Recent Acquisitions
March 5th, 2024
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A note on OCLC
As is now the norm, OCLC counts are tentative, at best, as we recognize that searches using different qualifiers will often turn up different results. Searches are now further complicated by the vast numbers of digital, microfilm, and even print-on-demand copies, which have polluted the database considerably, making it difficult, without numerous phone calls or emails, to determine the actual number of tangible copies. Hence, even though the counts herein have been recently checked, most all should be taken as a measure of approximation.
1. The debates and proceedings of the Minnesota Constitutional Convention for the Territory of Minnesota, to form a state Constitution preparatory to its admission into the Union. Saint Paul: George W. Moore, printer, 1858.
$375
8vo, pp. 7, [1], xviii, [3], 10-624; stain on the last 5 leaves not affecting legibility; title page toned; all else good and sound in full contemporary sheep, red and black leather labels on spine.
Debates and proceedings of the Republican wing of the Convention (there was also a separate volume for the Democratic wing) to make Minnesota's state constitution. A tempestuous battle had ensued over which party would control the convention, as that party would dictate the provisions of the constitution, and so arrange the formation of congressional and legislative districts, that Senators and Representatives in Congress would be of that party's faith. The political control of Congress might depend on the outcome in the new state of Minnesota, and so the whole country became interested in the election of delegates to Minnesota's Constitutional Convention. Agreement between the two parties could not be reached and thus two separate conventions were convened.
"The two conventions met daily. Their proceedings were uniformly orderly, dignified, and most interesting. Various important measures, far reaching and influential in their character and nature, were proposed in each convention and some of them adopted ... In a few weeks after the rival conventions assembled, the better judgement, sound sense, and devotion to the interests of the people among the members generally asserted themselves." Private conferences were held and at last Democratic leaders conferred with leading Republicans, and on the 28th of August, 1857 agreement was reached upon the entire draft of the constitution, a printed version of which appears at the back the volume.
Minnesota in Three Centuries, 1908, III, 42-48. Martin, Minnesota Imprints 194.
2. [Artist's Book.] The final results of psychoanalytic treatment. Hornell, NY: [self-published], [1991].
$100
12mo, pp. 124, [4] ads; fine copy in original decorative wrappers.
Artist's book comprising altered texts on the theme of psychoanalysis. The artist collages passages of text from various sources onto each page. Variety of languages are utilized. "This project was funded by the New York State Council on the Arts. Special thanks to the Pyramid Arts Center."
3. Life time. Written & designed by Julie Chen. [Berkeley]: Flying Fish Press, 1996.
$950
Edition limited to 100 copies (this, no. 67) signed by Chen; 3⅛" square decorated paper box box containing a tunnel book of 8 concentric paper discs attached by paper hinges in an accordion fold format, designed to be read through a center hole when the construction is fully extended. Issued in a decorated paper box with hinged window lid. Printed letterpress from polymer plates.
4. Caterpillar story ... to the kid I used to be ... screen printed by Trevor Collis. 1999.
$150
Edition limited to 15 signed and numbered copies (this, no. 1); 8vo, pp. 3-30; color illustrated throughout; fine in original green handmade paper over boards.
Trevor Collis, now a renowned tattoo artist in Kirkwood, Missouri, graduated from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design in 1999. This book was part of his senior course work and was gifted to Jody Williams, his instructor.
5. The cat approaches ... Drawings by Brenda Kicknosway. Grindstone City: The Alternative Press, [1978].
$125
Edition limited to 600 copies paperbound, 150 bound in boards, and 26 lettered copies bound by hand, and signed and numbered by the artist and the writer, of which this is letter 'Y', signed by Kicknosway and Goodman. 8vo, pp. [44]; fine in original gray pictorial boards stamped in red and black.
6. L. Cœlii Lactantii Firmiani Divinarum institutionum libri septem. De ira Dei, liber I. De opificio Dei, liber I. Epitome in libros suos liber acephalos. Phœnix. Carmen de dominica resurrectione. Venetiis: In aedibus Aldi, et Andreae soceri mense Aprili, 1515.
$4,200
First Aldine edition, 8vo (6½" x 3¾"), [16], 376, [12] leaves; collating: aa-bb⁸ a-z⁸ A-Y⁸; numerous spaces with guide letters left for capitals; the text ruled in red throughout; Aldus' anchor & dolphin printer's mark on title page, and on first and last pages of the appended Tertullianus (see below):
bound with, as issued: Tertullianus, Quintus Septimius Florens. Tertullianus. [Apologeticvs Adversvs Gentes.] Venetiis: In aedibus Aldi, et Andreae soceri mense Aprili, 1515. 8vo, [4], 48 leaves; collating [*]4, AA-FF8; numerous spaces with guide letters left for capitals; the text ruled in red throughout.
Together, 2 parts in 1, in 18th-century Italian (?) mottled calf, gilt-decorated spine in 6 compartments, 5 with triads of horizontal stars, red morocco label in 1; early ownership inscription on a1: "Ex lib. B. Marie Mondider / Ord S. Bened. ..."; early bookplate of the Domus Acheolana, Societatas Jesu, with their small blue stamp on the title page, old typed library sticker on spine, and library pockets on rear endpapers, old ink accession number on rear pastedown. Library markings aside, a clean, crisp and venerable copy in an appropriate binding.
This is only the second book published at the Aldine press following the death of Aldus the Elder February 6, 1515. Appropriately enough, this edition of Lactantius contains a eulogy on him in the preface.
Adams L16; Renouard; 1515, no. 2; UCLA-Aldine, 132.
7. [Opera: De divinis institutionibus; De ira dei; De opificio dei vel de formatione hominis; De phoenice carmen. Epitome divinarum institutionum [cap. LVI-LXXIII]. Venantius Fortunatus: De resurrectione Christi].. [Venice: Johannes de Colonia and Johannes Manthen], 27 Aug., 1478.
$7,500
Early edition by Johann de Colonia and Johann Manthen, a reprint from Adam de Ambergau's 1471 edition; folio (11¾" x 7⅝"), 227 (of 228) leaves, lacking a1 (blank); collating a¹² (-a1) b-m¹⁰ n⁸ o-r¹⁰ s-x⁸ y¹⁰ z⁸; [1]⁸, with with additional Epitomon, 8 leaves at the back; 2 to 6-line initial spaces, some with printed guide-letters; occasional early annotations; some spotting and dampstaining; 20th-century half brown calf over boards in imitation of a 15th-century binding; spine in 5 compartments, lettered in blind in 2; spine sunned, old library rubberstamp in bottom margin of a2, leaf z8 with old tears and mounted; last 30 or so leaves with dampstain in lower margin, the occasional tear neatly mended; in all a very good copy.
The final 8-leaf quire, with the Epitome of De divinis institutionibus and a second colophon, is not always present but is here.
Lactantius, a rhetorician of Berber origin, born in proconsular Africa and often described as the “Christian Cicero”. After converting to Christianity, Lactantius sought in most of his works and in particular his most famous work, the Divinae institutiones, to prove to the pagans that polytheism must be abandoned in favor of Christian dogmas.
BMC V, page 233; Goff L8; ISTC il00009000.
8. Without question [case title]. Iowa City, Iowa: 2001.
$175
Edition limited to 75 signed copies (this, no.15), approx. 6" x 4¼", accordion-fold extending to approx. 38" and contained in a tri-fold gray cloth case with inset illustration on the front; colophon is pasted inside the case. "The paper that endured repeated printing, rubbing, Sumi ink baths, scratching, and washing, is Domestic Etch. Printed from polymer ... at the Type Kitchen in Iowa City. Monoprint and Sumi ink techniques were also employed. During the long, warm, sad fall of 2001, 75 books were made by Sara Langworthy" (colophon).
OCLC locates 3 institutions with holdings: U Cal-Irvine, Iowa, and Colorado College.
9. The office politics alphabet. A story in 26 parts. [Pendleton, Or.]: Mission Creek Press, 2004.
$150
Second edition limited to 36 copies (this, no. 7), laser-printed with variable cover material and designs; oblong 16mo, 3½" x 5", 28 leaves printed on rectos only, consisting of a title leaf, a colophon leaf, and a leaf for each letter of the alphabet; front cover tab labeled "2nd Edition" in manual typewriter font; back cover tab labeled "ABC" in same font. Front cover collaged with ledger paper cut-out printed with title in red: "office politics alphabet". Below title is paper and plastic in/out indicator with red slider. Text leaves are commercially-printed place-holding "out cards". Cover and leaves cut to size with rounded corners. Back cover illustrated with rubber-stamped adding machine image in red ink. Black comb binding. Fine.
Denver and University of Washington only in OCLC, with no notice of an earlier edition.
10. [London, Jack.] The wolf east. A collector's confession [wrapper title]. N.p.: privately printed, 1976.
$125
Edition limited to 30 signed and numbered copies (this, no. 8). 11" x 8½" ten-page mimeograph printed on rectos only, in slightly larger brown paper wrappers, side-stapled; minor crease tears at the extremities, but generally very good.
Apparently, a spoof played on Shortell, a Jack London collector extraordinaire, by one Michael Shotwell concerning Jack London typescripts.
11. The anxiety alphabet. Iowa City: Naughty Dog Press, 1998.
$325
Standard edition limited to 25 numbered copies (this, no. 14) signed by Martin; oblong 12mo (approx. 4" x 7"), pp. [20]; fine in original blue printed paper-covered boards; fine. "A Coptic bound alphabet book with text relating to anxiety and its resolution." Sewing needles and dressmakers' pins are attached to the covers by piercing in and out of the paper. There was also a deluxe edition of ten copies.
12. Climb. Rosendale, N.Y.: Women's Studio Workshop, 1997.
$125
Edition limited to 100 signed and numbered copies (this, copy no. 2); single sheet approx. 33" x 6½ folded to 12" x 6½", with the poem "Climb" printed and illustrated in the form of a ladder covered with brambles; sheet printed on one side and folded horizontally in a portfolio 12" x 6½", the two flaps of the portfolio folding into the others, and held together by a metal bar. "Screenprinted with water-based inks on Strathmore 500 Bristol 2-ply vellum" (colophon). Prospectus laid in.
Text and imagery explore the conflict, challenge, and comfort embodied in this ancient and modern symbol.
13. The mystery of the jeweled cross. A Shadwell Rafferty adventure. [Minneapolis]: Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2002.
$225
Edition limited to 151 copies, this one of 125 signed by Millett, 6¼" x 4", pp. [2], 33, [3]; original purple cloth with leather onlay, with an accompanying portfolio in purple cloth, containing a 2-color wood engraving by Gaylord Schanilec, together in a printed paper sleeve, string-tied, noting that this is the "standard edition." Another 26 copies were lettered and in a different binding. Six-page author's note laid in, as issued, plus other related matter.
This is the 14th annual "winter Book" published by MCBA.
Quarter to Midnight A.224.
14. [Minnesota.] General laws of the State of Minnesota passed and approved during the second session of the State Legislature ... Two thousand copies ordered printed. Faribault, Minn.: Orville Brown, State Printer, 1860.
$325
8vo, pp. [3], 6-347, [1]; bound with: Special Laws of the State of Minnesota passed and approved during the second session of the State Legislature ... One thousand copies ordered printed. Faribault: Orville Brown, State Printer, 1860, pp. [3], vi-viii, 144; contemporary quarter sheep, red and black leather labels on spine; generally very good and sound. Ex-Minnesota State Library, with their early bookplates in both volumes.
Martin, Minnesota Imprints 306 and 307 respectively.
15. Mirror. [Minneapolis]: 2006.
$150
Edition limited to 35 signed and numbered copies (this, copy no.1), 16mo (5½" x 4¼"), 30 french-fold leaves; fore-edge a little curled, but on the whole, a fine copy.
"Includes excerpts and adaptations from Sylvia Plath's The Collected Poems, Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Each page is doubled and has the outline of a black rectangle, presumably the mirror, printed on the inner fold. The words, out of context, sometimes alone, sometimes with orphans from different works, appear on the white, translucent vellum along with words or phrases (printed sometimes on the surface, sometimes on the folded under sides) that show through from contiguous pages. It is like hearing, although in fact you are seeing, echoes or resonances. The effect is to present a multi-voiced, multi-layered meditation on the mirror, or is it mirrorness?" (From Vamp & Tramp website).
This copy inscribed by Parr to her teacher and mentor, the fellow book artist Jody Williams: "For Jody - Still my teacher, mentor and friend. Thank you so much for everything. Sara."
Denver only in OCLC.
16. Convergence. Minneapolis: 2008.
$250
Edition limited to 20 signed and numbered copies (this, no. 2); oblong 8vo, (approx. 5" x 8½"), pp. [16] on conjoined leaves; fine in original paper-covered boards with applied illustration on the front; contained in the original cloth-covered clamshell box.
"Through dual narratives and visual abstractions paired with altered photographs, this book speaks to the deep and elusive connections between past and present and how this can shape our sense of time and place.
"Letterpress text and images, ink jet printed photographs on Lana Aquarelle, drum leaf binding; cover is Hahnemuhle Ingres over bookboard, Japanese bookcloth wrapped spine; modified clamshell box, Japanese bookcloth over bookboard" (artist's website).
17. The storm. 1991.
$250
Edition limited to 16 signed and numbered copies (this, no. 12); oblong 4to, pp. [16]; 10 linocut illustrations by Swiszcz; near fine in original coarse blue buckram.
This is Swiszcz's first book, completed when she was just 19 in her first printmaking class at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design where she earned her BFA in 1994. Says Swiszcz, a transplant from New Bedford, Mass.: "As a result of The Storm book I had an internship with Gaylord Schanilec who taught me to set and print type properly. I worked with him the summer of 1992 on his book The Bread of This World, and I used his studio, in trade for more production work, to print another one of my books in the late 90s."
Not in OCLC.
18. The ladies' keepsake, and home library. Embellished with numerous engravings. New York: Burdick & Scoville, No. 8 Spruce Street, n.d., [ca. 1860s].
$75
8vo, pp. iv, [1], 10-208; [1], 10-212;; 12 steel engravings, 4 hand-colored botanical plates; contemporary full brown morocco, gilt spine worn, but the binding is sound.
Faxon, p. 42 notes that this is not an annual, but rather a magazine.
19. How to drain a house. Practical information for householders. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1885.
$100
First edition, approx. 7" x 4¾", pp. [2], viii, [2], 222; 20 illustrations in the text, one of which is repeated on the upper cover; original pictorial brown cloth stamped in black and gilt on upper cover, in gilt only on spine; very nice, sound copy.
Waring (1833-1898) was consulting engineer for sanitary drainage at Newport, R.I., and was an advocate for sewer systems that keep domestic sewage separate from storm runoff.