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

London: John Fairburn, 1829. Two volumes: [2], 480; iv, 426, x, 44, [2] pp. Deckled edges. Bound in later black cloth with gilt-lettered spine [bit of lower spine discoloration]. Light scattered fox and wear, Very Good. A later printing of this significant contribution to the long struggle for political reform. "The Bible of the Reformers," the book is "a massive compendium of all the abuses, electoral, ecclesiastical, legal, which they sought to abolish. It was first published in 1820 and passed through edition after edition," with much addenda. PMM. Printing and the Mind of Man page 180.

Dedham: Dedham Patriot Office, 1835. 40pp. Stitched, mild toning, occasional light foxing, Very Good. Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw presided. His eight-page charge to the jury, and his three-page address to the prisoner are printed. Names of jurors and counsel are listed. Wade had been indicted earlier "for the same burning, but was acquitted; because the right owners of the barn had not been set out in the indictment." Wade's claim of double jeopardy was rejected, and his new trial went forward. This, the only separately published account of the trial, summarizes the arguments of counsel and the testimony of witnesses on direct and cross-examination. On October 30, 1832, Wade torched a barn; the fire spread to nearby properties. The trial occurred on October 28, 1835. The jury found him guilty. Chief Justice Shaw sentenced him to "be hanged by the neck, until you are DEAD. And may the God of all justice and grace, in his infinite goodness, have mercy on your soul." Cohen 12152. II Harv. Law Cat. 1217.

London: John Fairburn, 1820. [4], 480 pp. Bound in original calf, decorated in gilt on spine [hinges starting, bookplate on front pastedown]. Scattered foxing, Good+. The first edition of this significant contribution to the long struggle for political reform. "The Bible of the Reformers," the book is "a massive compendium of all the abuses, electoral, ecclesiastical, legal, which they sought to abolish. It was first published in 1820 and passed through edition after edition." PMM. Goldsmiths 23071. Printing and the Mind of Man page 180.

Louisville: Bradley & Gilbert, 1880. Original printed front title wrapper. 63, [1 blank] pp. Disbound a bit crudely but text is clean. Two rubberstamps on wrapper. Good+. Thomas Hargis, an attorney and Confederate veteran who had been wounded three times during the War, sought election to the office of circuit judge of Kentucky. Thomas Green, Editor of the Maysville Eagle, claimed that Hargis had not practiced law for the requisite number of years, and that he had illegally altered official records to conceal the date of his admission to the Bar. Hargis called Green a liar; in response, Green then sued Hargis for libel. The jury quickly reached a verdict in Hargis's favor. See the June 14, 1879 issue of 'The Age', pages 327-329 [Louisville: 1879] for a further elaboration of the widely publicized case. Wadsworth's closing argument, printed here, is "an extraordinarily strong statement of Mr. Green's side of this remarkable case." [Louisville Medical News, page 18, issue of July 10, 1880]. OCLC… Read More

Newburyport: W. & J. Gilman, 1837. Folio broadsheet, 12.5" x 16". Printed using different typesettings, decorative border at head. Completed in manuscript. Old folds [several fold splits, repaired with archival tape, a bit of text affected] , two small holes at fold corners [loss of several words]. The Act printed on the verso is printed in three columns with decorative border at head and foot. Good or so. Samuel Knapp [1796-1858] joined the Marine Society of Newburyport in 1843. He commanded brigs Sea Island, Lady Washington, and Carthage; ships John Currier, Gen. Harrison, Ferax, Clarisa Currier; and bark John Caskie. [HISTORY OF THE MARINE SOCIETY OF NEWBURYPORT, MASSACHUSETTS.] Seth Southworth [1787-1860] is listed in the Massachusetts Register for 1814 as being a member of the militia. He was Captain of the First brigade, First Battalion of Fifth Division of Cavalry. Joseph J. Knapp was a respected shipmaster and served as secretary of the Newburyport Mutual Fire Insurance Company in the… Read More

Washington, 1801. Single page, in neat ink manuscript. Light old folds, blank inner margin reinforced. Very Good. "Sir | I have shipped in the Hiland, Capt. Hand for Philadelphia, and to your care, a box addressed to the Governor of the Indiana Territory, containing laws for the use of that Territory, which I request you to be pleased to forward when an opportunity offers for Ft. Vincennes. Any expense which may accrue upon it, you will be pleased to draw upon the Secretary of State for. It was omitted to pay the freight here. Perhaps Capt. Hand will consent to receive it upon his return. | With much respect, I am, Sir, | Your most obed. Servt. | Jacob Wagner | Ch. Clk." Jacob Wagner was appointed Chief Clerk of the State Department in 1798, and held that position until 1807. William Henry Harrison was the territorial Governor.

Boston: David West, 1794. 36pp. Disbound, scattered fox, light wear, Good+. Conceding Paine's "indications of original conception and profound thought, of comprehension and sagacity, far beyond the vigour of ordinary minds," the author attacks his denial of the resurrection and other aspects of Christian doctrine. This is one of four 1794 American printings, issued in the same year as the London first. Evans 28016.

[New York?, 1864. 10pp. Caption title [as issued], disbound. Lightly age toned, else quite clean. Very Good. Walbridge, a War Democrat, joins the Union cause for the 1864 elections, in order to defeat the Copperhead McClellan. He gives his reasons, demonstrates the absence of a just cause for revolution, enumerates the rebels' acts of war before Lincoln's inauguration, and details the failures of the Confederacy. OCLC 13463042 [5]. Not in Bartlett.

1794. Signed by Benjamin Walker, Naval Officer of Customs at the Port of New York. Walker had been Aide-de-Camp during the Revolution to George Washington, as well as to General Von Steuben. Small broadside, oblong 4" x 8", partially printed and completed in manuscript [so indicated by the underlining]. On verso is old wax seal with paper remnant attached. Light folds, small closed tear [no loss] at top margin, Very Good plus. The James Seton on this bill of lading was probably the son of William Seton, a wealthy New York merchant. Walker was Naval Officer of Customs at the Port of New York from 1791 to 1798, having been appointed such by George Washington for his Revolutionary War service. He later served a term as a Federalist Congressman from New York.

Boston: Printed for West and Greenleaf, no. 56, and John West, no. 75, Cornhill, from the press of John Russell, 1800. xii, 228pp. Bound in original sheep [rubbed] with gilt lettered spine [rubbed, spinehead chipped]. Front endpaper loose, long horizontal closed tear at pp. 145-146 [no text loss]. Small pinhole at pp. 87-88 [loss of 2 or 3 letters]. A bit of foxing, Good+. The first three printings issued from London in 1799. Evans 38973.

Harrisonburg [VA]: Published by Davidson & Bourne., 1814. Original sheep [tight binding, some rubbing]. Gilt spine rules, gilt-lettered spine title on red morocco label. [2], iii, [1 blank], 265, [1- binder's instructions]. Lightly foxed, Very Good. The first American edition of this novel, originally printed in London in 1799, issued from Boston in 1800. An attractive, early Shenandoah Valley imprint, the book is an attack on the radicalism of the French Revolution, mob rule, and notions of the noble savage and the natural equality of men. Haynes 20469. AI 33562 [5].

London, 1863. 12pp, disbound, light wear and Very Good. Walker, the staunchly pro-Union Senator from Mississippi during the 1830's who had also been an advocate of Texan annexation and later became governor of the Kansas Territory, spent much of the War in Europe raising money for the Union cause. Here he shows that Jefferson Davis and his minister to England, Slidell, unjustifiably repudiated certain Mississippi bonds. He also demonstrates that "the cotton pledged by slaveholding traitors for the payment of the Confederate bonds is all forfeited for treason, and confiscated to the Federal Government by Act of Congress...The bonds are utterly worthless." DAB says this and his other pamphlets showed, "not very candidly, how slavery, Jefferson Davis, and the repudiation of debts were almost synonymous terms." FIRST EDITION.LCP 10903. Bartlett 5633.

London: Saunders, Otley, and Co., 1863. Original printed wrappers, stitched. xiii, [1 blank], 57, [1] pp. Light wear, Very Good. Signed in type at page 57, "Jonathan Slingsby, of Screamersville." Contemporary ownership signature on front wrapper, inscription on half title. The pamphlet is an amusing attack on Walker, an unscrupulously ambitious man who "was once a man of mark in America." A "shrewd and plausible young Yankee," he moved to Mississippi, where he became an owner of slaves and established himself by expressing "the most violent advocacy of State rights and Slavery. In fact, like most men of Northern birth domiciled in the South, he out-heroded Herod in his violent affection for Southern doctrines and interests." He was rewarded with several prominent political appointments, including the United States Senate and Secretary of the Treasury. Walker climbed the political ladder by urging recognition of Texas as a Slave State and the expansion of Slavery, and by denouncing "Abolitionists… Read More

Cincinnati: A. Flash, 1838. Original printed wrappers, stitched, 27pp. Foxed moderately, repair to blank lower portion of title leaf [no loss]. Good+. "A general Eulogy of the State of Ohio" [Thomson], with much on its history and culture, beginning with the Ordinance of 1787. FIRST EDITION. AI 53476 [5]. Thomson 1178. Not in Eberstadt, Decker.

Baltimore: Published by P.H. Nicklin and Co.; also by Hopkins and Earle, Philadelphia; Farrand, Mallory and Co. Boston; E.F. Backus, Albany; Williams and Whiting, New York; J. Parker, Pittsburgh; and E. Monford, Wellington and Co. Charleston, South Carolina, 1810. iv, 253pp. Original pale green boards [soiled with cracked spine, rending the book in twain]. Untrimmed and, except for scattered foxing and a clipped front endpaper, text clean. Good+. The first edition, highly critical of France. Walsh was a Baltimorean who published in 1811 "the first quarterly that was issued in the United States, 'The American Review of History and Politics.'" Appleton. FIRST EDITION. Sabin 101165. VI Appleton 340. AI 21934.

Boston in New-England: Printed by J. Draper; for D. Henchman in Cornhill, 1746. 22pp, but lacking the half title and final blank. Disbound, scattered foxing, Good+. "All the World knows a Christian's Life is a Warfare. From the Moment we name the Name of Christ, become His Disciples, we engage with the Flesh, the World, and the Devil, in a Combat..." The Artillery Company is comprised of true Christian heroes: "From You, as from a Nursery, our Land is ever to be supplied with Officers perfectly skill'd in the Art of War, and who shall train up our Forces to an Expertness in military Exercise equal to any of his Britanic Majesty's: This, under God, will be the best Defence of our Land." Reverend Walter was Pastor of the Second Church of Christ in Roxbury. He was Chaplain of Colonel Richmond's regiment in the Louisburg expedition. Evans 5877. ESTC W37721.

Oblong printed folio, completed in manuscript. Old folds, else Fine. Willard Lincoln, from the Town of China in Maine, enlisted as a First Lieutenant in Co. H of the 19th Maine Volunteer Infantry, in 1862. He was wounded on the second day of Gettysburg, recovered, and was promoted to Captain. When he signed this document, Lincoln was "on detached service at Draft Rendezvous Portland Me." As a condition of payment, Lincoln certifies that he "employed the private servants for which I charge, for the whole of the time charged, and that I did not, during the term so charged, or any part thereof, keep or employ a soldier as a waiter or servant.

[New York?: Currier & Ives?, 1861. Lithograph, 13-1/2" x 18". Paper toned but images clear. Short closed tear at top blank margin, minor chipping to two blank corners. Very Good. "A tribute to commander of the Union forces Gen. Winfield Scott, shown as the mythical Hercules slaying the many-headed dragon or hydra, here symbolizing the secession of the Confederate states. At left stands Scott, wielding a great club 'Liberty and Union,' about to strike the beast. The hydra has seven heads, each representing a prominent Southern leader. The neck of each Southerner depicted is labeled with a vice or crime associated with him" [Reilly]. The Southerners are Toombs, Stephens, Davis, Beauregard, Twiggs, Pickens, and Floyd, labeled variously as Hatred and Blasphemy, Lying, Piracy, Perjury, Treason, Extortion, Robbery. According to Weitenkampf, a variant omits the name of Scott in the title. Reilly 1861-35. Weitenkampf 131. OCLC 191119921 [2- Peabody Essex, Boston Athenaeum] as of November 2023. Not at the… Read More

New York: Sinclair Tousey, 1863. Original printed glossy blue wrappers with wrapper title [as issued]. Disbound, rubberstamps, else a clean text and Very Good. 28pp. This poem is dedicated to all "who believe that all mankind are created with equal rights; that God is the common father, and holds men and nations responsible for their acts; and that oppression, in the long-account, is worse for the oppressor than the oppressed." FIRST EDITION. Sabin 68327. 483 NUC 0093794 [5]. Not in Nevins, Eberstadt, Decker, Nicholson, Blockson.

Partly printed documents, completed in manuscript, varying sizes, measuring in the range of 7-7.5" x 9-9.75". Matted and mounted behind glass in a 17" x 34" gilt decorative frame. Very Good. Former Confederates were required to sign oaths of loyalty before regaining citizenship and voting rights. The language of these three oaths differs slightly, but each requires the signer to "defend the Constitution of the United States," particularly in reference to the emancipation of slaves. Davis's oath, taken in the District of Columbia, is printed at page 105 of Stanley Turkel's book, "Heroes of the American Reconstruction" [2005]. Davis's background and State of residence are not disclosed. Arthur McMurtry was a corporal in the 26th Texas Cavalry. He is listed in the 1870 Federal Census and two later Galveston directories [1888-1891] as a bookkeeper. Cousinard was mayor of East Baton Rouge from 1857-1859. He enlisted with Company B of the 9th Battalion Louisiana Infantry in 1862. After signing his amnesty… Read More