Books & Ephemera

Muliple photographs follow this article below.

Avacots and Avocados

The judge leaned back in his desk chair and fiddled with the envelope. He had been waiting all day for this moment alone. Beyond his chamber door, the daily duties were drama at its best. Arguments flowed back and forth across the courtroom, challenges to law, interpretations, the play unfolding before an audience of twelve. Law was a game of wits. His job, protecting his clients, now elevated by his appointed position as Counselor to the New York State Supreme Court. An achievement in its own right, he now moved in the highest legal circles.

Victorian autograph album filled to the brim. Compiled by Counselor Thomas Barlow (1805-1896), Madison County, New York. He sought a wide range of notables. You will be pleased.

He had always loved the law. Debating in school. Midnight briefs. Coherent presentations for defense and prosecution. He had been taught well, so when he was admitted as Counselor his experience fulfilled the justices' expectations. But even this had its limits. Here, behind his chamber door was his sanctuary. A spot to recharge, escape, even pursue an interest outside his avocation. It was essential for everyone, giving life balance.

Autograph of our first Secretary of State under President George Washington - Thomas Jefferson. The gift to Counselor Barlow was from Henry S. Randall (1811-1876), the premier biographer of Jefferson. His three-volume set, The Life of Thomas Jefferson, was published in 1858. He has the distinct status as the only writer allowed to interview the Jefferson family. Henry served as New York Secretary of State from 1851 to 1852 and, like Barlow, was a native of Madison County. Their connection is a straight conduit.

He collected autographs. He understood his generation was one of the earliest to practice under this governmental experiment called democracy. The founding fathers laid a most ingenious plan for governmental procedure. One only surviving through daily application. We are all foundlings here in the nineteenth century, he thought. The envelope had arrived earlier today. Anticipation had gnawed him for hours. This just might be his best acquisition. The wax seal still unbroken, he slipped his letter opener under the envelope edge and slit the paper. He took a deep breath. Yes! The one he had been seeking for so long.

Graphite miniature portrait sketch of Judge Thomas Barlow, Jr., Canastatota, 31 June 1836, as written on reverse. Also artist signed on reverse - John M. Crowley (1798-1842). A resident of Utica, New York, he was a phrenologist. In period frame including backboard, 6 ½" x 5 ¼".
Other signatures include Benedict Arnold, Washington Irving, even Confederate Generals.

While I Pondered Weak and Weary

The latch clicked signaling the door was secure. John leaned against the paneled portal and took a deep breath. The wrapped package in his hand felt heavy. For a moment though, he simply stopped. He gazed across his library, the books lined like soldiers on review. How he loved this room. When he had the house designed, he had the library built on the northwest corner. Each season glowed the setting sunlight in a different hue.

Example of selected hand colored atlas maps bound into one book sans title page. They cover the world. Cartographers include John Bowers from Philadelphia, John Arrowsmith from London.

After dinner with the day spent, it was his earned escape. Far from his legal daily diatribes he had time to read, immerse himself, a cleansing.

Notes by Thomas Jefferson, 2nd edition, 1794. Foldout below.

Today had been good though. Court all morning. Two real estate settlements in the afternoon. Real estate was his favorite. Something about it he and his brother had enjoyed from an early age. Unlike Peter who moved west,he chose instead to remain in his home county of York practicing law. His career successful, he could now afford to collect books. Personal libraries were unusual for sure, and though he had filled his floor-to-ceiling bookcases, there was always room for one more. Not a bad passion at all.

Benedict Arnold on a shipping invoice, 1774.

The more he read, the better he felt. Knowledge is like that, he thought. Of all the people he had studied, he believed the founding fathers were the best-read generation. They had to have been. Look what they created. He sat in his favorite chair in the far corner. Sunlight peeked over his shoulder as he unwrapped the parcel. Inside this was a shipping box. Carefully cutting the sealing, he lifted the flaps. Yes! It had finally arrived. How he had been waiting for this day.

Two Houses, Both Alike in Dignity

How the stars can align, an often thought of William Shakespeare. A constant theme in his theatrical writings. Our bard never disappoints, hitting home runs on human traits. In this auction, by pure serendipity, two separate gentlemen, both under the umbrella of law, both living in the same time period, both separated by a distance of three hundred miles, unknown to each other, have gifted us a day to remember.

Glued in the back of the autograph album is this envelope remnant. In neat handwriting beneath it states: The above is a secefsion envelope, 1861, in the early American form of writing a double s.

John Gardner's love of books illustrates his broad knowledge base. It tells us how he became the man he was. Books leave quite a legacy. Judge Barlow's library is down to one book surviving. The best. An autograph album he assembled from all the people he had met and the ones he wish he could have met. In his album we meet Washington Irving on his Sunnyside stationery, Thomas Jefferson as our first Secretary of State. Benedict Arnold on a shipping receipt, even several Confederate Brigadier Generals, and Civil War postal illustrations. The book is quite full. The perfect touch, this multi-layer bibliophile cake. Let us start to slice. How many pieces would you like? And yes, the avocado reference? These books are as fresh to the market as, well, an avocado.

Open House Friday, June 7th - 3 PM to 5 PM.

Doors open Saturday morning at 8 AM. Book auction starts at 9 AM. PA AU 1265L [bb]

1200

An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, 1828
1200

An American Dictionary of the English Language

1201

The History of the World by Sir Walter Raleigh

No title page.
1201

The History of the World

Inscribed: Present from General Michael W. Ash to his friend John Gardner, June 22, 1829.

1201

The History of the World
1201

The History of the World

1202

The Fables of Aesop, 1793
1202

The Fables of Aesop, 1793

1203

Scripture Geography by Thomas T. Smiley, 1834

With three fold-out maps.
1203

Scripture Geography

1203

Scripture Geography
1203

Scripture Geography

1203

Scripture Geography
1204

The Koran, Commonly Called the Alcoran of Mahomet, 1835

Printed in Lancaster, Pa.

1204

The Koran, Commonly Called the Alcoran of Mahomet
1204

The Koran, Commonly Called the Alcoran of Mahomet

1205

The Federalist, on the New Constitution, 1818
1205

The Federalist

James S. Mitchell was a member of the State House of Representatives 1812-1814, and served as a member of Congress 1821-1827.

1205

The Federalist
1206

Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory by John Quincy Adams, 1810

1206

Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory

Robert Strettle Jones Fisher attended Yale Law School, and later served as a judge in York, Pa.
1206

Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory

1207

Report of the Trial of the Honorable Samuel Chase by Charles Evans, 1805
1207

Report of the Trial of the Honorable Samuel Chase

1208

Purver's Bible, 1764
1208

Purver's Bible, 1764

1209

The History and Topography of the United States of North America by John Howard Hinton, 1846

Second edition.
1209

The History and Topography of the United States

1209

The History and Topography of the United States
1209

The History and Topography of the United States

1210

An Accompaniment to Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map of the United States, 1834
1210

Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map

1210

Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map
1210

Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map

1210

Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map
1210

Mitchell's Reference and Distance Map

1211

Notes on the State of Virginia by Thomas Jefferson

Second American Edition. Publish date November 12, 1794.
1211

Notes on the State of Virginia