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 The Worst Journey in the World; Inscribed by the Author in Each Volume
CHERRY-GARRARD, Apsley.
The Worst Journey in the World.
London: Constable & Company, 1922.
First edition of this classic memoir of the 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition. Octavo, two volumes, original half white cloth, gray paper boards. Inscribed by Apsley Cherry-Garrard in each each volume. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities. First editions signed and inscribed are of exceptional rarity.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 33035
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"I would advise anyone who wants to get to the kernel of the life of a Polar explorer to read the book": Edition De Luxe of Antarctic Days; Signed by Shackleton, Murray and Marston
SHACKLETON, Ernest; James Murray and George Marston.
Antarctic Days. Sketches of the Homely Side of Polar Life by Two of Shackleton’s Men: Introduced by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
London: Andrew Melrose, 1913.
Limited edition de luxe of this account of the 1907-09 Nimrod Expedition under Shackleton. number 181 of 280 copies signed on the recto of the limitation leaf by E.H. Shackleton, James Murray and George Marston. Octavo, original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel with a mounted color illustration, top edge gilt, 4 mounted color plates after watercolors by C. Day, 34 photo illustrations on 28 plates. In near fine condition with a light rubbing, with the original dust jacket lacking the spine. A very nice example, as most copies have been rebound and we have…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 132467
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"I would advise anyone who wants to get to the kernel of the life of a Polar explorer to read the book": Edition De Luxe of Antarctic Days; Signed by Shackleton, Murray and Marston
SHACKLETON, Ernest; James Murray and George Marston.
Antarctic Days. Sketches of the Homely Side of Polar Life by Two of Shackleton’s Men: Introduced by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
London: Andrew Melrose, 1913.
Limited edition de luxe, numbered 85 of 280 copies signed on the recto of the limitation leaf by E.H. Shackleton, James Murray and George Marston. Octavo, original blue cloth, gilt titles to the spine and front panel with a mounted color illustration, top edge gilt, 4 mounted color plates after watercolors by C. Day, 34 photo illustrations on 28 plates. In near fine condition with a light rubbing. A very nice example, as most copies have been rebound. Introduced by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 103746
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First Editions of Shackletons Classic Account The Heart of the Antarctic; Inscribed by Ernest H. Shackleton
SHACKLETON, Ernest H.
The Heart of the Antarctic: Being the Story of the British Antarctic Expedition 1907-1909.
London: William Heinemann, 1909.
First editions of Shackleton’s fascinating account of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909. Large octavos, 2 volumes, original blue cloth, photogravure frontispiece to each volume, 12 captioned tissue-guarded colored, and 255 black and white other plates in all, 3 maps, panorama in end-pocket of volume II, and numerous illustrations and diagrams throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by Ernest Shackleton on the front free endpaper. In very good condition. Trade editions signed by Shackleton are rare.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 141414
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H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines; inscribed by him to his sister Ella Green
HAGGARD, H. Rider.
King Solomon’s Mines.
London: Cassel & Company, 1885.
First edition, third issue of Haggard's immensely popular Victorian adventure novel the first great "Lost World" action-adventure, a precursor to Indiana Jones. Octavo, original cloth, folding facsimile of the map of the route to King Solomon's mines. Association copy, signed by the author opposite the half-title page with an additional note inscribed to his sister, Ella Green, pasted to the same page, "your loving brother H. Rider Haggard." In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional association.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 118637
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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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Le Globe Classique, Nouvelle Edition: Rare 19th Century French Terrestrial Globe
DIEN, Charles.
Globe Classique, Nouvelle Edition: Rare 19th Century Charles Dien Terrestrial Table Globe.
Paris: Sold by W. & S. Jones, 1844.
Rare mid-19th century French terrestrial table globe: Charles Dien's The Globe Classique, Nouvelle edition. The globe measures 10 inches in diameter with an engraved longitude ring and brass latitude ring. Mounted on brass and mahogany stand. The globe is composed of hand-colored paper gores over a plaster sphere. The entire piece measures 20 inches in height. French astronomer and cosmographer Charles Dien published highly detailed atlases, works on astronomy, and both celestial and terrestrial globes in Paris throughout the 1840s and 1850s. Dien was also renowned for the sophisticated engravings he designed for the many books produced by his father's…
Price: $6,200.00 Item Number: 96538
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First Editions of each volume of Lewis' Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, The Panjab, & Kalat; from the library of Adventurer and Aviator Steve Fossett with his bookplate to each volume
MASSON, Charles [James Lewis].
Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan, The Panjab, & Kalat, During a Residence in those Countries.
London: Richard Bentley, 1842.
First edition of this narrative of Lewis' travels between 1826 and 1838 through Balochistan, Sind, the Hazara, Afghanistan and the Punjab. Octavo, four volumes. Bound in full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels, gilt ruled, marbled endpapers, illustrated with engravings, folding map. From the library of James Stephen “Steve” Fossett with his bookplate to the pastedown of each volume. American businessman and record-setting aviator Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in 2002 in his 10-story high balloon Spirit of Freedom. He completed the 2002 trip in 13 days,…
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 95145
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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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"To Petros Stathatos, from his old guest and horse-borrower at Modi forty three years ago Paddy LF, with gratitude and every kind wish the adventures – travels – in this book are just a year earlier on the same journey": First Edition of Patrick Leigh Fermor's A Time of Gifts; Warmly inscribed by Him
FERMOR, Patrick Leigh.
A Time of Gifts: On Foot to Constantinople: from the Hook of Holland to the Middle Danube.
London: John Murray, 1978.
First edition of the author’s masterpiece, which ranks among the greatest travel books of the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece, map. Association copy, inscribed by the author with a full page inscription on the front free endpaper with a drawing of clouds and birds, "To Petros Stathatos, from his old guest and horse-borrower at Modi forty three years ago Paddy LF, with gratitude and every kind wish * The adventures – travels – in this book are just a year earlier on the same journey." The recipient, Peter Stathatos was a close friend of Leigh Fermor with whom he…
Price: $5,000.00 Item Number: 141429
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"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind": Rare Original July 21st 1969 Delaware Evening Journal Front Page; Signed by legendary astronaut Neil Armstrong
ARMSTRONG, Neil.
Neil Armstrong Signed Delaware Evening Journal.
Wilmington: Delaware Evening Journal, July 21, 1969.
Rare original Delaware Evening Journal featuring the headline "Eagle Jets Safely Off Moon; In Orbit for Rendezvous", a front page article on the Apollo 11 moon landing, and large photograph of Neil Armstrong collecting dirt on the lunar surface. Boldly signed by Neil Armstrong on his photograph. Below the headline is Armstrong's famous quote, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Articles featured on the front page include, "Neil, Buzz Leave Prints on Moon", "Kennedy Charged in Crash", and "Luna 15 Lands On Moon, 500 Miles from LM." In very good condition. Double matted and framed.…
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 100158
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First Editions of Henry Yule's The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East; finely bound in full morocco by sangorski and sutcliffe
YULE, Colonel Henry.
The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East.
London: John Murray, 1871.
First edition of Yule's important work which correlated Polo's travels with their present-day locations. Octavo, two volumes. Bound in full morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt ruling and vignettes to the front panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, patterned endpapers, with maps and engraved illustrations many folding and in color. From the Adventure and Exploration collection of James Stephen “Steve” Fossett with his bookplate to the pastedown of each volume. American businessman and record-setting aviator Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in…
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 111068
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Scarce Limited First Edition of Gontran de Poncins' Kabloona; signed by him
DE PONCINS, Gontran. In collaboration with Lewis Galantiere. Illustrated by the author.
Kabloona.
New York: Reynal, Hitchcock, Inc, 1941.
First limited edition of French adventurer Gontran de Poncins' classic account of his solo unsupported journey in the Canadian Arctic. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over cloth covered boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine. One on only 550 copies, this is number 81. Boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Before I disappear for good!...I remain your friend, 'Eskimo Miki', de Poncins." With the original Publisher's Note laid in which explains, "The Vicomte Gontran de Poncins, author of KABLOONA, called out of the Arctic to join the colors of his country, disappeared in the debacle of the…
Price: $2,800.00 Item Number: 95094
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"The cowboy is the most vivid and native character in the United States today": First Edition of Alice Rogers Hager's Big Loop and Little; Inscribed by her to Amelia Earhart
HAGER, Alice Rogers [Amelia Earhart].
Big Loop and Little: The Cowboy’s Story.
New York: Macmillan, 1937.
First edition of the author's classic illustrated story of the West. Large octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Association copy, inscribed by the author to legendary aviator and personal friend Amelia Earhart on the front free endpaper, "To Amelia Earhart - First Lady of the Air because she, too, loves the free West. With admiration and appreciation of pleasant days at Burbank and Oakland. Alice Rogers Hager Washington, D.C. June 1937." From the library of Amelia Earhart with here bookplate to the verso of the front panel. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. An exceptional example with noted provenance.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 61792
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"All this life, must be life, since it is so much like a dream": First Edition of Joseph Conrad's Nostromo
CONRAD, Joseph.
Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard.
London: Harper & Brothers, 1904.
First edition of what many consider to be Conrad's masterpiece, one of 2000 examples. Octavo, original blue cloth stamped in gilt. An excellent near fine example with light shelfwear, with the spine gilt nice and bright. A very sharp example.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 135318
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Finely Bound First Editions of Henry Yule's The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East
YULE, Colonel Henry.
The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the Venetian, Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East.
London: John Murray, 1871.
First edition of Yule's important work which correlated Polo's travels with their present-day locations. Octavo, two volumes. Bound in three quarters morocco with gilt tooling featuring naval vignettes and red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt to the spines, top edges gilt, marbled endpapers, with maps and engraved illustrations many folding and in color. In near fine condition. First editions are uncommon.
Price: $1,850.00 Item Number: 90447
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Finely Bound Edition of Rudyard Kipling's The First and Second Jungle Books; Bound by Bayntun Bindery with a Fore-Edge Painting
KIPLING, Rudyard.
The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book. [Fore-edge Painting].
London: Macmillan, 1978.
Finely bound edition of both volumes of The Jungle Book, with an exceptional fore-edge painting. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun Bindery, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, all edges gilt, engraved frontispiece with tissue guard present. Illustrated by J. L. Kipling, W.H. Drake and P. Frenzeny. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $1,800.00 Item Number: 139448
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"The real measure is the success or fall of the climber to triumph, not over a lifeless mountain, but over themself": First Edition of The Ascent of Everest; Signed by Edmund Hillary
HUNT, John; Edmund Hillary.
The Ascent of Everest.
London: Hodder & Houghton, 1953.
First edition of this account of the 1953 British conquest of Everest. Octavo, original blue cloth, with eight color photographic plates, 48 half-tone plates and many in-text illustrations after pen-and-ink sketches. Boldly signed by Edmund Hillary on the half-title page in a contemporary hand. Chapter 16 is Sir Edmund Hillary’s stirring account of the final part of the climb, and the appendices are by members of the expedition. Foreword by H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 144001