David Lesser, one of the Grand old Men of the ABAA recently made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. It was smart, efficient and encouraging. He created a custom electronic catalogue-tte of 16 items relating to upstate New York.  It was all meat, no fat or bone.

 

It worked for me because he looked at his database from my perspective. I look for Hudson Valley obscurities. He then selected them and sent me an email.

 

As a collector I regularly receive offers.  Most of them are embedded in dealer catalogues. You read through them with no clear expectation to find something relevant. In any event you come away informed about the market. They are always interesting. In fact I found an obscure Joel Munsell imprint in a recent George S. MacManus catalogue and bought it immediately.

 

But what made the Lesser Catalogue unusual, every item was a solid fit. The material and the prices made sense.

 

I’m writing about this today because, while the market has increasingly become auction dominated, my experience continues to affirm that the dealer’s place in collectable paper is vital.

 

For those dealers who have deep inventories and client lists, David Lessor’s approach to put himself in a collector’s shoes, then developing a well described list, in effect creating a custom catalogue for me, worked for both of us.

 

I believe collectors and institutions appreciate this type of effort.

 

Here is Mr. Lessor’s catalogue.

 

  

1.  Burr, David H.: BURR'S MAP OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. New York: J.H. Colton, [1838]. 16mo cloth, with title stamped in gilt on front board. Folding pocket map, in full period color. 15.5" x 13." Near Fine [pinsize closed split at a fold intersection with no loss]. Insets of the Hudson River Valley and Niagara River are included.  (21432)                        $850.00

 

2.  Democratic Republican Young Men of the County of Columbia: HUDSON GAZETTE,--- EXTRA. PROCEEDINGS OF THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN YOUNG MEN'S CONVENTION OF THE COUNTY OF COLUMBIA. [Hudson, N.Y.?: 1834]. 18pp. Caption title [as issued]. Disbound [loosened]; trimmed closely at the bottom margin, shaving a few letters on pages 13 and 17. Good+.

         

     The first five pages list the delegates by County, in four columns per page. These loyal Democrats advise "that our confidence in the integrity and ability of Andrew Jackson, has increased, with the violence and rancor of the opponents of his administration." His exercise of the veto, particularly of the rechartering of the Bank of the United States, is applauded. That veto, with Jacksonian monetary policies, has had a most beneficial effect on the banking and commerce of the Union.

OCLC 318607893 [2- Syracuse U., U NE] [as of November 2015].  (28148)                $125.00

 

3.  Depew, Chauncey M. DePew: ARGUMENT OF CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW, GENERAL COUNSEL NEW YORK CENTRAL & HUDSON RIVER RAILROAD COMPANY, BEFORE ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RAILROADS, LEGISLATURE STATE OF NEW YORK, IN OPPOSITION TO THE BILLS PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF A BOARD OF RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS. MARCH 16, 1881. Chicago: The Jno. B. Jeffrey Print, 1882. 32pp, stitched. Lightly tanned, minor dustsoiling of outer leaves. Else Very Good.   (29230)                       $45.00

 

4.  [Eaton, Amos?]: EATON'S GEOLOGICAL NOTE BOOK, FOR THE TROY CLASS OF 1841. 1841. 13pp, Disbound. Caption title [as issued], light to moderate fox, light to moderate wear, two pages of hand-colored illustrations, Good.

 

     Eaton's life is sketched in DAB, with emphasis on his role in the development of the science of geology in New York.

Not in Sabin, AI, Eberstadt, Decker.  (11840)                         $150.00

 

5.  Election of 1840: TROY DAILY MAIL - EXTRA. TUESDAY, DEC. 15, 1840. ELECTORAL CANVASS OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, OF THE ELECTION HELD IN 1840. [Troy: 1840]. Elephant folio. Broadside, 26.5" x 21". Caption title [as issued], top margin trimmed closely but not into text. Printed in seven columns, with large chart. Light foxing along folds. Very Good.

 

     Texts and tables, votes for 1840 presidential electors, by County.

  (20469)                             $250.00

 

6.  [Green, Henry G.]: CONFESSION OF HENRY G. GREEN, WHO WAS EXECUTED FOR THE MURDER OF HIS WIFE,  AT TROY, N.Y., ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1845, AS GIVEN TO THE REV. ROBERT. L. VAN KLEECK, RECTOR OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, TROY; AND THE REV. GEORGE C. BALDWIN, PASTOR OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, TROY; WITH THE SENTENCE BY JUDGE PARKER. PUBLISHED BY R. ROSE, UNDER SHERIFF, AND F. BELCHER, 25 RIVER-ST., TROY. Troy, N.Y.: From the Press of N. Tuttle, 1845. 12pp. Disbound, untrimmed, foxed. Good+.

 

     "Green, twenty-two years old, met his wife, Mary Ann Wyatt, eighteen years old, during some temperance lectures. They had been married less than a week when he poisoned her with arsenic at Berlin, New York. The crime seems to have been induced by his mother's disapproval of his wife" [McDade].

 

     Green makes his confession to Reverend Van Kleeck; he urges other "young men to lead a Christian life." Sentencing him to death, Judge Parker expresses astonishment: "Was it ever known that so interesting and holy a relation as that of man and wife, has been followed thus soon by a result so shocking and painful to all the feelings of our nature?"

 

McDade 384. AI 45-2845 [4]. OCLC records seven locations under several accession numbers as of March 2023.

  (39158)                             $450.00

 

7.  [Hudson River Disaster]: THE GREAT DROWNING ACCIDENT ON THE HUDSON AT ALBANY. JUNE 25TH, WHEN SIX YOUNG PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES. [Albany?: 1889]. Illustrated folio broadside, 6-1/2" x 12." Old horizontal fold [narrowly browned] reinforced on blank verso. Portraits of four victims, surrounding a sketch of "The Tug and Boat after the Pleasure Party was Thrown in the River." Good+ or so.

 

     The New York Times story on June 26, 1889, led with this headline: "RUN DOWN BY A TUG.; SIX PERSONS DROWNED IN THE HUDSON LAST NIGHT." The Wheeling Register's  June 27 story explained that the boating party, rowing on the Hudson, was run down by a tug. The broadside depicts Maggie Horner, Maud Horner, John J. Mattimore, and Edward Cote, all from the Albany area. The tug is depicted leaving the scene of the crime -- a broken boat, drowning passengers in its wake.

Not located on OCLC, or the online AAS site as of October 2021.

  (37837)                             $450.00

 

8.  Hunter, R[obert] M. T.: THE DEMOCRATIC DEMONSTRATION AT POUGHKEEPSIE. SPEECH OF HON. R.  M. T. HUNTER. [New York?: 1856]. 16pp. Caption title [as issued], disbound. Light tanning, Very Good.

 

     Hunter, the powerful Virginia Senator, provides New York Democrats with "the Southern view" of the "disturbing question of African Slavery." Hunter justifies slavery as a positive good, opposes a ban on slavery in the western territories, and denounces Northerners who have "pronounced sentence of outlawry upon Southern slavery." He reminds his fellow Democrats that "the Constitution of the United States recognizes the legality of the institution of Slavery."

OCLC 26228632 [13]. Not in LCP.  (22537)                             $100.00

 

9.  Hunter, R[obert] M. T.: SPEECH OF HON. R. M. T. HUNTER, OF VIRGINIA, BEFORE THE DEMOCRATIC MASS MEETING, AT POUGHKEEPSIE, ON OCTOBER 1, 1856. New York: Printed by J.W. Bell, Daily News Job Office, 1856. 14pp, [2 blank] pp. Disbound, printed in double columns. Leaves clipped closely at top edges with occasional page number missing, and slightly affecting portions of several letters on two leaves. Tear to blank lower forecorner of title leaf, lightly worn. Good+.

 

     Hunter, the powerful Virginia Senator, provides New York Democrats with "the Southern view" of the "disturbing question of African Slavery." Hunter justifies slavery as a positive good, opposes a ban on slavery in the western territories, and denounces Northerners who have "pronounced sentence of outlawry upon Southern Slavery." He reminds his fellow Democrats that "the Constitution of the United States recognizes the legality of the institution of Slavery."

OCLC 6018223 [6]. Not in LCP.  (22536)                   $100.00

 

10.  [New York Volunteer Militia]: MUSTER ROLL OF CAPTAIN B.M. VAN VOAST, C COMPANY, IN THE 30TH REGIMENT, NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER MILITIA COMMANDED BY COLONEL EDWARD FRISBY ORGANIZED UNDER A LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE EMBODYING AND EQUIPMENT OF A VOLUNTEER MILITIA, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENSE," PASSED APRIL 16, 1861; AND CALLED INTO THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY THE PRESIDENT... [Troy, New York: 1861]. Broadsheet, 16.5" x 20". Printed muster roll for Company C, completed in manuscript in several columns: names of soldiers, rank, age, enlistment information, period of enlistment [all for two years], number of miles to place of rendezvous, and remarks. Certified and signed by Barent M. Van Voast, June 1, 1861, at Camp Union, Troy, N.Y. Old folds. Very Good.

 

     Members of Company C of the 30th Regiment were enlisted for two years under the command of Capt. Barent M. Van Voast, and Lieut. Manse V.V. Smith. They were mustered in between April 23 and May 28, 1861, mostly at Schenectady and Albany. This muster roll lists one Ensign, four Sergeants, four Corporals, two Musicians, and 78 Privates. Capt. Van Voast was dismissed on March 7, 1862 and succeeded by M.V.V. Smith.

 

     The 30th Regiment left immediately to serve in the defenses of Washington, D.C., where they stayed until March of 1862. They later took part in the Battles of Groveton, Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. During their service, this Regiment lost six Officers and 72 Enlisted men as a result of death from combat, and two Officers and 31 Enlisted men as a result of disease. [New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs.]  (27712)                              $250.00

 

11.  [New York Volunteer Militia]: MUSTER ROLL OF CAPTAIN JOHN M. LANDON'S COMPANY, IN THE THIRTIETH REGIMENT, [__ BRIGADE] OF THE NEW-YORK VOLUNTEER MILITIA [FOOT] COMMANDED BY COLONEL EDWARD FRISBY ORGANIZED UNDER A LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, ENTITLED "AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE EMBODYING AND EQUIPMENT OF A VOLUNTEER MILITIA, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE PUBLIC DEFENSE," PASSED APRIL 16, 1861; AND CALLED INTO THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY THE PRESIDENT... FROM THE ____ DAY OF ____1861, [DATE OF THIS MUSTER] FOR THE TERM OF ____ UNLESS SOONER DISCHARGED. [Troy, New York: 1861]. Broadsheet, 16.5" x 20". Printed muster roll for Company I, completed in manuscript in several columns: names of soldiers, rank, age, enlistment information, period of enlistment, number of miles to place of rendezvous, and remarks. Old folds. Very Good.

 

     Members of Company I of the 30th Regiment were enlisted for two years under the command of Capt. John M. Landon, and Lieut. Samuel D. Potts. They were mustered in on May 13, 1861, mostly at Troy, New York. This muster roll lists one Ensign, four Sergeants, four Corporals, two Musicians [added later in pencil], and 70 Privates.  William Morse, enlisted as Private, died on August 30, 1862 at the Second Manassas, three months after having been promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Lieut. Potts was transferred to Company C in November of 1862 and was promoted to the rank of Captain.

     The 30th Regiment left immediately to serve in the defenses of Washington, D.C., where they stayed until March of 1862. They later took part in the Battles of Groveton, Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. During their service, this Regiment lost six Officers and 72 Enlisted men as a result of death from combat, and two Officers and 31 Enlisted men as a result of disease. [New York Division of Military and Naval Affairs.]  (27716)                              $250.00

 

12.  Onondaga Salt Springs: ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ONONDAGA SALT SPRINGS. STATE OF NEW YORK. NO. 26. Albany: 1861. Original printed wrappers [lightly worn]. Stitched, 37pp. Very Good.

 

     New York State acquired the Salt Springs for a song from the Onondaga Indians. The State leased rights to private industry to process the salt, with activities overseen by the Superintendent, Vivus Wood Smith, who reported the production, costs, problems, other pertinent information. The springs were located at Salina, Liverpool, Geddes, and Syracuse.

  (8200)                 $100.00

 

13.  Proudfit, Alexander: A SERMON, PREACHED BEFORE THE NORTHERN MISSIONARY SOCIETY IN THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, AT THEIR FIRST ANNUAL MEETING, IN TROY, FEBRUARY 8; AND, BY PARTICULAR REQUEST, IN ALBANY, MARCH 6, 1798, AT A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY. BY... ONE OF THE MINISTERS OF THE ASSOCIATE REFORMED CONGREGATION, IN SALEM. Albany: Loring Andrews, 1798. Half title, 38pp. Presentation inscription by the author, in ink, on half title. Disbound. Light wear, lacks the errata slip, which Evans collates but Sabin does not. NUC says the errata should be mounted on an endpaper. Else Good+. A defence of the doctrine of election, and a call to missionary zeal: "The design of evangelizing the nations is the cause of Jehovah." FIRST EDITION. Evans 34422. Sabin 66228. Not in Jenkins.  (11119)                              $125.00

 

14.  [Roberts, Marshall O.]: TO THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OF WAR: MARSHALL O. ROBERTS, OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, DESIRES TO BRING BEFORE THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OF WAR THE FACT THAT, WHENEVER HE HAS ANY TRANSACTIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT IN CONNECTION WITH HIS STEAMERS, ATTEMPTS ARE IMMEDIATELY MADE TO BLACKMAIL OR ANNOY HIM THROUGH A SUBORDINATE IN THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT; AND SO SHAMELESS HAD THIS BECAME THAT ON THE 26TH OF JUNE, 1863, THE UNDERSIGNED READ TO, AND FILED WITH THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL, THE FOLLOWING MEMORIAL... [New York?: 1863]. 20pp, caption title as issued. Stitched, light margin spotting. Very Good.

 

     Marshall O. Roberts [1818-1880] was a wealthy New York merchant, art patron and  collector. He built the Hendrick Hudson, the first palatial steamboat which traveled on the Hudson River. A millionaire when the Civil War started, he chartered his steamship, the 'Star of the West', to the U.S. government to carry supplies and transport troops. The government agreed to return the ship to New York at the end of the charter period, or to pay Roberts $175,000 for her. The rebels seized the ship and its contents. While attempting to secure payment from the U.S. government, he received blackmail letters from Samuel Churchman, a clerk in the Quartermaster General's office.

     Roberts brings this unsavory conduct to the attention of the President and Secretary of War. He provides copies of the letters, affidavits, and statements of witnesses.

OCLC 987275557 [1-AAS], as of June 2018.

  (34895)                             $250.00

 

15.  Sanford, H[ervey] : AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED [THE LETTER ALSO SIGNED, IN A DIFFERENT HAND, 'H. HOTCHKISS'] FROM NEW HAVEN TO JOSIAH SOUTHERLAND, ESQ., HUDSON, NEW YORK, JANUARY 5, 1850: 

   "SIR, YOURS OF THE 2D WAS RECD YESTERDAY STATING THAT WE WITH THE OTHER WITNESSES MUST BE IN HUDSON THURSDAY MORNING 10TH JANY UNLESS WE HEAR FROM YOU TO THE CONTRARY...

 

   "AS OUR MAIN DEPENDENCE FOR INFORMATION IS ON THE TELEGRAPH YOU WILL PLEASE TO ATTEND TO IT EARLY TUESDAY MORNING TO GIVE US TIME TO GET THE WITNESSES READY TO LEAVE HERE EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING & IN ORDER TO LET YOU KNOW THAT WE HAVE RECD YOUR COMMUNICATION...

 

   "WE HAVE ASCERTAINED FROM W.L. ORMSBY OF 116 FULTON ST, NEW YORK THAT HE ROLLED IN THE DIES TO THE NORTH RIVER PLATE FOR JAMES CLARK 122 1/2 FULTON ST BOTH ENGRAVERS. MR. ORMSBY APPEARS TO BE WILLING TO GIVE THE INFORMATION WHICH HE POSSESSES ON THE SUBJECT, BUT MR. CLARK DOES NOT. WE OBTAINED FORM MR. ORMSBY A PROOF IMPRESSION TAKEN FROM THE PLATE AFTER HE HAD ROLLED IN THE DIES, WHICH WE SHALL BRING WITH US - A WITNESS THAT WE HAVE NOT NAMED TO YOU BEFORE WHOSE TESTIMONY IS VERY IMPORTANT WILL ACCOMPANY US. WE SHALL BE THERE PROMPTLY AS YOU DIRECT - BUT DON'T MAKE US COME IF IT IS NOT NECESSARY - YOURS RESPECTFULLY/ H. SANFORD, H. HOTCHKISS" 10" x 15-1/2", folded to 7-3/4" x 10". [4]pp. Letter on page [1], interior pages blank, and addressed on final page to Southerland. In ink manuscript. Wax seal, small tear on blank area of rear leaf [opening of the seal]. Light wear. Very Good.

 

     This letter concerns the high-profile counterfeiting case involving William Brockway, Henry Knickerbacker, and a Mr. Snyder. In 1847 and 1848, counterfeit bills of several New Haven banks appeared in commerce. The banks-- through Hervey Sanford and Henry Hotchkiss--  made vigorous efforts to identify the criminals and to procure new plates. But the counterfeiters copied the new bills expertly. The criminals then counterfeited bills of the North River Bank in Hudson, New York. Here their luck ran out; they were caught and arrested in Hudson in 1849. This January 1850 letter to Attorney Southerland is in preparation for the trial of the malefactors.

 

     Brockway escaped from jail around April 1850; he was recaptured in September. [POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL, April 13, 1850, Page 2, and September 7, 1850, Page 2; NEW YORK TRIBUNE, April 19, 1850, Page 1.] William Brockway [1822-1920] had a 50-year counterfeiting career. One of the best, most famous, and most interesting counterfeiters of his day, he studied chemistry at Yale and made exact copies of currency printing plates. He fooled the most accomplished forgery detectors and Treasury officials. Undeterred by this arrest, he continued to practice his trade, and was arrested and convicted several times into the early 1900's.

 

     Henry Hotchkiss [1801-1871] was president of the New Haven County Bank for 21 years. A pillar of the New Haven establishment, he was a member of every significant community institution. Hervey Sanford [1785-1869] was president of City Bank of New Haven for many years and president of the New Haven Bank. He also served as director of the New Haven County Bank.

 

          W[aterman] L[illy] Ormsby [1809-1883], born in Connecticut, settled in New York. He was an engraver and inventor of a ruling-machine, a transfer-press, and the "grammagraph" for roll-die engraving on steel  which engraved on steel directly from medals, medallions and the like, using a "roll-die" engraving technique for engraving on steel. He later contracted with Samuel Colt to add engraving to his guns. He was a founder of the Continental Bank Note Company of New York. In 1852 he wrote a book on bank note engraving and preventing forgery. [Stauffer & Fielding: AMERICAN ENGRAVERS UPON COPPER AND STEEL. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES... 1907. Pages 194-5; THE AMERICAN STATIONER, VOLUME 14., NOVEMBER 8, 1883, Page 715.]

  (33046)                             $250.00

 

16.  [Troy and Rutland R.R. Company]: ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION AND BY-LAWS. INCORPORATED JULY 2, 1849. North White Creek, NY: Washington County Post Print, 1850. 15, [1 blank] pp. Original printed blue wrappers [some light foxing and spotting], stitched. Light damp staining, else Very Good.

 

     An unusual New York State imprint, listing the directors and the anticipated location of the Road, in addition to the articles of association and by-laws.

FIRST EDITION. OCLC 13728704 [10], 191324447 [1]. Not in NUC or Sabin.  (25551)                            $125.00

 

David M. Lesser

Fine Antiquarian Books LLC  ABAA

One Bradley Road #302

Woodbridge CT  06525

203-389-8111

dmlesser@lesserbooks.com

www.lesserbooks.com