Ernest's Life on the Mohawk Trail in 1915

Post Card of Mohawk Trail, early in 20^th century

(Courtesy www.epodunk.com)

          We get to see the events in the life of a young man. living in the pristine, heavily wooded area near Charlemont, Massachusetts, on the Mohawk Trail.

          Ernest, age 26, is working hard, probably looking forward to the day when he can ask his dear Alice to marry him.

From his diary we get a one-year glimpse of this young man’s life. He’s a serious, dedicated young fellow living in the country of the Mohawk Trail in western Massachusetts. He carefully records his daily activities to the point that it makes your muscles ache to follow him from hauling sawdust or grain or manure, putting in fence posts, building a sawmill, pressing cider, gathering maple sap, hoeing, cultivating, hauling potatoes.  You follow him and his encounters with Alice, note the death and burial of his 88-year-old grandmother, and perhaps wince when he drives 19 miles to North Adams to have 12 teeth pulled. The next month he gets fitted for a new set of false teeth.

Ernest works on town and state roads, and helps repair the boiler machinery in a sawmill. For fun, Ernest takes Alice to dances,  to the fair, goes sledding, attends Grange and Odd Fellows, goes to "the pictures", and goes hunting.  He never takes time off for church on Sunday, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just more workdays. 

What is in store for Ernest in 1916 and beyond?  Does he marry Alice?  Does he go off to fight the Germans in World War I? 

We don’t know.

 Ernest's 1915 Diary

Ernest's 1915 Diary: Diary of a farmer, lumberman, teamster living on the Mohawk Trail kept by Dickinson, Ernest R.1915 Charlemont, MA           ephemera ~200 pp.   x 12 cm. Diary includes normal calendar, population of cities, weights and measures, antidotes for poisons, terms of presidents including Wilson, etc. Standard leatherette diary with closure flap. Slight edge wear, marbled page ends, very good. (8178) $42.00. American Originals

The Personal Navigator also offers these books and papers:

Swamp-Root Almanac, 1915 1914    Binghamton, NY: Dr. Kilmer & Co.      Advertising for Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root Kidney, Liver & Bladder Remedy. "Thousands have kidney trouble and don't know it." Weather forecast for the year of 1915. Sunrise, sunset.  Moon phases.  Dr. Kilmer's Prompt Parilla Liver Pills tend to correct irregularity of the bowels, especially important during pregnancy. Testimonial letters for Dr. Kilmer's  Swamp-Root from Wellsboro, PA, Paris, Tx, Clinton, IA, Gobleville, MI, Dothan, AL, West Point, IL, McGraw, NY. Advertisement for Dr. Kilmer's Hard Rubber Pile Pipe for treating itching piles, blind piles, bleeding piles, ulcerated rectum and hemorrhoids. 32 pp. 15 x 22 cm. Paper booklet, moderate wear, chips in spinefold, cover held in place by cellophane tape, dampstain on first two pages, fair.(7280)  $19.00. Advertising/Medical                                                                                                    

Caylor System Baseball Score Book, in Accordance with National League Requirements, No. 3--44 Games ca. 1925 Boston, MA: James W. Brine Company, 286 Devonshire Street. Very nice rare Boston baseball memento. James W. Brine Athletic Goods Baseball Score Book with instructions for scoring by O.P. Caylor's System.  Scorecards filled in, dated 1928 to 1941. Teams Mishe Mokwa (summer camp?), Milton, Middlesex, Ayer, Groton, Concord, St. Mark's, Belmont, Belmont Hill, Dartmouth at Harvard (1939), West Concord. Advertising for James W. Brine Official League Baseballs (Guaranteed for 18 innings), sweaters, all kinds of highest quality athletic goods. . 92 pp.        20.5 x 14 cm. Maroon cloth on board, "Whitney Cook" written on cover and on title page. Inside front hinge repaired with binding tape.  Inside rear hinge cracked. Cover shows wear, inside also. Fair. (7358) $60.00. Advertising/American Originals

Lieutenant Burbank’s Certificate, 1815

Certificate of Appointment of Lieutenant Francis Burbank to Vermont Militia, 1815

by Martin Chittenden, Esq., Seventh Governor of Vermont. 1815 Montpelier, VT: State of Vermont. Seventh Governor of Vermont, Martin Chittenden (1763-1840) also Captain-General and Commander in Chief of State signed this appointment of War of 1812 veteran to Lieutenant of 5th Company, 3rd Regiment, First Brigade and Second Division of State Militia on July 22, 1815.  On reverse is signed statement by Burbank in which he "solemnly swears to support the constitution of the United States"; attested to by C. Roberts, Brigadier General. According to records, Burbank was drafted to serve in 1812.  Also on reverse is discharge of Burbank in 1819, also signed by Brigadier General Roberts.  Martin Chittenden was governor 1813-1815, which included a crucial portion of the War of 1812.  Document is sealed with State Seal, with motto "Freedom & Unity". 1 sheet     32 x 19.5 cm. Paper certificate with seal of State of Vermont, good. (8062) $200.00.  Ephemera/History

Sears' Pictorial Description of the United States; Embracing the History, Geographical Position, Agricultural and Mineral Resources, etc. Illustrated with Numerous Engravings; New Edition, Revised and Enlarged  by Sears, Robert. 1853 New York, NY: Robert Sears, 181 William Street.  Robert Sears (1810-1892) was an enterprising publisher, producing reams of books and sending out peddlers to sell them everywhere. He presented a set to Queen Victoria, and a drawing of that event is contained in this volume.  This very attractive, decorated book gives a sweeping description of the United States with many illustrations, including view of Eastport, ME; Downtown Boston showing the improvement of the Back Bay; View of Mt. Tom and Mt. Holyoke, MA; Tomb of Kosciusko at West Point, NY; Viaduct over the Patuxent River, MD; Ruins of Jamestown, VA; Old State House at Raleigh, NC; Everglades, FL; View of Galveston, TX; Entrance to Mammoth Cave, KY; Blannerhassett's Island, OH; New Catholic Cathedral, OH; Mackinac Bluffs, MI; View of Chicago from the Prairie, IL; Views of Emigration to the West; Log Cabins and Sawmill at the West, IA; Gold washing at the diggings in California; more. Description of Territories of OR, MN, NM, UT. Several pages of ads for Sears' books at back.  648 pp. + adv.  16 x 24 cm. Elaborately decorated blue cloth on board with gilt décor, only minor wear. Owner signature on front free endpaper.  Foxing on endpapers. Very nice and clean copy.  Very good. (2968) $70.00. History

American Traveler, Boston, Massachusetts, Saturday morning, December 21, 1867 Boston, MA: Worthington, Flanders & Co. Thanksgiving sermon preached by Henry Ward Beecher at Plymouth Church, Brooklyn. Advice how to prepare stuffing and roast a turkey. Discussion on Gen. Hancock, candidate for President in 1868, and noting candidacy of Gen. U.S. Grant. Democrats are alarmed by the action of colored delegates at a southern reconstruction convention.  Removal of Secretary Stanton by the President. 4 pp. 54 x 68 cm. Newspaper, good. (5682) $24.00. Civil War/History/Reconstruction

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Chamberlain and the Blue Angels, in one moment

Navy’s Blue Angels

  

While the whole east coast trembled with anticipation of Hurricane Irene, on Saturday (Aug. 27) we decided to drive up to Maine to shop for antiques. 

We wound up in Brunswick, Maine, and looked for David Day’s Antiques, right in the center of town, on Park Row. 

Brunswick was called Pejebscot when it was settled in 1628, and renamed a century later. It is home to Bowdoin College, and from 1943 to 2010 was home to Brunswick Naval Air Station. 

If you drive along Route 1 from Portland north, all you see of Brunswick is strip malls—gas stations and fast food joints. But, just a couple of blocks away is a charming little town that has been a strong part of Maine since its settlement nearly four centuries ago.

As we drove along Park Row looking for this antique shop, we noticed a bunch of antique-looking tents set up on the town green.  Then we saw some antique men, most of them looking like they were ready to find some Rebels to fight.  They were suited up in 1861 style, with blue Union army uniforms.  A few men were wearing 1861-era civilian clothes, and some women attired in bonnets and long dresses were selling Civil War era baked goods, including molasses cookies and hardtack.  For 2011 prices.  They were celebrating “Chamberlain Days”, an annual Brunswick event.

Re-enactment

Marty, my wife, made a bee-line for the antique shop, which contains approximately one million antiques, large and small, stuffed into three floors of an elegant old home on one of Brunswick’s fine residential streets.

I continued to watch these Civil War re-enactors, when who should arrive, in a station wagon but Brevet General Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain!  The Michigan license plates on his car said “BG  JLC”. 

Gen. Chamberlain (1828-1914)

General Chamberlain was born in Maine in 1828, graduated from Bowdoin in 1852, and later returned to teach here, (and later was president of the college).  In 1862 he obtained a commission as a lieutenant colonel in the 20^th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. During the Civil War he fought in 26 battles and numerous skirmishes, was wounded six times and had six horses shot from beneath him.  He led the 20^th Maine as they heroically held the extreme left flank of the Union line against a fierce Rebel attack (16^th Alabama) at the battle of Little Round Top at Gettysburg, and later was chosen by General Grant to receive the formal surrender of weapons and colors from the Confederate forces at Appomattox.

Now, here I saw General Chamberlain, a handsome older man with well-groomed silver hair, getting out of his car, and putting on his sword belt and sword, as he prepared to go see his troops.  (It is difficult to drive a car with sword and belt by your side.)

Just as the General approached his troops, a formation of F/A-18 Hornets of the Blue Angels zoomed over.  The Blues were performing an air show for mid-coast Maine, flying from the former Naval Air Station.

Then it was time for me to carry two small antique tables Marty had bought, and stow them in our car.  Back to reality, and Hurricane Irene.

For us, it was a stirring intersection of American history and American life. 

Blue Angels

  

The Personal Navigator offers these books and papers:

  

Centennial History of Cottage City, A: Published by the Oak Bluffs, MA Historical Commission         Stoddard, Chris 1980 Oak Bluffs, MA: Oak Bluffs Historical Commission. This is an interesting story of the history of Oak Bluffs and Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of Southeastern Massachusetts.  The town became a famous "watering hole" for Americans and foreigners in the late 1880s, and was re-named Cottage City in 1880, then reclaimed the name of Oak Bluffs in 1907. This booklet provides pictures of the old days of towering Victorian gingerbread buildings, and stories about this Methodist enclave. History of Methodist meetings and huge camp meetings on Martha's Vineyard go back to the early 19th century, and this booklet shows a woodcut of a camp meeting ca. 1840 and a photo, ca. 1860. 112 pp. 25 x 20 cm. Paper booklet, slight smudge on cover, owner name on title page, dated 1990. Very good.  (8156) $15.00. Travel/History

Miracles in Marble: A Story of Modern Methods Applied to One of America's Oldest Industries ca. 1910 Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Co. Little booklet tells story of how shell fish and lime-producing animals began the work of building marble beds, and how, in 1870 there entered the field a man who took a slipshod mill and half-developed quarry and organized the Vermont Marble Company. Photos show processing of quarried marble to produce such masterpieces as the United States Supreme Court Building and the Arlington Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. 24 pp. 13 x 19 cm. Paper booklet, cover lightly soiled, good. (8157) $16.00           History

 Custom of War: A Solemn Review of the Custom of War; Showing That War is the Effect of Popular Delusion and Proposing a Remedy; eleventh American edition, revised by author  Pacificus, Philo (Noah Worcester)            1833    Boston, MA: S.G. Simpkins. Author notes that we regard with horror the customs of ancient heathens,in offering their children in sacrifice to idols.  We are shocked by the customs of the Hindoos, in burning woman alive on the funeral pyres of their husbands, and by casting living children into the Ganges in a living sacrifice-- yet Christian nations decide controversy among nations by the edge of a sword, by powder and ball, or the point of a bayonet!   The depravity occasioned by war is not confied to the army. Every species of vice gains ground in a nation during war.  Author declares that war is a heathenish and savage custom, of the most malignant, most desolating, and most horrible character. 24 pp. 15.5 x 24 cm. Paper booklet, bound by strans of thread. Several pages have never been opened. Fair.  (8174) $26.00. Educational/Religious   

Our Dumb Animals--a national and international magazine; The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; The American Humane Education Society, February 1924 Norwood, MA: MSPCA, 696 Washington St. Cover of magazine shows photo of  three children behind Blue-Ribbon Shepherd Dog and her new-born puppies. Editorial explanation for delay in the Slaughter-House Reform Campaign. More and more critical patrons watch for cruelty to animals on stage and screen.  Work horses have Christmas Dinner and Tree in Boston. Facts about Hawks you ought to know. No more furs for her. Will You Stand for Tortures Like This? (Cruel double-jaw traps). 16 pp. 23.7 x 30.7 cm. Magazine, edge of cover has chips and wear. Fair. (8169) $15.00. Farming/Animals          

Our Dumb Animals--a national and international magazine; The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; The American Humane Education Society, June 1924 Norwood, MA: MSPCA, 696 Washington St. Cover of magazine shows photo of cats in a hammock aboard U.S.S. Mississippi, Navy battleship."The Humane Slaughter of Our Food Animals" --demonstration of devices invented in competition for ASPCA $10,000 price took place at Armour Abattoir in Chicago. Winning device was an air gun which drives a bolt into the brain of the animal with the speed of a bullet.  Indifference to Trained Animal Acts Giving Way to Indignation."The Value of Humane Education in the School".       16 pp. 23.7 x 30.7 cm. Magazine, edge of cover has chips and wear. Fair. (8170) $15.00. Farming/Animals          

New York Tribune, New-York, Wednesday, February 6, 1867 New York, NY: New-York Tribune. Lead article in News of the Week reports that Governors Orr, Parsons and Sharkey, now in Washington, have telegraphed Southern governors, asking them to hold their legislatures in session, and if adjourned, to call an extra session immediately, to consider a new policy of Reconstruction which relates mainly to the question of Negro suffrage.  Obituary for ex-Governor Washington Hunt, first a Whig, then a Democrat. 8 pp. 44 x 62 cm. Newspaper, worn, fair.      (8175) $25.00. History, Civil War/Newspapers

Great Question, The: Tariff Reform or Free Trade?  By L.M.S. Amery and Free Trade or Tariff Reform? By J.M. Robertson, M.P.           Amery, L.M.S., Robertson, J.M., M.P. 1909   London, England: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons Ltd., No. 1 Amen Corner, E.C. Unique little book is bound with Amery's text, making the case for Tariff Reform at front of book, and Robertson's text, making case for Free Trade, bound upside down so HIS text is at the front of a book one might read in Chinese or Arabic fashion. Amery makes point that free trade is harmful and government intervention is helpful; Robertson points out that in union-controlled (protectionist)  countries like Germany and the United States, with tariffs, there is much more unemployment. 106 pp. 12 x 18 cm. Hardbacked cardboard covers, both loose. Front cover shows Britannia with shield, with factory smokestacks in background; Back cover shows her shield cast aside, as she welcomes birds labeled "imports".  In view of loose covers, poor.  (8163) $36.00. History/Economics  

American Mercury, The, A Monthly Review Edited by H.L. Mencken, June 1929 Mencken, H.L., Editor 1929            New York, NY: The American Mercury. Lead article, "Murder in the Making" by Lawrence M. Maynard, who is currently serving a seven years' term at Trenton. He has written several articles, short stories and a play while in prison. "The taking of Montfaucon" by James M. Cain, who served in The War. Mencken has a blazing editorial in this issue about the status of Negroes in America today. "The Negro realtors, insurance magnates, bootleggers and other grotesque upstarts of today are accumulating a fund which, in the long run, will achieve more for their race than any conceivable white philanthropy.....From among the best of them will come a new leadership....What the Negroes need is leaders who can and will think black."  "Black Babbitt may turn out to be a more useful man, in the long run, than either Washington or DuBois."  "The Elephant and the Donkey" by Edward Lee McBain.  Ad on back cover for Camels shows man with cigarette in mouth offering a cigarette from a pack to a lady. 256 pp. + adv. 17.5 x 25.5 cm. Magazine, edges worn, good. (8177) $28.00. History/Race Relations  

Socony Road Map of New England 1925 New York, NY: Standard Oil Company of New York, 26 Broadway. Folded road map printed in blue and red shows New England states with inset maps of New York City and Boston, index, and distances of main traveled roads, e.g.: New York to Calais, ME, 647.5 mi.; New London to Fitchburg, 98 mi.; Portland to Ft. Kent, 386 mi., Portland to Quebec, 282.5 mi. map 56 x 72 cm.       Paper folded map, cover moderately soiled, one hole at intersection of folds on map, fair. (8166) $29.00. Maps 

Boston Almanac For The Year 1853 with fold-out map of Boston 1853 Boston, MA: Damrell & Moore, and George Coolidge. Lists businesses, national, state and local leaders. Excellent engravings of local sights. Fifteen page article "Ancient and Modern Boston" by D. J.V.C. Smith compares Boston of 1722 (shown in map) with today (1853). Plans are in works to fill in the whole of Back Bay between Roxbury Mill Dam and the Neck. He predicts that South Boston is "predestined to be the magnificent section of the city, in respect to costly residences, fashionable society and the influence of wealth. Monody to Daniel Webster, who died Oct. 24, 1852. Very interesting ads for ink, removers, carpeting, plumbers, tea, curriers. shell combs, cutlery and more.  Fold-out map of Boston includes Map of Town of Boston in New England by Capt. John Bonner, 1722, engraved for Boston Almanac 1853, and detailed New Map of Boston Comprising the Whole city with the new boundaries of the Wards, 1853.  Map shows Receiving Basin adjacent to Public Garden, South Bay between Albany St. and South Boston. Inset map of East Boston. 188 pp.        8 x 13 cm. Cloth on board with gold printing and blind-stamped design. Back cover spine broken,  Map worn, small tears in folds, fair. Overall fair condition. (8173) $68.00. Reference       

Watchman and Reflector, December 29, 1870 Boston, MA: Watchman and Reflector. Lively, intelligent religious paper set the tone for a straitlaced, sober Boston readership. Long tribute to Bartholomew T. Welch, D.D.(b. 1794 d.1870) His grandfather was a lieutenant on United States Frigate Alliance, and his father a midshipman on that same ship.  His mother was daughter of Capt. Barthol Trow, one of the tea party. Report of celebration Dec. 21, 1870, of 250th anniversary of landing of Pilgrims at Plymouth. Instead of a bleak, hostile shore, behold the beautiful town of Plymouth, and long trains of Old Colony railroad cars bringing hundreds to this jubilee. Editorial decries quarrel going on now in Washington between two of "our" political faith, President Grant and Senator Sumner, both Republicans. 8 pp. 41 x 58 cm. Newspaper, uncut, some tiny holes in folds, good. (8176) $27.00. Religious/History           

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Saving Heathens from Themselves

Missionaries in Shanghai, 1843

            Oh, to have been a Missionary in the good old days!  Imagine boarding a ship in Salem Harbor, right here in Massachusetts. You took your whole family, and trunks and trunks of books, clothes, pots, pans, and all the food you would need for a few years. 

            Your voyage would take you to ports in the Caribees, and then down the coast of South America to Cape Horn.  If you were lucky enough to make it around the Horn, after several months you would make it across the South Pacific Ocean and make landfall near the Straits of Malacca, then into the Indian Ocean until you arrived at Hindoostan, which would be your home for the next several years.

            Or, perhaps you might have landed in Cathay, which we now call China.

Missionaries that nations and churches have sent all over the world have done a world of good, in bringing medical care, and better health practices, and teaching people better ways to farm, and to protect themselves from disease, and in many ways missionaries have carried a message of hope and faith that has truly improved the lives of people the world over!

Today, however, some of us have just a thought that some of our missionary work was a little heavy-handed.

            As long as America has been a country, we have been so sure of ourselves that we wanted everyone else in the world to join us.

After all, how can they live without joining us in our religious faith?  I mean, it’s only right that we lead them into the light. 

            Never mind that they have been Hindoos, Buddhists or Mohametans or even tree-worshippers --- for many centuries!

            Well, we really didn’t want those yellow and brown people to come over here, mind you ---  but we felt that we needed to make good Christians of them.  While we went to great efforts to give them the wealth of our knowledge and experience, our immigration laws severely limited their coming to live here.

                        Our missionaries have sailed all over the world, taking Bibles and trinkets to win the hearts and minds of the rest of the world.  We were so terribly sure that if we could turn them into good Christians, they would stop killing each other, and marrying multiple wives, and putting widows on the funeral pyre to be burned alive with their dead husbands.  If we could make everyone in the world into good, God-fearing, teetotaler Christians, the world would be so much safer!

American Baptist Magazine, May 1820

            If you read a few of the books, magazines and papers that religious groups published in the nineteenth century, you may get the impression that our missionaries went forth to Siam and Hindoostan, Persia, Cathay and Africa--- and to the Indian tribes all over America and Canada --- without knowing much about these people, and with very little respect for their religious faith or culture.  Americans sitting at home here read with eagerness about the adventures in these far-off places.

            I invite you to read a little about the problems of building a missionary college in Serampour, India early in the nineteenth century. 

            Read about missionaries among the Indian tribes right in North America, and read a translation of a letter of King Otaheite of the Society Islands (Tahiti), telling about a comet that has struck his people. 

           

Serampore College in India, founded 1818.

  

American Baptist Magazine and Missionary Intelligencer, May 1820, Vol. 2 No. 9 Boston, MA: Baptist Missionary Society of Massachusetts. Memoir of Rev. Henry Jessey. Review of sermon delivered at the ordination of Rev. Stephen Chapin by Jeremiah Chaplin, Professor of Divinity in the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, at North Yarmouth. Extract of letter from Missionary College, Serampore by W. Ward. [Note: Ward was among founders of this College in India in 1818. It still exists in 2008.] College is open to all denominations of Christians, and to as many heathen scholars as choose to avail themselves of its exercises and lectures. Letter from Pomare, King of Otaheite, Society Islands. Report on efforts to Christianize American Indians of the Oneida and Stockbridge; letter signed with marks by Oneida Indians asking to embrace Christianity. 34 pp. 15 x 24 cm. Paper periodical, edges frayed, page corners curled, poor. (6399) $36.00. Religious/Missionary

King of Otaheite, Society Islands

American Baptist Magazine and Missionary Intelligencer, September 1820, Vol. 2 No. 11 Boston, MA: Baptist Missionary Society of Massachusetts. Frontispiece engraving of Rev'd James Manning Winchell, A.M. late pastor of the First Baptist Church in Boston. Memoir of the death of Mrs. Tamma Winchell, Rev. Winchell's widow. Tribute on death of Rev. Edward W. Wheelock, who, dying of consumption, left Rangoon for Calcutta, and died at sea. Letter from Mrs. Colman on the Burman Mission, mournfully relates last days of Rev. Wheelock. In letter to her sister she chides her for not answering for "nine long months" and goes on to tell her about revival of Buddhism in Burma, and building of pagodas.  32 pp. 15 x 24 cm. Paper periodical, edges frayed, page corners curled, poor. (6400) $36.00. Religious/Missionary

American Baptist Magazine and Missionary Intelligencer, January 1821, Vol. 3 No. 1;  Boston, MA: Baptist Missionary Society of Massachusetts. Reflections on the New Year, 1821. Memoir of Rev. Andrew Fuller, Late Pastor of the Baptist Church and Society in Warren, Maine. Extracts from Mr. Judson's Journal--Burman Mission. Judson writes of traveling in Burmese rowing boat with ten rowmen to visit monarch in New Ava, or Ahmarapoor, 350 miles from Rangoon. Visit to Pagan. Disappointing audience with the emperor. They presented him an elaborately decorated Bible, which he flung to the ground. Necessity of Christianity to India; about the Hindoos; ritual of dying and the Ganges. Mr. Ward and the Mission at Serampoor. Missionary college at Serampoor will accept a Krishnu, a Sebuk-Ram, or a Ram-Mohun for 45 dollars a year. 40 pp. 15 x 24 cm. Paper periodical, edges frayed, page corners curled, fair. (6401) $36.00. Religious/Missionary SORRY---SOLD.

American Messenger, June 1856; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10. Vol. 14. No. 6 New York, NY: The American Tract Society. Americans eagerly awaited this monthly religious paper. National news, religious commentary. Missionary news. Report on desperate condition of women of China, by Rev. John C. Lord of Ningpo:  They are slaves. Story about a dog who saved a store from burning in Troy, NY. War in Europe is ended, Treaty signed in Paris March 30 by Great Britain, Russia, Austria, Sardinia, Turkey, France, Prussia. 4 pp. 38 x 56 cm. Newspaper,  spinefold torn 24 cm,  good. (5361) $20.00. Religious/History

American Messenger, July 1856; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10. Vol. 14. No. 7 New York, NY: The American Tract Society. Americans eagerly awaited this monthly religious paper. National news, religious commentary. Missionary news. Colporteurs* among the Cherokees. Work of Grace among the Karens of Burmah. The Chinese Language and Dialects. Agent of American Bible Society in Turkey sees declining interest in Mohammedanism and increased interest in the Christian religion among Moslems. 4 pp. 38 x 56 cm. Newspaper,  biopredation in horizontal fold, fair. (5362) $20.00. Religious/History

*Colporteurs were peddlars or distributors of religious booklets and tracts.

American Messenger, August 1856; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10. Vol. 14. No. 8 New York, NY: The American Tract Society. Americans eagerly awaited this monthly religious paper. National news, religious commentary. Missionary news. Letter from a Slave--Thanks for  the American Messenger! Report of Mexicans in Metamoras (sic) who are willing to read. Progress in the North-west, among Romanists who have renounced Popery and then united with Protestant churches. 4 pp. 38 x 56 cm. Newspaper, very good. (5363) $20.00. Religious/History

American Messenger, September, 1856; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10. Vol. 14. No. 9 New York, NY: The American Tract Society. Americans eagerly awaited this monthly religious paper. National news, religious commentary. Missionary news. Story about lumbermen on the head waters of the Kennebec River in Maine, one who swore that God Almighty is not quick enough to kill me with a tree. The next day, while felling their first tree, a small branch was thrown with fatal  aim, as by the hand of the Almighty, and killed him. Story of brutal Indian swinging festivals honoring Shiva near Calcutta. 4 pp. 38 x 56 cm. Newspaper,  top edge ragged. very good. (5364) $20.00. Religious/History

American Messenger, April 1857; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10. Vol. 15. No. 4 New York, NY: The American Tract Society. Americans eagerly awaited this monthly religious paper. National news, religious commentary. Missionary news. Florence Nightingale, her upbringing, and her service in the recent war in the Crimea. The Rev. Dr. Eli Smith died Jan. 11 in Beyrout, Syria, aged 55. His work was in translating, preparing and issuing a Bible in Arabic. 4 pp. 38 x 56 cm. Newspaper,  very good. (5365) $20.00.  Religious/History

American Messenger, June 1858; "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Luke 2:10. Vol. 16. No. 6   New York, NY: The American Tract Society. 4 pp. 38 x 56 cm. Americans eagerly awaited this monthly religious paper. National news, religious commentary. Missionary news. Bishop McIlvaine's Address at 33rd anniversary of the Society. Position on "anti-slavery". Minnesota was admitted into the confederacy of the United States May 12, making the number of states in the Union 32. Russia to adopt the new style of calendar, so that by 1912 their calendar will coincide with the Gregorian. The children's missionary vessel, "Morning Star" since arriving at the Sandwich islands in 1857 has made two important cruises. Newspaper,  very good.  (5372) $20.00.  Religious/Hist

Boston Investigator, The; Devoted to the development and promotion of universal mental liberty. Boston, Massachusetts, June 2, 1869 Seaver, Horace, Editor 1869 Boston, MA: Josiah P. Mendum. Unique newspaper, now in its 39th year, dedicated to Rationalism, fighting bigotry and superstition. Originally founded by the noted atheist Abner Kneeland, J.P. Mendum carried on the cause of fighting religion and religiosity. Editorial on benefits and advantages of Atheism. "Why should we not applaud the heroism of Atheistical martyrs... who were burnt by their Christian enemies?"  Paganism: "It would be difficult to prove that Paganism contained a greater mass of absurdities, follies, immoralities, madness, and fanaticism than modern Christianity." Report of circulation of the Gospel and the Holy Bible in Spain. Upwards of 5,000,000 tracts have been given away, and on Good Friday the Puerta del Sol resembled a vast reading room. Report of Indian fight. Seven companies of the Fifth Cavalry, led by General Carr, while moving from Kansas toward Fort McPherson, struck a camp of about 500 Cheyennes, and a big fight ensued, in which the Indians were badly defeated. The YMCA of Milwaukee has decided to leave its reading rooms open on Sunday, and Lake Michigan has not risen its banks and inundated the town. 8 pp. 36 x 42 cm. Newspaper, tiny holes in intersection of folds; letter "c" pencil on about five articles. Good. (7402) $49.00.  Religious/Atheism

Christian Register, The, Boston and Chicago, Saturday, April 4, 1874 Boston, MA: Christian Register Association. Writing in this newspaper is as tart and alert, educated with a good sense of humor, that one can observe even after all these years. "A Sunday among the Szekler Unitarians" by Robert S. Morison reports of visit to religious community in Almas on Homorod, Transylvania. Nearly everyone in these villages is Unitarian...visit to funeral of old woman.  "A Burman Dandy" description of a man who thinks himself the most worthy to be admired  of any dandy in all of Burmah. "An Answer to 'T.H.’ on Darwinism" gives erudite argument to earlier statements.  Editorial reports decision of the Brooklyn Trinitarian Congregational Council which justifies and approves the course of the churches of Rev. Dr. Storrs and Budington, and favors the continuance of fellowship with Plymouth Church, with stipulations. Letter from Michigan reports the Festival of the Annunciation in Ann Arbor, one of the most solemn and joyous festivals of the Catholic Church. Writer compares celebration to one in Nazareth, Palestine, with little Syrian children, 20 years ago. 4 pp. 54 x 70 cm. Newspaper,  small holes in folds, fair. (7721) $20.00. Religious/Unitarian

Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, Volume I; bound volume of numbers 1-12, from July 1800 to June 1801; First Edition Cogswell, James, D.D. Editor et al   1801 Hartford, CT: Hudson and Goodwin, Printers.  Evangelical magazine by Missionary Society of Connecticut to support of missions in the new American settlements and among the heathen. News from London Missionary society about missionary work in the South Seas. Misfortunes of the Otaheitean Mission. News about Missionary work among the Indians. Letter to Indian Tribes bordering on Lake Erie. Report of unusual religious appearances by Rev. Samuel J. Mills of Torringford, Connecticut. Memoirs of Mrs. Sarah Storrs, consort of Rev. Richard Salter Storrs.  Address to backsliding Christians. Confession of the Freethinker John James Rosseau. History of the Moravians, or Unitas Fratrum. Thoughts on the future glory of the Jewish nation. Character and experiences of Mrs. Nancy Bishop. Death of Clarissa. Revival of Religion in New-Hartford.  237 pp. 12 x 21 cm. Calf on board, corners bumped, worn, spine cracked and shriveled.  Pp. 155-156 missing bottom part of page; pp. 157-158 torn and poorly repaired. Bookplate on front pastedown from "First Social Library in Newbury port".  Overall poor condition. (4843) $68.00. Religious

Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, Volume III; bound volume of numbers 1-12, from July 1802 to June 1803; Williams, Nathan, D.D. Editor et al 1803 Hartford, CT: Hudson and Goodwin, Printers. Evangelical magazine by Missionary Society of Connecticut to support of missions in the new American settlements and among the heathen. Report on attempts to Christianize the Indians; Thomas Mayhew among the Indians on Martha's Vineyard, continued from Vol. II.  On the Revival of Religion in Yale-College, New Haven.  On the Comfort of the Holy Ghost. Reflections on God's Feeding his ancient church with Manna. Revival in Middlebury. Thoughts on the Angel of the Lord. Memoirs of Miss Deborah Thomas. Extract of a Letter from Rev. David Bacon, Missionary to the Indians, dated Machilimakinak, July 2, 1802. Ottawas and Chippeways. Account of Japhet Hannit as teacher of the first Indian church on Martha's Vineyard.  Life and dying exercises of Mrs. B-----, who died July, 1802 in one of the towns of the state of Massachusetts in the 30th year of her age.484 pp. w/ index 12 x 21 cm. Calf on board, worn,  pencil  notations on front inside pastedown. Good. (4844) $74.00. Religious          

Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, The; Vol. IV, Consisting of 12 numbers, to be published monthly, from July 1803 to June 1804 Williams, Nathan, D.D.; Smalley, John, D.D.; Day, Jeremiah, D.D.; Trumbull, Benjamin, D.D.; Parsons, Elijah, D.D., et al, Editors  1804. Hartford, CT: Hudson & Goodwin Bound volume of twelve issues of Evangelical Magazine.  "Attempts to Christianize the Indians  in New-England & c." continued from the previous year.  Mention of attempts by Romish priests, which are opposed to actions of Protestant priests, include "teaching them the Pater Noster and rubbing a few beads, then baptising them."  In November 1803 issue is description of Religious exercises in the Indian Congregations, from a letter from Dr. Increase Mather in 1687.    Before he died, Rev. Mr. Atwater of Westfield wrote an Advice for his only son, William. That advice is published in the October 1803 issue.  Report of Revival of Religion in Lebanon, New York, in 1799.  "Reflections of a Youth once dissolute, brought to serious consideration" published in April 1804 issue.  484 pp. 12.4 x 21.5 cm. Whole calf on board, edges lightly worn, text block slightly fanned; contemporary signature of Elijah Loomis written three times on front endpapers, with "Cost 11/". Text block tight, slight foxing.  Good copy. (5260) $66.00. Religious/Missionary

Journal of Missions "The Field is the World" Boston, September, 1855 Boston, MA: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Summary of Intelligence: North American Indians. Choctaws, 121 have professed their faith as Christians. Cherokees: Four have joined the church, and the cause of temperance wears "a somewhat brightening aspect." Ojibwas. Not so good, little interest in education for their children. But we have noted a marked change for the better in temperance. We have not seen a drunk Indian for two years. Report from Ceylon: Cholera has abated, but still prevails at Tillipally. Small-pox is prevalent. "Has anything been done by the Mission to Syria in 25 Years?" Report by G.B.W. from Beyroot notes that work has been attempted and steadily persevered in. Reports from Hindustan, Burmah, China and Siam. Facts about the Island of Bonabe, or Ascension by one of the Micronesian Missionaries. 4 pp. 38 x 55 cm. Newspaper, paper very durable, with small stains, good. (7142) $26.00. Religious/Missionary

Massachusetts Missionary Magazine, July 1804, Vol. II No. 2  Boston, MA: Massachusetts Missionary Society. Biography:  Life of Lieutenant John Wills, late of the Royal Navy, d. 1764. He fell asleep in the embraces of God his Saviour, to his eternal gain. "Letters on Solitary Devotion-- From Pascal to Julia, letters XIII and XIV.” "Narratives by a Young Lady" After our pastor died in 1800 the religious attention declined, till an unusual stupidity took place... youth were gliding down the stream of dissipation and carelessness.  In 1803 vice and immorality seemed to rise to greater height than ever.  At this time God was pleased to send a faithful pastor to guide the flock... "The Pilgrims"--- Primus from Europe, Secundus from Asia, Tertius from Africa and Quartus from America. Says Quartus: "My blood chills in my veins while I contemplate the danger to which the Southern states are exposed. The debt contracted is great, and must be paid." Talk against slavery and idea for Negro missionaries from America returning to Africa to preach the Gospel.  Quartus also talks about how Americans have mistreated the Indians in America. 38 pp. 13 x 21 cm. Paper booklet, no wraps, worn, good.  (7522) $43.00. Religious

Massachusetts Missionary Magazine, The June 1807, Vol. V No. 1 Boston, MA: Massachusetts Missionary Society. Religious and interesting communications calculated to edify Christians and inform the rising generation; profits of this work are to be applied to the support of Missionaries in the New Settlements and among the Indians of North America. Memoirs of Dr, Witherspoon. The Pious Negro Woman. Edinburgh Society's Mission to Tartary: a letter from Pinkerton in Karass. Group of missionaries crossed the Pod-Kuma, dined with Circassian shepherds, engaged in discussion of the New Testament with Muslim men. Found Tartars "miserably ignorant" of Christ and His works. Eulogium on the Late Chancellor Wythe. 40 pp. 14 x 23 cm. Paper periodical, pages uncut, edges frayed, rough, poor. (6397) $44.00. Religious/Missionary

Missionary Herald, The; Vol. XXXV No. 10, October, 1839 Boston, MA: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. Journal of Mr. Thomson at Beyroot; gets in trouble handing out tracts. Visit from Arab and long, circular conversation aimed at getting a Bible. Recommendation of Antioch as a field for missionary labor. Mahrattas. Letter from Ahmednuggur. Journal from Mr. Riggs, missionary among the Sioux Indians at Lake Travers. "the Sioux love dog-meat as well as white people do pork." 32 pp. 16 x 24 cm. Paper periodical, name of "Miss Sally Howe" inscribed on cover wrap, very good. (6097) $28.00. Religious/Missionary. 

Missionary Herald, The;  Vol. XXXV No. 11, November, 1839 1839 Boston, MA American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions 48 pp. 16 x 24 cm. Report from Syria and the Holy Land, discouraging and daunting task; The Druzes continue to throng our dwellings  until they are persecuted by the Maronites.  Work in Beyroot. Letter from Broosa (probably Bursa, Turkey) among the Armenians and Greeks, burning of missionary books in public bonfire. Report from Borneo of a sea voyage to the mouth of the Sambas river. Six precise and strict Mohammedans, "apparently honest and sincere followers of the false prophet and his delusions." Paper periodical, name of "Miss Sally Howe" inscribed on cover wrap, very good. (6095) $28.00. Religious/Missionary  [p. 417: The Dyaks of this village (in Borneo) still continue the barbarous practice of cutting off heads, and boast of bringing in two or three fresh ones every year.  In the verandah where we have our lodgings, there  are 15 or 20, and some suspended immediately over the place assigned us to sleep."]

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The Shah of Iran by Abbas Milani

The Shah

Milani, Abbas, The Shah, 2011; New York: Palgrave MacMillan® 488 pp.

This is a marvelous, wide-ranging and intelligently written story of the reign of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlevi. It looks to me to be an excellent piece of scholarship.

I lived just down the street from the Shah for two years, from 1970 to 1972, and I served as an advisor to his Supreme Military Staff, and advised in the creation of his National Defence University, but I don’t presume to be an expert on the Shah.

During the years that I lived and worked in Iran, and in all that I have read and heard since then, the Shah was a good leader for Iran, trying to bring a backward country into the modern world, and to carve out a greater part for Iran in the world.  When I was there, and since the Shah was restored to his throne less than 20 years before, the Soviet Union loomed large on the landscape.  Everything we did in and with Iran reflected our need to keep Iran on our side in the great balancing act between the USSR and the West.

During World War II Britain, the United States and the USSR all stationed forces in Iran in order to ship millions of tons of military supplies and food north to Russia.  At war’s end, the British and Americans began to leave, but the Soviets occupied northern provinces, and appeared very determined to annex those parts of the country.

The Shah, with British and American help, was able to expel the Soviet troops from those northern provinces. 

When I was there the Shah had just about reached the high point of his rule.  The British, in a long-before announced move, had taken their navy out of the waters “east of Aden”, or the Red Sea, and with American encouragement the Shah’s Imperial Navy was taking over a larger role in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and gradually, the Indian Ocean. 

In 1973, the Yom Kippur War took place, and the coalition of oil-producing countries put a giant clamp on world oil supplies.  For Iran and the Shah, the money came flooding in.  Up to that time, he had been able to manage the greed of his relatives and close associates, keeping graft and corruption bubbling below the surface. 

Milani’s book certainly does not paint the Shah as a modern day hero, or the Savior of Iran, but he was clearly a very positive influence on Iran, and his leadership was bringing Iran into the modern world, with education for more Iranians, improvements in standard of living, and a greatly improved standing in the world community.  He was a secular ruler, and he and the Shahbanou set an example for modernizing the role of women in the country. 

It seems to be a very fair picture of a man born to a Persian Cossack officer of very humble beginnings.  That officer seems to have fallen into the role of Shah of Iran, by the events of the time, carried along by crafty and often unprincipled westerners—mostly British, but later, the operatives of the United States took over the care, feeding and steering of the Shah.

In 1965 the Shah, in Milani’s view, had reached about the pinnacle of his reign.  By then he was skilled, principled, and moving rapidly to modernize his country.  If only he could have done more of all that good, but he had a lot of things working against him.

When I arrived in Iran in September, 1970, I was one of a few U.S. naval officers, on a staff of mostly Army officers and men, and a growing number of Air Force officers and men.  The American presence in Iran had begun during World War II, just before President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin had their historic Teheran Conference there. 

In 1970 the United States was busy helping the Shah to build up his armed forces as a bulwark against the Soviet Union and its allies in the region—Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and India.  At the same time, Britain had scheduled a complete withdrawal of its naval forces from the Indian Ocean, and was turning that responsibility over to the United States Navy, and to Iran. 

This book tells about life in the cocoon around the Shah, as he became increasingly protected by a small circle of sycophants, and even foreign diplomats, CIA and MI6 operatives.  Those in that circle became people who told him what he wanted to hear, and at the same time urged him to buy more.  And buy he did.  With all the oil money that was coming to the country, he bought destroyers from the UK, trucks and artillery from the USSR, and state-of-the-art jet fighters, Boeing airliners, and much more from the U.S.

During my time there, my wife taught bright young Iranians English, and I learned Persian from other bright young Iranians, and in our exposure to the unofficial Persian world, we heard bits and pieces of the discontent that was simmering in the country.

However, no one was putting this picture together for the Shah, nor was he listening.  No one would dare darken his day telling him how the world would soon know that SAVAK, his security agency, was more and more shifting to the dark side of doing  dirty tricks.  No one was giving him a good report about how Islamic groups were building up resentment to the Shah.  His efforts to westernize the country naturally irritated those groups, but he had no apparent plan for handling this growing resentment. 

Haile Selassie, Shah, Empress Farah at 2500^th Anniversary Celebration

In 1971 the Shah put on a magnificent party out in the desert at the ancient city of Persepolis.  It was a grand party.  He spent millions to put up elegant tents for his visitors, with marble bathrooms and rich Persian carpets, and running water—right out there in the desert!  And they came—kings and princes and princesses—from all over the world.  I remember seeing Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, and King Hussein of Jordan.  The U.S. sent Spiro Agnew, the VP, I think.  That whole event did not go down well with the growing circle of Iranians critical of the Shah.

As time went on, the Shah became more disconnected to any voices that would tell him “bad news”.  American diplomats and intelligence operatives reported growing discontent, but back home in the USA, presidents and Secretaries of State dared not rock the Shah’s boat, so did not bother the Shah with their findings. 

By 1975, the Shah was pulling in more money than even he and his circle could spend, and no one seemed to be worrying about how all this would play out.  And then there were the girls.  Lots of girls. 

This was the beginning of the end, as his appetite for debauchery overcame his desire to lead.  He was also facing early signs of cancer, and intelligent Iranians were beginning to see the end.  Some of those bright Iranians were Mullahs and other religious leaders.  

How does the 1979 Islamic Revolution relate to the string of revolutions and uprisings taking place today?

The central point is:  a leader who isolates himself from his people is ruling in the dark.  Even a dictator must be aware of his people, and this is where the Shah failed.  One can see similar failings in Mubarak, Qaddafi, al Assad, el Abadine Ben Ali and Saleh. 

The Islamic Republic of Iran appears to be much worse for Iran than the Shah ever was.  There are a lot of smart, well-educated Persians, both in Iran and abroad, and I feel confident that before long, they will figure out a way to unseat the Mullahs and thugs who are running Iran slowly into the sand.

The Personal Navigator offers these books and papers:

Kasîdah

Kasîdah, The; of Hâji Abdû El-Yezdî, Or The Lay of the Higher Law by Abdû the Traveller; Translated and Annotated by His Friend and Pupil, F.B. Sir Richard F. Burton, K.C.B. [250 copies of this edition were published.] 1915    Portland, ME:  Thomas Bird Mosher. Thomas Mosher issued this 1915 reprint of Burton's 1880 Kasîdah, dedicating it to Charles Freeman Libby. This edition has paper-covered boards with gilt inscription in Farsi: "Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî"  Frontispiece portrait of Burton from etching by Léopold Flameng, with tissue guard.  Kasîdah is a classical Arabic or Persian poem, which begins with a reference to a forsaken campground, followed by a lament, and a prayer to one's comrades to halt while the memory of the departed dwellers is invoked. Introduction by William Marion Reedy declares that "The Kasîdah will never be as popular as the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám (to which it is often compared), but it will endure...."  Burton (1821-1890) claims to have been the translator of these verses, and in Notes provided describes the author,   Hâjî Abdû as a native of Yezd Province (central Iran), "who has travelled far and wide with his eyes open", and has added to his native Persian, and classic Arabic, some Latin, Greek, scraps of Chinese, Hebrew, Syriac, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Slav, Berber and more;   but it is well-established that Burton, the Victorian scholar, soldier, linguist and adventurer, was the author. This edition contains numerous tributes to Burton, by Theodore Watts-Dunton and Algernon Charles Swinburne. It also reproduces a facsimile of the 1880 first edition.  At end of text is notation that 250 copies of this book were printed on Van Gelder hand-made paper and the type distributed in the month of "October MDCCCCXV". Gilt inscription in Farsi: "Hâjî Abdû El-Yezdî". xxvii + 73 pp.  23.5 x 31.7 cm. Paper-covered boards with   cream trim, lightly soiled, with one-cm tear to top of spine. Frontispiece tissue guard loose. Text block excellent.  Deckle-edged pages. Very good. (7314)             $75.00.  Poetry           

Bassett: An Oration Delivered on Monday, the Fifth of July, 1824, in Commemoration of American Independence Before the Supreme Executive of the Commonwealth, and the City Council and Inhabitants of the City of Boston by Bassett, Francis 1824 Boston, MA: Wells and Lilly, Court Street. Francis Bassett (1786-1875) delivered this address in Boston on the 48th anniversary of the American Independence.  Bassett, an 1810 graduate of Harvard, was from Yarmouth, near Dennis, on Cape Cod.  He practiced law in Boston as a contemporary of Webster,  served in the Massachusetts legislature for many years, and was a designated orator in the City of Boston.  In this oration on page 23 he refers to "an American Congress, the Greeks have found an advocate whose eloquence 'may give them courage and spirit, teach them that they are not wholly forgotten by the civilized world...'". And Bassett notes in handwritten mark below "Webster".  It was Webster's eloquent support for  Greek independence at this time to which the orator refers.  American support for Greece became diffused later in 1824 by adoption of the Monroe Doctrine, but the support of Webster and Henry Clay, our "Great Philhellenes" is admired in Greece today.  This copy is inscribed by Mr. Bassett: "Hon. Timothy Fuller from his Obed't Servant, F. Bassett".  Fuller was another Boston orator at the time, noted for his anti-Masonic rhetoric. 24 pp. 13.8 x 21.6 cm. Disbound paper pamphlet, inscription by author on title page. Fair. (7934) $65.00. History/American

Harper:  Speech of Robert Goodloe Harper, Esq. at the Celebration of the Recent Triumphs of the Cause of Mankind, in Germany, delivered at Annapolis (Maryland) January 20th, 1814   By Harper, Robert Goodloe, Esq. 1814 New Haven, CT: Oliver Steele. Harper (1765-1825) was a Congressman from South Carolina, then moved to Baltimore in about 1800, where he practiced law.  He served in the War of 1812, attaining the rank of Major General.  This speech celebrates the Prussian victory over Bonaparte, but then goes into a lengthy discourse about how the debt of southern planters led eventually to the War of 1812 with Britain. He tells about the British attack on the frigate Chesapeake in 1807, looking for deserters, that emboldened the "war party" in the U.S. "The passions of honest zealots; the erroneous theories of visionary, but well-meaning politicians; the cupidity of such as are governed in their political conduct by pecuniary interest; the ambition of demagogues, more desirous of distinction than attached to principle; the weakness of honest party men, and the low prejudices and passions of the vulgar, were all enlisted in the cause." 59 pp. 14 x 23 cm.       Paper booklet, quite browned. Illegible pencil notes on bottom of pp. 32-33. Fair.         (7925) $58.00. History/War of 1812

Hayward's Massachusetts Gazetteer, Containing Descriptions of all the Counties, Towns and Districts in the Commonwealth, and Fashionable Resorts by Hayward, John 1847 Boston, MA: John Hayward.  Descriptions of cities and towns of Massachusetts as they appeared in 1840s.  Description of railroads, colleges, lunatic asylums, hospitals in Commonwealth. Illustrated with engravings, incl. Boston and Bunker Hill from Chelsea, Landing of Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1620. Tables of population, property value, banks, visits by vessels to ports, railroads, lighthouses, latitude and longitude of towns, table of prices of 40 selected articles for fifty years. Viz.: Holland Gin was $1.33 per gallon in 1795, and $1.15 in 1844; Mackerel was $10.00 a barrel in 1795, $10.25 in 1844.  Includes description of "Brook Farm Phalanx" in Roxbury town description. 448 pp. 13 x 19.7 cm. Black cloth on board with black leather spine, spine frayed at heel and toe; gilt design and title on spine, pp. 279-286, one signature, partly detached. Good. (1438) $65.00. History

Indians:  Lives of Celebrated American Indians by the Author of Peter Parley's Tales by Goodrich, Samuel G. [Peter Parley] 1843 Boston, MA: Bradbury, Soden & Co. Goodrich proposed three books on the Aborigines of North America-- this one aims to make the reader familiar with the real character and genius of that remarkable and peculiar race of men.  The conquerors and spoilers of America had strong motives for first hating, and then defaming, the Aborigines.  Cortez slaughtered millions and thus sought to justify his conduct by representing the Indians in the most degrading and revolting colors.  Pizarro also covered up his atrocities by representing the people he butchered as ungodly heathen. Among the  celebrated Indians in this volume are Manco Capac, Mayta Capac, Huayna Capac, Atahualpa, Caupolican, Ycholay, Tupac Amaru, Quetzlcoatl, Xolotl, Montezuma I and II, Cofachiqui, Vitachuco, Pocahontas, Philip, Pontiac, Logan, Brant, Tecumseh, Shongmunecuthe, and Black Hawk.  Illustrated.  Frontispiece is drawing of Logan of the Mingo or Cayga tribe. 315 pp. 11 x 17 cm. Marbled paper on board with quarter calf, front cover detached. Signature of “James A. Pirye, Adjutant" stamped on front free endpaper. Some pencil marks on text.  Poor. (2419) $56.00. History

Reports from Sec’y of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Treasury, Postmaster General, et al on Accounts of the U.S. Treasury  as of 1816 Publ.1817. Washington, DC: William A. Davis. Bound collection of letters from the Secretary of the Treasury, Comptroller of the Treasury, Postmaster General, et al. Includes listings of debt for the late John Adams, ex-President, and Meriwether Lewis, Late governor of the Territory of Louisiana. .   21 x 33 cm. Marbellized paper with leather spine. Rough-cut paper, with many fold-out pages. Fair condition, binding intact.  (0234) $75.00 History.

Revolutionary War: History of the Siege of Boston, and of the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill, also an account of the Bunker Hill Monument, Illus. Second Edition by Frothingham, Jr., Richard 1851 Boston, MA: Charles C. Little and James Brown. Author produced this book after he completed his History of Charlestown, MA, using many original sources, and it contains avery interesting 40 x 48 cm. fold-out map of the action at Bunker Hill, by Lieut. Page, which was originally published in England in 1776 or 1777. Fascinating account of Revolutionary War battles in and around Boston, the raising of the American army, evacuation of the British, General Howe, Debate in Parliament. There is a 22-page History of the Bunker Hill Monument, and an appendix.420 pp. 14.5 x 23.5 cm.  Cloth on board, blindstamped with gilt medallion front and back; medallion on front is bust of Washington, and on back cover is medallion showing the Recovery of Boston, March 17, 1776. Spine is torn for parts of front and rear hinge and inside front hinge is cracked.  There is a six cm closed tear in large foldout map of Plan of Bunker Hill Battle, and Plan of Boston and Environs is loose.  Plan of Boston facing Title page is missing.  All other maps and illustrations are present. Fair. (5782) $180.00. History/Revolutionary War/Boston.

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