October 2012 | Rebecca Rego Barry

Kaaterskill Books

Catalogue Review: Kaaterskill Books, No. 15

Kaaterskill Pic.pngKaaterskill Books of East Jewett, NY, has the distinction of being my local rare book dealer--I mean local in the rural sense; it's probably about twenty miles from my home, still I'm pleased to know that rare books are out here in the wild. The ABAA bookshop, run by Joan and Charles Kutcher, offers a wide range of books, but the focus of its fifteenth catalogue is one of its specialties, Americana.

Here's an interesting title to consider: Facts Regarding the Disinfecting Powers of Chlorine ... printed in Schenectady in 1832, as the Asiatic Cholera was spreading in New York ($150). Another: The Action, Therapeutic Value and Use of the Carlsbad Sprudel Salt (Powder Form) and its Relation to the Carlsbad Thermal Water from 1891 ($150).

In the interesting-to-look at category: I'd love to frame the United States Historical and Statistical Index broadside on offer, "Exhibiting a Comprehensive Arrangement of Prominent Statistical Facts, as Appertaining to each Particular State: Also of the General Government of the United States, from the Administration of Washington, inclusive, to the present date, June, 1839" ($1,500). Or peruse the souvenir album showing twenty-five albertypes of Brooklyn at the turn of the century ($175). There's also a handsome hand-colored steel engraving, American Seaman's Friend Society Membership Certificate, c. 1844-1848 ($1,000).

Fast forward out of the nineteenth century and find a typed advance copy of Harold L. Ickes' 1939 speech, "Columnists and Calumnists," ($150) or a first edition of Allen Ginsburg's groovy broadside from 1967, "Who Be Kind To," illustrated by Wes Wilson ($275).  

Mexico, the Panama Canal, slavery, and the Mississippi River feature prominently as subjects in this 154-item catalogue. Read deeply, there is so much to take in! Download the PDF here.