Three books, 1840-1857

1. HALL, John. A New and Concise Method of Hand-Railing. Baltimore: John Murphy, 1840. First edition. "In 1840, an English immigrant named John Hall published three books in Baltimore dealing with household arts. [This work] introduced the 'concentric ellipsograph,' a machine of the author's invention which aided carpenters in laying out compound curves for stair rails and steps" (Smith, John Hall and the Grecian Style in America, p. v). Quarto. 8 engraved plates. (Foxed.) Contemporary cloth.

2. VAUGHAN, William M. and GLENN, William W. Stair Building Simplified, and Made Plain and Easy. Meadville, PA: Vaughn and Glenn, 1857. Quarto. (Foxed.) 26 lithographed plates. Original cloth, stamped in blind and gilt (rebacked). Custom box.

3. LOTH, C. Edward. The Practical Stair-Builder. Troy, NY and Springfield, IL: A.J. Bicknell, 1869. Lithographed frontispiece and plates. Folio. Original cloth, gilt-lettered (hinged cracked).