1894 Eastman Business College autograph / friendship album, filled with autographs, remembrances, some beautiful calligraphy, drawings, and approximately 190 miniature (postage stamp size) ALBUMEN PHOTOGRAPHS. Kept by Eastman Business College student J.W. HERTZOG in his graduation year of 1894. J.W. Hertzog was from Exeter Station (now Lorane), Pennseylvania.

Eastman Business College, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1894.

Flexible leather covers, "Autographs" embossed in gilt on the front cover, 8x10 inches (26x20 cm). The album contains approximately 60 leaves (120 pages), 95 of the pages have handwriting, miniature album photographs, hand drawings, etc. The remainder are blank.

Rather than merely being a theoretical school, students at Eastman Business College gained practical experience in business by actually performing tasks that would be expected of them in their working careers. The keeper of this album was assigned to a training bank.

GOOD condition: The leather spine covering is splitting for an inch at the top and bottom; the covers have some rubbing; internally, the front and rear hinges are cracked but holding well; there is some foxing and offsetting here and there; overall the pages are bright and all the writing is fully legible. The 190 postage stamp size albumen photographs that are present are a mix of clear and bright to visible but faded. There are stains where additional photos used to be but fell out at one point in this album's life.

The photographs in Herzog's album include administration and faculty members as well as his classmates from across the country and from Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Belize, and Japan. Like a yearbook, the student's entry includes a photograph, his/her name and home town and/or state or country, the student's autograph, and usually an inscription.

Foreign students include two from Veracruz, Mexico, two from Tokyo, Japan, both of whom write in Japanese and English (K. Morimura inscribed "Victory or Death" above his autograph), and one from Havana, Cuba.

The small, postage stamp-size or "gem" portrait photos were likely photographically printed as a single large sheet. Each individual photo, perforated at its edges like a stamp, was separated from the photo sheet and mounted by each student's entry. Toward the end of the album there are three pages filled only with student photos and the state the student is from. The photographer is credited as "C.H. Gallup, Poughkeepsie, New York, Stamp Portraits."

Notable among the portraits is Eastman Business College president Clement Carrington Gaines (b.1857) and his wife, Mary Minerva née Clark Gaines, the widow of the college's founder, Harvey G. Eastman. Another page, signed by penmanship instructor Prof. Davis, is augmented with a calligraphic drawing of a quill pen, likely drawn by the professor.

The rear endpaper is filled with a variety of rubber ink stamps used by the Eastman Business College and the Eastman College Bank, a teaching bank.

The Commercial Advertiser DIRECTORY FOR THE CITY OF BUFFALO, to which is added a BUSINESS DIRECTORY, and Advertisements of Merchants and Manufacturers.

A directory of every resident and business in BUFFALO, NEW YORK, in 1855.

Published by Thomas & Lathrops Publishers, Buffalo, New York, 1855. This is the original directory printed in 1855.

Original hardcovers, paper covered boards, 6x9 inches, 303 pages. The title page states: "Embellished With A Correct Map Of The City", but either the MAP is LACKING or the directory was actually never published with the map, I do not know which.

This copy was deaccessioned from the Massachusetts Historical Society. There is a vintage bookplate of the Massachusetts Historical Society on the front pastedown that has the handwritten date of May 3, 1870, and its blindstamp on the title page There are also a couple other stamps and marks here and there. The bookplate has a blue overstamp that reads: Cancelled / Massachusetts Historical Society.

These directories were produced as advertising vehicles, so there are ads throughout, many are very interesting and some with cool illustrations.

FAIR CONDITION: The spine cloth covering is missing but the spine remains solid, the front and rear hinges are holding well, the front and rear boards are worn through at the corners and edges, are rubbed and soiled, and the printing on the rear cover is a little faded. Internally, there is a Massachusetts Historical Society bookplate, and some other stamps and marks, as noted above; overall the pages are still tight, bright, and clear.

A complete, original, vintage 1855 Buffalo, New York, City Directory.

A treasure trove of Buffalo genealogy.

The PLACER COUNTY REPUBLICAN-ARGUS NEWSPAPER. Approximately 100 four page issues. Weekly issues from January 13, 1899, Vol. 27, No. 20, through December 21, 1900, Vol. 29, No. 18.

Published by Francis M. Millikan, Auburn, California, 1899-1900.

Approximately 100 four page (and some six page) issues bound in hardcovers with leather spine and corners, large format, 19x25 inches.

These issues were presumably bound together by the CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY, which is from where they were deaccessioned. There is a bookplate of the California State Library on the inside front cover, and there is a California State Library stamp on the first page of each issue and here and there throughout.

Thousands of interesting articles and tidbits about life in Placer County and California in 1899 and 1900. Cities in Placer County, California, include Auburn, Roseville, Lincoln, Rocklin, Loomis and Colfax.

Condition: The covers are scraped, scratched scuffed, and worn through at the edges, spine ends, spine folds, and leather corners, still these hardcovers are solid and doing their job well. The newspapers are printed on rather fragile paper and there some edge tears, chips, and wear here and there, corners have been torn off from a couple issues, etc.; nonetheless the bound in issues are in generally good condition, bright, clean and clear. There may be one or two issues missing, or the numbering was skipped a couple times. Keep in mind that the pages should be handled gently.

An interesting look at early Placer County, California.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This item is very large and heavy and will require substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

SACRAMENTO DAILY EVENING NEWS. Approximately 150 four page issues. December 23, 1890, Volume I Number 2 through June 30, 1891, Volume II Number 8.

Published by Wells Drury, Sacramento, California, 1890-1891.

Approximately 150 four page issues professionally bound in hardcovers, faux black morocco leather, gilt titling to the spine, 17.5x23 inches (the measurement of the covers). The bound in issues were cut in three different sizes: 13.5x20 inches, 16x21 inches, and 17x23 inches.

The Sacramento Daily Evening News was published from 1890 to 1893, after which the punisher, Wells Drury, went on to act as editor for various San Francisco newspapers. The issues were published daily, Monday through Saturday.

Thousands of interesting articles and tidbits about life in Sacramento and California in 1890 and 1891. Not unexpectedly, there are also some items disparaging (both intentionally and non intentionally) of Chinese, Native Americans, Italians, Blacks and, of course, Women.

Condition: The issues have been professionally bound in hardcovers, the endpapers are new, the binding is sturdy. The pages have also been professionally repaired here and there throughout, with some encapsulated edges, some clear tape, etc. The pages are rather fragile and there are some tears, missing corners, chips, etc. The edgewear is minor on most pages, significant on a few. I noticed that several articles were cut out of a couple pages. There appears to be several issues missing. The pages are age toned, as normal. Overall this carefully and professionally bound and repaired collection of issues remains well preserved, tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

LARGE and HEAVY.

About Wells Drury, the Publisher of the Daily Evening News (from various Internet sources):

******Wells Drury, pioneer newspaperman, was born September 16, 1851 in New Boston, Illinois. Orphaned while crossing the Oregon Trail in 1852, he was adopted and brought up in Oregon on a Indian reservation on Puget Sound. Drury arrived in San Francisco in 1873. Successful investments in mining concerns in the Comstock in Nevada convinced him to move to Virginia City, where he became one of the editors of the Virginia City Chronicle, the Territorial Enterprise, the Gold Hill News, and the Bodie Daily Miner. As a reporter in the Comstock, Drury knew Mark Twain and Bret Harte and later, in San Francisco, met Robert Louis Stevenson. In 1882 Drury became deputy secretary of the state of Nevada and in 1887 became a member and speaker pro tem of the Nevada House of Representatives.

Drury returned to California in 1888. He published the Daily Evening News from 1890 to 1893. He then was, at different times, managing editor of the San Francisco Call, city editor of the San Francisco Examiner, news editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, news editor of the Sacramento Union, and managing editor of the Los Angeles Record. In addition, Drury was one of the first presidents of the San Francisco Press Club.******

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This item is very large and very heavy and will require substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

CHANGCHUN WORLD SCULPTURE PARK. Photographs by Chunhua Song.

Published by Changchun Publishing House, Changchun, China, 2012. First edition. Text in Chinese and English. ISBN: 9787544518314

THREE VOLUMES, the complete set. A wonderful pictorial record of all the sculptures in the park. Bound in blue cloth covered fold-open, case-like covers, silver titling to the covers, 10x15 inches (27x37 cm).

Comprehensive 3 Volume PHOTO BOOK SET displaying the SCULPTURE ART on display at the Changchun World Sculpture Park. Located in Changchun, Jilin, China. Fully ILLUSTRATED with over 1000 color photographs of the amazing sculptures in the park.

VERY GOOD CONDITION: The rear upper corner of Volume 1 is bumped, creasing that corner of the cover and the last few inner pages, otherwise just a rub or two here and there; overall a lovely set, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

A wonderful resource for anyone interested in sculpture from around the world. A comprehensive, thick and heavy 3 volume set.

As of this writing there were only a few copies of this set available, ranging from over $700 to $1500.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This 3 volume set is thick and very heavy and will be expensive to ship, requiring substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

MEDIZINISCHE GEOGRAPHIE, by Caspar Friedrich Fuchs.

BERLIN: Verlag von Alexander Duncker, 1853. First edition. Text in German.

Hardcovers (covers detached but present), cloth covered boards with leather spine and corners, 6x9 inches (23x15 cm). Pagination: xii, 158, [2] pages, plus 11 PLATES at the rear.

Illustrated with eleven plates, six of which show the spread of diseases around the world.

COPY of Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes, with his ARMORIAL BOOKPLATE on the front pastedown. Crewe-Milnes (1858-1945), 1st Marquess of Crewe, known as The Lord Houghton from 1885 to 1895 and as The Earl of Crewe from 1895 to 1911, Secretary of State for India 1910-1915, Ambassador to Paris 1922-1928, and Secretary of State for War 1931. (You can read more about Robert Offley Ashburton Crewe-Milnes on his Wikipedia page.)

Condition: Covers are detached but present, the front and rear covers are scuffed at the leather on the corners and rear margin, the spine leather covering is mostly intact but is chipped, scratched, and worn. Internally there is some foxing here and there, especially on the first few pages, otherwise the inner pages are tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

PILGRIMS: A ONE ACT PLAY, by Stephen Metcalfe. With original woodcuts by Julia Talcott.

FINE PRINTING, LIMITED EDITION, this being #1 of only 2 ARTIST'S PROOF COPIES (of a total run of 32 copies, consisting of 2 artist's proofs and 30 numbered copies).

SIGNED by the AUTHOR and ARTIST. This copy is ONE of only TWO ARTIST'S PROOF COPIES, hand numbered "AP 1/2".

Published by Brighton Press, San Diego. Printing by Hal Truschke. Binding by Klaus Rotzscher Bookbinding of San Francisco. 1992.

Hardcovers, black cloth covered spine and forest green paper covered boards with design on the front cover, 7.5x9 inches, 56 pages.

ILLUSTRATED with nine woodcuts by the artist Julia Talcott, printed in one, two, three, or four colors. The illustrations are striking.

NEAR FINE condition, a light bump to the bottom corner of the front cover, otherwise tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A solid, lovely copy.

Especially scarce being one of only two Artist's Proof copies.

About Brighton Press (from its website):

******Brighton Press has created fine press, limited edition artists books and broadsides since 1985. To date, we have published fifty-one books that are represented in over 100 public and private collections, including the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, the Getty Research Institute, the Library of Congress, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Newberry Library, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and numerous university libraries and museums.

?Each work is designed and produced through the collaboration of contemporary poets and visual artists, together with artisans in the fields of letterpress, bookbinding, papermaking, printmaking, and sculpture. The artists make their own plates and cut their own blocks. Each work is printed by hand in our studio in small editions and is signed and numbered.******

About Klaus Rotzxhcer, the binder (from his LinkedIn page):

******I am a German master bookbinder, with two master's degrees from the Academy of Applied Arts in Munich, Germany. My passion is to create beautiful books that are also functional, essentially heirloom books that can be passed down from generation to generation.******

BEZAE CODEX CANTABRIGIENSIS. Being an Exact Copy, in Ordinary Type, of the Celebrated Uncial Graeco-Latin Manuscript of the Four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. Written Early in the Sixth Century, and Presented to the University of Cambridge by Theodore Beza, A.D. 1581.

Edited with a Critical Introduction, Annotations, and Facsimiles, by Frederick H. Scrivener.

CAMBRIDGE: Deighton, Bell, and Co. and LONDON: Bell and Dalby, 1864.

Original hardcovers, 7.5x10.5 inches, lxiv + 453 pages, plus 2 pages of Publisher's ads at the rear.

SCARCE ORIGINAL 1864 EDITION of this important work.

FAIR Condition: Covers are detached (rear cover actually just holding on by a couple of the binding cords), no cloth strip on the spine but a part of the spine strip is laid in. Internally, the facsimile plates are foxed and some foxing has crept onto the facing pages, the binding is shaky and the inner hinge is split at a number of places where the book was opened wide (and might easily split at other places) but all the pages are still holding, otherwise the inner pages are in good shape, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A complete copy that could use some loving care.

I have collated this copy with a copy held at the rare book room of Oxford University that is digitized online.

AMPELOGRAPHIE: TRAITÉ GÉNÉRALE DE VITICULTURE (Ampelography: General Treatise on Viticulture). Edited by Pierre Viala and Victor Vermorel. Fully describes 5,200 grape varieties.

COMPLETE SEVEN VOLUME SET.

GORGEOUSLY ILLUSTRATED with 500 COLOR PLATES and 70 b&w plates. There are also numerous in-text b&w illustrations. Each of the 500 color plates is suitable for framing, imho.

Published by JEANNE LAFFITTE, Marseille, France, 1991. FINE PRINTING FACSIMILE of the original monumental seven volume work that was published between 1901 and 1910. LIMITED EDITION, this being copy number 155 of only 1,000 copies, as stated in Volume I.

Beautiful RED MOROCCO LEATHER COVERS, embossed and lettered in gilt, Folio size 10x13.5 inches (35x25 cm).

This 7 Volume Set is inNEAR FINE condition, The covers of a couple volumes have light corner tip wear and there is a bit of light soiling to some page edges, overall tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. JUST LOVELY.

SEVEN VOLUME SET. TEXT in FRENCH.

Volume I: 729 pages plus 70 black and white plates at the rear.

Volume II: 406 pages plus 100 color plates at the rear.

Volume III: 387 pages plus 100 color plates at the rear.

Volume IV: 372 pages plus 100 color plates at the rear.

Volume V: 356 pages plus 100 color plates at the rear.

Volume VI: 453 pages plus 100 color plates at the rear.

Volume VII (Dictionnaire Ampélographique / Ampelography Dictionary): 408 pages.

Rare FINE PRINTING, LIMITED EDITION, COMPLETE SEVEN VOLUME SET, published by JEANNE LAFFITTE. The most beautiful set of books on grapes and vines that I have ever seen.

About AMPELOGRAPHY (from Wikipedia):

******Ampelography is the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines, Vitis spp. Traditionally this has been done by comparing the shape and color of the vine leaves and grape berries.******

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This 7 volume set is very heavy and will be very expensive to ship. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

ÉLOGES de PERSONNAGES ÉMINENTS de TOUEN-HOUANG sous les T'ANG et les CINQ DYNASTIES. Partie I: Avant-Propos, Introduction, TEXTES CHINOIS. Par Chen Tsu-Lung.

(PRAISE of EMINENT CHARACTERS of TOUEN-HOUANG under the T'ANG and the FIVE DYNASTIES. Part I: Foreword, Introduction, CHINESE TEXTS. Edited by Chen Tsu-Lung.)

INSCRIBED ASSOCIATION COPY. Inscribed on the half title page by Chen Tsu-Lung to Noted Chinese Studies scholar L. S. GOODRICH. The inscription is in Chinese and, according to a Chinese speaking friend, says: "Professor, Please Comment." Also, laid-in on the title page is a business card of Chen Tsu-Lung on which he inscribed the following in English: "Please oblige me by making a review of it."

Published by École Française d'Extrême-Orient, Paris, 1970.

Wrappers, 7.5x11 inches (19x28cm). XVII pages of introductory text in French followed by 197 pages of CHINESE TEXTS. There are 20 photographic plates of original Chinese manuscripts at the rear.

GOOD condition: The spine covering has creases, scrapes and closed tears, the top of the spine is bumped, the front and rear covers have creasing to the corners and light wear to the edges; internally very nice, some light corner creases, overall the pages are tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Many of the pages remain uncut.

About L.S. GOODRICH, to whom the book is inscribed (from Wikipedia):

******Luther Carrington Goodrich, b.1894 d.1986, was an American sinologist and historian of China. A prolific author, he is perhaps best remembered for his work on the Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644.

Luther Carrington Goodrich was born on September 21, 1894, in Tongzhou, a southeastern suburb of Beijing, where his parents were serving as Protestant missionaries. He received his master's degree in 1927 and Ph.D. in 1934, both from Columbia University. He continued at Columbia as a faculty member, becoming a full Professor in 1945. Excluding a few short breaks spent as a visiting professor in institutions abroad, he spent the rest of his career at Columbia University.******

THE AMERICANS. Photographs by Robert Frank. Introduction by Jack Kerouac. Published by Grove Press, New York, 1959. First Grove Press Edition 1959, so stated (first American edition, first printing). Hardbound in original Publisher's black cloth with gilt printing on the spine, 8.5" x 7.5", unpaginated, in original pictorial dustjacket.

NEAR FINE condition book, very slight bow to the covers, a touch of wear to the page edges, inner pages slightly toned, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. In a GOOD condition dustjacket that shows toning, shelfwear, some rubbing, small edgewear tears and chipping with associated creases, a 1" by .25" chip to the lower front panel with associated closed tear, and a .5" vertical closed tear at the bottom of the front fold that continues horizontally .25" into the spine, but remains solid and bright and retains it's $7.50 price at the top of the front flap.

In 1959 "The Americans" was a different kettle of fish. The consummate antithesis of America's public persona that was colorfully displayed in popular magazines like Life and Look. With this publication of his 83 black and white images, photographer Robert Frank (1924-2019) challenged America's self image and indelibly changed the nature of photography. "The Americans" remains one of the most influential photography books of the 20th century.

THE ARCHITECTURAL FORUM, Volume 42, January to June 1925, SIX ISSUES bound together in HARDCOVERS. Volume XLII Number 1 through Number 6, January through June 1925.

Includes the rare March 1925 issue: "GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB REFERENCE NUMBER"; and the likewise scarce June 1925 issue: "MOTION PICTURE THEATER REFERENCE NUMBER".

Bound in Hardcovers, black cloth covered boards with gilt title on spine, 8.5x12 inches, 432 pages.

The January 1925 issue, the first number, is lacking its front cover/wrapper, otherwise all issues are complete including their front and rear wrappers.

Ex the University of California library, with an attractive U.C. bookplate on the front pastedown, remnants of a shelving label at the bottom of the spine, remnants of card pockets and labels on the rear endpapers, and the usual ink stamps, date stamps, and blind stamps on the covers of each issue and here and there throughout.

Ex-Lib aside the volume is in GOOD condition, the covers are frayed at the spine ends and corner tips, with soiling to the spine and some rubbing to the front and rear boards; internally, there is some soiling and a few marks to the covers of each issue, a few smudges here and there, otherwise the pages are tight, bright, clean and clear.

Interesting ASSOCIATION copy, with the bookplate of noted Chicago Architect JULIUS H. HUBER on the front free endpaper. Presumably he acquired this volume after it was deaccessioned from the University of California library.

From Wikipedia: "Julius H. Huber, b.1852 d.1939, was a prominent architect in Chicago, Illinois. He is especially known for his work in Edgewater, Chicago. Clarence Hatzfeld's early architectural training was largely in Huber's office. At least one building he designed is on the National Register of Historic Places. He is buried in Rosehill Cemetery. Huber designed churches, breweries, Brand's Hall at Clark and Erie streets, residences, apartments, stores and office buildings."

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This book is heavy and will require substantial additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

LUCILLE PRESTON. A WORLD WAR II JOURNEY from CLARKSDALE, MISSISSIPPI to RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA, 1942. Part of the ON THE WATERFRONT: AN ORAL HISTORY OF RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA series.

An ORAL HISTORY transcribed from an Interview Conducted by Judith K. Dunning in 1985.

Published by the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California. Copyright The Regents of the University of California, 1992.

Photocopied pages with simple clear plastic covers bound with black cloth tape at the spine. I don't know if this is an original publication or was a copy of the original, but it is my only copy. This copy is stated "Copy Number 3", but that may be the number of the original copy this was photocopied from. Again, I do no know.

There are 17 introductory pages plus 47 pages of the transcribed interview.

GOOD condition, the photocopied pages have photomachine smudges and marks, and black areas near the spine, but none affecting text.

THREE GENERATIONS IN RECENT LATIN AMERICAN ART: A Study of Latin American Paintings, 1960-1975, in the Art of the Americas Collections, The University of Texas at Austin, by Jerry Michael Daviee. An Original M.A. Thesis.

Thesis submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Texas at Austin in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts.

Self published, May, 1977.

Red vinyl covers, copy shop type printing, 8.5x11 inches, 94 pages, pages printed on one side only.

NEAR FINE condition, the covers are sharp and bright, inner pages are lightly toned at the margins, overall tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A solid, very presentable copy.

About JERRY MICHAEL DAVIEE (excerpted from his online obituary):

******Jerry Daviee, b.1947 d.2017, began his art studies at the San Francisco Art institute in San Francisco in 1965 and went on to receive an MA in Art History with a focus on contemporary Latin American Art at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1977 Jerry became Curator of Art at the Amarillo Art Center in Amarillo, Texas. In 1980 Jerry and his wife moved to San Francisco where he assumed the position of Curator of Art for the American Museum Association. He continued his studies, receiving an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1989. From 1990 to 2007, Jerry Served as the Grants Officer for the Oakland Museum of California.******

45 8x10 glossy photographs of sketches and details of Japanese Scabbards and Blades.

These photographs might have been taken of sketches in a Japanese book, Japanese documents, or from someone's personal sketchbook/notebook, I have no way of knowing. Some of the writing beside the drawings (on the sheets or pages that were photographed, not handwritten on these photographs) is in Japanese and some in English.

The photographs are in b&w and were clearly made simply as a reference, they are nothing fancy. The photographs are each two-hole punched in their left margin, and they are bound in a simple, school type, metal clasp folder. The binder has a label on the front cover which has some writing in Japanese followed by "Tokaido East Sea Way". I don't know if this label refers in any way to the photographs bound within.

I know little about Japanese scabbards and blades, but I thought the information this gathering of photographs provides might be of interest to a collector.

The photographs are in generally GOOD condition, yellowing a bit with age.

THE PARKER COOK BOOK: Published for the benefit of The First Presbyterian Church, ABILENE, TEXAS. Edited by Mrs. Samuel R. Cox.

Published by Abilene Printing and Stationery Co., Abilene, Texas, 1932. Second Edition, as stated on the front cover.

Hardcovers, tan cloth covered boards, 416 pages. Hundreds (thousands?) of brief recipes, no illustrations. Interspersed with ads of the day, my favorite being the "Laughter Undertaking Co. / Abilene, Texas".

SIGNATURE of renowned chef JEREMIAH TOWER, and SIGNED and INSCRIBED by one of the PARKER family members.

From the library of JEREMIAH TOWER with his Ownership SIGNATURE on front pastedown.

Jeremiah Tower is an American chef who, along with Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck, is credited with pioneering California cuisine. After working at Chez Panisse for less than a year he became an equal partner with Waters, and was given complete charge of the kitchen, the writing of the menus, and the promotion of the restaurant. The rest, as they say, is history.

SIGNED, INSCRIBED and DATED by Mrs. Maggie P. Cox (Maggie PARKER Field-Cox) on the front free endpaper: "To... / Mrs. Maggie P. Cox / Abilene, Texas / 1936". On the dedication page Mrs. Maggie Parker Field-Cox is listed as one of the Parker Family members associated with this book who are dedicating it to their mother, Mrs. Sallie A. Parker.

FAIR condition: The covers are soiled and have some ink stains; the cloth of the front hinge is split and frayed but the hinge is holding; there is fraying to the edges, corners and spine ends; nonetheless the covers remain solid and the printing bright. Internally, the front inner hinge is split but holding; there are a couple small ink marks to the the endpapers and first few pages; there are a few finger food smudges here and there (presumably from the hands of Jeremiah Tower) otherwise the inner pages remain tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

Was this the cookbook that Jeremiah Tower used to leap to fame? Maybe.

LA COLTIVAZIONE DEL RISO, by Gian Battista Spolverini (aka Giambattista Spolverini).

VERONA (Italy): Dalla Stamperia GIULIARI MDCCXCVI (1796). Fifth edition.

Full Vellum, 4to, 9x12 inches (22x30 cm), Pagination: XVI, 224 pages. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the author. Printed on fine rag paper.

First published in 1758, Spolverini's poem concerning rice and rice cultivation was popular and was printed in no less than 15 editions, this being the fifth. Italy was second only to Spain in its cultivation of rice in Europe. Rice first appeared in Italy in 1468 around Pisa, along the Lombardy plain. Spolverini's poem is considered a major work in the genre of Italian bucolic and didactic poetry. This edition also includes an "Elogio" by Ippolito Pindemonte.

It is said that rice farmers could successfully grow rice using only this book.

VERY GOOD condition: Light wear to vellum; front hinge starting to split at the top, just a little foxing here and there and a few minor instances of worming. A solid, bright, lovely, vellum bound copy of this important Italian work on rice.

Everyone loves Italian rice, especially when it's from 1796!

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This book is will require additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the additional charges and be able to accept or reject them before your payment is processed. Or you can contact us ahead of time to find out the shipping charge to your country. Thanks.

THE NEW PEARL OF GREAT PRICE: A Treatise Concerning the Treasure and Most Precious Stone of the Philosophers. Or the Method and Procedure of this Divine Art; With Observations Drawn From the Works of Arnoldus, Raymondus, Rhasis, Albertus, and Michael Scotus. First Published by Janus Lacinus, the Calabrian, with a Copious Index. By [Petrus Bonus of Ferrar]. Translated into English by the noted occultist Alfred Edward Waite.

Published by James Elliott and Co., London, 1894. First English Edition.

Hardcovers, original brown cloth covered boards with red framing and corner designs on the front and rear boards, a red center design on the front board, and gilt titles and red lining to the spine; 7.5x5 inches (12.5x19cm). Pagination: xi, [1], 441, [1] pages + [2] pages of ads at the rear.

First printing in the English language of this alchemical classic, translated from the Aldine Press Latin edition.

GOOD condition. The cover's cloth covering has some small tears and chips to the spine ends, and there is a bit of wear to the corner tips, otherwise the covers are sturdy, bright and doing their job well. Internally, the inner hinge is split at several places where the book was over-opened, but holding well with the sewn binding; otherwise the pages are just lightly used and still bright, clean and unmarked. A solid, nice, presentable copy.

SCARCE, especially in its original cloth covered covers.

About PETRUS BONUS (from Wikipedia):

******Petrus Bonus was a late medieval alchemist. He is best known for his Precious Pearl (Latin: Margarita Preciosa) or Precious New Pearl (Margarita Preciosa Novella), an influential alchemical text composed sometime between 1330 and 1339. He was said to have been a physician at Ferrara in Italy, causing him to sometimes be known as Petrus Bonus of Ferrara or as Petrus Bonus the Lombard (Petrus Bonus Lombardus). An Introduction to the Divine Art (Introductio in Divinam Chemicae Artem) is also attributed to him. In contrast to other alchemical texts of the same period, Petrus Bonus's alchemy describes an art that is in part natural and in part divine or supernatural.******

About ARTHUR EDWARD WAITE, the Translator and Preface Author:

******Arthur Edward Waite, b.1857 d.1942. Author, mystic, magician, alchemist, and occultist, Arthur Edward Waite is probably best remembered as the co-creator of the popular Rider-Waite TAROT card deck. He was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and was active in both Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry.

Waite joined the Runnymede Lodge of Freemasonry on September 19, 1901, becoming exalted to the degree of Holy Royal Arch on May 1, 1902. That same year he joined the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Joining the Masons and the Rosicrucians was a canny move, as many of his new fraternal brothers had been former critics of his books and positions, and despite the internal haggling and splinter groups within Golden Dawn, Waite assumed the mantle of Grand Master in 1903. Waite's first act as Grand Master was to change the group's name to the Order of the Independent and Rectified Rite.

Waite had been attracted to Theosophical philosophy early on but mistrusted the movement's founder, Madame Helena P. Blavatsky.

Waite is best remembered for the publication of the Rider-Waite deck of the Tarot. It was the first deck to have illustrations for all 78 cards, including the Minor Arcana and the Major Arcana, and for using the drawings to suggest the Divination meanings of the cards. Occultists embraced the deck when it appeared in 1910, and it remains a favorite Tarot deck today. Waite also popularized the 10 card Tarot divination spread entitled Celtic Cross.

Waite died on May 19, 1942. He is buried in the churchyard at Bishopsbourne, where his grave is covered in a tangled growth of the deadly nightshade plant.******