Philosophy
Rare Philosophy Books for Sale Online
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Rare First Edition of Thomas A Kempis' The Imitation of Christ
A KEMPIS, Thomas.
The Christian Pattern, or the Imitation of Jesus Christ, being an abridgement of the works of Thomas a Kempis. By a Female Hand.
Germantown: reprinted by Christopher Sowr, 1749.
First American edition of The Imitation of Christ and the first printing of any work by a Kempis in America and one of the earliest works of Catholic Americana. In very good condition with some browning to the text and rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 112577
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“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be": Finely Bound By Bayntun of Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ
A KEMPIS, Thomas.
The Imitation of Christ.
London: Chatto & Windus, 1908.
Finely bound example of a Kempis' classic work. Octavo, bound in morocco by Bayntun, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt doublures, illustrated including color plates by Flint. Translated from the Latin by Richard Wbytford and then re-edited into modern English by Wilfrid Raynal. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $1,400.00 Item Number: 120987
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Le monde d'Albert Schweitzer; Inscribed by Nobel Peace Prize Winner Albert Schweitzer
ANDERSON, Erica; Eugene Exman. [Albert Schweitzer].
Le Monde D’Albert Schweitzer.
Paris: A. Michel, 1955.
First edition of this work on the Nobel laureate. Quarto, original wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by Schweitzer on the front free endpaper, "To Mr. Jean Marie Dubernard upon leaving Lambaréné with my good thoughts, Albert Schweitzer Lambaréné, 18 March 1957." Photographs by Erica Anderson. Text by Eugene Exman. Preface by Daniel Halevy. In near fine condition. Books signed by Schweitzer are rare.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 120738
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“I'm not really sure which parts of myself are real and which parts are things I've gotten from books": First Edition of Go Ask Alice; in the rare original dust jacket
ANONYMOUS. [SPARKS, Beatrice].
Go Ask Alice.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1971.
First edition of the classic work that has sold millions of copies. Octavo, original half cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Nena Allen. First editions are rare.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 136990
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"The modern age has carried with it a theoretical glorification of labor and has resulted in a factual transformation of the whole of society into a laboring society": First edition of The Human Condition; signed by Hannah Arendt
ARENDT, Hannah.
The Human Condition.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1958.
First edition of Arendt's penetrating examination of the human condition. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed and dated by the author on the front free endpaper, "Hannah Arendt April 1965." Very good in a good dust jacket with toning to the spine and chipping to the front panel and spine extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery. Founded over a century ago in 1900, The Harcourt Bindery is the oldest and largest traditional bindery in America exclusively devoted to fine traditional leather bookbinding by hand. Books signed by Arendt are rare.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 145631
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"One of the 100 best books of any kind of the 20th century": First Edition of Hannah Arendt's Masterpiece The Origins of Totalitarianism; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
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, 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 inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 147458
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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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“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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"The father of logic": Rare 16th century French printing of Aristotle's Prior Analytics
ARISTOTLE,.
Logica: Aristotelis Ex Tertia Recognitione. Libri Logicorumad Archetypos Recogniti.
Parisiis: Petri Vidouei, 1531.
Rare 16th century French printing of Aristotle's third book of logic. Folio, bound in full vellum, elaborate woodcut vignette-border title-page, illustrated with numerous in-text woodcut diagrams, and woodcut initials. Ownership inscriptions, including that of American philosopher Allan Gotthelf. Gotthelf received many honors for his work on Aristotle, including in 2004 an international conference on "Aristotle on Being, Nature, and Life", held "in celebration of his contributions to the study of classical philosophy and science." In very good condition with some dampstaining and period marginalia throughout.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 133411
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Rare early 16th century Venetian printing of ARISTOTLE'S INFLUENTIAL WORK ON ZOOLOGY: THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS
ARISTOTLE,.
Aristoteles de Animalibus.
Venetiis: Octaviani Scoticiuis, 1525.
Rare early 16th century Venetian printing of Aristotle's pioneering work on zoology which had a powerful influence on zoology for over two thousand years. Folio, bound in full vellum, illustrated with woodcut initials. In very good condition. Deaccessioned from the Harvard College Library with their stamps and bookplate.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 133419
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Rare 16th century printing of Aristotle's Posterior Analytics; bound with Antonius Andreas's Quaestiones super XII libros Metaphysicae Aristotelis
ARISTOTLE; ANTONIO ANDREAS. EDITED BY WALTER BURLEY AND ROBERT GROSSETESTE,.
Analytica Posteriora [bound with] Quaestiones super XII libros Metaphysicae Aristotelis.
Venice: Gregorium de Gregorijs, 1514.
Rare 16th century printing of Aristotle's Posterior Analytics; bound together with Spanish Franciscan theologian Antonius Andreas's best known work, Quaestiones super XII libros Metaphysicae Aristotelis. Quarto, bound in contemporary parchment over handmade paper-covered boards, woodcut initials, text in two columns. In very good condition. A rare and desirable collection.
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 104082
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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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“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human": Exceptionally Rare First Edition in English of Aristotle's A Treatise on Government
ARISTOTLE; TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM ELLIS,.
A Treatise on Government. Translated From The Greek of Aristotle.
London: T. Payne, 1776.
First edition in English of this important work on government by Aristotle. Quarto, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. In very good condition with light toning to the text and wear. Bookseller plate of George Gregory, Bath, Sept. 22, 1936 on the front pastedown. Translated by William Ellis.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 81182
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FIRST SCALIGERO EDITION OF ARISTOTLE'S INFLUENTIAL WORK OF ZOOLOGY: THE HISTORY OF ANIMALS
ARISTOTLE. TRANSLATED BY JULIUS CAESAR SCALIGER,.
Aristotelis Historia de Animalibus, Ivlio Caesare Scaligero Interprete, cum Ejusdem Commentariis.
Tolosae [Toulouse]: Apud Dominicum & Petrum Bosc, 1619.
First Scaliger edition of Aristotle’s pioneering work on zoology which had a powerful influence on zoology for over two thousand years. Folio, bound in full contemporary vellum-covered boards, engraved vignette title page, in-text woodcut illustrations, and numerous woodcut initials throughout. Julius Caesar Scaliger was an Italian scholar and physician, who spent a major part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism to defend Aristotelianism against the New Learning. In spite of his contentious disposition, his contemporary reputation was high. Jacques Auguste de Thou claimed that none of the ancients could be placed above him…
Price: $3,500.00 Item Number: 133054
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Rare 16th century French printing of Aristotle's influential work of zoology: The History of Animals
ARISTOTLE. TRANSLATED BY THEODORO GAZA,.
Aristotelis De Historia Animalium Libri. IX. [Bound with] De Partibus Animalium, & Earu Causis, Libri IIII; De Generatione Animalium Libri V; Hoc Volumine Continentur.
Parisiis: Ex officina Prigentii Caluarini ad Geminas Cyppas in Clauso Brunello, 1542.
Rare 16th century French printing of Aristotle's pioneering work on zoology which had a powerful influence on zoology for over two thousand years. Octavo, bound in full polished calf, engraved title pages. Rebacked. In very good condition.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 133014
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First Edition of A.J. Ayer's The Problem of Knowledge; Inscribed by him in the year of publication
AYER, A.J.
The Problem of Knowledge.
London : Macmillan & Co, 1956.
First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "To Ryan Evans from Freddie Ayer, October 30, 1956." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 133114
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The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge; Signed and dated by Him
AYER, Alfred J. [A.J.].
The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge.
London : Macmillan & Co, 1962.
Later printing of this classic work. Octavo, original wrappers. Signed by the author on the half-title page, "with best wishes A.J. Ayer Mexico City September 11 1963." In very good condition. From the library of Sergio Munoz, who was a friend of the author. Books signed by Ayer are scarce.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 133103
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Alfred J. Ayer's Philosophical Essays; Signed by Him
AYER, Alfred J. [A.J.].
Philosophical Essays.
London: Macmillan & Co, 1963.
Later printing of this classic work. Octavo, original wrappers. Signed by the author on the half-title page, "with best wishes A.J. Ayer September 15, 1963 Mexico City." In very good condition. From the library of Sergio Munoz, who was a friend of the author. Books signed by Ayer are scarce.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 133105
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Rare First Edition of Merer Baba's God to Man An Man To God
BABA, Meher.
God to Man And Man To God.
London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1955.
First edition of this work by Meher Baba. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. With an introduction by C.B. Purdom.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 117989
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First Edition of Lincoln Barnett's The Universe and Dr. Einstein; Warmly Inscribed by Him
BARNETT, Lincoln; Foreword by Albert Einstein.
The Universe and Dr. Einstein.
New York: William Sloane Associates, 1948.
First edition of this work praised by Einstein himself. Octavo, original cloth, illustrations by Anthony Sadoro. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author to Anne Goodman on the front free endpaper, "For Anne Goodman- who was on the receiving end of the first interview this reporter ever gave and the pleasantest one he ever participated in- Gratefully Lincoln Barnett New York City- March 3, 1949." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by William Meek. Foreword by Albert Einstein. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed.
Price: $1,150.00 Item Number: 133464
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First Edition of The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism; Signed by Daniel Bell
BELL, Daniel.
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism.
New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, 1976.
First edition of the author’s magnum opus. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Daniel Bell on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Vincent Torre.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 4274
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First Edition of the Author’s Prophetic Book The Coming of Post Industrial Society; Inscribed by Daniel Bell in the year of Publication
BELL, Daniel.
The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting.
New York: Basic Books, 1973.
First edition of this insightful work which speaks about the coming of the service economy and the importance of knowledge for creating stratification in the new society. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For Anne- newer and sharper fondly Dan Bell Chilmark, July 13, 1973." Fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Jacqueline Schuman.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 4497
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First Edition of The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism; Inscribed by Daniel Bell to Harvard Colleague George Homans
BELL, Daniel.
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism.
New York: Basic Books, Inc. Publishers, 1976.
First edition of the author's magnum opus. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by Daniel Bell on the front free endpaper a month before publication, "For George and Nancy Homans with affectionate regards, Dan Bell Dec. 18, 1975." The recipient, George Homans was a sociologist, founder of behavioral sociology and a colleague of Bell's at Harvard University. He is known for his research in social behavior and his works including The Human Group, Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms, his Exchange Theory and the many different propositions he enforced to better explain social behavior. A few pencil notes in the text by Homans, fine…
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 16092
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First Edition of the Author’s Prophetic Book The Coming of Post Industrial Society; Inscribed by Daniel Bell in the year of Publication to Sociologist David Riesman
BELL, Daniel.
The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting.
New York: Basic Books, 1973.
First edition of this insightful work which speaks about the coming of the service economy and the importance of knowledge for creating stratification in the new society. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For Dave and Evie Riesman, with regard, Dan Bell Chilmark, July 12, 1973." David Riesman was a Harvard sociologist, known for his classic work The Lonely Crowd, which is considered a landmark study of American character. An outstanding association linking these two academician giants of the twentieth century. Some spotting to the page…
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 18062