Our 34th Year - Updated April 16, 2008
In addition to selling our own books,
we are the North American distributor for
Carmania Press, London.
We acquired Harbor Hill Books when he retired in 1990.
1754-1763 * * * 250 Years * * * 2004-2013
The Wall Street Journal reviewed our Travels of Peter Kalm on November 17th (see below). Enjoy the beauty and serenity of the Catskills now warm weather is here with Pete Senterman as your guide to the very best hikes, road bike tours, mountain bike tours, whitewater, flatwater, swimming holes. See why Hudson Valley Magazine calls Norman J. Van Valkenburgh a "Master of Mystery."
New catalogs were mailed in October 2007. Note change: Our new history of Delaware County is $20.00 not $25.00.
Important regional titles or fourth and fifth grade readers: AMERICA'S FIRST WILDERNESS: NEW YORK STATE'S FOREST PRESERVES by Norm Van Valkenburgh (48 pages, 6.50) • THE MOHICANS by Aileen Weintraub and Shirley Dunn with paintings by L. F. Tantillo (40 pages, 6.50) • SYBIL LUDINGTON: DISCOVERING THE LIFE OF A REVOLUTIONARY WAR HERO
by V. T. Dacquino (40 pages, 6.50) • SEEKING THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE: THE EXPLORATIONS AND DISCOVERIES OF CHAMPLAIN AND HUDSON by Don and Carol Thompson (88 pages, 8.50)
Watch here for publication dates.
"ALWAYS ON STATION"THE STORY OF THE SANDY HOOK SHIP PILOTS
by Francis J. Duffy
There are few organizations in this country that can trace their founding to more than three hundred years ago as the Sandy Hook Pilots can. Their logo carries the date 1694. They served under two national flags: British and American. Over the centuries, the pilots have weathered many changes,but the United New York and New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Benevolent Association is still safely guiding ships across the bar as they enter and leave the Port of New York and New Jersey. This book follows the pilots' organization from its founding. Every change in the maritime industry has had repercussions for the pilots, from the changing of sailing ships to steamships to the present-day containerization of cargoes. The pilots have taken the basic tenets of an ancient trade guild and adapted it for today's world, working together to provide a highly skilled service needed in the twenty-first century.
by Stuart Ferguson, November 17:
Certainly Kalm is too little known today. "Travels in North America" -- published in Swedish in three volumes between 1753 and 1761 and in English in 1770 -- has been out of print in the U.S. for many years. (Its first-hand information on the daily life of Indians and colonial whites rivals its botanical finds.) So we must be grateful to Paula Ivaska Robbins for the first general-interest biography of Kalm in English. "The Travels of Peter Kalm" does more than recapitulate Kalm's famous book; it recounts both the naturalist's youth and his life as a professor in Turku, Finland, after his 1748-51 stay in America.
Ms. Robbins neatly describes the intellectual milieu of the time, when everyone who wrote on science seemed to know everyone else. It was a time of astonishing scientific breakthroughs, as she notes, and also lingering ignorance. Linnaeus was attacked for discussing the sexuality of plants. One offended scholar was sure that such "loathsome harlotry as several males to one female would not have been permitted in the vegetable kingdom by the Creator."
As it happens, Ms. Robbins grew up speaking Finnish as well as English, making her well-suited to Kalm research. Just as important, she feels an enthusiasm for the vegetable kingdom that comes through on every page.
Commemorating the the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great Swedish naturalist, Linnaeus, who sent his favorite disciple, Peter (Pehr) Kalm, to botanize in North America. Kalm is remembered today, not only for the specimens he brought back to Europe, but also for his journal, a rich source for information about colonial life, religion, politics, and architecture. Linnaeus named our mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia in honor of Kalm. This account of Kalm's travels is the first in English.
THE TRAVELS OF PETER KALM, FINNISH-SWEDISH NATURALIST,
THROUGH NORTH AMERICA, 1748-1751
by Paula Ivaska Robbins
"Today, one can visit the Linnean Society at Burlington House in London and examine the actual Kalm specimens used by Linnaeus to name many of his American plants. For me, it is a bit humbling to touch a leaf or examine a flower collected by Kalm in the wilds of America, brought to Europe, and studied by Linnaeus. It is a reminder that most of my knowledge of American plants is based, to a considerable degree, on the efforts of others who lived generations ago in a time and under circumstances I hardly can comprehend. Now, in this book, one can gain a feeling for the man, Peter Kalm, and not just admire the surviving dried plant specimens he labored to bring to the Master." —James L. Reveal, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland; Honorary Curator, The New York Botanical Garden
THE OTHER SIDE OF TIMEEssays by "The Catskill Geologist"
Robert Titus
Geologist Robert Titus has developed a remarkable ability to reach out and communicate Catskill geological history to the general public in his many articles in Kaatskill Life magazine. But few know Titus has also written hundreds of newspaper columns as well. Now he gets a chance to reprint his favorite articles. If you love Catskill and Hudson Valley landscapes, this book will present insights that you will find nowhere else.
Dr. Titus is a professor of geology at Hartwick College and writes about geology for a general audience. He is also a popular speaker and makes numerous appearances each year.
"THE ARTILLERY NEVER GAINED MORE HONOUR"
The British Artillery in the 1776 Valcour Island and 1777 Saratoga Campaigns
by Douglas R. Cubbison
This illustrated history highlights the efforts and contributions of the British Corps of Artillery in the Valcour Island campaign of 1776 and the Saratoga Campaign of 1777, recounting the participation by both the British Royal Artillery and that of the Hesse Hanau Artillery, who served as hired allies of the British. It focuses on the tactical, logistical, and command functions of the Royal Artillery by making considerable use of primary sources, many of them utilized for the first time in this study. It concludes with a detailed examination of the British artillery pieces used during this campaign and makes an effort to identify the current location of all documented Saratoga artillery pieces. The author is currently employed as the command historian for the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum.
A HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, NEW YORKA Catskill Land and Its People, 1797-2007
by Tim Duerden
From a "howling wilderness" to weekend retreat, this book is the first comprehensive history of Delaware County since 1949. The author follows the numerous themes, characters and events that so affect our present. Land use is at the fore of this tale of a remote upland county situated in the western Catskill Mountains, now part of the vast hinterland of New York City. Once the haunt of Native Americans, the county became home to hardy pioneer families, farmers and trades people, each group with its own particular needs to be derived from the land. Land use issues have dominated the local scene, as documented by the stories of the Anti-Rent War, the construction of the railroads and highways and eventually the construction of the reservoirs for New York's thirsty millions. More than 120 illustrations are included. The author is the executive director of the Delaware County Historical Association.
MATERIAL MEMORIES
OF THE MOHAWK-HUDSON REGION
by Jack H. Westbrook
From colonial times onward the Albany area's metals and materials industries served national needs. Here is an overview by a distinguished scientist of the area's mines, materials production, and the fabrication of its varied products that ranged from X-ray tubes to massive locomotives. His expert knowledge enables him to present unmatched insights on the accomplishments of the Hudson-Mohawk natural resources and its artisans, inventors, and scientists.
FOND MEMORIES
Northern Sullivan County, New York: Its History and Lore
Essays by Shirley Tempel Fulton
Land ownership in the Livingston Manor part of Sullivan County has always been an interesting issue from the time of the Hardenbergh Patent, to Dr. Edward Livingston, to the Anti-Rent War, to the coming of the O&W railroad. It is all here along with a nostalgic look at tourism's heyday, the acid factories, tanneries, mills, schools, shops, and country life of yesteryear.
Announcing a new edition of MOHONK: It's People and Spirit, our illustrated history of the famous Shawangunk Mountain resort. Now on the National Register of Historic Places, it has been owned and operated by the Smiley family for more than a hundred years and is still growing. It is an extraordinary story. More than 12,000 copies were sold of our first three editions. The author is historian and archivist Larry E. Burgess, Director of the A. K. Smiley Public Library, Redlands, California. He is also the author of our Daniel Smiley of Mohonk: A Naturalist's Life.
FROM VERNACULAR TO SPECTACULAR
Function Follows Form: How Houses Changed Lifestyles
of the Hudson Valley Dutch, 1700-1830
by Harrison Meeske
Introduction by Roderic H. Blackburn / Color plates by Geoffrey Gross
During the eighteenth century, new concepts in domestic design were introduced and adopted. Modifications to elevation during the period suggested even a small house could reflect an owner's stylish aspirations. Increasing material wealth enabled many householders to enlarge their dwellings and introduce the concept of specialized and personalized rooms. Older vernacular houses were adapted and new structures were built. The new plans’ change of form preceded and unintentionally resulted in new lifestyles. The adoption of specialized rooms fragmented earlier living arrangements and effectively ended the communal post-medieval household. Hall passageways, private rooms, and locking doors established the setting fundamental to the emergence of attitudes concerning individual personal privacy and popularized perceptions fundamental to contemporary lifestyles. Harrison Meeske is the author of The Hudson Valley Dutch and Their Houses (Purple Mountain Press, 1998 and 2001). Lushly illustrated with 32 pages of large-format color plates by noted architectural photographer Geoffrey Gross. $25.00.
Adirondack: Of Indians and Mountains, 1535-1838
by Stephen B. Sulavik
NOW IN PAPERBACK FOR $27.50.Generously illustrated with contemporary maps and engravings in full color, this work explores the origins and meanings of the word Adirondack through a meticulous analysis of primary documents about the Native peoples and physical place bearing the name. The earliest written accounts, journals, maps, as well as contemporary scholarship in the fields of anthropology and geology have been assembled by Dr. Sulavik to present the first comprehensive history of the 1535-1838 period in the Adirondacks. These sources are identified, assembled, and analyzed in one place for the first time. This will benefit scholarship as well as contribute to the general understanding of early Adirondack history. (A small number of hardcovers are available at $39.00.)
Mountain Railroads of New York State, Volume Two:
Where Did the Tracks Go in the Central Adirondacks?
by Michael Kudish
Purple Mountain Press published a large, single, 496-page volume entitled Railroads of the Adirondacks: A History in 1985. It went out of print in 2001. So much further detail had accumulated in only five years that a major revision became necessary. A single volume of nearly one thousand pages would be extremely cumbersome for readers attempting to locate abandoned grades, and we decided on four separate, portable volumes including one on the Catskills. Volume One: Where Did the Tracks Go in the Western Adirondacks? was published in 2005. The primary intent of this series is to assist the reader in the location of railroad grades, primarily abandoned, in the field. 304 pages,illus., 163 maps, 8.5 x 11, 25.00, paperback. (Rail lines covered in Volumes One and Two.)
We are pleased to offer our North American customers the fine maritime books
published by CARMANIA PRESS of London. All are definitive works by authorities in ocean liner and shipping history and feature superb reproductions of historic and modern photographs
on heavily coated stock in sewn bindings.
LINERS OF THE GOLDEN AGE:
A Pictorial Record of Passenger Ships in the 1930s
CUNARDER: Maritime Paintings by Stephen J. Card M.N.I.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINE: "The Spotless Fleet"
by Stephen J. Card M.N.I.
NEW:
From the UK Southampton Shipping
and from Australia Pacific Princess
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