One always agrees with people who solemnly say what you personally believe. So I have to tell you up front that I simply agree with the basic premise of David Lesser’s three recent catalogues: that Americana in all its forms is interesting and collectible. There are plenty of books here for the collector who approaches book collecting in the traditional way and there are plenty of opportunities for collectors who are interested in collecting more widely. Here are a few selections from the field of Americana in its non-book forms (70:4 – this means catalogue 70, item 4):
70-4: The American Anti-Slavery Almanac, for 1840. New York & Boston: American Anti-Slavery Society. [1839] Such pieces are always interesting because they are dealing with real issues close up. Does this piece have a ying to its yang? Were there Slave Owner’s Almanacs? Did it become too embarrassing to own them and hence they were all consigned to the fire? Such material on both sides is very interesting, particularly when you get closer to real life as expressed in the unadorned workmanlike prose of almanacs. $350
70-10: Joseph Baker’s Essays on the Civil Law is a 44 page pamphlet printed in Montpelier at the Universalist Watchman Office in 1846. Andrew Jackson, as President, sought to unwind the national banking system. Even more than ten years later the implications and ramifications of Jackson’s assault on the evils of money were sending the debt and credit-restrained to their writing desks to rail at the unfairness of the monetary system. Students of money, and who is not, will find one end of the string to follow into the tortuous cave of economic thought that they can track all the way into the present day with stops at the many economic controversies along the way. This is a very rewarding area for people with the intellectual power to understand it. $375
69-95: Prayers in the Crow Indian Language Composed by the Missionaries of the Society of Jesus. De Smet Mission Print, Idaho: 1891 This is a pamphlet of prayers that may not have actually worked, at least not as intended. The Crows lost their land but today seem to be taking over the gambling industry so maybe the effect was simply delayed. This piece will logically be collected by someone with an interest in Indian languages generally and the Crow language specifically, religious history, Idaho history, western Americana, unusual imprints and early Idaho printing. Come to think of it – who doesn’t want this piece. $275
