Search Results: ALABAMA from David M. Lesser, Fine Antiquarian Books LLC

[Montgomery, Alabama, 1861. Autograph document, entirely in ink manuscript, in the hand of Alex. B. Clitherall, Assistant, and signed "J.J. Harper, Secretary per Alex B. Clitherall Asst." Letter written by Clitherall, an Alabama lawyer and assistant to Burton Harrison, Jefferson Davis's private secretary. Written on the recto of first leaf; docketed, in the probable hand of Harrison, on recto of second leaf: "Commn to European Powers. For the President." Blank verso of second leaf is laid down. Very Good. "The Congress being in Executive Session Mr. Rhett from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the following report: "The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the nominations by the President, of W. L. Yancey, P.A. Rost, and A. Dudley Mann as Commissioners to the European Powers, respectfully report, that they have had the same under consideration, and recommend that the Congress do advise and consent to the nominations of W.L. Yancey, and P.A. Rost,' "Which report was unanimously… Read More

Hamburg, Alabama, 1862. Single leaf, in ink manuscript on recto, docketed on verso. Old folds, Near Fine. Having reviewed Governor Shorter's "proclamation calling on all exempts to form into Companies," Pack says he has "been thinking of getting up a company for Home protection, for our Country will be when the conscripts leave, very scarce of men & I think for the keeping down of Insurrectionary Movements these organizations will do much. I will ask you also if a company of horsemen would not be preferable." Pack, a Hamburg farmer, owned 45 slaves, according to the 1860 census, and was one of the largest slaveholders in that county.

Single leaf, 8" x 13," completely in ink manuscript on blue paper. Old folds, a few pinholes along folds affecting six to eight letters. Else Very Good. "DEAR SIR, I HOLD A COMMISSION FROM YOUR EXCELLENCY AS BEAT COMMANDANT BEARING DATE OF FEB. 14TH 64. I HAVE FILLED THE DUTIES IMPOSED UPON ME BY SAID COMMISSION, TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITY AND WHEN YOUR EXCELLENCY CALLED OUT THE MILITIA LAST AUGUST I VOLUNTEERED IN A COMPANY OF CAVALRY AND WAS ELECT 2D LIEUT, AND IN THAT CAPACITY HAVE SERVED YOUR EXCELLENCY FAITHFULLY TO THIS TIME AND AM WILLING TO CONTINUE TO DO SO, AT THE SAME TIME I THINK IT JUST THAT I SHOULD HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES THAT OTHER BEAT COMMANDANTS HAS AND FOR THIS REASON I PRESUME TO WRITE YOUR EXCELLENCY THIS LETTER. "LAST YEAR I GAVE BOND FOR THE DELIVERY TO THE CONFEDERATE GOVT OF FIFTEEN HUNDRED POUNDS OF BACON & FIFTEEN HUNDRED POUNDS OF BEEF... I THEREFORE ASK YOUR EXCELLENCY TO GRANT ME A CERTIFICATE OF EXEMPTION FROM ENROLLMENT IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY. I MAKE THIS… Read More

Folio sheet, folded to 7-1/2" x 9-3/4." Written in neat ink manuscript on first two pages. Third page blank, docketed on page [4]. Very Good. Francis Strother Lyon [1800-1882], an Alabama lawyer and Democratic politician, wrote this letter to Governor Moore. Lyon had been a Whig Congressman in the 1830s and, having chaired the State Delegation to the 1860 Democratic Presidential Convention, remained a power in Alabama public affairs. Dr. William Cincinnatus Ashe [1815-1867], a Demopolis physician, received his appointment as Surgeon to the 11th Alabama Infantry on July 4, 1861, and acted in that capacity until he was relieved on June 21, 1862. On August 1, 1862 he became Surgeon-- and then Surgeon-in-Charge-- of the 1st Alabama Hospital in Richmond; and then Surgeon in Charge of Fort Morgan Hospital in Mobile Bay. Lyon reminds Moore that "The Act of Congress for the establishment and organization of a general staff for the Army of the Confederate state, authorizes the appointment of four surgeons… Read More

Birmingham, Ala.: Roberts & Son, 1888. 3 1/2" x 5 1/2". 18, [2] pp. Illustrated front wrapper and title page. Stitched in original printed yellow wrappers. One wrapper spot, a clean text. Very Good. The rare founding documents of this little Lodge, based in Bessemer, which was founded in 1887. Chancellors and Knights are listed. "Sound bodily health" is a prerequisite for admission; "no maimed person shall be admitted," possibly because, upon a member's sickness or death, other members are assessed a fee for his support or funeral expenses. OCLC 21680950 [2- Samford, U AL]. Not in Owen.

Selma, 1855. 8pp, sewn, original printed wrappers with wrapper title, as issued. Very Good plus. Everywhere but in the halls of Masonry, sectional strife and fanaticism are "putting in peril that union which the Fathers founded by their wisdom and hallowed by their prayers." Masons "trace our existence back far beyond any written records." FIRST EDITION. Not in Owen, Ellison, Sabin, Eberstadt, Decker. OCLC locates eight copies under two accession numbers.

Charleston, S.C.: Walker and James, 1850. 44pp, stitched in original printed green wrappers [small blank corner chip]. Light occasional foxing, minor dusting, Very Good. Dr. Nott made significant contributions to the conquest of Yellow Fever. But he went off the rails when, fancying himself an expert on the subject of Race, he argued that the different races did not descend from a common ancestor, and that the Negro had an entirely different-- i.e., inferior-- origin from Caucasians. Nott purports to confirm his conclusion with a close examination of the Bible. Moreover, he says, scientific studies of Negroes' brains demonstrates their inferiority to the white race. "He argued that there had been separate creations for different races, and his views were used to promote the idea that African Americans were inherently inferior to whites and that slavery was justified" [Encyclopedia of Alabama]. Rosenbach [Judaica] 676. LCP 7726. Not in Turnbull, Singerman, or Sabin. OCLC records nine locations under… Read More

Montgomery, 1904. 142pp, original printed wrappers [light spine wear] and staples. Deckled edges, Fine. "He served first at Pensacola, was transferred to the Mississippi, traveled by rail from Mobile to Corinth and Memphis, and by boat to Island No. 10, where he was captured and taken to Camp Butler Prison near Springfield, Illinois. On being exchanged, he...was sent to Georgia to oppose Sherman's march on Atlanta, and after its fall followed Hood to the gates of Nashville" [Coulter]. "A factual summary of a regiment's actions in the East, with personal touches here and there" [Nevins]. FIRST EDITION. Howes M172. Coulter 312. I Nevins 126. II Dornbusch 19.

Montgomery, Ala.: T.C. Bingham & Co., Printers and Binders, 1879. 30, [2 blanks] pp. Stitched, original printed front yellow wrapper present. Some penciled number scrawls, light wear and dust. Good+. T.C. Howard entered the copyright in the Middle District of Alabama in 1879. The pamphlet promises that the "beauty and simplicity" of its instruction "will enable the learner to understand thoroughly the principle and involved, and readily apply to any actual transaction." Not located on OCLC. Not in Owen.

Mobile [AL]: J.Y. Thompson, 1856. [Caption title: BRIEF IN BEHALF OF APPELLEE]. 28pp + blank interleaves, stitched into later marbled wrappers [chipped at outer forecorner]. Scattered foxing, Good+. In 1840 the City of Mobile conveyed to Stein, a hydraulics engineer, a franchise to supply the City with water; the Alabama legislature confirmed this grant. Stein's water system operated as a private company until 1898, long after he died in 1874. In this suit, the Robertson family asserted an interest with Stein in the Company, claiming "the benefit of property and money received and invested by Albert Stein, in the Mobile Water Works." W.H. Robertson, they allege, had invested with the Water Works "all the funds of his children." Though title remained in Stein's name, part ownership resided in the Robertsons. "Robertson conceived the plan of the Mobile Water Works to be feasible, and laid the foundation for the enterprise. Robertson and Stein were to be equally interested in the enterprise. The… Read More

[Baton Rouge, 1961. Original printed title wrappers and staples. ii, 18 pp. Fine. With a typed letter, signed by H.M. Aldridge, laid in, to Judge Walter Jones, Editor of 'The Montgomery Lawyer,' September 29, 1961, urging publication of Kernan's Address in that periodical. The introduction is signed in ink and type by H. Payne Brezeale, of the Baton Rouge Bar. He explains that he has arranged for its separate printing in order for Kernan's "remarkable address" to be "made available to others of this present generation." Brezeale and others were charmed by Kernan's Decalogue of American Lawlessness, printed here: any rapist "shall, without trial or hearing of any kind, be instantly put to death," most certainly in a "cruel and unusual" manner. Other sins punishable by death without trial include adultery ["the injured husband" gets to do it], seduction of an innocent girl, traducing "a virtuous woman's character for chastity," etc. OCLC records nine copies as of March 2016.

Demopolis, 1861. [4] pp, folded folio sheet. Ink manuscript written on the first two pages, docketed on last page. Old folds, Very Good. Each of the six petitioners-- James Taylor Jones, Jno. T. Liman, Nathan B. Whitfield, R.M. Campbell, O.H. Prince, and [--] Torbert-- signs in his own hand, on the day Lincoln was inaugurated as President. The petition was probably written by O.H. Prince. They attest to Strudwick's "good family," fine education, "irreproachable moral character." Moreover, at six feet tall and 170 pounds he is "the best horseman in Alabama." Alabama seceded on January 11, 1861. Strudwick was mustered into the 11th Alabama regiment on June 11, 1861. He was breveted 2d Lieutenant during his service.

[Richmond?, 1861. 7, [1] pp. Caption title [as issued]. Light uniform tanning. Light Rebel Archives rubberstamp, short closed tear at blank inner margin, else Very Good. Smith defends President Davis's refusal to release his entire file of information on delicate foreign affairs issues, including the status of negotiations with European powers on recognition of the Confederacy. Parrishh & Willingham 858.

Centreville, Alabama: Central Enquirer Job Printing Office, 1857. Original printed yellow wrappers, stitched. 10, [2] pp. Lightly foxed, old Historical Society rubberstamp and withdrawal. Very Good. Centreville, the Bibb County seat, is a little town in south central Alabama. This rare imprint records the Constitution of the Shelby Association of Baptist Churches; Minutes of proceedings and doings of the named participants; and a Statistical Table at the end. Not in Ellison. OCLC 641884320 [1- AAS] [as of March 2016].

Centreville, Alabama: Printed at the Central Enquirer Job Printing Office., 1857. 10, [2] pp, original printed yellow wrappers [old rubberstamp on front wrap, not obscuring text]. Very Good. The Minutes list the participants, their Churches, and the doings of the Session. The Association's Constitution, Abstract of Principles, and Rules of Decorum are printed; a Statistical Table is printed at page [12]. All records of this Association are rare, as are imprints from Centreville, a little town in Bibb County, southwest of Birmingham. Not in Ellison or Owen.

Mobile: Register and Journal Office, 1845. 28pp, disbound [some loosening], light scattered foxing, Good+ or better. A scarce Alabama imprint, in which Kirkpatrick argues that "The doctrine of 'Falling from Grace' tends to disparage the character of God and to destroy our confidence in His perfections." FIRST EDITION. Ellison 535. Bell 47. OCLC 29622245 [3]. AI 45-3728 [5]. Not in Owen.

1861. Each letter 1-4 pp, in legible ink manuscript, and usually docketed. The supplicants write from Demopolis, Marion, Montgomery, Haynesville, the Exchange Hotel [Montgomery]. Very Good. Alabama seceded on January 11, 1861. Our first letter is dated January 28, from several Demopolis citizens [Nathan B. Whitefield, Howard Henderson, David Taliaferro, and A.J. Byard] urging the appointment of Colonel George B. Haydon "for Commander of the 3d Division of Alabama Troops." A February 12 letter from Judge William M.Brooks seeks for Jno. Loomis of Coosa "the Post of Captain in the Regular Army... He was a gallant soldier in the Mexican War." The Judge adds a "P.S. It's delightful to have patronage. You enjoy it I know." Similar letters seek appointment as officers and physicians attached to particular units. One applicant writes, "I have been looking very anxiously for a reply, but as I supposed you were other-wise engaged; and as I am quite anxious to know the result of such Application, I now trouble… Read More

Selma, Ala.: Jas. S. Jacob, Printer, 1875. Original printed purple wrappers [front wrap sunned, rear wrap detached and torn at extremities, spine worn]. Stitched. 25, [1] pp. Text with light spotting, Good+. The pamphlet prints the list of Officers, the Call of the Convention, the Rules of the Convention; and the Proceedings, with list of delegates, committee reports, fervent religious Addresses, the Report of the State Executive Committee, and several advertisements from Alabama merchants. Not located on OCLC. Owen 1243 records the 13th Annual Convention, but no others.

Montgomery: Printed at the 'Masonic Signet' Office, 1854. 28, 8pp. Sewn, original printed wrappers [some wear]. Very Good. FIRST EDITION. Ellison 903.

[Mobile, 1891. Oblong 8vo. Caption title [as issued]. Original staples. 24 leaves, printed on rectos only. Bit of loosening and light dusting, else Very Good. The Company's Charter, issued by the latest Alabama General Assembly, authorizes the Company to build "a belt line railroad around the city of Mobile, connecting with all lines that enter the city, thence to deep water at Alabama Port on the western shore of Mobile bay, with branch to Portersville on the Mississippi Sound, a distance in all of 35 miles"; and to develop the Port area of the City. The project "will give to Mobile and the whole section of the country drained by the Alabama river system and Mississippi river system a deep water port unsurpassed in the whole world, and vastly superior to any port on the Gulf of Mexico." Costs, projections, expected traffic, Engineer's report, revenues and benefits to be derived are explored. OCLC 22616218 [1- Mobile Pub. Lib.]. Not in Bell or Owen.