Rare Books
Secret of the old post-box
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The Basle express
Rare Books
"British Intelligence agent Tommy Hambledon had the mistaken notion when he arrived at Innsbruck that he had left behind all connections with Herr Bastien, who had been shot in the railway compartment they shared on the Anglo-Swiss Express. But when he was commanded by a belligerent Austrian taxi driver to disrobe, and then forced at gunpoint to hike barefoot over the Alps, Hambledon ruefully decided that his vacation was over. With the help of a horse-faced English tourist - and over the opposition of some escaped lunatics, an enormously stout gentleman with a feather in his hat, a village idiot, and a Communist named Medeski - Tommy Hambledon unravels this gripping and intrigue-ridden international mystery"--Jacket.
644075
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Charles Bolivar Sterling papers
Manuscripts
Sundry autobiographical and daily notes that Sterling jotted (on the back of muster rolls and returns), in August and September 1847, whiling away time onboard of the Preble. Three manuscripts (HM 66241, HM 66244, and HM 66245) describe the minutia of the life onboard of the Preble (including an account of a duel). The remaining two are devoted to the recollections of the author's childhood, chiefly the time he spent at his uncle's plantation in Sterlington, his school years at Lafayette Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and his travels through Louisiana, Mississippi, and Kentucky. One of the autobiographical manuscripts (HM 66243) is a collection of anecdotes and reminiscences, including a story of two Irishmen whom his uncle had hired to dig a ditch; a short story titled "The First Night of Marriage, or the Happy Return: A Domestic Narrative," and "Early recollections" about his life in Louisiana, (including accounts of the plantations slaves), and the school. The second miscellany (HM 66242) contains Sterling's attempts at humorous prose, presumably autobiographical: short stories "A Ghostly Night," "That Boy Jo and the Art of Catfiring [sic]: Sportsmanlike Habit," two Irish anecdotes "Keeping the Pledge" and "It's all the Priest's Fault," and a letter to "Dear Samuel" dated "Sept. 14, 1847" and subtitled "Melancholy recollections."
mssSterlingb
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A country of old men : a Dave Brandstetter novel
Rare Books
"The wear and tear of a life spent pursuing the truth into harm's way is catching up with Dave. In fact, it has already caught him. The aged death claims investigator is old enough for his body to hurt even without all the compiled injuries he's sustained throughout his career. Yet when presented with a puzzle-like mystery, Dave can't help but be drawn in. Walking on the beach, a friend finds a bedraggled child who claims he has witnessed a murder. The victim is a drug-addicted pop star, and the obvious suspect is the dead man's ex-girlfriend--a drug addict whom the child saw standing over the body, gun in hand. In the final installment of Joseph Hansen's groundbreaking series, Dave looks for justice once more, hoping that he will also find a lasting measure of peace. Over the course of twelve novels spanning three decades of American culture--from the 1960s to the late 1980s--Joseph Hansen gave readers one of the truly great heroes of detective fiction"--Back cover.
642335
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Anna Dorothy Mason Bronson papers
Manuscripts
The letters in the collection cover the period of Anna (Mason) Bronson's schooling at the Thetford Academy in Vermont and her employment in the cotton mills of Manchester. The letters from Thetford provide an interesting perspective on a situation that was probably not all that common in the 1840s - a young woman attending a college preparatory school and boarding away from home. The majority of the letters were written by Anna to her parents during her six years in the mills. They are full of information on hours, wages, and working and living conditions. Because personal accounts of workers are not that common, the letters should also be helpful in resolving questions about the adjustment of young farm women to the factory regimen and the impact of industrial work upon family life. Also discussed are family affairs, including news of a brother in the California mines; evangelical religious belief; and events in and around Manchester, including fires, lyceum lectures, fairs, exhibits, etc.
mssHM 50177-50216
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Gravedigger : a Dave Brandstetter novel
Rare Books
"Two years ago Charles Westover disgraced himself and his family when he was disbarred for bribery. Westover's daughter Serenity, disgusted with her once beloved father, ran away to a cult founded by a mesmerizingly handsome young man, a self-appointed messiah going by the grimly grandiose name of Azrael. The whereabouts of Serenity pass unknown for years until the police raid Azrael's compound and discover that the cult leader lived up to his ghastly 'Angel of Death' moniker. Thinking his daughter has been murdered, Charles Westover claims her life insurance, and then he too vanishes. Insurance companies don't like to cut a check without a body and especially don't like when the recepient [that is, recipient] is also missing. Hired as a private investigator, David Brandstetter quickly finds himself in a complicated maze of lies and hidden histories. It's not all bad times and extreme hazard for our man Dave. A passionate romance has entered his life with the reappearance of Cecil Harris, a handsome young African American investigative reporter for the local news station looking to get to the bottom of a different kind of story"--Back cover.
642329
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Hazlitt, William. "On the Old Age of Artists" [photocopy of pages 95-96]
Manuscripts
This collection contains research materials on English portrait painter Richard Cosway (1742-1821) and his wife, English-Italian artist Maria Cosway (1760-1838), compiled by art historian Diana G. Wilson (1932-1988) for her doctoral dissertation (never completed) at the University of California, Los Angeles, from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s. The papers include Wilson's correspondence, research files and notes, dissertation drafts, and reproductions of artwork and manuscripts (including photocopies, photographs, negatives, slides, and microfilm). The materials expand from Wilson's research and development of a dissertation initially proposed as: "Richard Cosway: An investigation of the development of the role of the artist and the concept of portraiture in England, 1760-1820," but the collection includes materials about the lives and art of both Richard and Maria Cosway. Note: all materials dating from the 18th and 19th centuries are reproductions of originals.
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