Mare Booksellers

Ten around the 10th

Another eclectic gathering of items, Black liberation, Cruising the Castro (LGBTQ+), punks and skins picnicking together, 19th century women vaping (ok, we're exaggerating), dogs and cats living together (this has nothing to do with the list), etc.

These are brand spanking new, so not yet on our website.

You can make it yours by contacting us via email or phone.

Items subject to prior sale.

Free domestic shipping.

#2 Patent Medicine (redux), Trade Card

Catarrh, Neuralgia and Headache No More!! Cushman’s Menthol Inhaler Advertising Trade Card. H.D. Cushman. Three Rivers, MI no date, pre 1895 and after 1886. Single sheet, thin card stock, approximately 5 by 3 inches. Color illustrations on the front cover depicting a young woman. Printing on the reverse. A trade card promoting the use of menthol administered by inhaler, asserting it cured headaches, neuralgia, and catarrh. Henry Depuy Cushman, the inventor of this menthol inhaler, graduated from pharmacy school in Michigan and operated a drugstore. At some point he changed from being a store owner to manufacturer of menthol inhalers, relocating to Vincennes, Indiana by 1898. The inhaler was still being manufactured until at least 1941 (see National Museum of American History website for previous information). VERY GOOD condition. Minor toning, a few faint areas of spotting to the reverse. $35.00

#3 Black Liberation

No author given. Black Liberation-Now! Progressive Labor Party, Publisher. Harlem, NY: no date, 1967. Red wraps. Small booklet. 24 pp. Issued by the Black Liberation Commission (part of the Progressive Labor Party), this booklet offers a somewhat polemical take on the US government and the need for Black liberation. It asserts that the US mainstream newspapers and journals are complicit in trying to foment a race war through bias and scare tactics, and accuses Black leaders such as Jackie Robinson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., of being “Uncle Toms.” The work highlights police and government repression of the Black community, especially led by J. Edgar Hoover. Among the demands listed by the Black Liberation Commission are organized resistance to the police; community control over schools; the right to defend oneself by any means necessary, etc. The Progressive Labor Party was formed after a split with the Communist Party USA, adhering to Chinese doctrine until the early 1970s. GOOD+ condition. Some scuffing along the extremities. Heavy toning to the text block. $150.00

#4 Civil Rights, Racism

Myrdal, Gunnar. America Again at the Crossroads. The Negro and America’s Uneasy Conscience. Reprinted from November 1943 Issue of Free World. No publisher, place or date. Perhaps published by the Free World, circa 1943/44. Wraps, perhaps missing rear wrapper. 12 pp., including covers. An offprint from the Free World, discussing the institutional racism, and racism in general, faced by African Americans, especially in light of World War II. This includes brief discussion of Black attitudes toward the war, as well as differences in the North and South in the United States. Perhaps written as part of Myrdal’s An American Dilemma, or in conjunction with it. Myrdal was a Swedish economist hired by the Carnegie Corporation to write a study on race relations in America, in part because it was thought that as a non-American, he could be objective. The work was influential, cited in Brown vs. The Board of Education, and influencing ideas on integration and affirmative action. GOOD condition. Horizontal fold crease present, with heavy toning along the fold. Moderate to heavy toning, some soiling and staining to the wrappers. Wrapper splitting along the spine, with the rear wrapper potentially missing. $75.00

#5 Anarchism, Punk

Punks n’ Skins Picnic at Wyman Park Event Flyer.  Crasshole Collective, Publisher. Odenton, MD: no date, presumed early 1990s. Single sheet, 8 ½ by 11 inches. Printed on a single side only. A flyer promoting a picnic of punks and skins to benefit the Crasshole Collective, an anarchist group in the Baltimore area. The collective was responsible for promoting shows, publishing a newsletter and helping to establish the Anarcho Punk Federation. The flyer states that the Crasshole Collective worked on various causes, and supported feminism, equality, animal rights, etc. It also urges people to bring vegan food, music, frisbees and drinks. FAIR condition. Several horizontal and vertical and other creases present. Tape stains and scars from tape removal present, as well as some OG duct tape on the reverse. Minor tearing and soiling. Slight loss to the lower right corner. Address handwritten on the reverse. $125.00

#6 LGBTQ+, San Francisco

Cruisin’ the Castro from a Historical Perspective with Trevor Hailey Promotional Brochure. International Gay Travel Association, Publisher. No place or date, perhaps San Francisco, circa 1992. Single sheet, 8 ½ by 14 inches, folded into fourths. Printed on a single side only. Light yellow paper stock. With a few small black and white photos. A brochure promoting a tour of the Castro District in San Francisco, offering a detailed look at the LGBTQ+ history in the area, and led by community activist, Trevor Hailey. Hailey founded these walking tours in 1989 and ran the tour until about 2007. VERY GOOD+ condition. Minor edgewear. $35.00

#7 LGBTQ+, AIDS Activism

Various authors. Act Up Los Angeles [Victory] News. June/July/August, 1992. Volume 5, Number 2. Act Up, Los Angeles, Publisher. Los Angeles: 1992. Large tabloid newspaper format. 16 pp., including covers. Printed in bright red ink, with striking layout and design elements throughout. A newspaper style publication issued by Act Up Los Angeles, providing news on recent or upcoming events and protests, as well as information on the AIDS drug program in California, information on what pharmacy to visit, political news, etc. Also printed is a short piece recalling a letter that someone sent to then First Lady Barbara Bush, requesting more money for AIDS research. They received a form letter card reading, “Your thoughtful message is greatly appreciated. It was so kind of you to write.” Of note is a mention of Dr. Anthony Fauci, then the NIH AIDS research chief and his emergency trip to Congress to “plead” for the restoration of over $300 million in funding cut from the budget. ACT UP is an organization that was founded in New York in 1987, with the goal of helping those living with AIDS, through advocacy, medical treatment and research, direct action through protests and events, etc. OCLC records indicate 3 libraries hold this newspaper, although which volume and number is unclear. GOOD condition. Horizontal fold crease present. Heavy wrinkling and creasing to the paper, especially the last several leaves and at the corners. A few minor chips and tears along the extremities. $100.00

#8 Little Magazine, AIDS Awareness

Various authors. Asklepios. Autumn, 1992. Volume 6, Number 2. The Journal of All Saints AIDS Service Center. All Saints AIDS Service Center, publisher. Pasadena, CA: 1992. Seafoam green wraps. 8 ½ by 11 inches. 22 pp., including covers. A little magazine published by the All Saints AIDS Service Center that “records the experiences of people affected by AIDS/HIV […]” This issue contains poetry, short stories, novel excerpts, book reviews, etc. VERY GOOD condition. Minor wrinkling to the covers. Slight rusting to the staples on the binding. $35.00

#9 Performance Art, Avant Garde Theater, LGBTQ+

Sex God and Politics Performance Festival. Highways Performance Space Calendar of events Newsletter/Poster. Highways, Astro Artz, Publisher. Santa Monica: 1990. Single sheet, approximately 22 by 13 inches, folded into fourths. Newsprint paper. A large advertisement for the Sex God and Politics Performance Festival to be held at the acclaimed Highways Performance Space. The festival included Terry Sweeney, Hittite Productions, Celeste Miller, Ruben Martinez and many others. One side contains large photos of various artists, looking very poster-like, while the other side lists the performers and what they will do, as well as a calendar of events at Highways. Highways Performance Space was established in 1989 by Linda Frye Burnham and Tim Miller, and still operates today, offering a venue for alternative works produced by LGBTQ+ artists. Early advertisement for this important venue. GOOD condition. Creasing and wrinkling present to one corner, with minor general wrinkling and toning. $55.00

#10 Amateur News, Americana

Adams, R.G. Liberty News. Volume 1, No. 9. R.G. Adams, Publisher. New York: 1935. Small booklet held together along the spine by two metal clasps. 5 by 3 inches. 5 leaves, printed on single sides only. Single issue of this amateur news publication out of New York City. Nothing could be found about the author. Adams leads with news about the death of gangster Dutch Shultz, prints a few small ads and editorials, including one on the fighting between Italy and Ethiopia, anticipating it will end soon, and stating that “thank goodness England France and the USA are not in it. GOOD+ condition. Minor toning, offsetting and wrinkling, with a small stain at the left center edge of the front cover. $45.00