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“THE FATHER OF MODERN DEMOCRACY”: First edition in English of Aristotle's Masterpiece Politiques, or Discourses of Government
ARISTOTLE,.
Politiques, or Discourses of Government.
London: Adam Islip, 1598.
Rare first edition in English of one of the world’s most important and influential political texts, “the most valuable work on that branch of philosophy that has descended to us from antiquity.” Small folio, bound in full leather, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels. In near fine condition, bookplate, small name to the title page, small paper repair to the first few pages. First editions are exceptionally rare.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 138658
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“thinking is always thinking of a potential action": First Edition of Human Action: A Treatise On Economics; Signed by Ludwig Von Mises
VON MISES, Ludwig.
Human Action: A Treatise on Economics.
New Haven: Yale University Press, 1949.
First edition of the economist's magnum opus. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Ludwig von Mises on the title page. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Signed first editions are rare.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 137484
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"In this brief life of ours, it is sad to do almost anything for the last time": Large Signed Portrait Photograph Signed by Charles Dickens
DICKENS, Charles.
Charles Dickens Signed Portrait Photograph.
1868.
Large oval portrait photograph measures 20 inches by 16 inches. Matted in a contemporary frame which measures 25.5 inches by 29.5 inches. Signed "Charles Dickens (with a large flourish) Boston Sixth March 1868." In 1867, Charles Dickens began his second American reading tour at Boston's Tremont Temple, where an enthusiastic audience delighted in some of his most notable works, members of the audience included legendary literary stars such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although Dickens was in declining health, he embarked on an ambitious travel schedule across the United States. Dickens returned to Boston once more before concluding…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 74030
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First Edition of The Evolution of Physics; Inscribed by Albert Einstein in the Year of Publication
EINSTEIN, Albert & Infeld.
The Evolution of Physics: The Growth of Ideas from Early Concepts to Relativity and Quanta.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1938.
First edition of this classic work, which traces the development of ideas in physics. Octavo, original blue cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the second free endpaper, "For David Stern Albert Einstein 1938." Fine in a near dust jacket with a few small closed tears. Trade editions signed by Einstein are scarce.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 146188
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Rare Carl Sagan Archive including twenty notes and letters signed by him; from the collection of Sagan's Executive Assistant Shirley Arden
SAGAN, Carl. [Shirley Arden].
Carl Sagan Archive.
c. 1974-1985.
Extensive archive of papers, letters, notes, magazines, articles, press kits and portfolios containing the work of Carl Sagan, including twenty letters and notes signed by him and some additionally by his wife Ann Druyan. From the collection of Sagan's Executive Assistant, Shirley Arden, who was instrumental in Sagan's success and handled all travel arrangements and publications in his most illustrious years which saw the Viking landings on Mars, the Cosmos television series, and the Voyager mission. Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson, used many of the documents in Arden's archive as sources for his 1999 biography: Carl Sagan: A Life. Ann and…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 115521
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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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"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 all my heart, the flower beyond": Rare First Edition of the Author’s Masterpiece Cien Anos de Soledad; Inscribed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to close friend Juana Munoz
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
Cien Anos de Soledad [One Hundred Years of Solitude].
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1967.
First edition of the author's masterpiece which is recognized as one of the most significant works in the Spanish literary canon. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by the author on the dedication page with a large drawing of a flower, "Para Juana, con todo el corazon, la flor mas alla, Gabo." [For Juana, with all my heart, the flower beyond]. The recipient, Juana Munoz, was a close friend of Marquez and wife of Sergio Munoz. They met in 1964 in Mexico City in the home of author Carlos Fuentes, who often hosted a literary open house…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 132338
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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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“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves": First Edition of Viktor Frankl's Classic Work Man's Search For Meaning; Signed by Him
FRANKL, Viktor E.
From Death-Camp To Existentialism [Man’s Search For Meaning].
Boston: Beacon Press, 1959.
First edition in English of Frankl's classic work, which was later titled Man's Search For Meaning in 1962. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Viktor Frankl on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Translated by Ilse Lasch. Preface by Gordon Allport. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Signed first editions are exceptionally rare and desirable.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 130637
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First Edition Of the author's Masterpiece Blood Meridian; Inscribed by Cormac McCarthy to Longtime Friends
MCCARTHY, Cormac.
Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West.
New York: Random House, 1985.
First edition of the author's fifth novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original half red cloth. Association copy, warmly inscribed on the front free endpaper, "For John & Lanelle With much love Cormac." The recipients were close friends of McCarthy during his time spent in Knoxsville, Tennessee. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Richard Adelson. Jacket painting by Salvador Dali. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 144532
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First Edition of Jack Kerouac's Satori in Paris; Inscribed by Him to His Brother-in-law Tony Sampras
KEROUAC, Jack.
Satori In Paris.
New York: Grove Press, 1966.
First edition of Kerouac's penultimate novel. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "Tony's copy- signed by his brother man Jacky Kerouac." The recipient, Tony Sampras was the youngest brother of Kerouac's wife, Stella. Tony and Kerouac were close, Kerouac called Tony two days before his death and the On the Road scroll was left to him by Stella in her will. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Kuhlman Associates. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed, especially with such an association.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 128912
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Rare First Edition of Leonard Cohen's First Book, One of 400 copies Let Us Compare Mythologies; Warmly Inscribed by Him
COHEN, Leonard.
Let Us Compare Mythologies.
Montreal: McGill Poetry Series by Contact Press, 1956.
First edition of Cohen's first book, which explores philosophy, sexuality, death, a world of violent contrasts that would define his future literary and musical careers. Octavo, original cloth. With five full-page line illustrations by Freda Guttman. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For my friend Jo, Leonard January 1957.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An excellent example of this rare first book, which reportedly, fewer than 400 copies of the first edition were printed (Nadel, 45).
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 107435
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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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FINE PAIR OF RARE EARLY 19TH CENTURY Josiah Loring CELESTIAL AND TERRESTRIAL TABLE GLOBES
LORING, Josiah.
Loring’s Terrestrial and Celestial Table Globes.
Boston: Josiah Loring, c. 1833.
Fine pair of rare early 19th century American celestial and terrestrial table globes published by Josiah Loring. Both the celestial and terrestrial globe measure 17 inches in diameter with a calibrated brass meridian ring and 17 inch mahogany horizon ring decorated with mounted hand colored decorations. Mounted on ebonized oak stands. Each globe is comprised of 12 richly detailed hand-colored gores with polar calottes, the terrestrial globe detailing the earth’s landmasses, major countries and cities and the celestial showing the major stars in various sizes related to their brightness. Major constellations and all twelve zodiac signs are illustrated with detailed…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 132508
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“Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man”: exceptionally rare sixteenth century printing of Homer's Odyssey in Latin
HOMER. TRANSLATED BY RAPHAELLO MAFFEI,.
Odissea Per Raphaelem Volaterranum in Latinum Conversa (The Odyssey of Homer translated by Raphael of Volterra in Latin).
Rome: Per Lacoubum Mazochium, 1510.
One of the earliest Latin translations of Homer's epic poem, translated from the Greek by Roman Hellenic scholar Raphaello Maffei (Raphael of Volterra). Quarto, bound in contemporary vellum, rebacked, woodcut titles and printer's device to the title page and at end of text. From the library of Robert R. Dearden, Jr. of Philadelphia with his bookplate to the front panel. American bibliophile and author Robert R. Dearden was known for his extensive rare bible collection with a focus on early editions of American Bibles. He authored the book The Guiding Light on the Great Highway (1929), elaborately illustrated with photographs…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 88060
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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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"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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“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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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 FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF ULYSSES: SIGNED BY JAMES JOYCE AND HENRI MATISSE
JOYCE, James and Henri Matisse.
Ulysses.
New York : Limited Editions Club, 1935.
First illustrated edition of Joyce’s landmark Ulysses, one of only 250 examples signed by James Joyce in pen and Henri Matisse in pencil, with 26 illustrations by him, one of the 20th-century’s most desirable illustrated books, combining the work of two great modern artists. Large quarto, original gilt-stamped pictorial brown cloth, original slipcase. In fine condition with the rare original slipcase which is in good condition and original glassine jacket. With an introduction by Stuart Gilbert. An exceptional example, most rare in this condition and in the seldom seen glassine jacket.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 140072
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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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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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"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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“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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"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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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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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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“Hate is a lack of imagination": First Edition of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
GREENE, Graham.
The Power and the Glory.
London: William Heinemann, 1940.
First edition of Greene's masterpiece. Octavo, original yellow cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with light shelfwear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 130369
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A fine set of the works of Theodoretus; Each Beautifully Painted on the front and back of each panel
Opera Omnia. Ed. Jac. Sirmond (Volumes 1-4), and J. Garnier (Volume 5).
Paris: Sebastian and Gabriel Cramoisy, 1682-84.
A fine set of the works of Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus, beautifully painted on each panel. Quarto, five volumes, bound in full 17th-century vellum, both covers on each volume fully painted with a scene from the life of Christ, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, brown and black morocco lettering pieces. The first four volumes were edited by J. Sirmond and were published in 1642. The fifth volume, not published until 1684, was completed by Sirmond's fellow Jesuit Garnier and contains an auctarium, comprising fragments of commentaries and sermons and some additional letters, together with Garnier's five learned but…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 140490
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First Edition of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead
RAND, Ayn.
The Fountainhead.
Indianapolis and New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1943.
First edition of Rands’s breakthrough work and her first major literary success. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in a very good first-issue first issue dust jacket with light restoration to the extremities, contemporary inscription to the front free endpaper. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A very sharp example.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 142040
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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
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First edition of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird; with an autograph note signed by her
LEE, Harper.
To Kill A Mockingbird.
Philadelphia & New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1960.
First edition of one of the most important American novels of the 20th century which had an initial first printing of 5,000 copies and went on to earn Harper Lee the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Octavo, original half cloth. With an autograph postcard signed by and entirely in the hand of Harper Lee laid in. Addressed to Stewart Richardson, Executive Editor of Doubleday & Company, the postcard reads in full, "Monroeville, Ala. September 5, 1970 Dear Sandy: No, I didn't receive galleys on James Purdy's - but I'd like to. They're probably sitting in New York somewhere. I'll be…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 139543
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Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing; including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis
LEWIS, C.S. [Anthony Colin Spearing].
C.S. Lewis and Anthony Spearing Autograph Correspondence Collection.
Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis. Folio, the collection includes the original composition of Spearing's 1957 English Tripos essay: "The Translation of English Verse (An Essay with some Specimen Translations)" which he sent to Lewis for edits and contains Lewis' marginal notes; two pages of critical notes entirely in Lewis' hand on his Magdalene College Cambridge letterhead containing 28 numbered notes and suggestions for edits to the Spearing's composition; an autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 134067
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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
GIBBON, Edward.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1776-1788.
Rare complete first edition set, including the rare first state of volume one, of Gibbon's landmark work of historiography. Quarto, 6 volumes bound in full contemporary mottled calf, with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt turn-ins, three engraved folding maps by Kitchin of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire and of Constantinople. First edition, first issue of vol. 1 with errata uncorrected, [one of 500 copies], half-titles (that in vol. 1 a tipped-in later facsimile), 3 folding engraved maps, engraved portrait frontispiece after Reynolds and vol. 1 *a4-*b2…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 144594
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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 Original Goldfinger Dust Jacket Design Printing Proof; signed by Dust Jacket Designer Richard Chopping and from his personal collection
CHOPPING, Richard. [Ian Fleming].
Goldfinger. [Original Richard Chopping Signed Printing Proof].
Rare original progressive color printing proof for the iconic dust jacket design of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, designed by Richard Chopping. Chopping's copy, retained for his personal collection and signed by him in the lower right corner. One page on archival printer's paper, this is the magenta ink progressive plate proof (printed using one of four plates combined to create the final full color image). The seventh novel in Fleming's bond series, Goldfinger was the second book with a dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping, the first being From Russia, With Love. Chopping would design all subsequent James Bond dust jackets…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 124559
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"OF EXCEPTIONAL RARITY": 1814 FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST HEBREW BIBLE PUBLISHED IN AMERICA; In Contemporary Binding
VAN DER HOOGHT, Everardo.
Biblia Hebraica, Secundum Ultimam Editionem Jos. Athiae, a Johanne Leusden, Denuo Recognitum, Recensita Variisque Notis Latinis Illustrata, ab Everardo Van Der Hooght. Editio Prima Americana, Sine Punctis Masorethicis.
Philadelphia: Printed by William Fry for Thomas Dobson, 1814.
Very rare first edition of the first Hebrew Bible published in America. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, including half-titles and front and rear blanks, as well as scarce publisher's notice in volume one (not found in all examples); Van der Hooght's four leaf Preface bound in at front of second volume, morocco spine labels. In very good condition. An exceptionally clean example, most rare and desirable in contemporary binding.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 147438
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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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"Peggy Sweetheart, Cartes and Sudie want to go for a ride on this carriage but I think we'd better wait for Peggy and Mama. Here is a kiss X. Here is a crab kiss ↃC xxx Love, Daddy": First edition The Catcher in the Rye; with an autograph postcard signed by J.D. Salinger to his daughter Peggy
SALINGER, J.D.
The Catcher in the Rye.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1951.
First edition of Salinger's debut novel, a cherished portrait of adolescence and one of the most widely banned books ever published. Octavo, original black cloth with gilt-lettered spine. Near fine in a very good first issue dust jacket with the rear panel photograph of Salinger. Jacket design by Michael Mitchell. Author photograph by Lotte Jacob. With an autograph postcard signed by J.D. Salinger to his daughter Peggy laid in. The postcard bears a plastichrome image of horsedrawn carriages on 59th Street in New York City, inscribed by J.D. Salinger on the verso, "Peggy Sweetheart, Cartes and Sudie want to go…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 145286
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"Long before the emergence of Hitler I made the cause of Zionism mine because through it I saw a means of correcting a flagrant wrong": Rare first edition of About Zionism; Signed and dated by Albert Einstein in the Year of Publication
EINSTEIN, Albert.
About Zionism: Speeches and Letters.
New York: The MacMillan Company, 1931.
First edition of this volume of Einstein's speeches and letters concerning his views on Zionism. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed and dated in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "Albert Einstein 1931." Near fine with light toning to the endpapers in the scarce original dust jacket which is in good condition with some wear. Translated and edited with an introduction by Leon Simon. Exceptionally rare signed.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 146050
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"one of the most important Scottish novels of the 20th century" The Quairs Trilogy; Each Inscribed by Him to George Malcolm Thomson
GIBBON, Lewis Grassic [James Leslie Mitchell].
A Scots Quair Trilogy. Including: Sunset Song, Cloud Howe, and Grey Granite.
London: Jarrolds Publishers, 1932-1934.
First editions of each volume of Gibbon's classic trilogy describing the life of Chris Guthrie, a woman from the north-east of Scotland during the early 20th century, each volume inscribed by him to George Malcolm Thomson. Octavo, original cloth, 3 volumes. Sunset Song is inscribed on the title page, "For G. Malcolm Thomson, L. Grassic Gibbon." Cloud Howe is the dedication copy, inscribed on the title page, "For the 'dedicatee' with kind regards. L. Grassic Gibbon." Grey Granite is inscribed on the title page, "For George Malcolm Thomson with good wishes L. Grassic Gibbon." Each are in very good condition.…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 124744
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“An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's”: Franny and Zooey; Inscribed by J.D. Salinger
SALINGER, J.D.
Franny and Zooey.
New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 1961.
First edition, second printing of Salinger's third book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by Salinger in his cursive hand on the front free endpaper to a personal friend, "Oke, Stop over sometime, JDS 8/26/61." While Salinger was known for his reclusive behavior with regard to the spotlight of the international press, he did have close relations with the local townspeople around his New Hampshire home, who respected his privacy. This inscription shows the authentic nature of those relationships. Affixed to the verso of the front panel and front free endpaper are three newspaper clippings regarding Salinger's reputation as a…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 88131
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Secretary of State William P. Rogers 'Pen that Ended the Vietnam War'
ROGERS, William P. [Richard Nixon].
Secretary of State William P. Rogers’ Pen Used to Sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement.
Paris: January 27, 1973.
The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, ending the Vietnam War, Paris, 27 January 1973. Sheaffer fountain pen with 14 karat gold tip, housed in an adjustable gold pen holder, wooden base, brass hardware including etched plaque. The plaque reads, "To the Association of the Bar of the City of New York / Pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to Sign the Viet-Nam Peace Agreements / Paris January 27, 1973." During his tenure as Secretary of State under President Nixon, William P. Rogers was involved in multiple matters…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 145329
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First Edition of Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me; inscribed by Richard Farina with a Drawing of a Flower
FARINA, Richard.
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me.
New York: Random House, 1966.
First edition of the author and songwriter’s first novel, warmly praised by his friend Thomas Pynchon; the only novel published in Fariña’s lifetime, as he tragically died in a motorcycle accident two days after its publication. Octavo, original half green cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the month of publication with a drawing of a flower on the front free endpaper, "for Virginia -Richard Farina, April 1966." The recipient, Virginia Freeman was a folk art dealer, who lived in California in the 1960s and later opened the Virginia Freeman Art Gallery in Destin, Florida. Very good in a very…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 146072
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Scarce Original Photograph of a Lion on Safari; taken and signed by Ernest Hemingway
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
Ernest Hemingway Original African Safari Photograph Signed.
Original glossy black and white photograph of a lion in the distance of the African savanna, taken by Ernest Hemingway and signed by him on the verso, "Copyright by Ernest Hemingway No. 5." In fine condition. Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 15.5 inches by 18.1 inches. Exceptionally rare and desirable.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 145731
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“I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen": Rare FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH PARTS OF LITTLE WOMEN, IN ORIGINAL CLOTH
ALCOTT, Louisa May.
Little Women and Little Women, Part the Second.
Boston: Robert Brothers, 1868-69.
First editions of both volumes of Alcott's most coveted work. Octavo, two volumes in the original green cloth with gilt titles and decorations to the spine and front panel, each volume illustrated with four plates including frontispiece; those in the first part created by the author’s sister, May. Little Women is first issue with all points including Little Women priced at $1.25 in terminal advertisements. Little Women, Part Second is mixed state. Both volumes are in near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities, contemporary inscription to volume one. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise clamshell box.…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 147420
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Karl Polanyi's landmark work Origins of Our Time: The Great Transformation; Inscribed by Him to Peter and Doris Drucker
POLANYI, Karl [Peter F. Drucker].
Origins of Our Time: The Great Transformation.
London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1946.
First edition, early printing of Polanyi's landmark work, which many consider to be one of the twentieth century’s most incisive and prophetic works of scholarship. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Peter and Doris With Love Karl." The recipients, Peter Drucker and his wife Doris were close friends and colleagues of Polyani. Born in Budapest, Polanyi moved to Vienna, where he met Drucker while he worked as senior editor of The Austrian Economist. In July 1940, the President of Bennington College, Robert Leigh, wrote to the publisher W.W. Norton, asking him to…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 118455
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"The best of all monopoly profits is a quiet life" First Edition of John Hicks Classic Work Value and Capital; Signed by Him
HICKS, J.R. [John].
Value And Capital.
London: Oxford University Press, 1939.
First edition of the economist's groundbreaking work. Octavo, original black cloth with gilt titles to the spine. Signed by John R. Hicks on the front free endpaper. An excellent example in a very good dust jacket with some light rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 2935
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"They were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation": First Edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude; Signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and lengthily signed by Translator Gregory Rabassa
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
One Hundred Years of Solitude.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1970.
First American edition of the author's magnum opus. Octavo, original green cloth. Boldly signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on the dedication page and additionally lengthily signed by the translator on the title page as follows, "They were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation Gregory Rabassa. Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket. Jacket design by Guy Fleming. Translated by Gregory Rabassa. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A unique example.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 136198
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“Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all": First Edition of Brideshead Revisited; Signed by Evelyn Waugh
WAUGH, Evelyn.
Brideshead Revisited.
London: Chapman and Hall, 1945.
First edition of Waugh's masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Evelyn Waugh on the title page. Waugh issued a pre-publication edition of the novel in a run of 50 copies. These were printed and specially bound to distribute among friends for Christmas and to solicit any revisions. Several changes were made as a result of his friends' comments, including suggested alterations by Fr. Martin D'Arcy, Cyril Connolly, and Nancy Mitford. A letter from Graham Greene, Waugh's friend and recipient of one of the 50 copies had indicated that Waugh may have only inscribed 19 of the 50 copies (Jeffrey…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 145489
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Rare first edition of one of the earliest chess manuals; Pietro Carrera's Game of Chess
CARRERA, Pietro.
Il Gioco De Gli Scacchi Di D. Pietro Carrera Diviso in Otto Libri. (The Game of Chess).
Militello: Giovanni de' Rossi, 1617.
Rare first edition of one of the early chess manuals, and the first book printed in Militello at Prince Francesco Branciforte's private press. Octavo, bound in full contemporary vellum with ink titles to the spine, large engraving of the Branciforte coat of arms opposite the dedication page, woodcut illustrations throughout the text. In near fine condition. First editions are of exceptional rarity, with only three appearing at auction in the past 90 years.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 96172
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Scarce complete First edition, first issue of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities; in the original monthly parts; with three variant issues of part 1
DICKENS, Charles.
A Tale of Two Cities.
London: Chapman and Hall, June-December 1859.
First edition, first issue of one of Dickens’ most enduring works, with p.213 in part 7/8 mispaginated "113", and signature mark 'b' present on List of Plates at end, etched frontispiece, additional title and 14 plates by "Phiz" (Hablot K. Browne). Octavo, original blue-green wrappers. Complete with all the advertisements called for by Hatton & Cleaver, and the two rare slips in parts 1 and 5. Includes three variant issues of part 1, one with Morison's 'premises' advert, the second with Morison's 'lion' advert, and the third with the rare French version of the Morison's 'lion' advert. In near fine…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 131460
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First edition of Oscar Wilde: His Life and Confessions; From the collection of young Ernest Hemingway with his ownership inscriptions to each volume
HARRIS, Frank. [Ernest Hemingway].
Oscar Wilde: His Life and Confessions.
New York: Printed and Published by the Author, 1918.
First edition of Shaw's appreciation of Wilde. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. From the library of young Ernest Hemingway with his ownership name and address to the pastedown of each volume, "Ernest Hemingway Windemere Walloon Lake Michigan" and additional ownership name to volume one, "Hemingway." Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, an affluent suburb just west of Chicago about which resident Frank Lloyd Wright said, "So many churches for so many good people to go to." He was the second child of Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a physician, and Grace Hall Hemingway, a musician. Each summer the…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 141864
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"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?": Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland; inscribed by him
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1879.
Early edition with sixty-second thousand stated on the title page of this classic work, boldly inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "Edith Mary Alice Berkeley from the Author, May 15/80." Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, all edges gilt, publisher's cloth s, all edges gilt, housed in a modern scarlet morocco slipcase and chemise. 7 1/8 x 4 1/2 inches (18 x 12 cm); 192 pp., [2] pp. ads, half-title; electrotyped frontispiece, and 42 illustrations from the woodcuts by Dalziel after John Tenniel. In near fine condition. From the library of actor William E. Self, with his book…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 142979
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“Dilemma of civilized man; body mobilized, but danger obscure": First Edition of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle; Signed by Him
DICK, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1962.
First edition of Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning novel. Octavo, original cloth. Bodly signed by Philip K. Dick on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket design by Robert Galster. Photograph by Arthur Knight. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 99635