Science and Natural History
Rare Science and Natural History Books for Sale Online
Browse rare first edition science and natural history books. Search for books in the fields of biology, medicine, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. In addition, create your wish list, and ask any questions about a specific product, or order online today.
Showing 1–24 of 379 results
-
Browse by Category
- Browse All
- Americana
- Art and Architecture
- Autograph Letters Signed
- Biography and Autobiography
- Children's Books
- Economics and Finance
- Featured Rare Books
- Fine Bindings and Sets
- First Edition
- First Edition>Signed
- Food and Wine
- Framed Autographs and Historical Documents
- Geography
- Gifts
- Gifts - For Her
- Gifts - For Him
- Gifts - Graduation and Celebrations
- Gifts - Holidays
- History, Law, and Politics
- Literature
- Music
- New Arrivals
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Poetry
- Presidents and World Leaders
- Religion
- Science and Natural History
- Science Fiction and Mystery
- Signed
- Signed & Autographed Books
- Sports and Leisure
- Travel and Exploration
- Uncategorized
-
"The Greatest Work In The History of Science": First Edition in English of Newtons Principia
NEWTON, Isaac.
The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. Translated into English by Andrew Motte. To which are added, the Laws of the Moon’s Motion, according to Gravity.
London: Benjamin Motte, 1729.
First edition in English of Isaac Newton’s Principia. Octavo, two volumes bound in full calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins, illustrated with forty-six folding engraved plates and two folding charts. In near find condition. A few leaves with light foxing, pages lightly toned. Plate XXV at the end of volume one supplied in facsimile. An excellent example of this landmark work.
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 145081
-
First Edition of John McPhee's Annals of the Former World
MCPHEE, John.
Annals of the Former World.
New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1998.
First edition of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, Original black cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Maps by Allan Cartography. Endpapers designed by Tom Funk. Jacket art by John Clerk.
Price: $225.00 Item Number: 145124
-
WE SEVEN, SIGNED BY John Glenn and Scott Carpenter
CARPENTER, M. Scott; Cooper.
We Seven. By the Astronauts Themselves.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962.
First edition, early printing of this first-hand account of the genesis of America’s manned space program. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by Mercury Seven Astronauts on the front free endpaper, "Bob Best wishes- Scott Carpenter and John Glenn. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Bacon.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 144379
-
"This is good in parts, but not as good as William James": First Edition of Infinite In All Directions; Lengthily Inscribed by Freeman Dyson
DYSON, Freeman J.
Infinite in All Directions: Gifford Lectures Given at Aberdeen, Scotland April–November 1985.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1988.
First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Adrienne Rogers Freeman Dyson February 2010 This is good in parts, but not as good as William James." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Perlow.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 144346
-
“The four most common chemically active elements in the universe—hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen—are the four most common elements of life on Earth. We are not simply in the universe. The universe is in us": First Edition of Neil deGrasse Tyson's Space Chronicles
TYSON, Neil DeGrasse; edited by Avis Lang.
Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2012.
First edition of the astrophysicist's humorously provocative scientific commentary. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Chin-Yee Lai. Author photograph by Chris Cassidy.
Price: $50.00 Item Number: 145143
-
From the library of Charles Darwin: First edition of Herbert Spencer's The Study of Sociology; with a presentation inscription from Spencer to Darwin
SPENCER, Herbert.
The Study of Sociology.
London: Henry S. King & Co, 1873.
First edition, association copy of famed English philosopher Herbert Spencer's classic work on the evolution of society; presented and inscribed by him to Charles Darwin. Octavo, original publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine, dark green endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "Charles Darwin with the Author's kind regards." English philosopher, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist Herbert Spencer invented the expression "survival of the fittest" which he coined in his Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859). A description of the mechanism of natural selection, in Principles of…
Price: $110,000.00 Item Number: 141586
-
"The greatest and finest atlas ever published": Willem and Joan Blaeu's magnificent Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or, Le Theatre du Monde
BLAEU, Willem and Joan.
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. [Le Theatre du Monde].
Amsterdam: Chez Jean Blaeu/Apud Guiljelmum et Johannem Blaeu, 1643-1645.
A fine French-text copy in a presentation binding. Folio, 4 volumes, contemporary Dutch vellum likely from the Blaeu workshop with gilt tooling to the spine in eight compartments within gilt bands, central gilt arabesques and fleuron corner pieces within double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt. Gilt presentation inscription to the front panel of vol. I dated July 3, 1646 dedicating the set to Omer Talon, avocat-général to the French Parliament with the compliments of François du Monstier, rector of the University of Paris. Illustrated with 335 magnificent hand-colored engraved maps of the world and…
Price: $300,000.00 Item Number: 126307
-
The Double Helix; Signed by Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist James D. Watson
WATSON, James D.
The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA.
New York: Atheneum, 1969.
First edition, eight printing (printed the same year as the first) of Watson's ground breaking work regarding the discovery of DNA for which the author, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962. Octavo, original blue cloth, with numerous diagrams and photographic illustrations. Signed by James D. Watson on the title page. Very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Jeanyee Wong. Foreword by Sir Lawrence Bragg.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 144529
-
"This book provides a unique glimpse into the mind of a remarkable human being": First edition of Richard Feynman's Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher; Lengthily signed by Paul Davies who contributed the introduction
FEYNMAN, Richard P. Introduction by Paul Davies.
Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by Its Most Brilliant Teacher.
Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1963.
First edition of this unparalleled introduction to the world of physics by the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and one of the greatest scientific minds of the twentieth century. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Lengthily signed by Paul Davies, who contributed the introduction on the half-title page, "This book provides a unique glimpse into the mind of a remarkable human being Paul Davies." Additionally signed again on the title page, "With best wishes, Paul Davies." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Diane Levy. Author photograph by Floyd Clark.
Price: $550.00 Item Number: 144778
-
"In nature nothing exists alone": First Edition of Rachel Carsons Silent Spring
CARSON, Rachel.
Silent Spring.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962.
First edition of Carson's landmark work. Octavo, original green cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Drawings by Lois and Louis Darling.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 144688
-
"With affection and gratitude for getting me started in DNA synthesis and for your key contributions to the story": First Edition of DNA Synthesis; Warmly Inscribed by Nobel Prize-Winning Scientist Arthur Kornberg to fellow scientist Morris Friedkin
KORNBERG, Arthur.
DNA Synthesis.
San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company, 1974.
First edition of this important work by the Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Octavo, original boards. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Morris: With affection and gratitude for getting me started in DNA synthesis and for your key contributions to the story Arthur." The recipient, Morris Friedkin conducted research on metabolism. He illustrated the pathways of oxidative phosphorylation, examined metabolic reaction within the mitochondria, and identified and characterized deoxyribose-1-phosphate, an intermediate in pyrimidine synthesis. In addition, he discovered the role of folates in metabolism, which is important to the synthesis of folate analogs in chemotherapy. In…
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 144689
-
First Edition of Fractals: Form, Chance, and Dimension; Inscribed by Benoit Mandelbrot
MANDELBROT, Benoit.
Fractals: Form, Chance, and Dimension.
San Francisco: W.H. Freeman, 1977.
First edition of the mathematician's groundbreaking work. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Samuel With the author's compliments Benoit Mandelbrot." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 144375
-
First Edition of THE GOD PARTICLE; Signed by Nobel Prize-winning Physicist Leon Lederman
LEDERMAN, Leon with Dick Teresi.
The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question?
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.
First edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning scientist. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Leon Lederman on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Michaela Sullivan.
Price: $275.00 Item Number: 144353
-
First edition of Al Gore's Earth in the Balance; Inscribed by Him to Fellow Senator Larry Pressler
GORE, Al.
Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit.
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
First edition, first printing of the author's classic work. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, lengthily inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For my friend and colleague Larry Pressler, with respect + best wishes, Al Gore." The recipient, Senator Larry Pressler served in the United States Senate from 1979 to 1997, representing South dakota. After completing his Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford, he joined the United States Army and served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968, retiring with the rank of Lieutenant. He was the first Vietnam veteran to be elected to the…
Price: $950.00 Item Number: 144920
-
“The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think": First edition of Einstein: His Life and Universe; Signed by Walter Isaacson
ISAACSON, Walter.
Einstein: His Life and Universe.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.
First edition of the definitive biography of Albert Einstein. Octavo, original half cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated. Signed by Walter Isaacson on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by David Ter-Avanesyan.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 144608
-
"Wallace embraces the incompatibility of mathematics and prose and makes art from it": First Edition of Everything And More; Signed by David Foster Wallace
WALLACE, David Foster.
Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.
First edition of this work which examines the history of infinity, focusing primarily on the work of Georg Cantor, the 19th-century German mathematician who created set theory. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by David Foster Wallace on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Base Art Co./Terry Rohrbach.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 144245
-
Rare association copy of STEPHEN HAWKING'S LANDMARK WORK A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME; signed by Stephen Hawking with his thumbprint and signed by his wife Jane Hawking
HAWKING, Stephen W. Introduction by Carl Sagan.
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes.
London: Bantam Press, 1991.
Later printing of Hawking’s groundbreaking work. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Ron Miller. Association copy, inscribed by Jane Hawking on the title page, "For Frank Williams, in admiration Jane" and signed by Stephen Hawking with his thumbprint. The recipient, Sir Francis Owen Garbett Williams was a British businessman, racing car driver, and the founder of the Williams Formula One team. He was the team principal from its foundation in 1977 until 2020. During that period, the team won nine constructors' championships and seven drivers' championships. Hawking was a loyal supporter and fan of the Williams Formula One team. He visited…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 142109
-
"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new": First edition of Out of My Later Years; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
EINSTEIN, Albert.
Out of My Later Years.
New York: Philosophical Library, 1950.
First edition of Einstein's collection of social science-related articles, addresses and speeches. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 142361
-
"Wishing him the best of clear waters": Jacques Cousteau's The Silent World; Finely Bound by The Harcourt Bindery
COUSTEAU, Jacques Yves with Frederic Dumas.
The Silent World.
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1953.
First edition, early printing of this classic work. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt bindery, illustrated, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition.
Price: $1,400.00 Item Number: 143178
-
First octavo edition, presentation copy of John James Audubon's The Birds of America; warmly inscribed by him in both volumes I and II to Lydia E. E. Greene
AUDUBON, John James.
The Birds of America, From Drawings Made In The United States And Their Territories.
New York: Published by J. J. Audubon. Philadelphia: J. B. Chevalier, 1840-1844.
First octavo edition of Audubon's landmark work; one of the most spectacular collections of ornithological prints ever produced. Royal octavo, 7 volumes bound in full 19th-century morocco by P. Low of Boston with their ticket, gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers, ribbons bound in. Illustrated with 500 hand-colored lithographed plates after Audubon by W. E. Hitchcock, R. Trembly and others, printed and colored by J. T. Bowen, wood-engraved anatomical diagrams in text. Presentation copy, inscribed by John James Audubon on…
Price: $200,000.00 Item Number: 143567
-
First Edition of Philip Stern's The Oppenheimer Case: Security on Trial; Inscribed by Him in the Year of Publication
STERN, Philip M.
The Oppenheimer Case: Security on Trial.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1969.
First edition of this early biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For Arnoldo Luigi With abundant fondness from one who treasures their friendship Phil S. November, 1969." Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 143503
-
First edition of Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters: The Later Years; signed by Jane Goodall
GOODALL, Jane. Edited by Dale Peterson.
Beyond Innocence: An Autobiography in Letters: The Later Years.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001.
First edition of the second volume of Goodall's personal and professional correspondence; a welcome sequel to her critically acclaimed Africa in My Blood. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For the Rhoads Family- Together we can make a difference Jane Goodall." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Martha Kennedy.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 142049
-
First Edition of The Story of J. Robert Oppenheimer; Lengthily Inscribed by Denise Royal
ROYAL, Denise.
The Story of J. Robert Oppenheimer.
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1969.
First edition of "the first book that attempts to give them a substantial and realistic Oppenheimer biography" (The New York Times). Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "June 10, 1970 To Bob Walls- Who understands that the only knowledge is to know ourselves; and who, in so knowing how learned 'to harmonize simplicity and truth.' Sincerely, Denise Royal." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Susan Jeffers.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 143502
-
First Edition of Atomic Energy for Military Purposes; Signed by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, Norris E. Bradbury, the Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory and Henry D. Smyth
SMYTH, Henry DeWolf. [J. Robert Oppenheimer].
Atomic Energy for Military Purposes: The Official Report on the Development of the Atomic Bomb Under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1945.
First edition of the full text of Smyth's official report on the development of the atomic bomb. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, Norris E. Bradbury, the Director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Henry D. Smyth, the author. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Rare and desirable.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 143097