Americana
Rare Americana Books, Manuscripts & More for Sale Online
If you’re looking for first edition books celebrating the American experience, you’ve come to the right place. At Raptis Rare Books we maintain an extensive collection of rare Americana, books, manuscripts and more. Browse through our entire collection online, use our sorting tools or search to find exactly what you’re looking for then call with any questions you may have or order online today.
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"Second only to Gilbert Stuart's Athenaeum portrait": Rembrandt Peale's "George Washington, Patriae Pater"
PEALE, Rembrandt. [George Washington].
“George Washington, Patriae Pater” Rembrandt Peale Original Oil Painting.
Rembrandt Peale's famed painted portrait of George Washington, "George Washington, Patriae Pater", considered by many second only to Gilbert Stuart's iconic Athenaeum portrait of the first president and variations of which hang in the Oval Office and Old Senate Chamber. Oil on canvas. In 1795, 17-year-old Rembrandt Peale was invited by his father, famed American painter Charles Willson Peale, to accompany him to a portrait sitting with President George Washington. Although young Rembrandt was not entirely satisfied with the resulting portrait of the aging Washington, it was well-received and made his debut as a portraitist. In 1822, after a trip…
Price: $350,000.00 Item Number: 135084
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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
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"Nothing in bronze or stone could be a more perfect image than this statue of the living Washington": Fine bronze bust of George Washington after the famed Houdon bust of 1785
HOUDON, Jean-Antoine. [George Washington].
Jean-Antoine Houdon George Washington Bronze Bust.
Fine bronze bust of George Washington, after the famed Houdon bust of 1785 which is considered the most accurate depiction of Washington. Bronze, mounted on a marble pedestal. French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon was revered for his life-like portrayals of numerous notable eighteenth-century philosophers, inventors, and political figures including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Napoléon Bonaparte, and George Washington. In 1784, the Virginia General Assembly commissioned a statue of George Washington "to be of the finest marble and the best workmanship," necessitating a European craftsman. The Governor of Virginia gave the responsibility of selecting the artist to Thomas Jefferson,…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 123102
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"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace": Rare Henry Shrady Ulysses S. Grant Bronze Bust
GRANT, Ulysses S.] Henry Merwin Shrady.
Ulysses S. Grant Bronze Bust.
Original bronze bust of Ulysses S. Grant by Henry Shrady, the famed sculptor of the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial on the west front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Mounted on socle and base, the entire piece measures 18.5 inches in height. In fine condition. An exceptional piece of Americana.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 102885
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Bust of Abraham Lincoln by famed artist George Bissell; One of only three examples
[ABRAHAM LINCOLN] GEORGE BISSELL,.
Bust of Abraham Lincoln.
Patinated bronze portrait bust of Abraham Lincoln, marked "GEO. E. BISSELL Sc GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS copyrighted," and stamped "G 47." This is one of a series of popular desktop busts of Lincoln produced by the Gorham foundry in the early part of the 20th century. In fine condition. The piece measures 18 inches in height. An exceptional piece of American history.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 133797
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Bust of Abraham Lincoln by famed artist George Bissell
[ABRAHAM LINCOLN] GEORGE BISSELL,.
Bust of Abraham Lincoln.
Patinated bronze cast of Abraham Lincoln by George Bissell, one of only three commissioned by Ralph Newman for THE USS AL. Boldly signed by the artist in the back Geo. E. Bissell Sc. George Bissell was an important American sculptor working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He produced two full length statues of Lincoln: one in Edinburgh and one in Clermont, Iowa. According to the letter from Lincoln College Curator Paul Beaver, the present item is one of three copies made from the school's original Bissell bronze bust of Lincoln by the Van Dyke Galleries of Chicago…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 131044
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Nineteenth Century Portrait of George Washington
STUART, Gilbert. (George Washington).
George Washington Portrait.
Portrait of George Washington after Gilbert Stuart, American School, late 19th century oil on canvas portrait of President George Washington, after the Athaneum portrait by Gilbert Stuart. Housed in a Victorian giltwood frame with floral carved corner ornaments and oval opening. The entire piece measures 35 inches by 40 inches. An exceptional piece.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 78002
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"Oh south winds have long memories": First edition of Howard Weeden's Bandanna Ballads; signed and inscribed three times by Joel Chandler Harris who contributed the introduction
WEEDEN, Howard. [Maria Howard Weeden; Joel Chandler Harris].
Bandanna Ballads.
New York: Doubleday & McClure Company, 1899.
First edition of Maria Howard Weeden's best-known collection of poems. Octavo, original cloth decorated in gilt, illustrated by the author, tissue-guarded frontispiece. Introduction by Joel Chandler Harris. Presentation copy, inscribed by Harris on the flyleaf, "Faithfully yours: Joel Chandler Harris Atlanta Ga.: 6 September 1900." Additionally signed by him on the title page and at the conclusion of the introduction. In fine condition. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Rare and desirable.
Price: $2,850.00 Item Number: 133067
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"the most extraordinarily good portrait of my father I have ever seen": Photograph by Gutzon Borglum of the Bust of Lincoln; Signed by Him
BORGLUM, Gutzon (Abraham Lincoln).
Gutzon Borglum Signed Photograph of a Bust of Abraham Lincoln.
1907.
Photograph signed and dated "Gutzon Borglum 1907." The photograph taken by Borglum shows his marble bust of Abraham Lincoln. On February 6, 1908, the President's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, wrote to Borglum regarding the bust as, "the most extraordinarily good portrait of my father I have ever seen." The sculpture is on display in the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol Building. A typed Lincoln quotation pasted to mount at lower left. In very good condition. Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 15 inches by 17.5 inches.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 87608
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Rare plaster replica of the famed Houdon bust of George Washington
ANDERSON, Ronald Lee. [Jean-Antoine Houdon; George Washington].
George Washington Houdon Bust Sculpture.
Life-size sculpture of the head of George Washington, after the famed Houdon bust of George Washington of 1785. Plaster, the piece measures 11.5 inches by 9 inches and is attributed to American portraitist Ronald Lee Anderson who likely sculpted the work as an exercise as a college student. French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon was revered for his life-like portrayals of numerous notable eighteenth-century philosophers, inventors, and political figures including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Napoléon Bonaparte, and George Washington. In 1784, the Virginia General Assembly commissioned a statue of George Washington "to be of the finest marble and the…
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 121908
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First edition of Randolph Caldecott: A Personal Memoir of His Early Art Career; from the library of Woodrow Wilson with his ownership signature
BLACKBURN, Henry. [Woodrow Wilson].
Randolph Caldecott: A Personal Memoir of His Early Art Career.
New York: George Routledge & Sons, 1886.
First American edition of Blackburn's biography of famed British illustrator Randolph Caldecott; from the library of Woodrow Wilson with his ownership signature. Octavo, original publisher's cloth decorated in gilt, with one hundred and seventy two illustrations, frontispiece portrait of Caldecott. Signed by Woodrow Wilson on the title page. One of the most influential children's book illustrators of nineteenth century, British artist Randolph Caldecott published 16 picture books throughout his career, including The House that Jack Built (1878), John Gilpin (1878), The Three Jovial Huntsman (1880), and The Great Panjandrum Himself (1885). The Caldecott Medal, first proposed by Frederic G. Melcher…
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 125249
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First Edition of The Century; Signed by Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster
JENNINGS, Peter and Todd Brewster.
The Century.
New York: Doubleday, 1998.
First edition of this historic overview of the twentieth century. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Signed by both authors, Peter Jennings and Todd Brewster. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 144008