and Ammianus Marcellinus. Thomas Fuller, writing in the mid-17th century, declared that Holland was the translator general in his age, so that those books alone of his turning into English will make a country gentleman a competent library for historians. Holland noted that he wrote in a meane and popular stile, using that Dialect or Idiome which [is] familiar to the basest clowne.- $7,500
- $7,500
De Bello Gottorum
PROCOPIUS Folio. 134 leaves. Old vellum, spine hand-lettered. Some worm holes and staining to first few leaves, minor repairs. A very good copy. First edition of Procopius s Gothic Wars. The translation from a Greek manuscript is by Cristoforo Persona. This work, financed by Mazzocchi and printed by Besicken, is one of the earliest instances of a papal privilegio being granted in Rome (see Christopher Witcombe, Copyright in the Renaissance, p. 46). This work is our principal source for Roman history of the 6th century and the rule of Justinian I. Procopius s history is in part an eyewitness account based upon his service as secretary to the general Belisarius. Justinian s foremost general, Belisarius restored Roman rule to Italy when he drove out the Ostrogoths. His unique value lies in his personal as well as official familiarity with the people, the places, and the events of which he writes (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913). The events described by Procopius form an important chapter in the history of the final days of the Roman Empire. Procopius was a person of note, who had obtained the rank of illustrious. As a historian Procopius is of quite unusual merit he is industrious in collecting facts, careful and impartial in stating them. His descriptions, particularly of military operations, are clear and his especial fondness for this subject seldom leads him into unnecessary minuteness Although a warmly patriotic Roman, he does full justice to the barbarian enemies of the Empire (Britannica). Rare: only one other complete copy of this book appears in the Anglo-American auction records since 1916, and there is only a tiny handful of copies in American institutions. Provenance: 1. A2 elaborately decorated in colors, heightened in gold, with initial G, flowers and vines, and e Della Rovere arms. 2. Skene Library, bookplate. 3. Giannalisa Feltrinelli, bookplate and blindstamp.- $22,000
- $22,000
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Manuscript] Circular. During and after an engagement
(CIVIL WAR.) Boucher, James H. Medical Director s Office, 17th Army Corps 4pp. Folio. Very good condition. This remarkable document provides detailed instructions for the medical officers of XVII Corps. The corps was organized in December 1862 as part of U.S. Grant s Army of the Tennessee. It formed the center of Grant s forces in the siege of Vicksburg, which was taken on July 4, 1863. Prior to an engagement, each division is to establish a hospital with a surgeon in charge leading three medical officers in performing the most important operations. In case of doubt, the three (selected on the basis of skills and qualifications, not rank) will consult on the necessity and character of the operation. The division surgeon will appoint an assistant to establish hospital sites and tents, commandeer houses, and provide food, water, and supplies, employing a staff enumerated in the document. Another assistant surgeon is to keep records of all cases including name, rank, unit, injury, operation, and result, as well as interment of the dead. Each regiment is to have a medical officer who establishes a temporary depot 400-600 yards in the rear to give immediate aid. It reminds surgeons, whilst no personal consideration should interfere with their duty, the grave responsibilities resting upon them render any unnecessary expense improper. The document goes on in this vein, establishing hierarchies and procedures for efficient operations. It closes, the Medical director confidently hopes that the professional skill, humanity, and well earned reputation of the medical officers of the 17th Army Corps will be sustained in carryout it out. This manuscript provides vivid testimony to the immense challenges of surgery and medicine in wartime.- $2,000
- $2,000
Le Conquête de l Air
(AVIATION.) 23 x 30 in. Color lithograph. Minor repairs on verso, light wear. Fine condition. This spectacular color lithograph commemorates the Grande Semaine d Aviation of 1909, the first international public flying event and a turning point in aviation history. The powered aircraft featured at the event dominate the center. Surrounding it are portraits of pioneering figures in flight (including Wright, Curtiss, Latham, Fournier, and Blériot) and vignettes from aviation history. The event, held at Reims, France in August 1909, attracted more than 500,000 spectators to watch famous aviators compete in contests of distance, altitude, and speed, all from the massive grandstands constructed for the event. The meeting signified a transition in the public perception of flight. Once an experimental curiosity practiced by a few, it came to be seen as a viable technology with the potential for practical application. This print, a supplement to Parisian newspaper Le Petit Journal, highlights technological advances in aviation history. The fall of Icarus is depicted in the upper right corner, next to two unrealized designs for flying machines from the 17th century. Vignettes show the various hot air balloons of the 18th century and capture the 19th-century shift to airships capable of controlled flight. At the center, the collection of heavier-than-air planes flown at Reims in the early 20th century point to the transitional nature of this pioneer era. In 1903, the Wright brothers achieved a twelve-second flight in their biplane; in 1909, technology had advanced enough for Louis Blériot to cross the English Channel in a powered monoplane. The array of airplanes shown in Reims exemplified this transformational period as Wright-style flyers and propeller-led monoplanes were featured side by side. The debut of lightweight, more reliable engines at Reims also indicated the advances that were to come. The Grande Semaine showed that heavier-than-air flight was proven to be a viable technology full of possibilities. The next few decades brought the first major wartime use of airplanes, the invention of the jet engine, and growth of commercial aviation. Within sixty years, man s conquest of the air had extended to outer space. This is a visually stunning record of a critical moment in technological history, marking the beginning of modern aviation.- $2,500
- $2,500
A Visit from St. Nicholas in The New-York Book of Poetry
MOORE, CLEMENT C. Original brown cloth gilt. A little fading and light wear, light dampstain to a few leaves, some foxing. A near fine, unrestored copy, eminently suited for gift-giving. FIRST BOOK PRINTING of this Christmas classic, which had previously been printed only in newspapers and almanacs. This anthology comprises poetry of New York authors including Washington Irving and Clement Moore.- $2,000
- $2,000
The American Builders Companion; or, a new system of architecture particularly adapted to the present style of building in the United States of America
BENJAMIN, ASHER 4to. 44 plates. Original or contemporary calf. Worn, quite browned and stained as usual. A good, sound, unrestored copy. Half calf case. First edition of the second book by Asher Benjamin, Americas first great writer on architecture. In the introduction, Benjamin notes that the style of building in this country differs very considerably from that of Great Britain and that architects who rely on European publications are wasting their money. He concludes, we feel confident that this publication will be found to contain more useful information for the American workman than all the European works which have appeared in this country. Through his books late colonial details and designs were broadcast throughout New England and there is scarcely a village which in moulding profiles, cornice details, church spire, or farm-house does not reflect his influence (DAB). The plates in this work inspired countless builders, and they have been used to identify Benjamin as the architect of a number of important buildings in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Benjamins plates formed a collection harmonious and almost always in perfect taste (DAB). Benjamins most popular book, The American Builders Companion went into six editions by 1827. A note in the second edition (Charlestown, 1811) indicates that the extent of co-author Raynerds contribution was to draw the plates. His name was omitted from the title page of the second and subsequent editions. Provenance: the early American owners stamp Wm. Cook on upper board and title page. Hitchcock, American Architecture Books 99.- $10,000
- $10,000
Autograph manuscript diagrams and text
GODDARD, ROBERT H. 5 x 8 inches. 2pp on a single leaf. Pencil on paper. Near fine condition. GODDARD S DESIGNS OF ROCKET VALVES. This manuscript contains Goddard s technical notes and three illustrations of rocket engine valves. Two drawings fill the center of the page: a large outline of a rocket engine valve and a smaller depiction of a diaphragm cover. Goddard s notes read in part: For main valves, Ox. P = supply line . . . control valve. For tank valves, Ox. P = tank, B = supply line. The verso has a diagram of a tank valve accompanied by notes stating, Tank Valves, short distance, and diaphragm, if it gains enough travel otherwise use a bellows 35 lbs. Goddard (1882-1945), the father of modern rocket propulsion, launched the world s first liquid-propellant rocket on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, a feat as epochal in history as that of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk (NASA). Goddard had a rare genius for invention and these notes suggest the endless refinement necessary to create a dependable, operational rocket engine. The illustrations and annotations show Goddard wrestling with the problematic design of control valves. One of the early development challenges of launching liquid-fueled rockets was the proper operation of control valves for fuel and oxidizer. Often the valves would fail in tests or during flight with catastrophic results. Proper and continuous operation of the mechanisms was required for Goddard s rockets to maintain flight until fuel depletion. The modification of the valves represents a breakthrough in scientific technology without which the American space exploration program would not have been possible. Goddard once remarked that such research is a never-ending process, as there can be no thought of finishing, for aiming for the stars is a problem to occupy generations, so that no matter how much progress we make, there is always the thrill of just beginning (Almanac, 11). Goddard s contributions to aerospace science cannot be overstated he was the first scientist who not only realized the potentialities of missiles and space flight but also contributed directly in bringing them to practical realization. This rare talent in both theory and application places Goddard as one of the great minds of the 20th century. This manuscript was preserved by Nils Ljungquist, a machinist who worked with Goddard for decades and who often appears in photographs with Goddard and his rockets. Ljungquist accompanied Goddard to Roswell, New Mexico when the scientist received a Guggenheim grant. Goddard spent nearly a decade in Roswell where he manufactured a rocket that exceeded the speed of sound and another with fin-stabilized steering, and he filed dozens of patents for everything from gyroscopic guidance systems to multistage rockets (Time, 100 Most Important People of the Century ). Some of Goddard s greatest engineering contributions to modern aviation and space exploration were made during this exceptionally productive period. RARE. Goddard s scientific manuscripts are extremely rare, and apart from the Nils Ljungquist documents, we can trace no others ever appearing for sale. This manuscript represents a unique opportunity to acquire a document that allowed the father of rocketry to lead the emerging science toward the very possibility of space exploration. Provenance: Goddard s colleague, machinist Nils Ljungquist, with his initialed authentication in ink dated 1973. In the photo shown here, Goddard poses in New Mexico, 1935. (left to right) Assistant Albert Kisk, financier Harry Guggenheim, Goddard, Charles Lindbergh, and Goddard s assistants Nils Ljungquist and Charles Mansur. On consignment.- $35,000
- $35,000
De la Democratie en Amerique
TOCQUEVILLE, ALEXIS DE Four volumes. Near contemporary quarter blue morocco. Folding map after Tocqueville by Bernard. Some browning and foxing. An excellent set. FIRST EDITIONS. Famed Harvard constitutional scholar Harvey Mansfield called Democracy in America at once the best book ever written on democracy and the best book ever written on America. The most influential commentary on America in the nineteenth century, Democracy in America was based on Tocqueville s travels in the United States in 1831 and 1832. Tocqueville came to America to study the American prison system on behalf of the French government. After completing his official duties in the east, he toured the West and the South, visiting Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Washington, D. C. The book resulting from these investigations is generally considered the 19th century s most insightful commentary on the development of our unique American culture and political system. Tocqueville declared, Democratic nations care but little for what has been, but they are haunted by visions of what will be; in this direction their unbounded imagination grows and dilates beyond all measure Democracy, which shuts the past against the poet, opens the future before him. Fewer than 500 copies of the first part were published. The second part (1840) was issued concurrently with the eighth edition of the first part, helping to explain why quality matched sets are so difficult to obtain today. The book was an immediate success, and more than fifty editions were published in French and English in the nineteenth century. For nearly two centuries it has provoked endless discussion and been an inspiration for countless commentaries on American democracy. Finely bound matched sets of the first edition are difficult to locate.- $42,000
- $42,000
Some Account of the Pennsylvania Hospital; From its First Rise, to the Beginning of the Fifth Month, called May, 1754
FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN 4to. Fine olive green morocco gilt by the Club Bindery. Minor repairs. A fine copy. Marbled paper slipcase. FIRST EDITION of Benjamin Franklin s account of the Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital established in the British colonies, co-founded by Franklin with his friend Dr. Thomas Bond. It remains a leading medical institution in Philadelphia. Franklin s Account is a record of one of his and Philadelphia s noblest civic achievements; and from its magnificent opening paragraph to its final moving appeal, it is, in Carl Van Doren s words, an example of homespun splendor hardly to be matched in the English language (Franklin Project). Franklin was a prime force in founding the institution, its first secretary, and later chairman of its trustees. In his Autobiography he wrote that he could remember no maneuver the success of which gave him at the time more pleasure than that of persuading the citizens and assembly to contribute matching funds to start the hospital initially (Miller). Written and printed by Franklin at the request of the Hospital trustees, the Account describes the plan on which the hospital was founded, rules for admission, rules for the choice of staff, and an Abstract of Cases Admitted (Streeter). Provenance: John Camp Williams, with his bookplates, his sale, American Art Association, November 6, 1929, lot 49. Evans 7197. Miller, Benjamin Franklin s Philadelphia printing, 1728-1766: A descriptive bibliography 587.- $17,500
- $17,500
History of the Expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, performed during the years 1804-5-6
LEWIS, MERIWETHER & WILLIAM CLARK Large folding map, one closed tear, some restoration; five other engraved maps or charts. Two volumes. Original calf boards, expertly rebacked and recornered, red leather labels. Browned with occasional stains. A very good copy. FIRST EDITION of the definitive account of the most important exploration of the North American continent (Wagner-Camp-Becker). This is the most important of all overland narratives. . . . American explorers had for the first time spanned the continental United States and driven the first wedge in the settlement of our new far western frontier (Grolier 100 American Books). Only 1417 copies were printed. This copy has an excellent example of the important folding map, which was available at a premium and thus was not issued with all copies. Engraved from Clark s manuscript, this map showing the 8000-mile trek is one of the greatest landmarks American cartographic history. More accurate than any previous western map, it rapidly became the source for a new generation of western maps (Schwartz and Ehrenberg, The Mapping of America, p. 227). Thomas Jefferson had begun the planning of a western expedition even before his inauguration. Early in 1801 he appointed Meriwether Lewis as his secretary, in part, as he wrote the army officer, because of your knowledge of the Western country. Early in 1803 Jefferson proposed the expedition to Congress, and soon thereafter the Louisiana Purchase removed the major obstacles blocking not only the expedition, but also westward expansion. This book includes the first printing of Thomas Jefferson s biography of Meriwether Lewis, who had served as Jefferson s private secretary at the White House. Lewis had been killed (or had killed himself, as Jefferson later thought) under mysterious circumstances in Tennessee in 1809. The expedition took place in 1804-6, but the publication of the official account was delayed until 1814. Provenance: early signatures of Henry and Gerard Walton on title pages. Printing and the Mind of Man 272. Grolier 100 American Books 30.- $115,000
- $115,000
Portrait of a runaway enslaved man titled A Good Likeness of Sancho in the Columbian Centinel
(SLAVERY AND ABOLITION.) Folio (20 x 13 in.). 4pp. Untrimmed, never bound. Light browning. Near fine. This is probably the earliest American runaway slave advertisement to feature an accurate likeness of its subject. Sancho escaped from a Mississippi plantation and was presumed to have made his way north. Winthrop Sargent (1753-1820), who has signed the notice in print, had served as an officer in the Revolutionary War officer. He later became governor of Mississippi Territory and a plantation owner in Natchez, Mississippi. He offers a reward of up to $100 for Sancho s return and presents an extraordinary portrait of Sancho, a good likeness, presumably made from a cut paper silhouette. Sancho is described as a Negro man, thirty years of age, about 5 feet high, very black complexion . . . & a fast walker. He had learned the trade of a Barber and is in every respect a most accomplished servant for a gentleman or a family; was born and educated in his master s house; endeared to him and his mistress and his own wife and children, as well as the numerous blacks of his Master s Plantations, by long, affectionate and faithful services. Sargent suggests that Sancho was so loyal that he must have been inveigled away by some artful villains for their own use. A landmark portrait in the history of American slavery.- $2,200
- $2,200
Autograph manuscript on Elias Hicks
WHITMAN, WALT 4to. One page. Pencil, with a one-line alteration in ink by Whitman. Numerous deletions and additions in Whitman s hand. Original folds, wear and toning. Whitman has written second article in blue crayon on the verso. In this fine working manuscript Whitman reflects on the life of Elias Hicks, a major spiritual influence on the poet. The spellbinding Quaker preacher was a key source of Whitman s prophetic style and poetic vision. Hicks s presence persisted in Whitman s passions of oratory and natural eloquence in the loosely cadenced verse of Leaves of Grass. In the making of a poet s vision of reality and identity Hicks preceded Emerson and outlasted him (Justin Kaplan, Walt Whitman). Whitman s father and grandfather were both friends of Elias Hicks, the celebrated Quaker schismatic preacher. At age ten Whitman heard the elderly Elias Hicks speak, an experience he often recalled in later years. It was Hicks who declared that the godhead is in every blade of grass, a line echoed in Whitman s loafing and studying a single blade of grass and in the very title Leaves of Grass. Whitman explicitly drew on Hicks for his themes of the sanctity of mankind s inner light, nature, nationalism, the working class, and democracy. Whitman called the preacher the only real democrat among all the religious teachers. In this heavily revised manuscript Whitman discusses Hick s formative years in his late years and early 20s, when he was apprenticed to a carpenter, acquired a farm, and was married. Whitman observes in part, Elias had been touch d by spells of serious meditation which led to his assuming the role of religious speaker or preacher. The manuscript leaf is part of an essay on Hicks but is not related to the essay that appeared in November Boughs. This is an excellent Whitman manuscript on one of his most important spiritual and literary influences.- $22,000
- $22,000
Bust portrait of Whitman wearing a hat
(WHITMAN, WALT.) Napoleon Sarony Albumen print (5 ¾ x 4 in.). Cabinet card mount. Light foxing, minor wear to extremities of mount. A handsome photograph. Boldly signed and dated 1879 by Whitman. Whitman observed of this delightful portrait, It is one of my good-humored pictures. This is strong enough to be right and gentle enough to be right, too: I like to be both: I wouldn t like people to say he is a giant and then forget I know how to love. The flamboyant Napoleon Sarony was one of New York s leading portrait photographers. In July 1878 he invited the poet to sit for a group of portraits. Eight photographs resulted. Whitman recalled of sitting at the great photographic establishment that he had a real pleasant time.- $7,200
- $7,200
A Tale of Two Cities
DICKENS, CHARLES Original red cloth (first binding). Joints very slightly tender, light soiling. A very handsome copy in original, unrestored condition. Half morocco case. FIRST EDITION, FIRST BINDING, FIRST PRINTING (with page 213 mis-numbered 113 and sig. b present on the list of illustrations, points that were corrected in later copies of this edition). A Tale of Two Cities is one of Dickenss greatest and most-quoted novels. The force of the novel springs from its exploration of darkness and death but its beauty derives from Dickenss real sense of transcendence, from his ability to see the sweep of destiny . . . this is what emerges most clearly from one of his shortest and most powerful novels (Ackroyd). Dickens was emotionally vested in this great novel. He wrote, It has had complete possession of me; I have so far verified what is done and suffered in these pages as that I have certainly done and suffered it all myself. The quality and strength of the prose is some of the finest he was ever to produce, for example, It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known. This is the best copy we have seen. The novels serialization in Dickenss weekly All the Year Round reduced the demand for the book and parts issues, and thus collectible copies are scarce. Provenance: Mrs. J. Insley Blair, Sothebys, New York, 3 December 2004, lot 140.- $35,000
- $35,000
The French Revolution, a History
(EMERSON, R. W.) CARLYLE, THOMAS Two volumes. Original cloth. Light fraying to spine ends, else a fine set. First American edition. A splendid presentation copy inscribed by Ralph Waldo Emerson to his brother: Wm. Emerson from his brother Waldo. The inscription is in pencil in the second volume. Emerson used this intimate signature only with his immediate family. Page 270 of the first volume bears a pencil correction apparently in Emersons hand. Emerson paid his greatest tribute and service to his friend Thomas Carlyle in arranging for this first American publication of The French Revolution. Thus Emerson was responsible for establishing in America the view of the French Revolution that has molded popular conception of the French Revolution down to the present day (Printing and the Mind of Man 304). The French Revolution is a prose epic, a work of creative genius, in which the facts of history are illumined by the imagination of a poet (Cambridge History). I know nobody among my contemporaries except Carlyle who writes with any sinew and vivacity comparable to Plutarch and Montaigne (Emersons journal June 24, 1840). Maintaining a close friendship and literary association for decades, Emerson and Carlyle served as intellectual inspirations and touchstones for each other. In 1836 Emerson arranged for the American publication of and wrote an introduction for Carlyles Sartor Resartus, and Carlyle returned the favor a few years later, writing an introduction for the English edition of his friends Essays. Emerson wrote in his journal, Carlyle represents very well the literary man, makes good the place of and function of Erasmus and Johnson, of Dryden and Swift, to our generation. He is thoroughly a gentleman and deserves well of the whole fraternity of scholars, for sustaining the dignity of his profession of Author in England (July 12, 1842). RARE: we can trace no other inscribed copies at auction or in any of the major collections of American literature (Arnold, Chamberlain, Wakeman, Wilson, etc.). This is a 19th-century literary association copy of the greatest significance.- $30,000
- $30,000
