Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - October - 2016 Issue

A Variety to be Found in Jeff Weber's Bookseller's Cabinet

From bookseller Jeff Weber's cabinet.

Jeff Weber Rare Books has issued their Catalogue 181 Bookseller's Cabinet. What's in the bookseller's cabinet? Turns out there are four types of not closely related material. Weber carries many other varieties of books, but his cabinet holds four categories: Americana & California; Early Printed Books; Fine Printing, Books on Books, Illustrated & Literature; and Sports, Pastimes & Etc. There are books from very old to quite recent, with many well within the reach of even a beginning collector. Here are a few samples of the books you will find.

 

We begin with a piece of notable Californiana. On January 24, 1848, James Marshall was building a water-powered sawmill for John Sutter. James S. Brown was part of the "Mormon Battalion" working on the mill. Marshall wrote a book about the event, and another was finally prepared many years later. That would be James Brown's account published in 1894: California Gold. An Authentic History of the First Find With the Names of Those Interested in the Discovery. According to Brown, Marshall picked a few tiny pieces of something from the water and exclaimed to the others, "Boys, I have got her now." The other men weren't very interested, but Brown says he took the largest piece and tested it with his teeth. When it did not give, he proclaimed, "Gold, boys, gold." The Gold Rush was on. Only 55 copies were reported to have been printed of this small book. Item 1. Priced at $3,500.

 

William Pemble was a Puritan theologian who wrote at least 11 books, many popular at the time (though not now). All were published after he died in 1623 at the age of just 32. His tutor and mentor had them published. This book strays from his typical theological treatise, though the influences of his religious beliefs affect some of his conclusions. Item 25 is A Briefe Introduction to Geography containing a Description of the Grounds and generall Part thereof, very necessary for young Students in that Science, published in 1630. Pemble sought not to provide the usual geography describing specific lands and coasts, but rather to speak of more general properties, such as climate zones, longitude and latitude, and the nature of general features such as mountains, oceans, and continents. Pemble concluded that the earth and water are round. As he noted, it is not square, "nor three-cornered, nor Piramidall, nor conical on Tapperwise, nor Cylindricall...nor hollow like a dish." He did not consider mountains and valleys contradictory to the earth's roundness as those are incidental variations, and the roundness of water is demonstrated by watching a ship at sea dip below the horizon. However, he did not accept Copernicus' theory that the earth revolves around the sun. He stated that the earth is immovable, a conclusion he was able to reach from personal observation. Never believe your eyes. $2,500.

 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a brilliant student in college. He there determined his success in life would be based on literary accomplishments. He also wrote some minor poems that were published in magazines, to no great account. However, his talents quickly got him a job as a professor, and his literary talents were put to work translating European texts. That's where he stood at the age of 32 when he published his first book of poetry. It contained numerous translations of others' poems, but also nine of his own. It was an immediate success, and Longfellow was on the journey that would make him America's most popular and beloved poet in the 19th century. Item 69 is a copy of Longfellow's first book of poems, Voices of the Night. This is not the first edition, which was published in 1839, but an 1845 issue printed to meet the continuing demand. In time, though Longfellow's name continues to be well known, his poetry lost its earlier luster, now being seen more as unoriginal and derivative of European styles. Nonetheless, his contemporaries did not feel that way about him, treating him with the honor of one of America's greatest statesmen. $25.

 

The best known exploration of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon was conducted by John Wesley Powell in the 1870's, but it was not the first. In 1857, Joseph Christmas Ives (so named because he was born on Christmas day) headed an official expedition up the river. Unlike Powell, who was taking on the more treacherous rapids from the north, Ives built a steamboat and went upstream from the river's mouth. He made it to the canyon, and then set out by land to Fort Defiance in today's Colorado with his report. Ives reported on the geology, botany, and native tribes living in the area. He was more interested in the land's practical uses than its beauty, concluding the dry barren land wasn't good for much of anything. Item 6 is the Senate version of his account, Report upon the Colorado River of the West, explored in 1857 and 1858 by Lieutenant Joseph C. Ives... published in 1861. This copy includes various associated reports, illustrations by his accompanying artist German Heinrich Balduin (Baldwin) Mollhausen, and maps of the canyon by topographer Frederick W. von Egloffstein. Item 6. $1,400.

 

We conclude with a recent book containing detailed information concerning a unique form among the book arts – for-edge paintings. These are those remarkable paintings drawn upon the fore-edges of books, requiring an unusual skill. The title is An Annotated Dictionary of Fore-Edge Painting Artists & Binders (Mostly English & American). The Fore-Edge Paintings of Miss C. B. Currie; with a Catalogue Raisonné. The author is bookseller Jeff Weber himself, the work published in 2010. With 432 pages and many illustrations (along with being signed by the author), you won't find a more detailed treatise on the subject. It contains essays on the history of the art and the challenges it entails, and a comprehensive dictionary of every artist and binder known to create fore-edge paintings. Finally, there is a section on Ms. C. B. Currie, perhaps the most prolific of all fore-edge painters, but about whom little is known. She probably painted close to 200 fore-edges in the early 20th century, working with bookseller Sotheran's and bookbinders, and her name is known because, unlike most who preceded her, she signed and numbered her paintings. However, virtually nothing is known of her personal life. $400.

 

Jeff Weber Rare Books may be reached at 323-344-9332 or weberbks@pacbell.net. Their website is found at www.WeberRareBooks.com

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
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    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
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    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
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    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
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    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

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