From the superb keyboard magician, a bold autograph on the cover of a 1962 Royal Festival Hall program. He performed works by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Liszt. 18.5 x 24.5 cm.
Uncommon original CDV portrait of the great pianist-composer, a reproduction of the crayon drawing by Franz Xaver Winterhalter "May 2, 1847," issued here by Levitsky ca. 1860. In fine condition. 6 x 10 cm.
Leipzig: Breitkopf & Hartel. [1838]. First German edition. Folio, orig. printed self-wrappers. Lithograph title, engraved throughout. [PN] 5851. Title; 2-3 blank; 4-15. Finely bound in elegant marbled boards. Parallel first edition, earliest issue. Brown 105, Platzman 30-BH-2; Hoboken IV. 306 (Titleauflage). Maurice Schlesinger and Wessel brought out the Paris and London editions, while this is the rare first Breitkopf edition, issued in the year following the work's composition.
Rare bound collection of First editions of many of Chopin's most beloved works, including Préludes, Nocturnes, Impromptus, and the Piano Trio. As noted individually below, bound together in blue marble boards, half blue leather and including a first edition of the 24 Préludes, initialled in ink by Chopin's friend and the work's dedicatee, Camille Pleyel. 33 x 26 cm. Pages continually numbered in period ink at the upper right corners, 1 - 144, preceded by a manuscript index in an unknown hand. Board edges worn and chipped, spine rubbed and chipped at ends, but solid and otherwise fine. As follows: Read More...
65. Chopin, Frédéric. (1810–1849). Scherzo pour piano dédié à Mademoiselle Adèle de Furstenstein, opéra 31. INSCRIBED
Paris: Maurice Schlesinger. [1837]. First edition. Folio, 19 pp. [PN] 2494. First edition of Chopin's Scherzo no. 2 in B-flat major, a work which, like so much of his extraordinary music, permanently resides in the consciousness of even the most unmusical of us. Schumann compared its tempestuous strains to a Byronic poem, "so overflowing with tenderness, boldness, love and contempt." According to Wilhelm von Lenz, a pupil of Chopin, the composer described the famous sotto voce opening as a question to which the booming second phrase is answer: "For Chopin it was never questioning enough, never soft enough, never vaulted enough. It must be a charnel-house." Huneker exults, "What masterly writing, and it lies in the very heart of the piano! A hundred generations may not improve on these pages.” The present example is a precious object, inscribed by Chopin on the title-page, “à Mlle C. Porte. Chopin”. Mercié-Porte was a professeur at the Conservatoire de Paris. Light stain at upper left corner of title-page, otherwise in very fine condition. Housed in a custom archival folder with burgundy marbled-paper covered boards and crimson title plate on spine. Chopin presentations are of the utmost rarity: he would die in 1849 at the age of 39. Platzmann 118.
An uncommon original concert poster from a Leipzig performance by the influential pianist and composer. November 27, 1832. 15.7 x 18.1 inches. Usual folds, overall fine. Among other works, Kessler himself performed the Fifth Piano Conerto of Moscheles, Der Traum and Fantasie für Piano by Kalkbrenner, and Kessler's own Fantasie für das Piano. Read More...
67. [Civil War]. 1869 Boston Peace Jubilee Coliseum Stereoview Photograph
Stereoview overview of the Coliseum and Midway Grounds in St. James Park, the location of the The National Peace Jubilee, a celebration of the "Restoration of Peace" after the Civil War, organized by Patrick Gilmore in Boston in 1869. It featured an enormous orchestra and a chorus, as well as numerous soloists. In total, more than 11,000 performers participated, including the famous violinist Ole Bull as the orchestra's concert director. The Jubilee became the "high-water mark in the influence of the band in American life"; along with the International Peace Jubilee in 1872, it made Gilmore a famous composer and bandmaster. The Coliseum shown in the present image was built especially for this enormous musical event which drew huge crowds - with a magnifyier, one can see vendors selling popcorn. This view is by John P. Soule and measures 6.75 x 3.25 inches.
New York: A. S. Barnes and Co.. 1880. First edition. Beige cloth with black lettering. Illustrated. 239 pages plus 4 pages of advertisments in back (pens, tobacco, books). Frontispiece portrait of Garfield with tissue guard. This copy from the library of General Banks, with his ownership signature ("Hon. N. P. Banks Waltham, Mass.") on the front free end-page. In fine condition, with small losses at spine extremities, ghosting on page facing frontis, otherwise fine. A unique association copy of the most definitive biography of Garfield to date, published while he was running for the presidency and authored by the editor of the New York "Evening Mail" who was also a personal friend of Garfield. Read More...
Original CDV photograph by the important early American photographer, J.W. Black. In fine condition, with the photographer's 173 Washington St., Boston imprint on the verso. A highly unusual image of an African-American man in uniform, seated on the ground with legs splayed apart, mallet raised in his right hand with his arm obscuring his face, and a large drum resting at his feet. A visually striking image of an unusually candid and impromptu pose, seldom seen in this early photographic medium. Read More...
New York: Currier & Ives. 1863. Hand-colored lithographed print, showing a young Black soldier in uniform, with his bed roll on his back and his rifle over his shoulder. 11.5 x 15.75 inches. Moderate toning along left margin, otherwise in very fine condition. A striking impression of this very scarce print. Read More...
71. [Civil War] Currier & Ives. John Brown Meeting the Enslaved Mother and Her Child on the Steps of Charlestown Jail on His Way to Execution.
New York: Currier & Ives. 1863. Hand-colored lithograph, 9 x 13 inches. Two stains in lower right area outside of image, small tear extending 2 cm from lower edge into text, right lower corner chipped. Otherwise in very good condition, a very desirable impression of this scarce print. Read More...
1863 mounted photograph with handwritten description on mount: "Rebel Steam Ram 'Atlanta' / Captured June 17th 1863 / On Exhibition in front of Washington St. / for the benefit of the / Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon / Philad. Nov. 1st 1863." 14.25 x 11 inches. Lower left corner chipped, some scattered light marks, overall fine. Read More...
A fine signed postcard photograph of the elegant French tenor as Des Grieux in Massenet's "Manon," one of his signature roles. He created roles by Erlanger and Saint-Saens and sang in the Parisian premieres of "Falstaff" and "Madama Butterfly." Boldly signed in pencil, 8.5 x 13.5 cm.
Sheet music for “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me),” from the Cary Cooper film, "High Noon." 9 x 12 inches, six pages. Signed on the cover in black felt tip, “Bill Clinton.” In very good condition, with moderate creasing and scattered soiling. Clinton’s signature is bold and prominent. Read More...
Signed 8 x 10 photograph of the marvelous American singer and actress whose warm, radiant voice placed her in the first rank of American popular singers for more than half a century. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers "Botcha-Me," "Mambo Italiano," and "This Old House," songs which tended to obscure her talents as a jazz vocalist, including her collaboration with Duke Ellington. In fine condition, a few light marks and mounted to an album page.
Original 1925 Hollis Street Theatre program, boldy signed in heavy black fountain pen. Reinforcement holders along inner spine, visible nib issue with the "C" in Cohan, overall fine condition. 5.5 x 7.75 inches. 17 pp. Cohan's "American Born" was performed 88 times in 1925.
An evocative original 8 x 10 inch doubleweight photograph of the great American entertainer (playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, producer!), shown on stage in his first big Broadway hit, the 1904 show "Little Johnny Jones." It was in this show that Cohan introduced two of his most celebrated and enduring songs, namely "Give My Regards to Broadway," and "The Yankee Doodle Boy."
An unusual signed pen and ink caricature of Cohan, shown with his trademark hat and cane. Boldly signed and inscribed by Cohan to the artist Bob Sight and also signed by Sight himself. 4.5 x 7 inch card, in very fine condition.
"Friars All Star Frolic-Boston Opera House Boston, Mass. Wednesday afternoon and night, June 7th, 1916. A Union of Famous Authors, Composers, Musicians and Comedians in one performance without a Parallel. Comedy, Minstrelsy, Vaudeville, Operetta under the Direction of Geo. M. Cohan...The Aristocracy of American Fun-Makers that has contributed its genius, - its wit, its humor, its art, - to the most distinguished and brilliant protean show ever presented!" A rare circular for what was undoubtedly a spectacular event.