William Reese Company

The exhibition catalogue of a show mounted for the 100th anniversary of Melville's death from Reese's private collection. 27pp. Printed wrappers. As new.

The text of an address originally given at the annual meeting of the Yale Library Associates in 1999, this essay was intended to follow in the tradition established by Gordon Ray, who wrote three pieces about the American rare book market in 1965, 1974, and 1984. Ray drew on his many acquaintances among collectors, booksellers, librarians, and auctioneers to paint an image of the market at a moment in time, and William Reese tried to do the same in this piece. The address was given again at the John Carter Brown Library in 2000, where it was filmed by C-SPAN 2; this version amazingly continues to pop up on that channel to this day. Plain stiff wrappers, paper label on front wrapper. Fine.

A pioneering catalogue of American photography, particularly of the American West. Lists a Fardon SAN FRANCISCO ALBUM and numerous other rarities. The collection was offered by the Frontier America Corp., of which Fred White was the principal. Quarto. Stiff printed wrappers. As new.

An address given at the annual meeting of the American Antiquarian Society in 1989, marking the 350th anniversary of printing in British North America. Discusses the development of the first century of printing in the colonies, collectors who sought those imprints, and the bibliographers who recorded them. An offprint from the PROCEEDINGS of the AAS, Volume Ninety-Nine, Part Two. pp.337-373. Original printed wrappers. Fine.

Translation of Vespucci's 1504 Soderini letter, with an introduction and notes by George Tyler Northup. Original gilt cloth, in printed paper dust jacket. Light soiling and general wear, dust jacket worn with small tears, internally clean. About very good.

Facsimile reprint of the 1508 text. Original gilt cloth, in printed paper dust jacket. Light soiling and general wear, dust jacket worn with small tears, internally clean. About very good.

An interesting and useful historical overview of California newspapers, published by the Talisman Press, a reissue of Kemble's work, originally published in the Sacramento Union on Christmas Day, 1858. The portrait frontispiece reproduces a daguerreotype of Edward Gilbert and Kemble, both early California printers and newspapermen. Publisher's orange cloth, printed paper spine label, decorative printed endpapers. Lacks dust jacket, otherwise a fine copy.

Lakeside Press reprint of Elisha Kane's ARCTIC EXPLORATIONS. Includes historical introduction by editors Chauncey Loomis and Constance Martin. Contains numerous illustrations, some in color. Kane, a U.S. naval surgeon, was a member of the unsuccessful first rescue expedition which searched for Franklin in 1850-1851, financed by the American merchant-businessman, Henry Grinnell. "Kane was the commander of the ADVANCE on this [second] expedition, also financed by Henry Grinnell. Although Franklin was not found, the explorers were able to gather much information about the people, geography, and natural science of the region. Kane, passing up Smith Sound at the head of Baffin Bay, advanced into the enclosed sea which now bears the name of Kane Basin, thus establishing the Polar route of many future Arctic expeditions. Here the expedition passed two winters, and attained what was to remain for sixteen years the highest northern latitude reached by explorers, 80o 35' N" - Hill. HILL 904 (ref). 12mo. Original dark brown cloth, spine gilt, gilt-stamped printer's logo on front board, t.e.g. Fine.

Facsimile reprint of the 1515 original. Original gilt cloth with printed paper dust jacket. Light soiling and general wear, dust jacket worn with small tears, internally clean. About very good.

A revised edition of the proprietor's youthful production, originally published in 1976 and now long out of print. The new edition features revisions and corrections to some entries and additional information to many, as well as a bibliographical essay on the literature of the western cattle industry. It is completely reset on a new format, and in every way can accurately lay claim to the description of "second, and best, edition." Booksellers should inquire about discount schedules for multiple copies. Cloth and boards. New. In illustrated dust jacket.

Crudely printed at the Press of David K. Webb, undoubtedly in a small edition. CLARK III:156. 49pp. 16mo. Printed wrappers. Some soiling to wrappers, else fine.

The famed western artist's visual chronicle of the Oregon Trail, Rocky Mountains, fur trade and western Indians. A handsome production, with extensive bibliography and index. viii,480pp. Facsimiles, many in color. Quarto. Cloth. Fine. In slightly rubbed dust jacket.

Annotated exhibition catalogue from the University of Connecticut of nearly two hundred items on the politics of the early national period, from the 1790s to 1818. A useful reference. Quarto. Original pictorial wrappers. Wrappers lightly thumbed and soiled, else near fine.

A visually striking book collecting-related poster from the early-middle years of the famed New Haven bookseller, the William Reese Company. Features the names and likenesses of famous collectors and terminology in the field of Americana, one for each letter of the alphabet, as determined by Mr. Reese himself and drawn by Joseph W. Reed. A wonderful display item for those interested in 20th-century American book collecting and the book trade. Color poster, 27 x 39¾ inches. As new. Rolled.

The biography of an ox team driver and freighter in Wyoming in the early days. 156pp. Frontis. Gilt pictorial cloth. Corners lightly rubbed, one lightly abraded. Presentation inscription from the author on front flyleaf. Internally clean. Very good.

"A GUIDE TO AUDUBON'S Birds of America provides a comprehensive yet easily accessible tour through the maze of nomenclature difficulties in Audubon's great works. A brief historical introduction recounts significant events in Audubon's life and discusses the techniques used in the creation of the double elephant folio. Detailed descriptions of each print include: the current name of the bird according to the most recent data.; the name (if any) on Audubon's original painting.; name of the bird in the octavo and Bien editions; and brief accounts of pertinent historical data" (dust jacket). An essential Audubon reference book. Quarto. Cloth. Fine. In pictorial dust jacket.

The autobiography of Joseph Amasa Munk, "the first major collector of Arizoniana" (Schroeder). Munk (18471927) was born in Ohio and practiced medicine there and in Missouri and Kansas before settling in Los Angeles. He became fascinated by Arizona from his first trip to the territory in 1884 to visit his brothers' cattle ranch. Despite never having lived there himself, Munk went on to amass a significant collection of printed materials relating to Arizona and its history. An interesting record of the life of one the great collectors of Arizona history. Glenna R. Schroeder, "'It May Do Somebody Some Good After I Am Gone: Joseph Amasa Munk as Collector of Arizoniana" in Journal of Arizona History, Vol. 25, no. 2 (Summer 1984): 111-128. Half title. Original green cloth, spine and front board stamped in gilt. Cloth slightly stained and worn, corners lightly bumped. Clean internally. Very good.

Later, revised edition of this history of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, together with their music. The Jubilee Singers travelled widely, raising funds on behalf of the American Missionary Association and Fisk University. The final section is given to the music and lyrics of "Jubilee Songs," 112 of them in all. This copy bears a contemporary ownership inscription in pencil on the front flyleaf that reads "Fred Whitney / 1882" and is possibly that of Fred C. Whitney (18611930), theater producer and the son of C.J. Whitney, owner and manager of the Whitney Opera House in Detroit, Michigan. Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak, eds. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), p.660. Original publisher's green pictorial cloth, stamped in black and gilt. Binding rubbed, worn, and slightly soiled, spine ends frayed, with split to top of spine, rear joint cracked, front and rear hinges split, boards holding by cords. First free endpaper and frontispiece loose; rear free endpaper and final two leaves detached but present. Text evenly tanned. Contemporary ownership inscription in pencil on front flyleaf, later ink inscriptions on front flyleaf and recto of last free endpaper. Good only.

Further dialogue regarding extension of the time period for the Congressional land grant to the NPRR. 8pp. Printed wrappers, front cover detached, top right corner chipped, a good copy.

Lakeside Press reprint of two otherwise rare pieces of Americana related to the early days of the War of 1812, one account from a soldier of each side, with historical introduction from editor Milo Quaife. This is number thirty-eight in the Lakeside Classics series. Verchères was a fur trader from a prominent Quebec family. He eventually moved to present-day Toronto where he had found success as a businessman at the advent of the War of 1812. He fought for the British under Major-General Brock, and was present at the capture of Fort Detroit. This is one of only two English language editions of this journal; the other was published by Rous & Mann in Toronto in 1935. Foster was a soldier in General Hull's army, where he was captured by the British at the surrender of Fort Detroit. In this work, he "gives an account of his imprisonment, and the principal events of that unfortunate campaign. It relates entirely to the campaign of the Army in Ohio and the Northwest, and is throughout, very severe on General Hull" - Thomson. This is the first printing of THE CAPITULATION since its original run 128 years prior, and it is reprinted here verbatim, without Quaife's sometimes heavy editorial hand. "Earliest Ohio book of national historical importance; First account of this inglorious surrender" - Howes. GRAFF 1388 (note). THOMSON 431 (ref). HOWES F288 (ref). 12mo. Original dark red cloth, spine gilt, front board gilt-ruled with gilt-stamped publisher's logo center, t.e.g. Spine slightly faded, otherwise a fine copy.

A detailed and engaging visual tour through the illustrated works of the Paul Mellon bequest to the Beinecke Library at Yale University. Frontis. Quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

Second (and best) edition, revised and enlarged, of this essential guide to Pacific voyages. The scope of the Hill collection is large, incorporating not only works of Pacific exploration, but also on the American West and Asia. This edition unifies the previous three-volume set into a single volume, numbers the entries, and corrects some problems with collations and descriptions in the first edition. The index has been reworked and made comprehensive, and a chronological index is included as well. The superb notes give clear information about the contents of each work, as well as evaluations of its quality. Additions to the Hill Collection since 1983 have been incorporated. An indispensable work. xxiii,[1],792pp. Frontis. Blue cloth. As new.

A neat facsimile reprint of Hakluyt's first major work, number five in Readex's "March of America" facsimile series. Originally published by Thomas Woodcocke in 1582, Hakluyt's Divers Voyages preceded his monumental Principall Navigations by seven years, and is considerably rarer: Anthony Payne's census taken in the mid-1990s located only twenty surviving copies worldwide, many of them incomplete. This facsimile represents a complete copy, with both the 1527 Thorne world map and the 1582 Lok polar map. This copy has been bound without the modern Readex title leaf and foreword, beginning directly with the titlepage of the facsimile edition. Modern three-quarter morocco and marbled boards, spine gilt with raised bands, t.e.g. Maps printed on poor paper, and with neat splits along the folds. Very good.

A later reprint of the first edition. "Dobie himself described this book as a 'history of the Longhorn breed, psychology of stampedes; days of maverickers and mavericks; stories of individual lead steers and outlaws of the range; stories about rawhide and many other related subjects. The book attempts to reveal the blend made by man, beast, and range.' One of the true classics of range cattle literature" - Reese. Certainly one of the Texas author's best books, and one of the best books on cattle, with illustrations by Tom Lea. REESE, SIX SCORE 32. ADAMS HERD 694. DOBIE, p.102. DYKES, KID 295. DYKES, LEA 135,136. GRAFF 1099. HOWES D375. 44&44 18. McVICKER A9a(2). REESE, BEST OF THE WEST 250. Original pictorial cloth. Fine in slightly creased and chipped dust jacket.

Charles Pettit served as Assistant Quarter Master General of the Continental Army under Gen. Nathanael Greene, and as such was intimately involved with the keeping of financial accounts during the Revolutionary War. He constantly complained about the motley condition of the Continental treasury, and of the delays involved in paying creditors. Pettit emerged from the Revolutionary experience with a large federal credit himself, and the present memorial attempts to sort out the funds still owed him by the federal government, and to the estates of Gen. Greene and John Cox (the latter was also an Assistant Quarter Master). EVANS 38844. ESTC W21870. Gathered signatures, string-tied. Light foxing, stab holes in left margin. Lacking final leaf, otherwise a very good, unsophisticated copy. Untrimmed and unopened.

One in a series of anonymous pamphlets published as part of an exchange between Thomas Potter and Henry Seymour Conway concerning the failed British raid on the French Port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years' War. The raid on Rochefort was part of a tactic being championed by the newly installed government of William Pitt, one that called for a series of naval descents, joint operations between the army and navy involving amphibious landings and attacks along the French coast. Poorly fortified and therefore particularly vulnerable to a surprise attack of this kind, Rochefort was chosen as the first target in Pitt's new strategy. The expedition, led by Major General John Mordaunt, which set out from the Isle of Wight on September 7, arrived at Rochefort on September 20, but, for a variety of reasons, the indecisive leaders of the expedition chose to hold off on landing troops, thus spoiling the necessary element of surprise. As historian Mark Danley observes, in the end, the expedition "failed to do much damage to the French and the disappointment among the British public led to an inquiry," which "in turn occasioned a heated exchange of pamphlets," including the one between Potter and Conway of which the present pamphlet was a part. The primary question addressed by these pamphlets was who deserved the blame for the raid's failure, the officers or the ministry. The answer to this question came down to what one thought about the officers' decision to abandon the original plan of a surprise attack by amphibious landing, whether it was reasonable, given the circumstances, or whether the officers had exercised too much caution. Conway, an officer who had been one of Mordaunt's deputies at Rochefort, was of the opinion that he and his fellow officers had made the right call. By contrast, Potter, a member of Parliament and ally of William Pitt, accused the officers of having been too timid. Potter's initial pamphlet, entitled The Expedition Against Rochefort, Fully Stated and Considered had been written in response to one entitled Candid Reflections on the Report (As Published by Authority) of the General-Officers, possibly by either Henry Fox or George Bubb Dodington. Writing under the pseudonym "an Officer," Conway, in turn, wrote a response to Potter's first pamphlet, entitled The Military Arguments in the Letter to a Right Honourable Fully Considered. The present pamphlet, Potter's Reply, was written in response to Conway's. In the end, much of the debate between Potter and Conway came down to a series of technical details involving military tactics and issues of intelligence. "On the Whole of the Reasoning and Evidence," concludes Potter in the present pamphlet, "it appears to Demonstration, that there were not only the most ample Foundations to set on Foot this Expedition, but that it failed merely through the Misconduct of those who were to have executed it." Although part of the European theater of the Seven Years' War, the raid on Rochefort was to have important consequences for the French and Indian War as it was fought on the North American continent. Present at Rochefort had been James Wolfe, who expressed his disappointment in the failure of the raid's commanders to act. The lessons that Wolfe learned at Rochefort would later prove useful when leading the sieges at Louisbourg and Quebec in 1758 and 1759, and which contributed to Great Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War. An interesting pamphlet concerning military strategy and tactics that would later prove crucial to Britain's victory in the French and Indian War. ESTC T44607. Mark H. Danley, "The British Political Press and Military Thought during the Seven Years' War" in The Seven Years' War: Global Views, ed. Mark H. Danley and Patrick J. Speelman (Boston: Brill, 2012), p.385. Dbd. Edges sprinkled red. Text lightly tanned, minimal foxing, some soiling to blank recto of final leaf. Contemporary ink inscription to top of titlepage with some loss due to trimming. Very good.

J.O. Lewis produced the first major color plate book of Native Americans, published in Philadelphia in parts between 1835 and 1838. Lewis, a self-taught artist, based the hand colored lithographs in the book on original paintings done mostly around the Great Lakes in the 1820s. This work provides biographical details on Lewis and examines in detail the somewhat mysterious history of his book, the ABORIGINAL PORTFOLIO. Extensively illustrated with images from the PORTFOLIO, the present work also provides an ideal plate order for the eighty unnumbered plates found in a complete set. An essential reference work in American color plate books, Western American art, and American Indian iconography. Quarto. Printed pictorial wrappers. New.

Dated "Dec 19/31" in his difficult hand, Cunninghame Graham writes: "Many thanks for your pretty card & kind messages of greeting, I am spending Christmas at home. With kindest regards to you both Yours in friendship R. B. Cunninghame Graham." One page, in ink, on rear panel of 13.5 x 11 folded engraved holiday greeting. Fine.

The British poet responds to an admirer: "Thank you for your letter. I am delighted to do what you ask, and enclose a copy of the poem also. Unless I hear to the contrary I shall take it you have received it. Poems for a new book accumulate, yours sincerely P.J. Kavanagh." Quarto, in ink. Folded for mailing, otherwise about fine.

Catalogue 8 from the French offices of this venerable bookselling firm. A necessary supplement to Wroth and Annan, as many works listed herein are overlooked by them. Good annotations, with index. Printed wrappers. Some dust soiling. Very good.