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“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety": Rare First Edition of Benjamin Franklin's Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces; Arranged under the Following Heads and Distinguished by Initial Letters in each Leaf: General Politics; American Politics before the Troubles; American Politics during the Troubles; Provincial or Colony Politics; Miscellaneous and Philosophical Pieces.
London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1779.
First edition of "the only edition of Franklin's writings (other than his scientific) printed during his lifetime" (Ford). Octavo, bound half diced calf over marbled boards with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt. With the engraved frontispiece portrait of Franklin, three engraved plates (one folding), and folding table of the reformed alphabet. In near fine condition. Complete with index, addenda and corrigenda. An exceptional example.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 125035
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First edition of the second book on architecture published in America: Owen Biddle's The Young Carpenter's Assistant
BIDDLE, Owen.
The Young Carpenter’s Assistant; Or, A System Of Architecture, Adapted To The Style Of Building In The United States.
Philadelphia: Benjamin Johnson, 1805.
First edition of the second book on architecture published in America, second only to Asher Benjamin's Country Builder's Assistant' published in 1797( Shaw & Shoemaker, 8018). Quarto, bound in full calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, illustrated with 44 engraved plates, 2 folding. In very good condition. Scarce with only 2 copies having appeared at auction in the past 50 years.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 117672
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FIRST EDITION OF CAESAR’S COMMENTARIES, “BEAUTIFULLY PRINTED AND RICHLY ADORNED,” WITH FAMOUS BULL PLATE, IN CONTEMPORARY CALF-GILT
[CAESAR, Julius]. William Duncan.
The Commentaries of Caesar, Translated into English. To Which is Prefixed a Discourse Concerning The Roman Art of War.
London: Printed for J. and R. Tonson, et al, 1753.
First edition of Duncan’s famous translation of Caesar’s Commentaries, sumptuously illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Caesar, six double-page maps, and 78 splendid plans and plates (most double-page). This copy with the famed double-page bull plate, often not present. Thick folio, contemporary full brown calf rebacked with elaborately gilt-decorated calf spine, raised bands. In very good condition. Period bookplate to the front pastedown and front free endpaper.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 99425
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"The foundations of American History": Rare early folio edition of the first official publication of the acts of the first Congress, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and bound with official publications of the Acts of the second and third sessions of Congress
Acts Passed at a Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the Fourth of March, in the Year M,DDC,LXXXIX; and of the Independence of the United States, the Thirteenth. [With: Acts Passed at the Second Session of the Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New-York, on Monday the Fourth of January, in the Year M,DCC,XC: and of the Independence of the United States, the Fourteenth. [and] Acts Passed at the Third Session of the Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of Philadelphia on Monday the Sixth of December, In The Year M,DCC,XC: and of the Independence of the United States, the Fourteenth].
Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Childs and Joseph Swaine, Printers to the United States, [1791].
Rare early folio edition of the first official publication of the acts of the first Congress, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; bound with the first official printing of the acts of the second session of Congress and an early printing of the acts of the third session of Congress (issued the same year as the first official printing). Folio, three volumes bound into one in full contemporary blind-tooled calf with raised bands to the spine, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt. A reprint of Childs and Swaine’s first official printing, which was issued in New York…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 125641
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"Alas! the love of women! it is known To be a lovely and a fearful thing": Rare complete first edition set of Lord Byron's Don Juan; from the library of Erica Jong
BYRON, George Gordon Noel. [Lord Byron].
Don Juan.
London: Thomas Davison [i.e., John Murray], 1819-1821 (Cantos I-V, Volumes I-II)/John Hunt, 1823-24 (Cantos VI-XVI, Volumes III-VI).
Scarce complete first edition set of Byron's great work which was widely criticized as immoral upon publication and is now considered one of the greatest poems of the Romantics; from the library of American writer Erica Jong. Volume one was produced in quarto format and the subsequent 5 volumes in octavo (Davison abandoned the quarto format after disappointing sales of the first volume), six volumes uniformly bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With an autograph letter signed…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 142573
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“I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is all powerful and will prevail": First revised edition of Narrative of Sojourner Truth and first edition of The Book of Life
TRUTH, Sojourner.
Narrative of Sojourner Truth, A Northern Slave, Emancipated From Bodily Servitude by the State of New York, in 1828 and The Book of Life.
Boston: Published By The Author, 1875.
Rare first revised edition of the book that brought Truth's remarkable story to the world and the first edition of The Book of Life. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, illustrated frontispiece portrait of Truth. In very good condition, contemporary ownership inscription on front free endpaper. Rare and desirable.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 133297
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"In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed": The Authorized Edition of The Works of Charles Darwin; Finely Bound
DARWIN, Charles.
The Works of Charles Darwin. Including: The Origin of Species; The Descent of Man; Variation of Plants and Animals Under Domestication; Formation of Vegetable Mould; The Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom; The Movement and Habits of Climbing Plants; The Various Contrivances by Which Orchids are Fertilised by Insects. Second Edition, Revised. A Naturalist’s Voyage. Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of Countries Visited During the Voyage of the H.M.S Beagle; The Different Forms of Flowers on Plants of the Same Species.
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896-97.
The Authorized edition of the works of Charles Darwin. Octavo, 15 volumes, bound in original three quarters morocco, gilt titles to the spine, top edge gilt, illustrated with in-text drawings and plates, some volumes with frontispieces. In near fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 133260
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"THE KING OF PHILOSOPHERS": Exceptionally Rare First Edition of the First Complete English Translation of The Works of Plato
TAYLOR, Thomas. [Plato].
The Works of Plato, Viz. His Fifty-Five Dialogues, and Twelve Epistles, Translated From the Greek; Nine of the Dialogues by the Late Floyer Sydenham, and the Remainder by Thomas Taylor: With Occasional Annotations on the Nine Dialogues Translated by Sydenham, and Copious Notes, by the Latter Translator.
London: Printed for Thomas Taylor, By R. Wilks, Chancery-Lane, 1804.
First edition of the first complete English translation of the works of Plato. Quarto, five volumes bound in full pebbled cloth retaining contemporary black morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, half-titles, engraved frontispiece to volume I. In the words of the Prometheus Trust, "Taylor's Works of Plato, has two outstanding features which make it an essential component to the genuine philosophers library. Firstly, Taylor himself translates Plato's Dialogues from within the ancient Greek Tradition. No English translator, before or since, has been so completely at one with the Greek philosophical and religious world view: Taylor fulfills, to the highest degree,…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 131256
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First Editions of Shackleton’s Classic Account The Heart of the Antarctic; Inscribed by Ernest H. Shackleton
SHACKLETON, Ernest H.
The Heart of the Antarctic: Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909.
London: William Heinemann, 1909.
First editions of Shackleton’s fascinating account of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909. Large octavos, 2 volumes, original blue cloth, photogravure frontispiece to each volume, 12 captioned tissue-guarded colored, and 255 black and white other plates in all, 3 maps, panorama in end-pocket of volume II, and numerous illustrations and diagrams throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by Ernest Shackleton on the front free endpaper. In very good condition. Trade editions signed by Shackleton are rare.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 141414
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First Edition of MacKay’s Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds; With an Autograph Letter Signed
MACKAY, Charles.
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
London: Richard Bentley, 1841.
First edition of this classic study of crowd psychology, a compilation of human folly throughout the ages. Octavo, three volumes, illustrated. Bound in three quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. With an autographed letter signed by Charles MacKay in 1867 laid in. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $13,500.00 Item Number: 129387
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“That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they don’t know nothing about it": First Edition Of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in The Rare Original Publisher’s Morocco
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Tom Sawyer’s Comrade].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition, first issue of Twain's masterpiece, one of approximately 500 copies bound in publisher's three-quarters morocco binding. Octavo, original three-quarters brown morocco and marbled boards, gilt-decorated spine, marbled endpapers. Lithographic frontispiece and with 174 illustrations by E.W. Kemble, photographic portrait frontispiece of the bust of Mark Twain by Karl Gerhardt. Copies of Huckleberry Finn in the original publisher's leather bindings are quite rare: "The relative rarity of the cloth and leather bindings is clear. Less than two weeks before publication, [the publisher] Webster announced that he was binding 20,000 copies in cloth, another 2,500 in sheep, and 500 copies…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 73064
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FIRST EDITIONS OF THE ADVENTURES AND MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
DOYLE, Arthur Conan.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
London: George Newnes, Limited, 1892-1894.
First editions of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories starring literature’s most famous detective. Octavo, original pictorial black and gilt-stamped light blue and dark blue cloth, patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. First issues, the first title with the street scene vignette with no text on the street sign and with "Violent" for "Violet" on p 317. In near fine condition, small name. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A superior set, with no cracking to the hinges as is typically seen.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 120890
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First Edition of Mary Mapes Dodge's Classic Work Hans Brinker; Inscribed by Her
DODGE, Mary Mapes.
Hans Brinker Or, The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland.
New York: James O'Kane, 1866.
First edition of the author's second and best known work. Octavo, original green cloth, gilt titles to the spine. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "Presented to Robert Dale Owen by the author January, 1866." The recipient Robert Dale Owen was responsible for introducing the legislation to establish the Smithsonian. He represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843–47). As a member of Congress, Owen successfully pushed through the bill that established Smithsonian Institution and served on the Institution's first Board of Regents. Owen also served as a delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention in 1850 and was appointed as U.S.…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 76002
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Rare First Illustrated Edition in English of Cervantes’ Masterpiece Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de.
The History of the Most Renowned Don Quixote of Mancha: And his Trusty Squire Sancho Pancha, Now Made English according to the Humour of our Modern Language. And Adorned with several Copper Plates.
London: Printed by Tho. Hodgkin, and are to be sold by John Newton, 1687.
First edition of the first illustrated edition in English of Don Quixote. Folio, bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. With copper-engraved frontispiece and eight copper-engraved plates, each bearing two images. Translated by John Phillips. In very good condition with all plates present, signature trimmed. A very sharp example.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 133909
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Rare Elaborately Illuminated nobility diploma signed by King Charles II Of Spain
KING CHARLES II OF SPAIN. [DON CARLOS],.
King Charles II Of Spain Autograph Signed Manuscript.
Madrid: May 28, 1699.
Rare elaborately illuminated nobility diploma signed by King Charles II of Spain, appointing Don Martin Damian Mendizabal the title of Marquis of Torre Gines. Quarto, bound in full red contemporary velvet covered boards with two metal clasps, containing five illuminated leaves, two fully illuminated in color with the Royal coat of arms and portrait of King Charles II, text in Spanish. Signed by King Charles II, "Yo el Rey" and additionally signed by several Royal secretaries. Bound with a printed manuscript of the Oath of Fidelity to the King of Spain with Royal stamps dated 1701 and with two autograph…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 107920
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Rare First Edition of Works of Alexander Hamilton; Including an early edition of The Federalist
HAMILTON, Alexander.
The Works of Alexander Hamilton; Comprising His Most Important Official Reports; An Improved Edition of The Federalist, on the New Constitution, Written in 1788; and Pacificus.
New York : Williams and Whiting, 1810.
The first collected edition of the works of Alexander Hamilton, with an early printing of The Federalist. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in full calf, three engraved portraits of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay. The first volume contains five of Hamilton's reports as Secretary of the Treasury, volumes II and III are devoted primarily to the Federalist Papers, and include significant additions, incorporating changes based on Hamilton's own notes. Edited by John Wells. In very good condition.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 129659
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"It is my hope to recall this great shade from the past, and not only invest him with his panoply, but make him living and intimate to modern eyes": Complete First Edition Set of Marlborough: His Life and Times; vol. iv inscribed by Winston Churchill to his research assistant and biographer Maurice Ashley
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
Marlborough: His Life and Times.
London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd, 1933-38.
First edition of Churchill's magisterial biography of his notable ancestor John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Octavo, 4 volumes, original cloth, top edge gilt, illustrated with hundreds of maps and plans (many folding), plates and document facsimiles. Association copy, inscribed by Winston Churchill on the front free endpaper of volume IV, "To Maurice Ashley from Winston Churchill August 1938." The recipient, Maurice Ashley worked as a research assistant to Winston Churchill for four years during which he was working on the Marlborough biography. Ashley is also the author of Churchill as Historian (1968), which discusses how Churchill approached historical research.…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 144914
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“I fear neither death nor fire, being prepared for both": Rare fourth edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs
FOXE, John.
Acts and Monuments of matters of most speciall and memorable happenyng in the Church, with an Universall history of the same…Newly revised and recognized. [Foxe’s Book of Martyrs].
London: John Daye, 1583.
Fourth edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs (as it was later known), and the last to be published in his lifetime. The first English edition was published in 1563. Folio, 2 volumes bound into one in full near contemporary full brown calf over beveled boards elaborately stamped and paneled in blind, rebacked, seven raised bands to the spine, later brass fixtures to the front and rear panels, text in two columns, numerous woodcut illustrations throughout. Text lacks preliminaries and title-page, and first five leaves remounted and partially restored (with significant loss to text), and final twenty leaves with significant chipping.…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 145220
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The Connoisseur's Federal Edition of The Complete Works of Alexander Hamilton; Finely Bound
HAMILTON, Alexander.
The Works of Alexander Hamilton.
New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1904.
The Connoisseur's Federal edition of the works of Alexander Hamilton, one of only 100 sets. Octavo, 12 volumes, bound in three quarters leather over silk cloth, morocco spine labels, frontispieces and additional engraved title-pages on japon vellum. Edited by Henry Cabot Lodge. In fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 125895
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The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson; Finely Bound in Full Morocco
STEVENSON, Robert Louis.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson [Including Treasure Island; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Kidnapped].
Various: Various Publishers, 1878-1926.
An extensive collection of forty-nine works by Robert Louis Stevenson, publishing date 1878-1926 to include the Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, Sidney Colvin, Methuen 1899 and The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson by Graham Balfour 1901. 2 vols. Stevenson's Baby Book, John Howell, San Francisco 1922. Cummy's Diary, A Diary kept by Robert Louis Stevenson's nurse, Alison Cunningham 1863. Chatto & Windus 1926. Ltd 734/780; Edinburgh Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson with etchings by A Brunet-Debaines. Seeley Jackson and Halliday 1879. Octavo, 49 volumes, bound in dark green morocco, title titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt top edge,…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 136463