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A small collection of some of the more notable publications by Bélier Press. Including Bizarre Comix; John Willie's Sweet Gwendoline; R. Crumb's Carload O'Comics and Fritz the Cat.

These documents were printed by Franklin at the press he established in Passy, France, while representing the new United States government in Paris. Franklin went all out to create forms which would represent the new American nation as a respectable power. For these forms, he used a sloped Roman type and fancy capitals which were unique to his press, and had the paper made to order (in England!) in the smooth wove style still little known of in France, with a strip of marbling down the center of the sheet. The sheet would have originally been twice the size you see here; it held the promissory note in duplicate. The document is "indentured," or cut apart in a wavy line through the marbling, making each copy of the promissory note (for the very large sums of money the US was borrowing from France) unique — so it would be impossible for either side to substitute a different document with, perhaps, a different sum owed.

Two account books for merchandise received, ca. 1721-33; Two 18th century copybooks of land surveys and deeds for lands held in Ulster Co.; a manuscript book with some poems written in Flemish; and Catharine Bevier Stillwell's manuscript book of recipes, ca. 1845. In addition there are books formerly owned by Bevier family members. These are chiefly Bibles, psalters and other protestant religious works in Flemish and French. Most of the books are in poor condition, having many torn and missing pages and almost all lacking title-pages. Their chief interest is the family autographs and other manuscript notes they contain. Included with the collection is a copy of Katherine Bevier's "The Bevier family : a history of the descendants of Louis Bevier." -- New York, Tobias A. Wright, 1916.

Very rare album of 70 photographic prints of the Russo-Japanese War by George Henry Rogers, operator and the war correspondent of the Charles Urban Trading Co. He has made his application from Paris. Here he waited three months before a permit to go to Russia was granted. After waiting three weeks in St. Petersburg, he was allowed to proceed as far as Irkutsk. At this town, he was turned out of the train, on the ground that transport was needed for the military for war stores. So Mr. Rogers bought a sledge and three ponies, and fortunately falling in with a troop of cossacks arrived, after seventeen days travelling, at Harbin where he was by the end of April (source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0821146/plotsummary). During that time, George H. Rogers managed to film the newsreel "The Russian Army in Manchuria" as well as took photos that were included in the album entitled "The Bioscope, with the Russian Army in Manchuria." Photographs captured scenes of the war including Russian troops in Irkutsk; Generals Kuropatkin, Grekov and Rennenkempf; reservists getting on the train; Russian infantrymen; a Cossack division; General Kuropatkin with viceroy of Mukden; General Kuropatkin in Harbin; beheading of prisoners; photographs of Rogers. There is an inscription in French: "Dédié Respectueusement a mm. les Généraux Rennenkampf et Grekoff en témoignage de remerciement pour leur courtoisie envers l'auteur, qui a suivi les troupes russes en mandchourie depuis le commencement de la guerre. G. H. Rogers Janvier 1905."

The manuscript "Questions Russes" discusses Soviet foreign policy in a historical perspective.

Sixty-four letters written by George Henry Calvert (8), his mother Rosalie Stier Calvert, and his uncle Charles J. Stier, as well as other members of the Calvert family. All the letters are in French except those written by George Calvert. These latter were written from Europe and describe the life of a young gentleman of leisure in the early 19th century. Other letters deal chiefly with family financial transactions. Also, letters from George Henry Calvert to Hiram Powers, 1843-1857.