[Rarebooks] A BAKER'S DOZEN DISCOUNTED

[Stephen Johnson]

*Greetings to All.  The below Baker's Dozen of items are
available at at substantially reduced prices today (Monday) and tomorrow
(Tuesday) subject to the terms set forth below:*


Various Authors and Artists; Williams, George Henry [Compiler]
George H. Williams’ Scrapbook w/100s of Political Cartoons/ Civil War -
1860s

[No Place Stated]: Various Authors and Artists, [No Date Known]. First
Edition. Disbound. George Henry Williams (1823-1910), was an
attorney-general and senator from Oregon who became a lawyer in 1844 with a
practice in Fort Madison, Iowa Territory. After Iowa was admitted to
statehood, President Pierce appointed him chief justice of the Oregon
Territory. In 1883, Williams became more prominent when he rendered a
decision in favor of a freed Negro, who sued his past owner for holding his
three children. [He was a northern Democrat opposed to slavery.] Williams
compiled this scrapbook comprised of several hundred political cartoons
along with allegorical poetry and commentary. Some of his writings are
signed and along with the cutout cartoons, reveal a great deal about the
author and public opinion. The book is in Poor condition with separated
boards, no spine and edges of text frayed with tears. Many of the cartoons
presented cover secession, Jefferson Davis, slavery, abolitionism, women’s
suffrage, politicians, and the war. A rare compilation with 337 illustrated
bookplates, many of which are in color, five envelopes (each with one side
pasted down and each visible side illustrated). The first four (4) numbered
pages are missing but pages 5-113 remain present and host illustrated
plates as do two pages with their numbers missing. A number of pages are
blank and some others host newspaper clippings, these being to the rear
section of pages, some of which host handwritten text. Finally, an embossed
and lined piece of paper that measures approximately 8 inches by 6 inches
and appears to have been removed from a parcel of paper hosts a three
stanza poem signed by George H. Williams and dated by him "January 31 1875"
with a flourish under his signature. [The text shows a word completed in
the Poem's first line with two letters in pencil which appear to have been
written by him.] The reverse side of the sheet has a short "Mother
says...." ink notation that reads like it is relevant to the Poem and one
of the sheet's bottom corners has broken off but remains present. In
conclusion, we have a remarkable, perhaps unique, significant collection of
Civil War political cartoons. SCARCE TO RARE.

>From oregonencyclopedia. org/articles/williams-george/:
George H. Williams was a Democratic politician and officeholder in Oregon
from the mid-1850s to the early twentieth century. He was chief justice of
the territorial supreme court, a delegate to Oregon’s constitutional
convention, U.S. senator from Oregon, the first Oregonian to serve in a
presidential cabinet, a member of national and international diplomatic
commissions, and mayor of Portland. For his service and serenity, the
Oregonian referred to him as “Oregon’s Grand Old Man.” He was, Oregonian
editor Harvey Scott remarked, “a man who never lost his equipoise, nor even
studied or posed to produce sensational or startling effects.”

Born in Lebanon, New York, on March 26, 1823, Williams was educated in
public and private schools and read at law in Pompey Hill, New York,
learning from an established Whig lawyer. In 1844, he became a lawyer and
removed to Iowa, where he was elected judge, serving from 1847 to 1852. He
also purchased a newspaper, the Lee County Democrat (later the Iowa
Statesman), owning it until 1852.

Williams was active as a Democrat in state politics and was known as a
practical politician who avoided partisanship. He became friends with
Iowa’s U.S. senators, George Jones and Augustus Dodge, and attracted
attention from Stephen A. Douglas, a powerful senator from Illinois.
Williams had campaigned for Franklin Pierce in 1852 and was a presidential
elector; and with strong support from Douglas, Pierce rewarded Williams
with appointment as chief justice of the Oregon Territory Supreme Court in
1853.

Williams arrived in Oregon by steamship from San Francisco on July 2, 1853,
accompanied by his wife Kate. On the territorial court, he held circuit in
the Willamette Valley, based in Salem, while Matthew Deady was judge for
southern Oregon Territory and Cyrus Olney served the northern territory.
The first major case Williams heard was Holmes v. Ford (1853), which raised
the issue of slavery. Williams ruled that slavery was not legal in Oregon,
considering that the territorial legislature had not expressly legalized
it. In Vandorf v. Otis (1854), he ruled that an Indian wife had legal claim
to half of a 640-acre claim made by herself and her husband under the
Oregon Donation Land Law.

During his first decade in Oregon, Williams became president of the
Willamette Woolen Company in 1856, a trustee of Willamette University the
same year, and an investor in the Oregon Printing and Publishing Company in
1863. Although he was a strong Democrat, he kept at a distance from the
Salem Clique Democrats who led the party in Oregon Territory. Nonetheless,
one witness reported that he was “a forcible orator” and physical, “his
arms going up and down with a regular tilt-hammer motion which earned him
the uneuphonious but significant soubriquet of ‘Old Flax Break.’”

In 1857, Williams was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention and
played an important role in framing the state constitution by publishing
his “Free State Letter” in the July 28 Oregon Statesman, in which he argued
against both slavery in Oregon and the residency of free Blacks. His
position was based on his practical approach to politics. He was
anti-slavery, but he never made a speech castigating the institution as
immoral. Nonetheless, pro-slavery Democrats criticized him, but as he said
years later, “I knew what I was doing. It was the only argument I could
make to the people.”

Williams left the territorial bench in 1859, went into private practice
with A. C. Gibbs in Portland, and actively supported the Union during the
Civil War. He abandoned the Democratic Party as unpatriotic and became a
Republican. The Oregon Senate selected him as a U.S. senator in 1864. He
wrote the first Reconstruction Act and the Tenure of Office Act in 1867,
which led to the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Williams
voted to convict Johnson in the Senate trial.

When U. S. Grant became president, Williams was a vocal supporter and
trusted adviser. Grant selected him for membership of the Joint High
Commission in 1871 to resolve conflicts with Great Britain over Civil War
claims, and in December of that year he appointed him attorney general of
the United States. Williams prosecuted cases against the Ku Klux Klan for
two years, increasing convictions of Klansmen fourfold.

Grant nominated him as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in early
December 1873, but he met fierce resistance from the legal establishment
because Williams lacked sufficient judicial experience and had mixed
government funds with his private accounts—actions that did not rise to
illegality but stained his reputation. Several key senators and Oregon
politicians, including J. W. Nesmith and Henry Corbett, forced Grant to ask
Williams to withdraw his candidacy in January 1874. The controversy damaged
Williams’ standing sufficiently that Grant pressed Williams to resign as
U.S. Attorney General in April 1875.

Williams returned to Oregon in 1881 as a partner in a private law practice.
In 1901, as a reformist-minded politician, he stood as president of the
Direct Democracy League, which worked to expand participation in Portland’s
electoral politics. In 1902, under a new city charter, Williams ran for
mayor on a reformist ticket and won, becoming reportedly the oldest mayor
in the nation. His tenure was during the Lewis and Clark Exposition, a time
of civic exuberance, but his administration was plagued by police
corruption and his failure to stem gambling and prostitution. A grand jury
indicted him in January 1905 for failing to order police to close gambling
halls, but the county district attorney dismissed the charge. Williams lost
his bid for re-election in 1905 to Harry Lane.
Williams was married twice, first to Kate Antwerp in Iowa in 1850 (she died
in 1863) and second to Kate George in Oregon in 1867. He had one child by
his first marriage and adopted two children during his second. Williams
died on April 4, 1910. [For an additional comment on Williams, see
https://hd. house divided. dickinson.edu/node/ 23912 (after removing the
spaces in the siteaddress.]. Volume Poor; Contents Very Good or better /
[No Dust Jacket]. Item #3786

Price: $3,000.00  TEMPORARILY AVAILABLE AT $1,450.00



Spender, Stephen H. [Spender, Sir Stephen Harold]
Nine Experiments [SIGNED]

Cincinnati, OH: Elliston Poetry Foundation University of Cincinnati, [1964
Copyright]. First Thus. Hardcover. An about Very Good copy of the first
facsimile edition of Stephen H. Spender's first book, showing only mild
wear and tide markings to the boards -- otherwise about Fine. [Only about
thirty [30] copies of the ORIGINAL first edition in 1920 were printed, and
those were done so by Spender himself. Per Encyclopedia dot com: The
facsimile shows a presentation of the original copy presentation by Spender
to "Winifred" on the second front free endpaper as well as the book's
limitation notice with a note in Spender's hand stating that the copy
reproduced here was number 1 of the group of "about thirty" of the first
edition copies. [Please Note: the foregoing are facsimiles of Spender's
handwriting.] Copies of this facsimile edition are uncommon to the market,
and the great and distinguishing feature of this copy is the ORIGINAL
SIGNED PRESENTATION OF THIS COPY BY STEPHEN SPENDER TO WILLIAM S. GRAY
[presumably the famed educator] in blue ink found on this volume's title
page. [Also per Encyclopedia dot com: "Spender printed his first volume of
poetry, Nine Experiments: Being Poems Written at the Age of Eighteen
(1928), on his own handpress. He later destroyed copies of his early
efforts, but several of the poems he wrote between 1928 and 1930 would
appear in his volume Poems published in 1933." ] While the book does have
tide marks to the cover, it likely is the ONLY EXAMPLE OF STEPHEN SPENDER'S
FIRST BOOK SIGNED BY SPENDER that is, or perhaps ever will be, available to
collectors. The book is housed in its near fine (presumed original)
slipcase which shows only mild wear, the only example of the slipcase that
we ever have seen. A decent example of this volume, with a PRESENTATION TO
WILLIAM S. GRAY. A SCARCE TO RARE INSCRIBED AND SIGNED COPY.

"Spender was acquainted with fellow Auden Group members Louis MacNeice,
Edward Upward and Cecil Day-Lewis. He was friendly with David Jones and
later came to know William Butler Yeats, Allen Ginsberg, Ted Hughes, Joseph
Brodsky, Isaiah Berlin, Mary McCarthy, Roy Campbell, Raymond Chandler,
Dylan Thomas, Jean-Paul Sartre, Colin Wilson, Aleister Crowley, F. T.
Prince and T. S. Eliot, as well as members of the Bloomsbury Group,
particularly Virginia Woolf."]. Very good. Item #3425


WAS: $850  TEMPORARILY AVAILABLE AT: $375


Bianchi, Martha Dickinson [SIGNED] with a Foreword by Alfred Lette Hampson
Emily Dickinson Face to Face, with Notes and Reminiscences by Her Niece
Martha Dickinson Bianchi [TOGETHER WITH NUMEROUS RELEVANT ITEMS LOOSELY
LAID IN]

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1932. First Edition, First
Printing. Hardcover. TEMPORARILY DISCOUNTED. WAS $850. NOW $315. A Very
Good - copy of the first edition, first printing, in the Publisher's
original green cloth with the front board lettered, lined, and decorated in
gilt and the spine lettered and lined in gilt. The spine ends are worn and
show some loss, the spine's front edge is rubbed as are each board's
leading corners. The front hinge appears to have been broken an inartfully
repaired and also shows a short piece of archival repair tape, and rear
hinge shows damage and a pair of archival tape repairs. The great wonder of
this QUITE SCARCE VOLUME is found in its mere existence and in the fact
that the front free endpaper shows a SIGNED PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION from
the Author, Martha Dickinson Bianchi, dated in 1933. [The book itself is
surprisingly scarce to the market and this signed copy is THE ONLY COPY
SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR KNOWN TO US. Also, to the lower portion of the front
free endpaper one finds notes of book owner recounting visits to Dickinson
homes in Amherst in 1941 and 1951, presumably by a certain Carolyn
Faulkner, then of Grand Rapids, Michigan shown on a machine-copy of a
Strand Book Store receipt dated "6/11/90" issued to her for the purchase of
both this book and Bianchi's "Life and Letters" of Emily Dickinson. [The
receipt has an interesting annotation, likely by Faulkner, stating that she
later (in 1993) paid $85 for an unsigned copy of "Face to Face", rather
than the $9.00 she paid for the copy shown on the Strand receipt,
indicating that the book had been found by the market to be scarce. The
leaves have a numbered of scattered pencil annotations (again presumably
made by Faulkner), and numerous other relevant papers are loosely laid in.
Martha Gilbert Dickinson Bianchi, also known as "Mattie", was born on
November 30, 1866, the only daughter of Austin and Susan Dickinson, and
thus Emily Dickinson's Niece. After her mother Susan and her aunt Lavinia
died, Bianchi inherited the Dickinson manuscripts that remained in her
family (the other significant portion of the manuscripts was held by Mabel
Loomis Todd). She became the last surviving member of the Dickinson line
and, with her death, the Dickinson line ended.

A quote from the book: “I cannot tell when I first became aware that she
[Emily Dickinson] had elected her own way of life. To us she had always
been as fixed in her orbit as any other star. We had been born into her
life. It never seemed to us that it should have been any other than it was.”
– Martha Dickinson Bianchi (Emily Dickinson Face to Face, p. 48). Very good
-.

*WAS $850.00  TEMPORARILY AVAILABLE AT $375.*

Gould, Jean
Miss Emily [SIGNED]

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1946. First Edition, First Printing.
Hardcover.
TEMPORARILY DISCOUNTED. WAS $325. NOW $150. A Very Good copy of the mildly
askew first edition, first printing, in the Publisher's original light
green cloth with the front board decorated in green and the spine lettered
and decorated in green, showing light bumping to each board's upper leading
corner, and tiny to small brown spots the spine and boards. The spine's
leading edge also shows a pair of small marks and the closed page block's
leading edge shows some blue staining. Each pastedown and the facing side
of each free endpaper is decorated in green and shows some foxing and the
half title is INSCRIBED, SIGNED, AND DATED IN THE YEAR OF PUBLICATION AS
FOLLOWS: "For // Ella B. Gosline // who always lets me come over one more
time. // With love, // April 11, 1946 Jean Gould". Within, some pencil
notes appear on the front free endpaper's recto. Copies of the first
edition are scarce to the market and Signed copies are especially so, and
this is the ONLY SIGNED COPY WE EVER HAVE SEEN and is especially nice due
to its having been SIGNED IN SOON AFTER BEING PUBLISHED.
[NOTE: Per the Ohio Center for Life, https:// ohiocenterforthebook .org:
Award-winning author Jean Gould was a prolific writer whose work included
books for both children and adults. She is most well-known for her
biographies of prominent figures in literature, theater, industry and
politics. However, her early writing includes fairy tales, plays, and short
stories for young children.]. Very good. Item #3783

WAS $325.00 TEMPORARILY AVAILABLE AT $150.00


Bianchi, Martha Dickinson
The Life and Letters of Emily Dickinson

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1924. First Edition [Third
Impression]. Hardcover. TEMPORARILY DISCOUNTED. WAS $125. NOW $45. A Very
Good copy the first edition, third impression of this work in the
Publisher's original green boards with the front board lettered, lined, and
decorated in gilt and the spine lettered and lined in faded gilt, and with
the illustration of Dickinson remaining integral and in excellent
condition. The spine ends are rubbed and worn. Each board's bottom and
leading corners are rubbed, the front hinge is broken and the volume shows
general wear, including a scratch and some marking to the rear board. The
remains of a Strand invoice for the book [together with "Face to Face"]
dated in 1990 is loosely laid in and a small Strand price sticker is
affixed to the front pastedown. [A copy of a check with some notes below it
in blue ink is also loosely laid in.] The author, Martha Dickinson Bianchi
was Emily Dickinson's niece and her last living direct descendant who
brought Emily Dickinson's line to its end. [QUITE NOTABLY: After her mother
Susan and her aunt Lavinia died, Bianchi inherited the Dickinson
manuscripts that remained in her family (the other significant portion of
the manuscripts was held by Mabel Loomis Todd).] Copies of any impression
of the first edition are surprisingly SCARCE TO THE MARKET.

NOTE: After her mother Susan and her aunt Lavinia died, Bianchi inherited
the Dickinson manuscripts that remained in her family (the other
significant portion of the manuscripts was held by Mabel Loomis Todd). In
1914 Bianchi published The Single Hound: Poems of Emily Dickinson, which
helped revive interest in her aunt’s work. Very good. Item #3782

Price: $45.00  TEMPORARILY AVAILABLE $25.00

Coetzee, J. M. [Coetzee, John Maxwell]
Age of Iron

New York: Random House, 1990. First Edition. Hardcover. An Essentially Fine
copy of the first edition, first printing (slight push to the spine head,
some fading to the board extremities; J. M. Coetzee's sixth novel. The book
won the 1990 Sunday Express Book of the Year, the most lucrative prize for
novels in Britain at the time. The tale presents a picture of social and
political tragedy unfolding in a country ravaged by racism and violence; an
excellent work on South African apartheid and its effect on that nation's
people. J. M. Coetzee won the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature for being a
writer "who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of
the outsider." In his Presentation Speech for the Prize, Per Wästberg of
the Swedish Academy stated: "Coetzee sees through the obscene poses and
false pomp of history, lending voice to the silenced and the despised.
Restrained but stubborn, he defends the ethical value of poetry, literature
and imagination. Without them, we blinker ourselves and become bureaucrats
of the soul.....Coetzee’s work runs like a high-tension cable across an
inhospitable South African landscape. Mrs. Curran in Age of Iron has
witnessed monstrous actions but is unable to condemn them using the words
of others. Neither will Coetzee himself sign petitions or join in political
rallies." This copy of "Age of Iron" remains tight and unread. An
Essentially Fine, tight, and unread copy. Fine / fine. Item #2846

Price: $45.00  Temporarily Available at $25.00.


Knox, William; [Illustrations, Humphrey, Miss L. B. (Engraved by John
Andrew & Son, Boston)]
Oh, Why Should the Spirit of Mortal Be Proud? [IN THE RARE DUST JACKET]

Boston; New York: Lee and Shepard; Charles T. Dillingham, 1877. Humphrey,
L. B. First Edition. Hardcover. A Very Good or better copy of the first
edition, first printing, bound in the Publisher's original purple cloth and
wearing the RARE DUST JACKET. The volume contains a noted Poem by William
Knox which focuses on Mortality and which is said to have been Abraham
Lincoln's favorite Poem which he frequently recited. American painter F. B.
Carpenter wrote that while he was engaged in painting his large picture at
the White House, he was alone one evening with the president in his room
when President Lincoln said: "There is a poem, which has been a great
favorite with me for years, which was first shown to me when a young man,
by a friend, and which I afterwards saw and cut from a newspaper, and
learned by heart. "I would,” he continued, “give a great deal to know who
wrote it, but I have never been able to ascertain.” Lincoln's own
handwritten (by him) copy of the Poem is held by the Western Heritage
Museum at the University of Oklahoma, and so often did Lincoln recited the
Poem from memory that many hearing him thought that it was his own Poem. Of
the Poem, Lincoln (in 1846) also stated: "I would give all I am worth and
go into debt to be able to write so fine a piece as I think that is."
Having been protected by the QUITE SCARCE DUST JACKET, the volume's binding
is in Very Good or better condition, and, while showing some wear to the
spine ends and leading board corners, remains in a bright and clean
condition. The dust jacket itself shows wear and loss as well as spotting
and a gift note is written in pencil to the front panel. The front flap is
detached but remains present. Within, the front and rear end papers show
moderate foxing. The tissue guard to the decorative half title page is
heavily foxed (and a small piece from the tissue guard has been torn off)
and such half-title page shows less foxing. The title page and the text
itself shows only minor to modest scattered foxing. The volume's spine is
lettered and banded in gilt and the front board is attractively decorated
in gilt and black and, in that it retains its RARE DUST JACKET, it remains
a REMARKABLE COPY and the ONLY COPY WE EVER HAVE SEEN IN THE DUST JACKET.
This copy is thus RARE INDEED.

NOTE PER WIKIPEDIA: William Knox (17 August 1789 – 12 November 1825) was a
Scottish poet. He is known for writing Abraham Lincoln's favorite poem,
Mortality (O, Why Should The Spirit Of Mortal Be Proud?), which, as noted
above, Lincoln often recited by memory. In 1812 Knox leased the farm of
Wrae, near Langholm, Dumfriesshire, and farmed unsuccessfully - mainly due
to the lack of a capital needed to render the farm sufficiently productive
- from 1812 to 1817; then he turned to writing poems, encouraged by both
Christopher North and Sir Walter Scott.
Despite having farmed for only five years, he earned the approbation of the
intelligent agriculturists in Dumfriesshire, who considered Knox as a man
well fitted to excel as a farmer. He was greatly esteemed and highly
praised by all of his neighbours for his generosity as a man and for his
worth as a friend. During his farming years, Knox never lost his interest
in poetry and literature. By 1817 - when he ceased farming - he was deeply
read in the British poets, both ancient and contemporary. In 1817 he
composed the greater number of the pieces contained in his first work, "The
Lonely Hearth and other Poems". By that time he also had become a good
literary critic, not only of poetry but also of other English literature,
and had exercised his talents in different styles of composition. At about
that time, he wrote unpublished poems entitled "The Influence of Love over
the other Passions" and "The Father's Cottage." Later in life he wrote
several books of poetry, including "The Lonely Hearth" (1818); and "The
Songs of Israel" (1824), which contains "Mortality (O, Why Should The
Spirit Of Mortal Be Proud?), "The Harp of Zion" (1825); and latter worked
as a journalist in Edinburgh. Both Sir Walter Scott and Professor John
Wilson (Christopher North) of Edinburgh, had a high opinion of Knox as a
man and as a poet with "fascinating conversational powers and general
literary information". In 1820 Knox moved to Edinburgh. From then until
shortly before his death many of his small works of prose and verse
appeared in various periodicals. He was a frequent contributor to the
Literary Gazette. He wrote a Christmas tale entitled "Marianne or the
Widower's Daughter" and also "A Visit to Dublin". At the beginning of 1823
he visited his brother Walter in Ireland, and remained there for about
twelve months. During that visit he composed "The Songs of Israel"
(published soon after his return to Edinburgh in 1824). His next and last
publication was "The Harp of Zion" which was published in April 1825 and
written only a few months before its publication.
Notably, William Knox's memory was so powerful that once, when a bookseller
mislaid the manuscript of The Harp of Zion, he is said to have sat down and
in two or three days re-written the whole poem from his recollection (the
only trouble it cost him being the manual labour). He scarcely ever altered
the first draft of his compositions, as he believed that the first draft
was generally the best.
Robert Southey, a Romantic English poet and Poet Laureate from 1813 until
1843, wrote to Knox on 19 August 1824:
“Your little volume has been safely delivered to me by your friend Mr G.
Macdonald, and I thank you for it. It has given me great pleasure. To
paraphrase sacred poetry is the most difficult of all tasks, and it appears
to me that you have been more successful in the attempt than any of your
predecessors. You may probably have heard that the Bishop of Calcutta ...
was engaged in forming a collection of hymns and sacred pieces, with the
hope of having them introduced into our English churches. Some of yours are
so well adapted to that object that I will send out a copy of your book to
him. … I cannot but wish that talents and feelings such as yours were
employed in the ministry of the gospel, where you would find your happiness
in the performance of your duty – you are young enough to think of this.”.
Very good + / good. Item #3407

Price: $625.00  Temporarily Available at $365.00


Frings, Ketti; [Wolfe, Thomas]
Look Homeward Angel; A PLAY // Based on the Novel by THOMAS WOLFE // WITH
AN INTRODUCTION BY EDWARD C. ASWELL

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958. First Edition. Hardcover.
TEMPORARILY DISCOUNTED. WAS $750. NOW $250. A Very Good copy of the First
Edition, First Printing in the Publisher's original black cloth and cream
paper boards with the spine lettered in gilt and wearing the scarce dust
jacket. The front free endpaper has been inscribed and signed by Ketti
Frings as follows: "To Janet whose lovely "thank you's" were an enriching
experience and lesson for us all, Affectionately Ketti Frings". The spine
shows some rubbing with some loss to the author's name and to the
Publisher's name as well, and the black to the front board shows marking
which is visible when held at an angle to the light. The closed page block
shows a blue topstain which itself shows a modest stain. The dust jacket
shows some wear and chipping as well as a short tape repair to the upper
edge of the front panel's verso. The volume is illustrated with a black and
white photo double page layout of the stage design for the Play. The Play
was a great success. It ran for 564 performances at the Ethel Barrymore
Theatre and garnered Frings a 1958 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the
New York Drama Critics award, and won Tony award nominations for Hugh
Griffith and Anthony Perkins for best actor, and Best actress for Jo Van
Fleet, Best scenic design for Jo Mielziner, Best Director for George Roy
Hill and Best costume design for Motley. The Los Angeles Times named Frings
the "Woman of the Year" in 1958. A rather decent copy of this lauded Play
with is QUITE SCARCE TO THE MARKET WHEN SIGNED BY FRINGS. Very good / very
good. Item #3775

Price: $250.00  Temporarily Available at $95.00


Trollope, Anthony; Greenwell, Dora: Saunders, John; Meredith, Mrs; Fyfe, J.
Hamilton; Smith, George; Dobson, Austin; and others
Why Frau Frohmann Raised Her Prices; Young Women at the Telegraph; and
other works by other writers, both Clerical and not [found in Good Words
for 1877]

London: Daldy, Isbister & Co., 1877. First Edition, First Printing. A Very
Good copy of Good Words for the year 1877 containing works by Anthony
Trollope including the first appearance of his "Why Frau Frohmann Raised
Her Prices" with four Illustrations by Frank Hill (of which only one was
later republished), and "The Young Women at the London Telegraph Office"
[unillustrated]. The volume has been rebound in three-quarters black
leather and marbled boards. The spine is line, lettered, and dated in gilt.
Good Words was a monthly magazine "Good Words" was a 19th-century monthly
periodical established in the United Kingdom in 1860 by the Scottish
publisher Alexander Strahan directed at evangelicals and nonconformists,
particularly of the lower middle classes. The periodical included both
overtly religious material and both fiction and non-fiction articles on
general subjects, including science, with the purpose that devout
Christians should be able to read it on Sundays without sin. Its first
editor was Norman Macleod. After his death in 1872, it was edited by his
brother, Donald Macleod. This issue contains two short stories by the great
Victorian author Anthony Trollope which, in 1881, also appeared in a
collection of Trollope's short stories titled "Frau Frohmann and Other
Stories". SURPRISINGLY SCARCE. Item #3692

Price: $125.00  Temporarily Available at $60.00


Davison, T. Raffles
Port Sunlight: A Record of Its Artistic & Pictorial Aspect

B. T. Batsford. A Fine copy of this SCARCE work, in a Near Fine dust jacket
with some tearing/chipping to the spine ends, panel corners, and to the
rear panel's bottom edge. The front free endpaper's recto shows a slight
mark to the top edge as well as to its leading egge Port Sunlight is a
small town in England's northwest, being a model village built as a
community for workers employed at the adjacent Lever soapworks at
Merseyside. The homes were built after designs by notable architects and
were influenced by William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement and the
village took its name from the popular Lever cleaner named 'Sunlight', and
a Lever Brothers "compliments of" card is loosely laid in.

arguably the finest surviving example of early urban planning in the UK,
and has remained largely intact since its foundation by William Hesketh
Lever in 1888. The village is home to more than 900 Grade II listed
buildings set in 130 acres of parkland and gardens.

More than 30 different architects created the buildings, monuments and
memorials we still see today, and nearly every period of British
architecture is represented through revival design. The village is a good
example of the aesthetic movement, which emphasised visual and sensual
qualities of art and design, and the Arts and Crafts Movement, with its
emphasis on traditional craftsmanship.

Lever built Port Sunlight to house the workers at his soap factory, Lever
Brothers, which eventually became the global giant, Unilever. The village
represents one man’s vision to provide industrial workers with decent,
sanitary housing in a considered architectural and picturesque form.

However, rather than a philanthropic venture, Lever claimed it was all part
of a business model he termed ‘prosperity-sharing’. Rather than sharing the
profits of the company directly with his employees, Lever provided them
with decent and affordable houses, amenities and welfare provisions that
made their lives secure and comfortable and enabled them to flourish as
people. It was also intended to inspire loyalty and commitment. Item #3665

Price: $475.00  Temporarily Available at $210.00


Cundall, H.M., I.S.O., F.S.A.
Birket Foster R.W.S. (Myles Birket Foster)

London: Adam and Charles Black, 1906. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover.
A Very Good + copy of the first edition, first printing in the Publisher's
original blue boards with the front board and sunned spine lettered and
lined gilt and decorated in white, green, and gilt, with a tissue-guarded
frontis and 72 tissue-guarded color plates with the description of each
illustration stated on the verso of its tissue paper guard. Numerous black
and white illustrations also are found scattered through the volume. The
book shows pushing and modest wear to the spine ends and tiny rubs to each
board's leading corners and the front free endpaper shows a small clip to
its upper right corner above a prior-seller's price (in pencil). The top
edge of the closed page block is in gilt. There is a tiny hole to the
tissue guard for the frontis and the tissue guard to the plate titled "BY
THE THYMES" has a closed tear to its upper portion which is not invasive of
the text. The Plate titled "SKETCH FOR THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP" is miscut at
the bottom right corner as is the following text page. Each resulting
overhang has been imprecisely folded causing each such corner to wrongly
appeared clipped. [Images thereof can be found at our proprietary site.]
Myles Birket Foster was a Victorian-era British illustrator,
watercolourist, and engraver. He made illustrations for Punch Magazine, the
Illustrated London News, and the Illustrated London Almanach. Foster held
his first Exhibition in 1843 and worked as a book illustrator in the 1850s.
Fosters illustrations of Longfellow’s "Evangeline" as well as various books
of poetry by other authors were quite well received and propelled him to
becoming a successful artist in watercolours in his own right. H. M.
Cundall wrote this wonderful illustrated Biography of Foster. A Very Good +
copy.
A NOTE TO THE READER: "Birket Foster" was the only book published by A & C
Black in 1906 to be published in this format and in a large paper Limited
Edition (in this case comprised of 500 copies). The regular edition was
republished in 1930 without changing the date and thus was dated "1906" as
is this copy. However, this copy has the characteristics necessary to show
it to be the original 1906 edition, thus is, along with the large paper
Limited Edition, a true first edition, first printing. Very good +. Item
#3481

Price: $145.00  Temporarily Available at $55.00


Burns, Robert; Edited by Currie, MD, James
The Works of Robert Burns with an account of his life, and a criticism of
his writings. To which are prefixed some observations on the character and
conditions of the Scottish peasantry, as edited by James Currie. Published
in four volumes by Smith & Hill in Montrose, Scotland in 1816 [A Historical
Copy]

Printed by Smith & Hill and sold by the booksellers of London and
Edinburgh: Printed by Smith & Hill, 1816. First Edition Thus. Leather bound
[Hardcover]. A quite attractive ex-library four-volume copy, bound in
highly attractive bindings with beautiful boards and engraved page edges
with spines rebacked and joints and hinges repaired by Dunn & Wilson in a
very high quality manner. Robert Burns (1759 – 1796), a Scottish poet and
lyricist, is widely regarded as the national Poet of Scotland. Born in
1759, his works celebrated the Scottish vernacular and explored universal
themes of love, nature, social injustice, and national identity. Burns
wrote in a distinctive Scottish dialect, which added a unique charm to his
poetry. One of Burns' most famous works is "Auld Lang Syne", a much-loved
song traditionally sung on New Year's Eve, symbolizing friendship and
reminiscing about old times. His love poems, such as A Red, Red Rose and My
Love is Like a Red, Red Rose are renowned for their heartfelt expressions
and romantic sentiments. Burns also used his poetry to highlight social
issues and the struggles of the working class. To a Mouse and to a Louse
are examples of his keen observation and empathy towards all creatures,
regardless of their social standing and he championed egalitarian ideals
and respect for all persons, regardless of their social status. The set is
bound in four elegant matching elegant bindings, with each spine having
been rebacked (perhaps with spines newer than the original ones) and with
the hinges all repaired. Due to their look and feel, we think that the
boards are likely original. Each board is both blind-stamped and further
decorated in black and gilt and the board turn-ins present an elegant
pattern in gilt. Each visible edge of the page blocks are both gilded and
stamped in blind. [Each of Volumes bears a sticker of Montrose Public
Library and the recto of the first front free endpaper bears library
information, including an Angus District/Angus - Cultural Services sticker,
which, if we have come to the correct condition, gives this set a richer
history than it otherwise would have. Of interest in this regard there is a
statement in Wikipedia stating: "In 1901, Scottish philanthropist Andrew
Carnegie, responded to a request for funding to provide a public library in
Montrose. “I should be very glad indeed to comply with your suggestion and
consider it a privilege. If Montrose will adopt the Free Libraries Act and
provide a suitable site, I shall be glad to provide money for the
building”- Andrew Carnegie....The architect commissioned was J Lindsay
Grant of Manchester. The total cost of the building was £7,500 with further
contributions from the town of Montrose of £1000, from Mr. and Mrs. W.
Douglas Johnson of £500 and from “Montrosians at home and abroad” of £1000.
Contributions for funding the book collection were requested from present
and former Montrosians and local children’s families to stock the juvenile
section. The library was opened in 1905 by John Morley MP. Montrose Library
was the first ‘open-access’ library in Scotland." The architect
commissioned was J Lindsay Grant of Manchester. The total cost of the
building was £7,500 with further contributions from the town of Montrose of
£1000, from Mr. and Mrs. W. Douglas Johnson of £500 and from “Montrosians
at home and abroad” of £1000. Contributions for funding the book collection
were requested from present and former Montrosians and local children’s
families to stock the juvenile section. The library was opened in 1905 by
John Morley MP. Montrose Library was the first ‘open-access’ library in
Scotland." Burns was a man of great intellect and considered a pioneer of
the Romantic movement. Many of the early founders of socialism and
liberalism found inspiration in his works. Considered the national poet of
Scotland, he is celebrated there and around the world every year on "Burns
Night,” January 25. Born in 1759, this great Scottish poet and lyricist,
Burns is widely regarded as the national Poet of Scotland. A beautiful
copy. Very good to Very Good +. Item #3764

Price: $875.00  Temporarily Available at $465.00


Downing, Crystal; [Sayers, Dorothy]
Subversive [SIGNED]; Christ, Culture, and the Shocking Dorothy L. Sayers

Mineapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2020. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover.
A Fine, Tight, and Unread copy of the first edition, first printing in the
Publisher's black cloth with the spine lettered in silver with the
Publisher's emblem in silver as well, with a dark line running across the
spine and boards (apparently a production flaw) SIGNED BY CRYSTAL DOWNING
on the title page in blue ink, a book which Alister McGrath stated: "This
is the best book on Dorothy L. Sayers I have read in the last decade." The
author (Downing) was, at Publication, the co-director of the Wade Center at
Wheaton College as well as a major Sayers scholar. Signed copies in any
condtion are QUITE SCARCE TO THE MARKET. A FINE, otherwise SUPERIOR COPY
SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
NOTE: Sayers was an English crime writer and poet, as well as a student of
classical works and student of modern languages and ancient literature. She
came to know C. S. Lewis after he responded to a fan letter she sent to him
in admiration of his Christian apologetic novel "The Screwtape Letters".
Lewis later recounted that Sayers was "...the first person of importance
who ever wrote me a fan letter." She then became a friend of Lewis as well
as of several of the other Inklings, on some occasions joining Lewis at
meetings of the Socratic Club. After Lewis and Sayers met, he told her that
he read her "The Man Born to Be King" every Easter Season. [The book became
a radio drama based on the life of Jesus, produced and broadcast by the BBC
during the Second World War (as were addresses by Lewis which became his
noted work "Mere Christianity". ["The Man born to be King" was itself a
Play Cycle consisting of twelve plays depicting specific periods in Jesus'
life, from the events surrounding his birth to his death and resurrection.
It was first broadcast by the BBC Home Service on Sunday evenings,
beginning on 21 December 1941, with new episodes broadcast at 4-week
intervals, ending on 18 October 1942. The BBC Series was produced for the
BBC by Val Gielgud, with Robert Speaight as Jesus.]
Sayers and Lewis were fans of each other's writing. She understood and
shared his role as an apologist and the pair had ongoing correspondence in
which they discussed their writing and academic interests, providing one
another with criticisms, suggestions, and encouragement. Sayers had much in
common with Lewis and Tolkien's circle, including a love of orthodox
Christianity, traditional verse, popular fiction, and debate. Fine / Fine.
Item #3777

Price: $185.00.  Temporarily Available at $85.00





Stephen Johnson
Allington Antiquarian Books, LLC
Rare and Collectible Books, both Antiquarian and Modern
www.allingtonbooks.com
336-414-0435