I've just come across a very interesting and rare antiquarian book that most people don't even know exists. It's an 1831 Second Edition of The spy unmasked, or, Memoirs of Enoch Crosby: alias Harvey Birch, the hero of Mr. Cooper's tale of the neutral ground: being an authentic account of the secret services which he rendered his country during the Revolutionary War (taken from his own lips, in short-hand) comprising many interesting facts and anecdotes, never before published. It was written by H. L. Barnum and published by A. B. Roff. According to Barnum, the work is the biography of Enoch Crosby, who was the actual person upon whom James Fenimore Cooper based his hero, Harvey Birch, in his famous novel, The Spy. Barnum interviewed Crosby several times in order to write his work. His first edition sold out immediately; the subject book was his reissue, the 1831 Second Edition. The book is available online.Although the book is in only fair condition, having moisture damage and foxing, it is complete. Frankly, I love finding interesting old works like this one. You might keep an eye out at garage and estate sales for valuable old artifacts - you just never know what you might find.
