"Levi's Round-Up of Western Lingo" is a colorful promotional leaflet for Levi Strauss and Co. Undated (roughly 1940-1960) the text is a glossary of cowboy terms written by Ramon Adams. The advertisement consists of a single sheet folded to make 12 small pages. The cover panel shows two clean-cut, smiling cowboys, one sitting on a fence and the other leaning against it, both wearing Levi's. On the foot of the rear panel there is a space for printing the name and location of a particular store where the jeans can be bought.
Next is a book by L. M. Griffiths entitled Medical Philology. A 12mo., published by J. W. Arrowsmith in Bristol in 1905, it contains excerpts from the Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Journal, Part I (A-El) only. These passages discuss medical words found in the landmark English dictionaries of the fifteenth through the nineteenth centuries, with ample citations and critical commentary. The book gives textured treatment to each of these words, and much to savor.
The first two issues of a newspaper called The Springfield Musket, dated November 26 and December 21, 1864, respectively, came from Springfield, Massachusetts, with an editorial board of four women. The paper was "published at the fair for the soldiers' rest." Each issue contains two columns comprising half of a jocular glossary, and each entry is illustrated by a droll pictorial cut. One can well imagine soldiers chuckling as they read the paper.
A Dictionarie in English and Latine for Children, and Yonge Beginners, by John Withals, was first published in 1553 and went through numerous editions. On hand is a late edition of 1602, augmented by William Clerk. It has an elaborately decorative title page and a vivid text, with the English entries printed in black type. One leaf, possibly the last or possibly a frontispiece, has long ago been affixed to the rear pastedown. At the foot is the legend "Thomas Purfoote," the name of the printer, under a woodcut of a handsomely coiffed well-dressed woman using a sword to stab herself beneath the breast. Since Thomas Purfoote had his shop in St. Paul's churchyard "at the signe of the Lucrece," it can easily be assumed that the woodcut is a portrait of Lucretia.
A series of pamphlets and magazine articles—some few dozen—many of them in my library--appeared, and raged, in the 1830s through the 1860s, arguing back and forth the case for the dictionaries of Noah Webster or those of his rival Joseph Worcester. The sometimes vitriolic writings are known popularly as "The War of the Dictionaries." The pamphlets bore titles such as: "A Gross Literary Fraud Exposed; Relating to the Publication of Worcester's Dictionary in London" (a Merriam piece); "A Summary Summing of the Charges, with Their Refutations, in Attacks Upon Noah Webster, LL.D." (another Merriam piece); and "The Critic Criticised, and Worcester Vindicated; Constituting a Review of an Article in the 'Congregationalist'" (Swan, Brewster, and Tilleston, the publishers of Worcester).
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.")
