Search Results: Titles starting with S from William Reese Company

[N.p., but likely Pari, 1744. 6-173 leaves. Folio. Contemporary vellum, paper label on front cover, string ties. Rubbed, upper right corner of paper label chipped. Modern bookseller's label on front pastedown. Internally clean. Very good. An exhaustive manuscript volume of legal documents concerning the sale of a Saint Domingue sugar plantation by Pierre de Camper to Felix Lescarmoties. The plantation was sizable, at one point including sixty-seven slaves, and was worth between 25,000 and 30,000 livres a year. The selling price was 182,000 livres, but, as the lawsuit indicates, Lescarmoties only ever paid about half that amount. Apparently Lescarmoties was in Saint Domingue while De Camper was in Paris, a situation that made it difficult for the latter to collect the money owed him. The documents span a decade, from 1729 to 1744. Present here are testimonies, depositions, legal opinions, and much more, suggesting that the sale did not go through smoothly. Good evidence of private investment in the… Read More

Berlin: J. Hesse, [ca. 1851].. Handcolored lithographic print, 19 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches. Minute browning and edge wear in margins. Color bright and clean. Very good. Archival matting, and protected with mylar sheet. Variant issue, without priority, of this delightful early view of Sacramento, showing the city inland from the river, complete with bustling streets and wharf. On the river are two ships flying American flags, one steamer, a ship flying the flag of Chile, and smaller boats. A large stack of lumber sits near the edge of the river, demonstrating the rapid growth of Sacramento in the early years of the Gold Rush. One large building facing the water is adorned with an elephant across the upper portion of its facade. The elephant figured prominently in the gold rush mythos. Those who said they "saw the elephant" meant that they had been there and seen the big show (as in "went to the circus and saw the elephant"). Thus, an early example of California billboard advertising. The print was most… Read More

New York: G.P. Putnam & So, 1869. 305pp. Original green cloth, spine gilt. Head of spine chipped. Ex-lib., with ink stamp on three outer leaves, including titlepage, card pocket residue on rear pastedown. Overall very good. Only edition of what was apparently the only work of Calvin N. Otis, a Buffalo-area architect. The final chapter of the work considers the state of the arts in the United States: "Why should not America produce a style of art as purely her own as are her social institutions?" (p.305). HITCHCOCK 877.

Newark, 1806. 192pp. Full contemporary mottled calf, leather label. Front hinge broken, rear tender. Some light tanning and foxing, penciled doodling to titlepage, else internally good. Later edition, first published in 1782. One of many, many works published by this early author. SHAW & SHOEMAKER 10902.

Boston, 1795. v,[1],267,[8],344pp. Thick 16mo. Contemporary calf. Front board detached, binding scuffed and worn. Tanned, titlepage bit dusty. Lower forecorner of titlepage torn with no loss of text. Old stamp of American Antiquarian Society on page 1. Rough but unsophisticated. The author was a determined antiquarian and founder of the first American historical association, the Massachusetts Historical Society. This copy belonged to early AAS patron and president Stephen Salisbury, who signed it in 1796. EVANS 28258

[Chicago: National Printing Co., late 1884].. 4pp. on a single folded sheet of pink paper. Old horizontal folds, top edge creased. Very good. A seemingly unrecorded example of an ephemeral publication issued for the semi- annual lottery held in New Orleans in the late 19th century. This piece advertises the Louisiana State Lottery Company's drawing for January 13, 1885, to be held in New Orleans "under the supervision and management" of two former Confederate generals and Civil War legends - P.G.T. Beauregard and Jubal Early. The two men promoted the Louisiana Lottery Company for fifteen years, bringing respectability to the company and considerable wealth to themselves. They left the company only after a considerable public backlash against state-sponsored gambling in Louisiana. The pamphlet lays out the plan of the lottery, an "Explanation of Approximation Prizes," a detailed list of prizes to be won (including the "capital prize" of $75,000), and a list of past prize winners with their addresses… Read More

[Salt Lake City?], 1944. 234pp. plus illus. Color portrait. Gilt cloth. Fine in edgeworn dust jacket. Inscribed by the author to Mormoniana collector William Reeder.

Copenhagen: Godiche, 1775.. [8],xxxii,318,[81]pp. plus two folding plates, printed on light blue paper. Illustrations in text. Quarto. Original drab paper boards, printed paper label. Spine split but holding, paper chipped. Minor foxing to first and last few leaves, a few gatherings loose from stitching. Most of second half of text unopened; untrimmed. Good plus. A scholarly edition of Gunnlaugi's Saga, "A love story of great sentimental charm" (EB). Written in Icelandic and Latin, the work is extensively annotated and includes a copious dictionary. The folding plates are of a meeting house and banquet hall from the period 1000 A.D., when the Sagas were actually recited. The Icelandic Sagas hold the seed for all early Norse literature and history and are one of the great sources for Western literature, influencing such works as the Arthurian legends and the operas of Wagner. The editor has contributed extensive footnotes, sometimes longer than the text itself, and the appendix includes several… Read More

[Np, 1882. 15pp. Original printed wrappers. Some soiling, else very good.

Salem, Mas, 1792. 4pp. Folio. Old folds. Minor loss and tears at a few folds. Lightly soiled. Contemporary ownership inscription at top of first page. Very good. Articles of note in this issue include an account of an Indian raid near Frankfort, Ky., and the efforts of Col. M'Dowell to recover the stolen Negroes and horses. Also, an article about Philip Freneau's NATIONAL GAZETTE, notifying the public that it was set up and is supported by Thomas Jefferson. An extract from the GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES, the rival Federalist publication, rails against Jefferson.

San Francisc: Cunningham, Curtiss & Welc, 1899. 16pp. of text (including wrapper title) printed on one side of a large folding sheet, 16 3/4 x 29 1/2 inches, with printed map on the verso, surrounded by five illustrations from photographs. Lightly tanned. A tiny bit of separation at folds. Near fine. A rare promotional for the Salt River Valley region in southern Arizona, featuring a large map of the area. Issued by the Maricopa County Board of Trade, the pamphlet announces that land is available in a valley of 500,000 acres, "The most perfect climate! The most perfect soil! The most varied productions." The map shows the large Salt River Valley region with Phoenix at its center, and also including the nearby communities of Tempe, Glendale, and Mesa. The paths of the Salt, Gila, Agua Fria, and Verde rivers (as well as smaller tributaries) are traced in blue, assuring prospective settlers that water is readily available nearby. Five illustrations from photographs surround the map showing land and the… Read More

Lima, 1803. xix[i.e.,xiv],199,[2];[1],168,42pp. Small quarto. Two volumes in one. Contemporary calf, blind and gilt ruled, edges painted blue. Hinges and corners worn, boards scuffed. Worming through boards and text block, somewhat affecting text, particularly initial leaves. Contemporary ownership inscriptions on front and rear free endpapers. Light tanning and occasional light dampstaining. Good. Scarce South American reprint of a Spanish vernacular Psalter, first published in Madrid in 1800. Translated by a Spanish noble, Pablo de Olavide, who born in Lima but spent most of his life in Spain. OCLC locates just four copies, with only two in American institutions. MEDINA, LIMA 1939. PALAU 200100. OCLC 55274661.

Boston: D. Henchma, 1746. 35pp. Lacks the half title. Dbd. Old ownership inscripton on final blank page. A bit stained internally. About very good. An important historical discourse principally treating the war against Spain and France, and in particular the operations against France in North America. SABIN 65610. EVANS 5856. ESTC W29088.

New-Have: A. Morse, 1790. vi,331,[3]pp. Contemporary calf, rebacked with original label preserved. Boards heavily worn at edges. Bookplates on front pastedown. Later ownership notations on front fly leaf. Light toning and minor foxing. Good. Theological work by Jonathan Edwards, Jr. (1745-1801), a Congregational minister in New Haven and the son and namesake of the famed theologian. Includes a lengthy subscribers' list and an advertisement for the publisher, Abel Morse, showcasing his printing and bookbinding abilities. EVANS 22478. ESTC W29086. TRUMBULL 651

Boston; Salem, 1830.. 60; [4],74; 28; 8pp., with in-text illustrations. Early 20th-century buckram, gilt labels. Text block cracked, some leaves loosening. Short closed tear from upper gutter of first titlepage. Leaves of final pamphlet trimmed and chipped at fore-edges, slightly affecting text, and mounted on stubs. Remnants of shelf label at foot of spine, institutional ink stamp on first titlepage. Good. Four uncommon reports on a famous murder that occurred in Salem, Massachusetts in 1830, of which Daniel Webster, who prosecuted the case, said: "It is a most extraordinary case. In some respects, it has hardly a precedent anywhere; certainly none in our New England history." Captain White, a wealthy old man, was murdered in Salem, Massachusetts on the night of April 6, 1830. John Francis Knapp was the husband of a grandniece of the victim. Knapp figured he could get rich by having old Captain White killed, so he enlisted the help of his brother, Frank Knapp, as well as George and Richard… Read More

[New Haven: Various publishers, as noted below, 1838-1842].. Various paginations, as given below. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards, spine gilt with raised bands, marbled edges. Boards lightly rubbed and worn with some splitting to joints. Some occasional foxing, toning, soiling to text. About very good. A sammelband of twelve Yale-related catalogues, all published between 1838 and 1842, and likely compiled by Steuben Rexford, member of the Yale class of 1842. Included are copies of the Yale College catalogues listing officers and students for each of the four years that Rexford attended; catalogues for each of the campus literary societies - the Linonian Society, Brothers in Unity, the Calliopean Society, and Psi Upsilon - listing the names of members, past and present; as well as the published catalogues of three of the societies' libraries. Tipped in among the college catalogues is a single leaf on which is written in manuscript a poem, perhaps by Rexford, for what was likely the… Read More

[New York & Albany: various publishers, 1835-1836].. Individually paginated, as below. Contemporary three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Boards and leather rubbed, repaired at head of spine and outer corners with modern leather, joints cracked and both hinges reinforced with paper. Light scattered foxing, but otherwise internally clean. Very good overall. A sammelband of eight scarce and early pamphlets and one manuscript related to the establishment and early stages of the New York and Erie Rail Road. The company was chartered in 1832, and construction on the main line from Piermont, New York, to Dunkirk, Michigan finally began in 1836. Despite decades of financial troubles, including a costly and complicated struggle between Cornelius Vanderbilt and Jay Gould over shares (during which Boss Tweed was made a director), the main line remained in operation until 1960, and later extensions remain in service today. The documents collected in this volume record the early legal and financial history of… Read More

New York, 1845. Eight pamphlets, detailed below. Modern half calf and boards. Text clean and very good. Volume of collected pamphlets concerning the trial of Bishop Benjamin T. Onderdonk of New York. Onderdonk led a movement to reawaken the Catholic and Anglican heritage of the Episcopal Church, known as the Oxford Movement. "Onderdonk failed to perceive, however, that other Episcopalians preferred their Protestant heritage and, moreover, were uneasy about a drift toward Catholicism at a time when many Catholics were immigrating to the United States from Ireland and Germany. The seeds of Onderdonk's eventual downfall, however, lay not so much in what he believed as how he chose to promote those beliefs. Whereas Hobart charmed most of his hearers, Onderdonk seemed to bludgeon them into compliance. ... The year before, Onderdonk had stirred controversy by ordaining Arthur Carey, a youth suspected of Roman Catholic tendencies. At the same time, an eccentric priest, James Richmond, began to collect… Read More

Watertown or Boston: Benjamin Edes, 1775-1783.. Various paginations, as described below. Folio. Contemporary reverse calf, covers and spine tooled in blind. Spine lacking, leather detached from front board, leather nearly detached from rear board, boards still attached, cords intact. Front and rear endpapers loose from boards. Dampstains, stains, light foxing throughout. Some top edges and foredges closely trimmed with occasional loss of text; occasional leaves loose; occasional tears, some with loss of text. Third title lacks seven pages, tenth title lacks final leaf (see below for additional information for specific titles). Several ownership inscriptions of Joseph Allen of Worcester, Massachusetts. Near good condition. In a cloth clamshell case, leather label. A sammelband of Revolutionary-era Massachusetts acts and laws published by Benjamin Edes and various associates between 1775 and 1783. The collection of documents is of particular interest for a number of legislative actions directly related… Read More

[Various locations, see below, 1731-1732].. Twenty-two tracts, pagination provided below. Folio. 19th-century three-quarter burgundy morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt with raised bands, t.e.g. Some wear and rubbing to boards, spine scuffed. A few leaves rumpled, occasional dustsoiling and tanning, wear to edges of leaves, occasional light tidelines. A few pencil and ink annotations, later descriptive manuscripts notes laid in for each tract. Very good overall. A substantial collection of pamphlets relating to the persecution and exile of Protestants (Lutherans) in the Prince- Archbishopric of Salzburg in the early 18th century. It was this religious persecution that led many of these Protestant exiles (later known as the Salzburgers) to emigrate to the colony of Georgia in British North America in the 1730s and beyond. The tracts in this volume fill out the history and circumstances of that emigration movement. Religious tensions in the Holy Roman Empire stemming from the Reformation were… Read More