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.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Shakespeare (William). The Dramatic Works, 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Joyce (James). Ulysses, first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Powell (Anthony). [A Dance to the Music of Time], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Chaucer (Geoffrey). Troilus and Criseyde, one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Borges (Jorge Luis). Luna de Enfrente, first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Nolli (Giovanni Battista). Nuova Pianta di Roma, Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 29th January 2026
Forum, Jan. 29: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Blacker (William). Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing, Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Jan. 29: Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.