Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2016 Issue

My Once-a-Year Fix

Once a year I get a heads up from Peter Luke that he has assembled a stack of ephemera for me.  He’s an antique, book and paper dealer in the upper Hudson Valley of New York State who, about once a year, sends me material relevant to my New York State collection.  He’s a fan of oversized Priority Mail boxes.  I know this because his offers arrive in them, taped at the corners, and encased in indestructible film that experience has taught me will require industrial grade clippers to penetrate.  This year he sent me two boxes, in other years three.  I never know what to expect and am rarely disappointed.

 

I collect books and of course maps, manuscripts, ephemera and paintings.  Ephemera is interesting but so random it’s difficult to set boundaries that define what is in and what is out.  So he tries to set them for me and is forever coaxing me to consider material well beyond my geographical focus. 

 

This year the shipment was a bit on the small side; 38 items.  In past years I recall there have been 70 or 80.  But such material appears randomly and there will be both thin and abundant years.  This was a slim year.

 

My focus is the mid-Hudson Valley, a seven county area that mostly borders the Hudson River; Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Greene and Columbia counties.  I have convinced myself that library science will someday reconstruct local day-to-day history to create a fresh and very different perspective on local life, social attitudes, political motivations and economic reality.  So I’m committed and random pieces regularly arrive as I’m constantly looking to acquire such material.

 

I mainly buy ephemera on eBay and occasionally more significant items at auction.  A single menu or the account records of a 19th century paper-making factory don’t often make it into traditional auctions so I have to slum a bit, slogging through the mud of the utterly random but occasionally exceptionally rewarding.  In this way I have acquired about 5,000 items,

 

Peter’s material this year runs the range from very appealing to barely of interest but it is difficult not to buy it all because of how he prices his material.  A $100 item, if bought by it self will cost $80.  However, if you buy all the items offered the price is $70.  Over the years I have always bought all the material for the best discount.  This year’s packages were priced at $2,295 and if purchased complete $1,640.

 

The prices bear only a mild relationship to value.  Not many people actually know [and I’m not one of them that doesn’t] what such miscellaneous material is worth.  You can go years and not see a category of material and then be besieged for months as a single institution or collector floods the market.  Through it all you learn to identify with the collector or dealer who says “In forty years I’ve never see it before.”  With ephemera that is regularly the case.

 

Here is a list of the material I recently purchased.  Please note that the 10 images accompanying this article are what I found most interesting.

 

1   The Dr. C. O. Sahler Sanitarium     Kingston-0n-Hudson, N. Y. 20 pgs + printed covers. $75
2   Rifton Mills Ulster County     A coupon, printed on one side $30
3   Mountain House, Catskill Mtns       $85
4   West Point Fall Hops 1926 1926 1926 A dance list $35
5 Willis, Zephaniah A copy book 1783 1783 Kingston [New York] $65
6   Orange County Agricultural Institute 1846 1846    
7   Eight Photographs of Mohonk [actually Minnewaska]       $175
8   Apricultural Fair. Farmers' Club of the Town of Lumberland 1913 1913 36 pg. + printed wrap. $30
9   Supplement to the "Index to American Genealogies," issued in 1886 1888 1888   $20
10   Guide to the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains 1893 1893 261 pp. with maps and printed wrap $100
11   Vassar College. A College for Women, in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 1873 1873 A sketch of its foundation, aims, and resources, and of the development of its scheme of instruction to the present time. New-York: S. W. Green $15
12   Annual Report of the Inspector and Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy … 1870 1870   $20
13   Ninth Annual Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 1873-74 1874 1874 31pp. Disbound. $15
14 Langthorn, J. S. Brooklyn Engineer's Club nd   Methods used in Preliminary Work on a Catskill Resevoirs … $35
15   Hudson River by Daylight 1907 1907 32 pg. pamphlet $15
16   A Sermon preached by the author in Lincoln's Inn, London, Nov. 19, 1971 1873 1873 16 pg. Albany" Joel Munsell $70
17 By a Counsellor at Law Review of the Testimony given before the General Court Martial, upon the trial of Brig, General George Talcott, … 1851 1851 112 pg. + printed wraps. $175
18   Hudson-Fulton Celebration 1909 1909   $40
19   One Hundredth Anniversary of the building of the Hopewell Church, … 186[7] 186[7]   $15
20 Berkey, Charles P. Quality of Bluestone in the Vicinity of the Ashokan Dam       $20
21 Todd, John A. The Death of Washington Irving: A Discourse delivered in the Second Reformed Dutch Church, … 1859 1859 16 pg. + printed wrap.  
22   1806 Manuscript notes on Sunday School classes     36 pg. disbound. Relating in part to Poughkeepsie and Fishkill $75
23   Minutes of the Warwick Baptist Association 1810 1810   $185
24 Tator, Henry H, Esq. An[sp] Eulogy commerative of the character of Hon. Henry Clay 1852 1852 22 pg. + printed wrap. Albany: Joel Munsell $50
25 de Peyster, J. Watts The Eclaireur, A Military Journal 1854 1855 Volume II. Platt & Schram, Printers, Poughkeepsie $250
26   Summer Price List of Strawberry Plants 1878 1878   $55
27   View from Plazza of the Mountain Top 1899 1899   $100
28   Mountain House, Catskill Mts. 1899 1899   $100
29 Vail, R. W. G. The Ulster County Gazette and its Illegitimate Offspring 1951 1951   $20
30   List of Prints, Books, Manuscripts, Etc. relating to Henry Hudson, The Hudson River, Robert Fulton and Steam Navagation 1909 1909 86 pp. A bibliography of material relating to the Hudson River $25
31   Mountin House Letter 1888 1888   $65
32   Souvenir - Wallkill Valley Farmer's Association 1898 1898   $30
33   Elizabeth Wright to Edwin Williamson Quit Claim Deed 1845 1845 Transfer upon death $25
34   Journal of the Second Esopus War       $20
35   Hubbard Gleaner & Binder nd nd John H. Duxbury, Pine Plains, agent for Dutchess County $125
36   Office of the Washington Iron Works 1860 1860 Letter. $50
37 Owen, Gerge W. The Leech Club; or, the Mysteries of the Catskills 1874 1874 Boston: Lee & Shepard, Publishers $65
38 Best, Gerald M. Minisink Valley Express 1956 1956 A history of the Port Jervis, Monticello & New York Railroad $20
  $2,295
                                             71% $1,640

 

With books you can acquire them one-by-one but for ephemera you have to hope there are a few Peter Luke’s looking out for you.

 

Peter Luke Antiques, Ephemera, Old & Rare Books

P. O. Box 282

New Baltimore, New York 12124

518.756.6492

oldluke50@hotmail.com

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • CHRISTIE’S
    Valuable Books and Manuscripts
    London auction
    13 December
    Find out more
    Christie’s, Explore now
    TREW, Christoph Jacob (1695–1769). Plantae Selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini in hortus curiosorum. [Nuremberg: 1750–1773]. £30,000–40,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    VERBIEST, Ferdinand (1623–88). Liber Organicus Astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restituate. [Beijing: Board of Astronomy, 1674]. £250,000–350,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ALICE & NIKOLAUS HARNONCOURT. Master of Jean Rolin (active 1445–65). Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, [Paris, c.1450–1460]. £120,000–180,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    A SILVER MICROSCOPE. Probably by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), c.1700. £150,000–250,000
    Christie’s, Explore now
    AN ENGLISH HORARY QUADRANT
    C.1311. £100,000–150,000
  • Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800
  • Sotheby’s
    Fine Books and Manuscripts
    8 December 2023
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: [Austen, Jane] — Isaac D'Israeli. Jane Austen's copy of Curiosities of Literature. 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition in boards of the author's debut novel. 70,000 - 100,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Brontë, Charlotte. "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me..." 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Eliot, George. The author's magnum opus. 25,000 - 35,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Whitman, Walt. Manuscript written upon the Death of Lincoln, 1865. 60,000 - 80,000 USD
  • Sotheby’s
    Important Modern Literature from the Library of an American Filmmaker
    8 December 2023
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Kerouac, Jack. Typescript scroll of The Dharma Bums. Typed by Kerouac in Orlando, Florida, 1957, published by Viking in 1958. 300,000 - 500,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Hemingway, Ernest. The autograph manuscript of "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." [Key West, finished April 1936]. 300,000 - 500,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Miller, Henry. Typescript of The Last Book, a working title for Tropic of Cancer, written circa 1931–1932. 100,000 - 150,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Ruscha, Ed. Twentysix Gasoline Stations, with a lengthy inscription to Joe Goode. 40,000 - 60,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 8: Hemingway, Ernest. in our time, first edition of Hemingway’s second book. 30,000 - 50,000 USD
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200.

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