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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Exceptionally rare first edition, presentation copy of Experiments and Observations on Electricity; inscribed by Benjamin Franklin to Prominent Philadelphia Merchant, Colleague, and friend Thomas Livezey
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, at the Corner of St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1769.
First complete edition of "the most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America" (PMM), inscribed by Benjamin Franklin to prominent Pennsylvania Quaker and merchant Thomas Livezey, Jr. Quarto, bound in full contemporary calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins. Illustrated with 7 copper-engraved plates, 2 of which are folding. Presentation copy, inscribed by Benjamin Franklin on the front free endpaper, “To Mr. Livesy [sic] From his obliged Friend & humble Servant The Author.” With Thomas Livezey's ownership signature to the second free endpaper, "Thomas Livezey…
Price: $375,000.00 Item Number: 147283
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FROM THE LIBRARY OF GEORGE WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON: First edition, presentation copy of Elkanah Watson's Tour in Holland; inscribed by him to George Washington
[WATSON, Elkanah] [George Washington].
Tour in Holland in MDCCLXXXIV. By an American.
Printed at Worcester, Massachusetts: Isaiah Thomas, 1790.
First edition, presentation copy of a scarce volume from George Washington's library at Mount Vernon. Octavo, bound in full contemporary sheep with pine gilt in six compartments within raised bands, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, type-ornament title-page vignette, head and tailpieces. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author to George Washington on the front pastedown, "From the Author to General Washington" and further inscribed on the front free endpaper, "New York, Feb. 1798. Sir, Please to accept this small production which has stole its way into the world. If it can beguile one moment of that anxiety which doubtless pervades your…
Price: $275,000.00 Item Number: 143919
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"THE MOST FAMOUS AND INFLUENTIAL AMERICAN POLITICAL WORK”: EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FIRST EDITION OF THE FEDERALIST
[HAMILTON, Alexander; James Madison; John Jay].
The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, As Agreed Upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787.
New York: Printed and Sold by J. and A. McLean, 1788.
First edition of The Federalist, one of the rarest and most significant books in American political history. 12mo, bound in half calf over marbled boards with raised bands, gilt titles to the spine. In very good condition with light toning to the pages. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell and chemise box. An exceptional example of this cornerstone of Americana.
Price: $250,000.00 Item Number: 143916
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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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First French Edition, Presentation copy of the Constitutions of the Thirteen United States of America; inscribed by Benjamin Franklin who requested the book's publication and personally distributed the 600 privately printed first edition copies
[FRANKLIN, Benjamin].
Constitutions des Treize Etats-Unis De L’Amerique. [Constitutions of the Thirteen United States of America].
Paris: D. Pierres/Pissot, Pere & Fils, Libraries, 1783.
First French edition of the Constitution of the United States of America, inscribed by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin who had the translation published and personally distributed each of the 600 copies produced. Octavo, bound in one quarter calf with gilt ruling to the spine, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt. Presentation copy, inscribed by Benjamin Franklin on the front free endpaper, "A Madame, Madame la Presidente de Manieres [sic] de la parte du. B. Franklin." The recipient, Madame Durey de Meinires was a a French writer best known for her translations of Samuel Johnson, David Hume, and Sarah Fielding.…
Price: $175,000.00 Item Number: 138381
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Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs; containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower
WASHINGTON, George; John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; James Monroe; John Quincy Adams; Andrew Jackson; Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; John Tyler; James Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore; Franklin Pierce; James Buchanan; Abraham Lincoln; Andrew Johnson; Ulysses S. Grant; Rutherford B. Hayes; James Garfield; Chester A. Arthur; Grover Cleveland; William McKinley; Theodore Roosevelt; William H. Taft; Woodrow Wilson; Warren G. Harding; Calvin Coolidge; Herbert Hoover; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Harry Truman; Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Autographs of the Presidents of the United States of America.
1783-1956.
Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs, containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quarto, bound in full red morocco by Riviere & Son with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt presidential seal to the front panel with white and blue morocco onlays, gilt arms and motto of George Washington to the rear panel with white and blue morocco onlays and his gilt signature in facsimile, centerpieces within quintuple gilt ruling with star emblems at each corner, blue…
Price: $80,000.00 Item Number: 125384
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First edition of Richard Owen Cambridge's An Account of the War in India, Between the English and French; from the private library of Benjamin Franklin
CAMBRIDGE, Richard Owen [Benjamin Franklin].
An Account of the War in India, Between the English and French, on the Coast of Coromandel, From the Year 1760. Together with A Relation of the late Remarkable Events on the Malabar Coast, and the Expeditions to Golconda and Surat; with the Operations of the Fleet. Illustrated with Maps, Plans &c. The Whole Compiled from Original Papers.
London: Printed for T. Jefferys, 1761.
Benjamin Franklin's first edition copy of Cambridge's account of the progression of the Seven Years' War in India, from Franklin's private library. Quarto, bound in full contemporary calf, marbled endpapers, illustrated with 12 engraved maps and plans and 6 plates, mostly folding. From the private library of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin's contributions to science and politics were immense and his passion for making books more available to a broader audience prompted him to establish North America's first subscription library. In 1731, Franklin convinced the members of his Junto (a mutual improvement club he founded) to pool their money to purchase books…
Price: $65,000.00 Item Number: 137375
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Rare collection of the works of Thomas Paine; finely bound with a rare early printing of John Quincy Adams' response to Paine's Rights of Man
PAINE, Thomas.
Common Sense: Addressed to the Inhabitants of America, Plain Truth, Rights of Man Parts I & II, and An Answer to Pain’s Rights of Man.
J. Almon, J.S. Jordan, and J. Stockdale: London, 1776-1793.
Finely bound collection of the works of Thomas Paine, including the rare first British editions of Common Sense and Plain Truth (London: J. Almon, 1776), second editions of Rights of Man Parts I & II (London: J.S. Jordan, 1791-1792), complete with half-titles present, and a rare early printing of John Quincy Adams' response to Paine's Rights of Man (London: J. Stockdale, 1793), attributed to his father John Adams and written when John Quincy Adams was 26 years old. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red morocco spine label, all…
Price: $60,000.00 Item Number: 96237
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"The first American bestseller": Exceedingly Rare first edition of Susanna Haswell Rowson's Charlotte: A Tale of Truth
ROWSON, Susanna Haswell.
Charlotte. A Tale of Truth.
Philadelphia: Printed by D. Humphreys for M. Carey, 1794.
Exceedingly rare first American edition (and the earliest obtainable example) of the first American bestseller. Octavo, two volumes bound into one in three quarter calf over marbled boards, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers. Although the first American edition was preceded by the first English edition published in 1791, no examples of the first English edition have been traced at auction. In very good condition. Bookplate of D. Appleton to the pastedown, bibliographic description tipped in. Housed in a custom cloth chemise and half morocco clamshell slipcase. Exceedingly rare with only one other example of the first American…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 125183
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Samuel Johnson Pratt's Family Secrets; from the library of President George Washington; with a small note in his hand tipped in
PRATT, Samuel Johnson. [George Washington].
Family Secrets: By Mr. Pratt. Volume III. [From the Library of George Washington].
London: Printed for T.N. Longman, Paternoster-Row, 1798.
Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with a burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine. Vol. III of the original five volumes. Tipped in to the pastedown is a small clipped note in the hand of George Washington which reads, "with the said" and the bookplate of Benjamin Lincoln Lear. The set in which this volume originated was listed in a manuscript by Washington's private secretary Tobias Lear titled 'Catalogue of Books received from Washington' and bears the bookplate of Lear's son Benjamin Lincoln Lear. Tobias Lear served as Washington's personal secretary from 1784 until…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 139518
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Rare First Edition of Thomas Paine's Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money
PAINE, Thomas.
Dissertations on Government, the Affairs of the Bank, and Paper-Money.
Philadelphia: Printed by Charles Cist, 1786.
First edition of Paine's defense of the Bank of North America. Small octavo, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. Rare.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 104062
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Rare first edition of N.H. Purple's A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois; from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office Library with Herndon's ownership signature for the firm to both volumes
PURPLE, N. H. [Abraham Lincoln; William Herndon].
A Compilation of the Statutes of the State of Illinois, of a General Nature, In Force January 1, 1856. Collated with Reference to Decisions of the Supreme Court of Said State, and to Prior Laws Relating to the Same Subject Matter.
Chicago: Published by Keen & Lee, 1856.
First edition of Purple's Statutes from the law library of Abraham Lincoln and William Herndon. Large octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. With Herndon's ownership signature on behalf of the firm to the front pastedown of Vol. I, "A. Lincoln W. Herndon Lincoln & Herndon Springfield" and Vol. II, "Lincoln-Herndon." Additionally with what are likely Lincoln's scribbles to several pages including page 531 and 590-591. Lincoln was known to doodle in squiggly lines in his books and papers; in 2006 David Greenberg published Presidential Doodles: Two Centuries of Scribbles, entirely devoted…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 124498
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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 Charles Henri Clérel. Translated by Henry Reeve.
Democracy in America.
London: Saunders and Otley, 1835.
First edition in English of Tocqueville’s magnum opus. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in three quarters period calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, half-titles, folding engraved map. I very good condition. At attractive contemporary binding.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 132164
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"The foundations of American History": Rare early folio edition of the first official publication of the acts of the first Congress, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and bound with official publications of the Acts of the second and third sessions of Congress
Acts Passed at a Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New-York, on Wednesday the Fourth of March, in the Year M,DDC,LXXXIX; and of the Independence of the United States, the Thirteenth. [With: Acts Passed at the Second Session of the Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New-York, on Monday the Fourth of January, in the Year M,DCC,XC: and of the Independence of the United States, the Fourteenth. [and] Acts Passed at the Third Session of the Congress of the United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of Philadelphia on Monday the Sixth of December, In The Year M,DCC,XC: and of the Independence of the United States, the Fourteenth].
Philadelphia: Printed by Francis Childs and Joseph Swaine, Printers to the United States, [1791].
Rare early folio edition of the first official publication of the acts of the first Congress, including the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; bound with the first official printing of the acts of the second session of Congress and an early printing of the acts of the third session of Congress (issued the same year as the first official printing). Folio, three volumes bound into one in full contemporary blind-tooled calf with raised bands to the spine, burgundy morocco spine label lettered in gilt. A reprint of Childs and Swaine’s first official printing, which was issued in New York…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 125641
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First edition of the second book on architecture published in America: Owen Biddle's The Young Carpenter's Assistant
BIDDLE, Owen.
The Young Carpenter’s Assistant; Or, A System Of Architecture, Adapted To The Style Of Building In The United States.
Philadelphia: Benjamin Johnson, 1805.
First edition of the second book on architecture published in America, second only to Asher Benjamin's Country Builder's Assistant' published in 1797( Shaw & Shoemaker, 8018). Quarto, bound in full calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, illustrated with 44 engraved plates, 2 folding. In very good condition. Scarce with only 2 copies having appeared at auction in the past 50 years.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 117672
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First Edition of The Cabinet of Natural History and American Rural Sports
DOUGHTY, James and Thomas.
The Cabinet of Natural History and American Rural Sports.
Philadelphia: J. and T. Doughty, 1830-33.
First edition of "The first color-plate sporting book printed in America"(Grolier/Henderson). Quarto, 3 volumes. bound in contemporary half morocco over marbled boards, top edge gilt. Three engraved titles, 2 engraved portraits, and 57 lithographic plates after Thomas Doughty and others (comprising 53 hand-colored lithographs, one colored etching, two uncolored engravings and one uncolored wood-engraving), 17 in-text wood engravings, index leaves printed on blue paper trimmed, mounted, and bound into vol.III. According to Bennett, Volume III is perhaps the most difficult of all American sport items to find...Artistically Vol. 1 is much the most important, for it contains the original plates…
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 84654
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Signed Limited Editions Of President Eisenhowers Mandate For Change and The White House Years: Waging Peace 1956-1961; both volumes inscribed by Eisenhower to his Secretary of Defense Thomas S. Gates, Jr.
EISENHOWER, Dwight D.
The White House Years: Mandate for Change 1953-1956 and The White House Years: Waging Peace 1956-1961.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, 1963-65.
Signed limited first editions of Eisenhower's memoirs, each one of 1500 copies. Thick Octavo, two volumes, original tan cloth with green morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, cartographic endpapers. One of 1500 numbered copies signed by the author. Association copy, Waging Peace is an Advance presentation copy, inscribed by Eisenhower to Secretary of Defense, Thomas S. Gates, Jr., "Devotedly Dwight D. Eisenhower" on an Eisenhower Farm, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania bookplate. The recipient, Thomas S. Gates is mentioned numerous times in both of these volumes. "To replace Neil McElroy as Secretary of Defense I prevailed on Secretary of the Navy Tom Gates to delay…
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 133263
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"the most widely read journal in the United States throughout the period of the Civil War": Rare continuous run of 260 issues of Harper's Weekly covering the entirety of the American Civil War; profusely illustrated with engravings depicting all of the war's major events and battles
Harper’s Weekly, A Journal of Civilization. [Harper’s Weekly’s Complete Coverage of the American Civil War: January 1, 1861-December 30, 1865].
New York: Harper & Brothers, January 1, 1861-December 30, 1865.
Rare continuous run of 260 issues of Harper's Weekly, covering the entirety of the American Civil War. Folio, five volumes, bound in full buckram with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, illustrated with hundreds of wood-engraved illustrations, many from noted American illustrators including portraits of Union and Confederate Army Generals and Officers, battlefield scenes, maps, city views, and dozens of satirical caricatures and cartoons, many from noted American illustrators. Of note are dozens of illustrations by American painter Winslow Homer early in his career, including the "Great Sumter Meeting in Union Square," "The Sharpshooter," and "The Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln." Also…
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 142619
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Extra-Illustrated Works of Daniel Webster; Signed by Him and Millard Fillmore
WEBSTER, Daniel [Millard Fillmore].
The Works of Daniel Webster.
Boston: Charles C. Little and James Brown, 1851.
The subscriber's edition of the works of Daniel Webster, signed by Webster in the first volume. Octavo, 6 volumes, bound in three quarters morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt topstain, extra illustrated with 12 autograph letters, documents, and notes by Webster and others, including one printed ship's passport signed by Millard Fillmore, as President, and Webster, as Secretary of State, as well as 70 additional engraved portraits and views. In near fine condition. An exceptional presentation, rare and desirable signed.
Price: $8,200.00 Item Number: 133643