Source : Midland

Source Title Midland Notes 1937 to 1969
Description The dealer catalogues of Ernest Wessen, the exceptional and long lived antiquarian, of Mansfield, Ohio. These catalogues span the period 1937 to 1969, detail almost 30,000 lots and reveal as much about the dealer as they do about the books. They are extensive in their detailing of material mostly concerning America east of the Mississippi River. They are often minutely detailed and not infrequently the only source for thorough and authoritative investigation of obscure titles. They read very well and have lost little of their impact to time. One can only wonder where all these books are today.
Scope of Text These catalogues were prepared in offset, at the time a new form of printing, that permitted Mr. Wesson to extensively illustrate his catalogues with clear images. Approximately 800 of Mr. Wesson's lots are illustrated with images that can be found in this database.

The suggestion to include this material in the database was made by William Reese of New Haven, Connecticut, who also lent his collection of Midland Notes to us to transcribe. When we found one catalogue to be missing, Bailey Bishop of Cambridge, Massachusetts, was kind enough to lend his copy. When towards the end we found the images in catalogue 100 to be unclear, Ed Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio, provided his. Thus many hands and many minds have combined to reconstruct these
Total Records in AED 64251
  • Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 11. Blaeu's Superb World Map on a Polar Projection (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 36. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 49. One of the First Lunar Globes to Show the Far Side of the Moon (1963) Est. $1,000 - $1,300
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 5. The First World Map with Lavish Allegorical Vignettes of the Continents (1594) Est. $15,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 55. Anti-British Propaganda Map with Churchill as an Octopus (1942) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 197. One of the Most Influential Maps of Westward Expansion (1846) Est. $9,500 - $12,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 10. Scarce Pitt Edition of Carte-a-Figures Map of the World (1680) Est. $9,500 - $11,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 220. A Fine, Early Rendering of San Francisco (1874) Est. $2,200 - $2,500
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 707. Hand-Colored Image of the Presentation of Jesus with Gilt Highlights (1450) Est. $1,600 - $1,900
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 80. One of the Most Important Maps Perpetuating the Myth of the Island of California (1680) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 725. Homann's Atlas Featuring 26 Folio-Sized Maps in Original Color (1715) Est. $4,500 - $5,500
    Old World Auctions (Feb 11):
    Lot 169. One of the Earliest Maps to Show Philadelphia (1695) Est. $4,750 - $6,000