Biography and Autobiography
Rare Biography & Autobiography Books for Sale Online
If you are looking for rare or first edition biography or autobiography books look no further than Raptis Rare Books. Browse through our entire collection of rare biographies and autobiographies below, view details about individual books and contact us to ask a question or find out more information.
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"THE MOST CELEBRATED BIOGRAPHY IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE": BOSWELL'S THE LIFE OF JOHNSON
BOSWELL, James.
The Life of Samuel Johnson. [Boswell’s Life of Johnson].
London: Office of the National Illustrated Library, n.d. [c. 1880].
Finely bound 19th century illustrated printing of the most celebrated biography in the English language, elucidated by copious notes. Octavo, four volumes bound into two in contemporary three quarters calf over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, illustrated. In very good condition.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 141549
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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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Extensive collection of over fifty first edition Civil War era pamphlets
DODGE, W.C.; Andrew Johnson; Henry J. Raymond; et al.
Civil War Political Pamphlet Collection.
Various publishers, c. 1861-1865.
Extensive collection of over fifty first edition Civil War era pamphlets on topics including politics, battles, foreign relations, debt, and the draft. Octavo, 52 volumes, original wrappers. The collection includes first editions of: Memorial to the Hon. Secretary of War, or, How to Strengthen our Army and Crush the Rebellion, with a Saving of Life and Treasure [Dodge, W.C. Washington DC: McGill & Witherow, 1864. From the collection of James W. Grimes (1816-1872), Governor of Iowa and United States Senator from Iowa with his ownership inscription]; Correspondence between John H. Gilmer and Honorable Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury [Richmond:…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 135127
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Rare unauthorized edition of Mark Twain's Autobiography (Burlesque) First Romance, and Memoranda
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Autobiography (Burlesque) First Romance, and Memoranda.
Toronto: James Campbell & Son, [1871].
Rare unauthorized edition of Twain's witty collection of satirical sketches; this edition possibly containing the first appearance of My Late Senatorial Secretaryship. BAL 3334. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. In very good condition. Rare.
Price: $375.00 Item Number: 137267
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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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"This book is offered to those women on the fighting line who have had the courage to face ridicule, and the wit to turn the laugh upon their enemies by their indifference to derision": Rare first edition of Constance Smedley's Woman: A Few Shrieks!
X. [SMEDLEY, Constance]; Appendix by Mrs. Philip Snowden [Ethel Snowden].
Woman: A Few Shrieks!
Letchworth Herts: Garden City Press , [1907].
First edition of Constance Smedley's rare feminist tract, published under the pseudonym X and with an appendix by Ethel Snowden. Octavo, original cloth, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, patterned endpapers. Appendix by Ethel Snowden. In good condition. Stamps throughout including to the front and rear panels and top edge. Bookplates to the pastedown.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 134985
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First edition of Frederick W. Pethick Lawrence's Women's Fight For The Vote
PETHICK LAWRENCE, Frederick W.
Women’s Fight For The Vote.
London: The Woman's Press, [1910].
First edition of the definitive collection Pethick Lawrence's articles promoting Women's Suffrage. Octavo, original wrappers. In good condition. Rare.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 135198
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Margaret Dilke's Women's Suffrage
DILKE, Margaret.
Women’s Suffrage.
London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., n.d..
Stereotyped edition of English suffragette Margaret Dilke's treatise on women's suffrage. Octavo, bound in full cloth, original wrappers bound in. In good condition. Stamps.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 135204
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Scarce first edition and only printing of Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story; signed by both Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King
HASSLER, Alfred and Benton Resnik. [Martin Luther King Jr.; Coretta Scott King].
Martin Luther King and The Montgomery Story: How 50,000 Negroes Found a New Way to End Racial Discrimination.
Nyack, N.Y: The Fellowship of Reconciliation, [1957].
First and only edition of this highly influential and historic comic book used to teach the tactics and power of nonviolent resistance during the Civil Rights Movement. Quarto, original pictorial wrappers, the text is presented as a graphic novel illustrated in color. Boldly signed by Martin Luther King on the front panel, "Best Wishes Martin L. King" and additionally signed by Coretta Scott King. With annotations in blue pen noting that King signed the book in 1958 and Coretta in 1985. Illustrated by Sy Barry, text by John Duffy. In very good condition. Very rare. Copies of the original comic…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 138337
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Rare first edition of Mary Phillips' The Militant Suffrage Campaign in Perspective
PHILLIPS, Mary.
The Militant Suffrage Campaign in Perspective.
London: Latimer Trend & Co, [1957].
Rare first edition of Mary Phillips' personal account of the militant suffragette movement. Octavo, original wrappers. Foreword by the Right Hon. Lord Pethick-Lawrence. Mary Elizabeth Phillips joined the radical Women's Social & Political Union in 1907 and established a Glasgow branch of the WSPU. In March 1908 she was sentenced to six weeks in Holloway Prison following a demonstration outside the House of Commons. She remains the longest prison serving suffragette. In near fine condition.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 135293
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"There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open": First Edition of Jawaharlal Nehru's Inside America; Signed by Him
NEHRU, Jawaharlal.
Inside America: A Voyage of Discovery.
New Dehli: National Book Stall, n/d.
First printing of this edition of this collection of speeches by Nehru in America. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Jawaharlal Nehru Dec 1956." Very good in a very good dust jacket. Uncommon signed, with none appearing at auction in the last 65 years.
Price: $2,800.00 Item Number: 142442
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Rare December 29, 1975 Time Magazine Cover featuring a portrait of Mother Teresa; inscribed by her
BOJAXHIU, Mary Teresa. [Mother Teresa].
Mother Teresa Signed Time Magazine Cover.
New York: Time, December 29, 1975.
Rare cover from the December 29, 1975 issue of Time Magazine featuring a portrait of Mother Teresa by Bob Peak and inscribed by her, "God bless you M Teresa MC." In near fine condition. Double matted and framed with the original transmittal envelope inserted into a pocket on the verso of the frame showing the printed Missionaries of Charity return address and postmarked Bronx, 3 April 1986. The entire piece measures 17 inches by 14 inches.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 133441
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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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Stuart Mason's Bibliography of Oscar Wilde
MASON, Stuart.
Bibliography of Oscar Wilde.
London: T. Werner Laurie Ltd., n.d..
Later printing of Mason's renowned bibliography of the works of Oscar Wilde. Octavo, bound in full cloth, illustrated. With a note by Robert Ross. In very good condition.
Price: $80.00 Item Number: 140208
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Rare illustrated edition of The Pilgrim's Progress, The Holy War, and Other Selected Works of John Bunyan; finely bound in full morocco
BUNYAN, John.
The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Holy War, and Other Selected Works of John Bunyan. The Life of the Author written by himself. With Interesting Historical Facts Affecting Religion at the Period in which He Wrote Explanatory Notes and Illustrative Passages From Modern Divines. Arranged by the Editors of Sturm’s Devotions.
London and New York: The London Printing and Publishing Company, n.d..
The illustrated edition of the selected works of John Bunyan. Quarto, elaborately bound in full morocco with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt, elaborate gilt ruling and stamping to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated with engravings, frontispiece, and engraved title page.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 122608
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"My sympathies are with the suffragettes": Rare English parlor game book containing numerous early 20th century signatures
[MACKENZIE, Poppy].
The Truth About My Friends.
London: Dow & Lester, n.d.
Small parlor game book belonging to Poppy Mackenzie, each page with tipped-in printed slip lifting to reveal a self-criticism or "truth" (one of them being "My sympathies are with the suffragettes"), below which the participants have signed their name. In good condition.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 135645
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Rare Civil War Pocket Diary Kept by Assistant Surgeon Robert P. Davis, 84th Indiana Regiment
[DAVIS, Robert P.] .
Pocket Diary of Assistant Surgeon Robert P. Davis, 84th Indiana Regiment.
[1863].
The Civil War pocket diary of Assistant Surgeon Robert P. Davis, 84th Indiana Regiment. 16mo, original wrappers, the diary is printed with blank three days per page, entries have been recorded intermittently beginning on January 1, 1863 and include brief accounts of skirmishes at Resaca, Hooker's rescue of the Indiana Regiment and reports of duties and the diarist's own illness: May 27: “I am on duty at the Hospital handing instruments for amputation.” The next day: “At same duty as yesterday.” June 1: the sick and wounded are moved to a more permanent hospital and their field tents are moved…
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 132395
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"Who dost though love O seer in thy vision? Women I love, slender and strange and stately waiting untroubled for the years to bear them": First Edition of Sir George Macmunn's Kipling's Women
MACMUNN, Sir George [Rudyard Kipling].
Kipling’s Women.
London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd., n.d..
First edition of the former President of the Kipling Society's study of the women portrayed in Kipling's song and story. Octavo, original publisher's cloth with gilt titles and central gilt emblem to the front panel. Very good in the rare original dust jacket which is in good condition.
Price: $30.00 Item Number: 135257
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Albert Alberg's Gustavus Vasa and His Stirring Times; finely bound in full period calf
ALBERG, Albert.
Gustavus Vasa and His Stirring Times.
London: W. Swan Sonnenschein & Co, c. 1885.
Finely bound example of Alberg's biography of Gustav I of Sweden. Octavo, bound in full polished calf by Relfe Brothers of London with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, illustrated. In very good condition. Period ownership inscription.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 139738