David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books continues to move relentlessly forward in publishing new catalogues of Rare Americana, this latest being number 134. Lesser's catalogues are always a fascinating read for those who collect Americana. They contain mostly shorter form material, a concentration in pamphlets and broadsides, relating to America primarily from shortly before the Revolution, to a little after the Civil War. Much is found from that time between the two wars, where America grew, and then fell apart. Here are a few items from this latest selection.
When you hear the name “John Deere” you probably think of tractors, but the original John Deere was a person, not a piece of farm equipment. Actually, he made his name producing plows, and later other types of farm machinery, but he died before the development of tractors. Item 45 is titled Supreme Court of Illinois. April Term, A. D., 1861. John Deere, vs. James Chapman. Evidently, Mr. Chapman failed to pay his debt for equipment he bought from Deere, with the latter attempting to seize his home. This piece is one of the arguments made during this case. This proved to be a significant court case as the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the statutory exemption of a homestead from being seized to pay debts. Priced at $275.
There was a bitter labor battle being waged in Butte, Montana, in 1900. It pitted the Butte Clerks' Protective Union against the D. J. Hennessy Company, a large merchant, and even the Butte Miners' Union. The clerks' union had negotiated an early closing time with other merchants, but Hennessy refused to close early. The result was this broadside diatribe, where the clerks' union leaves few insults left unsaid in attacking the store and its “scab” employees. The broadside is headed The Hennessy Co. vs. Early Closing. The broadside urges readers “keep away from those stores, keep away from those filthy scab employees, and show the world you abhor perjured traitors. Enemies of your churches, enemies of your country, enemies of your unions, yes, enemies of your children yet unborn.” Who knew the horrors of staying open late, even on unborn future generations? Stores like Hennessy, it continues, “are death to individual enterprise... To independance [sic], self-reliance, ambition, ingenuity, manliness.” Despite the attempt to break the then new, elegant store, Hennessy's in Butte survived until 1980, and three other Hennessy's, all in Montana, continued under that name until 1998, when they were rebranded as Dillard's by their new owner. Item 95. $1,850.
Item 77 is Tract No. 6. The Duties and Dignities of American Freemen. It was published in 1843 by the New England Anti-Slavery Tract Association. It was written by the society's secretary and ardent abolitionist James C. Jackson. Jackson demonstrates how slavery has weakened the republican principles of America. Jackson had previously been a farmer, but became an anti-slavery publisher, and then, after a miraculous cure of chronic bad health he attributed to a spa, ran a major such facility and promoted healthy eating habits. He is credited with inventing the first breakfast cereal, which he called Granula. So, if you collect either material pertaining to abolition or breakfast cereal, this piece belongs in your collection, and if you collect both, you have hit the jackpot. $175.
Sotheby’s Bibliotheca Brookeriana: A Renaissance Library. The Aldine Collection D-M 18 October 2024
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Herodianus Syrus, Herodiani Historiarum, Venice, Heirs of Aldo & Torresano, 1524, Parisian binding for Jean Grolier by Jean Picard, ca. 1540
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Musaeus, Opusculum de Herone et Leandro, Venice, Aldo, 1495 (Greek text), interleaved with 1497–1498 (Latin text), English olive morocco by Charles Lewis, the Botfield copy
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Horatius Flaccus, Horatius, Venice, Aldo, 1501, Bolognese brown goatskin (between 1501 and 1503), arms of Mino Rossi and illuminated initials throughout
Sotheby’s, Oct. 18: Lucretius, De rerum natura, Venice, Aldo, 1500, English early eighteenth-century red morocco, the Fletcher copy
Bonhams, now to Oct. 24: CATESBY, MARK. 1683-1749. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. $100,000 - $150,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 24: AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES. 1785-1851. The Birds of America, from Drawings Made in the United States and their Territories. $30,000 - $50,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 24: ADAMS ON HIS PEAR TREES AND A LOST PORTRAIT BY SALEM ARTIST HANNAH CROWNINSHIELD. ADAMS, JOHN. 1735-1826. $10,000 - $15,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 24: EARLIEST MAP DEVOTED TO NORTH AMERICA. FORLANI, PAULO. fl.1560-1571. $20,000 - $30,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 24: HAMILTON DEFENDS THE CONSTITUTION. HAMILTON, ALEXANDER. 1757-1804. $20,000 - $30,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 24: NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION BROADSIDE. Boston, September 14, 1768. $5,000 - $8,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 23: ONE OF THE EARLIEST ILLUSTRATIONS OF A SURGICAL PROCEDURE. BARTHOLOMAEUS ANGLICUS. $10,000 - $15,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 23: RICHARD FEYNMAN'S ANNOTATED COPY, WITH TWO EARLY FEYNMAN AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPTS. $15,000 - $25,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 23: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN COMPUTING. TURING, ALAN MATHISON. 1912-1954. $30,000 - $50,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 23: FINE OIL PORTRAIT OF ALBERT EINSTEIN BY EUGEN SPIRO. $40,000 - $60,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 23: PENICILLIN MOLD MEDALLION INSCRIBED BY ALEXANDER FLEMING. FLEMING, ALEXANDER. 1881-1955. $30,000 - $50,000
Bonhams, now to Oct. 23: APPLE "TWIGGY" MACINTOSH PROTOTYPE USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DEMONSTRATION SOFTWARE. $80,000 - $120,000
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 24: A Superb Extra-illustrated Copy of Nicolay and Hay’s Work About Lincoln. $50,000 – 70,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 24: The First Volume of De Bry's Great Voyages, Thomas Hariot's Description of Virginia. $50,000 – 70,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 24: An autographed cabinet card of Custer as lieutenant colonel. From his last sitting. $800 – 1,200.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 24: The Congressional Committee, Lincoln's Funeral Springfield Illinois, 3 May 1865. $4,000 – 6,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 25: A remarkable ninth plate daguerreotype of an interracial couple. $30,000 – 50,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 25: What may be the earliest known images of an identified plantation and enslaved African Americans posed with their owner. $20,000 – 30,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 25: Through Tickets to All Principal Points West Via Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad For Sale at This Office. $500 – 700.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Oct. 25: 15th New York Infantry / Regiment of Engineers GAR regimental colors. Ca 1880. $1,500 – 2,500.
Jeschke Jádi Auction 153 Friday October 25 and Saturday October 26, 2024
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 1556. Senghor, Les Élégies Majeures. Geneve 1978.
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 1572. Lew Tolstoy. Anna Karenina. First Edition, Moscow, 1878.
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 49. Petrarca. Das Gluecksbuch, Augsburg, 1536.
Jeschke Jádi Auction 153 Friday October 25 and Saturday October 26, 2024
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 1060. Immanuel Kant, Critik der reinen Vernunft. First Edition, Riga, 1781.
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 585. Bonaparte, Iconografia della fauna Italica. Rome, 1832f.
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 548. Robert Fludd. Utriusque cosmi maioris, Frankfurt, 1617f.
Jeschke Jádi Auction 153 Friday October 25 and Saturday October 26, 2024
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 1496. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 571. Christian von Wolff. Works, Halle 1741f.
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 969. Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Dekorationen innerer Raeume. Berlin 1874.
Jeschke Jádi Auction 153 Friday October 25 and Saturday October 26, 2024
Jeschke Jádi, Oct. 25-26: Lot 1457. Goethe. Das Tagebuch. Print on Vellum. Berlin, Officina Serpentis. 1934.
