Rare New Jerseyana
BEST EARLY ACCOUNT OF NEW SWEDEN, IN THE ORIGINAL BOARDS
1. ACRELIUS, ISRAEL. Beskrifning om de Swenska församlingars forna och närwarande tilstånd, uti det så kallade Nya Swerige, sedan Nya Nederland, men nu för tiden Pensylvanien, samt nåstliggande orter wid aelfwen De la Ware, Wåst-Yersey och New-Castle County uti Norra America.... Stockholm: Harberg & Hesselberg, 1759. 4to. [20], 449 [i.e., 448], 479-533, [1] p. Contemporary paper-covered boards, gold-stamped paper label on spine. Spine and extremities of boards worn, internally near fine. Bookplates. $2500.00
First edition of the best early account of the Swedish settlements on the Delaware River, and the most comprehensive and accurate history of New Sweden until Amandus Johnson's Swedish Settlements on the Delaware (1911). Acrelius came to America in 1749 as provost of the Swedish churches on the Delaware, and served as pastor of a church in Wilmington until 1756, when he returned to Sweden. A full English translation of the work was published in 1874. This is the first copy we have handled in the original boards, with full wide (202 x 175 mm.) margins and a very minimal amount of browning. Most copies have been trimmed and rebound and exhibit varying degrees of browning. Howes A34; JCB(III) I, 1202; Vail 528; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1.
THE FIRST NEW JERSEY REGISTER
2. ALDEN, TIMOTHY. Alden's New-Jersey Register and United States' Calendar, for ... 1811. Newark: William Tuttle, [1811]. 160, [4] p. Original sheep-backed boards (front hinge cracking). Early library markings of the Essex Institute, but otherwise a very nice copy. $300.00
First issue of the first New Jersey register. Contains a highly useful list of New Jersey civil and military officers, courts, post offices, churches and ministers, colleges and schools, libraries, and other societies. Alden's register folded after only one more issue, and several later attempts similarly failed after one or two issues. It was not until the manual of the legislature started in 1872 that an annual New Jersey register succeeded. For additional information on Alden and his register, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 321. Drake 5275; S&S 22165.
PASS FOR A PRISONER AT ELIZABETHTOWN, 1780
3. (AMERICAN REVOLUTION). Adam, John (deputy commissary of prisoners at Elizabethtown). Pass for prisoner William Philips, Elizabethtown, 13 December 1780, signed by Adam as "Com. of Pris'rs." One page, small quarto. Folds, else fine. $650.00
"Mr. Wm. Philips Prisoner on Parole from New York hath Permission to pass from this Post to Goshin [sic] in the State of New York with his Baggage unmolested." The pass is addressed "To whom it may concern."
THE MOUNT HOLLY HERMIT: 1811
4. [ATKINSON, JOHN]. The Hermit, or an Account of Francis Adam Joseph Phyle ... who Lived without the Use of Fire for Upwards of Twenty-Two Years, in a Small Cave, in the Midst of a Wood, near Mount-Holly, in Burlington County, New Jersey; and was found Dead therein, in the Year 1780. In a Series of Letters.... New Jersey: John Atkinson; John Bioren, printer, Phila., 1811. 100 [of 102] p., lacking the final text leaf, and one gathering bound out of order. Untrimmed, in the original blue paper wrappers. Moderate foxing and a bit of dampstaining, but a very good, attractive copy, other than the missing leaf.Internally foxed and with some marginal dampstaining. A good copy only. $550.00
First edition of the first separately printed account of the Mount Holly Hermit. The hermit was real, and lived in a crude cave-like dwelling in Joseph Burr's woods. He was a local curiosity, and there are very brief accounts of him in a few eighteenth-century diaries, in Smith's 1765 history of New Jersey, and in the New-Jersey Gazette. Atkinson took the facts and added his own embellishments, as was a common practice in the cheap, sensational literature of the period, so it is difficult today to determine where fact ends and fiction begins. The book is rare, and the few copies that have come on the market in the last forty years have all been imperfect. This one lacks the final printed leaf, which accounts for the low price. For a very detailed account of the hermit and Atkinson's book, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 339. S&S 23004.
ATLAS OF TRENTON IN ITS HEYDAY: 1905
5. ATLAS OF THE CITY OF TRENTON and Borough of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. Compiled and Drawn from Official Records, Private Plans and Actual Surveys, by ... J. M. Lathrop. Philadelphia: A. H. Mueller & Co., 1905. Large folio. Title leaf + 25 double-page (22 x 32 in.) fully colored maps. Original cloth (worn, spine covering soiled and splitting at ends). Internally fine and bright. Very faintly musty. $1400.00
The most detailed atlas of Trenton, depicting individual house locations and commercial structures and identifying large property owners, commercial enterprises, and subdivisions. Also depicts churches, cemeteries, railroads and sidings, and much else. The first map is an index map, followed by 20 maps of Trenton and four of Princeton. This is the most detailed atlas of Trenton; the next, and last, was published in 1930. The atlas is very scarce; in over 45 years of handling New Jerseyana, this is only the second copy we have catalogued.
6. BAILEY, ROSALIE FELLOWS. Pre-Revolutionary Dutch Houses and Families in Northern New Jersey and Southern New York. New York, 1936. Thick 4to. 612 p. Illus. Cloth. $300.00
One of 334/666 numbered copies of a total printing of 1000 copies. An important genealogical as well as illustrated architectural reference work on early Dutch houses and families. Includes Bergen and Hudson Counties as well as Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, and, to a lesser extent, the northwestern counties. Also Rockland, Richmond, and Kings and Queens Counties in New York. A very handsomely produced book, published by the Holland Society and with an introduction by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
7. BAQUET, CAMILLE. History of the First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers, from 1861 to 1865. Trenton, 1910. [2], iii, 515 p. Plates. Cloth. Stitching just a bit loose, as usual with this book, else a very good, clean copy. $325.00
History of Philip Kearny's First New Jersey Brigade. The appendix includes muster-in rolls of the unit.
THE FIRST BIBLE PRINTED IN NEW JERSEY
8. BIBLE. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the Original Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised. Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1791. 4to. [1316] p. Contemporary blind-paneled sheep (extremities rubbed but hinges very sound). Dampstaining, noticeable at the beginning of the text and diminishing then disappearing further in, then reappearing at the end. "Naomy Bower her Bible and she was born in the year of our Lord 1742,..." with genealogical records of Abraham and Naomi Bower and the Cox and Scholl families. A very good copy. $3000.00
The first Bible printed in New Jersey, the second quarto King James Bible printed in America, and the best known product of the eighteenth-century New Jersey press. For a lengthy and highly detailed account of the printing, binding, promotion, publication, and distribution of the Collins Bible, see Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 578. This copy contains the Apocrypha and, like all copies, John Downame's concordance at the end. Evans 22472, 23184, 23656; Hills 31; ESTC W4498, W4517, W27796, W28443, W36125.
SCARCE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY NEW JERSEY BIBLE
9. BIBLE. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the Original Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised. Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1793 [i.e., 1794]. Thick 8vo. [1118] p. Contemporary sheep, scuffed at the extremities and darkened, lacking binder's blanks, title soiled and dampstained. $1500.00
The second Bible printed in New Jersey, following Collins's quarto Bible of 1791, and a very scarce book. In over 45 years of specializing in early New Jersey printing, we have handled only five copies of this Bible, and they have all been in rough condition. This one is the nicest by a considerable margin. Evans 25171, 26666; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 683; Hills 43; ESTC W4510.
1816 NEW JERSEY BIBLE
10. BIBLE. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments ... Printed for the New-Jersey Bible Society. Hartford: Hudson and Co., 1816. 12mo. [816] p. Contemporary undecorated sheep. Stitching weak and text block splitting in two places, several gatherings pulled, some dampstaining. A heavily worn but respectable copy. With a contemporary inscription to Johannah Bishop and a page of Bishop family birth and death records, 1763-1817. $300.00
This appears to be the only Bible distributed by the New Jersey Bible Society that bears the name of the society on the title page. Founded in 1809, the New Jersey Bible Society--like the many other Bible societies around the country at this time--existed largely to distribute Bibles and Testaments to the needy and to those living in remote areas. The society's sixth report, in 1817, records the payment to Hudson & Co. on December 3, 1816, of $1,275 for two thousand Bibles. S&S 36948; Hills 307.
FIRST BOOK IN GERMAN PRINTED IN NEW JERSEY
11. BIBLE. NEW TESTAMENT. GERMAN. Das Neue Testament unsers Herrn und Heilandes Jesu Christi.... Princeton: D. A. Borrenstein, 1828. 272, [1] p. Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in period style. A very nice copy. $600.00
The first book in German type printed in New Jersey. Although the actual presswork was probably done in Princeton by David Borrenstein, who we know owned the type, the book was printed from stereotype plates made in Philadelphia by Jedidiah Howe. There is no other evidence of German type in use in New Jersey until the establishment of German newspapers in the early 1850s. It is interesting to speculate on Borrenstein's reasoning in printing a German-language book in New Jersey, which in 1828 had relatively few German-speaking residents. The book is very rare. In more than 45 years of specializing in New Jerseyana, in Princeton, this is only the second copy we have had for sale. Shoemaker 32319; German Language Printing in the United States 2966; Felcone, Printing in Princeton, 103.
12. BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW ... Containing ... Life Sketches of Leading Citizens of Burlington and Camden Counties, New Jersey. Boston, 1897. 4to. 535, [1] p. Ports. Rebound in modern buckram. $300.00
Biographical sketches of prominent nineteenth century Burlington and Camden County residents, with portraits. The identical volume also exists with the names of the two counties in reverse order on the title page and preface leaf.
1810 NEW JERSEY MILITIA APPOINTMENT
13. BLOOMFIELD, JOSEPH. Governor of New Jersey, 1801-1812. Partly printed commission of William Hancock, gentleman, as quartermaster in the Burlington Independent Battalion of the Burlington militia, dated 9 April 1810. With a bold signature of Bloomfield as governor. One page, oblong folio. Few small professional repairs at fold intersections on verso, several fold marks, else very good. $300.00
Preparing for the coming war with England.
DAVID BREARLEY'S BOOKPLATE
14. BREARLEY, DAVID (1745-1790; Revolutionary War officer, chief justice of N.J., presiding official at the state convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution). Engraved armorial bookplate. N.p., mid-to-late 18th century. 11 x 7.5 cm. Two small cellotape stains in the upper margin from former album mounting, two tiny rust marks, else fine. $300.00
A lovely eighteenth-century armorial bookplate with the Brearly arms surmounting a ribbon with the motto "Honor Virtutis Praemium," and Brearley's copperplate name. Allen 104, attributing the engraving to John Vallance.
PILGRIM'S PROGRESS FOR YOUTH
15. BURDER, GEORGE. Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Versified: for the Entertainment and Instruction of Youth. Burlington: Stephen C. Ustick, 1807. 71, [1] p. Contemporary sheep-backed marbled paper covered boards. Front cover detached, front binder's blanks wanting. Light foxing and dampstaining, but quite good. $500.00
Ustick's edition of Burder's Pilgrim's Progress, Versified was issued both with and, as here, without seven woodcut plates by Garret Lansing. Welch 136.1; S&S 12238.
NEW JERSEY REVOLUTIONARY WAR ALMANAC
16. ... THE BURLINGTON ALMANACK for the Year of Our Lord 1778 ... By Timothy Trueman [pseud.]. Burlington: Isaac Collins, [1778]. [36] p. Stitched. Faint dampstaining on last several leaves, else complete and fine. $1500.00
"The late appearance of this almanac was probably caused by the large volume of war-related government printing in Collins' office, as well as the great scarcity of paper. The paper used for the almanac varies widely, both among copies and within individual copies. Collins continually advised his readers to collect rags."--Felcone. Isaac Collins' Revolutionary War Burlington almanacs are now almost unobtainable. This one is perfect, and it is the first perfect example we have offered for sale in over forty years. Evans 15617; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 250; Drake 5115; ESTC W14014.
NEW JERSEY REVOLUTIONARY WAR ALMANAC
17. ... THE BURLINGTON ALMANACK for the Year of Our Lord 1777 ... By Timothy Trueman [pseud.]. Burlington: Isaac Collins, [1776]. [36] p. About half of title page imprint torn away, else clean and very good. $950.00
Isaac Collins' Revolutionary War Burlington almanacs are now almost unobtainable. This one lacks about half of the imprint but is otherwise lovely. Evans 15118; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 208; Drake 5114; ESTC W36901.
FIRST ATLAS OF BURLINGTON COUNTY
18. (BURLINGTON COUNTY). Combination Atlas Map of Burlington County, New Jersey. Philadelphia: J.D. Scott, 1876. Folio. 84, lxxxv-lxxxviii p. Illus. Hand-colored maps. Leather-backed cloth. Spine broken and rough, as always, corners of covers with usual wear, wanting front free endpaper, title page a bit browned and with lower corner (3 x 3 in.) torn off, else a very good, clean copy internally. $1600.00
The first atlas of Burlington county, with hand-colored local maps depicting landowners' names and locations of buildings, lithographs of houses and farms, business directory of local residents, etc.
AARON BURR SERMON ON JONATHAN BELCHER
19. BURR, AARON. A Servant of God Dismissed from Labour to Rest. A Funeral Sermon, Preached at the Interment of his late Excellency Jonathan Belcher, Esq; Governor of his Majesty's Province of New-Jersey, &c. &c. Who Departed this Life at Elizabeth-Town, August 31, 1757.... Boston: Edes and Gill, 1758. iv, iv, 23 p. Removed from a bound volume. Closely trimmed at top margin but without loss, scattered foxing, but very good. $500.00
Burr, then president of the College of New Jersey, died shortly after delivering this funeral sermon. Includes a dedication and a preface by Caleb Smith, pastor of the Presbyterian church at Newark Mountains (now Orange). Evans 8097; ESTC W29395.
AARON BURR NEW JERSEY SERMON: 1757
20. BURR, AARON. The Watchman's Answer to the Question, What of the Night, &c. A Sermon Preached before the Synod of New-York, Convened at Newark, in New-Jersey, September 30. 1756 ... The Second Edition. Boston: S. Kneeland, 1757. 46 p. Removed from a bound volume. Top margin a bit close with an occasional running head slightly cut into by the binder's knife, else very good. $900.00
Second edition of an early New Jersey sermon by the second president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). Aaron Burr was born in Connecticut, graduated from Yale College, and in 1736 became minister of the First Church in Newark. He was one of the original trustees of the College of New Jersey, and after Jonathan Dickinson's death in 1747 Burr became the college's second president, serving until his own death ten years later. During his presidency the college moved from his parsonage in Newark to Princeton. He was the father of Aaron Burr (1756-1836), vice-president of the United States. Evans 7863; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 34; ESTC W29697.
OLD AGE: REPAIRING THE DISORDERS AFTER AGE 60
21. CARLISLE, ANTHONY. An Essay on the Disorders of Old Age, and on the Means for Prolonging Human Life. Philadelphia: By Edward Earle; W. Myer, printer, New Brunswick [N.J.], 1819. 74 p. Original paper-covered boards, paper-covered spine and printed spine label. Covers moderately worn and soiled, particularly along spine, faint dampstain on the first few leaves, but withal a very good copy in the fragile original boards. With the signature of Wm. B. Magruder, 1824. $300.00
First American edition; first printed in London in 1817. On medical and other treatments for old age. "The age of Sixty may, in general, be fixed upon as the commencement of Senility." A good example of a country printer in New Jersey printing for a city publisher. S&S 47517; Austin 416.
VOLUME I NUMBER 1 OF THE THIRD NEW JERSEY MAGAZINE
22. THE CHRISTIAN'S, SCHOLAR'S, AND FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Elizabeth-Town: Shepard Kollock: Vol. I no. 1, April and May 1789. 128 p. Title a bit soiled and chipped at fore-edge, first and last few leaves foxed. $300.00
Volume I, number 1 of the third magazine published in New Jersey. See Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 520.
SCARCE UNIT HISTORY
23. (CIVIL WAR). Historical Sketch of Co. "D," 13th Regiment, N.J. Vols.... New York, 1875. 87, [1] p. Cloth. Bookplate of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. Number neatly removed from spine, else a very nice, clean copy. $300.00
Half of the book is a history of the unit's participation in the war, the other half is brief biographical sketches. Very scarce.
6TH NEW JERSEY IN ACTION
24. (CIVIL WAR). Jess, Levi. Autograph letter signed, Camp Baker, Lower Potomac, 10 March 1862. To "Cil," reporting war news. 2 1/2 pages. Folds, writing a trifle light, but essentially fine. $500.00
In part, ". . . I guess the next letter I get will be on the other side for we will cross tomorrow . . . Two of our regiments cross this morning the first NH & 5 KY and I guess we will follow suit. Our gun boats came down yesterday and commenced shelling the Rebels batteries. They drove them out and went ashore and hoisted the stars and stripes on the cockpit . . . and we burnt one of their steamers & two schoones. There appeared to be a great deal of exploding a going on all the afternoon. About this & camps which they left behind it is supposed the Rebels have fell back on to Manassas and there they will make a stand. Our captain seems to think we have got the hottest part of the fighting to do yet . . . a man out of our regiment belonging to Co. B was shot on Saturday lying at the Landing by one of his comrades. He was going into the store house and sentinel who was on guard halted him & the man was about to give him the pass word & the sentinel up with his gun & shot him right through the heart. He was killed immediately, the ball went clear threw him and struck the store. . . ."
25. CLAYTON, W. WOODFORD. History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, 1882. Thick 4to. 885 p. Plates. Original gilt-stamped leather. Outer hinges glue-reinforced, else an unusually nice copy of a book rarely found with the covers intact. $350.00
The standard history of these counties.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS AND RIBBONS
26. (COMMEMORATIVE RIBBONS). Collection of six medals, ribbons, and pins commemorating New Jersey's role in the American Revolution, ca. 1886-1927. Generally very good condition. The collection, in a neat display box, $400.00
Commemorating New Jersey at Valley Forge (2), Trenton Battle Monument, Battle of Red Bank, &c.
1787 NEW JERSEY COPPER COIN
27. (COPPER COIN). 1787 New Jersey copper. Small planchet, pronounced outline around shield. 164.9 grains. Near-black color. Reasonably good details, with light circulation marks on either side and two tiny dings on the obverse rim. A fine example. $550.00
Maris 64-t.
MARK NEWBY FARTHING
28. (COPPER COIN). St. Patrick or Mark Newby copper farthing, used as legal tender in West Jersey in 1682. Very worn and not in good condition, but still easily recognizable, with much of the lettering and some of the details, such as the milling, the bottom of St. Patrick's crozier and the snakes being driven out, still quite clear. Because of condition, $400.00
These copper coins were originally thought to have been minted in Dublin in the 1670s, but it is now thought that they were struck at the Tower mint in London in 1641-42 and were intended for Ireland but were impounded during the English Civil War. A quantity of them was brought to West Jersey in 1681 by Mark Newby, a Dublin candlemaker, and in 1682 they were authorized by the West Jersey assembly to pass as legal tender. Examples today in good condition bring very high prices in the rare coin market. This one is very worn and very inexpensive.
FIRST ROYAL GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY
29. CORNBURY, EDWARD HYDE, Viscount (Governor of New Jersey, 1703-1708). Document boldly signed, "Cornbury," New York, 14 June 1704. Being an affidavit concerning a John Basford, one of the witnesses to the will of Thomas Lewis. One half page, folio, on the verso of the bottom half of a 1699/1700 will. Folds, else fine. $750.00
A rare document signed by the notorious first royal governor of New Jersey. Cornbury (1661-1723) has many distinctions, including leaving a record of political tyranny, oppression, graft, and corruption, not to mention a fondness for cross-dressing. In 1708 the queen dismissed him from office. This is the first Cornbury document we have had in more than thirty years.
RICHARD COXE'S BURLINGTON DICTIONARY
30. [COXE, RICHARD SMITH]. A New Critical Pronouncing Dictionary of the English Language, Containing, All the Words in General Use .... By an American Gentleman. Burlington: D. Allinson & Co., 1813. 4to. xiv, 85, [941] p. Contemporary reversed sheep. Front inner hinge loose, otherwise the nicest copy of this book we have seen. $300.00
A massive but predominantly derivative dictionary, compiled by Coxe, a prominent Burlington, and later Washington, lawyer, largely before reaching age eighteen. The work achieved little critical acclaim when published, and was soon forgotten. For a lengthy essay on Coxe and his dictionary, and its novel "spring" binding (probably executed by Allinson himself), see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 531.
CUMMINS'S WARREN COUNTY
31. CUMMINS, G. WYCKOFF. History of Warren County, New Jersey. New York, 1911. 4to. vii, [1], 433 p. Illus., plates. Rebound in modern buckram. Very good. $300.00
The classic history of Warren County, and one of the scarcest New Jersey county histories.
PRINCETON SERMON ON THE DEATH OF GEORGE II: 1761
32. DAVIES, SAMUEL. A Sermon Delivered at Nassau-Hall, January 14. 1761. On the Death of His Late Majesty King George II. To which is prefixed, A Brief Account of the Life, Character, and Death, of the Author. By David Bostwick. Boston: R. Draper; and Z. Fowle and S. Draper, [1761]. 32 p. incl. half title but lacks leaf C1. Modern half morocco (lightly rubbed at extremities). Early repair to blank corner of half title, some light staining. Private school library label on pastedown. $400.00
Reprinted from the earlier New York edition. Slightly defective, but a very early Princeton-related printed item. Evans 8836; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 63; ESTC W29134.
DE LAGERBERG'S NEW JERSEY ARCHITECTURE
33. de LAGERBERG, LARS. New Jersey Architecture. Colonial & Federal. Springfield, Mass., 1956. Sm. fol. 22, xxxvi, [6], 316 p. Illus. (some in color). Cloth. A nice copy, without the foxing that often accompanies this book. $325.00
One of 750 numbered copies, signed by the author. Privately printed. A fine photographic study of early New Jersey domestic architecture (chiefly to about 1830), containing more than 500 photographs as well as drawings and some text. The photos include elevations as well as interior and exterior details. Many, if not most, of the photographs were taken from the 'teens through the early 1930s and depict superb examples of New Jersey vernacular architecture before the onslaught of the Colonial Revival.
FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE D & R CANAL - 1831
34. DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL CO. First Annual Report of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company; May 10, 1831. Princeton, 1831. 31 p. Modern cloth. Marginal foxing, else fine. $300.00
After several earlier failures, the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company was incorporated by the legislature on February 4, 1830, and Robert F. Stockton, with money advanced by his father-in-law, John Potter, subscribed for sufficient shares to enable the company to organize. This first report includes the legislation creating the canal company and the famous monopoly, as well as estimates for constructing various segments of the canal. Felcone, New Jersey Books, 546.
THE 1830 ACT OF INCORPORATION OF THE D & R CANAL
35. (DELAWARE AND RARITAN CANAL CO.). New Jersey. Laws, etc. ... An Act to Incorporate the Delaware & Raritan Canal Company. [N.p., 1830.] 8 p. Stitched. Two noticeable dampstains, one within the text and the other marginal, else a nice uncut copy, stitched as issued. $350.00
The act of the legislature incorporating the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company, February 4, 1830. After several earlier failures, this act began the company that, when merged with the Camden and Amboy Railroad soon after, created the monopoly that controlled much of New Jersey's transportation, and politics, throughout the mid-nineteenth century.
36. DRAKE, J[AMES] MADISON. The History of the Ninth New Jersey Veteran Vols.: A Record of its Service from Sept. 13th, 1861, to July 12th, 1865 .... Elizabeth, 1889. 501 p. Plates. Cloth. $300.00
Detailed history as well as a complete roster of the unit.
OBSCURE EDITION OF EDWARDS' SUPERNATURAL TALE
37. [EDWARDS, AMELIA B.] "How the Third Floor Knew the Potteries." In: Farmer's Almanac, for the Year of Our Lord 1865 (Rahway, N.J.: D. F. Coles, [1864]), pp. [19]-26. Stitched as issued. Occasional foxing, first and last leaves a bit soiled, corners cut round. $400.00
An obscure regional American edition of one of Edwards' best-known supernatural tales. The story first appeared in the special Christmas number of Dickens' All the Year Round (December 1863) as the fifth part of "Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings." In this country almanac it is titled "Among the Potteries. A Story by Charles Dickens."
18TH-CENTURY MISSIONARY TO THE INDIANS
38. EDWARDS, JONATHAN. An Account of the Life of the Reverend Mr. David Brainerd, Minister of the Gospel; Missionary to the Indians ... and Pastor of a Church of Christian Indians in New-Jersey.... Worcester, Mass.: Leonard Worcester, 1793. 346, 84 p. Contemporary sheep. First and last few leaves pulled slightly and browned at the fore-edge tips, binding scuffed, head and tail of spine chipped away, hinges beginning to split, glue residue on pastedowns. Eighteenth-century signature of Eliphalet Gillet, later bookplate of a church library. A good copy. $450.00
Later edition of Edwards's classic biography, first printed in Boston in 1749. The second section is a reprint of Brainerd's Mirabilia Dei inter Indicos, first printed in Philadelphia in 1748. Edwards's work is one of the classic mid-eighteenth-century accounts of missionary life among the American Indians. David Brainerd (1718-1747) was a Connecticut native who was expelled from Yale in 1742 for, among other things, sympathizing with the Whitefield revival and remarking that a particular college tutor had "no more grace than this chair." After his ordination to the ministry, he served as a missionary to the Indians in the Massachusetts-New York border area and near present-day Easton, Pennsylvania, before going to New Jersey, where he remained until early 1747. He died later that year at the home of his future father-in-law, and biographer, Jonathan Edwards. Edwards' account consists chiefly of entries from Brainerd's diaries, with inserted comments and extracts from letters. The work was reprinted frequently and is still in print today. Evans 25431, 25228; Johnson, Jonathan Edwards, 143; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 71.
39. EDWARDS, JONATHAN. Memoirs of the Rev. David Brainerd; Missionary to the Indians on the Borders of New-York, New-Jersey, and Pennsylvania: Chiefly Taken from his Own Diary .... Including his Journal, Now for the First Time Incorporated with the Rest of his Diary, in a Regular Chronological Series. New Haven: S. Converse, 1822. 507 p. Contemporary sheep (scuffed). $275.00
The first incorporation of Brainerd's journal, or diary, with Edwards' Life, in true chronological order. Edited by Edwards' great grandson, Sereno Edwards Dwight. Felcone, New Jersey Books, 620.
ONE OF THE BEST CARTERET BOOK CLUB TITLES
40. ELLIS, ROWLAND C. Colonial Dutch Houses in New Jersey. Twenty Wood Engravings. Newark: Carteret Book Club, 1933. viii, [2], 60, [3] p. Illus. Cloth-backed paper-covered boards. A near-fine copy. No slipcase. $300.00
One of 150 copies, printed by Monroe F. Dreher of Newark for members of the Carteret Book Club. Twenty handsome woodcuts by Ellis of early Dutch houses in Bergen, Passaic, and Somerset Counties, with text by Newark architect James O. Betelle. One of the most desirable of the Carteret Book Club publications.
THE RARE ROWLAND ELLIS PORTFOLIO
41. ELLIS, ROWLAND C. Portfolio of twenty fine proof impressions of woodcuts of Dutch colonial houses in Bergen, Passaic, and Somerset Counties, each on a full 14 x 11 inch sheet, and each signed in pencil by Ellis. Enclosed in the original cloth-backed portfolio with cloth ties. Woodcuts fine, portfolio dust-soiled with spine very darkened. $900.00
In 1937 the New Jersey book collectors' club, the Carteret Book Club, published Rowland C. Ellis' Colonial Dutch Houses in New Jersey. Twenty Wood Engravings, a handsome book printed by Monroe F. Dreher of Newark and limited to 150 copies. The book contained twenty woodcuts by Ellis of early New Jersey Dutch houses, with text by Newark architect James O. Betelle. Also available to members, in a very limited edition and probably at a very substantial price (no documentation has been found) was a complete suite of the Ellis woodcuts, pulled as proof impressions on large paper, each signed in full by Ellis. The prints were housed in a portfolio bound to match the printed book. In over 40 years of specializing in New Jerseyana, this is only the third copy of the portfolio that we have offered for sale.
1800 NEW JERSEY JUVENILE
42. THE ENTERTAINING, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS REPOSITORY; Containing, Upwards of Three Score Separate Performances, all of which are Written in a Simple yet Pleasing Stile, and are Eminently Calculated for the Amusement and Instruction of the Youth of Both Sexes. Elizabeth-Town: Shepard Kollock, for C. Davis, New York, 1800. [2], 324 p. Contemporary undecorated sheep-backed marbled paper-covered boards (rubbed, corners worn). Usual light foxing. An unusually clean and tight copy. With an 1804 ownership signature of Jane Sears. $1500.00
A reissue of the second volume of Kollock's 1798 edition, with a new title leaf. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 1088; Evans 37374; Welch 361.7; ESTC W31910.
1800 NEWARK IMPRINT
43. ESSAYS ON THE SPIRIT OF LEGISLATION, in the Encouragement of Agriculture, Population, Manufactures, and Commerce. Translated from the Original French. Newark: William Reid, Pennington & Gould, printers, 1800. 479, vii p. Modern half leather. $300.00
Includes writings of Bertrand, de Correvan, and others. Chiefly agricultural. The third Newark printing. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 1090; Evans 37382; ESTC 32058.
AMERICAN POETRY, 1772
44. EVANS, NATHANIEL. Poems on Several Occasions, with some other Compositions. Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 1772. xxviii, 160, [3]-24 p. Contemporary calf, very skillfully rebacked in period style. The usual foxing, else the nicest copy of this book we have seen. Late 19th century book label of A. G. Odenbaugh. $750.00
First and only contemporary edition of the works of this early American poet who died at the age of 25. A native of Philadelphia and a resident of Haddonfield, New Jersey, Evans was an S.P.G. missionary for Gloucester County and a friend and correspondent of Elizabeth Graeme (later, Ferguson). Copies of the book often lack the list of subscribers, the ode on Evans' death by Elizabeth Graeme, and the 24-page discourse at the end, all of which are present in this copy. The errata slip, as always, is not present. Stoddard and Whitesell 221; Evans 12386; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 85; ESTC W28917.
EARLY STEPHEN FORMAN LETTER
45. FORMAN, STEPHEN. Autograph letter signed, Freehold, 4 June 1783. To his cousin Samuel S. Forman at Middletown Point. 2 pages, quarto, with integral address leaf. In fine condition. $300.00
The youthful Forman discusses the mutual benefit of the correspondence, asks if his cousin Jonathan would sell his Greek Testament, the prospect of college in the fall, &c. Monmouth County.
46. FOSTER, JOHN Y. New Jersey and the Rebellion: A History of the Services of the Troops and People of New Jersey in Aid of the Union Cause. Newark, 1868. viii, 872 p. Port. Cloth. An unusually nice copy. $350.00
The most comprehensive nineteenth-century work on New Jersey in the Civil War. A very difficult book to find in tight condition.
HURRAH! HURRAH! THE COUNTRY'S RISIN'
FOR HARRY CLAY & FRELINGHUYSEN
47. (FRELINGHUYSEN, THEODORE). Hand colored lithograph, Theodore Frelinghuysen. / Hurrah! Hurrah! the Country's risin' / For Harry Clay & Frelinghuysen. New York: N. Currier, [ca. 1844]. 35.5 x 25 cm. overall. Light overall toning, dampstain visible only on the verso, three tiny and almost invisible closed edge tears. In very nice overall condition, with half-inch or greater margins all the way around. $750.00
A very attractive vice-presidential campaign portrait of Frelinghuysen seated at a desk, with one hand on a book and the other hand inserted, Napoleon-like, in his vest. Gale, Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonée, 6473; Felcone, Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761–1898, 113.
48. FRENCH, HOWARD BARCLAY. Genealogy of the Descendants of Thomas French, who Came to America from Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, England, and Settled in Berlinton (Burlington) in the Province and Country of West New Jersey, of which he was one of the Original Proprietors.... Philadelphia, 1909-13. 2 vols. 501 p.; 743 p. Plates. Cloth. Fine and fresh. $300.00
One of the greatest New Jersey family histories. Two elegantly printed and profusely illustrated volumes with a wealth of genealogical and historical information on both the French family and related families, and on Burlington, Gloucester, and Camden Counties, chiefly in the 17th and 18th centuries. A massive and remarkable work.
GIBBONS' EXTRAORDINARY HANDBILL CHALLENGING ODGEN TO A DUEL
49. (GIBBONS v. OGDEN). To Col. Aaron Ogden, Sir, As you refused to receive a letter that I sent you by General Dayton yesterday, I will give it publicity through another channel. For like Nicanor upon Judas you made war upon me on the Sabbath Day .... I was this day arrested in a Suit at Law, in your name .... As we reside within half a mile of each other, and you never intimated to me, nor any of my friends, any claims, or cause of Action against me, I pronounce your conduct RASCALLY. I don't regard your Suit in terrorem, but I must teach you to proceed with decency .... I understand that you have interfered in a Dispute between Mrs. Gibbons and myself which has been brought on by John Trumbull .... My friend General Dayton will arrange with you the time, and place, of our Meeting. Th. Gibbons. Elizabeth-Town, 26th July, 1816. [Elizabethtown, N.J., 1816.] Broadside. 28 x 24 cm. In very fine condition, fully untrimmed. $4500.00
The steamboat in New Jersey and New York had a long and litigious history, beginning with the controversies between John Fitch and Robert Fulton, through the granting by the state legislatures in 1808 of exclusive navigation privileges, to the landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Gibbons v. Ogden in 1824. Thomas Gibbons and Aaron Ogden were originally partners in a steam ferry operating between Elizabeth-Town Point and New York City. In 1814 a dispute arose over a lease renewal. Soon other arguments ensued, and Gibbons established a rival ferry. The two became bitter antagonists. Meanwhile, Gibbons was embroiled in a nasty domestic quarrel involving John Trumbull, who had seduced Gibbons' daughter before marrying her, and each side publicly circulated the foulest stories about the other. Ogden's legal advice was solicited by the Trumbull faction, and Gibbons, in a rage, had this handbill struck off, and, horsewhip in hand, went to Ogden's house to challenge him to a duel. Ogden escaped over the back fence, and immediately sued Gibbons for trespass. The details of the case are reported in 2 Southard, 598. Gibbons' rival steamboat, with young Cornelius Vanderbilt as captain, continued to challenge Ogden and the monopoly interests. With Daniel Webster and William Wirt as his attorneys, Gibbons finally appealed to the Supreme Court, and in one of the most famous decisions in American Constitutional law, Chief Justice Marshall ruled that navigation was commerce and Congress had the power to regulate interstate commerce. The steamboat monopoly was struck down. This is one of the most dramatic broadsides we have handled.
A LOVELY GORDON, WITH THE MAP
50. GORDON, THOMAS F. The History of New Jersey, from its Discovery by Europeans, to the Adoption of the Federal Constitution. Trenton, 1834. xii, 339 p. [Bound with:] A Gazetteer of the State of New Jersey, Comprehending a General View of its Physical and Moral Condition, Together with a Topographical and Statistical Account of its Counties, Towns, Villages, Canals, Rail Roads, &c.... Trenton, 1834. iv, 266 p. Handcolored folding map (very skillfully and unobtrusively repaired on the verso). Contemporary sheep (light scuffs at the extremities but very tight). Text foxed, as with all copies of this book. A very desirable copy. $550.00
The second history of New Jersey, bound with, as issued, the first gazetteer of the state. The latter is an essential reference tool for locating early towns and communities, and it remained the only gazetteer of New Jersey for almost fifty years. This is one of the cornerstone New Jersey books, and copies are usually found without the map and in dry, lifeless bindings. This copy is unusually nice and tight. For a lengthy study of this important book, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 726-727.
18TH-CENTURY NEW JERSEY LEGAL TREATISE
51. GRIFFITH, WILLIAM. A Treatise on the Jurisdiction and Proceedings of the Justices of the Peace in Civil Suits, with an Appendix .... Burlington: Elderkin & Miller, 1796. [xii], 272, [21] p. Contemporary sheep (worn). $300.00
First edition of a highly respected legal treatise and form book compiled to serve the specific needs of New Jersey justices and other civil officers. Griffith was a Burlington lawyer. For a detailed description of Griffith's important Treatise, and the search for the identiry of Elderkin and Miller, see Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 816; Evans 30518; ESTC W28371.
NEW BRUNSWICK POET AND TRAVELER
52. GUEST, MOSES. Poems on Several Occasions. To which are Added, Extracts from a Journal Kept by the Author while he Followed the Sea, and During a Journey from New-Brunswick, in New-Jersey, to Montreal and Quebec. Cincinnati: Looker & Reynolds, 1824. 160 p. Contemporary sheep (heavily worn and scuffed, hinges broken). Foxed. Modern bookplates. Good only. $300.00
Second edition, with some alterations from the first edition printed in Cincinnati the previous year. Guest was a New Brunswick native. During the Revolutionary War he commanded the party of Middlesex militia that captured John Graves Simcoe shortly after Simcoe's notorious raid into Somerset County in 1779. After the war Guest became a mariner and remained in New Brunswick until removing to Cincinnati in 1817. Many of Guest's poems concern individuals and events in New Brunswick and New Jersey. See Felcone, New Jersey Books, 744, for considerably more detail. American Imprints 16357.
53. HAGEMAN, JOHN F. History of Princeton and its Institutions. Philadelphia, 1879. 2 vols. Plates. Cloth. Spines worn at extremities, inner hinges a trifle cracked but very sound. A good, tight copy of a work that is often loose and shaken with broken inner hinges, &c. $275.00
Still the only general history of the town of Princeton, and much sought-after. Fully indexed in Joseph J. Felcone, An Index to John F. Hageman's History ... (1976).
54. HAINES, ALANSON A. History of the Fifteenth Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers. New York, 1883. 388 p. Illus. Port. Cloth. Early bookplate of a Military Order of the Loyal Legion commandery, small paper label at foot of spine, else unmarked and a fine tight copy that appears to have had little if any use. $325.00
Civil War regimental history.
55. HALL, JOHN F. The Daily Union History of Atlantic City and County, New Jersey. Atlantic City, 1900. 4to. 517 p. Illus. Folding map. Modern buckram. $300.00
The standard history of Atlantic County.
56. HANIFEN, MICHAEL. History of Battery B, First New Jersey Artillery. [Ottawa, Ill., 1905.] 174 p. Plates. Cloth. Spine number and one other small paper label on cover, very light cover soiling, neat 1906 bookplate of a Military Order of the Loyal Legion commandery, else a very nice, tight copy. $300.00
Includes an annotated roster of officers and enlisted men. A scarce New Jersey Civil War regimental history.
57. HESTON, ALFRED M. Absegami: Annals of Eyren Haven and Atlantic City, 1609-1904. Being an Account of the Settlement of Eyren Haven or Egg Harbor, and Reminiscences of Atlantic City and County .... [Atlantic City], 1904. 2 vols. 337 p. 446 p. Illus. Plates, folding maps. Neat later cloth, portion of original gilt covers laid down. $325.00
One of 500 numbered sets, privately printed. One of the standard histories of Atlantic City and Atlantic County, illustrated with many folding maps and photographs.
58. HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL ATLAS of the New Jersey Coast. Philadelphia: Woolman & Rose, 1878. Sm. folio. 372 p. Lithographed views and maps (some folding, many hand colored). Original cloth, neatly rebacked with a cloth spine and new endpapers. Lacks the large statewide geological map following the title, as is often the case, extremities of cover well worn, else very good. A nice, sturdy copy--perfect for library use, and priced less than a fine copy. $2200.00
Compiled by T.F. Rose, T.T. Price, and Bernard Connolly; surveys by H.C. Woolman. The largest and most lavish of the 19th century New Jersey atlases, with scores of wonderful colored maps and lithographed views of local towns, houses, and street scenes in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties. This is the atlas that the low-end print and antiques dealers most love to cut up. Copies, particularly in fine condition with all the folding maps, are getting harder to find, and prices continue to rise. An embarrassingly amateur and artless reprint was done in 1985.
FRANCIS HOPKINSON AND JOSEPH BORDEN
59. HOPKINSON, FRANCIS (Signer of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey; Bordentown resident). Engraved bill of exchange from the Loan Office of the United States, 30 October 1780, payable to Peter & Wm. Wikoff. 9.5 x 21 cm. Signed by Hopkinson as treasurer of the Continental Loan Office and countersigned by Joseph Borden as commissioner of the Loan Office for New Jersey. In fine condition. $3000.00
Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791) was one of New Jersey's five signers of the Declaration of Independence, He was married to a daughter of Joseph Borden, the leading citizen of Bordentown, and for several years Hopkinson lived in Bordentown. In 1779 he became an admiralty judge in Pennsylvania. Documents signed by Hopkinson are not rare, but they almost never have any connection to New Jersey. The present bill of exchange is not only signed by Hopkinson's father-in-law, Joseph Borden, but the recipients, Peter and William Wikoff, were Monmouth County residents, and Peter had been an aide to Washington at the Battle of Monmouth. The most "New Jersey" Hopkinson document we have ever handled.
FOR THE MONMOUTH COUNTY COLLECTOR WITH EVERYTHING
60. HORNOR, WILLIAM STOCKTON (1866-1936). Original typewritten manuscript of "This Old Monmouth of Ours." Undated, but ca. 1930. Unpaginated (each chapter separately paginated), double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11 in. paper bulking approximately 3 inches thick. Numerous marginal addenda, corrections, notes, etc., mostly in Hornor's hand. With an inscription signed by Hornor on the first page presenting the manuscript to a prominent Monmouth County antiquarian. Some pages on a poorer grade of wood pulp paper and quite brittle, but withal in excellent condition. Housed in a neat modern custom-made acid-free clamshell box. $275.00
For years New Jersey collectors have watched the original manuscripts of minor authors like Dickens and Twain and Salinger fetch astronomical five- and six-figure prices at auction. Here, at last, is the opportunity to acquire the original, corrected manuscript of one of the great works of Western civilization, This Old Monmouth of Ours. Hornor's text first appeared in the Freehold Transcript between 1930 and 1931 and was then reprinted as a book in 1932. It is one of the classic works of Monmouth County history and genealogy.
CURRIER & IVES COLORED LITHOGRAPH OF PHILIP KEARNY
61. (KEARNY, PHILIP). Hand colored lithograph, General Philip Kearney. New York: Currier & Ives, [n.d., but 1862-63]. Image 12 7/8 x 9 in. plus min. 3/4 in. margins on all four sides. Very faint dampstaining in lower margin, mat burn toning on verso but not visible on recto. A very nice copy with good wide margins. $600.00
Hand colored Currier & Ives lithograph depicting the one-armed Kearny, mounted on his white horse, at the front of his troops, battle rubble on the ground. Kearny was killed at Chantilly, Virginia, in September 1862. The print's four-line title concludes: ". . . Of all the gallant Officers that have fallen, none will be more deeply lamented by his companions in arms than 'Brave Phil Kearney.' 'Who can replace Phil Kearney.'" Gale 2455.
THE FIRST BOOK PRINTED IN MORRISTOWN
62. [KNOX, VICESIMUS]. The Spirit of Despotism. Morris-Town: Jacob Mann, 1799. [10], 319 p. Contemporary sheep. A rough copy, with covers dry and detached and old library stamps. Good at best. $350.00
The first book printed in Morristown. Jacob Mann came to Morristown in late 1797 as printer and publisher of the local newspaper. For the year 1798 there is one known separate Jacob Mann imprint, a pamphlet act of the legislature. In 1799 there are but two separate Mann imprints, another small pamphlet and this bound work by Vicesimus Knox. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 1019; Evans 35691; ESTC W3557.
GENERAL JOHN LACEY WRITES FROM NEW MILLS
63. LACEY, JOHN. Autograph letter signed, New Mills, 15 August 1795. To John Nicholson at Philadelphia, about trading his lands and furnaces. One page, quarto. Very fine. $900.00
John Lacey, Jun. (1755-1814) was a distinguished brigadier general in the Revolutionary War. He married a daughter of Thomas Reynolds, of New Mills (now Pemberton), Burlington County, and moved there after the war. He established the New Mills Forge and also had interests at that time in the Hanover Furnace. He tells Nicholson "I hold One Quarter of the Lands and Furnaces all of which I purpose to dispose of but must have part in cash...." Nicholson, a major land speculator, was proposing an exchange of lands.
RARE 18TH-CENTURY MOUNT HOLLY IMPRINT
64. LARZELERE, JACOB. A Discourse, on the Death of General George Washington, Delivered in the Township of Northampton, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of February, 1800. Mount Holly: Stephen C. Ustick, 1800. 18 p. Removed from a bound volume. Fine. $300.00
One of the few works to come from Stephen Ustick's very short-lived Mount Holly press. Evans 37780; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 1106; ESTC W38091.
ROBERT THE HERMIT
65. LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF ROBERT, the Hermit of Massachusetts, who has Lived 14 years in a Cave, Secluded from Human Society .... Taken from his own Mouth, and Published for his Benefit. Providence: H. Trumbull, 1829. 36 p. incl. frontis. Stitched in contemporary plain wrappers. Some browning and soiling, else very nice. $450.00
One of two slightly varying editions of a cheap, sensational narrative based upon a real hermit, but considerably fictionalized. According to the narrative, Robert was born a slave in Princeton. His mother was a black slave in bondage, his father "a pure white blooded Englishman ... a gentleman of considerable eminence." He was carried South, escaped from slavery, made several voyages, and spent the remainder of his life in a cave near Providence, Rhode Island. For a very detailed study of the publication history of pamphlet, the fact versus the fiction, the identification of the real author, and the part played by the enterprising Henry Trumbull, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 836-837. Shoemaker 40690.
LIVINGTON EULOGY ON AARON BURR: 1758
66. LIVINGSTON, WILLIAM. A Funeral Elogium on the Reverend Mr. Aaron Burr, Late President of the College of New-Jersey. New York, Printed; Boston: Re-Printed by Green and Russell, for J. Winter, 1758. 4to. 23 p. Removed from a bound volume. Name torn from upper blank margin of title page, a few edge chips and minor dog-earing, but very good. Simple board clemise and slipcase. $900.00
First printed in New York in 1757. Livingston would later become the Revolutionary War governor of New Jersey. Burr was the second president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) and the father of the future vice president. Evans 8162; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 131; ESTC W20351.
RARE WILLIAM LIVINGSTON POEM PRINTED IN TRENTON
67. [LIVINGSTON, WILLIAM]. Philosophic Solitude; or The Choice of a Rural Life: A Poem. By a Young Gentleman Educated at Yale College. Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1782. 28 p. Stitched and untrimmed, as issued. Persistent dampstaining throughout, one fore-edge margin a bit ragged costing a few letters, but a good copy, and a remarkable survival in as-issued state. $800.00
Livingston's anonymously published paean to the rural life, first printed in New York in 1747. This is the only New Jersey edition, printed while Livingston was the Revolutionary War governor of New Jersey. This is also the only known untrimmed copy. Evans 17575; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 356; Stoddard and Whitesell 323; ESTC W27625.
THE SAMUEL LEWIS MAP OF NEW JERSEY
68. (MAP). The State of New Jersey, Compiled from the most Authentic Information. [Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1814]. 19 1/4 x 12 1/2 in. (platemark) plus wide margins all around. Original hand coloring in outline. Some light staining and spotting at the corners of the image--not heavy but noticeable. In a tasteful early 20th-century Hogarth-style frame. Ready to hang. $850.00
The popular Samuel Lewis map of New Jersey, drawn by Lewis and engraved in 1795 by William Barker for Mathew Carey's American edition of William Guthrie's Geography Improved. This printing of the map, for the 1814 Carey atlas, is the most desirable, as it is colored for the first time and is printed on far better paper than its predecessors. Original outline coloring divides the state into 13 counties. Snyder, Mapping of New Jersey, pp. 88-89; Wheat & Brun 414 (state III). CALL TO DISCUSS SHIPPING OPTIONS.
THE FIRST ATLAS OF MERCER COUNTY
69. (MERCER COUNTY). Combination Atlas Map of Mercer County, New Jersey. Philadelphia: Everts & Stewart, 1875. Folio. iv, [8], v-xvi, 46 [i.e., 48] p. Illus. Hand colored maps. Original leather-backed decorated cloth. Corners amd spine ends worn through, endpapers creased, but an unusually nice, clean copy, with the leather spine worn but very sound. $1600.00
The first atlas of Mercer County, with hand-colored local maps depicting landowners' names and locations of buildings, lithographs of houses and farms, a business directory of Mercer County, etc. One of the scarcer New Jersey county atlases, and rare with a solid, unbroken spine.
THE SECOND AMERICAN BOOK OF ROAD MAPS
70. MOORE, JOSHUA J., and THOMAS W. JONES. The Traveller's Directory: or, a Pocket Companion, Shewing the Course of the Main Road from Philadelphia to New York; and from Philadelphia to Washington: With Descriptions of the Places through which it Passes, and the Intersections of the Cross Roads ... By S. S. [sic] Moore and T. W. Jones. Philadelphia: Mathew Carey, 1804. 8vo. [4], 37, [1], 19 [i.e., 17] p. 38 engraved strip maps on 22 plates. Modern full calf, correctly done in perfect period style with original spine label (slightly chipped at edges) remounted and original endsheets relaid. Front free endsheet chipped at fore-edge, name clipped from top blank margin of title page, intermittant light browning of text and foxing of maps, as is usual with this book. A very good copy of a book never found in fine condition. $8500.00
Second edition of the second American book of road maps, following Christopher Colles' exceedingly rare Survey of the Roads of the United States (1789), and the first road map book to provide detailed maps of the road from Philadelphia north through New Jersey to New York, and from Philadelphia south through Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia to Washington.
Joshua John Moore and Thomas W. Jones were young surveyors in the employ of the Philadelphia publisher Mathew Carey. From several letters they wrote to Carey during the course of the survey (Lea & Febiger papers, PHi), a clear picture emerges of the extremely difficult task they had undertaken. On June 29, 1801, they wrote from New York: "We should have written to you before this, had not fatigue of our daily Journies rendered repose indispensable after the finishing of our Notes and Traverses. After twelve days driving our way through an immense multitude of Questioners, Observers, laughters, & Critics, who generally thronged around us at every place, to our great discomposure at first ... we are at length arrived here. If astonishment would ensure success to a work, we may entertain strong hopes indeed of ours; but it has nearly exhausted our health, as every violent effort naturally must...."
Upon completion of the surveys, the maps were drawn by the surveyors. They locate crossroads, streams, taverns, churches and other public buildings, and occasionally private houses. Carey employed four engravers to produce the plates: William Harrison, Jr., and Francis Shallus, who did the bulk of the work, and John Draper and James Smither, Jr. The text, also assembled by Moore and Jones, describes the various towns through which the roads pass, including sites of interest to the traveler. In this second edition, published two years after the first edition of 1802, the descriptive text has been extensively corrected and expanded. The maps are identical to those in the first edition and are printed from the same plates.
The book is scarce, particularly in the nice condition of this copy. Most copies are browned and considerably foxed. For a highly detailed account of the production of this important early American map book, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 886. Howes M-778; Streeter sale 3970; S&S 6815.
THE FIRST AMERICAN GEOGRAPHY: 1789
71. MORSE, JEDIDIAH. The American Geography; or, A View of the Present Situation of the United States of America. Elizabeth Town: Shepard Kollock, 1789. xii, 534, [3] p. 2 folding maps. Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in correct period style, rear endpaper sympathetically replaced. Light foxing and occasional browning throughout, as usual with early American paper, a few short splits and one map tear skillfully mended. Twentieth-century owner's stamp at the foot of the dedication page and on the verso of one map. Rev. Anson Phelps Stokes bookplate. $5500.00
The first American geography, and an important early American cartographical work. Jedidiah Morse was a congregationalist minister who in 1784 published a school text, Geography Made Easy. Two years later, he began work on a comprehensive American geography. He sought assistance from many distinguished Americans, including Washington and Franklin. Governor William Livingston of New Jersey took considerable interest in the work and made numerous contributions to the text. Morse returned his thanks to Livingston by dedicating the book to him. The maps were engraved by Amos Doolittle, who compiled the map of the northern states. The map of the southern states was compiled by Joseph Purcell and depicts the "New State of Franklin" between present Tennessee and North Carolina. This copy is complete including the errata leaf and directions to the binder, leaf 3X4, and the leaf "Corrections respecting France" tipped in at the rear. For a detailed essay on the compilation and publication history of this important book, see Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800: A Descriptive Bibliography, 528. Evans 21978; Howes M840; Wheat & Brun 149, 491; ESTC W31207.
72. NELSON, WILLIAM. Nelson's Biographical Cyclopedia of New Jersey. New York, 1913. 2 vols., 4to ([4], 801 p.). Ports. Original half pigskin. Covers well scuffed at extremities, still an unusually nice set. $275.00
Biographical sketches and portraits.
THE FIRST NEW BRUNSWICK DIRECTORY
73. (NEW BRUNSWICK). A Directory of the City of New-Brunswick, for 1855. New Brunswick: J. Terhune, 1855. [13], 96, [36] p. Leather-backed printed paper-covered boards, very skillfully rebacked in perfect period style. Other than very light soiling of the boards, a remarkably fine, fresh copy. $650.00
The first New Brunswick city directory, compiled by (or at least for) Augustus Fitz Randolph Taylor, a New Brunswick physician. The next New Brunswick directory was not issued until 1865. In forty years of specializing in New Jerseyana, this is only the second copy of this directory that we've handled. And this is the finest copy one could hope for. Felcone, New Jersey Books, 531.
A COMPLETE SET OF THE NEW JERSEY ARCHIVES
74. NEW JERSEY. Archives of the State of New Jersey. V.p., 1880-1949. 48 vols. Cloth. A very good, unusually nice set. $2000.00
A complete set (First and Second Series). A set of the "New Jersey Archives" is one of the most basic and essential reference works to any New Jersey collection. The set contains: Colonial Documents, 1631-1776 (10v.); General Index to Colonial Documents (1v.); Journal of the Governor and Council, 1682-1775 (6v.); Newspaper Extracts, 1704-1782 (16v.); Abstracts of Wills, 1670-1817 (13v.); Calendar of Records, 1664-1703 (1v.); and Marriage Records, 1665-1800 (1v.). Publication was discontinued in 1949. A Third Series began in 1974 and ended in 1986. With the exception of the last few volumes of will abstracts, all of the records are from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Complete sets are very difficult to find, and sets in nice condition are even more difficult because of the poor quality of the production of several of the volumes. This set is remarkably nice throughout and is probably the finest set we have ever offered for sale.
A COMPLETE SET OF THE ABSTRACTS OF WILLS, 1670-1817
75. NEW JERSEY. Archives of the State of New Jersey. Subset: Calendar of New Jersey Wills, Administrations, etc., 1670-1817. V.p., 1901-1949. 13 vols. Cloth. A lovely set. $900.00
All published, being volumes XXIII, XXX, and XXXII through XLII of the full Archives set. Abstracts of New Jersey wills from 1670 through 1817, and one of the absolutely essential tools for anyone doing genealogical research in New Jersey. Complete sets are very difficult to assemble, as the last several volumes were printed in much smaller editions.
76. NEW JERSEY. GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD COMMISSION. Final Report of the Gettysburg Battle-Field Commission of New Jersey. Trenton, 1891. 165 p. Plates. Wrappers (brittle and quite chipped around the edges). $300.00
A full statistical study of the New Jersey troops at Gettysburg, with addresses at the dedications of the various regimental monuments, photographs of the monuments, &c.
A CONSECUTIVE 153-YEAR RUN OF THE PROCEEDINGS
77. NEW JERSEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society [later, New Jersey History]. Newark: Vol. 1, 1845, through vol. 115, 1997. Illus., plates, maps, etc. First ten volumes in rough bindings, next twelve variously bound and unbound, next ten neatly bound, and the remainder unbound as issued. Second Series imperfect, lacking vols. 1, 2, 4, and 13 and some individual numbers. Otherwise complete in 115 volumes. $3800.00
A consecutive 153-year run, from the first issue, of the largest single source of New Jersey history. The Proceedings began as a mid-nineteenth century antiquarian journal, with transcriptions of colonial and Revolutionary War-period letters and diaries, articles on military history, local history, genealogy, and biography. In the twentieth century the format became increasingly scholarly, and over the years the more administrative "proceedings" of the society were gradually dropped from the journal. In 1967 its name was changed to New Jersey History. Over the next four decades the magazine faced several identity crises and underwent various editorial policy changes, largely for the worse. In 2006 the journal was discontinued as the poor New Jersey Historical Society reinvented itself for the umpteenth time while continuing its sad downward spiral. Yet the magazine is, and has always been, the only scholarly journal devoted to New Jersey history, and a complete run represents a vast wealth of information on New Jersey. With the publication in 1996 of Donald A. Sinclair's superb index, this tremendous resource is now readily available to the researcher. This present set was assembled by a longtime customer of ours over a period of about thirty years. It is only the third essentially complete set we have had for sale in 40 years. We will supply to the purchaser at no charge the few missing volumes/numbers whenever we can find them.
78. NEW JERSEY. ... Index of Wills, Inventories, etc., in the Office of the Secretary of State Prior to 1901. [Trenton], 1912-13. 3 vols. (1452 p.). Cloth. An unusually clean, tight set. $375.00
One of the standard New Jersey genealogical reference tools--much sought after and usually found in deplorable condition. This set is remarkably clean and tight.
NEVILL'S LAWS, 1752 and 1761
79. NEW JERSEY. LAWS. The Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey, from the Time of the Surrender of the Government ... to this Present Time ... By Samuel Nevill.... [Philadelphia]: William Bradford, 1752. Sm. fol. [4], 507 p. [with:] The Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey, from the Year 1753 ... where the first volume ends, to the Year 1761 ... By Samuel Nevill ... Volume the Second. Woodbridge: James Parker, 1761. Sm. fol. [4], x, [2], 368, [4], 369-401, [1], 56, 64 p. Contemporary sheep (v.1) and contemporary reversed sheep (v.2), both very skillfully rebacked in period style. First two leaves of v.1 neatly guarded in the blank margins, the usual foxing and browning common to early American paper, else an unusually nice set in contemporary bindings. $2500.00
The second compilation of the laws of New Jersey (following that of John Kinsey in 1732), assembled by Samuel Nevill with the assistance in the first volume of Philip Kearny. The second volume is the first law compilation to be printed in New Jersey, James Parker having set up the colony's first permanent printing press at Woodbridge in 1754. For a detailed study of the evolution and printing of Nevill's Laws, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 155 and 157, and Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 59. Evans 6893, 8680, 8947; ESTC W14077, W14078.
THE FUNDAMENTAL DOCUMENTS OF NEW JERSEY
80. NEW JERSEY. LAWS. The Grants, Concessions, and Original Constitutions of the Province of New-Jersey. The Acts Passed During the Proprietary Governments, and other Material Transactions ... By Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer. Philadelphia: W. Bradford, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty for the Province of New-Jersey, [1758]. Sm. fol. [4], 763 p. Neatly rebound in modern legal-style reversed calf, red and black spine labels. First several leaves dampstained, occasional marginal dampstaining elsewhere in text, otherwise a very clean, tight copy. With the signature of Hugh Hartshorne Bowne. $2400.00
The classic compilation of the foundation documents of New Jersey from 1664 to 1702, accompanied by the session laws from 1668 to 1701. Authorized by the legislature in 1752, the work was assembled over the next six years chiefly by Samuel Nevill and Samuel Smith, and was seem through the press by Aaron Leaming and Jacob Spicer. Of all the compilations of New Jersey laws from the 1752 Nevill volume onward, the "Grants and Concessions" is the scarcest. See Felcone, New Jersey Books, 156, for a detailed ten-page study of this highly important colonial New Jersey book. Evans 8205.
LAWS OF NEW JERSEY: 1776
IN THE ORIGINAL JAMES LEISHMAN BINDING
81. NEW JERSEY. LAWS. Acts of the General Assembly of the Province of New-Jersey, from the Surrender of the Government to Queen Anne, on the 17th Day of April, in the Year of Our Lord 1702, to the 14th Day of January 1776 ... By Samuel Allinson.... Burlington: Isaac Collins, 1776. Folio. viii, 493, [1], 6, 6, 4, 4, 3, [1], 15 p. Contemporary sheepskin, blind two-line fillet around covers, blind decorative roll along spine side, blind roll on board edges, spine with raised cords and red morocco label, by James Leishman. The usual light foxing present in all copies, occasional minor spotting, else a lovely collector's copy in a tight original binding. $1000.00
A compilation of all the laws in force in New Jersey in 1776. Though begun several years earlier, publication was delayed by Governor William Franklin's constant quarrels with the assembly, the outbreak of hostilities, and, finally, as Allinson notes in his preface, the inability to obtain sufficient paper, "... the Want of [which] stop'd the Press several Weeks at sundry Times, until more could be manufactured." The quality of the paper varies considerably, and all copies exhibit differing degrees of foxing and browning from gathering to gathering. There are several contemporary manuscript corrections, also present in all copies and probably done in the printer's shop. The edition was bound by James Leishman, of Burlington, but copies in the original binding are usually dry and broken. This one is remarkably tight and desirable. For a detailed account of the evolution and printing history of Allinson's Laws, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 158, and Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 214. Evans 14911; ESTC W6511.
REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD LAWS OF NEW JERSEY
82. NEW JERSEY. LAWS. Acts of the Council and General Assembly of the State of New-Jersey, from the Establishment of the Present Government, and Declaration of Independence, to the end of ... December, 1783; with the Constitution Prefixed ... By Peter Wilson. Trenton: Isaac Collins, 1784. Folio. x, 389, [1], 28, 4, 4, 30 p. Early decorated paper-covered boards, later calf spine, leather spine label (worn at extremities). Title leaf somewhat soiled and dampstained, marginal dampstain on next few leaves, the usual foxing and browning of some gatherings as found in all copies, small piece torn from the top blank margin of 3G2, without loss. George S. Woodhull's copy. $900.00
A compilation of New Jersey laws passed between 1776 and 1783, and the work that updates Samuel Allinson's compilation of 1776. A great many of the laws pertain to the American Revolution. For a detailed account of the evolution and printing history of Wilson's Laws, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 161-2, and Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 394. Evans 18632; ESTC W6807.
WILLIAM PATERSON'S REVISION OF THE LAWS OF NEW JERSEY
83. NEW JERSEY. LAWS. Laws of the State of New Jersey, Revised ... by William Paterson. New Brunswick: Abraham Blauvelt, 1800. Lg. folio. [2], xxi, [1], 455, [33] p. Modern calf-backed marbled boards, very skillfully executed in period antique style. The usual minor foxing and spotting, but a fine copy in a correct period-style binding. $1000.00
A complete revision and compilation of the laws of New Jersey, begun in 1792 while Paterson was governor of the state and completed while he was associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. Consolidating the existing statutory law with the Common Law of England, Paterson essentially re-wrote much of the state's law. The work is a monument both to Paterson's extraordinary legal mind and to his remarkable abilty to produce and complete such a complex undertaking while serving successively as governor and Supreme Court justice. See Felcone, New Jersey Books, 168, for a detailed nine-page study of the evolution of this landmark New Jersey book, and Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 1112, for additional bibliographical information. Evans 38064; ESTC W7003.
THE "CHEAP" EDITION
84. NEW JERSEY. LAWS. Laws of the State of New-Jersey; Revised and Published, under the Authority of the Legislature, by William Paterson. Newark: Matthias Day, 1800. Lg. 8vo. [2], 455, [1], xxi, [1], 2, 46, [1] p. Modern full calf in antique style, red and black spine labels. Minor marginal spotting at rear of text, else a fine copy. $900.00
The octavo edition of Paterson's Laws, printed by Matthias Day from sheets of the folio edition as they came from Abraham Blauvelt's press. Blauvelt's folio was an essential but expensive book, and Day saw a market for a less costly edition, printed on super royal paper in octavo format. The text on each page was nearly identical to that in the folio edition, so that a citation to one edition was also a citation to the other. For a detailed description of the evolution and printing of this edition, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 169, and Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 1113. This copy contains the original title page, with the horse's head in the state arms facing to the left. When the remainder of the edition was purchased from Day by Newark printer and bookseller William Tuttle in 1814, Tuttle printed a new title page, dated 1800 but most easily identified by a right-facing horse's head. Evans 38063; ESTC W7002.
BERGEN BRIGADE PRINTED DOCUMENT
85. (NEW JERSEY MILITIA--BERGEN CO.). Partly printed discharge from the Bergen Brigade of the New-Jersey Militia, made out to Ralph S. Demarest, 21 December 1840, and signed by Peter G. Doremus. One page. Fine. $340.00
"Whereas it has been made to appear, to the satisfaction of this Brigade Board, that Ralph S. Demarest has faithfully served, in a Uniform Company, for the space of ten years...."
EARLIEST IMAGE OF THE NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE
86. (NEW JERSEY SENATE). New Jersey Senate, 1859. Philadelphia: T. Sinclair's lith., [1859]. "Drawn on Stone by Otto Knirsch...." Sepia-tinted lithograph. 19 1/4 x 27 3/8 plus generous margins. Extremities of margins originally chipped and with two small lacunae, all of which would be covered by the mat. Professionally cleaned, deacidified, and laid down on an acid-free backing by one of America's foremost paper conservators. Clean, bright, and ready to frame. $3000.00
The earliest depiction of either branch of the New Jersey legislature as a body, as well as the earliest depiction of the interior of either legislative chamber. The image shows the members of the 1859 New Jersey senate seated in the senate chamber. Pictured are the president, the secretary, and the other twenty members of the senate, along with the sergeant at arms, the engrossing clerk, the reporter, and two youthful pages. In the margin beneath the title is a key to the image, containing the names, titles, and counties of all twenty-seven individuals pictured. The heads of the senators, other than being a bit out of scale with the bodies, are accurate and were almost certainly drawn from photographs. The accuracy of the senate chamber itself is unknown as no other images from this period are known to survive. The artist, Otto Knirsch, lived and worked in Hoboken for many years. In more than forty years of specializing in New Jerseyana, this is the first copy of this remarkable lithograph we have ever had for sale. Felcone, Pride of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, 110.
THE FIRST REPORT OF A NEW JERSEY COURT
87. NEW JERSEY. SUPREME COURT. Reports of Cases, Adjudged in the Supreme Court of Judicature of the State of New-Jersey ... By William Sandford Pennington.... Newark: W. Tuttle & Co., 1806. 154, [11] p. Stitched as issued, fully untrimmed. Stitching gone, else a remarkably fine, fresh copy. $275.00
The first published report of a New Jersey court, covering the decisions in the supreme court of New Jersey from May through November term, 1806. (Coxe's reports, which retrospectively cover the period 1789 to 1795, were not published until 1816.) William Sandford Pennington (1757-1826), who was, concurrently, one of the justices of the supreme court, would continue to serve as reporter until 1813, when he resigned to become governor. He later became a United States District Court judge for the district of New Jersey. S&S 10986; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1084.
18TH-CENTURY TRENTON ALMANAC
88. THE NEW-JERSEY ALMANACK for the Year of our Lord 1789 ... The Astronomical Calculations by Wm. Waring. Trenton: Isaac Collins, [1788]. [40] p. (complete). Stitched. A very attractive copy. $750.00
Eighteenth-century New Jersey almanacs are becoming very scarce on the market. Evans 21569; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 504; Drake, Almanacs, 5141; ESTC W22691.
THE FIRST TRENTON ALMANAC: 1779
89. THE NEW-JERSEY ALMANACK for the Year of our Lord 1779 ... By Timothy Trueman. Trenton: Isaac Collins, [1778]. [32] p. Illus. Stitched. The outside of the first and last leaf quite soiled, and each becoming detached, else clean and complete. $1500.00
In February 1778 Quaker printer Isaac Collins moved his press from Burlington to Trenton to be closer to the seat of government, which body he served as state printer throughout the course of the Revolutionary War. This is the first Revolutionary War almanac printed in Trenton, and the first copy we have offered for sale in well over forty years. Evans 16095; Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 259; Drake 5116; ESTC W8274.
1801 NEW JERSEY ALMANAC
90. THE NEW-JERSEY AND PENNSYLVANIA ALMANAC, for the Year 1801 ... By Abraham Shoemaker. Trenton: Sherman, Mershon & Thomas, [1800]. [36] p. Stitched. Light staining and soiling on first and last few leaves, else very good. $450.00
The verso of the final leaf contains an advertisement for George Rea, Trenton clock- and watchmaker. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 198; Drake 5207; Evans 38498; ESTC W33932.
91. (NEWARK). Pierson, B.T. Directory of the City of Newark, for 1853-54. Nineteenth Edition. Newark, 1853. 44, 24, 300, 325-432 p. + advt. leaves. Leather-backed printed boards (rubbed at extremities). Lacks map, title page loose, else a nice tight copy. $275.00
Felcone, New Jersey Books, 589.
ONE OF THE GREAT ARCHITECTURAL LITHOGRAPHS OF NEW JERSEY
92. NOTMAN, JOHN. State Capitol of New Jersey at Trenton. Built, 1794. Altered & Enlarged 1845 & 46. Philadelphia: T. Sinclair's lith., [ca. 1845]. Large folio (42 x 61 cm. plus full original margins). Professionally cleaned and very skillfully colored. One very light crease in the sky and a few very small marginal tears very neatly and unobtrusively repaired. Correctly framed in a period-style, leaf-gilt antiqued frame, acid-free fillets under the rabbet, by one of America's leading museum framers. A beautiful example. $3000.00
By 1845 New Jersey's State House--built in 1794--had become both inadequate and in need of considerable repair. Philadelphia architect John Notman was retained to prepare a set of drawings, which were accepted, that dramatically altered and enlarged the original structure. Construction began in 1845 and was completed the next year. See C. M. Greiff, John Notman, Architect (1979), pp. 82-90. At some point in the process drawings by Notman were provided to the Sinclair firm, which produced three lithographs: one depicting the original 1794 structure, and two depicting the Notman alterations and addition, one a northeast and the other a southeast perspective. All three are very rare today: in over forty years of handling New Jerseyana, this southeast view is the first of the three that we have ever offered for sale. This is a lovely copy, on a full uncut sheet, tastefully colored, and beautifully and correctly framed. Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, 109. Cannot be shipped.
THE FIRST AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A MAGICIAN PUBLISHED IN AMERICA
93. OEHLER, ANDREW. The Life, Adventures, and Unparalleled Sufferings of Andrew Oehler: Containing an Account of his Travels ... Written by Himself. Trenton: D. Fenton; L. Deare, printer, N. Brunswick, 1811. 226 p. Contemporary mottled sheep (hinges cracked but solid). Some dampstains, but quite good. $2400.00
First and only edition of the first autobiographical account of a magician to be published in America. One of two issues with slightly different title page imprints. A delightful narrative of the adventures, misfortunes, and hairbreadth escapes of a picaresque traveler, chiefly in Europe and the southern United States. Oehler, according to his own account, was born in Germany in 1781. He came to America early in 1800, landing first at Baltimore, then journeying through Maryland and Virginia. In 1801 he left for Santo Domingo, where he arrived in the midst of the black insurrection, was taken to Toussaint, and joined the insurrectionary army. The next year he was in South Carolina, where he learned to build hot-air balloons and did public ascensions there and in Georgia and Tennessee. He next learned legerdemain and conducted seances, attracting crowds and filling his pockets.
Over the next several years he added fireworks and atmospheric electricity to his bag of tricks, traveling throughout the south before heading north to Philadelphia, then New Jersey. The appendix following the text describes some of the technical principles behind his slight-of-hand and electricity demonstrations. See Ricky Jay, "Suffering Hyperbole," Gibecière 7 (2012): 11-17, and Enrique Jiménez-Martínez, "Andrew Oehler's Myths of Old Mexico: Two Hundred Years after Something that Never Happened," Gibecière 7 (2012): 21-88. S&S 23586; Howes O-25; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1188; Clark, Travels in the Old South, II, 110.
VAN DOREN HONEYMAN'S OWN COPY
94. OUR HOME: A Monthly Magazine of Original Articles, Historical, Biographical, Scientific and Miscellaneous, Mostly by Somerset and Hunterdon County Writers, and on Subjects Largely Pertaining to these Counties .... Somerville: Vol. I no. 1, Jan. 1873, through vol. I no. 12, Dec. 1873. Twelve numbers, bound together in the original publisher's cloth binding, without ads. Spine ends worn away, inner hinges broken, front endpaper loose. Van Doren Honeyman's personal copy, with his bookplate on the front pastedown, part of a congratulatory letter from antiquarian Henry B. Dawson on the front flyleaf, and a few minor marginal notes. $300.00
All published. The ultimate copy of this important and scarce source of Somerset and Hunterdon County local history and genealogy, edited by A. Van Doren Honeyman. For the Somerset or Hunterdon County collector.
95. PAPE, WILLIAM J., and WILLIAM W. SCOTT. The News' History of Passaic. From the Earliest Settlement to the Present Day. Embracing a Descriptive History ... with Biographical Sketches. [Passaic], 1899. Small folio. 320 p. Illus. Plates. Cloth. Inner hinges repaired, else a very good copy of a book that is invariably found in poor condition. $350.00
Profusely illustrated history of this Passaic County town.
FIRST PRINTING OF BLACKSTONE IN AMERICA,
AND THE FIRST LEGAL TREATISE PRINTED IN NEW JERSEY
96. PARKER, JAMES. Conductor Generalis: or, The Office, Duty and Authority of Justices of the Peace, High-Sheriffs ... Constables, Gaolers ... To which is added, A Treatise on the Law of Descents in Fee-Simple: By William Blackstone.... Woodbridge, in New-Jersey: Printed and sold by James Parker; sold also by John Holt ... in New-York, 1764. 8vo. xvi, 592 p. Contemporary sheep, very skillfully rebacked in period style retaining original spine label. Edges of front free endpaper neatly guarded, the usual light foxing inherent in colonial American paper, else a lovely copy. With the contemporary signature of "Wm. Smith" on front flyleaf. $2800.00
First edition of the first legal treatise printed in New Jersey, the first printing of Blackstone in America, and one of the most substantial books both written and printed by a colonial American printer. James Parker was a justice of the peace in New Jersey as well as the colony's first printer, having established his press at Woodbridge in 1754. His legal manual was based upon earlier English works of a similar nature, chiefly Burn, but was considerably altered to suit American needs. Blackstone's treatise on descents was the first work of that author to be printed in America. Parker's Conductor Generalis was a shared edition and exists with three varying title page imprints. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 90; Bristol B2507; ESTC W38802.
THE EARLIEST VIEW OF PASSAIC FALLS
97. (PASSAIC FALLS). A View of the Falls on the Passaick, or Second River, in the Province of New Jersey . . . Sketch'd on the Spot by His Excellency Governor Pownall. . . . London: For John Bowles, Robert Sayer, Thos. Jefferys, Carington Bowles, and Henry Parker, [1768]. 14.5 x 21.2 in. (platemark) plus 1/4 in. margins. Black and white etching/engraving. Two tears into image neatly closed, skillfully backed in tissue by a leading American conservator. $2000.00
The first published image of the Passaic Falls and one of the earliest published images of New Jersey. The artist, Thomas Pownall, served as lieutenant-governor of New Jersey and governor of Massachusetts and spent several years in America between 1753 and 1759. His sketch of the Passaic Falls was given to London artist Paul Sandby, who made a finished painting from it and then an engraving. This engraving, along with five others (not New Jersey) from Pownall sketches, was published by Thomas Jefferys in London in 1761 as Six Remarkable Views in the Provinces of New-York, New-Jersey, and Pennsylvania, in North America. Copies are very rare. Seven years later, in 1768, a second impression of the engraving was made for inclusion in a portfolio of 28 views entitled Scenographia Americana. In this second impression, the 1761 Jefferys imprint was removed from the plate and replaced with an undated line naming the five publishers of the new work. Other than the addition of a small "c.2." just below the lower right-hand corner of the image, no other changes were made to the plate for the second impression, which we offer here. Felcone, Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, amd Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, 54; Cresswell, The American Revolution in Drawings and Prints, 568.
DRAMATIC PATERSON TEXTILE WORKERS' STRIKE BROADSIDE
98. (PATERSON SILK WORKERS' STRIKE). Broadside, Silk Workers & Dye Workers of Paterson. The Communist Party hails the General Strike of the Silk Dye Workers and Broad Silk Workers ... Smash the Strike-Breaking Efforts of the Dye Bosses ... Come to the Mass Meeting Thurs. Sept. 14 ... Carpenters Hall ... The dye workers and silk workers of Paterson and Lodi have given their answer to the bosses' slavery codes of the National Recovery Act ... The Communist Party greets your strike and pledges its solidarity and full support.... Paterson: Communist Party, Paterson Section, [1933]. Broadside. 12 x 9 in. Lower corner torn off, with loss of parts of five or six words, some dampstaining, but generally good. $550.00
A dramatic broadside issued by the Paterson Section of the Communist Party, at the height of the 1933 Paterson textile workers' strike, urging strikers to attend a mass meeting in Paterson to unify in opposition to the N.R.A., "which masquerades as a prosperity act, is in reality wage-cutting, price-raising act, outlawing strikes, increasing political terror to force the workers to accept the slavery codes."
THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER NEW JERSEY NOVEL
99. PETERSON, CHARLES J. Kate Aylesford. A Story of the Refugees. Philadelphia, [1855]. [5], 22-356 p. + [20] p. advts. Cloth. A very worn but complete copy, as follows: spine ends worn with some cloth loss; outer rear hinge cracked but solid; spine a bit canted; corners worn through; front free endpaper and flyleaf wanting; several gatherings sprung. Withal, a decent copy of a book that, when found, is almost always in very worn condition. $750.00
First edition, first issue, of a novel laid in the Pine Barrens during the Revolutionary War. The action takes place at Sweetwater, now Pleasant Mills, Atlantic County. Kate Aylesford is the quintessential heroine of Victorian fiction. Many of the local scenes are identifiable, and the heroine's mansion is the Elijah Clark house, still standing on Lake Nescochague at Pleasant Mills. The 1778 raid at Chestnut Neck is an important part of the action, and the "Pine Robbers" are conspicuous in the action. The story first appeared serially in a Philadelphia newspaper, then was released in book form in 1855. It was reprinted, with trifling changes, in 1858, and was reissued in 1873 with a new title, The Heiress of Sweetwater. By J. Thornton Randolph. It is the most sought-after New Jersey novel, and copies are invariably worn and well-read. For a detailed essay on the book, the characters, the author, and the publication history, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1210.
100. PHELPS, SAMUEL MERRICK. The Triumphs of Divine Grace, a Poem, in Two Parts . . . To which are added Promiscuous Pieces, by Harriette E. Phelps. New York: Craighead and Allen, 1835. 132 p. Marbled paper-covered boards, cloth spine, paper spine label (largely chipped away). Endpapers foxed, occasional minor spotting, some cover wear, but a nice tight copy. $275.00
First and only edition. Original verse by a Parsippany minister and his daughter. Phelps was called to the pastorate in Parsippany in 1804, served until 1815 and also taught at the Troy Academy, then returned to Parsippany in 1835. The book contains testimonials from Stephen Grover of Caldwell, Aaron Condit of Hanover, John Ford of Parsippany, and others. American Imprints 33673.
101. PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD of Hunterdon and Warren Counties, New Jersey. Containing Portraits and Biographies of many Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present.... New York: Chapman Publishing Co., 1898. 4to. [10], [19]-578 p. incl. ports. Original elaborately tooled and stamped leather. Extremities scuffed, else a remarkably nice copy of a book that is almost impossible to find in a solid original binding. $350.00
One of the standard nineteenth century biographical works on these two counties. Almost every copy we have handled is either rebound or in need of rebinding.
1827 FICTION BY A NEW JERSEY AUTHOR
102. [POTTS, STACY G.]. Village Tales, or Recollections of By-Past Times. By Oliver Oakwood. Trenton: Joseph Justice, 1827. vii, [2], 10-252 p. Mid-nineteenth-century half sheep (rubbed, worn at extremities, but tight). Foxing and some browning. $450.00
First and only edition in book form. A series of moral tales first published in the Trenton Emporium under the pseudonym "Oliver Oakwood." Stacy Gardiner Potts (1799-1865) was a Trenton journalist and co-founder of the Emporium. While working at the newspaper and writing these stories, he also read law, and in 1827 he was licensed as an attorney. Later he was elected clerk of the court of chancery, and in 1852 he became a justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. This is only the second copy we have had for sale in forty years. We have examined a few other copies in institutions, and every copy is foxed, and all but one is in a mid-nineteenth-century binding. See Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1215, for Potts' own comments on his book. Shoemaker 30322; Wright I 2066.
RULES OF THE NEW BRUNSWICK PRESBYTERY: 1800
103. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. PRESBYTERY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Rules Established by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, for their own Government; and recommended ... to the Observation of their Churches. Together with a Pastoral Letter, addressed to all the Churches .... New Brunswick: A. Blauvelt, 1800. 30 p. Later half morocco (front hinge rubbed). A nice copy. $300.00
Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1121; Evans 38317; ESTC W22049.
MOST DESIRABLE LITHOGRAPH OF PRINCETON
104. (PRINCETON UNIVERSITY--PRINT). View of Nassau Hall, Princeton, N.J. Drawn by F. Childs. Lith. & Printed in Colours by Robertson, Seibert & Shearman ... N.Y. [Princeton]: Published by George Thompson, [ca. 1860]. Colored lithograph. 15.5 x 19.5 in. plus 3/4 in. (sight) margins. A few small and entirely unobtrusive foxing spots, else a fine, fresh copy. Correctly and tastefully matted and framed in a modern gilt-style frame. A lovely example, ready to hang. Cannot be shipped. $2800.00
The most desirable lithograph of Nassau Hall, depicting a front view of the building immediately after its 1855–59 restoration by architect John Notman. To the left and right of Nassau Hall are shown other college buildings; in the foreground, on the sidewalk and street just outside of the iron fence, are several gentlemen and a lady conversing; in the center, an elegant barouche drawn by two high-stepping horses carries three handsomely dressed passengers. The lithograph is after a painting by F. Childs and was published by George Thompson, a bookseller, stationer, and publisher on Nassau Street opposite the college. The print has become quite rare, particularly in nice condition. Felcone, Portrait of Place: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints of New Jersey, 1761-1898, 99. See also H. T. Peters, America on Stone (1931), pp. 336–337, and H. L. Savage, ed., Nassau Hall, 1756–1956, (1956), pp. 159–161, 175, and plate VII.
105. PROWELL, GEORGE R. The History of Camden County, New Jersey. Philadelphia, 1886. 4to. x, 769 p. Illus. Plates. Rebound in modern buckram. $275.00
The standard history of Camden County.
1776 BURLINGTON IMPRINT
106. RELLY, JAMES and JOHN. Christian Hymns, Poems, and Spiritual Songs, Sacred to the Praise of God our Saviour. Burlington: Isaac Collins, 1776. [2], iv, [1], 4-236, [8] p. incl. list of subscribers' names. Later library binding. Ex-library, with numerous 19th-century stamps throughout. A trifle brittle, with a tear on X1. $400.00
An early Isaac Collins Burlington imprint. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 230; Evans 15042; ESTC W20025.
RARE CIVIL WAR REGIMENTAL EPITOME
107. RODGERS, RICHARD N. Epitome of the 37th Reg't, New Jersey Volunteers. New York: J. Craft, printer, [1864]. Broadside, 19.5 x 13.5 in. Folded into leather-backed cloth portfolio, leather label on front cover, as issued. Neatly rebacked. $550.00
Printed label on the inside front cover reads: "Epitome 37th Regiment, N.J. Vols., by R. N. Rodgers, Co. E. Privately printed, October 25th, 1864." A very handsome and large broadside, headed by woodcuts of an American eagle, the arms of New Jersey, and a tombstone. The text, enclosed within a typographic border, is in four columns and lists officers, dead and wounded, and remarks. Sinclair 426.
108. ROEBLING, JOHN A. Report of John A. Roebling, Civil Engineer, to the Presidents and Directors of the Niagara Falls Suspension and Niagara Falls International Bridge Companies, on the Condition of the Niagara Railway Suspension Bridge. August 1, 1860. Trenton, 1860. 20 p. Printed wrappers (lightly soiled, a few small edge tears, a trifle brittle). Text with a very faint dampstain else clean. A good-plus copy. L. Ward Clarke's copy. $275.00
Roebling's Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge was the world's first railway suspension bridge. In this interesting report Roebling discusses the various tests to which a bridge may be subjected to determine its soundness. The Niagara railroad bridge passed with flying colors. L. Ward Clarke (1834-1894) was a prominent Rochester banker and financier.
1810-11 BURLINGTON PERIODICAL, COMPLETE
109. THE RURAL VISITER. A Literary and Miscellaneous Gazette. Burlington: D. Allinson. Vol. I no. 1, Jul. 30, 1810, through vol. I no. 52, Jul. 22, 1811. 4to. 268, [2] p. Volume title page not present. Contemporary sheep-backed boards. Very heavily worn, some dampstaining. $350.00
All published. A complete run of this literary, scientific, and ephemeral weekly periodical published by David Allinson and his brother, John C. Allinson. Valuable articles on contemporary methods of raising specific crops, manufacturing techniques, domestic hints, and much local South Jersey news and notices. Each number was issued with two pages of advertisements, but when sets were bound, as here, these 13 leaves were almost always cancelled. For a full history as well as bibliographical analysis of the work, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1269.
THE LARGEST BOOK PRINTED IN COLONIAL NEW JERSEY
110. SEWEL, WILLIAM. The History of the Rise, Increase and Progress of the Christian People Called Quakers; with Several Remarkable Occurrences Intermixed .... The Third Edition, Corrected. Burlington: Isaac Collins, 1774. Folio. xii, 812, [16] p. Contemporary sheep (covers detached). $300.00
The largest book printed in colonial New Jersey. See Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 183, for an extensive essay on the book, its paper (by Hagey and Bicking), its binding (by Aitken), and its publication (aided by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting). Evans 13607; ESTC W20466.
SIMCOE'S MILITARY JOURNAL
111. SIMCOE, JOHN GRAVES. Simcoe's Military Journal. A History of the Operations of a Partisan Corps, Called the Queen's Rangers, Commanded by Lieut. Col. J. G. Simcoe, During the War of the American Revolution.... New York, 1844. xvii, [4], 14-328 p. 10 folding lithographed battle plans. Contemporary boards, printed paper spine label. Persistent dampstain at lower inside corner of entire text block, foxing throughout. Stitching loosening, spine beginning to split. A respectable copy of a book very difficult to find in fine condition. $1000.00
First American, and first published, edition, after a small edition printed in Exeter, England, in 1787 for private circulation. This edition contains considerable additional material as well as a memoir of the author. Simcoe, a British officer, led the Queen's Rangers, a regiment composed largely of American Loyalists. The regiment took part in actions in Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey from 1777 to 1780, in which year they went to Virginia, where they remained until Yorktown. Two of the battle plans depict Southern New Jersey engagements: the skirmish at Quintin's Bridge and the surprize at Hancock's House. Howes S-461; Clark I, 311; Lande 749.
THE FIRST MANUAL OF THE NEW JERSEY LEGISLATURE
112. SITGREAVES, CHARLES. Manual of Legislative Practice and Order of Business, in the Legislature of the State of New Jersey. Trenton: B. Davenport, 1836. 12mo. 365 p. Contemporary sprinkled sheepskin. Clean tear across F2 without loss, gathering B just a trifle pulled, else a remarkably clean, tight copy in a fine original binding. With the period ownership signature of Philip Hiler on the front cover. $400.00
A beautiful copy of the first manual of the New Jersey legislature. In January 1836 the council and general assembly passed a joint resolution subscribing for 130 copies, and a copy was given to each member of the legislature. Charles Sitgreaves (1803-1878) was a member of both the assembly and the council (and, later, the senate) From 1865 to 1869 he served in the United States Congress. American Imprints 40179; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1287.
THE FIRST HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY
PRINTED BY NEW JERSEY'S FIRST PRINTER
113. SMITH, SAMUEL. The History of the Colony of Nova-Caesaria, or New-Jersey: Containing, an Account of its First Settlement, Progressive Improvements, the Original and Present Constitution, and other Events, to the Year 1721. With some Particulars Since; and a Short View of its Present State. Burlington: James Parker, 1765. x, 573, [1] p. Neatly rebound with eighteenth-century marbled paper over boards, antique-style calf spine. Modern endpapers but retaining original flyleaves. The usual sporatic foxing and occasional browning always found in this book, but a very good copy. With the signatures of Anna A. Mickle (1902), Mary E.T. Lord (1884) and an undated earlier signature of Mary Ridgway. Removed from the original pastedown and laid in is the eighteenth-century stamp of "H*ELTON," identified in an earlier hand as probably Hannah Borradaile Elton (1731-1799). $2000.00
The first edition of the first general history of New Jersey, printed by New Jersey's first printer. James Parker left his Woodbridge printing office in the care of his son and moved to Burlington to fulfill a long-standing promise to Samuel Smith to print his history as soon as it was ready for the press. The printing press used was one belonging to Benjamin Franklin and formerly used by Franklin's nephew, Benjamin Mecom, in Antigua. The press was shipped from New York to Burlington in April of 1765, used for the Smith book and three or four smaller Burlington jobs, then sent on to Philadelphia in February of 1766, at which time Parker returned to Woodbridge. The press run was 600 copies, as indicated by Parker's bill to Smith. Parker printed two title pages simultaneously on a single sheet, thus providing each title page a blank conjugate for binding that also precluded the need for a free front endpaper. This old-time and cost-saving printer's trick, combined with stop-press alterations in the text of a number of sheets, has led past bibliographers to speak of two distinct issues of the book. There is absolutely no correlation between the uncorrected and corrected sheets and the two title pages; all were freely mixed by the binder without any discernable pattern or priority. See Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800: A Descriptive Bibliography, 105, for an exhaustive history and analysis of this cornerstone New Jersey book. Evans 10166; Bristol B2619a; Miller, Benjamin Franklin's Philadelphia Printing, 853; Streeter Sale 923; Howes S661; ESTC W20457.
SMITHVILLE, BURLINGTON COUNTY?
114. (SMITHVILLE). Oil painting on board depicting a farm house, barn, and outbuildings, with surrounding fields. The land in the foreground is covered with water, much like a flooded cranberry bog. A straight, narrow strip of land, almost like a cranberry bog dike, lends support to this theory. The painting is unsigned and unidentified. However on the back of the period gilt frame is written in pencil: "Emma's house near Smithville New Jersey / Painted by her best freind Susan Lear 1885." Accompanying the painting is a late 19th century photograph by Fritz of Lambertville, N.J., identified on the verso: "Aunt Sue Lear / Grandma Vasey's sister." The board is split twice horizontally; the frame is excellent. $750.00
A delightful painting, in primitive but detailed style. Unfortunately, without additional research, Emma, her farm, and the painting's subject remain a mystery. Probably the Burlington County, rather than the Atlantic County, Smithville.
115. SNELL, JAMES P. History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, 1881. 4to. 864 p. Plates. Modern buckram. Minor chipping of first two leaves, else very good. $300.00
The standard history of these two counties, and an essential reference work.
116. SNELL, JAMES P. History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers. Philadelphia, 1881. 4to. xi, 9-748 p. Illus. Plates. Original leather-backed cloth. Corners worn, extremities rubbed, but an unusually nice, tight copy, in the original binding. $400.00
Still the classic history of these two counties. Nice copies in the original binding are becoming difficult to find.
PATERSON LOTTERY TICKET, OWNED BY AN EARLY AMERICAN JEWISH WOMAN
117. SOCIETY FOR ESTABLISHING USEFUL MANUFACTURES. Lottery ticket for the "Paterson Lottery," undated but about 1797. Printed by John Woods in Newark. Signed by Jonathan Rhea. A lovely example, with one very tiny chip out of the type ornament border on the left edge, else fine and fresh, with the ticket number in red ink. The ticket owner, Rachel Levy, has signed her name on the verso. $700.00
A rare ticket for the ill-fated S.U.M. lottery in Paterson, presumably owned by a member of the early American Jewish Levy family.
SIGNED BY MAHLON STACY, FOUNDER OF TRENTON
118. (STACY, MAHLON). Deed from George Porter of Burlington, batchelor, to James Antram, planter, 24 May 1686. Conveying 150 acres in the First or Yorkshire Tenth. Vellum. 11 x 18 in. Signed by Porter, but his first name, and probably a wax seal, has been cut from the bottom edge of the document. On the verso the document is witnessed by John Lambert, Ruth Emley, and Nathaniell Richards. Adjacent to the witnesses' signatures is a large "Consented to, & Approved by us, William Emley, Mahlon Stacye." Folded, a few tiny holes, but other than the partly clipped signature, very good. Unrecorded. $550.00
Mahlon Stacy was a Yorkshire Quaker and one of five Yorkshiremen who purchased a "tenth" of West New Jersey (actually, one ninetieth of ninety one hundredths) from William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, Nicholas Lucas, and Edward Byllynge, with the goal of creating a Yorkshire Friends settlement in America. In 1678 Stacy sailed for America, arriving at what is now Burlington in December 1678--the first ship ever to sail that far up Delaware Bay. In the spring of 1679 Stacy erected a house and grist mill at the "Falls of the Delaware, along the Assanpink Creek, and was the first white man to settle that far up the Delaware River. The small settlement that Stacy began would eventually become the town of Trenton. The is only the second Mahlon Stacy document we have handled in forty-five years.
FIRST STATEWIDE ATLAS OF NEW JERSEY
119. STATE ATLAS of New Jersey. Based on State Geological Survey and from Additional Surveys by and under the Direction of F. W. Beers.... New York: Beers, Comstock & Cline, 1872. Folio. 122 p. Cloth, leather spine and corners. Spine perished and stitching breaking, as often, else a very good, clean copy internally--far better than most. $1600.00
The first statewide New Jersey atlas. The attractively hand colored lithographed maps of cities and towns show locations of buildings, names of property owners, etc. Many copies of this atlas are found with unpaginated leaves of "business notices" bound in at the rear. Some copies (probably the earliest ones sold) contain no such advertisements. Other copies contain varying numbers of these leaves, ranging from two to nine. There are no ad leaves in this copy.
EARLY WORK ON THE CONSTITUTION BY A NEW JERSEY FARMER
120. [STEVENS, JOHN]. Examen du Gouvernement D'Angleterre, Comparé aux Constitutions des Etats-Unis. Où l'on Réfute quelques Assertions Contenues dans l'Ouvrage de M. Adams ... Par un Cultivateur de New-Jersey .... Paris: Chez Froullé, 1789. viii, 291 p. Modern French leather-backed marbled boards. Small early repair to bottom edge of title page, else a near-fine, wide-margined copy. $1250.00
The greatly enlarged first French edition of one of the earliest works on the Constitution, originally published in New York in 1787. Attributed by Sabin, Evans, and most other bibliographers (except Howes) to William Livingston, the work was actually written by Livingston's friend John Stevens (1749-1838), best known as a leading early American engineer and pioneer in the field of steamboat and railroad transportation. In the Stevens papers is a draft of the work in Stevens's hand, a receipt from the New York printer for printing 500 copies, and several letters of Stevens referring to the essay. Largely unappreciated in America, Stevens's work was a great success in France. The original 56-page pamphlet was turned into a 291-page book with notes by Dupont, Condorcet, and Mazzei. There is much comment on John Adams's recently published Defense of the Constitutions. Howes S-968; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 254.
ROBERT STEWART, TRAVELING BOOKSELLER
121. STEWART'S WASHINGTON ALMANAC, for the Year of our Lord 1810 ... Calculated for the Meridian of New-Jersey. By Andrew Beers. [N.p.]: Printed for Robert Stewart, travelling bookseller, Monmouth County, New Jersey, [1809]. [36] p. Crude woodcut portrait on title. Stitched. Some minor chipping at extremities of blank margins, very slightly toned, else very good. $325.00
A rare almanac published for the shadowy Robert Stewart, traveling bookseller of Monmouth County. See Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1317, for a discussion of Stewart and his almanacs. S&S 18688; Drake 5273; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1319.
ONE OF THE CLASSIC WORKS OF BLACK NEW JERSEYANA
122. STILL, JAMES. Early Recollections and Life of Dr. James Still. [Philadelphia]: Printed for the author, 1877. 274 p. Port. Cloth. A heavily worn copy, lacking both free endpapers, inner margins strengthened with library cloth, portrait dampstained around edges. A complete copy in a fair original binding. $300.00
Autobiography of a Black physician in the rural Burlington County Pine Barrens. This is one of the classic works of Black New Jerseyana and a scarce and desirable book. Most copies are in rough condition, and this copy is rougher than most, but it is complete and in the original binding and would make a very respectable copy until a better one becomes available.
AN ORIGINAL STILLWELL
123. STILLWELL, JOHN E. Historical and Genealogical Miscellany. Data Relating to the Settlement and Settlers of New York and New Jersey. New York, 1903-32. 4to. 5 vols. Cloth. Three inner hinges neatly repaired, some spotting on two rear covers, else a very attractive, very good set. $750.00
The very scarce original edition of one of the great New Jersey genealogical reference sources, published over the course of 29 years in five massive volumes and containing nearly 2400 fully indexed pages of historical and genealogical records. Predominantly Monmouth County, but also includes records from Burlington and Cape May Counties, New York, and elsewhere. An important work by a remarkable man.
ONE OF THE RAREST NEW JERSEY MUG BOOKS
124. STINSON, ROBERT R. Hudson County To-Day. It's History, People, Trades, Commerce, Institutions and Industries. Union: Hudson Dispatch, [1914?]. 162 p. Illus. Pigskin-backed cloth. Spine covering lacking, covers nearly detached, but fine internally. $350.00
Brief histories of Jersey City, Hoboken, and some of the smaller towns, followed by biographical sketches of prominent men and local businesses. Edited by Robert Rieser. This is one of the rarest New Jersey biographical books: in 40 years this is only the second copy we have had for sale.
PUBLISHED IN SOBRIETY, NEW JERSEY, IN 1821!
125. [STOCKTON, WILLIAM S.] Seven Nights: or, Several Conversations, containing Arguments from Scripture, Reason, Fact and Experience, Between Individuals of Different Denominations. Edited by Julia Ann Prudent [pseud.]. Sobriety [i.e., Trenton?]: Published by Plain Truth and Honesty. Jazer Meanwell, printer. 1821. 12mo. 191 p. Contemporary printed paper-covered boards. Covers a bit darkened and discolored, endsheets rather heavily foxed, else a very good, tight copy. "George Thorn's Book" in a contemporary hand. $550.00
A temperance essay, presented as seven discussions between individuals of different denominations. Julia Ann Prudent lives with her widowed mother in "one of the principal towns of New Jersey," in which town the issue of temperance had been much disputed. Her father had been a printer and a drunkard, and before his death she had been his editor and proofreader. The burlesque false imprint is quite wonderful. The actual author is William Smith Stockton (1785-1860), a native of Burlington. He wrote this essay while a clerk in the bookstore of Daniel Fenton, in Trenton. Shoemaker 6566; Sinclair, Demon Rum, 219.
UNIQUE J. C. STORMS VOLUME
126. STORMS, JOHN C. Three original typescript books by Storms, bound together into one volume, each illustrated with original photos taken (or copied by) Storms and neatly mounted within the text. Titles and captions of all photos neatly lettered in pen and ink by Storms. James M. Ransom's copy, with a brief reminiscence of Storms on the front endpaper. Homemade cloth binding worn along spine. $300.00
Contains: "The Col. Baylor Massacre at Rivervale, Bergen Co."; "The Wampum Industry in the Pascack Valley"; and "Park Ridge Schools Past and Present." Each of these texts was later reproduced by Storms and made into small handmade editions with original photos taken and mounted by Storms. The present work, however, is original and may have been made by Storms as a prototype for his later "editions."
127. STRYKER, WILLIAM S. Record of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861-1865. Trenton, 1876. 4to. 2 vol. (1758, 176 p.). Neatly bound in modern buckram. Very good. $450.00
A massive, fully-indexed compilation, and the standard authority for New Jersey Civil War service. This is an attractively rebound set of a much sought-after work that, when found, is usually in shabby condition.
THE S.U.M. VS. THE MORRIS CANAL: THE OPENING SALVO
128. [SULLIVAN, JOHN L.] Report, on the Origin and Increase of the Paterson Manufactories, and the Intended Diversion of their Waters by the Morris Canal Company: also on Post Rail Roads, as the Means of Cheap Conveyance throughout New-Jersey, of bringing Susquehanna Coal to the Iron Mines and Forges, and to Supply Paterson and New-York: also on a Method of Supplying the City of New-York with Water from the Great Falls of the Passaic. Paterson: Day & Burnett, at the office of the Paterson Intelligencer, 1828. 60, [2] p. Folding map, with routes highlighted in colors. Stitched and untrimmed, as issued. A mouse has gnawed slightly the upper corner of the blank margin of the fore-edge, which is not noticeable in the wide-margined text but has left two V-shaped notches in the upper folds of the map, with noticeable loss of cartouche text in one case and negligible loss in the other. Priced accordingly. $750.00
The opening salvo in the pamphlet war between the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures and the Morris Canal and Banking Company. By 1827 Roswell Colt, governor of the SUM, had become concerned about competition from the expanding Morris Canal company, and, after complaining to the state legislature, he retained civil engineer John L. Sullivan to prepare a report detailing the damages that would be sustained by the SUM if the canal company continued its present course. The report is a broad document treating the history of the SUM, the economic prosperity of the Paterson area, the amount of water needed to operate the mills in the area, an alternative route for the Morris Canal, a proposed new canal and railroad, and other concerns. The folding map depicts the northern part of the state with the existing and the proposed canals and railroads highlighted. Cadwallader Colden issued a pamphlet in reply to Sullivan, and Sullivan in turn responded to Colden with yet another pamphlet. For more information, see Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1348 (and the frontispiece of the volume). A highly important document in the early industrialization of New Jersey, and only the third copy we have offered for sale in forty-two years. Shoemaker 35438; Rink 2839.
THE SECOND TRENTON DIRECTORY
129. (TRENTON). Trenton City Directory. Containing the Names of the Citizens, a Business Directory ... also an Historical Sketch of the City ... 1857. Compiled by William H. Boyd. Trenton, [1857]. [7], viii, 221, [16] p. + 15 advt. leaves and a plate (complete). Cloth. Covers well worn at the extremities, stitching a bit loose but sound, one page with glue residue blocking part of some entries, two leaves at the rear with small (half-inch) holes costing some letters, but a good-plus copy. $400.00
The second Trenton directory and the first to contain a separate business directory. The historical sketch of Trenton, "condensed from a forthcoming work," is by John O. Raum, whose History of the City of Trenton, New Jersey, was eventually published in 1871. Trenton directories before the 1870s are now almost unobtainable. In more than 40 years of handling New Jerseyana, this is only the second copy of the 1857 directory that we have offered for sale. Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1801-1860, 1364; Spear p. 356.
TRENTON CITY DIRECTORY, 1872
130. (TRENTON). The Trenton Directory, 1872 ... By J.H. Lant & Co. Trenton, 1872. lxviii, [49]-316 p. Cloth-backed printed boards. Boards darkened from soiling, extremities a bit worn, but tight and very good. $325.00
Includes business directories of the city and of the surrounding communities. New Jersey city directories from the 1870s rarely appear on the market.
131. (TRENTON). Mains & Fitzgerald's Trenton, Chambersburg and Millham Directory. 1877. Trenton, [1877]. 370 p. Cloth-backed printed boards. $275.00
RARE REVOLUTIONARY WAR CHATHAM ALMANAC
132. THE UNITED STATES ALMANACK, for the Year of our Lord 1782 ... By Andrew Ellicott. Chatham: Shepard Kollock, [1781]. 16 [of 18] leaves, lacking the final two leaves, C5-6. Stitched as issued. Some staining and flyspecking, but a good-plus copy. $1000.00
Shepard Kollock completed his Revolutionary War service and opened the third printing office in New Jersey in early 1779. He remained in Chatham for a little over four years before moving to New Brunswick briefly and then Elizabethtown. Imprints from Kollock's Revolutionary War Chatham press are very rare and almost never come on the market. His almanac for 1782 was calculated by Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820), a distinguished surveyor and mathematician who, in his younger years, produced a series of almanacs, of which this is one of the first. It also contains a lengthy contribution by Uzal Ogden, "The Libertine Reclaimed," on pages [5-19]. Slightly imperfect, but a very rare almanac. Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 353; Evans 17379; Drake 5125; ESTC W22845.
133. VAN WINKLE, DANIEL, ed. History of the Municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey, 1630-1923. New York, 1924. 4to. 3 vols. Plates. Cloth. Small bar association stamp inside each volume, else unmarked and very good. $275.00
One of the standard histories of Hudson County, combining local history with biographical sketches.
THE FIRST MEDICAL BOOK PRINTED IN SOUTH JERSEY
134. WARE, THOMAS E. Wesley's Family Physician, Revised: and Ware's Medical Adviser. A Book of Receipts ... for the Benefit of Families, Clergymen, Philanthropists, and Reformers. Salem, N.J.: S. Prior, Jr., 1839. 96, [2], 94 p. Sheep-backed marbled paper-covered boards (considerably worn at the extremities with pastepaper boards exposed). Piece torn from fore-edge margin of pp. 49/50, costing several letters, usual foxing, but a good, tight copy, with the sheep spine in very good state. $450.00
Apparently the first medical book printed in South Jersey (a pamphlet dissertation on dysentery by Benjamin Champneys was printed in Bridgeton in 1805). The first text is John Wesley's Primitive Physic, considerably revised by Ware from the 1814 edition; the second text is Ware's own Medical Adviser, consisting chiefly of Thomsonian and botantic remedies. Thomas E. Ware (1808?-1844), of Salem, was licensed by the New Jersey Medical Society in 1830 and practiced botanic medicine in Salem. See Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1413, for a more detailed account of this book and of the unusual Dr. Ware. American Imprints 59164, 59087.
WASHINGTON BENEVOLENT SOCIETY OF TRENTON
135. WASHINGTON, GEORGE. Washington's Farewell Address, to the People of the United States. Published for the Washington Benevolent Society of Trenton. Trenton: George Sherman, 1812. 36 p. Port., partly printed certificate. Contemporary marbled boards, sheep spine. Text considerably foxed and with some dampstaining, but a good tight copy. $300.00
Washington benevolent societies were popular during the War of 1812 and were composed of ardent Federalists. The Washington Benevolent Society of Trenton appears to have been one of the most active. The membership certificate in this copy is made out to John M. Milnor and is signed by John Beatty as president and by Garret D. Wall as secretary. It is dated July 4, 1812. The portrait of Washington is engraved by William S. Leney. S&S 27454; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1401.
WEEHAWKEN TURNPIKE COMPANY LEDGER
136. WEEHAWKEN TURNPIKE CO. The Original manuscript ledger of the "Weehawken Turnpike Company, Aug. 1837." Folio. Only 6 pages used, the remainder blank. Contemporary sheep-backed marbled boards. In very fine condition. $450.00
The Weehawken Turnpike Company was incorporated in 1837 and this is its initial (and only?) record book. The accounts are with William Cooper and Francis Price, two of the incorporators. Only six pages are used, and the final entry is dated Jan. 1, 1840. Present-day Hudson County.
137. WHITTEMORE, HENRY. The Founders and Builders of the Oranges. Comprising a History of the Outlying District of Newark, Subsequently Known as Orange, and of the Later International Divisions, viz.: South Orange, West Orange, and East Orange; also a History of the Early Settlers or Founders.... Newark, 1896. Large 4to. vi, 468 p. Illus. Plates. Rebound in modern buckram. Blank corner of frontispiece neatly repaired, else very good. $325.00
One of the scarcest Essex County biographical works, focusing on the Oranges. History and biography/genealogy.
138. WILBOR, JOHN REID, and BENJAMIN FRANKLIN WILBOUR. The Wildbores in America. A Family Tree. N.p., 1933-41. 5 vols. Cloth. $300.00
Second edition, very extensively revised and augmented from the 1907 edition, with each successive volume correcting and extending the previous volumes, with the fifth and final volume extending the family genealogy through the twelfth generation in America.
YOUNG MONMOUTH COUNTY GIRL'S BOOK OF EXTRACTS, 1811
139. WILLIAMS, MIRIAM TILTON (1797-1876). Book of extracts, with each page containing a short verse or sentiment copied and signed by a schoolmate, friend, or family member. [Pleasant Hill, Monmouth Co., 1811] [29] pages, oblong 12mo. Marbled wrappers, owner's name on manuscript label on front cover. Very good. $300.00
Lovely little extract book or liber amicorum, with each verse or sentiment set within a neat calligraphic frame. Each is signed by the contributor, with some dated Pleasant Hill, 1811. Mirian Tilton Williams was the daughter of Tylee and Elizabeth (Tilton) Williams, both of Monmouth County, and was 14 years old when this book was completed.
THE S.U.M. VERSUS THE MORRIS CANAL
140. [WILLIAMSON, ISAAC H.] Law Opinion, in the Case of the Paterson Manufacturing Society, against the Morris Canal and Banking Company. Paterson: D. Burnett, 1829. 27 p. Stitched and uncut, as issued. Right one third of title page torn away, cropping a letter or two in each of three lines (chiefly blank margin torn away), foxed. Priced accordingly, $450.00
Williamson's opinion as chancellor, refusing to grant an injunction sought by the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures against the Morris Canal and Banking Company. The SUM, fearful of competition from the canal company, argued that the operation of the Morris Canal would so deplete the waters of the Passaic River that the society's mills at Paterson would be adversely affected. Williamson held that until the society could demonstrate an actual loss, rather than a contemplated one, no injunction would issue, but the canal company must proceed at its own peril. A very scarce pamphlet, and the first copy we have ever had for sale. While the defective title page is indeed regrettable, only a handful of letters are affected, as the loss is chiefly blank margin. Shoemaker 39764; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1421.
SECOND EDITION OF WITHERSPOON'S WORKS
141. WITHERSPOON, JOHN. The Works of the Rev. John Witherspoon ... Late President of the College at Princeton, New-Jersey. To which is Prefixed an Account of the Author's Life ... by Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, of New York.... Philadelphia: William W. Woodward, 1802. 4 vols. [15], 13-569, [3] p.; 586 p.; [4], 9-592 p.; 475, [13] p. incl. list of subscribers' names. Complete. Rebound in modern red buckram. Title page of vol. 1 a trifle foxed, else a remarkably fine, clean, unfoxed set, neatly but unsympathetically rebound in buckram. Priced considerably less than a set in a period or period-style binding. $750.00
The second collected edition of Witherspoon's works, prefaced by John Rodgers' 1795 funeral sermon on Witherspoon. Includes all of Witherspoon's most important works. The text does not differ greatly from the first edition of 1800-1801, but the type is entirely reset, some corrections and additions have been made, and the order of the selections is altered. Witherspoon was a distinguished Presbyterian theologian, president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and the only minister to sign the Declaration of Independence. S&S 3572; Felcone, New Jersey Books, 1430.
142. WOODWARD, E. M., and JOHN F. HAGEMAN. History of Burlington and Mercer Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, 1883. 4to. viii, 888 p. Plates. Original gilt-decorated covers, rebacked with the original gilt-decorated spine retained. Some losses at the top of the mounted spine, but a desirable copy of a county history that is almost never found in the original binding. Modern endpapers. $350.00
The standard history of these two counties.
RURAL ECONOMY: BURLINGTON, 1792
143. [YOUNG, ARTHUR]. Rural Economy, or Essays on the Practical Parts of Husbandry: Designed to Explain Several of the Most Important Methods of Conducting Farms of Various Kinds ... To which is added, The Rural Socrates.... Burlington: Isaac Neale, 1792. 299, [1] p. Contemporary mottled sheep. Upper hinge beginning to crack, light internal toning, else a very nice copy. $400.00
Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 638; Rink 1110; Evans 25061; ESTC W22052.
THE MORRISTOWN GHOST
144. YOUNG, DAVID. The Wonderful History of the Morristown Ghost .... Newark: Benjamin Olds, for the Author, J.C. Totten, printer, 1826. 76 p. Contemporary blue paper-covered boards, linen spine. A bit worn and shaken, some neat repairs to spine covering, the usual foxing. $350.00
The delightful account of the "Morristown ghost." One Ransford Rogers, supposedly a Connecticut schoolmaster but in reality a fraudulent diviner, was brought to Morris County in 1788 because of his professed ability to communicate with spirits. It was the belief of many local residents that, at the outbreak of the Revolution, the Tories in the vicinity of Schooley's Mountain had buried money and other valuables in the hills. After the defeat of Great Britain, many of these Loyalists fled, leaving behind their buried possessions. These treasures were guarded by hobgoblins and apparitions. If the spirits could be dispelled, great riches would be available. Rogers, seeing a perfect opportunity in the gullible local residents, concocted a series of noctural events to reinforce the faith the locals had in his ability to communicate with the spirits. Once he had gained their confidence, he began to extract money from them. Eventually his scheme was discovered, and he was jailed. Released on bail, he fled the area. Young's edition is rewritten from the extremely rare Newark, 1792 original edition, of which only two copies are known, one of which is imperfect. For the real story behind Ransford Rogers and his confidence schemes, see the lengthy account in Felcone, Printing in New Jersey, 1754-1800, 608. Shoemaker 27724.
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