As described by the title-pages, the volumes are “Illustrated by upwards of three hundred engravings, from sketches by the author. The steel plates executed [by J. Hamilton and others] under the superintendence of J.M. Butler, the wood engravings by Van Ingen & Snyder.” The plates total 20 altogether, including frontispieces.

•  First edition in the two states of this GILDED AGE novel of the evils of money-grubbing and corporate influence, featuring a young journalist of stalwart morals. Contemporary critics accused Keenan, who wrote the work in response to John Hay's anti-labor novel The Bread-Winners and published it anonymously, both of bad taste and of veiling real figures too thinly; “Aaron Grimstone” bears striking similarities to industrialist Amasa Stone (Hay's father-in-law who committed suicide by pistol) for instance, while “Horatio Blackdaw”is clearly based on New York Tribune editor Whitelaw Reid.

The two versions of the first edition here offered are one copy of the first edition, first state (in which the suicide scene, like Stone's, takes place in the bathroom with a pistol), and one copy of the first edition, later state (in which the suicide scene has been revised to the studio using gas).

Bindings:  These also are variant, though only in cloth color, the first being blue-gray and the second brown. Each front cover bears a vignette of money bags spilling forth coins stamped in maroon and gilt, with the legend "A Social Parable" below; spines offer title, coins, and legend.

•  Wright, III, 3060.   Bound as above. I (blue):  Spine darkened, joints and corners lightly rubbed. Front fly-leaf with pencilled annotations regarding the work and inked private ownership inscription dated 1885 (“Samuel A. Butz,” possibly the Allentown, PA, attorney). Pages clean. II (brown): Moderately rubbed overall, back hinge (inside) cracked, front fly-leaf with pencilled notes; ex–social club library with shelving label on spine, call number on endpaper, rubber-stamp on title-page, no other markings.An interesting opportunity for a scholar of 19th-century American literature, publishing, journalism, bindings, or any of a number of other topics.

Rare: We fail to trace this via NUC Pre-1956, OCLC, RLIN, and the OPACS of the Library Company, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the Library of Congress.

•  Shallow tears in margin, folded once. Light age-toning. Very good.

The authorial juxtaposition here is interesting, given that Kellogg and his former teacher Trall had a bitter falling-out; prior to that, both had been sponsored and supported by Ellen White, one of the founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

•  Brown, Culinary Americana, 1717.   Publisher's textured brown cloth, spine with gilt-stamped title and small fountain vignette; mildly worn and spine lightly sunned, sides with small faint spots of light discoloration. Title-page with partially obscured rule. Occasional light foxing.  (30195)

This is an early issue of the second edition, following the original publication in 1900. The106 plates (many featuring double images, and 18 being color-printed) depict a jaw-dropping variety of different types of bath, shower, plunge, wet sheet pack, affusion, lavage, irrigation, and massage including the "percussion douche," demonstrated here bya striped-bathing-suit-clad attendant applying a hose to a young man wearing a towel.

Contemporary half roan over beautifully rich marbled paper, this also used for endpapers; spine with gilt-stamped author and title and top edge gilt; corners and joints rubbed, spine head with small paper shelving label. Front pastedown with extremely attractive old institutional bookplate, dedication page with inked numeral in lower margin, back free endpaper with pocket and slip, no other markings. Pages and plates clean and crisp. (29651)

Vol. I opens with a rather nice mezzotint portrait of Wirt, engraved by A.B. Walter after Charles B. King; vol. II with an oversized, folding facsimile of a letter from John Adams.

•  BAL 11056; Cohen 2161; Howes K87; Sabin 37415.   Publisher's brown cloth, covers framed in blind-stamped strapwork, spines with gilt-stamped title and blind-stamped decorations; cloth lightly dust-soiled, chipped at corners and spine extremities. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplates, call number on endpapers, rubber-stamp on title-pages. Vol. II: one leaf of contents with two short tears. Pages clean.  (29413)

•  Publisher's plain olive brown cloth, spine with printed paper label; without dust jacket as issued. Crisp and clean.  (29708)

There's some rather wonderful stuff in here.

•  Publisher's printed cream-colored paper wrappers, slightly darkened, wrappers with a few small spots of staining, back wrapper with inked mailing address and postal stamps. Pages clean.  (29813)

•  Stiff printed wrappers, center bit of top edge a trifle bumped. Near fine. (23499)

•  Very good, in publisher's cloth. Front free endpaper torn out. Preliminary pages with a few light creases in fore-margins probably created from paper clips being fastened to them at one time.  (10711)

•  Publisher's oxblood cloth, front cover and spine with gilt-stamped title. Edges and extremities lightly worn, spine with area of discoloration. Ex–social club library: call number on endpapers, rubber-stamp on title-page, no other markings. Pages clean.  (27184)

The volume is illustrated with20 copper-engraved plates by prominent Philadelphia engraver and publisher Joseph Yeager, including one dainty bird and a number of interesting sea creatures.

•  American Imprints 38398; NSTC 2K6659.   Period-style quarter light grey cloth and light blue paper–covered sides, spine with printed paper label. All edges sprinkled. One leaf creased. Offsetting from plates, among which the last is misnumbered; otherwise, clean.  (30332)

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•  Wright, II, 1003.   Publisher's dark green textured cloth, spine with gilt-stamped title; corners and spine extremities rubbed, spine slightly sunned, sides with spots of lighter discoloration. Front free endpaper with pencilled and inked inscription (partly) dated 1862. Light to moderate foxing throughout.  (25992)

•  Sabin 38070; Shoemaker 5776.   Period-style quarter tan cloth and light blue paper–covered boards, spine with printed paper label. Pages lightly cockled, with minor offsetting, first and last few leaves darkened. Outer edges waterstained, extending into outer margins in latter portion of volume and across text for the last few chapters — never distressing or impeding reading, but reducing the price of the volume.  (28741)

Provenance:  Front pastedown with armorial bookplate of notable book collector Edward Hubert Litchfield.

•  Howes K217.   Publisher's quarter navy cloth and floral-printed white, red, and blue cloth, spine with printed paper label; spine extremities very slightly rubbed. Front pastedown with bookplate as above. Edges uncut. Map clean.  (29709)

•  Not in Brown, Culinary Americana.   Publisher's printed paper wrappers, slightly age-toned, back upper outer corner minutely chipped. A clean, fresh copy — a fine one.  (26065)

•  Contemporary publisher’s mottled sheep; spine gilt extra. Fine abrasions or chipping to leather, especially to head and foot of spine. Offsetting from turn-ins; lightly foxed throughout. A closed tear without loss in pp. 327–28. All edges marbled.

•  Not in Brown, Culinary Americana.   Publisher's printed paper wrappers with hanging loop. Soiling/staining/spotting, and original staples mostly deteriorated with spine darkened around staple sites. Poor condition, but a charming “period” production.  (26087)

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Several bibliographies, including Pilling's Proof-sheets and Ayer, treat this as two distinct works. Indeed, the dictionary and the grammar do each have their own distinct title-pages, pagination, and signature markings. They were issued together, however, though sometimes separated for sale. The publisher’s original paper wrappers are bound into this volume.

•  Pilling, Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages, 283; Newberry Library, Indian Linguistics in the Edward E. Ayer Collection, Cree-93 & Cree-9; Pilling, Proof-Sheets of a Bibliography of the Languages of the North American Indians, 2155 & 2156. Not in Vancil, Cordell Collection. Recent black moiré cloth, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label. Wrappers (bound in) dust-soiled and with edge chips; front wrapper partially adhered to half-title and back wrapper with Grammaire half-title affixed. Map partially adhered to an additional half-title. Page edges untrimmed; pages very slightly age-toned, else clean. Pagination jumps from 708 to 711 in pt. 1, but as the word listing goes from sagamité to sagamo it seems certain that the text is complete.

This was first printed in 1839, again in 1843, and then only this last edition. We find but two U.S. institutional holdings.

•  Lacking wrappers. Lightly foxed; corners bumped; last leaf a bit creased.  (27855)

true first edition of the unofficial second series

The first series made its first appearance in book form in London, 1823. The authorized second series was not published until 1833, under the title The Last Essays of Elia; the pieces selected for the unauthorized American second series offered here are different from those contained in that volume, and mistakenly include three essays written by other hands.

•  Shoemaker 33813 & 33814; NCBEL, III, 1225; NSTC 2L2346.   Vol. I: Uncut copy. Publisher's quarter once-red cloth and paper sides, covers printed with “Elia” within a simple frame, spine with printed paper label; binding rubbed and lightly soiled, spine sunned to yellow. Repaired tear to one leaf, touching text without loss; remarkably clean and sound. Vol. II: Contemporary speckled sheep, spine with gilt-stamped leather title-label; rubbed, and head of spine chipped with old refurbishing. Ex–social club library: 19th-century bookplate and call number ticket on front pastedown, front free endpaper with inked numerals, title-page pressure-stamped. Author's name inked on title-page; front free endpaper and title-page reinforced at fore-edge (the latter from the back). Both volumes age-toned, with intermittent spots of staining; advertisements absent. The set now housed in a quarter blue morocco and blue cloth–covered clamshell case with marbled paper–covered sides and gilt-stamped spine.  (26434)

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•  Good; spine gently faded with gilt dulled, corners and extremities lightly worn. Front free endpaper with pencilled gift inscription dated 1868. Plates somewhat darkened.  (1916)

•  Paperback. Fine.  (5324)

This is the original edition andnot a modern reprint.

•  Bitting 273; Brown, Culinary Americana, 2914.   Publisher's textured paper wrappers, front wrapper with printed title; extremities rubbed. Pages slightly age-toned, otherwise clean.A delightfully aspirational read.  (29727)

•  American Imprints 46-3993; NSTC 2L4514. Recent black moiré silk, spines with gilt-stamped leather title-labels. Vol. II half-title and title-page with faint spots of waterstaining, pages otherwise clean. A very nice example of one of the best-selling scientific works of its time. (30342)

Binding:  Publisher's blue cloth, front cover with gilt-stamped title and train vignette stamped in black and gilt, vignette extending onto spine.

•  Binding as above, extremities very slightly rubbed, spine dimmed. Light waterstaining to inner margins of front fly-leaf and half-title, otherwise clean. A volume “got up,” given its content, with remarkable style and charm!  (29124)

•  Library quarter sheep over marbled paper boards, spine with paper shelving label, covers pressure-stamped by a now-defunct library; rubbed/abraded, chipped, joints starting, title-page and several others rubber-stamped. Fly-leaf and title-leaf among a number of others loose and chipped, one chip barely touching one letter of the title; tears, mostly marginal but occasionally into text not taking any; a few creased corners and occasional light spots and stains. Front pastedown with bookbinder's label, back free endpaper with library charge pocket. Lacks four pages of advertisements at end; pp. 87–90 misbound between pp. 154 and 155! In many respects a “poor soul” of a book; in others, a very good representative of what it is.  (8337)

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•  Howes L271. Publisher's blind-stamped cloth, worn and spotted; spine gilt-stamped with title and American eagle, much faded, head pulled. A very few pencil marks and some pages dog-eared; occasional spots of foxing.

•  Folded as issued. Very good condition.  (26013)

Much of Our Digestion is revised, expanded, or rearranged from Lewis's Talks About People's Stomachs, but there is also new material here; like Talks, this volume deals length with the impact of food and drink on daily life and general health, including the teeth, whileproviding new recipes for healthful, economical dishes as well as adding new criticisms of the medical establishment, including its propensity for using Latin and obscure terminology.

The volume opens with a portrait of Dr. Lewis and a title-page printed in red and black, and is illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author and four plates depicting scenes from some of his anecdotes, engraved by E.B.B. after various artists. The publication information on the title-page (originally Boston: Eastern Book Co., 1881) has been covered with a printed slip giving New York: Clarke Bros., 1882; Our Digestion was originally printed in 1872, and Talks in 1870.

Binding:  Publisher's dark green cloth, front cover with arabesque design stamped in black surrounding gilt-stamped title, spine with gilt-stamped title.

•  Bitting 286.   Binding as above, very slightly cocked with moderate rubbing to extremities, limited instances of spotty discoloration to sides. Scattered light spots of foxing, two pages more heavily spotted, overall mostly clean. Worthy.  (28615)

•  American Imprints 2226.   Publisher's printed yellow paper–covered boards; binding lightly dust-soiled, spine with paper creased and extremities chipped. Front free endpaper with faint early pencilled ownership inscription. Endpapers and first and last few leaves moderately foxed, a few spots scattered elsewhere; one signature browned. A good, solid copy.  (30246)