Rare books from Lord Durham Rare Books (IOBA)

Toronto: The Copp, Clark Company, Limited, 1890. 1st. No binding. Very Good. 18, 4 p. 22 cm. Paper wraps. Disbound. Faint stain p. 16. Written by Lieut.-Governor Simcoe, in 1791, Prior to His Departure from England for the Purpose of Organizing the New Province of Upper Canada; to Which is Added Five Official Speeches Delivered by Him at the Opening or Closing of Parliament in the Same Province, with a Prefatory Notice by the Rev. Dr. Scadding. TPL 633.

1885. No binding. Very Good. NO DATE, CIRCA 1885Format: CDV or collectible cardOriginal image of an early photo of Sir John A. Macdonald Width: 3 7/8 inchesHeight: 2 3/8 inchesCondition & Surface: Very GoodCondition of Mount: Very Good,Tonal Range 1-10 (5 being Average): 7 Image based on a photographed probably by Notman.LAC: Online MIKAN no. 3218713 virtually the same (engraving) image of Sir John A. MacDonaldJohn A Macdonald was the Attorney General of Canada West from 1854 to 1858, 1858 to 1862 and from 1864 to 1867. Macdonald at the age of 52, was appointed as the first Prime Minister of Canada on 1 July 1867 (served in his first term until 1873). He was re-elected from 1878 to 1891 (second term) becoming the second longest serving Prime Minister for a total of 18 years, 359 days. In 1867 Macdonald was created Knight Commander of the Bath, becoming Sir John A. Macdonald. He was a "nation builder" during his first administration in 1867-73. Macdonald would pass while still in office in 1891, at… Read More

Various: Henry Roxborough, 1973. 1st Edition. No binding. Very Good+. Roxborough, Henry Hall's original first tissue copy with title " Sport in Days of Yore",18pp. later revised edition copy with corrections and new tile ‘‘The Beginning of Organized Sport in Canada,'' 13pp. for an article that appeared in Canada - A Historical Magazine Spring 1975 Vol.2 No. 3 page 30-43. This publication was published by the Department of History McMaster University. There is a 1975 letter from Holt Rinehart & Winston including a contract signed by Roxorough for the publishing of this article.Included are previous original documents from 1973 & 1974 showing correspondence with the editor, David P. Gagan about the publishing on this story. Overall condition of all documents are very good+. Writing in Maclean's magazine in 1926, amateur sport organizer Henry Roxborough reminded his readers that "a nation that loves sport cannot revolt" (1926: 13)."To strengthen the body is to improve the vehicle of almost all our… Read More

2009. Hard & Soft cover. THE QUEEN OF ROMANCE FICTION, A HOLLYWOOD ICON OF THE 1920s Elinor Glyn was an English author, journalist and screen writer and best known for Three Weeks (1907) a steamy romance novel which was shocking for its time. She specialised in romantic fiction which was considered scandalous for its time, although her works are relatively tame by modern standards. Her vibrant romances dealt with aristocracy and issues of morality in society. She popularized the concept of the It-girl and had tremendous influence on early 20th-century popular culture and, possibly, on the careers of notable Hollywood stars such as Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and, especially, Clara Bow.This large collection contains 168 items dating from 1902 to 2009, specifically, 60 Ephemera and archives, 103 Books and 5 Books about Elinor Glyn and related material. 60 Ephemera and archives:• Autograph page from a guest book signed by Glyn, Margot Glyn (her daughter), and others, 1-3 August 1912.• "The… Read More

1894. No binding & hard cover. Charles Dudley Warner was an American essayist, novelist, lawyer. After the Clemens family moved to Hartford in 1871, Warner and Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) became friends, and collaborated on The Gilded Age (1873-74). It is for his share in this book, the first novel by either writer, that Warner is now best remembered. Warner was assistant editor (1860) and editor (1861-7) of The Hartford Press, and after The Press was merged into The Hartford Courant, was co-editor with Joseph R. Hawley; in 1884 he joined the editorial staff of Harper's Magazine, for which he conducted "The Editor's Drawer" until 1892, when he took charge of "The Editor's Study." He died in Hartford on the 20th of October 1900.The collection consists of 16 items in total dating from 1863 to 1894, specifically, 10 letters, 5 signatures on cards or paper, and 1 book.9 letters (8 ALS and 1 TLS):• ALS (2 pp.) to Guy, 20 May 1863, re refusal to publish a poem, accepts his invitation, his wife… Read More

1939. No binding & hard cover. Carolyn Wells was a prolific American poet, mystery novelist, and children's author, who married Hadwin Houghton, the heir of the Houghton-Mifflin publishing empire. Wells often traveled to England and cultivated a wide circle of literary friends on both sides of the Atlantic. She wrote approximately 170 books. Several of her books have been turned into films, "Dearie" (1927), "The Woman Next Door" (1919), "The Mark Of Cain" (1917), "The Countless Charming" (1917), and "He Got There After All" (1917).The collection contains 17 items dating from 1900 to 1939, specifically, 1 partial manuscript, 8 letters, 3 books, 2 cards, 1 note, 1 decorative envelope, and 1 title page.1 partial Manuscript:• Signed ms. (p. 3 only) of poem, re "the wise old fish that never was caught!" 8 Letters (2 ALS and 6 TLS) including signed card, note, and 2 envelopes:• ALS to Mrs. Lord, 8 November 1920, re her invitation to tea. • TLS to Thomas Flint, 27 February 1911, re whether Longfellow… Read More

1966. No binding & hard cover. INTERESTING EDITH SITWELL COLLECTION Dame Edith Sitwell was a British poet and critic and the eldest of the three literary Sitwells. She published poetry continuously from 1913, some of it abstract and set to music. With her dramatic style and exotic costumes, she was sometimes labelled a poseur, but her work was praised for its solid technique and painstaking craftsmanship. She never married, but in 1927 she allegedly fell in love with the gay Russian painter Pavel Tchelitchew (see the card below inviting Burnett to see his last portrait). The collection contains 30 items dating from 1937 to 1966 specifically, 28 letters, 1 typed statement and 1 autograph on note.• ALS to Charles Jasper Sisson (1885-1966); Shakespeare scholar), Sunday, [?28 October 1937], 4 pp., thanking him for his charming letter and saying how sorry she was that he could not come to her lectures because of his cold, "My colds are always like the San Francisco earthquake, so I can sympathise", and… Read More

1966. No binding & hard cover. Good. Frances Parkinson Keyes was a prolific American biographer and novelist whose novels were set in New England, Louisiana, and Europe. In 1904 she married Henry Wilder Keyes (1863-1938), a Republican politician who served as Governor of New Hampshire (1917-1919) and as a United States Senator (1919-1937). A convert to Roman Catholicism, she often used Catholic themes in her work.The Frances Parkinson Keyes collection consists of 58 items dating from 1917 to 1968, specifically, 11 letters written by Frances Parkinson Keyes and 2 photos of her. In addition, there are 9 letters written by her husband, Henry (Harry) Wilder Keyes and a composite photo of him with other politicians. Also 35 books.11 Frances Parkinson Keyes letters and 2 photos:11 letters:• ALS to Mrs. Bugdee, 4 March 1927, with envelope, regretting that her ignorance of Mrs. Bugdee's change of address had prevented their meeting. • TLS to T. Brennan, 8 August 1941, replying to his cordial note of… Read More

London: Official British Government Report [HMSO], 1839. 1st Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good. A LANDMARK AND IMPORTANT BOOK IN CANADIAN HISTORY. First folio UK complete edition. 8-1/4 x 13-1/4 inches. House of Commons, London, 1839.  [11 Feb. 1839]. Inside pages uncut (deckled edges) and bound in new half tan calf, dark brown morocco label, raised bands new end papers and marbled boards with age-toned paper with very light spotting, otherwise in very good condition.Lord Durham was sent to Canada in 1838 as Governor General to inquire into the Rebellion of 1837. His report recommended the union of Upper and Lower Canada and the granting of responsible government (except in foreign affairs, trade regulation, constitutional change, and land grants).Original first published, British Parliamentary Paper 1839.Complete report: [bound with] the 5 Appendices A to E inclusive. Map with numerous tables. Collation:Main Report: iv, [5]-119pp., [1]p. folio. Ordered to be Printed February 11, 1839. [London, 1839]… Read More

1943. various. No binding & soft cover. A collection of 147 mostly unique ephemera items dating from 1892 to 1943, specifically approximately 70 leaflets and chapbooks, approximately 50 letters, 11 broadsides, 11 photos, 3 manuscripts/typescripts, 1 scrapbook, and 1 book.Edwin Markham (né Charles Edward Anson Markham, (1852-1940) was an American poet, Poet Laureate of Oregon, best remembered for his poems, "Lincoln, the Man of the People" (read by Markham at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922) and "The Man with the Hoe" (inspired by Jean-François Millet's painting).Florence Hamilton (née Danforth, 1873-1968) was the lecture manager and secretary to Edwin Markham from 1920 until he suffered a debilitating stroke in 1936. After Markham's death, she made a donation of his manuscripts to the Library of Congress. Hamilton published several volumes of her own poetry, lectured on poetry herself, and was an active member of several organizations for poets. Lincoln & Other Poems. New York:… Read More

1967. No binding & hard cover. Twenty Canadian authors are represented in this collection dating from 1882 to 1967, containing 59 items specifically, 24 letters, 21 cards and post cards, 3 photos, 6 books, 1 movie herald, 1 issue of a journal, 1 printing block, 1 postcard and 1 leaflet. BARR, Robert (Scottish-Canadian short story writer and novelist). • TLS on letterhead of Idler Illustrated Monthly to the Corresponding Editor of the Youth's Companion, 10 March 1894, re praising the Youth's Companion and offering his hospitality in London. • TLS (tear and piece missing on left side affecting 2 words) to Nannie Manook, 21 April 1910, re her autograph book, was at Bad-Nauheim in Germany (no letters forwarded to him there), finally found her book after some searching, suggests that she not send her autograph book to others. • B&W photo from the Detroit Free Press, 10 June 1961, with reference to "Luke Sharpe", Barr's pseudonym when he was editor that newspaper. BEATTIE, Jessie L. (Canadian poet,… Read More

Various: Various, 1996. No binding & hard cover. Good. The collection has original material pertaining to 22 American women poets, dating from 1842-1996 a total of 63 items, specifically 30 letters, 14 pieces of ephemera, 8 typescripts / manuscripts, 8 books, and 4 photos. Includes 2 pieces from Louise Glück, the winner of the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature:BATES, Charlotte Fiske (signed Charlotte Rogé; American poet and associate of Longfellow). • ALS to Mrs. Swift, 10 June 1891. Thanks Mrs. Swift for the "very sweet and heartfelt poem written for my wedding". Signed ms., split in the center, "At Philadelphia", July 4, 1876. On the left margin, Bates has written: "This is coming out in the Cong. this week, but as you will be away I give you this MS I have." The words "June Missionary Church" are written in the upper right of the sheet of paper.  This is a famous, patriotic verse poem in six stanzas separated here by horizontal lines drawn by the poet.BROWN, Alice (American novelist, poet, and… Read More

1936. No binding. Good. Zane Grey (1872-1939) was a prolific American author who idealized the American frontier, best known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Old West.This is a unique and varied collection of archival documents which offers a vista into Grey's popularity as a best-selling author and celebrity of legendary status. The collection contains approximately 89 letters, 1919-1936, accompanied by news clippings and other enclosures. The letters have envelopes and are addressed to Grey. Many of the envelopes have "ans x" or another designation in Grey's hand. Several have drafts of replies written by Grey or are annotated by him. In addition, there are: 5 photos (two of Grey, one at a fishing camp with Captain Mitchell and others, and the other of Grey fishing on the Rogue River); 2 negatives; 2 cancelled signed checks (Lillian E. Robertson, Grey's cousin by marriage and illustrator of his many books; the other to Jess Smith, Grey's guide who married… Read More

1811. No binding & hard cover. Good. Joel Barlow was a lawyer, diplomat, and Revolutionary War chaplain and pursued his writing ambitions after the war, joining the writers' group known as the Hartford Wits. He was an ardent proponent of American democracy. Granted French citizenship, he supported the French Revolution in spite of dedicating The Vision of Columbus to Louis XVI. Appointed US minister to France in 1811, he died in Poland on the way to a meeting with the French foreign minister. This collection includes 6 items dating from 1787 to 1811, specifically 4 books, 1 leaflet, and 1 letter.1 Letter:• ALS addressed "Dear Tom" (his seventeen-year old nephew, Thomas Paine Barlow), 3 November 1811, when Barlow was Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to Emperor of the France and King of Italy, "I am going myself in the country this morning & the Ladies [Barlow's wife, Ruth, and her sister, Clara] will not dine at home. - If you & John have a mind for a walk this morning you can call &… Read More

Various: Various, 1937. No binding & hard cover. The collection has 10 items dating from 1870 to 1937, specifically, 2 books, 4 letters, 2 post cards, 1 photo, 1 carte de visite, and 1 label with an address. The collection pertains to both von Arnim and her second husband, John Francis Stanley Russell, the 2nd Earl Russell (known as Frank Russell). Born in Sydney, Australia, Elizabeth von Arnim was an English novelist, a writer of semi-autobiographical memoirs, and a cousin of the writer Katherine Mansfield. In 1891 she married a German aristocrat, Count Henning August von Arnim Schlagenthin (1851-1910). The couple had five children together. Her literary career blossomed when she wrote Elizabeth and Her Garden in 1898. After her husband's death, she lived in England, Switzerland, France, and the United States. She was a mistress of H.G. Wells between 1910 and 1913 and married Frank Russell, the brother of Bertrand Russell, in 1916. A pre-cursor to Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, her novel, Vera, is… Read More