THE SECRET OF MANKIND WITH SOME SINGULAR HINTS GATHERED IN THE ELSEWHERES OR AFTER-LIFE, FROM CERTAIN EMINENT PERSONAGES ALSO SOME BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE PLANET MERCURY AND ITS INSTITUTIONS
New York, London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, The Knickerbocker Press, 1895. First edition. 8vo. xi, 417 pp. Inscribed on the title page in 1922 by Estelle M-B Thompson (the author's daughter) to Dr. L.L. Hill (of Montgomery, Alabama) and noted by her under the title "By WBrewer / Alabama." Laid in is a 3-page autograph letters, signed by the author 30 July 1891, on his law firm stationery, declining to sell his copy of Adair's "History of then American Indians" and joking about other bookish matters. Brewer (1844-1912), a native and lifelong resident of Alabama, served in the Confederate army, in post-war local and state political offices, and the U.S. House of Representatives, 1897-1901; Dr. Luther L. Hill (1862-1946) was "the first American physician to perform a successful surgical repair on a wounded heart" (Encyclopedia Alabama, online). Wright III, 665: "Brewer, supposed author." Bleiler, p. 6. Locke "Voyages in Space" 21: "Approximately 100 pages deal with a visit to Mercury." OCLC locates 21 copies (four in Alabama, but no others in the South). With Hill's stamp on front pastedown, else very good. Original green cloth (small nick to front board), gilt spine title.(11092). Item #60884
Price: $1,250.00