Art and Architecture
Rare Art Books & Rare Architecture Books for Sale Online
Raptis Rare Books maintains an extensive selection of rare art books and rare books on architecture in our library. Browse through our entire collection below, view details about individual books and contact us to ask a question or find out more information.
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"The greatest and finest atlas ever published": Willem and Joan Blaeu's magnificent Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, or, Le Theatre du Monde
BLAEU, Willem and Joan.
Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. [Le Theatre du Monde].
Amsterdam: Chez Jean Blaeu/Apud Guiljelmum et Johannem Blaeu, 1643-1645.
A fine French-text copy in a presentation binding. Folio, 4 volumes, contemporary Dutch vellum likely from the Blaeu workshop with gilt tooling to the spine in eight compartments within gilt bands, central gilt arabesques and fleuron corner pieces within double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt. Gilt presentation inscription to the front panel of vol. I dated July 3, 1646 dedicating the set to Omer Talon, avocat-général to the French Parliament with the compliments of François du Monstier, rector of the University of Paris. Illustrated with 335 magnificent hand-colored engraved maps of the world and…
Price: $300,000.00 Item Number: 126307
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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 edition of Guillaume Apollinaire's Poems (1898-1913); inscribed by him and Pablo Picasso
APOLLINAIRE, Guillaume. [Pablo Picasso].
Alcools: Poems (1898-1913). Avec un Portrait de L’Auteur par Pablo Picasso.
Paris: Mercure de France, 1913.
First edition of Apollinaire's first collection of poems, signed by him and Pablo Picasso. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, patterned endpapers, frontispiece portrait of the poet by Pablo Picasso. Association copy, inscribed by both Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso on front free endpaper, "A A P.N. Roinard son admirateur Guillaume Apollinaire" and "et pour Robert Valançay Picasso Paris Janvier 1940 et I." Apollinaire has also made five corrections to the text in ink on pages 71, 77, 92, 110 and 189. The recipient of Apollinaire's inscription, Paul-Napoléon Roinard, was a French…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 128083
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THE FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF ULYSSES: SIGNED BY JAMES JOYCE AND HENRI MATISSE
JOYCE, James and Henri Matisse.
Ulysses.
New York : Limited Editions Club, 1935.
First illustrated edition of Joyce’s landmark Ulysses, one of only 250 examples signed by James Joyce in pen and Henri Matisse in pencil, with 26 illustrations by him, one of the 20th-century’s most desirable illustrated books, combining the work of two great modern artists. Large quarto, original gilt-stamped pictorial brown cloth, original slipcase. In fine condition with the rare original slipcase which is in good condition and original glassine jacket. With an introduction by Stuart Gilbert. An exceptional example, most rare in this condition and in the seldom seen glassine jacket.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 140072
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Exceptionally rare second edition of Ye Zipei’s complete map of the world, one of only two known copies produced by terrestrial globe expert Liu Yan
YAN, Liu (Liu Dezhi). [Ye Zipei].
Complete Map of the World with All Nations.
China: Wanguo Dadi Quantu, 1851 [Xianfeng period].
Exceptionally rare second edition of Ye Zipei’s complete map of the world, one of only two known copies produced by terrestrial globe expert Liu Yan. The terrestrial map is comprised of six accordion-style albums bound in handmade paper with white titular labels lettered in hand to each front panel. A woodblock print in red and black ink, the map features two hemispheres defined by straight meridian and circular parallel lines and a ground of red grids. The left hemisphere centers on the south pole, while the right one on the north pole; both are bordered by the equator, adopting the…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 131424
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Rare Association Copy of Arthur Rackham's Illustrated edition of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens; signed and inscribed by J.M. Barrie, George Frampton, Princess Beatrice, Princess Marie Louise, Nadejda Mountbatten, and Arthur Rackham with an original drawing
BARRIE, J.M. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
London: Hodder & Stoughton Limited, n.d.
New edition of Rackham’s highly-sought-after masterpiece, which established his reputation as one of England’s premier illustrators. Quarto, original publisher's green cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 50 mounted color plates complete with captioned tissue guards including frontispiece. Association copy, signed by author J.M. Barrie on the verso of the front free endpaper, signed by Arthur Rackham on the recto of the frontispiece with an original drawing as well as Nadejda "Nada" Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven, signed by the sculptor of the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, George Frampton on front pastedown, and signed by Princess…
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 142267
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Rare First Edition of Leonardo Da Vinci's Trattato della Pittura di Lionardo da Vinci
DA VINCI, Leonardo.
Trattato della Pittura di Lionardo da Vinci. [Leonardo da Vinci].
Paris: Jacques Langlois, 1651.
Rare first edition of this classic treatise of da Vinci's work on painting, two parts in one volume. Folio, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles, engraved portrait of da Vinci in each part, engraved vignette on title, engraved initials, head and tail pieces, engraved text illustrations. In very good condition, marginalia, rebacked. Compiled from his original notes by his pupil Francesco Melzi. First editions are rare.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 130267
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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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"So the long collaboration between author and artist is ended; and it ends inevitable in an atmosphere of regret": Complete Set of Charles Dickens by the Nonesuch Press
DICKENS, Charles.
Complete Set of the Works of Charles Dickens Nonesuch Press.
London: The Nonesuch Press, 1937-38.
The complete set of Charles Dickens by the Nonesuch Press, one of only 877 sets. Octavo, 24 volumes, original cloth, woodcut illustrations, original variously colored buckram by Leighton Straker. Edited by Arthur Waugh, Hugh Walpole, Thomas Hatton and Walter Dexter. In near fine condition. A very sharp set.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 140200
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"A monumental achievement chromolithography": Rare First Edition of Owen Jones' The Alhambra
JONES, Owen.
Plans, Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra.
London: Owen Jones, 1841-45.
First edition of this monumental work on The Alhambra. Elephant folio, two volumes, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, as issued. In excellent condition with some wear to the binding, plates in exceptional condition.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 33008
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Rare Illuminated Astrological Sign Symbol Painting Collection; elaborately bound in full decorated calf and containing twelve original paintings
Illuminated Astrological Sign Symbol Painting Collection.
Rare collection of illuminated paintings depicting the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Quarto, bound in full calf with gilt tooling to the spine, elaborate gilt ruling to the front and rear panels with fleuron cornerpieces surrounding a gilt-bordered morocco onlay displaying a coat of arms, patterned endpapers, twelve vellum leaves. The illuminated paintings include: the Aires the Ram, Taurus the Bull, the Gemini Twins, Cancer the Crab, Leo the Lion, the Maiden Virgo in Medieval dress, the Scales of Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius the Centaur, Capricorn the Goat, Aquarius the Water-bearer, and Fishes Pisces. Painted in a style reminiscent of Medieval…
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 199552
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Gustave Dore's magnificently illustrated edition of Dante's Inferno; elaborately bound in full morocco by Antoine Chatelin
ALIGHIERI, Dante.
L’Enfer de Dante Alighieri. Avec Les Dessins de Gustave Dore. [Dante’s Inferno].
Paris: Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie, 1861.
First Hachette edition with French text of Dore's magnificently illustrated edition of Dante's Inferno. Folio, bound in full morocco by Antoine Chatelin with elaborate Grolieresque gilt-decorated morocco onlays to the spine and panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, full gilt-decorated morocco doublures, watered silk endleaves stamped in gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with 75 full-page engravings by Gustave Dore including his striking frontispiece portrait of Dante. French translation by Pier-Angelo Fiorentino, accompanied by the text in Italian. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom clamshell box. An exceptional presentation linking two great artists of the 19th century.
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 137107
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Rare 1911 Austro-Hungarian Nobility Patent; elaborately bound in full morocco with gilt metalwork embellished with inlaid precious stones
Austro-Hungarian Nobility Patent
Vienna: 1911.
Rare Austro-Hungarian Nobility Patent bestowing upon Brunn industrialist Adolf Noble von Kurschner and his descendants a Hungarian noble title. Folio, bound in full morocco with elaborate gilt metal onlays embellished with precious stones, inner dentelles, silk-watered endleaves, tasseled ribbon bound in. The patent is richly decorated with hand-painted illuminated borders, large hand-painted coat of arms. Signed by the Minister of the Interior: Vienna, December 11, 1911, the patent extends the hereditary title of baron bestowed on Adolf Noble von Kurschner to his descendants Adolf Baron von Kurschner and his wife Marie Baroness von Kurschner as well as their direct descendants.…
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 132158
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Fine collection of custom half morocco clamshell boxes by The Harcourt Bindery for the complete collection of all 14 first edition James Bond Novels
[FLEMING, Ian].
Complete James Bond Clamshell Box Collection.
Fine collection of custom half morocco clamshell boxes hand made by The Harcourt Bindery to house each of the 14 first editions in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Octavo, 14 volumes. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $7,000.00 Item Number: 138541
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Rare 18th century King James Bible; finely bound and decorated with an exceptionally large early 19th century concealed fore-edge painting
The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the Original Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, By His Majesty’s Command. [Fore-edge Painting].
Oxford: Printed at the Clarendon Press, by W. Jackson and W. Dawson, 1794.
Rare 18th century King James Bible decorated with an exceptionally large early 19th century fore-edge painting. Large quarto, bound in full straight grain morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands over red morocco onlays, gilt ruling and scrolling to the front and rear panels with red morocco inlayed borders and central decorated panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of a scene from Genesis in which Sarah and Abraham offer hospitality to three visitors. In very good condition. An unusually fine and large…
Price: $6,800.00 Item Number: 139538
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THE FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF ULYSSES: SIGNED BY HENRI MATISSE
JOYCE, James and Henri Matisse.
Ulysses.
New York : Limited Editions Club, 1935.
First illustrated edition of Joyce’s landmark Ulysses, number 1134 of 1500 copies signed by Henri Matisse, with 26 illustrations by him, one of the 20th-century’s most desirable illustrated books, combining the work of two great modern artists. Large quarto, original gilt-stamped pictorial brown cloth, original slipcase. In near fine condition with the rare original slipcase. With an introduction by Stuart Gilbert. An exceptional example.
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 132117
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Rare Counterfeit edition, based on the first edition of 1570 of Palladio‘s monumental work I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura
PALLADIO, Andrea.
I Quattro Libri dell’ Architettura di Andrea Palladio. [The Four Books of Architecture].
Venetia [Venice]: Appresso Dominico de' Franceschi, 1570 [c. 1768].
Rare counterfeit edition, based on the first edition of 1570 of Palladio‘s monumental work, I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura, "the most valuable illustrated architectural publication that had existed up to that time" (Burns). Folio, four parts in one volume, bound in printed patterned paper over boards, re-backed with the original gilt-lettered vellum spine laid-down, lacking head of spine, engraved title page to each part, illustrated with architectural figures and plans included in pagination, printer's device above imprint. "Counterfeit edition, based on the first edition of 1570, with copper-plate copies of the original woodcuts. This edition was published through the bequest…
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 144264
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Rare 18th century printing of Pictures of the Old and New Testaments; lavishly illustrated with 151 full-page engravings
Pictures of the Old and New Testaments, Showing the Most Nottable Historys, in 150 Copper Platis, brought in Copper by the Most Famouss and Pricipal Masters.
Amsterdam: Reinier & Josua Ottens, n.d..
Rare 18th century printing of this lavishly illustrated biblical text. Quarto, bound in full contemporary mottled calf with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, illustrated with 152 copper-engraved plates after Matthias Scheits. Text in English and French. In near fine condition. From the library of Robert Smith, 1st Baron Carrington with his bookplate. Housed in a custom marbled slipcase. Rare.
Price: $3,250.00 Item Number: 131429
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Rare 18th Century French Nobility Patent
[DE CARRARA, Cajetau-Louis-Antoine].
18th Century French Nobility Patent.
November 13, 1710.
Rare 18th century French Patent of Nobility for Cajetau-Louis-Antoine de Carrara. Folio, bound in full velvet, the patent is comprised of five vellum leaves, the first with calligraphy within an elaborate engraved border; the third leaf with a gilt-painted armorial miniature, all edges gilt, rope bound in. Dated November 13, 1710, the patent is signed by Marie Therese, J. G. Van de Veld, F. L. Gilbert, and J. DeWitte. In very good condition.
Price: $2,750.00 Item Number: 133430
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The Book of Common Prayer and Administration to the Sacraments; finely bound and decorated with with a double disappearing fore-edge painting
The Book of Common Prayer and Administration to the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of The United Church of England and Ireland: Together with the Proper Lessons For Sundays and Other Holy-Days. [Double Fore-edge Painting].
Oxford: Printed at the Oxford University Press, 1863.
Finely bound Oxford University printing of the Book of Common Prayer and Administration to the Sacraments decorated with a double disappearing fore-edge painting. Small octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles to the spine, gilt inner dentelles, brass reinforced board edges and clasp, ribbons bound in, all edges gilt with a double disappearing fore-edge painting revealing two intricately painted Biblical scenes. In near fine condition. A very unique example.
Price: $2,750.00 Item Number: 138444