Search Results: WOMEN from Downtown Brown Books, ABAA

Melbourne, Australia: Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, 1889. Very good. Broadside printing the text of a petition submitted to the legislative assembly of the Victoria stating "that the exclusion of women from the franchise is both unjust to them and inimicable to the welfare of the state" and asking that "this condition of injustice under which they labour be altered with all convenient speed." The petition concludes with the statement, "Here follow 188 signatures." The names of those signing are not provided. Women in Victoria permanently won the right to vote in 1908 (a few women voted in the 1860s due to a law that granted suffrage to all "ratepayers", an "error" the legislature fixed in the following session). This is one of the first petitions presented to the Victoria legislature by the Victorian Women's Suffrage Society. One of 350 copies printed. 13-5/8 by 8-5/8 inches. Printed on one side only. Light spotting to edges, else very good.

New York: Dana, 1895. Ephemera. Very good. A head-and-shoulder's portrait of the novelist Amelia E. Barr (1831-1919), the author of some 80 books in the late 19th and early 20th century. Barr, née Huddleston, was born in Lancashire, England, and emigrated to the US in 1853. Her first novel was published in 1872. Image, roughly 4 by 5-3/4 inches, on a larger card mount. The back (verso) of the mount promotes the photography technique used, "Carbonette Our 1895 production." A very good contrast image, with dark charcoal tones. The mount has notes in color and regular pencil on the lower front margin as well as various notes on the back (verso).

London: Printed for S. Crowder, and J. Payne, 1766. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A well-known example of the popular 18th century British genre of collective biographies of women, with more than a hundred short entries on women dating back to ancient times. The subjects include Cleopatra; Sappho; the poet Anne Killigrew, described as "a great genius"; the painter and calligrapher Esther Inglis; the poet Aphra Behn, and so on. The editor of this collection has never been identified, but it was most likely a man who puts forth a novel argument in the preface that while men were clearly superior to women in the Garden of Eden, a greater equality of the sexes was a consequence of Adam and Eve's fall from grace. The reason for the book is to show by historical example the ideals of womanhood and to counter "these days of vanity and profusion" when upperclass women spend their time in "the theatres, assemblies, the gardens, and card tables." Two volumes: xxii, [errata leaf], 261, [blank],… Read More

Berkeley: Image Comics, 2015. First hardcover edition. Hardcover. Fine. A feminist science fiction satire, set on the penal planet where women who won't submit to the patriarchy are sent. This is the hardcover graphic novel issued for Local Comic Shop Day in November 2015, a month after the paperback original graphic novel came out. The series, originally issued in comic-book form, was collected into two graphic novels, of which this is the first. Reportedly one of 750 copies. First hardcover issue. A fine copy in illustrated boards (not issued in a dust jacket). Still in the publisher's shrink wrap.

New York: Greenberg, 1929. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 311 pages. The author's first mystery in book form, following several romance novels. A number of her mystery stories were serialized in newspaper beginning in the late 1920s. In this book, an unscrupulous stock promoter is murdered and in his will is a reward of $5,000 for anyone who can catch his killer. NYPD is on the case but the dead man's secretary solves the mystery. Based on newspaper records, this novel first began appearing in papers in early 1929, many months before the stock market crash of 1929 made everyone aware of the volume of shady stock deals propping up the American economy. About Austin not much is known. She published ten novels between 1927 and 1933 and a final mystery in 1939. The Black Pigeon is uncommon, even though it went through at least three printings in the US and was also published in England. First edition (first printing). Very good in a very good dust jacket.

Edinburgh: Ross & Pringle, 1870. Ephemera. Very good. A commercial studio portrait of two Newhaven fish wives, the women who gutted and prepared fish and hauled the results to market in the village of Newhaven, just north of Edinburgh. The fish women were popular subjects for painters and photographers because of their distinctive vertically striped dresses. This image shows one woman offering a platter of fish to another woman, who is holding a fish in both hands, closely inspecting one of them. A basket of fish is on the ground between them. The photographers Ross & Pringle operated as a partnership from 1867 to 1875 at the 114 George Street address printed on the back (verso) of the mount (per the Edinphoto website). Occupational carte de visite photograph; image, 2-3/16 by 3-11/16 inches. Thin card mount, 2-7/16 by 4-3/16 inches, with photographer's mark on the back. Caption stamped below image on front (recto) of mount. A very good image with a bit of spotting in the print. Good contrast… Read More

Philadelphia: Association of Friends for the Diffusion of Religious and Useful Knoweledge, 1848. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A brief biography of a British Quaker prison reformer, told in part through extended quotations from her writings. Fry was honored in the UK with her picture on the 5-pound note. This is an adaptation of a book published by the London Tract Association. 94 pages. 4-1/8 by 6-1/4 inches. First edition of this text (or the first American edition, revised). A bit of wear to the corners, otherwise a nice copy in the publisher's brown pebbled cloth binding.

1880. Near fine. In 1883, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared Madame Meyers (sic) "the best bearded woman in the business" (see February 15 issue). Viola E. Myers (6 June 1854 to 24 April 1931) was born in Wilcox, Pennsylvania and in the 1870s and 1880s was the most prominent bearded woman in the US. She was married to a sideshow ticket taker, Amos Myers. She appears to have worked the sideshow circuit off and on for many years, often doing astrology readings (her profession on US census reports and her death certificate is given as "planet reader"). An extended profile of Myers accompanied by a portrait can be found in the April 1877 issue of the Archives of Dermatology. She was also mentioned in George Henry Fox's The Use of Electricity in the Removal of Superfluous Hair (1886). A pamphlet about her appeared in 1878 with the title: Madame Viola, the Bearded Lady. 2-3/16 by 3-1/2 inches albumen silver print on a CDV mount. An original photograph on a medium-thickness mount. The photographer is… Read More

Columbia, TN: James Mahon, 1880. Viola E. Myers (6 June 1854 to 24 April 1931) was born in Wilcox, Pennsylvania and in the 1870s and 1880s was the best-known bearded woman in the US. In 1883, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch declared Madame Meyers (as she was also known) "the best bearded woman in the business" (February 15). She was married to a sideshow ticket taker, Amos Myers. Myers appears to have worked the sideshow circuit off and on for many years, often doing astrology readings (her profession on US census reports and her death certificate is given as "planet reader"). An extended profile of Myers accompanied by a portrait can be found in the April 1877 issue of the Archives of Dermatology. She was also mentioned in Geoge Henry Fox's The Use of Electricity in the Removal of Superfluous Hair (1886). A pamphlet about her appeared in 1878 with the title: Madame Viola, the Bearded Lady. 2-7/16 by 4-1/8 inches. Original photograph on medium-thickness mount. With spots of handcoloring. Upper corners… Read More

Leslie, Fife: W. T. Turner, 1870. Ephemera. Near fine. A portrait of two unidentified women holding strands of yarn. They are wearing distinctive uniforms of thick gathered skirt over a second, stiff, horizontally pleated skirt; a tunic over a blouse, and a flat cloth head covering that seems to tie in a large bow around their necks. On the back (verso) of the mount someone has written in pencil, "Wool Bleachers in Scotland." Based on the location of the photographer and other photographs of 19th century bleachworks, it seems more likely that these women worked in a linen factory. A scarce image of women workers in the third quarter of the 19th century. Occupational carte de visite photograph; image, 2-3/8 by 3-9/16 inches. Thin card mount, 2-1/2 by 4 inches, with photographer's printed mark on the back. Near fine. Medium contrast image.

Detroit: Randall, Photographer, 1881. Ephemera. Very good. A full-length cabinet card portrait of Sojourner Truth with the caption, "I sell the shadow to support the substance." This is one of Truth's last portraits, taken when she was in her eighties and purchased in bulk to sell at events, hence the caption. During the Civil War, Truth took the unusual step of acquiring the copyright to her portrait, giving her control over both the distribution of her image and the money it generated. The verso (back) of the mount of this photograph includes Truth's copyright statement. Truth (1797-1883), born Isabella Baumfree, was one of the best-known abolitionists and women's rights advocates of the 19th century. She traveled the country for decades giving talks and attending conferences, selling her photographs-her "shadow"-as a primary means of support. The art professor Darcy Grimaldo Grigsby has published an extensive study of Truth's photographs (Enduring Truths, 2015). Based on Grigsby's research into… Read More

Philadelphia: William Steuart, 1766. First Edition. Good. Bound with (as usual) The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women...To Which Is Added, The Contents of the Second Blast and a Letter...to the People of Edinburgh, Anno 1571 by John Knox. The Oxford Dictionary of National (UK) Biography describes this book as "a dialogue between the author and Thomas Maitland which defended a kind of constitutional monarchy in which bad kings could be legitimately deposed... giving the De jure something of the character of a literary exercise after the manner of Plato. Nevertheless, it provoked contemporary opposition ... and in 1584 it was condemned by act of parliament, though it still had considerable influence on political thought in the seventeenth century." This 18th century edition was published in the American colonies when ideas about resisting the monarchy were just beginning to take hold, and a full decade before the Declaration of Independence. As such, it is a key text… Read More

Mexico: Ediciones de "América" Revista Antológica, 1950. First Edition. Good. An early book of poems (her third or fourth?), published in an edition of 300 copies. Castellanos was a major Mexican literary figure in the 20th century, part of the Generación de los 50. She died in 1974, at 49 years old, while serving as the Mexican ambassador to Israel. 65 pages. First edition (first printing). This copy has been bound in full dyed calf, preserving the original front and rear wrappers. The leather binding is faded and worn at the edges. This copy is inscribed to noted Mexican playwright Emilio Carballido, another member of the Generación de los 50. The inscription is hard to read, but it is something like, "Para Emilio Carballido, uno de nuestros más sólidos valores. Con el afecto de su amiga, Rosario." [Roughly: For Emilio Carballido, one of our most valuable talents. With affection, from his friend, Rosario.] Very scarce signed, and especially so as an association copy.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2017. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 5 by 7-1/4 inches. 63 pages. First edition (stated). A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.

London: Jonathan Cape, 2005. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. A stand-alone graphic novel from the author of Persepolis. In this book, Satrapi imagines the women of her extended Iranian family sitting around drinking tea and talking about their relationships with men. The book was originally published in France. "As the afternoon progresses, these vibrant women share their secrets, their regrets and their often outrageous stories about, among other things, how to fake one's virginity, how to escape an arranged marriage, how to enjoy the miracles of plastic surgery and how to delight in being a mistress. By turns revealing and hilarious, these are stories about the lengths to which some women will go to find a man, keep a man or, most importantly, keep up appearances."-dust jacket. 5-3/4 by 7-3/4 inches. Unpaginated (about 150 pages). Black and white. First UK edition (first printing, with a numberline ending in 1). The UK edition was published on May 19, 2005, exactly one month… Read More

New York: Pantheon Books, 2005. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. A stand-alone graphic novel from the author of Persepolis. In this book, Satrapi imagines the women of her extended Iranian family sitting around drinking tea and talking about their relationships with men. The book was originally published in France. "As the afternoon progresses, these vibrant women share their secrets, their regrets and their often outrageous stories about, among other things, how to fake one's virginity, how to escape an arranged marriage, how to enjoy the miracles of plastic surgery and how to delight in being a mistress. By turns revealing and hilarious, these are stories about the lengths to which some women will go to find a man, keep a man or, most importantly, keep up appearances."-dust jacket. 5-3/4 by 7-3/4 inches. Unpaginated (about 150 pages). Black and white. First US edition (first printing, with a numberline ending in 1). The US edition was published a month before the UK edition,… Read More

New York: Linden Press / Simon & Schuster, 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near fine. In her first book since Against Our Will, her landmark study of rape, Susan Brownmiller addresses another subject of immense significance: the set of societal structures, esthetic ideals, and assigned 'characteristics' which governs the lives of half of America, and which goes by the name of Femininity."-dust jacket. First edition (first printing, with a numberline ending in 1). A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket. Inscribed by the author, "With admiration Susan Brownmiller Dec 1983.

Boston: The Society, 1904. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. An early 20th century female professional in the biological sciences provides detailed descriptions of the invertebrate specimens of the Boston natural history museum. The author (1852-1938) worked under the zoologist Alpheus Hyatt for many years and was later the curator of the Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts. 505 pages. First edition (first printing). A very good copy in dark rust-colored cloth with a small area of loss to the edge of the lower board. This copy is inscribed by Sheldon to a Harvard University paleontologist, "Dr. Robert T. Jackson with the sincere regards of the Author. Nov. 17, 1905.

Eureka, CA: Daily Humboldt Standard, 1890. First Edition. Good. The most detailed 19th century directory of Humboldt County, a remote region in far northwest California that at the time was only reachable by ship. This is also one of the only Western directories compiled and published by a woman. The first 126 pages are mostly devoted to the history of the county (with many advertisements from local businesses), then follows a directory of business owners by last name and then a classified listing of business by type. There is an index to the advertisers at the front and a biographical section devoted to leading business owners and important businesses at the end. Hamm also includes railroad schedules, navigation information, mail delivery routes, and telegraph offices. The advertisements are particularly detailed and many are full-page, taking advantage of the large format of the directory to include illustrations and detailed descriptions of products. In 1885, Humboldt County's white residents… Read More

Eureka, CA: Daily Humboldt Standard, 1890. First Edition. Good. The most detailed 19th century directory of Humboldt County, a remote region in far northwest California that at the time was only reachable by ship. This is also one of the only Western directories compiled and published by a woman. The first 126 pages are mostly devoted to the history of the county (with many advertisements from local businesses), then follows a directory of business owners by last name and then a classified listing of business by type. There is an index to the advertisers at the front and a biographical section devoted to leading business owners and important businesses at the end. Hamm also includes railroad schedules, navigation information, mail delivery routes, and telegraph offices. The advertisements are particularly detailed and many are full-page, taking advantage of the large format of the directory to include illustrations and detailed descriptions of products. In 1885, Humboldt County's white residents… Read More