by A. Edward Newton with a new introduction by Katherine Mead-Brewer The Amenities of Book Collecting is a unique compilation of literary history, autobiography, travel writing, and, of course, the history of book collecting. Through these essays and reflections, Newton presents his own travels, collecting goals and expeditions, relationships, and interests as an introduction, for the… Continue reading The Amenities of Book Collecting
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Baronial Bedrooms
By Barbara Billauer Bailey A grand tour of 700 years of palatial bedrooms spanning four continents and ten countries, Baronial Bedrooms: The Kama Sutra of Grand Design, presents a historiography of design, architecture, history and bedroom-intrigue through the ages. Beginning at a time when the bedroom supplanted the salon or parlor as audience-chamber and meeting-room of the imperial class, this book distills the… Continue reading Baronial Bedrooms
France & New England Volume 1
by Allan Forbes & Paul Cadman The State Street Bank, which published this book as part of a series of three about France and New England to mark the 100th anniversary of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to Boston, was given a charter in 1792 by none other than John Hancock, in his… Continue reading France & New England Volume 1
Dante and His Time
by Karl Federn In Dan Brown’s book, Professor Langdon tells his Harvard class that “Dante’s Inferno is a landscape so rich in symbolism and iconography that I often dedicate an entire semester course to it.” While taking Dr. Langdon’s course on Dante is impossible, there is no better guide to the references in Brown’s novel… Continue reading Dante and His Time
President John Quincy Adams’ Quarrel with the Freemasons
Edited and Introduced by Guillermo De Los Reyes Such was the revulsion in the United States over the purported murder of William Morgan, an upstate New Yorker who in 1826 disappeared after threatening to expose Masonic secrets, that political groups campaigned to drive Masons out of office and close down their lodges. President John Quincy… Continue reading President John Quincy Adams’ Quarrel with the Freemasons
Conflicts in Health Policy
Edited by Bonnie Stabile, Introduced by Randy S. Clemons & Mark K. McBeth When conflicts arise in health policy, the insights of policy scholars can contribute to crafting solutions to seemingly intractable problems. Beyond their mere technical attributes, health and medical policy issues require political acumen and policy knowledge to diagnose problems, inform debate, and devise… Continue reading Conflicts in Health Policy
Designing, Adapting, Strategizing in Online Education
Edited and Introduced by Phil Ice This volume emerged from the increasingly well known International Scientific Conference on eLearning and Software for Education, an event which wrestles with the development of technology for teaching and is indeed thoroughly international in the education leaders who participate. Adapting software to individual learners, social media in the classroom,… Continue reading Designing, Adapting, Strategizing in Online Education
Chemical Strategy in Peace and War
by Victor Lefebure Victor Lefebure (1891-1947) earned his bachelor’s at University College London in 1911 and began a research and teaching career at Wye College before being called to the colors in the 3rd Essex Regiment in 1915. He was seconded to the Special Brigade of the Royal Engineers that was developing chemical warfare to be use… Continue reading Chemical Strategy in Peace and War
Criminology in a Hostile Environment
Edited by Alain Bauer Is using the humanities and social sciences (psychology, sociology, law, etc.) to understand the crime, the criminal, the victim, criminality, and society’s reaction to crime a science? A crime is the unique combination of a perpetrator, a victim, and a set of circumstances. Its individual and quantitative analysis requires scientific methods… Continue reading Criminology in a Hostile Environment
Royal Arch Masonry in Pennsylvania
by William J. Paterson The Royal Arch is a Masonic degree as well as a rite of several degrees that are close companions of the initial three Masonic degrees. Many Freemasons consider it the logical conclusion of the Masonic initiation. It was conferred in America in the eighteenth century, and continues to be given today.… Continue reading Royal Arch Masonry in Pennsylvania
Freemasonry in All Ages
by Rev. M.F. Carey The tension in Freemasonry over its legendary and real origins and with its Enlightenment ethos in contrast with Christian views is apparent in this work by an Irish Episcopalian priest who came to American in the later part of the nineteenth century and immersed himself in Masonic study. Considering the passage… Continue reading Freemasonry in All Ages
The Lodge of Washington and His Neighbors
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase from CreateSpace By Charles H. Calahan In 1928, the Masonic lodge that George Washington had presided over as Worshipful Master gathered anecdote about his connections with Alexandria, Virginia, and commissioned photographs of relics and places that provide unusual insights into his career. Not the least of these artifacts is the old clock… Continue reading The Lodge of Washington and His Neighbors
Freemasonry in Canada
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase on CreateSpace By Sheppard Osborne Since its appearance in 1915, Freemasonry in Canada has been a starting point for any serious discussion of Canadian lodge history. It was remarkable in its time for covering not only developments in the Canadian provinces but also the course of special Masonic groups such… Continue reading Freemasonry in Canada
NEW Kindle Matchbook program
Beginning in October, the Kindle Matchbook program will be available for all Westphalia Press titles currently on Kindle. What this means is when you buy a paperback version of a book, you can get the Kindle version for $1.99! This price applies to all books, no matter the paperback price (unless, of course, we offer… Continue reading NEW Kindle Matchbook program
Gunboat and Gun-runner
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace by T.T. Jeans Admiral T.T. Jeans was a decorated British Naval officer with considerable experience in the Middle East. He wrote this fast-moving novel based on his experiences and those of his compatriots. The plot turns on efforts of Iran to stir trouble by providing arms to Middle… Continue reading Gunboat and Gun-runner
Dante
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase on CreateSpace by Edmund G. Gardner Professor Robert Langdon, in Dan Brown’s thriller, tells his Harvard class, “My friends, it is impossible to overstate the influence of Dante Alighieri’s work. Throughout all of history, with the sole exception perhaps of Holy Scripture, no single work of writing, art, music, or literature… Continue reading Dante
Collecting Old Books: Percy Fitzgerald’s The Book Fancier
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase on CreateSpace It takes one to know one’ is true of avid readers, and certainly of bibliophiles who are acquainted with Percy Fitzgerald, a man who enjoyed writing about old books as much as he did reading them. His observations and prejudices about his favorites will inevitably start a conversation… Continue reading Collecting Old Books: Percy Fitzgerald’s The Book Fancier
Gilded Play: Mary J. Jacques’s Pranks and Pastimes
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase on CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Devin Proctor During America’s late nineteenth-century, parlor games were a dominant leisure activity of the upper classes. The ‘Gilded Age,’ as Mark Twain termed it, was characterized by the separation between leisurely wealth and the harsh existence of the underclasses, cleft even wider with… Continue reading Gilded Play: Mary J. Jacques’s Pranks and Pastimes
Fishing the Florida Keys: Wendell Endicott’s Adventures with Rod and Harpoon Along the Florida Keys
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Few people connect Endicott House, the famous conference center of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with fishing in Florida, but actually the handsome mansion that has been the site of so many notable meetings is a bricks-and-mortar memorial to one of America’s most enthusiastic sports fishermen, Wendell Endicott.… Continue reading Fishing the Florida Keys: Wendell Endicott’s Adventures with Rod and Harpoon Along the Florida Keys
Ancient Masonic Mysteries: John Perry’s The Freemason’s Gift
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Guillermo De Los Reyes The antiquity of Freemasonry is much debated. As a philosophical and ritualistic society, rather than a group of stonemasons, it certainly existed in the seventeenth century. But its beginnings are intertwined with the building of the great cathedrals of Europe,… Continue reading Ancient Masonic Mysteries: John Perry’s The Freemason’s Gift
The Wisdom of Thomas Starr King: Thomas Starr King’s Substance and Show
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Two peaks, one in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and one in Yosemite National Park, are named after Thomas Starr King. He left a brilliant career in Boston to go to San Francisco in 1860, where his convincing oratory was credited with keeping California firmly on the Union side… Continue reading The Wisdom of Thomas Starr King: Thomas Starr King’s Substance and Show
Mr. Garfield of Ohio: James S. Brisbin’s The Early Life and Public Career of James A. Garfield
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Paul Rich There is a lot more to the life of President James Garfield than being shot. He was an educator, clergyman, and congressman who carried on those duties with considerable distinction, as well as being a mathematician who discovered, after everyone else for… Continue reading Mr. Garfield of Ohio: James S. Brisbin’s The Early Life and Public Career of James A. Garfield
Unitarian Bibliography: H. McLachlan’s The Unitarian College Library
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Three major collections of Unitarian and Nonconformist literature in Britain are at Luther King House in Manchester, Harris Manchester College in Oxford University, and the Dr. Williams Library in London. This book gives important information about the Unitarian antecedents of the Luther King library, which is used by… Continue reading Unitarian Bibliography: H. McLachlan’s The Unitarian College Library
Outlining Magic Circles: Jessie Bancroft’s Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium
Purchase through Amazon | Download FREE Kindle version | Purchase through CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Devin Proctor Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium, first published in 1909, has been called “the most comprehensive and scholarly book on games.” It contains rules and variations of hundreds of games for schools, summer camps, parties, etc.,… Continue reading Outlining Magic Circles: Jessie Bancroft’s Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium
High Impact Threats to Critical Infrastructure: Conference Proceedings of the InfraGard National EMP SIG Sessions
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Charles L. Manto The EMP SIG addresses any high-impact threat that could cause long-term nationwide collapse of critical infrastructure. These threats include EMP, extreme space weather, cyber attacks, coordinated physical attacks or widespread pandemics. The EMP SIG provides trusted communications and information for InfraGard members… Continue reading High Impact Threats to Critical Infrastructure: Conference Proceedings of the InfraGard National EMP SIG Sessions
Young Freemasons?: Frank S. Land’s Order of DeMolay
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase on CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Guillermo De Los Reyes The Order of DeMolay is a puzzle. It originated in the United States but is widespread, with chapters in Italy and Japan and Germany as well as Latin America and Canada, and with rituals involving events in medieval Paris. It… Continue reading Young Freemasons?: Frank S. Land’s Order of DeMolay
New Sources on Women and Freemasonry
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase on CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Pierre Mollier There has been a great lack in international scholarship concerned with ritual and secrecy because so much of the good work is being done in languages that the mono-lingual English-speaking world has no idea exist. The strength of the articles in this collection… Continue reading New Sources on Women and Freemasonry
Naturism in the United States
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace This controversial book has been a stalwart part of the reading lists of those attracted to naturism, which involved much more than simply taking off clothes and lying on a beach. The complex relationship that involves nudity with disciplines as disparate as yoga and environmentalism makes the subject… Continue reading Naturism in the United States
Spying on America: Leon G. Turrou’s The Nazi Spy Conspiracy in America
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Paul Rich Leon Turrou was the FBI agent closest to the Nazi spy ring in America in the late 1930s. His leaks to the American press and the book he was allegedly writing led to him being fired from the Bureau by J. Edgar… Continue reading Spying on America: Leon G. Turrou’s The Nazi Spy Conspiracy in America
Masonic Secret Signs and Passwords: The 1856 Edition of Jeremy L. Cross’s The True Masonic Chart
Purchase through Amazon Edited and Introduced by Guillermo De Los Reyes Contrary to what people think about Masonic secrecy, over the centuries a number of books have revealed much about what goes on in lodges. Certainly Jeremy Cross was relied on as a crib for nervous officers when they put on degrees, and his readers… Continue reading Masonic Secret Signs and Passwords: The 1856 Edition of Jeremy L. Cross’s The True Masonic Chart
Why Kindergarten Matters: Elizabeth Harrison’s A Study of Child Nature
Purchase through Amazon Elizabeth Harrison was one of the founders of kindergarten education in the United States and a crusader for higher teaching standards in the primary schools. Her work contributed to the founding of National Louis University in Chicago and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), and this volume sets forth her much admired philosophy… Continue reading Why Kindergarten Matters: Elizabeth Harrison’s A Study of Child Nature
How Washington Lost His Birthday and Other Masonic Essays: Gaston Lichtenstein’s How George Washington Lost His Birthday
Purchase through Amazon Edited and Introduced by Guillermo De Los Reyes This book by Gaston Lichtenstein is an antiquarian’s pleasure. An antiquarian is an enthusiast for things historical, and historians sometime regard being called an antiquarian as an insult, as a slur on their scholarship. But rather than a term of abuse, the word can… Continue reading How Washington Lost His Birthday and Other Masonic Essays: Gaston Lichtenstein’s How George Washington Lost His Birthday
Careers in the Face of Challenge: Horatio Alger’s Telegraph Boy
Purchase through Amazon | Download FREE Kindle version Edited and Introduced by Wallace Boston The young Horatio Alger heroes often sold newspapers or delivered telegrams, a reminder of how technology has moved on. But they hoped for better things and in the Alger novels their diligence and hard work won the day and they ended… Continue reading Careers in the Face of Challenge: Horatio Alger’s Telegraph Boy
War in Syria: R. M.P. Preston’s The Desert Mounted Corps
Purchase through Amazon | Download FREE Kindle version During World War I, some of the most daring military excursions were carried out in the Middle East by the Desert Mountain Corps during 1917 and 1918. The Corps included substantial numbers from Australia and other parts of the then British Empire. Much of their activity… Continue reading War in Syria: R. M.P. Preston’s The Desert Mounted Corps
Homeopathy: B.F. Bittinger’s Historical Sketch of Washington’s Hahnemann Monument
Purchase through Amazon One of the more imposing monuments in Washington is not to a general or to a congressman but to a leader in the homeopathic movement. One may wonder whether homeopathic remedies are effective; there is not an iota of proof that the promises the movement makes are ever kept, but homeopathic systems… Continue reading Homeopathy: B.F. Bittinger’s Historical Sketch of Washington’s Hahnemann Monument
The French Foreign Legion: David King’s Ten Thousand Shall Fall
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Few military units attract the attention of Hollywood and novelists as does the Foreign Legion. Those old enough will remember Buster Crabbe as Captain Gallant in the 1950s television serial about the swashbuckling Legionnaires. The non-fictional reality is rather more stark and gritty, and perhaps this volume is… Continue reading The French Foreign Legion: David King’s Ten Thousand Shall Fall
Earthworms, Horses, and Living Things: William DuPuy’s Our Animal Friends and Foes
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace William Atherton DuPuy was a well-known naturalist who wrote anecdotally and personally about nature in Animal Friends And Foes, Insect Friends And Foes, The Nation’s Forests, and Plant Friends And Foes. In another vein he authored Green Kingdom, his account of the life of a forest ranger, and… Continue reading Earthworms, Horses, and Living Things: William DuPuy’s Our Animal Friends and Foes
Lariats and Lassos: Bernard S. Mason’s How to Spin a Rope
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace By Bernard S. Mason No self-respecting cowboy would refer to a lasso. A rope was a rope. Roping was the activity and rope was the instrument. However, the magic that could be worked fascinated Americans, and the Wild West Show for a time rivaled the circus as exciting entertainment… Continue reading Lariats and Lassos: Bernard S. Mason’s How to Spin a Rope
Anti-Masonry and the Murder of Morgan: Lee S. Tillotson’s Ancient Craft Masonry in Vermont
Purchase through Amazon | Purchase through CreateSpace Edited and Introduced by Guillermo De Los Reyes The anti-Masonic movement during the 1820s and 1830s is sometimes related by scholars to the development of the American party system. Certainly individuals migrated to the Know Nothing and Whig movements and eventually to the incipient Republican party, but more… Continue reading Anti-Masonry and the Murder of Morgan: Lee S. Tillotson’s Ancient Craft Masonry in Vermont
Earl Warren’s Masonic Lodge: Herbert Phillips’ Fifty Year History of Sequoia Lodge
Purchase through Amazon Long before Earl Warren was a famous governor of California and then an important Chief Justice of the United States, he was forging a career in Freemasonry. Starting as an officer and eventually master of a local lodge whose history is recounted in this volume, he worked his way up the stairs… Continue reading Earl Warren’s Masonic Lodge: Herbert Phillips’ Fifty Year History of Sequoia Lodge
A Definitive Commentary on Bookplates: Edward Gordon Craig’s Nothing, or The Bookplate
Purchase through Amazon Edward Gordon Craig was an artist philosopher whose daring stage sets were many years ahead of their time and whose theories about the use of masks in theater remain startling even today. His work with bookplates is too little remembered, but the designs are a wonderful introduction to his aesthetic theories and… Continue reading A Definitive Commentary on Bookplates: Edward Gordon Craig’s Nothing, or The Bookplate
Original Cables from the Pearl Harbor Attack: David Hurlburt’s War Comes to the U.S. – Dec. 7, 1941
Purchase through Amazon The Pearl Harbor attack, which launched United States participation in World War II, has been the subject of endless speculation as to how much President Franklin Roosevelt knew in advance about Japanese intentions, about the state of readiness of American forces in Hawaii, and about the handling of raw intelligence that might… Continue reading Original Cables from the Pearl Harbor Attack: David Hurlburt’s War Comes to the U.S. – Dec. 7, 1941
The Essence of Harvard: Charles W. Eliot’s Harvard Memories
Purchase through Amazon Edited and Introduced by Paul Rich Charles W. Eliot was the longest tenured Harvard president and one of the founders of the modern American university. He became an iconic figure in American life, called upon for opinions on virtually every subject under the sun. His “five foot shelf” of books that… Continue reading The Essence of Harvard: Charles W. Eliot’s Harvard Memories
Collecting American Presidential Autographs
Purchase through Amazon Paul C. Richards, Edited and Introduced by Paul Rich The collecting of autographs of American presidents is done with a passion that is not found about similar figures in other countries. Canadian prime ministers or Finnish presidents are not the focus of hobbyists. The enthusiasm of getting a set of presidential signatures is… Continue reading Collecting American Presidential Autographs
Understanding Art
Purchase on Amazon Edited and Introduced by Daniel Gutierrez-Sandoval Hendrik Willem van Loon was a Dutch-American professor, journalist, prolific writer, and illustrator. His most famous work, “The Story of Mankind” earned him the prestigious John Newbery Medal, extended by the American Library Association for distinguished contributions to American literature for children. “How to Look at… Continue reading Understanding Art
Social Satire and the Modern Novel
Purchase through Amazon Arnold Bennett wrote thirty novels but has been somewhat neglected by modern critics. He was ahead of his time in appreciating Joyce, Lawrence, Faulkner and Hemingway. His work is characterized by social irony without bitterness, and satire without nastiness. As this novel suggests, perhaps he has more in common with E.M.… Continue reading Social Satire and the Modern Novel
Paddle Your Own Canoe
Purchase through Amazon Edited and Introduced by Wallace Boston The protagonists in Horatio Alger stories are often, if one may play on a metaphor, up a creek without a paddle. In this celebrated Alger novel, the young hero is comfortably ensconced at the Essex Classical Institute until misfortune makes his expensive education impossible. If the… Continue reading Paddle Your Own Canoe
The Idea of the Digital University
Purchase through Amazon By Frank McClusky & Melanie Winter It is widely believed that college is not what it used to be. Politicians are calling for a full-scale overhaul of higher education. The public is losing its confidence in higher education. It is argued that American higher education is in crisis. The authors, who together… Continue reading The Idea of the Digital University
The History of Photography
Purchase through Amazon Edited and Introduced by Daniel Gutierrez-Sandoval The life of George Eastman is very much a part of the history of contemporary photography. Founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, Eastman was an enthusiastic photographer himself who became instrumental in bringing photography to the mainstream. He invented the first commercial film, as well as… Continue reading The History of Photography
Treasures of London: P.H. Ditchfield’s London Survivals
Purchase through Amazon Edited and Introduced by Paul Rich Peter Ditchfield (1854-1930) was a graduate of Oriel College, Oxford, and sometime Inspector of Schools for Diocese Of Oxford. He was Rector of Barkham from 1886 until his death. A leading Freemason, he was Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of England as well as of… Continue reading Treasures of London: P.H. Ditchfield’s London Survivals
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