Recent Arrivals from Raptis Rare Books

New York: Random House, 1998. First edition of this landmark biography of John D. Rockefeller. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Ron Chernow on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Gabrielle Bordwin. ''Ron Chernow's portrait of Rockefeller, an eccentric on a heroic scale as well as a genius, is convincing.… Read more about this item

Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1996. First edition of the author's magnum opus. Thick octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed and dated in the year of publication on the title page, "Hello! David Foster Wallace 2/96." Fine in a fine first state dust jacket with Vollmann misspelled on the back panel. Jacket design by Steve Snider. In 2004, Chad… Read more about this item

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1893.

Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1996.

London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1989. First edition of the author's second book and first collection of short stories. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Debra Morton Hoyt. "With this collection of stories, David Foster Wallace, the author of the novel The Broom of the System, proves himself a dynamic writer… Read more about this item

New York: G. P. Putnam & Co., 1856. First American edition of one of "the greatest works of travel ever published" (Penzer, 49). Octavo, original publisher's decorative cloth with gilt titles and ornamentation to the spine, gilt central crescent moon to the front panel, pale yellow endpapers, tissue-guarded lithographic frontispiece of El Medinah, additional pictorial title page, folding map… Read more about this item

New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1959. First edition of the economist's work, which revolutionized modern investment theory and practice. Octavo, original blue cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For William Best Wishes Harry Markowitz." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the… Read more about this item

London: Jonathan Cape, 1961. "Thunderball represented a new departure [for the Bond series], with the introduction of SPECTRE and of Ernst Blofeld, a commanding villain who was to reappear. This gave a measure of continuity to the later Bond novels Thunderball worked well as an adventure story the theme of the theft of atom bombs seemed pertinent and modern"… Read more about this item

London: C. Kegan Paul & Co, 1879. Burton's 1877-78 second expedition into the Midian, which, like his first in 1877, was financed by the Khedive in Cairo as a search for gold. He mapped a 600-mile route through the northern and southern Midian recording its ruined ancient cities. For the Khedive in Cairo, he brought back 25 tons of… Read more about this item

New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc, 2007. First edition of this vibrant collection of essays from America's best-known astrophysicist. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Keenan. Jacket photograph by NASA. Author photograph courtesy of Dan Deitch. Stringing together over forty of Tyson's favorite essays into one book, 'Death by Black… Read more about this item

Tokyo: Printed for the Members of The Limited Editions Club by the Shimbi Shoin, Ltd., 1932. The Limited Editions Club signed limited edition of this eerie Japanese anthology of horror and folktales. Octavo, original publishers' gold Japanese silk-covered boards, bound with sky blue silk thread, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, illustrated by Yasumasa Fujita with a double-page colored woodblock… Read more about this item

Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1862. First edition of this collection of selected works in their original form. Octavo, original publisher's cloth elaborately stamped in blind with gilt titles to the spine, elaborate blind stamping to the front and rear panels, forest green endpapers. In very good condition with some rubbing to the spine. Best known for his 'Confessions… Read more about this item

New York: The Dial Press, 1963. Early printing of one of the most influential works on race relations published in the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth. Lengthily signed by the author on the dedication page, "Go the distance - in and out, and up and down. Jimmy Baldwin." Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by… Read more about this item

London: C. Kegan Paul & Co, 1878. First edition of the sequel to 'Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah.' Octavo, original publisher's decorated cloth stamped in black and gilt, rebacked, beveled edges, black endpapers, illustrations in text, folding map of North-Western Arabia, advertisements at rear. In very good condition. This sober tale of Burton's journey through the ruined Midianite cities… Read more about this item

London: Tinsley Brothers, 1862. First edition of this collection of observations on the literature of European historical figures. Octavo, two volumes bound in full crushed levant morocco by Bayntun Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, quadruple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and wide triple… Read more about this item

New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1955. First edition of this famed journalist's work on the Eisenhower brothers. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to the great boxing champion on the dedication page, "To Gene Tunney, who manifested that body and spirit are truly ---- [?]. With sincere admiration and affection, Bela, May 26, 1963, Stamford,… Read more about this item

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968. First edition of this classic work, which is regarded as one of the great pieces of chess literature. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Bobby Fischer on the front free endpaper. Introduction by Grandmaster Larry Evans. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Carl Smith. Housed in a custom… Read more about this item

New York: Random House, 1994. First edition of this acclaimed group of four poems by the famed poet. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Author photograph by Steve Dunwell. Maya Angelou has published several autobiographies, essays, and books of poetry, which have brought her international recognition for their contributions to civil rights and feminism. The lyrical writing found… Read more about this item

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. First American edition of this comprehensive and sophisticated account of the physical universe and its underlying mathematical components. Octavo, original half cloth, 390 illustrations of mathematical diagrams. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson. Jacket photograph by Brenda Tharp. Author photograph by Jerry Bauer. 'The Road to… Read more about this item