William Reese Companyamericana • rare books • literature

american art • photography

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1. Adams, Thomas R.: THE AMERICAN CONTROVERSY: A BIBLIO-GRAPHICAL STUDY OF THE BRITISH PAMPHLETS ABOUT THE AMERICAN DISPUTES, 1764 – 1783. Providence & New York. 1980. Two volumes. xxx,536; [8],[537]-1102pp. Original cloth. Fine.

A fundamentally important and exhaustive reference on British pamphlets of the American Revolution era, with collations and notes on first and subsequent edi-tions. With useful appendices on disputes and exchanges, and indices. $120.

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2. Alden, John, and Dennis Landis, editors: EUROPEAN AMERICANA: A CHRONOLOGICAL GUIDE TO WORKS PRINTED IN EUROPE RE-LATING TO THE AMERICAS, 1493 – 1750 [Volumes I – VI]. New York. 1980-1997. Six volumes. Thick quarto. Cloth. As new.

The complete set of this essential reference, finally completed after more than two decades of toil by the staff of the John Carter Brown Library, led by John Alden and Dennis Landis. This is the starting point for researching any pre-1751 European imprints relating to America. The grandest American bibliographical project since Sabin and Evans. You don’t have a reference library if you don’t have this. Volumes I through IV and VI are available at $275 each. $1650.

3. Allodi, Mary: PRINTMAKING IN CANADA. THE EARLIEST VIEWS AND PORTRAITS. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum, 1980. xxviii,244pp. Illus. Text in England and French. Quarto. Pictorial softcover. As new.

An excellent study, with extensive annotations. Contains 104 entries of views and portraits printed in Canada up to 1850. $20.

4. Ayer, Edward E.: NARRATIVES OF CAPTIVITY AMONG THE INDIANS OF NORTH AMERICA. A LIST OF BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS...IN THE EDWARD E. AYER COLLECTION. [bound with:] SUPPLEMENT....[New York. 1991]. 120,49pp. Cloth. As new.

Reprint of the catalogue and supplement of the Ayer collection, still the best reference for Indian captivities. $25.

5. Been, Anita Cavagnaro: ANIMALS & AUTHORS IN THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAS. A HEMISPHERIC LOOK AT THE WRITING OF NATURAL HISTORY. Providence: The John Carter Brown Library, 2004. xxvi,184pp. Profusely illustrated. Quarto. Cloth, gilt. New.

A highly-informed and wide-ranging study of nature writing in the 18th century, covering North and South America, and the West Indies. With a historical over-view, biographies of the leading writers, and fine illustrations. $50.

6. Been, Anita Cavagnaro: ANIMALS & AUTHORS IN THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY AMERICAS. A HEMISPHERIC LOOK AT THE WRITING OF NATURAL HISTORY. Providence: The John Carter Brown Library, 2004. xxvi,184pp. Profusely illustrated. Quarto. Stiff pictorial wrappers. New.

A highly-informed and wide-ranging study of nature writing in the 18th century, covering North and South America, and the West Indies. With a historical over-view, biographies of the leading writers, and fine illustrations. $35.

A Leaf Book of the German Bible in America

7. [Bible in German]: THE GERMAN BIBLE IN AMERICA. WITH 25 ORIGINAL LEAVES. Introduction by Don Yoder. New Haven; Bryn Mawr; New York. 2012. 20; 20pp. text in both English and German, plus twenty-five original leaves tipped into accompanying folders. Large folio. Fine. In a cloth clamshell box.

The German Bible in America has a long and significant history, reflective of the European culture which gave it birth, the local conditions of Pennsylvania, where it rose to its greatest heights, and the rich German-American culture created by emigrants and their descendants in the 19th-century United States. From the first American edition of a Bible in German, in 1743, through the late 19th century, numerous printers and publishers issued Bibles in various formats, ranging from large folios intended for lectern use to smaller versions for personal study. This leaf book celebrates the range and richness of these productions, indicative of the world of German culture in America in the 18th and 19th centuries, as expressed through its most widely studied text, in a series of twenty-five leaves. Each set contains two versions of the descriptive text, one in English and the other in German, with an introduction by Don Yoder, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Folklore and Folk-Life at the University of Pennsylvania. Further text describes the printers of each of the leaves, the circumstances under which they were printed, and other attributes. Each leaf is enclosed in an individual folder.

The German Bible in America is issued in an edition of sixty copies, with fifty of the regular series and ten additional deluxe copies containing six extra leaves of illustrations from the illustrated Bibles included in the collection. This is one of fifty regular copies, numbered by hand. A deluxe issue, with six additional illustrated leaves, is also available for $3500. $1750.

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8. Decker, Peter: PETER DECKER’S CATALOGUES OF AMERICANA.Austin: William Reese Company, 1979. Three volumes. Illustrations. Original cloth. Fine.

Foreword by Archibald Hanna, preface by Peter Decker. This reprints Decker’s catalogues 22 through 50, including some of his best. $85.

A Previously Unavailable Work

9. Dolbeare, Benjamin: A NARRATIVE OF THE CAPTIVITY AND SUF-FERING OF DOLLY WEBSTER AMONG THE CAMANCHE INDIANS IN TEXAS WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE MASSACRE OF JOHN WEBSTER AND HIS PARTY, AS RELATED BY MRS. WEBSTER. New Haven: Yale University Library, 1986. xi,34pp. Cloth-backed boards. As new.

Issued by the Yale Collection of Western Americana, this reprints the only known copy of the Dolly Webster captivity, purchased by Yale in 1985. Thomas Streeter noted the book in his Bibliography of Texas (1453), but had never seen a copy, and reported that Ernest Wessen, the noted midwestern dealer, had looked in vain for a copy for decades. This reprint, with an introduction by George Miles, was printed in an edition of 500 copies by the Meriden Gravure Company, reproduc-ing the original in facsimile.STREETER TEXAS 1453 (ref). $30.

10. Dykes, Jeff: COLLECTING RANGE LIFE LITERATURE. Bryan, Tx. 1982. 20pp. Pictorial wrappers. Fine.

From an edition limited to 535 copies, with thirty-five reserved by the printer, signed by Dykes. $20.

11. Field, Thomas W.: AN ESSAY TOWARDS AN INDIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY. BEING A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS, RELATING TO THE HISTORY, ANTIQUITIES, LANGUAGES, CUSTOMS, RELIGION, WARS, LITERA-TURE, AND ORIGIN OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS, IN THE LIBRARY OF THOMAS W. FIELD. WITH BIBLIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL NOTES.... New Haven: William Reese Company, 1991. x,430pp. Cloth. As new.

Our new edition of Field, with a detailed added introduction about Field and his collection not found in any other edition of the work. A must for every Americana reference shelf. $28.

12. Forbes, David W.: HAWAIIAN NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. 1780 – 1900. VOLUME II. 1831 – 1850. Honolulu & Sydney. 2000. xiv,[2],599pp. Frontis. Illus. Quarto. Green cloth. As new.

This volume covers two decades through 1850, and includes excellent annotated entries for 1031 items. With material on the establishment and recognition of the Hawaiian monarchy. $100.

13. Forbes, David W.: HAWAIIAN NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY 1780 – 1900. VOLUME III. 1851 – 1880. Honolulu & Sydney. 2001. xiv,[2],735pp. including illustrations. Quarto. Green cloth. As new.

The third volume of Forbes’ indispensable bibliography of Hawaii, covering the three decades before 1880. Includes more than 1500 annotated entries, covering the development of the constitutional monarchy on the islands and the growth of sugar as the staple crop. $120.

14. Graff, Everett D.: FIFTY TEXAS RARITIES. Ann Arbor; Austin. 1982. 40pp. plus four illustrations. Original cream printed wrappers. A few small chips to wrappers, minor soiling. Very good.

A reprint of the original 1946 edition, which was issued in a limited edition for an exhibition of holdings of Graff at the Clements Library. A useful Texas refer-ence. $15.

15. Hendricks, Tom, and Will Goetzmann: ABOUT TOWN: A NEW LOOK AT YALE AND NEW HAVEN. [New Haven]: Overland Press, [1977]. [40]pp., including illustrations. Oblong octavo. Original pictorial wrappers. As new.

A colorfully illustrated tour of New Haven and Yale as it was forty years ago, with views of many places and businesses no longer there, as well as many local institutions. One of the first publications of Bill Reese’s Overland Press. $10.

Best Edition

16. Hill, Kenneth E.: THE HILL COLLECTION OF PACIFIC VOYAGES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO. New Haven & Sydney: William Reese Company & Hordern House, 2004. xxiii,[1],792pp. Frontis. Blue cloth. As new.

Second (and best) edition, revised and enlarged, of this essential guide to Pacific voyages. The scope of the Hill collection is large, incorporating not only works of Pacific exploration, but also on the American West and Asia. This edition uni-fies the previous three-volume set into a single volume, numbers the entries, and corrects some problems with collations and descriptions in the first edition. The index has been reworked and made comprehensive, and a chronological index is included as well. The superb notes give clear information about the contents of each work, as well as evaluations of its quality. Additions to the Hill Collection since 1983 have been incorporated. An indispensable work. $50.

17. Howes, Wright: U.S.IANA (1650-1950) A SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY IN WHICH ARE DESCRIBED 11,620 UNCOMMON AND SIGNIFICANT BOOKS RELATING TO THE CONTINENTAL PORTION OF THE UNITED STATES. New York: R.R. Bowker Company for the Newberry Library, [1988]. 652pp. Brown cloth. As new.

Later reprint of the most useful single volume Americana reference. $60.

18. Howgego, Raymond John: [A COMPLETE SET OF THE EncyclopEdia of Exploration]. [Potts Point, New South Wales: Hordern House, 2003-2013]. Five volumes. Quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

A complete set of this important encyclopedia, containing thousands of articles on the history of exploration from early colonization through 1940. Also includes the fifth and final volume on apocryphal and invented travel narratives. An es-sential reference tool for anyone interested in the subject. $495.

19. Howgego, Raymond John: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXPLORATION TO 1800. A COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF EXPLORATION, TRAVEL AND COLONIZA-TION FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE YEAR 1800. [Potts Point, New South Wales: Hordern House, 2003]. xv,[1],1168pp. Thick quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

A fine reference, published by our colleagues at Hordern House in Australia, the first in a multi-volume work. Contains 2327 thorough articles covering the history and literature of world travel, exploration, and colonization from ancient times up to 1800. With bibliographical citations and cross references. A most valuable work. $100.

20. Howgego, Raymond John: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXPLORATION 1800 TO 1850. A COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF EXPLORATION, TRAVEL AND COLONIZATION BETWEEN THE YEARS 1800 AND 1850. [Potts Point, New South Wales: Hordern House, 2004]. xi,[1],690pp. Thick quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

The second volume of this fine and important new reference, published by our colleagues at Hordern House in Australia. Contains 732 thorough articles cover-ing the history and literature of world travel, exploration, and colonization from 1800 to 1850. Especially useful with respect to the American West, the Polar regions, and the Pacific, but covering the entire world. With bibliographical citations and cross references. A most valuable work. $100.

21. Howgego, Raymond John: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXPLORATION 1850 TO 1940. THE OCEANS, ISLANDS AND POLAR REGIONS. A COMPRE-HENSIVE REFERENCE GUIDE TO THE HISTORY AND LITERATURE OF EXPLORATION, TRAVEL AND COLONIZATION IN THE OCEANS, THE ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND AND THE POLAR REGIONS FROM 1850 TO THE EARLY DECADES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.[Potts Point, New South Wales]: Hordern House [2006]. x,724pp. Thick quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

The third volume of this fine and important new reference, published by our col-leagues at Hordern House in Australia. Contains 524 thorough articles covering the history and literature of world travel, exploration, and colonization from 1850 to 1940. This volume has much on the exploration of the polar regions and the oceans. With bibliographical citations and cross references. A most valuable work. $100.

22. Howgego, Raymond John: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EXPLORATION. INVENTED AND APOCRYPHAL NARRATIVES OF TRAVEL. [Potts Point, New South Wales: Hordern House, 2013]. xi,543pp. Quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

A fine new reference, published by our colleagues at Hordern House in Australia, the fifth and final volume in the series. “A comprehensive guide to invented, imaginary, apocryphal and plagiarized narratives of travel by land, sea and air, from the earliest times to the twentieth century.” With bibliographical citations and cross references. A most valuable work. $100.

23. Low, Susanne M.: A GUIDE TO AUDUBON’S Birds of amErica....New Haven & New York: William Reese Company and Donald A. Heald, 2002. [6],384pp. plus numerous illustrations and color insert. Quarto. Cloth. Fine. In pictorial dust jacket.

“A Guide to Audubon’s Birds of AmericA provides a comprehensive yet easily ac-cessible tour through the maze of nomenclature difficulties in Audubon’s great works. A brief historical introduction recounts significant events in Audubon’s life and discusses the techniques used in the creation of the double elephant folio. Detailed descriptions of each print include: the current name of the bird accord-ing to the most recent data...; the name (if any) on Audubon’s original painting...; name of the bird in the octavo and Bien editions; and brief accounts of pertinent historical data” (dust jacket). An essential Audubon reference book. $45.

24. Norman, Haskell F.: ONE HUNDRED BOOKS FAMOUS IN MEDI-CINE. New York: The Grolier Club, 1995. xlii,390,[3]pp. plus plates (some in color). Cloth, leather label. As new. In cloth and paperboard slipcase.

From an edition of 1500 copies printed at the Stinehour Press. The handsome companion to a Grolier Club exhibition of great medical books. Joins a group of other venerable Grolier 100 bibliographical works, including those relating to science and American literature. $250.

25. [Parsons, David]: THE PARSONS COLLECTION. RARE PACIFIC VOY-AGE BOOKS FROM THE COLLECTION OF DAVID PARSONS. PART I DAMPIER TO COOK. [with:] ...PART II LA PEROUSE TO WILKES.Potts Point, Australia: Hordern House, [2005/2006]. Two volumes. Unpaginated. Profusely illustrated. Quarto. Gilt cloth. As new. In dust jackets.

A handsome catalogue of an important collection of Pacific voyages, assembled by the collector David Parsons. Part one contains 138 items covering the period from the late 17th to the late 18th centuries, with much from Anson, Cook, Bougainville, and other important voyages. Part two brings the total number of offerings to 295 and covers the late 18th through the 19th centuries, with a copi-ous offering of “grand voyage” material including La Perouse, Freycinet, Wilkes, Kotzebue, Bligh, Duhaut-Cilly, Portlock, Dixon, etc. With learned descriptions, and destined to be a fundamental reference. $100.

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Revised Edition

26. Reese, William S.: SIX SCORE THE 120 BEST BOOKS ON THE RANGE CATTLE INDUSTRY. New Haven: William Reese Co., 1989. [46] leaves. Cloth and boards. New. In dust jacket.

A revised edition of the proprietor’s youthful production, originally published in 1976 and now long out of print. The new edition features revisions and cor-rections to some entries and additional information to many, as well as a biblio-graphical essay on the literature of the western cattle industry. It is completely reset on a new format, and in every way can accurately lay claim to the descrip-tion of “second, and best, edition.” Booksellers should inquire about discount schedules for multiple copies. $30.

27. Reese, William S.: A HERMAN MELVILLE COLLECTION EXHIB-ITED AT THE BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY...FROM THE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM S. REESE New Haven. 1991. 27pp. Printed wrappers. As new.

The exhibition catalogue of a show mounted for the 100th anniversary of Melville’s death from Reese’s private collection. $10.

28. Reese, William S.: THE RARE BOOK MARKET TODAY. New Haven: Yale University Library, 2000. [2],34pp. Plain stiff wrappers, paper label on front wrapper. Fine.

The text of an address originally given at the annual meeting of the Yale Library Associates in 1999, this essay was intended to follow in the tradition established by Gordon Ray, who wrote three pieces about the American rare book market in 1965, 1974, and 1984. Ray drew on his many acquaintances among collectors, booksellers, librarians, and auctioneers to paint an image of the market at a mo-ment in time, and William Reese tried to do the same in this piece. The address was given again at the John Carter Brown Library in 2000, where it was filmed by C-SPAN 2; this version amazingly continues to pop up on that channel to this day. $10.

29. Reese, William S., and George A. Miles: AMERICA PICTURED TO THE LIFE: ILLUSTRATED WORKS FROM THE PAUL MELLON BE-QUEST. New Haven: Yale University, 2002. x,123,[2]pp. including numerous color illustrations. Frontis. Quarto. Cloth. As new. In dust jacket.

A detailed and engaging visual tour through the illustrated works of the Paul Mellon bequest to the Beinecke Library at Yale University. $50.

30. Reese, William S.: JAMES OTTO LEWIS AND HIS ABORIGINAL PORT FOLIO. New Haven: Overland Press, 2008. 46pp. Quarto. Printed pic-torial wrappers. New.

J.O. Lewis produced the first major color plate book on American Indians, pub-lished in Philadelphia between 1835 and 1838. Lewis, a self-taught artist, based the hand colored lithographs in the book on original paintings done mostly around the Great Lakes in the 1820s. This work provides biographical details on Lewis, as well as examining in detail the somewhat mysterious history of his book, the Aboriginal Port Folio. Extensively illustrated with images from the Port Folio, the present work also provides an ideal plate order for the eighty unnumbered plates found in a complete set. An essential reference work in American color plate books, Western American art, and American Indian iconography. $60.

31. Reps, John W.: VIEWS AND VIEWMAKERS OF URBAN AMERICA LITHOGRAPHS OF TOWNS AND CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA NOTES ON THE ARTISTS AND PUBLISHERS, AND A UNION CATALOG OF THEIR WORK, 1825 – 1925. Columbia, Mo. 1984 [1985}. xvi,570pp. Many illustrations, some in color. Folio. Cloth. Fine, in dust jacket.

Second printing of Reps’ standard reference on the wonderful bird’s-eye views of 19th-century American towns and cities. Contains a lengthy bibliography and index. $125.

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32. Rollins, Philip Ashton: ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DAYS OF MOST COSTLY OVERLAND NARRATIVES. [New Haven]. 1978. [16]pp. Printed wrappers. Fine.

One of 400 copies printed for the Friends of the Yale Western Americana Collec-tion and the Princeton Western Americana Collection, this is a spoof on overland narratives by one of the great collectors of Western Americana, Philip Ashton Rollins. Rollins, Thomas W. Streeter, and Doc O’Brien go West with Edward Eberstadt as a guide. A rare western bibliographical item, and a lot of fun. $15.

33. Schwartz, Seymour I., and Ralph E. Ehrenberg: THE MAPPING OF AMERICA. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1980. 363pp. Profusely illustrated in color and black and white. Large thick oblong quarto. Cloth. As new in dust jacket.

The first edition of this excellent overview of the mapping of America from 1500 to the present. The book has been reprinted, but the illustrations and reproduc-tions in this edition are the clearest and best, and the binding is the sturdiest. $50.

34. [Siebert, Frank T.]: THE FRANK T. SIEBERT LIBRARY OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN AND THE AMERICAN FRONTIER. New York: Sotheby’s, 1999. Two volumes. 370,[1]; 394,[1]pp. including numerous il-lustrations. Quarto. Original maroon cloth. As new.

The auction catalogue of this landmark Americana sale, regarded as the last great sale of the 20th century and the best since the Streeter sale in 1966-69. These two volumes are the catalogues for both parts of the sale, which occurred on May 21 and Oct. 28, 1999. Full of useful information and destined to be a standard reference. $50.

35. Stopka, Christina: WYOMING TERRITORIAL IMPRINTS. Cody, Wy.: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, 1990. xix,90pp. Stiff printed wrappers. As new.

The latest reference to books and pamphlets printed in Wyoming between 1866 and 1890. An important update to the American Imprints Inventory survey done fifty years earlier. $20.

36. Stopka, Christina: 101 SELECTED TITLES. McCRACKEN RESEARCH LIBRARY. Cody, Wy.: Buffalo Bill Historical Center, [1994]: 55,[1]pp. Printed wrappers. Fine.

An annotated bibliography of 101 books in the collection of the McCracken Re-search Library at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. Mostly focusing on books on the history and culture of the American West, along with exploration, the cattle industry, and the American Indian. $12.

37. Wagner, Henry R., Charles L. Camp, and Robert H. Becker: THE PLAINS & THE ROCKIES: A CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EXPLORATION, ADVENTURE AND TRAVEL IN THE AMERICAN WEST 1800 – 1865.San Francisco. 1982. 745pp. Illus. Cloth. Fine.

Fourth edition. Revised, enlarged and edited by Robert H. Becker. The long awaited revision of the premier reference book of Western Americana. The sig-nificance of this new edition lies in its thorough bibliographic treatment of each known issue and edition of each title, giving line-by-line transcriptions of every page and every map, full collations, references and confirmed locations of copies, together with brief editorial comments, and an index of authors, titles and subjects.RITTENHOUSE 610 (ref). $115.

38. [Wagner, Henry R.]: THE PUBLISHED WRITINGS OF HENRY R. WAGNER. New Haven: William Reese Company, 1988. 73pp. Portrait. Cloth. As new.

A bibliography of the works of Henry R. Wagner, one of the greatest collectors and bibliographers in Western Americana. The bibliography of Wagner’s many writings has been prepared by his long-time secretary, Ruth Frey Axe, and lists 193 items, the last being issued in 1987. Each entry is annotated with relevant information, including many trenchant quotes from Wagner himself. In addi-tion, Mrs. Axe has prepared a list of 34 items relating to Wagner, also annotated. Stephen A. Colston of the University of California at San Diego, who has studied Wagner extensively, has written an introduction tracing his history as a bibliog-rapher. Published in an edition of 300 copies, printed by the Shagbark Press and designed by Thomas Whitridge. $35.