|
MT. GOTHIC TOMES
and RELIQUARY
mtgothictomes319@crestedbutte.net
© 2008 Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary, LLC
mtgothictomes319@crestedbutte.net
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WESTERN AMERICANA
Rare Books and First Editions
OLD MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
Historic Artifacts and Original Paintings
mtgothictomes319@crestedbutte.net
_____________________________________________________________________________________
We are
MT. GOTHIC TOMES AND RELIQUARY, Rare Books, Western
Americana, First Edition Literature. We have been in the
business of "re-discovering" scarce Western Americana and First
Edition Literature for over twenty-five years. During that time, we have taken pride in helping
public institutions and private collectors alike improve and expand their
specialized archives. We can do the same for you.
Presented for sale by
Brian Levine P.O. Box 3048, Crested Butte, Colorado 81224-3048 USA mtgothictomes319@crestedbutte.net
(970) 349-7079 © 2008 Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary, LLC _________________________
___________________________________________________
We are always interested in purchasing, whether you have a single item for sale or an entire collection. August 2008
In 1907, after Hermann Minkowski's mathematical work on one of his most famous papers, Albert Einstein joked, "Since the mathematicians have grabbed hold of the theory of relativity, I myself no longer understand it."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The Great Gatsby, 1925, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
___________________________________________________________________________________
|
|
Site Map Click on the following web pages for more offerings: Bassick Mine, Querida, Custer County, Colorado Colorado Mining Stock Certificates Colorado Territory Mining Stock Certificates Crested Butte, Colorado Real Estate Cripple Creek Mining Directories Cripple Creek, Colorado mining stock certificates Custer County, Colorado Mining Stock Certificates Custeriana, General George Armstrong Custer Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Gunnison County, Colorado, including Crested Butte Southwestern American Archaeology U.S. Military in the Old American West
We are always interested in purchasing, whether you have a single item for sale or an entire collection. © 2008 Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary, LLC
"In an age when information is everything, don't expect facts to be free."
________
Albert Einstein joked,"Since the mathematicians have grabbed hold of the theory of relativity,I myself no longer understand it."
|
MIDAS OF THE ROCKIES: The Story of Stratton and Cripple Creek By Frank Waters. Original blue cloth binding with gold embossed signature on front cover and gold lettering on spine; 344 pages; dust jacket. "This is an intimate and dramatic portrait of a unique American figure - Winfield Scott Stratton, the discoverer of one of the world's most famous gold mines; the carpenter who became the most eccentric of philanthropists; the lone prospector in whose brain there fiercely burned the idea of a gold at a time when Colorado was a silver state; the gray, ghostly wolf who slunk for seventeen years through booming mining camps before he was foolish enough to poke around Crazy Bob Womack's gopher hole in Cripple Creek ...." Condition: near fine in very good dust jacket (spine sunned; head and toe lightly chipped) .
____________________________
W.S. Stratton in Leadville!! thirteen years before he became Cripple Creek and Colorado's most eccentric and intriguing gold baron MINERS EXCHANGE BANK, LEADVILLE, COLORADO Issued April 19, 1880, on the account of W.S. Stratton, in Leadville, Colorado. If you know your Cripple Creek history, W.S. Stratton stands out like no other personality in the gold district. He was just a skilled carpenter/contractor in Colorado Springs in 1891. Three years later, he was Cripple Creek's first millionaire. It was not just luck; Stratton had prospected through the Colorado's Rockies for nearly twenty years before discovering the Independence Mine in the newly formed Cripple Creek (Womack) Gold Mining District. It is accepted that Stratton had a brief, and generally unremarkable, presence in other Colorado mining districts throughout the 1870s and 1880s; however, actual physical evidence of him being in one of these districts is very, very scarce, especially for the collector. Here, on the check presented above, is the signature of W.S. Stratton -- later to be Colorado's most eccentric and benevolent gold baron -- showing he was in Leadville, Colorado in April 1880. Was Stratton prospecting at this time? Was he working for H.A.W. Tabor, as Marshall Sprague claims in his book, MONEY MOUNTAIN? Well, that is a mystery. However, this astounding historical document is available to the collector. Condition: near fine; several pinholes. Signature is clean and concise. Revenue imprinted. Price: inquire for latest quote!
__________
THE STRATTON CRIPPLE CREEK MINING AND DEVELOPMENT CO. letterhead Dated January 8, 1907, this letterhead displays a superb steel-engraved portrait of Colorado's most eccentric and benevolent gold baron. Stratton did not and would not have had his face on his Company's stationery; however, evidently, those who resumed operations of The Stratton Cripple Creek Mining and Development Company after he passed on believed this to be a commemoration to him. Half-sheet size; near fine condition; two light folds. Price: $200.00
__________
INDEPENDENCE MINE check Dated May 1, 1899, issued on The Bank of Victor, Victor, Colo., Cripple Creek Mining District. This check is NOT signed by W.S. Stratton; rather, by a secretary named Grant. Steel-engraving on this check is outstanding. Revenue imprinted. Condition of check: several light folds, otherwise, very good plus. Price: $300.00
__________
(Cripple Creek, Colorado) THE OFFICIAL MANUAL OF THE CRIPPLE CREEK DISTRICT, COLORADO, U.S.A., published by Fred Hills, E.M., Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1900, first edition. Book is in its original red cloth binding with gold embossing on cover and spine; 495 pages. Enamel-coated pages; maps and halftone illustrations. This book was originally intended to be the ultimate in stock broker's handbooks, providing details of several hundred operating and producing mines and mining companies in the Cripple Creek Gold Mining District. T.A. Rickard, State Geologist of Colorado, wrote an article, "The Cripple Creek District: Its Past and Future," for the book; as well as George Rex Buckman, "Cripple Creek from the Standpoint of Statistics." Articles are accompanied by illustrations. Nearly all of the mining companies have details such as organization, capitalization, property, development, officers, and so on, along with a plat of mining claims. The book was originally published with a fold-out map of the Cripple Creek District, by Fred Hills, and copyrighted 1900. This copy is missing the original map; however, another original map -- published for William A. Otis & Company -- accompanies this volume. The Otis map, published in May 1896, is five-color, larger than the original Hills' map -- 23 inches wide by 34 inches in length -- and more detailed (showing mining claims, towns, railroads, topography, etc.). Condition of book: very good, with some binding reinforcement; light soiling; some sunning to spine; bumped corners and a bit of cloth fraying. Condition of map: good plus to very good; damp-staining in upper left-hand area of map; weakness in spots; fraying along edges. Book stated to be Volume 1; however, Hills did not publish another volume. Hills did, though, publish a small stock broker's handbook in 1902. Included with this book is an original document signed by Fred Hills. Price: inquire for latest quote!
__________
Assay certificate signed by Professor Lamb THE STRATTON CRIPPLE CREEK MINING AND DEVELOPMENT CO. Assay Office Assay report issued on the Deerhorn Mine, August 6, 1902, signed by H.W. Lamb. Professor Lamb taught W.S. Stratton's the practice of blow-pipe analysis of ore samples in the field before Stratton discovered the Independence Mine. Condition of assay report: fine; no folds. Price: $150.00
__________
CITIES OF GOLD: History of the Victor Cripple Creek Mining District By Brian Levine, published by Stonehenge Books, 1981, Denver, Colorado. Author's first book. Publication in its original gold-colored stiff-wrapper binding; square-bound; 100 pages. Condition: fine; unread. Signed by the author. Priceless.
________________________________
Please view our other Cripple Creek pages:
_______________________________
To view an enlarged image of the item that interests you, click on the picture to the left of the description. If there is no image, contact us, and we'll email you digital photographs to help you make your purchase. How to purchase: email us at or call (970) 349-7079 and reserve what you'd like to add to your collection. If you do not see what you are seeking, ask! Contact us. We accept cashier's checks, money orders, personal checks, or wire transfers. We do accommodate international clients. We must apologize that we do not as yet accept credit cards. Preferred method of mailing: USPS first class priority with full insurance and delivery confirmation. For orders over $500.00, we use USPS Registered Mail with full insurance. All items are guaranteed to be authentic and as described, or you can notify us of any discrepancy within 24 hours of receipt and arrange to have your purchase price refunded.
************************
WE PURCHASE HISTORICAL MATERIALS, FROM SINGLE ITEMS TO ENTIRE COLLECTIONS! Email or call, give us the details on those excellent historical artifacts.
************************
or (970) 349-7079
|
|
IT'S EASY TO ORDER: Email
us
or call (970) 349-7079. Better yet, click on the price of the item you are
interested in, and an email will appear already addressed to us. Please
inquire about appraisal, research, and consultation fees. Brian
Levine.
© 2008 Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary, LLC. All content and images on this website require permission for use of any kind.
mtgothictomes319@crestedbutte.net We are always interested in purchasing, whether you have a single item for sale or an entire collection. © 2008 Mt. Gothic Tomes and Reliquary, LLC
"In an age when information is everything, don't expect facts to be free."
|