More Rare Americana from David Lesser Antiquarian Books

Item 92 is A Treatise on Magic, or, on the Intercourse Between Spirits and Men, an 1810 work by Frederick Henry Quitman, a Lutheran minister from Rhinebeck, New York. From that title, you might suppose that Rev. Quitman was a believer in miracles and communication with the spirit world, but he was anything but. Quitman was a German native, sent to Curacao to preach in 1783. As a result of a slave revolt on that island in 1795, he determined it best to leave, which brought him to leading several congregations in upstate New York. It was there that reports spread of haunted houses and the like. The beliefs conflicted with Quitman's rationalist view of the world. He determined it was his “sacred duty...to deliver those that were entrusted to my care, from the shameful yoke of superstition, and help them to the enjoyment of rational liberty.” Quitman believed that God only worked through the natural laws he set down, and to violate them would be to deny himself. Somewhat surprisingly for such a rational and good-hearted man (perhaps the Curacao slave revolt left some scars?), his son, John Quitman, would become far better known, for the wrong reasons. The younger Quitman was an antebellum Mississippi Governor and Congressman, one of the radical “fire-eaters” who promoted secession more than a decade before the Civil War. He was an extreme supporter of slavery, supporting a filibustering mission to Cuba to conquer the land and make it a slave state, and with similar designs at one time on the New Mexico Territory. $750.

Next we have A Funeral Oration on the Death of George Washington, an 1800 printing of Michael Gabriel Houdin's oration at City Hall in Albany, New York. Houdin is identified as a major in the Revolutionary Army. What is interesting about this piece is not so much its eloquent oratory as the claim by the North American Imprints Program and others that the drawing at the front is not of Washington, but of Houdin. Of course, Houdin would have had a right to dress as a military man too, but what is most interesting is that if this is Houdin, he does bear a resemblance to Washington (see image this page). As to why he looks to be wearing Mickey Mouse ears is unclear. Item 52. $750.

David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books may be reached at 203-389-8111 or dmlesser@lesserbooks.com. Their website is www.lesserbooks.com