E-list # 157

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1922. Posthumously published writings by Burroughs on Emerson and Thoreau, as well as on Darwin, and on death. Preface by Clara Barrus, who was Burroughs' companion, biographer, and literary executor. This copy is signed by Barrus, who has added, "The material which went into this volume was worked on by its author during the last months of his life." Laid in is an illustrated prospectus for Barrus' slide lectures (two) and parlor talks (three) about aspects of Burroughs' life. A single sheet, folded in thirds to make six pages. The prospectus has some small stains, but is otherwise near fine. The book is near fine in a near fine dust jacket with very small edge chips. Both have the ownership signature (in the book, on a bookplate) of Theodore C. Corlis. Corlis and his wife Blanche were both osteopathic physicians outside of Rochester, NY; Barrus herself had, in earlier decades, been an M.D. practicing in upstate NY. Rare signed, and in jacket, and with the prospectus. [#033514] $1,000

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1896. "Selections from the writings of John Burroughs: with illustrations from photographs by Clifton Johnson." There is also a three-page introduction to the volume by Johnson, after which, in this copy, Johnson has written by hand an additional 100+ words on Burroughs' appearance, his expressions, and his inner nature. Signed by Johnson and dated December 25, 1896, in Hadley, Mass. Johnson, in addition to being a photographer, was a prolific author of more than 100 titles, including the 1922 book John Burroughs Talks. The 20 illustrations "from photographs" are of Burroughs in various locations outdoors, in the natural world. One is annotated in an unknown hand, "Riverby, 163" -- the name of Burroughs' estate. Additionally, signed on the title page by Charles N. Elliot. Elliot served as editor for the 1915 tribute collection Walt Whitman as Man, Poet and Friend, which naturally included a John Burroughs appearance. Front hinge cracked; spine heavily sunned; modest foxing to endpages. A good copy, without dust jacket, with ribbon marker bound in. A remarkable association copy. [#033515] SOLD

NY, D. Appleton, 1895. First thus. A two-volume edition of White's 1789 classic of natural history, with a new introduction by John Burroughs and photographs by Clifton Johnson. Signed by Burroughs at the end of his introduction, which runs approximately 15 pages. A penciled note on the first blank reads, "Introduction was signed by Burroughs Dec. 11, 1913./ A.H. Pratt." Pratt traveled to Burroughs' "Slabsides" house for the purpose of capturing the man in "moving pictures." He was later invited to visit Burroughs at Woodchuck Lodge. Bookplate (of Franklin S. Terry) on each pastedown. Prelims pulling in the first volume. Top edges gilt. Very good copies. Together with a copy of The Outlook (January 27, 1915) in which Pratt's account of visiting Burroughs appears. Spine crown chipped; good in wrappers. [#033516] $1,500

MY, Putnam, 1850. Published anonymously, Rural Hours, By a Lady is generally regarded as the first book of American natural history published by a woman, with Cooper now recognized as an early environmentalist, advocating for sustainability in an industrialized world. A 2001 critical study of this work characterized it as the "first major work of environmental literary nonfiction by an American woman writer, both a source and a rival of Thoreau's Walden." The book was reprinted numerous times, and both Thoreau and Charles Darwin apparently read and admired it. Later editions were illustrated with the author's own drawings, which were highly accomplished. This first edition, published in 1850, which is not illustrated, is quite scarce. Cooper was the daughter of the famous novelist James Fenimore Cooper, to whom this book was dedicated. Light dampstaining to the margins of the endpapers; otherwise a near fine copy. [#033517] SOLD

Garden City, Doubleday, Page, 1915. Inscribed by Job to T. Gilbert Pearson, in the year of publication, "In recognition of long and delightful friendship and of valuable cooperation in the preparation of this volume." Pearson provides a 3-page preface to the volume, in which he recounts hiring Job as the first Economic Ornithologist in charge of the Audubon Society's new department of Applied Ornithology. Pearson was also a founder of the National Association of Audubon Societies, which became the National Audubon Society, and served as its president for 14 years starting in 1920. In 1939, he won the John Burroughs Medal in for his book Adventures in Bird Protection. With an original photo of Job by Pearson tipped to the front pastedown. Illustrations in the text by the author. Rubbing to the boards; very good, without dust jacket. An excellent association copy. [#033518] $450

London, Cassell and Company, 1897. "Being the adventures and observations of a field naturalist and an animal photographer." Text by Richard Kearton; 180 photographs by Cherry Kearton. From the introduction: "I doubt not we shall be accused of adventurous foolhardiness. I must plead that we are English..." Inscribed by Richard Kearton, and further signed by Cherry Kearton, in the year of publication, to J. Farlow Wilson, Esq., who was the manager of the publishing house, Cassell and Company. The Kearton brothers collaborated on numerous volumes of natural history, and Cherry Kearton was a pioneer of photographing wildlife in their natural habitats, including being credited with taking the first photograph of a birds' nest with eggs, in 1892. This volume recounts their travels around England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and also goes into some detail about their methods: the gilt cover illustration shows Cherry rapelling off a cliff carrying a large camera and tripod on his back, as seagulls fly below him. Top edge gilt; spine- and edge-sunned; foxing to endpages and prelims; a very good copy. By all appearances, the first edition of this title is very scarce; it is often cited as an 1898 publication, even though the date on the title page is 1897 and this copy is inscribed in 1897. A landmark volume in natural history and wildlife photography, and a fine association copy. [#033519] $1,000

London, Cassell and Company, 1898. A very early volume of instruction for amateur naturalists and photographers from the Kearton brothers, pioneers in the field of wildlife photography. Text by Richard and photographs by Cherry. This is a review copy, having belonged to reviewer J.P. Sheldon, the agricultural economist, who wrote about the book for High Peak News in January, 1899. Sheldon's review, which considered photography as performed by the Keartons (often accomplished via climbing or rappelling or hiding inside of animal hides) to be a sport, was highly favorable, and an autographed letter signed from Richard Kearton to Sheldon, thanking him on behalf of himself and his brother, is tipped in. Sheldon's review, plus two others, are tipped in next to Kearton's letter near the rear of the book, just prior to the advertisements. A seminal volume -- intent on popularizing a whole new field of photography -- the book was revised and reissued multiple times within the first decade after this first publication. Clearly the Keartons' idea -- that they could offer enough information about pursuing the "hunt" for great wildlife photographs -- resonated with a large populace eager to follow suit. Mottling to cloth, tanning to spine, prior dampening to boards: a good, solid copy, without dust jacket. [#033520] SOLD

London, Cassell and Company, 1902. First thus: White's 1789 classic of natural history, here with a 7-page introduction by Richard Kearton and 123 photographs by the Kearton brothers, Richard and Cherry. Signed by both Keartons. Hinges just starting; a very good copy, without dust jacket. [#033521] $500

London, Arrowsmith, (1924). First thus: a reissue of the Keartons' 1902 edition of "the most widely known book on the joys of outdoor life in the English language," according to Richard Kearton's two-page introduction to this volume, which talks of changes in Selborne, and the influx of American visitors. Still including his introduction to the 1902 edition, and with a different selection of 85 photographs by the brothers, Richard and Cherry Kearton, from the 123 that appeared in the earlier edition. Inscribed by Richard Kearton in the year of publication to his "old friend, Leonard P. Moore, Esq." Offsetting to inscription page; heavy foxing to page edges and prelims; a bit of sunning to cloth; and a short tear at the rear upper joint. A good copy. Laid in is a flyer for a 1993 exhibition marking the bicentenary of the death of Gilbert White. [#033522] $375

NY, Random House, (1989). McKibben's landmark book, the first nonfiction book on the subject of climate change to reach a general audience, and one of the early entries in what could be considered the third epoch of the field of Natural History: if one counts as the first, up through much of the 1800s, the time when naturalists found God in the world; the second being the post-Darwinian era of naturalists finding pleasure in the world; and the third, current era, of naturalists sounding alarm over our destruction of the world. Signed by McKibben, and oddly scarce thus. A seminal book: McKibben once said that at the time of publication the total number of books written about global warming could fit in a single box. Thirty years later he remains one of our most prominent environmental activists. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. [#033523] $650

(n.p.), Midnight Paper Sales/Fox Run Press, 2004. An excerpt from Ondaatje's novel Anil's Ghost, printed in an edition of 200 copies as a benefit for Sri Lankan tsunami victims. Signed by Ondaatje, Schanilec, and See. One sheet folded to make four pages. 7" x 3 1/2". Fine. An elegant and uncommon item. [#033524] $300

Boston/NY, Houghton Mifflin, 1899, 1904. The two-volume edition with illustrations by Amelia M. Watson. Unmarked, but from the library of E.B. White. These are later printings, with 1904 and 1899 dates on the title pages, respectively, in Roman numerals. Contemporary half leather binding, over marbled boards, top edge gilt. Rubbing to joints; near fine. An attractive copy of this edition, with distinguished provenance: E. B. White was a great fan of Thoreau, and even wrote an introduction to a 1964 edition of Walden, an essay entitled "Walden -- A Young Man in Search of Himself." Letter of provenance available. [#033525] $850

NY, Thomas Y. Crowell, (1913). A 30-page biographical sketch of Thoreau by Emerson serves as preface; more than 30 photographs by Clifton Johnson illustrate the text. Unmarked, but from the library of E.B. White, the essayist and longtime New Yorker editor, who was a great admirer of Thoreau. Cloth worn at corners; scattered foxing throughout and a bit of staining at the hinges from the binder's glue; very good, without dust jacket. Letter of provenance available. [#033526] $500

Boston, Houghton Mifflin, (1964). First thus: reissued in the Riverside Literary Series, with an introduction by E.B. White and, while not marked as such, this was E.B. White's own copy. Offered together with three other Walden-themed books from White's library: Walden Revisited by George F. Whicher, which is signed by White in 1945; Discovery at Walden by Roland Wells Robbins, inscribed by Robbins to White in 1947; and Index to Walden by Joseph Jones, inscribed by Jones to White in 1955. Four books on Walden from the library of E.B. White, a more powerful figure in the history of the environmental movement than most people realize: in 1958, it was White, in his position at the New Yorker, who was approached by Rachel Carson with the suggestion that he, White, cover the story of lawsuits filed in opposition to aerial sprayings of insecticide. White re-assigned the story back to Carson (later saying that he didn't "know a chlorinated hydrocarbon from a squash bug"), forwarding her letter to editor William Shawn. Carson's Silent Spring was serialized in the New Yorker in 1962, prior to its book publication. Condition, in the order listed above: fine without dust jacket, as issued; near fine, lacking the dust jacket; very good in a very good dust jacket; and very good in stapled wrappers. In 1953, White wrote of Walden in the New Yorker: “Every man, I think, reads one book in his life, and this one is mine.” [#033527] $1,250