Search Results: Authors starting with O from David M. Lesser, Fine Antiquarian Books LLC

[Mexico: Alejandro Valdes, 1820. 11pp, caption title [as issued]. Later institutional card boards, typed title label on upper cover. From the library of Henry Raup Wagner, with bookplate of Yale University Library recording it as a gift in 1916. Very Good, except for the institutional cloth tape at the inner margins. An attack on Articles in the new Spanish constitution, which Ferdinand VII was forced to accept in 1820, concerning the representation of Spanish colonies in the Congress. This is a Mexican reprint of the Madrid, Arjona edition of 1820. Quite scarce, NUC recording only two copies. Palau 118601. Guzman, Bibliografia de la Independencia de Mexico 2714. OCLC locates four copies, under two accession numbers, as of December 2016.

Philadelphia: George W. Jacobs, 1907. Two volumes, in original publisher's blue cloth with gilt-lettered spine titles. [2], xi, [1 blank], 658; [2], vi, 590 pp, as issued, with plates and folding maps. Light wear to the frontis of volume 1 [a typed letter from Charles Barney to James W. Beck is on the blank recto of the frontis]. Very Good plus.

Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1783. 28, [4 advt] pp. Scattered spotting, Good+ The author, one of the Society's founders, calls a free press "the PILLAR that supports the whole fabric of freedom." But, he observes, "The fairest blossom is the reptile's food," and a licentious press has gorged itself on a slander of the noble Society. That slander was a pamphlet published anonymously by Aedanus Burke earlier in 1783, attacking the Society. The Plan for Establishing the Society or Order of the Cincinnati, created in the year of this publication, is reproduced here; and the author defends the Society with skill and wit. FIRST EDITION. Howes O9. Evans 18073. Hildeburn 4330. ESTC W6697.

[Akron, Ohio?], 1835. Folio sheet, folded to 8" x 10". [1], [3 blanks] pp. Printed on the recto of the first leaf. Light wear, short closed tear at outer margin [no loss]. Very Good. This rare plea for the establishment of a Bank at Akron is signed in type by James W. Philips, Richard Howe, and seven other members of the Committee at Akron, December 18, 1835. It emphasizes the accelerating development of commerce across the Alleghenies. Explaining "the facts on which our application for a Bank is based," they note that the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal will have its terminus at Akron; and provide a detailed mercantile and financial profile of Akron and the neighboring town of Middlebury, two miles distant, listing exports from flour, wheat, oats, cheese and butter, plus other exports by canal. Current "population of the village is between 12 and 1300." "The Bank of Akron was not established until 1845" [Morgan]. Morgan 8175 [2- AAS, Kent State]. OCLC 1053971112 [1- AAS], 34006223 [1- Kent State] as of… Read More

[Philadelphia?, 1790. Bill of lading, 10 lines. Broadside, 5" x 7.5", untrimmed. Completed in manuscript. Old, almost invisible stamp embossed at left margin. Small tear to top right corner, else Very Good.

New York: Devlin & Hagan, Stationers & Printers, 1860. Small broadside, 5.25" x 10.75", oblong. Printed on blue paper using several typesettings, small vignette of sloop at top left corner with printer's name below it, completed in ink manuscript. Light wear, Very Good.

[Charlestown MA]: Printed, for the Proprietors, 1800. iv, [3], 34, [4 blanks] pp. Stitched in original marbled wrappers. Spotted. Stitching loosened. Upper corners turned. Signed in ink by Thomas Stutson, the Secretary. "With the names of the committee of twenty-one who drew up the rules, p. [v], and a blank space for the secretary's signature. The American Antiquarian Society copy is signed: Thos. Stutson. Monogram device of Samuel Etheridge of Charlestown on title page" [Evans]. Price books, establishing uniform rates for various tasks, prevented ruinous competition among tradesmen. They were from time to time challenged as conspiracies to thwart the operation of free markets. But the established tradesmen who developed them found them valuable. "Rules for Carpenters, specifying the various kinds of work they perform, the manner of finishing, and the value, are extremely necessary and highly useful. . . And they tend to prevent or remove all uneasiness between those who employ and those who… Read More

London: Published by Randal Taylor, 1682. 4to. [2], 31 [i.e., 35], [1 blank] pp. Title and last leaf dusted, else Very Good, in modern quarter morocco and green cloth, with spine title stamped in gilt. The Plea expresses the Corporation of London's determination to retain and, if possible, expand, its freedoms despite the attempted encroachments of the King. The Mayor and Citizens of London assert their ancient "claim to have and use (within the City of London aforesaid), and the Liberties and Precincts of the said City, divers Liberties, Priviledges, and Franchises..." The Plea is printed in two columns per page, the left column in Latin and the right in English. ESTC R15339.

London: Printed for T.D. and B.T. and are to be sold by S. Keble..., 1696. 4to. [4], 35, [1 blank], 22, 16, 25-55, [1 blank], 55, [1], 65-126 pp. First leaf strengthened at margins, light rubberstamp to title page, light dusting and wear. Hole at one leaf affects several words. Good+ in modern green buckram, title and call number stamped on spine in gilt. The Plea expresses the Corporation of London's determination to retain and, if possible, expand, its freedoms despite the attempted encroachments of the King. ESTC R28154. Wing P2528.

Boston: 1850. 46pp, disbound. Light crease of first few leaves, Else Very Good. Extolling the virtues of Union, this assembly expresses support for the Compromise of 1850, including its provisions requiring rendition of fugitive slaves. One of the speakers is Benjamin Curtis who, as a Supreme Court justice in the Dred Scott case, would seven years later argue in dissent Congress' right to regulate slavery in the territories.

[Washington?, 1852. Caption title as issued. 16pp. At head of title, cuts of a farmer plowing with his team of horses; and an arm and hammer surrounded by a wreath. Disbound, lightly toned or foxed, else Very Good. These Washington D.C. Democrats, "possessed of no political suffrage ourselves," warn in this scarce campaign pamphlet, against the election of Winfield Scott, a career military man and the Whigs' 1852 presidential candidate. Of our past presidents, "The only professional soldier was General Taylor, who for upwards of forty years had devoted himself exclusively to his profession of arms. If the evils resulting from his election, under which we are now suffering, had tongues to speak to you, you would not soon repeat that error." The enviable qualities of Franklin Pierce, the Democrats' nominee and a perfect example of "the northern man with southern principles," are trumpeted. Trashing the short presidency of General Taylor, the pamphlet finds telling parallels in the career of General… Read More

[Washington, 1848. 8pp, printed in double columns, caption title [as issued]. Disbound, else Very Good. A scarce 1848 campaign pamphlet, attacking Whig presidential candidate Zachary Taylor, who "has no political principles, and is perfectly ignorant upon political matters." On the burning issue of the Wilmot Proviso-- whether slavery ought to exist in the territories acquired from Mexico-- Taylor is a hypocrite: "At the North, he is represented to be in favor of the Wilmot Proviso." But "at the South his advocates contend that he is opposed...because he is a southern man and a slaveholder, and therefore identified with southern interests." A Louisiana slaveholder, Taylor surprised everyone after his election when he supported immediate statehood for California with its anti-slavery Constitution. Wise & Cronin 44 [Taylor]. Not in Sabin, Miles, Eberstadt, Decker, LCP.

Boston: Eastburn's Press, 1848. Stitched, 11pp. Scattered foxing, blank top margin of title page cut down with no text affected, upper blank forecorner chewed. Good+. Massachusetts Whigs put forth a valiant but unsuccessful effort in behalf of Daniel Webster's candidacy for the Whig presidential nomination in He is "A man who, respecting all the 'arrangements and compromises of the Constitution,' and the rights of all under them, will yet never suffer them to be extended or increased, to the destruction of our political equality." FIRST EDITION. 4 NUC 0070701 [2]. Not in Sabin, Eberstadt, Decker, Miles.

[Washington, 1880. 31, [1 blank] pp. Caption title as issued. 'No. 27.' at head of title. Disbound, else Very Good. The Platforms demonstrate the Democrats' commitment to State Rights, Secession, and disloyalty.

Baltimore: Printed by Samuel Harker, Republican Office..., 1832. 10pp, disbound, light to moderate foxing, Good+. Contemporary ink correction to the imprint, '1831' to '1832'. "Convention held May 21-23, 1832, resulting in the nomination of Martin Van Buren." [Wise & Cronin, Martin Van Buren] The names of a couple of hundred delegates are listed. Van Buren was nominated on the first ballot as Andrew Jackson's running mate, with minimal competition from Richard Johnson and Philip R. Barbour. Wise & Cronin 53. AI 12123 [4].

[np, 1880. 4pp, folded sheet, caption title, light upper corner spotting. Very Good. The pamphlet supports the Republican platform, urges payment in full of the public debt, and protection for the Nation's bondholders. Denouncing the Democrats for urging an infusion of paper money, which would injure the bondholders, it reminds the voters that, "In our desperate struggle with the rebellion it was the spotless credit of the Government that enabled us to conquer and to preserve the Union." Democrats then sought to undermine the public credit, just as they do now. FIRST EDITION. 489 NUC 0186372 [1].

1865. [np, nd. 1865 or 1866]. Original printed wrappers [spine shorn, moderate wear] with wrapper title and caption title [as issued]. 39 clean pages. Good+ to Very Good. It is, according to the anonymous author, a record of treason. "It is not pleasant to reflect that a powerful party, which had for nearly half a century controlled the destinies of the country, has played so base and treasonable a part in the hour of peril." There is much to support the author's assertions-- the tacit support of former President Pierce, the vacillations of President Buchanan and treasonous acts of some of his Cabinet officers, Northern disunion conventions, and many expressions of sympathy with the seceded States. The record of the Party during the War, despite the noble but "powerless" War Democrats, was a disgrace. Bartlett 1292. LCP 8703.

[np, 1852. 15pp, caption title [as issued], bound in modern wrappers, dusted, Good+. An 1852 pamphlet defending the Whigs and Scott against Democrats' charges of extravagance; and rebutting their charge of corruption in settling the Galphin case, in which the Taylor administration made payment to the heirs of a Georgia revolutionary war figure who had expended money in support of that struggle. The Democrats are the Party of extravagance and corruption: "He who shouted STOP THE THIEF most lustily, was found with the Stolen Pig under his own cloak!" Not in Sabin or, evidently, NUC.

Providence, 1828. Elephant folio sheet, folded to [4] pp, each 15-1/4" x 22-1/2." Old folds, toned, several small holes and a fold split affecting a few letters. Good+ Issued only a month before the presidential election, this paper leaves no doubt about where it stands. The Jackson-Calhoun ticket is the "BLOOD AND CARNAGE TICKET," condemning Jackson's duel with Dickinson, his attempt "to assassinate" Senator Benton, charging that he "he sheltered and caressed the infamous BURR at his house in 1806, and noting as well his tyranny in New Orleans and his butchery in Florida. Calhoun is "the head of the attempted rebellion in the South, in 1828" [a reference to Nullification]. The paper endorses John Quincy Adams for a second term, his first having been "singularly prosperous.

[Raleigh?, 1823. 15, [1 blank] pp. Caption title, as issued. Disbound. Scattered light and moderate foxing. Good+. Signed at the end in type: "November, 1823. CAROLINA." A scarce pro-Calhoun, anti-Crawford piece for the 1824 presidential election. When Calhoun decided to seek the presidency in 1824 "both Crawford and Adams, the acknowledged front-runners, felt betrayed," Crawford because Calhoun had reportedly assured him that he would defer to the older man and wait his turn; and Adams, because Calhoun had said that, "for the good of the country...the next President should come from the North." [Peterson, THE GREAT TRIUMVIRATE 116.] Miles 3. Thornton 1750. AI 12071 [1- DLC]. OCLC 42212191 [3- NYHS, Duke, UNC] as of August 2021.