Friends and Colleagues,

The new word of the day (to me at least) is Pteridomania.  It might be loosely translated “Fern Fever”, and refers often to the Victorian’s craze for ferns.  There are many 19^th century interior photographs of parlors bedecked with potted ferns.  There are photographs of gatherings on porches, similarly decorated. 

Edward Joseph Lowe’s "Our Native Ferns" is a prime example of books riding the crest of Pteridomania.

It was first published in 1845 and the popularity of ferns is suggested by the fact that it was published a number of times.  Our featured edition is from the 1870’s.  The plates are lovely, and were certain to appeal to proponents of Pteridomania.

I have become one of those proponents this summer.  The heat has wreaked havoc with the flowers in the garden.  But there is a shady corner with ferns.  They are thriving. 

Best regards, 

Nick

E. J. [Edward Joseph] Lowe. [GARDENING] OUR NATIVE FERNS; OR A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH SPECIES AND THEIR VARIETIES [2 VOLUMES]. Price: $300.00	Marion Cabell Tyree. [COOKING] HOUSEKEEPING IN OLD VIRGINIA. Price: $250.00

Edmund Burke. [DISBOUND PAMPHLET] THOUGHTS ON THE CAUSE OF THE PRESENT DISCONTENTS. Price: $100.00	Mr. R’s. [COOKING] MR. R’S SWEEPSTAKES’ WINNING HORSEMEAT RECIPE COOKBOOK. Price: $85.00
Jonathan Elliot. [AMERICANA] THE DEBATES IN THE SEVERAL STATE CONVENTIONS ON THE ADOPTION OF THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE GENERAL CONVENTION AT PHILADELPHIA IN 1787. TOGETHER WITH THE JOURNAL OF THE FEDERAL CONVENTION, LUTHER MARTIN’S LETTER, YATES’S MINUTES, CONGRESSIONAL OPINIONS, VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTIONS OF ‘98-’99, AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION.. VOLUME I ONLY. Price: $250.00	R. J. M. Blackett | Gary Gallagher. [CIVIL WAR] DIVIDED HEARTS. BRITAIN AND THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR. Price: $75.00
John F. Marszalek | Gary W. Gallagher. [CIVIL WAR] COMMANDER OF ALL LINCOLN’S ARMIES. A LIFE OF GENERAL HENRY W. HALLECK. Price: $75.00	T. J. Stiles |Gary W. Gallagher. [WESTERN AMERICANA] CUSTER’S TRIALS. A LIFE ON THE FRONTIER OF A NEW AMERICA. Price: $40.00
Robert M. Stribling. [CIVIL WAR] GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN AND CAMPAIGNS OF 1864 AND 1865 IN VIRGINIA. Price: $60.00	Stephen Minot Weld | Gary Gallagher. [CIVIL WAR] WAR DIARY AND LETTERS OF STEPHEN MINOT WELD, 1861-1865. Price: $75.00
[Chistoph Christian Sturm] | [Elon O. Henkel]. [RELIGION] STURM’S REFLECTIONS ON THE WORKS OF GOD AND HIS PROVIDENCE THROUGHOUT ALL NATURE. Price: $95.00	Bruce Catton | Gary Gallagher. [CIVIL WAR] GETTYSBURG. THE FINAL FURY. Price: $25.00
A[rchibald] Alexander [Editor]. [PRESBYTERIAN] BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF THE FOUNDER. Price: $150.00	Captain Oscar Hinrichs | Robert K .Krick [Foreward] | Richard Brady Williams [Editor] | Gary Gallagher. [CIVIL WAR] STONEWALL’S PRUSSIAN MAPMAKER. THE JOURNALS OF CAPTAIN OSCAR HINRICHS. Price: $95.00
William Swinton. [CIVIL WAR] CAMPAIGNS OF THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC. A CRITICAL HISTORY OF OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA, MARYLAND AND PENNSYLVANIA FROM THE COMMENCEMENT TO THE CLOSE OF THE WAR 1861-5. Price: $125.00	Henry Morris. [SPECIAL PRESS] A DOZEN BON MOTS. Price: $150.00
Alexander Hamilton Stephens | Myrta Avary Lockett [Editor]. [CIVIL WAR] RECOLLECTIONS OF ALEXANDER H. STEPHENS; HIS DIARY KEPT WHEN A PRISONER AT FORT WARREN, BOSTON HARBOUR, 1865; GIVING INCIDENTS AND REFLECTIONS OF HIS PRISON LIFE AND SOME LETTERS AND REMINISCENCES. Price: $95.00	Russell G. Smith (Editor-in-Chief). [RICHMOND] THE SPIDER. 1911. YEAR BOOK OF RICHMOND COLLEGE. VOLUME IX. ANNUAL. Price: $75.00
Inoue Hakudo [Photographer]. [PHOTOGRAPHY] [ASIA] NARA / THE YAMATO ROAD. THE ANCIENT CAPITAL; VILLAGES OF SPIRIT AND BODY; MOUNTAIN ABODSES OF THE DEITIES [3 VOLUMES]. Price: $150.00	William Carey James. [RICHMOND] LEIGH STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, 1854-1954. A BRIEF HISTORY OF ITS FIRST ONE HUNDRED YEARS IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST. Price: $75.00
Gilbert Highet. [SPECIAL PRESS] [TYPOPHILES] THE OLD GENTLEMAN. Price: $50.00	Ella Moody [Art Editor]. [INTERIOR DESIGN] DECORATIVE ART IN MODERN INTERIORS, 1962-63. VOL. 52. Price: $125.00
J. Z. Tyler. [RELIGION] [VIRGINIA] THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST IN VIRGINIA. A PRESENTATION OF THEIR MISSION, THEIR STATUS, THE CARE OF THEIR CHURCHES, THINGS WANTING IN THEIR WORK, THEIR VIEWS OF CHURCH DISCIPLINE AND MINISTERIAL QUALIFICATIONS, TOGETHER WITH A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD OTHERS. Price: $200.00	Frieda Fitzenmeyer; Illustrations by Carol Blinn. ONCE UPON A TIME BOOK THREE. Price: $75.00
Jimmy Nelson. [PHOTOGRAPHY] BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY. Price: $200.00	A. W. Patterson. [DUELING] THE CODE DUELLO WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. Price: $50.00
General Assembly of Virginia. [LAW] A COLLECTION OF ALL SUCH ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA OF A PUBLIC AND PERMANENT NATURE AS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE SESSION OF 1801: TO WHICH ARE ADDED APPENDICES ... WITH A COMPLETE INDEX TO THE WHOLE ... [VOLUME II ONLY OF 2 VOLUMES]. Price: $150.00	Daniel Traub. [BOOKS WITHOUT WORDS] ZWANZIG AUSGEWAHLTE HOLZSCHNITTE. Price: $125.00
James E. McCall. [WWII] [PACIFIC THEATER] SANTO TOMAS INTERNMENT CAMP. Price: $150.00	[Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford]. [DISBOUND PAMPHLET] AN ADDRESS TO THE FREEHOLDERS OF GREAT BRITAIN, IN FAVOUR OF OUR CONSITTUTION. Price: $125.00
[CHILDREN] LITTLE BOPEEP [WITH] HENNY PENNY. INDESTRUCTIBLE PLEASURE-BOOKS WITH COLORED PICTURES. Price: $85.00	Adam Smith. [ECONOMICS] AN INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE AND CAUSES OF THE WEALTH OF NATIONS. Price: $300.00
Lang Campbell. [CHILDREN] [REBUS BOOK] MERRY MURPHY. Price: $75.00	[Victor Hammer]; John Rothenstein; Carolyn Hammer. [SPECIAL PRESS] VICTOR HAMMER: ARTIST AND CRAFTSMAN; ARTIST AND PRINTER; AN ARTIST’S TESTAMENT [3 VOLUMES]. Price: $225.00
[Solomon Henkel; Ambrose Henkel; Socrates Henkel]. [RELIGION] THE CHRISTIAN BOOK OF CONCORD, OR, SYMBOLICAL BOOKS OF THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH; COMPRISING THE THE CHIEF SYMBOLS, THE UNALTERED AUGSBURG CONFESSION, THE APOLOGY, THE ARTICLES OF SMALCALD, LUTHER’S SMALLER AND LARGER CATECHISMS, THE FORM OF CONCORD, AN APPENDIX, AND ARTICLES OF VISITATION. THE WHICH IS PREFIXED AND HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN. Price: $350.00	Eric J. Wittenberg | Gary Gallagher. [CIVIL WAR] LITTLE PHIL. A REASSESMENT OF THE CIVIL WAR LEADERSHIP OF GEN. PHILIP H. SHERIDAN. Price: $50.00
Jeff Shaara | Mort Kunstler [Illustrator. [SIGNED] [CIVIL WAR] GODS AND GENERALS. Price: $125.00	Ralph Waldo Emerson | Anna Simons [Title and Initials]. [SPECIAL PRESS] NATURE. Price: $200.00
F. Scott Fitzgerald. [LITERATURE] THE GREAT GATSBY (Facsimile First Edition). Price: $75.00	Virginia General Assembly. ACTS PASSED AT A GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, BEGUN AND HELD AT THE CAPITOL, IN THE CITY OF RICHMOND, ON MONDAY, THE TWENTY-NINTH DAY OF NOVEMBER, IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR, AND OF THE COMMONWEALTH THE FORTY-NINTH. Price: $200.00
Francis H. Smith | Jean-Baptiste Biot. [VMI] [MATHEMATICS] AN ELEMENTARY TREATISE ON ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH OF J. B. BIOT, FOR THE USE OF THE CADETS OF THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE, AT LEXINGTON, VA.; AND ADAPTED TO THE PRESENT STATE OF MATHEMATICAL INSTRUCTION IN THE COLLEGES OF THE UNITED STATES. Price: $150.00	Virginia General Assembly. [LAW] ACTS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VIRGINIA, PASSED AT THE SESSION COMMENCING 2nd DECEMBER 1839, AND ENDING 19th MARCH 1840, IN THE SIXTY-FOURTH YEAR OF THE COMMONWEALTH. Price: $75.00
John Tayloe Lomax. [LAW] A TREATISE ON THE LAW OF EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS, GENERALLY IN USE IN THE UNITED STATES; AND ADAPTED MORE PARTICULARLY TO THE PRACTICE OF VIRGINIA. [2 VOLUMES]. Price: $250.00	Joseph Blumenthal | John De Pol [Wood Engravings]. [SPECIAL PRESS] WILLIAM PICKERING. Price: $100.00
Elizabeth Barrett Browning | H. M. O’Kane [Decorations] | Clarke Conwell [Printer]. [SPECIAL PRESS] SONNETS FROM THE PORTUGUESE. Price: $750.00