Search Results: Titles starting with A from Michael Laird Rare Books LLC

Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Luton, etc.: s.n. [but from the Hemel Press Archive], 1970. Unbound. Very good. Dates: 1970s (various dates, but 1970-1975). Each photograph preserved in a Mylar L-sleeve; in a fine protective case. Sizes vary (generally: 12" x 9"). Extraordinary Archive of English protest photos from the angry first half decade of the 1970s, providing high quality images of demonstrations, marches and protests on subjects local to Hertfordshire, north of London, and beyond. The photographs are large format black and white -- about 27 x 21 cm -- silver gelatin prints with details relating the location, participation and sometimes photographer to the verso. Dating from 1970-1975, the demonstrators are seen protesting against everything from the Vietnam War and Apartheid in South Africa, to road crossings and factory closures in Hertfordshire. Mostly landscape in format, the images are redolent of their era with evocative details of clothing and fashion with many images of home-made signs… Read More

Paris: Aux Archives du Droit Francais, 1808. First Edition. Softcover. Very good. 8vo. [4], 47, [1] pp. Original printed wrappers (edges a little frayed). In the development of the Code Civil, the extraordinary "Voyneau Affair" has fourfold significance. It tested in the French Supreme Court the relationship between national adoption and parental authority; established legal precedence in the rights of French war refugees in exile; explored the definition of the "tierce opposition" procedure; and assessed the limits of the concept of "civil death." The case has been frequently utilized by legal scholars to illustrated the elasticity of the Code Civil. The present pamphlet is Jean-Simon Loiseau's "beautifully composed" argument on behalf of L.-R.-A. (Auguste) Voyneau (b. 1789). As an infant Auguste disappeared during the Terror in the Vendee region and in 1795 was pronounced dead. Shortly thereafter it was determined that the infant had in fact been rescued among the corpses of a destroyed village… Read More

New York: NAACP, 1957. Very good. 8vo. [2], 325-333, [1] pp. Original self-wrappers, stapled as issued. Some toning around the edges but the paper stock is strong and crisp. Written 65 years ago, this little-known article is just as thought-provoking today, as Americans respond to the Black Lives Matter movement and related protests by African-Americans throughout the United States. Our offprint was reprinted by the NAACP with the permission of the author and "The American Scholar" in October 1957. "Red-tagging" relates to the attempt by White supremacists to blame Communism for African American protests; the author explains: "A recurrent theme coming out of the South these days describes desegregation as part of a gigantic Communist scheme to subvert the American way of life. Almost every occurrence of racial friction produces its quota of speeches and editorials labeling Negro protest a Communist inspired or, at the very least, Communist tinged. [...] Why is there such receptiveness to the… Read More

Belgium, 1938. Very good. Small album (4" by 5.5"), containing 12 unnumbered black (blank) leaves, with seven (7) original photographs affixed to the leaves within paper corner mounts; each photo is captioned in MS in white ink in French in the margins. Album: contemporary "faux crocodile skin" embossed paper boards, fastened with brown cord (minor surface rubbing and wear to extremities). AN UNSETTLING AND VISCERAL EXAMPLE OF 1938 COLONIALISM AND MISSIONARY WORK INFUSED BY ADULTS INTO CHILD'S PLAY. In this small photo album are seven (7) photos of very yound Belgian girls, three of whom are being groomed to become missionaries in Africa, and four have been painted in blackface and adorned in shawls, pretending to be Africans ready for conversion to Christianity. The captions and photos are arranged sequentially, and tell the story of three missionary nuns who went "chez les n___rillons." NB: then, as now, this word is derogatory and diminutive; it could be translated as "pickaninny" or "little… Read More

Detroit, 1970. Collection of 45 vintage borderless vernacular photographs, of which 41 photographs measure 5 x 4 inches, and four measure 3.5 x 3.5 inches. Near Fine., preserved in a modern black photo-album (PVC / acid emissions free). This is apparently the most significant private collection of photographs documenting a 1970s Black-owned daycare in Inner-City Detroit. Founded by Earlene and Ernest Morris, the of the Morris Child Development Center for Infants and Toddlers was located in the historically African-American neighborhood of Bagley in Detroit (today 94% of Bagley residents are African-American). Upon its inception in 1965, the Center was the ONLY daycare in the state of Michigan to be licensed to care for infants and toddlers. That the Center survived (and flourished) was a major achievement for its owners; furthermore, it afforded neighborhood mothers the opportunity to work or go to school in hopes of someday realizing their own personal goals. Finally, the Center served as a meeting… Read More

New York: Foundation for Change, Inc, 1972. Near Fine. Brochure folded into three panels (folded measurement: 8.5" x 3.75"), printed in green. AN ATTEMPT TO IMPROVE RACE RELATIONS BY A VISIONARY, NOW-FORGOTTEN NEW YORK CITY NON-PROFIT WHOSE SOLE PURPOSE WAS TO "DEVELOP STUDENT UNDERSTANDING OF MINORITY VIEWS AND TO ENCOURAGE WHITE RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS EFFECTING SOCIAL CHANGE." The history of the Foundation for Change (FFC) has been difficult to trace, but we know that it was established by Lyla Hoffman as early as 1968, and at one point had as many as six staff members (see the 1975 Directory of Social Services Organizations held by Swarthmore's Women Strike for Peace Records); there it is further revealed that FFC was in the process of "developing teacher and student training curricula on cultural clashes in the classroom." This present "Soul Quiz" brochure presents eleven trivia questions (and answers) pertaining to notable Black Americans in the fight for freedom and racial equality, with… Read More

Philadelphia: T.M. Scroggy, 1857. Good. 8vo. leaflet (9.5" x 5.25"). Type surrounded by typographical border (paper toned). One of the best known American minstrel songs, "Camptown Races" (a.k.a. "Bob-Tailed Nag") has for us been memorialized by the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn, who sang portions of it many of his Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies appearances from 1946 to 1963. Who could forget his inimitable vocalizations: "Camptown ladies, sing dis song, Du da, du da..." Stephen Foster (1826-1864) wrote not only "Camptown Races" but "Oh! Susanna," "Old Folks at Home" (a.k.a. "Swanee River"), "My Old Kentucky Home," "Beautiful Dreamer," and "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair." It is no wonder that he has been described as "the father of American music." "Camptown Races" was first published in 1850 by F.D. Benteen of Baltimore, thereby making the present leaflet a very early one indeed: the publisher, Thomas M. Scroggy, is listed in Philadelphia directories at this address from 1853 to 1857.… Read More

s.l. (Pittsburgh?), 1940. Good. 7 glossy black and white prints on paper (3 3/16 x 4 1/2 inches), on versos the paper numbered M001, M220, and M349. Some general wear (creasing from handling, soiling on versos, one small tear). ODD, CLAUSTROPHOBIC INNER-CITY VERNACULAR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 1940s. Depicted here are unnamed African-American neighbors (and probably relatives) assembled on brick streets against brick-walled houses. At least three of the photos were taken on the same street corner. A well-dressed man stands in front of a grocery store; one very young woman smokes; behind a wide-eyed girl wearing glasses and too-large sandals hangs laundry; another woman sits in a shadowy alley; three girls pose against a brick wall which exhibits faint graffiti, behind them a contraption of some kind appears in the darkness for no reason; a stone step worn and sunken supports the feet of two boys in a doorway: on the sidewalk in front of them falls the shadow of the amateur photographer, his fedora… Read More

Poughkeepsie, NY: Eastman National Business College, 1882. Oblong 8vo. (100 x 170 mm; 4" x 7"). 102 leaves (fol. 12 blank, fol. 98 loose). "Autographs" album bound in contemporary full green morocco (spine expertly rebacked). ALBUM AMICORUM MANUSCRIPT FROM THE HUDSON VALLEY, NEW YORK, CA. 1872, FEATURING FIVE EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLES OF AMERICAN CALLIGRAPHY BY S.V. JOHNSON. In this album of 102 leaves are warmly inscribed autograph sentiments, many of which are quite accomplished, and all but one dated during the summer months of the year 1872. The album was certainly compiled by a student of the Eastman National Business College of Poughkeepsie; while many of the student's colleagues were from the Hudson River valley, others came from the southern United States, the Midwest, and as far away as Cuba and Colombia. The album contains an etched vignette entitled "Residence and Pleasure Grounds of Prof. H.G. Eastman, Presd't of Eastman College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on the Hudson," which depicts a horse-drawn… Read More

New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977. ONLY EDITION. Very good. Complete set: 4 volumes in original two-tone cloth, black leather label on spines. Preserved in 2 slipcases with separate compartments for each volume (trifle wear to slipcases and spine label of vol. 1; internally excellent with no unsightly markings or stamps). NOT ex-library! ¶ LIMITED TO 500 SETS. Complete copies such as ours are now scarce on the market. Of considerable bibliographic and historic interest, this impressive achievement minutely describes 160 printed works (Vols. 1-2) and 149 manuscripts in the collection, beginning chronologically with Apollonius (circa 1225), and ending with Thomas Taylor (1790). A splendid catalogue that includes detailed bibliographical descriptions for each of the 160 printed books; each is described with painstaking accuracy, and appears with illustrations. In Vols. 3-4, the 149 manuscripts are minutely described (most of these were purchased by Mellon from Denis Duveen). These four volumes… Read More

Venice: Domenico Giglio; Paolo and Aldo Manutius, 1564. Good. Ad 1: 8vo. Part 1: [1], 2-138, [4] = 142 ff. Part 2: [1], 2-122, [2] = 124 ff. Contemporary limp vellum with "yapp" edges, title in MS on spine, singular "1" at bottom of spine indicating the first of two volumes, small abraisons on free endleaves from leather ties (no longer present). Date of 1742 written next to printer's device on Part 1 title. 2nd occurrence of f. 89 has creased corner, small tear on 2nd occurrence of f. 23. Ad 2: 8vo. [4], 9-214, [6] = 216 ff. Contemporary paper boards, MS number "4247" on spine, singular "2" at bottom of spine indicating the 2nd of two volumes, pasted title in red MS with blue paper border on spine. Title with fore-edge margin extended, final leaf (Register / Aldine anchor on verso) repaired and with margins partially extended. An excellent example of a 16th-century Italian "temporary" binding (no doubt original) which perfectly reveals its construction. The textblock (Lib. 1-2) is sewn onto 4… Read More

New York: S. & D.A. Forbes, Printers, 1830. Good. 12mo. 192 pp. + [4] full-page woodcuts. Original publishers glazed boards (soiled but perfectly square and sound), edges sprinkled red (intermittent foxing throughout, most prominently opposite the rectos and versos of the engraved plates and on pastedowns and endpapers, final blank leaf with clean horizontal tear). WITH WOODCUTS BY ALEXANDER ANDERSON (1775-1870), THE FATHER OF WOOD-ENGRAVED ILLUSTRATIONS IN AMERICA. The four Alexander Anderson woodcuts were engraved by [John] Roberts, who signed three of the four woodcuts. These woodcuts first appeared in 1802 (New York: Printed and sold by George F. Hopkins = Pomeroy no. 110a). It is unclear if Anderson was also responsible for the illustrations on our publisher's binding. The present edition seems to be scarce in commerce: our copy appears to be the only one currently on the market. Certainly it is in much better condition than the Widener copy (15467.25.12) which is even more foxed than ours,… Read More

[Cologne?], 1600. Very good. Copperplate engraved map (uncolored). 13.5 x 17.4 cm. (5 5/16 x 6 7/8 inches), trimmed around the platemark. Scale not stated. Stipple engraved seas. Unmatted, unframed. An attractive, early map of North and South America. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL ENGRAVED MAP, not a facsimile. JUSTLY FAMOUS MAP OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA. The present map appeared without change in five editions of Ptolemy's "Geographiae universae" published between 1596 and 1621. The verso is blank, and there are two vertical folds suggesting that it was published in an octavo volume, possibly Matthias Quad's "Compendium universi complectens geographicarum enarrationum Libros sex" (Cologne: W. Lutzenkirch, 1600). The digitized National Library of the Czech Republic copy of 1600 "Compendium" shows that copies of the present map were bound between pp. 652-653. In the present map are depicted "Hispania Nova," "Fretum Magellanicu[m]" and there is a dotted sea between the words "Mare Pacifico." Geographically,… Read More

Ann Arbor: Published by the author, 1867. 'Forty-Fifth Edition" / "Three Hundred and Fourth Thousand. Very good. 8vo. [2], xxix, [2], 34-384 pp. Illustrated with a portrait of the author and numerous in-text woodcuts and diagrams throughout. Original publisher's morocco binding gilt extra, at the corners of both covers are medicine bottles labeled "Alternative," "Bitters," "Syrup," and "Cough," smooth spine gilt. Extremities lightly rubbed, inherent foxing and browning to text as is true in all copies. EXCELLENT COPY IN ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S GILT MOROCCO, SCARCE IN GOOD UNSOPHISTICATED CONDITION, AS HERE. "Immensely popular in the nineteenth-century, Dr. Chase's Recipes [...] went through dozens of editions and was believed to have sold over four million copies (second only to the Bible in total sales). This book was a vital reference to young Americans, particularly homesteaders, who depended upon it for information on health, diet, cooking, animal husbandry, household hints, and general how-to's.… Read More

New York: Sold at Auction by George A. Leavitt & Co, 1897. First Edition. Five volumes, large 8vo. (10 3/8" by 7"). Original wrappers (chipping to extremities and partially defective). Interestingly, along top edges a former owner has written the number of the volume: I, II, III, IIII, IIIII (see images), but clearly this copy was never even read. The paper stock in extremely fresh condition: unmarked, without any blemish whatsoever, and almost completely unopened. PRINTED ON LARGE AND FINE PAPER, a superb unopened copy, with ALL the printed lists of prices realized (bound at the end of each volume) and with the biography and 80-page Index bound in at the beginning of Part I. The quality of the thick, white paper stock is remarkable, and rarely found in American imprints dating from the late 19th century. The Brinley sale has been described as "the first great book sale in the century" (A.E. Newton) and "the greatest sale of Americana ever held" (R.W.G. Vail). While including thousands of fabulous… Read More

Rochester, NY: Stecher Lithograph Co. et al., 1898. Very good. Album of 91 chromolithographs, principally by Stecher Lithograph Co. of Rochester. Later flexible smooth calf, inner hinges exposed. Plates with some wear or light soiling. ART IN THE SERVICE OF COMMERCE: AN AMERICAN NURSERYMAN'S FRUIT SEED CATALOGUE DEPICTING FULLY MATURED FRUIT IN VIBRANT CHROMOLITHOGRAPHY. SEED CATALOGUES SUCH AS THIS ONE WERE HEAVILY USED AS VEHICLES OF SALE BY TRAVELING SEED PEDDLERS THROUGHOUT SMALL TOWN AMERICA, AND THEREFORE ALMOST NEVER SURVIVE IN GOOD CONDITION, AS HERE. "Nurserymen's plates were an American innovation. They were made by various methods, the most distinctive being painted in watercolors. In design and coloring, these plates were more akin to folk painting than to the commercial art of their time" (Charles von Ravenswaay, "Drawn and Colored from Nature," in Antiques Magazine, March 1983, pp. 594-599). Vintage Nurseryman's Guides provide a "floracopia" of American chromolithography at its… Read More

Rochester, NY: Rochester Litho Co, 1910. Very good. Album of 63 chromolithographs / half-tone prints overprinted in one or two colors depicting plants and flowers, in some instances in front of homes, also fruit specimens, all with full-page descriptive text on verso. Black cloth (light soiling, spine somewhat worn), front cover with name "Fairview Nurseries Geneva N.Y." printed in red. ART IN THE SERVICE OF COMMERCE: A NURSERYMAN'S FRUIT AND TREE CATALOGUE IN VIBRANT COLORS. SEED CATALOGUES SUCH AS THIS ONE WERE HEAVILY USED AS VEHICLES OF SALE BY TRAVELING SEED PEDDLERS THROUGHOUT SMALL TOWN AMERICA, AND THEREFORE ALMOST NEVER SURVIVE IN GOOD CONDITION, AS HERE. "Nurserymen's plates were an American innovation. They were made by various methods, the most distinctive being painted in watercolors. In design and coloring, these plates were more akin to folk painting than to the commercial art of their time" (Charles von Ravenswaay, "Drawn and Colored from Nature," in Antiques Magazine, March 1983,… Read More

Washington DC: War Department, 1859. First Edition. Very good. Together two matted and framed chromolithographs (visible portion: ca. 245 x 190 mm; frame size: ca. 303 x 274). The are original prints, NOT reproductions! AN EXCELLENT PAIR OF ORNITHOLOGICAL CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS from the famed "Pacific Railroad Surveys" of 1853-1855. "The ornithological studies produced from the Railroad Surveys were of such outstanding quality that they were republished in 1860 under the aegis of the Smithsonian Institution. Entitled 'The Birds of North America,' the illustrations and text by Spencer Baird are still considered to be among the best of the early ornithological works on American birds." (Brown University, The Robert S. and Margaret A. Ames Collection of Illustrated Books, online). The plates here are: Vol. X, Plate XXXV: Mountain (a.k.a. Arctic) Bluebird; Vol. X, Plate XXXI: Hepatic Tanager (observed in the San Francisco Mountains of New Mexico).

Paris: Jacques Lecoffre & Cie / E. Lefranc, Imprimeur-libraire, 1858. First Edition. Very good. Together 2 vols., folio. Paper stock untrimmed. Bound in contemporary French blue quarter basane over blue marbled endpapers (headcaps of both vols. chipped, that of vol. 1 partially defective, some wear to covers and binding extremities). In vol. 1 the first two binder's blanks excised. Original front wrapper of vol. 2 bound in. Ad 1: an annotated interleaved copy of the 1852 edition of "Histoire et analyse des alphabets sémitiques et européens." 3 ff., 56 pp. with annotations + 25 plates (some folding) with descriptive text on facing tissue guard. Ad 2: an interleaved, unannotated copy of the 1858 edition of "Grammaire comparée de l'hébreu, du chaldéen, du syriaque, de l'arabe et de l'égyptien." viii, 208 pp. THE AUTHOR'S OWN INTERLEAVED COPY WITH ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS IN VOL. 1, INTENDED TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE SECOND EDITION. Here Eugène Van Drival, a well respected and extremely… Read More

Leiden: apud Hackios, 1672. Hardcover. Very good. Romeyn de Hooghe. 12mo., 2 parts in 1 volume: 23 ff., 649 pp. (wrongly numbered 641), 22 ff.; 24 pp. With fine etched frontispiece and 4 etched folding plates by Romeyn de Hooghe. Woodcut printer's device on both titles. Many passages in Greek. BOUND WITH: Kirchmann, J. In funere Pauli Merulae historiarum professoris in Academia Batavorum, & foederatarum provinciarum historiographi, oratio, in qua de vita scriptisque ejus disseritur. Lugd. Batav., ex officina Hackiana, 1672. Woodcut printer's mark on title. 4 ff., 64 pages. Front cover spotted, first blank excised (traces of inscription). Contemporary Dutch vellum Prize Binding, richly gilt, bound in Middelburg by the GLISSEN BINDERY and with the armorial device of the City of Middelburg on both covers and on spine. ¶ First illustrated edition, the only one to contain the folding engraved plates by Romeyn de Hooghe, an excellent copy in a contemporary Dutch PRIZE BINDING. ¶ Part I: A rich… Read More