Search Results: Titles starting with A from Stellar Books & Ephemera, ABAA

ALS From Theodore Dreiser Feb. 6, 1926 Single leaf measures 10.5 x 7.25 inches. Grey watermarked paper with "Theodore Dreiser" printed at top. Previously folded into thirds. Verso blank. Fine condition. Dated February 6, 1926: "Dear Mr. Ryder: I have been in Florida & just returned. Find your letter of Jan. 18th! here. Am referring it to Mr. Liveright with the suggestion that he send you the book. And I am deeply appreciative of your words to me. Thank you very much. Theodore Dreiser" Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) was an American journalist and author whose best-known work, "An American Tragedy" was published in 1925 just prior to this letter. "Liveright" is referring to his long-time publisher Horace Liveright of Boni and Liveright. Wish we knew the backstory of the letter from Mr. Ryder to Dreiser.

Beardstown, Illinois, 1861. Good condition/None. ALS from William & Ellen Cole of Beardstown, Illinois to son T. M. Cole in St. Louis, William and Ellen Cole, Beardstown, Illinois, June 11, 1861. 7.75 x 9.75 inches. 3pp. Autograph letter signed with three pages of written material. Dated to June 11th, 1861. Letter has a 1 inch tear along a mailing fold and minor water stains blurring few words in the letter. Good condition. This letter contains talk of the American Civil War, which had just started two months before, President Lincoln and business in Beardstown. "Fighting has hardly begun yet a few little serumages[sic] has taken place, the armeys[sic] seames[sic] to be getting nearrer[sic] to geather]sic], we are looking[sic] for some heavy battles to be fought every day, our government was entierly[sic] unprepared for war when Lincoln went in to office, Buckhanno[n] has suffered the arms taken from the north and carred[sic] south our vessels...but old abe [k]new how to work and cawled[sic] a… Read More

Albany, New York, 1864. [Abraham Lincoln] Sentencing Document for William Trunnell Convicted of Assault and Battery; Later Pardoned by Abraham Lincoln October 8th, 1864. Single printed and manuscript leaf measure 4 3/8 x 8 1/4 inches. Previous folds with light soiling and wear. Docketed on verso. Good Condition. Original sentencing document from Albany, New York giving a 2-year 6-month sentence to William Trunnell for assault and battery with intent to kill signed October 8th, 1864. The Morgan Library holds an executive pardon signed by William H. Seward and Abraham Lincoln signed 17 days later. Trunnell was found guilty of attempting to kill Warren Lowe with an ax. We find no newspaper records of Lincoln's pardon but two years later Trunnell was found not guilty of another assault and battery charge in Washington, D.C.

Concord: Printed by Jacob B. Moore, for the Society, 1823. Good condition./None.. The Act of Incorporation, Constitution, and By-Laws, of the New Hampshire Historical Society. With a List of Articles, on which the Society Wish for Information; Books, Pamphlets, &c Wanted by the Society, [New Hampshire Historical Society], Concord, Printed by Jacob B. Moore, for the Society, 1823. 9.5 x 5.75 inches. 21pp. Self wraps with string binding. Toned and foxed, with small indentations on title page. Bottom and fore edge have heavy chipping. Good condition. Includes a list of 33 resident members of the New Hampshire Historical Society.

[Advertising] Steinwender-Stoffregen Coffee Co. St. Louis, Missouri Cold Call Letter to Buford Mercantile, Virginia City, Montana 1907 Four items including advertising envelope, letter, return envelope and coffee broker customer list. Very good to fine condition. Return envelope attached to letter. Early 20th century advertising collection from the Steinwender-Stoffregen Coffee Co. St. Louis, Missouri who marketed Yale Coffee, Monkey Coffee and Buster Brown Coffee. Imported green coffee beans arrived in St. Louis from New Orleans, traveling up the Mississippi River ready to be roasted and distributed. The 1906 broker list from Wm. H. Force notes the Steinwender-Stoffregen Coffee Co. as their seventh largest customer purchasing beans from New York and New Orleans. Group includes typed letter on Steinwender-Stoffregen Coffee Co. letterhead to Buford Mercantile Co., selling their various coffee blends. Simeon Buford opened Buford Mercantile Company in 1878 quickly becoming an important retailer and… Read More

[Advertising] 146 Tobacco Leather Premiums Rectangular leather pieces measure about 2 x 2.5 inches. This vast collection of 146 leathers is generally in very good to fine condition. Some have light soiling. Several have less than clear stamps and a couple were blind embossed on dark leather but easy to read under a magnifier. Verso is blank. In the early 20th century, tobacco firms offered a variety of 'premiums' to entice customers to purchase their products. These premiums fell into five categories: Cards, Satins, Flannels, Leathers and Buttons. Of these, leathers were the most expensive and short-lived, 1912-1914. Within leather premiums there were known to exist these themes: Girls, Baseball Players, National Flags, Actresses, Actors, College Mascots, College Shields with Seals, Generals, Indians, State Seals, Mayoral, Territorial and Indian Nation Seals, Mottoes and Quotations, Dogs, Comic Designs, College Fraternity Seals, and Movie Personalities. A theme for everyone. Furthermore, leathers… Read More

Newark, England, 1903. Very Good. [Advertising] The Jervis Potato Planter, Messrs. Battle, Maltby, and Bower of The Jervis Potato Planter Co., Newark, England, 1903, 3.25 x 5.25 inches, 10 pp. Staple bound booklet with black and white pictorial wrappers; some rust discoloration around the staple, else clean; very good condition. Nice little booklet advertising a patented invention for planting potatoes more quickly and without stooping over and hurting one's back; "a simple and useful contrivance, and has the merit of being quite inexpensive" (The Book of the Potato, Sanders, 1905). Contains an explanation of the contraption and several pages of glowing testimonials from potato farmers. No copies found in OCLC as of November 29, 2023.

[Advertising] 65 Tobacco Premium Flannels circa 1910-1915 Flannels vary in size, but most are around 3 x 5 inches. Fraying along edges to many samples; some corners are folded--these could easily be ironed. Those with factory stamps on verso are usually difficult to read. Generally, very good condition. In the early 20th century, tobacco firms offered a variety of 'premiums' to entice customers to purchase their products. These premiums fell into five categories: Cards, Satins, Flannels, Leathers and Buttons. While these are sometimes called 'Felts', the material is more akin to flannel. Within the 'Flannel' premiums, common design themes include rugs (Asian and American Indian), flags, sports, butterflies and colleges. Interestingly, the power of branding was lacking on these premiums--these usually is no mention of the tobacco brands which gave these away. Some in this collection have factory stamps on the verso and it was here that tobacco firms sometimes would include their name brand. All… Read More

New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1928. First. Hardcover. Good/None. African Adventures, Frederick B. Patterson, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, London, 1928, vii, 83 pp., 10¼ x 7 ⅞ inches. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine and gilt pictorial of lion to front board, corners bumped, sunning to cover and spine, shelf wear to bottom edge, top edge gilt with soiling to all edges, deckle fore edge, uneven cut, pages toned, in protective mylar. First edition. Good condition. Author's adventures in Africa. It recounts his five month long photographic and hunting safari in Kenya in early 20th century. Chapters: Africa of Today, Into the Unknown, The Great African Circus, We Meet Lions...and Elephants, The End of the Trail, etc.

Moscow, Tennessee: W.D. Bell, 1906. African American Collection of Fifteen Stereoviews--Moscow, Tennessee Circa 1906 15 stereoviews from W.S. Bell, an amateur photographer from the Moscow, Tennessee, circa 1906. Most of the images in very good condition. Wear and light soiling to mounts. One view appears to be a double exposure. Several views slightly overexposed. Two images have pencil annotations (see photos) on verso; remaining backs blank. Stereoview plates include both glossy and matte images. W.S. Bell was best known regionally for breeding and raising hunting dogs but apparently always had his camera at the ready. Attribution for this set of photos arrived via collection of hunting dog photos purchased in same lot. Collection documents Jim Crow era sharecroppers in and around Moscow, Tennessee. Mostly posed photos of families including several children. Collection includes several candid photos next to W.J. Burdison's General Store in Moscow, TN plus a number of views posed in and around… Read More

1952. [Women] [Poetry] Archive of Handwritten and Typescript Poems by Agnes Louise Dean, 1940-1952 Two poems handwritten in pencil, each on a single sheet measuring 8 ½" x 5 ½"; brad-bound narrative poem on thin yellow copy paper, 44 pp.; 115 poems typed rectos only on 165 pp. ranging from 5" x 3 ½" card to 11" x 8 ½" paper. Housed in four original file folders. Very Good condition overall; a few small stains, a bit of light edgewear and toning. This is a collection of 118 poems written by Agnes Louise Dean. Dean was born in Minneapolis in 1882. In 1900 she graduated from Minneapolis' Central High School, where she won first prize in the Gale contest for her essay "The Minstrelsy of Nations." She graduated from Smith, and in the 1940s taught English language and literature at Mount Holyoke College. Throughout the course of her life, this poet was somewhat of a wanderer; we know she applied for her U.S. passport and returned through Ellis Island from Liverpool, England as a 27-year-old single… Read More

Cleveland, OH: The Bird Research Foundation, 1943. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/None. Alaska Bird Trails: Adventures of an Expedition by Dog Sled to the Delta of the Yukon River at Hooper Bay, Herbert Brandt, The Bird Research Foundation, Cleveland, OH, 1943, xviii, 464 pp., 10 x 8 inches. Signed and inscribed by author. Brown decorated cloth with gilt to spine and cover, top and bottom corners slightly worn, scuff mark on cover, light marks on fore edge, clean interior, tight binding, first edition, inscribed copy signed by the author, no dust jacket. Very good condition. Please refer to photos. Narrative of the expedition with observations on the habits of little-known birds and other wildlife encountered on the expedition. The author's focus was to study the habits of these birds and to collect specimens, including nests and eggs. Illustrated with paintings by Major Allan Brooks and Edward R. Kalmbach, photographs by Frank Dufresne, Olaus J. Murie, and the author, and with pen sketches… Read More

Album Containing 145 Exquisite 19th Century Chinese Gouache Pith Paintings Full leather covers with gilt and black embossed lines. Commercial album produced by M. W. & Co., London likely sold as a photo album or scrapbook. Measures approximately 11 x 9 x 2 inches. Spine is expired; boards are loosening. Extensive rubbing to edges with moderate soiling. Book contains 29 gilt edged leaves; 2 are loose. Almost all the pith paintings show some amount of wear as typical for this material, which is actually the pith layer of the endemic Chinese tree, Tetrapanax papyrifer, or Rice-paper plant. The thin layers of pith become dry and fragile and tends to split easily. Paintings are glued to the page. Sizes range from 3 x 4 inches to 4.5 x 6 inches to 7 x 9 inches. Fair Condition. See scans for examples of damage. Will be packed very carefully with extensive padding. Extra shipping will be required. Despite any forgiving due to flawed plates, I am absolutely and totally smitten with these unique artforms.… Read More

Fort Worth, TX: Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, 1982. Very Good/Very Good. Alfred Jacob Miller: Artist on the Oregon Trail, Ron Tyler, Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX, 1982, 11.25 x 8.75 inches, 480 pp. Mylar wrapped gray dust jacket with black and white lettering to front and spine, and color reproduction of Miller's painting "Buffalo Hunt" to front; very good condition. Dark burgundy cloth boards with gilt stamped lettering to spine; a few small dust spots to top edge of text block, otherwise pristine. Very good condition. Ron Tyler is the retired director of the Amon Carter Museum of American (formerly Western) Art. First edition, comprehensive study of the career of romantic painter Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874), who was best known for his paintings depicting the fur trade in the Western United States.

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1916. First American Edition. Hardcover. Good/None. Alfred Russel Wallace Letters and Reminiscences, James Marchant, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1916, viii, 507 pp., 8¾ x 6 inches. Maroon boards with gilt titling to spine only, top text edge soiled, sunning and scuffing to spine, shelf wear to head and foot of spine, spine bumped by top edge, former owner's name plate inside cover, pages toned. First American edition. Good condition. "Alfred Russel Wallace was an English naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He independently conceived the theory of evolution through natural selection; his 1858 paper on the subject was published that year alongside extracts from Charles Darwin's earlier writings on the topic." Wikipedia.

London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1884. First. Hardcover. Good. An Amateur Angler's Days in Dove Dale; or, How I Spent My Three Weeks' Holiday (July 24 - Aug. 14, 1884), Edward Marston, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, London, 1884, 88 pp., 32 pp. ads in back of book, 5½ x 3¾ inches. Illustrated printed boards, darkening to front, back and spine of book, foxing to endpapers, top edge soiled, pages toned particularly to outside edge. Now covered in archival mylar. First edition. Good condition. Please refer to pictures for condition. The author recounts his fishing adventures that he had when he spent three weeks around Dove Dale in the summer of 1884. The book is written in wonderous detail and written in a series of seven letters.

Amazing Stories May 1926 Vol. 1 No. 2, Hugo Gernsback editor, Experimenter Publishing Company, New York, 97-192, 8 x 11 inches Fragile pulp from 1926. Front wrapper has 1 1/2 inch tear at middle from spine in which continues for the first three pages. 1/4 x 1 inch piece missing from front wrapper. Chipping to edges. Some chipping to spine. 3 1/2 x 2 1/8 inch piece clipped from bottom corner of back wrapper. Musty odor. Toned pages remain supple with light edge wear. Good Condition. The rare second issue from Hugo Gernsback's ground-breaking science-fiction pulp magazine "Amazing Stories". Includes stories from Jules Verne--"Trip to the Center of the Earth" and "Off On a Comet", Edgar Allen Poe, H.G. Wells, Charles C. Winn, and G. Peyton Wertenbacker. Not the cleanest copy but perfectly decent filler for an early sci-fi collection.

Very Good/None. American Foreign-Born Workers--United States Population, Native and Foreign-Born, Clarissa S. Ware, Workers Party of America, New York City, circa 1925. 39pp. 5.25 x 7.35 inches. Pictorial color staple-bound wrapper with moderate soiling and light wear. Very Good Condition. An examination of the American work force and a break-down of nationalities published by the Workers Party of America. This booklet presents their argument against capitalism circa 1925.

Jersey City, New Jersey: American Type Founders Company, 1905. American Chap-Book, 12 Volumes 1904-1905 plus Four Supplements, Will Bradley, American Type Founders Company, Jersey City, New Jersey, 1904-1905. 7 x 4.5 inches. Various paginations. Beautiful set of Will Bradley's Chap-Book Series, plus four supplements. All in fine condition, protected by mylar wrappers and stored in custom clam-shell box. September 1904 is un-cut. Very light toning. Fine Condition. Will Bradley (1868-1962) the "Dean of American Designers" developed a unique American Art Nouveau style recognizable immediately. He worked variously as an illustrator, artist, printer and film director and while he struggled financially early in his career, he was one of the highest-paid American artists of the early 20th century. In 1903, Robert Nelson, president of American Type Founders hired Will Bradley to create a promotional campaign for ATF. Bradley was given full creative reign to print and design whatever he wanted, without… Read More

Miles City, Montana: American Printing Company, 1915. Staple-bound. American Printing Company, Miles City, Mt, 1915. 167 pages,[1]pp. including brand illustrations (and small supplement listing) and advertisements within and at bottom of pages, plus an additional advertisement leaf on orange paper. 9.5 x 6.5 inches. Original printed wrappers, stapled. Some dog-eared pages in this well used brand book. Wrappers worn with hints of the owner inscribed as two faint brands on front--unable to ascertain whose brand however. Binding strong. Slight chipping at base of spine. A hard-to-find Montana brand book covering cattle located in the eastern portion of the state. Introduction by Sheriff of Custer County A.B. Middleton and Undersheriff Al Truscott whose office was responsible for gathering the information contained therein. "...we feel our time has been well expended if a single tax payer, through this book, recovers any strayed or stolen stock." Brands are listed alphabetically for the entire region,… Read More