Handwritten Index for Basilius Valentinus' "Triumphal Chariot of Antimony". The index was created at the Paracelsus Research Society. The Index is written in two 8x10 inch spiral notebooks filled with lined paper. The pages are written on one side only. The Index has a total of approximately 100 written pages. Laid into the first notebook is a sheet that briefly describes the Index and it's significance, and commends the student from Christchurch, New Zealand, who compiled the Index for the Society. The Index is undated and place unstated, but likely Australia circa 1980 (the "Collins Spirax" notebooks were made in Australia, .

GOOD condition, clean, with writing that is clear and legible.

A unique index to one Basilius Vaentinus's important work on alchemy.

About BASILIUS VALENTINUS (from Wikipedia):

******Basilius Valentinus (English: Basil Valentine), ostensibly a 15th century alchemist, possibly Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Saint Peter in Erfurt, Germany but more likely a pseudonym used by one or several 16th century German authors. Modern scholarship suggests that one author was Thölde, but that others were involved. Thölde published the first five books under Valentinus's name.

Whoever he was, Basilius Valentinus had considerable knowledge of alchemy. The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine is a widely reproduced alchemical book attributed to Valentine, first published in 1599 by Johann Thölde. It contains two parts, the second of which houses the twelve keys. These were accompanied by woodcut engravings from later publications in the early seventeenth century.

The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony was first published in Germany in 1604 under the title Triumph Wagen Antimonii,******

The Patent Wood Box Blacking Songster, circa 1876

Rare unrecorded Songster with song lyrics, illustrated quack medicine and household polishing product advertisements. What makes this piece exceptional is the diabolically racist reconstruction era advertisement for a mousetrap, depicting a caricaturized Black man holding a Catch-Em Alive Mouse Trap with mouse tails dangling from it and on the bottom of his shoe is written 15 Amendment. The 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. Its appearance on the sole of his shoe coupled with the offensive caricature reflects the social and political climate of the Reconstruction era writ large, mocking Blacks newly acquired voting rights highlights the challenging racial dynamics of the time. I could not find another copy of the Songster, the ad, or a trading card depicting the ad.

With the emphasis on blacking polish, and requests for agents to sell their wares, perhaps published by the American Chemical M'F'G Co., Rochester, New York, manufacturers of the Patent Wood Box Stove Blacking Polish Paste for leather, furniture and stoves (cakes of black-leading or graphite-based blacking and polishing paste in a patented, paddle-shaped, wooden box with swivel lid), circa 1876. Lacking its wrappers (4 pages: the front cover, inside front cover, (unnumbered), inside rear cover, and rear cover (numbered pages 29 and 30)), 5.5" x 4.5", 28 pages (of 30), single thread sewn stitched binding. CONDITION: Imperfect, lacking wrappers, edgewear, edge chips, soiling, tearing, toning, creasing, and mouse gnawed at the bottom edge, page 12 containing the racist ad has a 1" closed edge tear, tiny stab hole in the upper margin, mouse gnawing in the lower margin, and age toning but remains solid and bright. Unrecorded and scarce.

A Rare Viewbook of the City of Paris, compiled by the Commercial Club of Paris, Illinois.

Published by the Commercial Club of Paris, Illinois. Printed by Charles A. Lawes & Co., Printers, Chicago. 1904 First and only edition. Oblong, 10.25" x 6.75", brown soft card covers with embossed iridescent gilt titling to front, small printers device to middle of the rear cover, red string tied and staple bound, 72 unnumbered pages (complete as issued, collated with copy held at University of Illinois), handsomely illustrated throughout with 34 pages of black & white photographs including industries, homes, and parkland, displayed within a decorative border. The text describes Paris including specific businesses, cultural and civic institutions. VERY GOOD Condition: light wear and a few small scuffs to the covers, and spinefolds, light top outer corner-tip bump affecting inner pages, spots of light foxing, and light signs of wear, otherwise, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A solid and lovely copy of this scarce viewbook. OCLC records only two copies held, rare book rooms of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and Vigo County Public Library Indiana.

The Commercial Club of Paris, a forerunner to the Chamber of Commerce, was an elite group of successful businessmen and a few women who were actively promoting the economic and cultural development of the city (all of whom are noted at the rear of the book). With this very descriptive 1904 publication they showcase the scenic beauty of the city of Paris and its existing commercial and cultural prosperity, while simultaneously seeking to grow Paris into a leading modern industrial center and a very desirable business and family friendly place to come and live.

An Abstract Of The Title To The Properties Owned Or Claimed By THE VOLCANO GOLD GRAVEL MINING COMPANY In Township No. Three, Amador County, California

Compiled by George I. Wright & Sons and Fontenrose & Fontenrose, Jackson, Amador County, California, March 21, 1907. Hardbound in textured brown cloth two prong binder with red cloth corners, metal clasp, and patterned pastedowns, title handwritten in black and red pen on the front cover, 11.75" x 9", 290 pages of photostatic prints (an early photomechanical process similar to blueprints but printed on a blackground on white paper). VERY GOOD CONDITION: complete as issued, just some light edgewear, toning to page edges, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A scarce mining record, I could not find another copy. From the Winship Estate, a pioneering Marin County family.

The Volcano Gold Gravel Mining Company was a San Francisco company established for the purpose of running a tunnel from Sutter Creek into Volcano Flat, and mining for gold, to separate the gold from the gravel, to acquire mineral lands by purchase or otherwise in Amador County, and to mine such lands, sell and dispose of the same; to dig and acquire ditches and water rights, build viaducts, and sell and dispose of the same, and of water. The records are from 1854 to 1907. They reveal a chronological overview of the historical legal documentation associated with the properties including titles to real property, mining claims, transfers and ownership records. One of the principals in the firm was Isaac Bluxome, noted and notorious San Francisco pioneer who founded of the California National Guard and the Committee of Safety of 1856, better known as the Vigilance Committee.

The Volcano Gold Gravel Mining Company was one of the most extensive gravel mines during the Gold Rush, and hundreds of acres of valuable mining lands were emptied by its enterprises. In the heart of the Motherlode, Amador County's landscape changed considerably from when gold seekers first began to dig into the banks along its rivers and streams in 1848. As the excitement of the California Gold Rush got underway, it didn't take long for miners to discover that gold could be found away from the natural rivers and streambeds. By 1850 miners began to dig into earth and rock to uncover gold imprisoned in deep veins of the quartz rock, mining in dry diggings. Washing the gold required that they dig ditches and build flumes to bring the water to the dry diggings. Within a year, hardrock mining was underway and in 1852 hydraulic mining began. Until the passage of the anti-hydraulic mining laws, one of the first environmental laws to protect the environment .

WILL DISBURSEMENTS & PERSONAL PROPERTY VALUATION related to THE WASHBURN FAMILY of NEW YORK: FRANK S. WASHBURN, b. 1855 d. 1922;

IRENE RUSSELL WASHBURN, b. 1856 d. 1957; ELIZABETH R. WASHBURN, b. 1906 d. (?). Frank S. Washburn, b. 1855 d. 1922 at age 67, founded CYANAMID CORP. in 1907 and was its President and Chairman of the Board. He was a Cornell Graduate, class of 1883. He was a Trustee of Cornell from 1895 to 1902. This Lot Consists of Two Multi Page Legal Documents: (1) IRENE RUSSELL WASHBURN as Trustee of the trust created for ELIZABETH R. WASHBURN under the Last Will and Testament of FRANK S. WASHBURN, deceased. ACCOUNT OF PROCEEDINGS OF TRUSTEE. Carbon typescript in legal paper covers, prepared by Forrest Hyde, Attorney, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. Signed by Elizabeth R. Washburn and Irene Russell Washburn. Also signed by a Westchester County, New York, Notary Public, along with his official bindstamp. 24 pages, carbons, 8.5x12 inches, paper blue lined at the margins, stapled at the top, in a blue paper cover, folded for filing. Contains lots of monetary disbursements, sales and purchases of various stocks and bonds (including lots of Cyanamid Corp), dividends, etc. Dated, where signed by the Washburns, March and April 1936. VERY GOOD condition, some creasing to the edges of the covers, signs of handling to the pages, otherwise a solid document with printing that is bright, clean, clear and fully legible. (2) ESTATE of IRENE RUSSELL WASHBURN. Carbon Copy of a Professional Valuation of the Personal Property of Irene Russell Washburn, taken after her death, and dated January 1957. This piece by piece valuation was undertaken by a Professional Auctioneer retained by the Guaranty Trust Company of New York. 12 pages, carbons, 11x16 inch paper, stapled at the top. The personal property is in sections by room, i.e. LIVING ROOM, KITCHEN, UPSTAIRS FOYER, and sometimes by category, i.e. STERLING SILVER. Only FAIR condition, the paper has browned, some of the carbon typescript is blurred and hard to read, the pages are all tearing and chipping at the bottom blank margin and some at the top margin as well, there are relevant handwritten notes and marks throughout, there are numerous folds where this has been folded into a small size. Nonetheless a complete and interesting inventory valuation of the entire personal property of Irene Russell Washburn at the time of her death in 1957. Dated January 1957, the year of the death of Irene Russell Washburn.

WONDERLAND '98. READ IT THEN PROFIT BY YOUR READING AND GO AS SEE IT. REACHED BY THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY. Text by Olin Wheeler.

ST. PAUL: Northern Pacific Railway / Chas. S. Fee, 1898

Pictorial wrappers with a bare-breasted goddess of fertility, two naked cherubs, and a cornucopia on the front cover, 6.75x9.75 inches (25x17.5 cm), 103, [5] pages. Illustrated throughout with drawings, photographs, and full-page maps.

Promotional publication promoting the Northern Pacific Railway route and the lands and National Parks it crossed. Issued yearly.

GOOD condition: The covers have edge wear, tears and chips to the spine, and a small corner piece missing from near the bottom of the spine, but the front and rear wrapper images remain bright and clear. Internally, there is some professional reinforcement to the inner hinges, making this a solid, well bound copy; the pages are tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

The original 1898 issue of Wonderland '98 with the art-deco bare-breasted fertility goddess cover is quite hard-to-find.