Featured Items
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Featured Items
Description:
Mammoth albumen photo by William Henry Jackson depicting a scene along the Colorado Midland Railway. Title and photographer's information in the
negative and reads, "1203. Cameron's Cone from 'Tunnel 4,' Colorado Midland Ry. W.H. Jackson & Co. Phot. Denver, Col." Published circa 1879. Photo
print measures 20 ¼" x 16 ¼", and was mounted on stiff board and shrink-wrapped. Photo has not been examined out of shrink wrap. Very good
condition. 1 ½" closed tear near left edge, and a 2" x ¾" closed tear near right edge, both affect content but have been repaired; otherwise photo
has only minor chipping to edges. Overall very good contrast, background (Cameron's Cone) has only good contrast and light yellowing. This nicely
composed image depicts a group of well-dressed travelers in front of a railcar with the rocky entrance of tunnel framing the shot and a backdrop of
Cameron's Cone. After the Hayden Surveys were completed in 1879, Jackson set up a studio in Denver, Colorado and began working for railway
companies and hotels (Mautz p. 384). Jackson's matchless glass-plate railroad photography is exemplified in this amazing image.
Price $850.00
Description:
Condition: Very Good. Set of 11 mounted albumen prints from the late 19th century, depicting scenes from Dakota Territory including Groton and
surrounding area, which would become Brown County, South Dakota. No photographer or publication information present. Albumen prints are on dark
brown mounts with gilt edges and measure 7 ¾" x 4 ½" (with mounts 8 ½" x 5 ¼"); most views have notes in black ink on verso of mount, giving a
brief description of the scene. Views are detailed, crisp, and in very good condition. All have light wear to edges and light soiling, some have light
yellowing. The content of these views are fabulous. Views depict the main street of Groton, Dakota looking north from the rail depot, signs can be
read and people seen milling about the stores; a railway depot with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul in the background; household goods and large
piles of lumber stacked alongside the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railcars, stashed there while settlers chose a home site; the residence of W.J.
Brewster, a pioneer of Brown County, who settled in the area in the early 1880s and was reported to be a harness dealer; two men, Jim and Will,
cleaning out a well; the well is again seen nearby a "shanty" also called rose cottage or "Sodom"; a couple views depict a small shed or barn with Will
feeding a calf; three views depict Will, Jim and H.D.B. plowing with oxen and harrow. Many white settlers started to arrive in what is now Brown
County, South Dakota in the early 1880s and were eager to establish themselves. As seen in a couple of the views, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul
Railway Company was of great importance in the development of the territory, the Company platting at least 23 towns in that area between 1880 and
1884. These photos give us a brief view into the beginnings of permanent establishments in the area, and is a good record of white settlement in the
Dakota Territory.
Price $2,200.00
Price $5,000.00
Description:
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Copy 517 of 525 with 25 copies numbered 1-25 on Van Gelder paper, and 500 copies numbered 26-525 on Mould-Made Annonay Paper.
Stunning Edward McLean binding in fine condition. Vellum back strip from original binding laid in on rear endpaper; fore and bottom edges deckled. All eight illustrations
present as called for. Recent conservation work included fine retouching of lightly faded back strip and velvet finish endpapers strengthened; text block in fine condition
with light toning to half title page and edges. Aubrey Beardsley (1872-1898) completed 8 plates for the 1896 English translation of Lysistrata of Aristophanes which was
translated by Samuel Smith. Beardsley felt that these plates were some of his strongest works. This edition was privately printed in 1931 with 8 copies found in OCLC as of
January 2019. This copy of Lysistrata was acquired by the consignor's family from Lowdermilks Rare Books in Washington D. C. Probably in the late 1940s or early 1950s.
The consignor remembers family stories that Lowdermilks did not feel comfortable selling the book to a woman. Edward McLean was referred to the consignor (probably by
Phillip Duschnes) for binding work and the family hired him to rebind at least 5 books, possibly more. McLean did not sign his binding. Conservationist and historian Karen
Jones of Denver confirms that this is an Edward McLean binding. Edward McLean (1905-1982) was a design binder born in Victor, Colorado in 1905. With his sister Jane,
he first pursued a career in modern dance. An accident forced him to give up dancing in 1934, and, after a five-year apprenticeship with Hazel Dreis in California, he
embarked on a career in bookbinding and publishing with her in New Mexico. His publishing company, Libros Escogidos, produced three books: Fifteen New Mexico
Santos, 1941 (NM) ; Vicente Silva & His 40 Bandits, 1947 (Washington D. C. ) ; and Three Letters from St. Louis, 1958 (Denver). McLean held positions at the Library of
Congress, the Folger Library, Detroit Public Library, University of Denver, Duke University, and Arizona State University. He made Denver his home circa 1953-68,
returning to Denver again later in life. He bound books for institutions and private collectors and took on a number of students. Characteristics of his bindings include an
extensive use of inlay and experimental use of materials - goatskin, deerskin, calf, suede, brocade, hand-blocked linen, hand-loomed tapestry, seal skin, shark skin, snake
skin, bandana cloth, velvet, and denim among them. Of his original bindings, he explained that he was trying to "reflect in visual form, the character and substance of what
the author has to say." His binding for Lysistrata is a lovely example of his style; a full leather (goatskin) binding that includes both inlay and onlay elements as well as
simple, but very effective and selective gold tooling. He was the first American to exhibit at the International Bookbinders Congress (MDE - Meister der Einbandkunst
International) in 1962. Correspondence from the University of Denver in 1967 described him as being one of the top six binders in the US. A glowing tribute to McLean was
written by Clark Kimball, proprietor of Great Southwest Books in Santa Fe in 1982. There was an exhibit of McLean's work in Sept. 1984 as part of the annual Book Arts
Festival in Santa Fe. A number of his bindings were exhibited in Denver (Bookbinding in Colorado) in 1994 and at the New Mexico Museum of Art (Passions in Print
exhibit) in 2005. Oak Knoll Press published a catalog: "Bookbinding: Including Books from the Libraries of Howard M. Nixon and Edward McLean in 1984." ; 4to 11" - 13"
tall; 61 pp.
Price $4,500.00
Description:
Broadside. Condition: Good. Massive political broadside for future governor of New Mexico, L. Bradford Prince from his run as territorial delegate to Congress in 1884.
Measuring 27 3/4" x 42", this broadside had been folded with three vertical folds and three horizontal folds. Extensive restoration has repaired separations at the folds, but
the broadside presents well. Not linen backed. Ink appears to be both blue and black pigments with blue to the edges and black towards the middle of the print. The eagle
woodblock measures 9" x 30". The woodblock letters forming Prince's name stand 8 1/4". Ink saturation is uneven but overall this is an impressive late 19th century
woodblock broadside. No printer marks. LeBaron Bradford Prince began his political career in New York state, serving in the state legislature from 1870 to 1875. He turned
down the appointment as governor of Idaho territory 1878. Prince was named Chief Justice of New Mexico in 1878 and served until May 1882. In 1883, he became
president of the New Mexico Historical Society. A year later Prince was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress from New Mexico; the campaign from which this broadside
originated. He was Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1889 to 1893 and continued to be active in business and politics for the next 20 years. Prince, a staunch
Republican, stated his platform on the broadside, "For the Progress and Development of New Mexico. Her Mining, Pastoral, Agricultural, and Industrial Interests Must Be
Encouraged And Protected". Considering overall size and design, we've never handled such a dramatic item of Americana. As best as we can determine, this broadside is
unrecorded.
Price $5,000.00