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421. [LOS ANGELES HISTORY] Nadeau, Remi.
Los Angeles from Mission
to Modern City. [6], vii-xvi, [2], 302 pp. Sixteen unpaginated
plates with 30 illustrations from various sources. 9x6, blue cloth
with gilt spine title, pictorial dust jacket. New York, London,
Toronto: Longmans, Green and Co., 1960. * Crump, Spencer. Black
Riot in Los Angeles. The Story of the Watts Tragedy. [4],
5-160 pp. Profusely illustrated from photographs of various sources.
11x8-1/2, gray paper-covered boards with spine title, endpaper
maps, pictorial dust jacket. First edition. Los Angeles: Trans-Anglo
Books, [1966] * Rieff, David. Los Angeles, Capital of the Third
World. [15], 16-270 pp. Two double-page maps. 9-1/4x6, cloth-backed
boards with gilt spine title, pictorial dust jacket. New York:
Simon & Schuster, [1991].
Signed inscription by the author in the first book. The first
book was written by a professional writer and native Californian
before 1960 when the marvel of Los Angeles development was still
uppermost in the author's and the public's mind and the future
seemed assured. The second tells the story of the first black
riot in Los Angeles just five years later. The third was written
by an outsider, a New York journalist, thirty years later. The
comparison is fascinating. That we are now in a portentous period
of transition is evident - but what it portends is another matter.
The author was at least honest enough to end with his own confusion
and uncertainty over what he saw and what it meant for the future
of Los Angeles, California, the U. S. A., and the world - or maybe
like most of us, he doesn't want to believe what it probably predicts.
Together three volumes - all in fine condition.
(50/80).
Very rare early lithograph of Los Angeles
422. [LOS ANGELES LITHOGRAPH] Mathews, A. E.
Los Angeles, Cal.,
1873. 8-3/4x16-1/2, matted, glazed and framed. San Francisco:
A. L. Bancroft & Co., 1873.
This is an extremely scarce work of an important artist of western
subjects. Robert Taft in Artists and Illustrators of the Old
West considered him to be "the most important from a
pictorial standpoint of the artists who made the western journey
after the close of the Civil War" and devoted an entire chapter
to his work. With regard to the rarity of this lithograph he commented
that "an inquiry about these Mathews views [on California
subjects] was sent to an even dozen California institutions possessing
picture collections of Californiana. It brought replies that no
copies of original Mathews lithographs of California were owned...Other
institutions, including the Library of Congress, New York Public
Library and the American Antiquarian Society report that none
of these lithographs were among their holdings. They are therefore
to be regarded as extremely scarce" [p. 84]. This copy has
three linear tears extending into the image but so skillfully
repaired that they are very difficult to detect. One corner of
blank margin also torn and restored. Overall a very handsome image.
(3000/5000).
423. [LOS ANGELES MISCELLANY]
Los Angeles, "the Magic
City." A Vest Pocket Booklet of Economic Statistics of Los
Angles City and County Compiled by the Research Department.
[1], 2-40 pp. Numerous charts and graphs. 2-3/4x5-1/2, pictorial
wrappers with cover title in white on black background. Los Angeles:
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, 1929. * Hill, Lawrence. La
Reina. Los Angeles in Three Centuries. [1], 2-208 pp. Profusely
illustrated from various sources. 8-3/4x5-1/4, pictorial wrappers
with cover title. Los Angeles: Security Trust and Savings Bank,
1929 * Los Angeles County California. [48] pp. Profusely
illustrated from black and white photographs. 9x6, pictorial wrappers
in color with cover title in white. [Los Angeles: Los Angeles
Chamber of Commerce, 1932]. * The City of Los Angeles Year
Book - 1949. [5], 6-98, [1] pp. Eight paginated plates with
forty-one illustrations from various sources. 10x7, pictorial
wrappers with cover title. [Los Angeles: City of Los Angeles],
1950.
Four promotional publications on Los Angeles City and County
from 1929 to 1950 by various organizations. All in very good to
fine condition. (50/80).
424. [LOS ANGELES MISCELLANY #2] Weber, Francis.
The Franciscans
and Los Angeles with an Appended Account of the Original Settlers.
[6], 21, [2] pp. Two paginated plates with illustrations from
original drawings by Mary Kuper. 8x5-1/2, decorative wrappers
with cover title. Limited edition of 250 copies printed at the
Plantin Press. Los Angeles: [Archbishop of Los Angeles, 1972]
* Jones, Thomas ap C., U. S. Navy. Visit to Los Angeles in
1843. Unpublished Narrative of Commodore Thomas ap C. Jones.
Introduced by Robert J. Woods. [2], 3-28 pp. 11x8, white wrappers
with gilt cover title. Los Angeles: Cole-Holmquist Press, 1960.
Two scarce and interesting items on the early history of Spanish/Mexican
Los Angeles. The second was reprinted from the Daily Alta California
of April 18, 1858. Both in fine condition. (50/80).
Central Los Angeles 19th Century
425. [LOS ANGELES PHOTOGRAPH] Albumen photograph of Figueroa St.
at the corner of Adams, Los Angeles, California. 4 7/8x8 photograph
on 5-1/4x8-1/2 cabinet card with photographer's name and address
printed on the back.
Los Angele: F. H. Maude & Co., n.d..
Street scene near the center of old Los Angeles showing lovely
large homes, nicely landscaped. Some rubbing of surface - otherwise
in fine condition. (50/80).
426. [LOS ANGELES REAL ESTATE] Plan of a Part of the City of Los
Angeles Showing the Tract of the Aliso Homestead Association.
Single sheet with street plan. 17-1/2x21-1/2, corner mounted on
stiff board, and matted.
Los Angeles: No publisher, no date [c. 1870s-80s].
Plan for an early tract development near the present center of
Los Angeles. While San Francisco as a port of entry and urban
center of Gold Rush California grew at a whirlwind pace, Los Angeles
remained a small frontier town in an area of large ranches until
the advent of the railroad into Southern California. Then the
population whirlwind gripped it and it has been the center of
the California maelstrom since. This tract is bordered on the
north by Aliso Street, on the south by First Street and the west
by Vignes Street. No street is shown on the east. This tract is
only a few blocks from the center of old Los Angeles which is
also shown on the street plan with the location of some of the
key buildings such as the Bella Union Hotel, the Lafayette Hotel
and the Arcadia Block. Although there is no date on the map, the
tract is close to the center of town and so is relatively early
but sometime after 1872 because no one is listed on any of the
streets that are confined to the tract in the 1872 directory.
Many marginal tears repaired with "miracle tape", few
small chips from edges, some fine wrinkling of surface - otherwise
in very good condition.
(200/300).
427. [LOS ANGELES REAL ESTATE]
Martin Tract ! Fifty Lots for
Sale. Broadside with street plan [typographically composed].
18-1/4x11-1/2, corner mounted on stiff board and matted.
Los Angeles: T. E. Rowan, n.d..
Undated but prior to 1888 since it is listed in Howell's tract
directory. The Martin Tract is bounded on the west by Main Street,
on the East by Los Angeles Street, on the north by Washington
Street and on the south by York Street. Classic example of land
development in California. The broadside makes the claim: "This
is the best property on the market and must be sold at once, consequently
low prices prevail." Fine condition. (100/150).
A miniseries on the problem of water for Los
Angeles
428. [LOS ANGELES WATER]
Complete Report on Construction of
the Los Angeles Aqueduct with Introductory Historical Sketch.
[9], 10-319, [12] pp. Fourteen plates with charts, graphs or plans,
twenty-four folded maps, charts and profiles in rear pocket, and
numerous illustrations throughout the text from photographs. 10-1/2x7-3/4,
green cloth with spine and cover titles printed in black. Los
Angeles: Department of Public Service, City of Los Angeles, 1916.
* Terrell, John Upton. War for the Colorado River. Two
volumes: [7], 8-325; [9]10-323 pp. Two unpaginated frontispiece
maps. 9-1/4x6, brown linen with gilt spine titles, printed dust
jackets. Glendale: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1965. * Aqueduct.
Fiftieth Anniversary, Metropolitan Water District. [1], 2-73
pp. Numerous illustrations in color and black and white from various
sources. 11x8-1/2, pictorial wrappers in color with cover title.
Los Angeles: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
Winter, 1978/79. * Carrier, Jim and Jim Richardson. The Colorado.
A River at Risk. Foreword by Wallace Stegner. [13], 14-184
pp. Profusely illustrated from color photographs by Jim Richardson.
14x10, blue linen with spine title in silver and blind-stamped
cover title, endpaper maps, pictorial dust jacket. [Englewood:
Westcliffe Publishers, Inc. 1992].
Together four items: all first editions. The first three items
dramatically document the insatiable need of a large urban population
for water in this semi-arid west. The first aqueduct constructed
by Los Angeles brought water from the Owens River over a distance
of 250 miles. It wasn't long before they had outgrown that source
and fought a bitter battle with Arizona to tap the Colorado River
in addition. This battle is reported in detail in the second item.
The third item is an extravagant piece of public relations put
out by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
lauding itself for its remarkable accomplishments and issuing
warnings of the desperate need for more water - this time from
the San Francisco delta via a peripheral canal through the San
Joaquin Valley and over the Tehachapi Mountains, a distance of
over 400 miles. Meantime Mono Lake, one of California's unique
scenic prizes and an essential link in the life-chain of inumerable
species of wildlife in the west is rapidly dwindling from diversion
of its source and the integrity of the Colorado River is threatened.
If the trend continues, it will not be long before there will
be enough water for only one species in California, man and his
artificially cultivated food species. A frightening drawing in
the last item shows a map of California with tentacles [actually
arrows that look like tentacles to me] reaching out from Los Angeles
all the way to San Francisco Bay, the Owens Valley and the Colorado
River. The covers of the first item are worn, hinges cracked,
rear envelope for the maps desintegrated, maps housed in new plastic
holder, and large map slightly split at a few folds - otherwise
in good condition. The last three items are in fine condition.
(100/150).
429. NEWMARK, HARRIS.
Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913
Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Edited and
introduced by Maurice H. Newmark and Marco R. Newmark. Foreword
by Charles Lummis. [4], v-xxviii, [2], 688 pp. Sixty-five unpaginated
plates with 158 illustrations from various sources. 8-3/4x6, red
cloth with gilt spine title, top edges gilt. First edition.
New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1916.
Harris Newmark emigrated to California from Germany in 1853 at
the age of 19 and unlike the majority of immigrants chose Los
Angeles as the site for his future success. His choice was a wise
one and was amply rewarded by both financial success and the esteem
of his community, at a time when Los Angeles could still be considered
a community rather than an anonymous mass of humanity. His success
at merchandizing was soon followed by even greater success in
his investment in southern California land. In Newmark's reminiscences
we see early Los Angeles from a slightly different perspective
than in Horace Bell's account but despite the differences in perspective
and the more modulated rhetoric, there is striking confirmation
of the "Ranger's" lurid description of Los Angeles during
the 1850s. Charles Lummis in his foreword went so far as to call
these memoirs of Harris Newmark "the Pepys' Diary of Los
Angeles." W. W. Robinson in his introduction to the fourth
edition said, "year by year, and without promotion, Sixty
Years in Southern California took its place as a basic book
on Los Angeles and Southern California - perhaps the most important
one written." Fine condition. (100/150).
430. NEWMARK, HARRIS.
Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913
Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Edited and
introduced by Maurice H. Newmark and Marco R. Newmark. Foreword
by Charles Lummis. [4], v-xxxiii, [3], 733 pp. Seventy-three unpaginated
plates with 172 illustrations from various sources. 9x6, red cloth
with gilt spine title, top edges gilt. Second edition.
New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1926.
The second edition with a few more illustrations, a new introduction,
an expanded index and an added appendix. The major impetus for
this edition was the fact that the first sold out rather quickly
and the demand continued. In fact, the demand has continued ever
since [see next items for further editions]. Very slight cover
wear at extremities - otherwise in fine condition. (70/100).
431. NEWMARK, HARRIS.
Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913
Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Edited and
introduced by Maurice H. Newmark and Marco R. Newmark. Foreword
by Charles Lummis. [6], vii-xxxv, [1], 744 pp. Eighty-nine unpaginated
plates with 187 illustrations from various sources. 8-3/4x6, red
cloth with gilt spine title, partially unopened, pictorial dust
jacket. Third edition.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1930.
The third edition, revised and augmented. New illustrations have
been added [and some previous ones deleted]. This edition is considered
by many to be the most desirable. Marginal tear of one page expertly
repaired with transparent archival tape - otherwise in fine condition.
(60/90).
432. NEWMARK, HARRIS.
Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853-1913
Containing the Reminiscences of Harris Newmark. Edited and
introduced by Maurice H. Newmark and Marco R. Newmark. New introduction
and annotation by W. W. Robinson. Foreword by Charles Lummis.
[6], viia-viij, vii-xxxv, [1], 744 pp. Eighty-nine unpaginated
plates with 187 illustrations from various sources. 9x5-3/4, red
cloth with gilt spine title. pictorial dust jacket. Fourth edition.
Los Angeles: Zeitlin & Ver Brugge, 1970.
The fourth edition with added introduction and chapter notes
by W. W. Robinson. Fine condition. (40/70).
433. NEWMARK, LEO.
California Family Newmark. An Intimate History.
[6], ix-xii, [3], 3-110 pp. Four unpaginated plates with six illustrations.
8-1/2x5-1/4, brown linen with gilt spine and cover titles, printed
dust jacket. Santa Monica: Norton B. Stern, 1970. * Newmark, Marco.
Jottings in Southern California History. [6], vii-xiv,
[2], 3-162, pp. errata slip. Frontispiece and twelve unpaginated
plates with portraits. 9x6, cloth-backed decorated boards with
gilt spine title, original printed acetate dust jacket. Los Angeles:
The Ward Ritchie Press, [1955].
Leo Newmark was the son of Harris Newmark's older brother who
settled in San Francisco. Leo Newmark, in the fashion of many
children of well-to-do and cultured families of that time went
to Europe for most of his education. After years of classical
studies he attended medical school and then studied neurology
for three years. Returning to San Francisco he quickly established
himself as an authority in his field. In his book he gives another
view of the Newmark family with the perspective of a well-educated
person who was also a scientist. Marco Newmark was the son of
Harris Newmark, author of Sixty Years in Southern California.
This book is a compilation of many of his articles appearing in
the Quarterly of the Southern California Historical Society
plus some new sketches written for this book. Acetate dust jacket
of the second item is torn in one place and repaired with "miracle"
tape - otherwise both volumes in fine condition. (50/80).
434. OWENS, CHARLES H. AND JOSEPH SEEWERKER.
Nuestra Pueblo.
Los Angeles, City of Romance. Ninety-two paginated plates
with original illustrations by Charles Owens. 10x7-1/2, green
cloth with spine and cover title in black. First edition.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940.
Charles Owens was an artist who worked for the Los Angeles Times
for many years. This is essentially a book of his art with a page
of commentary for each illustration. These are pictures of the
now "old" Los Angeles after it had developed so remarkably
but before the final assault of population growth and urban sprawl
initiated in California by World War II. Uneven fading of covers
- otherwise in fine condition.
(40/60).
435. NUNIS, DOYCE.
Southern California's Spanish Heritage.
An Anthology. Introduced and Edited by Doyce Nunis, Jr. [6],
ix-xxiii, [5], 3-393, [2] pp. Numerous illustrations from various
sources. 9x6, gray cloth with gilt spine title and cover ornaments,
matching cloth-covered slipcase. First edition limited to 600
copies, designed by Ward Ritchie, printed by Premier Printing
Corporation and bound by Roswell Bookbinders. Two hundred copies
reserved for the Consulate General of Spain.
Los Angeles: Historical Society of Southern California, 1992.
Signed on the colophon by Doyce Nunis, Ward Ritchie and the Consulate
General of Spain in Los Angeles. This anthology was compiled from
articles published in the Southern California Quarterly, the organ
of the Historical Society of Southern California in commemoration
of the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's discovery of
a new world. Photocopy of an illustration of the celebration in
Los Angeles of the 400th anniversary of Columbus's discovery from
an old photo laid in. Fine condition. (40/70).
436. [PALOS VERDES]
Palos Verdes, Los Angeles. 32 pp. [including
wrappers]. Numerous illustrations from photographs and drawings.
14x11, pictorial wrappers. Atascadero: Atascadero Press, n. d.
[c. 1921]. * Woodring, W. P., M. N. Bramlette, and W. S. W. Kew.
Geology and Paleontology of Palos Verdes Hills , California.
United States Department of the Interior Geological Survey Professional
Paper 207. [2], iii-v, [1], 145 pp. Thirty-seven unpaginated
plates [two folded], and large folded topographical map in rear
pocket. 11-1/4x9-1/4, printed wrappers with spine and cover titles.
Washington: United States Government Printing Office, 1946. *
Fink, Augusta. Palos Verdes Peninsula. Time and the Terraced
Land. [8], 164 pp. Numerous illustrations from various sources.
9x6, stiff pictorial wrappers. [Santa Cruz]: Western Tanager Press,
1987.
The first is an elaborate prospectus for a real estate development
in the Palos Verdes Hills. It is aimed at attracting capital ["underwriters"]
for the development and is a classic example of Hollywood-type
hyperbole. "This undertaking, in magnitude the greatest of
the sort ever undertaken in the world, is worthy the spirit and
genius that has made, in a few decades, sandy wastes into the
marvel city of the west. Carried out along the lines proposed,
not only will it prove one more brilliant achievement for Los
Angeles, the crowning jewel in this wonderful city's diadem of
visions accomplished, but it will doubtless return to those underwriting
it the largest return in proportion to cost ever made in any important
realty development." The mutiple large illustrations of the
Palos Verdes peninsula before development are an especially valuable
feature. The developers also proposed to offer a 1,000 acre site
for a southern campus of the University of California [they lost
out to Westwood]. As a starter they planned to build 1,000 homes
to sell in the range of $5,000.00 each!.
The second item is also elegantly illustrated, although the
emphasis is on science - not scenic beauty. The third item is
concerned with the human history of the Palos Verdes peninsula.
Together three items on the Palos Verdes peninsula of Los Angeles:
the first is moderately worn with a few tears, the other two are
in fine condition. (70/120).
437. [PALOS VERDES] Hanson, A. E.
Rolling Hills: the Early
Years, February 1930 through December 7, 1941. [1], 2-112
pp. Numerous illustrations from photographs, maps, drawings, brochures,
plans, etc. 12x9, tan linen with printed spine and cover titles
and cover ornament in black and red. First edition.
Rolling Hills: City of Rolling Hills, 1978.
Profusely illustrated early history of land development on the
Palos Verdes Peninsula. In 1939 new homes were being offered in
this rather exclusive area for $8,750.00. Fine condition. (30/40).
438. [PASADENA EPHEMERA]
World Famous Mount Lowe, California.
[24] pp. Thirty photogravures on twenty-three plates. 8x10, pictorial
wrappers with cover title embossed in gold. Chicago: C. T &
Co., n.d. [c. 1900]. * Great Incline on the Mount Lowe Railway.
Original hand-tinted photograph. 8x5, mounted on cabinet card.
No place, no publisher, no date [c. 1900]. * Souvenir of the
Cawston Ostrich Farm in California, the Original Home of the Ostrich
in America. [16] pp. Numerous illustrations from photographs.
7x9-3/4, wrappers with title embossed in red on cover. No place:
no publisher, no date.
Together three item. The first is a handsome brochure with excellent
photogravures. Staples removed from the first, few small tears
of wrapper edges of third item - otherwise all in fine condition.
(80/120).
439. [PASADENA, PROF. LOWE] Block, Eugene.
Above the Civil
War, the Story of Thaddeus Lowe, Balloonist, Inventor, Railway
Builder. [5], vi-viii, [2], 11-188 pp. Frontispiece portrait
and 58 paginated plates with illustrations from various sources.
9x6, tan linen with spine and cover titles in black, pictorial
endpapers, pictorial dust jacket. First edition. Berkeley: Howell-North
Books, 1966. * Seims, Charles. Mount Lowe, the Railway in the
Clouds. [3], 4-234 pp. Profusely illustrated from a variety
of sources. 11x8-1/2, red paper-covered boards with gilt spine
and cover titles, pictorial endpapers, pictorial dust jacket.
Second printing. San Marino: Golden West Books, 1979.
Professor Thaddeus Lowe was one of Pasadena's most prominent
citizens. If his military career, as the first to introduce balloon
reconnaisance into military tactics during the Civil War, and
his successful career as inventor and industrial entrepreneur
were not enough, his construction of an incline railway in the
Sierra Madre mountains [hailed as a remarkable feat of engineering]
and the naming of that mountain in his honor, insured his Pasadena
fame in perpetuity. The railroad and some of his Mount Lowe resorts
were opened July 4, 1893 to great fanfare. Professor Lowe lost
the operation and filed bankruptcy five years later. The Pacific
Electric Railway acquired the railway and resort properties for
a fraction of their cost and continued the operation for another
forty years before a series of natural disasters led to its permanent
closure. Together two books - both in fine condition. (50/80).
440. [PASADENA EPHEMERA]
Tournanment of Roses and Football
Classic, Pasadena, California, 1926. [64] pp. Profusely illustrated
from various sources. 7-3/4x10-3/4, pictorial wrappers in color.
Pasadena: Pasadena Star-News, January 1, 1926. * Pasadena,
Southern California in 1895. [2], 3-22, [2] pp. Map showing
location of Pasadena in the Los Angeles area and several illustrations
from photographs on wrappers. 5-1/2x3-1/4, pictorial wrappers.
Special edition by Hotel Green. Pasadena: Pasadena Board of Trade,
1895. * Vistas de Pasadena. Accordion fold-out with eighteen
panels [including both sides] of illustrations from photographs.
6x4-1/4 [folded], printed wrappers. [Los Angeles: M. Reider, Publisher,
1903].
Together three early promotional items on Pasadena from 1895
to 1926. The last one contains a four panel panorama of Pasadena
showing traces of the Mount Lowe railway in the Sierra Madre mountains.
All in fine condition. (50/80).
441. [PASADENA] Giddings, Jennie Hollingsworth.
I Can Remember
Early Pasadena. [10], 141, [2] pp. Frontispiece portrait in
color. 9x6, blue paper-covered boards with gilt spine and cover
titles, endpaper maps, pictorial dust jacket. First edition. Pasadena:
Privately published by the author, [1949]. * The Annual, Class
of 1924. Pasadena High School. [18], 19-215 pp. Numerous illustrations
from photographs. 10-1/2x7-1/4, printed wrappers. Pasadena: Pasadena
High School, 1924.
First item signed by the author on front blank flyleaf. Second
one signed by many students at Pasadena High School in 1924. Copy
of the Pasadena High School Chronicle for June 17, 1920 laid in
second item. The first book contains the personal reminiscences
of one of the early settlers in Pasadena. Modest wear of dust
jacket of first and of wrappers of the second - otherwise both
in near-fine condition.
(40/70).
442. [PASADENA] Homes and Gardens. Three original albumen photographs
of various homes and gardens in Pasadena. 7x9-1/4, unmounted and
laid in clear plastic holders.
Photographer and place not identified, no date.
One photograph shows three women on horseback on the grounds
of Prof. Lowe's estate, another shows the elegant home and gardens
of Andrew McNally on the southeast corner of Santa Rosa and Mariposa
streets, and the third shows gardens at an unidentified home in
Pasadena. All photographs in fine condition. (80/120).
443. [PICO HOUSE - EPHEMERA] City License, June 1879. 4x7-1/2,
laid in clear plastic holder. signed by the mayor and the city
clerk, W. W. Robinson [not the author]. * Holograph receipt on
Pico House stationery with woodcut of the hotel. 1 p. 8-1/4x5-1/4,
laid in clear plastic holder. * Statement of account with Chinese
laundry of Chung Woo for $223.68 on ledger paper. 1 p. 6-1/4x8,
laid in clear plastic holder. * Pay Roll of Pico House Employees
for the Week Ending Friday March 28, 1879. 1 p. 9-1/4x7-1/2, laid
in clear plastic holder.
Four items related to the Pico House built by Pio Pico in Los
Angeles in 1869. Pio Pico was the last governor of Mexican California
and the hotel that he built was considered the finest in the Southwest
at the time. The payroll is of special interest in showing wages
in 1879. Wages varied from $2.35 to $8.15 for seven days work.
One employee at the top of the list received $15.20 for the seven
days. Included with this are two photocopies of illustrations
of the Pico House from old photographs. The Pico House has been
preserved as a Historic landmark in Los Angeles. All items in
very good to fine condition. (200/300).
444. [PICTORIAL]
Los Angeles. Portrait of an Extraordinary
City. Paul C. Johnson, editor. [19], 20-304 pp. Profusely
illustrated from various sources. 11x8-1/2, leatherette-backed
linen with gilt spine title, pictorial endpapers and pictorial
slipcase. First printing. Menlo Park: Lane Magazine and Book Company,
1968. * Maier, John. Southern California. [7], 8-128 pp.
Profusely illustrated from color photographs. 12-3/4x9-1/2, black
paper-covered boards with gilt spine title, pictorial dust jacket.
First edition, first printing. New York: Gallery Books, [1990].
The first is the 1968 edition of a Sunset book on Los Angeles.
Compiled shortly after the clearing of Bunker Hill and the beginning
revitalization of the Los Angeles downtown, one of the photos
shows the area photographed in Hylen's Los Angeles before the
Freeways [see item #410] after the demolition. There is also
an artist's drawing of the future downtown. The second volume
is a recent publication on Southern California with stunning photographs
emphasizing the beautiful or dramatic. The Chamber of Commerce
couldn't have done better. Barely detectable cracking of the front
joint of the first item and creases at the edge of the two folded
plates at the beginning of the second item - otherwise both in
fine condition. (40/70).
445. [RANCHES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA] Cleland, Robert Glass. The
Irvine Ranch of Orange County, 1810-1950. [4], v-vii, [3],
3-163 pp. Fourteen unpaginated plates from various sources. 9x6,
brown linen with gilt spine title and cover decoration. First
edition. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1952. * Newhall,
Ruth Waldo. The Newhall Ranch. The Story of the Newhall Land
& Farming Company. [2], v-viii, [2], 3-120 pp. Nine unpaginated
plates with illustrations from various sources. 9x6, cloth-backed,
decorated boards, endpaper maps. First edition printed by Anderson,
Ritchie & Simon. San Marino: The Huntington Library, 1958.
Both in fine condition. (50/80).
446. ROBINSON, W. W.
Maps of Los Angeles from Ord's Survey
of 1849 to the End of the Boom of the Eighties. [4], vii-viii,
[8], 87, [3] pp. Nine unpaginated maps inserted, fifteen paginated
maps and illustrations and one unpaginated facsimile of a land
promotion broadside. 13x9-1/4, gray linen with gilt-titled morocco
spine label and cover ornament in color. Limited edition of 380
copies printed by Saul and Lillian Marks at the Plantin Press.
Los Angeles: Dawson's Book Shop, 1966.
Signed presentation inscription by the author on the colophon
page. Handsome product of the Plantin Press with a good historical
introduction and catalogue of 127 maps by W. W. Robinson. This
is a perfect companion piece to Dumke's Boom of the Eighties.
The author has illustrated the history of land development in
the Los Angeles area with well-chosen maps starting with the first
survey and later maps of subdivisions which have characterized
the history of California since the conquest. [See items # 426
and 427 for original maps and broadsides of early subdivisions
in Los Angeles.] Fine condition. (200/300).
447. ROBINSON, W. W.
Los Angeles from the Days of the Pueblo
together with a Guide to the Historic Plaza Including the Pueblo
de Los Angeles State Historical Monument. [4], 5-96 pp. Five
unpaginated color plates and numerous paginated black and white
illustrations from various sources. 9x5-1/2, tan cloth with gilt
spine title and blue cover title. [San Francisco]: California
Historical Society, [1959]. * Robinson, W. W. Panorama. A Picture
History of Southern California Issued on the 60th Anniversary
of Title Insurance and Trust Company. [160] pp. Profusely
illustrated from various sources. 10x6-3/4, pictorial wrappers
in color with printed spine and cover titles. Los Angeles: Title
Insurance and Trust Company, 1953. * Robinson, W. W. The Changing
Scene. A 100-Year-Picture-History of Southern California Presented
on the Centennial of the California Savings and Loan Industry
with the Compliments of Pioneer Savings and Loan Association.
[64] pp. Numerous black and white illustrations from various sources.
7x7, pictorial wrappers with spine and cover title printed in
multiple colors. Printed at the Ward Ritchie Press. Los Angeles:
Pioneer Savings and Loan Association, [1965].
Brochure for Spectrum 200 exhibit, Photographs from the History
of Los Angeles, 1860-1940 at the Merced Theatre in the El
Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park, n.d. laid in second
item. Together three volumes by W. W. Robinson, profusely illustrated
from photographs. Spine slightly worn on second item - otherwise
both in fine condition. (50/80).
448. ROBINSON, W. W.
Ranchos Become Cities. Introduced
by Robert Glass Cleland. [8], 9-243 pp. Chapter headpieces by
Irene B. Robinson. 9x6, pictorial cloth with spine and cover titles
in orange, endpaper maps, pictorial dust jacket. First edition.
Pasadena: San Pasqual Press, 1939.
W. W. Robinson, while researching land titles for a title and
insurance company in Southern California, became sufficiently
interested in the subject of the history of land in California
to make it his avocation as well. This is one of his first major
books and perhaps one of his most sought after. Fine condition.
(60/90).
449. SEIDENBAUM, ART AND JOHN MALMIN.
Los Angeles 200. A Bicentennial
Celebration. Foreword by Will Durant. [6], 7-320 pp. Profusely
illustrated from modern color photographs. 11-1/2x9-1/4, orange
linen with gilt spine title, pictorial endpapers, pictorial dust
jacket. First edition. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., [1980]
.
This book on Los Angeles, issued in time for its bicentennial
year [from its founding by Spain in 1781], bears the signature
of the entertainment capital of the world. Even the title page
has the background of a modern movie set and the dust jacket has
a dramatic color shot of exploding fireworks over the modern skyline.
The format is simple: a brief historical vignette for each year
from the founding in 1781 to 1980 with an accompanying photograph
bearing some relationship [albeit often strained] to the vignette.
For the most part the vignettes are well chosen, interesting and
illuminate a period of California history but the positive aspects
are stressed more than the negative. For the year 1965, for example,
the author chose the new art museum as the subject and omitted
any reference to the riots in Watts. The photographic illustrations
are superb even when irrelevant to the subject of the vignette.
Fine condition. (40/60).
450. [THOMPSON AND WEST] [Wilson, John Albert]
History of Los
Angeles County, California with Illustrations. [7], iv-vi,
[1], 12-192 pp. One hundred eleven unpaginated plates with illustrations
"from original sketches by artists of the highest ability"
and one map in color. 10-1/2x 13-3/4, black buckram with gilt
spine and cover titles and decorations, printed dust jacket. Berkeley:
Howell-North, 1959.
Prospectus laid in. This is a fine facsimile reprint of the original
1880 Thompson and West History of Los Angeles County. When
the original was published, the population of the entire Los Angeles
County was a little more than 33,000. Just one century later the
population was over 8,000,000. This is just one of the reasons
the term "fabulous" is so often used in connection with
the Los Angeles area - or was the population growth so great because
the the term "fabulous" was used so often in connection
with Los Angeles. In Southern California it is often difficult
to separate hype from reality - in fact, hype is a reality of
life and in LA LA Land, if there is a difference, it doesn't seem
to matter for sooner or later the reality seems to catch up with
the hype. Fine condition. (70/100).
451. VAN DYKE, THEODORE S.
Southern California: Its Valleys,
Hills, and Streams; Its Animals, Birds and Fishes; Its Gardens,
Farms and Climate. [3], v-xii, 13-233, [1], [6, adv.] pp.
7-1/2x5-1/4, green cloth with gilt spine title and black cover
title with ornament. First edition. New York: Fords, Howard, &
Hulbert, 1886.
Cowan p.656; Norris 4066. This is a remarkable book, if for no
other reason than it is a descriptive book of Southern California
without a single illustration. Nor are they needed. The author,
a Southern California convert, derw perhaps the most realistic
and accurate word pictures of the landscape, the flora, fauna,
and climate of Southern California of the time. He approached
the task from the perspective of an out-of-doors, "nature"
enthusiast, unphased by miles of uncultivated, seemingly barren
land, rugged mountains or tangled brush. It is of interest that
this book was written just before the land boom of the '80s collapsed.
Light wear of cover extremities - otherwise in fine condition.
(60/90).
First history of Los Angeles County in original
wrappers
452. WARNER, J. J., BENJAMIN HAYES AND J. P. WIDNEY.
An Historical
Sketch of Los Angeles County, California from the Spanish Occupancy,
by the Founding of the Mission San Gabriel Archangel, September
8, 1771, to July 4, 1876. [5], 6-88 pp. 5-1/2x8-1/2, printed
wrappers with cover title, laid in cloth-covered clamshell box
with gilt spine title. First edition. [Los Angeles]: Louis Lewin
& Co., 1876.
Cowan p.669. The three authors were members of the literary committee
of the Los Angeles Centennial Celebration. This work is the first
published history of Los Angeles. Darkening of the cheap pulp
paper as usual with partial splitting of front joint at top and
bottom of spine - otherwise in fine condition in original wrappers.
Although many copies were printed, the pamphlet was such poor
quality and fragile that few have survived in the original state
in such excellent condition. (400/700).
453. WARNER, J. J., BENJAMIN HAYES AND J. P. WIDNEY.
An Historical
Sketch of Los Angeles County, California from the Spanish Occupancy,
by the Founding of the Mission San Gabriel Archangel, September
8, 1771, to July 4, 1876. A Reprint of the Original Edition...to
Which Is Added an Invaluable Introduction Written by Dr. J. P.
Widney, the Surviving Member of the Trio. [9], 10-159 pp.
Frontispiece portraits of the three authors. 9x5-3/4, cloth-backed
printed boards with spine and cover titles. Los Angeles: O. W.
Smith, Publisher, 1936.
J. P. Widney came to Los Angeles in 1868 as a physician and was
a youth of only 35 when he participated in the authorship of the
original historical sketch of Los Angeles County. However he stated
that he took care of many of the native Hispanic Californians
in his practice and laments the passing of their culture. He was
95 when he wrote the poignant introduction to this reprint. In
those 60 years between the first printing and this one, the population
of Los Angeles County went from ten thousand to 1.2 million. Spattering
of a light blue dye on front page edges and margin of rear cover
- otherwise in very good condition. (70/100).