Bibliophemera

Conrad Witter was a prominent St. Louis publisher of German language educational books in the late 19th to early 20th century. Some of his books found their way to a German community in Texas in 1912, as indicated on this billhead, less than a decade before their use for instruction in public schools was outlawed. Actually, in 1909, three years before this order was placed, the Texas legislature passed a law mandating English as the primary language of instruction in public schools. Rural schools whose teachers taught a bilingual curriculum with the primary language being German, carried on as usual despite the law. Enforcement was problematic in the rural farming communities and the schools themselves may have been funded by their communities, creating a loophole in the law meant for public schools.  Germans began immigrating to Paige, Texas and the surrounding communities in Bastrop County and Central Texas before the Civil War. After the Civil War, German immigration experienced...

  This oversized postcard announcement for a book shop appearance by African American author J. California Cooper was mailed on January 5 th , 1991 and got to me via Madison, Wisconsin, and who knows where else, in 2025. On Juneteenth appropriately enough—the holiday that commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States. Also appropriately enough, the book that the author was reading passages from and signing for customers was set during times of slavery and the Civil War. From the ad on the postcard: “J. California Cooper’s novel, FAMILY , tells the story of four generations of an African-American family whose emotional and spiritual center is Always, a young woman born into slavery. Her mother Clora narrates a tale set in the years just before and after the Civil War. It is a tale in which racism is replaces slavery and humankind continues to suffer from its mental chains. But Always sets into motion two ironic plans to ensure the deliverance of her children. And wit...

Lord Alfred Tennyson, the great poet laureate of England, never visited America, but his writing was known throughout the land, even in the arid region of Pecos, Texas in 1893 a year after the author died. Only a few decades or so before, Apache and Comanche tribes roamed the area and only a few intrepid pioneers had attempted settlement in that remote part of the state. Thanks to railroad expansion in the 1880s, a bit of civilization came west to Pecos, including Mr. Tennyson, all dressed up in Morocco. I'm not sure what Pecos Bill would have thought about that. Above is the receipt for a $10 Class D membership, whatever that is, good for 10 years in the National Library Association. W.V. Glascock is listed as the agent who sold the membership. Mrs W.T. Monahan is the new member and probably anxious for some fine books to provide a little culture in her home in a desolate region of the West.  In addition to her membership, Mrs. Monahan would also receive a presentat...

As I have posted recently about a few pieces in my ephemera collection related to book design and the printing arts, particularly in Texas, I thought I'd share this link: The Handbook of Texas Online - Printing Arts for anyone interested in more information on the subject. This page from the Texas State Historical Association site offers an overview of printing history in Texas through biographical sketches of the state's greatest practitioners of book design and fine printing. For further reading: The Printing Arts in Texas , by Al Lowman, published by Roger Beacham (William R. Holman's imprint), 1975.

This is about a letter about a book. A very important book to the letter writer. A few years ago, I purchased a letter written in 1922 by an old Civil War soldier--a veteran of the Confederacy living in Austin, Texas at the Home for Confederate Veterans. The envelope bears the Confederate insignia flag and address of the home. The letter was addressed to a Mr. J.J. Wolfe of Houston, whom I have presumed to be a bookseller. I wrote about this in another blog a few years back and now it seems more fitting that it be posted here, especially if my assumption about Wolfe's occupation is right. For the sake of this post, let's say I'm correct and Wolfe was a Houston bookseller in the 1920s. But even if I'm not correct, the letter is still about a book. So either way, we have a bibliophemera connection. The writer of the letter--the old Rebel vet--thought Mr. Wolfe might be able to help him momentarily escape his "prison" (he states he is an "inmate of the Ho...

Here's an invoice from 1955, W.M. Morrison - Texas Books. Morrison (1914-1981) was a collector, bookseller, and Civil War historian. He was also a publisher of reprints and original works of Texas history. In 1963, Morrison published Texas Book Prices (updated in 1972). During his carer, he issued 340 catalogs, which have in themselves become collectible for their bibliographic and reference value. More associated with Waco, he opened his first book shop in Houston in 1954. Herbert Fletcher (Anson Jones Press), whom I've blogged about, was a mentor to Morrison. A year later, as indicated by this invoice, he sold an interesting book that's now part of my stock: Park Hill , by Carolyn Thomas Foreman (1948). Park Hill is a scarce title dealing with the town that became a publishing center of culture and historical research pertaining to Chief John Ross , the Cherokee Nation and the Trail of Tears , and the Oklahoma Territory. The book was sent to a customer in Oklahoma Ci...