Search Results: Authors starting with B from Back Creek Books LLC, ABAA/ILAB

Boston: Munroe & Francis, 1802. First edition. Octavo. 44 pages. Loose signatures. Very good overall. Untrimmed, wide margins, disbound, some leaves unopened. Water tide mark to lower inner and bottom margin of last two leaves.. Two Jeffersonians--Bacon of Massachusetts and Nicholson of Maryland--argue in favor of the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801, which stacked the federal judiciary with Federalists appointed by the departing President John Adams. <br /> <br /> Joseph Hopper Nicholson was a native of Chestertown, Maryland, and attended Washington College. He practiced law and served a brief term in the Maryland House of Delegates before being elected to the U.S. Congress in 1799. When the U.S. House of Representatives had to decide the election of 1800, Nicholson was ill and bedridden but so staunchly anti-Federalist that he had himself carried to Congress on a stretcher to cast his vote for Jefferson.<br /> <br /> Ref. SABIN 2658.

New York: E. Laub Publishing Co, 1943. First printing. Thin velvet-covered boards. Octavo. 159 pages. Bound in thin, flexible, red velvet-covered boards with upper board titled in gilt, which has darkened. Some shallow bumping to the Yapp edges of covers. Jacket has a few shallow edge wrinkles and light soil. Overall near fine in a near fine dust jacket.. Frontispiece portrait of the author. Poems of political struggle, published while Balabanoff was in exile in New York during World War II. She was a Russian-born Italian Jew who had worked with Lenin, Trotsky, and Zinoviev, and with Socialist leaders in Italy before being forced into exile by the rise of Mussolini. <br /> <br /> Balabanoff has inscribed and signed this copy on a preliminary blank leaf: "For the comrades / O + R Fox / Thanking them for their / warm hospitality / and hoping to meet them / again and again! / W. D.C. 8-27-43 / [signature]."<br /> <br /> Introduction by Arturo Giovannitti. Dust jacket… Read More

Baltimore: The Patapsco Land Company, 1874. First edition. Hardcover. Octavo. 100 pages. Bound in brick red cloth over boards with upper board titled in gilt. A few light extremity rubs. Slight age-toning inside. Map has a few short clean separations at fold intersections. Fine condition overall.. Large fold-out map. This is a detailed prospectus seeking investment in the newly reorganized Patapsco Land Company, which intended to turn its holdings at Curtis Bay into a major seaport and railhead. The background information included therefore gives much of interest relating to the evolution of shipping and railroads at Baltimore.<br /> <br /> The large map in a rear pocket shows the planned layout of the city of Pennington, named for the PLC's controlling family. A copy of this prospectus was even delivered to the U.S. House of Representatives in hopes of getting buy-ins from major players in the shipping and railroad industries, which would be essential for the plan to succeed. Alas,… Read More

Philadelphia: The Franklin Press, 1909. First edition. Full cloth. Octavo. [x], 276, [3] pages. Near fine. Bound green cloth over boards with black-stamped yachting vignette on upper board, black-stamped titles on spine. A few light extremity rubs, shallow bumps, and a bit of fading to cloth toward heel of spine. Some mild toning to endpapers.. Black & White Photographs, 1 fold-out map. A Chesapeake Bay classic. The first book to draw significant attention to the Bay as ideally suited for pleasure boating. The Barrie brothers were members of the Corinthian Yacht Club in Philadelphia, and made their first cruise the Bay in 1897 by way of the C&D Canal, just at the beginning of the reign of the skipjack among Chesapeake Bay workboats. There were also numerous other workboats plying the Bay's waters then, but yachts, as George Barrie later recalled "in those days were almost as scarce as hen's teeth." (in Burgess, "This was Chesapeake Bay.") <br /> <br />… Read More

[Baton Rouge]: [Army and Navy Publishing Company, Inc.], 1941. Hardcover. Folio. [vi], 89, [26] pages. Bound in red cloth over boards with upper board stamped in gilt. Shallow bumps to extremities, a bit of staining to upper board. Hinges sound.. Black and white photographs, one color cartoon. Uncommon book on this California coastal defense regiment during World War II. Camp McQuaide was located near Watsonville, California, and the site is now occupied by Monterey Bay Academy. There are many photographs of the camp and its buildings that would be of interest to anyone associated with MBA.<br /> <br /> There are also photographs of the regiment and its activities around Camp McQuaide, along with individual portraits of enlisted personnel. The text also includes a brief history of the regiment. <br /> <br /> The book is similar to a yearbook, with blank pages for autographs at the end. One of these pages has several names and addresses penned neatly in various hands. There is… Read More

Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1960. Hardcover. Duodecimo. 285 pages. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Bound pale yellow cloth over boards with dark gray spine title and upper board illustration, decorated endpapers. Shallow bumps fore corners. Jacket has light rubs and shallow wear to edges, slight foxing overall. Still a bright and graphically pleasing copy of an uncommon book.. Alexander Belyaev was Russia's first sci-fi writer, sometimes called the Russian Jules Verne. Here he spins the story of a reclusive doctor on the coast of South America who gives his son shark gills in a life-saving operation. The son is then mistaken for a sea devil by the coastal villagers. This novel was originally published in the Soviet Union in 1928, and was adapted for film in 1961.<br /> <br /> Nicely designed with striking dolphin endpapers. Prior owner inscription dated Odessa, U.S.S.R. on verso of front free endpaper.

New York: Bidwell Publishing Company, 1889. Full cloth. Octavo. 560 pages. Lacking half title leaf. Hinges sound, a few minor extremity rubs to exterior.. Black & White Frontispiece Portrait, Illus.. Bidwell recounts his Puritan upbringing, successful struggles against poverty, his career as a merchant, his commercial misfortunes and temptations, and his ultimate fall. Well illustrated with a tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait and many woodcut illustrations in the text.

Nashville: Southern Methodist Publishing House, 1886. First edition. Original cloth. Octavo. 283 pages. Near fine. Bound in original brown cloth over boards with gilt-stamped spine, boards have blind-stamped decorative borders. A few minor extremity rubs.. Reverend Bigham went to California as a missionary in the early years of the Gold Rush. The dramatized scenes and sketches here are loosely based upon his actual experiences as a preacher and miner. HOWES B444.

Providence: (Standard Printing Company), 1906. Wrappers. Octavo. 29 pages. Very good. Memorial to Hay, Brown University class of 1858, secretary to Lincoln, diplomat, journalist, biographer, and Secretary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt. Bound in tan paper covers stitched to textblock, Yapp edges, front cover titled in black. A few edge wrinkles.

Chicago: Woman's Temperance Publication Association, 1889. First edition. Wrappers. Duodecimo. .x, 104 pages + 1 leaf publisher ads. Near fine. Printed light brown linen-backed paper covers, side-stapled binding. A couple of corner bumps, some light soil, else fine.. The first part of this manual gives a history of National Prohibitory Amendments and Congressional action in relation to them, including arguments, indorsements of organizations and newspapers, etc. The second part consists of the plan to systematically canvass the country to gain support for a Constitutional Amendment for Prohibition of alcohol. <br /> <br /> The author, Ada Bittenbender, was a women's rights and temperance activist and an accomplished attorney representing the the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in Washington, DC. She was the third woman admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.<br /> <br /> A scarce piece of temperance, Prohibition, and women's history. OCLC… Read More

London: Simpkin And Marshall, 1832. Second Edition. Hardcover. Duodecimo. xii, 288 pages. Near fine. Black & White Plates, Colored Map. Illustrated with numerous lithographic and wood engravings and a double spread map. Bound in original paper over boards with title label at head of spine. Minor wear and rubs to extremities. "From the Author" penned at top of title page, inscription on front free endpaper.

Amstelodami [Amsterdam]: Viduam Sebastiani, & Christianum Petzoldum, 1710. Second edition. Vellum. Duodecimo. [xvi], 296, [8] pages. Old ink name on title page. Boards splayed but hinges sound. There is a 3/4" split at top of upper joint, some minor extremity bumps, a few rubs, and some surface soil. Else very good to near fine.. Dr. Johannes Bohn was a noted 17th century German physician, professor of medicine, and pioneer in forensic science. He introduced the policy of thorough autopsies of the deceased. Bohn's specialty was the investigation of lethal wounds, which is what this book is about. <br /> <br /> In this treatise Dr. Bohn analyzes purposeful vs accidental fatal wounds. It is one of the relatively few important works to survive Bohn's stipulation in his will that his scientific writings be burnt. <br /> <br /> Bound in full vellum with title page printed in red and black. Spine titled by hand in ink. Text is in Latin.

New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1947. First printing. Cloth hardcover. Octavo. [vi], 249 pages. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Bound in tan cloth over boards with spine titled in dark brown. Jacket has chipping at head of spine but no loss of text. Jacket extremities show a few spots of minor rubbing. An excellent copy.. A collection of seven true crime stories from Los Angeles in the 1920s through 1940s, by prominent crime writers of the time (including Erle Stanley Gardner). Cases include those of Madalynne Obenchain, Clara Phillips, William Desmond Taylor, Winnie Ruth Judd, and Louise Peete. Also covered are the "Walburger" case and the so-called "rattlesnake murder." <br /> <br /> There are interesting descriptions of the scenes and localities around these murders, which range from Hollywood to Beverly Glen. Jacket photo is an aerial view eastward from Grauman's Chinese Theatre along Hollywood Boulevard. Includes a Preface by Ms. Rice. <br /> <br… Read More

[Boston]: (S.n.), 1862. Broadside. 6 1/8" x 14 5/8. Fine. Very faint dampstains at a couple of corners. Evidence of a few horizontal folds, and along with a couple of edge chips up to .25" depth. Remarkably well-preserved example of an important Booth playbill.. John Wilkes Booth, following in his father's and siblings' footsteps, tried his hand at acting and found some success in stock companies in Philadelphia, Richmond, and other provincial theaters. Still, he performed under the name "J. Wilkes" because he lacked the confidence to adopt the famous family name on stage, and was also not certain he wanted a career in acting. By early 1862 he decided he did, and made his national debut in New York in March. He selected the role of Richard III to showcase the revolutionary and all-consuming physical acting style destined to make him famous apart from his father's name. The buzz he created in New York produced great curiosity for his debut in Boston a few weeks later.… Read More

Loncon: G. G. and J. Robinson, 1797. First edition. Leather over boards. Octavo. [6], cxiv, [errata leaf], 596 pages. Near fine. Full modern calf with gilt-stamped spine titles, new endpapers. Lacking original half title. Faint tide marking to lower fore corner of some leaves, else interior is bright and clean. A very handsome, sturdy copy.. Jonathan Boucher was staunch Loyalist yet a friend of George Washington's, and his is an important perspective on the American Revolution. <br /> <br /> Boucher came to America from England in 1759, as a private tutor for families of Virginia planters. He was ordained in the Anglican Church and served as rector of several churches in Virginia and Maryland, including St. Anne's in Annapolis.<br /> <br /> Boucher tutored John Parke Custis, George Washington's stepson, and was quite close to Washington. His ongoing admiration for his old friend, despite being on opposite sides of the Revolution, is evident in the 4 page… Read More

Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1950. First Edition. Full cloth. Octavo. 222 pages. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Bound in pale green cloth over boards with burgundy spine titles. Hint of browning to spine. Shallow bumps to spine ends, fore corners sharp. Small bookstore label at lower edge of rear pastedown, adjacent to a 2" square of faint staining. Interior is clean and bright. Jacket has slight browning to spine and a few shallow chips at spine ends. A beautiful copy overall.. A beautiful first edition of Ray Bradbury's second book. This classic is a collection of linked stories about the exploration and colonization of Mars by Earthlings trying to avoid nuclear obliteration.<br /> <br /> Ref. CURREY p. 56; PRINGLE 3.

Annapolis: Thomas J. Wilson, Printer, 1862. Wrappers. Octavo. 15 pages. Near Fine. Bound in printed pink wraps over a sewn binding. Minor cover soil and edge wear, with an old vertical crease from the pamphlet being folded lengthwise.. Augustus W. Bradford, as the Union Party candidate for governor, defeated Democrat Benjamin C. Howard by nearly 30,000 votes on November 6, 1861. Maryland had seemed to teeter on the brink of secession just 6 or 7 months earlier. Bradford's speech here discusses this phenomenon and what he considers false and misleading impressions then circulating in regard to Maryland's true sentiments and sympathies.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1929. First edition. Cloth-backed decorative boards. Octavo. [x], 255 pages. Light wear to extremities, some mild soil to dust jacket. Very good to near fine overall.. Drawings by Erick Berry. From the jacket: "A novel of negro life, of elemental passion and tenderness." Attractive dust jacket.

Philadelphia: William Bradford, 1746. First edition. Modern leather over boards. Octavo. viii, 253 pages. Simple modern leather binding is in near fine condition. Interior leaves show varying amounts of browning, occasional staining, and occasional expert repairs.. Scarce first edition of David Brainerd's famous account of missionary work among the Native Americans of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. <br /> <br /> Jonathan Dickinson is the person who encouraged Brainerd to become a Presbyterian missionary to the Native Americans. His support and direction came from the Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and he began his missionary work in late 1742.<br /> <br /> This copy has six leaves supplied in facsimile, including half title, and title page. Additional title page at page 81 is original.<br /> <br /> Ref. EVANS 5748; SABIN 7340; HOWES 717.

New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1928. First printing. Original cloth over boards. Octavo. xiv, 261 pages. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Bound in black cloth over boards with spine and upper board titled and ornamented in red. Jacket has a 3/4" wide chip angling to a depth of 1/4" at heel of spine, along with other minor extremity wear. Price not clipped. A very handsome copy in its striking dust jacket.. Important Christian Pacifist book in the wake of World War I. Reverend Brewster was an Episcopal clergyman in California.