Rare books from The First Edition Rare Books, LLC

Washington DC: White House Historical Association, 1962. First Edition. Full leather. Near fine. Limited edition of The White House: An Historic Guide, signed by President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy.. Octavo (26.5 x 18 cm), 129pp, publishers green leather, gilt title on spine, gilt decorative stripe on covers. Marbled endpapers. Shelf wear to spine. Fully illustrated with color photographs. Custom made green calf clamshell, gilt title, raised bands, marbled interior. Signed limited edition of 100 copies, this being number 95. Signed by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and President Kennedy. Inscription reads: "For Bill / with our affection and appreciation / Jackie / and Jack / December 25, 1962." This limited edition is one of two limited editions of The White House Guide printed during the Kennedy administration. The limited edition of 100 copies is typically bound in green leather, the second edition of 75 copies is bound in red leather. They were produced by the Government… Read More

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1814. First English Edition. Boards. Very good. First English edition of Travels to the Source of the Missouri by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, published in London in 1814.. Quarto, [iii]-xxiv, 663pp, [1pp ads]. Lacking half title and printers notice. Page 323 misprinted as 223. Marbled boards, contemporary half calf spine with gilt title and gilt bands. Chipping and cracking of original spine, front hinge reinforced. General shelf wear to edges of boards. Light foxing to illustrations and maps, mostly clean interior pages. Contains a large engraved foldout map of Lewis and Clark's Tract across the Western Portion of North America, from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, tipped in before title page. Additional plates, all dated April 28th, 1814, include "Ancient Fortification of the Missouri" and "Great Falls of the Columbia River" opposite pp 45; "Great Falls of the Missouri" opposite pp 193; "Lower Falls of the Columbia" and "Mouth of the… Read More

Philadelphia: Edward C. Biddle (Vol. I), Daniel Rice and James G. Clark (Vol.II), Daniel Rice and James G. Clark (Vol. III), 1844. First Edition, First State. Very good. History of the Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas McKenney and James Hall.. Large Folio (560 x 400mm), in three volumes. Original binding, leather overlay on spine with raised bands, title in gilt on all volumes, restoration to spine and wear at corners. 120 hand colored lithographic plates, with 117 after the portraits of C. King and 3 frontispieces after Rindisbacher and Bodmer, leaf of statements noting the genuineness of the portrait of Pocahontas, 17pp of facsimile signatures of subscribers, uncolored lithographic sheet with two maps and chart of "Localities of all the Indian Tribes of North America in 1833," "Present Localities of the Indian Tribes west of the Mississippi, " and "Statement showing the number of each tribe of Indians." Marbled endpapers, with repair to front free endpaper of Volume 1. Some foxing… Read More

Washington DC: The White House, 1949. Limited Edition. Full leather. Near fine. New Era In World Affairs, a signed limited edition printing, inscribed by President Harry Truman to Attorney General Francis Biddle.. Octavo, [iv], 58pp, [2]. Brown morocco, title in gilt on spine, presidential seal in gilt on front panel. Light wear at edges and along front seam. Top edge gilt. Housed in custom blue clamshell, title on spine on red morocco label. Limitation page states this is Number 21, from an unspecified, but limited edition publication. The book is inscribed by President Harry S. Truman on the front free end paper to Francis Biddle, the United States Attorney General during WWII and judge at the Nuremberg Trails. Inscription reads: "To Hon. Francis Biddle, with best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. Harry Truman. Dec 25, 1949." An exceptionally rare publication and piece of presidential history. Francis Biddle was the first member of the Roosevelt Administration that President Harry Truman sought… Read More

Washington DC: [Government Printing Office], 1945. Printed Broadside. Lithograph. Fine. A Proclamation of Allied Victory by President Harry Truman.. Folio, multicolored lithograph. 24 by 18 inches, including frame. Printed in two columns, with capital "T" in gilt over blue ink. Other text in red, blue and black. Framed in dark brown wood with gold trim at edges, covered with archival museum glass. Signed by President Harry Truman in pen at bottom of proclamation. This scarce document was given as gifts during the Christmas season of 1945. Full text of the proclamation reads: "The Allied armies, through sacrifice and devotion and with God's help, have wrung from Germany a final and unconditional surrender. The western world has been freed of the evil forces which for five years and longer have imprisoned the bodies and broken the lives of millions upon millions of free-born men. They have violated their churches, destroyed their homes, corrupted their children, and murdered their loved ones. Our… Read More

New York: Published by J.P. Giffing at the office of the Harrison Almanac, 1840. Campaign Broadside. Wove Paper. Near fine. Log Cabin Anecdotes, a campaign broadside promoting Whig Party presidential candidate William Henry Harrison, during the election of 1840.. Large campaign broadside on wove paper, measures 18" x 24", dry mounted on rigid card stock. Light toning along top edge, previously folded corner at top left, point of soiling along bottom edge, a near fine example. Printed in black and red, wood engraved illustrations, depicting twelve incidents from the life of Harrison. J.F. Trow, Printer. Includes a printed letter from Harrison's New York Committee of supporters, addressed to the Honorable Chas. Strong of Jefferson County, New York [1835]. A scarce broadside, there are five other known copies, including an example at the Library of Congress and four other distinguished institutions. Provenance: From the Camp Family Archive of Sackets Harbor, NY, with items relating to the… Read More

New York: Random House, 1942. Limited Edition. Cloth. Very good. Signed limited edition of Go Down, Moses and Other Stories by William Faulkner.. Octavo, [10], 383pp. Three-quarter orange buckram, paper covered boards, top edge gilt, title in gilt on spine. Stated "First Printing" on copyright page. Solid text block, light wear to fore edge of text block. Archival repairs to spine and board edges, tears on pages 285-288 repaired with Japanese tissue. (Petersen A21c) From a limited edition of 100 copies signed by William Faulkner, this being number 55. The smallest limitation of any Faulkner signed works. A scarce example. William Faulkner (1897-1962) was an award-winning author with stories focusing on the American South. His work won the Nobel Prize in Literature and two Pulitzer Prizes for Fiction. A few specific pieces (most notably The Sound and the Fury) are considered to be in the top 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The title Go Down, Moses and Other Stories was shortened… Read More

Amsterdam: For the widow of Joannes van Someren, the heirs of Joannes van Dyk, Henry Boom and widow of Theodore Boom, 1685. First Edition. Leather bound. Very good. First edition of Anatomia Humani Corporis by Govard Bidloo, published in 1685, complete with 105 engraved plates after Gérard de Lairesse.. Elephant folio. Full period leather, rebacked with original spine laid down, raised bands, title in gilt over red morocco spine label, decorative gilt compartments. Rubbing to tips, bumped corners, solid text block. Full piece measures 15.25" x 25.5". Bookseller's label on front pastedown endpaper, early ownership notation on front flyleaf. Some soiling to top edge of text block. Archival repairs to closed tears along lower quarter of title page and frontispiece, a handful of small archival reinforcements at various points, two wormholes with limited impact to illustrations or text. Includes an additional engraved title page, a frontispiece portrait of Bidloo engraved by Abraham Blooteling after… Read More

New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926. First Edition, First Printing. Cloth. Near fine/very good. First edition, first printing of Soldiers' Pay by William Faulkner, in a first state dust jacket.. Octavo, 319pp. Blue cloth, title stamped in yellow on spine and front cover. Contemporary ownership inscription across half-title. Solid text block, light rubbing to tips of spine, a near fine example. In the publisher's restored, first state dust jacket. Retail price of $2.50 on front flap, An American Tragedy listed on rear panel, restoration to spine and flap folds, bright illustrations. Housed in custom gray cloth clamshell case, title in gilt over red spine label. (Bruccoli & Clark, 121) (Petersen A2a) A handsome example of Faulkner's first novel, one of approximately 2500 copies. Provenance: Sold by Parke-Bernet Galleries of New York in 1940, part of the library of the late Paul Lemperly of Lakewood, Ohio, who was a notable book collector of association copies. Includes Lemperly's bookplate on front pastedown.

Evanston, Ill: Library of Living Philosophers, Inc, 1949. Signed Limited Edition. Cloth. Fine. The signed limited edition of Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, from the Library of Living Philosophers.. Octavo, xvi, 779pp. Publisher's brown textured cloth, title stamped in gilt. Top edge gilt, Numerous unopened leaves, internally fine. Lacking the scarce glassine dust jacket. Includes a purchase invoice from March of 1968. Housed in the publisher's brown cardboard slipcase, shelf wear to panels, bumped corners, solid binding. From a limited edition of 760 signed copies, with 10 for presentation, this being number 64, signed and dated by Albert Einstein on limitation page. Includes 25 "Descriptive and Critical Essays" on the scientific work of Albert Einstein, by his contemporaries, including Wolfgang Pauli, Max Born, Niels Bohr and many more.

Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854. First Edition, First Issue. Full leather. Fine. First edition, first issue of Walden, or Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau, bound by Zaehnsdorf of London.. Octavo, 357pp, [3], [8pp], [1]. Full black morocco. Five raised bands, title in gilt on spine. Touch of sunning to spine. Top edge gilt with gilt turn-ins, marbled endpapers. Bound by Zaehnsdorf of London for A.C. McClurg & Co. of Chicago, with imprint on second endpaper. Solid text block, free of foxing or notations. Includes map of Walden Pond inserted after Page 306, with S.W. Chander & Bro. imprint along bottom edge. Eight pages of publisher's advertisements at rear of volume, dated "April, 1854" with no priority stated in BAL. Original cloth covers and spine bound in at rear. (BAL 20106) (Borst A2.1.a) (Grolier American 63). This American classic is scarce seen in its first edition form. The publisher, Ticknor and Fields, only published 2,000 copies for the initial run.

London: Tho. Cotes for Robert Allot, 1632. Second Folio. Leather bound. Near fine. The Tragedie of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, from the Second Folio, published in 1632. Contains eleven original leaves from the text.. Folio, 129-150pp. Leaves measure 312 x 212mm. Full paneled calf, tooled in blind, title stamped in gilt on front cover, raised bands on spine. First 7 leaves free of notable wear or restoration. Conservative paper restoration to leaf end of Page 143-144 and Page 145-146, with band added along fore edge. Leaf 149-150 laid down over new paper, edges trimmed. (Pforzheimer 906) (Jaggard 496) (Greg III: 1113-1116) (STC 22274a) A scarce and handsome presentation of Julius Caesar from Shakespeare's Second Folio. The second folio of William Shakespeare's plays was published in 1632 and contained 36 plays in total. It followed the first folio, which was published in 1623. It is estimated that approximately 1000 copies of the second folio were produced, with only a handful of complete… Read More

Milan: Rizzoli, 1967. Limited Edition. Full leather. Fine. Limited edition of the Biblia Sacra, an illustrated bible featuring 105 lithographs from original works by Salvador Dalí.. Folio, [five volumes]. Bound in publisher's original full brown morocco. Each volume with five raised bands, lightly rubbed, gilt compartments, and title in gilt along spines. Silk endpapers. Top edges gilt, other edges untrimmed. Solid text blocks, all vibrant and fine. Housed in original slipcases, all with matching brown morocco edges and silk covered boards. Cases with a few small scuffs and spots of toning, near fine condition. Signed by the publisher on the preface of Volume I. One of 1499 copies of the "edition luxus," this being number 974. Complete with 105 lithographs printed in color on heavy paper, each protected by a captioned tissue guard. All lithographs created from the original gouache, watercolor, ink, and pastel paintings by Salvador Dalí, which he completed in 1963 and 1964. Text pages feature… Read More

New York: Robert O. Ballou, 1933. Limited Edition. Cloth. Very good. The signed limited edition of Roll, Jordan, Roll with text by Julia Peterkin and photographs by Doris Ulmann, complete with 90 photographic plates.. Quarto, [10], 13-341pp, [1]. Original brown paper-covered boards, three-quarter white linen corners and spine. Title in gilt on spine, portrait stamped in blind to front cover. Top edge gilt. Solid text block, foxing to cloth, some rubbing to gilt title on spine. Housed in the publisher's brown slipcase, small points of restoration with archival glue to corners. Complete with 90 full-page photographs depicting former enslaved peoples, their families, and their homes. All plates remain vibrant, most lacking tissue guards. Includes an original photograph by Ulmann, laid-in at front with her signature in pencil on the bottom right corner. Stated on limitation page: "Of this special edition of Roll, Jordan, Roll, 350 copies, each numbered and signed by Julia Peterkin and Doris Ulmann, have… Read More

Washington DC: The White House, 1941. Limited Edition. Boards. Near fine. Signed limited edition of Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States from July 19, 1940 to January 20, 1941, one of 75 copies, inscribed to his youngest son, John Roosevelt.. Octavo, 114pp, [2]. Publisher's marbled boards, vellum spine, title on green label affixed to the spine. Top edge gilt. Lacking scarce cardboard slipcase. Faint toning to vellum spine, otherwise fine. Internally clean. (Halter 193, B) Housed in custom half leather chemise, title on spine with decorative bands. One of six copies to appear on the public market since publication. From a limited edition of 75 copies printed by the Government Printing Office for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, this being number 54, initialed on limitation page by "F.D.R." Additional inscription on front free endpaper: "For Johnny and Anne / with a Happy Christmas + love from Franklin D. Roosevelt." This limited edition is the fifth Christmas book… Read More