For the collector of Victoriana or autographs of noted writers, here is an authentic signature of the English 19th century novelist and satirist WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY (1811-1863), found on what appears to be a library slip. The writing on the slip refers to the borrowing of the book "Histoire de la Reine Zarah et les Zarasiens", 1712. This little piece of history gives some indication of the reading habits of the famous author...

An albumen photograph of the Arc de Triomphe at the top of Champs Elysée in Paris France. It is by the unknown photographer E.F.. Titled in a thin margin at the bottom of the negative, “26 (E.F.) Paris – Arc-de-Triomphe.” The photograph is mounted on thin white cardboard. On the back is stamped, November Club, presumably the owner at one time. The image is 8 5/8 x 11 1/8 inches (22 x 28.5 cm)...

An albumen photograph of a gargoyle located high on Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Unknown photographer. Written in the negative in the lower right, “1003, Paris Notre Dame.” The gargoyle emerges from the waist up with a human torso, a dragons ridge on the back of the elongated neck, pointed ears, deep sunk eyes and a slit for a nostril in a rounded snout. 10 ½ x 8 inches (27 x 20 cm) mounted with transparent corners in a 16 x 20 inch (40.5 x 51 cm) mat...

An albumen photograph of an entrance and most of one wing of the Louvre from the roof of another wing. Titled in the negative 0n the lower close to center, “LE LOUVRE,” and with the photographer’s red stamped signature, “Achille Quintet” on the backboard just below the photograph on the lower right, Faintly in the lower right corner in the negative is the number 62. The photo is 7 3/8 x 9 5/8 inches (19 cm x 24...

Obsolete State of Florida One Hundred Dollars currency note, 1861, Tallahassee, First issue.

Of considerable historical interest, a black and white photograph of renowned American late 20th century political figure EDMUND MUSKIE (March 28, 1914 – March 26, 1996), inscribed at bottom margin in felt tip pen "To Steve/with the bet wishes of a friend/Ed Muskie". Muskie was an American politician with a long record of public service...

An original sepia-toned photograph of a middle aged man and his bicycle, with pencil note on the reverse side "Taken on Riverside Park/July 1898 by Sadie Coger", and again on black backing paper "My Dad taken/N New Jersey". The bicycle certainly seems to be quite an advanced model for its time, resembling strongly today's models. There is no glass, frame is simple strip wood, and photo is loose. Small framing nail penetrates wood of frame...

A letter typed on US Senate stationery, dated June 3, 1966, hand signed in brown ink by Ted Kennedy (1932-2009) when he was on the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The senator was responding to correspondence from a George McCullough of New York City, which evidently dealt with McCullough's concerns about sharply increased LSD use in the United States...

A group of 21 handwritten, typed and printed documents from northern Mexico, dating to the turn of the century, (the earliest, 1885, the latest, 1905, with most clustered between 1896 and 1901), one of those documents actually signed in ink by Porfirio Diaz, (1830-1915), the Mexican general and politician who for seven terms totaling over 30 years was the president of Mexico...

Antique early map of central England's Oxfordshire county, by cartographer Robert Morden, originally published in 1695. This map is nicely hand colored. It measures 17" by 15" inside the green mat and 24" by 22" framed (no glass). The mat was seemingly permanently affixed over the margins of the map by the framer, but the central portion of the map does not appear to be laid down as there is play to the surface. There is central horizontal crease and slight handling creases in the field...

A miniature size hand written in Latin manuscript page, double sided, measuring 4 1/4" by 3", and 8 1/2" by 6 1/2" nicely framed, likely of religious content. Written neatly in brown ink with red capitals in places, much as would be seen in an antiphonal sheet. Condition of this little item, a survivor at many hundreds of years old, is excellent.

Original faded green ink pen signature and dedication by the famous heavyweight boxing champion and cultural icon of the 1920's, JACK DEMPSEY (1895-1983). The dedication reads "To the Old Boy himself my friend John Early Best Wishes Jack Dempsey Nov 22 -22 Memphis. Tenn", all written on top of a sepia-toned photo of the champ in his boxing days...

Original, HAND SIGNED AND INSCRIBED black and white photo from 1965, of the 36th president of the United States, LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON (1908-1973). Johnson became president upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 1963. He was elected to the office on his own in 1964. A Democrat, he oversaw the ramping up of the war in Vietnam and landmark social legislation. The photo is inscribed to one Ellen Oshim. The writing reads "To Ellen Oshim/with best wishes...

Ballpoint pen inscribed and signed black and white photograph of quarterback Bill Nelsen of the Cleveland Browns, circa early 1970's, the dedication reading "--Bob-- Best of luck in your future/your cousin Bill Nelsen". The photo measures 9 7/8" by 7". It is loose but protected in a simple inexpensive frame. Bill Nelsen (born 1941) was part of the 1962 national championship team at USC, and went on to a long career in pro football, as a player with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Br...

A black and white 1950's photo of the famous Argentine, Juan Peron (1895-1974), inscribed in ink at bottom "al senor Herbert He. Jillson, con gran afecto/Buenos Aires, 18 febrero 1955/Juan Peron". The piece measures 14" by 9" inside the mat and 18 1/2" by 13 1/2" framed (no glass, as found). This is a fascinating piece of history. Peron of course was a world-famous figure at mid century. He was three times president of Argentina from 1946-1955, and again briefly from October 1973 to July 197...

A pair of typed letters on White House vice-presidential stationery, one dated October 27, 1972, the other dated August 27, 1973, each addressed to Beverly Hills, CA friends of the 39th Vice President of the United States, SPIRO T. AGNEW (1918-1996). The first letter thanks the couple for working hard on behalf of the party for the upcoming November 1972 election (Richard Nixon/Agnew against George McGovern and Sargent Shriver); the second, written only weeks before his October 10, 1973 resigna...

Rare original handwritten letter, apparently dating to the year 1801, by the famous, iconic English-language historical novelist, playwright, poet, and judge SIR WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832). This is a folded sheet of ancient paper, measuring 8" by 5", two sides of which bear writing. When acquired it was in a frame with the engraved image of him, as autograph materials are often framed. The old tape has dried so they were moving around loose inside, and therefore I have photographed the two piec...

Early 19th century map of the world, in Mercator projection, the Pacific Ocean at center, titled at upper right "Mappemonde sur la Projection de Mercator", measuring 10" by 14 1/2" inside the double mats, and 16" by 21" as nicely framed. The map might date to about the 1820's. The United States is shown as "Etats Unis". There are numerous picturesque early geographic names like "Is. Sandwich/Owhyhee", "Othahiti", "Nouvelle Hollande" for Australia, The map is printed on old style paper. Othe...

An page from a fifteenth century "Book of Hours", DOUBLE SIDED, page 6 3/4" by 4 3/4, framed with glass on both sides to facilitate viewing. There are 16 lines of text in Latin, decorative borders and capitals with extensive use of gold. According to Wikipedia, books of hours were Christian devotional books popular in the Middle Ages. They are considered the most common type of surviving medieval illustrated manuscripts. Generally they contained prayers and psalms. As the fifteenth century wore...

A hard cover book with dust jacket, "HANS ERNI", 1979, Zurich, by Walter Ruegg, edited by Ernst Scheidegger, featuring a comprehensive look at the life and work of the only recently deceased important Swiss modernist artist, HANS ERNI (1909-2015). The book contains an original soft pencil drawing of a young nude female, dedicated by the artist "Cordially to Lennye", dated 14 Juillet 2002, and signed Erni. A second original pencil drawing on a separate sheet tucked into the book, of one of Erni...

Antique small map titled "The World as known to Ptolemy", 1835, published by Joseph Thomas, London. The measurements are 5" by 6" inside the tasteful maroon map (10 1/4" by 11 1/4" framed). There is hand coloring in red outlining most of Europe. The map is very clean. Mat at lower extreme right has a bit of puckering/creasing. You could replace if so desire but most viewers would not notice this. Ptolemy was a Greco-Egyptian astronomer, geographer and mathematician who lived in Alexandria,...

An unusual item for the philatelist collector of the famous Great Britain "Penny Rose" stamp of Victorian England: 240 stamps, arranged in a rectangle 20 by 12, all used (canceled) examples, dating to 1864,at the earliest, as these are all perforated and bear the positional plating letters in each corner. I am not a devoted stamp collector so am doing my best after some internet research. The "Penny Rose" or Penny Red succeeded the Penny Black of 1841. The stamp was a mainstay of British pos...

Framed original vintage 1920's Lake View Brand label, for Pajaro Valley apples of California. The fruit was packed and shipped by Franich Brothers of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County (near Monterey). The label was printed by Olsen Lithography of San Francisco. Measures 13 1/2" by 15" in attractive gray weathered wood framing. Professionally framed (not examined out of frame). A very decorative item in excellent condition. There are some reflections that might suggest faults, but, they are in...

The Nuremberg Chronicles is considered a landmark work in the history of the printed book, and an example of incunabulum (book printed before the year 1500). Described in Wikipedia as essentially a biblical paraphrase, and a history of the known world to that date, it is one of the most extensively illustrated books of the 15th century, considered one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text. Printed on high quality rag paper that has survived the centuries, in both Latin an...

The Nuremberg Chronicles is considered a landmark work in the history of the printed book, and an example of incunabulum (book printed before the year 1500). Described in Wikipedia as essentially a biblical paraphrase, and a history of the known world to that date, it is one of the most extensively illustrated books of the 15th century, considered one of the first to successfully integrate illustrations and text. Printed on high quality rag paper that has survived the centuries, in both Latin ...

A clean, fresh copy of the 1983 hard cover book "Winners/My Thirty Years in Sports", hand signed and inscribed to the previous owners, by the famous late American artist of all things sports, LEROY NEIMAN (1921-2012). The 13 1/4" by 10 1/4" handsome, lavishly illustrated book is really one of the finest Neiman books, nicely organized by sport, with many paintings and drawings illustrated, most shown in color. There is no dust jacket. Only the lightest dust and soiling on the cloth covers. A ...

A signed inscribed copy of the book "courant continu", featuring the art photography of museum-level creative photographer RALPH GIBSON (1939-). The 13 1/2" by 9 3/4" book is complete with dust jacket. Photos are mostly in black and white but also in color. Gibson is an American art photographer known for his images featuring surreal juxtaposition and also erotic and mysterious undertones (as per Wikipedia). He was an assistant to Dorothea Lange in the early 1960's and worked with Robert Fra...

A signed first edition copy of "Beyond the Boardwalk", a collection of poems by the famous poet, singer/songwriter ROD McKUEN (1933-2015). McKuen signed in brown marker, and the number "357" appears stamped nearby, perhaps hinting at the number of signed copies. This book itself is in excellent condition, mint or near mint, in a slip cover, and the book is Mylar protected. The slip cover has some soiling and light wear on the back side especially. The book was published in 1975 by Cheval Boo...

A typed letter on official stationery of the Office of the Vice President, Washington, dated August 11, 1956, signed in brown ink "Dick", by Richard Nixon. The sheet, 9" by 7", is currently unframed. Text is "Dear Randall"/This is just a note to tell you how deeply I appreciated your expression of confidence and loyalty as conveyed in the wire I received from Sacramento last Saturday./As you can imagine, I have received a considerable volume of wires and letters during the past two weeks. B...

A rare authentic Qing Dynasty cash coin in extremely fine condition , the copper is with nice original patina and in very nice coloration

Definitive stamps last day of issue, 11th July 1987

New definitive issue of stamps, QE II, 12th June 1973

2 albumen photographs pasted back-to-back on one page taken from a larger album. These are posed photographs, presumably of the teams. One is the Polo team and the other is I think the Cricket 11. Underneath both in pen is the notation, “Sandhurst 1877,” this refers to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. The polo players is 8 ¼ x 10 ½ inches and the Cricket players 8 3/8 x 10 ¾ inches.

Condition: They are clear and generally good, though both were bent before being attached to ...

18th c Mexican leather boung religious book. A Madre Santisima Madre De Dios so I dont know the date but should be early 18 th c

A stated first edition published in 2004 by Steerforth Press, VT. " Washington's Ultimate Insider from Roosevelt to Reagan."A fast-paced reading book that captures the colorful life of Thomas Corcoran, one of the first lobbyists in DC. Mint condition.

A hard cover with no dust jacket published is 1979 by the Smithsonian Institution. The cover shows light wear with mild tanning at the front left corner and there is an old price written in pencil on the front free paper. Many counties and time periods are referenced. A glossary is also included. Slightly musty. 126pp.