More Inexpensive Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books
Inexpensive Americana Part VI from David Lesser.
William Seward, New York Senator and future Secretary of State, echoed Lincoln's thoughts from his famous "House Divided" speech later in 1858 in a Speech...Delivered at Rochester, Monday, October 15, 1858. Says Seward, "...the United States must and will, sooner or later, become either entirely a slave-holding nation, or entirely a free-labor nation." Seward goes on to warn Northerners that the connection between slavery and blacks is "purely accidental." Next time, white laborers could be the slaves. Item 163. $125.
For collectors of the Dakotas, Lesser has a whole series of documents, but we warn you, these titles might not always stir great excitement. These are: Irrigation in South Dakota; Dry-Land Grains for Western North and South Dakota; Winter Wheat in Western South Dakota, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Insurance for the State of South Dakota; Report on the Drainage of the Eastern Parts of Cass, Traill, Grand Forks, Walsh, and Pembina Counties, North Dakota; and Grasses and Forage Plants of the Dakotas. None of these will set you back too much, as they are priced from $15-$35.
Item 140 is the report of the Quartermaster General from 1866: The Martyrs Who, for Our Country, Gave Up Their Lives in the Prison Pens in Andersonville, GA. Describing the post-war condition of Andersonville, the report states, "Nothing has been destroyed; as our exhausted, emaciated, enfeebled soldiers left it, so it stands to-day, as a monument to an inhumanity unparalleled in the annals of war." It includes a listing of the dead, over 200 pages long. $175.
David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books can be reached at 203-389-8111 or dmlesser@lesserbooks.com. Their website is www.lesserbooks.com.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
