Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2017 Issue

An Autumn Miscellany from L & T Respess Books

A miscellany.

L & T Respess Books has published An Autumn Miscellany in a Variety of Subjects and Formats. We will leave our introduction at that as I really cannot find a unifying thread to describe the material. It is just too varied. We will note that L & T Respess is located in Northampton, Massachusetts, and there is a book fair taking place there on December 2 and 3. Respess will be exhibiting at the fair so drop by and see what they have. Here are a few examples.

 

Henry David Thoreau is best remembered for his years of isolation on Walden Pond. However, even the great isolationist eventually succumbed to the tourist haunts of Cape Cod. That's an exaggeration. When Thoreau traveled to Cape Cod a few times in the mid-19th century it was hardly the tourist place it is today. They weren't cramming Route 3 all the way from Boston for a summer weekend on the Cape back then. Much of it was almost as isolated as Walden, more suitable to Thoreau's taste, with a few small towns. Item 131 is his description of Cape Cod, published posthumously in 1865, edited by his sister, Sophia. This copy is in the "A" binding of the four, no priority known. Priced at $350.

 

One of the most popular genres of literature in America during the 18th and 19th century was the Indian Captivity. They were various tales of whites captured by Indians, generally alleged to have been severely mistreated, but with the author eventually escaping (or else they couldn't tell their story). Sometimes they were real, other times exaggerated or completely made up. There is debate on the accuracy of this one, Memoirs of Captivity Among the Indians of North America, from Childhood to the Age of Nineteen. The author was John Dunn Hunter, the "Dunn" coming from a benefactor, "Hunter" from his skill. Hunter claimed he had no recollection of his life before capture or who he was. He was originally taken by Kickapoo, but sold or passed around among various tribes before emerging into white society. Offered is a copy of the second edition from 1823, same year as the first. Hunter didn't live much longer. He went to Texas and represented the Cherokees in an attempt to get a land grant from Mexican authorities. When this failed, he joined what is known as the Fredonian Rebellion, pitting some white settlers wishing to set up an independent republic, against others who had Mexican government backing. He attempted to place the Cherokees on the rebels' side, but when the rebellion failed, the Cherokees were angered by Hunter's attempt to involve them and executed him. Item 27. $450.

 

Who was Button Gwinnett? With the exception of one particular group of collectors, most people have never heard of him. And yet, if you look at the Declaration of Independence, you will find his name at the top of the left column of signatories. Gwinnett was a representative to the Continental Congress from Georgia. However, Gwinnett was not particularly successful in his business ventures, nor a notable leader outside of local politics in Georgia. After signing the Declaration he returned to Georgia, had a bitter rivalry with another Georgian, challenged him to a duel, and came out the loser. He died less than a year after signing the Declaration of Independence. The result is he never signed many documents, either before the Revolution, and certainly not in his short life after it began. Therefore, his signature is the rarest among all of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and consequently, the most desirable among collectors of the signers. Only 51 of his signatures are known. To learn more about Button Gwinnett, here is the book you need: Button Gwinnett, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, by Charles Francis Jenkins. Unfortunately, Gwinnett did not sign it. It was published in 1926 and I don't know whether it answers the most intriguing question about Gwinnett – why did his parents name him "Button?" Item 114. $125.

 

Here is a biography of a man more obscure than Button Gwinnett: Biographical Sketch of Linton Stephens (Late Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia). Who was Linton Stephens? Well, he was an Associate Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, for sure. He also served as a Lieutenant Colonel for the Confederacy during the Civil War, was an accomplished lawyer, reluctant politician. If he is remembered at all today, it was because his older half brother, Alexander Stephens, served as Vice-President of the Confederacy. This book is filled with letters Linton wrote to his brother, and they reveal some of Alexander's thinking as well as that of Linton. Linton justifies slavery on the basis that someone had to do the menial jobs, so that shifting some of them to white people would not increase the overall good of humanity, so why bother? Obviously, the brothers were very close, though Alexander was over a decade older. Linton also died a decade earlier. This biographical collection, edited by James Waddell, was published in 1877, five years after Linton died. It is inscribed by Alexander, who at this time was serving as Governor of Georgia. Item 52. $300.

 

Item 120 is a letter written by George Bernard Shaw during rehearsals for the premier of his play Pygmalion in London in 1914. It was written to Edmund Gurney, who played the part of Alfred Doolittle. Shaw was not only a writer, but had been a critic, so, logically enough, his letter is critical. He tells Gurney he wrote the part for him and he should not play the part so "broadly." Shaw also has some critical comments about the performance of Mrs. Patrick Campbell (the actress actually used that as her name) for whom he wrote the part of Eliza. He says there is no point in his coming back to rehearsals "until Mrs. Campbell is tired of moving the furniture and begins to think about her own part a little..." It is interesting that he comments about Mrs. Campbell as they had a long-running romance, but a nonphysical one, mostly carried on through letters. $3,000.

 

Here is another letter from a missus, in this case, Lucretia Garfield, at this point the widow of President James Garfield. It is dated February 27, 1882. Garfield died in September of the previous year, the victim of an assassination. The recipient was Harriet Blaine, whose husband was Garfield's Secretary of State. James G. Blaine, aka "the continental liar from the state of Maine," had delivered a complimentary speech for which Mrs. Garfield was grateful. She also notes, "hopes, ambitions, aspirations pure & high, and almost assured, all swept away!" Blaine would be the Republican nominee for President in 1884, wherein he was given the above derogatory moniker. It was perhaps the dirtiest presidential race prior to 2016, with Blaine being the first Republican presidential nominee to lose since before the Civil War, the election swinging to Democrat Grover Cleveland. Item 46. $1,500.

 

L & T Respess Books may be reached at 413-727-3435 or respessbooks@cstone.net.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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
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    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
  • 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
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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.

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