Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2007 Issue
Treasures from the Attic of the 19th Century Shop
A youthful John and Jacqueline Kennedy.
Item 4 is one of the most important of all American maps, Tipus Orbis Universalis Ivxta Ptolomei Cosmographi Traditionem et Americi Vespucii.... This 1520 map from Peter Apianus is the earliest obtainable map showing America with that name. At one time, this map was believed to be the source of the term "America," although a lone surviving copy of a Waldseemuller map from 1507 now appears to be the first. However, the Apianus map is the one which widely circulated the name "America," and made it stick permanently to the land originally known simply as the "new world." Price upon request.
For those interested in decorating their homes, item 76 is a beautiful copy of Clarence Cook's House Beautiful. Published in 1878, it provides great detail on interior decorating for people with the highest of taste and incomes to match. $950.
Now it's time for something within the memory of many of the still living. It is a collection of material dealing with the tumultuous Democratic Convention of 1968. This was the year in which President Lyndon Johnson retired rather than face possible rejection over the Viet Nam War, and Robert Kennedy, seeking to replace him, was assassinated. The major survivors by the time the convention was held were Johnson's Vice-President, Hubert Humphrey, and anti-war candidate Eugene McCarthy. Amidst rioting in the streets of Chicago, the convention selected Humphrey, who lost the election that fall to Richard Nixon. Item 47 is a collection of correspondence to and from John Bailey, the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Among the items is a long telegram from McCarthy requesting he be allowed to appear before the Committee to explain "the administration's course in Vietnam is dangerous and wrong," and "the Vietnam War prevents the Democratic Party from carrying out its promises of a better life for all Americans." Over 100 items are included in this collection. $300.
Item 86 is a typed, signed letter from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Minnesota Congressman John Blatnik, thanking him for his work assisting the Kennedy Library. It is accompanied by a spectacular printed portrait of the President and Mrs. Kennedy (see the image on this page). $1,500.
The website for The 19th Century Shop is www.19thcenturyshop.com, telephone 410-602-3002.
