Newport: Our Social Capital (Limited Edition 1/347 copies & signed by Mrs. Van Rensselaer Inscribed in ink on the front paste-down: "With the compliments of the author: The world has nothing to bestow/ From our own selves our joys must flow/ And that dear hut, our home" Mrs. K. Van Rensselaer December 6, 1900." All in Mrs. Van Rensselaer's flowing hand.

Van Rensselaer, Mrs. John King (Unique copy signed and with 9 Letters ALS) from the Gilded Age.

Published by J.B. Lippincott Company MDCCCV (1905), 1905

About this Item

Splendidly bound in finely woven brown linen cloth stamped brightly in gold on the front boards and on the spine. With the Rhode Island seal stamped in gold and blue on the front boards, featuring an anchor and the word "Hope" on a waving banner. Printed on heavy, deckle-edged paper. Very clean and tight throughout. Top edges gilded. Some fraying and chipping to the top and bottom of the cloth of the spine ends. Corners bumped. With some light leeching and flecking of color to the center of the front boards. A substantial and handsomely bound book. With a a splendid colored frontispiece by Henry Hutt, many illustrations in photogravure and double-tone, and from drawings by Edward Stratton Holloway. All with tissue guards. With two maps in very good condition, crisply folded and pocketed in the rear paste-down: 1) Map of Newport; 2) Road Map of Island of Rhode Island and Conanicut Island. And over 95 splendid full-page illustrations, photogravures, all with tissue guards throughout this limited edition. In addition to her signed presentation inscription on the front paste-down, there are 9 autographed letters (ALS) by Mrs. Van Rensselaer written to the her Newport friend and mentor, Dr. Arthur Sherman who served on the Newport Historic Society at that time. When Mr. Lippincott, the Philadelphia publisher, approached Mrs. Van Rensselaer about writing a special book on Newport, she sought the help of Dr. Sherman. These 9 handwritten letters in ink were written to Dr. Sherman dating from February 27, 1900 through December 23, 1900. The letters tell the story of how she came to write the book and thanks Dr. Sherman and Mr. Franklin for their many suggestions, ideas, and specific aid in writing Newport: Our Social Capital. She begins from her Philadelphia address in February by writing to Dr. Sherman for assistance, mentioning that "I have Mr. Mason s book on Rhode Island, but I want to know if there is a surviving congregation of the first Baptist Church and where it now is. Also if there is any sketch of it. So much has been written about Trinity, that I should like to bring the Baptists and their congregation more prominently before the public. I wish I could see you to ask a dozen questions about early days in Newport for you and your family must have many traditions. Can you give me the date when Bellevue Avenue was cut through to Rough Point? And when the Ocean Drive was laid out. I carried map and pictures to Mr. Lippincott, putting them in his hands; he promises to care for and to return them promptly. It gave me the greatest pleasure to send you a copy of my history of Newport. (A total of 9 letters, comprising 34 handwritten sheets of stationery, each sheet measuring 7"x 5.5", most with her No. 338 South Twelfth Street, Philadelphia address). A fascinating archive which showcases the creation and development of one the finest books about Newport, RI. First Edition with matching dates of 1905 on the title and copyright pages. This edition is printed from the type, and is limited to Three Hundred and Forty-Seven copies. This is Number 148.". Seller Inventory # 324

Bibliographic Details

Title: Newport: Our Social Capital (Limited Edition...

Publisher: J.B. Lippincott Company MDCCCV (1905)

Publication Date: 1905

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

Signed: Inscribed by Author

Edition: 1st Edition.