Biographical Sketches of Distinguished Marylanders
Baltimore, Md: Kelly, Piet & Co., 1877. 8vo. Very Good+. Item #15371
An exceptional copy of a very scarce Maryland history.
The title of this extremely scarce 1877 collection says it all. But what make’s Boyle’s edition so desirable is that, for the most part, she writes of often unsung but influential Marylanders rarely seen in other works.
In addition to a few of the usuals such as Francis Scott Key and Charles Carroll of Carrollton, she has included the likes of Revolutionary War heroes Mordecai Gist, Otho Holland Williams and Margaret Jane Ramsay, Lawyer and diplomat William Pinckney and controversial 19th-century Baltimore novelist Anne Moncure Crane, among others.
Of the select few copies we've handled over the years, this is by far the finest. Brown cloth with gilt seal to front board and gilt titling to spine. Border ruling and corner dentelles stamped in blind. Square , tight binding. Clean interior, save for unobtrusive previous owner signature to dark brown front pastedown and a small scribble in ancient iron gall ink to front end paper. Mild edge wear, mainly at corners and spine ends.
A divinely beautiful piece not easy to come by.
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