FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF RAYNAL'S REVOLUTION OF AMERICA, 1781, THAT PROMPTED PAINE'S FAMOUS 1782 LETTER… TO ABBÉ RAYNAL
RAYNAL, Abbé [Guillaume Thomas François]. Revolution of America. London, 1781.
First edition in English, simultaneous with the first French edition, of Raynal's provocative work that dismissed the American Revolution as a "temporary upheaval," triggering Paine's fierce reply in his Letter… to Abbé Raynal, where he heralded the American cause as "the first war to be based on principle in the history of the world." $1400.
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"'FAITH' IN THE FIGHT OF BLACK MEN FOR FREEDOM"
WRIGHT, Richard. Bright and Morning Star. New York, 1941.
First separate edition of one of Wright's earliest and most provocative looks at "racial injustice and violence in the American South," based on rumors he heard as a young boy about a Black woman who "avenged the murder of her husband" by shooting the white men responsible, a handsome copy in fragile original wrappers. $950.
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"WHAT IS LOVELY NEVER DIES, BUT PASSES INTO OTHER LOVELINESS"
ALDRICH, Thomas Bailey. Writings. Cambridge, 1897-1908. Nine volumes. Autograph edition, number 86 of only 250 large-paper copies signed by Aldrich on the limitation page. $450.
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