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Exceptionally rare and spectacular 17th century editions of both volumes of Cervantes’ masterpiece Don Quixote; comprising one of the most desirable pairings of both volumes: Cervantes' final revised third edition of Part I and the scarce first edition of Part II
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de.
El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Segunda Parte del Ingenioso Cavallero Don Quixote de la Mancha.
Madrid: Por Juan de La Cuesta, vendese en casa de Francisco de Robles, librero del Rey, 1608-1615.
Exceedingly rare and spectacular 17th century editions of both volumes of Cervantes’ prized work, the remarkable Beilby Thompson-Maggs-Ortiz Linares copy with a shared provenance spanning over 320 years, this is among the oldest known sets of both parts paired and uniformly bound in the 18th century, comprising one of the most desirable pairings of the editions of each volume selected for the superior qualities of their respective printings: the third edition of Part I - printed in 1608 - being the last edition corrected and revised by Cervantes himself which remains its definitive form, and the scarce first edition of…
Price: $1,900,000.00 Item Number: 142820
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Exceptionally rare first edition, presentation copy of Experiments and Observations on Electricity; inscribed by Benjamin Franklin to Prominent Philadelphia Merchant, Colleague, and friend Thomas Livezey
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America, by Benjamin Franklin, L.L.D. and F.R.S. To which are added, Letters and Papers on Philosophical Subjects. The Whole corrected, methodized, improved, and now first collected into one Volume, and Illustrated with Copper Plates.
London: Printed for David Henry; and sold by Francis Newbery, at the Corner of St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1769.
First complete edition of "the most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America" (PMM), inscribed by Benjamin Franklin to prominent Pennsylvania Quaker and merchant Thomas Livezey, Jr. Quarto, bound in full contemporary calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins. Illustrated with 7 copper-engraved plates, 2 of which are folding. Presentation copy, inscribed by Benjamin Franklin on the front free endpaper, “To Mr. Livesy [sic] From his obliged Friend & humble Servant The Author.” With Thomas Livezey's ownership signature to the second free endpaper, "Thomas Livezey…
Price: $375,000.00 Item Number: 147283
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A LANDMARK IN THE HISTORY OF PRINTING, AND ONE OF THE GREATEST ILLUSTRATED BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED: Exceptionally rare colored Example of first edition of the monumental Nuremberg Chronicle; Published in 1493 and containing over 1800 splendid woodcuts illustrating the history of the world from the Creation of man to the invention of the printing press
SCHEDEL, Hartmann.
Liber Chronicarum. [The Nuremberg Chronicle].
Nuremberg: Anton Koberger for Sebald Schreyer and Sebastian Kammermeister, 12 July 1493.
Exceptionally rare colored example of the first edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle, the most extensively illustrated book of the 15th century. Imperial folio, bound in full 17th-century pigskin over bevelled wooden boards with elaborate blind tooling and scrolling to the spine and panels, brass cornerpieces, 2 fore-edge clasps, 325 leaves (of 328, without blank 55/6 and 61/5-6; fos. 9/3.4, 25/1, 53/6, 54/5 and possibly others supplied from another copy), quire 55 bound at end, fos. CCLVIIII-CCLXI blank except for printed headlines. 1809 woodcut illustrations printed from 645 blocks (S.C. Cockerell's count, some German woodcuts of the fifteenth century, 1897, pp.35-6),…
Price: $350,000.00 Item Number: 146920
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"The greatest and finest atlas ever published": Willem and Joan Blaeu's magnificent Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or, Le Theatre du Monde
BLAEU, Willem and Joan.
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. [Le Theatre du Monde].
Amsterdam: Chez Jean Blaeu/Apud Guiljelmum et Johannem Blaeu, 1643-1645.
A fine French-text copy in a presentation binding. Folio, 4 volumes, contemporary Dutch vellum likely from the Blaeu workshop with gilt tooling to the spine in eight compartments within gilt bands, central gilt arabesques and fleuron corner pieces within double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt. Gilt presentation inscription to the front panel of vol. I dated July 3, 1646 dedicating the set to Omer Talon, avocat-général to the French Parliament with the compliments of François du Monstier, rector of the University of Paris. Illustrated with 335 magnificent hand-colored engraved maps of the world and…
Price: $300,000.00 Item Number: 126307
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FROM THE LIBRARY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON: First edition, presentation copy of Elkanah Watson's Tour in Holland; inscribed by him to George Washington
[WATSON, Elkanah] [George Washington].
Tour in Holland in MDCCLXXXIV. By an American.
Printed at Worcester, Massachusetts: Isaiah Thomas, 1790.
First edition, presentation copy of a scarce volume from George Washington's library at Mount Vernon. Octavo, bound in full contemporary sheep with pine gilt in six compartments within raised bands, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, type-ornament title-page vignette, head and tailpieces. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author to George Washington on the front pastedown, "From the Author to General Washington" and further inscribed on the front free endpaper, "New York, Feb. 1798. Sir, Please to accept this small production which has stole its way into the world. If it can beguile one moment of that anxiety which doubtless pervades your…
Price: $275,000.00 Item Number: 143919
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“For anyone who loves intensely lives not in himself but in the object of his love, and the further he can move out of himself into his love, the happier he is": Exceptionally Rare first edition in English of Erasmus' in Praise of Folly; elaborately bound in full crushed levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
ERASMUS, Desiderius. Translated by Sir Thomas Chaloner.
In Praise of Folie: Moriae Encomium. A book made in latine by the great clerke Erasmus Roterodame. Enlightened by Sir Thomas Chaloner, knight. [In Praise of Folly].
London: Thomas Berthelet, 1549.
First edition in English of one of the most notable and popular works of the Renaissance which played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation and swiftly brought its author international fame. First printing with 'latine' and the printer's initials 'TB.' to the title page. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, wide woodcut border to the title page signed…
Price: $275,000.00 Item Number: 139476
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"THE MOST FAMOUS AND INFLUENTIAL AMERICAN POLITICAL WORK”: EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FIRST EDITION OF THE FEDERALIST
[HAMILTON, Alexander; James Madison; John Jay].
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, As Agreed Upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787.
New York: Printed and Sold by J. and A. McLean, 1788.
First edition of The Federalist, one of the rarest and most significant books in American political history. Octavo, two volumes bound in full calf with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, front and rear panels. In near fine condition with light foxing and minor marginal staining to end of Vol II. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example of this cornerstone of Americana.
Price: $260,000.00 Item Number: 145519
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NAPOLEON'S PERSONAL COPY OF VOLNEY'S VOYAGE, FROM HIS LIBRARY IN EXILE AT ST. HELENA, WITH HIS AUTOGRAPH ANNOTATIONS THROUGHOUT and likely the copy which accompanied him during his Egyptian Campaigns
VOLNEY, Constantin Francois. [Napoleon Bonaparte: His Copy].
Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte, Pendant Les Annees 1783, 84, et 85. [Travel to Syria and Egypt, During the Years 1783, 84, and 85].
A Paris: Chez Dugour et Durand, Libraires, Rue et Hotel Serpente, 1799.
Volney's important work on Egypt and Syria, from the library in exile of Napoleon Bonaparte with his annotations and corrections throughout, several made as he was dictating details from the Egyptian Campaign for his own Memoirs. This copy may also have accompanied him during his Egyptian Campaigns; it is known that Napoleon brought along a copy of Volney's book to Egypt, and it served as the standard reference source for the members of the campaign. Octavo, two volumes bound in full contemporary French sprinkled calf with gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt scrolling to…
Price: $250,000.00 Item Number: 146536
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"THE MOST FAMOUS AND INFLUENTIAL AMERICAN POLITICAL WORK”: EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FIRST EDITION OF THE FEDERALIST
[HAMILTON, Alexander; James Madison; John Jay].
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, As Agreed Upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787.
New York: Printed and Sold by J. and A. McLean, 1788.
First edition of The Federalist, one of the rarest and most significant books in American political history. 12mo, two volumes bound into one in half calf over marbled boards with raised bands, gilt titles to the spine. In very good condition with light toning to the pages. Text blocks trimmed. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell and chemise box. An exceptional example of this cornerstone of Americana.
Price: $250,000.00 Item Number: 143916
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First octavo edition, presentation copy of John James Audubon's The Birds of America; warmly inscribed by him in both volumes I and II to Lydia E. E. Greene
AUDUBON, John James.
The Birds of America, From Drawings Made In The United States And Their Territories.
New York: Published by J. J. Audubon. Philadelphia: J. B. Chevalier, 1840-1844.
First octavo edition of Audubon's landmark work; one of the most spectacular collections of ornithological prints ever produced. Royal octavo, 7 volumes bound in full 19th-century morocco by P. Low of Boston with their ticket, gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, ribbons bound in. Illustrated with 500 hand-colored lithographed plates after Audubon by W. E. Hitchcock, R. Trembly and others, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen, wood-engraved anatomical diagrams in text. Presentation copy, inscribed by John James Audubon on…
Price: $200,000.00 Item Number: 143567
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First French Edition, Presentation copy of the Constitutions of the Thirteen United States of America; inscribed by Benjamin Franklin who requested the book's publication and personally distributed the 600 privately printed first edition copies
[FRANKLIN, Benjamin].
Constitutions des Treize Etats-Unis De L’Amerique. [Constitutions of the Thirteen United States of America].
Paris: D. Pierres/Pissot, Pere & Fils, Libraries, 1783.
First French edition of the Constitution of the United States of America, inscribed by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin who had the translation published and personally distributed each of the 600 copies produced. Octavo, bound in one quarter calf with gilt ruling to the spine, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt. Presentation copy, inscribed by Benjamin Franklin on the front free endpaper, "A Madame, Madame la Presidente de Manieres [sic] de la parte du. B. Franklin." The recipient, Madame Durey de Meinires was a a French writer best known for her translations of Samuel Johnson, David Hume, and Sarah Fielding.…
Price: $175,000.00 Item Number: 138381
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"the first novel in the English language": Exceedingly rare complete first edition set of all three books in Defoe's classic Robinson Crusoe series
DEFOE, Daniel.
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; Serious Reflections During the Life And Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
London: Printed for W. Taylor at the Ship in Pater-Noster-Row, 1719-1720.
Exceedingly rare complete first edition set of all three books in Defoe's classic Robinson Crusoe series, including the scarce first and only printing of the third book in the series. Octavo, three volumes bound in full crushed red morocco by Francis Bedford with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. The set consists of: Vol. I. The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years,…
Price: $150,000.00 Item Number: 129597
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First edition of Alhazen's fundamental Book of Optics
ALHAZEN (HASAN IBN AL-HAYTHAM),.
Opticae Thesaurus Alhazeni Arabis. [Alhazen’s Book of Optics].
Basel: Eusebius Episcopius , 1572.
First edition of Alhazen's fundamental work on optics and vision, which influenced Galileo and Kepler and paved the way for the modern science of physical optics. Folio, bound in full contemporary Basel vellum with central arabesques blind-stamped to the front and rear panels, titles stamped in black and five raised bands to the spine, woodcut printer's device to the title page, woodcut initials, diagrams and full page illustration to the verso of the title page. Translated from Arabic into Latin by Gerard of Cremona. In very good condition. From the library of American physician Chester Tilton Stone with his bookplate…
Price: $142,000.00 Item Number: 90395
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"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife": Rare first edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
AUSTEN, Jane.
Pride and Prejudice: A Novel.
London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.
First editions of all three volumes of Jane Austen’s masterpiece, her bestselling book during her lifetime which remains a landmark of English literature. 12mo, three volumes bound in full mottled calf with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, double gilt ruling and botanical gilt scrolling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins, all edges speckled black. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine. A very attractive example of this significant work in English literature.
Price: $140,000.00 Item Number: 145824
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"Undoubtedly the most influential of all English language versions of the Bible": Rare 1613 folio edition of the GREAT KING JAMES "SHE" BIBLE; extra-illustrated and decorated with a large fore-edge painting
[BIBLE],.
[The King James “She” Bible]. The Holy Bible: Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New: Newly translated out of the Originall Tongues: and with the former Translations diligently compared and reuised by his Maiesties speciall Comandement. Appointed to be Read in Churches.
London: Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings Most Excellent Majestie, 1613.
Rare 1613 folio edition of the great King James "She" Bible", "the true 1613 folio edition of King James' Bible; easily distinguishable from the other large folio editions by its smaller type... The preliminary leaves are set up as in the other large folio editions, but the text is printed in smaller type with 72 instead of 59 lines to the full column" (Herbert; Darlow & Moule). From the library of famed collector Alfred Sutro and decorated with a large fore-edge painting by John T. Beer. Folio, bound in full 19th century paneled calf rebacked with older spine labels preserved, gilt tiles and ruling to the spine in seven compartments within…
Price: $125,000.00 Item Number: 145500
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COMPLETE SET OF IAN FLEMING'S JAMES BOND NOVELS; each volume in the RARE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET and housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery; including an association copy of Live and Let Die; Signed by Albert R. Broccoli who produced the film adaptation
FLEMING, Ian [Cubby Broccoli].
Complete Set of 14 First Edition James Bond Novels: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia with Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories including A View to a Kill and Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1953-66.
First editions of each volume in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Octavo, 14 volumes, original publisher's cloth-covered boards. Each volume in a first-issue dust jacket. Casino Royale is near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket with chipping to the extremities including the crown of the spine and upper right corner of the front panel, light toning to the rear panel. Jacket design by Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die is near fine in a very good dust jacket (first state without printed acknowledgement to the author or the artist Kenneth Lewis) with light wear to the crown of…
Price: $125,000.00 Item Number: 145438
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"All human wisdom is contained in these two words--"Wait and Hope": The Manney Copy of the First Edition in English of Dumas’ The Count of Monte-Cristo; In the Rare Original Cloth
DUMAS, Alexandre [Alexander].
The Count of Monte-Cristo.
London: London: Chapman and Hall, 1846.
First edition in English of the author’s masterpiece, published just one year after the original French edition and before the American first, the Richard Manney copy. Octavo, 2 volumes, original publisher's terracotta cloth, decoratively blind-embossed, gilt titles to the spine. Twenty wood-engraved plates after Henry Valentin. In near fine condition with only light rubbing to the extremities and toning, with the bookplate of legendary collector Richard Manney. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell and chemise box. A superior example, scarce in the original cloth, with exceptional provenance.
Price: $110,000.00 Item Number: 129384
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A LANDMARK IN THE HISTORY OF PRINTING, AND ONE OF THE GREATEST ILLUSTRATED BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED: FIRST EDITION OF THE MONUMENTAL NUREMBERG CHRONICLE; Published in 1493 and containing over 1800 splendid woodcuts illustrating the history of the world from the Creation of man to the invention of the printing press
SCHEDEL, Hartmann.
Liber Chronicarum [Nuremberg Chronicles].
Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 1493.
First edition of the most fully realized illustrated book of the fifteenth century and one of the most impressive volumes ever published. Imperial folio, bound in three quarter calf with five raised bands to the spine, morocco title labels lettered in gilt to the spine and front panel, copiously illustrated with 1,809 splendid woodcuts by Wohlgemuth and Pleydenwurff (the teachers of Durer), some full page, others double-page, illustrating Schedel's year-by-year account of notable events in world history from the Creation to the year of publication, including the creation of Adam and Eve, birth of Jesus Christ, invention of printing at Mainz,…
Price: $92,000.00 Item Number: 143505
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"The Greatest Work In The History of Science": Rare First Edition in English of Newton’s Principia
NEWTON, Isaac.
The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Translated into English by Andrew Motte. To which are added, the Laws of the Moon’s Motion, according to Gravity.
London: Benjamin Motte, 1729.
First edition in English of Isaac Newton’s magnum opus Principia which Einstein called, "perhaps the greatest intellectual stride that it has ever been granted to any man to make." Octavo, two volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles to the spine, engraved frontispiece after and by A. Motte in the first volume, section-title to Machin's Laws of Motion, 47 folding engraved plates, 2 folding letterpress tables, 3 engraved headpieces by Motte, numerous woodcut head and tailpieces, historiated and ornamental woodcut initials. Translated by Andrew Motte. In very good condition. An exceptional example of this cornerstone of scientific thought, most…
Price: $82,000.00 Item Number: 140042
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Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs; containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower
WASHINGTON, George; John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; James Monroe; John Quincy Adams; Andrew Jackson; Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; John Tyler; James Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore; Franklin Pierce; James Buchanan; Abraham Lincoln; Andrew Johnson; Ulysses S. Grant; Rutherford B. Hayes; James Garfield; Chester A. Arthur; Grover Cleveland; William McKinley; Theodore Roosevelt; William H. Taft; Woodrow Wilson; Warren G. Harding; Calvin Coolidge; Herbert Hoover; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Harry Truman; Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Autographs of the Presidents of the United States of America.
1783-1956.
Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs, containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quarto, bound in full red morocco by Riviere & Son with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt presidential seal to the front panel with white and blue morocco onlays, gilt arms and motto of George Washington to the rear panel with white and blue morocco onlays and his gilt signature in facsimile, centerpieces within quintuple gilt ruling with star emblems at each corner, blue…
Price: $80,000.00 Item Number: 125384
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“Integrity is the ability to stand by an idea": First Edition of Ayn Rand's Magnum Opus The Fountainhead; Inscribed by Her
RAND, Ayn.
The Fountainhead.
Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1943.
First edition, first issue with first edition stated on the copyright page of the author's first major novel, as well as her first best-seller. Octavo, original red cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "To Gertrude Lynneberg- - with my best wishes for long years of happiness- Ayn Rand November 16, 1943." The recipient, Gertrude Lynneberg was the sister-in- law to Linda Lynneberg, also known as Aslaug Lynneberg, a lifelong friend of Rand. Near fine in a very good first issue dust jacket with some chips and wear. Housed in…
Price: $75,000.00 Item Number: 121447
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Exceptionally rare first English edition of Mark Twain's The Gilded Age
TWAIN, Mark and Charles Dudley Warner. [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Gilded Age: A Novel.
London: George Routledge and Sons, 1874.
First English edition of the rarest of Mark Twain's works: the only novel he wrote with a collaborator and the book that gave the era its name in history. Octavo, three volumes, original publishers green cloth, gilt titles to the spine, illustrated. The only multi-volume work Clemens produced, except for the two-volume Tramp Abroad (London, 1880), the first English edition of The Gilded Age is the rarest of Mark Twain's major works and the most difficult to obtain. Its rarity is due largely to its format, three volume sets were quite expensive and were produced almost solely for circulating libraries…
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 133018
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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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"The Greatest Work In The History of Science": First Edition in English of Newton’s Principia
NEWTON, Isaac.
The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Translated into English by Andrew Motte. To which are added, the Laws of the Moon’s Motion, according to Gravity.
London: Benjamin Motte, 1729.
First edition in English of Isaac Newton’s Principia. Octavo, two volumes bound in full calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins, illustrated with forty-six folding engraved plates and two folding charts. In near find condition. A few leaves with light foxing, pages lightly toned. Plate XXV at the end of volume one supplied in facsimile. An excellent example of this landmark work.
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 145081
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“Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper words are used to convey it": Rare First Edition in English of Boccaccio's Decameron
BOCCACCIO, Giovanni.
The Decameron.
London: Isaac Jaggard, 1620.
First edition in English of Boccaccio's masterpiece, published by Jaggard published three years prior to his printing of the Shakespeare First Folio. Boccaccio's masterpiece. Folio, 2 volumes, bound in full morocco by Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, all edges gilt, errata leaf at end of volume one, B1 is a cancellans, woodcut titles each with 6 vignettes, 98 woodcut vignettes in text chiefly repeating the title vignettes, woodcut initials, head- and tail-pieces. In near fine condition. First editions are rare.
Price: $60,000.00 Item Number: 128726
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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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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit": One of Only 50 sets of The Works of Aristotle; Signed by Translator Thomas Taylor in volumes 1 and 4.
ARISTOTLE; TRANSLATED BY THOMAS TAYLOR,.
The Works of Aristotle.
London: Robert Wilks, 1806-12.
Exceptionally rare complete set of the first edition in English of the works of Aristotle, limited to only 50 sets, signed by the translator Thomas Taylor in volumes one and four. Quarto, 11 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels, ribbon book marks bound in, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. The set composes of the following: Volume 1: The Organon, 1807, signed at the end by the translator Thomas Taylor, and with A Brief Notice of Mr. Thomas Taylor, the Celebrated Platonist, with a Complete List of his Published Works, by…
Price: $55,000.00 Item Number: 138648
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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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"History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge": THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY; each volume signed by J.R.R. Tolkien
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King.
London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1963.
Complete set of each title of the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, each volume signed by J.R.R. Tolkien on the title page. Octavo, 3 volumes, original publisher's cloth, all edges gilt, ribbon bound in, folding map at rear of each volume. Each volume is signed by J.R.R. Tolkien on the title page. The Fellowship of the Ring is a thirteenth impression, very good in a very good tenth impression dust jacket; The Two Towers is a tenth impression, very good in a very good eighth impression dust jacket; The Return of the King is a tenth impression, very good…
Price: $48,000.00 Item Number: 147003
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“When you get an idea into your head you find it in everything": Rare First Edition of Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris; One of only 1100 examples
HUGO, Victor.
Notre-Dame de Paris.
Paris: Charles Gosselin, 1831.
First edition, first printing of Hugo's masterpiece, one of only 1,100 examples. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in half calf. The publisher Charles Gosselin published the novel on 16 March 1831 in an edition of 1,100 copies as was his usual practice. It was such a sensation that an additional three printings had to be published the same year. The first impression of 1100 copies was separated into four groups, each bearing a fictitious edition statement on the title-page, a scheme designed to make the public believe that the novel was selling rapidly. "This first edition is the rarest of all…
Price: $48,000.00 Item Number: 139559
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"FAST BY THE ORACLE OF GOD, I THENCE INVOKE THY AID TO MY ADVENTUROUS SONG": FIRST EDITION OF JOHN MILTON'S MASTERPIECE PARADISE LOST
MILTON, John.
Paradise Lost: A Poem in Ten Books.
London: Printed by S. Simmons, and are to be sold by T. Helder, at the Angel in Little Brittain, 1669.
First edition of Milton's masterpiece, "one of the greatest works of the human imagination" (DNB). Small octavo, bound in full contemporary sprinkled calf, smooth spine gilt, red morocco lettering-piece gilt. Title-page and text within ruled border; woodcut headpieces and initials opening each book. (Without blank A1 after cancel title, F3 with paper flaw affecting rule border and shoulder notes, tiny mostly marginal wormhole to a few leaves.) Provenance: Elizabeth Gordon (signature on title verso dated 1686); Robert Chilton Pearson (bookplate); Patrick & Julie Pearson (bookplate). With the cancel title-page corresponding to Amory’s fourth issue, title page with "Angel" in the…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 119536
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Rare first edition, first impression of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations; bound in full royal blue crushed levant morocco by Bayntun Bindery
DICKENS, Charles.
Great Expectations.
London: Chapman and Hall, 1861.
First edition, first impression of Dickens' rarest novel. Octavo, three volumes bound in full royal blue crushed levant morocco by Bayntun Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and wide gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by Bayntun, all edges gilt. The earliest impression of Dicken's rarest novel. This copy agrees in all points with Margaret Caldwell's extensive analysis of the differing impressions in the Clarendon edition of Great Expectations. As in the Lawrence Drizen copy sold in 2019 at Sotheby’s and in…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 142357
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Leo Tolstoy's Childhood, Boyhood, Youth; Inscribed by Him to His Doctor
TOLSTOY, Leo.
Sochinenia Grafa L.N. Tolstogo [Childhood, Boyhood, Youth].
Moscow: Typ. I.N. Kushnerev i Ko, 1893.
Early Russian printing of Tolstoy’s trilogy Childhood, Boyhood, Youth. Quarto, original half leather. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page to his doctor, “To Dmitry Vasil’evich Nikitin. Leo Tolstoy. 28 March 1903.” With an original photograph of Tolstoy with Dmitry Nikitin opposite the title page. The recipient, Dmitry Nikitin was Tolstoy’s family doctor who described him as ‘‘a very attentive person [who] knows everything that medicine knows now.” The son of a priest from a small village, served as Tolstoy’s first family and later treated M. Gorky. Beginning in the 1850s, Tolstoy had to turn to doctors…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 133583
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Exceedingly rare new and revised edition of M. de Bourrienne's Life of Napoleon extra-illustrated with additional portraits and views and over 50 autograph letters and notes signed by Napoleon I, members of his family, and royal associates
DE BOURRIENNE, Fauvelet. [Napoleon].
Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte.
London: Richard Bentley and Son, 1885.
Exceedingly rare edition of M. de Bourrienne's Life of Napoleon extra-illustrated with additional portraits and views and over 50 autograph letters and notes signed by Napoleon I, members of his family, associates, and the author bound in. Octavo, bound in three quarters scarlet morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others uncut, tissue-guarded frontispiece and full color portrait to each volume, illustrated with engravings issued in the initial publication and over 100 extra portraits and views bound in. With over 50 autograph letters signed bound…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 117078
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“THE SOUTHERN STATES HAD RIGHTFULLY THE POWER TO WITHDRAW”: JEFFERSON DAVIS’ HISTORY OF THE CONFEDERACY, FIRST EDITION; INSCRIBED BY HIM TO HIS PHYSICIAN
DAVIS, Jefferson.
The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881.
First edition of Jefferson Davis’ important history of the Confederacy, inscribed by him to his doctor. With 18 maps (14 folding) and 19 plates, including stipple-engraved portraits of Davis, members of the presidential staff, General Lee, and others. Thick octavo, original three-quarter brown morocco, original brown cloth gilt, patterned endpapers, with steel-engraved plates, including frontispiece portraits, wood-engraved plates, maps. Association copy, inscribed by him in volume one, "Maurice Davis M.D. with the respects of the Author." The recipient was his friend and physician, when the Davis' were in London. Dr. Maurice Marcus Davis (1821-1898) acted as physician to the Davis’s whilst…
Price: $42,000.00 Item Number: 129632
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"Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains": Exceedingly rare first edition in English of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's A Treatise on the Social Compact: Or The Principles of Politic Law; the precursor to the French Revolution
ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques.
A Treatise on the Social Compact: or The Principles of Politic Law.
London: Printed for T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, in the Strand, 1764.
First edition in English of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's magnum opus; a seminal treatise on political philosophy and precursor of the French revolution. Twelvemo, bound in full contemporary calf with five raised bands to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, turn-ins stamped in blind, 3pp. advertisements at end. In very good condition. Contemporary annotation to pages 2 and 3, otherwise remarkably clean internally. Exceedingly rare with only a handful of copies traced in auction records, the last one appearing four decades ago.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 145209
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"Madam, you inrich the very cloaths and jewels you wear! You brighten all the Hemisphere about you, like the dazling sun in its full meridian!": Exceptionally rare first edition of James Bland's An Essay in Praise of Women
BLAND, James.
An Essay in Praise of Women: Or, A Looking-glass for Ladies to See Their Perfections In.
London: Printed for the Author, and Sold by J. Batley, 1733.
First edition of the English physician's immensely popular early 18th century essay. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with a burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, elaborate woodcut initials, headpieces and tailpieces. There were two issues of the first edition of Bland's Essay published in 1733, one sold by J. Batley adn the other by J. Roberts. Both issues are scarce, with no copies appearing in auction records. The work proved so popular upon publication in 1733 that a second edition…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 139649
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“But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night": Exceptionally rare complete first edition set of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia
LEWIS, C.S. Illustrations by Pauline Baynes.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, The Last Battle.
London: Geoffrey Bles/The Bodley Head, 1950-1956.
Complete first edition set of C.S. Lewis's best-selling work, one of the best-selling series of all time which has sold 120 million copies in 47 languages. “Adored by children and academics alike, these books are extremely collectable, sought-after, and scarce” (Connolly, 186). Octavo, seven volumes, original publisher's cloth, each volume illustrated with plates, in-text illustrations, and maps by Pauline Baynes, including colour where called for. Comprising first editions of: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, covers with light toning to the extremities, dust jacket with some restoration and repairs, 1950; Prince Caspian, price-clipped dust jacket with repairs and restoration,…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 147528
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Rare 16th century printings of John Wolfe's Fictitious Italian editions of Machiavelli's Discourses and The Prince; finely bound together in full morocco
MACHIAVELLI, Niccolò.
Discorsi Di Nicolo Machiavelli Pra La Prima Deca Di Tito Livio [bound with] Il Prencipe di Nicolo Machiavelli. [Machiavelli’s Discourses bound with The Prince].
Palermo: Apresso gli heredi d'Antoniello degli Antonielli , 1584 [London: John Wolfe].
Rare 16th century printing of John Wolfe's famed fictitious Italian editions of Machiavelli's fundamental works of political history and philosophy. Octavo, elaborately bound in full crushed morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling and central motifs to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins. In near fine condition with occasional contemporary marginal notes. Rare.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 129484