Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - October - 2021 Issue

Catalogue One from McBride Rare Books

The first catalogue from McBride Rare Books.

We have received the first catalogue from McBride Rare Books, appropriately named Catalogue One. McBride can be found in New York City, and while this is their first printed catalogue, they have been there for the past three years. There is a high concentration of personal documents and remembrances offered, including manuscripts, personal photographs, and a massive set of diaries. As to what areas they cover, here is how McBride describes their focus, “McBride Rare Books specializes in American historical materials with an emphasis on the American West and Latin America, including rare books, manuscripts and archives, vernacular photography, ephemera, and obscure prints.” These are a few examples of the type of material to be found within.

 

We begin with that extensive collection of diaries, 26 in all. They begin in 1855, when the writer was 15 years old, and continue until 1914, when she was 74. Emma Lukens Hall Thompson lived much of her life in Brooklyn and Philadelphia, was married twice, had three children (and several stepchildren), and is described as a socialite. Most of her long life (she lived to be 86) is accounted for in these pages, 6,817 of them. The daughter of a Philadelphia Quaker doctor, she married Isaac Hall in 1861, a widower from Brooklyn with four children. Hall also had money, being a prosperous businessman. The couple had three children of their own though only one survived to adulthood. She writes of Lincoln's election in 1860, and at the outbreak of the Civil War, with an interesting comment, “Excitement is increasing here in regard to the war in the South and numbers of young friends are joining military companies – not withstanding the Discipline is so in opposition to it.” The Discipline was Quaker pacifism which evidently many young Quakers were ignoring. She is sympathetic, continuing, “I am very anxious to offer my services as a nurse for the wounded, and if possible will do so, as the little in my power is at the service of my country. (I am so patriotic I would willingly fight if it was not unmaidenly).” Later that year, she meets Isaac Hall in church and they marry the following summer.

 

From this point on Emma is living a higher lifestyle, and she writes of all sorts of travels, hired help running the household, a $500 set of diamond earrings, a gift from Isaac, and long trips around the country. In Salt Lake City, she claims, “The Mormon houses are one storied, with a door for each wife.” Sadly, Isaac died in 1883, but the widow is now financially well-off, traveling to Europe. In 1891, she remarries Samuel S. Thompson, another wealthy businessman, and they too travel extensively and hobnob with important people. In 1908, she writes, “I was made Life member of the Woman Suffrage Society of Phila.” She lives long enough to obtain the right to vote. There is way too much more here to even begin to describe, but someone will come to know her almost as family through this account of her life though never meeting her. Item 53. Priced at $14,500.

Here is something you don't see everyday – papers from a lawsuit between a former slave and his one-time master. It comes from Mexico in 1764, the state of Coahuila, near the Texas border. Antonio Montolla was a “mulato libre” (free black man) and obviously educated as he wrote his papers. His former owner was Juan Manuel Palau. Montolla is in possession of some cattle which he claims Palau's late mother left him. Palau responds that she did not and wants to be paid for them. Unfortunately, Montolla does not have supporting documentation and relies on witnesses. We don't know how this turned out. Item 1. $12,500.

 

Next we have the Memorial on the Upward Forces of Fluids, and Their Applicability to Several Arts, Sciences, and Public Improvements: for Which a Patent Has Been Granted by the Government of the United States, published in Albany, New York, in 1825. The author was Charles Edmond Genet, an eccentric inventor and something of a pioneer in aviation. He never flew, but came up with some creative ideas on how one could fly in heavier-than-air machines, rather than just balloons. There are illustrations of his inventions, including a horse-powered airship. I don't know how that worked – a horse on a treadmill inside? Still, the fact that he took on this challenge gained Genet attention. He was the first. This was not the first time Genet caught the attention of America. He is the same “Citizen Genet,” the French ambassador to the United States in the 1790s who generated the wrath of Americans, notably President Washington, when he toured America drumming up support for his plan to attack British shipping from this country. There was an intense debate at the time as to which side - Britain or France – America should support in their battles, with Washington determined to be neutral and stay out, though his preferences were for the British. Washington insisted Genet be removed as ambassador, but as the French Revolution turned bloody, Genet realized he would likely face the guillotine if he returned home. He was granted asylum despite the hard feelings and settled in Albany, staying out of politics. Item 22. $4,250.

 

This has to be a very rare collection of photographs. If you would like some of Gayoso, Missouri, you better grab this one while you can. They aren't making any more, and haven't in over a century. Gayoso was originally founded around 1799 and named for the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Don Miguel Gayoso de Lamos. Missouri was then part of the Louisisana Territory, which was still owned by Spain at that time. In 1852, it began being developed by Americans. A post office opened in 1854. There was a courthouse, school, church, shingle factory, and numerous sawmills nearby. There was a newspaper, the Gayoso Democrat, and for a short time there were two. It became an incorporated village and was named the county seat of Pemiscot County. Then, things started going wrong, and therein lies the explanation why there have been no new photos in over a century. The Mississippi River is not stationary. It moves as well as flows. In this case, it began inundating the village of Gayoso. It was slipping into the river, and despite the best efforts of the townspeople, they could not overcome the forces of nature. The county seat was removed to Caruthersville in 1899 and within a few years all of the residents had moved on too. You will need diving gear to visit Gayoso today, but don't expect to find much down there. Item 36 is a photo album containing 76 pictures of Gayoso and surrounding areas. $750.

 

This is another photo album, with the cover title The 1928 Alaska Tour by Governor George A. Parks, Major Malcolm Elliott, Mr. R. J. Sommers, Territorial Engineer. The three set out to inspect the Alaska highway system, much of it focused on northern parts of the state, and make recommendations for improvements and building of new roads. Considering the condition of roads in the lower 48 in 1928, I can't imagine what they must have been like in Alaska in that year. They had their work cut out for them. The album not only pictures roads but towns, sights, and people encountered along the way. They traveled 2,000 miles taking a little over a month. It would have been rough going as there were only a total of 500 miles of paved roads in the territory at the time. This may have been Sommers' copy as his leather pouch is included along with photos from his later businesses and one of Gov. Parks. Item 2. $2,750.

 

McBride Rare Books may be reached at 203-479-2507 or books@mcbriderarebooks.com. Their website is found at www.mcbriderarebooks.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.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    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
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    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.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    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.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    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
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    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:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    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:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    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.

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions