Ames on Forgery, Its Detection and Illustration with Numerous Causes.

A Treatise on Forgery, With Related Material, Published 11 Years Before Osborn's Questioned Documents, Which is Considered to be the First Treatise on Forged Documents Ames, Daniel T. [1835-1909]. Ames on Forgery: Its Detection and Illustration with Numerous Cause Celebres (Illustrated). San Francisco: Daniel T. Ames/ New York: Ames-Rollinson Company, 1900. [v], [5]-293 pp. Portrait frontispiece with tissue overlay. Text illustrations. Octavo (9" x 6": 22.90 x 15.20 cm). Later buckram, gilt title to spine, endpapers renewed. A few minor spots, corners and spine ends bumped, light toning to interior. A very good copy. [With] [Promotional Materials for Ames on Forgery]. 8 pp. pamphlet in self wrappers with related laid-in leaf, both 9" x 5-1/2" (22.85 x 14 cm), and pictorial handbill with order blank on verso, 4-1/4" x 7-1/4" (10.80 x 18.40 cm). Moderate toning, fold lines and a few corner folds to pamphlet, a few minor tears and offsetting to edges, moderate edgewear to laid-in leaf. [And] Ames, Daniel T. [Autograph Letter, Signed, To Grant Richards, San Francisco, January 23, 1901]. 1 p. 11" x 8-1/2" (28 x 21.60 cm) letterhead, content to recto. Vertical and horizontal fold lines, minor tears at edges, moderate edgewear to head of sheet. Together five items. $750. * Second issue of the only edition. This rigorous and well-illustrated treatise was published 11 years before Albert S. Osborn's Questioned Documents, which is considered to be the first treatise on the detection of forgery in legal documents. Ames was a nationally famous expert on penmanship and one of its leading teachers. His stature in his field led him to a parallel career as a leading expert in forgery detection, one who testified in many prominent trials in the U.S., Canada and other countries. First published in 1899, Ames on Forgery was reissued a second time in 1901. Intended for the use of salesmen, the pamphlet contains a reprint of the table of contents, texts of testimonial letters and a list of prominent individuals who endorsed the book. The laid-in leaf, which was probably intended to be handed by the salesman to a prospective buyer, reprints excerpts from positive reviews of the book. Grant Richards, the recipient of the letter, was an English publisher (and writer). Hoping to establish a. …