Philadelphia: Catholic Standard and Times, 1987. Paperback. "Mother Katharine Drexel is America's most famous nun for she seared the country's conscience on the problems of racism before equal rights was a coined expression. A stunning debutante, charismatic, a generous millionaire, she was a woman of towering idealism who worked selflessly for social justice but she was also a woman torn apart by the flaming injustices of the society in which she lived. A comprehensive, informative, compelling look at the struggles of a great woman in a pathetically unyielding milieu" (James McGrath review on rear cover). Illustrated black paper wrappers with white spine panel titled in black. Light rubbing to covers, else clean and bright. Includes laid-in ephemera with prayer for Drexel. 104 pages. REL/061720. Fine. More

Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Co, circa 1900. Hardcover. Scarce. Inscribed by the author "For the mother of Mary Matthews with best wishes of the Author - Alice Brooks / Written by the Great Great Aunt of Mary Matthews." on the front free endpaper. Alice Brooks was a Baltimore author who often wrote under the pseudonym "ALIX." A collection of advice for young mothers, most involving when and how to discipline kids - each with real life examples. The author notes that "most of the articles in this little volume have been published in Parish Visitor. The material, for many of them, has been gathered from the wise teachings of my mother, to whose memory I lovingly dedicate it." Bound with red cloth spine and corners over white cloth boards. Title in black to front cover with silver flower. Dampstaining and discoloration to covers and spine. Minor wear to corners and edges. Clean interior. 119 pages. LIT/041718. Very Good. More

Maureen Cummins, 2018. Number 17 of 35 copies signed and numbered by the book artist, Maureen Cummins. Secretary deconstructs the life and death-by-suicide of the artist's mother, Dolores Cummins, a brilliant woman, aspiring artist, and housewife for twenty-five years. It is this story that inspired Cummins's later book Crazy Quilt, as well as all the subsequent work that she created around marginalized populations. This book is the first of several around this common theme that Maureen has become well-known for. Secretary is made even more powerful by the structure and composition. It was letterpress printed on sheets of Asian lined paper resembling a steno pad, with titling redacted by hand in graphite. The type used appears to have been typed on an old typewriter. Each section of the book is preceded by a ghostly photographic image of Cummins's mother from that period of her life, reprinted from originals in the artist's possession. The text pages are bound in the style of a stenographer's notepad. It is housed in a stiff grey paper folder. Maureen Cummins is a noted creator of artists' books. Her work is held in over one hundred permanent public collections internationally and has been included in exhibitions at the American Craft Museum, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the Rotunda Gallery (amongst others). She has received over a dozen grants and awards and has been an artist-in-residence at numerous venues, including the American Antiquarian Society and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. In fine condition. Measures 8.75 x 14.5 inches. ARTB/100119. More

Cornwells Heights, PA: Mother Katharine Drexel Guild, 1972. Paperback. Signed and inscribed by the author (Sister Duffy). "The life story of Katharine Drexel (1858 - 1955), foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, spans a long period of time and covers eventful and far reaching developments in the history of the United States" (preface). Red, white, and blue paper wrappers with white title to spine and front panels. Rubbing to panels. Pen marking to front free endpaper. 434 pages. REL/071520. Very Good. More

New York: Benzinger Brothers, 1925. Hardcover. Original light purple cloth boards with black title to spine and front board. Small black illustration of St. Theresa to front board. Minor wear to corners and edges of boards. A few smudge marks to binding, but mostly clean. Pen marking to front free endpaper, light soiling to margins of a few pages, but clean and bright overall. Frontispiece. 215 pages plus ads. REL/070820. Very Good. More

Philadelphia: Heirloom Press, 2017. Hardcover. Number 4 of 5 copies. Signed by the artist. Folio. "Curio is a collection of quotidian objects that speaks to the idea of woman as domestic curator and as weaker vessel. Images of household vases, cups and bowls are paired with inkblots that evoke the trappings of middle-class existence" (artist's statement). Includes text adapted from the 1868 collection of articles, "Modern Women and What Is Said of Them" and the Kate Chopin novel "The Awakening." Many of the excerpts that the artist has chosen to include objectify women, likening them to jewelry, tables, and other precious possessions. For example: After scolding his wife for sun bathing, Mr. Pontellier looks "at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage." Also "The mind ought to be developed a little, and in such a way as to make the body more piquant and attractive. Like the candle inside a Chinese lantern, it may serve to lighten up and show to advantage the pretty devices outside. But the outside is the important thing, and the inside only incidental" (from "Modern Women ...). Others comment on how wives should be controlled or "managed" and the power dynamics within the home. A powerful book about the subjugation of women. Bound in full white alum-tawed leather with seven raised bands to the spine. Printed using letterpress, screenprint, and lithography on paper handmade by the artist. Size: 22 (wide) x 14.5 (tall) inches when open. ARTB/060920. Fine. More

Ft. Lauderdale: Dorothy Krause. This is an intriguing unique artist's book from noted book artist Dorothy Krause. Krause is a painter, collage artist and printmaker who incorporates digital mixed media into her art. Her work is exhibited regularly in galleries and museums and featured in numerous current periodicals and books. In her artist's statement she says: "My work includes large scale mixed media pieces, artist books and book-like objects that bridge between these two forms. It embeds archetypal symbols and fragments of image and text in multiple layers of texture and meaning. It combines the humblest of materials, plaster, tar, wax and pigment, with the latest in technology to evoke the past and herald the future. My art-making is an integrated mode of inquiry that links concept and media in an ongoing dialogue – a visible means of exploring meaning." This unusual work beautifully demonstrates Krause's approach to creating artists' books. It is made from Katie MacGregor's lime green handmade paper over multiple layers of mat board in which dimensional objects, including brass stencils for numbers 1 through 7, unexposed glass negatives, padlocks and keys are embedded. It is housed in a vintage green silk dome lidded box embroidered with cream and dark green threads. It is lined with ivory silk, with a vintage linen napkin hemmed to the size of book and tied with tea-dyed trim that enables the book to be removed from box. Shakespeare's "Seven Stages of Man", rewritten for Woman, is printed digitally in olive green ink on a sheet of vegetable vellum paper and laid in the box below the book. In fine condition. Measures 9.75 x 5.875 x 2.25 inches, 7 pages. $3500. Fine. More

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, (1996). Hardcover. INSCRIBED by Nancy M. Neuman, Sarah McClendon, Judy Woodruff and Sara Melendez. Unsent letter laid in from previous owner addressed to Hillary Clinton asking her to sign her chapter so the book could be auctioned for charity. Near fine in near fine illustrated dust jacket with white title to spine. Inscription from editor to half title page and the inscriptions from the essays are at the beginning of their chapters. Two very small spots of soiling to margin of page 131. Else is pristine with photographic illustrations of each essayist. Index, 265 pages. WOM/032817. Near Fine / Near Fine. More

Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin - Madison Libraries, 1984. Paperback. 8vo. Light blue side stapled paper wrappers with maroon title to front wrapper. Minor yellowing to edges and bump to head of spine. Interior is clean and bright. 31 pages. BOB/041017. Very Good. More

Warner Paperback Library, 1975. Paperback. "At sixteen, Fannie Bell Fleming from the mountains became Blaze Starr, the stripper. She wowed them in clubs across the country, carried on with the Mayor of Philadelphia, Frank Rizzo, and nearly married the Governor of Louisiana, Early Long. This is her story" (back cover). Bound in off-white paper wrappers with red title to spine and front cover. Photographic illustration of Blaze Starr to front cover. Crease and short closed tear to rear cover. Creasing to spine. Browning to interior, but text remains bright and legible. Remnants of an old price sticker to rear cover. Includes 16 pages of black and white photographs (some with partial nudity). 206 pages. AMERBIO/062118. Very Good. More

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. Hardcover. First Edition. Fine in black cloth boards with gilt title to spine. In beige illustrated dust jacket with black title to spine and front panels. Clean and bright. As new. 330 pages. WOM/062515. Fine / Fine. More