The Black Orchid of Ohio

For Mr. Emerson, at that time 76 and still an active bookseller, Ernest Wessen was a man whose career he admired and whose opinions he valued. To him, the book that Wessen described in a letter to Dush in 1963 as "the greatest item to have passed through my hands" was simply a book to own. He set his limit, took a seat in the first row and bought the book against all comers.

In the spring of 1998, after learning that John Block was the under-bidder, Emerson's partner Ed Hoffman offered him the book at $100,000. Nothing came of it and Mr. Emerson only ever showed it one other time - later that year in Northwest Ohio. That spring Bill Reese ran across rebound copies of both this volume and the second volume printed in Ohio: the Freeman Laws. Soon after, for Mr. Block's maximum bid at the Baltimore Auction, $75,000, he bought the set from Mr. Reese.

I recently asked Dr. John Dann, Emeritus Director of the William L. Clements Library, about the importance of this book. He said, The North-west Territory "was the first territory created by the United States, the first time any federal government in history had established a new entity equal to its original parts, and these were its first laws." Beyond matters of scarcity and condition, this is one of the most important printed documents in our nation's history.

Bailey Bishop, long of Goodspeed's and for the past two decades a Cambridge, Massachusetts bookseller, remembers Joe Dush as a gentleman, a very good Goodspeed customer, knowledgeable and a pleasure with whom to do business. He also remembers the Dush copy of the Maxwell Code. "Over time we booksellers recognize and remember great copies of great books. This copy of the Maxwell code is one I particularly remember."

On December 6th, this famous copy returns to the rooms with an estimate of $100,000 to $150,000; now rightfully called the Aitchison-Wesson-Dush-Emerson copy. Times change and auctions deliver uncertain outcomes. No doubt, if Wesson were alive he'd be in the room and bidding.

Emerson, at 86, no longer takes out 30 year mortgages and will in time be able to talk with Dush and Wesson about it himself. In the mean time we'll be waiting to see who adds his or her name to the hyphenated owners list that already reads like a who's who of informed collecting. It took courage and intelligence to buy this exceptional copy. In doing so, Bob Emerson trusted the judgment of Ernest Wesson. In December we'll see if that trust is repaid.

Here is an AE Footnote link to 7 related records in the AED.

Here is the link to Cowans's Auctions, Inc.

Notes.
1. The Americana Library of Joseph F. Dush, of Willard, Ohio [with Additions], a sale conducted by the Baltimore Book Company on December 15, 1997. The entire catalogue is in the AED.
2. The Joseph F. Dush Library of Ohio Books, Pamphlets, Manuscripts, Broadsides and Ephemera, a sale conducted by C. Wesley Cowan Historic Americana Auctions on December 6, 1997. The entire catalogue is in the AED.
3. I quote a Wesson letter that appears on pages 223-224 of Rare Book Lore, Selections from the Letters of Ernest J. Wessen, edited by Jack Matthews. This book was first printed in 1991 and reprinted in 1992. Copies are available online.
4. I quote a Wesson letter to Joe Dush dated June 9th, 1963 is which he discusses this copy of the Maxwell Code.

Conversations.
Bailey Bishop, John Block, Chris Bready, Cincinnati Public Library, Dr. John Dann, Bob Emerson, Robert Freeman, Ed Hoffman, Ken Nebenzahl, William Reese, Joel Silver and Wes Cowan.

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The Black Orchid of Ohio

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