Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2009 Issue

Recent Acquisitions at the Veatchs Arts of the Book

Westvaco inspires printers to use more paper.

Westvaco inspires printers to use more paper.


Item 9 is a collection of images from the great 18th and 19th century wood engraver Thomas Bewick. Aesop's Fables. A Portfiolio of Wood Engravings was produced from 30 original wood blocks, though it was published in 1974, almost two centuries after Bewick produced them. They stood the test of time. $600.

Speaking of wood blocks, item 18 is a collection of 36 engraved blocks created by master engraver Asa Cheffetz. They were produced for the 1938 Limited Editions Club Almanac for Moderns. They range in size from 1" x 1 1/2" to 4 1/2" x 3 1/2". Images include birds, animals, landscapes, the shore, starry nights, a ship, airplanes, and a portrait of Charles Darwin. $2,400.

Westvaco (originally West Virginia Paper Company) was noted for its paper mills. As a paper supplier, they naturally wanted to encourage more printing, so they provided this publication to spur more paper usage: Westvaco Inspirations for Printers. Item 1 is a collection of eleven of these issues, mostly from the 1920s (but one from 1958). They include many articles on various aspects of printing. $150.

To reach The Veatchs Arts of the Book contact 413-584-1867 or [email protected]. Their website is www.veatchs.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Reaffirms the US Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty in US History. $50,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s, August 20. Weeks After Victory at Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin Promises Repayment of a French Loan that Funded the American Revolution. $200,000 – 300,000.
    Freeman’s, August 20. Rare First Edition of the Foundational Text of the Mormon Church. $100,000 – 150,000.
    Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Sends the First Major Law Passed by Congress, the Tariff Act of 1789. $100,000 – 150,000.
    Freeman’s, August 20. A Scarce Example of Audubon's Depiction of a Brown Pelican, Plate CCLI from his Birds of America. $30,000 – 50,000.
    Freeman’s, August 20. The Official and First Obtainable Broadside Printing of the Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation. $30,000 – 50,000.

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