Search Results: Titles starting with A from Raptis Rare Books

1928. Rare collection of six Winnie-The-Pooh prints specially bound with an autograph note signed by both A. A. Milne and Ernest Shepard. Quarto, bound in hand-made paper wrappers, the collection includes six mounted Winnie-the-Pooh illustrations extracted from issues of Home Chat magazine which were produced by Shepard exclusively for Home Chat in 1928 and never appeared in any of the Pooh books. With a mounted note signed by Milne and Shepard. The prints are titled: Christopher Robin has a Little Something at Eleven; What Christopher Robin does in the Mornings; Christopher Robin gives Extract of Malt all round; Christopher Robin's Green Braces; Christopher Robin at the Enchanted Place; Christopher Robin organises an "Exposition". In near fine condition. A unique example.

Rare collection of three programs and two typed letters signed by American conductor Aaron Copland. The programs include a 1957-1958 Season Program for the Juilliard School of Music presenting The World Premiere of Piano Fantasy inscribed by Copland, "Piano Fantasy Aaron Copland (1955-57)", a catalogue of his works by Boosey & Hawkes which includes a chronological list of his works, a League of Composers Twenty-Eighth Season Program 1950-51 inscribed, "For Betty with love Aaron Nov. 5 '50", and two typed letters signed on Copland's letterhead. In fine condition. Referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Composers", American composer and conductor Aaron Copland is best known for the works he wrote in the 1930s and 1940s which came to encompass the vast American landscape and pioneer spirit. While Copland's earliest musical influences included Chopin, Verdi, and Debussy, his later work employed the use of "jazzy elements" as well as experimentation with Schonberg's… Read More

New York: B. W. Dodge and Company, 1909. First unauthorized edition, second issue of Kipling's 1909 short story collection with red lettering to the spine and front panel. Octavo, original publisher's decorated cloth with the titles stamped in red. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the British Empire, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1907. Published in this unauthorized, or pirated, edition months before the authorized edition was approved by Kipling and published, Abaft the Funnel includes such short stories as The Fallen Idol, The Shadow of His Hand, The Three Young Men, A Death in the Camp, and Chautauquaed.

New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1909. English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the British Empire, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1907. First published in an unauthorized edition by B. W. Dodge and Co. months before this authorized edition was approved by Kipling, Abaft the Funnel includes such short stories as The Fallen Idol, The Shadow of His Hand, The Three Young Men, A Death in the Camp, and Chautauquaed.

New York: B. W. Dodge & Company, 1909. English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the British Empire, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1907. Published in this unauthorized, or pirated, edition months before the authorized edition was approved by Kipling and published, Abaft the Funnel includes such short stories as The Fallen Idol, The Shadow of His Hand, The Three Young Men, A Death in the Camp, and Chautauquaed.

New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1909. English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the British Empire, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1907. First published in an unauthorized edition by B. W. Dodge and Co. months before this authorized edition was approved by Kipling, Abaft the Funnel includes such short stories as The Fallen Idol, The Shadow of His Hand, The Three Young Men, A Death in the Camp, and Chautauquaed.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1923. First edition of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine second state jacket, with notice of the Harper Prize printed at the top of the front panel and the front flap, with $2.00 price present, but no Pulitzer Prize sticker or re-order coupon at bottom rear flap. Uncommon. "The Able McLaughlins, Scotch Covenanters, devoted to one another, deeply pious, but humor-loving and full of the emotion and sentiment which exists under the craggy Scotch exterior, are leaders in a pioneer Iowa community, Isobel McLaughlin, mother of ten, and Wully, the oldest son, are characters in whom one feels the spirit and intelligence and dauntless courage that carved out our Western States. The story is Wully's -- his wooing, his bride, his home building and the fine triumphant victory to which the end of the book brings him."

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. First edition of this work by the award-winning scientist. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Paul Davies on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Cheung Tai. Examining the consequences of Einstein's relativity theory, an original work explores the mystery of time and considers black holes, time warps, time travel, the existence of God, nature of the universe, and humankind's place in the cosmos.

London: The Soncino Press, 1930. First British edition (which precedes the American edition by one year) of this volume of Einstein's speeches and letters concerning his views on Zionism. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in the scarce original dust jacket which is lacking the spine. Einstein was a prominent supporter of both Labor Zionism and efforts to encourage Jewish-Arab cooperation. He supported the creation of a Jewish national homeland in the British mandate of Palestine but was opposed to the idea of a Jewish state "with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power." In a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru dated June 13, 1947, he asserted, "Long before the emergence of Hitler I made the cause of Zionism mine because through it I saw a means of correcting a flagrant wrong....The Jewish people alone has for centuries been in the anomalous position of being victimized and hounded as a people, though bereft of all the rights and protections which even the smallest people normally… Read More

Springfield, IL, 1849. Rare autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. One page, the letter reads in full, "Springfield May 7, 1849 Hon G. W. Rives Dear Sir, You overrate my capacity to serve you. Not one man recommended by me has yet been appointed to any thing, little or big, except a few who had no opposition. Besides this, at the very inauguration I commenced trying to get a Min[n]esota appointment for Dr. Henry, and have not yet succeeded; and I would not now, lessen his chance, by recommending any living man for any thing in that Territory. It is my recollection that you sent me an application to be P.M. at Paris. Am I mistaken? Very truly yours A. Lincoln." Over a decade prior to his election as the 16th President of the United States in 1861, Lincoln served a single term in the House of Representatives between 1847 and 1849. A self-professed 'old line Whig', he was assigned to the Committee on Post Office and Post Roads and… Read More

Davenport, Iowa, 1865. Abraham Lincoln issued the The Emancipation Proclamation, or Proclamation 95, on January 1st, 1865. The executive order changed the federal legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans from slave to free and made the abolition of slavery an explicit goal of the Union war effort. To ensure emancipation, Lincoln pushed for passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, and insisted that Reconstruction plans for Southern states require abolition in new state constitutions. Congress passed the 13th Amendment by the necessary two-thirds vote on January 31, 1865, and it was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865, ending legal slavery.

Washington, D.C.: War Department, Adjutant General's Office, 1864-1869. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, the country's greatest moral, cultural, constitutional, and political crisis, and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America, abolished slavery, and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln ran for President in 1860, sweeping the North in victory. The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented plans to leave the Union before he took office in March 1861. War began in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, just over a month after Lincoln's inauguration and, after years of deadly military conflict, officially ended on April 9, 1865, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of… Read More

Rare cast metal relief portrait of President Abraham Lincoln in profile. Housed in a custom circular frame with gilt decorative floral reliefs. The entire piece measures 16 inches by 16 inches. A handsome example. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through its Civil War, and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America, abolished slavery, and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln sought to create a Presidential cabinet that would unite the Republican party. His eventual cabinet would include his primary rivals for the Republican nomination and, although his appointees held differing views on economic issues, all were opposed to the expansion of slavery into the territories of the United States. The most senior cabinet post of Secretary of State was appointed to William Seward who had recently failed to win the 1860 Republican presidential nomination and… Read More

c. 1860. Rare original painting of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. After a photograph by Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. Scottish photographer Alexander Gardner immigrated to the United States in 1856 where he became best known for his photographs of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, and the execution of the conspirators to Lincoln's assassination. In near fine condition. In a period frame. The entire piece measures 20.75 by 16.75 inches. Rare and desirable. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through its Civil War, and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America, abolished slavery, and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln began constructing his cabinet on election night and sought to create a cabinet that would unite the Republican party. His eventual cabinet would include his primary rivals for the Republican… Read More

April 21, 1864. American naval commission signed by Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States and Gideon Welles as Secretary of the Navy. Folio, partially engraved on vellum the document is dated April 21, 1864 and promotes Charles W. Tracy to the rank of Lieutenant. In near fine condition. Matted and framed with a portrait of Lincoln and engraved plate. The Commission measures 19 inches by 16 inches. The entire piece measures 34 inches by 29.5 inches. Abraham Lincoln served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, the country's greatest moral, cultural, constitutional, and political crisis, and in doing so preserved the Union of the United States of America, abolished slavery, and strengthened the federal government. Lincoln ran for President in 1860, sweeping the North in victory. The South was outraged by Lincoln's election, and in response secessionists implemented… Read More

New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1923. First edition of Veblen's last book. Octavo, original green cloth. In near fine condition. As a leading intellectual of the Progressive Era in the United States, Norwegian-American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen was a bitter critic of production for profit. Although the reading public saw him as a political radical or socialist, he never committed himself to any form of political action, although his emphasis on conspicuous consumption greatly influenced economists who engaged in non-Marxist critiques of fascism, capitalism, and of technological determinism. A harsh examination of corporate finance, Veblen's final work provides a lengthy investigation into the contradiction between the industrial arts and business enterprise.

London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1976. First English edition of the author's evocative Prix Femina award-winning novel. Octavo, original cloth. Translated from the French by Grace Frick in collaboration with the author. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with chipping to the crown of the spine. Jacket design by James Campus. Jacket illustration by Eric Fraser. Small name to the front free endpaper. Marguerite Yourcenar's novel of sixteenth century Europe is, like Memoirs of Hadrian, essentially a meditation on the nature and condition of man. The principal character, Zeno, typical of the leading intellectuals of his day in the wide range of his studies and activities, is botanist and physician, alchemist, engineer, metallurgist and philosopher. In The Abyss, Yourcenar weaves a magnificent tapestry of northern Renaissance Europe: a throng of minor characters - merchants, bankers, churchmen, artisans, women of every sort and condition - people the narrative. First published in France in 1968,… Read More

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1965. First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Inscribed by Nicholas Mosley on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket that shows light wear. Jacket design by John Woodcock. Nicholas Mosley’s brilliantly conceived novel about Oxford, marriage, and infidelity is also a study of the games people play. It is "[a] fascinating and original novel. . . . Technically, Accident is remarkable" (Times Literary Supplement).

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1965. First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on title page, "For William with all very best wishes from Nicholas Moseley November 2008 'But I wanted to say- this is the point of it. Remember it happy; the sun in your eyes.'" Near fine in a near fine dust jacket that shows light wear. Jacket design by John Woodcock. Nicholas Mosley’s brilliantly conceived novel about Oxford, marriage, and infidelity is also a study of the games people play. It is "[a] fascinating and original novel. . . . Technically, Accident is remarkable" (Times Literary Supplement).

London: Printed for T. Jefferys, 1761. Benjamin Franklin earned the title of "The First American" for his early and indefatigable campaigning for colonial unity, initially as an author and spokesman in London for several colonies. As the first United States Ambassador to France, he exemplified the emerging American nation. Franklin was foundational in defining the American ethos as a marriage of the practical values of thrift, hard work, education, community spirit, self-governing institutions, and opposition to authoritarianism both political and religious, with the scientific and tolerant values of the Enlightenment. In the words of historian Henry Steele Commager, "In a Franklin could be merged the virtues of Puritanism without its defects, the illumination of the Enlightenment without its heat." To Walter Isaacson, this makes Franklin "the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become."