Important, Rare, Handwritten Letter by JOHN HORTON SLAUGHTER (aka TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER, SHERIFF SLAUGHTER, JOHN H. SLAUGHTER), written in 1859 when he was only 18 years old. Single Page Handwritten Letter, single sheet, light blue laid paper with a nickel size blind embossed emblem at the upper right corner, approximately 7.75 x 12 inches. GOOD condition, several folds where the letter was probably folded to fit into a small envelope (NO envelope is present), very small holes where a couple folds intersect, a few ink stains on the blank back side, otherwise solid with writing that is fully legible. Folded is how the letter was preserved and is its normal state. The letter was written to John H. Slaughter's 22 year old friend and trusted horse selling partner JOHN B. LINDSEY, of Frankfort, Kentucky. (The Lindsey / Lindsay family is an old and prominent Kentucky family, as are its relations.) The contents of the letter seem to indicate a familial relationship of some sort between the Slaughter and Lindsey family lines. This pre Civil War letter written at the age of 18 is by far the earliest letter of JOHN HORTON SLAUGHTER that I have seen. It gives a glimpse of his life and ambitions that have rarely, if ever, been recorded. The letter reads in great part: "(??) August 24, 1859. / Dear John / Yours of the 8th has been received and the draft for $500 which was very acceptable. You say you have not heard from me in a long time. I answered your other letter acknowledging the receipt of the other draft & your Aunt also wrote in it making a long letter. I hope you have received it before this in that I left all the matter of collections to your own judgement as I do in this need the money, but I can get along (as I?) have raised a small crop of cotton & I have some cattle & young horses to sell if I could meet with a purchaser. You say your state has gone for the Democrats. You had better quit it and come to Texas, it has gone the opposition ticket. Houston is elected by a large majority. Your relations are all well as usual except (?) who has been quite sick but she is now on the mend... the rest of our family is as well as usual... We don't know (what) you do to stand it in Ky. You must suffer very much. Remember me to all./

Yours Truly, John H. Slaughter." This letter was acquired in Northern California from the estate of a member of (per the estate listing): "a very prominent Southern family, offering... pre-and post-Civil War ephemera (letters and documents)..." Most of the interesting old documents I found related to the LINDSEY FAMILY of FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY, including many documents and letters of JOHN B. LINDSEY (born July 4, 1837, Frankfort, KY, died 1922, Frankfort, KY), among which was this letter. I also acquired an unpublished autobiography by Edwin S. Lindsey, the Grandson of John B. Lindsey. There is a paragraph on page 3 where he writes: "When he was a young man, Grandfather Lindsey had tuberculosis, the dreaded Great White Plague of that age. He went to Texas for better climate and was a horse trader, buying horses in Mexico and selling them in the U.S. West. Those were the wild days of the West, and many were his adventures, which will have to be omitted now. He recovered his health and returned to Frankfort, where he practiced law very successfully till he retired at the age of eighty four". This paragraph matches perfectly with the Slaughterhouse letter urging the young John Lindsey to leave Kentucky and join him in Texas. About JOHN HORTON SLAUGHTER (excerpted from Wikipedia): "John Horton Slaughter, b. 1841 d. 1922, also known as Texas John Slaughter, was an American lawman, cowboy, poker player and rancher in the Southwestern United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After serving in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, Slaughter earned a reputation fighting hostile Indians and Mexican and American outlaws in the Arizona and New Mexico territories."

SOME COUSINS OF THE GREAT WAR, April 3rd, 1917 - November 11th, 1918. Compiled by EVA TURNER CLARK. Self-Published, Self-Bound, New York, 1920. Printed on fine rag paper with deckled edges, watermarked "Berkshire Text", paper produced by the American Writing Paper Co., of Holyoke, Massachusetts (founded in 1899). Wrappers / softcovers, brown paper covers printed with a title on the front cover. There are 32 leaves (sheets) of 8" x 11" paper, 2-hole punched at the left margin, bound with a single staple in middle of the left edge and with a cord through the two holes that binds the inner pages to the plain brown card covers. Inner pages consist of a Title Page, a Foreword by Eva Turner Clark, an Appendix, and 12 pages with a tipped-on photographic plate facing 12 pages of a biographical description of the soldier being pictured (i.e. there are TWELVE "Cousins of the Great War", each with a tipped-on photo on one page with their description on the facing page). The backsides of most pages are blank, and a number of leaves are entirely blank. The cousins, all related to the author Eva Turner Clark, are: Randolph William Apperson, Austin William Clark, Edward Hardy Clark, Henry Burrow Clark, Morris Richard Clark, Joseph Marshall Flint, Richard Clark Kroeger, Randolph Clark Mayfield, Howard Gray Park, Paul Everton Peabody, John Thomas Whitmire, and Anvil Clark Williams. Condition: Covers are chipped especially at their top edges, worn along all the edges and peeling at the spine ends, nonetheless they are present, original, and still bound well to the inner pages. Internally, one sheet has a 1" closed edge tear, otherwise all the leaves are very good, bright, clean and unmarked. All the tipped-in photographic plates are bright and clear. An attractive, original, complete copy. This ORIGINAL 1820 SELF-PUBLISHED BOOK / DOCUMENT is SCARCE.

An erotic letter titled A SOLDIERS DREAM, written by Pvt Harlan E. Feyler, ASN 312677964, 83rd Airdrome sqd, Hunter Field, Georgia. Hand typed on fragile onion skin paper, one page. Sent from Hunter Field, Georgia, before his deployment, circa 1943.

The soldier dreams of having sex with a woman, presumably his young wife. Explicit but innocent. Sad because the young Private was on his way to war, not into a woman's arms.

Feyler enlisted on March 15, 1943 at the age of 19. His "Dream" was likely typed by him at Hunter Field, Georgia, not long after he enlisted.

The name Harlan E. Feyler is on the Wolfeboro New Hampshire World War II Veterans Honor Roll and engraved on its World War II Memorial Plaque. He is buried at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen, Merrimack County, New Hampshire.

A happy ending. His gravestone shows that Private Harlan E. Feyler survived World War II and achieved the rank of Corporal. He went back to a life-long marriage with his wife, Louise. His wife is buried with him in the same plot. Engraved on their gravestone: "Harlan E. Feyler / Cpl US Army / b.1924 d.2005 // Louise Feyler / b.1925 d.2010 / UNITED IN LOVE FOR ETERNITY".

Condition: FRAGILE onion skin paper, toned with age, tender at the multiple folds, some splitting at the folds, edge wear, some edge chips, corner creases, small holes where the folds intersect. Definitely shows its age, but fully legible. Quite bittersweet. Should be carefully mounted and framed. Please handle with care.

1955 ANNUAL REPORT of NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION, INC.

Paper covers, side stapled, 8.5x11 inches, 36 pages.

See the Military Industrial Complex at Work!!! Jets, Missiles, Atomic Power.

GOOD condition, shelf rubbing and light soiling to the covers, else tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

One of the earlier Annual Reports related to Boeing that I have seen.

About NORTH AMERICAN AVIATION (from Wikipedia):

******North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo command and service module, the second stage of the Saturn V rocket, the Space Shuttle orbiter and the B-1 Lancer.

Through a series of mergers and sales, North American Aviation became part of North American Rockwell, which later became Rockwell International and is now part of Boeing.******

CLOSE SUPPORT and SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT PRODUCT LINE. Produced by GENERAL DYNAMICS / CONVAIR. Produced for presentation to the USAF in the hopes of achieving a major government contract. Dates generally refer to 1964-1966, i.e. when proposals were made to various USAF officers, when various aircraft would go into production, etc. 43 printed sheets stapled together at their upper corner, printed on one side only, includes photos and diagrams of military aircraft and proposed military aircraft, timeline for building and delivering various Convair military aircraft, drawings showing Mission Capabilities of various aircraft, schematics showing Combat Effectiveness, Attack Procedures, and Mission Cost Effectiveness, etc. Rare and Scary. Convair really wanted to make a lot of money off the Vietnam War and were hoping that the USAF officers would give them the green light. A true Military Industrial Complex document. VERY GOOD condition, sheets lightly age toned, staple rusted, a few light page creases from handling, overall bright, clean, clear and unmarked. SCARCE. The only copy I have or have ever seen.

Ephemera of

CAPT. CURTIS A. THOR, U.S. AIR FORCE re: AIR TRANSPORT, GUAM, VIETNAM, with the largest folder of documents coming from 1965 and 1966 while he was STATION TRAFFIC OFFICER at ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM, during the time of the VIETNAM WAR. All the items are in generally GOOD condition, with general signs of handling and wear, still bright and clean. The materials are: (1) A paper written by Capt. Curtis titled: INTERIOR CLEANING OF TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT, A STAFF STUDY. Written for the 1608th Air Terminal Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. Six typed pages with hand corrections throughout. There is a handwritten critique of the paper on the back of the last page, apparently written by a supervisor. Bound in a student type paper folder. Dated 2 November 1959. (2) A THESIS by Captain Curtis A. Thor titled: AEROSPACE THESIS : CAPSULE EJECTION FROM SUPERSONIC AIRCRAFT. Written at the Squadron Officer School. Six typed pages plus a bibliography and title page, bound in a student type paper folder. Dated 1 December 1959. (3) Booklet published by the DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE titled INFORMATION ON VIETNAM FOR AIR FORCE PERSONNEL. AFP 216-9. Dated 17 July 1967. 26 pages. (4) Folder filled with numerous documents written for distribution to the 1507TH SUPPORT SQUADRON, ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, GUAM. All the documents are dated in 1965 and 1966. Many of the documents were written by CAPTAIN CURTIS A. THOR, Station Traffic Officer, with a few by MAJOR LLOYD W. JOHNSTON, Station Traffic Officer. Each document is paginated separately, approximately 150 pages.

1968-1970 SIX LETTERS from ADMIRAL THOMAS H. MOORER, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS, to JAMES S. COPLEY, Publisher of a group of papers including the SAN DIEGO UNION, re: COPLEY MEDIA'S SUPPORT of THE MILITARY and U.S. CONSERVATIVE NATIONALISM. All the letters are personal and friendly, obviously the two men are friends, equally obvious is that the Very Conservative Admiral is courting the Copley Media through this friendship. The letters are all on official CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS stationery of various sizes (3 are 7x8.5 inches, 2 are 7.5x10.5 inches, 1 is 6x7.5 inches). The letters are all typed and hand signed.

The letters reference a couple of notable events, THE PUEBLO CRISIS and INVESTIGATION, and Moorer's nomination by President Nixon to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (a position Moorer held from 1970 to 1974). The letters are dated from 12 JUN 1968 to 14 MAY 1970. Some excerpts: "Once again the Navy owes you and your fine publications a commendation for the considerate and highly responsible manner in which you have reported the entire PUEBLO AFFAIR. Your editorial treatment has been distinguished from the beginning by sympathetic and sensitive understanding". "Too often, other news media around the nation have damaged the Navy or our men by implication or innuendo. Our job would be much less complicated if some in the news media field would follow the responsible example you have set in this matter." "The Country is indeed fortunate that someone in your position is so well aware of the dangers facing us in the years ahead... I assure you that I will do my best in the years ahead and will take advantage of your offer of help." "I appreciate the kind sentiments... incident to my recent nomination by PRESIDENT NIXON to become the next CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF... Warmest personal regards... would enjoy seeing you here in Washington." CONDITION: The letters all have folds from where they were folded to fit into envelopes (envelopes not present), and some light signs of handling, otherwise bright, clean and clear. SCARCE Group of Six Letters showing a MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL FRIENDSHIP between a CONSERVATIVE CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS and a NATIONALISTIC MEDIA MOGUL. Beware the Military Media Complex! About Thomas Hinman Moorer (excerpted from Wikipedia): ******Thomas Hinman Moorer (b. 1912 d. 2004) was an ADMIRAL in the UNITED STATES NAVY who served as CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS from 1967 to 1970, and as CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF from 1970 to 1974.****** About James S. Copley (excerpted from Wikipedia): ******James Strohn Copley (b. 1916 d. 1973) was a newspaper publisher. He published the San Diego Union, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and the San Diego Evening Tribune, from 1947 until his death in 1973. His politics were unabashedly conservative, Republican and Nationalist. He had close associations with leading Republicans of the era, including Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon. He strongly supported the U.S. Military and its involvement in Vietnam, and was reportedly, according to Carl Bernstein, in secret cooperation with the CIA.******

Two Issues ARCHIV FÜR KRIMINOLOGIE. (Kriminalanthropolpgie und Kriminalistik). Herausgegeben von ROBERT HEINDL. Band 113 und 114, 1943 and 1944. Published by Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1943 and 1944. Text in German. Booklets / Journals, paper covers, 6" x 9", approximately 50 pages each. Illustrated with some b&w photographic plates. GOOD MINUS condition, the covers have some soiling, light staining, toning, and edge chipping; the spine coverings are splitting at the folds and peeling at their ends, but have been neatly repaired / reinforced with clear tape; there is foxing to the page edges and to the first and last few pages of each issue, especially heavy on the last few pages of issue 114; otherwise both issues are complete in their original wrappers, with pages that remain bright, clear and unmarked. ROBERT HEINDL (1883-1958) was a noted German criminologist. He introduced FINGERPRINTING in GERMANY as a valid identification technique.

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.

WE WERE THERE... WORLD WAR II : THE MILWAUKEE JEWISH EXPERIENCE. A book of photographs with accompanying brief WWII narratives by and about Milwaukee Jews who served in World War II. Published by the Milwaukee Jewish Archives / Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Wisconsin, 1996. Presumed first edition. Softcovers, metal spiral bound, 8.5x11.5 inches oblong, approximately 80 unnumbered pages containing about 300 brief accounts of Milwaukee Jews that served in WWII. GOOD condition. Metal spirals have rusted, covers show some creases and wear, the last page has some light creases, otherwise tight, bright, clean and unmarked. A solid, presentable copy. From the Introduction: "As part of the 1995 commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Milwaukee Jewish Archives created an exhibit which highlighted participation of Milwaukee Jews in the war... Hundreds of people viewed the exhibit throughout the summer... Many people suggested that we preserve this extremely successful exhibit by creating a book which would contain the photos, narratives, and some of the other materials that were on display over the summer... We hope this book has as much meaning for you as it does for all the people who submitted their precious memories. This was truly a labor of love on the part of nearly 300 authors who wrote the stories inside this very special collection of Jewish remembrances." Rare, I have never seen another copy.

WAR AND THE HOLOCAUST, by ILLAN PALAT.

TEXT IN RUSSIAN, except for an 8 page section in English.

Self published, San Francisco, 2004. Printed by Anzori Printing.

Softcovers, 8.5x11 inches, 211 pages. Illustrated with some b&w photographs.

VERY GOOD condition, just lightly used, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked.

About the author ILLAN PALAT (from the BLAVATNIK ARCHIVE website):

******Illan Palat was born on April 10, 1924, in Ukraine. When he was three, his family had their property confiscated and was forced to move to the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. They lived and worked in Birofeld, a local kolkhoz, until Palat's father learned accounting and relocated his family to Birobidzhan. Palat was drafted in October 1942, underwent infantry training, and was sent to the front. His first combat experience was in the Battle of Kursk, where he fought on the front line in a 45mm anti-tank artillery unit. The battles were brutal, and Palat's unit suffered heavy losses. There were intermittent shortages of food and water, but there was also a strong sense of camaraderie among all soldiers, regardless of their backgrounds. In late 1943, Palat was severely wounded in the leg; he was saved by another solider, who carried him off the battlefield and into a local house. After eight months of hospitalization and multiple surgeries, Palat returned to Birobidzhan on crutches. Of the forty-three young men who were drafted from Birobidzhan with him, only two would come back. After demobilization, Palat worked as a watchmaker in Birobidzhan, until doctors advised him to move to a warmer climate because of his wound. In 1947, Palat moved to Tbilisi, Georgia, where he worked in construction. In 1977, he moved to United States and lived in New York and San Francisco. In addition to working as a contractor, he wrote the books A SOLDIER FROM BIROBIDZHAN and THE WAR AND THE HOLOCAUST.******