Search Results: Authors starting with W from WILLIAM ALLISON BOOKS

[Kansas] E. W Robinson Autograph Letter, Signed. Sycamore [Illinois]: 1857. One sheet, handwritten. Very good.
The Illinois state census for 1855 shows an Erza W. Robinson who lived in Sycamore. He writes that he is selling out to immigrate to Kansas where the Trouble is over and it is warmer and wants his brother to come:
Sycamore Jan. 12, 1857. / Brother Almon / Having nearly completed my arrangements to emigrate in the Spring. I consider it my duty to apprise you of the fact I have sold out what I own in this place with the exception of a horse and buggy which I have use for. At present I think I shall go to Kansas, it being some 4 degrees farther south (that is the southern part) than here, this is the only advantage that it has over the country in Nebraska. Al, don't you want to go? Now is the time if ever. The Trouble has ceased, and it is destined to be one of the first states of the Union. / I want to start the last of March or first of April, if possible. I think I shall go and find a… Read More

[Cartography] [Boston] George W Boynton. New Map of Boston Comprising the Whole City with the New Boundaries of the Wards. Engraved expressly for the Boston Almanac for 1861. Boston: [Brown & Taggard Pub.] 1860. Map 24 x 27 cm, on sheet 25 x 28 cm. Inset: Plan of East Boston on a reduced scale. Includes table entitled "reference," listing places of interest. Map has been folded and shows water stains. Good.
OCLC shows five holdings for this map (Harvard; Salem State; Boston Pub. Lib.; British Lib. [2]). Shows routes of the Metropolitan Railroad and Broadway Railroad. Engraved by G.W. Boynton. The Almanac is also scarce, OCLC showing five holdings (AAS; Historic New England; Valdosta St.; Hamilton Col. & San Francisco Maritime Park). The map shows the city before part of the Receiving Basin was filled to create Commonwealth Avenue and Back Bay neighborhood. An interesting and uncommon map.

[Lincoln] [Anti-Slavery] John W Hutchinson, George W. Bungay. Hutchinson's Republican Songster for the Campaign of 1860. New York: O. Hutchinson Publishers. 1860. Blue printed wraps. 16 cm. 72 pp. Minor edge splits and age toning. Very good.
OCLC shows 35 holdings. Scarce today. Rare Book Hub shows two auction appearances since 1958. This is a booklet prepared for the 1860 presidential campaign, supporting Lincoln and promoting Republican ideals, such as an end to slavery and anti-corruption. After listing the official Republican platform for 1860, the songster has the lyrics to approximately 50 songs, with such titles, as "Abe of Illinois," "Hope for the Slave," "I spurn the Bribe," and "The Fugitives." [NB: A copy of this item was reported stolen in California, but that copy had tan wraps and other markings that show this is not this copy.]

Wallace, Ed. R. Parson Hanks. Fourteen Years in the West. A Story of Frontier Life in the Panhandle of Texas. Arlington, Texas: Journal Printing. 1906. Gray printed wraps. 162 pp. Front wrap detached by split at spine. Spot and corner chip to cover and first free end paper and title page, not affecting text. Corners bent, rest of interior very good.
OCLC shows 37 holdings. Adams, Herd 2424: "Rare." Howes W50 ("a"). Contains an account of the Parson's dealing in cattle, including riding with a shipment by train. He was also an itinerant preacher in West Texas.

[Civil War] [Oklahoma] Mabel Washbourne Anderson. Life of General Stand Watie. The only Indian brigadier general of the Confederate Army and the last general to surrender. [Pryor, Okla.]: [Mayes County Republican] 1915. First edition. Gray wraps. 22 cm. 58 pp. Signed by the author. Spine damage, nearly separating the covers. Interior very good.
OCLC shows 49 holdings, five in Texas (Sam Hou. St.; SMU; Texas St. Lib. & arch.; UT-Arlington & UT-Austin). This edition is scarce today. Rare Book Hub shows no auction or catalog listings. Howes A-232. Watie, a Cherokee, commanded the Confederate Indian Cavalry of the Army of the Trans-Mississippi. There is a roster of the surviving officers and soldiers of Stand Watie's brigade (1st Cherokee regiment) at pp. 51-53

[Art][Books about Books] Weber, Francis J. Following Bernhardt Wall, 1872-1956: A Bio-Bibliographical Sketch. Austin: Book Club of Texas, 1994. Dark gray cloth spine over boards by Craig Jensen of the BookLab, Austin. Printed paper label on front cover, gray dust jacket with paper spine label. Cloth and gray paper slipcase. Limited edition, one of 95 copies with an original letter by Wall. Black & white frontispiece portrait of Bernhardt Wall, 9 original etchings tipped-in, 5 photogravure reproductions printed by the Flatbed Press of Austin. Bibliography. 83 pp. Fine copy.
Wall is known for his engraved books and art on a variety of subjects of Texas and the Southwest, including Following Sam Houston. Designed and typeset at the Castle Press, Pasadena, California. The letterpress was by Patrick Reach of Glendale, California. The bibliography of Wall's books is very useful.

[Civil War] [Texas] Gideon Welles. General Order, No. 55. [Washington, D.C.?]: [publisher not identified] May 24, 1865. White printed wraps. 21 cm. One sheet folded into four leaves, printing on first two only. Two small holes in margin, not affecting the text, else very good.
OCLC shows no holdings for this order. Signed in type: Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, Andrew Johnson, President and W. Hunter, Acting Secretary of State. Announcement of the order by President Johnson to end the naval blockade against foreign commerce, except in the ports of Galveston, Lasalle, Brazos de Santiago (Port Isabel) and Brownsville, Texas. "All such offenders will be held and dealt with as pirates." Although Lee had surrendered in April 1865, the Confederate armies in Texas had not surrendered, hence the U. S. naval blockade on Texas ports needed to be maintained.

Unrecorded Buffalo Bill image & Music
[Buffalo Bill] J. R. Wellington. Buffalo Bill March. London: Charles Sheared & Co. 1892. Tan pictorial wraps. 36.5 cm. With music. 8 pp. With additional music, "Dance Music by the Best Composers." 8 pp. Unfortunate tear to upper right corner, not affecting image or music, edge splitting, else very good
OCLC shows no holdings for this item. Cover features lithographic image of a young Buffalo Bill, American flag, and mounted cowboy and Indian, signed H. G. Banks, Lith. "Dedicated by kind permission to The Honble W. F. Cody & Played by Mr. J. R. Wellington's Splendid Military Band at The Horticultural Exhibition." Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show toured England in 1892 and this item may have been capitalizing on the popularity of the show. "The sight of this show lived long in the memories of those who were part of the many thousands who flocked daily to see the attractions. Such was the success of his first British tour that Cody returned again and toured from 1891 to… Read More

1880S LICK OBSERVATORY PHOTOGRAPH
[Astronomy] [Photography] [California] Isaiah West Taber. Lick Observatory Road, Half way Up Mt. Hamilton. San Francisco, California: Taber. [Circa 1888] Cabinet card 24.4 x 20 cm mounted on curved card 24.5 x 20.6 cm. A few spots. Very good.
The collection at UC-Santa Cruz holds this image, which is Taber Negative No. 5874. OCLC and the Online Archive of California show that UC-Berkeley has several Taber photographs of the Lick Observatory without detailing the individual images. Depicted is one of the passenger stages used to bring people and mail to the observatory. Isaiah West Taber came to San Francisco in 1850 in search of gold but instead found success with photographic silver. He opened his own business, which quickly became one of the premier studios in the city. Taber printed, published, and distributed the work of other photographers. In 1906 the devastating fire following the San Francisco earthquake destroyed nearly his entire stock of negatives.

1880S LICK OBSERVATORY PHOTOGRAPH
[Astronomy] [Photography] [California] Isaiah West Taber. The 36-inch Telescope, Lick Observatory. San Francisco, California: Taber. [Circa 1888] Cabinet card 24.4 x 20 cm mounted on curved card 24.5 x 20.6 cm. Very good.
OCLC and the Online Archive of California show that UC-Berkeley has several Taber photographs of the Lick Observatory without detailing the individual images. The collection at UC-Santa Cruz holds a number of photographs depicting the 36 inch telescope but not this image, which is Taber Negative No. 5880. Two auction listings for this image. "The Famous Great Lick Refractor was built during the years 1880 through 1888. Located in the larger dome of the main observatory building, the Great Lick refractor is 57 feet long, 4 feet in diameter, and weighs over 25,000 lbs. "36-inch" refers to the diameter of the two refracting lenses on the skyward end of the telescope. When completed, the Lick Refractor was the largest refracting telescope in the world."… Read More

[Texas Revolution] Clarence Wharton; J H Barnard. Remember Goliad. Houston, McCurdy-Young. 1931. Maroon leather spine, red boards with gilt titles. Limited edition. 23 cm. Illustrated. 61 [9] pp. Presentation copy signed by the author. Bookplate. Wear to spine ends & edges, else very good.
Howes W300. OCLC shows 36 copies of the edition of 100 are in libraries. Wharton gives an account of the Goliad campaign and events leading up to the tragic massacre of Col. James Fannin and most of his Texas army. Includes biographical material on persons involved with the Battle

1). [Civil War] Richard Wheatley. History of the 28th C. V. [Stamford, CT.?]: [No publication information]. [1863?]. White printed wraps. 14 [2] pp. Cover title: History of the Twenty-Eighth Conn. Vols. Water stain and discoloration to lower corner, not affecting text. Good.
OCLC shows no holdings for this booklet. A unit history from its formation in 1862 up to when it mustered out in August 1863. The Rev. Richard Wheatley was the Chaplin of the Twenty-eighth Connecticut Volunteers. Includes an account of the battle of Port Hudson from the Utica Telegraph, Aug. 2, 1863. The booklet mentions that the unit's initial enlistment has ended and that some have re-enlisted for the duration of the war. Written shortly after Grant captured Vicksburg and General Nathaniel Banks and the Connecticut 28th captured Port Hudson, Louisiana, which freed the length of the Mississippi River. "To the members of the late 28th the future is full of hope. On the banks of the Mississippi, at Port Hudson and… Read More

Wheeler, Homer W. Buffalo Days, Forty Years in the Old West: The Personal Narrative of a Cattleman, Indian Fighter and Army Officer, by Wheeler Homer, with introduction by Major General James G. Harbord. Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill. 1925. Second edition. Blue cloth in dust jacket. Illustrated. frontis, photos, 369 pp. Book and jacket are very good. Minor chipping at top of jacket spine. Howes W322, Rader 3627, Six Guns 2375, Herd 2499. Wheeler served also as a post trader and Indian agent and was in command of Fort Reno in Oklahoma Territory. Excellent on Indians and Indian government scouts. A chapter on Wild Bill Hickok and one entitled "Western Badmen."

Willcox, R. N. Reminiscences of California Life. Being an Abridged Description of Scenes Which the Author Passed Through in California and Other Lands... Avery, Ohio: Willcox Printing. 1897. First edition. Black pebble cloth, spine lettering gilt. Plates. 21.5 cm. 290 pp. Front spine starting to tear. Ownership inscription. Covers show wear, bump to text near spine. Overall good plus copy of a scarce book.
OCLC shows 35 holdings in libraries. Adams, Herd 2520: "Scarce." Six-Guns 2394: "Rare." Cowan (II), p. 684. Decker 36: 447. Flake 9865. Graff 4673. Howes W436 ("aa"). Wheat, Gold Rush, 228. "It is said that only seventy-five copies of this work were issued. ... There is some material on Tom Bell, the California outlaw." - Adams. "Not over 100 copies printed." - Howes. Willcox, an apprentice carpenter in Connecticut, sailed for California by way of Panama in January, 1852. He spent time in San Francisco, Sacramento, and in the mines. His narrative meanders but is full of lively observations and… Read More

[Texas] [William Wittliff] Richard Holland, (Ed.) The Southwest Writers Collection Dedication. [San Marcos, Texas]: Southwest Texas State University, Albert B. Alkek Library. 1993. Boards. 18 x 26 cm. One of 100 copies of the hardcover edition, signed by all. Illustrated. Cover woodcut by Barbara Whitehead. Photographs. Designed and printed by W. Thomas Taylor. 34 pp. Near fine.
Text of remarks made at the ceremony officially dedicating the Southwestern Writers Collection, a major archive that captures the literary heritage of the American Southwest. Editor's Foreword; Introduction - Larry L. King; Welcome - Joan Heath, University Librarian; The Southwestern Writers Collection: an overview - Richard A. Holland, Head, Special Collections; Introduction of John Graves - Mark B. Busby, Director, Center for the Study of the Southwest; Dedicatory Speech - John Graves; President's award - Jerome H. Supple, President, Southwest Texas State University; Remarks - Bill Wittliff; Introduction of… Read More

[California][San Francisco][Vigilantes] James King of William. Notice of Attachment. San Francisco: Cook, Kenny & Co. January 15, 1855. Document, partially printed and filled out in manuscript. 25 x 20 cm. Has been folded, else very good.
James King was born January 28, 1822, in Washington, D.C., and began to style himself "James King of William" to distinguish himself from other James Kings. He went to California in 1848 and made a financial success from placer mining. He then went into banking but lost his fortune. This attachment appears to be against him in his capacity as a banker. In 1855 King became editor of the Daily Evening Bulletin. He used his paper to crusade fanatically against immorality and corruption.King and James P. Casey, the editor of The Sunday Times
and a member of the county Board of Supervisors, carried on a feud in their newspapers, resulting in "much personal enmity." On May 4, 1856, King reported that Casey had served a term in New York State's Sing Sing prison for grand… Read More

[African American] [Photography] George L. Wilms. Large Cabinet Card of African American Family. [Jersey City, N.J.] [George Wilms] [1900s?] 19.5 x 24.7 cm on card 31 x 35 cm. Marked "Wilms" on the negative. Photograph is very good. Card has spots and scuffs.
OCLC shows two photographs by George L. Wilms (Dickson State Univ. Roosevelt Center). The Smithsonian also has two images by Wilms of Jersey City, N.J. Langdon's List of 19th and Early 20th Century Photographers lists George L. Wilms as working in Jersey City, New Jersey. His name appears in the Jersey City newspaper in 1897. The photograph shows a well-to-do African American family of two men, two women and three children, one an older girl; a boy still in short pants and a young girl holding what appears to be a Steiff toy bear. Steiff introduced the bear in 1903 and became very popular in the US as "Teddy bears" in the early 1900s. One of the men appears to have a Masonic pin.

Wister, Owen. The Virginian. A Horseman of the Plains. N.Y.: The MacMillan Company. 1911. Limited edition. Printed on Japan vellum, bound in brown boards, vellum parchment back, gilt top. Illustrated by Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. 506 [6 ads] pp. Cover wear and stains. Corners bumped and rubbed. Pages have edge toning and small stains. Good copy of a difficult book.
One of 100 copies, signed by the author. Dykes, Russell Rarity #37. Remington Rarity #26. Yost & Renner I 26a. Yost 32a. This edition not in Graff. In a half leather clamshell box. Color frontis and 42 line engravings by Russell, for which captions have been supplied taken from Russell's own work copy of the book, in which he made notes of suitable incidents for illustrations. Ten plates by Remington. "Although a novel, this book probably created more impressions of what a cowboy was like - even among cowboys - than any other work, fact or fiction." - Reese.. Dykes lists this book as the second hardest to… Read More