Search Results: AMERICANA from Aardvark Rare Books

Wheaton, Illinois: R. Blanchard & Co. (Self-Published), 1882. Hardcover. Good Plus. Small Quarto. Brown cloth-covered books ruled and corner-decorated in blind, with gilt lettering to front and copper lettering to spine. Moderate shelfwear to extremities - a bit of scuffing and corner-nudging is all. Sage-green floral endpapers. Previous owner's signature to front free endpaper. Frontis photograph of Lincoln by Brady, "engraved by A.H. Ritchie expressly for this work". Title page shows 3-inch tear along bottom seam, but solidly attached. 141 pp. + advertising at rear. Publisher's red stain to all edges. A book-length poem consisting of rhymed couplets, in fifteen cantos.

Germantown, Pennsylvania: Zachariah Poulson, Junior, 1799. Pamphlet. Very Good. 24 pp. Stringbound. 7 5/8" x 4 1/2"

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1902. Later Printing. Hardcover. Good Plus. Quarto. Brown cloth over boards, with Indian wigwam in gilt and brown to front cover, and flying eagle, musket and powderhorn to spine. Rubbing to extremities, corners bumped and a few small blanching stains to boards. Ex-Libris sticker to front pastedown with "NTII" Medallion (Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, its second name after Tuskegee Normal School for Colored Teachers)) and below this the words: "PRIVATE LIBRARY OF BOOKER T. WASHINGTON". Shortly after his inauguration as President of the United States, Roosevelt had invited Booker T. Washington for supper at the White House. Laid into book is an old envelope (with no contents) bearing the words: "After five days return to Principal, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Alabama." and a signature with the words written upon it: "Mrs. B.T. Washington. Thanks! T.R. (which I suspect MIGHT possibly be a hasty initialing by T.R. - Theodore Roosevelt) but could of course… Read More

London, England: J. Dodsley, 1788. The Fourth Edition. Leater. Covers Fair; Textblock Very Good.. 4th edition. Boards detached but present. Polished leather. 5 raised bands. iv,-270, 259, [9] pages. 23cm. Very light age-tanning throughout. Although a later reprint,it is interesting for the weight it gives to various topics. For example, it begins on the first page discussing in worried tones the American war and especially the danger to Canada. Later it becomes for confident (arrogant?) in discussing the events in New York. The title page of the first section (The History of Europe), bears the contemporary signature of "Eben Huntington" followed by the date "1789". This book almost certainly belonged to Ebenezer Huntington (1754-1834), a Connecticut native who served during the American Revolution who participated in the Siege of Boston, marched with Washington to New York, fought in the battles of Rhode Island and Springfield (New Jersey), Witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis, and was promoted… Read More

London, England: T. Becket, the Corner of the Adelphi, in the Strand, 1778. Seventh Edition. Removed. FAIR. 8" x 5 1/4" octavo. Removed from a book of pamphlets. 74 pages. Missing half-title and last advertisement leaf. First leaf nearly detatched, last 4 leaves fully detached. Ink stains and four holes (the largest one being 1.5"). p. 73-74. Lightly-tanned throughout with minimal foxing. Sharp print on clean paper. (ESTC T22172) (Adams, 78-102h). Richard Tickell, a playwright and satirist, penned this satirical pamphlet that anticipates Parliment's response to ongoing developments of the American Revolutionary War. This pamphlet was very popular and underwent several editions.

Chicago, IL: The Pilgrim Press, 1898. FIRST EDITION (NAP). Hardcover. Very Good Minus in Good Dustjacket. Octavo. 7" x 8 3/4". Yellow boards with design of a roaring red and black fire, surrounded by sprigs of Holly. Corners are lightly nudged. Book is overall, very bright on both outside and inside. Design on front board is repeated on this thick, Nineteenth-century dustjacket, which in its 120+ year life,shows some edgewer,smudging and a few relatively smallish chips missing.Previous owner's inscription to front free endpaper, reads: "________Birth-day from Auntie, Jan. 4th, 1906." Tissue-guarded frontis of a warm and happy Christmas scene by the fire. Every single page of text in this 181 page book has a separate line drawing illustration which sets the mood. Eleven stories of Christmas, from Party to Travel, to Presence, to Charity, to a Storm. A very old newspaper clipping laid-in,which must have been hiding in this book for at least a century -- literally, and has left its browned offset mark… Read More

New York: C.P. Putnam's Sons, 1897. Hardcover. Very Good / Very Good. Two volume set. Octavo, 8.9 in. x 6 in., pp. (Vol I) xxi, [3] 389; (Vol II) xvi, [2], 391. The "Tacoma Edition." Illustrated with many black and white engravings and photographs on heavy paper, with captioned tissue-guards. Cream cloth-covered boards with decorative feather and arrowhead design, and gilt title, to front and spine. Gilt topstain. Rough trimmed fore- and bottom-edges. Light rubbing to extremities. Fingerprint smudges to boards. Previous owner's bookplates to front pastedowns. Second previous owner's signature to front flyleaf of Volume I only. Age-toning to pages. Original silk ribbons worn and laid in. Contemporary burgundy cloth dustjackets with gilt title to spine. Light fraying and rubbing to top and bottom edges of cloth dustjackets. Stories told by the great American short-story writer about John Jay Astor's adventures west of the Rocky Mountains. Bookplate displays a drawn scorpion and the name "Allen +… Read More

New York: Wm. H. Wise & Co, 1950. First Edition (NAP). Hardcover. Near Fine in Good (Chipped) Dustjacket. Tan cloth-covered boards. Raised mushroom cloud relief design to front, with black lettering and stenciled "How To Protect Yourself" on a black shield. Very very light shelf rubbing to extremities. Light brown offsetting to front endpapers. Some hint of smudging to rear board, but rather subtle. Dustjacket shows edgewear, chipping to top and bottom edges, with chips missing from stress-points like top and bottom of spine, flaps and joints. Colorful graphic with red title lettering, within a white and yellow mushroom cloud, with an annhilated A-bombed city at bottom of front panel. Book includes visual plans for a fallout shelter, and an index. Uncommon, and almost never seen in dustjacket. "By the grade of Providence, we Americans may never be subjected to a sneak attack of atom bombs dropped without warning on key points all over the nation..." (front flap dustjacket) "This Momentous Volume… Read More

Chicago, IL: A.C. McClurg & Co, 1924. 26th edition. Hardcover. Very Good Plus in Very Good Plus Dustjacket. L. Maynard Dixon. Octavo, 5 in. x 7.5 in ., Brick red buckram cover with gilt lettering on front and spine. Cover has green/black drawing of canoe reflecting on the water. Very slight rubbing to bottom corners and bottom of spine. Spine and hinges are tight. xii + 280 pp The inscription and owner's name, dated 1926, to front endpaper; no other interior marks. Dust jacket, which includes an illustration by Dixon. occasional shelfwear,and several small chips (missing from) top and bottom of spine, and lower right corner. From the back of dust jacket: "Two hundred years ago a huge natural bridge (the Bridge of the Gods), which then spanned the Columbia Rover at the "Cascades," was the symbol of the power of the Willamettes, then head of the Confederacy of Oregon and Washington Indian tribes. Mr Batch tells the story of the first bringing of Christianity to these Indians by Cecil Grey, a New… Read More

London: Printed for R. Griffiths in Pater-noster Row; and Sold by Mr. Bradford in Philadelphia, 1756. First Edition. Hardcover. Good. Octavo, 8" x 5 1/4." pp. 88. Rebound in modern black cloth boards. Edges neatly cut. First four leaves damaged in margin and 1/4 of text, professionally repaired with minimal loss of text. Loss of text to title page, approximately last 3-4 words of 6 lines. Small chips to top of title page. Loss of text to pp. 4, first 2-3 words of 5 lines.Tiny holes, 1/8" in middle of pp. 33 and 37-40, affecting 1-2 words. Light foxing throughoutm, but none obscures readability of text. All pages present. (Sabin 84594) (Howes S-687). A vitriolic sequel to Smith's earlier pamphlet, "A Brief State of Pennsylvania" (1755). In the present pamphlet, Smith continues his verbal attack against the Quakers in the Assembly for refusing to fund the defense of the province against the French and their native allies. He includes a description of the spectacular defeat of the Braddock Expedition… Read More

Brooklyn, New York: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1900. First Edition. Softcover. Very Good. Card covers, Sewn Binding, 640 pp. Measuring 9" x 6" x 3/4". TWO Large Color Maps folded and tipped in: GUIDE MAP TO THE BOROUGH OF BROOKLYN, has a long, even separating tear along one of the folds, and is a street map of the entire borough; The second map is the BROOKLYN RAPID TRANSIT COMPANY,which covers New York City Railroads, both Elevated Lines and Surface Lines through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx. Also pages of color street maps of Manhattan, and a fabulous map of Prospect Park! Some cracking and fading to paperback spine, but remarkably well-preserved, especially for a frequently-consulted Compendium of Planet New York. Incredibly chock full of every sort of information one might want to, well, to fact-check a novel or screenplay or film about New York set at the conclusion of the 19th century. Or just for the pleasurable consumption of fascinating factoids, comparisons of the charms and… Read More

Brooklyn, New York: The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 1924. First Edition. Hardcover. FAIR. Octavo. 9 in. x 6 in. Red cloth, gilt lettering. Rubbing to, mottling of extremities. Pastedowns cracked, hinges split. Lightly soiled, unmarked, toned interior. Splitting to map-pocket inside front flap. Two-sided, street-by-street map of Brooklyn and of Manhattan and the Bronx, 43 in. x 31 in. Religious brochure, fragrance-clothing advertisement laid in. Indexes for services, communities, and associations. xxxviii + 1-590 pp. Information in 1924 for Brooklynites and other readers of popular, Brooklyn-specific newspapers about food, relief societies, museums, ethnicity, religion, patriotism, banking, culture, transportation, sports, music and commerce. Uncommon.

San Francisco, CA: John Howell, 1936. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Large Folio, half-bound in dark-brown morocco (goat) over brown buckram, ruled in gilt. One of 100 copies upon Alexandra Japan paper. LACKS the following accompaniments: 1) Portfolio with extra plates, 2) Original California newspaper; 3) Original document or letter. Printed by A. Carlisle & Co., successors of Britton & Rey, from whose establishment most of the lithographs here reproduced were originally issued. No 62 of 100. Errata slip tipped in at colophon page (rear). Howes W164, "aa." A fine collection of early California lithographs reproduced in book format, with useful descriptive text.

Miami, FL: Mnemosyne Publishing Inc, 1969. Reprint. Hardcover. Very Good. Octavo, 5.1 x 8.5 in., pp. 114. Illustrated with black ink frontispiece drawing and four other full-page drawings. Butterscotch cloth board with gilt title to spine. Light rubbing to extremities. Light foxing to endpapers. Originally published in 1867 by Lee and Shepard, Boston. Reprinted from a copy in the Negro Collection of the Fiske University Library.

New York: Hillary House Publishers, Ltd, 1962. Third Impression. Hardcover. Very Good Plus / Good Plus. Octavo, 9.5 in. x 6.25 in., pp. 439. With illustrations. Dark green boards with gilt title to spine. Very light rubbing to extremities. Light surface damage to finish of front board. Unmarked interior. Age-toning to dustjacket. Half inch open tear to top front corner and two small chips to top edge of dustjacket. Originally published in 1875, this report details the visits of the utopian and communistic societies by Charles Nordhoff, the former editor of Harper's and the New York Evening Post. Especially The Shakers.

London, England: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall; and sold by M. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-Noster Row, 1758. First Edition. Pamphlet. Poor. 8" x 5" octavo. 130 pages. Removed with leather remnants on spine. Paper disintigration and loss on first 7 leaves. Nearly half a leaf missing on title-page and half-title. Ink inscription "Conduct of Major Gen. S in North America" on title-page. Heavy browning along fore-edge of first 30 pages, but text is quite readable. After the first 30 pages, the paper is remarkably clean with only light foxing throughout. Table of army provisions on final page. (Sabin, 80544) (ESTC T31144). Shirley was the longest-serving governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (1741-1749 and 1753-1756). He organized the 1745 Siege of Louisbourg during King George's War, and was active in the French and Indian War. (Wikipedia) This account, most likely written by his secretary William Alexander, details his military career.

Boston, Mass: Manning & Loring, 1798. Hardcover. Good Only. NOTE: Volume I Only: Octavo. Cream paper over light blue boards (9 in. x 5 7/8 in.). Shelfwear, spotting to boards with some peeling to paper boards. Top edge trimmed (after a fashion); fore-edge and tail untrimmed. Moderate age-toning/browning throughout, but does not at all obscure text. Previous owners' (different) signatures at either end. of the book. In front is Joseph Whitney, dated 1828, and at rear is Samuel A. Houghton. 304 pp. Feb. 1798.

Boston, Mass: James White & Co. (by Manning & Loring), 1803. Leather-bound. Good. NOTE: Volume II Only: Octavo. Contemporary tree calf. Rubbing to extremities. Probable replacement boards 1/8 inch too long for spine, at both top and bottom. Red contrasting spine label, double ruled in gilt, with circular red & gilt volume label, lettered in gilt to one of the six compartments. Pastedown endpaper shows several library stickers -- an old one from the Boston Library (Franklin Place), over a "Rules of The Boston Library". Pages on supple, nice-quality laid paper. Very light toning to text block.

Boston, Mass: Manning & Loring, 1798. Leather-bound. Fair. NOTE: Volume I Only: Octavo. Contemporary full-leather, quite worn. Front board missing but present. Chip (1 1/2 in. x 3/4 in.) missing from top/bottom of spine. Old library sticker to spine. Library bookplate to front pastedown (Belmont Town Library). Inked marking (No. 7) to front free endpaper. Chip missing (2 in. x 1 in.) from bottom left of title page, which also bears the small stamp of the Belmont Public Library. Moderate foxing throughout, but does not at all obscure text. 304 pp. Feb. 1798.

St. Louis, Missouri: Louis Lange Publishing Company, 1906. First Edition. Softcover. GOOD. Octavo, 6 3/4" x 10 1/4." pp. 54. Limp slate-blue card covers, moderately faded and worn, titled in gilt. Stringbound (two punched holes tied with brown cord). Card covers creased and in one place, peeling a little. Some soiling to pages, mostly to outer margins. 16 black and white (drawn) illustrations, 2 maps, and approximately 64 black and white photographic images of the aftermath of the 1906 conflagration throughout. We've seen a number of these "disaster" books and what is striking about this particular one is that many of the photographs center upon the human figures who have survived this terrible event. They are depicted dazed and wandering, picking through smoldering ruins or else queued up in bread lines, sitting down beholding the unfathomable scale of the ruins, staring at once-familiar landmarks now piles of sometimes still-smoking ruins. Leaving through the 54 pp. booklet, one can actually… Read More