Connecticut River Book Auction
October 5th 2025 at 6pm
949 Main Street in South Glastonbury, CT 06073
www.ctriverbookauction.com

SOUTH GLASTONBURY, CONN. — October across New England brings not only shorter days and cooler nights but All Hallows Eve — a moment in which the fabric of time and space momentarily weakens, or so some say. On Friday, October 3, at 6 pm at the South Congregational Church, Connecticut River Book Auction celebrates the month with a coven of titles that should delight those who relish the chill such reading affords.

Leading this gathering is the first account of the trial of Lizzie Andrew Borden for the murder of her father and stepmother in 1892. While wealthy, the Borden family lived frugally. Lizzie appeared to neighbors like other women of her time, being active in the church and organizations like the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. For all outward appearances, her relationship with her father and stepmother, while not overly warm or affectionate, was neither cold nor hostile.

On August 3, Lizzie would achieve inglorious immortality. It was on that day in an upstairs bedroom her stepmother received 18 deadly blows from a hatchet. Shortly afterwards, her father experienced a similar fate on the living room sofa. Nearly a year later, Lizzie stood trial for their deaths. This auction offers an account of those events, The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders. Written by Edwin Porter, the police reporter of the Fall River Globe and published by J. D. Munroe at Fall River, it is a first edition copy of the first account of a murder that has achieved folklore status and generated continuing interest similar to that of the killings of Jack the Ripper.

To accompany the story of Lizzie Borden, one might consider the illustrations and text in a French edition of Le Triomphe de La Mort grave d’apres les Desseins, (Translated: The Triumph of Death) by Holbein published about 1790. And to that work there might be no better complement than Woodhall’s Crime and the Supernatural. While not a rare volume per se, it sets the atmosphere for a limited edition of Edgar A. Poe’s The Pit and the Pendulum, published in 1991.

Now, how better to end this evening’s ghoulish excursion into darkness and mayhem then to delve into a first American edition of Reverend Cotton Mather’s Magnalia Christi Americana, or the Ecclesiastical History of New England. Published in 1820 from the second 1702 London edition, this two-volume set provides a detailed recording of the preternatural occurrences that befell New England. Who better than a man of the cloth and none other than Mather himself, who truly believed in such happenings, to lend credence to the belief that Halloween is to be taken seriously.

The South Congregational Church is at 949 Main Street. For information, www.ctriverbookauction.com or 860-908-8067.

will hold a LIVE and IN-PERSON BOOK AUCTION on OCTOBER 3RD, 2025 at the South Congregational Church located at 949 Main Street in South Glastonbury, CT 06073 Inspection begins at noon with the auction starting at 6 pm • ABSENTEE / PHONE BIDDERS call 860-908-8067 for Information
The sun shines brightly yet warms not; fog drapes the early morning ground and the cool evening air stimulates within the reader the search for written works that offer comfort by the fire or so we hope. With this October perspective, we offer the following for your consideration.
This auction is rich in history. Consider by Higginson (1900, limited signed) “The Writings of Thomas Higginson,” who helped raise funds for John Brown’s ill-fated Harper’s Ferry assault, by Safford (1850, 1st ed.) “The Life of Harman Blennerhasset comprising an Authentic Narrative of the Burr Expedition,” by Git-tinger (1917, 1st ed.) “The Formation of the State of Oklahoma,” by Irving (1835, 1st ed.) “Indian Sketches taken during an Expedition to the Pawnee Tribes,” by Buchanan (1824,1st ed.) “Sketches of the History, Manners, and Customs of North American Indians,” and by Coghlan (1795, 1st ed.) “Memoirs of Mrs. Coghlan,” with the suppressed preface. Then there is the season’s favorite minister Cotton Matther (1820) “Magnalia Christi Americana or the Ecclesiastical History of New England” being the 1st American edition from the 1702 London edition.
Signed books are always of interest. Here are several to draw your attention by Gary Francis Powers (1970,1st ed.) “Operation Overflight: The U2 Spy Pilot Tells His Story for the First Time,” by Bing Crosby (1946, 1st ed.) “The Story of Bing Crosby,” by Patti Page (1960, 1st ed.) “Once Upon a Dream,” and by Igor Sikorsky (1947,1st ed.) “The Invisible Encounter. ” There is also an inscribed 1st edition copy of “The Strategy of Peace” by John E Kennedy without its dustjacket.
Limited editions are desirable volumes to read and collect. Here are just a few by Rockwell Kent (1927, signed) “Dreams & Derisions,” Gogol (1944, LEC) “Chichikov’s Journeys or Home Life in Russia,” and by Edgar Allan Poe (1991) “The Pit and the Pendulum.” signed by the artist.
For the lover of art, there is by Lynd Ward (1932, signed) “Wild Pilgrimage,” by Holbein (circa 1790) “LeTriomphe de La Mort grave d’apres les Desseins,” and by Hahn (1946, 1st ed.) “The Rape of LaBelle,” signed by the author, the publisher and Thomas Hart Benton.
It is the season of All Hallows Eve so let’s add some magic, murder and mayhem to the auction. Namely works by Porter (1936) “The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders,” by Maskelyne (1936,1st edition) “Maskelyne’s Book of Magic,” by Woodhall (1935) “Crime and the Supernatural,” by Normanton (circa 1925) “The Trial of Norman Thorne: The Crowborough Chicken Farm Murder,” and by Wilbour (1862) “Trial of M. Jefferds for Murder,” inscribed to Civil War General John Love by the Prosecutor.
Oh, and before we bid you Happy Haunts, there are Frank Gabrielson’s original radio scripts from the “DuPont’s the Cavalcade of America,” colonial currency, and a copy of “Diary of Anne Frank,” signed by the original Broadway cast with several boxes of ephemera for your inspection.
For further information on this 6 pm, Friday, October 3rd book auction to be held at the South Congregational Church, 949 Main St, South Glastonbury, CT 06073.
Visit ctriverbookauction.com or call 860-908-8067.