John Glass, the coachman for the Greenwich stage, could fairly be described as an abusive father. He evidently applied his coachman's whip to his own son one day, beating him to death. The sordid tale is retold in this circa 1790 broadsheet headed, The true and particular account of A Barbarous and inhuman Murder... The broadsheet proceeds to put much of the story to poetry, with lines such as: "But with the butt end of his whip he beat him o'er and o'er / until from head to foot he was cover'd in crimson gore." Item 48. £475 (US $779).

Item 15 is a touching reminder of a family from long ago. It is a Bible, bound with a Book of Psalms (both published in 1676). Into it is bound a leaf with the name of Rebekah Fisher and her date of birth, January 7, 1660. On the facing page is a handwritten note, "Rebekah Fisher: Her Booke: The Gift of Her Father in the Year 1678." The covers have been stamped in gilt with the initials R.F. This would have been a very special gift in 1678. £950 (US $1,562).

Samuel Gedge Ltd. Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0)1263 722 555 or rarebooks@samuelgedge.com. Their website is www.samuelgedge.com.