Hardcover
The O. Henry Home
Austin, TX: Amistad Press, 1981. (20) pp. Approximately 3/4 x 7/8". LIMITED EDITION of 300 copies. Green cloth over boards, printed dust jacket, original packaging, illustrated, fine condition. (Bradbury, Amistad Press 40)
An informative little book about the O. Henry Museum, located in Austin, Texas with a tie-in to the annual O. Henry pun-off.
The Old Farmer's Almanac Colonial Cookbook
Dublin, NH: Yankee, Inc., 1976. 6 x 9". 64pp. Stapled binding and 3-hole punched, in unique wooden stained boards not found with any other listing currently, slight tanning to paper cover, otherwise very good condition.
While these recipes have been adapted for today's standard kitchen (i.e. no need to stir with a twig), they are still recipes that any person of 1776 would have recognized and served at their table. Bound in a charming wooden board with an eagle and 1776 carved onto the cover, this has preserved the stapled book to be in very good condition.
The Old Herb Woman
Boston: Henry Hoyt, n.d. (ca 1850). 64 pp. 3 x 4 1/2"; Purple cloth over boards, some toning to pages and slight foxing, gilt lettering on spine reads "Little Folks Library", woodcut illustrations, in near-fine condition.
Henry Hoyt published at 9 Cornhill, Boston, from 1850 to at least 1876. The wood-engraved illustration on page 50 is signed "Hyde" (i.e. John N. Hyde). A lovely book of juvenile fiction based on bible stories to instruct proper conduct of life in children.
The Papermaking Rhyme
Santa Cruz, CA: The Good Book Press, 1988. [36] pp. Approximately 1 7/8 x 2 15/16". LIMITED EDITION of 150 copies (edition not completed), this being #4. Purple handmade paper over boards with title in black on spine, paper sample insert on cover, letterpress, photographs are digitally printed, five paper samples tipped-in, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Peter and Donna Thomas, 25; P&D Thomas Bibliography A49).
Peter and Donna Thomas, well-known book artists, authors, and paper-makers, have been operating their private press since 1976. This text in this book is a play on the children's rhyme, "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." The photographs show Peter making paper.
The Passions of the Mind
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1961. 808 pp. + acknlowledgments, glossary and bibliography. Approx. 6 1/4 x 9 1/2"; First edition printed after limited edition. Marbled dust jacket with some creases and rubbing, otherwise in very good condition; Blue cloth over boards with clear lettering spine, some spotting to top page edges, signed on the Sigmund Freud quote page, in near fine condition.
Irving Stone (1903 - 1989), was an American writer, best known for his novels of famous politicians, artists, and intellectuals. His best known works are Lust for Life, about the life of Vincent van Gogh, and The Agony and the Ecstasy, about the life of Michelangelo. This book is a biographical novel of Sigmund Freud.
The Persian Letters
Cleveland: The Rowfant Club, 1988. 8 x 11". 121 pp. LIMITED EDITION of 300 copies, this being #272. Marble paper covered board with maroon cloth spine and paper label on spine and paper paste-down title label on front cover, beautiful endpapers signed by the artis Renee Fuller, rending of George, Lord Lyttleton signed by artist John Sukys, in fine condition.
Lyttleton was an English gentleman in the eighteenth century, rather a mediaeval and Renaissance man. From the preface, "He was an active statesman, an avid reader, a generous patron, an observant, witty and graceful writer."
The Pioneer History of Meigs County
Columbus, OH: Berlin Print Co., 1908. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". Black cloth over boards, gilt lettering on cover and spine although very faded on spine, some ink and wear to front cover, overall edge wear and rubbing, ink writing on front free endpaper, frontispiece, many black and white plates, index, a few notes and fingerprints throughout some foxing, otherwise in very good condition.
Stillman Carter Larkin (1808 - 1891) was a member of the Meigs County Pioneer Society and they worked to collect and keep the history and stories of the early pioneer settlers of Meigs County, Ohio. With an excellent index, you can find biographies, name, photos of graveyards and homesteads, along with fascinating stories of these early settlers.
The Poetical Works of Nicholas Rowe, with the Life of the Author. (Bell's Edition of British Poets Complete from Chaucer to Churchill)
Edinburgh: Apollo Press for John Bell, 1782. Hardcover, 3 1/4 x 5 1/8", 142 pp, tree calf binding bordered in gilt with gilt decoration to spine, maroon and black title labels lightly rubbed, marbled endpapers, age darkened pages, some foxing throughout, original ribbon mostly present, very good condition.
This volume contains the Nicholas Rowe's (1674 - 1718) miscellanies, epistles, epigrams, odes, songs, prologues, epilogues, imitations, etc, etc, etc. Appointed Poet Laureate in 1715. Bells Poets, published in the 18th century consisted of the works of some 48 poets, and totalled over one hundred volumes. Scarce in the trade.
The Principal Antique Patterns of Marbled Papers Made and Described by Anne Chambers with an Introduction by Bernard Middleton
Burford, Oxfordshire: The Cygnet Press, 1984. [44] pp. approx. 6 x 7 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 250, this being #176. Blue paper over boards with title in black letters on spine, 14 marbled paper samples tipped in, some sun fading to spine, otherwise in near fine condition.
A short but informative introduction by Bernard Middleton on the history of paper marbling, this book is also very helpful in identifying some of the classic patterns such as Antique Spot, French Shell, Italian Shell, English Stormont, Gloster, Spanish, Peacock, and Stonemarble (or Turkish). The tipped in examples are brilliant and colorful and extremely beautiful.
The Private Practice of Michael Shayne
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1940. 250 pp. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"; First Edition. Illustrated dust jacket has original price of $2.00 on front jacket flap, some chipping and loss at spine extremities, minor chipping and tears, some spots and creases, some damp stain and previous tape repairs on the inside of the jacket, otherwise in good condition; Black cloth over boards with crisp white lettering on spine, top edge stained red, some tanning throughout, a few stains on foredge, a nice copy of this scarce edition in very good + condition.
Brett Halliday is the pseudonym of Davis Dresser (1904 - 1977), an American western and mystery writer who is best known for his Michael Shayne mystery series. The series was so popular that it spawned a radio series, twelve motion pictures, a TV series, and a Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine. Dresser was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America. This is the second book in the Michael Shayne series and is relatively scarce.