Biography and Autobiography
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“THE MOST WIDELY READ OF ALL AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHIES": TRUE FIRST EDITION OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Mémoires de la Vie Privée de Benjamin Franklin, Écrits Par Lui-Même, et Adressés à Son Fils, Suivis d’un Précis Historique de Sa Vie Politique, et de Plusieurs Pièces, Relatives à Ce Père de la Liberté. [Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin].
Paris: Chez Buisson, Libraire, 1791.
True first edition of the first part of Franklin’s famed autobiography which preceded the first English edition by two years. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with a morocco spine label lettered in gilt, elaborate period gilt tooling to the spine, ribbon bound in. In very good condition. A nice example.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 139755
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First Editions of the Life and work of Susan B. Anthony; Lengthily Inscribed by Her
HARPER, Ida Husted [Susan B. Anthony].
The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony.
Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill Company, 1898-99.
First editions of Anthony's classic biography. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, gilt medallion to the front panels of both volumes. Volume one is lengthily inscribed by Susan B. Anthony on the front free endpaper as follows, "To Mrs. Grace Bartholomew, Pioneer, Michigan, I present these volumes because of dear Mr. D.A. Blodgett's purchasing so many Histories of Woman Suffrage to give to his friends. Therefore please accept these for his sake, & oblige. Yours very sincerely, Susan B. Anthony, Rochester N.Y., Nov. 5, 1904." Delos Abiel Blodgett of Grand Rapids, MI founded an orphanage which…
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 65050
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“Learning the secret of flight from a bird was a good deal like learning the secret of magic from a magician”: First Edition of The Wright Brothers; Inscribed by Orville Wright
KELLY, Fred C.; Introduction by Orville Wright.
The Wright Brothers.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943.
First edition of this classic American biography authorized by Orville Wright and long considered the definitive Wright biography. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated with 16 pages of photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by Orville Wright in the year of publication on the half-title page, "To Edward with affectionate regards. Orville Wright May 4, 1943." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Introduction by Orville Wright.
Price: $7,200.00 Item Number: 142422
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SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF VIRGINIA WOOLF"S ON BEING ILL; IN THE RARE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET
WOOLF, Virginia.
On Being Ill.
London: Hogarth Press, 1930.
Signed limited first book edition of this meditation on the literary possibilities of illness, number 54 of 250 copies signed by Woolf in her characteristic purple ink. Octavo, original half vellum and green silk boards, marbled endpapers. Fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition.
Price: $7,000.00 Item Number: 143661
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"The look in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me": First Edition of Elie Wiesels Night; Signed by Him
WIESEL, Elie.
Night.
London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1960.
First English edition of Nobel laureate Wiesel’s masterpiece, which precedes the first American edition. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Elie Wiesel on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light shelfwear. Jacket design by Cowan. Foreword by Francois Mauriac. Translated from the French by Stella Rodway. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $6,800.00 Item Number: 135118
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First Quarto edition of Washington Irving's Monumental The Life of George Washington
IRVING, Washington.
The Life of George Washington.
New York: G. P. Putnam & Co., 1855-59.
First edition of Irving's monumental biography of George Washington. Quarto, bound in half crushed red levant with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with 47 hand-colored plates including tissue-guarded frontispiece to each volume. One of one hundred and ten numbered copies of the quarto edition, this is number forty-five. In near fine condition. An attractive example of this rare work.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 129307
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“YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK UPON THE GREAT CRUSADE, TOWARD WHICH WE HAVE STRIVEN THESE MANY MONTHS”: SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF CRUSADE IN EUROPE
EISENHOWER, Dwight D.
Crusade in Europe.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1948.
Signed limited first edition of General Eisenhower's wartime memoirs. Thick octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, top edge gilt, original acetate. One of 1426 numbered copies signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, this is number 1392. Fine in the original acetate jacket and in the original slipcase which is in very good condition.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 133539
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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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First Edition of W.D. Gann's The Tunnel Thru the Air; Lengthily Inscribed by Him
GANN, William Delbert [W.D.].
The Tunnel Thru The Air or Looking Back from 1940.
New York: Financial Guardian Publishing Company, 1927.
First edition of this work by the legendary investor. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Robert Rend With all good wishes for the success of his new book sincerely W.D. Gann May 12, 1942." Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a chip to the foot of the spine. Books signed and inscribed by W.D. Gann are rare.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 7387
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Inscribed by Graham Greene to Fellow Writer Norman Douglas
GREENE, Graham.
The Lost Childhood and Other Essays.
London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1951.
First edition of this collection of essays by Graham Greene, two of its four parts, Personal Prologue and Personal Postscript, comprise seven invaluable pieces of autobiography. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to fellow writer Norman Douglas on the front free endpaper, "Dear Norman This with my love. Thank you so much for the nostalgic picture postcard. Catherine and I both miss you a great deal and our drinks at the Victoria. We hope to come and find you sitting there in June and I will bring with me your Chinese snuff box! Love Graham." With Norman…
Price: $6,200.00 Item Number: 23055
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"To Hubert Humphrey with my high regard": First Edition of The Lyndon Johnson Story; inscribed by Lyndon Johnson to his vice president Hubert Humphrey
MOONEY, Booth. With a foreword by Lyndon B. Johnson [Hubert Humphrey].
The Lyndon Johnson Story.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1956.
First edition of Booth Mooney's biography of Lyndon B. Johnson. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with photographs. Association copy, inscribed by Lyndon B. Johnson on the front free endpaper, "To Hubert Humphrey with my high regard Lyndon B. Johnson." The recipient, Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr., served as Lyndon B. Johnson's vice president from 1965 to 1969. Humphrey took office on January 20, 1965, ending the 14-month vacancy of the Vice President of the United States, which had remained empty when then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the Presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As President Lyndon B. Johnson's vice…
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 140814
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The Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln; Finely BOUND IN FULL CRUSHED LEVANT MOROCCO IN AN ELABORATE COSWAY-STYLE BINDING
STEPHENSON, Nathaniel Wright. [Abraham Lincoln].
An Autobiography of Abraham Lincoln: Consisting of his Letters Speeches and Conversations.
London: Andrew Melrose, 1926.
First edition of Stephenson's appreciation of the great American President. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco in an elaborate Cosway-style binding with a hand painted miniature ivorene portrait of Lincoln under glass to the front panel within an elaborate gilt vignette, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt-ruled turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, watered silk endleaves, illustrated, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 138601
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Presentation copy of Winston Churchill's The Story of My Early Life: A Roving Commission; inscribed by Winston Churchill
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
The Story of My Early Life: A Roving Commission.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1945.
Later printing of Churchill's acclaimed autobiography, recounting the first 25 years of his life. Octavo, original publisher's cloth, illustrated with 7 plates, one folding map. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To E.A. Allen from Winston S. Churchill Christmas 1946." In very good condition. Housed in a custom velvet-lined half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed.
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 145060
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“If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance": First Edition of The Wright Brothers; Inscribed by Orville Wright to Sir Bennett Melvill Jones
KELLY, Fred C.; Introduction by Orville Wright.
The Wright Brothers.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943.
First edition of this classic American biography authorized by Orville Wright and long considered the definitive Wright biography. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated with 16 pages of photographs. Association copy, inscribed by Orville Wright in the year of publication on the half-title page, “To Professor Melvill Jones with my compliments and cordial regard. Orville Wright May 5, 1943.” The recipient, Sir Bennett Melvill Jones was Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Cambridge from 1919 to 1952. Melvill demonstrated the importance of streamlining in aircraft design, developing the ideas of Louis Charles Breguet into a refined theory…
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 140081
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Finely bound collection of Charles Dickens' works
DICKENS, Charles and John Forster.
Works of Charles Dickens.
London: 1837-1874.
Finely bound collection of a selection of Dickens' works as well as Foster's acclaimed biography. Octavo, 16 volumes uniformly bound in three quarter morocco over marbled boards with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, red and green contrasting morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. The collection is comprised of: a first edition of Pictures from Italy [London: Bradbury & Evans, 1846]; First edition in book form of Hard Times [London: Bradbury & Evans, 1854]; First edition in book form of the Uncommercial Traveller [London: Chapman and Hall, 1861]; Third edition of Sketches by Boz [2…
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 131992
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"I had come to Yugoslavia to see what history meant in flesh and blood": First Editions of the authors Masterpiece; Signed and Inscribed by the author
WEST, Rebecca.
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: The Record of a Journey Through Yugoslavia in 1937.
London: Macmillan, 1941.
First editions of Rebecca West's masterpiece. Octavo, 2 volumes, original green cloth, cartographic endpapers. Both volumes are signed by West with volume one inscribed and dated in 1965 by the author, volume two is signed and dated in 1965. Both volumes are near fine in near fine dust jackets that show light shelfwear to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Scarce and desirable signed by West.
Price: $5,800.00 Item Number: 1495
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"This is a book that needed to be written": First Edition of Tin Pan Alley; Signed by George Gershwin, Charles Previn and James Melton
GOLDBERG, Isaac; Introduction by George Gershwin.
Tin Pan Alley.
New York: The John Day Company, 1930.
First edition of this work on American popular music. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Introduction by George Gershwin. Boldly signed "Sincerely George Gershwin" on the dedication page. Additionally signed by conductor Charles Previn and tenor James Melton. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Previn was an American film composer who was highly active at Universal in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. Before going to Hollywood, Previn had arranged music for over 100 Broadway productions. Melton was a popular singer in the 1920s and 1930s and later began a career as an operatic singer when tenor voices went out…
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 84308
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First South African Edition of Long Walk to Freedom; Signed by Nelson Mandela and Mac Maharaj, who transcribed this volume
MANDELA, Nelson .
Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela.
South Africa: MacDonald Purnell, 1994.
First South African edition of this classic autobiography, which has went on to sell over six million copies worldwide. Octavo, original black cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated with photographs. Boldly signed on the title page by the author, "NMandela 15.3.06" and additionally signed by "Mac Maharaj 20 Sept 2007" on the verso of the front free endpaper. Maharaj was a political activist and member of the then banned South African Communist Party, who worked in a clandestine manner on anti-apartheid activities with Nelson Mandela. In July 1964, Maharaj was arrested in Johannesburg, charged and convicted with four others including Laloo Chiba and Wilton Mkwayi on charges of sabotage in the little Rivonia…
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 140892
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"Freedom is indivisible; the chains on any one of my people were the chains on all of them, the chains on all of my people were the chains on me": First British Edition of Long Walk To Freedom; Inscribed by Nelson Mandela
MANDELA, Nelson.
Long Walk To Freedom.
London: Little Brown and Company, 1994.
First British edition of the first autobiography of one of the greatest moral leaders of the twentieth century which has went on to sell over six million copies worldwide. Octavo, original black boards, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author, "Dear Lynne, with thanks. Nelson Mandela 27.2.97." The recipient was the realtor who sold Nelson Mandela his estate in Houghton, Johannesburg; where he passed away in 2013. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. A very nice example with noted provenance.
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 4426
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“The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark": The Patriot's Edition of The Life and Works of Thomas Paine
PAINE, Thomas.
The Life and Works of Thomas Paine.
New Rochelle, New York: Thomas Paine National Historical Association, 1925.
The Patriot's edition of the Life and Works of Thomas Paine. Octavo, ten volumes bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. In good condition.
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 138611