Manual of the Corporation of the City of New-York for 1856. - COMPLETE
New York: (McSpedon & Baker), 1856. First Edition. Original cloth. Thick 8vo. Pp. xii, [14], 25-600. Frontis. folding, hand-colored map of Manhattan from 53rd Street to Spuyten Duyvel Creek. Lavishly ladenwith maps, charts and tinted lithographic views. Bound in brown cloth stamped in blind and gilt on front and rear boards, and spine, where the gilt appears as more of a metallic copper. Bookplate ("Henry Hopkins"). Near Fine. Item #7233 In 1830, when Valentine became Deputy Clerk of the Common Council, he manifested his interest in city history by staunching the outbound flow of municipal documents being channeled "to second-hand book- and print-shops, and so passed on into the outstretched hands of covetous autograph- and relic-hunters" (Lawrence, p. ix). As Valentine's title suggests, his manuals served as guides to New York City of his day, with contemporary maps, plans, facts and figures (elected officials, demographics, tax rolls, etc.), but also reproduced historical print matter under his care as self-appointed archivist. Thus, in addition to acting as preservationist, Valentine shared his enthusiasm for Gotham history by reproducing, in this volume, for example, a four-page facsimile letter from NY worthies to George Clinton, 1783; an engraved view of "The Harlem Plains" in 1803, a topographical "Plan of Fort Green, and Line of Intrenchment" by Lieutenant James Gadsden, and early newspaper extracts, among many other historical reproductions, all amid the facts and figures of contemporary New York City, including votes received by politicians, costs of operating jails, a roster of licensed pawnbrokers, names of every policeman and the wards in which they serve, and so forth. A particularly attractive copy, with text block clean, corners sharp, fold-outs bright. One of the nicest copies we've seen.
David Valentine's Manual remains "one of the best and most used sources for information about New York City during three decades of the nineteenth century ... published annually between 1841 and 1870 (except in 1867)" (Lawrence, Valentine's Manuals: A General Index, p. 1).
Price: $550.00