Search Results: Americana from Back Creek Books LLC, ABAA/ILAB

Skagway: Case & Draper, 1899. Photograph is 4 3/4" x 6 3/4", mounted on thin board of 7" x 9. Very good. Some light rubs and stains to edges of mount, other mild stains on rear of mount, none affecting the image.. Lovely photograph showing a string of 30 trout caught on the Skagway River, April 20, 1899. The fishermen, posing at each end of the string, are F. F. Clark and Charles Walker, with numerous other men standing in the street. Business signs that can be read include beer, dentistry, outfitters, etc. Skagway was a Klondike boom town, though the gold rush stampede had moved to Nome by the time of this image. A contemporaneous newspaper clipping describing the fishing exploit pictured is affixed to the back of the mount.

New York: The Tea & Coffee Journal Company, 1935. Limited edition. Cloth over boards. Quarto. xiv, 818 pages. Very good in a good dust jacket. Bound in light brown cloth over boards with gilt-stamped spine and upper board, endpaper maps. Prior owner name on title page, a few bumps to fore corners. Jacket has a 1 1/2" x 2 1/4" chip at bottom edge of upper joint fold, some old tape repairs to rear panel, and other edge chips and tears.. Color frontispiece, numerous black and white illustrations in text. The first independent work to fully cover all aspects of coffee, including the historical, technical, scientific, commercial, social, and artistic. Everything from early coffee drinking to the pharmacology of coffee to its appearances in literature. Full of information and well illustrated with photographs and other illustrations. Contains a dictionary of coffee, an extensive coffee bibliography, and a coffee thesaurus. Fully indexed.<br /> <br /> This is copy #30 in an… Read More

Wilmington: R. France & Co, 1861. Broadside. 7 3/4" x 19. Fine condition. One horizontal crease from being folded in half along the vertical dimension.. A fantastic 1861 promotional handbill for a lottery to augment public finance. The Consolidated Lottery of Delaware was authorized by the legislature in January, 1859 as an act for the encouragement of internal improvements in the State of Delaware. This advertises Class 91 of the consolidated lottery, managed by R. France & Co. with E. N. Carr & Co. as agents. <br /> <br /> The "Brilliant Scheme" as it is described, offers 76,076 tickets at $8 apiece, and promises to pay out 30,316 prizes totaling $365,678--the highest prize being $24,562. <br /> <br /> Lotteries have a rich history in America as means to supplement government revenues, though as games of chance tending to sever the connection between wealth and work they were always viewed with moral suspicion. In fact by 1860, thirty of the then… Read More

(S.l.): (S.n.), 1900. Wrappers. Duodecimo. 16 pages. Fine. Printed wrappers, saddle-stapled binding.. Cartoon on rear cover. Williams Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee for President in 1900, delivers a speech against the reign of monopolies he saw as having been abetted by McKinley and the Republicans. Bryan ultimately would lose to the incumbent, McKinley, who would be assassinated shortly thereafter. <br /> <br /> There is a satirical cartoon of the G.O.P. elephant on the rear cover, showing the "true inwardness of the Republican elephant." Scarce.

(S.l.): The Walpole Society, 1929. Limited edition. Full cloth, octavo, xviii, 325 pages. Very good. Patch of browning on front pastedown, as if from removal of old bookplate. Rear pastedown in fact has an old bookplate so affixed. Minor extremity rubs.. Black and white plates. Useful reference that gives brief sketches of a wide variety of craftsmen and manufacturers, including silversmiths, cabinet makers, stone cutters, sign painters, engravers, glass ware makers, upholsterers, clock makers, and much more. One of 500 copies.

New York, 1895. Single sheet, 8" x 9 7/8", folded once. Very good. Letter has a few old folds, a slight separation along the bottom 3/4" of the central fold, and four spots of old adhesive residue on blank back side.. Suffragist pioneer Elizabeth Cady Stanton here writes to a Mrs. Thomas, one of the 26 women on the "Revising Committee" who, along with Stanton, wrote "The Woman's Bible." The letter is dated October 20, from Stanton's address at 26 West 61st Street in New York City. She advises Mrs. Thomas that she is asking the committee members each to order 20 copies of Part I, set to be published the following month. <br /> <br /> "The Woman's Bible" was meant to be a new version of the Christian Bible, but with women treated and portrayed as equals with men rather than the subservient role found in religious orthodoxy. It was crafted in two parts, with Part I being published in November, 1895 and Part II, finally, in April,… Read More

[Boston?], 1908. Manuscript. 6.25" x 8. Near Fine. Single sheet folded twice. Lacks original envelope, if any. Excellent condition overall.. This is an endearing letter from the aged social activist, suffragist, and poet just days before her 89th birthday. Julia Ward Howe is perhaps best known as the writer of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," but was also a prominent abolitionist and women's rights advocate. The letter is addressed "Dear Martha, and in it Mrs. Howe expresses her anxiety about upcoming speaking engagements. She notes her fatigue, her concerns about transportation to the events, and, poignantly, that "I feel very helpless--can't live up to my reputation. Fear that I was never measured for it, and that that is why it does not fit." One of the meetings she mentions is that of the "State Fed.", which was the Massachusetts State Federation of Women's Clubs. Mrs. Howe did indeed address the meeting on May 28th, 1908, saying that such… Read More

Paris: Lecram Press, 1927. First edition. Hardcover. 6 1/4" high. [iv], 112 pages. Professionally rebacked with plain cloth spine. Minor extremity wear to boards with a few old scattered stains. Binding sound.. Black and white photos, cartoons by Wynn. An important and scarce cocktail mixing guide by one of the 20th century's most influential bartenders, Harry McElhone. Harry had tended bar at the Plaza in New York and Ciro's in London before opening his own place in Paris. "Harry's New-York Bar," as it was called, was a favorite of Ernest Hemingway and other American ex-pats. <br /> <br /> Harry is often credited with inventing several cocktails including the Bloody Mary, the sidecar, and the boulevardier. Illustrated throughout with delightful drawings by Wynn Holcomb. Great period ads for liquor. There are also two black and white photos of scenes inside Harry's bar.<br /> <br /> There is an inscription dated Paris, Dec. 6 1927 on front free… Read More

Detroit: The Griswold Press, 1926. Single sheet. 22 1/2" x 35. Map has creases from being folded as originally issued. A prior owner has made tape repairs to tears along some of these folds on back side. Front side shows some minor edge wear and rubs along some folds. Very good overall.. Pictorial map. McCandlish's famous 1926 Bootlegger's Map satirizing Prohibition. All manner of alcoholic beverages are celebrated through comical drawings and puns of various place names, such as "BAR-Harbor," "Chi-KEG-o," and "Missis-SIP-i."<br /> <br /> A very attractive copy of this iconic and now rather scarce pictorial map. <br /> <br /> Ref. HORNSBY p. 72.

[Boston]: (S.n.), 1862. Broadside. 6 1/8" x 14 5/8. Fine. Very faint dampstains at a couple of corners. Evidence of a few horizontal folds, and along with a couple of edge chips up to .25" depth. Remarkably well-preserved example of an important Booth playbill.. John Wilkes Booth, following in his father's and siblings' footsteps, tried his hand at acting and found some success in stock companies in Philadelphia, Richmond, and other provincial theaters. Still, he performed under the name "J. Wilkes" because he lacked the confidence to adopt the famous family name on stage, and was also not certain he wanted a career in acting. By early 1862 he decided he did, and made his national debut in New York in March. He selected the role of Richard III to showcase the revolutionary and all-consuming physical acting style destined to make him famous apart from his father's name. The buzz he created in New York produced great curiosity for his debut in Boston a few weeks later.… Read More

(S.l.): (S.n.), 1942. Wrappers. Twenty-fourmo. 31 pages. Fine condition.. Black and white illustrations, map drawings. This was a handbook for newly arrived recruits at Camp McQuaide during World War II. Camp McQuaide was on the coast of the Monterey Bay just west of Watsonville, California, and home to the Coast Artillery Replacement Training Center from 1942-1943. <br /> <br /> This handbook contains information on the facilities and activities at the post as well as a section on "Amusements in Town." There is also a small pictorial map of the Monterey Bay Region and a centerfold map of the camp itself. A scarce handbook. <br /> <br /> The site of Camp McQuaide has been occupied by a boarding school since 1949. Monterey Bay Academy is an accredited co-educational high school operated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

Washington: Mathew Brady, 1863. Mounted on a 2" x 4" card. Clear image with a few insignificant brown spots, slight rubs to edges of card. Signature is clear and bold.. Black and white photograph. Original albumen photographic profile vignette of a seated General Hooker, facing left. Imprint of Brady Studio, Washington, in bottom margin. Inscribed on back of the mount "Joseph Hooker / Maj. Genl." General Hooker's aggressive fighting in 1862 led Lincoln to place him in command of the Army of the Potomac in January of 1863. He was defeated by Lee at Chancellorsville, and replaced by General Meade just days before the Battle of Gettysburg. Hooker's legacy is somewhat tarnished by his reputation for drinking, gambling, and womanizing.

Nashville: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1886. First edition. Original cloth. Octavo. 283 pages. Near fine. Bound in original brown cloth over boards with gilt-stamped spine, boards have blind-stamped decorative borders. A few minor extremity rubs.. Reverend Bigham went to California as a missionary in the early years of the Gold Rush. The dramatized scenes and sketches here are loosely based upon his actual experiences as a preacher and miner. HOWES B444.

San Francisco: Wine Advisory Board, 1960. Poster. 21" x 28 1/8. Tack holes in the four corners, a few light stains in margins, a small closed tear at lower middle of wine glass, and a couple of short closed edge tears. Very good overall.. Color offset lithography. Colorful California wine poster by Amado Gonzalez California Wine Advisory Board. Gonzalez was born in Mexico but immigrated to San Francisco in 1927 and studied at the California School of Fine Arts. He painted murals for the WPA in the 1930s.<br /> <br /> This colorful vintage poster would make a stunning focal point in any winelover's home.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1929. First edition. Hardcover. Octavo. xxii, 307, [blank], viii pages. Bound in green cloth over boards with yellow and red title and illustration blocked on spine and upper board, pale yellow topstain. Old adhesive residue on front pastedown, mostly hidden by front jacket flap. Minor extremity rubs, quarter-sized dampstain to top edge of textblock. Jacket has edge chipping up to 1/4" deep at spine ends and edges of front panel. Separation along lower 2 1/2" of front panel fore edge fold. Still an attractive, overall very good copy in a good dust jacket.. Black and white plates. Biography of the Temperance firebrand, Carry Nation, whose signature was attacking liquor kegs with a hatchet.<br /> <br /> This copy is signed by the author and has a printed "Seasons Greetings" card from him and his wife laid in.

London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1844. First printing. Unbound, tied with string. Octavo. iv, 44 pages. Fine, with just slight toning.. Thom was a British Crown judicial officer, and makes a very able argument in favor of British ownership of the Oregon Territory. He refutes the American claims advanced by Robert Greenhow in his 1840 Memoir of the Northwest Coast. <br /> <br /> This pamphlet was published in the thick of the Oregon boundary dispute. With the outbreak of war between the United States and Mexico in April 1846, the Americans could no longer afford the distraction and risk of a possible second war, and the Oregon question was finally settled along the 49th Parallel by the Oregon Treaty signed in June of 1846. <br /> <br /> Ref. WHALE 1508; HOWES T161.

New York: David Longworth, 1808. Disbound. Octavo. 56 pages. Edges are worn and somewhat curled. Some soil to external leaves. Last leaf is detached, has tears with old stitched repairs, and is partially missing. However, complete text of said leaf supplied by images of another copy.. The courtroom proceedings as a Black man is charged with bastardy in New York at the beginning of the 19th century. Alexander Whistelo was claimed by the mother herself to be the father of her female bastard child, which she had left in the care of the New York City Alms House. The municipality then sought compensation from Whistelo for the ongoing care of the child "under the act passed 6th March, 1801, for the relief of cities and towns from the maintenance of bastard children." Whistelo denied being the father and this trial before Mayor, Recorder, and Several Aldermen of New York resulted.<br /> <br /> The mother, one Lucy Williams, was a mulatto, and ultimately the evidence failed to convince… Read More

Lincoln: The Woodruff Press, 1913. First edition. Original cloth over boards. Octavo. 311 pages. Bound in light blue cloth over boards with ornamental titling in white to upper board. White spine titles quite faded. Minor extremity rubs. Slightly cocked, hinges sound. Very good to near fine overall.. Black and white photographic frontispiece plus 15 other plates (16 in total). Scarce, heavily autobiographical first novel by Oscar Micheaux, relating his experiences as a homesteader in Gregory County, South Dakota and the failure of his first marriage. Though published anonymously as by "The Pioneer," with names of characters changed, the protagonist is Oscar Devereaux (Micheaux's middle name). <br /> <br /> Micheaux's theme is African Americans realizing their potential in pursuits outside of their accustomed roles. He contrasts the more common city lifestyles of African Americans with the life he chose as a lone Black pioneer in the far West.<br /> <br />… Read More

New York: M. Barrows and Company, 1941. First printing. Full cloth. Octavo. 223 pages. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Mild browning to endpapers along hinges, a few extremity rubs. Jacket has a few closed edge tears, a few shallow edge chips, slight rubbing, but no significant loss. Bright, attractive copy.. Drawings by Rea Irvin. Not just a fine compilation of cocktail recipes from the early 20th century, but also a wise and witty look at the philosophy of drinking, the arts of sociability, and a snapshot of the times. <br /> <br /> "Richly embellished with drawings almost from life by Rea Irvin, with a Foreword in golden prose by Lucius Beebe and a Recessional or final insult hurled at the Reader by Lawton Mackall. Published for Hussies and Homebodies...

Baltimore: The Patapsco Land Company, 1874. First edition. Hardcover. Octavo. 100 pages. Bound in brick red cloth over boards with upper board titled in gilt. A few light extremity rubs. Slight age-toning inside. Map has a few short clean separations at fold intersections. Fine condition overall.. Large fold-out map. This is a detailed prospectus seeking investment in the newly reorganized Patapsco Land Company, which intended to turn its holdings at Curtis Bay into a major seaport and railhead. The background information included therefore gives much of interest relating to the evolution of shipping and railroads at Baltimore.<br /> <br /> The large map in a rear pocket shows the planned layout of the city of Pennington, named for the PLC's controlling family. A copy of this prospectus was even delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives in hopes of getting buy-ins from major players in the shipping and railroad industries, which would be essential for the plan to succeed. Alas,… Read More