Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-10-15
NELSON |MPR|NTS
At BARGAIN RATES
Rare Volumes Go to New York
Buyers-Outsiders Get New
ark Treasures.


The third session of the sale of the
library of William Nelson, of Pater-
son, was held at the rooms of the An
derson Auction Company, Madison
avenue and Fortieth street, Manhat-
tan. yesterday afternoon and evening.
The spirit of the sale may be judged
| from the fact that Greek Testament,
Worcester, I Thomas. 1900, the first
testament in the original printed In
America, went for fifteen cents. And
yet 1t was in good condition.
Another instance of the indifference
of the dealers and private buyers pres
emit was the sale of a rare. uncut
translation of Jean Baptiste-Louis
Gresset's celebrated "Vert-Vert," for
| fifteen cents This poem, which inn
mortallzed its author. is certainly the
| most lively and agreeable specimen
of badinage in the French language
and is much sought after by collec-
tors of French literature of the eigh-
tenth century. The copy sold yes
| terday was an uncut exemplar of the
second edition, bearing the imprint,
oxford, and the date 1898.
The above numbers are given as
showing the feeling at the sale. There
was a group of dealers, including the
well-known representative of the firm
of Smith, rare book dealers, and to
these gentlemen the auctioneer ac-
commodatingly awarded such rarities
as they had come to secure and were
positively assured of obtaining.
Among others present was Miss
Maude Z. Johnson, librarian of the
New Jersey Historical Society. Her
bids were few and she did not always
succeed in getting what she wanted,
for the New York Vultures, eager for
rare Americana, were. ever on the
alert. and where they were interested
at all they quickly silenced her small
offerings.
But. as she admitted, the day was
not rich in treasures, Eaany of which
had been lost to her on the first day
of sale. That was, indeed field day,
and deep regret was observed In her
eyes as she spoke of the loss to New
Jersey of 1.-The Proceedings of the
Court-martial of the line of Benedict
Arnold" sold at this first days sale,
l believe, for $500. This was q blow
from which Miss johnson, q singu-
larly unobtrusive and pleasant little
lady, evidently had not yet recovered
But a book sale, as every b.bliophile
knows, is a particularly unpleasant
exhibition of human selfishness and
ill-manners and, doubtless, Miss
johnson knows this quite as we'll as
her male competitors.
Some Elizabethtown imprints, in
Guiding q sermon by Jonathan Ed
wards, 1891, and two sermons by
George Whitefield, 1894. which Miss
johnson very much desired to buy,
were quickly bid up beyond her reach.
There was one circumstance known
to the dealers present yesterday
which contributed in great degree
to the half-hearted atmosphere In the
sparsely- filled auction room. This
was the certainty that Mr.. Nelson
had carefully kept out of the sale the
real treasures of his library. Those
that he has offered are, in some in
stances, in poor condition, and yes
terday, at least, there were few num-
bers that were of Importance to the
State of New Jersey.
The offering of a set of the year
books of the Holland Society of New
York occasioned some interest, yet
the fifteen volumes sold for only $5.75.
In one of these, if one looked, might
be found the report of the annual
dinner of the society in the banquet
hall of the Equitable Life Assurance
Society, so recently destroyed by fire.
At this dinner 1t was that Mr.. WILL
lam Waldorf Astor received what he
regarded as an affront of so grave
asnature that he not only arose and
strobe from the banquet hall, but.
the next day. shook the dust of
America off his feet and forswore his
native land forever.
AS one glanced at the book on the
g
scowling face and blazing eyes of the
handsome man of millions as he
pushed his way through the ranks
of the guests, brushing aside the
proffered Cancellation of Chancey NJ.
Depew and the late Judge Hilton, as
if it had come from a waiter.
Among other bargains which one
noted at the sale were twcnty-nine
volumes of that invaluable work for
the annalist, 1.-THE Historical Regis
ter" which fetched only 81. THE
proceedings of the Provincial Con-
gress of New Jersey" with some
other pamphlets with local imprints,
such as Woodbury., fetched only s3.25.
It was only when the Hamiltoniana
was reached-a collection of particu-
| lar importance to New Jersey-that
the eyes of the dealers began really
| to show signs Of covetousness. Yet
even then the bidding Gas not spir-
tied. and that rare volume. Letters
to Alexander Hamilton, King of the
Feds" the number offered being the
thrice scarce original edition, fetched
but $3.50. The writer has seen a copy
of this rarity sold in Western city
| for many times that sum.
That other rare volume, THE Es-
says of Phocion," ETC., In wrappers.
uncut. Washington, 1918, fetched
only 50.
Another extremely scarce example
of Hamiltoniana, of which / have
seen only one other copy, and that in
the home of q descendant of Alexan-
der Hamilton. was bid up to $40,
ridiculously inadequate sum. This
was. observations on Certain Docu-
ments Contained In No, V: and vi. of
The History of the United States for
the year 1896 in which the charge of
speculation against Alexander Ham
iiton is fully refuted. Written by
Himself" This volume was pub
iished in Philadelphia in 1897 and, as
the catalogue states, the first edition
was bought up by the family of Ham
ilton and suppressed.
The Free Library of Newark should
have acquired two numbers disposed
| of at the sale. Both these numbers
bore the imprint Of Newark, and one
went to the National Library In
washington. This was New Jersey
and the Rebellion. a History of the
Services of the Troops and People of
New Jersey In Aid of the Union
Cause" by John Y. Foster, with map
and portrait, Newark, 1868.
The other volume bearing the i'm
print of Newark was Letters of
Hawthorne to William d. Ticknor,
1851 1864--Fac Smiles" uncut. in
covers, Newark, New Jersey, Car
teret Book Club, 1910. This was one
Press,