Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2005 Issue
The Boston Antiquarian Book Fair From William Reese
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While Lafayette was one of the last surviving leaders of the Revolution, he was not one of its last surviving soldiers. We get to see some of them in The Last Men of the Revolution. A Photograph of Each from Life... by Rev. Elias Hillard. This book was published in 1864, over 80 years after the Revolution ended. Hillard tracked down the six remaining living Revolutionary War veterans he could find to provide photographs and biographies of them. All, at a minimum, would have been approaching 100 years of age. Hillard felt this publication would be an inspiration to those serving the country in its Civil War. The book includes a facsimile recommendation from Edward Everett, a former Massachusetts governor and congressman who was the lead speaker at Gettysburg. Item 45. $5,000.
There were many events that brought America from its Revolution to its Civil War. Here is one of them. It's the Journal of the Convention of the People of South Carolina: Assembled at Columbia on the 19th November, 1832... This was the convention that asserted South Carolina's right to nullify federal laws of which it did not approve, in this case, the federal tariffs. South Carolina attempted to gather the support of other southern states in its battle for independence from federal authority. It was unsuccessful at the time, but 29 years later the state would achieve its goal. Item 95. $750.
A most interesting document for collectors of Native Americans is The Constitution and Laws of the Cherokee Nation: Passed at Tah-Le-Quah, Cherokee Nation, 1839. This constitution was written after the "Trail of Tears" when eastern Cherokees were forced from their homeland to territory in Oklahoma inhabited by the Arkansas branch of their nation. It represents the coming together of the two branches under what was undoubtedly the most difficult of circumstances. Item 18. $2,250.
One white man whose name is inexorably connected to the American Indians is George Armstrong Custer. Nothing more need be said about that connection. Item 26 goes back to an earlier time in Custer's life, when he was a cadet at West Point. His career there was only slightly more successful than his stand at the Little Big Horn. Custer finished last in his class, leading it only in demerits. He might not have made it at all but for the looming Civil War, where he established a much more favorable resume. This is Custer's copy of the Regulations for the U.S. Military Academy, at West Point, New York, published in 1857. Perhaps Custer should have absorbed them more thoroughly. $5,000.
Item 28 is the 1804 Report of a Debate...in the Senate...Recommending...an Amendment...Relative to the Mode of Electing a President and Vice President of the United States. This is a report of the debate which led to the adoption of the 12th amendment, whereby electors voted separately for president and vice-president. Under the previous system, electors voted for both as if each was a candidate for president, leading to the 1800 electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Burr almost finessed the presidency away from Jefferson. Were it not for this amendment, Dan Quayle and Spiro Agnew might have become presidents. It was a wise decision. $1,250.
For those of you with a somewhat larger budget, Item 51 is a presentation copy of Thomas Jefferson's A Manuel of Parliamentary Practice. For the Use of the Senate of the United States. It was given by Jefferson to his private secretary, William Armisted Burwell. It is one of only three books Jefferson published. $50,000. Item 63 is the quintessential piece of Americana, History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark...most often known simply as "Lewis and Clark." This is an excellent set of this classic, complete with the maps. $125,000.
You may reach the William Reese Company at www.reeseco.com or 203-789-8081.
