• <b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>Printed & Manuscript African Americana:<br>March 30, 2023</b>
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Victor H. Green, <i>The Negro Motorist Green Book,</i> New York, 1949. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Papers of pianist-composer Lawrence Brown relating to Paul Robeson & more, various places, 1925-54. $5,000 to $7,500.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Freedom Summer archive of civil rights activist Karen Haberman Trusty, Atlanta & elsewhere, 1963-64. $5,000 to $7,500.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> E. Simms Campbell, <i>A Night-Club Map of Harlem,</i> New York, 1933. $8,000 to $12,000.
    <b>Swann March 30:</b> Archive of letters from the sculptor Richmond Barthé to a close Jamaican friend, various places, 1966-85. $25,000 to $35,000.
  • <center><b>Gonnelli<br>Auction 41<br>Books, Autographs & Manuscripts<br>March 21st-23rd 2023</b>
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Nabokov, <i>Lolita,</i> 1955. First edition, mint copy. Starting price 1900€
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Marinetti, <i>Zang Tumb Tuuum,</i> 1914. First edition. Starting price 1600€
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> A collection of <i>Playboy,</i> starting price from 20€
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Kepler, <i>Dioptrice,</i> 1611. First edition. Starting price 9500€
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Barbault, <i>Les plus beaux Monuments de Rome,</i> 1761-1766. Starting price 5500€
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Watson, <i>Dendrologia Britannica,</i> 1825. Starting price 380€
  • <b><center>Koller Auctions<br>Books & Autographs<br>29 March 2023</b>
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> DADA - <i>Cabaret Voltaire.</i> A collection of artistic and literary contributions. Edited by Hugo Ball. CHF 5,000 to 8,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> EXPRESSIONISM - <i>Der Sturm.</i> Weekly magazine for culture and the arts. Almost complete suite from the years 1910 to 1932. CHF 20,000 to 30,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> LISBON EARTHQUAKE - <i>Augsburg collection of copper engravings of Lisbon. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Hamilton, William. <i>Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Sicilies as they have been communicated to the Royal Society of London.</i> Naples, 1776-1779. CHF 50,000 to 70,000.
    <b><center>Koller Auctions<br>Books & Autographs<br>29 March 2023</b>
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Leonardi, Domenico Felice. <i>Le Delizie della villa di Castellazzo descritte in verso dall'abbate Domenico Felice Leonardi lucchese fra gli Arcadi Ildosio Foloetico.</i> Milan, 1743. CHF 12,000 to 18,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Zwingli, Huldrych. <i>Von erkiesen und freyhait der speisen. Von ergernusz und Verbößerung. Ob man gewalt hab die speyß zu etlichen zeyten verbieten [...]</i>. CHF 2,500 to 4,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> HENDRIK VAN VULLENHOE, UMKREIS. Benedictional and other texts for Johannes von Venningen, Bishop of Basel. Latin manuscript on parchment. CHF 50,000 to 80,000.
    <b>Koller, Mar. 29:</b> Gujer, Hans Rudolf. Master typist's book by Hans Rudolf Gujer from Wermetschweil (Wermatswil). German manuscript on paper. CHF 3,000 to 5,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2019 Issue

Rare Books from the American West from Old West Books

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Rare books from the American West.

Old West Books recently issued Catalog 48 of Rare, Out of Print Books on the American West. You will find some of the familiar names, like Buffalo Bill and Jesse James, but there is lots from obscure people, ranchers, settlers, soldiers, regular people who tamed the land. And then there is poor Gen. Custer who remains a famed western character all because of the worst day of his life. Here are a few specific titles you will find.

 

We begin with a man who is himself obscure, but rode with some of the most notorious names in the West, Jesse and Frank James, the Younger Brothers, "Bloody" Bill Anderson and William Quantrill's Raiders. James Cummins came from Clay County in western Missouri, the front line between Confederate sympathizing Missourians and Kansas free soilers. He chose the Confederate side and rode with Quantrill's terroristic raiders. He then joined up with the Confederate Army, but when the war ended, he, like the James Brothers, transitioned to a gang of ordinary outlaws. He robbed trains and banks with the James-Younger gang until it was forced to disband, then headed to Montana with a new identity to lead a respectable life. No one knew who he really was. Perhaps that was just as well as some suspected he was involved in the plot to kill Jesse James since his sister, Artella, married Robert Ford, James' killer. He later returned to Clay County, but by then, he was immune from arrest as no one would testify against him. He lived until 1929, his last years in a Confederate home where he was known as a storyteller, the last survivor of the James-Younger gang. Item 25 is Jim Cummins The Guerilla, published in 1908. Cummins' account is extremely rare, Old West knowing of only two other copies, both in the same collection. Priced at $6,750.

 

Here is another autobiography of someone who cut his teeth with Quantrill's Raiders and would certainly have known Mr. Cummins. Item 80 is The Story of Cole Younger by Himself Being an Autobiography of the Missouri Guerrilla Captain and Outlaw, His Capture and Prison Life... published in 1903. The stories of the James and Younger Brothers weren't all that great after their outlaw days were over. Jesse James was murdered, John Younger killed by Pinkertons, Bob Younger died in prison, Jim Younger killed himself a year after release from prison unable to cope. Only Frank James, who was acquitted, and Cole Younger, who spent many years in jail, ever got to live out normal lives. Younger robbed banks, stages, trains, wherever there was money. It all went awry in 1876 when an attempted robbery of a bank in Minnesota resulted in a hail of gunfire. The James Brothers escaped, but the Youngers did not, captured after a shootout with a posse. The Youngers were sentenced to life in prison, but the two surviving brothers were freed in 1901. Like Frank James, Cole reformed, and for a while, went on tour in a wild west show with Frank James. This is his story and this book is also very rare. $5,750.

 

We all know what happened to Gen. Custer and his men, but did you ever think about what happened to his animals? They suffered too, though not quite as spectacularly as his men. The story of Comanche, the "lone survivor" of the Custer massacre, is well known. Comanche was a horse. While having just one survivor is not much better than none, it wasn't quite so bad. Several of their other horses also survived but were captured by the Indians. Comanche was left behind because he was in rough shape, thereby being found by the cavalry. Item 118 is Marching with Custer, a Day-by-Day Evaluation of Uses, Abuses, and Condition of the Animals on the Ill Fated Expedition of 1876 by Elwood Nye and Carroll Friswold. This is a 1964 limited edition book published by the Arthur H. Clark Co. $650.

 

Here is one of those tales by someone whose name you don't know, but her experiences were probably more harrowing than those of some of the outlaws. Emma Shepard Hill was just 14 years old when her family made the journey by wagon from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Denver. The year was 1864, and if they had been patient a few more years they could have taken the train. As it was, 1864 was a bad year. The Indians were desperate, searching for food, trying to hold on to the remnants of their land. The trip was spent in terrible fear. Passing soldiers warned them of killings of immigrants on the trail both ahead of and behind them. Dead cattle, abandoned wagons, an occasional body littered the route. At times they could see Indians in the distance, and frequently had to pass through deep ravines where they were sitting ducks. Somehow, they lucked out and made it to Denver. Miss Hill's book is titled A Dangerous Crossing and What Happened On The Other Side. The first part tells of the dangerous journey, the second is a diary of her new life in Empire City, Colorado. Item 40 is a copy of the very rare first edition, published in 1914. $2,750.

 

This is a book of poems, but one with a Custer connection. The title is Poems and Verses, by Mary Mapes Dodge. It's safe of say Gen. George Armstrong Custer never read these since the book is dated 1904 and Little Bighorm occurred in 1876. However, his incredibly loyal wife lived on, and on and on. She outlived him by over half a century, until 1933, 57 years after her husband's last stand. Evidently, Ms. Dodge was friendly with Elizabeth Custer, as she has inscribed her book "To dear Libbie Custer With much love from M.M.D." Then there is a second inscription. This one reads, "From Aunt Libbie to May Custer Elmer 14 Clark St. Bklyn." May Custer Elmer was George and Elizabeth's niece, specifically, the daughter of George's brother Nevin Custer. Elizabeth Custer lived in Brooklyn during her later years, far from the West of her younger days with George. May also lived there and did much to look after her aging aunt in her later days. May was with her when she died. Item 29. $675.

 

If Elizabeth Custer ended up heading east, Buffalo Bill headed even farther in that direction. Bill spent about a decade as a western guide and scout, which he then parlayed into a long career as a showman, bringing his exaggerated look at western life to the east. However, he discovered that not only did eastern Americans suck up this caricature of the West, Europeans loved it too. He not only took his show on the road, he took it over the sea. Item 36 is Four Years in Europe with Buffalo Bill. A Descriptive Narrative of the Big American Show's Tour in Foreign Lands, published in 1908. The author of this account of the 1903-1906 Wild West tour was Charles Eldridge Griffin. Griffin, like Bill, was a bit of a character himself. He had performed in circuses doing all sort of acts, magician, sword-swallower, ventriloquist, fire-eater and so on. He must have been a perfect fit for the show. $325.

 

Old West Books may be reached at 719-260-6030 or oldwestbooks@earthlink.net. Their website is www.oldwestbooks.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Autograph album leaf signed, 1826. €9,000 to €12,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Franz Kafka: Autograph letter unsigned, 1924. €15,000 to €20,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Torquato Tasso: Autograph poem signed, no date. €12,000 to €16,000.
    <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Charles Darwin: Autograph letter signed, 1866. €4,500 to €6,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Albert Einstein: Autograph letter signed, 1933. €6,000 to €8,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Heinrich Hertz: Autograph manuscript signed, 1889. €18,000 to €24,000.
    <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Giambattista Bodoni: Autograph letter signed, 1787. €900 to €1,200.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Francisco de Goya: Autograph letter signed, 1789. €18,750 to €25,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Martin Luther: Notes from his desk, no date. €30,000 to €40,000.
    <b><center>Stargardt Autographenhandlung<br>Autographs: Literature, Music, Art, Science, History, Theatre & Film<br>March 28, 2023</b>
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Ludwig van Beethoven: Autograph letter signed, 1816. €22,500 to €30,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Gustav Mahler: Foto portrait signed and annotated, 1907(?). €7,500 to €10,000.
    <b>Stargardt Autographenhandlung, Mar. 28:</b> Bed?ich Smetana: Autograph letter signed, 1883. €4,500 to €6,000.
  • <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Roman binding.- Pindar. <i>Olympia, Pythia, Nemea, Isthmia,</i> translated by Johannes Lonicer, contemporary Roman binding by Niccolo Franzese, Basel, 1535. £40,000 to £60,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Raverat (Gwen). Comprehensive album of 530 wood engravings, circa 1909-1950. £40,000 to £60,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Hemingway (Ernest). <i>Fiesta,</i> first English edition, first impression dust-jacket, 1927. £15,000 to £20,000.
    <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Fleming (Ian). <i>Casino Royale,</i> first edition, first impression, 1953. £12,000 to £18,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Dickens (Charles). <i>Great Expectations,</i> 3 vol., first edition, first impression, Chapman and Hall, 1861. £10,000 to £15,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Campbell (Colen) & others. <i>Vitruvius Britannicus, or The British Architect...,</i> 5 vol., vol.1-3 later editions, vol.4 & 5 first editions, [?1731]-31-67-71. £10,000 to £15,000.
    <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Geography.- Mela (Pomponius). <i>Cosmographia, sive De situ orbis,</i> Venice, Franciscus Renner de Heilbronn, 1478. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> America.- [?Espinosa y Tello (José)]. <i>Relacion del Viage hecho por las Goletas Sutil y Mexicana en el Año de 1792,</i> 2 vol. including Atlas, first edition, Madrid, 1802. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Australasia.- Péron (Francois) and Louis-Claude de Saulces de Freycinet. <i>Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes,</i> 5 vol. including Atlas, second edition, Paris, 1824. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>30th March 2023</b>
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Botany.- Curtis (William). <i>The Botanical Magazine; or, Flower-Garden Displayed,</i> 83 vol. in 62, 1794-1956. £8,000 to £12,000.
    <b>Forum, Mar. 30:</b> Darwin (Charles).- Lecky (W.E.H.) <i>The Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe,</i> 2 vol., Darwin's copy with inscription "Charles Darwin 1865", pencil marginalia and pencil notes, 1865. £7,000 to £10,000.

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