Americana
Rare Americana Books, Manuscripts & More for Sale Online
If you’re looking for first edition books celebrating the American experience, you’ve come to the right place. At Raptis Rare Books we maintain an extensive collection of rare Americana, books, manuscripts and more. Browse through our entire collection online, use our sorting tools or search to find exactly what you’re looking for then call with any questions you may have or order online today.
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Rare collection of Rough Riders Photographs and Documents; Twice signed and inscribed by Theodore Roosevelt
ROOSEVELT, Theodore.
Theodore Roosevelt Rough Riders Era Document Collection.
c. 1898.
Rare collection of original signed documents and photographs taken during President Theodore Roosevelt's days as Colonel of the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, or Rough Riders. The collection includes an original mounted photograph of Roosevelt in full uniform with his campaign hat; two cabinet card photographs of Albert S. Johnson, a member of the Cavalry; an endorsement dated September 7, 1998 which reads in part, "This officer did not serve in Cuba but remained in Florida with the squadron left behind" signed, "T. Roosevelt" which is affixed to the verso of of Albert S. Johnson's 5 September 1898 application for 60-days leave;…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 95371
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Rare original printing of The Gazette of the United States, issued on July 29, 1789
Gazette of the United States. No. XXXI. Wednesday, July 29, 1789.
New York: John Fenno, July 29, 1789.
Rare original printing of the Gazette of the United States, issued during the presidency of George Washington on July 29, 1789. Folio, one page, folded, this issue includes a the following articles, many continued from previous issues: Sketch of the Political State of America, Original Specimens of Eloquence, Foreign and Domestic Miscellaneous Articles, and Sketches of Proceedings of Congress approved by G. Washington, President of the United States. In near fine condition.
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 116728
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First edition of William Dennison Bickham's Rosecrans' Campaign with the Fourteenth Army Corps
BICKHAM, William Dennison.
Rosecrans’ Campaign with the Fourteenth Army Corps, of the Army of the Cumberland: A Narrative of Personal Observations, with a Appendix, Consisting of Official Reports of the Battle of Stone River.
Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Co, Moore, Wilstach, Keys & Co..
First edition of William Dennison Bickham's Civil War memoir. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. In good condition. Ex-library.
Price: $100.00 Item Number: 132443
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Peter Force's 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, from Walter J. Stone's 1823 plate
The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. [The Force Declaration of Independence].
Washington, D.C.: Engraved by William J. Stone for Peter Force, [1883].
Rare engraved copy of Peter Force's 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, from William J. Stone's 1823 plate. One page, folio broadside. In 1823, with the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaching, Congress commissioned Stone to produce a high-quality, actual-size replica of the original engrossed Declaration. The signatures of the 56 delegates were to be carefully copied. Stone spent two years perfecting the plate and after he had printed the 200 copies ordered, his original engraved plate remained with the Department of State. A decade later, Peter Force (1790-1868), historian, publisher and mayor of Washington D.C., conceived…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 143242
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Rare Fourth American edition of Thomas Paine's Rights of Man
PAINE, Thomas.
Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution.
Albany: Re-Printed by Charles R. & George Webster, n.d.
Fourth American edition of Paine's classic work. Octavo, disbound. In near fine condition. A rare and desirable American separate printing.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 134509
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perhaps the only leaf from Washington's diary in private hands: exceptional George Washington autograph diary leaf dated March 1762; the first spring Washington was full owner of Mount Vernon
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Autograph Diary Leaf.
[Mount Vernon]: March 1762.
Autograph manuscript, being George Washington's diary entries for a portion of March 1762, detailing the fruit grafts that he has accomplished. 2 pages (5 14/16 x 3 10/16 inches, irregular) on a leaf of laid paper, [Mount Vernon], March 1762; browned, left margin of recto waterstained and abraded causing a loss of text in most lines, small abrasion at center of recto obscuring three words. Accompanied by an autograph note signed by James Kirke Paulding: "Memorandum in the hand of Washington taken from an old almanac for 1762, in the possession of JK Paulding." A rare Washington relic: perhaps the…
Price: $250,000.00 Item Number: 142654
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Rare American Boxing Champions Signed Photograph Collection; signed by James J. Braddock, Max Baer, James 'Red' Burman, Sixto Escobar, and Bob Pastor
BRADDOCK, James J.; Max Baer; James "Red" Burman; Sixto Escobar; Bob Pastor.
American Boxing Champions Signed Photograph Collection.
c. 1937.
Collection of six original photographs signed and inscribed by five 1930s American boxing champions, including: "Cinderella Man" James J.Braddock, World Heavyweight Champion Max Baer, James 'Red' Burman, Sixto Escobar, and top-ranked heavyweight Bob Pastor. In near fine condition. An exceptional collection.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 119265
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First edition of Joseph Hall's An Oration Pronounced July 4, 1800, at the Request of the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, in Commemoration of the Anniversary of American Independence; inscribed by him
HALL, Joseph.
An Oration Pronounced July 4, 1800, at the Request of the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, in Commemoration of the Anniversary of American Independence.
Boston: From the Printing-Office of Manning & Loring, [1800].
First edition of Hall's famed speech tracing the history of the American Revolution. Octavo, bound in paper-covered boards, original wrapper bound in at rear. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "Ephraim Williams Esq. from his friend J. Hall." In very good condition. Housed in a custom cloth chemise and half morocco slipcase. Exceedingly rare.
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 125043
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First Edition of Orville J. Victor's The History, Civil, Political & Military of the Southern Rebellion
VICTOR, Orville J.
The History, Civil, Political & Military of the Southern Rebellion, From its Incipient Stages to its Close.
New York: James D. Torrey, Publisher, [1861].
Complete first edition set of one of the earliest histories of the American Civil War. Octavo, four volumes, original publisher's full pebbled morocco decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, illustrated with steel engraved plates, additional vignette title pages. frontispieces, and maps. In good condition. A rare complete set, we have never seen another one.
Price: $2,800.00 Item Number: 133063
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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 PRINTING OF THE GAZETTE OF THE UNITED STATES, ISSUED ON Wednesday, August 19, 1789
Gazette of the United States. No.XXXVII. Wednesday, August 19, 1789.
New York: John Fenno, Wednesday, August 19, 1789.
Rare original printing of the Gazette of the United States, issued during the presidency of George Washington on August 19, 1789. Folio, one page, folded, this issue includes a the following articles, many continued from previous issues: Extract of a Letter on Weights, The Bow, By Express From Paris, and Sketches of the Proceedings of Congress in the House of the Representatives of the United States, an Act for the Establishment of Lighthouses, Beacons, Buoys, and Public Piers approved by George Washington as President of the United States, and the obituary of George Washington Knox. In very good condition with…
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 116518
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"First in War, first in Peace, and first in the Hearts of His Countrymen": Exceedingly Rare First Appearance in Print of Washington's Funeral Oration
[WASHINGTON, George].
A Funeral Oration in Honor of the Memory of George Washington. Late General of the Armies of the United States.
Philadelphia: Hall & Sellers, January 15, 1800.
Exceedingly rare first appearance in print of Washington's Funeral Oration, featured on the front page of the Wednesday, January 15 1800 issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette. Folio, four pages, the headline reads, "A Funeral Oration in Honor of the Memory of George Washington. Late General of the Armies of the United States. Prepared and Delivered at the Request of Congress, at the German Lutheran Church, on Thursday, the 26th of December, By Major-General Henry Lee, One of the Representatives from the State of Virginia." Washington's eulogy was delivered by Major-General Henry Lee to both Houses of Congress and a crowd…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 126803
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1806 United States Land Grant signed by President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Madison
JEFFERSON, Thomas and James Madison.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Signed Land Grant.
City of Washington: April 5, 1806.
American land grant signed by Thomas Jefferson as the third President of the United States and countersigned by James Madison as Secretary of State. Folio, one page partially printed on parchment and accomplished in manuscript, the grant is dated April 5, 1806 and awards Caleb Johnson of Washington County, Pennsylvania a parcel of land. The document reads in part: Know Ye, that "Caleb Johnson of Washington County, Pennsylvania" having deposited in the Treasury a certificate of the Register of the Land office at "Steubenville" whereby it appears that "he has made full payment for the Northeast Quarter of Lot or…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 143218
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Rare Bound Collection of over 200 orders of the War Department issued in 1863 including Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and from the library of General Alexander S. Webb
[WEBB, Alexander S.].
General Orders of the War Department, Adjutant General’s Office, Washington, January 2, 1863 to July 27, 1863. No. 1-235. [The Emancipation Proclamation].
Washington: Adjutant General's Office [Government Printing Office], January - July 1863.
First printings of over 200 orders of the War Department issued during the Civil War to Union Army commanders in the field, including an early appearance in print of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation (General order No. 1 of January 2, 1863). This copy prepared for General Alexander S. Webb, Brigadier General, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor and the focus of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg. Octavo, bound in full cloth. Association copy, specially prepared for Gen. Alexander Webb with an inscription to the third free endpaper, "Alexander S. Webb Brig. Gen. Vol. U.S.A. Fort Trumbull Ct. June 26th 1864."…
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 142567
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"The Allied Armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God's help have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender": Proclamation of Nazi Germanys Surrender; Signed by Harry Truman
TRUMAN, Harry S.
A Proclamation.
Washington, D.C: May 8, 1945.
Large three-colored broadside of Harry Truman’s Proclamation declaring the surrender of Germany, boldly signed by Harry S. Truman. Also included at the lower left is the original 1945 Christmas card from the President and Mrs. Truman and at lower right, the original red, white and blue ribbon. These were presented by the President as gifts for friends. Uncommon, especially with the original Christmas card and ribbon. Matted and framed, which measures 21 inches by 28 inches.
Price: $11,500.00 Item Number: 4419
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Col. I Winslow Ayer's The Great Treason Plot in the North During the War
AYER, I. Winslow.
The Great Treason Plot in the North During the War. Most Dangerous, Perfidious, Extensive and Startling Plot Ever Devised! Imminent Hidden Perils of the Republic. Astounding Developments Never Before Published.
Chicago: U.S. Publishing Co, n.d..
Early printing of Ayer's Civil War account. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. In good condition.
Price: $125.00 Item Number: 132537
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Rare Partially Printed Document Signed by Andrew Jackson as President and Martin Van Buren and Martin Van Buren as Secretary of State
JACKSON, Andrew; Martin Van Buren.
Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren Signed Document.
January 19, 1830.
Rare military document signed by Andrew Jackson as President and Martin Van Buren as Secretary of State. One page, partially printed on vellum, the document measures 10.5 inches by 5 inches. Countersigned by David Henshaw as Collector for the District of Boston and Charleston. In very good condition.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 116914
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Rare Civil War Era Naval Commission Signed by Abraham Lincoln as President
LINCOLN, Abraham; Gideon Welles.
Abraham Lincoln Signed Naval Commission.
April 21, 1864.
American naval commission signed by Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and Gideon Welles as Secretary of the Navy. Folio, partially engraved on vellum the document is dated April 21, 1864 and promotes Charles W. Tracy to the rank of Lieutenant. In near fine condition. Matted and framed with a portrait of Lincoln and engraved plate. The Commission measures 19 inches by 16 inches. The entire piece measures 34 inches by 29.5 inches.
Price: $17,000.00 Item Number: 132067
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REVOLUTIONARY WAR-DATE LETTER FROM WASHINGTON TO ROCHAMBEAU ON A PROPOSED EXPEDITION TO PENOBSCOT
WASHINGTON, George.
George Washington Letter Signed.
April 10, 1781.
Highly important letter signed (“Go: Washington”), as Commander-in-Chief, 2 pages folio, “Head Quarters New Windsor April 10 [17]81”, to his French ally Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, the body of the letter in the hand of his trusted aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton; horizontal fold separation repaired, minor tears and chips along margins. In the spring of 1781, officials from Massachusetts approached Rochambeau with a proposal to attack the British post at the mouth of the Penobscot river— established in June 1779 to secure timber for shipyards in Halifax and to protect Nova Scotia from any American advance. On 6…
Price: $175,000.00 Item Number: 125872
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"the most widely read journal in the United States throughout the period of the Civil War": Rare continuous run of 260 issues of Harper's Weekly covering the entirety of the American Civil War; profusely illustrated with engravings depicting all of the war's major events and battles
Harper’s Weekly, A Journal of Civilization. [Harper’s Weekly’s Complete Coverage of the American Civil War: January 1, 1861-December 30, 1865].
New York: Harper & Brothers, January 1, 1861-December 30, 1865.
Rare continuous run of 260 issues of Harper's Weekly, covering the entirety of the American Civil War. Folio, five volumes, bound in full buckram with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, illustrated with hundreds of wood-engraved illustrations, many from noted American illustrators including portraits of Union and Confederate Army Generals and Officers, battlefield scenes, maps, city views, and dozens of satirical caricatures and cartoons, many from noted American illustrators. Of note are dozens of illustrations by American painter Winslow Homer early in his career, including the "Great Sumter Meeting in Union Square," "The Sharpshooter," and "The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln." Also…
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 142619
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RARE NINETEENTH CENTURY PORTRAIT OF PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
GARDNER, Alexander. [Abraham Lincoln].
Abraham Lincoln Portrait.
c. 1860.
Rare original painting of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. After a photograph by Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. Scottish photographer Alexander Gardner immigrated to the United States in 1856 where he became best known for his photographs of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, and the execution of the conspirators to Lincoln's assassination. In near fine condition. In a period frame. The entire piece measures 20.75 by 16.75 inches. Rare and desirable.
Price: $3,500.00 Item Number: 95830
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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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Rare Reconstruction Era Carte-de-visite of Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee; Signed by Him
LEE, Robert E.
Robert E. Lee Signed Carte-de-Visite.
Lexington, Va: Boude & Miley, [1869].
Rare Reconstruction era carte-de-visite portrait of former Confederate commander General Robert E. Lee in civilian attire, boldly signed "RE Lee." The carte-de-visite measures 2.5 inches by 4 inches with Boude & Miley's imprint on the verso. This striking postwar portrait of Lee was captured by photographer Michael Miley of Lexington, Virginia in 1869, perhaps less than a year prior to Lee's death on October 12, 1870. Following the conclusion of the American Civil War in 1865, Lee became president of Washington College (later Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia; in that position, he supported reconciliation between North and South.The…
Price: $7,200.00 Item Number: 140513