Philosophy
Rare Philosophy Books for Sale Online
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“DEMOCRACY IS ESSENTIALLY A MEANS, A UTILITARIAN DEVICE FOR SAFEGUARDING INTERNAL PEACE AND INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM”: Rare First Edition of THE ROAD TO SERFDOM; INSCRIBED BY F.A. HAYEK
HAYEK, Friedrich August von [F.A.].
The Road to Serfdom.
Chicago: University of Chicago, 1944.
First edition of one of the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Mr. Allan T. Preyer at the Luncheon of the 'Ad ' Club New York April 11, 1945 with cordial regards of F. A. Hayek." Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Foreword by John Chamberlain. First editions are rare, presentation copies exceptionally so.
Price: $82,000.00 Item Number: 130745
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"The most important scientific book of 18th century America": Rare First Complete Edition of Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America, By Benjamin Franklin, L.L.D. and F.R.S. To which are added, Letters and Papers on Philosophical Subjects. The Whole corrected, methodized, improved, and now first collected into one Volume, and Illustrated with Copper Plates.
London: Printed for David Henry and sold by Francis Newbery, 1769.
First complete edition of “the most important scientific book of 18th-century America” and “America’s first great scientific contribution” (PMM). Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels. With the rarely found half-title. Advertisement & errata leaf bound in following the preface. Illustrated with 7 copper-engraved plates, 4 of which are folding. This, the fourth, first complete, and most desirable edition of Franklin's important work contains for the first time complete notes on all of…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 125438
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Rare 16th century printings of John Wolfe's Fictitious Italian editions of Machiavelli's Discourses and The Prince; finely bound together in full morocco
MACHIAVELLI, Niccolò.
Discorsi Di Nicolo Machiavelli Pra La Prima Deca Di Tito Livio [bound with] Il Prencipe di Nicolo Machiavelli. [Machiavelli’s Discourses bound with The Prince].
Palermo: Apresso gli heredi d'Antoniello degli Antonielli , 1584 [London: John Wolfe].
Rare 16th century printing of John Wolfe's famed fictitious Italian editions of Machiavelli's fundamental works of political history and philosophy. Octavo, elaborately bound in full crushed morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling and central motifs to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins. In near fine condition with occasional contemporary marginal notes. Rare.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 129484
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“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves": True First Edition of Viktor Frankl's Classic Work Man's Search For Meaning; Inscribed by Him in the year of publication
FRANKL, Viktor E.
Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager [Man’s Search For Meaning].
Boston: Verlag Jugend und Volk, 1946.
True first edition of Frankl's classic work, which was later titled Man's Search For Meaning. Octavo, original wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the half-title page, "Für Frau Grete Krotschak in herzlicher Freundschaft V. E. Frankl 6/9/46." Which translates, "For Ms. Grete Krotschak in cordial friendship V. E. Frankl 6/9/46." The recipient, Grete Krotschak served as the maid of honor at Frankl's wedding with Eleonore Elly Katharina Schwindt. (Frankl: Gesammelte Werke, Bd. 1, 2005, S. 159). Frankl was freed from Türkheim in April 1945, with this example signed a little over one year…
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 135369
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Rare first edition of Marshman's The Works of Confucius; complete with his Dissertation on the Characters and Sounds of the Chinese Language
MARSHMAN, Joshua [Confucius].
The Works of Confucius; Containing the Original Text, With a Translation. To Which is Prefixed a Dissertation on the Chinese Language and Character. [The Analects of Confucius].
Serampore: Printed at the Mission Press, 1809.
First English translation of the Analects of Confucius complete with the rare Dissertation on the Chinese Language and Character, here bound in a separate volume. Quarto, two volumes bound in three quarter morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, illustrated with 2 folding charts on Chinese characters, 4 further tables on 2 folding leaves, postscript at rear. In fine condition. Exceptionally rare, particularly with Marshman's separately printed dissertation present including the tables and charts.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 131224
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Rare First Edition of Herodotus' Historiae, in Greek
HERODOTUS; EDITED BY ALDUS MANUTIUS,.
Historiae, In Greek.
Venice: Aldus Manutius, September, 1502.
Rare first edition of Herodotus' history of the Persian Wars, one of the most important texts edited by the great scholar-printer-publisher. Folio, bound in contemporary vellum, woodcut title in Greek and Roman letter, verso with dedication in Latin, text in Greek letter throughout with spaces for capital letters, woodcut device on title and last page. Aldus claims in the dedication that he corrected the text from multiple exemplars, one of the few instances where such a claim by him is justified and can be verified. He was the first to have access to the 'Florentine' codices, where Valla had used the…
Price: $32,000.00 Item Number: 96588
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“THE FATHER OF MODERN DEMOCRACY”: First edition in English of Aristotle's Masterpiece Politiques, or Discourses of Government
ARISTOTLE,.
Politiques, or Discourses of Government.
London: Adam Islip, 1598.
Rare first edition in English of one of the world’s most important and influential political texts, “the most valuable work on that branch of philosophy that has descended to us from antiquity.” Small folio, bound in full leather, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels. In near fine condition, bookplate, small name to the title page, small paper repair to the first few pages. First editions are exceptionally rare.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 138658
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“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves": First Edition of Viktor Frankl's Classic Work Man's Search For Meaning; Signed by Him
FRANKL, Viktor E.
From Death-Camp To Existentialism [Man’s Search For Meaning].
Boston: Beacon Press, 1959.
First edition in English of Frankl's classic work, which was later titled Man's Search For Meaning in 1962. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Viktor Frankl on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Translated by Ilse Lasch. Preface by Gordon Allport. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Signed first editions are exceptionally rare and desirable.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 130637
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Extremely rare first Latin edition of Galileo's revolutionary Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
GALILEI, Galileo.
Systema Cosmicum in Quo Quatuor Dialogis, de Duobus Maximis Mundi Systematibus, Ptolemaico et Copernicano. [Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems].
Strasbourg: D. Hauttius for the Elzevir, 1635.
Rare first Latin edition of Galileo's epoch-making Dialogo, the summation of the extraordinary mathematician's astronomical thought and the work which directly precipitated his 1663 trial and judgement for heresy. Preceded only by the 1632 edition in Italian. Small octavo, bound in full contemporary vellum, engraved additional title page, full page engraved frontispiece portrait of Galileo by Jacob van der Heyden, woodcut diagrams, with the final leaf of errata. This Latin edition includes two tracts in the appendix not in the Italian edition of 1632, and it is the only major work of Galileo's to be published outside Italy during his…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 93890
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THE FIRST JEWISH TRANSLATION OF THE PENTATEUCH INTO ENGLISH
LEESER, Isaac.
The Law of God.
Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5605, 1845-46.
First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America,” the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo, 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in contemporary polished calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, rebacked. Lightly rubbed, moderate wear. A very nice example of a scarce and important work.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 49020
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“Justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought": First Edition of John Rawls Magnum Opus A Theory of Justice; Signed by Him
RAWLS, John.
A Theory of Justice.
Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971.
First edition of the author’s masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by John Rawls on the front free endpaper. Near fine in an excellent dust jacket with some rubbing. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Books signed by Rawls are rare.
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 99758
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“All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”: First edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's landmark work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
WOLLSTONECRAFT, Mary.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects.
London: J. Johnson, 1792.
Rare first edition of this landmark work in both Enlightenment philosophy and the history of feminism. Octavo, bound in full morocco, marbled endpapers. In near fine condition with some light toning to the text, contemporary name to the title page. Housed in a custom slipcase. An exceptional example.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 110854
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"War is the continuation of politics by other means": Scarce First Edition of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written; Carl von Clausewitz's On War
VON CLAUSEWITZ, Carl Philipp Gottfried.
Vom Kriege. Hinterlassenes Werk. [On War].
Berlin: Ferdinand Dümmler, 1832-34.
Scarce first edition of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written. Octavo, three volumes bound in contemporary half cloth over marbled boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 123578
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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 de.
Democracy in America.
New York: George Dearborn and J. & H.G. Langley, 1838 and 1840.
First edition in English of Tocqueville’s magnum opus. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth. Folding engraved map in Volume II with hand-colored outlines, with the blank leaf between the appendix and notes in volume one, usually absent. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities, contemporary names. Each are housed in a custom half morocco chemise and clamshell box. First editions are scarce, especially in the original cloth.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 129736
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“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat": Signed First Edition of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich; In the rare original dust jacket
HILL, Napoleon.
Think and Grow Rich.
Cleveland : The Ralston Society, 1945.
Rare first edition of this classic bestseller, which has sold over 100 million copies. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Napoleon Hill on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket, with reinforcement to the verso. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable in the original dust jacket and signed.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 132909
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One of the Earliest Calligraphic Works by Thomas Merton
MERTON, Thomas.
Thomas Merton Original Calligraphic Artwork.
Original signed artwork from Thomas Merton. In the last decade of his life, while living as a hermit-monk in dialogue with the world, Thomas Merton created a body of visual art, drawing from the Zen Buddhist tradition. When he was a student at Columbia University, Merton sought out a Hindu monk named Bramachari for counsel. The monk advised Merton to follow his own Christian tradition to find what he was most deeply looking for. A strong admirer of Gandhi, Merton also noted how Gandhi, a Hindu, had found a congenial ' second home' of sorts in the Christian Sermon on…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 17032
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THE FIRST JEWISH TRANSLATION OF THE PENTATEUCH INTO ENGLISH
LEESER, Isaac.
The Law of God.
Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5605, 1845-46.
First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America,” the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo, 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In near fine condition. A nice example, rare in contemporary binding.
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 78547
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“All the sacred rights of humanity are violated by insisting on blind obedience”: First edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's landmark work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
WOLLSTONECRAFT, Mary.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects.
London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1792.
Rare first edition of this landmark work in both Enlightenment philosophy and the history of feminism. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco over marbled boards by Randolph & English. From the library of Virginia chancery lawyer Henry G. Cannon with his ownership inscription to the pastedown and that of his father, the book's previous owner, to the top portion of the title page which has been excised and supplied. Period notation from presumably a member of the Cannon household to the first page of the dedication to M. Talleyrand-Périgord, Late Bishop of Autun, "This Talleyrand is the man who said…
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 124556
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“Though freedom is not a state of nature but an artifact of civilization, it did not arise from design: FIRST EDITION OF THE ECONOMIST’S CLASSIC WORK, THE CONSTITUTION OF LIBERTY; SIGNED BY F.A. HAYEK
HAYEK, Friedrich August von [F.A.].
The Constitution of Liberty.
London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1960.
First edition of Hayek’s classic statement on the ideals of freedom and liberty. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by F.A. Hayek on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 3502
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First Edition of F.A. Hayek’s Classic Treatise The Constitution of Liberty; Signed by Him
HAYEK, Friedrich August von [F.A.].
The Constitution of Liberty.
Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1960.
First edition of Hayek’s classic statement on the ideals of freedom and liberty. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by F.A. Hayek on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust price-clipped jacket with a few small closed tears. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 99700
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“The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat": Signed First Edition of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich; In the rare original dust jacket
HILL, Napoleon.
Think and Grow Rich.
Cleveland : The Ralston Society, 1945.
Rare first edition of this classic bestseller, which has sold over 100 million copies. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Napoleon Hill on an official bookplate on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable in the original dust jacket and signed.
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 133570
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"Virtue which is not supported with gravity gains no repute among men": Rare First edition of The Morals of Confucius; A Cornerstone of Chinese Philosophy
CONFUCIUS,.
The Morals of Confucius, A Chinese Philosopher.
London: F. Fraser, 1691.
Scarce first edition in English of The Morals of Confucius, regarded as the first work which introduced English readers to Confucianism. Small octavo, bound in contemporary calf. Consisting of three parts: Of the Antiquity and Philosophy of the Chineses; A Collection out of Confucius's Works in Three Books; and Eighty Maxims. Introductory publishers advertisement. In very good condition, rebacked. An exceptional example. Scarce and desirable.
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 133826
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“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human": Exceptionally Rare First Edition in English of Aristotle's A Treatise on Government
ARISTOTLE; TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM ELLIS,.
A Treatise on Government. Translated From The Greek of Aristotle.
London: T. Payne, 1776.
First edition in English of this important work on government by Aristotle. Quarto, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards. In very good condition with light toning to the text and wear. Bookseller plate of George Gregory, Bath, Sept. 22, 1936 on the front pastedown. Translated by William Ellis. First editions are rare, with the last example appearing at auction in 1914.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 81182
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Rare First Edition of Leonardo Da Vinci's Trattato della Pittura di Lionardo da Vinci
DA VINCI, Leonardo.
Trattato della Pittura di Lionardo da Vinci. [Leonardo da Vinci].
Paris: Jacques Langlois, 1651.
Rare first edition of this classic treatise of da Vinci's work on painting, two parts in one volume. Folio, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles, engraved portrait of da Vinci in each part, engraved vignette on title, engraved initials, head and tail pieces, engraved text illustrations. In very good condition, marginalia, rebacked. Compiled from his original notes by his pupil Francesco Melzi. First editions are rare.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 130267
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"The most striking expression of the religious sublimation of earthly love": Exceptionally rare first edition of Søren Kierkegaard's En Opbyggelig Tale. [An Edifying Discourse]; inscribed by him to Jens Olaus Hansen
KIERKEGAARD, Søren.
En Opbyggelig Tale. [An Edifying Discourse].
Kjøbenhavn: C. A. Reitzel, 1850.
First Edition of Kierkegaard’s major philosophical work. Octavo, original full black paper-covered boards, the presentation binding personally commissioned by Kierkegaard. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Høivelbårne Hr. Konf[erensråd] Hansen R[idder] a[f] D[annebrog] i dyb Ærbødighed f. Forf [Honoured Mr. Adviser of Conference Hansen R. of D. with reverence from the Author]." The recipient, Norwegian jurist Jens Olaus Hansen held a very high honorary title in Denmark and served as the head of the Second Department of the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Instruction of Denmark from 1848 to 1851. In very good condition.…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 131507
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First Edition of Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons; Inscribed by Him to fellow oxford professor Tony Honoré
PARFIT, Derek.
Reasons and Persons.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
First edition of one of the most important philosophical texts of the second half the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "To Tony, with love from Derek 7 May '84." The recipient, Tony Honoré was a close friend of Parfit's and the longest serving Professor of Law at Oxford where Pafit was a professor. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Books signed by Parfit are rare.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 123431
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“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety": Rare First Edition of Benjamin Franklin's Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Political, Miscellaneous, and Philosophical Pieces; Arranged under the Following Heads and Distinguished by Initial Letters in each Leaf: General Politics; American Politics before the Troubles; American Politics during the Troubles; Provincial or Colony Politics; Miscellaneous and Philosophical Pieces.
London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1779.
First edition of "the only edition of Franklin's writings (other than his scientific) printed during his lifetime" (Ford). Octavo, bound half diced calf over marbled boards with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt. With the engraved frontispiece portrait of Franklin, three engraved plates (one folding), and folding table of the reformed alphabet. In near fine condition. Complete with index, addenda and corrigenda. An exceptional example.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 125035
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"what first attracts our interest in the person of Moses is his name": First Edition of Freud's Moses And Monotheism; Inscribed by Him To His Niece
FREUD, Sigmund.
Moses And Monotheism.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1939.
First American edition of last book written and published in Sigmund Freud's lifetime. Presentation copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper, "To dear Poppy from Uncle Sigm. London 1939." The eldest daughter of Freud's elder brother, Philipp, Pauline "Poppy" Freud was born in 1873 when Sigmund was seventeen years old. Freud visited Pauline and her parents in Manchester, England periodically throughout her childhood and maintained correspondence with Pauline well into her adulthood, visiting her and her husband, Frederick Oswald Hartwig, in London in 1939. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some wear to the extremities. Housed in a…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 67018
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“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware": Rare First Edition in Martin Buber's I and Thou; Signed by Him
BUBER, Martin.
Ich und Du [I and Thou].
Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1923.
First edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original illustrated boards as issued. Boldly signed by Martin Buber on the title page. In fine condition. We have never seen another signed first edition.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 135492
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"Mary Baker Eddy was far ahead of her time in the emphasis she placed upon positive thinking, a force which modern psychology was belated in recognizing": Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures; inscribed by her to her cousin, the daughter of President Franklin Pierce
EDDY, Mary Baker.
Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.
Boston: Published by the Author, 1886.
Early printing of the central text of the Christian Science which continues to rank as a best-seller to this day. Octavo, bound in contemporary three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the second free endpaper in the year of publication, "Mrs. F. McNeil Potter, with love from the Author, 1886." The recipient, Frances Maria McNeil Potter was the niece of President Franklin Pierce and his sometimes hostess in the White house, assisting First Lady Jane Pierce after the death of the president's…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 90463
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Etching of Albert Einstein by Hermann Struck; Signed by Both Struck and Einstein
EINSTEIN, Albert; Hermann Struck.
Albert Einstein Signed Etching.
1923.
Lithograph portrait of "the father of modern physics", Albert Einstein by well-known artist Hermann Struck. Signed by Einstein, "Albert Einstein 1923" and Struck, "Herman Struck 138/150". In fine condition. Matted and framed, the entire piece measures 19.75 inches by 15.5 inches. An exceptional piece.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 127204
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"THE KING OF PHILOSOPHERS": Exceptionally Rare First Edition of the First Complete English Translation of The Works of Plato
TAYLOR, Thomas. [Plato].
The Works of Plato, Viz. His Fifty-Five Dialogues, and Twelve Epistles, Translated From the Greek; Nine of the Dialogues by the Late Floyer Sydenham, and the Remainder by Thomas Taylor: With Occasional Annotations on the Nine Dialogues Translated by Sydenham, and Copious Notes, by the Latter Translator.
London: Printed for Thomas Taylor, By R. Wilks, Chancery-Lane, 1804.
First edition of the first complete English translation of the works of Plato. Quarto, five volumes bound in full pebbled cloth retaining contemporary black morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, half-titles, engraved frontispiece to volume I. In the words of the Prometheus Trust, "Taylor's Works of Plato, has two outstanding features which make it an essential component to the genuine philosophers library. Firstly, Taylor himself translates Plato's Dialogues from within the ancient Greek Tradition. No English translator, before or since, has been so completely at one with the Greek philosophical and religious world view: Taylor fulfills, to the highest degree,…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 131256
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"THE KING OF PHILOSOPHERS": Exceptionally Rare First Edition of the First Complete English Translation of The Works of Plato
TAYLOR, Thomas. [Plato].
The Works of Plato.
London: Printed For Thomas Taylor by R. Wilks, 1804.
First edition in English of the works of Plato. Quarto, 5 volumes, bound in three quarter morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine. In very good condition. Translated by Thomas Taylor. In the words of the Prometheus Trust, "Taylor's Works of Plato, has two outstanding features which make it an essential component to the genuine philosophers library. Firstly, Taylor himself translates Plato's Dialogues from within the ancient Greek Tradition. No English translator, before or since, has been so completely at one with the Greek philosophical and religious world view: Taylor fulfills, to the highest degree, the first requirement of…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 130512
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"People go off to marvel at the height of mountains and the great waves of the sea and the broad courses of rivers, and the flow of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars: but they neglect themselves": C.S. Lewis' copy of Sir Thomas Browne's highly influential 17th century Christian confessional Religio Medici; with Lewis' ownership signature and notes throughout
BROWNE, Thomas. [C.S. Lewis].
Religio Medici and Other Essays by Sir Thomas Browne.
London: Chapman & Hall, Ltd, [1911].
C.S. Lewis' copy of Browne's celebrated 17th century "confession of Christian faith qualified by an eclectic and generally skeptical attitude" (The Oxford Companion). Octavo, original boards, paper spine label, gilt vignette to the front panel, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Browne. British author and theologian C.S. Lewis' copy with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper, "C.S. Lewis April 1919", underlines, marks, and footnotes to several pages, most notably a lengthy quote from The Confessions of St. Augustine to page 29: "(1) Et eunt homines mirari alta montium et ingentes fluctus maris et latissimos lapsus fluminum et oceani ambitum…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 122430
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First Edition of Theodore Roosevelt's Fear God and Take Your Own Part; Inscribed by Him to his Sister
ROOSEVELT, Theodore.
Fear God and Take Your Own Part.
New York: George H. Doran Company, 1916.
First edition of this collection of essays by the twenty-sixth President of the United States. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to his younger sister on the half-title page, "Darling Corinne, read the first chapter and the conclusion, T.R. To Mrs. Douglas Robinson 9 E 63rd St New York." In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional association.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 132337
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"Virtue which is not supported with gravity gains no repute among men": Rare First edition of La Morale De Confucius
CONFUCIUS,.
La Morale De Confucius, Philosophe De La Chine.
Amsterdam: Pierre Savouret, 1688.
Rare first edition of The Morals of Confucius preceding the English translation, regarded as the first work which introduced readers to Confucianism. Small octavo, bound in half vellum over marbled boards. In near fine condition. An exceptional example, scarce and desirable with only three examples appearing at auction in the last 90 years.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 135381
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First edition of C.S. Lewis' The Personal Heresy: A Controversy; inscribed by him
LEWIS, C.S. and E.M.W. Tillyard.
The Personal Heresy: A Controversy.
London: Oxford University Press, 1939.
First edition of this collection of arguments on the subjective and objective positions of writings, with C.S. Lewis arguing the latter. Presentation copy, inscribed by C.S. Lewis on the front free endpaper, "R.W. Fletcher from C.S.L. March 20th 1940." In near fine condition. Exceedingly rare signed and inscribed by Lewis.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 132284
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"What worries you, masters you": Rare The Works of John Locke; Finely bound
LOCKE, John.
The Works of John Locke [Including: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, Some Considerations of the Consequences of Lowering the Interest, and Raising the Value of Money, An Essay for the Amendment of the Silver Coin, Some Thoughts Concerning Education, Etc.]
London: T. Longman , 1794.
Rare complete ninth edition of the collected works of John Locke, “the most worthy… of the indisputably great philosophers.” Octavo, nine volumes, bound in full contemporary brown calf, gilt titles and elaborate tooling to the spine, rebacked. Frontispiece of John Locke to volume one. In near fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 133674
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First Edition of Alfred North Whitehead's Classic Text Process and Reality; Signed by Him
WHITEHEAD, Alfred North.
Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology.
New York: Macmillan & Company, 1929.
First edition of Alfred North Whitehead's magnum opus. Octavo, original blue cloth. Signed by Alfred North Whitehead on the title page. From the Library of Henry David Aiken, with his signature dated 1943 on the front free endpaper. Aiken was a student of Ralph Barton Perry's at Harvard when Whitehead also was a professor there from 1924 through 1937 and was a participant at Whiteheads' famous Cambridge Sunday afternoon open houses, which ran until Whitehead's death in 1947. Aiken was a Harvard philosophy professor from 1946 through 1965 and along with W. V. Quine, his friend and colleague, and Mortin…
Price: $11,500.00 Item Number: 34005
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First edition, first state of David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
HUME, David.
An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals.
London: Printed for A. Millar, 1751.
First edition, first state of what Hume, himself, considered his masterpiece with leaf L3 uncancelled and with the catchword "than" on recto. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with five raised bands to the spine, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt-turn ins. Half-title, errata, and advertisements at rear. In very good condition. Ownership signature. Housed in a custom folding chemise slipcase. Exceptionally clean internally, most rare and desirable bound in a contemporary binding.
Price: $11,000.00 Item Number: 129419