Dred Scott decision – “Important Decision of the Supreme Court:” in National Intelligencer. Washington: Gales and Seaton, March 7, 1857

This is the announcement of the Dred Scott decision, brought as breaking news by a leading Washington newspaper.

$2,800

Hugo Black and the Supreme Court: A Symposium. Edited by Stephen Parks Strickland. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, (c.1967)

FIRST EDITION. Presentation copy inscribed by Black:  “To our friend, Arthur Goldberg, on this his forty ninth birthday, with our warm and affectionate good wishes to him and to Dorothy, Hugo L. Black August 8, 1967” and further signed by his wife Elizabeth. Black, once a member of the KKK and later one of the greatest defenders of civil liberties, inscribes this volume to fellow Supreme Court Justice Goldberg. Black, Warren, Douglas, Brennan, and Goldberg were key members of the liberal wing of the court in the 1960s.

$2,500

Washington Irving. Mr. Bryant’s address on his life and genius. Addresses by Everett, Bancroft, Longfellow, Felton, Aspinwall, King, Francis, Greene. Mr. Allibone’s sketch of his life and works. With eight photographs. New York: Putnam, 1860

First edition. Presentation copy inscribed by the published to S. Austin Allibone, who contributed the sketch of Irving’s life and works. Allibone ewas a leading American editor, author, and bibliographer who is best known for his Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors. Other contributors include Longfellow, Bryant, Everett, and Bancroft.

$2,500

To the friends of the slave in the town of Smithfield. Peterboro, New York: [Smith], March 12, 1844

A fiery antislavery broadside by one of the Secret Six.

$2,500

United States Capitol. no publisher, c. 1870

This dramatic photograph of the United States Capitol shows the building in the 1870s, after the completion of the new dome and the extensions.

$2,500

The Supreme Court. Washington, D.C.: Ed Clark, 1956

Completed in 1935, the magnificent neoclassical Supreme Court Building features the motto “Equal Justice Under the Law” on the west facade. This splendid, enormous color photograph was taken by famed LIFE magazine photographer Ed Clark: “Black Church Leaders pray on the Supreme Court steps for integration to succeed” (Herrera, Frank, Ed Clark: Decades).

$2,200

Portrait Miniature of George and Martha Washington. American, 19th century

$2,200

A Compendious Exercise for the Garrison and Field Ordnance, as Practised in the United States. Washington City: Weightman, 1810

FIRST EDITION of “the first official drill manual for either the American regular or militia artillery” (Graves). This manual constrains detailed instructions on procedures in firing and handling artillery and training soldiers in its use.

$2,200

Texas Declaration of Independence in The Commonwealth. Frankfurt, Kentucky: Brown & Hodges, May 18, 1836

“The Unanimous Declaration of Independence made by the People of Texas” appears in columns 2-3 of the front page of this rare western newspaper.

$2,200

Portrait of a runaway enslaved man titled “A Good Likeness of Sancho” in the Columbian Centinel. Boston: Columbian Centinel, 30 September 1807

This is probably the earliest runaway slave advertisement to feature an accurate likeness of its subject.

$2,200