‎WILLIAMS-SONOMA.‎
‎American.‎

‎The Danish Journalists’ Tour of the North American Defense Command 10th July – 12th August. ‎

‎(USA), The North American Defense Command, 1960. Elephant Folio (765 x 515 mm). Large collection of photos with accompanying commentaries, in the custom made blue binding with gilt lettering to front board. 137 original monochrome photos (measuring 255 x 200 mm) pasted on to 40 leaves of paper documenting a month long trip to document the US Air Defense System from Copenhagen to New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and, the main focus of the trip, Thule and Station Nord in the North of Greenland. Also inserted are two formal signed letters to chief editor of the Danish newspaper Fyns Tidende, Knud Madsen, 1) from Val Peterson, American Ambassador to Denmark, 2) from Laurence S. Kuter, U.S. Air Force general and Commander in Chief of NORAD. Both letters are thanking Knud for his time, for their close working relationship and for his understanding. Light wear to extremities and paper slightly browned in margin but otherwise in fine condition and all photos well preserved.‎

‎Exceedingly rare photo album - curated by the North American Defense Command with personal signed letters by Val Peterson, American Ambassador to Denmark and Laurence S. Kuter, U.S. Air Force general and Commander in Chief of NORAD - depicting the Danish journalists' tour of the North American Defense Command in the summer of 1960. The album is of the utmost scarcity and was only presented to a select few of the participants of the tour. The present collection is a testament to one of the most controversial and disputed chapters in the Danish-North American relationship, namely that of Camp Century on Greenland this includes installation of a portable nuclear reactor, the first of its kind, and eventually the creation of a vast network of nuclear missile launch sites – information only declassified in 1996. Furthermore, it is a fine example of US-military Cold War propaganda and it they sought to influence the public opinion in allied countries. In 1951, the United States and Denmark - both founding members of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) - signed the Defense of Greenland Agreement. The treaty was intended “to negotiate arrangements under which armed forces of the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization may make use of facilities in Greenland in defense of Greenland and the rest of the North Atlantic Treaty area.” More simply put, the agreement allowed the United States to build military bases in Greenland. Denmark and the US had signed a formal agreement granting America the right to maintain military bases in Greenland, but only in strictly defined areas, such as Thule Air Base in Northwest Greenland. They still needed approval from the Danish authorities for all activities outside these defence areas. In 1957, without informing the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister H. C. Hansen gave the Americans permission to store nuclear weapons at Thule AB. When the US Army constructed Camp Century, completely with its own transportable nuclear reactor, the Danish Government found itself in a tight corner. As news about Camp Century spread due to the army’s publicity campaign, the Danish authorities were forced to explain that there were no nukes in Greenland. The Danes had to either give in entirely to the American requests to deploy various nuclear weapons in Greenland, or take a firmer stand against the Americans. Denmark opted for the second solution. In recognition of the unfavourable public climate in Denmark, the US military issued a press campaign to provide better understanding of the need for military bases in the Artic. This was primarily done by inviting chief editors from the major Danish newspapers on a month long trip to the US as is evident from the present photos, no expenses were spared. As ambassador Val Peterson wrote to Danish chief editor Knud Madsen in the accompanying letter:“From personal conversations with several participants in your tour, and from articles about the trip which already have appeared in the Danish press, I know that the various sponsoring agencies have done their utmost to make your visit instructive as well as pleasant. Above all, I am happy that you have had an opportunity to gain an insight in the vast effort made the the United States to safeguard the security of the free world and to maintain the peace, in close and cordial cooperation with our friends and Allies, Denmark prominently among them” And General Laurence S. Kuter: “We were delighted to have an opportunity to explain the important segments of our defense system to you – the NORAD Story. Denmark will continue to play a very important role in North American’s air and aerospace defenses in permitting important detection devices to be located in Greenland. Denmark is the only continental NATO power which provides such land-basing opportunity, which is essential for North America’s surveillance of the polar approach route. We hope, as a result of your visit, we now have a closer working relationship and understanding.” (From the accompanying letter). Over the next decade, the American military built three air bases in Greenland: Narssarsuaq, Sondestrom, and Thule. In context of the Cold War, these bases provided a refueling point and a base of operations for intermediate-range strategic bombers. Additionally, the United States deployed radar stations in Greenland to maintain a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) and a Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, which would give the United States advance warning of a Soviet nuclear attack. The Thule Air Base is the only of the three which is still operational today. Located less than 1,000 miles from the North Pole, it is the U.S. Air Force’s northernmost base. Construction on Camp Century began in June 1959 and was completed by October 1960. Army engineers first had to build a three mile road to bring the 6,000 tons of supplies it would require to build the $8 million facility. Most of the heavy equipment, including vehicles, were brought by bobsleds known as “heavy swings” which had a maximum speed of two miles per hour, making it a 70 hour trip from the Thule Air Base. The camp itself was not a secret. Officially, it was built for scientific purposes under the auspices of the Army Polar Research and Development Center. The Army even produced a short film promoting Camp Century as a “remote research community.” The facility did see some significant scientific discoveries, such as some of the first studies of ice cores, revealing geological secrets going back 100,000 years. Science, however was not the primary purpose of Camp Century. The facility was built primarily as a test for a military operation involving nuclear missiles. The U.S. Army continued to operate Camp Century in a limited capacity until 1966. Its tunnels quickly collapsed, and today the facility is unreachable, buried under a thick layer of ice. Project Iceworm remained a closely guarded secret until 1997, when the Danish Institute of International Affairs (DUPI) reported Camp Century’s military ambitions. ‎

‎Bulletin of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. # 3 4 5 6 7 for 1915 # 1 ‎

‎Bulletin of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. # 3 4 5 6 7 for 1915 # 1 3 4 5 for 1917. In Russian (ask us if in doubt)/Vestnik Russko-Amerikanskoy Torgovoy Palaty. # 3 4 5 6 7 za 1915 god # 1 3 4 5 za 1917 god. Short description: In Russian (ask us if in doubt).Journal in Russian and English M 1915 1917 price for 9 issues. Development of the automobile industry in the United States. Russian-American trade relations. America and the principle of international arbitration. Prospects of S.A.S. trade in the Caucasus in connection with the war (report of the American consul). Russian-American Bank. Exchange of parcels with the United States. Commercial traffic between Russia and England via Finland. Cargo transportation costs New York-Moscow. Commodity prices in New York. Brought to Russia from the United States. War and leather business. General meeting of members of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. Report on the activities of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce for 1914. Report on the activities of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce (January-April 1915) We have thousands of titles and often several copies of each title may be available. Please feel free to contact us for a detailed description of the copies available. SKUalb65a9e3db747235a4‎

‎James Watrous. American Printmaking. A Century of American Printmaking 1880-1980‎

‎James Watrous. American Printmaking. A Century of American Printmaking 1880-1980. American Engraving. A Century of American Engraving 1880-1980 In Russian (ask us if in doubt)/James Watrous. American Printmaking. A Century of American Printmaking 1880-1980. Amerikanskaya gravyura. Stoletie amerikanskoy gravyury 1880-1980. In English 1984 334 pp. We have thousands of titles and often several copies of each title may be available. Please feel free to contact us for a detailed description of the copies available. SKUalbe5d98baa87f45763‎

‎Three Centuries of American Prints. From the National Gallery of Art.‎

‎, Thames & Hudson , 2016 Hardback, 29x24.5mm, 360p, 206 colour illustrations, English edition . ISBN 9780500239520.‎

‎Nearly 200 American prints, representing more than 100 artists, and dating from the colonial era to the present day, are brought together in this unprecedented volume from the National Gallery of Art to commemorate its collection and recent acquisitions. The artists featured range from Paul Revere through James McNeil Whistler, Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Louise Nevelson, Romare Bearden, Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, Chuck Close, and Kara Walker. The works date from essentially every period in American history, so major art and historical themes running through the collection are readily visible. Lending context, twelve contributing authors discuss the varied themes in American art. Biographies of the artists and a glossary of printmaking terms are also featured. Since its founding in 1941, the National Gallery of Art has assiduously collected American prints with the help of many generous donors. The Gallery?s American print collection has grown from nearly 1,900 prints in 1950 to more than 22,500 prints today. The collection was recently transformed by the acquisition of an extraordinary group of 5,200 American prints brought together by Reba and Dave Williams. ‎

‎Roughing It. By Mark Twain - First American Edition, first issue‎

‎ 1872 1872. Fully Illustrated by Eminent Artists. (Issued by Subscription Only...) Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company [etc.], 1872. 1 page undated ads. Original black cloth decorated in gilt. First American Edition, first issue, of this very early Twain title -- his fourth major book. In July 1861, as the Civil War was getting underway, Twain headed out west as private secretary to his brother Orion, who had just been appointed Secretary of Nevada Territory; Twain's "account of the continental crossing with Orion is a full-throated celebration of a golden era, of travel, youth, adventure, and America's last frontier" [Kaplan]..~The first issue is identifiable by the proper printing of lines 20-21 on p. 242.; also this copy does have ads on p. [592], which may be a further first-issue point. This is a near-fine copy (only a trace of wear at some edges, slight cracking of the front endpaper); as usual the binding's "gilt" (if actual gilt it is) has oxidized to a copper color. Blanck 3337 (indicating that the British editions may have been issued a few days earlier); McBride p. 18.~In our experience, it is quite difficult to find in decent shape copies of the first three of Twain's books that were issued in this hefty, oversized format (THE INNOCENTS ABROAD in 1869, this title in 1872, and THE GILDED AGE in 1873); it is not that hard to find the fourth and last (A TRAMP ABROAD in 1879).‎

‎Twain. Mark. 1835-1910 Roughing It. By Mark TwainHartford, Conn., American publishing co.; Chicago, $bF. G. Gilman [etc.,... . First state with 2 frontispieces; 591 pages and advert page; spine has light fading, but it and covers anre tight and solid; unmarked text , Very GoodPublished Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1872, first edition with all first state points. - full page advertisement on p. 592. Capital "T" in trees and "thirteenth" on page 156. "Eastern" p. 156. Complete text on p. 242. Unbroken "y" in first line of Contents. Unbroken type in first word of Chaper 1. 8vo. 591pp. 2 frontis+ plates+illustrations within the text + 1pp. publisher's ad. Brown cloth with blind embossed covers with gilt designs and titles, buff colored endpapers. Edges rubbed to the boards, several chips to the backstrip with loss at the heel, splitting to the outer cloth along hinges, corner stain to a few sheets, bookplate on pastedown, name on fl. Pages clean and crisp with no foxing, text block tight. Good.The first issue is identifiable by the proper printing of lines 20-21 on p. 242.; also this copy does have ads on p. [592], which may be a further first-issue point. TBlanck 3337 (indicating that the British editions may have been issued a few days earlier); McBride p. 18.~In our experience, it is quite difficult to find in decent shape copies of the first three of Twain's books that were issued in this hefty, oversized format (THE INNOCENTS ABROAD in 1869, this title in 1872, and THE GILDED AGE in 1873); it is not that hard to find the fourth and last (A TRAMP ABROAD in 1879).A second state copy of the first edition with the missing word "his" on lines 20/21 of page 242. (BAL 3337; McBride p. 18; Wright II 554; Johnson p. 215)BAL distinguishes between the first and second states by the presence of two words on page 242 (first state) or their absence (second state). But it isn't that simple. Copies are found with just one word present (or one word absent, if you are a pessimist.) And similar damage to the plates has been noted on the following pages: xi.1 (M in My is perfect) as in this copy; 19.1 (y is perfect) as in this copy; and 123.6 up (death! which was corrected from death.) as this copy. All of these texts are damaged at some point during the printings(s), and all, including the one on page 242, are found in endless random combinations. At some point, two words were altered: at page 156.2 up "thirteenth" was corrected to "sixteenth" - this copy has the uncorrected "thirteenth" -and on page 330.16 up "Eastern" was corrected to "eastern" - this copy has the uncorrected listing. These changes could distinguish between two printings, but may only distinguish between two later printings. The states of the plates can be guessed at, but if multiple plates were used or mixing of sheets took place (as is clear from surviving copies) they should be viewed with caution.Traduction automatique:Publié Hartford : American Publishing Company, 1872, première édition avec tous les premiers points d'état. - annonce pleine page à la p. 592. "T" majuscule dans les arbres et "treizième" à la page 156. "Oriental" p. 156. Texte complet p. 242. «y» ininterrompu dans la première ligne du sommaire. Type ininterrompu dans le premier mot du chapitre 1. 8vo. 591pp. 2 frontis+ planches+illustrations dans le texte + 1pp. annonce de l'éditeur. Toile brune avec couvertures gaufrées à froid avec dessins et titres dorés, pages de garde de couleur chamois. Bords frottés sur les plats, plusieurs éclats au dos avec manque au talon, déchirure au tissu extérieur le long des charnières . Pages propres et nettes sans rousseurs, bloc de texte serré. Bon. ‎