Biography and Autobiography
Rare Biography & Autobiography Books for Sale Online
If you are looking for rare or first edition biography or autobiography books look no further than Raptis Rare Books. Browse through our entire collection of rare biographies and autobiographies below, view details about individual books and contact us to ask a question or find out more information.
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"One of the most fascinating regiments in American military history": Rough Rider Sergeant Craig W. Wadsworth's personal collection of Rough Riders books, letters and photographs; with a first edition of The Rough Riders and typed letter signed by President Theodore Roosevelt
ROOSEVELT, Theodore and Craig W. Wadsworth.
Theodore Roosevelt and Craig W. Wadsworth Rough Riders Collection.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899.
Craig Wharton Wadsworth's personal collection of books, letters and photographs from his time as a Sergeant in Roosevelt's Rough Riders cavalry. The collection includes a first edition of Roosevelt's best-selling work, The Rough Riders (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899) signed by Roosevelt, "Theodore Roosevelt" and Wadsworth, "Craig W. Wadsworth Sergeant-Troop K"; Wadsworth's 14-leaf photograph album bound in full pebbled leather with gilt titles to the front panel which read: "First United States Volunteer Cavalry (Roosevelt Rough Riders) 1898" containing 24 original photographs of the cavalrymen on their expedition to Daiquiri with annotations in Wadsworth's hand and a lengthy introduction…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 123510
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Extensive collection of over fifty first edition Civil War era pamphlets
DODGE, W.C.; Andrew Johnson; Henry J. Raymond; et al.
Civil War Political Pamphlet Collection.
Various publishers, c. 1861-1865.
Extensive collection of over fifty first edition Civil War era pamphlets on topics including politics, battles, foreign relations, debt, and the draft. Octavo, 52 volumes, original wrappers. The collection includes first editions of: Memorial to the Hon. Secretary of War, or, How to Strengthen our Army and Crush the Rebellion, with a Saving of Life and Treasure [Dodge, W.C. Washington DC: McGill & Witherow, 1864. From the collection of James W. Grimes (1816-1872), Governor of Iowa and United States Senator from Iowa with his ownership inscription]; Correspondence between John H. Gilmer and Honorable Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury [Richmond:…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 135127
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“THE MOST WIDELY READ OF ALL AMERICAN AUTOBIOGRAPHIES": TRUE FIRST EDITION OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
FRANKLIN, Benjamin.
Mémoires de la Vie Privée de Benjamin Franklin, Écrits Par Lui-Même, et Adressés à Son Fils, Suivis d’un Précis Historique de Sa Vie Politique, et de Plusieurs Pièces, Relatives à Ce Père de la Liberté. [Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin].
Paris: Chez Buisson, Libraire, 1791.
True first edition of the first part of Franklin’s famed autobiography which preceded the first English edition by two years. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf with a morocco spine label lettered in gilt, elaborate period gilt tooling to the spine, ribbon bound in. In very good condition. A nice example.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 139755
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First Quarto edition of Washington Irving's Monumental The Life of George Washington
IRVING, Washington.
The Life of George Washington.
New York: G. P. Putnam & Co., 1855-59.
First edition of Irving's monumental biography of George Washington. Quarto, bound in half crushed red levant with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with 47 hand-colored plates including tissue-guarded frontispiece to each volume. One of one hundred and ten numbered copies of the quarto edition, this is number forty-five. In near fine condition. An attractive example of this rare work.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 129307
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“The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark": The Patriot's Edition of The Life and Works of Thomas Paine
PAINE, Thomas.
The Life and Works of Thomas Paine.
New Rochelle, New York: Thomas Paine National Historical Association, 1925.
The Patriot's edition of the Life and Works of Thomas Paine. Octavo, ten volumes bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. In good condition.
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 138611
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"Forty years ago I rode the first forbidden trail which was to carry me into the broad highway of outlawry": First Edition of When Daltons Rode; Signed by Emmett Dalton
DALTON, Emmett. In collaboration with Jack Jungemeyer.
When the Daltons Rode.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc, 1931.
First edition of Emmett Dalton's autobiography. Octavo, original cloth with smoking gun vignette to the front panel, pictorial endpapers, frontispiece portrait of Emmett Dalton after a photograph taken in 1892. Signed by Emmett Dalton beneath his frontispiece portrait. In near fine condition.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 104057
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First Edition of Orville J. Victor's The History, Civil, Political & Military of the Southern Rebellion
VICTOR, Orville J.
The History, Civil, Political & Military of the Southern Rebellion, From its Incipient Stages to its Close.
New York: James D. Torrey, Publisher, [1861].
Complete first edition set of one of the earliest histories of the American Civil War. Octavo, four volumes, original publisher's full pebbled morocco decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, illustrated with steel engraved plates, additional vignette title pages. frontispieces, and maps. In good condition. A rare complete set, we have never seen another one.
Price: $2,800.00 Item Number: 133063
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First edition of John D. Billings' Hardtack and Coffee
BILLINGS, John D.
Hardtack and Coffee or The Unwritten Story of Army Life.
Boston: George M. Smith & Co, 1887.
First edition of Billings' classic Civil War memoir. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with six color plates and over two hundred sketches by Charles W. Reed. In very good condition. First editions are rare.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 132819
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First edition of Horace Porter's Campaigning with Grant
PORTER, Horace. [Ulysses S. Grant].
Campaigning with Grant.
New York: The Century Co., 1897.
First edition of Horace Porter's Civil War memoir. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with portraits and maps. In good condition. First editions are rare.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 132638
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Rare Civil War Pocket Diary Kept by Assistant Surgeon Robert P. Davis, 84th Indiana Regiment
[DAVIS, Robert P.] .
Pocket Diary of Assistant Surgeon Robert P. Davis, 84th Indiana Regiment.
[1863].
The Civil War pocket diary of Assistant Surgeon Robert P. Davis, 84th Indiana Regiment. 16mo, original wrappers, the diary is printed with blank three days per page, entries have been recorded intermittently beginning on January 1, 1863 and include brief accounts of skirmishes at Resaca, Hooker's rescue of the Indiana Regiment and reports of duties and the diarist's own illness: May 27: “I am on duty at the Hospital handing instruments for amputation.” The next day: “At same duty as yesterday.” June 1: the sick and wounded are moved to a more permanent hospital and their field tents are moved…
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 132395
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Capture of Jefferson Davis Collection
[DAVIS, Jefferson].
Capture of Jefferson Davis Collection.
Fine collection of pieces related to the capture of Jefferson Davis near Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865. The collection includes an original carte-de-visite of Davis's captor, Colonel B.J. Pritchard; a calling card signed by Pritchard; a cabinet card of "The Only Photo in the Word of the Exact Spot where Hon. Jefferson Davis, President of Confederacy, was captured May 10th, 1865, by Fourth Michigan Cavalry, near Irwinville, Irwin county, Ga. Taken and copyrighted December 31st 1894, by J.H. Harris, Tifton, Berrien county, Ga."; a first edition of Edwin M. Stanton's Letter of the Secretary of War, Communicating, In compliance…
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 132583
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Rare First edition of Bunnell's The Discovery of the Yosemite and The Indian War of 1851
BUNNELL, Lafayette Houghton.
The Discovery of the Yosemite and The Indian War of 1851, Which Led To That Event.
Chicago: Fleming H. Revell, 1880.
First edition of Bunnell's account of the discovery of Yosemite Valley with the Mariposa Battalion in 1851. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel, patterned endpapers, illustrated with 21 engravings including frontispiece portrait of Bunnell. In very good condition with wear to the extremities and rear panel.
Price: $1,850.00 Item Number: 107042
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Rare First Edition of William Worthington Fowler's Ten Years In Wall Street
FOWLER, William Worthington.
Ten Years In Wall Street; Or, Revelations of Inside Life and Experience on ‘Change.
Hartford: Worthington, Dust & Co, 1870.
Rare first edition of this classic work on Wall Street and the personalities involved in that history. Octavo, bound in buckram, gilt titles to the spine, frontispiece, illustrated by Arthur Lumley. In very good condition. Scarce, with only two examples appearing at auction in the last eighty years.
Price: $1,800.00 Item Number: 76908
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First Edition of Daniel Fish's Lincoln Bibliography; one of forty copies for sale signed by the author and publisher
FISH, Daniel. [Abraham Lincoln].
Lincoln Bibliography: A List of Books and Pamphlets Relating to Abraham Lincoln.
New York: Francis D. Tandy Company, 1906.
First edition and signed, registered, and numbered edition of the first comprehensive bibliography of Lincoln material. Octavo, original cloth, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Lincoln after the original etching by Thomas Johnson. One of seventy-five numbered, registered copies signed by the author and publisher, only forty of which were for sale, this is number 34. Very good in a custom folding chemise and half morocco slipcase.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 131214
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"It will give our tired feet new strength as we continue our forward stride toward the city of freedom": MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S STRIDE TOWARD FREEDOM: THE MONTGOMERY STORY; BOUND IN FULL MOROCCO BY THE HARCOURT BINDERY
KING, Jr..
Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story.
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1958.
First edition, early printing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s first book. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with 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: 142687
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First Special Illustrator's edition of Ida Tarbell's The Life of Abraham Lincoln; one of only 75 numbered copies printed
TARBELL, Ida. [Abraham Lincoln].
The Life of Abraham Lincoln. Drawn from Original Sources and Containing Many Speeches, Letters and Telegrams Hitherto Unpublished.
New York: The Doubleday & McClure Co., 1900.
First Special Illustrator's edition of the work that earned Tarbell a national reputation as a major writer and the leading authority on Abraham Lincoln. Quarto, two volumes, half cloth over paper-covered boards, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Lincoln to each volume. One of only 75 numbered copies printed, this is number 51. In near fine condition. Rebacked. Housed in a custom slipcase. Rare.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 131290
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First edition of Courtney Whitney's MacArthur: His Rendezvous with History; Inscribed by Whitney and signed by General MacArthur
WHITNEY, Courtney (Douglas MacArthur).
MacArthur: His Rendezvous with History.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956.
First edition of General Courtney Whitney's biography of General Douglas MacArthur. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by MacArthur and inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Dear John: I am sending you this book to commemorate your visit with General MacArthur to-day. May both visit and book give you a clearer insight into the strength of character from which has sprung such indomitable qualities of leadership. Courtney Whitney. 9 May 1957." General Courtney Whitney was a member of MacArthur's staff during World War II and became his personal secretary after MacArthur was relieved of his command in Korea.…
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 95247
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First edition of Emanuel Hertz's Abraham Lincoln: The Tribute of the Synagogue.
HERTZ, Emanuel. [Abraham Lincoln].
Abraham Lincoln: The Tribute of the Synagogue.
New York: Bloch Publishing Company, 1927.
First edition of Hertz’s compilation of tributes delivered upon the occasion of the death of President Lincoln. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece portrait of Lincoln, illustrated. In very good condition.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 131608
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First edition, association copy of American Journey: The Times of Robert Kennedy; inscribed by George Plimpton to Senator Ted Kennedy
PLIMPTON, George. [Editor]. Interviews by Jean Stein [Edward M. Kennedy].
American Journey: The Times of Robert Kennedy.
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1970.
First edition of this remarkable biography of Robert F. Kennedy, based on interviews by Jean Stein and edited by George Plimpton. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by George Plimpton on the front free endpaper to Robert Kennedy's youngest brother, Ted Kennedy, "To Senator Kennedy with great admiration and best wishes, George." The recipient, Ted Kennedy served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and the prominent political Kennedy family, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died.…
Price: $950.00 Item Number: 142518
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Rare First edition of Mark Mills Pomeroy's The Life and Public Services of Benjamin F. Butler, Major-General in the Army of the Republican Party
POMEROY, M. M.
The Life and Public Services of Benjamin F. Butler, Major-General in the Army of the Republican Party.
New York: M. M. Pomeroy, 1868.
First edition of Pomeroy's scathing satirical biography of Union Army General Benjamin Butler. 12mo, engraved illustrated title page. Lacking the front wrapper. In very good condition. Very rare.
Price: $500.00 Item Number: 139376