Rare and early vintage albumen print of the Shimbashi Railway Station in Tokyo, with festive decoration and banners wearing the imperial seal "kiku-mon". The Tokyo to Yokohama rail line opened on 14th October 1872, with a great ceremony as the emperor took the first official ride, arriving at Shimbashi Station in a Western carriage. Mounted on coeval cardboard. Condition: fine, minimally faded, a tiny hole. Dimension: photo: 20.1 cm x 25.9 cm, cardboard: 34.8 cm x 43.8 cm.

A pair of typed letters on White House vice-presidential stationery, one dated October 27, 1972, the other dated August 27, 1973, each addressed to Beverly Hills, CA friends of the 39th Vice President of the United States, SPIRO T. AGNEW (1918-1996)...

A set of five antique atlas maps, titled, "Oceanie", "Amerique Septentrionale", "Amerique Meridionale", "Europe", and "Asie", published in 1856 by A. Combette, and printed by Alfred Lemercier, Paris, after cartography by Victor Levasseur. The set is framed identically in dark, "distressed" style modern framing of good quality (each measures 15" by 22"). Maps are very clean, considering the age, with only the stray fox mark here and there...

A very rare Original Letter written in black ink and bearing the Seal of the late Duchess of Richelieu (France) to Monsieur de Sinner, Berne, Switzerland, DATED 1797. Size open letter: 18 cm. x 15 cm. French Transcript available upon request. Price: US$ 475

An oversized albumen photograph of the Grand Canal in Venice with gondolas and delicate hand tinting. Image 16 ½ inches (42 cm) tall, 21 inches (53 cm) wide. Frame 22 ¼ inches (56 cm) tall, 26 ½ inches (67 cm) wide. The photograph is slightly smaller than the card on which is mounted.

Condition: there is a considerable fade in the center of the image from the wooden backboard or the gap between the boards. The right side above the buildings on the far right some discoloration...

ROCKFORD WATCH CO. Rockford, Illinois 1873 – 1915 The Rockford Watch Company’s equipment was bought from the Cornell Watch Col, and two of Cornell’s employees, C.W. Parker and P.H. Wheeler, went to work for Rockford. The factory was located 93 miles from Chicago on the Rock Rover. The first watch was placed on the market on May1, 1878. They were key wind, 18 size, full plate expansion balance and dials made by outside contract...

A black and white 1950's photo of the famous Argentine, Juan Peron (1895-1974), inscribed in ink at bottom "al senor Herbert He. Jillson, con gran afecto/Buenos Aires, 18 febrero 1955/Juan Peron". The piece measures 14" by 9" inside the mat and 18 1/2" by 13 1/2" framed (no glass, as found). This is a fascinating piece of history. Peron of course was a world-famous figure at mid century...

Antique French 18th century map of the Mediterranean Sea regions and the Holy Land, titled "Carte des Regions et des Lieux....Nouveaux Testament", by noted French cartographer Rigobert Bonne (1727-1794), published Paris circa 1771. Measurements inside the mat 12 1/4" by 17 3/4" (21" by 25" as framed). Bonne was one of the premier cartographers of his day, having gained a reputation for producing accurate and practical maps...

An example of an original 17th century copper engraving map with later hand coloring, titled "The Road from Oxford to Cambridge", from the first road atlas of England and Wales, by noted mapmaker JOHN OGILBY (1600-1676). The piece measures 14 1/2" by 17 1/2" inside the mat, 26 1/2" by 28 1/2" as framed...

For the history buff or specialized collector of items relating to the history of medicine, a framed photo of famed doctor WILLIAM J. MAYO (1861-1939), one of the co-founders of the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The circa 1920 photo is inscribed at bottom margin "To Dr. E. L. Crispin with kind personal regards/W. J. Mayo". William Mayo was a son of country physician W.W. Mayo. Exposed early on to the basics of medicine, he went on to medical school in the 1880's...

A letter typed on US Senate stationery, dated June 3, 1966, hand signed in brown ink by Ted Kennedy (1932-2009) when he was on the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare. The senator was responding to correspondence from a George McCullough of New York City, which evidently dealt with McCullough's concerns about sharply increased LSD use in the United States...

Albumen print mounted on coeval cardboard showing the second court from north-west with the Osiride statues and the fallen colossus of Remesses II in the first court, Theban west bank, Egypt. Photographer: Wilhelm Hammerschmidt, German - 1860's in Egypt. Condition: Photograph with one small stain, Cardboard with some stains and tears, corners with small losses. Dimension: Photo 19,2 x 22,9 cm., cardboard 31,8 x 39,4 cm.

This is a miniature map, 3 3/8" by 4 7/8" inside the mat, titled at upper right "EUROPA", and bearing at lower right the name of the engraver cartographer, Pieter van den Keere (Petrus Kaerius). The entire sweep of Europe is shown, from Greenland and Atlantic islands on the west to as far east as Turkey, the Middle East, and "Tartaria". Kaerius (circa 1571-1646) was born in the Low Countries and fled to London due to religious persecution, in 1584. There he became established in engraving map...

Found in New Hampshire, this is a beautifully and meticulously drawn map of the South American continent, from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn, signed at lower right one "Rosa W. Miner" (or, "Mines"). The work, which measures 13" by 10" in a simple earlier 20th century frame, is drawn in pencil, with watercolor forming the borders of the various countries. Evidently, at some point, educators supplied the school children with pre-printed blanks, so that there would be no need to draw the lat...

A handwritten letter mounted on an old board, along with old photographic reproductions of two of the artist's works, by well listed French 19th century artist JEAN-JACQUES HENNER (1829-1905). The letter is entirely in French, written in old brown ink, on one page (though there are three other unused sides), and is undated. An old mat with hand-drawn and painted borders (removable) is fitted over openings made for the letter and photos. Henner is renowned for his portraits and depictions of a...

Early vintage albumen print of the two large bronze Kannons near the Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo, with children. Numbered in Japanese "277". Mounted on coeval cardboard. Condition: fine, minimally faded, left border of photo with a small loss. Dimension: photo: 21.4 cm x 27.4 cm, cardboard: 34.8 cm x 43.9 cm.

Here is an original extradition writ that empowers Williaim H.Shields to "take and receive from proper authorities ...Cecil H. Kurth" Dated Oct 23, 1936 with Mayor Curley's Signature below a seal.The back of the document testfies to the transfer. (William is spelled incorrectly on the front page.)

A miniature size hand written in Latin manuscript page, double sided, measuring 4 1/4" by 3", and 8 1/2" by 6 1/2" nicely framed, likely of religious content. Written neatly in brown ink with red capitals in places, much as would be seen in an antiphonal sheet. Condition of this little item, a survivor at many hundreds of years old, is excellent.