Helmer, William F.:
O. & W.: THE LONG LIFE AND SLOW DEATH OF THE NEW YORK, ONTARIO AND WESTERN RAILWAY
Berkeley, CA: Howell-North, 1959. First edition. Signed by the author. 211 pages, equipment roster, bibliography, pictorial endpapers, map and chart in rear pocket, copiously illustrated in black and white.
"The O&W was a tenacious road, and long after similar lines bowed to changing times and the encroachment of truck transport, it still hung on. There's alternating hope and heartache in this story, prosperity and poverty, dignity and degradation. William Helmer successfully recreates the atmosphere that distinguished the "Old and Weary" and gives your collection of railroad books a worthy addition."
Near Fine with Very Good jacket. Edges lightly sunned. DJ tape-repaired at lower right front corner. Other very light edge wear and soil.
$50.00
Myers, Robert Manson.
THE CHILDREN OF PRIDE.
Inscribed by the author. New Haven; Yale, 1972. First Edition. 1845 pages, including the index. Map endpapers.
Inscribed on the reverse of the first free endpaper: "Dixie Chandler, with the best wishes of the author, Robert Manson Myers 14 April 1972."
This is the true first edition, not the abridged edition. The first edition is uncommon, and it is rare with an inscription or signature.
A power to invest the age of the Civil War with graphic reality emanates from the extensive correspondence of the Jones family of Liberty County, Ga. As collected and edited by Robert Manson Myers in The Children of Pride: A True Story of Georgia and the Civil War (1972), the Jones family documents constitute the most remarkable epistolary record yet discovered of a southern family in the years immediately before, during, and after the Civil War. Possessing a literary quality conferred both by well-educated minds and by a deep feeling for the drama of life, the Jones letters belong on the shelf of the best southern writing.
From docsouth.unc.edu.
"The Children of Pride," Robert Manson Myers' classic book about the Jones family, offers a unique and compelling perspective on antebellum and Civil War life, politics and religion.
The patriarch of the family was the Rev. Dr. Charles Colcock Jones, a prominent Presbyterian minister and plantation owner. His wife was Mary Jones, and their children included Charles Colcock Jones Jr., a lawyer and author, Dr. Joseph Jones of Augusta, and Mary, their daughter who married the Rev. Robert Quarterman Mallard, a Presbyterian minister.
Myers tells their stories through the skillful selection and editing of letters from the voluminous Jones papers. The book, first released in 1972, was an instant success. It was the winner of the 1973 National Book Award in History (the hardcover original is now out of print) .
That's just a fraction of the family papers. In the preface to his book, Myers says the University of Georgia and Tulane University have some 7,000 family letters in their repositories.
The letters are a treasure because the Jones family was rich - they were the owners of three plantations and the masters of more than 100 slaves - and thoughtful.
The Rev. Dr. Charles Colcock Jones was a leading proponent of religious instruction for slaves. His "The Religious Instruction of the Negroes in the United States," published in 1842, was popular throughout the South. He also served as a professor of ecclesiastical history at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Columbia, S.C. In 1850, when the national debate over slavery was intense, he was named to an important position with the national Presbyterian church. Ill health forced him to resign three years later.
An Oct. 27, 1860, letter from Charles Colcock Jones Jr. to his mother:
"My very dear Mother,
"I was yesterday favored with your precious letter of the 25th inst. (October), and must thank you for all the kind congratulations and valuable advice which it contains. You never forget my birthday, and each recurrence brings me a message of love and interest, full of the tenderest maternal solicitude and of the purest Christian counsels. How much, my dear mother, do I owe to you and to dear Father! ... Time does but consecrate you and all your virtues in my heart of hearts. ...
"The duties of the mayoralty are heavy upon me - more particularly so when the present political status of the country is considered, and the further facts which grow out of it - that scoundrels are seen, and suspicious persons found, tampering with our Negroes and attempting to induce them to leave the state. I have now under arrest a crew of Negro sailors - free men of color - who are charged with this offense. The case comes up before me on Monday next. I find also that great laxity has obtained in reference to the conduct of the Negro population. The consequence is that they have forgotten their places - are guilty of gambling, smoking in the streets, drinking and disorderly conduct generally. To the remedy of this I intend to devote, and am devoting, my every energy. I mean also to bring to justice those offenders of foreign birth, the rum-sellers, who at the corners of our streets in their shops are demoralizing our servants and ruining them in every point of view. Any mayor who is sensibly alive to the duties which are devolved upon him, and who endeavors conscientiously to discharge them, has, I can assure you, his hands full."
From www.savannahnow.com
History buffs have descended on Liberty County for years, making pilgrimages there to see the setting of Robert Manson Myers' epic, The Children of Pride. The book, a collection of authentic Civil War letters of a Liberty County plantation family, vividly recreate a period of American history unparalleled for its drama and poignancy.
From www.libertycounty.org
Dr. Myers has a colorful history. He is an historian, playwright, author, and winner of the National Book Award for The Children of Pride, an archive of letters from the Civil War. As an educator, Dr. Myers has taught English at the University of Maryland, the University of London, and a number of other institutions.
Very Good condition with Very Good dust jacket. Corners lightly bumped. Top and bottom edges of the boards are discolored. Front board very slightly bowed. Rear board spotted on upper left quarter. Approximately 1 ½" long smudge on lower page edges. Five spots on upper page edges. 39 spots on page fore-edges. Contents clean. Dust jacket price-clipped. Very light edge-wear and scuffing except for a ¾" tear and attendant creasing on the lower rear panel. Scans are available if you'd like to see photos of these flaws.
$200.00
MacMillan, Miriam:
KUDLA AND HIS POLAR BEAR- Inscribed
New York: Dodd Mead, 1953. First edition. Illustrated by Cleveland Woodward.
From the inside front flap- "How this small bear became the companion and friend of Kudla with his little dog, Ipah, is a story that will make you think you are an Eskimo boy yourself. And it is all very close to being true, because Miriam MacMillan, who wrote the story, is the wife of the great arctic explorer, Commander David MacMillan."
Inscribed by the author & her husband, Arctic expolorer David MacMillan, to Julio Caesare Herrera & Russell Pease. Written on the last free endpaper is this note- From Richard Cory, Friend of "cappy" peases, friend of Julios's granfather, friend of Miriam's, friend of Cap'n Mac's (Admiral MacMillan)."
Laid in is a note that reads "On one four-year expedition, Admiral MacMillan, the famed arctic explorer, discovered near the North Pole an amazingly strange creature, which scientists have since given the name of "Oh-That-Birdie!"" Also laid in is a note that reads "Richard was a friend of this little fellows granddfather who went to Cornell when R. was there. He was afterwards President of Ecuador as was his father before him. The MacMillans were personal friends of Richard's. R's friend died and his family moved away- couldn't be located so Richard had an extra copy."
Very Good with Very Good jacket. Scan available on request. Board edges spotted. Endpapers age-darkened. Dust jacket has small chips to lower corners and large chips missing along the upper front. Head and tail of spine chipped. One chip on rear panel, and several closed tears. Moderate soil on rear panel, front panel age-darkened. Dust jacket not price-clipped.
$60.00
Bendire, Charles:
LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THEIR BREEDING HABITS AND EGGS. Inscribed
2 VOLUMES U.S. National Museum Special Bulletin #1
Washington, DC: GPO, 1892, 1895. First edition. Illustrated by chromolithographs of watercolors (of eggs) by John L. Ridgway.
Inscribed and dated "To Miss Nannie Kelly with the compliments of Chas Bendire, Washington, DC." 10/1/92 and 10/15/95. One of the finest guides written was produced by Charles Bendire for the Smithsonian Institution. Bendire's LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS catalogued the Smithsonian's considerable collection of birds and was printed in 1892. "One of oology's most memorable stories is that of Major Charles Bendire, egg collector and Indian fighter. In 1872, while on patrol in central Arizona, he noticed through binoculars a zone-tailed hawk's nest high in a tree. Leaving his troops to set up camp, he rode to the tree, tethered his horse, and climbed to the nest, keeping a wary eye open for Indians and concealing himself as much as possible.
From the nest, he plucked one of the eggs. Caution escaped his mind as he marveled at this incredible addition to his growing egg collection. An Apache scout quickly spotted him and got off a snap shot with a carbine. As the bullet zipped harmlessly over the major's head, he reacted instantaneously. Shoving the egg into his mouth for safekeeping, he hurried down the tree, jumped onto his horse, and galloped wildly back to camp with several Apaches in fervent pursuit. He managed to reach the camp, where a brief, pitched battle drove off the Apaches.
Then the real problem began. As he rode headlong into camp, gasping and gagging, Bendire discovered that he couldn't spit the egg out. It seems that as he had tried to avoid biting the egg, his jaws had tensed up and swelled. He simply could not open his mouth wide enough to remove the egg. Several men, under threat of court-martial, pried open his jaws and got the egg out intact. Although they did break one of his teeth, Bendire thought it a small price to pay for a perfect, uncracked egg of a zone-tailed hawk.
Charles Bendire later became the first curator of oology at the Smithsonian Institution, where the storied egg survives to this day, along with about 130,000 others." (From fascinatingearth.org).
Very Good with no dust jackets. Volume One: Corners bumped and rubbed. Parts of leather on spine missing, affecting lettering. Rear board water-spotted. Evidence of water rippling to pages starting at plates. Tissue guards lightly stuck to plates. New marbled endpapers. Volume Two: Spine detached, solidly attached at rear. Parts of leather on spine missing, affecting lettering. Corned bumped and rubbed. New marbled endpapers.
$500.00
Masters, Edgar Lee:
DRAMATIC DUOLOGUES: FOUR SHORT PLAYS IN VERSE
New York: Samuel French, 1934. Limited edition. Number 44 of 120. Signed by Masters.
Masters, American poet and novelist, best-known as the author of SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY (1915), a series of 'auto-epitaphs' or monologues in free verse, which often contradicted the pious and optimistic epitaphs written on the gravestones. The book gained Masters a large following and set him in the vanguard of the Chicago literary renaissance.
Very Good to Near Fine with No jacket. Board edges lightly dented. Spine age-darkened. Owner's name (James Parkerson) and address on first free endpaper.
$125.00
O'Connor, Kathryn Stoner:
THE PRESIDIO LA BAHIA DEL ESPIRITU SANTO DE ZUNIGA 1721 TO 1846
Austin, TX: Von Boeckman-Jones, 1966. First edition. 61 illustrations. Bibliography. Folding map in rear. Inscribed by the author "Remember me when you read this book Kathryn Stoner O'Connor" and dated.
Kathryn (Kate) Carlisle Stoner O'Connor, preservationist, philanthropist, and historian, the daughter of George Overton and Zilpa (Rose) Stoner, was born on February 11, 1883, on her family's ranch in Victoria County. She is remembered primarily for her role in the restoration and preservation of Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio (Presidio La Bahía) in Goliad, an effort estimated to have cost more than $1 million.
LA BAHÍA. La Bahía, literally "the bay," is a term with multiple meanings in Texas history. Various sites on the Gulf Coast were so designated. The Spanish came to use the name as a short form of La Bahía del Espíritu Santo, or Bay of the Holy Spirit, now called Matagorda Bay and Lavaca Bay, bounded by present Calhoun, Victoria, Jackson, and Matagorda counties. (In 1519 Alonso Álvarez de Pineda called the Mississippi River the Río del Espíritu Santo, and others extended the name to the bay.) The official application of the name to Matagorda and Lavaca bays occurred during the Spanish search for the French colony planted by René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle.
The name La Bahía subsequently referred both to the bay and to entities associated with it. During the Aguayo expedition, which the viceroy of New Spain authorized to reestablish Spanish dominion in Texas after the French threatened Spanish hegemony, a detachment under Domingo Ramón occupied La Bahía del Espíritu Santo and in April 1721 founded a presidio upon the ruins of La Salle's Fort St. Louis, generally considered to have been on Garcitas Creek, which empties into the bay. The presidio was named Nuestra Señora Santa María de Loreto de la Bahía del Espíritu Santo, though the name was commonly shortened to Nuestra Señora de Loreto Presidio; the place was popularly called Presidio La Bahía. In 1722 the Marqués de Aguayo authorized Father Agustín Patrón y Guzmán to establish a mission across the creek from this presidio. It was named Nuestra Señora de la Bahía del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga Mission and popularly called Mission La Bahía (see NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ESPÍRITU SANTO DE ZÚÑIGA MISSION). Thus the bay, as well as the presidio and the mission because of their location on the bay, were all commonly called La Bahía.
Although the presidio and mission were at least twice moved farther inland, the names, including La Bahía, were retained. La Bahía presidio and mission were reestablished in 1726 on the Guadalupe River near the site of present Mission Valley in Victoria County. In 1749 the mission was moved to the north bank of the San Antonio River near the site of present Goliad in Goliad County, and the presidio to the south bank. The missions of Nuestra Señora del Rosario and Nuestra Señora del Refugio, twenty-seven miles away at the site of modern Refugio, were sometimes grouped with Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo, and all three were called the La Bahía missions.
In time a civic settlement grew up around the presidio, and it, too, was known as La Bahía. This village became commercially important because it was on the Atascosito Road, the La Bahía Road,q and roads from San Antonio de Béxar and El Cópano. La Bahía, Bexar, and Nacogdoches were thus the most important areas of Spanish settlement in Texas. The importance of La Bahía continued after Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821 (see MEXICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE) and during the period of Anglo-American colonization. On February 4, 1829, after a successful petition submitted to the Coahuila and Texas state legislature by Rafael Manchola, who argued that the name La Bahía had become meaningless because neither mission nor presidio had been located on "the bay" since 1726, the Mexican government proclaimed the settlement a villa-a chartered town with municipality jurisdiction-and changed its name to Goliad.
During the Texas Revolution, particularly the Goliad Campaign of 1835, the Matamoros Expedition of 1835-36, and the Goliad Campaign of 1836,q the town was called both La Bahía and Goliad, though the old Spanish term was used primarily to mean the presidio and was often corrupted by Anglo-Americans to "Labadee." During the period of the Republic of Texas and after annexation, the old mission and presidio fell into ruin, but the presidio chapel remained intact and was used first as a residence and then for church services after the Catholic Church regained possession of it about 1853. This chapel was commonly referred to as "La Bahía Mission," a designation that led to confusion with the actual La Bahía mission, Espíritu Santo, which lay in ruins until reconstructed as a public-works project in the 1930s. Presidio La Bahía and its chapel were restored in the 1960s by the Kathryn O'Connor Foundation (see GOLIAD STATE HISTORIC PARK and O'CONNOR, KATHRYN STONER). From The Handbook of Texas Online.