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Rare Americana List
Last updated January 7, 2010
To order, call 800-823-9124, or e-mail schwab@pcu.net
1. Barton, Llewellyn-compiler. THE
MAINE OFFICIAL INDEX: WITH COURT AND BUSINESS DIRECTORY. Portland,
Maine, Llewellyn Barton: 1910. Heavy shelf wear. Corners bumped. Fading and
discoloration to covers and spine. $40.00
2. Brockett, L.P. THE
SILK INDUSTRY IN AMERICA: A HISTORY PREPARED FOR THE CENTENNIAL EXPOSITION. New
York, Silk Association of America: 1876. 1st Edition. Original cloth with
gilt-decorated front cover and spine. Some wear to spine and corners, else VG. A
beautiful copy. Scarce first edition. $115.00
3. Brown, George D. FROM
COAST TO COAST. The Only Man to Drive a Single Course across the Continent,
Starting at Catalina Island, California... Simsbury,
Connecticut, Privately Printed: 1923. Wear and discoloration to covers. Library
ink mark on spine. Softbound covers. The front cover has some chips and a
diagonal piece cut away from the bottom corner, with no text affected. This is a
fascinating Americana publication. The author rode a horse-and- buggy from
California to New York state. He kept a detailed journal of his travels and
rights of the many small towns and larger cities that he traveled throughout
history. There is good information on the people and scenery of the states that
he traveled through, including California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado,
Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and finally New York. A
rare and fascinating privately printed United States travel narrative. $125.00
4. Egle, William H. AN
ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSLYVANIA, CIVIL, POLITICAL, AND
MILITARY. Harrisburg, PA, De Witt C. Goodrich:
1877. 1204 pages. Shelf wear to spine, corners bumped. Slight soiling to the
covers. The edges of the spine and corners are slightly frayed. Binding is
tight. $100.00
5. Elliott, Huger. MEMORIAL
ART. Massachusetts, Granite Marble and Bronze:
1923. 1923 edition. Limited edition of 300 copies with a bookplate signed by the
author inside front cover. Half-leather binding with brown boards. Light wear. A
beautiful book. Examines architectural forms such as columns, mouldings,
ornaments, lettering, tombs, headstones, etc. in architectural structures
throughout the world. Includes 24 plates and 13 figures. The plates are of such
structures as Rome's Basilicaa, the Tomb of Mausolus, Treasury of the Athenians
in Delphi, Lucca Cathedral in Italy, Colonial Headstone-Boston, Greek
Sarcophagus, Pillar of Absalom, Churchyard-Staunton-Lacy, England, and many
others. The figures and illustrations also show examples of lettering,
ornamentation, carving, and other details of these structures. A wonderful
reference book. $145.00
6. Glenn, Thomas Allen. MERION
IN THE WELSH TRACT, WITH SKETCHES OF THE TOWNSHIPS OF HAVERFORD AND RADNOR. Norristown,
Thomas Allen Glen: 1896. 394 pages. Rebound in early green cloth with original
label on spine. Shelf wear to binding and rubbing to spine and corners. Corners
bumped. Binding slightly cocked. Very scarce Pennsylvania history. $125.00
7. Hayward, E. F. TWO
BITS. FULL OF LIVE ONES, NEW AND ORIGINAL. Very scarce American humor book. Chicago,
Thomas W. Jackson Publishing: 1904. First American edition. Softbound covers
with pictorial covers. Wear & some soiling. This is the 1904 edition
published by Thomas W. Jackson. Pages browned. Binding tight. Front cover has
small spots where the paper is scarred from something sticky being removed. The
sub-title mentions that the book contains "Funny Railroad Stories",
Old Time Darky Sayings", "Minstrel Jokes", "All the Late and
Funny Sayings of the Day". $55.00
8. Jenkins, Howard M. PENNSYLVANIA,
COLONIAL AND FEDERAL: A HISTORY, 1608-1905. Three volume set. Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania Historical Pub. : 1905. Wear and rubbing to spine and corners.
Three volume set. $75.00
9. Laboulaye, Eduardo. HISTORIA
POPULAR DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. Complete set of 2 volumes. Barcelona,
Spain, Libreria Iberica de Victor Perez: 1873-1874. 1,038 pages. Two volume set
complete. Bound with red leather spines and heavy dark red cloth boards. Some
shelf wear and rubbing to the spine edges and corners. The head At the top of
volume one has a small repaired tear. Bindings are tight and the contents
complete. There are 8 illustrated engravings, featuring George Washington,
Abraham Lincoln, the Revolutionary war, and other high points of American
history. The text is entirely in Spanish. A beautiful and very scarce United
States history as composed and published in a foreign country. $200.00
10. McBurney, Christian M. KINGSTON:
A FORGOTTEN HISTORY. (Rhode Island). Kingston,
Rhode Island, Pettaquamscutt Historical Society: 1975. Slight shelf wear to book
and dust jacket. Signed by author. $33.00
11. Milgram, James W. PRESIDENTIAL
CAMPAIGN ILLUSTRATED ENVELOPES AND LETTER PAPER, 1840-1872: A SECOND VOLUME OF
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STATIONERY. North Miami,
Florida, David G. Phillips: 1994. 1st Edition. 263 pages. Slight shelf wear to
binding and rubbing to spine and corners. Rare. $120.00
12. Niles, John M. THE
CONNECTICUT CIVIL OFFICER, IN THREE PARTS. Hartford,
Connecticut, Huntington & Hopkins: 1823. 1st Edition. Full leather with
leather label on spine. Wear and rubbing to binding. Corners rubbed. Some
discolored spots and scuffing to leather. Pages are browning and there is some
foxing. Very scarce in first edition. $65.00
13. Packard, Edward H. NEW
ENGLAND ESSAYS: THE CHALLENGE OF AN INDIVIDUALIST. Boston,
The Four Seas Co. : 1929. 191 pages. This copy has a presentation inscription
that is signed "the author".Some shelf wear. Corners bumped. Former
library bookplate and marks inside front cover. Small library label removal
scuff mark on bottom of front cover. Overall a nice copy with minimal library
usage and wear. A very scarce New England literary book. $45.00
14. Pease, Theodore Calvin. THE
DIARY OF ORRVILLE HICKMAN BROWNING. Two volume set. Volume I-1850-1864; Volume
II-1865-1881. Springfield, Illinois, Illinois
State Hist. Library: 1927. Shelf wear to spine and corners, else near VG, both
volumes. Some fading to covers. Bumped spine and rubbed corners. Bindings
tight. $115.00
15. Peattie, Elia W. THE
STORY OF AMERICA: CONTAINING THE ROMANTIC INCIDENTS OF HISTORY, FROM THE
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA TO THE PRESENT TIME. Chicago,
Mid-Continent Publishing Co. : 1892. Bound in full leather. The last text page
is tape-repaired. Binding faded and somewhat scuffed. This is a salesman
dummy sample book, with sample bindings inside the front and back covers. There
is a sample of beautiful blue cloth binding and of a black leather binding, as
well as a brown cloth binding. The back of the book contains blank lined pages
for subscriber's names. $75.00
16. Pillsbury, Parker. ACTS
OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY APOSTLES. Concord, New
Hampshire, Privately Printed: 1883. 503 pages. Slight wear and rubbing to spine
and corners. Binding is tight. A very nice copy, clean and tightly bound. This
copy has an inscription that says "This book was presented by the author to
me personally in my office at the Buckeye Vidette, Salem, Ohio". This
inscription is signed by the previous owner, however, and not the author. $45.00
17. Powell, Lazarus W & John L. Helm. BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCH OF THE HON. LAZARUS W. POWELL, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF KENTUCKY FROM
1851 TO 1855... Frankfort, Kentucky, Kentucky
Yeoman Office: 1868. 1st Edition. Bound in black cloth with title in gold on
front cover. Some shelf wear to spine and corners. Some rubbed spots on
covers. Binding tight. This book also contains another title bound after the
first title. The second book is "Biographical Sketch of the Hon. John L.
Helm, Late Governor of Kentucky. $125.00
18. Richardson, James D.. A
COMPILATION OF THE MESSAGES AND PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS. Complete set of 20
volumes. New York, Bureau of National Literature:
1897. Complete set of 20 volumes. Illustrated embossed bindings, with
illustrations of the White House on the front covers and the Washington Monument
on the spine. Some shelf wear to spine edges and corners. A couple of volumes
have small chips to the spine edges. One volume has a small chip missing from
the top of the spine. One volume has a small tear to the top of the headcap.
Bindings are tight and pages are clean. A beautiful set of this important
American history reference work. $180.00
19. Stevens, Frank Everett. WAKEFIELD'S
HISTORY OF THE BLACK HAWK WAR: A REPRINT OF THE FIRST EDITION BY JOHN A.
WAKEFIELD, ESQUIRE. Chicago, The Caxton Club:
1908. 1st Edition. 224 pages. This is the 1908 reprint of the rare 1834 first
edition. Imitation vellum spine shows some soiling. Corners are slightly worn.
With original slipcase, which has some edge-wear, but is still in nice
condition. This edition was limited to 203 copies, printed at the Lakeside
Press. Hand-colored frontispiece portrait illustration. This copy has the
bookplate of noted American historian Holbrook Jackson. Also there a pasted-in
colored illustration on the second blank endpaper which is initialed by Holbrook
Jackson. $300.00
20. United States Congress. THE
LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THREE VOLUMES. Volume 1 only. Philadelphia,
Richard Folwell: 1796. First edition. This is volume 1 only of the three-volume
set. Original binding, with leather spine and corners and marbled paper over
boards. There is quite a bit of shelf wear to the spine edges and the corners.
The corners are rubbed through. Some cracking to the leather along the front
joint. The leather spine is scuffed and rubbed. Both boards have creases from
being bent. There is browning around the edges of the pages. Binding is tight. A
very scarce title. $200.00
21. Warren, R.M. CHAUTAUQUA
SKETCHES: FAIR POINT AND THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL ASSEMBLY. Buffalo,
H. H. Otis: 1878. Some wear and fading to spine. Discolored spot on front
cover. Some dampstains to text block and stains to a few pages. An early and
scarce Chautautqua book. $70.00