• Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Alken (Henry). Sporting Notions, first edition, T.McLean, 1832-33. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Bardi (Lorenzo). Nuova Raccolta delle piu interessanti Vedute della Citta di Firenze…, Florence, Lorenzo Bardi, [c.1840]. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Crawfurd (John). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava..., first edition, 1829. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Dawe (George, engraver). The Life of a Nobleman, first edition, Geo. Henderson, [c.1825]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: [Doyle (John)], "H.B.". Political Sketches &c., 10 vol. including The Descriptive Key to H.B., Thomas McLean, [1829-51]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Eben (Adolphus Christian Frederick, Baron von) and Nicolaus Heideloff. Modèles de l'Uniforme Militaire Adopté dans l'Armée Royale de Suède, Rudolph Ackerman, 1808. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Geissler (J.G.G.) and Friedrich Hempel. Mahlerische Darstellungen der Sitten, Gebrauche und Lustbarkeiten bey den Russischen, Tartarischen…, 4 parts in 1, Leipzig and Paris, [1804]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Hunt (Charles). Portraits of Winning Horses...of the Derby, Oaks, & St. Leger, from the Year 1842 to 1849…, Rock Brothers & Payne, 1849. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Kunike (Adolf Friedrich). Zwey hundert und sechzig Donau-Ansichten nach dem Laufe des Donaustromes…, Vienna, Leopold Grund, 1826. £3,000 to £5,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Lasinio (Carlo). [Matrimony], Florence, 1790. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Reinhardt (Joseph). A Collection of Swiss Costumes, in Miniature, second English edition, James Goodwin, [1828]. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Wengen (Gottfried Durst von). Die Öffentliche Maskerade Bamberg am Fastnachts-Montage 1833…, Bamberg, [1833]. £2,000 to £3,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2017 Issue

Women, African Americana, and Other Items Odd and Wondrous from Langdon Manor Books

Odd and Wondrous.

Langdon Manor Books has issued their Catalog 2, Women, African Americana, and Other Items Odd and Wondrous. Langdon Manor describes their specialty as "the extraordinary history of the every day." That is a perfect description of the fascinating material you will find. It consists of photo albums, manuscripts, posters, books, rarely by famous people, but by regular folks. Still, the history is "extraordinary" as we find them in historic settings. Photo albums cover regular people but during wartime, sent overseas to put their lives on the line for their country. There are photo albums of black families in the early 20th century, remarkable people who managed successful lives under the enormous pressure of Jim Crow laws and other forms of discrimination. Ordinary Japanese American families created photo albums of their lives during wartime – in American detention camps. Posters and pamphlets express the sentiments of the oppressed, while others reflect the views of their oppressors. Gays express their pride in a time when society tried to fill them with shame. Women fight for equal rights. Ordinary people lived extraordinary lives, and this catalogue captures a few of them. Here are a few samples.

 

We begin with a story that personifies extraordinary, ordinary people, and "items odd and wondrous." Henry Wiegman had his 15 minutes of fame in the 1920's when his story spread through the press. Wiegman was born without arms, and with undeveloped feet. He didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself. He wanted to be an artist and learned to manipulate a brush and other tools, at first by pinning them between his shoulder and cheek, and then with his teeth. His skills were such that even as a boy he was able to make a good deal of money with traveling circuses. He even caught the attention of President Coolidge, who wrote him, in perhaps not the most tactful manner, "it is better to be a good boy without arms than to have arms which are always getting one into mischief." Still, the circus life was not his dream. He wanted arms, and at the age of 12, he went to a surgeon. The doctor discovered bone stubs under his skin, whose position he adjusted so that small artificial arms could be attached. While these were not sufficient for painting, he was able to use them to type and feed himself. Item 1 is a 182-page photo album with over 1,000 photographs compiled by Lucy Duco. She was a dwarf. The two fell in love and married, and what this album reveals is an upbeat, happy couple, engaged in all sorts of fun activities. They became officers of the Opportunity Guild for Shut-ins which helped handicapped people in the Chicago area live normal lives, along with providing lots of recreational activities. This album covers the years 1947-1948 and it shows a loving couple living a happy and exciting life despite the enormous challenges life presented them. Priced at $3,000.

 

Next is a report detailing the difficulties of people who lived difficult lives – African American tobacco workers during the Depression. Item 9 is a typescript of A First Full Draft of the Report on The Tobacco Worker. A Study of Tobacco Factory Workers and their families for the Industrial Studies Section, Division of Review NRA. This NRA was not the National Rifle Association but the National Recovery Association. The report was created in 1935 by Charles S. Johnson. Johnson was an African American sociologist and civil rights worker, later first black President of Fisk University, who was able to obtain funding from white philanthropists to study the effects of Jim Crow laws on black communities. Johnson wrote of black workers that they lived in "small, bare, gloomy structures," and that whites were paid 30% more for the same labor. He also found that the black workers were not fond of the NRA, quoting one as saying, "The NRA ain't done us no big favor because we works ourselves to death." Perhaps comments like this led the Roosevelt administration to refuse to publish the report. The result is that the only other copy located is one in the National Archives. $2,350.

 

The institutionalized racism that pervaded America, particularly the South, would finally be challenged significantly with the school desegregation case of 1954, leading to the most turbulent era of the civil rights movement – the 1960's. Not many whites in the South dared to take a principled stand, and the number of public officeholders who did was negligible. Richmond Flowers, Sr., was a notable exception. Flowers was an old law school friend of the man who came to symbolize segregation in that era more than anyone else, George Wallace. The friends ran for office in their home state of Alabama in 1962, Wallace for Governor, Flowers for Attorney General. Both ran on a segregationist platform. However, they parted ways when federal courts ordered the schools desegregated, and the President sent troops to back up that order. When Wallace famously stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama to deny entrance to two black students who first integrated the university, Flowers called for obedience to federal law. He went on to prosecute several cases against the Klan and others, and attempted to gain a conviction in one of the most notable of the murder cases of the era, that of Viola Liuzzo. It was a hopeless case in Alabama state courts at that time, though the defendants were later convicted of civil rights violations in federal court. In 1966, Flowers ran for governor as Alabama law at the time prevented Wallace from succeeding himself. Wallace ran his wife instead and she, not surprisingly, soundly defeated Flowers, his political career over. Flowers would later be convicted of taking bribes while in office and eventually was pardoned by President Carter. He maintained his innocence and claimed the prosecution was punishment for his desegregation efforts. Item 12 is a typed letter signed by Flowers, dated June 17, 1963. It is a response to a letter from a Georgia newspaper editor thanking Flowers for his courageous stand in the University of Alabama case. Flowers writes in appreciation, "When a man speaks from his heart with determination to take a stand that he believes to be beneficial to his people, it is indeed warming to know there are those who support his attitude." $175.

 

From taking a stand for decency, we transition to hate and bigotry at its worst. J. B. Stoner was a Georgia lawyer, Klansman, leader of the National States Rights Party and other such organizations, and perennial political candidate who drew 5% or 10% of the vote in statewide races, but never came close to winning. In his legal capacity he defended James Earl Ray during his prosecution for the assassination of Martin Luther King. Stoner was a suspect in many killings himself but was never charged until 1977, when he was charged and convicted of the Bethel Baptist Church bombing twenty years earlier. Item 25 is a handbill circa 1986-87 under Stoner's name as "Leader Crusade Against Corruption" out of Marietta, Georgia. It is headed, Praise God For Aids. He handed it out in January 1987 during a civil rights march in Forsythe County. In it, Stoner claims God is intervening through the the use of aids "to rescue and protect the White race." The racial connection to aids, rather than just typical gay-bashing, is unusual, but Stoner manages a way to connect it to his long-time racism and anti-Semitism. He explains, "Aids is a racial disease of jews and negroids that also exterminates sodomites." He continues with his medical expertise, saying, "Whites are mostly immune from Aids so long as they stay away from those three Aids high risk groups." Therefore, logically, the way to protect whites from aids is keep these groups "Segregated far away from us White people..." $350.

 

This next piece provides a more positive look at African Americans in the 1950s. Item 44 is three contact sheets of photographs, each with nine images. All but one of the 27 images feature African American women models standing next to Buicks. We can date the photographs by the Buicks – they appear to be 1954 models. The photographs were taken by Cecil Layne, who served as President of the Negro Press Photographers' Association. His work is held at the Smithsonian, Library of Congress, and New York Public Library. Langdon Manor was unable to ascertain whether the photographs were ever used in an advertising campaign, but if they were, it would have been limited to African American media in those days. $175.

 

Langdon Manor Books may be reached at 713-443-4697 or LangdonManorBooks@gmail.com. Their website is found at langdonmanorbooks.com

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions