Search Results: Biography & Autobiography from Classic Books and Ephemera

London: Vincent Brooks Day & Son, Lith, 1902. Near Fine. 1 chromolithographed print 40 x 27 cm. signed "Spy," with accompanying leaf of descriptive text (photocopy). Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), English caricaturist and portrait painter, signed his works 'Spy.' Joseph Walton (1845-1910), a Catholic and a distinguished advocate, represented the interest of Catholic children against Thomas John Barnardo. As lead counsel to the Jockey Club, he appeared in Powell v. Kempton Park Racecourse Co., which defined a 'place' within the meaning of the Betting Act. In Near Fine Condition: upper right-hand corner lightly creased; clean and bright.

London: Vincent Brooks, Day & Son, Lith, 1899. Near Fine -. 1 chromolithographed print 38 x 25 cm. signed "C.G.D.," with the biographical text (photocopy). Sir Charles Garden Assheton-Smith (né Duff) (1851-1914) signed his Vanity Fair caricatures variously "C.G.D." or "Cloister." He was a landowner and owner of three Grand National winners, an amateur caricaturist, and the 1st Baronet of Vaynol Park. Roland Lomax Vaughan Williams (1838-1917) was appointed a Judge of High Court of Justice in 1890, a Judge in Bankruptcy in 1891, and a Lord Justic of Appeal in 1897. In Near Fine- Condition: margins are lightly soiled; otherwise, clean and bright.

Breinigsville, Pa: Pennsylvania German Society, 1973. Hardcover. Fine. viii, 299 p.: illustrations; 23 cm. White cloth with black spine series title, and black cover illustration and title: ABC- und Namen-Büchlein für Kinder. Contents: The ABC Books of the Pennsylvania Germans by Walter Klinefelter -- Abraham Harley Cassel, Nineteenth Century Pennsylvania German American Book Collector by Marlin L. Heckman -- Marriages Performed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Lancaster, 1749-1767 by Fritz Braun and Frederick S. Weiser. Klinefelter's ABC Books of the Pennsylvania Germans includes an extensive checklist. Heckman's work contains a useful overview of other 19th-century American book collectors, as well as discussions of Cassel's activities as both book collectors and librarian. The record of marriages performed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity in Lancaster in the mid-18th century is a valuable genealogical resource for German… Read More

London: Assigns of J. Sowle, 1738. Hardcover. Very Good +. "For the Testimony of a Good Conscience, From the Time of Their being first distinguished by that Name, Taken from Original Records, and other Authentick Accounts; Volume III From the year 1660 to the year 1666." [2], 546, xxviii, [10] p.: 1 leaf, folded; 20 cm. Signatures: B8(+x1) C-2H8 2I-2U4 [x]4 (8vo). Modern calf with original original gilt-tooled spine label. The folded leaf contains the table A Summary Account of the Sufferings in the Second and Third Volumes. Contains: An Alphabetical Index of the Names of the Sufferers in the Third Volume (pp. 479-546), and An Index Containing Some of the Principal Contest of this Third Volume (pp. 1-xxviii). Includes Errata on first page following p. xxviii, and publisher's advertisements on final 8 unpaginated pages. In Very Good+ Condition: very occasional soiling; folded leaf is intact and solid. A clean and tight copy of an important work in Quaker history.

Philadelphia: Wm. J. Dornan, 1887. Hardcover. Very Good. viii, 308 p.; 24 cm. Dark blue cloth with printed paper spine label. Spine title: An Account of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Includes the officers from 1786 to 1887; delegates to the American Medical Association; roll of fellows; and index. Card attached to front fixed endpaper indicating that this was a gift from the author to Dr. Robert J. Hess. Inscription on front free endpaper indicating that this was acquired from the collection of W. Robert Penman and Dorothy I. Lansing in 1966. In Very Good Condition: edges rubbed; minor chipping of spine label; a few pen notations; otherwise, clean and tight.

New York: American Educational Press, 1926. Hardcover. Very Good -. Copyright by Irving Jay Rogers. x, [2], 163 p., frontispiece and 30 leaves of portraits; 18 cm. Dark blue cloth with gilt spine title. Facsimile signatures of the contributors. The Introduction is by Will H. Hays, the President of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America from 1922 to 1945. He is best known today for the Hays Code, the 1930 Motion Picture Production Code that resulted in movies made in the 1930s being far more straight-laced than those produced earlier. Contains inspiring contributions by 40 white men. Scarce. In Very Good- Condition: cover is lightly soiled; corners rubbed; front joint slightly frayed; old repair to front hinge; otherwise, pages are clean and tight.

Boston: Joseph Bumstead, 1801. Hardcover. Very Good -. "Printed for Joseph Bumstead. Sold by him at no. 20, Union-Street: by Thomas and Andrews, Newbury-Street; by E. and S. Larkin, Wm. P. and L. Blake, W. Pelham, and C. Bingham, Cornhill." viii, [1], 10-321, [3] p.; 17 cm. Contemporary full calf; red leather spine label with gilt-tooled title: British Classics. Former owner's name on blank leaf preceding title page: J.C. Hughes. Inscribed at head of title page: Henry Rice, March 1814. Early American Imprints, ser. 2 (Shaw & Shoemaker), 16. In Very Good- Condition: archival repair to head of spine and hinges; corners are rubbed; scattered light foxing; paper is browning but solid; clean and tight.

London: Richd. Phillips, 1803. Hardcover. Very Good. 2 volumes in one: xxiv, 242, 260, [14] p., 2 frontispieces and 7 folded leaves of facsimile letters; 16 cm. C. 1900 binding: half dark blue faux-morocco cloth with six spine compartments between raised bands and gilt-tooled title in second compartment; marbled paper over boards. Title vignettes. Attributed by Halkett and Laing to Sir Richard Phillips. No date of publication. Preface, vol. 2 frontispiece, and 4 of the folded facsimile plates are dated 1803. Former owner's stamp on front fixed endpaper: Folwell Legendre, Hammond, La. Former owner name at head of vol. 1 title page: W. Ransom. Joseph Addison (1672-1719), English essayist, playwright, and poet, is best remembered for his contributions to The Tatler and The Spectator. In Very Good Condition: boards are slightly rubbed; one folded leaf is starting to separate at fold; frontispieces, title pages, and first few pages are somewhat foxed; otherwise, clean and tight.

London / New York: Edward Arnold, 1897. Hardcover. Very Good -. Vol. I only: viii, [2], 438 p.; 21 cm. Blue and red cloth with gilt-stamped spine title and gilt decoration on each board. Black endpapers. First English language edition. The author, Victor Henri Rochefort, Marquis de Rochefort-Luçay (1831-1913), was a journalist and dramatist who was elected to the lower house of the French parliament in 1869. Following the revolution of 1871 he was arrested and sentenced to transportation to New Caledonia, which is where this volume ends. Following the general amnesty in 1880 he returned to France, where he continued to be actively involved in his country's political life. In Very Good- Condition: edges are rubbed; spine is sunned; cover is lightly soiled; title page foxed; otherwise, clean and tight.

Kaunas, Lithuania: Verlag S. Glatt, 1932. Paperback. Good. 2. Auflage [2nd ed.]. 225, [1] p.: 2 leaves of portraits of Einstein, 1 leaf of a facsimile of a letter from Einstein to the author; 24 cm. Original brown wrappers printed in black. Portraits of Einstein are tissue-guarded. Engraved initial letters and tail-pieces. Errata on inside of back wrapper. Published in English in 1934 as Albert Einstein: A Picture of his Life and his Conception of the World. The first and second German editions are scarce. In Good Condition: most of wrapper lacking from spine; upper corner of front wrapper creased; upper corner of back wrapper lacking; edges of wrapper chipped; front wrapper slightly soiled; stitching is going and sections are separating; 2nd portrait of Einstein detached but present; pages are clean.

London: Vincent Brooks Day & Son, Lith, 1897. Near Fine -. 1 chromolithographed print 39 x 27 cm. signed "Spy," with the leaf of biographical text. Sir Leslie Ward (1851-1922), English caricaturist and portrait painter, signed his works 'Spy.' After serving in the British army, Major General Sir Reginald Arthur James Talbot (1841-1929) represented Stafford in Parliament from 1869 to 1874. Returning to the army, he fought in the Anglo-Zulu War and took part in the unsuccessful Nile Expedition to relieve General Gordon in Khartoum. In 1899 he became General Officer Commanding the British troops in Egypt. He became Governor of Victoria, Australia, in 1904. In Near Fine- Condition: minor foxing in upper and right-hand margins; otherwise, clean and bright.

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1986. Hardcover. Near Fine. 95 p.: illustrations; 28 cm. Blue cover with red cover title: University of Pennsylvania 25th Reunion: Class of 1961. Contains 7 pages of group photos from the reunion, without identification, and then alumni listed alphabetically with entries submitted by the individuals, some of which include photos. Scarce. In Near Fine Condition: cover very slightly soiled; otherwise, clean and tight.

New York: Touchstone; Simon & Schuster, 2015. Hardcover. Near Fine/near fine. First Touchstone hardcover edition October 2015. Approx. [200] p.: color illustrations; 27 cm. Blue cover with color illustrations. Embossed dust jacket illustrated by Colleen Doran. Red endpapers. First Edition with number line. Former owner's name on front free endpaper. Illustrated autobiography of Stan Lee. Book is in Near Fine Condition: former owner's name on front free endpaper; otherwise, clean and bright. Dust jacket is in Near Fine Condition: edges curve up; clean and bright.

San Francisco: Colt Press, 1941. Hardcover. Very Good. [4], 45, [1] p., 1 folded facsimile of The Wasp; 25 cm. Red cloth spine with printed paper spine label. Patterned blue paper over boards. One of a limited edition of 550 copies isued from the Colt Press by William Roth and Jane Grabhorn in Feb. 1941. Printed in red and black with portrait of Ambrose Bierce on title page. Engraved bookplate of George Reed Salisbury on front fixed endpaper. In Very Good Condition: sunned along fore-edges of boards; slightly rubbed; spine label is intact; internally clean and crisp.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899. Hardcover. Good +. xxiv, 412 p., frontispiece portrait of Nathaniel Hawthorne; many full-page and in-text illustrations; 21 cm. Beige cloth with gilt-stamped spine and cover titles; gilt- and brown-stamped cover illustration. Top page edges gilt. Title vignette of Poe's raven; title page printed in red and black. In Good+ Condition: spine is sunned; loss of cloth at spine ends; corners are rubbed; back hinge starting; title page partially detached; otherwise, clean and tight.

Paris: Librairie Hachette & Cie, 1911. Hardcover. Very Good. 190 p.: full-page and in-text illustrations; 26 cm. Maroon cloth with gilt-stamped spine and cover titles and decoration. Edges of boards are bevelled. Top page edges gilt. Decorated endpapers. Title page in red and black. Series title on cover: Nouvelle Collection des Classiques de L'Art. Former owner's name on half title page: André Popoff. A detailed look at the work of Italian artist Andrea Mantegna (c. 1431-1506). Includes a chronology; a list of his works by location (museum, church, or other location); and an index by subject. In Very Good Condition: edges lightly rubbed; 2 leaves partially detached; light finger soiling in margins; otherwise, clean and tight.

Norristown, Pa: J.H. Shuler & Son, Jewelers & Silversmiths, 1925. Hardcover. Near Fine -. [84] p.; 77 mm. Dark green faux-leather over card; embossed "Appointments" over a gilt background on front cover, with gilt-stamped business name below. Calendar for 1926 on front fixed endpaper and calendar for 1927 on back fixed endpaper. Most of the pages have "Appointments" at the head but are otherwise blank. Former owner's name and address written on back of the first page: "Wm. B. Daub 221 E. Freedley St. Norristown Pa." William B. Daub (1912-1989) was a resident of Norristown, Pa., graduated from Haverford College in 1933, and married Doris K. This small appointment book was used by Daub in high school and contains references to his activities, including Chataqua, band and orchestra practice, classes and books he was reading. Shuler's Jewelers closed in 2013, after about a century of operation. In Near Fine- Condition: light wear; otherwise, clean and tight.

Edinburgh: James Munroe & Company, 1849. Hardcover. Near Fine -. "Reprinted from the London edition." Andover: J.D. Flagg and W.H. Wardwell, Stereotypers and printers. xxiii, [2], 26-257 p.; 18 cm. Contemporary half polished calf with marbled paper over boards. Six spine compartments; leather label in second compartment with gilt-tooled title. Gilt-tooled decoration in remaining compartments. All page edges marbled. Marbled endpapers matching boards. Engraved bookplate on front fixed endpaper of John E. Russell. The bookplate "shows the owl of Minerva seated upon the books of the scholar" (Allen's American Book Plates, p. 357). John Edward Russell (1834-1903) represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives from 1887 to 1889. The author, Leopold Schefer (1784-1862), was a German poet and novelist. This fictional version of Albrecht Dürer's relationship with his wife, Agnes, was originally published in 1828 under the title Künstlerehe.… Read More

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Hardcover. Fine/near fine. xviii, 331, [1] p.: [12] p. of illustrations, [9] p. of facsimiles; 24 cm. Brown cloth with black spine title. Illustrated dust jacket. A "lively portrait of the American literary scene in the 30s and 40s and an engaging narrative of literary ambition." -- from dust jacket. Includes excerpts from her correspondence with Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, and Marianne Moore. Book is in Fine Condition: clean and bright. Dust jacket is in Near Fine Condition: head of spine rubbed; clean and bright.

Genoa, 1897. Very Good. [2] p.; 18 cm. 1 handwritten letter, dated Genoa, 8 Dec. 1897, to W. H. Rideing at Youth's Companion. Hugh Stowell Scott (1862-1903) was an English novelist who published under the pseudonym Henry Seton Merriman. In this letter, he states that he cannot contribute to Youth's Companion at that time, but perhaps in the future. He also refers the contact at the magazine to his literary agent, A. P. Watt, for the future. He signs this letter "Hugh Stowell Scott (H. S. Merriman)." In Very Good Condition: slightly soiled; complete and intact.