ARCTIC RELIEF EXPEDITION
UNDERTAKEN BY THE U.S.S. BEAR

A rare photo of ten members of a relief expedition for 275 stranded whalers, commanded by African-American Capt. “Hell Roaring” Mike Healy.  This photograph shows ten members of the crew of the USS Bear at Point Barrow in 1898, wearing fur jackets and mukluks and posing with harpoons. One.....

JAMES POLK’S ALLEGED BRANDING
OF HIS SLAVES—THE ROORBACK HOAX

A compelling lot of legal papers relating to the 1844 libel case of Thurlow Weed vs. James G. Bennett, which concerned the widely-printed allegation—known as the Roorback forgery or hoax—that then-presidential-hopeful James K. Polk had branded his slaves and sold them to slave traders.  In the lead-up to the.....

SIX PRIVATE LIBRARIES IN BANGOR

First edition, one of fifty copies printed. A rare account of the libraries of six Bangor gentlemen, including those of Col. J. W. Porter (genealogy and local history), Fred H. Parkhurst (history, science, literature, constitutional law, etc), C. E. Bliss (Websteriana), Prof. D. S. Talcott (early printed books), Frederick H......

THE ENGINES OF THE
BOSTON & PROVIDENCE RAILROAD

An impressive photo archive documenting a range of locomotives built for the Boston & Providence Railroad by the Rhode Island Locomotive Works; the Taunton Locomotive Mfg. Co.; Mason Machine Works; the Hinkley & Williams Works, and the Boston & Providence itself.  Forty-two of the various engines pictured were produced.....

PAT GARRETT PROCURES A MINING CLAIM IN LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

A New Mexico Territorial mining document involving Pat Garrett and his mining partner and colorful friend W. H. H. Llewellyn. This quit-claim deed was submitted by mining prospector Patrick Breen of the Organ Mining District in New Mexico to certify his sale for the amount of one dollar of the.....

THE WHITE MOUNTAINS
BY A PORTLAND, MAINE PUBLISHER

A striking bird’s-eye view of New Hampshire’s White Mountains, produced to supply the burgeoning tourist trade of the late 19th century.  By the end of the 19th century the Lakes and White Mountain regions of New Hampshire had become major tourist destinations, with a well-developed network of rail and.....

ENTHRALLING DESERTER’S TALE

Enthralling narrative of Englishman John Browne, detailing his journey with five fellow military deserters from St. Helena Island, three of whom make their way to Brazil, ending with Browne’s visit to Cape Town and return to St. Helena where he delivers this narrative under oath . John Browne’s narrative—the veracity.....

NARRATIVE OF A SHIPWRECK & VOYAGE
THROUGH THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN

The first edition of this captivating narrative of a harrowing voyage through the Straits of Magellan to Rio de Janeiro following a shipwreck off the coast of Chile.  Part of George Anson’s fleet and commanded by Capt. Cheap, the Wager was en route to harass the Spanish when it.....

TOURISM IN YOSEMITE VALLEY

A 1930s pictorial map of Yosemite Valley featuring numerous amusing illustrations highlighting the tourist attractions of this celebrated national park.  Created for the Southern California Automobile Club’s Westways Magazine, this map provides an automobile guide to Yosemite and features early trails as well as famous tourist destinations in Yosemite.....

THE CAREER AND BOOK COLLECTION
OF A NOTED MAGICIAN

A scarce compendium of articles, reviews and images describing the fifty year career and Magical Library of highly-regarded mentalist C. A. George Newmann, inscribed by Newmann to friend and fellow stage performer, Lester Klock. Includes an account of Newmann’s 7,000 volume collection, which embraced technical, historical, rare, and curious items.....

SIGNED, LIMITED CATHER

First edition, limited to 333 copies signed by the author. This copy is number 96. The only collection of Cather’s essays published in her lifetime, containing six works reflecting mainly on life and literature prior to World War I. Cather believed that the essays would have “little interest for people.....

NORTH AUGUSTA, SOUTH CAROLINA
IN THE MAKING

A large-scale promotional map of North Augusta, South Carolina, issued by the North Augusta Land Company just a year after the company was established.  Situated on the Savannah River opposite Augusta, Georgia, the city of North Augusta developed during the late 19th century on the site of the antebellum.....

SENSATIONAL ALBUM OF OVER 1000
CIRCUS PHOTOGRAPHS, CIRCA 1940

An extraordinary album of over 1000 extensively captioned photographs evidently compiled by circus devotee, collector, and amateur photographer James Chloupek or someone close to him, chronicling the American circus scene in the first half of the twentieth century, particularly around the time of World War II. This remarkable album captures.....