David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books has issued a new catalogue of Rare Americana, this being No. 216. Focused mostly on the 19th century, it is filled with pamphlets and broadsides pertaining to this era, much of it troubled times for America. The country would divide then reunite, a history we know well today, but back then the outcome was uncertain. These items bring us back to the days when much of America's history was still being written. Here are a few of these items.
We will start with a letter from one man near the beginning of his career to another just short of the pinnacle for which he is remembered today. Lotus Ingalls, of Watertown, New York, is not remembered. He wrote this letter in 1848 when he was 30 years old. He was a lawyer, but not for long. He next founded a newspaper, which he would later lose in bankruptcy, but then published another. He was a newspaper publisher or editor for over 40 years. His letter was sent to the New York State Controller with a funny name, Millard Fillmore. Fillmore had unsuccessfully sought the Whig nomination for Vice-President and Governor before settling on this lesser office. Who could have imagined in two years he would be President of the United States? He was nominated for and elected Vice-President later that year when the Whigs selected him as Zachary Taylor's running mate strictly for ticket balancing purposes. Two years later, Taylor died in office and Fillmore was elevated to an office for which he was not well-qualified. His party did not even renominate him in 1852. Ingalls also was a politician, but that was much later on, and hardly on a level with Fillmore. He was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1876. In his letter, Ingalls requests the state allocate funds for a colored school in Watertown, New York, “under the auspices and direction of the trustees of this village. The school has been well instructed and the scholars have improved rapidly; and would, could the appropriation be continued, receive lasting benefit from the advantages of a school....Here the colored children have heretofore received no advantages from the common schools. The colored children will not willingly attend a school for white children, doubtless for very obvious reasons, which lie beyond the control of either teacher, parent, or supervision.” Item 75. Priced at $1,250.
Here is another case of a man that had not yet reached the pinnacle of his career, or in this case, the pinnacle of his notoriety. Item 56 is the Address of the Jackson State Convention to the People of Maryland, on the Late and Approaching Election of President, published in 1827. This pamphlet blasts John Quincy Adams, who won the electoral college majority in 1824 though losing the popular vote to Andrew Jackson. It also attacks Henry Clay, whose backdoor dealing helped swing the four-way contest to Adams. Jackson called it a “corrupt bargain,” but he would get his revenge in the election of 1828, still a year away at the time of this publication. Heading the Jackson State Convention was one Roger Taney, a Maryland politician. Taney served in various offices in Maryland. In 1831, Jackson appointed Taney U. S. Attorney General, and later, Secretary of the Treasury. In 1836, Jackson appointed Taney as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Two decades later, Taney delivered what generally has been considered the worst Supreme Court ruling ever, the Dred Scott Decision. It denied blacks the right to be citizens and essentially stripped them of all rights. Taney thought his inhumanity would bring an end to the issue of slavery, but instead it inflamed the North. It turned Taney from a highly respected jurist to one whose reputation is one of infamy. He made one mistake, but it was such a monumental one that Taney deserves his infamy. $375.
King George was not pleased with the American colonists in 1776. No surprise there. Item 2 is Journals of the House of Lords, Beginning Anno Decimo Georgii Terrtii 1776. Vol XXXV, not published until circa 1808 (they were regularly published many years late). It begins with the opening of Parliament on October 13, 1776. King George begins the session announcing that the American colonies “have now openly renounced all Allegiance to the Crown, and all political connection with this Country. The have rejected, with Circumstances of Indignity and Insult, the Means of Conciliation held out to them under the Authority of our Constitution.” Too little, too late, George. $1,250.
As the Civil War dragged on and the casualties grew, the South faced an insurmountable disadvantage. They did not have the population of the North from which to draw new recruits. They had to go outside the normal age barriers, both older and younger. A noncombatant position could extend those limits even farther. General Grant stated that the South had exhausted its supply of men, so that “little boys and old men” were now filling the ranks. That applied to Dudley Stone. This Confederate Marine Corps form has been filled in, “I, Dudley Marvin Stone Born in Richmond Virginia Aged Thirteen and a Half Years, and by Occupation a _____ Do Hereby Acknowledge to have Voluntarily Enlisted This Day of February 1864, as a Musician in the Marine Corps of the Confederate States of America, to Serve for the Period of Three Years, unless Sooner Discharged by Proper Authority...And I, D. M. Stone, Do Solemnly Swear, that I Will Bear True Faith and Allegiance to the Confederate States of America, and that I Will Serve Them Honestly and Faithfully Against All Their Enemies or Opposers Whatsoever.” Talk about lost childhood! Quite a Burden to put on a 13-year-old, but with war ending a year later, he presumably did not have to serve the full three years. Stone clearly survived the Civil War as he had eight children and lived until 1900. Item 26. $850
You probably wouldn't want to use a medical book from 1775 for advice today. Good thinking. This book is The Old Man's Guide to Health and Longer Life; with Rules for Diet, Exercise, and Physic; for Preserving Good Constitution, and Preventing Disorders in a Bad One. The author, J. Hill, M. D., actually had some good advice. Lesser notes that “Nutritionists and physicians would agree with much of Dr. Hill's advice: eat light meals, get plenty of fresh air, pursue exercise such as horseback riding or gardening, regulate the temper.” However, there are other places where he strays a bit from reality. Lesser notes, “His detailed advice about fluxes and humours might be ignored without risk to one's well-being.” Offered is the first American edition of 1775 of a book that had gone through several British editions earlier, beginning around 1750. Item 51. $2,000.
David M. Lesser Fine Antiquarian Books may be reached at 203-389-8111 or dmlesser@lesserbooks.com. Their website is www.lesserbooks.com.
