Heritage Book Shop and the Heritage Bindery are housed in an historically important building, constructed in 1928. The stenciled, open-vaulted ceiling, English cabinets and terrazzo floor provide an atmosphere of old world dignity. The brilliant stained-glass windows, depicting the earliest known woodcut of a printer at work, were custom designed for the Weinsteins, and the Gothic-style chairs in the main room were used as set furniture in the film Gone with the Wind. “A Holiday Selection of Fine Books and Original Artwork (Catalogue 210, Heritage Book Shop, Inc.) is an elaborately produced 64 page, 391 item display of seasonal offerings (replete with many finely produced color photographs) of material organized under five general themes: “Fine & Rare Antiquarian Books,” “Fine Bindings & Privately Printed Books,” “Children’s & Illustrated Books,” “Literature,” and “Voyages & Travel.,” with an index of contents at the rear.
Although one could arguably find Americana selections within each of the sections in this current catalogue, this review will concentrate on the offerings in the “Fine & Rare Antiquarian Books” section, where there are some real Americana stunners to be had. The “Fine & Rare Antiquarian Books” section does not pretend to limit itself to Americana (indeed there are some wonderful Homer, T.E. Lawrence, and Winston S. Churchill items available, just for starters), but it is to this section that this reviewer’s eyes mainly gravitated. Pages 6 and 7 of the catalogue reproduce in striking color two irresistible hand-colored lithographed plates from Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America…(Philadelphia: 1848-1850; first octavo edition; three volumes; $30,000). A few more pages into the text, the Heritage catalogue displays two more far from shoddy items, both on page 11: An American Revolutionary item consisting of a rare printed broadside entitled “State of Massachusetts-Bay, In the House of Representatives, January 20th, 1777” ($2,500), directly followed by an autograph Abraham Lincoln document ([Springfield], 18 November, 1839, two folio pages on one plain legal-sized leaf. Written by Lincoln as attorney for Isaac P. Spear, as the answer to the Bill of Chancery filed against Spear, $8,500.)
Due to space reasons, this reviewer has detailed only a few of the hundreds of unique, extremely uncommon, and extremely desirable books and manuscripts running throughout this beautifully produced and executed catalogue. It would, however, be a severe mistake for customers – even those solely interested in Americana – to limit themselves to reading the one section of the catalogue described above. Each section more than holds its own and contains some breathtaking treasures, treasures that serious book collectors have come to expect from a dealer as prestigious as Heritage.
The catalogue reviewed above is available from the Heritage Book Shop, Inc., 8540 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90069, (310) 659-3674, Email heritage@heritagebookshop.com, Website www.heritagebookshop.com.
