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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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Rare First Edition In English of Dumas' The Three Musketeers
DUMAS, Alexandre.
The Three Musketeers; or, the Feats and Fortunes of a Gascon Adventurer.
London: Bruce and Wyld, 1846.
First edition in English of Dumas’ masterpiece. Octavo, bound in half contemporary calf over marbled boards. Translated from the French by William Barrow. Barrow’s translation was the first of three English translations published in 1846 and is considered the most faithful to the original text. To conform to nineteenth century English standards other translations removed many of the explicit and implicit references to sexuality which adversely affected the readability of many scenes. In near fine condition, with the text fresh. One of the nicest examples we have seen.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 142495
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"There is no other fire but this, This speck of life, this fading spark": The Screwtape Letters; signed by C.S. Lewis with an inscription of his poem The Salamander
LEWIS, C.S.
The Screwtape Letters.
London: Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, 1945.
Early printing of Lewis' classic novel of spiritual conflict, one of his most celebrated works; signed by him with his poem The Salamader in the year it was published in The Spectator. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper, "C. S. Lewis" and inscribed by him on the final free endpaper with an inscription of his poem The Salamander which was published in the same year (1945) in The Spectator, "The Salamander I stared in to the fire: - blue waves of shuddering hear that rose and fell and blazing ships and binding caves Canyons…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 143837
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"With best wishes of a fellow Celt": First Edition of Tender Is the Night; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
Tender Is The Night. A Romance. Decorations by Edward Shenton.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934.
First edition of the work which Fitzgerald considered to be his finest. Octavo, original green cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper "For Lillian Abercrombie with best wishes of a fellow Celt F. Scott Fitzgerald." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell and chemise box.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 87567
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Mark Twain's Roughing It; Inscribed by him to Mrs. P. T. Barnum
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Roughing It.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1874.
Early printing of Twain’s first semi-autobiographical work of travel literature, essentially a prequel to The Innocents Abroad. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles to the spine, fully illustrated by eminent artists with wood engravings throughout. Association copy, inscribed by Mark Twain on the fly-leaf, "For Mrs. P. T. Barnum with kindest wishes of Samuel L. Clemens Oct. 1875." The recipient, Nancy Fish, was the second wife of American showman P. T. Barnum. Twain and Barnum were, by various accounts, friends, mutual admirers and rivals. After visiting Barnum’s American Business Museum in New York City as a teenager,…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 133025
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“THE GREATEST HISTORICAL WORK EVER WRITTEN”: Rare complete first edition set of Edward Gibbon's Masterpiece The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire; with a rare first edition, first issue of Vol. I; from the library of legendary aviator Steve Fossett
GIBBON, Edward.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1776-1788.
Rare full first edition set, first state of volume one, of Gibbon's landmark work of historiography with three engraved folding maps by Kitchin of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire and of Constantinople and frontispiece portrait of Gibbon. Quarto, 6 volumes bound in three quarter calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Vol. I: undated engraved portrait frontispiece by Hall after Joshua Reynolds, 12pp. contents, x4 and a4 are cancels, errata leaf; Vol. II: full-sheet folding map of the Eastern Roman Empire by Thomas Kitchin dated 1 January 1781 bound before p.1, half-sheet map of…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 129094
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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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“To Miss Brown with many thanks for her help in bringing out this book": First Edition of Why England Slept; Inscribed by Kennedy to His Father's Secretary and Who Transcribed this Work
KENNEDY, John F.
Why England Slept.
New York: Wilfred Funk, Inc, 1940.
First edition of John F. Kennedy's first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Miss Brown with many thanks for her help in bringing out this book Best wishes Jack Kennedy." The recipient, Mona Brown was a personal assistant and secretary to Joseph Kennedy for seven years, a period of time which included his ambassadorship to the United Kingdom. She was part of the Kennedy household's innermost circle and spent a considerable amount of time with the Kennedy children, especially young Jack and Kathleen. She transcribed Why England Slept for…
Price: $28,500.00 Item Number: 82340
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"direct observational evidence of the validity of the Big Bang theory": rare silver gelatin galaxy spectra annotated by influential American astronomer Edwin Hubble
[HUBBLE, Edwin].
Edwin Hubble Annotated Virgo and Ursa Major Cluster Spectra.
Two rare silver gelatin galaxy spectra annotated by influential American astronomer Edwin Hubble, offering proof of Hubble's law and direct observational evidence of the validity of the Big Bang theory. Mounted on cardboard, one spectrum reveals the recessional velocity of the Virgo Cluster with Hubble's pencil annotations on the verso, "NGC 4473 Virgo Cluster Velocity = 2,000 kilometers per second." The second shows the recessional velocity of Ursa Major with Hubble's annotations, "Ursa Major Cluster velocity = 15,000 kilometers per second." In showing that the Ursa Major Galaxy Cluster (located at a distance of about 78 million light years away…
Price: $28,500.00 Item Number: 126281
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First Editions of Each Novel By William Faulkner; Finely Bound by The Harcourt Bindery
FAULKNER, William.
The Complete Novels of William Faulkner. [Soldier’s Pay, Mosquitos, Sartoris, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, Light in August, Pylon, Absalom, Absalom!, The Unvanquished, The Wild Palms, The Hamlet, Go Down Moses, Intruder in the Dust, Requiem For a Nun, A Fable, The Town, The Mansion, The Reivers].
New York: Various Publishers, 1926-1962.
First editions of each novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, 19 volumes, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt stamped signature to the front panel, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional set, rare and desirable.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 142531
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"SHE WANTS LIFE TO BE EASY AND FULL OF PLEASANT REMINISCES": FIRST EDITION OF ZELDA FITZGERALD'S SAVE ME THE WALTZ; IN THE RARE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET AND WITH AN ORIGINAL PAINTING SIGNED BY HER WITH HER INITIALS
FITZGERALD, Zelda.
Save Me The Waltz.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932.
First edition of Zelda Fitzgerald’s only novel, a semi-autobiographical account of her life and marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Octavo, original cloth. Laid in is a card with an original gouache painting of a flower painted by Fitzgerald and signed by her with her initials, "Z S.F." Zelda began painting while on holiday in Rome and Capri with Scott in 1924, where they received the proofs of The Great Gatsby. In 1932, while being treated at the Phipps Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, she had a burst of creativity which produced Save Me the Waltz as well as…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 137264
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"One Of The Most Important Books Of The Twentieth Century": First American Edition Of Karl Popper’s The Open Society; Signed By Him
POPPER, Karl R.
The Open Society And Its Enemies.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950.
First American edition of Popper's magnum opus. Octavo, original black cloth. Boldly signed by Karl Popper on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. First editions are rare and desirable signed.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 137328
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"One of the 100 best books of any kind of the 20th century": First Edition of the author's Masterpiece The Origins of Totalitarianism; Inscribed by Hannah Arendt
ARENDT, Hannah.
The Origins of Totalitarianism.
New York: Harcourt Brace, 1951.
First edition of this masterpiece, by one of the most important and influential thinkers of the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by Hannah Arendt on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Exceptionally rare and desirable signed.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 147887
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“He felt all at once like an ineffectual moth, fluttering at the windowpane of reality, dimly seeing it from outside": First Edition of Philip K. Dick's Ubik; Signed by Him
DICK, Philip K.
Ubik.
Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1969.
First edition of one of Philip K. Dick's most acclaimed novels. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Philip K. Dick on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing. Jacket design by Peter Rauch. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 98978
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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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First Edition of William Faukner's Soldiers' Pay; In the Original Dust jacket
FAULKNER, William.
Soldiers’ Pay.
New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926.
First edition of Faulkner's first book in the rare first state dust jacket with An American Tragedy as the first of five titles listed on the rear jacket panel. Octavo, original cloth. Bookplate, near fine in an exceptional dust jacket with light toning and wear. From the library of Virginia bibliophile and historian Christopher Clark Geest with his bookplate. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Scarce in this condition.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 89328
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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 1617 Edition of Vesalius's Epitome containing 39 full-page anatomically illustrated plates
VESALIUS, Andreas. (Thomas Geminus).
Anatomia in Quat Tota Humani Corporis Fabrica. (Anatomy in Total of the Fabric of the Human Body).
Amsterdam: Joannes Janssonius, 1617.
Rare edition of the Epitome of Vesalius, first published in 1543 as an abbreviated dissection room manual to accompany his masterpiece De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body). Folio, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, red spine label, raised tooled bands, marbled endpapers, engraved pictorial title page. Engraved portrait of Vesalius, engraved folding plate of Adam and Eve after that in the epitome before the main text. Containing 39 full-page anatomically illustrated plates, woodcut headpieces and initials. In near fine condition. Captions in both Latin and German, having been otherwise taken directly from…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 74638
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"As art it is perfection" (Dostoevsky); Rare First Russian Edition Of Tolstoy’s Masterpiece Anna Karenina
TOLSTOY, Leo. [Count Lyof N Tolstoi].
Anna Karenina.
Moscow: T. Ris, 1878.
First edition in Russian of Tolstoy's masterpiece. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in three quarters calf, gilt titles, raised bands. Housed in a custom box. In near fine condition. First editions in Russian are rare.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 126365