Search Results: Titles starting with N from Raptis Rare Books

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979. First edition of this annotated compendium of the Nabokov-Wilson letters. Octaovo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Bacon. In 1965 a memorable literary sensation was crafted by Edmund Wilson's severely critical review of Vladimir Nabokov's annotated translation of Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and by Nabokov's reply. The 264 letters in this volume represent the extant correspondence with a superb introductory essay and running commentary by Simon Karlinsky, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of California at Berkeley.

New York: Phaedra Publishers, 1966. First edition of this collection of Nabokov's short stories. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Photographic portrait of Nabokov by J.M. Schlemmer on rear panel.

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1971. First edition of le Carre's classic sixth novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by John le Carre on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Tony Geddes. Loosely based on Le Carre's relationship with James and Susan Kennaway following the breakdown of his first marriage, The Naive and Sentimental Lover follows the story of Aldo Cassidy, a young entrepreneur who meets an aging writer and his beautiful wife with whom he develops a passionate relationship. Upon its release, the novel received mixed reviews, and prompted Le Carre's return to the spy genre and his most famous character George Smiley with the acclaimed Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and subsequent sequels in The Quest for Karla trilogy.

London: Jonathan Cape, 1967. First edition of the author's classic work, which established the field of evolutionary anthropology. Octavo, original half cloth. Inscribed by the author, "For Barry -The Paine was a pleasure- best wishes Desmond Jan. 1968." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Uncommon signed and inscribed. Zoologist Dr. Desmond Morris has stunned the world by writing about humans in the same way scientists describe animals The former curator of mammals at London Zoo who is best known for planning to bring together Chi Chi the panda with Moscow’s An An panda bear says he wants to popularise and demystify science. The provocative book sheds new light on our own behaviour and society, describing our ways of ‘feeding, sleeping, fighting, mating and rearing young.’ (BBC, contemporary review).

New York: Essential Books, 1945. First edition of this classic photography book. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Inscribed and dated in 1946 by Weegee. An excellent tight example that shows some rubbing and wear. Weegee is the pseudonym of criminal photographer Arthur Fellig. The nickname is a phonetic rendering of Ouija, a reference to Fellig's prescient arrivals at scenes only minutes after committed crimes and reported emergencies ("'Unknown Weegee,' on Photographer Who Made the Night Noir," New York Times). The book of photography can be seen as a noirish glance into the urban life of the early Twentieth Century.

New York: Grove Press, Inc, 1962. First American edition, first issue jacket with no zip code on rear panel and no roman numerals on lower spine near back panel of Burroughs' classic novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by William S. Burroughs on the title page. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket with a touch of rubbing. Included is the original prospectus issued by Grove Press prior to publication. Photograph of Burroughs on the rear panel by Martha Rocher. An exceptional example, scarce with the original prospectus. Naked Lunch is considered Burroughs' seminal work. Extremely controversial in both its subject matter and its use of obscene language (something Burroughs recognized and intended), the book was banned in Boston and Los Angeles in the United States, and several European publishers were harassed. It was one of the more recent American books over which an obscenity trial was held. The book was banned in Boston in 1962 due to obscenity (notably child murder and acts of… Read More

London: Allan Wingate, 1949. First British edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For ________ ________, Spent a winter once in Jamaica, Vermont, back in 1949, Loved it. Cheers Norman Mailer." Very good in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by James Holland. The Naked and the Dead follows the story of an army platoon of foot soldiers fighting for the Japanese island of Anopopei. "The best novel to come out of the . . . war, perhaps the best book to come out of any war" (San Francisco Chronicle). "The narrative presents, with great accuracy and power, the agony of the American troops in the Pacific campaign It remains Mailer’s best, and certainly the best war novel to emerge from the United States" (Burgess, 42-43).

New York: Henry Holt, 2005. First edition of the 50th anniversary edition of the author's classic first novel. Thick octavo, original boards. Lengthily inscribed by the author on the half-title page, who has transcribed the first line of this title as follows, "All over the ship, all through the convoy there was a knowledge that in a few hours some of them were going to be dead. Norman Mailer." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. A unique example. The Naked and the Dead follows the story of an army platoon of foot soldiers fighting for the Japanese island of Anopopei. "The best novel to come out of the . . . war, perhaps the best book to come out of any war" (San Francisco Chronicle). "The narrative presents, with great accuracy and power, the agony of the American troops in the Pacific campaign It remains Mailer’s best, and certainly the best war novel to emerge from the United States" (Burgess, 42-43).

New York: Rinehart and Company, 1948. First edition of the author's classic first book. Thick octavo, original black boards. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "To Paul after the pleasure of our first meeting Norman Mailer Oct. '87." The recipient, Paul Bartel was a director, actor and the creator of such films as Eating Raoul, Death Race 2000, Lust in the Dust, among others. Very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco chemise and clamshell box. Jacket design by Karov. Norman Mailer claimed to have four books on his desk while he wrote The Naked and the Dead: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Wolfe's Of Time and the River, Dos Passos' U.S.A. and Farrell's Studs Lonigan. It was with this tongue partly in cheek that he asserted that the "overspirit is Tolstoy, the rococo comes out of Dos Passos, the fundamental slogging style from Farrell and the occasional overrich descriptions from Wolfe." The Naked and the… Read More

New York: Rinehart and Company, 1948. First edition of the author's first book. Thick octavo, original black boards. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to journalist Joe Haas, "For Joe Haas in Jamaica after our Lady Norman Mailer May 1969." Near fine in a very good first issue price-clipped dust jacket with light wear to the extremities. Jacket design by Karov. Norman Mailer claimed to have four books on his desk while he wrote The Naked and the Dead: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, Wolfe's Of Time and the River, Dos Passos' U.S.A. and Farrell's Studs Lonigan. It was with this tongue partly in cheek that he asserted that the "overspirit is Tolstoy, the rococo comes out of Dos Passos, the fundamental slogging style from Farrell and the occasional overrich descriptions from Wolfe." The Naked and the Dead follows the story of an army platoon of foot soldiers fighting for the Japanese island of Anopopei. "The best novel to come out of the . .… Read More

London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1930. First edition of Greene's second novel, which was never reprinted. Octavo, original cloth. In very good condition. Rare. Greene's second novel, The Name of Action, follows the strange turn of events that occur when wealthy British youth Oliver Chant is sent to Germany to participate in an underground Communist rebellion. Greene became disenchanted with the work and prevented it from being reprinted, making it one of his scarcer titles.

New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1980. First edition of one of the best-selling books of all-time, basis for the film starring Sean Connery. Octavo, original cloth. Translated from the Italian by William Weaver. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "a Charlie Winick Umberto Ecco 16 June 83." The recipient, Charles Winick, was an American author, psychologist, professor of anthropology and sociology, and academic, noted for his work in the fields of gender, drug addiction, and prostitution. After serving in Military Intelligence during World War II, he was a professor of sociology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and the City College of New York, taught at Columbia University, and was the author of more than 40 books, including The New People: Desexualization in American Life, published in 1969, in which he contended that American society was "following the path of Ancient Greece and Rome" by gradually becoming a "neutered society." His… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. First edition of this "brilliant... a powerful, haunting book" (The New York Times Book Review). Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Frank Best ever Don DeLillo." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Fred Marcellino. Set against the backdrop of a lush and exotic Greece, The Names is considered the book which began to drive "sharply upward the size of his readership" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Among the cast of DeLillo's bizarre yet fully realized characters in The Names are Kathryn, the narrator's estranged wife; their son, the six-year-old novelist; Owen, the scientist; and the neurotic narrator obsessed with his own neuroses. A thriller, a mystery, and still a moving examination of family, loss, and the amorphous and magical potential of language itself, The Names stands with any of DeLillo's more recent and highly acclaimed works.

Paris: Librairie Hachette, 1895. First edition of one of the richest Napoleonic iconographies published. Folio, original publisher's full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, large gilt central insignia to the front panel, all edges gilt, watered silk endleaves, ribbon bound in, illustrated with hundreds of tissue-guarded chromolithographs. In near fine condition. Napoleon Bonaparte rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, and again in 1815. Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, building a large empire that ruled over continental Europe before its final collapse in 1815. One of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. He… Read More

Richmond, VA: Printed for Private Distribution Only, 1861. First edition of the first book printed in the Confederacy. Quarto, original stiff paper wrappers, one of approximately 50 copies issued on regular paper. Ten being issued on thick paper, and twenty copies destroyed in a fire. In very good condition, reinforcement to the hinges. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box. Howes F26. Sabin 23778. Exceptionally rare. David Fanning was one of the most infamous of the Southern Tories, raiding Patriots throughout the Carolinas. His guerilla warfare only paused when he was captured, but following each of his multiple escapes he would quickly resume his vengeful predation. His narrative was to be the first in a series, but the Civil War intervened and only this initial volume was produced. It was reprinted by Sabin in 1865, but this original edition was noted by Goodspeed's "as one of the finest of Confederate imprints.

London: Richard Bentley, 1842. Published under the pen name Charles Mason, James Lewis published his memoirs of his travels throughout the Middle East and Central Asia in 1844. Completing most of the journey on foot, penniless, and in disguise, Lewis was at first thought to be a Russian using the alias Masson, but later discovered to be a deserter from the British army as Ludhiana. The narrative is the culmination of over twelve years of travels and archaeological studies, unique among Europeans of that era.

Washington, D.C: Beverley Tucker, Senate Printer, 1856. Special presentation first edition with secretarial note signed by Ulysses S. Grant as President, sending this specially bound example to Sir Edward Thornton, "As a slight evidence of his kindness in undertaking the laborious task of arbitrating the questions between the United States and Brazil in the case of the ship Canada," signed January 14, 1871. Quarto, four volumes, bound in full contemporary morocco over beveled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, with Grant's note tipped between endpapers in volume one, illustrated throughout, the censored bathing plate present, lacking three hand colored natural history plates (one bird, one fish, one shells), with two duplicate copies of fish plate XII. In near fine condition.

London: John Murray, 1853. First edition of Sir Francis Galton's account of his expedition to South West Africa. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to this spine six compartments within raised gilt bands, elaborate gilt tooling to the front and real panels within triple gilt ruling with fleuron cornerpieces and central motif stamped in blind, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt. Illustrated with maps, plates and woodcuts including tissue-guarded frontispiece in color. In near fine condition. Name to the pastedown. English Victorian era polymath, anthropologist, and geographer Sir Francis Galton joined the Royal Geographical Society in 1850 and soon mounted a difficult two-year expedition into then little-known South West Africa (now Namibia), accompanied by a party of nearly forty men. He compiled his findings in his Narrative of an Explorer in Tropical South Africa, published with the intent of filling in the previously unmapped areas lying between the Cape… Read More

London: Printed for George Nicol, 1790.

Boston: Published By The Author, 1875. Rare first revised edition of the book that brought Truth's remarkable story to the world and the first edition of The Book of Life. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, illustrated frontispiece portrait of Truth. In very good condition, contemporary ownership inscription on front free endpaper. Rare and desirable.