If you haven't already checked out our most recent rare book catalogue follow this link! Rare Book Catalogue 22 

Condition: Very Good. Grey staple-bound wrappers with red, gold and green imprint on front and can of Argo Salmon of same colors on back wrapper. Staples are rusty and wrappers are lightly soiled. Interior is clean. Laid in is an chromolithographed Argo Salmon Canning Label "The Poor Man's Meal--The Rich Man's Relish." Label folded into thirds with wonderful promotional testimony on its verso.

This small cook book is quite charming with a combination of color art and small vignettes enticing us all to eat Argo Red Salmon. Likely dates circa 1905. ; 24mo 5" - 6" tall; 36 pp. 022410. $75

Condition: Good. Red wrappers with gold and black imprint on front with photo-mechanical photo tipped on front. Measures 6 3/4 x 10 inches. Slight discoloration several places on wrapper with small chips and a half inch tear to top edge. String-binding is secure.

Likely published by Denver & Rio Grande R. R. In the late 19th century. Little is known about the photographer A. Schlichting. Viewbook includes a striking Bird's-eye view of Ouray as the centerfold. Many photos highlighting the mines in and around Ouray, scenic views, town views and the fabulous Twin Bridges Ouray toll road. Light wear to interior. 8 copies recorded in OCLC; not often seen in commerce. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 24 pp. 022406. $95

Condition: Very Good. Third Edition. Grey wrappers with title on front and North-Western Line logo on back. Light crease to one corner back wrapper. Very light chipping to base of spine. Interior is clean. Agents stamp on first endpaper. Includes the large folding map (20 1/2 x 15 inches) of the Black Hills Reached Via The North-Western Line. Map is creased near spine; includes all water features in blue.

Booklet includes the human and natural history and resources of the Black Hills plus a large promotional section on the mining in the Hills. Filled with many black and white photos. 4 copies of the 1904 edition in OCLC as of February 2021. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 49 pp. 022407. $175

Condition: Fine. Purple staple-bound wrapper with striking silver and black pictorial cover. Back is blank. Binding tight and interior is clean. Very slight toning to edges.

A very classy mining prospectus with four black and white photos, several sketches and assay sheets. The Silver King is located in the Lester Mining District on the western slopes of the Cascade Range about 10 miles northeast of Gates, Oregon. Quite a cleaver production including 'updated' assay sheets tipped in over older sheets. The updated sheets show a dramatic increase in mineral values. Not that I would ever doubt the whole validity of a mining prospectus. 4 Universities hold this prospectus as of February 2021. ; 24mo 5" - 6" tall; 32 pp. 022411. $225

Document from a court case involving the American Guano Company V. United States Guano Company and the rights to mine guano on two remote Pacific Ocean Islands. From a May 1865 New York Times article: "This was an action brought to test the title to a guano island in the Pacific Ocean, and to forbid the defendants from procuring any of the guano on the island." A second Island, Baker Island was also litigated. The dispute dated to 1856 based upon an Act of Congress (Unites States Guano Islands Act) which authorized the President of the United States: 1. To assert the Jurisdiction of the United States over any guano island which might have been or should thereafter be discovered by any of its citizens; and, 2. To confer upon the discoverer, or his assigns, the exclusive right to the guano upon such islands. In January 1859 the United States Guano Company made contracts to mine and sell Guano deposits on the two islands only to find men from the American Guano Company already occupying the islands. According to a Wiki page on Jarvis Island, the American Guano Company ultimately mined guano for 20 years, shipping the product to the Unites States for fertilizer. Names included in this document include Alfred Benson the President of the American Guano Company, plus the surnames Lucas, Baker, Taylor, Turner, Russell and Roberts. Alfred Benson's son also played a role. The United States Guano Islands Act is still on the books just in case you sail upon an unknown island piled high in guano--you can legally seize the island as a United States Possession. ; 2 pp. 022385. $125

Documents have expected toning, soiling and wear and a few items have moderate soiling and tearing along fold lines. This lot of material revolves around Aurin Z. Littlefield, an early settler in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin Territory from Maine who operated a lumberyard and sawmill. He partnered with his son-in-law Jonathan Leighton and did much business with other early settler, David Giddings. About half of this lot is receipts and the other half is legal documents. Receipts were paid to Sheboygan House, J. Keller and Albert A. Story of Sheboygan, William H. Byron of Milwaukie and George Barler of Milwaukee from whom Littlefield purchased a schooner named "Pilot" in 1845. There were a handful of printed land documents between A. Z. Littlefield and D. Giddings, most of them signed by one or both parties, and many legal documents from the Probate Court of Sheboygan regarding the estate of A. Z. Littlefield after his death in 1847. There are 2 printed legal documents from Maine appointing Aurin Z. Littlefield as a Justice of the Peace of Somerset, Maine; one of these is signed by the Governor of Maine, Edward Kavanagh. Finally there is one document written in code or shorthand that ends with a few full sentences written in the tone of scripture. A nice set of material from territorial Wisconsin. 022387. $225

This document states that Icabod(?) Ward of Winham[sic] in Windham County, Connecticut sells "one half right or share" of land to Joshua Cady whose ancestor, Abijah Cady of Canterbury, CT "was one of the original proprietors or purchasers from the Indian chiefs or sachems who was the owners and Natives of the Land and Country." This purchase "from the Indian Chiefs" refers to the purchase of land in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania by the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut. In 1754 the Susquehanna Company acquired the land for 2,000 pounds from an Iroquois delegation at a conference in Albany, New York. This sale was called into question by several tribal nations, colonists of Pennsylvania and colonists of Connecticut. For the next 50 years native nations, colonists of Pennsylvania and colonists of Connecticut clashed over rights to this land. Once created, the U.S. Congress intervened, deciding in favor of Pennsylvania's claim to the land; in 1799 Connecticut finally relinquished all claims to land in the Wyoming Valley (Office of the State Historian of CT). An interesting document connected to an 18th century land claim drama. ; 8" x 11". 022379. $250

Condition: Good. Lot of 4 typed letters on Japanese rice paper each with a different color design and one envelope. Dated to 1926 and 1927. Two letters are complete and measure 7" x 42" and 7" x 35"; two are partial letters measuring 7" x 13" and 7" x 7". The letters are folded numerous times, have a few ink annotations by author and her signature is also in ink. The designs printed on the rice paper are still bright and depict scenery, floral and fruit images. The envelope was date stamped but it has been mostly torn away (a 1" x 1 ½" piece) along with any other stamps. Complete letters are fragile and have expected creasing and light toning. Partial letters are torn and missing a portion; the 7" x 7" letter is torn at the top and bottom of the letter; the 7" x 13" letter is torn at the top and has light dampstaining, affecting content. Along with being torn, the envelope has moderate soiling. Overall good.

These pretty, unique letters were written by Bernice "Bee" N. K. (her last name was not mentioned), an American living in Tokyo, Japan to Harriette "Harry" Flint[?] of Albany, New York. Bernice's address is at the top of the complete letters, 50 Takata Oimatsu Cho, Koishikawa Ku, Tokyo, and are dated June 10th, 1926 and January 19th, 1927. It seems that Bernice lived in Tokyo for at least a few seasons likely working as part of missionary group and teaching English. She mentions her English class kids, an inter-collegiate English-speaking society meeting and that she has to write "duty letters of Mission interest." She seems to have led a charmed life. The content in most of her letters to "Harry" is about travels throughout Japan, the unwanted suitors chasing her ("I'm in one of my marriage-hating moods"), and house parties with her fellow Americans. She visits Mt. Fuji, the Boshu Peninsula, the Oo Islands (possibly the Okinawa Islands), Nishi, Atami, Eno Island; motorcycles around Nikko and Chuzenji with Bob, a suitor doesn't really like but who has a good job (poor Bob); and goes "hiking" along the Izu Peninsula ("hiking," we find , refers to travel by boat, motor and stagecoach). Other news of interest includes her wanting to spend time at an epileptic school on the Oo Islands, and a day of remembrance for the last Korean emperor. An amusing set of letters from an American abroad and typed on prettily decorated paper. 022389. $285

This set was well-loved and brings back memories of childhood parties and too much cake. 022390. $35

The first three panels of this view book depict native peoples of the west, 1 panel depicts scenes from New Mexico, 4 panels depict cowboys, and the remaining panels depict scenes from Colorado. Locations pictured include Pikes Peak, Creede Camp, Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Leadville, Marshall Pass, Ouray, and many of Denver, including a bird's eye view from Capitol Hill. No copies found in commerce or in OCLC as of February 2021. ; 9 1/2" x 6". 022439. $295