Post-WWII Letter from SHANGHAI Manufacturer trying to Renew Business in S.F. CHINATOWN

1946 TLS from LEE TONG & CO. "MANUFACTURERS & EXPORTERS OF CHINESE THINGS", SHANGHAI, CHINA - to MR. D. S. PUN "CITY OF CHINA", SAN FRANCISCO [Geary Street, CHINATOWN].

Single sheet letter typed on thin paper with letterhead, 8.5x11 inches, hand signed. The letter's envelope is included.

Condition: The letter is in GOOD condition, it has several folds where it was folded to fit into the envelope, and has light signs of handling and age, otherwise it is solid, clear and fully legible. The envelope has a large piece missing from its backside, creases from handling, and is toned, but the typed City of China / San Francisco address and the printed Lee Tong & Co. / Shanghai return address on the front side are bright and clear.

What I find most interesting about the letter is the part where Lee Tong talks about how good business was prior to WWII and how bad things are in China now (1946). He clearly hopes to rebuild his business with the help of U.S. import shops like The City Of China, and that by doing so he will help rebuild China. The full text of the letter, grammatically as written, follows:

********************************************** Shanghai, 5th April, 1946.

Messrs City of China,

440 Grant Avenue,

San Francisco, Calif. U.S.A.

Att. Mr. D. S. Pun

Dear sir,

We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 5th March, which is highly interesting to us; attached herewith our price list, we hope it will meet your requirement.

We have pleasure to take this opportunity to introduce ourself to your goodself that we are the manufacturer of all kinds of embroideries, silk lingeries, robs, coats and also dealing all kinds of lace, linen, needle points, carved wood-war, black wood-ware, china-ware, rugs, antiques and any things Chinese. The writer has been an exporter and manufacturer for about thirty years in above lines. We had many connections in the main city of China. When the time of pre-war we had supplied to many department stores or jobbers in U.S.A. and as well as many other merchants in different countries. Any line which produces in China does not mention in above please do not be hasted to drop us a few lines if you are interesting in. We will be sure to inform you all the particulars by returned mail. For our bank reference we suggest you to enquire Chase Bank, Shanghai.

China was in war for so many years. People in this country are very poor. We need our overseas citizens to give us help to rebuild our country. Of course things are abnormal here, cost of living is so high and commodities are so in shortage that make the merchandise a little bit higher. It is a discouragement for the export business at present. However we hope our government in soon future uses double effort to abolish all our difficulties.

Thanking for your kind letter, hoping for your esteemed order and establishing our cooperation,

Yours very truly,

LEE TONG & CO. LEE TONG (Signed) **********************************************

This small, important archive consists of::

(1) 1816. THE MASONICK MINSTREL, a Selection of Masonick Songs, Duets, Glees...Dedicated to the Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons...by [David Vinton]. Published by HERMAN MANN, DEDHAM, Massachusetts, 1816.

HISTORIC COPY with the ORIGINAL BILL OF SALE SIGNED by the PRINTER / BOOKBINDER / BOOKSELLER, HERMAN MANN, mounted to the rear pastedown, and an ENGRAVED BOOKPLATE of the book's buyer, ISAAC WHITING / DEDHAM, on the front pastedown. (Isaac Whiting, b.1776 Dedham d.1866 Dedham)

LAID-IN is a 1989 TLS from bibliographer RICHARD J. WOLFE to JEROME E. ANDERSON, discussing the book, its binding and the bill of sale: "I would especially like to see the bill of sale..." Richard J. Wolfe, b.1928 d.2017, was the Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Harvard Medical School's Library of Medicine. Jerome E. Anderson, b.1941 d.2023, was a staff member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.

(2) 1811. Two Court Notices of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts dated 1811. One commands the appearance of THOMAS MANN and JACOB MANN, both of Wrentham, regarding debts owed to JOHN WHITING; the other commands the appearance of JACOB MANN regarding debts owed JOHN WHITING and WIFE. Both appearances took place in DEDHAM. 4.5x6.5 and 4.5x8 inches. Printed on one side only

(3) 1810. Metal nameplate of JACOB J. MANN, c. 1810 (date based on other Joseph Mann related items in this lot).

(4) 1804. Two booklets PRINTED by H. MANN, Dedham, 1804. "Lessons for Children, Consisting of Short Catechism..." One copy has the name / place HANNAH T. BLAKE / WRENTHAM clearly written on the inside rear cover along with other of her mostly illegible handwriting.

(5) THREE BOOKS published and printed by HERMAN MANN, DEDHAM. All have the marbled paper covers that Herman Mann was noted for. TRUTH ESPOUSED, Relative to the Difficulties that Existed in the Town Of Manchester, Massachusetts...by Tyler Parsons. 1829. 96 pages. / HISTORICAL ADDRESS, Delivered Before the Citizens of the TOWN OF DEDHAM...by Samuel F. Haven. 79 pages. 1837 / THE COTTAGER'S RETURN with a Preface by the Publisher [Herman Mann]. 68 pages. 1838.

CONDITION: The items are in FAIR to POOR condition:

(1) The MASONIC MINSTREL'S covers are worn, scraped, and warping; the free endpapers, the half-title, and the frontispiece are lacking; the engraved title-page is worn with tears and edge chips; the title-page is torn into several pieces that could be carefully reconstructed; some other pages have tears, chips, missing pieces, etc; foxing and age toning throughout. Nonetheless the volume is textually complete, and is holding together. The associated LETTER FROM BIBLIOGRAPHER RICHARD WOLFE is in Very Good condition.

(2) The TWO COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS COURT ORDERS have several folds and are age toned.

(3) The METAL JACOB J. MANN NAMEPLATE is nice.

(4) The TWO 1804 BOOKLETS printed by Herman Mann with the Hannah Blake and Hannah Chickering associations are in poor condition, covers and pages mostly disbound or becoming so, toning, stains, tears, chips, etc.

(5) The three books published by Herman Mann: AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS...TOWN OF DEDHAM is in POOR condition, lacking the rear cover, front cover detached, lacking spine, several signatures and pages loose.

TRUTH ESPOUSED is in FAIR condition, the front cover is disbound but present and the rear cover is barely hanging on, internally complete with just light toning and a bit of foxing. THE CONSTANT READER is in FAIR condition, the front and rear inner hinges are split, the inner pages are slightly foxed.

NOTE: INCLUDED with this lot is a copy of RICHARD WOLFE'S book THE ROLE of the MANN FAMILY of DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS in the MARBLING OF PAPER in NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA, and in the PRINTING OF MUSIC...and Other BOOKTRADE ACTIVITIES. 1981, 1/500, NEAR FINE condition.

ORIGINAL PINBACK BUTTON created for the November 15, 1969 Protest and March on the US Capital against the war in Vietnam. Organized by The New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (New Mob Comm) / produced by Horn Co., Washington DC / Philadelphia, PA, 1969. Printed in black, blue and white, 2.5" diameter. EXCELLENT CONDITION: a bright, wearable and relevant original piece from the era when protestors voices were heard.

Buttons were essential tools of persuasion in the antiwar movement. They symbolized the visual language of the counterculture in compelling, graphically innovative ways. Coalitions of American antiwar activists formed between 1966 and 1970 to organize large demonstrations in opposition to the Vietnam War. In the earliest major demonstration nearly 100,000 protesters gathered in Washington, DC. By 1970, two-thirds of Americans believed military engagement in Vietnam was a mistake.

End the War, Get Out Now!

ADVERTISING BROADSIDE for the 1925 Hetch Hetchy Water Supply Project, City & County of San Francisco with Map and Scope.

Published by the San Francisco Department of Public Works, Michael O'Shaughnessy, City Engineer, January, 1925. First edition. Single sheet printed on both sides, 8.5" x 11". VERY GOOD CONDITION: stiff vertical and horizontal creases from being folded in half twice, some offsetting from being laid into a book, light signs of wear, age toning and a touch of foxing, overall bright, clean and unmarked. Uncommon.

The Hetch Hetchy Water Supply Project was a massive public works project undertaken by the City of San Francisco. The City needed public support because the public was paying for it. Consisting of a series of dams, reservoirs, tunnels, railroads, aqueducts, and power plants, the Hetch Hetchy project started in 1914 and was ultimately completed in 1934 providing the City and its surrounding areas with a long term gravity driven water supply.

St. John's Bread Wednesday Messenger: Volume I, Number I. November 19, 1969

Quarterly Journal of St. John's Bread Wednesday Messenger and Paranoid Flash Illuminator: [ca. 1970]

TWO ISSUES, published by St. John's Bread Church, Topanga, California, 1969, [1970], first and only printings. Edited by Paul Encimer. Zine, mimeograph, various paper colors, side staple bound, 8.5" x 11", 22 and 38 unnumbered pages. VERY GOOD CONDITION: with a fitting association to City Lights - both issues were originally mailed to City Lights bookstore in San Francisco with stamps, postmarks, address and penned printed matter on the rear covers, otherwise just some light edgewear, age toning, and the rear cover of one is pulling from the staples, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce.

Saint John's Bread Wednesday Messenger and Paranoid Flash Illuminator was one of the most curious counterculture publications of the late 1960s. A scarce primary source illuminating Discordia's hippie origins. An exploration of real and imagined spirituality, cabals, psychedelic drug fueled enlightenment, surrealistic discordia, poetry, fiction, esoteric confusion, comic paradoxical conspiracies, revealing secret knowledge of Discordianism for your perverse entertainment. Issued on multi hued paper printed on mimeograph machines, its ethos inspired the dawning of the zine age.

St. John's Bread publisher Paul Encimer (1938-2021) Discordian name, Dr. Confusion was an early ordained minister of the Universal Life Church. His friend and contributor Kerry Wendell Thornley, Discordian name, Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst was the co-founder of Discordianism and author of Principia Discordia. The first 10 pages of Thornley's poem Illuminati Lady, which Robert Anton Wilson described in Illuminatus! as "an endless epic poem which you really ought to read," is printed herein.

HAIL ERIS! ALL HAIL DISCORDIA!

The Black Riders Liberation Party is a revolutionary descendant of the Oakland born Black Panther Party founded by imprisoned gang members in a Youth Authority college class in 1996. The Black Commune Program is an upgraded version of the original Black Panther Party's Ten Point Platform and Program, which includes the demand for treatment of AIDS patients and an end to capitalists smuggling drugs into Black communities and adds a point on ecological destruction as it relates to the oppressed.

THE BLACK COMMUNE PROGRAM BROADSIDE

Produced by The Black Riders Liberation Party, Oakland, California, no date, circa 2010. Photocopied, white paper, 17" x 11". VERY GOOD CONDITION: stiff vertical and horizontal creases from being folded in half twice, and some crinkles and creases from handling, overall a solid and bright copy of this scarce Oakland Black Riders manifesto.

The Oakland BRLP Chapter was created in 2010 during the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant. Known for their community advocacy work, they gave public presentations on the Black Commune Program and passed out these broadsides at their events between 2010 and 2015 until the Chapter closed.

FOUR ASIAN YELLOW PAGES TELEPHONE BOOKS / BUSINESS DIRECTORIES.

SAN FRANCISCO: Direct Language Publishing / Asian Yellow Pages, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990.

(1) San Francisco Bay Area Asian Yellow Pages 1983/1984. Chinese and Japanese Telephone Yellow Pages, printed together in one book dos-a-dos (i.e. the front cover of the Chinese Yellow Pages is on one side - flip the book over and it is the front cover of the Japanese Yellow Pages). Softcovers, 9x11 inches, 202 and 202 pages.

(2) Asian Yellow Pages - San Francisco Bay Area, 1986-1987. Japanese Edition. Softcovers, 9x11 inches, 384 pages.

(3) Asian Yellow Pages - Serving San Francisco North Bay Area, 1987-1988. (Though the cover suggests the North Bay Area, it seems that most listings and ads are from S.F., Oakland, and the Peninsula.) Softcovers, 9x11 inches, 400 pages, the last 3 being a listing of Japantown Businesses. (I wonder how many of those still exist?)

(4) Asian Yellow Pages in Chinese - Serving Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, August 1990. Softcovers, 8.5x10 inches, 450 pages.

CONDITION of the DIRECTORIES: The 1990 Yellow Pages has "#203" written with black marker on the front cover, otherwise all four volumes are in VERY GOOD condition, just lightly used, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked, with smooth spines. Solid, nice, very presentable copies

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These directories 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.

TWO CHINESE YELLOW PAGES BUSINESS DIRECTORIES for SAN JOSE / THE SOUTH BAY, PENINSULA, and SOUTH ALAMEDA COUNTY.

Chinese yellow pages telephone books for 1992 and 1996-97. Softcovers, 8.25x11 inches, 548 and 900 pages respectively.

Published by Overseas Merchant Company / Chinese Media Group, San Francisco, 1992-1996. First editions.

Condition: The 1992 Directory is in GOOD condition, some creases to the front cover, a 2 inch closed tear to the rear cover, otherwise tight, bright, clean and clear. The 1995-96 directory is in VERY GOOD condition, tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These directories 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.

TWO JAPANESE TELEPHONE DIRECTORIES AND GUIDES for SAN FRANCISCO * BAY AREA * SACRAMENTO * FRESNO * NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

THE JAPANESE TELEPHONE DIRECTORY AND GUIDE for 1989-1990, and for 1992-1993. Softcovers, 8.5x11 inches, 484 and 442 pages respectively. Yellow pages and business directories, with ads and businesses aimed at the Japanese-American communities in Northern California. The 1989-1990 directory has a "RESIDENT SECTION" (pages 269-331) with names and phone numbers (no addresses) of Japanese-Americans in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Marin, Santa Cruz, Solano, Fresno and Madera County, Monterey, Sonoma, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, Alameda, Stanislaus, and San Mateo. The 1992-1993 directory is strictly yellow pages; the resident section was abandoned for some reason.

Published by Japan Publicity, Los Angeles, 1989-1993. First editions.

VERY GOOD condition, a bit of wear to the spines and signs of light handling, overall look and feel barely used, tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Solid, nice, presentable copies.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These directories 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.

THREE VIETNAMESE YELLOW PAGES BUSINESS DIRECTORIES - SERVING THE BAY AREA.

Vietnamese yellow pages telephone books for 1990, 1991-1992, and 1993. Softcovers, 8.5x10.25 inches, 268, 295 and 281 pages respectively.

Published by Direct Language Publishing, Inc. (aka Direct Language, Inc.), San Francisco, 1990-1993. First editions. (Direct Language Publishing, Inc., was a San Francisco start-up publishing company that began circa 1983 and died circa 1994. The Direct Language printed directories are now hard-to-find.)

VERY GOOD condition, some wear to the covers' spine ends and signs of light handling, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. Solid, nice, presentable copies.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: These directories 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.

EGOÏSTE No. 11, 1989. French Photography, Fashion, Art & Style Revue - with Photos of ISABELLE ADJANI by RICHARD AVEDON, Photo Portfolios by GUY BOURDIN and MAN RAY, and Great Ad Photos by BETTINA RHEIMS, KARL LAGERFIELD, and Others

PARIS, France: Cassini, 1989.

Large format, folded pages laid in loosely portfolio style (i.e. no staple or other binding), 167 pages. Filled with photographs, including a portfolio of photos of Isabelle Adjani by Richard Avedon, and illustrated articles including one on David Lynch. Some of the best photographs are the ads, with photos taken by Bettina Rheims, Guy Bourdin, Karl Lagerfield, and others.

GOOD condition, the wrappers have some edge and corner wear including creases with some small closed tears to the bottom front corner; internally nice, the corner tips of some pages are slightly bent, otherwise tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. Overall a bright, presentable copy.

Avedon and Adjani, what a combination!

SECOND BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH 25th Anniversary Souvenir Program (Silver) 1954 - 1979 : The Rev. Charles F. Thomas, Pastor

Black churches were the heart and soul of the Civil Rights Movement. Educating the African American community was essential to furthering the Movement. Second Bethel Missionary Baptist under the leadership of Reverend Charles F. Thomas was an important voice for Oakland's Black experience during a very tumultuous time.

Scarce Souvenir Program, Published by the Second Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, Oakland, California, 1979. First edition. Softcover, illustrated silver paper wraps, side staple bound, 11" x 8.5", 24 pages, illustrated throughout with b&w portraits, photographs, and community advertisements. VERY GOOD CONDITION: corner creasing, light wear from age, overall tight, bright, clean and unmarked. An historic documentation of Oakland's thriving African American Baptist community. Scarce, none in OCLC collections worldwide.

ARCHIVE of ADA CLARK MERRELL, b.1856 d.1934, of RIPON, WISCONSIN (Wife of EDWARD H. MERRELL, second President of Ripon College). COMPILED AND HANDWRITTEN by ADA CLARK MERRELL, circa 1920s - 1950s.

Large, personal, in-depth archive on the genealogy of the Merrill, Clark and Related Families.

Includes 100s of handwritten pages, stuffed scrapbooks, notebooks, letters, etc. An incredibly comprehensive work that must have taken many years to compile and write. The papers and items have been separated into folders, most with an identifying post-it note on the front, likely by a relative or close friend. One post-it note reads; "Genealogy Papers as Found Together in A.C. Merrell's Trunk".

Includes:

Notebook filled with 148 pages of handwritten genealogy on the Clark and related families;

a folder with 25 manuscript pages;

a folder with letters and 25 pages of genealogy information;

a folder with about 54 manuscript pages plus genealogy charts and a Daughters of the American Revolution application;

a folder with 14 letters, 23 manuscript genealogy pages, some programs, and George C. Merrill biographical information;

packet of 20 or so manuscript genealogy papers and documents "found loose in Ada Merrell's Trunk";

more loose papers "found in AC Merrell's trunk" related to the Clark family, and to a Merrell Family Reunion;

a hardcover binder with a post-it title on the front cover that reads: "Ada Clark Merrell's genealogy research - 45 pages mostly handwritten, photos and postcards, DAR documents";

a hardcover binder with a label that reads: "Ada Clark Merrell's genealogy research and some writings, 149 pages plus other items mostly handwritten, a few typed, some clippings".

CONDITION: Lots of flaking to the edges of the old manila folders and some of the more fragile papers, but, with few exceptions, the manuscript pages, letters, documents, etc. are fully legible and in fairly good condition, with expected folds, edgewear, some stains, etc.

PLUS a FIRST EDITION COPY of ADA CLARK MERRELL'S book "LIFE AND POEMS OF CLARISSA TUCKER TRACY". Chicago, R.R. Donnelley & Sons, 1908. Hardcovers, 150 pages. Illustrated. GOOD condition, the title page is pulling from its binding (though still holding well) and there is a small chip to the top edge, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

A TREASURE TROVE OF GENEALOGY researched and written by ADA CLARK MERRILL of the NOTED RIPON, WISCONSIN, MERRELL FAMILY.

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This archive will require additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the charges and be able to accept or reject them before payment is taken. Thanks!

Uncommon vintage LIBRARY POSTER illustrated with all the Dustjackets of the Caldecott Award Winning Children's Books from the Awards inception in 1938 to 1988.

A Pictorial Record of The Caldecott Medal awarded each year for the most distinguished American Picture Book.

Published for schools and libraries by the Treasure Trove Binder, USA, 1988. Poster, paper, printed in color, issued folded, 38" x 25" inches. With text indicating Illustrator, Author, Publisher and Date of Award beneath each dustjacket. Includes information on the Award, Randolph Caldecott, and an image of the Medal at the bottom of the poster. VERY GOOD CONDITION: folded as issued, light wear to the folds, one small closed edge tear on fold, a touch of toning, and a few tiny spots of foxing, overall solid and bright.

BOOKBINDING - Operations performed when binding a book by hand. Method unchanged since the fourteenth century.

A BROADSIDE on BOOKBINDING by ARNO WERNER, BOOKBINDER.

INSCRIBED and INITIALED at the bottom by ARNO WERNER to LYNNE VEATCH: "From me - a.w. / For Lynne Veatch / 6.15.92".

Broadside, printed on heavy stock paper, 15x23 inches.

Printed by Meriden-Stinehour Press, Lunenburg, Vermont, undated, c.1992.

GOOD condition: There is light shorelining to the upper 1/3 of the blank backside of the poster, some of it faintly shows through to the top few inches of the front of the poster, there is also some waviness to the top few inches as a result of the shorelining; otherwise bright and clear.

This is a SCARCE poster, especially so with ARNO WERNER'S INSCRIPTION to LYNNE VEATCH (see Veatchs - Arts of the Book).

The broadside will be safely shipped in a sturdy mailing tube.

About ARNO WERNER (from his New York Times Obituary):

******Arno Werner, a German-born master bookbinder who was credited with keeping the craft alive in the United States, died on July 28, 1995, at his home in Hadlyme, Connecticut. He was 96.

His work, often executed in painstakingly hand-tooled morocco leather, was marked by a sturdy yet elegant simplicity. Until 1982 he was chief bookbinder for rare editions at the Houghton Library at Harvard University. His association with the library went back almost to its opening in 1942. In the catalog of Houghton Library's 1981 Retrospective of Werner's work, James E. Walsh, the keeper of printed books, wrote: "There is scarcely a shelf in the Houghton Library that does not contain one or more pieces of Arno's work."

Arno Werner was born in 1899, in Mylau, Saxony, one of 10 children of a weaver. He was apprenticed to a bookbinder at 13. He came to New York in 1925 with $25 and his tools in a cigar box.******