Rare History, Law & Political Books for Sale Online
Raptis Rare Books is a trusted antique book dealer and reseller and as such we maintain an extensive selection of rare history books, law & political books. Browse through our entire collection of rare and first-edition books about history, law or politics, use the filters or search bar to find exactly what you’re looking for then call or email us with any questions or order here directly online!
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First Edition of Read My Lips No New Taxes; Signed by Ostrander and President George Bush
Ostrander, Dan; Foreword by George Bush.
“Read My Lips No New Taxes.”
Oroville, California: Butte College Press, 1999.
First edition of this work on the Bush administration. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Dan Ostrander and President George Bush on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Cover design by Patty Melron. Uncommon signed by President Bush.
Price: $750.00
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"In 1999, we will remember the twentieth century as the bloodiest and the best in the history of man": First signed limited edition of Richard Nixon's 1999: Victory Without War; Signed by Richard Nixon
Nixon, Richard.
1999: Victory Without War.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988.
Signed limited first edition of Nixon’s bestselling work. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine. One of 600 copies signed by Richard Nixon, this is number 391. In fine condition. Housed in the original slipcase which is in fine condition.
Price: $350.00
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"Mathematical science, which is the only real science that the entire civilized world has agreed upon, furnishes unmistakable proof of history repeating itself and shows that the cycle theory": First Edition of W.D. Gann’s 45 Years in Wall Street
Gann, William D. (W.D.).
45 Years In Wall Street.
Miami, FL: W.D. Gann Publishing, 1949.
First edition of Gann’s classic 45 Years in Wall Street. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Gann. Fine in near fine dust jacket with a few small closed tears. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare in the original dust jacket.
Price: $3,000.00
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First Edition of John Barrow's Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions
Barrow, John.
A Chronological History of Voyages into the Arctic Regions; Undertaken Chiefly for the Purpose of Discovering a North-East, North-West or Polar Passage Between the Atlantic and Pacific.
London: John Murray, 1818.
First edition of the prolific author’s detailed account of the history of early voyages to the arctic, from the sixteenth century through 1818 and the voyages of Ross, Kotzebue, Buchan, Parry and Franklin. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, exquisite folding map of the arctic regions, appendix illustrated with engravings. In very good condition.
Price: $550.00
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"Oh the burden of my life!": Finely Bound example of Addison Peale Russell's A Club of One
Russell, Addison Peale.
A Club of One: Passages From the Note-Book of a Man Who Might Have Been Sociable.
Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin & Co , 1895.
Finely bound example of this short work written by the 12th Ohio Secretary of State. Small octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. In very good condition.
Price: $35.00
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“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between”: Rare First Editions of the Full Orchestral Scores of the Symphonies of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven; Including the first appearance of of the full scores of Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro and Symphony no. 40
Beethoven, Ludwig van; Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart .
A Compleat Collection of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphonies, in Score, Most Respectfully Dedicated, by Permission, to H.R.H The Prince of Wales.
London: Lavenu, Cianchettini & Sperati, 1808-1810.
First editions of the first printings of the full orchestral scores of the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Mozart, and Hadyn. Quarto, two volumes bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards wit gilt titles and tooling to the spine, including A Complete Collection of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphonies (Cianchettini and Sperati) and A Complete Collection of Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphonies. A Compleat Collection of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphonies contains the first appearance of the full scores of Mozart‘s Overture to the Marriage of Figaro, Mozart‘s Symphony no. 40, and no. 41. (Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music, 564-567). A Complete Collection of Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphonies (Lavenu) contains the first appearance of the full scores of Mozart‘s Symphony no. 39, no, 13, and no. 38. In very good condition with light toning to the text. An exceptional collection of the utmost rarity.
Price: $40,000.00
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First Edition of A Critical Essay on Modern Macroeconomic Theory; Signed by Nobel Prize-Winning Economist Robert Solow
Hahn, Frank and Robert Solow.
A Critical Essay on Modern Macroeconomic Theory.
Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1995.
First edition. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Solow on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Price: $300.00
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“a portrait of the Kennedy family as it looked then” : First Edition of Jim Bishop's A Day in the Life of President Kennedy; Signed by Jacqueline Kennedy
Bishop, Jim (Jacqueline Kennedy).
A Day in the Life of President Kennedy.
New York: Random House, 1964.
First edition of this Bishop’s account of a day in the life of President Kennedy. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Jacqueline Kennedy on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Rare and desirable signed by Jacqueline Kennedy.
Price: $2,000.00
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“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever”: First Edition of John Adams' A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America; In the Rare Original Boards
Adams, John.
A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America.
London: Printed for C. Dilly, 1787.
First edition of John Adams’ landmark work. Octavo, original boards, minor wear. In very good condition. Housed in a custom half calf clamshell box. Rare, especially in the original boards.
Price: $16,000.00
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Rare First Edition of Black's A Dictionary of Law
Black, Henry Campbell.
A Dictionary of Law Containing: Definitions of the Terms and Phrases of American and English Jurisprudence, Ancient and Modern.
St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co, 1891.
First edition of this landmark work, the most widely cited law book in the world. Thick quarto, original cloth, red leather spine label. In near fine condition with a touch of rubbing. A superior example, most scarce and desirable in the original cloth.
Price: $4,200.00
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"THE MOST AMAZING, ENDURING AND ENDEARING ONE-MAN FEAT": FIRST EDITION OF JOHNSON’S LANDMARK DICTIONARY
Johnson, Samuel.
A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which The Words are deduced from their Originals, And Illustrated in their Different Significations By Examples from the best Writers. To Which Are Prefixed, A History of the Language, And An English Grammar.
London: Printed by W. Strahan, for J. & P. Knapton, et al, 1755.
First edition of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary of the English language. Folio, 2 volumes. Bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards, raised bands, gilt titles, black spine labels. In very good condition with owner inscription on title head, title of volume one conserved, occasional light toning.
Price: $14,000.00
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"THE MOST AMAZING, ENDURING AND ENDEARING ONE-MAN FEAT": RARE FIRST EDITION OF JOHNSON’S LANDMARK DICTIONARY; From the Library of Sir John Hobhouse
Johnson, Samuel.
A Dictionary of the English Language: In Which The Words are deduced from their Originals, And Illustrated in their Different Significations By Examples from the best Writers. To Which Are Prefixed, A History of the Language, And An English Grammar.
London: Printed by W. Strahan, for J. & P. Knapton, et al, 1755.
First edition of Samuel Johnson’s dictionary of the English language. Folio, 2 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, raised bands, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels. From the library of Sir John Hobhouse with his bookplate. Hobhouse was an English politician and diarist. Hobhouse is credited with the invention of the phraseHis Majesty’s (Loyal) Opposition made in 1826 during a speech in the House of Commons. After the Whigs gained power in 1830 he served under Lord Grey as Secretary at War between 1832 and 1833, as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1833 and as First Commissioner of Woods and Forests in 1834. He was later President of the Board of Control under Lord Melbourne between 1835 and 1841 and under Lord John Russell between 1846 and 1852. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1832 and raised to the peerage as Baron Broughton, of Broughton-de-Gyfford in the County of Wiltshire, in 1851. In 1852 he was also made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. In very good condition with light toning to the text, rebacked. An exceptional example of this landmark work, rare and desirable in contemporary calf and with noted provenance.
Price: $13,500.00
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A Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and Historical, of Commerce and Commercial Navigation
McCulloch, J.R.
A Dictionary, Practical, Theoretical, and Historical, of Commerce and Commercial Navigation.
London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, Longman, 1834.
Early edition of this important work on international trade, it contains a plethora of contemporary commercial and maritime laws, international business practices, financial institutions, currencies, ports and the imports and exports of different nations. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, double gilt ruled, marbled endpapers, marbled edges. In near fine condition.
Price: $350.00
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First edition of the first book published in English to include portions of the writings of German philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Nitsch, F. A. [Kant, Immanuel].
A General and Introductory View of Professor Kant’s Principles Concerning Man, the World and the Deity.
London: J. Downes, 1796.
First edition of the first book published in English to include portions of the writings of German philosopher Immanuel Kant including his Critique of Pure Reason. Octavo, bound in full contemporary polished calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red morocco spine label, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels. In very good condition with some light browning throughout and blank head of title page restored.
Price: $2,850.00
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First Edition of Jimmy Carter's A Government As Good As Its People; Inscribed by Him
Carter, Jimmy.
A Government As Good As Its People.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1977.
First edition. Octavo, original boards. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Inscribed by the Jimmy Carter.
Price: $350.00
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"For it is this understanding which, in part, promotes a climate of freedom within which fruitful and genuinely new ideas- and the science of economics- can progress and prosper": First Edition of A History of Economic Theory and Method; Lengthily Inscribed by Robert Ekelund
Robert B. Ekelund, Jr. and Robert F. Hebert.
A History of Economic Theory and Method.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975.
First edition of this classic work. Small quarto, original cloth. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by Robert Ekelund on the half-title page, “For John Rogers- For it is this understanding which, in part, promotes a climate of freedom within which fruitful and genuinely new ideas- and the science of economics- can progress and prosper. With all good regards and wishes Robert B. Ekelund, Jr. (Bob Ekelund) March 25, 2015.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $975.00
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“All he wanted was toleration, and by the enlightened use of the dispensing power to be the true father of all his people": Finely Bound First Edition Set of Winston Churchill’s Classic A History of the English-Speaking Peoples
Churchill, Winston S.
A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.
London: Cassell and Company, 1956-1958.
First British editions of each of the four volumes of this set. Octavo, 4 volumes, finely bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. In near fine condition. A very sharp set.
Price: $1,400.00
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First Editions of Allan Meltzer's A History of the Federal Reserve Volumes 1 & 2; Each Signed by Him
Meltzer, Allan H.; Foreword by Alan Greenspan.
A History of the Federal Reserve, Volumes 1 & 2.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
First editions of this seminal work on the Federal Reserve. Octavo, original cloth, 2 volumes. Both volumes one and two are inscribed by Allan Meltzer. Fine in a near fine dust jackets.
Price: $1,800.00
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Rare First Edition of A History of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club St. Andrews 1754-1900
Everard, H.S.C.
A History of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club St. Andrews 1754-1900.
Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1907.
First edition of “one of the most handsome books in the library of golf.” Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles an tooling to the spine and front panel, top edge gilt, illustrated with numerous plates from photographs and paintings, including some color plates. In near fine condition. Housed in custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $1,500.00
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First Edition of A History of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club St. Andrews 1754-1900
Everard, H.S.C.
A History of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club St. Andrews 1754-1900.
London: William Blackwood, 1907.
First edition of “one of the most handsome books in the library of golf.” Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles an tooling to the spine and front panel, top edge gilt, illustrated with numerous plates from photographs and paintings, including some color plates. In near fine condition. A very sharp example.
Price: $850.00
