Rare books from Tennyson Williams, Books and Fine Art

Warren, Ohio: Kenley Players, 1971. 16 pages. An original playbill for a performance by the famed Kenley Players with Joel Grey in the lead role. Boldly signed "Joel Grey" on the front cover. The autograph is unfaded; the playbill is clean, bright, and tight.. SIGNED. First Edition. Paperback. Collectible- Fine-. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall. Manuscript.

Washington, D. C.: Unpublished, 1972. A letter on White House letterhead from OMB Director Weinberger to NASA Chief Archivist Lee Saegesser, dated December 21, 1972 and boldly signed "Caspar W. Weinberger." The letter thanks Saegesser for a cartoon he had sent and wishes him "a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." The signature is bold and bright. The letter has three fold lines, and the paper has a hint of yellowing; otherwise, it is in excellent condition.. SIGNED. First Edition. Paper. Very Good. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Manuscript.

Washington, D. C.: Unpublished, 1969. Original TLS dated November 7, 1969 with the authentic signature of Hubert H. Humphrey, Minnesota's "Happy Warrior" who was U.S. Vice President under Lyndon Johnson. Provenance: from the collection of Lee Saegesser, Chief Archivist from 1967 until 1997 in the Washington, DC NASA Headquarters History Office. Certificate of Authenticity available if desired. The letter is clean and bright, with 3 folding creases.. SIGNED. First Edition. Paper. Collectible-Fine. 10 1/4" by 7 1/4". Manuscript.

Augusta, Maine: Unpublished, 1979. Original TLS dated July 26, 1979 with the authentic signature of Margaret Chase Smith, Senator from Maine (1949-1973). During her notable career, Smith was the first Senator to speak out against "McCarthyism", the first woman to have her name placed into nomination for the Presidency at a major political part convention, and a charter member of the Senate Aeronautical and Space Committee. In the letter addressed to Lee Saegesser, she warmly thanks him for his efforts in supplying requested research materials from the NASA Archives. The letter is accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Provenance: from the collection of Lee Saegesser, Chief Archivist from 1967 until 1997 in the Washington, DC NASA Headquarters History Office. Certificate of Authenticity available if desired. The letter is clean and bright and the signature unfaded.. SIGNED. First Edition. Paper. Collectible-Fine. 7 3/8" by 5". Manuscript.

Chicago: M. A. Donohue & Company, 1910. 8 pages (including covers) printed on linen-like cloth, 4 of them printed in full color. No date, but early twentieth century (circa 1910). There are words to illustrate all letters of the alphabet except for "X"--the text says "X we cannot find." All words have an accompanying picture except for "thing" and "you." The book is in much better condition than usually found: clean and bright with just a hint of edgewear and light toning of the white background.. Early Printing. Paperback. Very Good+. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book.

Washington, D. C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1978. Official NASA black and white photograph of the NASA astronaut Dan Brandenstein in civilian clothes. The photo was taken while he was still an astronaut candidate. Brandenstein flew on 4 shuttle missions: STS-8, STS-51G, STS-32, STS-49--he was commander on the last two. SIGNED, without inscription, "Dan Brandenstein". Provenance: from the collection of Lee Saegesser, Chief Archivist from 1967 until 1997 in the Washington, DC NASA Headquarters History Office. Certificate of Authenticity available if desired. Signed black and white internal NASA photos are much more scarce than the signed color lithos that normally are offered for sale. The photograph is clean, bright, and unwrinkled.. SIGNED. First Edition. Paper. Collectible-Fine. 10" by 8". Photo.

London: William S. Orr & Co., 1848. This is not a complete book--it is a single sheet containing an original antique hand-colored botanical print. Joseph Paxton was perhaps the most significant 19th century English botanist, the designer of the famed Crystal Palace, and the editor of Paxton's Magazine of Botany and Register of Flowering Plants. This print is from the 14th volume of that magazine, published in 1848. Drawn and lithographed by Samuel Holden, it is a superb brilliantly-colored example of the flowers in the magazine. The lithograph is accompanied by the original text pages explaining the origin, cultivation, and uses of the flower. The print is clean and bright, with a hint of toning of the background and the usual stab holes along the binding edge.. First Edition. Paper. Collectible-Fine. Illus. by Samuel Holden. 9" by 6 3/8". Fine Art Print.

Washington, D. C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 1978. Official NASA black and white photograph of the NASA astronaut Kathryn Sullivan in civilian clothes. The photo was taken while she was still an astronaut candidate. The first American woman to walk in space, Sullivan flew on 3 shuttle missions: STS-31, STS-41G, and STS-45. She is now the Acting Administrator of NOAA. SIGNED, without inscription, "Kathryn D. Sullivan". Provenance: from the collection of Lee Saegesser, Chief Archivist from 1967 until 1997 in the Washington, DC NASA Headquarters History Office. Certificate of Authenticity available if desired. Signed black and white internal NASA photos are much more scarce than the signed color lithos that normally are offered for sale. The photograph is clean, bright, and unwrinkled.. SIGNED. First Edition. Paper. Collectible-Fine. 10" by 8". Photo.

New York: Robert M. McBride & Company, 1937. Special Missouri Edition of the first edition that is SIGNED on the colophon page by Benton, the important American artist who was at the forefront of the Regionalist movement. Surrounding the signature and colophon is an original elaborate humorous drawing by Benton, signed twice--once as "Tom" and again as "Tom Collins" (in reference to the drink in his hand in the drawing). Benton inscribed the book and drawing to Roy Snyder, whose signature appears beneath his own image in the drawing. Laid in is a rough sketch of the Snyder farm on which Roy Snyder wrote "drawn by Tom Benton at our house, 1949." The book is in very good+ condition: clean and tight, with uniform faint toning of pages; on the rear free endpaper there is some tape residue where the rough sketch was attached. The unclipped dustjacket is clean and bright, with some fading along the spine; relatively minor chipping at head of spine and along the rear flap fold.. SIGNED. First Edition.… Read More

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1918. (10), 350, (6) pages and 8 halftone plates by J. Allen St. John.  First Edition, First Printing with 1918 on the title page (Zeuschner 598).  The fifth book in the Tarzan series.  Dark green cloth with gilt lettering on spine and front cover.  Original dust jacket with $1.35 on the spine and color illustration by St. John on the front panel. The book is clean and tight; well protected cloth covers are bright enough to appear as new, with no edgewear or rubbing; previous owner's signature on the front free endpaper; top edge of textblock is slightly dusty.  The unrestored dust jacket is generally clean and bright; light soiling of spine and rear panel; a few very short closed tears along edges; minor chipping at corners and spine extremities.  The jacket presents nicely its new Brodart mylar cover.. First Edition. Hardcover. Collectible-Very Good/Very Good. Illus. by J. Allen St. John. 12mo - over 6¾" -… Read More

New York: Mason Brothers, 1853. 192 pages. Illustrated with in-text wood engravings. Binding is embossed brown cloth, with gilt lettering on front cover. Hiram Mattison (1811-1868) was a prominent Methodist minister in New York, who, in addion to his opposition to fraudulent psychics, was an active proponent of temperance and abolition of slavery. In this book he debunks his era's fad of "spirit-rapping" and other practices by which mediums or spiritualists claim to communicate with the dead. As Mattison states in the preface, spirit-rapping "is the grand climax of soothsaying, astrology, witchcraft, phrenology, mesmerism, clairvoyance, Psychology, Fourierism, Millerism, Mormonism, and all other superstitions, delusions, and isms that have ever been, or probably ever will be." The book is in about very good condition: clean and tight, with some minor edgewear and shallow chipping of cloth at head and foot of spine. Pages are moderately foxed. Previous owner's name… Read More

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Jan Christiaan Sepp, 1770. Original hand-colored engraving from the monumental Dutch bird book, Nederlandsche Vogelen: Volgens Hunne Huishouding, Aert, en Eigenschappen Eschreeven, which was published in 5 volumes from 1770 to 1829. [See Sitwell, Fine Bird Books, p. 129.] The image of a collared flycatcher is 15 3/4 inches by 11 inches on a sheet of laid paper that is 20 3/4 inches by 14 1/4 inches. Accompanying the engraving is the original text sheet, The engraving has original hand-coloring and is in superb condition.. First Edition. Single Sheet. Fine. Illus. by Chirstiaan Sepp and Jan Christiaan Sepp. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. Fine Art Print.

New York: William Morrow and Company, 1983. 200 pages. Signed, without inscription, by Vavra on the front pastedown endpaper. Photographer Robert Vavra is well-known as the world's leading photographer of horses. In this book his beautiful color photographs take a more fanciful turn. Does this mean that unicorns really do exist? The book is clean and tight, with minor bleedthrough from the glue under the book's hinges. The dust jacket is clean, bright and crisp.. SIGNED. 4th Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. Illus. by Robert Vavra. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. Book.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Jan Christiaan Sepp, 1770. Original hand-colored engraving from the monumental Dutch bird book, Nederlandsche Vogelen: Volgens Hunne Huishouding, Aert, en Eigenschappen eschreeven, which was published in 5 volumes from 1770 to 1829. [See Sitwell, Fine Bird Books, p. 129.] The image of a small alpine bird is 12 inches by 9 7/8 inches on a sheet of laid paper that is 20 3/4 inches by 14 3/8 inches. Accompanying the engraving is the original text sheet, The engraving has original hand-coloring and is in superb condition.. First Edition. Single Sheet. Fine. Illus. by Chirstiaan Sepp and Jan Christiaan Sepp. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. Fine Art Print.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: Jan Christiaan Sepp, 1770. Original hand-colored engraving from the monumental Dutch bird book, Nederlandsche Vogelen: Volgens Hunne Huishouding, Aert, en Eigenschappen eschreeven, which was published in 5 volumes from 1770 to 1829. [See Sitwell, Fine Bird Books, p. 129.] The image of a corn bunting is 16 1/2 inches by 11 inches on a sheet of laid paper that is 20 3/4 inches by 14 1/4 inches. Accompanying the engraving is the original text sheet, The engraving has original hand-coloring and is in superb condition.. First Edition. Single Sheet. Fine. Illus. by Chirstiaan Sepp and Jan Christiaan Sepp. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. Fine Art Print.