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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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"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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William Paley's The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy; General William Tecumseh Sherman's Copy
PALEY, William [William Tecumseh Sherman].
The Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy.
New York: Collins, Keese, & Co, 1839.
Later edition of this classic book on moral and political philosophy; used by William Tecumseh Sherman while a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Octavo, original calf. General Sherman and his son's bookplates to the front pastedown. Intentionally scratched with "S" multiple times on the front panel by General Sherman. Inscribed by Sherman as a cadet on the front flyleaf, "Sherman Nov. 1st/39." The date indicates that Sherman was in his third year at the academy upon signing this book. While at West Point, Sherman excelled academically, described by fellow cadet William Rosecrans as "one of…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 145971
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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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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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"The first surgical work by an American and printed in North America": John Jones' Plain Concise Practical Remarks, on the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures
JONES, John.
Plain Concise Practical Remarks, on the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures.
Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1776.
Exceptionally rare edition of the first surgical work by an American and printed in North America. Octavo, bound in nineteenth century three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, frontispiece. Jones' work was the accepted guide to surgical practice during the American Revolutionary War" G&M 2155; Austin 1843; Evans 15100 and 14814; Sabin 94063 and 36524. In near fine condition.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 91322
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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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Peter Force's 1833 printing of the Declaration of Independence, from William 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, [1833].
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 First Edition of Thomas Paine's Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money
PAINE, Thomas.
Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money.
Philadelphia: Printed by Charles Cist, 1786.
First edition of Paine's defense of the Bank of North America. Small octavo, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Rare.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 104062
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"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace": Rare Henry Shrady Ulysses S. Grant Bronze Bust
GRANT, Ulysses S.] Henry Merwin Shrady.
Ulysses S. Grant Bronze Bust.
Original bronze bust of Ulysses S. Grant by Henry Shrady, the famed sculptor of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial on the west front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Mounted on socle and base, the entire piece measures 18.5 inches in height, the base measures 9.5 inches square. In fine condition. An exceptional piece of Americana.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 102885
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"IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MAP; TRUE PLACES NEVER ARE": FIRST EDITION OF HERMAN MELVILLE'S MOBY DICK; in the rare red variant cloth
MELVILLE, Herman.
Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale.
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1851.
First edition, first issue binding of Melville’s masterpiece. Octavo, original red variant cloth (BAL’s A grain), covers stamped in blind with Harper’s circular device at the center of the front panel within a heavy blind ruled frame, plain white endpapers. Issued in a single volume, in black, green, blue, red, purple, slate or brown cloth, gilt. The first state of the binding has a circular device at center of covers that is absent from the second state binding. Much has been made of whether the earliest copies bound should have orange-coated end papers, but in fact there is no priority…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 142813
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"A LANDMARK TREATY WHICH FORGED PERMANENT FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN BRITAIN, THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA AND PAVED THE WAY FOR THE FORMATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS": RARE COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS related to the 1871 Treaty of Washington; signed by all of the key figures involved in its signing including President Ulysses S. Grant
[GRANT, Ulysses S.; Hamilton Fish; William Tecumseh Sherman; et al].
Ulysses S. Grant Treaty of Washington Signed Document Collection.
Rare collection of documents related to the 1871 Treaty of Washington including signatures of all of the key figures involved in its signing including President Ulysses S. Grant, his Secretary of State Hamilton Fish and the British delegation led by George Robinson, Earl de Grey and Ripon. The collection was assembled by Frederic Daustini Cremer who acted as secretary to de Grey and travelled with him and his son Viscount Goderich to Washington for the proceedings, where he also obtained letters by William Sherman amongst others for his collection and contains: Two lined folio pages containing the signatures of the British and American signatories…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 143272
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Rare first edition of N.H. Purple's A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois; from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office Library with Herndon's ownership signature for the firm to both volumes
PURPLE, N. H. [Abraham Lincoln; William Herndon].
A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois, of a General Nature, In Force January 1, 1856. Collated with Reference to Decisions of the Supreme Court of Said State, and to Prior Laws Relating to the Same Subject Matter.
Chicago: Published by Keen & Lee, 1856.
First edition of Purple's Statutes from the law library of Abraham Lincoln and William Herndon. Large octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. With Herndon's ownership signature on behalf of the firm to the front pastedown of Vol. I, "A. Lincoln W. Herndon Lincoln & Herndon Springfield" and Vol. II, "Lincoln-Herndon." Additionally with what are likely Lincoln's scribbles to several pages including page 531 and 590-591. Lincoln was known to doodle in squiggly lines in his books and papers; in 2006 David Greenberg published Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, entirely devoted…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 124498
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"BY FAR THE BEST BOOK EVER WRITTEN ABOUT AMERICA”: RARE FIRST EDITION OF TOCQUEVILLE’S MASTERPIECE DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
TOCQUEVILLE, Alexis Charles Henri Clérel. Translated by Henry Reeve.
Democracy in America.
London: Saunders and Otley, 1835.
First edition in English of Tocqueville’s magnum opus. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in three quarters period calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, half-titles, folding engraved map. I very good condition. At attractive contemporary binding.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 132164
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Complete Set of First Editions of Isaac Leeser's Discourses on the Jewish Religion
LEESER, Isaac.
Discourses on the Jewish Religion.
Philadelphia: Sherman & Co, 1866-68.
Rare first editions of one of the 'major builders of American Judaism', Isaac Leeser's Discourses on the Jewish Religion. Octavo, 10 volumes, bound in full leather, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. In near fine condition. Complete sets are of the utmost rarity.
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 107732
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Rare 19th century autograph album containing the signatures of Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, Rutherford B. Hayes, and numerous governors, senators, and cabinet members
[LINCOLN, Abraham; James Buchanan; Ulysses S. Grant; Rutherford B. Hayes; Andrew Johnson; Franklin Pierce.
Presidential Autograph Album Containing the Signatures of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant and Others.
[1877-1880].
Unique 19th-century autograph album containing the signatures of six American presidents, fifteen senators, several cabinet members, and governors including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, James Buchanan, and Franklin Pierce. Narrow quarto, bound in one quarter period dark brown cloth over stiff marbled wrappers, the autograph album is a repurposed 19th-century caucus record, dating from ca. 1870. The caucus book is alphabetically tab-indexed and filled out in ink, voters are tracked by their name with caucus results appearing in the back. Although this is labeled “Ward 5” in the first page, the term "Ward" was flexible in its usage. This could…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 146562