Lesson by Sandburg, Carl - 1971

NY: Random House, 1950. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good -. First edition of William Inge's first play. SiGNED by the entire cast led by Shirley Booth who received the Tony Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lola, for which she later received the Oscar in the film version. Only one cast member didn't sign - actor Wilson Brooks: perhaps this is his copy. There are a few pencilled notations in the text. Laid-in is a TNS from playwright Inge rejecting a colleague's request to produce one of his plays. Also laid-in are 7 typed sheets which contain lists of props, scene by scene, annotated in pencil detailing use of props, positioning, etc. Book VG, spine slightly shaken, spine ends worn. Almost very good dw, some tape ghosts on flap.

New York: National Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, 1952. Eight volumes, bound in original printed yellow title wrappers. 1715, [3 Index] pp. Each page printed in two columns, each column numbered as a page. Oblong 8vo, 7-1/4" x 5-1/4". Stapled as issued, Near Fine. Housed in original box. Nearly seventy years after they were executed for espionage, even after the opening of the USSR's secret Venona files, the guilt or innocence of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg remains a subject of controversy. A National Committee to Reopen the Rosenberg Case, the successor to the National Committee to Secure Justice to the Rosenbergs, is active to this day. The trial, like that of their contemporary Alger Hiss, was enveloped by the early years of the Cold War. Added to the mix was the fact that the Rosenbergs were Jewish, as were their prosecutors [Irving Saypol and Roy Cohn] and the trial judge [Irving Kaufman]. There is little doubt that significant prejudicial conduct occurred at trial,… Read More

Charleston, SC, 1848. Very good, tiny tears and light browning, particularly around folds, minor ink bleed through, contents clean.. [4] pp. Bifolium. 8 x 10.5 inches. A wonderful letter filled with descriptions and anecdotes of prominent military and political figures including Andrew Jackson. Dated Feb. 28th, 1848, just as the Mexican American War was concluding (the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo occurred less than four weeks before this letter was written, and Polk's message to Congress concerning the Treaty a scant six days prior). Burns tells his cousin Anson of his visit to Washington, D.C., to attend the celebrations, hosted by Mr. & Mrs. Clifford (Nathan Clifford was Attorney General). Burns was introduced to President Polk, and presented the respects of his uncle, Dr. Burns, to which Polk replied, "'Are you a relative of Dr. Burns? I am glad to see you' and 'How is the doctor? I have a great regard for him. I always know where to find him. We fought shoulder to shoulder through… Read More

New York, 1860. Edge wear. 3 1/2" intact tear at base. "Taped" on board (see image). A 15" x 11" broadside with a fine woodcut of an American eagle at top with a ribbon in it's beak reading "Equalled by None". Imperial Princes' Polish $500 Will be given to anyone who can produce an article to give a brighter lustre on SLIVER or BRITTANIA and PLATED WARE than the Unrivalled Princes'' Polish. Followed by directions for use and where to purchase the produce. Concludes with "Further reccomendation (sic) than one trial is deemed unnecessary". Reverse is blank. No references found for this product; apparently short lived. OCLC - none (Sept 2021).

St. Paul, Ks: The News Printery, 1905. Very good.. 17pp. Original plain orange wrappers, stapled. Minor wear and soiling, contemporary pencil notation to wrappers. Some light soiling to contents, manuscript notation at end of text. Pamphlet published by the Anti-Horse Thief Association in St. Paul, Kansas, a tiny town about a hundred miles due east of Wichita. The Anti-Horse Thief Association was a long-standing vigilance committee in Kansas, established in the 1850s, presented here similar to a masonic organization. The present work provides the order for their ceremonies and rituals, including initiations, installing officers, and the funeral ceremony. Inside the front cover is a manuscript list of names recording the investigation and pursuing committees for 1904; the rear cover has the ownership inscription of Robert Leer of Vincennes, Iowa, and a date noting the last meeting he attended. While there are several early 20th-century editions in OCLC, we locate only one copy of this 1905 edition,… Read More

London: C. Roworth, 1802. Hardcover. 12mo. Modern brown cloth rebind with burgundy leather spine label. 407pp. Very good. Modern binding of course fine and pristine; some age toning about the edges of the title page; original text block clean and quite handsome. First edition, tight and handsome. Ritson (1752-1803) was an eccentric but highly-regarded English antiquarian whose many collections of early texts includes such volumes as "A Select Collection of English Songs" (1783) and "Ancient Songs and Ballads from the Reign of King Henry the Second to the Revolution" (1792), "Robin Hood: A Collection of All the Ancient Poems, Songs, and Ballads, Now Extant Relative to That Celebrated English Outlaw" (1795). This unique copy of "Bibliographia Poetica" belonged to the American poet, editor and essayist JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL (1819-91), with his signature and the year "1843" boldly penned in brown ink at the top of the title page. Lowell makes three interesting editorial comments in the margins. On page… Read More

London: The Golden Cockerel Press, 1942. First Edition and One of 500 copies only, printed in Perpetua type on mould-made paper and bound in fine half blue Niger morocco over cloth covered boards. 4to, beautifully bound in green-blue crushed Niger morocco over buckram covered boards by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, the spine with raised bands, two compartments lettered in gilt, t.e.g. [1-bl], 62, [2-bl], pp. A very handsome copy indeed, the binding tight, sharp and in excellent condition, the text-block clean and crisp, a small spot to the front cover and only very minimal evidence of age or use. RARE FIRST EDITION IN THE LIMITED ISSUE IN HANDSOME BINDING. "Shaw" of course was the name T.E. Lawrence used when he enrolled in the R.A.F. The relationship between Lawrence and Ede was a mutually satisfying one. Over forty letters are included here. The intimacy of feelings expressed by Ede is quite remarkable. He had taken little heed of T.E. Lawrence and the works penned by him and which had… Read More

Boston: N.E.: Printed and Sold by S. Kneeland & T. Green, 1738. [4], 26 pp, lacking the final blank. Stitched as issued, scattered foxing, Good+, with death's head ornamentation at the head of the title. ESTC records this as Coollidge's only printed Sermon. He dedicates it to Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor ["and Commander of the Castle"] Spencer Phips. Coollidge says that "there is something in the conduct of divine Providence, which at the first view appears puzzling even to good Men." But, after "Persons of this Character" contemplate further, "the divine Proceeding is unexceptionably just, righteous, and equal, tho' they don't always see the Grounds and Reasons of it." He counsels "the profoundest Submission under all our Trials and Sorrows." "Castle William" was originally built on Castle Island in Boston Harbor in 1634; it was rebuilt and given its name in 1692. Abandoned by the British during the Revolutionary War, it was renamed Fort Adams and then [and now] Fort Independence. King… Read More

FIRST EDITION. 8vo, pp. XXX; with attractive vignette on title; expert repair to corner of title and throughout (not affecting the text), otherwise a clean copy throughout; stitched as issued in contemporary, possibly original, stiff wraps, light rubbing to extremities, otherwise a very good copy.
First and only edition of this anonymous satirical poem on the subject of snuff and tobacco, apparently by "a famous milanese author", whose identity we have been unable to ascertain, although Melzi does note a similar work, Il Cavalier del Dente, which appeared the previous year, and is attributed to Gaetano del Hoyo. The work sings the praises of snuff, by means of which the chaste nose will sniff out bliss, and includes a dedication "all ordine chiarissimo di tutte quante le tabacchiere".
Not in Melzi; OCLC records just one copy only, at the New York Public Library.

DODGE, M.E. Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland. Illustrated by F.O.C. Darley and Thomas Nast. NY: James O'Kane, 1866. 12mo, [iv] 347pp. + [4] advts. Green cloth stamped in gilt. Yellow endpapers; four b&w plates. Spine ends and edges worn, 3/8" tear to cloth of front hinge, cloth covers a bit bubbled, spine lightly rubbed, cloth slightly soiled, some light internal hand-soiling to a few pages, else an attractive, tight copy.
First edition, with title in red and black, and publisher's insignia in gilt on both covers. BAL 4753. This wonderful classic about a pair of homemade skates that could help a young boy save his family from poverty has been continuously in print since this first edition was published over 150 years ago. Dodge's second and most popular work, this was the basis for several films and television adaptations, the most famous being the 1958 movie staring Tab Hunter and directed by Sidney Lumet.