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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"Here we see the men who shaped the American experience and were shaped by it": First edition of Daniel J. Boorstin's The Americans: The National Experience; lengthily inscribed by him
BOORSTIN, Daniel J.
The Americans: The National Experience.
New York: Random House, 1965.
First edition of Boorstin’s Francis Parkman Prize-winning book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Dr. Frank Rufords with the admiration and warm regards of Daniel J. Boorstin April 9, 1966.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Anita Karl.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 95372
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"Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated": First Edition of Arnold Palmer's My Game and Yours; Signed by Him
PALMER, Arnold.
My Game and Yours.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1965.
First edition of Palmer’s second book. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated throughout. Boldly inscribed by Arnold Palmer on the front free endpaper. Fine in a very good dust jacket with a few small closed tears. Jacket design by Paul Bacon.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 54015
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“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't": Mark Twain's Following the Equator; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World.
New York and London: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1925.
Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Rare in the original dust jacket.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 73027
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First edition of Chin Yang Lee's The Flower Drum Song; inscribed by him and in the rare original dust jacket
LEE, Chin Yang.
The Flower Drum Song.
New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1957.
First edition of Chin Yang Lee’s best known work which inspired both the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical and 1961 Academy Award-winning film. Octavo, original cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Susan Foster.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 96009
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Kathryn Hulme's The Nun's Story; inscribed by her
HULME, Kathryn.
The Nun’s Story.
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1956.
First edition, early printing of Hulme’s best-selling novel, basis for the classic film starring Audrey Hepburn. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Virginia Stanley with Best Wishes Kathryn Hulme.” Very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon signed and inscribed.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 95304
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Finely Bound First Edition of Churchill's Ian Hamilton's March
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
Ian Hamilton’s March.
London: Longman's, Green, and Co, 1900.
First edition of Churchill’s fifth book, a continuation of his coverage of the Boer War which he began in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria. Octavo, bound in full calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, engraved frontispiece portrait of Ian Hamilton, folding map in color and 4 pages of advertisements for Churchill’s works at rear. In very good condition, with the original cloth bound at the rear.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 115621
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Rare Original Playbill from the 1952 Broadway Performance of Caesar and Cleopatra/Antony and Cleopatra; Signed by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh
OLIVIER, Laurence and Vivien Leigh.
Original Caesar and Cleopatra/Antony and Cleopatra Signed Playbill.
New York: Laurence Olivier Productions Ltd, 1952.
Rare original playbill from the February 25th 1952 performance of the Caesar and Cleopatra/Antony and Cleopatra repertory at the Ziegfeld Theatre starring Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. Octavo, illustrated with photographs and advertisements. Signed by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh on the front panel and inscribed by Ronald Adam, “with happy memories and good wishes, Ronald Adam.” A close friend of Olivier’s, WWII RAF fighter pilot Ronald Forbes Adam made his stage acting debut at this very performance. In near fine condition.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 90375
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First edition of Maus: A Survivors Tale; both volumes signed by Art Spigelman
SPIEGELMAN, Art.
Maus: A Survivor’s Tale.
New York: Pantheon Books, 1991.
First edition of Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Maus books based on his father’s experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Octavo, two volumes, pictorial endpapers, illustrated. Signed by Art Spiegelman on the half-title page in each volume. Both volumes are fine in fine dust jackets. Housed in the original pictorial slipcase which is in near fine condition.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 95828
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First Edition of Churchill's Ian Hamilton's March in the original cloth
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
Ian Hamilton’s March.
London: Longman's, Green, and Co, 1900.
First edition of Churchill’s fifth book, a continuation of his coverage of the Boer War which he began in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria. Octavo, original red cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, engraved frontispiece portrait of Ian Hamilton, folding map in color and 4 pages of advertisements for Churchill’s works at rear. In very good condition with light foxing to the page edges. Housed in a custom quarter morocco clamshell box.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 90406
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"The greatest real thrill that life offers is to create, to construct, to develop something useful. Too often we fail to recognize and pay tribute to the creative spirit. It is that spirit that creates our jobs": First Edition of Adventures of a White-Collar Man; Inscribed by Alfred P. Sloan
SLOAN, Alfred P.
Adventures of a White-Collar Man.
New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1941.
First edition of the story of Alfred P. Sloan’s rise to become General Motors executive. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Alfred P. Sloan. Boldly signed and dated by the author on the front free endpaper, “Alfred Sloan P. Sloan Jr New York July 22, 1964.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some rubbing to the extremities. Written in collaboration with Boyden Sparkes. Introduction by Karl T. Compton. Scarce and desirable signed by Sloan.
Price: $1,200.00 Item Number: 54084
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First Edition Of John Updike’s Collection of Golf Writings; Signed by Updike, Illustrator Paul Szep and Jack Nicklaus
UPDIKE, John; Illustrated by Paul Szep (Jack Nicklaus).
Golf Dreams: Writings on Golf.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.
First edition of this classic collection of golf stories by John Updike. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by John Updike and additionally inscribed by legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus. Also signed by the illustrator, Paul Szep who has added a large drawing of Updike on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $1,200.00 Item Number: 100923
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Eighteenth century example of Milton's masterpiece, Paradise Lost: A Poem in Twelve Books and Paradise Regain'd. To which is added Samson Agonistes: And Poems upon Several Occasions; Finely Bound
MILTON, John with Notes by Thomas Newton.
Paradise Lost: A Poem in Twelve Books and Paradise Regain’d. To which is added Samson Agonistes: And Poems upon Several Occasions.
London: Printed for J.F. and C. Rivington et al, 1790.
Eighteenth century example of Milton’s masterpiece, Paradise Lost: A Poem in Twelve Books and Paradise Regain’d. Octavo, 4 volumes bound in full contemporary tree calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine red morocco spine labels, gilt ruled, marbled endpapers, ribbons bound in, all edges speckled brown, engraved frontispiece to two volumes. In near fine condition. A desirable example.
Price: $1,400.00 Item Number: 95361
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Rare First edition, limited issue of T.E. Lawrence's The Mint; signed by his brother and the book's editor A.W. Lawrence
LAWRENCE, T.E. [A.W. Lawrence].
The Mint: A Day-Book of the R.A.F. Depot Between August and December 1922 with Later Notes by 352087 A/C Ross.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1955.
First edition, limited issue of Lawrence’s semi-autobiographical account of his R.A.F. training days. Quarto, original quarter morocco, patterned endpapers, top edge gilt with others uncut. One of 2000 numbered copies, this is number 1039. Although not called for this example is signed by A.W. Lawrence on the limitation page (T.E. Lawrence’s brother who edited and contributed to introductory notes to this volume). Near fine in the rare original slipcase which is in very good condition. Bookplate. Rare and desirable.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 117566
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Rare Centennial Broadside of the Declaration of Independence
UNITED STATES CONGRESS,.
Declaration of Independence Centennial Memorial Broadside.
New York: James D. McBride, Printed by the Colombian Publishing Company, 1876.
Rare Centennial Memorial facsimile broadside of the Declaration of Independence. In near fine condition. The document measures 14 inches by 17 inches. Matted and framed. The entire piece measures 19 inches by 23 inches. An excellent example.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 54076
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Signed by the Duke of Wellington
WELLESLEY, Arthur.
Duke of Wellington Autographed Letter Signed.
1837.
Autograph letter signed, dated “Nov 22, 1837”, and signed as “Duke of Wellington” within the body of the letter. A letter in which the Duke of Wellington declines to become a member of the proposed London Loan Association. “… the Duke begs leave to become a Member of the proposed London Loan Association,” In near fine condition. Matted with an engraving of the Duke of Wellington. The entire piece measures 13.5 inches by 11.5 inches.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 119221
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First edition of The Presidential Power: the politics of leadership; warmly inscribed by Richard Neustadt
NEUSTADT, Richard.
The Presidential Power: The Politics of Leadership.
New York and London: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 1960.
Rare first edition of Neustadt’s fundamental examination of presidential power, which upon publication immediately prompted John F. Kennedy to hire him as his advisor, speechwriter and confidante. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “For Lou Kushnick with warm regards and the hope that he’ll enjoy the career we got him into! Richard E. Neustadt November 26,1962.” The recipient Lou Kushnick is an academic specializing in race relations and a was a friend of the author. With Kushnick’s name in pencil to the front free endpaper, a few notes in the recipients hand, near fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition.
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 117229
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Boldly Signed Autograph of General Ulysses S. Grant; Matted and Framed
GRANT, Ulysses S.
Ulysses S. Grant Autograph.
Autograph boldly signed “U.S. Grant, Lt. Gen.” on a card. Double matted and framed with a photograph of Grant. The entire piece measures 12.5 inches by 8.5 inches. In fine condition.
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 93578
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"The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became": First Edition of The Civil War; Signed by Ken Burns, James McPherson and David McCullough
WARD, Geoffrey C..
The Civil War.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
First edition, early printing of this work, basis for the documentary film bearing the same name. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Signed by and dated “Best wishes Ken Burns Feb 6, 1991” on the front free endpaper. Additionally signed by historians James McPherson and David McCullough, who were each instrumental in this groundbreaking documentary. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Archie Ferguson. The Civil War includes essays by our most distinguished historians of the era: Don E. Fehrenbacher, on the war’s origins; Barbara J. Fields, on the freeing of the slaves; Shelby Foote, on the war’s soldiers and commanders; James M. McPherson, on the political dimensions of the struggle; and C. Vann Woodward, assessing the America that emerged from the war’s ashes. A unique example signed by these historians.
Price: $1,800.00 Item Number: 119331