Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2005 Issue

18th and 19th Century Americana from Lesser Antiquarian Books

The latest catalogue of Rare Americana from David M. Lesser.

The latest catalogue of Rare Americana from David M. Lesser.


By Michael Stillman

Americana collectors cannot help but look forward to the latest offerings from David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books. Lesser always presents an intriguing assortment, primarily items from the mid-18th to the late 19th century. Many concern the Revolutionary and Civil War periods, or the troubling times which led up to those confrontations. These were the days which shaped the nation, and Lesser manages to find material which brings the discussions and disagreements that molded this land back to life. It is a fascinating look at the thinking of America's forefathers (and occasionally, foremothers). Some make their descendants proud; others make you wonder what on earth they were thinking. Here are a few examples of what we mean.

On September 5, 1756, when Pastor Timothy Harrington of First Church in Boston gave this speech, the colonists were struggling through the long French and Indian War. The good pastor thought this was a message from God when he published his speech entitled, Prevailing Wickedness, and Distressing Judgments, Ill-boding Symptoms on a Stupid People. Well, those "stupid people" would have their revenge when the French conceded defeat in 1763, but at this time, the British had suffered a major beating in the Battle of Monongahela, and Harrington saw a Divine hand in that defeat. Item 76. $275.

John Adams has been rehabilitated in recent years for the many contributions he made to the young nation. However, the Alien and Sedition Acts will forever be a blot on his administration. This Report of the Committee to Whom were Referred...Certain...Petitions Complaining of the Act, Intitled "An Act Concerning Aliens..." presents a remarkable argument from the House of Representatives justifying these laws. Now that we find ourselves in a time when the primary qualification for appointment to the federal judiciary is to be passive in applying constitutional rights, this argument is most instructive. These congressmen promoted an emasculation of constitutional rights that would make even the strictest of "strict constructionists" proud. The Adams administration had taken the position that it was free to punish individuals for speech it did not like. Herein, the argument is made that the first amendment provides no protection against such behavior. The requisite part of the amendment states, "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." In an argument worthy of strict construction, they argue that a literal reading only prevents the government from applying prior restraint to free speech. Nothing in it, they argue, prevents the government from punishing this "free" speech after it is made. Freedom of the press, they say, "consists in permission to publish, without previous restraint upon the press, but subject to punishment afterwards for improper publication." Of course, this type of freedom of speech is available in even the most repressive of nations. You are free to speak your mind, but you had better be prepared to suffer the consequences. Perhaps we too will see a return to such a literal reading of our precious Bill of Rights soon. Item 3. $1,250.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum AuctionsFine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper  17th July 2025 Forum AuctionsFine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper  17th July 2025
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.
  • Sotheby’sGeek Week2-17 July | New York Sotheby’sGeek Week2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Buzz Aldrin's FLOWN Apollo 11 Crew-Signed NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Cover. $15,000 to $20,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Lunar Surface Flown Mission Emblem Presented to Tom Stafford by John Young. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Albert Einstein. Typed Letter Signed ("A. Einstein."), to Ann Morrisett, Affirming a Pacifist's Right to Self-Defense, March 21, 1952. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Operating and Maintenance Manual for the BINAC Binary Automatic Computer Built for Northrop Aircraft Corporation. Philadelphia, 1949. $30,000 to $50,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Steve Jobs Apple Computer Business Card, c. 1977. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Extensive Chronology of Spacecraft From Apollo to Skylab, Signed by a Member of Every Crewed Apollo Flight and the Commanders of Each Skylab Mission. $5,000 to $8,000.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly! Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025 DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800

Review Search

Archived Reviews