THE BLACK BOOK 1992-1993

Published by Bill Brent, San Francisco, first edition, 1992. Softcover, plastic comb binding, 200 unnumbered pages, illustrated in b&w throughout. Very Good Condition: wear to the covers, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Uncommon.

Rare first issue of this alternative directory for San Francisco's Leather community.

Bill Brent was involved in the Bay Area bisexual, BDSM, Black Leather, radical faerie, and pro sex literary communities in the 1990s. He published The Black Book which is one of the first queer and alternative sexuality directories. A prolific author of sex-positive literature and a member of San Francisco's alternative sexuality communities, he died during the weekend of August 18-19 by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge after a long struggle with depression and chronic pain. He was 52.

Original working 1936 Blueprint Technical Drawing Plan of the Berkeley Aquatic Park and Adjacent Improvements, issued by the City of Berkeley Department of Public Works, Harry Goodridge City Engineer, Plan No. 1640. Scale is 1 inch = 100 feet. This is not the final plan, it is a late stage working plan with Drawer 21 printed in the margins. The blueprint is printed with purple ink on yellow ground, the verso is white and the size is 83.5" inches long by 19.5" inches wide. CONDITION: folded in half lengthwise, then folded 10 times down to a manageable 8" x 10" inches, there are relevant penciled additions, toning at the the folds, some tearing at the centerfold where the folds intersect, signs of light use and wear, and some edge tears, otherwise a legible solid copy of this rare early Berkeley Aquatic Park Plan.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) built the mile long, 100 plus acre Berkeley Aquatic Park on the bay front south of University Avenue between 1935 and 1937. It was created along with the Berkeley Yacht Harbor in a waterfront makeover and was used as a water park for water sports, canoeing, sculling and model yacht racing, the lagoon was largely protected from the wind and offered a unique marine environment for human and sea life. The Park's 1937 opening celebration was called "The Pageant of Land and Sea" and the festivities were shared with The Berkeley Yacht Harbor. The park lies between the freeway (Interstate 80) and the former Southern Pacific Railroad tracks (now Union Pacific). Tidal gates under the freeway keep the water level constant and refresh the basin with water from San Francisco Bay. The aquatic park project grew out of the Eastshore Highway, a feeder road for the new San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, which created a causeway/barrier farther out in the Bay. When the park was built, the lagoon was connected to the San Francisco Bay by eight 24 inch diameter clay and concrete tide tubes running under the highway that allow a regular cleansing action between ocean and inland waters. Aquatic Park and the Bay Shore Freeway (Interstate 80) remain lasting results of the WPA and served to define both West Berkeley's physical boundary and link it to the port cities of Oakland and Richmond.

JACKIE ROBINSON'S POCKET BASEBALL GAME

Published by Advertising Services Division, Inc., New York City, 1950. Offset lithograph on paper board, printed in red, green and black ink, with metallic dials, slide indicators and scoring spools, 6.5" x 4.5" card that folds open to reveal 6.5" x 9" baseball game field. The cover shows Jackie Robinson at the plate waiting for a pitch, the inside shows rotating playing wheel and pointer to indicate innings, balls, strikes, outs, and score for visiting and home teams, and the back cover shows game instructions and Jackie Robinson's facsimile signature. EXCELLENT CONDITION: stored away for 75 years and probably never played, all wheels, arrows and sliders function and move freely, none are seized or bound, just light signs of age, including a bit of light toning to the margins, a touch of rust on the metal dials and light offsetting from the rust. A complete, solid, bright and unmarked copy, very uncommon, especially so in this condition.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson (1919-1972) broke the color barrier and became the first African American athlete in modern history to play for a major league baseball team. Once he slipped on jersey # 42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, he became a civil rights icon and one of the most integral figures in American sports history, Robinson won the National League MVP and Rookie of the Year awards during a 10 year career that led to a first ballot induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. After he retired from baseball, Robinson became more active in the civil rights movement.

Robinson served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War II, he was drafted into military service in 1942 and eventually joined the 761st Tank Battalion, also known as the Black Panthers. He was court-martialed in July 1944 after refusing an order by a driver to move to the back of an Army bus. Robinson was acquitted and coached Army athletics teams until his honorable discharge in November 1944. Robinson remains an icon in MLB and every year on April 15 the league celebrates Jackie Robinson Day, honoring his debut with the Dodgers.

THE HIGGINS OFFICIAL BASEBALL SCORE BOOK - 22 GAMES.

Twelve of twenty-two double-page score sheets have varying degrees of hand scoring of games played by the ROCK GROVE baseball team of Rock Grove, Illinois. The games are for the 1915 Baseball Season. The team played against other teams from Stephenson County, i.e. Davis and Orangeville, and a few games against a team called "Married Men". The score sheets that are filled in completely include team names, players names, where the games were played, and dates the games were played.

Hardcover Baseball Score Book, cloth covered boards, gilt stamping on the front and rear boards, 5x7.5 inches, 22 double page scoring sheets.

GOOD MINUS condition, the cover's cloth is fraying and starting to peel; internally good, the book is complete with all its score sheets and pages of ads, 12 of the 22 score sheets have at least some information, some are only partially filled, some hardly at all, some are written lightly and are hard to read.

This is the earliest extant record of a ROCK GROVE, ILLINOIS baseball game that I can find.

About baseball in ROCK GROVE, ILLINOIS (from various Internet sources):

******Early baseball in Rock Grove, Illinois, involved local rivalries, notably with Orangeville, with a documented game played on June 17, 1915 where Rock Grove played Orangeville, losing 8-2, at a community picnic and Bolender family reunion. This shows baseball was a recognized, organized activity in the community by 1915, fostering local pride and entertainment alongside other town events. - - - - Based on records from 1915, the Rock Grove baseball team (representing the community in Stephenson County, Illinois) played a notable game against Orangeville, Illinois, in a local gathering in 1915. This matchup is part of the local history of Stephenson County, Illinois, involving teams from nearby towns. Orangeville defeated Rock Grove with a score of 8 to 2. - - - - The 1915 gathering "was one of the most enjoyable ever held." It started at 11:00 with an address of welcome made by president George A. Bolender, followed by an address by Rev. William Funkey of the Orangeville Lutheran Church. A large picnic dinner was served at noon with the Bolender band giving a concert afterwards and then selections by a quartet. There was a baseball game at 3:30 between the Orangeville and Rock Grove teams with Orangeville winning 8 to 2.******

NOTE: The June 17, 1915 baseball game between Rock Grove and Orangeville mentioned above is in this Score Book, but the game was not scored, so only team names, place played, date, and Rock Grove players names, are on this score sheet of this game. Still, seeing it hand written in a baseball score book that Rock Grove played Orangeville in 1915 is pretty cool.

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.

STAY IN THE STREETS FREE THE PANTHERS

ORIGINAL PINBACK BUTTON, 1.75" inches in diameter, printed in red, blue and yellow with a graphic Black Power raised fist in the center. No date, circa 1968. Issued by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense to raise funds and support for the legal defense of Party members imprisoned by the state and federal government. EXCELLENT CONDITION: the edge has some tiny light spots of discoloration, the back is oxidized, overall a bright, wearable and relevant original piece from the era when protestors voices were heard.

The Black Panthers were emblematic of the Black Power Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Following the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton formed the Black Panther Party. After Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, the Panthers grew rapidly into a national revolutionary party with over 5,000 members in cities across America.

LEATHER!

Compiled Under the Direction of Avery Willard. Published by Guild Press LTD., Washington, D.C., 1965, first edition. Original illustrated textured wraps, side staple bound, 8.5" x 5.25", 72 pages, illustrated with 64 pages of black and white homoerotic photographs featuring leather, whips, chains, rope, and motorcycles. NEAR FINE CONDITION: tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce, just 9 copies in OCLC collections worldwide.

"Men of Leather," was the first American gay male manifesto of leather Identity, a defining four page essay on leather subculture followed by an archetypal collection of photographs from the 1950s and 1960s from six studios, Chuck Renslow's Kris Studio of Chicago, Avery Willard of New York, Bob Anthony of New York, Scott of London, David of Cleveland, and R. A. Enterprises. Guild Press was a pioneering homomasculine publisher of gay oriented physique magazines in the 1950s. In 1962 Guild won an important legal victory to distribute publications with gay erotic content.

Avery Willard (aka Bruce King) 1921-1999, provocative and groundbreaking New York City artist, photographer, experimental filmmaker, writer, publisher, leatherman, actor, pornographer, publisher, drag historian and gay rights activist. In 1967 he created the classic gay film "Leather Narcissus" starring New York leather icon Fernando, following the Stonewall uprising in Greenwich Village in 1968, under the pen name Bruce King, Willard published "Gay Scene" until 1992. A trailblazer of the queer art movement, Willard produced a lifetime of historically significant work that has remained widely unseen for decades.

HANDWRITTEN DOCUMENTS pertaining to "G" Company, 2nd Regiment, of the National Guard of California, and a Court Martial the Company that involved members of the Regiment.

In San Francisco during the late 1870s there were many militias composed of National Guardsmen, the young men of well known families. These infantry companies were uniformed and armed with rifles. They participated in military parades and as a militia were called to quash civilian rioting stemming from anti Chinese sentiment and labor disputes.

The documents are:

A six page manuscript document written on 8.25 x 12.5 inch lined watermarked paper. The document is titled: "Court-Martial / G Company, Second Regiment, N.G.C." It is addressed to Colonel W. R. Smedburg, President of G. Company. The document contains the findings of the "Court of Inquiry". Based on the findings the Court of Inquiry recommended various disciplinary actions and reprimands. The pages are pinned together at the top by an old pin. [1880].

A two page manuscript letter written in old iron ink on very thin onion skin paper. Dated San Francisco, June 1st 1880. Addressed to Colonel W. R. Smedburg, President "G" Co., 2nd Regt, N.G.C. The letter begins; "The Court Martial - enclosed herewith Findings of the Court of Inquiry, as a result of the first Court Martial of "G" Company..." The letter is signed by L. W. Mix, President, and others.

A one page manuscript letter written by members of "Company G" to the Clerk of the Court of Inquiry, dated May 28th, 1880. The letter is signed by 7 members of G Company. The senders are providing written testimony that they "swear" they did not send the anonymous vulgar letter that seems to be at the heart of the Court Martial.

A one page manuscript letter written on watermarked paper with a printed heading "Headquarters G Company, Second Infantry, N.G.C. / San Francisco". The letter is dated May 11th 1881. The letter requests a furlough be granted for one of the members of Company G. The letter is signed by Capt. L. W. Mix, and others.

An 1880 printed announcement inviting members of Company G to go to San Francisco Armory to participate in Company Drills, etc.

A unique group of documents relating to the early days of the National Guard of California, and the San Francisco based Company G, Second Infantry. William Renwick Smedberg was the commander, he was a Civil War Union Army veteran who was wounded and lost a leg at the Battle of the Wilderness. All the documents are in GOOD to VERY GOOD CONDITION: leaves neatly folded, the onion skin letter has creasing, is tender and the ink is oxidizing but is still fully legible, overall a clean, solid and bright grouping of historic San Francisco Militia ephemera.

Archive of Forensic Criminologist, John Murdock. Longtime Head of the Contra Costa County Crime Laboratory. He was a highly regarded firearm and toolmark examiner.

The archive includes his forensic reports on numerous cases, forensic photographs, early UC Berkeley Graduate School of Criminology reports and theses, and works from his reference library.

Includes:

Murdock's forensic reports and documents on murder cases. Approx. 200 handwritten, printed, and photocopied pages bound in a white 3-ring binder, 2016-2018

1977 Report of Thomas F. Kranz on the Assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, based on a reexamination of forensic evidence. John Murdock / Criminalist is stamped on the front cover. Paper covers, 60 pages.

Items related to the LAPD Ricky Ross murder case in which Murdock was brought in as an outside expert. Includes reprints of original photographs showing bullets and guns along with handwritten descriptive notes, plus photocopied reports, some with Murdock's manuscript notes and yellow highlighting. The items are in a folder.

Thick forensics report on the 1975 murder of a 20 year old male in Port Chicago, Contra Costa County. Manuscript, photocopied, drawings, etc. Bound in a binder. The cover states "W. Patsel - Lab Reports and Notes".

Transcript of a murder trial, sent to Murdock by a defense attorney who asked for Murdock's opinion on the prosecution's forensics report. The transcript is signed by John Murdock and dated 4/22/85.

Twenty-eight original 8x10 photographs of a meth lab. The lab was a complete mess. There are manuscript comments by investigators on a couple of the photos.

TWELVE reports, papers and theses, by John Murdock while a graduate student at UC Berkeley's Dept. of Criminology, 1965-1969. Original typescripts, carbon copies, and photocopies, many signed. Some of the works are: The Individuality of Gun Barrels; Tool Manufacture from a Criminalists Point of View; Empirical Approach to Tool Mark Analysis; The Effect of Crowning on Gun Barrel Individuality; Toolmark and Firearm Individualization as Affected by Manufacturing Methods; etc. Also includes a typescript of a final exam, and a lined notebook filled with manuscript notes.

Manuscript notes and photopied documents from a 1975 FBI class Murdoch attended titled: MICROSCOPY OF HAIR. Approx 200 pages in binder. Includes an original photograph of the class.

TWELVE BOOKS from the forensics library of John Murdock, most with his ownership signature. Includes: Bomb Investigations, National Bomb Data Center, FBI; Methods for the Restoration of Obliterated Serial Numbers; The Bastard Bullet [Kennedy Assassination Forensics]; Shooting Crime Scene Processing and Reconstruction / Seminar; Cartridge Identification / INTERPOL; The Sheriff's Review - Contra Costa County - 1963 and 1972; Chromatography in the Identification of Barbituric Acid Derivatives; Calvin Goddard: A History of Ballistics Identification; Ames On Forgery - Its Detection; and two trade catalogs: BONE CLONES - Osteological Reproductions; LEICA FS C The Next Generation of Forensic Comparison Instruments.

All from the estate of John Murdock.

About JOHN E. MURDOCK (from an online obituary, and elsewhere on the Internet):

******John E. Murdock, b.1938 d.2025, Chief of the Contra Costa County Forensic Services Division (crime laboratory) for many years. An expert firearm and toolmark examiner. Though Murdock worked on many high profile criminal cases, he was most proud of his work on two cases for the Innocence Project, where his expertise helped secure the release of Patrick Pursley (who had spent 25 years in prison) and Bryan Foshay (who had spent 9 years in prison) following their wrongful convictions for murder based on misleading forensic evidence. The Pursley case was the first in the United States to allow post conviction firearms testing.******

INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS NOTE: The archive is heavy &

will be expensive to ship overseas.

Binder of Noted Engineer, HARVEY BIRCHARD TAYLOR. Filled with Blueprints of his (and a couple by members of his team, including Lewis F. Moody) Manuscript Specifications, Calculations, Mathematical Formulas, and Drawings for the DESIGN and BUILDING OF POWER GENERATING HYDRAULIC TURBINES for the NIAGARA FALLS HYDRAULIC POWER COMPANY, Washington Power Company, Great Western Power Company, St Lawrence River Power Company, and others. Some of the hydraulic power turbines were in final stages of construction, others in early theoretical stages.

Undated, but likely 1920s and 1930s.

These detailed engineering specifications of H. BIRCHARD TAYLOR, were created using a blueprint/diazo process wherein all the notes were likely written out on cellophane and then prepared as multiple blueprint sheets. These were perhaps produced as permanent records for H. Birchard Taylor, and others in his team. (Thanks to colleagues for their help determining the printing process.)

Three ring binder, filled with 176 three-hole punched 8.5x11 inch blueprint pages containing manuscript holograph engineering mathematical specifications, etc; illustrated with mathematical equations and drawings. There are also 12 fold-open blueprint drawings. The pages are grouped together by project, concept, etc; each is titled, most are a few pages long. They show the theoretical engineering design formulas that were developed for each project. One of the major projects was for the NIAGARA FALLS HYDRAULIC POWER COMPANY. Though gathered together in titled groups by project, the sheets are all numbered consecutively in the upper corner. There are 176 numbered sheets (though sheets 26 and 27are either misnumbered or lacking, I can't tell which), printed on one side only (the blueprint side), plus 9 laid-in and 3 bound in fold-open blueprints.

CONDITION: The binder's covers have lost their paper overcoat but are holding together kind of like the Terminator after he lost his flesh, the three inner metal rings are working fine; the first blueprint page has a long closed tear, some whitish stains, and shorelining; otherwise the blueprint pages are in generally good condition, bright and clear text, with some water shoreline staining, edgewear, creases, and pulling from the rings, here and there; the laid-in fold-open blueprint drawings have wear and small tears to the edges, shorelining, and some scrapes at the corners.

The works are by H. BIRCHARD TAYLOR, with a couple by others including Lewis F. Moody, those being noted.

Some of the titled works are:

Speed-Horse Power Formula, pages 1-3; Friction Of Rotating Disks, by L.F. Moody, F. Rogers & H.B. Taylor, 4-7; Speed Regulation of Francis Turbines, 8-10; Problems in Regulation, 11-16; Turbines (theory) Francis Formula for Velocity of Flow, 17; Turbines (theory) Formula for Finding AA2 for Radial Discharge, K Not Known, 18; Turbines (theory) Proof that the Path of the Water in the Space Between Distributor and Runner is a Logarithmic Spiral, 19; Turbines (theory) Determination of the Conditions in a Francis Turbine at Various Gates, by L.F. Moody, 20-24; Turbines (theory) Development of the Equation for the Pressure Differences in a Reaction Turbine, 25-28 (pages 26 and 27 are misnumbered or lacking); Turbines (theory) 5500 HP Turbine No. 15 NIAGARA POWER CO., 29; Turbines (theory) 2900 HP Turbines for the NIAGARA FALLS HYDRAULIC POWER AND MANUFACTURING CO., 30-42; Turbines (theory) 13,000 HP Turbines for the Electrical Development Co., 43-48; Turbines (theory) 10,000 HP Turbines for the NIAGARA FALLS HYDRAULIC POWER AND MANUFACTURING CO., 50-69; Turbines (theory) 12000 HP Turbines for the Vermont Marble Company, 70-71...Design of Runners for 3260 HP Turbine for the Washington Water Power Company,112-130; etc. etc.

SCARCE gathering of holograph blueprint engineering specifications, formulas and drawings by a noted American hydraulic engineer. I have never seen one before and doubt I ever will again.

Filled with remembrances, signatures, and drawings, by men and women in post WWI. Most of the remembrances are from 1919, with some later ones being from 1920-1926. Many are from women soldiers in the Q.M.A.A.C, and other British Women's army corps;; and many are from male soldiers in the R.A.S.C. and similar army corps. It was a time of love and death, love lost and love being sought. Many of the signatures come from Curragh (a notorious training camp in Ireland).

There are some lovely and sad drawings and texts, dealing with parting and death. Including a lovely poem by Emily Dickinson with an associated drawing. One "poem" by a woman soldier is very racially offensive, but is the only one that I found..

I'm not sure who this belonged to, possibly Maria Macaulay, but clearly a woman in the Q.M.A.A.C.

Leather covers, 6.5x7 inches (17x18 cm), 60 leaves all with writing and/or drawings, some on both sides of the leaf, some on one side only.

VERY GOOD condition, tight, bright, clean and clear.

A look at post WWI, not from the perspective of battle weary men, but from that of an army woman who, from the tone of the comments in the autograph book, seemed to send soldiers off and bring them home with a friendly female touch.

About the QMAAC (from Wikipedia):

******The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), known as Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC) from 9 April 1918, was the women's corps of the British Army during and immediately after the First World War. It was established in February 1917 and disbanded on 27 September 1921.******

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.

THREE IMPORTANT FRENCH REVOLUTION DOCUMENTS, SIGNED:

(1) EXTRAIT DES REGISTRES DU COMITÉ DE SALUT PUBLIC DE LA CONVENTION NATIONALE...l'an deuxième de la République française une et indivisible... [Extract of the Committee for Public Safety...1793-1794].

Single-fold 4-page document, 8.75x13 inches, printed and manuscript, written on 3 pages (front and inner two pages.

SIGNED by FIVE MEMBERS of the Powerful Committee:

Lazare CARNOT, Jean-Marie COLLOT D'HERBOIS, Jacques-Nicolas BILLAUD-VARENNE, Pierre Louis PRIEUR, and Robert LINDET.

GOOD condition, soiling, toning, edgewear, corner creases and wear, horizontal creases from being folded to a small size; still solid with writing that is bright and legible throughout. Brilliant signatures.

(2) LÉGION D'HONNEUR / Paris, 1814

À MONSIEUR LIEUTENANT GÉNÉRAL COMTE BELLIARD, GRAND CORDON DE LA LÉGION D'HONNEUR.

Official document awarding the Legion of Honor Grand Cross to Lieutenant General COUNT BELLIARD. SIGNED illegibly. Paper document, 7.5x12 inches oblong, printed and manuscript on one side only.

GOOD condition: some creasing, soiling and toning, still solid, bright and clear.

The Grand Cordon of the Legion of Honor, aka the Grand Cross, is the highest award that France can bestow upon a citizen.

(3) REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE / DEPARTEMENT DE LA GUERRE...l'an 10 de la République française une et indivisible [1801-1802].

MANUSCRIPT LETTER on official MINISTER OF THE WAR letterhead, SIGNED by ALEXANDRE BERTHIER, the Minister of War, to his brother GENERAL LEOPOLD BERTHIER.

Single-fold 4-page document, 8.5x12 inches, printed and manuscript, letter written on the front page, addressee information on the back of the last page.

FAIR condition, the single-fold document is completely split at the fold, there is soiling, toning, edgewear, corner creases and wear, and horizontal creases from being folded to a small size; still complete (though split) with writing that is bright and legible throughout.

********************************** About the French Revolution SIGNERS of these documents (from Wikipedia):

JEAN-MARIE COLLOT D'HERBOIS aka "The Butcher of Lyon", b.1749 d.1796, was a French revolutionary. He was a member of the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror, and was responsible for the execution of more than 2,000 people in the city of Lyon.

LAZARE CARNOT, b.1753 d.1823, was a French mathematician, physicist, politician and a leading member of the Committee of Public Safety during the French Revolution.

JACQUES-NICOLAS BILLAUD-VARENNE, b.1756 d.1819, aka "The Tiger", was a French lawyer and a major figure in the French Revolution. He was one of the most militant members of the Committee of Public Safety, and is considered a key architect of the REIGN OF TERROR.

PIERRE LOUIS PRIEUR, b.1756 d.1827, was a French lawyer. During the French Revolution he served as a member of the Committee of Public Safety. He voted for the death of King Louis XVI.

JEAN-BAPTISTE ROBERT LINDET, b.1746 d.1825, was a French politician of the Revolutionary period. Lindet refused to sign the order for the execution of Danton and members of his party. When asked why, he replied: "I am here to protect citizens, and not to murder them".

AUGUSTIN DANIEL BELLIARD / COMTE BELLIARD, b.1769 d.1832 in Brussels, was a French general who was awarded the Grand Cordon [Grand Cross) of the Legion of Honor (Highest Order of the Legion of Honour) in 1814. Louis XVIII awarded him the title Peer of France.

LOUIS-ALEXANDRE ALEXANDRE BERTHIER, b.1753 d.1815, was a French military commander during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minister of War and served as chief of staff to Napoleon Bonaparte. Berthier died by either suicide or murder shortly before the Battle of Waterloo.

VICTOR LÉOPOLD BERTHIER, b.1770 d.1807, was a French general of the Revolution and Empire. His brother was Louis-Alexandre Alexandre Berthier.

THE CHRISTMAS THINGY - ORIGINAL ART by ALAN CLARK, SIGNED & FRAMED.

Alan M. Clark was the Illustrator for the children's book THE CHRISTMAS THINGY by F. Paul Wilson. This is an ORIGINAL ARTWORK by Alan Clark. It pictures the THINGY holding a bunch of Christmas presents. The artwork is signed with Clark's typical monogram signature "AC" at the bottom left corner.

The image measures 4.5 square inches, the frame 11.25 square inches.

Both the frame and art are in FINE condition.

This auction is for the framed piece of Original Art by Alan Clark based on his illustrations for the children's book The Christmas Thingy. It does not include the book.

Alan M. Clark is an American artist and book illustrator. He has won many awards for his illustrations.

Chinese American Artist John Way was a pioneer of mid twentieth century Chinese Abstraction. This is a scarce exhibition catalogue from early in Way's career where he found the essence of his style at the crossroads of east and west. There are no examples of this publication in OCLC collections worldwide.

JOHN WAY

Published by Joan Peterson Gallery, Boston to accompany Way's solo exhibition. Printed by The Juvenile Press, Taipei, Taiwan, 1967. First and only printing. Softcover, Chinese stab binding, bound with white silk string, 10.25" x 6", 9 folded leaves of thin paper printed on one side only, front cover is an original lithograph on textured Chinese calligraphy paper. Text includes artist statement, previous exhibitions, and reproduced reviews from various publications. Only the cover is illustrated. GOOD CONDITION: complete as issued. There is a shoreline stain in the upper corner affecting all the pages except the front cover, and light edge and corner wear, otherwise bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce.

"I am searching / for an art form / which shows / the feeling of / powerfulness and subtlety, / the infusion of controlled /and uncontrolled images, / and / the sensations of / order and disorder, / perfection from imperfection." -- John Way 1967.

John Way [Wei Letang] (Chinese/American, 1921-2012) Born in Shanghai, Wei started his artistic studies under the great calligrapher Li Jian (1881-1956). He immigrated to the U.S. in 1956 and studied architecture at M.I.T., he worked in the Boston area until moving to San Francisco in the 1990s. Inspired by both traditional Chinese calligraphy and Abstract Expressionist painting, his work evokes the large gestural work of Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline. His artworks are widely exhibited, including a solo exhibition at the Shanghai Art Museum.

The Joan Peterson Gallery was an art gallery in Boston. Peterson was one of the most prominent art dealers in Boston from the late 1950s into the early 1980s. Her gallery showed the work of leading regional modernists. It closed in 1981.

MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT BY RALPH HEATHCOTE "Certificate of Mr. Maxwell's Marriage". SIGNED by Ralph Heathcote in his role as Minister Plenipotentiary, officiating the marriage of Edward Maxwell and Frances Herbert.

Dated "6th day of September, 1791".

One page, folio, 8x12.5 inches, with conjugate blanks. There is an official red wax seal. Backside has "Certificate of Mr. Maxwell's Marriage". Paper is watermarked with a large heraldic image and "Vorster & Zoonen".

The marriage appears to have taken place in Germany, with Bonn, Hesse-Cassel, and Cologne all being mentioned. But the marriage was between two Irish citizens.

The document reads in part: "I Ralph Heathcote, Minister Plenipotentiary of His Brittanic Majesty to the Courts of the Elector of Cologne, and to the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel do hereby certify that EDWARD MAXWEll, of Finnebrogue, of the County of Down in Ireland, and Frances Herbert, Daughter of the late Rev. Robert Herbert of Dublin..."

Written and Signed by Heathcote. Also signed by six witnesses.

GOOD condition, numerous folds where likely folded to fit into a small envelope, some light foxing, a few corner creases, overall solid and bright.

An interesting genealogical document, handwritten on paper with unusual watermarks.

About RALPH HEATHCOTE (from Wikipedia):

******Ralph Heatchote, b.1721 d.1765. In 1748 Heathcote became curate of St Margaret's Church, Leicester, and vicar of Barkby in 1749. He moved in June 1753 to London, where he associated with John Jortin, Thomas Birch, Matthew Maty, and others, who met once a week to drink coffee and talk learnedly.

In 1746 Heathcote published a Latin dissertation on the history of astronomy, Historia Astronomiæ sive de ortu et progressu astronomiæ. He produced two pamphlets anonymously: Cursory Animadversions on the Controversy in General (1752), and Remarks upon a Charge by Dr. Chapman (1752); and in the following year wrote a reply to Thomas Fothergill's sermon on the uses of commemorating King Charles I's martyrdom. In 1755 he wrote a controversial work: A Sketch of Lord Bolingbroke's Philosophy. In 1761, he became one of the main writers in the Biographical Dictionary of 1761.

In 1767, Heathcote published an anonymous letter to Horace Walpole on the dispute between David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which was attributed to Walpole himself. In 1771, he published anonymously The Irenarch, or Justice of the Peace's Manual; the third edition bore the author's name. The second and third editions have a long dedication to Lord Mansfield. In 1786, he produced a miscellany of anecdotes and dissertations, Sylva.

In August 1750 Heathcote married Margaret Mompesson, a descendant of William Mompesson of Eyam, and attained financial independence.******

LE FROU-FROU. Paris Journal of Humor and Light Eroticism. 25 issues, #80-150, Avril 1902 through Octobre 1902, including their "Contes Inedits" inserts, all bound together in a contemporary, embossed Simplex Binder. Includes the rare title page to this collection with its embossed gilt Frou-Frou illustration, the statement "1902 2e Semestre" (the second half of 1902), and the price of "6 francs".

Text in French, the humorous and risqué drawings speak for themselves in all languages.

GOOD Condition: The binder has some rubs, scrapes to the folds, and a couple white marks, but is solid and attractive; internally, the issues and pages are toned as normal, otherwise bright, clean and unmarked.

A nice set, includes drawings unique to this publication by some noted French artists of the day.

About LE FROU-FROU (from various Internet sources):

******LE FROU-FROU was a French magazine published from 1900 until the beginning of WWI. It was known for its humorous and risqué content, including illustrations of can-can dancers, cartoons, and humorous anecdotes of Parisian life.******