Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2016 Issue

Books on Many Things from Raptis Rare Books

Raptis Rare Books, now of Palm Beach, Florida, recently released a new catalogue of books. It does not have a discernible title, but the table of contents sums up what sort of material is to be found – featured items, literature, children's literature, nonfiction, science & natural history, history & American presidents (editor's note: no Donald Trump yet), biography & autobiography, travel & exploration, art, photography & design, golf, cook books, and economics & finance. There aren't too many collectors who won't find something of interest among those topics. Here are a few varied samples from this selection.

 

We begin with a poignant reminder that no matter how important and powerful, we are all susceptible to tragedy and deep sorrow. In the case of England's then longest reigning monarch, Queen Victoria, that sadness lasted 40 years. The Principal Speeches and Addresses of His Royal Highness The Prince Consort is a collection of speeches by Prince Albert, Victoria's husband. Albert came from part of what is today Germany to marry the Queen, hence his unkingly title. However, he took on numerous responsibilities on the Queen's behalf, influential in policy and gaining greater respect from the British public as the years wore on. And, Victoria loved him dearly. If most royal marriages are little more than political alliances, this one was different. Unfortunately, while the Queen reigned for 63 years and lived for 81, Albert died at the age of 42. His speeches were published posthumously in 1862, he having died the previous year. This copy is inscribed by her a year after Albert's death to Sylvain Van de Weyer, a former Prime Minister of Belgium: "To M. Van de Weyer In recollection of the sincere friendship which existed for so many years between him & the beloved Prince brokenhearted widow Victoria Reg." She never got over the loss of Albert, continuing to mourn him the remaining 40 years of her life. Item 18088. Priced at $8,800.

 

This man's marriage was as volatile as Victoria and Albert's was stable. F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, were poster children for the Jazz Age and all its extravagances and decadence. The volatility of their personalities enabled them to reach great heights in their relationship early, followed by years of lows, exacerbated by Zelda's increasing mental issues. She would end up institutionalized, while he drank himself to death at the age of 44. Fitzgerald's classic of his times is The Great Gatsby, his most notable portrayal of the lifestyle he lived. Item 18067 is a 1925 first edition, first state. It is particularly notable as it was the personal copy of, and is signed by, Sheilah Graham. She was a Hollywood gossip columnist, and more notably, Fitzgerald's last lover. He had moved to Hollywood to be a screenwriter, a job he hated but he needed the money. Zelda now in an asylum, Scott and Graham moved in together. They only had a few years together until Fitzgerald's ways brought an end to his life in 1940. It was she who found him, dead from a heart attack. $8,800.

 

The recent presidential election reminds us of the importance of political debates. However, no debates were more memorable than those of Lincoln and Douglas, and they weren't even presidential. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas would match up in the presidential election of 1860, but their famed debates took place two years earlier when they were running for the senate. That time, unlike in 1860, Douglas won. Nonetheless, Lincoln's performance was so outstanding that he decided to compile accounts of what was said at the debates and produce it in time for the 1860 election. Item 16003 is Political Debates between Hon. Abraham Lincoln and Hon. Stephen A. Douglas, In the Celebrated Campaign of 1858, in Illinois. Lincoln had clipped out newspaper accounts of their speeches, and published more or less what was said in 1860, in time for the presidential election. $8,200.

 

No one has popularized science quite like Carl Sagan. Sagan was a scientist in general, astronomer in particular, and a writer, though not all that well known when he began his Cosmos television series. It was a huge hit, the most popular series ever to run on Public Television. Sagan would explain the mysteries of the universe to an audience of ordinary people. It made him controversial in the scientific community, finding his programs somewhat less than scientifically rigorous, but Sagan understood that science needed an educated public to support the funding needed to carry out research. He felt it would receive greater public support if the people paying the bills understood its importance. To go along with the series, Sagan published a book of the same name – Cosmos – in 1980. It is the best-selling science book in the English language ever published. This copy has been inscribed "To Les and Edie, with love and every good wish," on September 28, 1980. Les and Edie were his in-laws. Item 15097. $6,500.

 

Those old enough to remember Alfred Hitchcock's television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, will appreciate this item. Hitchcock was a film director, a master of suspense and fear. His television show offered shorts of the type of mysteries found in his movies. The show opened with a character sketch of Hitchcock's profile. He would walk on stage, his actual profile eclipsing the character, after which he would announce "Good Evening." Most people were probably unaware that the spartan character sketch was created by Hitchcock himself. Item 21011 is a copy of that sketch, drawn by Hitchcock and inscribed by him. $2,800.

 

Item 15085 is a framed original copy of the New York Times. It was a bad day. Specifically, it was from "Black Thursday," October 25, 1929, the first day of the stock market crash. The headline screams, Worst Stock Crash Stemmed By Banks; 12,894,650-Share Day Swamps Market; Leaders Confer, Conditions Sound. Not exactly. Bad as it was, no one had any idea on October 25, 1929, just how long and bad the times would become. Ten-plus years of the Great Depression lay ahead. As for that massive 12.8 million share trading day, Apple alone now trades three times as many shares on an average day. $5,000.

 

Raptis Rare Books may be reached at 800-727-3266 or mail@raptisrarebooks.com. Their website is found at www.raptisrarebooks.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.

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