[Rarebooks] FS: Mount Auburn Cemetery -Three 19th century items

[Joslin Hall Rare Books, ABAA]

>From our new 'A GRAVE AFFAIR' catalog-
<http://www.a-grave-affair.com/Catalog_288.htm>


Bigelow, Jacob. A HISTORY OF THE CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN. Boston &
Cambridge; James Munroe and Company: 1860. Jacob Bigelow was one of the
founders of Mount Auburn and the President of the Corporation. This book
affords an unparalleled insider’s view of the founding and early history
of Mount Auburn, from the preliminary discussions held at Bigelow’s behest
in 1825 to the negotiations leading to the founding of the cemetery, the
selection of the land, laying out of the lots, erection of the fences,
statuary and buildings, and a history, generally, of the first 35 years of
this historic garden cemetery. In addition, Bigelow describes the
then-current grounds and monuments, and includes 4 lovely and striking
lithographed plates by Prang & Mayer of Boston, illustrating the Tower,
two views of the Chapel, and Consecration Dell.

      Hardcover. 4.75”x7”, xii + 263 pages, 2 folding maps and 4
lithographed plates; publisher’s original blindstamped brown cloth
with gilt spine title and decoration; covers lightly soiled, a bit
rubbed; spine head and base a bit threadbare; a little internal
foxing; Grand Lodge bookplate with pencil note on title page
“Triplicate”. Inscribed on the flyleaf “G.W. Bond Esq. With the
Authors regards-” and stamped on the copyright page “Estate of
George W. Bond - Aug 21, 1899”. Overall a very nice presentation
copy. Uncommon in the marketplace. [09575] $250.00

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[Bigelow, Jacob] AN ACCOUNT OF THE SPHINX AT MOUNT AUBURN.  Boston;
Little, Brown and Company: 1872. This short text describes the famous
Sphinx statue at Mount Auburn Cemetery and explains the symbolism behind
it-

      “A monumental statue, imitated from the Sphinx of Antiquity, and
designed to commemorate the Great War of American conservation, has
this week been placed on its pedestal, in front of the Chapel of
Mount Auburn Cemetery. It is cut from a single block of Hallowell
granite, fifteen feet long, by about eight feet in height, the face
alone measuring three feet in length. It is a donation to the
Proprietors of the Cemetery from their late President, Dr. Jacob
Bigelow, and executed under his direction by Martin Milmore, the
distinguished sculptor of this city.”

      Dr. Bigelow, one of the founders of the cemetery, had conceived the
idea for the Sphinx statue during the Civil War, and after the war,
when he finally embarked upon the project, he kept the development
of the model, the quarrying of the granite and sculpting of the
finished piece secret from all but a few close friends until it was
completed. He paid for the entire project from his own pocket, and
also had this small book printed, with 2 albumen prints illustrating
a front and side view of the Sphinx. As his friend George Ellis
remembered- “Those of his friends to whom he gave copies will always
cherish a dainty little volume, anonymous though it may be, in
which, with photographs of a front and side view of the Sphinx, is
found a letterpress description and remarks” (‘Memoir of Jacob
Bigelow’; Cambridge, 1880). By the time the monument was completed
Bigelow, who was in his 80s, was blind, and Ellis describes the
scene at its unveiling-

      "Before the monument had been planted on its site, Dr. Bigelow had
been wholly deprived of the power of vision. But he wished, as he
said, ‘to see it by feeling’. Those who honored him and revered him
will always associate the eloquent stone with the scene of his visit
to it, when, with others’ help, he was raised and aided slowly, inch
by inch, to pass his hands over all its members and features”.

      There seems little I can add to that. A scarce book- OCLC locates 7
copies. Hardcover. 5”x7”, 14 pages, plus 2 tipped-in albumen plates.
Publisher’s green “watered-silk” patterned cloth with gilt title;
covers with a spot or two of soil, stamp on endpaper; overall a very
bright, neat, clean copy. [09758] $400.00

______________________________________________


[Mount Auburn] PLAN OF THE CEMETERY OF MOUNT AUBURN. Boston; Alexander
Wadsworth: 1857. A charming 1857 folding map of Mount Auburn cemetery, in
the original covers. Hardcover. 4.75”x7.5” blue cloth folder with gilt
cover title “Mount Auburn Cemetery”, covers with elaborate blindstamping
and some rubbing; spine partially split; containing a folding map which
unfolds to 22.5”x28”; the map is complete but is split along a half-dozen
folds and needs to be stabilized if it is to be displayed as the thin
paper is now quite fragile. [09574] $275.00

______________________________________________


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Society deals with death, and related topics, is now posted on our 'A
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<http://www.a-grave-affair.com/Catalog_288.htm>

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