Search Results: Titles starting with L from The Manhattan Rare Book Company

Milan: Edizioni Della Chimera, 1941. First edition. Original wrappers. Fine. DE CHIRICO, GIORGIO. ONE OF THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ILLUSTRATED BOOKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY: de Chirico's series of original lithographs illustrating The Apocalypse, complete with 20 large lithographs - 10 hand-colored with pastels - EACH SIGNED BY DE CHIRICO.

 With an important provenance: An out-of-commerce copy (out of an edition of only 150 numbered copies) for Massimo Bontempelli, who wrote the introduction. "It was almost certainly the feeling of impending doom during the Second World War (1939-1945) that drew de Chirico to illustrate the Apocalypse. He may have felt particularly threatened because his wife, Isabella, was Jewish. He may also have been attracted by the fantastical aspect of the Revelations of St John the Divine in the Bible... De Chirico was also very interested in the work of great artists of the past, and would have been familiar with many earlier Apocalypse illustrations, particularly those by the… Read More

Paris: Surréalistes, 1930. First edition. Original wrappers. Good. FIRST EDITION ASSOCIATION COPY SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY ANDRÉ BRETON. Written within the span of only three weeks during the summer of 1930, André Breton and Paul Éluard's L'Immaculée Conception is a quintessential example of the Surrealist practice of automatic writing. While Surrealism today may at first evoke painters such as René Magritte and Salvador Dalí, Surrealism was demarcated by its founders, namely Breton, as an experiment as much, if not more, in language and literature as the visual arts. Thus, the process of automatic writing which he developed across his lifetime sits at the heart of the first Surrealist Manifesto (1924)-and L'Immaculée Conception represents a pinnacle automatic text executed by two of the major Surrealist vanguards themselves. In a 1961 interview with Judith Jasmin, Breton maintained that the mission of Surrealism has been the same since 1924, and that Surrealism continues to be defined as:… Read More

Paris: Imprimerie Croutzet et Depost, 1924. First edition. Original wrappers. Very Good. FIRST EDITION of Roche's surreal, dadaist roman à clef exposing the misogynistic world of the French avant-garde. With annotations likely in Roche's hand. Like too many women artists of the early twentieth century, French writer and artist Juliette Roche (1884 - 1980) has been long overshadowed by her male contemporaries. Roche came of age amidst leading artistic and literary salons of early 20th century Paris. She studied at Académie Ranson, then considered the absolute best art school in Paris, and was an early adopter of Cubism. However, she is most closely associated with Dadaism. Despite Dada being a movement of absolute rebellion it harbored the normalized misogyny of the early twentieth century. Roche's most explicit critique of this discrepancy, of rebellion vs repression, can be found in La Minéralisation de Dudley Craving Mac Adam, her groundbreaking novella. Part satire and part Dada nonsense, the… Read More

Paris: Jeanne Bucher, 1936. First edition. Original wrappers. Very Good. FIRST EDITION, THE PRINTER JACQUES GROU-RADENEZ'S COPY, WITH TWO LONG PERSONAL INSCRIPTIONS BY HUGNET. WITH COVER MY MARCEL DUCHAMP. ONE OF ONLY 294 COPIES IN THE EDITION; AN OUT-OF-SERIES COPY LABELED "EXEMPLAIRE NO. G.H.". "This is Georges Hugnet's first volume of 'poemes-decoupages.' The title echoes Andre Mallarme's Un Coup de Des N'Abolira Jamais le hazard (1895), and Hugnet's poems, printed on the left-hand pages of the book, mirror the unusual spacing and various typefaces and sizes of Un Coup de Des. Hugnet had joined the Surrealists by 1932, and the collages on the right-hand pages, centered around nude images cut out of Paris Magazine, rehearse typical Surrealist themes... The cover by Marcel Duchamp spells out the title in letters containing the names of a whole Surrealist pantheon, including Sade, Freud, Rimbaud, Paracelsus, Swift, Heraclitus, Roussel, Chaplin, Jarry, Uccello, and Saint-Juste, and also a Man Ray… Read More

Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1912. First edition. Original wrappers, custom box. Very Good. RARE FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS OF THE REPORTS FROM THE HISTORIC FIRST SOLVAY CONFERENCE, "THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN PHYSICS EVER ORGANIZED" AND A CRITICAL MOMENT IN THE BIRTH OF QUANTUM PHYSICS. In the short time that followed Planck's hypothesis of the universal constant that would bear his name, the greatest minds in physics were largely at a loss about how to deal with the bizarre theoretical results that followed (let alone the experimental results which confirmed them!). Much of the focus at the time was on black-body radiation, including work by Planck himself, as well as Lorentz, Rayleigh, and Jeans. However, shortly before the first Solvay conference, a young Einstein had also started investigating the related question of materials' specific heat. (Kuhn). "The purpose of the first Solvay Conference was thus two-fold: first, there was the need to examine whether classical theories… Read More

Paris: Journal de Physique et le Radium, 1927. FIRST EDITION. Original wrappers. Very Good. FIRST EDITION IN RARE ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of the presentation of de Broglie's highly influential "pilot-wave" interpretation of quantum mechanics. "What we now know as pilot-wave theory first appears in a paper by de Broglie (1927) entitled 'Wave mechanics and the atomic structure of matter and of radiation', which was published in Journal de Physique in May 1927... In 'Structure', de Broglie presents a theory of particles as moving singularities. It is argued, on the basis of certain assumptions, that the equations of what we now call pilot-wave dynamics will emerge from this theory. At the end of the paper de Broglie proposes, as a provisional theory, simply taking the equations of pilot-wave dynamics as given, without trying to derive them from something deeper. It is this last, provisional theory that de Broglie presents a few months later at the fifth Solvay… Read More

Soviet Union [USSR]: Physikalische Zeitschrift der Sowjetunion, 1933. First edition. Original wrappers. Very Good. FIRST PRINTING IN ORIGINAL WRAPPERS of Dirac's critically important paper; the inspiration for Richard Feynman's path-integral formalism. SCARCE. In 1941, "Feynman went to a beer party at the Nassau Tavern. He sat with a physicist lately arrived from Europe, Herbert Jehle... Jehle asked Feynman what he was working on. Feynman explained and asked in turn whether Jehle knew of any application of the least-action principle in quantum mechanics. "Jehle certainly did. He pointed out that Feynman's own hero, Dirac, had published a paper on just that subject eight years before. The next day Jehle and Feynman looked at it together in the library. It was short. They found it, "The Lagrangian in Quantum Mechanics," in the bound volumes of Physikalische Zeitschrift der Sowjetunion, not the best-read of journals. Dirac had worked out the beginnings of a least-action approach in just the… Read More

London: Kegan Paul. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL CLOTH of Burton's second expedition through Midian (northwest Arabia). Although Burton failed to unearth the vast amounts of gold he believed were in the region, the expedition, sponsored by the Egyptian Khedive Ismail I, was a major geographical and archaeological success. Complete with folding map, 6 colored plates, 10 uncolored plates, numerous illustrations in the text, and 32-page catalogue at end of vol. 2. Map and plates in pristine condition. Provenance: the prestigious Signet Library, with handsome "Society of Writers to her Majesty's Signet" bookplate with coat-of-arms on front pastedown of each volume and "Signet Library" written in ink on front free endpaper of each volume. London: Kegan Paul, 1879. Octavo, original ochre cloth. Two volumes. Very mild darkening to spines and slight rubbing to spine ends. A beautiful copy, rare in this condition.

First edition. Framed photograph. Very Good. MAGNIFICENT LARGE ALBUMEN PHOTOGRAPH OF ULYSSES S. GRANT BY ABRAHAM BOGARDUS. An unusually large late (c.1880) photograph of Grant, post-presidency, in formal dress, sitting and in partial profile. Mounted on thick card with the photographer's credit and address ("A. Bogardus / 872 Broadway, NY") on matte below the photo. The photographer, Anthony Bogardus, was a photographic pioneer, described by the New York Times as "the best-known photographer in the United States" in his prime who took "the first photographs of Gen. Grant, Gen. Hancock, Samuel D. Morse, inventor of the telegraph; Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher, and other equally well-known men." The engravers Currier & Ives produced an engraving based on this photograph, calling it "the last and best taken of General Grant". This very large (approximately 10x16 inches; 10.5x16.5 with mount) photograph also appears to have served as… Read More

Karsh, 1960. Framed. Very Good. ICONIC PHOTOGRAPH BY YOUSUF KARSH, INSCRIBED BY KENNEDY IN INK ON THE IMAGE. Yousuf Karsh's masterful portrait of John F. Kennedy, taken on August 25, 1960, just weeks after he accepted the Democratic nomination, captured the nation's imagination. By 1960 Kennedy was a rising star in American politics and this photograph embodied the aspirations and idealism of Kennedy and his presidential campaign. This image was widely circulated and is regarded as one of the most famous and influential portraits of JFK, helping to shape his public image as a young and vibrant leader. In this portrait Karsh depicts Kennedy in an introspective pose. The lighting emphasizes Kennedy's strong profile and the shadows and highlights accentuate Kennedy's dignified features. It is believed that Karsh swapped ties with Kennedy just minutes before photographing him because he thought his own tie created a better image. (Enman) Karsh's photograph symbolized the promise of Kennedy's presidency… Read More

Germany: np, 1491. First edition. Framed. Very Good. LARGE HISTORIATED INITIAL DEPICTING A POPE, FINELY ILLUMINATED IN GOLD AND RICH COLOUR. Reading from a lectern, the Pope is depicted in full regalia, wearing the distinctive triple crown, or triregnum, and holding the crucifix-topped crosier. His robe is a deep blue and likely pigmented by lapis lazuli-a mineral so valuable in Medieval Europe that is typically reserved for the Virgin Mary and occasionally referred to as blue gold. A vista of green hillsides and blue mountains is seen from a window within the miniature. Noteworthy are the multiple textiles displayed in the room, including mauve drapery as well as the lectern cloth whose embroidered design is emulated here in gold filagree. Highly intricate, monochromatic green acanthine detail adorns the body of the initial. If such handiwork does not alone merit admiration, the gilding of the initial's field as well as that of the Pope's halo showcase excellent tooling-the use of metal stamps to… Read More

Paris: Mornay. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Fine. LIMITED EDITION, one of only 468 numbered copies on Holland van Gelder (out of a total edition of 500 copies), with 14 full-page color pochoir plates and 54 color pochoir vignettes by Brunelleschi. One of the most highly regarded books illustrated by Brunelleschi. (Paris): Mornay, 1926. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers; glassine. A beautiful, fine copy. $1900.

Florence: Giunti, 1568. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Fine. FIRST COMPLETE, FIRST ILLUSTRATED, AND MOST SOUGHT AFTER EDITION OF THE FIRST MODERN HISTORY OF ART. [The Second Edition overall.] An exceptional copy, very handsomely bound. Vasari's "book contains the biographies of Italian painters, etc. from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century. They are based on earlier written and printed sources, on oral accounts, on his knowledge of works of art and his own collection of large drawings. Vasari traveled extensively to collect personal information, meeting most of the artists of his time... Michelangelo was his great hero. The Lives are freely laced with stories and anecdotes, some of which are certainly apocryphal... Vasari's excellent sense of narrative, however, and lively style combined with his wide personal acquaintance makes his 'Lives' a vital contribution to our understanding of the character and psychology of the great artists of the Renaissance, a term ('rinascita') which he was the first… Read More

Paris: Théatre du Chatelet; Maurice de Brunoff, ed, 1917. First edition. Original wrappers. Very Good. A BEAUTIFUL AND COLORFUL ARTIFACT BRINGING TOGETHER THE GREAT NAMES OF THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY PARISIAN AVANT-GARDE: THE PROGRAM FOR THE MAY 1917 SEASON OF DIAGHILEV'S "BALLET RUSSES" - A SEASON THAT INCLUDED THE PREMIERE OF THE BALLET "PARADE" (SCENARIO BY JEAN COCTEAU; CHOREOGRAPHY BY LÉONIDE MASSINE; SCORE BY ERIK SATIE) - WITH MAGNIFICENT ILLUSTRATIONS OF PICASSO'S COSTUME DESIGNS AFTER PICASSO'S OWN WATER-COLORS, AND PROGRAM NOTES BY GUILLAUME APOLLINAIRE THAT MARK THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE WORD "SURREALISM". In Woody Allen's fantasy-comedy "Midnight in Paris," an unhappy screenwriter visiting France in 2010 finds that every night at midnight, he is transported back in time from his hotel room to the Paris of the 1920s (and is returned to his present-day purgatory, like the ghost of King Hamlet, at cock's-crow). During his nocturnal visits to the 1920s, he meets Cole Porter, Scott and… Read More

New York: Felicie, 1973. 1st Edition. Original cloth, original dust jacket. Very Good/Very Good. FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, WITH MAGNIFICENT PRESENTATION INSCRIPTIONS, DRAWINGS, AND "PAPER SCULPTURE" BY DALI. On the inscription and drawings: Dali lavishly decorated the endpapers of this copy, writing in thick black marker (and taking up over half the page): "Pour MR Riskin / Hommage / Dali." Beneath his inscription, he dated it (1974) and drew what looks to be a large version of one of his spinning men. Dali scraped the paper at the base of one of the figure's arms to create something resembling a hand. On the facing page, Dali created something even more unusual: He drew a bug, but molded and scraped the paper to create a three-dimensional exoskeleton for the creature. Finally, on the page facing the title page, Dali added another inscription: "with apologies for the translation / Dali / 1974". The book: "Les Diners de Gala, the opulent cookbook that [Dali] conceived and illustrated, sets out… Read More

Paris: A.C. Mazo et Cie, 1968. First edition. Original portfolio box. Fine. VERY RARE LIMITED EDITION OF SURREALIST MASTER RENÉ MAGRITTE'S LES ENFANTS TROUVÉS, COMPLETE WITH TWELVE BREATHTAKING LITHOGRAPHS. ONE OF ONLY 350 COPIES. "The art of René Magritte has had an influence far exceeding the confines of the art world. Imagery adapted from his paintings has been widely disseminated for more than half a century through advertising, cartoons, film, book jackets, and popular music... His work has continued to appeal to modern audiences hungry for the puzzling conjunctions of the everyday and the fantastic... The inscrutable nature of Magritte's work--coded, self-referential, and incongruous--has [moreover] intrigued several generations of artists," (Stephanie Barron). The first four illustrations (numbered recto) are magnificently unique, conceived by Magritte specifically for this production. While certainly distinctive, these images--as well as the final eight--represent a summary of his… Read More

London: C. Davis, 1753. First edition. Contemporary calf. FIRST PRINTING OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN'S ACCOUNT HIS KITE EXPERIMENT, ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY. WITH AN EARLIER PAPER DISCUSSING HIS THEORIES OF THE NATURE OF LIGHTNING. "Franklin was the first American scientist to achieve an international reputation, with his work on electricity...The most dramatic result of Franklin's researches was the proof that lightning is really an electrical phenomenon. Others had made such a suggestion before him - even Newton himself - but it was he who provided the experimental proof. In 1752 he flew a kite in a thunderstorm and attached a key to its string. From this he collected electrical charges in a Leiden jar and showed that atmospheric and frictional or machine-made electricity are the same. He went on to propose the fixing of iron rods at the top of buildings, masts of ships, etc., from which he conducted the electric charges they collected from lightning into the wet… Read More

1950. First edition. Original wrappers. Very Good. IMPORTANT PAPERS BY NIELS BOHR CONCERNING HIS DEBATES WITH ALBERT EINSTEIN OVER FOUNDATIONAL ISSUES IN QUANTUM MECHANICS. From the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, at scientific conferences, in published papers and in informal discussions, two of the greatest physicists of their generation-Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr-argued about the emerging theory of quantum mechanics. Quantum theory had been phenomenally successful in explaining experimental results that had puzzled physicists for decades, and in accurately predicting new results. No one denied its predictive power, least of all Einstein who had been one of the early pioneers of the theory. However, the interpretation of the theory-the elucidation of its relationship to some (presumably) underlying physical reality-was a different matter. Quantum theory predicted only the probabilities of various experimental outcomes. Of course, probabilistic (or statistical) models of nature were nothing new to… Read More

Paris et Bruxelles: Librairie Nationale d'Art et d'Histoire. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Fine. FIRST EDITION, one of only 110 numbered deluxe copies on Vélin d'Arches à la cuve, with 3 original etchings by Redon. Preface by Marius-Ary Leblond. Paris et Bruxelles: Librairie Nationale d'Art et d'Histoire, 1923. Octavo, original decorative paper wrappers; custom cloth box. Wrappers in remarkable condition; very clean, just one small closed tear; the most minimal wear to the tail of the spine. Internally very clean and partially unopened. A superb and very beautiful copy. Rare.

Vienna: Julius Springer, 1935. First edition. Original printed wrappers. Very Good. FIRST EDITION OF POPPER'S LANDMARK IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE. A seminal work in the philosophy of science, Karl Popper's 1935 Logik der Forschung [Logic for Scientific Discovery] proposes the idea that scientific theories can never be verified, only falsified. Popper, in this his first monograph, critiques the inductivist view of scientific method in favour of his empirical falsification, and argues that scientific discovery is not a matter of induction or confirmation but rather a matter of conjecture and refutation. POPPER, KARL. Logik der Forschung zur Erkenntnistheorie der Modernen Naturwissenschaft. Vienna: Julius Springer, 1935. First edition, issued as volume 9 of Schriften zur Wissenschaftlich Weltauffassung. Octavo (5.5 x 8.5 in; 140 x 216 mm), vi, 248, [2, publisher advertisements] pp. Original printed wrappers. Wrappers slightly rubbed with some mild wear around edges, separation between some of the… Read More