The Thoreau Society and The Thoreau Farm Trust – Thoreau Society and Thoreau Farm Online Auction 2024
Auction Ends: Mar 29, 2024 10:00 PM EDT

Books

October Farm (1936) by William Brewster, owned by Edwin Way Teale (Willis Collection)

Item Number
160
Estimated Value
140 USD
Sold
65 USD to jhf828285
Number of Bids
3  -  Bid History

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Item Description

A truly special volume with unique provenance. October Farm by William Brewster (with an introductioon by Daniel Chester French). 

William Brewster, American ornithologist who co-founded the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), collected his observations of Concord in this book, October Farm. American sculptor and friend to Brewster, Daniel Chester French, contributes an introduction to this volume. 

This copy has a history of ownership by renowned ornithologist Edwin Way Teale AND Thoreau scholar Lonnie Willis.

Edwin Way Teale was an American naturalist, photographer and writer. Teale's works serve as primary source material documenting environmental conditions across North America from 1930–1980. He is perhaps best known for his series The American Seasons, four books documenting over 75,000 miles (121,000 km) of automobile travel across North America following the changing seasons. This book is stamped: EDWIN WAY TEALE, TRAIL WOOD, HAMPTON, CONN.

Lonnie L. Willis was a Professor of English and American literature at Boise State University from 1970 until 2004. He published short fiction, scholarly articles on Henry David Thoreau, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robert B. Parker and others, and two books, Red, White, and Dead and The True Adventures of a Texas Sharecropper Kid. He was a long-time member of the Thoreau Society and contributed several articles to the Thoreau Society Bulletin, including “Please, Sir, Would You Sign My Book to Henry David Thoreau?” in Fall 2002 about his collection of first edition books signed by nearly 100 authors. His lifelong infatuation with Henry David Thoreau started with his PhD thesis about Thoreau at University of Colorado in the 1960s and continued throughout his teaching career.  

His full obituary is at this link: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/guampdn/name/lonnie-willis-obituary?id=12835267

This book was donated by Willis's family. Purchase of this item supports Thoreau Farm Trust (TFT) and the preservation of Henry David Thoreau’s Birthplace.

 

Item Special Note

Winning bidder responsible for pick-up from Thoreau Farm in Concord or for shipping charges.