Item 15 is a complete run of the 18 annual editions of The Rose of Sharon, A Religious Souvenir for the Year 1840 (- 1857). This was a literary annual published in Boston by Tompkins & Mussey, and the works are tilted toward the beliefs of the Universalist Church. Some of these gift books were presented in fine bindings, and 16 of these 18 editions are in deluxe leather bindings from Benjamin Bradley. Each one has a different cover. The years 1852 and 1853 are in standard bindings, but there is a second copy from 1853 in a deluxe morocco binding. $3,800.
Item 71 is The Book of Specimens Stanhope Press, published in 1905. It was the product of the F.H. Gilson Company. Mr. Gilson had founded the company in 1878 and named the printing division after Charles, Third Earl of Stanhope. The Earl was a politician and scientist who invented a printing press in the late 1700s. This book contains 60 samples of binding cloth and 16 of leather, along with type specimens and similar material expected to be found in a large specimen book. $620.
Item 38 is an odd item from the Heavenly Monkey Press: Oddballs. The Remarkable True Stories of Forty Unique, Strange, Peculiar, Extraordinary & Generally Odd People... The author and illustrator of this recent selection (2011) is Jim Westergard. Among those featured in this work are Aimee Semple McPherson, Howard Hughes, Timothy Leary, Rasputin, and Pope Joan. Westergard provides portraits and descriptions of these people who are “quietly or outlandishly out of the ordinary.” $2,000.
The Veatchs Arts of the Book can be reached at 413-584-1867 or veatchs@veatchs.com. Their website is www.veatchs.com.
