Search Results: Authors starting with A from McBride Rare Books

[Cleveland, 1927. Good.. Three serial works: 43,[2]; 51,[1]; 47,[1]pp. All bound in original printed wrappers, stapled. Mostly minor wear and dust-soiling to wrappers, some chipping. Middle work worn and chipped, with text block and both covers detached but present, and no loss of text. A trio of works recording the minutes of three separate annual sessions of the North Ohio Conference Branch Women's Mite Missionary Society of the A.M.E. Church between 1924 and 1927. The meetings were held in Youngstown, Cleveland, and Alliance, Ohio, respectively. Each work prints the officers and members of the N.O.C.B.W.M.M. Society, as well as each conference's daily activities, the minutes of the Executive Board meeting, various officer and committee reports, and more. One of the more interesting features of the works is the two-page table which concludes each work, listing the various societies throughout Ohio, their president and corresponding secretary, and detailed financial data. All three pamphlets also… Read More

Mexico City: Imprenta del Ciudadano Alejandro Valdes, 1833. Very good.. Broadside, approximately 12.25 x 8.5 inches. Two small wormholes at left margin. Light dust soiling and toning. Scarce devotional poem, attributed to Luis Abadiano, for the veneration of depictions of the Señor de Santa Teresa and Maria Santisima de los Dolores. This "Odita," or "little ode," is composed of twelve short, four-line stanzas, printed in double columns within a double border of printer's ornaments, and signed "L.A." at the foot of the second column. A nice copy of a handsome piece of ephemeral, devotional printing; we locate only one copy, at Brown.

Emporia, Ks: March 12, 1859. Very good.. [4]pp. Original mailing folds, short separations along some folds, a couple of short closed tears, a few tiny nicks to edges. A rare correspondence from Kansas at the time of the free state - slave state tensions in the 1850s. Here, the most important early settler of Emporia, Kansas, John H. Watson sends a territorial paean to his father back home in Pennsylvania. In his densely-written letter, Watson ran out of room, and had to sign his name over previously written text along the right edge of its last page. Watson was a Quaker lawyer-physician from Pennsylvania, who moved his entire family west to Kansas in 1858 along with other abolitionists in an effort to ensure the territory entered the Union as a free state. Watson does not mention the bloody political battles taking place at the time, but rather bemoans the state of his inheritance, the cost of his travel, and more, while also providing a firsthand report of the unsettled territory's beauty,… Read More

Doniphan, Ks: Printed at the Crusader of Freedom Office, 1858. Very good.. Single sheet, 3.5 x 7.5 inches. Minor foxing, light edge wear. An uncommon form, printed at James Redpath's Crusader of Freedom office in Doniphan, Kansas. The Scottish-born Redpath originally worked for Horace Greeley's New York Tribune where he published a series of articles compiling Facts of Slavery. In 1855, he moved to the Kansas-Missouri border and reported on the slavery disputes for the Free Soil newspaper, the Missouri Democrat, before starting his own newspaper, the Crusader of Freedom. The motto of his newspaper was "I enroll myself a Crusader of Freedom until slavery ceases to exist." Redpath met John Brown immediately after the fateful Pottawatomie Creek incident and his interview with the fervent abolitionist was Brown's debut in the press with Redpath labeling him a warrior-saint. The journalist became Brown's most vocal supporter in the press, and his report of the Battle of Osawatomie helped… Read More

Pittsburgh, Pa: August 2, 1838. Good.. [2]pp., on a single folded sheet, integral blank addressed on verso. Original mailing folds, somewhat tender along fold lines, a small panel of integral blank chipped away along fold lines, short tear and small area of loss from removed wax seal to first leaf costing or affecting a few words, top edge bumped. An informative manuscript letter written by a notable abolitionist during his travels through Pittsburgh in the summer of 1838. Elias Richards (1802-1887) writes from the United States Hotel to his wife Elizabeth Hunt Richards (1804-1892) in Massachusetts while on a trip intending to locate a place he could settle in business. Both Elias and Elizabeth Richards were prominent abolitionists based in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Richards details his travel from Philadelphia through Pennsylvania, mentioning several towns on the road to Pittsburgh. Richards then provides a description of the Steel City: "This is a very busy city, situated on a point of land,… Read More

Washington, D.C.: Buell & Blanchard, 1858. Good.. Twelve issues, each 4pp., printed in seven columns. Large folio. Old folds, varying levels of chipping, fold separations, foxing, and edge wear. Occasional minor loss of text from wear at crossfolds and in one case a tobacco burn. Some issues with ink notations at top left or in the top margin. A dozen issues, published over the course of a decade in the mid-19th century, of the abolitionist newspaper The National Era, edited by Gamaliel Bailey and John Greenleaf Whittier. The National Era was an important source of news and debate over the issue of slavery during its thirteen-year run, and continuously argued for the abolition of the peculiar institution until it ceased operations in February 1860. The most lasting legacy of the newspaper is its serialization of Uncle Tom's Cabin in forty-one weekly installments between June 1851 and April 1852, the first appearance of the novel anywhere.  The present collection of issues includes number 81, 97,… Read More

Boston: Isaac Knapp, 1836. About very good.. xvi,[13]-238pp. 12mo. Original publisher's blue boards with black sheep spine, gilt. Boards rubbed, corners and spine moderately worn. Text lightly foxed. Scarce work addressing the anti-slavery work of George Thompson following his visit to America. Thompson (1804-1878) was British lecturer and reformer who worked as a commercial clerk. "Thompson first came to prominence in 1831, when he was recruited by the London Anti-Slavery Society's Agency Committee as an itinerant lecturer. In the run up to the Emancipation Act of 1833 he became the most effective British anti-slavery lecturer since Thomas Clarkson.... With the struggle against British slavery apparently won, Thompson was instrumental in reorienting anti-slavery effort towards the Americas and particularly the United States. ... In 1834 he encountered the charismatic American abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Recognizing Thompson's talent, Garrison invited him to travel to the United States… Read More

New York: S. Tackaberry, 1864. Very good.. Carte de visite photograph, 3.25 x 2 inches, on a slightly larger printed mount. Minor soiling and spotting, light edge wear. One of a series of CDVs featuring recently freed slaves produced in 1863-64 as part of a fundraising effort in the American South. This image is noted as "No. 10" at the top of the verso. According to a notice printed on the verso: "The nett proceeds from the sale of these Photographs will be devoted to the education of colored people in the department of the Gulf, now under the command of Maj. Gen. Banks." The funds were used to establish schools for former slaves in southern Louisiana during the Union occupation of the region. The photograph was taken by Charles Paxson of New York, and copyrighted by S. Tackaberry in the Southern District of that state. The subject of the present photograph is Rosina Downs; she poses in a bonnet and jacket, with her arms crossed, looking left. A handful of photographs featuring Rosa were issued… Read More

[Providence: Hiram H. Thomas and Co., late December, 1865. Good plus.. Letterpress broadside, 17.5 x 12 inches, printed in double columns, with decorative floral border. Old folds, two folds neatly strengthened on verso, other folds tender, bottom third darkened. A rare newspaper carrier's address closing out the fateful year of 1865 and looking forward to the transition of the next year. The author personifies the year 1865 as "bent and wrinkled and gray" but also "in excellent health for his age." The end of the Civil War is recounted: "Then thought we how, during the mild reign of Spring, The wrong gave no check to the arms of the free, But only with 'Vict'ry' we made the streets ring, Till so wildly we cried, 'The Surrender of Lee!'" The text also mentions Sherman, Grant, and the assassination of President Lincoln. The tone is celebratory, as the author continues: "'To God give the praise!' for our nation is free! No longer a slave is contained by its shore! No longer the carnage of battle we… Read More

Chicago: Hays & Thompson, 1854. Very good plus.. Broadside, 15 x 6 inches. Minor soiling. A rare and unusual broadside newspaper extra advertising Evarts' Shingle Mill, with a handsome woodcut illustration of the mill itself occupying a third of the sheet. The Christian Times was a Baptist newspaper published in Chicago from 1853 to 1865. Evarts & Butler herein advertise themselves as "proprietors and manufacturers" of the machine, claiming it "makes better shingles, and more of them than any other mill, from any kind of wood," capable of producing "ten thousand in ten hours." Testimonials as to the machine's efficacy and quality of the mill and its shingles occupy the lower third of the broadside. An unrecorded Pre-fire Chicago broadside advertisement.

[Albany, Or, 1880. About very good.. Broadside, 12.5 x 9 inches. Light wear and minor creasing, a few small chips to edges and small areas of loss near center. Minor foxing. Broadside advertisement for "Water Proof Oil Blacking," sold by W.J. John of Albany, Oregon, a small town near Corvallis. The broadside lists seven reasons why this product is the best, beginning with "It is Cheap." Other reasons include durability, waterproofness, and its ability to keep leather soft and prevent cracking. Reason 8 is perhaps the most interesting: "You get a receipt and make it yourself so that you know what it contains, and that every ingredient is a Leather Preserver, as it contains nothing injurious, such as varnish, naptha [sic], benzine or turpentine." Not in OCLC.

Cedar Rapids, 1894. Very good.. Small broadsheet, 10.5 x 6.75 inches. Previously folded. Minute closed tear at top edge. Light tanning. With accompanying transmittal envelope. Ephemeral, illustrated broadsheet advertisement for two agricultural machines for sale by the Hamilton Bros. company of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the mid-1890s. The "Sweep Feed Mill" promises to efficiently grind all types and qualities of corn, while the "Mammoth Feed Steamer" promises to save the farmer thirty percent in feed costs. Examples of both are shown on either side of the sheet. With the original transmittal envelope, postmarked 1894.

[St. Louis, 1908. Very good plus.. Small printed card, 2 x 4 inches. Printed on recto only. Minor toning. "This proposition should receive the vote of every White Man, as it will prevent the placing of a Negro High School by the Board of Education on white residents over their protest." The proposition was defeated and Sumner High School was built on that location in the Ville, where it remained for two decades.

[N.p., likely Washington, D.C., 1876. Very good.. 16pp., printed in two columns. Gathered signatures, stitched. Chipping, noticeable toning, and some closed tears to edges. Rubbing to last page of text. Untrimmed and partially unopened. A scarce pamphlet printing the Congressional debate regarding the Hamburg Massacre, a race riot in Hamburg, South Carolina on July 4, 1876 which resulted in the deaths of six African Americans. The riot was the first in a series of planned actions by white racist "Red Shirts" against African American voters leading up to the last election cycle during Reconstruction. During the conflict, a white mob overwhelmed the minority Black population in Hamburg, and took two dozen Black citizens hostage. The mob then summarily executed six Black citizens, including South Carolina state legislator Simon Coker of Barnwell. More than ninety white men were indicted by a coroner's jury, and none of them were ever prosecuted. One of the leaders of the Red Shirts in Hamburg, Benjamin… Read More

Austin, Tx: Samuel Huston College, April 23, 1932. Very good.. Single sheet, folded to [4]pp. Inner two pages printed vertically. Old creases, one-inch tear affecting a few words on right edge, lightly spotted and toned. A rare, if not unrecorded newsletter created by students at Samuel Huston College, the precursor to Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) in Austin, Texas. The work's main editors were W.J. Sampson and C.L. Warren, but its associate editor, Karl E. Downs, went on to become a widely influential African-American orator and minister, role model to Jackie Robinson, and the youngest college president in the United States. Huston-Tillotson University, the first institution of higher learning in Austin, was formed in 1952 when two longstanding Texas HBCUs came together: Samuel Huston College (SHC), chartered in 1876, and Tillotson College. A notable alumnus (and former president) of SHC, Karl Downs was the editor-in-chief of the Samuel Huston Bulletin (the official publication of HTU) and… Read More

Nashville: National Baptist Publishing Board, 1938. Very good.. 8pp. Original printed wrappers, stapled. Wrappers a bit dusty, mild rubbing and edge wear. The rare first edition of Dr. E.H. Borden's impassioned personal history and essay on why he identifies as a Baptist. At the time he wrote the present essay. Dr. Borden was serving as the pastor of the Live Oak Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas. Born near Nova Scotia, Canada, Borden credits his early conversion to his mother, Susie M. Borden, but ultimately that his "personal choice and conviction were confirmed and enlightened by study." He then enumerates a dozen reasons he stands by his Baptist faith, ranging from "Because I am a Christian" to "I believe in the 'voluntariness of religion'" and "I believe in immersion, the immersion of one who has already surrendered his heart and life to Christ," among others. Borden's work was published by the National Baptist Publishing Board, an important African American publishing house in Nashville.… Read More

[Clifftop, West Virginia, 1950. Near fine.. Three real photo postcards, each 3.5 x 5.25 inches.Very minor wear. Three rare images of buildings on the grounds of the Washington Carver 4-H Camp in West Virginia. The camp was built under two federal New Deal programs and opened in 1942 under its original name, West Virginia Negro 4-H Camp; this name is still visible on the sign above the entrance to the Administration Building here. The other two buildings featured here are a cottage and a dormitory. The name of the camp was later changed to honor Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver, and experienced its peak in the 1950s when it hosted over 1,500 campers each year. The camp is still operated today by the National Park Service but is no longer used exclusively as a camp for African American youth. When the camp was first proposed, African American West Virginia state legislator Fleming Adolphus Jones stated its importance in no uncertain terms: "For the purpose of teaching Negro boys and… Read More

St. Louis: July to December, 1930. Very good.. Six issues, consecutively numbered from [145] to 312pp. Original printed wrappers of various colors, stapled. Each issue with embossed blindstamp on front cover canceled with an ink overstamp reading "Withdrawn." Minor dust-soiling and light rubbing to covers, each issue with soft vertical crease. A six-issue consecutive run beginning in the middle of 1930 and running through the end of the year, from July to December 1930. Each issue is comprised of five or six articles written by a variety of authors focused on issues facing Black Catholics and the larger African American community. A sampling of articles includes William M. Markoe's "Our Jim Crow Federation," Francis Gilligan's "The Negro Slave in the United States," Joseph Ledit's "Bolshevism and the Negro," Dorothy Willman's "Women's Sodalities Meet in Chicago," and Dr. Thomas Wyatt Turner's "Statement of the Federated Colored Catholics." The legendary Dr. Turner was the founder and President of… Read More

Camp Pike, Ar: Ewing Incorporated, Official Photographers, Sept. 30, 1918. Fair.. Regularly-spaced heavy creasing, center crease almost split through, some small chips and tears, minor soiling. A wonderful image but will require preservation. A captivating panoramic photograph featuring the African American members of the 74th and 94th "casual" companies of the United States Army during their time training for service in World War I at Camp Pike, Arkansas. The caption in the negative reads, "Casual Cos. 74 & 94." Casual companies are nontraditional units of the Army meant as holding units for combat replacements, groups awaiting transport or discharge, a specialized unit assembled for specific duty, or one comprised of soldiers on convalescent duty. These units are not usually pictured in military photographs, much less in panoramic images during wartime. The present panoramic photograph features about 150 African American servicemen in uniform and a few white officers arranged in roughly four rows… Read More

[New Orleans: August, 1901. Very good.. 32mo. 16pp. Original peach wrappers printed in black. Short tear to front wrapper along the spine, small ink stamp on front wrapper, top corner creased throughout, else a very handsome copy. A seemingly unrecorded pocket-sized pamphlet, created without a proper title, designed to solicit donations and donation subscriptions for the Helping Hand Mission in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century. The text of the pamphlet was authored by Rev. J.J. Hoffman, a Lutheran pastor who ran the mission, which was located at 1044 St. Charles Avenue. Reverend Hoffman writes about the proselytizing performed by the mission to the poor and hungry of New Orleans, without regard to nationality or creed, although he acknowledges that most of the people they help are Roman Catholic. Hoffman does, however, take a moment to explain the difference in care and attention given to the city's African American population: "While it remains a fact that no public institution in New… Read More