1838 first edition: Emancipation in the West Indies, a report by American abolitionists

THIS JUST IN: In 1837, The American Anti-Slavery Society commissioned James A. Thome, a fervent young abolitionist, and J. Horace Kimball, editor of the abolitionist newspaper Herald of Freedom, to survey the effects of emancipation in the West Indies. Great Britain had officially ended slavery in 1834, but the measure was phased in over several years. Thome and Kimball spent six months visiting Antigua, Barbados, and Jamaica and observing the progress and effects on society. Their findings were published in 1838 as Emancipation in the West Indies. This is a first edition. Click the photo to enlarge it. To purchase this item, please call (727) 822-3278.

West Florida land grant document highlights British colonial era in the Pensacola region

THIS JUST IN : Here is a land grant document for a thousand acres executed in 1772 in West Florida for one Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Munster in partial payment for service in His Majesty’s army keeping the colony safe for monarchy. The document specifically instructs the king’s surveyor general, Charles Durnford, to make sure he assign land to Colonel Munster that was vacant and hadn’t been given to anyone else. The last thing the monarch (who was King George III at the time) needed was his army officers squabbling over land.

King George had his hands full with the uppity colonists in other American colonies thinking they’d be better off going it alone. The following year, some of them dumped tea in Boston Harbor to protest the King’s unreasonable taxes. When the American Revolution came, East and West Florida remained loyal to the crown. In the end, though, the British only stayed in Florida 20 years. In 1781, Spain captured Pensacola, and by 1783, the entire Florida territory was ceded back to Spain.

Click the photo to enlarge it. To purchase this item, please call (727) 822-3278.

Original congressional bill to remove Seminoles from Florida to Oklahoma

THIS JUST IN: Here is a copy of the 1839 original bill from Congress authorizing $10,000 for the removal of Seminole Indians from Florida to the Oklahoma territory. Only a few were printed. It comes in a gilt-stamped protective case. Andrew Jackson called for shipping the Indians west when he took office in 1829 but it was 10 years (and half way through the Martin Van Buren administration) before Congress acted. The legislation led to the Second Seminole War, one of the longest and costliest wars in American history. Click to enlarge photo.

1925 first edition, Maxfield Parrish

THIS JUST IN: Here is The Knave of Hearts by Louise Saunders, illustrated by the incomparable Maxfield Parrish; published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1925. This folio-sized first edition is covered in black cloth with a full-color paper label mounted on the front cover. And it is in near-fine condition. Someone is going to snap this up.