Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2007 Issue
Americana from Michael Brown Rare Books
Indian receives tobacco leaves on this Lorillard label.
Item 168 is a second and "improved" edition of Parson Weems' famous biography A History of the Life and Death, Virtues and Exploits, of General Washington, published in 1800. Mason Locke Weems was a big fan of Washington. However, it would not be until the fifth edition of this work that he would introduce the apocryphal cherry tree story. Washington achieved enough on his own not to need this image enhancement. $400.
Here is a real obscurity with a slight early Texas connection: The wandering pilgrim, or, The way to be happy: With a warning to the old and young. The "pilgrim"/author is listed simply as C.H.C. No copies of this work are found in OCLC and records of it are almost nonexistent. According to Eberstadt, who had a copy in 1954, the author went to sea in the 1830s, and gives some brief observations about a stay in Texas. Eberstadt notes, "Only the informed collector could appreciate this rare but textually unimportant piece." Eberstadt evidently appreciated it as he wanted $60 for his copy at the time, today comparable to a couple of thousand dollars. Item 155. $450.
Here is a most interesting displayable piece for those who collect in the field of women's suffrage. It is a large map circa 1915 headed, Votes for Women A Success The Map Proves It. Women Vote in the White States Why Not Our State? It was evidently prepared for New Yorkers, to encourage their support of women's right to vote. It is color keyed to show in which states women could vote (mainly the West), where they had partial suffrage, and where not at all. Item 171. $1,500.
Item 161 is a pair of large tobacco labels, circa 1868, from Peter Lorillard, the notable tobacco company. They were used on boxes of uncut tobacco. One shows a bare-shouldered woman with a crown of roses, undoubtedly quite lovely by the tastes of the day. The other depicts an Indian receiving tobacco from a naked lady. The Indian's eyes appear aimed towards something other than the leaves (see the image on this page). Above are numerous smoking animals, and their raucous behavior makes you think there was something more than tobacco in their pipes. $750.
Michael Brown Rare Books may be visited online at www.mbamericana.com or contacted by telephone at 215-387-9808.
