New Arrivals
Signed by the Illustrator
Chicago: Merrill Company Publishers, 1958. Large format linen-like picture book alphabet with imagery and text relevant to the alphabet letter. Unnumbered pages. Measures 13" x 9 1/2". Vibrant color. Autographed by the illustrator. Vivian Robbins.
Price: $60.00
right of property,wood engraving,poetry
Connecticut: 1854. A poem entitled Hulet Saw-Mill, which discusses both the mill, its owner, and how his estate was argued over after his death by his heirs. The poem itself its set to the tune of "King Solomon" and was written in September 1854 for Hulet Depot. At the top.....
Price: $400.00
Remedies,Medicine,Advertising and Promotion,Quackery
Philadelphia: Dr. J. H. Schenck & Son, [1880]. 32 pp. wraps. First page titled "A Positive Cure for Consumption" explaining consumption, the origin of consumption, the tubercle, the various stages, the symptoms including cough, wasting away, hemorrhages, night sweats and hectic cheeks, poor appetite and bad digestion and diarrhea and.....
Price: $50.00
language of flowers,calendar,women's history,beauty,advertisements,horticulture & gardens
Boston, MA: Joseph Burnett & Company, 1874. A small booklet that includes a calendar and lexicon on the language of flowers. The booklet was published by Joseph Burnett & Company, a hair and cosmetic company, as a way of advertising their wares. Along with the 1874 calendar is a section.....
Price: $110.00
McLoughlin Paper Dolls
New York, New York: McLoughlin Bros. 1880s? A medium-sized doll produced by McLoughlin titled "Myra Mild", described by Howard as part of an "attractive series of dolls with wardrobes in the fashion of the day" (p. 104). This example is cut, and appears largely complete; it includes the 6.5" doll.....
Price: $100.00
Paper Doll Greeting Cards,Travel,Traditional Dress,International Friendship, Gender Roles
United States: c.1930. A scarce intact example of a paper doll greeting card from c.1930, with a cut paper doll of a little girl who can be dressed up in two different outfits and inserted into the front of the card to show her driving. The two different outfits are.....
Price: $125.00
Handmade Paper Doll,Bow Ties,Male Paper Dolls
United States: N.p., 1930s. Dapper, charming, and fashionable, "Bill" is a unique handmade paper doll from c.1930s with five full outfits, two overcoats, and a matching hat. Notable for the artist's attention to detail (two separate tiny bowties, including one for the tuxedo which is tucked under the white lapels).....
Price: $226.00
Tactile Books,Circus,Acrobats,Clowns
Cleveland, Ohio: The Goldsmith Company, 1928. A very charming acrobatic ABC alphabet, with each letter featuring clowns forming the letters out of paired contorted poses. For the letter "C": "Entwined like this we bend and curve Our bodies in the air, And thus we make as fine a C As.....
Price: $150.00
Children's Books,Natural Science for Children
Concord, New Hampshire: Ralph Merrill, 1843. A scarce miniature children's book on quadrupeds with illustrations of five different animals (beaver, raccoon, sloth, otter, and goat). Includes a brief description of each for the budding naturalist reading the book. 32mo (3.25" by 2.25"), pp. 8, illus., sewn in original printed yellow.....
Price: $85.00
Lead Paint,Paint Chips and Samples
United States: National Lead & Oil Company of Pennsylvania, c.1915. Twenty-three (23) color sample swatches of different colors of lead paint sold by the National Lead & Oil Company of Pennsylvania, intended for use in homes and businesses. Features a charming image of a little boy with paint can and.....
Price: $110.00
Nannies and Nurses,Drawings by Children,Drawing Family
Ocean Grove, New Jersey: 1900. A charming children's drawing of a nurse taking her young charge for a walk in a pram, offered together with original photographs of both. The drawing has been helpfully captioned in ink by an adult: "Allen Anderson and his nurse Alice Sennel drawn and colored.....
Price: $150.00
Sisterhoods,Fraternal Organizations,History of Women in Maine
Berwick, Maine: Pythian Sisterhood, 1897. Letterhead illustrated with the seal of the Pythian Sisterhood, a female auxiliary to the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization and secret society formed in 1864. This letterhead was used by the Maine branch of the organization, located in Berwick and founded in 1889. Measures.....
Price: $100.00
Penny Magazine,Serials,Shield of Achilles,Homer,Ornithology,Whig,British Politics,Rubber,Anthropology,Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
London, England: Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 1832. The British Whig MP Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux (1778-1868), is credited with forming The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in 1826 to promote scientific and artistic ideas, and highlight achievements of Western civilization. The Penny.....
Price: $100.00
Currency,U.S. Currency,Economics,Private Currency,Cryptocurrency
United States: Marine Bank and Allis Brown's Bank, Early 19th-century. Four (4) examples of bills issued by private banks as currency, including two five-dollar bills ("Allis Brown's Bank") and two two-dollar bills ("Marine Bank"). Before the Civil War, it was not unusual for banks to issue their own currency for.....
Price: $125.00
Florida Citrus,Temperance,Planned Communities
Hall City, Florida: Dr. Geo. F. Hall, 1911. Illustrated letterhead from the office of George F. Hall, featuring imagery of the local citrus (Caloosahatchee Grapefruit) and local farm land. Hall was a retired minister and Chicago native who founded Hall City (now Glades County, Florida) in 1910 as a Christian.....
Price: $125.00
Domestic Sphere,Domestic Work,Stoves and Cooktops,Labor Saving,Cost Saving
Chicago, Illinois: 1882. "A Household Necessity": illustrated catalogue for Golden Star Oil Stoves, a brand of household appliance marketed here as a labor- and space-saving alternative. It claims to help homemakers and domestic workers do "COOKING, WASHING, and IRONING", all from a single appliance. Various extensions transform according to the.....
Price: $100.00
Typewriters and Typewriting,Glyphs and Symbols,Typographic Design,Humor
United States: 1960s? A veritable "emoji incunable": three sets of whimsical shapes formed by typewriter keystrokes, including: The Parade of the "Wooden Soldiers", "Prussian Guard", and "Peter Rabbit." Note the clever use of quotation marks for rabbit ears and military hat plumes. A nice reminder that people have been making.....
Price: $85.00
Violence Against Women,History of Film,Silent Movies,Starlets of the Silver Screen,Chastity,Male Savior Syndrome,Triangle Motion Picture Company,Racism,Anti-Arab Sentiment
[Minneapolis, Minnesota]: Friedman Film Corporation, [1915]. Modesty is kicked to the curb in this flashy illustrated advertisement for a showing of "Wars' Women", a self-described "stupendous" 1915 silent film starring Enid Markey denouncing violence towards the "weaker sex" in times of war. "Wars' Women" appears to be a lost film.....
Price: $100.00
Invitations,Patriotic Iconography,Mardi Gras
New Orleans, Louisiana: 1929. Printed invitation addressed in ink to "Mr. M.L. Dowd", inviting him to a Mardi Gras party at the Athenaeum in New Orleans. Features patriotic imagery of an eagle, the Liberty Bell, and the American flag. Illustrated card (3.5" by 6") invitation inscribed to Mr. M.L. Dowd.....
Price: $100.00
Family Magazine,Gardening
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 1881. A monthly periodical published with content for the whole family, including a charming "Juvenile Department" with stories for children. This particular issue is of note for an article that mentions "animalcules", an early conception of microorganisms, and explores their role in the potability of water ("Are the.....
Price: $125.00
ABAA-RBMS-2023, Dating and Going Steady,Teens and Adolescence, Cooking and Baking,Victory Rations,Rationing in World War II
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Pillsbury Mills, Inc., 1945. "Say ... Kitchen Dates are Fun!" exclaims the young fellow on the cover of this guide to wholesome dates in the kitchen for teens. Published towards the end of World War II, it was produced to still urge American families on the homefront to.....
Price: $350.00
ABAA-RBMS-2023 , TinFoil, Sample book, Printing and Publishing
c1930. A scarce 7.5" x 5" bottom opening sample book for various grades of tin foil. Card wraps. The only indication of maker is a logo of a plumbed cap. Introductory page introduces the various uses for tin foil including tobacco, soap, candy, mouth of bottle, tea boxes and toilet.....
Price: $275.00
ABAA-RBMS-2023, Swobodaism,Quack,Mail-Order Health and Wellness Schemes
Chicago, Illinois: Alois P. Swoboda, 1903. A typewritten 1903 letter to a customer from Alois P. Swoboda, creator of "Swobodaism", a pseudoscientific or quack method of self-improvement based on the idea that physical exercise can cure all illnesses, restore youth, and rejuvenate the body on a cellular level. The letter.....
Price: $250.00
ABAA-RBMS-2023, Anti-Nudism,Nudist Movement,Body Image, Tongue in Cheek
New York, New York: Padell Book Co., 1935. A passionate anti-nudist monograph, stating in its introduction that "on the whole, the people who comprise a majority of the Nudist movement are nothing but sexual perverts, as it shall be proved in the following chapters ... Nudism must be stamped out.....
Price: $225.00