History, Culture & Ideas from The Manhattan Rare Book Company

Leydon: Peter Leffen & Francis Moyard, 1662. First edition. contemporary vellum. Very Good. FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST TEXTBOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY. "René Descartes's Treatise of man (De homine, 1662; Traité de l'homme, 1664) was never intended to stand as a work on its own. It was one part of a much larger work, Le monde (The world). Although this… Read more about this item

Rome: Roma: G.Giacomo de Rossi, 1660. 5th edition or later. no binding. Fine. Beautiful 1660 engraving of the Baths of Caracalla, by Marco Sadeler. Exquisite original engraving from 1660 of Rome showing parts of the Baths of Caracalla.  Engraved by Marco Sadeler, part of the most famous European print-making family of the 17th Century. Plate… Read more about this item

London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1965. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Fine. SCARCE PRESS RELEASE for the State Funeral of Winston Churchill, WITH FINE COPIES of "The Order of Service" and the "Ceremonial to be Observed". Churchill died on 24 January, 1965. "The funeral was six days later, the coffin having lain in state in Westminster Hall for the… Read more about this item

Paris: np. 1st Edition. No Binding. Fine. Striking vellum leaf with large, colorful miniature of the classic scene of Job on the dunghill. On recto: Two-part miniature featuring Job. In the center of the top image is Job, wearing only a loincloth, on a dunghill, with three men dressed in lavish robes on his left. In the… Read more about this item

np: np. 1st Edition. No Binding. Very Good. LARGE (8 x 10 in ) PHOTOGRAPH OF RAND, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED in ink in the bottom margin: "To Carl Davis - / -Cordially - Ayn Rand / 8-25-78". A fine portrait of Rand in her later years. A little ink variation on the inscription, due to the glossy paper,… Read more about this item

Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company/Riverside Press. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Autograph edition, number 43 of 750 copies signed by Burroughs. Beautifully bound in publisher's morocco. Complete 23-volume set, profusely illustrated with engraved or photogravure frontispieces and other illustrations throughout on Japan paper. Note: A manuscript leaf is tipped in… Read more about this item

London: G.G.J. and J. Robinson. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. FIRST EDITION of one of the most important political tracts of the 18th century. "The Enquiry was, and remained, the work by which [Godwin] was best known. It was one of the earliest, the clearest, and most absolute theoretical expositions of socialist and anarchist doctrine. Godwin believed… Read more about this item

London: Kegan Paul. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Fine. FIRST EDITION IN ORIGINAL CLOTH of Burton's second expedition through Midian (northwest Arabia). Although Burton failed to unearth the vast amounts of gold he believed were in the region, the expedition, sponsored by the Egyptian Khedive Ismail I, was a major geographical and archaeological success. Complete with folding map, 6 colored… Read more about this item

No Binding. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED, to Reverend J. T. Freeman. Davis writes to Reverend Freeman thanking him for a proposed endowment to support the former President of the Confederacy. The letter provides a poignant glimpse of the former leader's post-war plight. He tells of his personal loss and hardship, but at the same time expresses his pride and gratitude… Read more about this item

No Binding. Very Good. Typed letter, in Hebrew, signed "D. Ben-Gurion" as Minister of Defense on State of Israel letterhead, one page, 6" x 8", August 26, 1955. Translation of the Hebrew text: "I have no doubt that the problem of security disturbs your rest. True, the problem of security, at this time, is the… Read more about this item

Ossining: np. 1st Edition. No Binding. Fine. Typescript Signed, an essay titled Music as an Aspect of the Human Spirit, written by the composer for Columbia University's bicentennial celebration. Signed on the last page. 11 1/4 pages, twelve 4to sheets. [Ossining?], circa 1954. An annotated typed draft of the same work is located in the Copland Papers at… Read more about this item