Rare books from BICKERSTAFF'S BOOKS, MAPS &C.

Castle William's heritage as a military installation dates to 1634 when cannons first were deployed in an earthen fort to defend Boston Harbor. British officials used the fort as a refuge in the tumultuous times leading up to the American Revolution; on their way out of Boston in March, 1776, the British destroyed the Fort. It was quickly rebuilt by Bostonians. The present view shows the rebuilt Fort with an oversized American flag waving above. The Fort served as an active military installation during the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. Known as Fort Independence since 1797, the Fort today is a state park. Stauffer attributes the engraving to Samuel Hill, who did many of the plates for the Massachusetts Magazine. Uncommon. References: Lewis: A Guide to Engravings in American Magazines, 1741-1810: p. 10. Stauffer, American Engravers Upon Copper and Steel: 1397. John Carter Brown Archive of Early American Images: Record no.5437-4. Cresswell,… Read More

Scarce Contemporary Stony Point Battle PlanThis rather crude woodcut depicts a battle plan of General "Mad Anthony" Wayne's daring and dramatic capture of the British fortification at Stony Point, about 30 miles up the Hudson River from New York City. The battle, planned in detail by Washington, took place around midnight on July 16, 1779. The lower portion of the battle plan includes a four item key: "A. The British Fortress, B. Abattes [abatis] in front, C. The Reserve, D. The detached Party who stormed the Works." Nebenzahl's A Bibliography of Printed Battle Plans of the American Revolution, 1775-1795 cites only a 1784 London-printed battle plan by Faden for the Stony Point engagement (#145). The offered plan is not noted by Nebenzahl, was published in America and was issued five years earlier than the Faden plan. (The Bickerstaff's Boston Almanack for 1780 would almost certainly have been published in November or December of 1779 – within six months of the actual battle.) A very… Read More

Early Maine Murder Trial Gone AwryAn account of a murder trial in Malta, now Windsor, in the District of Maine. Paul Chadwick was a surveyor on what was then the northern frontier of Maine and in an area where disputed land titles were common. Chadwick was shot while conducting a survey by a group of landowners disguised as Indians. Despite fairly overwhelming evidence of the guilt of the accused, the jury found all not guilty. Previous owner's (Rice Dudley) book label on front pastedown. Another early owner's name (Moody Kent) in ink in several places.References: Shaw & Shoemaker: 21516 (3 locations). Sabin: 47985. Williamson: 5651. Noyes: 505. Skillin: 10-32. McDade: 641. Condition: 186, 2 pp. Original blue/gray paper-covered boards, with chipping. Paper spine, cracked and eroded. Original paper spine label, with vertical separation. Occasional foxing and staining, mostly very light. A solid example of a scarce early Maine imprint.

Family Register of Seward Porter, circa 1800A nicely accomplished, though primitive, family register of the Seward and Eleanor Porter family. Two colorful plants with birds in their top branches fill the sides of the register. At the top hover two angel-like figures, one bearing an hour glass, the other blowing a horn.
Seward and Eleanor Porter were from Weymouth, Massachusetts, but relocated to Falmouth in the District of Maine in about 1777, and then to Freeport in about 1782. This family register lists the names, birth places and birth dates of the Porter's 13 children from 1778 to 1797.
Their fourth son on the list -- also named Seward Porter -- would become a prominent Maine mariner and entrepreneur. He brought the first steamboat to Maine in 1823. In 1837 he published a now-highly-prized set of charts of the Maine coast. For Seward Porter (the son), see:
Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers: Vol 3, p. 453, and Guthorn, United States Coastal Charts 1783-1861: p. 29. Condition: Approximately… Read More

This is the first general history of Maine, written in the post-Revolutionary War time period that saw several state histories published, including those by Belknap, Jefferson and Ramsay. Despite its distinctly chilly initial reception and the less than impressive editorial standards, Sullivan's History
is a cornerstone work in any collection of Maine material.
The History
includes as the frontispiece Osgood Carleton's A Map of the District of Maine Drawn from the latest Surveys and other best Authorities by Osgood Carleton. The map, measuring 20 5/16 x 16 3/8", includes an inset titled A Map of those parts of the Country most famous for being harassed [sic] by the Indians. Carleton's map was the most detailed done of Maine to that time.
At the head of the title page is an inscription which has been lined out: "For D. Laincourt[?] from his Friend, the Author."
References: Evans: 29589. Howes, USiana: S-1122. Sabin: 93499. Williamson, A Bibliography of the State of Maine: 9608. Thompson:… Read More

Harvard College -- "the earliest engraving of the College which one may reasonably hope to obtain"

This engraving, entitled "View of the ancient Buildings belonging to Harvard College, Cambridge, New-England," appeared in the December, 1788 issue of The Columbian Magazine. Bail notes that the view is based on the Burgis-Price print of 1743, which in turn was a slight modification of the Burgis view of 1726. The view, taken from a point in front of the present Johnston Gate, shows three College buildings in 1726, from left to right: the second Harvard College, the first Stoughton Hall and the still-standing Massachusetts Hall. Although unsigned, the engraving is undoubtedly the work of James Trenchard, a co-owner of The Columbian Magazine and the engraver of nearly all the plates which appeared in it. Of the
Columbian Magazine view, Bail states: "In spite of the fact that the print is solely an adaptation, it is important because of its early appearance and relative scarcity. This is the earliest… Read More

A rare broadside by a remarkably talented 19th century Maine clergyman

Jonathan Fisher (1768-1847) served as the pastor of the Blue Hill Congregational Church in Maine for 41 years. He was very much a Maine Renaissance man of the first half of the nineteenth century: clergyman, author, poet, surveyor, inventor, artist (portrait and landscape painter), naturalist, teacher, wood engraver and farmer. Fisher is probably best known for his Scripture Animals, an 1834 work that "is a delightful synthesis of his theology, natural observations and skill as a wood engraver," as described in Sprague's The Mirror of Maine.
Fisher's broadside depicts and documents the hanging of Ebenezer Ball on October 13, 1811 for the murder of John Tileston Downes, who was attempting to arrest Ball on suspicion of counterfeiting. Ball, of Robbinston, was the first person hanged in Eastern Maine.
The broadside exists in two editions – the first, printed in late 1811 in a total of 400 copies, and this second – and… Read More

Christoph Ebeling, a German professor of history and classical languages, produced "[o]ne of the most comprehensive, detailed and sympathetic geographic descriptions of America" in the early years of the new republic (Walter Ristow, "The Ebeling-Sotzmann Atlas von Nordamerika," in The Map Collector, March, 1981). Ebeling engaged Berlin-based cartographer Daniel Sotzmann to prepare an 18-map atlas to complement his multi-volume geography of the United States, Erdbeschreibung und Geschichte von Amerika. The project foundered, however, and only ten state maps were ultimately produced during the years 1796-99. Despite being compiled in Europe, the Ebeling/Sotzmann maps are generally considered among the best maps of the ten states available at the time.

The New York map draws on the best available relevant maps of the time – those by Sauthier, Pownall, Ratzer, De Witt and Carey.
All of the Ebeling-Sotzmann maps are extremely scarce; only a handful of institutions have a complete set of the ten… Read More

Striking Casco Bay Chart from the Atlantic Neptune, 1776This is an exceptional chart of the coast of Maine between Cape Elizabeth and Popham from the early Revolutionary War period. It is from Des Barres' monumental Atlantic Neptune, a sea atlas published by the British Admiralty during the last quarter of the 18th century. The Atlantic Neptune has been called "the most splendid collection of charts, plans, and views, ever published." The present chart includes all of Casco Bay (naming the larger islands) and extends east to include Seguin ("Segevin Island") and Georgetown Islands. Among the numerous geographic features named are Great Jebieg (Chebeague), Merrymeeting Bay, Segadahock River, Arrowsick Island and Halfway Road (i.e., Rock). Roads are shown on the chart, as are individual buildings. The chart is dated July___ 1776 (i.e., with a prominent space after the month as if a date were going to be inserted). There is no type-stamped "15" at the upper right as called for in some copies of… Read More

Contemporary Image of the First Capitol of the United States
In September, 1788, Congress selected New York City as the temporary site of the new government. "The citizens of New York, desirous of testifying their attachment to the new national government, and of making their city the place of permanent residence of the Federal Legislature, have enlarged and repaired their city Hall, and made it a convenient and elegant structure, worthy of the respectable body for whose use it is designed." (Columbian Magazine, p. 473).
The conversion of City Hall to the "Federal Edifice," or Federal Hall, was directed by L'Enfant at a cost of $65,000. The Executive offices, the Senate and House chambers and the Supreme Court were all housed in this building. It was the nation's first Capitol under the Constitution. Although New York City's tenure as the new nation's capital was brief (lasting only until 1790), Federal Hall was the site of several highly significant historic events. Washington's inauguration… Read More

Important Early Chart of Portland (Maine) Harbor
Lemuel Moody (1767-1846) was an enterprising sea captain and nautical entrepreneur in Portland, Maine. Realizing "the great necessity of a correct Chart of Portland Harbour and the dangerous Rocks near Cape Elizabeth, also of Winter Harbour and the numerous islands in Casco Bay," Moody decided to produce such a chart. By 1825, the Atlantic Neptune charts that included this area were more than 50 years old and in need of updating. Moody took advantage of the opportunity and produced this chart, using the Atlantic Neptune charts as the foundation. In a notation on the original agreement for producing the chart, Moody states that "I did the whole of the survey." This impressive chart of Casco Bay was his sole cartographic undertaking.
The chart covers the area from Saco Bay to Seguin Island. A large inset at the upper left focuses on the immediate area around Portland harbor, including a detailed layout of streets and wharves. Small drawings of… Read More

First Official Printing of Maine's ConstitutionA very scarce example of the first printing of the Maine Constitution. As noted on the verso of the title leaf, 200 copies were ordered "printed for the use of the Legislature." In contrast, the next printing ordered by the Legislature -- in 1825 -- was for 10,000 copies. OCLC locates examples at six institutions. References: Noyes, Maine Imprints to 1820: 931. Skillin, A Bibliography of Maine Imprints, 1785-1820: 20-70. Not in Williamson, A Bibliography of the State of Maine. Thompson: Important Maine Maps, Books, Prints and Ephemera: 28A. (The Thompson copy sold for $1,840 in 2003.) Sprague, The Mirror of Maine: see 11 (for the 1825 edition). Shoemaker, A Checklist of American Imprints for 1820: 2075.Condition: Contemporary calf. Boards well-scuffed and with small gouged area. Significant chipping of spine leather; hinges and joints cracked. Age-toned and areas of staining throughout. An unsophisticated but appealing example of… Read More

Important Lunar Mapping at the Start of the Space RaceThe space race between the U.S. and Russia began in the late 1950s as an outgrowth of the Cold War. One result of the 1957 launch of Sputnik I by the Soviet Union was the sparking on an interest in lunar geology by Arnold Mason of the Military Geology Branch of the U.S. Geological Survey. Using earth-based telescopic imagery, Arnold and colleagues would devote two years to producing the three landmark maps of the moon included in the Engineer Special Study of the Surface of the Moon. The three maps are:* Generalized Photogeologic Map (Sheet 1) – "the first major lunar map to show stratigraphic relationships: that is, it attempted to display the chronological order of the formation of the moon's surface features."* Lunar Rays (Sheet 2) – which "plotted the source craters and extent of the moon's most prominent ray systems " (ejecta from asteroid crashes on the moon's surface). * "Physiographic Divisions of the Moon (Sheet 3) – which "applied… Read More

Scarce 1758 Almanac with Great F&I War Content
This almanac provides vivid insight into the impact of the French & Indian War on the American colonies. A fiery poetic narrative is carried through at the head of each monthly calendar page. For instance, August's verse:
"This Month, alas! Proclaims a double Woe,
Both 'Swego and Lake George our Losses know;
Fort William-Henry felt the fatal stroke

From faithless Villains. Who their promise broke,
False to their Words, our Men became their Prey;
And do we yet a just Revenge delay."
Following the calendar pages is a four-page "Continuation of the Historical Account of Affairs in North America…" which provides a summary of military actions from the loss of the fort at Oswego in August, 1756 through "the last Day of August, 1757, since which we can add no further Intelligence."
Also of significance is a full page devoted to "A short discourse on Comets, with some account of that which is expected to appear in the present year 1758." It references Dr.… Read More

Delightful 1928 Pictorial Map of Dartmouth College
This wonderful pictorial map depicts the Dartmouth College campus in the late 1920s. It was apparently distributed to donors to the College's Alumni Fund. The artist, Jens Frederick Larson, served as Dartmouth's architect in residence from 1919 to 1947, during which period he was responsible for the design of Baker Library and the Tuck Mall. An uncommon map, with only two institutional holders noted on OCLC.Condition: Age darkened. On brittle paper with cracking and splits now corrected and stabilized with an archival tissue backing. Some staining in the margins. [ICN 3735.]