Invisible Man by Ellison, Ralph - 1953

London: Little Brown, 2003. First UK edition, first prnt Signed by Mandela on the title page. Forewords by President Bill Clinton and Secretary-General on the United Nations Kofi Annan. Edited by Kader Asmal, David Chidester and Wilmot James. Color and black & white photographs. Dustjacket with a touch of edgewear (not immediately apparent); an unread copy in Fine condition in a Near Fine dustjacket with an archival cover. Precedes the American edition. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hardcovers. *vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Washington DC: (C. Alexander, Printer), 1856. A few wrapper soiled and detached, all complete and sound. 53 Issues. Vol. 32, nos. 1, 3-5, 8-12; Vol. 33, nos. 1-5, 7-8, 10-12; Vol. 34, nos. 1-5, 10; Vol. 35, nos 1, 3-11; Vol. 36, no. 1, 3-5, 7-8, 10-11; Vol. 37, nos. 5-6, 8; Vol. 38, nos. 3-4, 6-7, 9-10; Vol. 40, no. 2. All issues sewn in printed wraps. "The oldest colonization periodical, contained some antislavery propaganda and a wealth of information on African-American culture and history." Lomanzow. American Periodicals 198. Blockson 9116.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927. FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Near fine/No dust jacket. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927. FIRST EDITION. Frontispiece and 56 plates, some in color, by Covarrubias. Unpaginated. Hardcover. Large 8vo. Brown Modern art binding: full, polished morocco; front and back covers each has a stylized African-American head outlined in gilt. Top edge gilt. A few spots of foxing on the front fly-leaf and the margins of the final plate, still a beautiful copy. Near fine/No dust jacket. (Insurance required to ship this item).

8vo, original bull sheep with four raised boards, iii-viii, 280,168, 16pp. Benezet title is bound at the end (16 pp.). Binding very worn and rubbed, hinges weak, binding slightly warped, missing endpapers, pages 53-56 are torn, page 5 and 6 is torn in half in Harley’s A Discourse on Mistakes Concerning Religion, last page chipped and folded a bit, but with no material impact on text, internally somewhat, soiled, foxed and aged. Anthony Benezet (1713-1784) was born into a French Huguenot family that moved to London when he was two years old. At seventeen, his family moved to Philadelphia, and he became a Quaker. He became a teacher and established the first public school for girls in America, and along the way he managed to teach slave children from his home. In 1770, with the help of the Quakers, he set up the Negro School at Philadelphia, which he taught at until his death. The current work has the distinction of being one of the earliest and most important anti-slavery efforts printed in America… Read More

Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1974, 1975. First edition. 1974 SIGNED PRESENTATION COPY OF NOBEL LAUREATE ROBERT FOGEL'S HIGHLY CONTROVERSIAL TIME ON THE CROSS AND CONTEMPORARY REVIEWS OF ITS FALLOUT EXPLAINING SLAVERY IN AMERICA. 1) Robert William Fogel & Stanley L. Engerman. Time on the Cross: two 8 1/2 inches tall hardcover volumes, brown cloth binding, gilt title to spines, Vol. I, inscribed on front flyleaf, "To Simon Kuznets: These volumes are given with continuing admiration from a steadfast disciple/ affectionately, Bob Fogel/ Cambridge April 20, 1974." xviii, 286 pp; Vol. II ("A Supplement"), xi, 267. Near fine with very good dust jackets (a few small closed edge tears). 2) Reviews of Time on the Cross: 9 1/2 inches tall hardcover, brown faux leather binding, spine gilt with title and John P Frank bottom of spine, containing two long reviews extracted from contemporary journals with issue covers bound in, each signed R W Fogel on title page: Paul A. David & Peter Temin. Slavery: The Progressive… Read More

New York: E. P. Dutton, 1896. Hardcover. Good. 24mo, 4 x 5.5, 15 unnumbered pages with 7 chromolithographs. Half white pebbled cloth stamped in gilt with chromolithograp of maple leaf and hour glass on other half . Washington's very rare and fragile first book, a compilation of life affirming aphorisms on which BTW may be said to have modeled his life -- "To realize that the surest way to lift up ourselves is to lift up someone else." First edition, also published in London by Ernest Nister. Gem Series. Printed in Bavaria. This copy Presented to eleven year-old Anna in 1926 for perfect and punctual Sunday School attendance during the month of February (so says the inscription of the FFEP). Cover has some moderate soiling and is missing pieces of the back strip (about one inch at the top and half an inch at the bottom).

New York: E. P. Dutton, 1896. Hardcover. Very Good. 24mo, 4 x 5.5, 15 unnumbered pages with 7 chromolithographs. Half white pebbled cloth stamped in gilt with chromolithograp of maple leaf and hour glass on the other half . Washington's very rare and fragile first book, a compilation of life affirming aphorisms on which BTW may be said to have modeled his life -- "To realize that the surest way to lift up ourselves is to lift up someone else." First edition, also published in London by Ernest Nister. Gem Series. Printed in Bavaria.  The cover, though moderately soiled, is in very good condition. Gift inscription on FFEP. One loose leaf facing title page.

2 volumes, folio, period three quarter green morocco, spines gilt, raised bands, top edge gilt, 74 plates (39 in color) illustrated by Archibald Thorburn, O. Murray Dixon, H. Gronvold and the author. Limited to 450 copies (this set is number 232). Spines faded a bit, a few small scuffs, some marginal foxing and staining, repaired tears to two leaves. Overall a nice set John Guille Millais (1865-1931) was an English naturalist and artist who specialized in wildlife and flower painter. He was also a highly respected ornithologist, and produced a few important bird books between 1890 and 1914, including British Diving Ducks.This is a beautifully executed work that provides wonderful illustrations of birds and eggs. Extra postage required.

Letterpress broadside, 18 7/8" x 11 3/4", bold black type for highlighted words. Paper evenly toned, some wrinkling, considerable archival conservation and restoration with archival paper repair; despite the imperfections it is still a decent copy with a nice impression. This appears to fall into the political dirty tricks department in an election between John Brodhead and Henry Bumm for city treasurer in Philadelphia. The broadside is supposed to highlight a letter from John Brodhead to Jefferson Davis in 1860. It has strong racist overtones, as Brodhead supposedly requests a position in Nicaragua, so he can "help open it up to civilization and Niggers." He goes on to state he is "tired of being a white slave at the North, and long for a home in the sunny South." These kinds of political tricks were not uncommon during the Civil War period (perhaps that's still true today), and the racist overtones would certainly not help one's chances in a Northern election.

Published by the Oxford University Press in Association with The Dictionary Unit for South African English in 1996. Original full dark blue morocco, titles to upper board and spine gilt, 3 bands to spine and marbled endpapers. With the blue and grey cloth slipcase. A Fine copy in the near Fine slipcase. This is number '80' of a limitation of only 100 copies, Signed on the title page by Nelson Mandela, in his capacity as Founder and Chairperson of the Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund. Highly collectible. The First edition of this culmination of over three decades' work towards a thoroughly historical dictionary of South African English, published by the Oxford University press. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact. Due to the size and weight of this book, extra postage may be necessary for international buyers.