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
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    Signed Lincoln Photograph with Son Tad. Sold for US$76,700.
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    First Expanded Edition of Common Sense. Paine, Thomas. Sold for US$76,700.
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    Presentation Copy of Hemmingway's First Book. Sold for US$70,350.
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    St. John's Gospel on Vellum, A Fragment in Greek, 5th Century. Sold for US$70,350.
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    Only A Handful of Surviving Copies. Joyce, James. Ulysses. Sold for US$58,880.
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    A Pivotal Step in Einstein's Development of General Relativity. Sold for US$51,200.
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    A Fine Jewelled Binding Signed by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. Sold for US$56,320.
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    Joyce's Annotated Typescript Draft for Finnegan's Wake. Sold for US$48,640.
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    One of 30 Pre-Publication Copies, Inscribed by Hemingway to Spencer Tracy, Who Played "The Old Man". Sold for US$83,050.
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