Upon receiving both I found the county records begin with notes on the regular meeting of the Ulster Historical Society, held June 7th, 1860, at the Reformed Church in New Paltz including the names of the participants and corresponding members. It seems likely both of these pieces belonged to one of the men mentioned although I haven't determined which one.
This volume reads "Kingston: Printed For The Society" but Munsell lists it as his work. This may explain why so few Munsell imprints show up. The place given is the location of the issuer, not the printer and the name of the printer is omitted.
Both pieces are fragile but in good condition and I am incredibly lucky to have acquired them. That they were inexpensive makes the story a little more interesting.
As an aside it isn't clear if either one of these items would be interesting enough for a conventional auction house to list. Neither piece has any auction history nor have they been included in dealer catalogues I've seen. Auctions want material with track records. Their rarity is, in any event, apparent but their importance less clear. Such material, for focused collectors, is an interesting challenge.
Next I bought three items on ABE that appear in Hermann E. Ludewig's "The Literature of American Local History; A Bibliographical Essay." This interesting, if sometimes imperfect, bibliography is an early attempt [1846] to document local and state history. We'll add it to the AED in August. Among the items Ludewig describes is "A Statistical Account of the Towns and Parishes in the State of Connecticut," by Timothy Dwight, dated 1811. On the title page it says Vol. 1, No. 1 but in fact the second volume wasn't published for 8 years. It's an unsophisticated copy and entirely original. I bought it from David Lesser.
Another Ludewig item is "An Address Delivered at the Request of the Citizens of Hartford on the 9th of November, 1835" by Joel Hawes that relates the history of Hartford from its settlement to the present. This is an 80 page pamphlet in its original printed wrappers. The third is "A Historical Discourse, delivered by request Before the Citizens of New Haven, April 25, 1838, The Two Hundredth Anniversary of The First Settlement of the Town and Colony" by James L. Kingsley, New Haven, 1838. This is a 115-page account in original boards, again a very nice copy.
To close out a busy month another interesting book came up on eBay as a "Poughkeepsie" item. It is "Memoirs of the Rev. John H. Livingston..." by Alexander Gunn, 1829. The AED has four records for the Reverend and one for this title offered by Harper in 1905 who described it as a memoir of the revolutionary war period with material on Poughkeepsie. The copy on eBay had problems but there was a very nice copy in boards on ABE for about the same money and I bought it. It came from the inventory of George S. MacManus of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
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.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
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.
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: 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…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
