Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2019 Issue

"Oh, The Places We Will Go" with Zephyr Used & Rare Books

Oh The Places We Will Go.

Zephyr Used & Rare Books has published a catalogue titled "Oh, The Places We Will Go." This refers not just to physical places, in effect a travel catalogue, but to new technology, ideas, and such. This is a journey taken not just through books, but even more so by ephemeral items, including catalogues, manuscripts, photographs, maps, scrapbooks and the like. There is no shortage of fascinating material to be found, primarily American and 20th century. So, let's begin our ride.

 

We begin with an item that certainly went places, although they were all within the state of Alabama. The title is The Movable School Goes To The Negro Farmer, by Thomas Monroe Campbell. This was published in 1936, in the midst of the Depression. This was a tough time for most everyone, so it was particularly bad for those on the low end of the pole. The Tuskegee Institute was equipped to help poor black farmers who had nowhere else to turn, but many could not afford to make the trip. So, Tuskegee sent out a truck with a home agent and nurse to help out poor rural African American farmers. They would demonstrate both modern farming methods and provide advice on health and sanitation, often dealing with individuals' health problems. Originally designed by George Washington Carver, it promoted education and his ideals of self-sufficiency and self-improvement. This copy has been inscribed by Campbell. Item 2. Priced at $500.

 

If you want to go someplace, it will certainly be handy to have a map. I can think of worse places to visit than California and Nevada, so that will be our next destination. Item 42 is a Mileage Map of the Best Roads of California and Nevada Showing Paved Roads - Road Distances... As a caution, it may be a bit out date. It was published circa 1923. This is a Clason Map, Clason being one of the first companies to publish road maps, along with Rand-McNally. Unlike the latter, Clason did not survive the 1930s. By 1923, some states had begun to assign numbers for roads, but the federal highway numbering system was not initiated until 1926. The result is that interstate routes had names instead of numbers. These names include the famous Lincoln Highway, Dixie Highway, National Trails Route, Overland Highway, Old Spanish Trail, National Roosevelt Highway, and Bankhead Highway. You can see this quickly became confusing, leading to the assignment to route numbers. In those days, the federal government provided some financial aid to the states, but was not yet in the road building business. Private organizations, which did not actually build roads, would find the best interstate routes by combining existing state and local roads and giving them a name and road signs, so travelers could find their way. $150.

 

What would you like to get you there? How about a Locomobile! Founded in 1899, Locomobiles were once very popular cars. They were produced for three decades, succumbing in that watershed year, 1929. Item 29 is a color catalogue for the 1909 Locomobile. The catalogue is beautiful and so are the cars. The company labeled their automobiles "the best built cars in America." Based on their prices, one would hope so, but I don't know. After all, how many Locomobiles are still on the road? $300.

 

Here is another traveling show, but unlike the Tuskegee one, this is downright creepy. This is a book for The Alert America Convoys Sponsored by Valley Forge Foundation in Cooperation with Federal Civil Defense Administration... It was published in 1952, at the height of the Cold War and paranoia over nuclear war. The Alert America Convoys were traveling civil defense exhibitions. They would come to your town and tell you how to prepare for nuclear annihilation. Duck and cover. The exhibitions used shock value, including displaying the effects of atomic warfare, which somehow was supposed to help you survive the unsurvivable. It's the thought that counts. Item 75. $450.

 

Our next trip takes us to the future, although this future is now the past. Item 155 is Le Vingtieme Siecle. La Vie Electrique (The twentieth century, the electric life). The author was Albert Robida and this is a science fiction novel. Published in 1890, it is designed to predict the impact of electricity and technology on the world in 1952. Oh my, duck and cover. Based on Zephyr's description, it looks like Robida was amazingly prescient, predicting the atomic bomb and many other things that came to pass. Zephyr writes, "Robida spins a tale surrounding a world filled with videoconferencing, television, television news, records, tape recording devices, surveillance cameras, intercom systems, women's suffrage, weapons of mass destruction, and even the dangers of chemical and industrial pollution destroying the environment." Sounds like he was quite a prophet. $1,250.

 

What could be more satisfying than a salad? Lots of things, but Ida Bailey Allen claimed to find a way to be both satisfying and healthy in her book Satisfying Salads, the Perfect Health Food... published circa 1925. Ms. Allen wrote over 50 cookbooks and claimed to be the first person to host a cooking show on the radio. At its peak in the late 1920s, it was broadcast for two hours five days a week by CBS. She is also said to have been the first female host of a cooking show on television, though I have been unable to determine when or from where it was broadcast. This book provides menus and recipes for 365 fruit, frozen, and green salads. You got to eat steak for one day on leap year. Ms. Allen lived to be 88 so her salads must have been healthy after all. Item 93. $100.

 

Next we have a 1936 Disney comic book titled Mickey Mouse and Pluto the Pup. The cover shows a happy Mickey and Pluto playing. Don't be fooled. This one is heavy. It is based on the 1935 Disney film Pluto's Judgment Day. In it Pluto chases a kitten to which Mickey warns him he will have much to answer for on Judgment Day. C'mon, Mick. That is some heavy guilt to lay on a poor little puppy. I can only quote The Disney Wiki for the plot of this short cartoon: "When Mickey catches Pluto chasing a kitten, he angrily scolds and punishes his dog, who falls asleep by the fire and dreams that he is put on trial in Hell by a judge and jury of vindictive cats. He is found guilty of several crimes against cats, which involve the cats being scared or dying, which is surprisingly dark for a Disney cartoon. As he is about to be burned to death, he awakens with a newfound appreciation for the kitten after Mickey tells them to 'kiss and make up.'" Thanks, Walt. Item 85. $550.

 

Zephyr Used & Rare Books may be reached at 360-695-7767 or zephyrbook@gmail.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800
  • ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
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  • Sotheby’s
    Fine Books from a Distinguished Private Library
    28 November 2023
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Captain Thomas Brown | Illustrations of the American ornithology. £80000-120000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: William Hamilton | Campi phlegraei. £40000-60000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Nicola Zabaglia and Domenico Fontana | Castelli, e ponti con alcune ingegnose pratiche. £6000-8000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Bible, German | Nuremberg: Koberger, 1483. £40000-60000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Bible, English | King James version. £8000-12000
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Saint Jerome penitent, woodcut with contemporary hand-colouring and letterpress text beneath, [Augsburg], [Johann Froschauer], [c.1498]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Elimithar (Elluchasem) "Ibn Butlan". Tacuini sanitatis, first edition, Strasbourg, Johann Schott, 1531. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: [Missale Romanum], Latin, Incipit ordo missalis secundum consuetudinem Curiae Romani, manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 234ff. [c. 1400]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Foyle copy.- [Shakespeare (William)]. Macbeth. A Tragedy: With all the Alterations, Amendments, Additions, and New Songs. As it is now Acted at the Theatre Royal, for Hen. Herringman, 1687. £5,000 to £7,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Dickens (Charles). A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, first edition, first impression, first issue, Chapman & Hall, 1843. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Lawrence (T.E.) Revolt in the Desert, working draft typescript, 1927. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Hampstead Bindery.- Phillips (Stephen). Marpessa, exquisitely bound by The Hampstead Bindery, almost certainly P.A. Savoldelli, 1900. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Matisse (Henri).- Joyce (James). Ulysses, one of 1500 copies, this one of 250 signed by the author and artist, New York, The Limited Editions Club, 1935. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Burroughs (Edgar Rice). Tarzan at the Earth's Core, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to his son, New York, 1930. £5,000 to £7,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Fitzgerald (F. Scott). Tender is the Night, first edition, first printing, signed by the author, New York, 1934. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Fleming (Ian).- Hooks (Mitchell) and David Chasman. Dr. No, British film poster, Stafford & Co Ltd, [1962]. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: America.- California.- Palou (Francisco). Relacion Historica de la Vida Y Apostolicas Tareas delVenerable Padre Fray Junipero Serra..., first edition, second issue, 1787. £6,000 to £8,000.
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200.

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