Search Results: MILITARY from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1842. First Edition. Pamphlet. Near fine. A collection of brief reports from federal officials about plans and progess in preparing military defenses for Mobile, Alabama; New Orleans; Sandy Hook; Staten Island; and other coastal positions. A single sheet folded to make 8 pages. 27th Congress, 2nd Session. House of Representatives, Document No. 188. First edition (first printing). A bit of foxing, otherwise near fine. Unbound and not sewn, as originally issued.

New York: The Century Co, 1918. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Fair. Written while the author was in prison, "The Biology of Waropens with a scathing refutation of [the Manifesto of Ninety-Three German Intellectuals], dealing at length with Germany's responsibility for the war, and then proceeds to discuss and analyse every aspect of the war itself, regarded as a factor in biology and civilization."-the dust jacket. Translated from the German by Constance A. Grande and Julian Grande. xxv, 553 pages. First English-language edition. A very good copy in a fair-to-good dust jacket, missing a 2-inch triangle on the front panel, with short tears. The spine is tanned and cracking.

[Mexico], 1898. A manuscript catalog of a career Mexican military officer's library, totalling more than about 650 works in 600 volumes, numbered and organized by subject. The list includes the title, author, and in some cases observations on each book, along with their series and identification numbers. Not surprisingly, the largest section of the library was devoted to books on military subjects (more than 230) and engineering (66). Among the literary titles were many works by Victor Hugo and Emile Zola. The catalog is handwritten in a 6 by 3-1/2 inch (oblong) lined notebook. The pages are gridded horizontally, with ten volumes listed per page spread. The leather covers are partially detached from the page block, else very good.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1872. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. A Congressional reprint of three documents related to requests for reimbursement to the Dakotas for the expenses of the Sioux Uprising of 1862, which was still percolating through government channels after a full decade. The document lists some 300 Dakota militia members, most of whom were owed $51, along with the sums paid to their suppliers. It also includes background information on the militias and the Dakota War of 1862. "Every able-bodied [white] man relied upon himself and his trusty rifle to defend his household from the nightly expected attack of the knife and the tomahawk, until the isolated settlers could assemble together and throw up their hasty fortifications for mutual protection" (p. 7). 42d Congress, 2d Session. House of Representatives Ex. Doc. No. 230. April 2, 1872. 9 pages. First edition (first printing). A fine copy; sewn as issued; never bound.

Mexico: Tipografia de J. Rivera, Hijo y Compañía, 1871. First Edition. Very good. A Spanish translation of Great European Conflict. Franco-Prussian War: Chassepot - Rifle vs. Zundnadelgewehr, or the Needle Gun: Real Cause of the Struggle by a Mexican army general. 208 pages plus four inserted lithographic portraits of the leaders of the conflict (including Napoleon III and Otto von Bismarck), with a folding bird's-eye view of the defenses around Paris and a folding map of the theater of war. First edition (of this translation). Bound in full Mexican purple leather stamped with geometric designs. Spine faded to brown.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1842. First Edition. Ephemera. Very good. An appeal to the federal government to attend to the military defense of Florida. The author, Charles Fenton Mercer, was a former member of Congress who left his post for financial reasons and took a job at a bank in Florida, where he was working when he wrote this plea. Prior to moving to Florida, he was active in the effort to settle free Blacks in Liberia. Soon after this, he left for Texas, where he founded the Mercer Colony. "Statement submitted by the Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs to the House of Representatives... May 12, 1842." 7 pages (a single sheet, folded to make 8 pages, including a final blank). 27th Congress, 2d Session. House of Representatives Doc. No. 224. A bit foxed, but otherwise fine; never sewn or bound, entirely as issued.

New York: General Cable Corporation, 1945. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A survey of the propaganda and motivational posters designed and published by the General Cable Corporation during the Second World War. The posters are documented with 33 high quality full-page reproductions printed with spot colors (rather than four-color CMYK separations). On the page facing each poster is a brief bibliographical details about print runs, distribution, and the reason for the poster. This is one of the best books of WWII posters from the period. Many of the posters depicted had print runs in the hundreds of copies and are rarely seen. The remainder of the book offers examples of General Cable's military products produced during the war, illustrated with sepia halftone photographs. About 120 pages; color frontispiece. 9 by 12 inches. Each copy is numbered on a tipped in limitation sticker at the back. The highest number seen by your cataloguer is ca. 2500. First edition (first printing). Some wear… Read More

1940. A fifth-grader's "army reports and pictures" documenting German military victories and leaders. Young Ms. Wolter was (apparently) assigned to collect newspaper articles about Adolf Hitler and military victories, which she pasted neatly into a blank school lesson book. The collection begins with a newspaper photograph of Josef Goebbels congratulating the U-boat commander Günther Prien for sinking the HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow in October 1939. The scrapbook continues with the siege of Warsaw, the occupation of Paris, and the Franco-Italian armistice. An interesting homefront propaganda project. 32 pages; 28 pages with newspaper cuttings, three blanks, one page with a few handwritten notes. 6-1/2 by 8 inches. Very good.

Alcalá [Spain]: Imprenta de la Universidad, 1793. First Edition. Leather bound. Very good. A Spanish translation of the "best French chronicle of the Revolution [which is] particularly valuable on naval affairs"-Howes US-iana, L169 (also listing this edition). This edition does not have any maps, but consistent with its focus on naval action, it does include a large fold-out table of ships lost by each country. [viii], 161, [1], [2], 201, [errata] pages. Folding table. 6 by 8-1/2 inches. Translated from the French into Spanish. First edition (first printing). A very good copy bound in 19th-century tree calf with loss at the spine ends. Folding table with a four-inch tear at the attachment point, repaired on the verso with Japanese tissue. Volume I has a half-title; volume II does not, possibly as issued. The other copy I have seen also did not have a half-title in volume II.

McLean, VA: Human Sciences Research, 1972. First Edition. Trade paperback. Very good. A guide to help officers combat racial discrimination in the army in the waning years of the Viet Nam war. The authors report that the army had few Black officers, that Black soldiers had a hard time obtaining technical positions, and that Black soldiers were twice as likely as white soldiers to face discipline. The handbook devotes most of its efforts to trying to convince white officers that they and other white soldiers might be the problem. The final chapter (Appendix A) traces the history of segregation and integration in the Army. vi, 87 pages. 8 by 10-1/2 inches. Prepared for the Department of the Army, Motivation and Training Laboratory, U.S. Army Manpower Resources Research and Development Center, under contract DAHC 19-17-C-0020. With an org chart for the US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences laid in. A very good or better copy in black printed wrappers. Org chart fine.

Sacramento, CA: Michael W. Silvey, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Covers SOG, Randall, Gerber, John Ek, and other knives. 139 pages. Full color. First edition (first printing stated). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.

[Paris?]: (the author), 1990. Second Edition. Trade paperback. Very good. A second, expanded edition, of this biography of a French First World War general. The first edition was published in Paris by F. Lanore in 1986. 437 pages. Text in French. 8-1/4 by 11-3/4 inches. A very good copy in tape-bound wrappers (paper covers), as issued. This copy is inscribed by the author to a prior owner, who noted the date and added an ownership blindstamp to the title page. Uncommon.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1867. First Edition. Pamphlet. Fine. A Congressional printing of a typically frank report from General Sherman about what is essentially a state of martial law on the Great Plains. Sherman's boss, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant endorsed the report and forwarded it to the Secretary of War, who conveyed it to the US Congress. Sherman writes that US troops in the Great Plains are protecting telegraph lines, mail routes, and the main roads used by Western emigrants. He states that the Army "will act against all people who violate the laws of Congress, or who endanger the lives or property of our people, be they white, black, or copper-colored. When there are no courts or civil authorities to hold and punish such malefactors, we must of necessity use the musket pretty freely..." Sherman then describes actions to be taken with the Cheyennes, Kiowas, and Sioux. The first two tribes will be warned by Gen. [Winfiled Scott] Hancock, who "will confer with them to ascertain if they want to… Read More

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1969. Later printing. Pamphlet. Near fine. The legendary guide to M16 rifle maintenance published during the Vietnam War and designed and illustrated by cartoonist Will Eisner as part of his work on the Army's Preventive Maintenance Monthly comics magazine. 32 pages. 5 by 7-1/4 inches. DA Pam 750-30, 1 July 1969. First issued in June 1968. Minor scuffing to the covers, else a fine copy.

Very good. Two sammelband volumes, in similar bindings, of pamphlets on military subjects, all but one published in Mexico. Three are not recorded in OCLC; a fourth is recorded only in a much later edition; a fifth is only in microfilm. Volume 1: 1. Moral Militar. Libro de los deberes del soldado. A translation by A. German de la Gándara of A. Guillot-Desbordeliers's Morale Militaire. Matamoros: Tipografía del "Observador", 1870. First Mexican edition (widely published in the Spanish-speaking world in the last half of the 19th century). 92 pages. This edition not in OCLC. 2. Informe sobre el estudio y examen que se ha hecho del fusil de guerra "Lee-Remington" por la comisión del ejército nacional, presidida por el G. General de División Sóstenes Rocha. México: Imp. y Lit. de Ireneo Paz, 1885. vi, chart, folding plate. Not in OCLC. 3. Información racional de combate para la infantería. [México, 1884]. Translated by Miguel Badillo (source not identified). 15 pages; folding plate. Not in… Read More

México [Mexico City]: México Militar, 1902. First Edition. Two bound volumes of the first two years of this scarce Mexican military periodical. According to the masthead, the magazine was published with the approval (aprobación) of the Mexican Secretary of the Army and Navy. According to the introduction, the goal of Mexico Militar was to promote the modernization of the Mexican military (with most focus on the army). The publication reported on the activities of the army, offered studies of battles in Mexico and Europe, profiled officers (many of whom are pictured), translated works from foreign sources, and even offered the occasional poem. The magazine is extensively illustrated, especially in the first year, with halftone photographs, as well as engravings, and the odd map. OCLC records a run of eight issues in the US, at the University of Texas, and a run from volume I, number 1, to vol. III, no. 14 at the Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut. This run is the first 48 issues, ending with vol. II,… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1952. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. The memoirs of a very active naval officer, engineer, and politician. During his eventful life, the Duke of Montrose was the first person to film a solar eclipse and he invented the aircraft carrier. Like many people who live enventful lives he devotes as much space the events he is most remembered as he does to, say, farming-which is a page or two. An uncommon book. First edition (first printing). A previous owner has copied out an article about a lost Montrose treasure on the rear free endpaper, else near fine in a very dust jacket with a few tape repairs on the verso (back).

1942. Ephemera. Near Fine. A propaganda leaflet intended for Italian troops in North Africa the day after the second battle of El Alamein. The leaflet includes a safe conduct pass, and attempts to divide the Axis armies by criticizing the German army for stealing Italian vehicles for their retreat. "You [the Italian soldiers] will be force to retreat first to Tripoli, then to Tunis, 1000 kilometers away. 1000 km on foot while the Germans drive your vehicles." 5-1/4 by 8 inches, in Italian, printed on both sides. Near fine. Full English translation supplied.

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1872. First Edition. Ephemera. Very good. A short reprinting of documents related to the decommissioning of Fort Steilacoom, in Washington Territory. 3 pages (a single sheet, folded to make 4 pages, the final one blank). 42d Congress, 2d Session, House of Representatives Ex. Doc. No. 202. First edition (first printing). Light discoloration to the first page, perhaps an old dampstain, else very good as issued (never bound).

[Washington, DC]: (n.p.), 1865. First Edition. Ephemera. Fine. A request from the Minnesota legislature to appoint a new commission to award damages to those in the state affected by the war with the Sioux. The legislature states that soldiers fighting in the civil war and refugees currently living in other states were unable to apply for compensation under the previous process. 2 pages (single sheet, printed on both sides). 38th Congress, 2d Session. Senate Mis. Doc. No. 30. February 11, 1865. First edition (first printing). A fine copy but for a small hole in the bottom margin. Never bound; entirely as issued.