When a Wesleyan University librarian found 19th century labor anarchist Lucy Parsons’ rubber stamp on the library’s copy of a rare book about the Chicago Haymarket Riot, historians turned to Paul Garon, one of the owners of the Chicago Rare Book Center in Evanston, to help determine the stamp’s authenticity.
Garon, a specialist in the history of labor movements, will appear on the PBS show “History Detectives” on Monday at 9 p.m. The crew filmed him looking at “August Spies’ Autobiography” for six hours in the Chicago Rare Book Center at 703 Washington St.
Garon said he believes the stamp on the book is real.
“It would be so complicated to make a fake like that,” he said. “A lot of people don’t even know the history of Haymarket and the anarchists, so if someone wanted to make money, it would be a presidential stamp. It’s not a likely case of forgery.”
The Chicago-based riot occurred in May 1886 after someone threw a bomb into a crowd at a labor rally for the eight-hour day on Michigan Avenue, wounding more than 60 people. Labor activist Albert Parsons, Lucy’s husband, was arrested and charged with the bombing.
Lucy Parsons spoke nationwide to raise money for an appeal for her husband’s trial and placed stamps on items she sold as advertisements, Garon said.
“Back then, it didn’t add any value, but now the book itself is extremely rare,” Garon said. “A collector would much rather have that copy than a copy that doesn’t have a stamp on it.”
In the last 10 or 20 years, Garon said he’s only seen this book once before.
“At the time, there were hundreds of those things laying around,” he said. “Like many things of pop culture, it was around then, but now the book itself is very rare.”
Garon estimates the book’s value at about $3,000, but he said he does not know the exact amount historians decided on. Garon said the book passed through Lucy’s hands but should not be considered her personal copy. He said Parsons sold hundreds of copies of this book before a fire destroyed most of her property.
Garon said he and his wife, Beth, decided they would become book dealers in 1980. The Chicago Rare Book Center holds one of the largest stocks in the country of rare or out-of-print books on jazz and blues. Although Garon said his specialty involves book trade, he also writes about black history.
“We’re not just selling books. We know something about them and can help them authenticate things they have,” said Patricia Martinak, one of the store’s owners. “We can help people find out about the history of their older books and education them about the history of books we sell.”
The Chicago Rare Book Center features first edition books on topics like African-American studies, jazz and blues, labor history and psychiatry and psychoanalysis. Customers can also make appointments to have books appraised for a fee.
Bindy Bitterman, owner of Eureka Antiques & Collectibles next to the Chicago Rare Book Center, said the two stores add something unique to the area and share a symbiotic relationship.
“If people are interested in this kind of thing, there are very few places where you can walk in and have a hands-on experience,” she said. “A lot of the people who collect certain kinds of books will shop there and then come here because they like the ephemera associated with that sort of thing.”
Garon said the Chicago Rare Book Center has one or two other pieces of literature from Haymarket and also sells maps, art works, children’s books and information about the area and neighboring cities. Reach Kristin Ellertson at [email protected].
