In the News: Rare Harper Lee Collectibles Featured at Raptis Rare Books.

In the News: Rare Harper Lee Collectibles Featured at Raptis Rare Books.

By Susan Christiansen | July 8, 2020 | Comments Off on In the News: Rare Harper Lee Collectibles Featured at Raptis Rare Books.

The following article was posted on The Palm Beach Daily News website: Posted Jul 7, 2020 at 5:30 PM Raptis Rare Books in Palm Beach marks 60th anniversary of the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird with an array of Harper Lee collectibles.     Raptis Rare Books is marking the 60th anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee’s To…

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To Kill A Mockingbird: the Great American Novel.

To Kill A Mockingbird: the Great American Novel.

By Susan Christiansen | July 7, 2020 | Comments Off on To Kill A Mockingbird: the Great American Novel.

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the publication of one of the most important American novels of the 20th century, To Kill a Mockingbird, Raptis Rare Books is currently holding an exhibition of rare signed first editions, letters and original drawings by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird was first published by J.B. Lippincott Company…

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The Roaring 20s and the Rise of the Iconic Dust Jacket

The Roaring 20s and the Rise of the Iconic Dust Jacket

By Adrienne Raptis | December 27, 2019 | Comments Off on The Roaring 20s and the Rise of the Iconic Dust Jacket

As we approach the year 2020, its hard to believe that iconic era of the 1920s is now a century ago. We look back on this decade as an age of striking social and political change. Due to changes in technology and the economy, Americans were connected to one another and the rest of the…

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The 145th Anniversary of Churchill’s Birth.

The 145th Anniversary of Churchill’s Birth.

By Adrienne Raptis | November 26, 2019 | Comments Off on The 145th Anniversary of Churchill’s Birth.

This upcoming Saturday, November 30th marks the 145th anniversary of the birth of one of the most significant figures of the 20th century, Sir Winston S. Churchill. Born in  Oxfordshire to a wealthy, aristocratic family, Churchill joined the British Army in 1895 at the age of twenty-one and saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War, and the Second Boer…

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The World and Art of Walt Disney.

The World and Art of Walt Disney.

By Susan Christiansen | September 24, 2019 | Comments Off on The World and Art of Walt Disney.

American entrepreneur, animator, and film producer Walt Disney is arguably the most important figure in the history of animation. A national cultural icon, his innovative spirit and vision revolutionized the genre of animated cartoons, making them a major part of mainstream popular entertainment. Born in Chicago’s Hermosa neighborhood, Disney began his animation career in 1919…

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Celebrating the Enduring Influence and 50th Anniversary of Woodstock.

By Susan Christiansen | August 15, 2019 | Comments Off on Celebrating the Enduring Influence and 50th Anniversary of Woodstock.

Billed as “an Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music”, the Woodstock music festival was held August 15-18 1969 and attracted an audience of over 400,000 to Max Yasgur’s 600-acre dairy farm in Bethel, New York. One of the biggest rock festivals of all time and a cultural touchstone for the late 1960s, the…

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Remembering Toni Morrison.

Remembering Toni Morrison.

By Susan Christiansen | August 6, 2019 | Comments Off on Remembering Toni Morrison.

Prolific American author Toni Morrison published 11 novels, 9 works of non-fiction, 5 children’s novels and received over 30 awards throughout the course of her career including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988, the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by Barack Obama, in 2012. Born on February…

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Celebrating the Life and Work of James Baldwin.

Celebrating the Life and Work of James Baldwin.

By Susan Christiansen | August 2, 2019 | Comments Off on Celebrating the Life and Work of James Baldwin.

American novelist and social activist James Baldwin was born today, August 2nd, in Harlem in 1924. The literary master’s deeply personal and provocative stories examined both the African American and homosexual experience when neither identity was accepted by American culture. His works would come to galvanize the nation and give a passionate voice to the…

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Celebrating the Centenary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Birth.

Celebrating the Centenary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Birth.

By Susan Christiansen | July 6, 2019 | Comments Off on Celebrating the Centenary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s Birth.

Saturday July 20th marks the centenary of the birth of Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest. Born in Auckland, New Zealand on July 20th 1919, Edmund Percival Hillary made his first climb at the age of twenty, reaching the summit of Mount Olliver in the Canterbury Region of…

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Rare Book Highlights: Vesalius’ On the Fabric of the Human Body.

Rare Book Highlights: Vesalius’ On the Fabric of the Human Body.

By Susan Christiansen | July 1, 2019 | Comments Off on Rare Book Highlights: Vesalius’ On the Fabric of the Human Body.

First published by Joannis Oporini in 1543, Sixteenth century Flemish anatomist and physician Andreas Vesalius’ On the Fabric of the Human Body remains the most important and influential book in the study of human anatomy and “one of the most beautiful scientific books ever printed”(Grolier). Vesalius studied medicine at the University of Paris and received…

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