If you haven't already checked out our most recent catalogue follow this link to view it! Catalogue No. 23

Card advertises various quack medicines including Worm Eradicator, Catarrh Snuff, Woman's Friend and the always vital Tape Worm Secret. Ka-ton-Ka was a patent medicine of the Oregon Indian Medicine Company, manufactured, of course in Pennsylvania. Despite the claims of being a secret formula for healing from an Indian Tribe in Oregon Ka-ton-Ka was composed of sugar, aloes, baking soda, and alcohol. The advertisements claimed it was a cure for all blood diseases, stomach and liver difficulties plus cured Dyspepsia; Biliousness; Syphilis; Scrofula; Salt Rheum; Erysipelas; Catarrh; Liver Complaint; Rheumatism; Enlargement of the Liver; and Diseases of the Kidneys! A really nifty artifact of the patent medicine craze in a large moveable trade card. 022677. $175

A detailed photo showing a small farmhouse with a farmer's elevator at the left of the shot and another small house to the right. The folks pictured include a hard working man, likely a blacksmith, standing with three apron-clad women, a small child and a man in a suit. The detail of the image is pretty great. You can see lace curtains and plants in the windows, and a dog eating some dinner. The architecture and clothing of the day are nicely represented. 022701. $55

Published in October 1900, Veracruz Ilustrado is the fourth in a series of promotional books for regions of Mexico, preceded by Mexican Republican States, Sonora Ilsutrado and Baja California Ilustrado. The author John Reginald Southworth clearly was bullish on Veracruz and likely was paid to write superlatives on the resources of Veracruz. "Its tobacco, coffee, rubber, vanilla, sugar cane, and rice lands have not seen a thousandth part of the development that the future will bring." Heavily illustrated with photographs, maps and charts plus 18 pages of ads at the back. The stellar binding makes up for any deficiencies in the interior. Uncommon in the trade save for modern re-prints, we find 11 copies in institutional holdings. ; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 159 pp. 022714. $250

A treasure trove for the collector of the vernacular, these albums depict Leonard John Guerrieri growing up in 1940-50s Chicago, Illinois. The first album depicts images typically found in most childhood albums. A cute Italian-American kid, we see images of Leonard growing up on the same street and playing with the same kids. Leonard is pictured looking tidy and innocent at Sunday school, dressing up as Roy Rogers with friends, and riding around on a 1950s bicycle. There are quite a few images of him and little blond girl growing up together. There are about 25 photos that depict Leonard outside the Clarkdale Drugstore on the corner of Clark St and Oakdale Ave in Chicago. Someone in his family, P. A. Guerrieri, was the pharmacist at Clarkdale Drugstore. These are our favorite photos and depict some really classic 1950s scenes of kids hanging out. The second album depicts scenes from when Leonard was a teen to his 30s. This album documents him attending dances and school events, graduating from a military academy and Lewis College, and trips to Disney and Sea World. A nice set of albums with some great scenes of a kid growing up in the 1940s and 50s. 022620. $725

**Follow the link to view more images of this item: Growing Up in Chicago

From our 21st century aesthetic, it's a wonder that families would welcome some of the wild designs celluloid manufacturers created. These albums often were prominently displayed in the parlor and certainly were conversation pieces. To each their own. We at Back of Beyond Books absolutely love this album and may well be sad to see it go. Ready for a new generation of photos. ; 15 pp. 022616. $375

**Follow the link to view more images of this item: Grecian Lovers Celluloid Album

A great letter written about the coming of a circus to Carson City, Nevada, and the writer's utter disappointment of it when he finally gets to visit. He writes: "I had been joyfully anticipating the circus for several days before it arrived, and visions of flying horses, high jumping, good riding, laughable jokes from fantastic dressed clowns, and sack racing flitted through my mind, but judge of my indignation, and disappointment, after a delightful drive of 12 miles behind a spanking 4 in hand team, when we arrived at Carson, and saw an inferior collection of animals, the poorest circus I ever saw, and no flying horses, nor sack races whatever." An amusing letter from late 19th century Nevada with unusual content. 022748. $220

As booksellers we enjoyed the content of this short letter. Slichter writes: "Dear Brother Joseph, when you come to see us, will you please go to Mr. Sam Hechler's book store at the corner or near the corner of 6th & Penn St & ask for a copy of Harpers Weekly allready[sic] bound, of last year 1864." It's nice to see the trade represented in a mid-19th century letter. 022750. $85

Excerpt from the Salem Gazette with an Obituary Notice for Gerrymander including a woodcut tombstone with the inscription, "In Memory of the Gerrymander, hatched Feb. 11, 1812. Died April 5, 1813. How sleep the friends who sink to dust, by all the good and virtuous curst! " The political tool of Gerrymandering (the word combines Elbridge Gerry and salamander as an early political cartoonist thought a newly created district looked like a salamander or "Gerry-monster". Gerry was the Governor of Massachusetts during the period districts were re-mapped although he personally was against the practice) began in Massachusetts in 1812 in order to favor the party in power in future elections. The term may have been coined by Nathan Hale, a Federalist who was a contributor to the Daily Advertiser and Repertory Newspaper and would become its publisher in 1814. Despite the almost full newspaper column devoted to the death of Gerrymandering in this issue, the term and practice began to spread to other states, was defined in a dictionary in 1848, and remains in the political lexicon today. The Daily Advertiser and Repertory Newspaper went so far as to describe the funeral procession to the graveyard to once and for all bury Gerrymandering. In addition to the woodblock headstone we also find the skeletal remains of the "Gerrymander Monster" laid in a coffin. At the gravesite a hymn was sung which began, "Hark! From below a croaking sound, Mine ears attend the cry: Ye Gerrymanders view the ground Where you must shortly lie." Classic early 19th century political propaganda from a Boston newspaper. Several institutions hold runs of the newspaper yet this particular issue is not well known within the early history of the life and history of "Gerrymandering". ; 2 pp. 022717. $750

**Follow the link to view more images of this item: Death of Gerrymandering

Two young boys hold onto their bicycle while on Ocean Beach in San Francisco. Behind them one can see Cliff House and Seal Rocks. This was the second Cliff House which was built in 1896 and burned in 1907 (providing a date range for this image). The photographer of this image is unknown but it looks like he or she made their subjects weary; the boys' faces are rather serious. The location, the bicycle, the boys' faces and the late 19th century clothing make for a great shot. 022698. $95

These 171 stereo slides depict a grand trip taken through the western United States with emphasis on some of the country's most beautiful national parks. The views are dated to 1954 and often show 2 girls in 1950s fashions posing for the camera. Views include those of the Grand Canyon (27 slides), Yosemite (23), Bryce Canyon (20), Glacier Park (18), Carlsbad Caverns (14), Petrified Forest (11), Mount Rainier (9), Zion (6) and the Blue Ridge Parkway (5). Other views include the Oregon Coast (8), Los Angeles (8), the Redwood Highway, Chinatown in San Francisco, the Painted Desert in Arizona, cactus in Texas, an Arkansas swamp, and Juarez, Mexico. The Kodak Stereo Camera had short-lived popularity and was only produced between 1954 and 1959. Similar to the Stereo Realist, the camera employed two lenses to take twin shots of scenes, which could then be viewed in dedicated image viewers. The views in this collection show the uniqueness of the stereo camera. To enable good clarity of the photos the mounts appear much darker than normal (view the image of all the stereo slides in their box to see actual color of mounts). 022719. $350

**Follow the link to view more images of this item: 1950s Western Road Trip

John Putnam (and later son Arion) and Carlton Valentine worked as commercial photographers in southern California from 1895 through at least 1912. Their work was not restricted just to southern California and we find numerous views of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite with their imprint. Despite all our efforts we have been unable to determine the exact location of this amazing photo. Based on rock strata and extensive crowd-sourced clues, we are fairly certain this view is from the Grand Canyon or now-submerged Glen Canyon of Arizona and Utah. Narrow dead-end slot canyons as this often trap chock-rocks transported during flash floods, as exhibited in this photograph, although this boulder seems extraordinarily large. And in late-breaking news, we have identified the exact location: "This is the chockstone in White Creek at the Tapeats narrows just before Shinumo Creek in Grand Canyon" This from our friend Art Christiansen, who has hiked likely as much of the Grand Canyon as anyone. He goes on to relay the following, "Andy, If the pictures were taken about 1910, the photographers were probably taken there by William Wallace Bass. He had a tourist operation on the South Rim about 15 miles west of Grand Canyon village and would take tourists down his trail on the south side, then cross them over the Colorado River on his cable car. From there he would take them to his Shinumo Camp nearby." William Bass remains a legend in Grand Canyon lore and the Bass Trail remains a favorite for those hikers looking to descend the canyon in a more primitive, rugged trail versus other trails from the South Rim. We speculate that William Bass may even be in the photo, standing. We are enamored with this photograph of the American Southwest and pleased to reveal its location. 022675. $1,250