Fact, Fiction, and More from Bauman Rare Books
Latest catalogue from Bauman Rare Books
By Michael Stillman
Bauman Rare Books, of New York and Philadelphia, recently issued a catalogue of "New Acquisitions." There are no particular limits on the type of material Bauman offers, but here are the concentrations we found in this catalogue: most works are in the English language, primarily American, though many are from Britain. There are numerous works of historic and scientific importance, many signed first editions of great 20th century literature, as well as classic children's books, and collections of great works. Again, these are concentrations. There are others in this catalogue outside of these areas. You will have to see it to appreciate the depth. The common thread that runs through everything in the Bauman catalogue is that there is nothing of insignificance. A work had to be of importance to be included. Here are some of the things we found.
Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural speech was a masterwork, as was his famed Gettysburg Address. However, events so quickly overtook it that this speech quickly faded to irrelevancy. After Lincoln's election, the southern states announced their secession, well before Lincoln actually took office. Nonetheless, in his inaugural address, Lincoln held out the olive branch of peace. He reassured the southern states that he would not interfere with slavery in the South, nor inhibit enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Laws. He felt the only serious issue to be resolved was whether slavery would be extended to the new territories, which he believed could be settled peaceably. Lincoln even went so far as to say he would not confront localities which had denied entrance to federal officials, preferring to allow hostilities to settle down before enforcing federal rights. However, the one issue on which he was firm and unyielding was the preservation of the Union. This would be defended whatever the cost. Lincoln concluded by tossing the ball into the Southerners' court: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The Government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it." The South would respond within a few weeks at Fort Sumter, and Lincoln's spirit of conciliation would be replaced by his unbreakable will to preserve the Union. A copy of the second printing of Lincoln's first inaugural, as ordered by the Senate four days after it was given, is offered by Bauman Rare Books as item 122. Priced at $6,000.
If Lincoln's first inaugural is not that well remembered, FDR's is one of his most famous speeches. It is best remembered for his line, uttered in the sinking depths of the Great Depression, "let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself; nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance." Using Biblical parallels, Roosevelt lays the blame for the nation's financial problems on greedy individuals who control the exchange of goods, the "money changers." He calls on the nation to reach for higher principles. "The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit," says Roosevelt. Roosevelt castigates those who put the possession of money above the joy of work and accomplishment, and pledges to enact programs to bring work back to unemployed America. Item 9 is an advance issue of the first edition of Roosevelt's 1933 inaugural. $32,000.
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Fact, Fiction, and More from Bauman Rare Books
A pair of inscribed album covers from Bob Dylan
Computers may be looked on as the bane of books today, but here is a book that was essential to the beginning of the computer age: The Mathematical Theory of Communication, by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver. Shannon was able to reduce information to simple yes/no, on/off, 0/1 choices. These simple either/or choices are the basis of binary code, to which computers convert all types of complex information. He called each of these choices a "bit." The result is that all information is converted to zeroes and ones, a mathematical formula. This work was first published in the "Bell System Technical Journal" in 1948, with this 1949 edition being the first presentation in book form. This copy comes with an inscription from coauthor Warren Weaver. Item 169. $2,800.
Item 7 is one of the many first editions of notable authors of the past century. This is Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea, a first edition with the first state dust jacket. Published in 1952, it bears an inscription from Hemingway in the same year, "For Francesca with true affection and admiration." The identity of Francesca is uncertain, but Bauman believes she may be Francesca LaMonte, one-time Associate Curator of Fishes at the American Museum of Natural History, who attended the founding meeting of the International Game Fish Association with Hemingway in 1939. $33,000.
Another acclaimed author of this period was playwright Arthur Miller. He was only 33-years-old when he swept the top Broadway awards for his play, Death of a Salesman. It is the sad tale of Willy Loman, the salesman who eventually determines his insurance policy makes him more valuable dead than alive. Fortunately, Miller himself suffered no such fate, finally joining Willy earlier this year at the age of 89. Along the way, Miller spent five years married to Marilyn Monroe, and died engaged to a woman 55 years his junior, living on a plush Connecticut estate. Sometimes life doesn't imitate art. Item 137 is a 1949 first edition of this great play, in its first issue dust jacket, signed by Miller on the title page. $5,800.
For James Bond fans, items 79-82 are signed or inscribed first editions of Ian Fleming books. Offered are Dr. No, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice. All would become big screen classics as well as popular books. Priced at $17,000 each ($15,000 for You Only Live Twice).
One of America's great folk musicians emerged out of the Depression era Dust Bowl of the American West. That would be Woody Guthrie, and he retells those years in his autobiographical Bound For Glory. This copy includes an inscription from 1943 to a hometown friend, "Bud." "Here's a few old memories," Guthrie writes, "some good, some not so good, of your old home town and places around." Item 93. $13,500.
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Fact, Fiction, and More from Bauman Rare Books
Rap sheets on the Philadelphia mob.
One of Guthrie's greatest disciples was Bob Dylan. The still unknown Dylan was one of Guthrie's regular visitors in the early 1960s while the latter suffered from a degenerative disease. Next to Guthrie, Dylan was probably most influenced by another legendary folk and blues singer, Huddie Ledbetter, better known as "Leadbelly." Item 62 is an album cover, with the album inside, of Leadbelly's Last Sessions, released in 1953. The plain white cover is inscribed by "Bob" to his manager Kevin Krown, in large script, "This is a Great Record!" Indeed it was, and Ledbelly's work has been covered by everyone from Dylan to Nirvana. $4,500. Item 63 is another album cover "defaced" by Mr. Dylan. It is Judy Collins' fifth album from 1965, on which Dylan has penned several verses from his song Mr. Tambourine Man, and added his signature, dated 1965. $11,000.
Item 13 is a copy of the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous, with an inscription from Bill Wilson, the Bill W. who helped found this organization. This is a later issue of the second edition of a book that has saved countless lives. Bill W's typescript copy of this book, first published in 1939, sold at auction last year for over $1.5 million. This copy is priced at $11,000.
Here's a type of item you will rarely see: the official file kept by the Philadelphia police on organized crime in the city. In it are 87 leaves of information about Philadelphia's best-known mobsters from the 1956-1966 period. Included are descriptions of many notorious characters along with their mugshots, one head-on, one in profile. Among the gentlemen covered are Marco "Little Guy" Reginelli, Angelo "Gentle Don" Bruno, and Peter Casella. You may welcome these men of honor into your own home with the purchase of item 48. $4,000.
You can find Bauman Rare Books online and discover more of the books they offer at www.BaumanRareBooks.com. They may be reached by phone at 800-992-2862.
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