Items from a Variety of Collections from Rulon-Miller Books

Rulon-Miller Books has published their Catalogue 171. Winter 2025. It has no further title, which makes it unclear what is inside...until you read Rob Rulon-Miller's introduction. He explains that they have purchased numerous collections in the past couple of years, from booksellers and collectors, doubling their inventory. Collections have focused on such varied topics as magic, fine press, book arts, sinology, polar, western Americana, and English language dictionaries. In other words, you may find anything in this catalogue as there is material from these and other sources in their inventory. I was wondering how they managed to offer so many old dictionaries! Here are some selections.

If you want to know everything there is to know, historically speaking, about England's counties, here is the book. It won't tell you the latest news, but it is thorough. Eighteen volumes in 25, published from 1801-1815. The title is The Beauties of England and Wales' or Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive of Each County. Embellished with Engravings. It is attributed to Edward Wedlake Braley, John Britton et al., but there were a lot of “et als” needed to create this massive account. There were 10 other authors and editors, dozens if not hundreds of correspondents and contributors, 16 publishers, over 130 artists and over 50 engravers. It provides county-by-county illustrated data based on compendious research. This is an “extraordinary” copy, in original, uncut boards. It is virtually complete, with 728 engraved plates out of 733 present. Item 22. Priced at $12,500.

This is one of those awful stories with no good answer; it would make a good horror story if it wasn't real. An American ship, the William Brown, set sail from Liverpool, headed to Philadelphia, on March 13, 1841. There were 82 people on board, 17 crewmen and 65 passengers. On the night of April 19, she struck an iceberg. The ship quickly sank. She carried two lifeboats, a large and a small. The Captain and most of the crew got on the small lifeboat, a few crewmen and the passengers in the other. It was terribly cold, 250 miles off Newfoundland, and there was a pouring rain. The two boats stayed together for the first night but the captain decided there would be a better chance of rescue if they took different paths so the next day they separated. The weather worsened, the rain became harder, the waves higher. They bailed water as fast as they could but they continued to take on more. The three crewmen on the large lifeboat sensed danger of sinking, so they hatched an emergency plan they hoped would not be necessary. That night, their leader decided it was time to act. They began throwing passengers off the boat, into the cold ocean, to lighten the load. They threw 16 off, 14 single men and two women who were sisters of one of the men thrown overboard who wanted to go with him. The next day, the lifeboat was spotted by another ship and they were rescued. One of those crewmen, Alexander William Holmes, was placed on trial for manslaughter on April 13, 1842. He was represented by attorney David Paul Brown. Item 98 is Speech of David Paul Brown in Defence of Alexander William Holmes, One of the Crew of the Ship William Brown, Indicted for Manslaughter upon the High Seas. It was published years later, in 1858. It was a tough call. The defense pointed to the rule that a person can take another's life in self-defense, and the crewmen took this action to save their lives and those of others. Ultimately, although the usual requirement of malice was not present, Holmes was convicted. The court said that the men had taken on a duty to protect the lives of the passengers when they signed on as crew. They should have gone first. However, there was much sympathy for Holmes and his predicament, so he was sentenced to only six months in jail and a $20 fine. $750.

One of the most highly collectible subjects is early books printed in the Hawaiian language. These are mostly missionary tracts as they were the ones printing such books early on. This item is a Bible, the first complete Christian Bible (Old and New Testaments) published in one volume in Hawaiian. The title is Ka Palapala Hemolele a Iehova ko kakou akua o ke Kauoha kahikoa he ke Kauoha hou... Outside of “Iehova,” it's all Greek to me, but Google tells us it means “The Scriptures of Jehovah our God, the Old Testament and the New Testament.” It was published in 1843. It was partly printed by the Oahu Mission Press and by a Honolulu imprint. According to the bookplate, this copy belonged to the Athenian Society of Bowdoin College, but it has been stamped “Withdrawn.” Perhaps that's because not many people in Maine read Hawaiian. The bookplate also shows that it was given to Bowdoin by Rev. Daniel Dole. He arrived in 1841 and was principal of a mission school. His son was the first Governor of the Territory of Hawaii. The Dole family name is as closely associated with Hawaii as it is with pineapples. Item 16. $6,500.

Here is one of those dictionary related items; we say related because it is not actually a dictionary. What it is is a plan for what would become the most famous English language dictionary in the world, or at least the non-American world as Webster may hold sway there. Item 78 is The Plan of a Dictionary to the Right Honorable Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield; One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, by Samuel Johnson. It was published in 1747. The plan began a year earlier and the completed dictionary was published in 1755. It is hard to imagine how Johnson finished it that quickly, it being a massive compilation of words, definitions, and literary quotes. There are 42,773 words and around 114,000 literary quotes to provide authority to his definitions. This was not the first English language dictionary of some sort, it being a century too late, but it was on a scale of accuracy, completeness, and authority not seen before. $8,500.

A dictionary may make for rather dry for reading, but here is a book designed to make you laugh. The heroic poem was a popular writing in the 18^th century. They could be long tales, sometimes interesting if the writer was good, long and boring if not. Nicholas Despreaux Boileau decided to write one, but this was not intended to be serious. The title is Lutrin: a Mock-Heroic Poem. In Six Canto's, Render'd into English Verse, published in 1708. This is a second edition, first edition translated to English. It is about a dispute between two church authorities about where to place a lectern in a chapel. “Lutrin” is French for “Lectern.” Item 20. $625.

This is by far the most expensive item in this catalogue. It is a Second Folio, published in 1632. We won't explain it because if you don't know what a Second Folio is, you are not a potential buyer. Item 142. $160,000.

Rulon-Miller Books may be reached at 651-290-0700 or rulon@rulon.com. Their website is www.rulon.com.