Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2012 Issue

A Case for Buying from Dealers

Material purchased from Bill Reese

Material purchased from Bill Reese

From the William Reese Company:

[American Newspaper]:  The New-York Packet, and The American Advertiser.  Thursday, September 11, 1777.  [No. 70].  Fish-kill [N. Y.]:  Printed by Samuel Loudon, 1777.  [4] pp., printed on folded sheet.  Folio.  A scarce Revolutionary war newspaper mentioning a resolution to adopt the U. S. flag, executed by Congress on August 27, 1777.

The Riddle-Book for the Amusement of Boys and Girls.  Troy:  F. Adancourt, 1825.  23pp.  A rare survival, a scrap of local printing history.

[Paper Mill in Saugerties, N. Y.] Manuscript daybook kept by David Grieve of Saugerties, New York, detailing the accounts of the paper mill there.  Saugerties, N. Y. 1827-1828.  Industry, such as it was, was primitive and uncommon and their records important.
  

The Fort Braddock Letters, a Tale of the Old French War; or The Adventures of Du Quesne, Dudley and Van Tromp:  with the Capture of Captain Kidd.  Peekskill.  1832.  Imperfect but very appealing.

[Panther, Abraham]:  A Surprising Narrative of a Young Woman, who as discovered in the gloomy mansion of a rocky cave!  Hudson:  [Ashbel Stoddard], 1798.  A rare but fictitious narrative of an escape from captivity in 1777.  Such accounts were common in the era and are highly collectible today.

[Texas]:  Head Quarters of the Army … General orders No. 18.  West Point, N. Y.  July 16, 1858.  Issued at West Point.  Relevant to a collection of the Hudson Valley only because these orders were issued there.

Address to the Independent Electors of the State of New-York.  Republican Nomination and Address.  Albany:  printed at the office of the Argus, March 20, 1813.  Chairman Abm, J. Hardenbergh [of Ulster County].  This is the nomination of Daniel D. Tompkins for Governor and John Taylor for Lieutenant Governor.  Mr. Tompkins was Governor of the State of New York from 1807 to 1817 and also 6th vice president of the United States under James Monroe [1817-1825]

Memorial of the Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the City of Troy.  Jan. 27, 1823.“  A document “read and referred to the Committee of Canals and Internal Improvements, in assembly February 23rd, 1823.  The Erie Canal was officially opened on October 26th, 1825, its opening a signal event in Troy’s history.

The Dier’s Assistant in the Art of Dying Wool and Woolen Goods… By James Haigh.  Printed at Poughkeepsie by Paraclette Potter, Main Street.  P. & S. Potter, Printers.  1813.  An exceptionally nice and original copy of one of the early and important books printed in Poughkeepsie.

[New York]:  [Johnston and Sage]:  Centennial Celebration of the Minisink Battle on the actual battlefield July 22d, 1879…Monticello, N. Y. [1879]

[New York State Newspaper]:  [Sampson, Chittenden, and Croswell (publishers and editors)]:  The Balance, and Columbian Repository [Volume 1, Number 1 through Volume 2, Number 52].  Hudson, N. Y. 1802-1803.  2 vols.  At a time when newspapers’ roles were evolving The Balance, and Columbian Repository were reporting local and national news and providing severe opinions on political questions.  Important to understanding to the times.

The Sham-Patriot Unmasked.  Hudson:  from the press of Sampfon, Chittenden & Crofwell.  1802.  It’s full title is The sham-patriot unmasked: or, An exposition of the fatally successful arts of demagogues, to exalt themselves, by flattering and swindling the people.  It was first published in the Balance and later republished elsewhere.

The Life of the Boston Bard, written by himself.  Mount Pleasant, N. Y. [today Hawthorne in Westchester County].  Published by Stephen Marshall.  Roscoe, printer 1825.

The Infantry Exercise of the United States Army, abridged for the use of the Militia of the United States – third edition, corrected and improved.  Poughkeepsie:  Printed and Published by P. Potter, for himself, and for S. Potter & Co. No. 55, Chestnut-Street, Philadelphia 1819.  Complete with the oriented chart of Battalion references.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
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    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.

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