First Edition
First Edition Books for Sale Online
Raptis Rare Books maintains an extensive collection of rare and first-edition books from a variety of authors and publishers. Navigate through our full selection of first-editions below to find a particular item you're looking for, ask a question, or order online today!
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First edition of Sir Douglas Mawson's The Home of the Blizzard; inscribed by him to the Premier of New South Wales, William Arthur Holman in each volume
MAWSON, Douglas. [William Arthur Holman].
The Home of the Blizzard: Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914.
London: William Heinemann, 1915.
First edition of this classic account of Antarctic exploration, an exceptional association copy inscribed by the author in both volumes in the year of publication to a fellow Australian, the Premier of New South Wales. Quarto, two volumes, original dark blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine, gilt vignette to the front panels, profusely illustrated with 18 color plates, hundreds of black-and-white plates, numerous in-text illustrations and three color folding maps. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the second free endpaper of each volume in the year of publication to the Premier of New South Wales, William Arthur…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 123065
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“Wherever I live, I shall feel homesick for Tibet": First American Edition of Seven Years in Tibet; Lengthily Inscribed by Heinrich Harrer and By His Holiness the Dalai Lama
HARRER, Heinrich [His Holiness The Dalai Lama].
Seven Years in Tibet.
New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, 1954.
First American edition of Harrer's classic account, signed by Harrer and The Dalai Lama. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with over 40 photographs. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by Heinrich Harrer in both English and Tibetan on the half-title page, "To Mrs. Rosser with best wishes in remembrance of my lecture in Philadelphia from H. Harrer Jan. 1955." Additionally signed by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, who was tutored by Harrer while he living in Tibet. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Translated by Richard Graves. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed by…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 112165
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“Learning the secret of flight from a bird was a good deal like learning the secret of magic from a magician”: First Edition of The Wright Brothers; Inscribed by Orville Wright
KELLY, Fred C.; Introduction by Orville Wright.
The Wright Brothers.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943.
First edition of this classic American biography authorized by Orville Wright and long considered the definitive Wright biography. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated with 16 pages of photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by Orville Wright in the year of publication on the half-title page, "To Edward with affectionate regards. Orville Wright May 4, 1943." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Introduction by Orville Wright.
Price: $7,200.00 Item Number: 142422
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“If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance": First Edition of The Wright Brothers; Inscribed by Orville Wright to Sir Bennett Melvill Jones
KELLY, Fred C.; Introduction by Orville Wright.
The Wright Brothers.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943.
First edition of this classic American biography authorized by Orville Wright and long considered the definitive Wright biography. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated with 16 pages of photographs. Association copy, inscribed by Orville Wright in the year of publication on the half-title page, “To Professor Melvill Jones with my compliments and cordial regard. Orville Wright May 5, 1943.” The recipient, Sir Bennett Melvill Jones was Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Cambridge from 1919 to 1952. Melvill demonstrated the importance of streamlining in aircraft design, developing the ideas of Louis Charles Breguet into a refined theory…
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 140081
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"I had come to Yugoslavia to see what history meant in flesh and blood": First Editions of the authors Masterpiece; Signed and Inscribed by the author
WEST, Rebecca.
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: The Record of a Journey Through Yugoslavia in 1937.
London: Macmillan, 1941.
First editions of Rebecca West's masterpiece. Octavo, 2 volumes, original green cloth, cartographic endpapers. Both volumes are signed by West with volume one inscribed and dated in 1965 by the author, volume two is signed and dated in 1965. Both volumes are near fine in near fine dust jackets that show light shelfwear to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Scarce and desirable signed by West.
Price: $5,800.00 Item Number: 1495
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"Nothing can stop the attack of aircraft except other aircraft. With us air people, the future of our nation is indissolubly bound up in the development of air power": First edition of General William Mitchell's Skyways: A Book on Modern Aeronautics; inscribed by him to W. Walter Healy, National President Society of the Fifth Division
MITCHELL, William.
Skyways: A Book on Modern Aeronautics.
Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1930.
First edition of this classic work on aeronautics by "the father of the United States Air Force" Billy Mitchell. Octavo, original cloth, with seventy-six illustrations from photographs and drawings. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To W. Walter Healy National President Society of the Fifth Division U.S.A. With the regards of Wm. Mitchell.” The recipient, W. Walter Healy, served as President of the Society of the Fifth Division from 1934 to 1935. The Fifth Division was organized in December 1917 as a part of the program for the expansion of the armed forces for service…
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 137238
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Signed Limited Edition of Charles Lindbergh's We; in the original blue box with matching number
LINDBERGH, Charles A.
We.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1927.
Signed limited edition of Lindbergh's autobiography, which provides the account of the life of one of the century's greatest adventurers, the first man to complete a solo non-stop transatlantic flight. One of 1000 numbered copies, this is number 97, signed by both Charles Lindbergh and the publisher on the limitation page. Octavo, half bound salmon paper covered boards, frontispiece with tissue-guard, 51 black and white plates, with the publisher's note laid in. Fine in the original glassine and in the original blue box with matching number. Introduction by Myron T. Herrick. One of the finest most preserved example possible.
Price: $4,500.00 Item Number: 133274
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"Along with most of my fellow fliers, I believed that aviation had a brilliant future. Now we live, today, in our dreams of yesterday; and, living in those dreams, we dream again": First Edition of The Spirit of St. Louis; Inscribed by Charles Lindbergh a month before publication to Close Friends Walter and Elizabeth Bartky
LINDBERGH, Charles A.
The Spirit of St. Louis.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1953.
First edition of Lindbergh's autobiographical account about the events leading up to and including his 1927 solo trans-Atlantic flight. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated endpapers, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author a month before the date of publication on the title page, "To Walter and Elizabeth Bartky With best wishes from Charles A. Lindbergh August, 1953 Publication date is Sept. 14th." The recipient, Walter Bartky was an American educator and mathematician and friend of the Lindberghs. After receiving a Ph.D. from the university, he served on its faculty in the astronomy department. In 1943 he became associate dean of…
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 144547
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Signed Limited Edition of Charles Lindbergh's We; in the original blue box with matching number
LINDBERGH, Charles A.
We.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1927.
Signed limited edition of Lindbergh's autobiography, which provides the account of the life of one of the century's greatest adventurers, the first man to complete a solo non-stop transatlantic flight. One of 1000 numbered copies, this is number 842, signed by both Charles Lindbergh and the publisher on the limitation page. Octavo, half bound salmon paper covered boards, frontispiece with tissue-guard, 51 black and white plates, with the publisher's note laid in. Fine in the original glassine and in the original blue box with matching number. Introduction by Myron T. Herrick. Rare in the original box.
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 140383
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First edition of T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom; elaborately bound in full morocco
LAWRENCE, T. E.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1935.
First trade edition of Lawrence’s classic account of his role in the Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Quarto, bound in full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels, raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers. Illustrated with photographic plates, portraits from sketches and four folding maps. In fine condition. An exceptional example.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 131695
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First edition of Mary Howitt's Twelve Months with Fredrika Bremer in Sweden
HOWITT, Margaret. [Fredrika Bremer].
Twelve Months with Fredrika Bremer in Sweden.
London: Jackson, Walford, and Hodder, 1866.
First edition of Howitt's work on the twelve months she spent with close friend and writer Fredrika Bremer. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine and front panel, tipped in tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Bremer with an inscription from her to Howitt in facsimile. In very good condition. Scarce with only one other copy traced at auction. Bookplate.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 124150
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"But the journey would have been better if Beatrice and Bruce had been there": First Editions of the authors Masterpiece; Warmly Inscribed by Rebecca West to the Editors of the Ladies Home Journal
WEST, Rebecca.
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: The Record of a Journey Through Yugoslavia in 1937.
New York: The Viking Press, 1941.
First American editions of Rebecca West's masterpiece. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth, cartographic endpapers. Association copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "But the journey would have been better if Beatrice and Bruce had been there. Rebecca West 1962." The recipients, Bruce Gould and Beatrice Blackmar Gould were co-editors of the Ladies' Home Journal for almost 27 years, from 1935 through 1962, including the golden years of the magazine. Time magazine wrote upon their 1962 retirement, the Goulds took an undistinguished journal in a field that "took the patronizing view that a woman's interests were largely confined…
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 145979
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THE FIRST EXPLORER TO REACH THE NORTH POLE: Deluxe signed limited edition of Robert Peary’s The North Pole; one of only 500 copies
PEARY, Robert E. Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt.
The North Pole.
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910.
Deluxe signed limited edition of Peary’s illustrated account of his journey to the North Pole, number 4 of only 500 copies signed by Peary and Captain R. A. Bartlett. Thick quarto, publisher's original full vellum decorated in gilt, top edge gilt, illustrated with a large folding map printed in color, four black-and-white mounted photogravures and 112 tipped-in photographic plates. Introduction by Theodore Roosevelt. In very good condition.
Price: $2,450.00 Item Number: 125090
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First British Edition of The Spirit of St. Louis; Inscribed by Charles Lindbergh
LINDBERGH, Charles A.
The Spirit of St. Louis.
London: John Murray, 1953.
First British edition of Lindbergh's autobiographical account about the events leading up to and including his 1927 solo trans-Atlantic flight. Octavo, original blue cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Harry Dalgaard With best wishes, Charles A. Lindbergh." Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a few small chips. Signed examples of the first British edition are uncommon.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 125182
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Signed Limited Edition of Charles Lindbergh's We
LINDBERGH, Charles A.
We.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1927.
Author's autograph edition of Lindbergh's autobiography, which provides the account of the life of one of the century's greatest adventurers, the first man to complete a solo non-stop transatlantic flight. One of 100 numbered copies, this is number K, signed by both Charles Lindbergh and the publisher on the limitation page. Octavo, half bound salmon paper covered boards, frontispiece with tissue-guard, 51 black and white plates. In near fine condition. Introduction by Myron T. Herrick. An exceptional example.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 129369
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"Here are deep maters, not easily to be dismissed by crying blasphemy": First edition of The Magic Island; inscribed by William Buehler Seabrook
SEABROOK, William Buehler.
The Magic Island.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1929.
First edition of occultist William Buehler Seabrook's account of his time spent among Voodoo practitioners in Haiti, credited with introducing the concept of a zombie to popular culture. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with drawings by Alexander King and photographs by the author. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Yolanda Billia with best wishes W. B. Seabrook." With an original black and white glossy photograph tipped in annotated "W. B. Seabrook before a Voodoo Altar" and an additional original black and white glossy photograph of him laid in. Near fine in a near fine dust…
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 124734
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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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"How much does one imagine, how much observe? One can no more separate those functions than divide light from air, or wetness from water": First Edition of Elspeth Huxley's The Flame Trees of Thika; Signed by Her
HUXLEY, Elspeth.
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood.
London: Chatto & Windus, 1959.
First edition of Huxley's autobiographical work based on her early life among white settlers on her father's coffee plantation in Kenya. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Elspeth Huxley on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Rosemary Seligman. Uncommon signed.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 110441