Manuscripts & Original Documents

New Orleans: Parish of New Orleans, 1924. 1st Edition. 1st Edition. Signed. First Edition. Truman Capote's original Birth Certificate - issued in the parish of New Orleans & registered the 3rd day of October, 1924 & showing the birth of Truman Streckfus Persons, September 30th, 1924. A unique document. A bit tattered but still quite bright & clean. In 1928, when Truman was 4, the Certificate was given by Capote's mother, Lillie Mae Faulk Persons [soon to be Capote] to her sister, Lucille Faulk Ingram for safekeeping. Lillie Mae was off to New York to make a new life leaving Truman to the care & nurturing of his Monroeville relatives. Outside of the cousins Truman lived with as a child, Lucille Faulk Ingram & her daughter, Cecilia, were his closest kin. As a fledgling writer looking for solitude, it was in the comfort of Lucille Ingram's home that Truman began to write his first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms.

Mark Twain's son-in-law (wife of Clara Clemens) was a Russian-born pianist and conductor who studied under Anton Rubenstein and Theodor Leschetizky; from 1918 until his death he led the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. AMuQS, 1p, heavy stock 3½" X 2½" card, n.p., n.y. [1902]. Near fine. Light, even age toning. On a 2½" X 1" slip tipped to the center of this heavy card, Gabrilowitsch neatly writes out three measures of music, identifying it above as "Chopin, Concerto." Below the slip, on the heavy card he signs boldly. Quite attractive and very uncommon in this form.

The only child of George Washington's long-time personal secretary Tobias Lear was actually born in the early "White House" in Philadelphia, and Washington was his godfather; his mother died when he was two (Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton were among her pallbearers), and he went on to become a successful attorney in Washington, DC; Gilbert Stuart painted a well-known portrait of him. Outstanding AMS, 2pp (recto and verso), 7 3/4" X 12 3/4", Portsmouth, NH, 1817 August 20. Very good. Three light horizontal original folds; mild age toning and slight edgewear. This attractively and boldly penned document is titled "Christmas Hymn," and contains the full text of a Christmas song whose original we have not been able to determine. Begins, "Hail holy morn, upon whose beams / A thousand radiant Seraphs rode, / Bright from the Sapphire throne of God. / Bursting upon the Shepherd's dreams.- / While poised upon the glittering wing, / A thousand choral voices sing, / Glad tidings of great joy we bring,… Read More

When France's King Henry II died in 1559 and his sickly 15-year-old heir Francis II followed the next year, the throne went to 10-year-old Charles Maximilian, who became Charles IX; his mother, Catherine de' Medici, dominated his reign, which is noted for the Wars of Religion and for the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of 1572. Partial vellum DS, 1p, 11" X 8", n.p., n.y. [September 1570 lightly pencilled in another hand]. Very good. Folds and mild bit of wear evident, but overall handsome and boldly penned. Though penned in difficult early French (which is to modern French what Elizabethan English is to modern English) and not accompanied by a translation, this is a probate approval legal document. Below six lines of finely penned legalese, Charles signs at left with his usual enormous signature in a different and somewhat lighter ink. Below this appears another sentence in a large flamboyant hand (which appears to refer to Provence) and huge ornate signature of an official. This atmospheric… Read More

4 pp. Cambridge, Apr. 29, 1880. 12mo. Neatly written letter from Longfellow to Charles Kent (1823-1902), well-known English poet, biographer and journalist, concerning a book written by Kent ("Corona Catholica), and others sent to Longfellow for which Kent had never heard back concerning Longfellow's receipt of the books. He writes: "My Dear Mr. Kent, I hasten wit all speed to thank you for your kind letter and for the "Corona Catholica," both of which reached me safely and are very welcome. But I am troubled by what you say of the other books sent so long ago, your collected Poems, and "Charles Dickens as Reader." They were both received and I wrote to you at the time a letter full of thanks, particularly for the Poems and among the Poems, more particularly for the beautiful lines addressed to me, which I always deeply feel." He goes on to say that he is truly grieved that his letter never reached Kent, with the only consolation being this letter. He also thanks Kent for the "Corona" but states that… Read More

Arena. Published by Arrow books. London. 1983. FIRST EDITION. 8vo. (7.6 x 5 inches). Paperback. Illustrated throughout with black and white drawings by Steve Maguire. A very good copy with some minor rubbing to the edges but generally bright and tight. ---- With; A folder containing five A4 typescript and partial manuscript leaves of poems by Clarke that feature in the book, all in an early form and different from the published version, some quite substantially so. Number 1. Spilt Beans. -- 47 line poem. 31 lines (4 stanzas) typescript and the final 16 lines manuscript in JCC's hand in green ink. This version is very different to the published text. --- Number 2. Salome (published as Salome Maloney). 40 Line poem in 10 typed stanzas. This version substantially different to the published version. --- Number 3. Readers Wives. 20 line poem. 16 lines (4 stanzas) typed and four lines in JCC hand in green ink. There is a line and arrow showing the manuscript verse belongs between the second and third typed… Read More

N.p. [London]: N.p. 1967-8. A small quantity of original typescripts, printed typescripts and photocopied typescripts, many secured with staple to top left corner, and many with handwritten amendments, additions and deletions. Housed in a blue card folder bearing a typed white paper label label reading TERRY JONES & MIKE PALIN. Some wear and toning consistent with their age, staples mostly rusted, otherwise in near fine condition. A SMALL QUANTITY OF ORIGINAL, PRINTED AND PHOTOCOPIED TYPESCRIPTS OF SKETCHES WRITTEN BY TERRY JONES AND MICHAEL PALIN FOR FROST ON SUNDAY AND THE FROST REPORT, WITH EXTENSIVE CORRECTIONS, AMENDMENTS AND REWRITES BY BOTH. Terry Jones and Michael Palin first met as undergraduates at Oxford and, after graduating, began writing together for TV comedy shows. All the future Pythons save Terry Gilliam worked together for the first time on The Frost Report (1966-7), which also featured, both as writers and performers, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. The show ran for… Read More

Excellent condition, but missing the original map that was originally included. 11 fine chromolithographic and 11 lithographic plates. Publication of this report was originally intended for 1861, but the Civil War intervened and prevented publication for another fifteen years. The expedition under Macomb went west from Santa Fe across northern New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado. The whole drainage of the San Juan had been traced and the relationship of that river with the Colorado clearly established. More important, they had also established that the Green River united with the Grand to form the Colorado. The entire maze of intricate canyon country had been threaded, and its geography revealed for the first time. In addition, Newberry was able to establish numerous stratigraphic columns, and to trace the Triassic, Jurassic, and Carboniferous strata far out across the Colorado River. Newberry.introduced a new level of sophistication into the study of western geology.

Hardcover. Very Good. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 170 page manuscript. Contemporary half speckled sheep, marbled sides. Several contemporary sheets of manuscript with mathematical notations loosely inserted. Corners repaired, a little wear and some discolouration to boards, endpapers tanned, contents with the occasional light spot but overall quite clean. Very good condition. An elegant, substantial early-19th century manuscript containing practical mathematical and astronomical problems likely produced by a student of navigation. The majority of the text is from John Bonnycastle''s A Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, originally published in 1806. Bonnycastle was a respected mathematics teacher who tutored the children of the aristocracy and taught at the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. A man of "considerable classical and general literary culture", he was a great friend of Fuseli and also of Leigh Hunt, who included Bonnycastle in his book Lord Byron and Some of His Contemporaries.… Read More

1941. Hardcover. Good. Oblong Quarto. Second World War photo album compiled by American Red Cross worker Elizabeth Ridley, with three wartime Naval yearbooks & souvenir books owned by her sister Christine, a naval air mechanic in the WAVES programme. Oblong folio (340 x 260 mm). 1941-45. Contemporary dark blue skiver elaborately embossed in grey with military motifs including an American Eagle, planes, tank, battleship, artillery, and blimp. Bound with black nylon ties that may not be original. 80 black paper pages containing 219 photographs attached with photo corners. The photos range in size, with the majority measuring 90 x 60 mm, and the largest 255 x 200 mm. A few items, including some photos, a small colour Kodachrome, several negatives, and an unused Anchor Line trunk label are loosely inserted. Elizabeth has written her name and address on the front free endpaper and annotated many of the photos with white ink. The naval books owned by Christine Ridley include We Keep 'Em Flying: A Visit… Read More

Manchester, 1952-1956. Including 16 typed letters signed (one with the signature clipped out for reproduction in Vistas in Astronomy) and 1 autograph letter signed by Lovell, together with yellow carbons of Beer's typed letters, bound together with green string with metal caps in Beer's tan folder with the name Lovell in ink on the cover. Rust stains to the top three documents and the lower document from the metal caps on the binding string, not affecting the Lovell letters. Occasional mild creasing, otherwise the contents fresh and in excellent condition. An interesting archive of unpublished correspondence between leading radio astronomer Alfred Lovell (1913-2012) and astronomer and science populariser Arthur Beer. Beer (1900-1980) was born in Richenberg, Bohemia (later Czechoslovakia), and educated in Austria and Germany. He worked as an astronomer at Breslau University, where he studied binary stars, and at the German Maritime Observatory. He also wrote newspaper columns and was responsible… Read More

1905. Good +. Signed 3-page typescript of a agreement of sale between the American Baptist Publication Society and John Wanamaker. The American Baptist Publication Society sold to John Wanamaker the Crozier Building at 1420 and 1422 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, for $900,000. The Crozier Building was designed by Frank Miles Day & Brother and was added to the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places in 1980. American merchant John Wanamaker (1838-1922) had made $1.5 million in profits and interest from his stores in Philadelphia and New York in 1904, suggesting that his acquisition of the Crozier Building was an investment. The Crozier Building has continued to function as a successful office building to this day. In Good+ Condition: chipping at edges; loss of lower corner of first page, with minor loss of text; separating along some of the 2 horizontal creases in each page; signatures are clean and intact.

1810. Near Fine. 1 handwritten letter of 1 folio leaf, signed by Sir William Cathcart at Salton Hall, 2 April 1810, to the Quarter Master General of the Horse Guards. Contains a list of six local militia with the agreed on dates for assembling for annual training and excercise. Cathcart was a Scottish soldier and diplomat (1755-1843); he was promoted to general in 1812 and went to Russia as ambassador. In Near Fine Condition: light creasing and minor loss at lower edge; closed 1-cm. tear from lower edge; otherwise, clean and crisp.

1814. Near Fine. On 25 March 1814 Margaret Cauffman of Philadelphia, gentlewoman, sold to Isaac Overholtzer of Norriton Township, Montgomery County, for $650 a lot of woodland of almost 5 acres in Providence Township, Montgomery Co., on the road leading from the Germantown and Perkiomen turnpike and on the Norristown Road. Signed by Margaret Cauffman; witnesses Sarah A. Cauffman, Catharine Wiseman, and Alexander J. Uhlyn; and Delaware County Judge Mark Willcox. Mark Willcox (1743-1827) was the son of Thomas Willcox (1689-1779), the founder of Ivy Mills, which produced the paper used for early currency of the United States. He continued to run the paper mill after his father's death in 1779; he also served as an associate judge for Delaware County from 1791 to 1823. His second wife was Anna Mary Cauffman, a sister of Margaret Cauffman. In Near Fine Condition; 1 x 10 cm. section lacking at lower left-hand corner, with minor loss of writing; otherwise, clean and bright.

1400s Handwritten Prayer Manuscript on Vellum French Medieval Calligraphy RARE

An incredibly rare early 15th-century, handwritten manuscript!

This manuscript, written on vellum, is an impressive and highly desirable work. With 17 lines of handwritten text on each page, this sheet is a prime example of medieval handwriting style and calligraphy. This vellum sheet is from a bound book featuring 4 total pages of text. Note the numerous decorative initials.

Item number: #23489
Price: $950

[manuscripts]

15th-century

Details:
· Language: French
· Size: ~7.25in X 10.25in (18.5cm x 26cm)

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23489
Photos available upon request.