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[Hubbard, J. R. & Chester, W. T.].

Celebrated Horses of America [spine and cover title] [actual title from wrappers (not present) for original parts: “The Celebrated Horses of America. From paintings by the best artists. In ten parts.”]

[Boston: C.S.E. Cassino & E. K. Dunbar; Armstrong & Co., lith., 1881-1882]. Large oblong folio (19” x 24”), original three-quarters pebbled black morocco with brown cloth, gilt-stamped title and floral sprays on spine, gilt-stamped title on front cover. 24 leaves of letterpress, 24 chromolithographs, 10 3/4” x 14 3/4”, mounted on larger stiff leaves. Bookplate of William S. Reese (“Ex W.S.R. Libris”) on front paste-down. CONDITION: Generally very good, a few plates with light residue of paper stuck to image (this could be removed) two plates with minor repairs, one with some in-painting to loss at top edge, not affecting main portion of image.

An exceptionally rare color-plate folio of American racehorses, with handsome chromolithographs based on paintings by Henry Stull, Edwin Forbes, Scott Leighton, Harry Hall, and Maurice Scanlan.

The horses portrayed include Volunteer, St. Julien, Parole, Ten Broeck, Maud S., Harold, Luke Blackburn, Nevada, Daniel Lambert, Smuggler, Leamington, Bonnie Scotland, Iroquois, Foxhall, Almont, Piedmont, Santa Claus, Messenger Duroc, Hindoo, Thora, Clingstone, Captain Lewis, Edwin Thorne, and Black Cloud. Some are shown in their stalls, others on the race course mounted by colorfully dressed jockeys, or standing in a field either alone or accompanied by a handler (in one case, a black man). Smuggler is shown hitched to a sulky, charging forward in a race. The letterpress preceding each plate presents a detailed account of the ownership, bloodline, and record of each horse.

Originally issued by Cassino as twenty plates in ten parts in wrappers, as described by Goodspeed’s 1913-1914, internal evidence demonstrates that publication was taken over by Boston publisher E. K. Dunbar in 1882, at which time four plates were added to the series, all of which bear their copyright statement. Dunbar seems to have bound up the plates for sale as a single volume, discarding the wrappers in the process. OCLC locates only four copies, all of which are bound, apparently without the wrappers. The present copy has “E. K. Dunbar” stamped in gilt at the foot of the spine, something that almost certainly would not have been done for a private owner. Not in Podeschi/Mellon, Bennett or Reese. Goodspeed 100-311a (1913) and 103-601 (1914) offering the same copy, as recorded in Rare Book Hub. This is the William S. Reese copy, acquired by him from this firm in 2008.

Item #7534

Price: $17,500.00