Search Results: Titles starting with O from Raptis Rare Books

Lisboa: Caminho, 1991. First Portuguese edition and true first of the Nobel Prize-winning author's classic work. Octavo, original wrappers as issued. Signed by Jose Saramago on the title page. In near fine condition, with the original publisher's bookmark laid in. A fictional re-telling of Jesus Christ's life, depicting him as a flawed, humanized character with passions and doubts. The novel proved controversial, especially among the Roman Catholic Church, accusing Saramago of having a "substantially anti-religious vision". It was praised by other critics as a "deeply philosophical, provocative and compelling work" (Bob Corbett).

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott and Co, 1867. First edition of Catlin's important work on the Mandan people and their rituals, one of the only records of the Mandan tribe which was almost entirely exterminated in the smallpox epidemic of 1837. Octavo, original publisher's green beveled cloth with gilt titles and double gilt ruling to the front panel, illustrated with thirteen tissue-guarded chromolithographic plates after Catlin by Simonau & Toovely, half-title present, coated green endleaves, all edges gilt. From the library of American businessman and amateur archaeologist William H. Claflin Jr. with his pictorial bookplate to the pastedown. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable, especially in this condition. American portraitist and painter George Catlin spent nearly fourteen years among the tribes of the North American Indians and left the most authentic anthropological record of the swiftly vanishing people. He wrote O-Kee-Pa in response to an article that appeared in an 1866 issue of… Read More

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Later printing of these papers by the famed philosopher. Octavo, original wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by Richard Rorty on the title page. In near fine condition. In this volume Rorty offers a Deweyan account of objectivity as intersubjectivity, one that drops claims about universal validity and instead focuses on utility for the purposes of a community. The sense in which the natural sciences are exemplary for inquiry is explicated in terms of the moral virtues of scientific communities rather than in terms of a special scientific method.

Boston: Little Brown & Company, 2004. First edition of this collection of stories. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by David Foster Wallace on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Mario J. Pulice. Oblivion is David Foster Wallace's third and final short story collection. "It has breathtakingly smart" stories are "epic modernism," with "big plots, absurd Beckettian humor and science-fiction-height ideas portrayed vis-a-vis slow, realistic stream of consciousness (Joel Stein, Time). It was named one of the New York Times 100 Notable books of 2004.

London: Printed for D. Wilson and T. Durham, 1756. Second edition of the first illustrated account of the discoveries made in the excavation of Herculaneum. Octavo, bound in full calf with gilt ruled raised bands to the spine, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, profusely illustrated with 42 engraved plates. In good condition. Ownership stamp.

Philadelphia: John Bioren for John Fenno, 1797. Rare first edition of one of the major causes celebres in American governmental history. Octavo, bound in contemporary morocco, marbled endpapers. In near fine condition. This first edition of 1797 is rare as it was bought up by the Hamilton family in an effort to suppress it, but was ultimately reprinted in 1800 by Hamilton's political enemies. Housed in a custom half calf clamshell box. Alexander Hamilton resigned as Secretary of the Treasury in 1795; two years later "a baseless accusation against his honesty as secretary of the treasury, brought by Monroe and others, forced him to make public confession of his intrigue some years previous with a Mrs. Reynolds ... [his confession] had the merit of a proud bravery, for it showed him willing to endure any personal humiliation rather than a slur on his public integrity" (DAB). Mrs. Hamilton tried to buy up all copies of the 1797 pamphlet, but some escaped. In 1800, in the midst of the… Read More

New York, 1787. Rare first edition of the definitive and most important work in the Anti-Federalist canon; the antithesis of the The Federalist Papers. Octavo, bound in half calf over boards with six raised bands, edges speckled red. In very good condition. An exceptional example. On November 8, 1787, the New York Journal began to advertise a new pamphlet entitled Observations Leading to a Fair Examination of the System of Government Proposed by the Late Convention; and to Several Essential and Necessary Alterations in It. In a Number of Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican. This pamphlet contained the first five Federal Farmer letters, dated October 8 to 13. The first edition was replete with errors and a second, corrected printing appeared within a week. Among the Federalists, Alexander Hamilton (as Publius), Edward Carrington, and Noah Webster acknowledged the Federal Farmer as, in Hamilton's words, the "most plausible" Anti-Federalist. Only one Federalist, Timothy… Read More

New York: The Viking Press, 1963. First American edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Nadine Gordimer on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Bill English.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1944. Published in 1944, The Problem of Valuation For Rating is a collaboration between Mr. & Mrs. Hicks and German Econometrician C.E.V. Leser. "In 1935 [Hicks] married Ursula Webb, a distinguished public finance specialist, and he collaborated with her in the preparation of numerous works on public finance, its theory and its application to various countries" (New Palgrave).

Alexandria, Egypt: Published by the author, 1906. Rare work on occupational medicine self-published by Armenian physician and scholar Garabed Pashayan Khan. Octavo, original half cloth over paper-covered boards, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of the author, illustrated, text in Armenian. This rare self-published text is primarily concerned with the health and wellbeing of students and teachers in academic buildings, addressing hygiene, posture, study habits, transmissible and contagious diseases, remedies and cures. In very good condition. Extremely uncommon with no holdings located by OCLC. After completing his medical training in Constantinople, Armenian physician Garabed Pashayan Khan started practicing medicine in Balu and Malatia. In 1890 he was arrested for the support of Armenian fedayee groups, was sentenced to death but then released after the mediation of the British consul's family. In 1895 he moved to Iran and became the Persian Shah's doctor. For his efforts he was… Read More

New York: Ballantine Books, [1955]. First edition of Bradbury's classic collection of nineteen macabre short stories. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Joe Mugnaini. In Currey's "B" binding in its first state, with the Ballantine Books monogram at spine foot printed upside down. One of three bindings, no priority determined. Currey p.57. Signed by the author on the title page, "Ray Bradbury 1/22/81." Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Joe Mugnaini. Author photograph by Morris Dollens. A classic of the macabre and fantastic, The October Country contains such milestones in the medium as Homecoming and The Small Assassin, as well as The Dwarf and Touched by Fire. The underlying theme is the distortion and disguises of love, in a world that sorely needs it. With illustrations by Joe Mugnaini, who illustrated several of Bradbury's previous works including the very famous Fahrenheit 451.

Quirini Heyl: Herbipoli [Wurzburg], 1685-1686. First edition of the most important work on the early history and manufacture of microscopes and telescopes; particularly valuable for its illustrations of both simple and compound microscopes of the period, including the type of compound instrument used by Robert Hooke. Folio, three volumes bound into in one in full contemporary vellum, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, with extra engraved title and over 200 engraved or woodcut illustrations, many full-page and some folding tables. Johann Zahn, a Premonstratensian monk of Wurzburg and the leading representative of German monastic learning, was also a naturalist, mathematician and astronomer. In this important early history of microscopes and telescopes, Zahn envisioned the first camera that was small and portable enough to be practical for photography (that is, actually capturing the image on some sort of medium) in 1685, though it would be almost 150 years before technology caught up to the point… Read More

New York: The Viking Press, 1972. First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Mel Williamson. A movie adaptation of the same name was released in 1974 starring Jon Voight and directed by Ronald Neame with a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Rome: Per Lacoubum Mazochium, 1510. One of the earliest Latin translations of Homer's epic poem, translated from the Greek by Roman Hellenic scholar Raphaello Maffei (Raphael of Volterra). Quarto, bound in contemporary vellum, rebacked, woodcut titles and printer's device to the title page and at end of text. From the library of Robert R. Dearden, Jr. of Philadelphia with his bookplate to the front panel. American bibliophile and author Robert R. Dearden was known for his extensive rare bible collection with a focus on early editions of American Bibles. He authored the book The Guiding Light on the Great Highway (1929), elaborately illustrated with photographs of his collection. Minor wear and a few small repairs to the title page. A very good example of this important work which has survived over five centuries. Attributed to the singular ancient Greek poet Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey are considered to be the most important works of ancient Greek literature. The Iliad, set in the midst of the… Read More

Venice: Aldine Press, 1524. Rare third Aldine edition of Homer's The Odyssey. Small octavo, original vellum with the title to the spine in manuscript, with woodcut Aldine device to title and final colophon leaf. In excellent condition with some minor toning to the leaves. Exceptionally rare, with only two having appeared at auction in the last 80 years. This is one of the earliest obtainable examples of Homer's landmark work. One of the two major ancient Greek poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey is the second-oldest extant work of Western literature, while the Iliad is the oldest. The work was likely composed near the end of the 8th century B.C.E. in the Greek coastal region of Anatolia in an oral tradition which was more likely intended to be performed that read. The story details the epic ten-year journey of the Greek hero, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, who has been assumed dead after the fall of Troy.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1958. First edition of Kazantzakis' masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Translated into English by Kimon Friar; illustrations by Ghika. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.

Athens: Pyrsos, 1938. First edition of Kazantzakis' masterpiece. Folio, brown cloth. One of 277 copies signed by Nikos Kazantzakis, this is number 109. In near fine condition.

Paris: Chez Quillau, Esprit, et l'Auteur, 1773. First French edition of Franklin's complete works on electricity, based on the fourth and best British edition. Quarto, two volumes bound in one, contemporary calf, illustrated with engraved frontispiece portrait of Franklin in his study and twelve full-page plates. In very good condition. Uncommon. The first volume is devoted entirely to electricity, with the addition of several pieces not included in any previous editions. The second volume contains other scientific writings, including works on meteors, his improvements on chimneys (the "Franklin stove"), sections on population increase, inoculation, music, the "magic circles," and other topics. This edition was translated by Jacques Barbeu Dubourg, a leading philosopher and one of Franklin's closest friends in France. This copy contains the portrait of Franklin not found in all copies. Scarce, and important for its various contents. FORD 315.

Paris: Deslangle Freres, 1828-34. Finely bound set of the complete works of Voltaire with historic, scientific and literary notes. Octavo, 97 volumes, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, frontispieces with tissues guards and half titles as issued. In very good condition. A complete set, covering the broad scope of the versatile and prolific writer. One of the most influential thinkers of the French Enlightenment, Francois-Marie Arouet, know by the nom de plum Voltaire, was a resourceful and prolific writer. His works touched nearly every literary form including plays, poems, novels, theoretical essays, and scientific treatises. A forthright and candid advocate of civil liberties, he frequently criticized the institutions of religious dogma and classism prevalent in 18th century France, often doing so through satire to avoid censorship and imprisonment.

Paris: [Pierre Prault], 1734. First edition, first issue of one of the greatest French illustrated books of the first half of the eighteenth century. First issue with "Comteese" in vol. VI, p. 360, line 12. Quarto, six volumes bound in full calf with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt. Illustrated with 33 engraved plates by Laurent Cars after Francois Boucher, engraved frontispiece portrait of Moliere by Nicolas-Bernard Lepicie after Charles-Antoine Coypel, 210 engraved head and tailpieces, and 104 engraved initials by Joullain and Cars after Boucher, Blondel and Oppenord. In near fine condition. Rebacked by MacDonald. From the library of Lady Elizabeth Anne Levinge (nee Parkyns) with her bookplate and ownership signature to each volume. Additional bookplate to each volume. A very nice example of this brilliantly illustrated compendium of the works of the great French playwright. French playwright, actor, and poet… Read More