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First edition of Richard Owen Cambridge's An Account of the War in India, Between the English and French; from the private library of Benjamin Franklin
CAMBRIDGE, Richard Owen [Benjamin Franklin].
An Account of the War in India, Between the English and French, on the Coast of Coromandel, From the Year 1760. Together with A Relation of the late Remarkable Events on the Malabar Coast, and the Expeditions to Golconda and Surat; with the Operations of the Fleet. Illustrated with Maps, Plans &c. The Whole Compiled from Original Papers.
London: Printed for T. Jefferys, 1761.
Benjamin Franklin's first edition copy of Cambridge's account of the progression of the Seven Years' War in India, from Franklin's private library. Quarto, bound in full contemporary calf, marbled endpapers, illustrated with 12 engraved maps and plans and 6 plates, mostly folding. From the private library of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin's contributions to science and politics were immense and his passion for making books more available to a broader audience prompted him to establish North America's first subscription library. In 1731, Franklin convinced the members of his Junto (a mutual improvement club he founded) to pool their money to purchase books…
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 137375
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Rare collection of the works of Thomas Paine; finely bound with a rare early printing of John Quincy Adams' response to Paine's Rights of Man
PAINE, Thomas.
Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America, Plain Truth, Rights of Man Parts I & II, and An Answer to Pain’s Rights of Man.
J. Almon, J.S. Jordan, and J. Stockdale: London, 1776-1793.
Finely bound collection of the works of Thomas Paine, including the rare first British editions of Common Sense and Plain Truth (London: J. Almon, 1776), second editions of Rights of Man Parts I & II (London: J.S. Jordan, 1791-1792), complete with half-titles present, and a rare early printing of John Quincy Adams' response to Paine's Rights of Man (London: J. Stockdale, 1793), attributed to his father John Adams and written when John Quincy Adams was 26 years old. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red morocco spine label, all…
Price: $60,000.00 Item Number: 96237
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"One of the most fascinating regiments in American military history": Rough Rider Sergeant Craig W. Wadsworth's personal collection of Rough Riders books, letters and photographs; with a first edition of The Rough Riders and typed letter signed by President Theodore Roosevelt
ROOSEVELT, Theodore and Craig W. Wadsworth.
Theodore Roosevelt and Craig W. Wadsworth Rough Riders Collection.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899.
Craig Wharton Wadsworth's personal collection of books, letters and photographs from his time as a Sergeant in Roosevelt's Rough Riders cavalry. The collection includes a first edition of Roosevelt's best-selling work, The Rough Riders (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899) signed by Roosevelt, "Theodore Roosevelt" and Wadsworth, "Craig W. Wadsworth Sergeant-Troop K"; Wadsworth's 14-leaf photograph album bound in full pebbled leather with gilt titles to the front panel which read: "First United States Volunteer Cavalry (Roosevelt Rough Riders) 1898" containing 24 original photographs of the cavalrymen on their expedition to Daiquiri with annotations in Wadsworth's hand and a lengthy introduction…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 123510
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"The first book printed in the Confederacy": Exceptionally rare first edition of The Narrative of Colonel David Fanning
FANNING, David.
The Narrative of Colonel David Fanning: (A Tory in the Revolutionary War with Great Britain): Giving an Account of His Adventures in North Carolina, From 1775 to 1783 as Written by Himself, with an Introduction and Explanatory Notes.
Richmond, VA: Printed for Private Distribution Only, 1861.
First edition of the first book printed in the Confederacy. Quarto, original stiff paper wrappers, one of approximately 50 copies issued on regular paper. Ten being issued on thick paper, and twenty copies destroyed in a fire. In very good condition, reinforcement to the hinges. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box. Howes F26. Sabin 23778. Exceptionally rare.
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 125637
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“Give me liberty, or give me death": Scarce 1776 separate edition of Large Additions to Common Sense
PAINE, Thomas.
Large Additions to Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of America.
Philadelphia: Printed and sold, by R. Bell in Third-Street, 1776.
Scarce 1776 separate edition of the Large Additions to Common Sense. The title reads in full: Large Additions To Common Sense: Addressed To The Inhabitants Of America On The Following Interesting Subjects. I. The American Patriot’s Prayer. II. American Independancy, defended by Candidus. III. The Propriety of Independancy, by Demophilus The dread of Tyrants, and the sole resource Of those that under grim Oppression groan. Thomson. IV. A Review of the American Contest with some Strictures on the King’s Speech. Addressed to All Parents in the Thirteen United Colonies by a Friend To Posterity And Mankind. V. Letter to Lord…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 106523
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"The first American bestseller": Exceedingly Rare first edition of Susanna Haswell Rowson's Charlotte: A Tale of Truth
ROWSON, Susanna Haswell.
Charlotte. A Tale of Truth.
Philadelphia: Printed by D. Humphreys for M. Carey, 1794.
Exceedingly rare first American edition (and the earliest obtainable example) of the first American bestseller. Octavo, two volumes bound into one in three quarter calf over marbled boards, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers. Although the first American edition was preceded by the first English edition published in 1791, no examples of the first English edition have been traced at auction. In very good condition. Bookplate of D. Appleton to the pastedown, bibliographic description tipped in. Housed in a custom cloth chemise and half morocco clamshell slipcase. Exceedingly rare with only one other example of the first American…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 125183
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Original swatch from Martha Washington's white silk wedding dress, given by her as a gift to Mrs. Alexander Hamilton and handed down through generations of the Hamilton family
[WASHINGTON, Martha; George Washington].
Martha Washington Silk Wedding Dress Fragment.
1759.
Original swatch from Martha Washington's white silk wedding dress, given by her as a gift to Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth, and handed down through generations of the Hamilton family. The silk swatch measures roughly 2.75 inches by 2 inches, mounted on a stiff paper card inscribed in pencil on the verso, "A bit of Martha Washington's wedding dress Wh. was Mrs. Alex Hamilton's" in the hand of Hamilton's granddaughter-in-law, Mrs. Allan McLane Hamilton, and from her collection. Hamilton’s grandson, Allan McLane Hamilton was a prominent psychiatrist and founded the New York Psychiatric Society. In 1910, he published The Intimate Life…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 134228
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Rare Letter signed by George Washington regarding his various land holdings in Virginia
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Letter Signed.
Mount Vernon: July 28, 1785.
Rare letter signed by George Washington to his land agent in Virginia, Battaile Muse. Quarto, three pages on a single folded leaf, the letter is addressed to Mr. Battaile Muse. The body of the letter, in a secretarial hand, reads in full: "Mount Vernon, July 28, 1785 Sir: A few days ago by a Mr. Hickman, who either is, or wants to be a tenant of mine in Frederick County. I sent you a Dozen Blank leases. The Tract on which he says he is fixed, is part of two lots which I purchased at the sale of Colo. George…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 139571
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Rare first edition of Hamilton's Reply to Wood
HAMILTON, Alexander.
Observations on Certain Documents Contained in No.V & VI of “The History of the United States for the Year 1796,” in which the Charge of Speculation against Alexander Hamilton, Late Secretary of the Treasury, is Fully Refuted.
Philadelphia: John Bioren for John Fenno, 1797.
Rare first edition of one of the major causes célèbres in American governmental history. Octavo, bound in contemporary morocco, marbled endpapers. In near fine condition. This first edition of 1797 is rare as it was bought up by the Hamilton family in an effort to suppress it, but was ultimately reprinted in 1800 by Hamilton’s political enemies. Housed in a custom half calf clamshell box.
Price: $32,000.00 Item Number: 52680
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Samuel Johnson Pratt's Family Secrets; from the library of President George Washington; with a small note in his hand tipped in
PRATT, Samuel Johnson. [George Washington].
Family Secrets: By Mr. Pratt. Volume III. [From the Library of George Washington].
London: Printed for T.N. Longman, Paternoster-Row, 1798.
Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with a burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine. Vol. III of the original five volumes. Tipped in to the pastedown is a small clipped note in the hand of George Washington which reads, "with the said" and the bookplate of Benjamin Lincoln Lear. The set in which this volume originated was listed in a manuscript by Washington's private secretary Tobias Lear titled 'Catalogue of Books received from Washington' and bears the bookplate of Lear's son Benjamin Lincoln Lear. Tobias Lear served as Washington's personal secretary from 1784 until…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 139518
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WASHINGTON APPOINTS FIRST SURVEYOR GENERAL: Rare manuscript document appointing Simeon De Witt as the first surveyor general; signed by President George Washington
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Signed Appointment of the First Surveyor General.
Philadelphia: May 13, 1796.
Rare manuscript document boldly signed by George Washington as the first President of the United States of American appointing the first Surveyor General of the United States. One page, oblong quarto, manuscript document in a secretarial hand on vellum, Philadelphia, 13 May 1796, signed at the conclusion, "G. Washington" and countersigned by Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State. With paper presidential seal, docketed on verso, creased from folding. Trained in surveying as a youth, Simeon De Witt (1756-1834) gained early distinction making maps for George Washington during the Revolution, ultimately becoming Geographer and Surveyor of the Continental Army. After the war,…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 145490
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"Truman hasn't found it out": Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper "Dewey Defeats Truman": Signed by Harry S. Truman and Thomas Dewey
TRUMAN, Harry S.
Dewey Defeats Truman Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper.
1948.
Signed Chicago Daily Tribune with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman, signed by both Truman and Dewey as follows, "Truman hasn't found it out, Harry S. Truman" and "Thomas E. Dewey." It was an incorrect banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Daily Tribune on November 3, 1948, the day after incumbent United States President, Harry S. Truman, won an upset victory over Republican challenger and Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey, in the 1948 presidential election. It was famously held up by Truman at a public appearance following his successful election, smiling triumphantly at the error. The erroneous headline of the…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 141484
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"Nothing in bronze or stone could be a more perfect image than this statue of the living Washington": Fine bronze bust of George Washington after the famed Houdon bust of 1785
HOUDON, Jean-Antoine. [George Washington].
Jean-Antoine Houdon George Washington Bronze Bust.
Fine bronze bust of George Washington, after the famed Houdon bust of 1785 which is considered the most accurate depiction of Washington. Bronze, mounted on a marble pedestal. French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon was revered for his life-like portrayals of numerous notable eighteenth-century philosophers, inventors, and political figures including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Napoléon Bonaparte, and George Washington. In 1784, the Virginia General Assembly commissioned a statue of George Washington "to be of the finest marble and the best workmanship," necessitating a European craftsman. The Governor of Virginia gave the responsibility of selecting the artist to Thomas Jefferson,…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 123102
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First edition of Alexander Hamilton's Examination of President Thomas Jefferson's Message at the Opening of Congress December 7, 1801; from the library of Hamilton's close friend and colleague James Kent
HAMILTON, Alexander. [James Kent].
The Examination of the President’s Message at the Opening of Congress December 7, 1801.
Printed and Published at the Office of the New York Evening Post: New York, 1802.
First separate edition of Hamilton's analysis of Jefferson's first Annual Message to Congress which first appeared in the Evening Post, under the signature of Lucius Crassus. Howes H112. Octavo, bound in quarter morocco. Association copy, from the library of American jurist James Kent with his ownership signature to the title page. American jurist, New York legislator and legal scholar James Kent was part of the same legal elite in New York as Hamilton, and an ardent Federalist and admirer of both Hamilton and Jay. At the time of the present publication, he sat on the bench of the New York…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 131843
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"THE LAST COLLECTION OF FRANKLIN'S WRITINGS TO APPEAR IN HIS LIFETIME": First edition of Benjamin Franklin's Philosophical and Miscellaneous Papers
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Philosophical and Miscellaneous Papers. Lately written by B. Franklin, LL. D. Fellow of the Royal Society of London; Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris; President of the American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia.
London: Printed for C. Dilly, in the Poultry, 1787.
First edition of the last collection of Franklin's writings to appear during his lifetime; a major collection of his political, philosophical and scientific writings, a second volume of which was planned but never published. First issue with page 25 mispaginated "52." Octavo, bound in full contemporary tree calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt Greek key ruling to the front and rear panels. With four copper-engraved folding plates including diagrams of the Franklin stove and the earliest published map of the Gulf Stream. In very good condition. Armorial bookplate and early…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 125345
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Rare partial document signed by George Washington in 1799 regarding the sale of land; signed by him eleven months before his death on December 14, 1799
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Signed Partial Document.
January 21, 1799.
Rare partial document signed by George Washington on January 21, 1799, eleven months before his death on December 14, 1799. Octavo, the partial manuscript document reads, "I do acknowledge that this is the Platt referred to in the Deeds made for the Lands of George Mercer." Signed by Washington, "Go. Washington" and countersigned by three witnesses. Accompanied by a typed letter signed by Dorothy Twohig, editor-in-chief of the The Papers of George Washington which reads in part, "The note on Mercer explains Washington's involvement in the whole affair which started before the Revolution. After the war Washington tried to extricate himself from…
Price: $27,000.00 Item Number: 142623
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Rare First Edition of Thomas Paine's Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money
PAINE, Thomas.
Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money.
Philadelphia: Printed by Charles Cist, 1786.
First edition of Paine's defense of the Bank of North America. Small octavo, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Rare.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 104062
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"Dedicated to the millions of persons who are a part of the nonviolent revolution": First Edition, First Printing of The SCLC Story; signed by Martin Luther King, Jr. and containing one of the earliest appearances of his I Have a Dream Speech
KING, Jr. Martin Luther. Editor's note by Ed Clayton.
The SCLC Story in Words and Pictures.
Atlanta, Georgia: Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1964.
First edition, first printing of The SCLC Story containing one of the first appearances in print of Martin Luther King Jr.'s I Have a Dream Speech. Quarto, original illustrated wrappers as issued, illustrated with photographs including a full-page photograph of King, photographs of the officers, executive board, regional, and secretarial staffs of the SCLC. Signed by Martin Luther King, Jr. on the front panel, "Best Wishes Martin Luther King." With a letter of provenance that relays that the magazine was signed at an event where King spoke in Atlanta in 1964 and that it may have been first obtained when…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 141073
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Peter Force's 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, from Walter J. Stone's 1823 plate
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. [The Force Declaration of Independence].
Washington, D.C.: Engraved by William J. Stone for Peter Force, [1833].
Rare engraved copy of Peter Force's 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, from William J. Stone's 1823 plate. One page, folio broadside. In 1823, with the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, Congress commissioned Stone to produce a high-quality, actual-size replica of the original engrossed Declaration. The signatures of the 56 delegates were to be carefully copied. Stone spent two years perfecting the plate and after he had printed the 200 copies ordered, his original engraved plate remained with the Department of State. A decade later, Peter Force (1790-1868), historian, publisher and mayor of Washington D.C., conceived…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 143242