John Michael Lang Fine Books

jmlbooks@isomedia.com (206) 624 4100

5416 – 20th Avenue NW

Seattle, WA 98107 USA

1. Allan, Prof. W. Theory of Arches. New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1890. 5.75" x 3.5". 121pp., plus ads. Green cloth with black lettering. Near fine condition. Second edition. A detailed technical work, with many diagrams and complicated mathematical formulae. This book was apparently intended to aid in the study of the works of the eminent Scottish mechanical engineer William John Macquorn Rankine. Number 11 in the Van Nostrand Science Series. $100.00 2. Angeli, Marguerite de. Autograph letter signed. One page letter, in the original mailing envelope. Folded twice for mailing, else fine condition. Dated June 6th, 1950. The author was an American writer and illustrator of children's books including the 1950 Newberry Award winning book The Door in the Wall. She wrote and illustrated twenty-eight of her own books, and

illustrated more than three dozen books and numerous magazine stories and articles for other authors. A one page holograph ink note of apology to the "Boys and Girls of Loyal School." Apparently she was unable to visit the school, where her cousin was a teacher. With a charming drawing of a floral bouquet in a heart shaped vase at the bottom of the sheet. $60.00

3. [College Humor] The Whitman College Pioneer. Volume 51, number 24. Walla Walla, Washington: Whitman College, 1949. Single sheet, folded to form a 22" x 16" newspaper. Printed entirely in red. Folded, as issued, and with mild edge wear, but remarkably well preserved. This April Fool edition declares in giant lettering at the top of the above the fold panel "WE GO RED." The entire four page paper is news written in a parody of Soviet - style propaganda news. One headline declares that "Anna L. Throng of Moscow Selected May Rally Queen." Anna Louise Strong was an American radical political activist who was best known for her reporting on and support for communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. She was a Seattelite, and served on the Seattle School Board, from which she was recalled. Much of the paper is quite hilarious, but we are surprised that the students at Whitman had the gall to publish such satire. America had already had the Red Scare of the late teens, and the establishment of the Iron Curtain following WWII was ominous to the entire world. Given that the Soviets executed their first nuclear weapons test in August of 1949, and the arrest and trial of the Rosenbergs was only a

couple of years off, this parody was probably issued at nearly the last moment in which such humor would have been tolerated by most college officials. $60.00

4. [Disraeli, Benjamin]. The Pretty Little Coronet and The Great Big B! [No place; probably London]: L. & R., [circa 1879]. Folded to form a 5.75" x 4.75" booklet. Illustrated wrappers. Ownership signature in the margin of the front wrapper, edge

wear; generally VG condition. The rear cover is split, but just barely holding. The fold out plates are in excellent, bright condition. (One fold has a 1" split at the fold.) The ten plates fold out to 83" x 3.25". They satirically depict the life and career of British politician Benjamin Disraeli in bright comic color

plates. Very uncommon. $100.00

FAMOUS 1930s NIGHT CLUB WITH MOB CONNECTIONS

5. [Food - Menu - New Jersey] Ben Marden’s Riviera Show Place of the World Wine List. Ca. 1937. One sheet folded to form a 7.5" x 11.5" booklet. Very expensive wine and drink list for this legendary night spot, not far from New York City. Ben Marden opened the original Riviera not long after the end of Prohibition. That location was destroyed by fire in late 1936, but Ben was soon back in business in an even more spectacular setting...a built-to-order Art Deco-Moderne palace which was so fancy and innovative that it was featured in a 1941 issue of Architectural Digest.

Marden's original Riviera closed very soon after the end of WWII. There was a later and also fancy incarnation, but nothing to rival the glory days of the original Riviera. Rumors, some substantiated, circled for years about mob money being involved with the Riviera...Albert Anastasia was credited with being an investor, and Ben Marden himself was called to testify in various legislative hearings about organized crime. In 1939, there was a particularly ugly mob killing in the woods near the club. A man was found tied to a tree and burned to death...but somehow the death was ruled a suicide. Note the very expensive, top-of-the-line vintage Champagnes being offered...the really desired ones from the 1920s. The mixed drinks and other liquor were not cheap either. This place did not cater to college kids out on a cheap date. We date this menu from right around the time Marden opened his "new" Riviera, ca. 1937. An excellent, near fine example of a very desireable piece of American night life history. $150.00 6. [Food - Menu - Pasadena] The Vista Del Arroyo - Pasadena. Pair of charming menus from this landmark Pasadena hotel. Single sheets on card stock: A. Breakfast - January 11, 1927. 5.25" x 8.25". B. St. Patrick's Day Dinner. March 17, 1927. 5.5" x 8.25". Both near fine condition. The Vista Del Arroyo was built in 1920 and expanded in 1930 and for many years was one of the outstanding urban “resort hotels" in Southern California. Sadly, its life as a resort was not a long one...the building and surrounding cottages and grounds were purchased by the US Government in 1943, and the lovely hotel was

turned into a hospital. In later years it housed various government offices but in 1981 it was named to the National Register of Historic Places, underwent much renovation and restoration, and became the Richard H. Chambers United States Court of Appeals...still standing today on its dramatic hillside lot...a happy fate for a grand old institution, unlike that of the much missed Ambassador in Los Angeles, which was closed in 1989 and demolished in 2005, despite great efforts to save it. Both menus reveal the deluxe nature of what was offered at the Vista Del Arroyo...the St. Pat's dinner selections are especially tempting, right down to the variety of fresh fruits for dessert. For the pair: $45.00

7. Harding, D. E. [Douglas Edison]. The Face Game. Liberation Without Dogmas, Drugs or Delay. 1969. 11" x 8". 170pp. Typescript, bound in brown cloth boards. VG+ condition. With tipped in illustrations and taped in emendations of passages in the text. Harding was an English philosophical writer, mystic, and spiritual teacher. This book remained unpublished until the author's friends found the manuscript and had it published in 2018. Harding also wrote The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth, which had a preface by C.S. Lewis who called it “a work of the highest genius.” With three hand written letters from Harding to a Seattle acquaintance laid in. $175.00

8. [Hawaii – Military History] Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, T.H. (Home For Fleet Air Wing Two). Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, T.H. : (Fleet Air Wing Two), 1946. 7.5" x 11.5". 31pp. Stapled printed wrappers. Near fine condition. A good study of the Hawaiian military installation. On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the air station just minutes prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. 27 Catalina aircraft stationed there were destroyed and six others were damaged, and 18 sailors perished in the attack. The first Japanese aircraft destroyed in action were shot down at Kaneohe and Aviation Ordnanceman Chief Petty Officer John William Finn became one of the first Medal of Honor recipients of World War II for valor on that day. This post war booklet includes text about the fort's facilities and staff, the role the fort played in the nation's defense, local Hawaiians and their interaction with American military personnel, and much more. With many black & white photo illustrations. $100.00 9. Holbrook, Stewart H. The Columbia. New York: Rinehart & Co., Inc., 1956. First edition. 8" x 5.5". 393pp. Blue cloth, in dust wrapper. Near fine condition; very bright near fine condition jacket. One of the nicest copies of this book we have seen. This entrant in the Rivers of America series details the mighty waterway that flows between Oregon and Washington states and empties into the Pacific ocean. It was named after the first ship to come in over the bar in 1792, commanded by Captain Robert Gray. $30.00

10. [Hotels] Hutchings, Allis Miller. The Monkey Book. Riverside, California: Mission Inn, 1946. 6" x 4.5". 79pp. Beige, red and brown paper covered boards. Fine condition. A humorous book by the proprietors of the legendary southern California hotel. With anecdotes about the hotel, funny stories about guests and customers of the inn, etc. The hotel is still in business 132 years after it was founded by Frank Miller. $45.00 11. [Humor] Barton, Ralph. Science In Rhyme Without Reason. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1924. First edition. 7.75" x 5.5". 147pp. Corners and spine tips a bit rubbed, the spine has a couple small chips. An attractive copy. The illustrated paper covered boards show a colorful wrap - around drawing by Barton of a huge Rube Goldberg - esque contraption that is designed to light a cigar stuck in the mouth of a Daddy Warbucks sort of character. One of the great 20th century American trade bindings. The text of this marvelous book is "professor" Barton's humorous take on the sciences, from aeronautics to zoology. With many wonderfully comic illustrations by Barton, one of the leading humorists of the Jazz Age. A very uncommon book. $250.00

12. [Journalism] Vanderbilt, Cornelius, jr. Personal Experiences of a Cub Reporter. New York: George Sully and Company, 1922. First edition. 7.25" x 5". 212pp. Blue cloth with gilt lettering, in dust wrapper. Near fine condition. The jacket has a little edge wear and a chip in the slightly darkened spine. This copy signed by the author on the first leaf. The author was a newspaper publisher, journalist, author and military officer. He was an outcast of high society who was disinherited by his uber blue – blood parents when he became a newspaper publisher. He wanted to live a "normal" life but was burdened by large debt and could not maintain the lifestyle associated with his family's social position. An interesting account of the author's early years working in journalism. Scarce, especially in a dust jacket. $50.00

13. [Kalakala] Russell, Steven J. Kalakala. Magnificent Vision Recaptured. Seattle: Puget Sound Press, 2002. First edition. 12" x 9". 208pp. Black cloth with silver lettering, in dust wrapper. Fine condition; fine jacket. A great history of the legendary streamlined Puget Sound ferry. Packed with black & white photo illustrations. (Apologies for the photographer’s reflection on the glassine in the photo.) $35.00

14. [Macklin Bible] The Holy Bible. Embellished with Engravings from Pictures and Designs by the Most Eminent English Artists. London: Printed for Thomas Macklin by Thomas Bensley, 1800. Seven 18" x 14.5" volumes. Each bound in full light brown calf with gilt border decorations to the boards, gilt decorated spines with raised bands, all edges gilt. With light edge wear, offsetting from some of the engravings, other trivial imperfections, but generally a beautiful and imposing set of one of the great English language Bibles.

The Macklin Bible is thought to be the largest English Bible printed on a letterpress. With more than 100 allegorical headpieces and tailpieces and some 70 large folio sized copper plate engravings after Fuseli, Joshua Reynolds, William Hamilton, Angelica Kauffman, West, and others. Described by one scholar as the "most prodigious form of scripture in English ever published, the Macklin Bible features very large and bold type, fine Whatman paper, [both of which were created specifically for this set], and a series of engravings by some of the most celebrated artists of the period. Like the Boydell "Shakespeare Gallery" (also printed by Bensley), the Macklin Bible is a vast picture book with illustrations that are grand both in size and emotional impact. According to DNB, Macklin (1752/3 - 1800) announced his intention to produce

a lavishly illustrated, luxuriously produced folio Bible in 1789, and he spent the next 11 years and £30,000 making his dream a reality. His efforts paid off: "the subscription list for 703 copies at £46 1s. apiece was headed by the king, the queen, and the prince of Wales." Poor Macklin did not live to see his completed masterpiece which the DNB describes as "the most ambitious edition produced in Britain, often pirated but never rivalled." Additional images of this magnificent set can be supplied. Shipping and insurance will be charged at cost. $5,500.00

15. Mattingly, Garrett. Bernard DeVoto. A Preliminary Appraisal. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1938. First edition. 7.5" x 4.75". 60pp. Blue cloth with gilt lettering, in dust wrapper. Light soiling to boards, else near fine condition; near fine jacket. This copy inscribed by DeVoto on the first leaf: "To my western counterpart with greetings from Bernie." Laid in to this copy is a short typed note signed by DeVoto to James [Jim] Hart on Saturday Review letterhead. Hart would later become Director of the Bancroft library. $75.00

16. [Oregon] Bancroft, Hubert Howe. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft. Volume XXIV: History of Oregon. Vol. I, 1834 - 1848. Vol. XXV; Vol. II, 1848 - 1888. San Francisco: A. L. Bancroft & Company, 1886 - 1888. First edition. Two 9" x 5.75" volumes. 789, 808pp. Brown cloth with gilt spine lettering. With a folding map in volume XXIV. Nice VG+ condition. An important work on the Pacific Coast territory and state, with much on Indians / Native Americans, regional geography, life at Fort Vancouver, the settlement of the area by whites, military activity, politics, laws, mining, agriculture, and much more. $75.00

17. [Pacific Northwest Maritime History] Pilot License. [Original printed document]. Port Townsend, Washington Territory: Office of Pilot Commissioner, 1888. 9" x 12". Printed on one side only. Fine, unused condition. This beautifully produced document features decorative border, a decorative centerpiece, and an engraved image of a sailing ship, signed in print "Weekes." The first paragraph of text reads "In Accordance with the Act of the Legislative Assembly in Washington Territory, creating Pilots on the waters of Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, and their tributaries, approved February 2d, 1888, the undersigned Pilot Commissioners, appointed under the provisions of said Act, do certify that [BLANK] Having been by them this day duly examined, touching his qualifications as a Pilot on the waters of Fuca Strait, Puget Sound, [etc.] A nice example of Washington Territorial printing; the specific printer is not identified. $35.00

18. Randall, Leslie Watson "Gay". Archive of manuscripts and typescripts for several books and articles related to the American West. Circa 1959 - 1965. 1. Footprints Along the Yellowstone. First draft manuscript and typescript with mimeographs of later versions and allied materials. Appr. 150 total pages. Heavily annotated and edited, presumably by Randall. 2. The West's Most Unusual Town. 14pp. mimeograph of typescript. 3. Horn Miller. Montana Territories (sic) Most Unusual and Unforgettable Character. 166pp. mimeograph of typescript. 4. Celilo on the Columbia. The Indians Age Old Fishing Grounds. (Sic). 10pp. mimeograph of typescript. 5. John Selon. Butte Montana's Police Judge, a Blind Man That Would Not Accept Defeat Although He Was Blind. 4pp. mimeograph of typescript. With a couple photos of Selon included. 6. The Problem Elk Herd of Yellowstone Park. 13pp. mimeograph of typescript.

7. The Elk Tooth Hunters. 12pp. mimeograph of typescript. 8. Montana Territory's Terror; The Liver Eating Cannibal. 18pp. mimeograph of typescript. 9. The Man Who Made Butte, Montana a Safer Place. 9pp. mimeograph of typescript. 10. I Faced Old Two Toes, the Grizzley (sic) Three Time Man Killer of the Hellroaring Country. 38pp. mimeograph of typescript. Also with a few typed notes of correspondence, including one note from an editor in which he describes the Liver Eating Johnson article as "pretty raw for us" but encourages Randall to submit it to his publication. Footprints Along the Yellowstone was published by the Naylor Company in 1961. The articles were apparently shopped around to the Spokane Spokesman Review, Saturday Evening Post and the Washington Historical Quarterly. We have not confirmed which, if any, of these articles actually appeared in print. Randall was born in 1893 in Gardiner, Montana, and grew up on the OTO Ranch. His father, James Norris "Dick" Randall, had bought the property in the Cedar Creek Valley, northeast of Gardiner, Montana, just outside Yellowstone National Park, in spring 1898. He intended it to be a ranch, but soon began hosting hunters. The business quickly evolved into a dude ranch, one of the first of its kind in Montana. It became a thriving business; by the 1910s, Randall was well-known as "Mr. Dude Ranch" in regional and national publications. The physical facilities of the ranch expanded to include a lodge, guest cabins, and other buildings. Demand for dude ranch vacations increased notably after World War I, and the Dude Ranch Association was founded in 1926 in Bozeman, Montana. With the Great Depression business slowed, and the Randalls sold out to C.T. Libby in 1934. Randall was married to Wiletta Gertrude Husted, who was born in 1897 in Livingston, Montana. They had three children: Abigail Josephine, William Edward (born 1918), and George Richard. Gay managed the OTO Ranch for a time; he produced advertising and marketing materials for the ranch. By the early 1950s, he was publishing stories of the Old West in popular magazines and living in Clarkston, Washington. He published Footprints Along the Yellowstone, stories of frontier Montana, in 1961. He also wrote an article in Montana: The Magazine of Western History on his father and the history of dude ranching in Montana and Wyoming. He died in 1970. $300.00

19. [Seattle Military History] Middleton, Edward. Autograph Letter Signed. 1878. 5.25" x 6.25". Single sheet; 16 total lines. Folded twice for mailing, else very nice VG+ condition. Middleton was a career U.S. naval officer who eventually rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. In 1854 he joined the USS Decatur as executive officer and participated in the campaign against the Indian tribes of Oregon and Washington and fought in the attack upon Seattle on January 26, 1856. That same day he was promoted to Commander. This is a rare autograph of a U.S. military officer who served in the only active military engagement of federal forces to ever occur in the Seattle area. $75.00

20. [Seattle - Transportation] Blanchard, Leslie. The Street Railway Era in Seattle: A Chronicle of Six Decades. Forty Fort, Penn.: Harold Cox, 1968. First edition. 10.75" x 8.5". 151pp. Original illustrated paper wrappers. Near fine condition. With 5 maps tucked in a pocket at the rear of book. Includes a good bibliography. Illustrated with numerous photographs and a folding chart. This uncommon book recounts the history of streetcars and trolleys in Seattle, from their introduction in 1887 up to approximately 1940. With a good bibliography of selected readings. $75.00

21. Smith, Jessie Willcox. Baby's Red Letter Days. Syracuse, New York: Just Food Co., 1901. 7.5" x 6". 18pp. Cream sewn paper wrappers with gorgeous embossed illustrations on the front wrapper. A scarce baby booklet profusely illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith. Several sections have been filled out with a baby's details, else near fine, bright condition. $75.00

22. [Sports – Hockey] Gretzky, Wayne with Rick Reilly. Gretzky. An Autobiography. Toronto: HarperCollinsPublishersLtd, 1990. First edition. 9.25" x 5.75". 258pp. Gray paper covered boards with a black cloth spine, in dust wrapper. Near fine condition; near fine condition. This copy signed by the Great One on the first leaf. $45.00

23. Strauss, Lewis L. Men and Decisions. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1962. 9" x 5.75". 468pp. Gray cloth, in dust wrapper. Fine condition; the jacket has a small bit of edge wear. Early printing. This copy signed and inscribed on the first leaf: "For Admiral James Russell USN, whose distinguished service with the Atomic Energy Commission, from its earliest days in 1947, involved responsibility of supreme importance to the security of the United States and the free world, with the admiration and affection of the writer. Lewis L. Strauss." Strauss was a Jewish American businessman, philanthropist, public official, and naval officer. He was a major figure in the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear power in the United States. He was the driving force in the controversial hearings, held in April 1954 before a U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Personnel Security Board, in which J. Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance was revoked. He was one of the first five commissioners of the Atomic Energy Commission, and in 1953 was appointed chairman of the commission by President Truman. Russell was a highly decorated American military officer, ending his career as Commander-in-Chief of NATO's Allied Forces in Southern Europe. This book recounts the author's experiences working in the U.S. government. $75.00

24. [Theater] Wagenknecht, Edward. Seven Daughters of the Theater. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964. First edition. 9" x 6". 234pp. Gray and pink cloth, in dust wrapper. Fine condition; fine jacket. This copy signed and inscribed by the author on the first leaf. With chapters on Jenny Lind, Sarah Bernhardt, Ellen Terry, Julia Marlowe, Isadora Duncan, Mary Garden and Marilyn Monroe. $40.00

25. [Washington] Meany, Edmond S. At Chief Seattle's Grave. Seattle: University of Washington Daily, 1912. First edition thus. 7" x 4.75". Single sheet, printed on the recto only. Fine condition. A poem by the much loved Grand Old Man of the University of Washington. Not in Smith. $45.00

26. [Washington] Meany, Edmond S. Three Cities of Washington. Origin of Their Names. [Seattle]: Reprinted Fom the Washington Historical Quarterly, [no date, circa 1921]. First edition thus. 10" x 6.75". 7pp. Gray stapled paperback. Fine condition. Meany was a much loved faculty member of the University of Washington. This volume includes Meany's research on the origin of the names Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma. The booklet was issued in part as a preview for Meany's important work Origin of Washington Geographic Names which was formally issued in 1923. Not in Smith. $75.00

27. [Washingon - Seattle] Just Peep Within. [Cover title]. Seattle: Metropolitan Prtg. & Binding Co., circa 1900. 4.5" x 6". 16pp. Stapled crepe wrapper. With a peek - a - boo window cut into the front wrapper, revealing text beneath. Near fine condition. A promotional booklet describing the great economic opportunities to be had in Washington state. With informative text, and black & white photo illustrations on every other page. $75.00

28. [Washington – Spokane] Pratt, Orville C. The Story of Spokane. [No place - probably Spokane, Washngton]: circa 1935. 11" x 8.5". 232pp. Loose mimeographed sheets. A history of the main city of Washington state's inland empire. Pratt published a brief (32pp.) study of Spokane, but this much larger and detailed study was probably not formally published. Not in Smith. $60.00 29. [Western Americana] Vestal, Stanley. The Old Santa Fe Trail. New York: American Pioneer Trails Association, 1946. 7" x 5". 50pp. Stapled illustrated wrappers. In the original mailing envelope. With many illustrations from drawings and a map. A good history of the trail used by pioneers across the plains. With an 18" x 27.5" color pictorial map of the western United States showing the trail and the principal characters and places associated with it. Very uncommon in the envelope with the folding map. $40.00

30. Woollcott, Alexander. Twenty Years After. (New York): Printed by the Morrill Press, 1937. First edition. 5.5" x 3.5". 14pp. Stapled printed wrappers. Fine condition. A transcript of the Town Crier Broadcast of April 6, 1937, as heard on the Columbia coast to coast network under the sponsorship of Granger Pipe Tobacco. Woollcott's commentary on America's experience in WW I and the intervening years. Designed by Frederic Warde, one of the great book designers of the twentieth century. $25.00