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An Archive of Hand-Decorated Cards, Letters and Envelopes

An Archive of Hand-Decorated Cards, Letters and Envelopes by BRIGHTMAN, Margaret Stanton (aka Margaret Zenie Stanton Quincy Brightman aka Mrs. Ralph Weston Brightman aka "A" Maggie)

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $5.50
Details
$16,000.00
( US$)
Seller: Between the Covers- Rare Books, Inc. ABAA
Title
An Archive of Hand-Decorated Cards, Letters and Envelopes
Author
BRIGHTMAN, Margaret Stanton (aka Margaret Zenie Stanton Quincy Brightman aka Mrs. Ralph Weston Brightman aka "A" Maggie)
Seller
Between the Covers- Rare Books, Inc. ABAA (United States)
Condition
Near Fine
Description
1975. Unbound. Near Fine. A collection of approximately 120 large format, handmade and heavily hand-decorated postcards and letters, mostly with envelopes. Various dates from 1967-1975, all by Mrs. Brightman of Akron, Ohio to Ned Osthaus of Scranton, Pennsylvania. The content and accompanying art are highly eccentric, very entertaining, and occasionally slightly addled. Many are patriotic or moralistic in tone. Virtually all of the cards and letters are heavily painted, as are most of the envelopes. Several of the envelopes are made from busily patterned wrapping paper, some of which are additionally embellished. Minor wear at the edges, else fine. The hand-illustrated correspondence displays a unique confluence of patriotic fervor, Biblical observance, political opinion, and boundless artistic energy. Many of the cards are in commemoration of holidays be they real (Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, Thanksgiving, Bastille Day, Passover, Columbus Day, Easter, July 4th) and/or obscure or imagined (Kent State Massacre Memorial Day, Mayflower Day, Law Day, Our Martyred United States of North American Mr. and Mrs. President's Day, St. Bartholomew's Massacre Day, Ten Commandments Day); others are dedicated to a theme: the Holy Grail, the Boer War, the Watergate Hearings, the Vietnam War, the Constitution, certain types of plants. In a July 4th card she explains her many names: "Note: During my early public career I was known as Margaret Quincy. During my later public career I was known as Margaret Stanton. Margaret Zenie was given to me at my birth and oddly, the Negroes in the South called me 'Ladybird.' I performed a High Swan Dive for them, especially, every Saturday Night whenever I played in the South." And in one card she explains her family lineage, after having read *Profiles in Courage*: "I was surprised to find Secretary of War Stanton still labeled 'a villain"... in fact, he is my great grandfather... [his] wife... was an Allen... and she owned almost all of New York City, which my Grandfather Alexander Stanton inherited, and lost to the Astors..." Our research indicates Brightman was born Margaret Zenie Stanton in Massachusetts in 1897 and died in 1978. She appears to have worked from an early age as a player for the pioneering and prolific American film studio Kalem Company that was based in New York and produced more than 1700 films. While performing at their summer facility in Jacksonville, Florida she met Thomas Qunicy, a high diver at the nearby Johnny J. Jones Circus. By 1912 she had learned the high dive act and toured the South performing at various fairs and parks, which she references in one letter: "I was a professional athlete for 14 years." Later she married Ralph Weston Brightman and settled in Akron, Ohio. Her journey from high diver to housewife remains obscure but subsequent communications with a descendent confirms most of these facts, but adds one shocking detail. According to her relative, Margaret Brightman was having an affair with a married doctor. When she threatened to reveal the affair to the doctor's wife, the doctor ordered her medicated and eventually had her committed to an institution, which coincided with the beginning of this highly idiosyncratic correspondence. In the correspondence Brightman expresses a deep interest in culture, and a recurrent and not so subtle dislike for the British, and especially the Royal Family. In a letter dated in 1974 she decries the state of literacy in the country: "It is not difficult for me to understand why you are having trouble trying to buy the book you wish to send me. For I have long been troubled about our book stores, and libraries... about a week ago the 'To Tell the Truth' program on television had a man on their program who was from Great Britain, and who stated 'he owned the largest second hand book store in the world.' And this man stated that 'he had been buying millions upon millions of our books, classics included.' And to prove what this man had to say – our largest second hand book store has vanished which means the British Queen Elizabeth II is plotting to reduce this nation of United States of North America to a nation of illiterates. Too, I have been discovering books missing from my own library, and books that have been replaced with important information deleted." In a St. Patrick's Day card she states: "Bless the American Irish for keeping us reminded that the Irish are always Irish – and not British." In another card she is deeply disturbed about a rumored plan to obliterate the head of Teddy Roosevelt from Mount Rushmore. The art, done mostly with tempura paint and watercolors on wrapping paper or construction paper, while displaying only a modicum of talent, does reveal an eccentric world view, and would qualify as completely unadulterated naive art. The archive is clearly a product of its time as it displays one individual's attempts to reconcile "old time" values with the moral and political quagmire of the Vietnam era. However, this dichotomy combined with the form itself, bright colors, and artistic energy likely inspired to some extent by the Pop Art of the 1960s, make this archive not of-a-kind, but rather very much a singular artistic interpretation of an era.
Old Youngsters

Old Youngsters by TUCKER, Elizabeth S.

2 to 8 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $10.00
Details
$350.00
( US$)
Seller: Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA
Title
Old Youngsters
Author
TUCKER, Elizabeth S.
Seller
Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA (United States)
Condition
Very good +
Description
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, Publishers, 1897. Boards. Very good +. Maud HUMPHREY. 4to; [17 leaves]; color pictorial boards, green cloth shelf-back; thick paper stock printed recto; 6 color plates including frontispiece; line drawings in text; binding tight appearing unread; scuffing to board edges, bumping to corners, spotting to cloth shelf-back; very good plus. Located in 7 WorldCat libraries. Six wonderful color plates by Maud Humphrey show cherubic children, in high Victorian dress, busy with adult tasks. The boards feature two toddlers reading the newspaper, one precariously perched on a piano stool. Line drawings and fanciful borders, along with text and verse by Elizabeth Tucker tell stories of children as The Cook, The Seamstress, The Little Golfer, Tea and Gossip, Calling (Visiting), and Cleaning House. Scarce in this condition.
America Illustrated

America Illustrated by WILLIAMS, J. David [John], editor

2 to 8 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $3.00
Details
$175.00
( US$)
Seller: Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA
Title
America Illustrated
Author
WILLIAMS, J. David [John], editor
Seller
Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA (United States)
Condition
Near fine
Description
[New York]: The New York Printing & Publishing Company, 1879. Cloth. Near fine. 4to; 121pp; green pebbled cloth over beveled board, stamped black panels surrounding gilt-stamped lettering on front, blind-stamped paneling on rear; all edges gilt; pale yellow endpapers; ownership in neat ink on ffep; woddcut illustrations most likely reproduced for this publication by a photolithographic process; near fine. OCLC locates only one physical copy at the Maharishi International University in Iowa. A wonderful tour of the U.S.A.'s natural wonders across the continent. The chapters cover the Valley of Yellowstone and the Hot Springs and Geysers; the Natural Bridge in Virginia; Trentan High Falls, the Hudson River at West Point, Lake George, and Sabbath Day Point, Niagara Falls, the East River, Saratoga Springs and Lake, the Erie Canal, and the Adirondack Mountains in New York state; Squam Lake in New Hampshire and the White Mountains; Mammoth Cave in Kentucky; Minot's Ledge in Massachusetts; the Great Horseshoe Curve on the Pennsylvania R.R.; a grip down the Mississippi River; Yosemite Valley; Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and the region of the Juniata in Pennsylvania; the Colorado River; the Susquehanna River; and the Great Lakes and their Cities. Americans unfamiliar with travel would have been captivated by the illustrations and text.
Busy Bunnies; W917

Busy Bunnies; W917 by STOCKTON, H.

2 to 8 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $3.00
Details
$48.00
( US$)
Seller: Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA
Title
Busy Bunnies; W917
Author
STOCKTON, H.
Seller
Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA (United States)
Condition
Very good
Description
Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman Publishing Co, 1930. wrap. Very good. Grace PHILLIPS. 4to; [22pp]; color illustrated wrappers with three staple binding, title on cover; color illustrations every page; ½" split to head and 1 ½" split to tail of spine, neither affecting the stapled binding, bumping to wrapper corners and scuffing to spine area, light brown stain to first leaf, a few finger smudges to page edges; very good minus. Story in verse about the different occupations by the bunnies. Brightly colored illustrations on each page.
A Child's Garden of Verses

A Child's Garden of Verses by STEVENSON, Robert Louis

2 to 8 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $3.00
Details
$45.00
( US$)
Seller: Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA
Title
A Child's Garden of Verses
Author
STEVENSON, Robert Louis
Seller
Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA (United States)
Description
Chicago: M.A. Dononhue & Co, 1916. Myrtle SHELDON. [JUVENILE] [POETRY] [WOMAN ILLUSTRATOR]. Myrtle SHELDON, illustrator. 12mo (7 ½" x 6 1/8"); 96pp; mustard colored cloth over board, front stamped with Art Deco stylized hollyhock flowers in black and orange, lettering in black on front and spine; pictorial title page; b&w illustrations throughout; lightly age-toned paper; very good plus. Robert Louis Stevenson's beloved rhyming verse for children illustrated by Myrtle Sheldon (1893-1939). Sheldon was a Black woman illustrator of children's books.
Dolly's Adventures

Dolly's Adventures by [ANONYMOUS]

2 to 8 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $3.00
Details
$45.00
( US$)
Seller: Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA
Title
Dolly's Adventures
Author
[ANONYMOUS]
Seller
Sandra L Hoekstra Bookseller, ABAA, ILAB, IOBA (United States)
Condition
Very good
Description
New York: McLoughlin Brothers, Publishers, 1894. Wraps. Very good. 8vo shape book (8 ¾" x 4 1/8"); [14pp]; chromolithographed outline of a doll in a frilly cape, title to front cover and publisher to back; 10pp black and white illustrations, 4pp color illustrations with text; creasing to feet and to fore edge through the wrapper with color loss, light age toning and some soiling to pages; very good minus.
1839 – Manuscript solution for encoding and deciphering the Masonic Royal Arch Cypher

1839 – Manuscript solution for encoding and deciphering the Masonic Royal Arch Cypher by George K. Witmer

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: FREE
Details
$500.00
( US$)
Seller: Kurt A. Sanftleben
Title
1839 – Manuscript solution for encoding and deciphering the Masonic Royal Arch Cypher
Author
George K. Witmer
Seller
Kurt A. Sanftleben (United States)
Condition
Very good
Description
Paradise, [Pennsylvania], 1839. Unbound. Very good. This one-page manuscript document is titled “The Royal Arch Cyphers with Key.” It was written by George K. Witmer of Paradise, [Pennsylvania] on August 9th, 1839. Later docketing reads, “March 1st 1842.” The document was folded like a stampless,letter and addressed by Witmer to himself with an annotation in the lower left-hand corner that reads “Royal Arch Cypher / on April 1st 1839.” Within Freemasonry, the Royal Arch Cypher is a specialized version of a “pigpen” cipher used primarily within the Royal Arch degree of the York Rite. Like other pigpen ciphers, it uses a grid-based (tic-tac-toe and cross) substitution system where letters are represented by the shapes of the "pens" (lines and dots) that enclose them. A common Royal Arch variation assigned the first half of the alphabet (A–M) to plain geometric outlines and the second half (N–Z) to the same outlines but with dots inside. . The Royal Arch Cypher is frequently attributed to ancient Jewish rabbis and a Hebrew Qabalistic system, known as Aiq Beker (the "Qabalah of Nine Chambers"), and there is evidence that the Knights Templar used it during the Crusades. Freemasonry adopted it in the early 1700s to keep its records, rites, and inter-lodge correspondence private. Masonic tombstones incorporating text written in the cipher, dating from the late 1600s, have been found, one in New York City’s Trinity Church Cemetery. The text of this document explains how to use the cipher, noting, “There are two ways at least of combining and using these characters, for the purpose of secret correspondence,” and provides two alphabetical codes. (For more information, see Wixon’s Codes, Ciphers, and other Cryptic & Clandestine Communication, Hoyos’ “The Mystery of the Royal Arch Word," “The Codebreakers” at the California Freemason website, and Denslow’s A Royal Arch Encyclopedia. A scarce explanatory Key to Freemasonry’s Royal Arch Cypher. Although information about the code is contained in several texts, at the time of listing, no similar manuscript keys are for sale in the trade. None have ever appeared at auction per the Rare Book Hub and Worthpoint, and OCLC shows none are held by institutions, although a printed key is in the collection of the Scottish Rite Museum and Library. .
No image available

Concept – Théorie (3-21 November 1970) by TEMPLON, Daniel, publisher

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $20.00
Details
$225.00
( US$)
Seller: Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc.
Title
Concept – Théorie (3-21 November 1970)
Author
TEMPLON, Daniel, publisher
Seller
Jonathan A. Hill, Bookseller, Inc. (United States)
Description
Black & white illus. Unpaginated. 4to, printed softcover, plastic binding clip. Paris: Daniel Templon, 1970. Scarce and early exhibition catalogue devoted to conceptual art; WorldCat locates only three copies in North America. Gallerist Daniel Templon presented the works of Terry Atkinson, David Bainbridge, Michael Baldwin, Harold Hurrell, Victor Burgin, Ian Burn, Alan Kirili, Christine Kozlov, Joseph Kosuth, Emilio Prini, Mel Ramsden, and Bernar Venet. The catalogue, edited by critic and curator Catherine Millet (b. 1948), consists of reproduced texts and documents contributed by the artists. In fine condition. ❧ Julie Verlaine, Daniel Templon: Une histoire de l’art contemporain (2016), pp. 68 & 383.
Ripley Under Water

Ripley Under Water by Highsmith, Patricia

4 to 7 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $4.95
Details
$95.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Brenner's Collectable Books
Title
Ripley Under Water
Author
Highsmith, Patricia
Seller
Brenner's Collectable Books (United States)
ISBN
9780747510048
Condition
Fine
Description
London: Bloomsbury, 1991. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. 8vo., 247pp. Beautiful First Edition with "First published in 1991" on copyright page with full number sequence. Bound in blue cloth with titles in gold on spine. Square, tight and clean throughout with little or no wear. Equally attractive unclipped dust-jacket, (£13.99 net), is fresh and bright with no chipping, creasing, toning or tears. A very pretty collectable copy at a great price.
No image available

All Things Considered by Russell Baker

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $5.00
Details
$75.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Jeff Bergman Books ABAA/ILAB
Title
All Things Considered
Author
Russell Baker
Seller
Jeff Bergman Books ABAA/ILAB (United States)
Condition
Fine
Description
Lippincott, 1965. Book. Fine. Cloth. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Fine copy in like price clipped jacket.Author's Third Book. Stated First Edition.Excellent Copy..
No image available

The Snow Poems by AMMONS, A.R.

4 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $6.50
Details
$25.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Lorne Bair Rare Books
Title
The Snow Poems
Author
AMMONS, A.R.
Seller
Lorne Bair Rare Books (United States)
Description
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1977. Second Printing. Octavo (22cm); navy blue cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; dustjacket; xii,292pp. Crisps, clean, Near Fine copy in a Near Fine dustjacket (priced $12.50, with lower corner of front flap clipped by the publisher), with some light wear to crown. Twelfth published collection by the National Book Award-winning poet.
No image available

Wits End by Albert, Harvey

4 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $1.50
Details
$15.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Lorne Bair Rare Books
Title
Wits End
Author
Albert, Harvey
Seller
Lorne Bair Rare Books (United States)
Description
Dennis MA: Salt-Works Press, n. d.. First edition. Limited to 335. Red original wraps. A crisp and fresh copy; Fine.
Catalogue of a Century of Progress: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture 1933 (and) 1934 (2 volumes)

Catalogue of a Century of Progress: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture 1933 (and) 1934 (2 volumes)

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $5.00
Details
$35.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Johnnycake Books ABAA, ILAB
Title
Catalogue of a Century of Progress: Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture 1933 (and) 1934 (2 volumes)
Seller
Johnnycake Books ABAA, ILAB (United States)
Condition
VG+
Description
Chicago: Art Institute, 1933. Soft cover. VG+. The 1933 title is a second edition, 1934 is a first. Solid copies both, printed at The Lakeside Press.
No image available

Rails West. by ABDILL, George B.

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $7.00
Details
$20.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB
Title
Rails West.
Author
ABDILL, George B.
Seller
Grendel Books, ABAA/ILAB (United States)
Condition
Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket
Description
NY: Bonanza. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1960. Hardcover. Black and white illustration throughout. Reprint edition. About fine in a near fine (tiny closed tear at the base of the front panel, vertical crease on rear flap) dust jacket. .
No image available

Suite No. 3 voor twee blokfluiten. [Score] by BADINGS, Henk 1907-1987

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $12.50
Details
$9.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians LLC
Title
Suite No. 3 voor twee blokfluiten. [Score]
Author
BADINGS, Henk 1907-1987
Seller
J & J Lubrano Music Antiquarians LLC (United States)
Condition
Good
Description
Amsterdam: Donemus, 1958. Good. Small octavo. Wrappers. 1f. (title), 5 pp. + second copy for performance laid in. Reduced-size reproduction of the composer's manuscript. From the collection of noted musicologist Stanley Boorman, with his signature to both scores. Light uniform browning.
No image available

The Chapel United States Naval Academy

7 to 14 days for delivery
Standard Shipping: $8.00
Details
$8.00
( EU VAT US$0)
Seller: Willis Monie Books - ABAA
Title
The Chapel United States Naval Academy
Seller
Willis Monie Books - ABAA (United States)
Condition
with no dust jacket
Description
US Naval Academy. with no dust jacket. Stapled Paper. Browned .

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