Rare books from Raptis Rare Books

London: John Murray, 1859. First edition of "certainly the most important biological book ever written" (Freeman), one of 1250 copies. Octavo, bound in original cloth, half-title, one folding lithographed diagram, without advertisements. In very good condition with cracks to inner hinges and a touch of shelfwear. Housed in a custom clamshell box. A fine example of this landmark work.

London: Routledge & Sons, 1944. First edition of one of the most influential and popular expositions of classical liberalism ever published. Octavo, original black cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Dr Karl Popper a fellow struggler for freedom with friendly greetings from F.H. Hayek." Also included is a letter signed by Karl Popper to his assistant Melitta Mew, presenting her with this book as a birthday gift ("...It is the copy he sent me to New Zealand on publication of the book, with a beautiful dedication. And thank you for everything you are doing for my work (and me)... Karl"), on his stationery of 136 Welcomes Road, Kenley, Surrey, and dated 23 January 1994. While this book was very special to Popper, he had been diagnosed with cancer and passed away from complications in September. Ms. Mew helped to put together Popper's lectures and essays in a book, which was published in 1996: "In search of a better world : lectures and essays from thirty… Read More

Amsterdam: Chez Jean Blaeu/Apud Guiljelmum et Johannem Blaeu, 1643-1645. In 1630, Willem Janszoon Blaeu, the official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company, published his first world atlas, the Atlantis Appendix, with 60 engraved maps. The second expanded edition, with 99 maps, appeared the following year and Blaeu continued to produce new maps at such a rate that by 1634, he announced his intention to publish a new world atlas, entitled the Theatrum. This atlas, which originally incorporated most of the maps from Blaeu's Appendix, was expanded so rapidly that by 1643, when this version appeared, it consisted of four volumes with 336 maps. Widely considered one of the finest seventeenth century illustrated books printed, Blaeu's Theatrum is universally acclaimed for the quality of the engraving, paper, and fine coloring.

1909.

Paris: Shakespeare and Company, 1922. Ulysses was published in Paris by Shakespeare & Company, 1922. It was a struggle for the author to find a publisher, a comic irony considering that Ulysses is "[u]niversally hailed as the most influential work of modern times" (Grolier Joyce 69). Ulysses was an immediate success. The first printing sold out, and "within a year Joyce had become a well-known literary figure. Ulysses was explosive in its impact on the literary world of 1922" (de Grazia, 27). Even so, the book faced difficulties in global reception. It was banned in the U.K. and was prosecuted for the obscenity in the Nausicaa episode (Ellmann, 1982). Joyce's inspiration for the novel began as a young boy reading Charles Lamb's Adventures of Ulysses and writing an essay entitled "My Favorite Hero" after being impressed by the wholeness of the character (Goreman, 1939). The idea for the novel grew from a story in Dubliners in 1906, which Joyce expanded into… Read More

London: Routledge & Sons, 1944.

Rembrandt Peale's famed painted portrait of George Washington, "George Washington, Patriae Pater", considered by many second only to Gilbert Stuart's iconic Athenaeum portrait of the first president and variations of which hang in the Oval Office and Old Senate Chamber. Oil on canvas. In 1795, 17-year-old Rembrandt Peale was invited by his father, famed American painter Charles Willson Peale, to accompany him to a portrait sitting with President George Washington. Although young Rembrandt was not entirely satisfied with the resulting portrait of the aging Washington, it was well-received and made his debut as a portraitist. In 1822, after a trip to Paris where he was influenced by the Neoclassical style, Peale moved to New York City, where he embarked on an attempt to paint what he hoped would become the "standard likeness" of Washington; one that would encapsulate the first President's "mild, thoughtful & dignified, yet firm and energetic Countenance" through the study of the famed Washington… Read More

London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1937.

Columbus: Follett, Foster and Company, 1860.

London: Thomas Berthelet, 1549. First edition in English of one of the most notable and popular works of the Renaissance which played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation and swiftly brought its author international fame. First printing with 'latine' and the printer's initials 'TB.' to the title page. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, wide woodcut border to the title page signed TB., woodcut printer's device to the final page. In near fine condition. Early ownership name to the title page and light marginalia. Small leather bookplate of Francis Kettaneh affixed to the verso of the front free endpaper. Exceptionally rare with only two other examples traced at auction in the last 100 years.

London: Bloomsbury, 1997-2007.

London: Printed for David Henry; and sold by Francis Newbery, at the Corner of St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1769.

London: George Allen and Unwin, 1954-55. First editions, first states of each title comprising the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Octavo, 3 volumes, original red cloth, folding maps at the rear of The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Each volume is signed by J.R.R. Tolkien on the front free endpapers. Each volume is housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. The Fellowship of the Ring lacking the folding map at rear. An exceptional set, most rare and uncommon signed. The Lord of the Rings began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II in letters to his son, "and finally, having polished it to his own satisfaction, published it as a trilogy from 1954 to 1955, a volume at a time, impatiently awaited by a growing audience. It is considered one of this century’s lasting contributions to that borderland of literature between… Read More

Madrid: Por Juan de La Cuesta, vendese en casa de Francisco de Robles, librero del Rey, 1608-1615.

Printed at Worcester, Massachusetts: Isaiah Thomas, 1790.