Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - May - 2007 Issue
The Civil War and More Americana from Chapel Hill Rare Books
Enchanting native women from the Hawaiian Islands.
Here is another example of the paper shortage. When Union forces captured New Orleans in April 1862, Benjamin Butler, the commanding officer, issued a broadside Proclamation. He promises "severe punishment" for anyone disrespecting the U.S. flag. Butler was quite serious, executing a man the following month for tearing down a flag (and for which Jefferson Davis issued a proclamation that if Butler were ever captured, he should be hanged immediately). He also states that any attacks on Union soldiers will be treated not as combat in war, but common murder, with appropriate punishment therefore. As for the paper shortage, this proclamation was printed on the obverse of a British 1855 lithograph of a scene from the Crimean War. It's all that was available. So, this is a rare item that fits collectors of both the Civil and Crimean Wars, should any exist. Item 61. $8,750.
Item 29 is another rare and unusual Civil War piece. It is headed Important. To the People of the Confederate States. The American Letter Express Co. In the early days of the war, there was no official means of mailing letters between the North and South. A few companies, such as American Letter Express, filled the void by running a sort of shuttle between post offices. Southerners could send their mail to American Letter in Nashville, which would carry the mail to Louisville in the North. The reverse would take place for northerners wishing to send their mail south. The cost was 15 cents per letter. These mail services were short lived, being shut down by the Union on August 26, 1861, so such items are very scarce. $2,900.
Item 83 is The Nevada Cook Book from the Ladies of the Central Christian Church (1896). Don't look for any casino buffet fare, desert cuisine, or recipes brought by alien visitors to Area 51. This group of recipes, including 18 pages of manuscript additions, comes from Nevada, Missouri. $175.
Item 95 is a collection of 26 large-format photographs from Hawaii, circa 1880-1900. Numerous sights and scenes of these lovely islands and their people are seen, such as the one shown on this page (click image to enlarge), which explains why it has always been such an enchanting place. $5,850.
Item 137 is a ticket to the most notable impeachment trial in U.S. history (no, not Clinton). It states, U.S. Senate. Impeachment of the President. Admit the Bearer. The date is April 28, 1868, and this president was Andrew Johnson. He survived, but just barely. $450.
Item 164 pertains to a real Indian Captivity, not one of the fanciful types designed to stir hostility toward America's natives. It is a letter from Lilyann Williams, petitioning Georgia's Governor to help free her daughter from captivity. Mrs. Williams had been captured by Creek Indians in 1787, while she was pregnant, but freed in 1795 in a prisoner exchange. However, her daughter was not freed, and now in 1799, with the girl 12 years of age, Mrs. Williams discovered that treaties provided that the Indians would have to free her daughter on petition from the Governor. Naturally, she then wrote the Governor for help, or at least, she had others write on her behalf, as she evidently was not literate. Item 164 is her plea to the Governor. It is not known whether it succeeded. $6,500.
