AN AMERICAN RARITY—JEFFERSON'S PERSONAL COPY

(JEFFERSON, Thomas) STEPHANO, Carolo (ESTIENNE, Charles). Dictionarium Historicum, Geographicum, Poeticum. Oxford, 1671.

A superb Presidential association copy—Thomas Jefferson's personal copy with his characteristic ownership markings of an important historical dictionary based on Estienne’s famous 16^th-century Dictionarium, “the first French encyclopedia.” This is an early reissue of editor Nicholas Lloyd’s Oxford 1670 edition, in Latin, an updated and improved edition of Estienne’s work that was “superior to any of the previous editions.” From the renowned Americana collection of Mrs. Philip D. Sang, in contemporary calf. Rare and desirable.

“A BOOK OF THE GREATEST RARITY”

(CONTINENTAL CONGRESS). Journal of the Proceedings of the Congress. Philadelphia, 1774. First edition, first issue, of the first official journal of the Continental Congress, one of the earliest publications of the American government, “a book of the greatest rarity.” Also presenting for the first time an attempt to design a seal to “represent emblematically a united nation” in America. An excellent copy in contemporary calf with half title. $65,000.

"THE CLEAREST OF ALL EXPOSITIONS OF THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY" (PMM): PAINE'S RIGHTS OF MAN, PARTS I & II, 1791-1792

PAINE, Thomas. Rights of Man. BOUND WITH: Part the Second. London, 1791, 1792.

Extremely rare editions of both parts of Paine's revolutionary classic Rights of Man. The exceptionally rare and desirable first edition, second issue of Part I, consisting of the text sheets from the famous suppressed and virtually unobtainable first issue printed by Paine's original publisher, Joseph Johnson (withdrawn by him on the day of publication because of British government intimidation), which were rescued by Paine and his friends, and the new title page and preface printed by Paine's new publisher, J.S. Jordan; bound together with the third edition of Part II. Rights of Man, one of Paine's most important, influential, and best-selling works, is "the clearest of all expositions on the basic principles of democracy" (PMM) and "one of the most ardent and clear defenses of human rights, liberty, and equality in any language" (Fructman). Paine hoped the work "would do for England what his Common Sense had done for America" (Gimbel), but it resulted in the prosecution of Paine, his publishers, and booksellers, and forced Paine to flee to France. $42,000.

RARE SHIP’S PAPERS SIGNED BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OF STATE WILLIAM SEWARD

LINCOLN, Abraham. Document signed (ship's papers). Washington, DC, September 26, 1864.

A remarkable ship’s passport signed by President Lincoln and his Secretary of State William Seward during the Civil War, authorizing passage for the ship Illinois, "lying at present in the port of New Bedford bound for Pacific Ocean, and laden with provisions, stores, and utensils for a whaling voyage." $38,000.

WARMLY INSCRIBED BY JFK AS PRESIDENT AND SIGNED BY JACKIE

(KENNEDY, John F.) (KENNEDY, Jacqueline). The White House: An Historic Guide. Washington, 1962.

Limited second edition of this guide to the White House, the second of two limited editions, number 38a of only 75 presentation copies specially bound in full morocco with the recipient's initials stamped in gilt on the front cover, warmly inscribed on the limitation page by President Kennedy to his close military aide, USAF General Godfrey McHugh: "For Godfrey McHugh, with warm personal regards, John Kennedy… Christmas 1962" and signed beneath his signature by the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. $29,000.

"THE BOOK COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER AND YOU HAVE CERTAINLY DONE A WONDERFUL JOB—AND I KNOW DAD WAS PLEASED"

KENNEDY, John F. Typed letter signed. WITH: As We Remember Joe. WITH: Publisher's mailing list and supporting materials. The Palace Hotal, San Francisco; and Cambridge, Massachusetts, Undated [1945] / 1945.

Exceptional typed letter by John F. Kennedy to the secretary of the publisher of the moving tribute to Joe Kennedy Jr., As We Remember Joe, noting that JFK was pleased with the book and requesting that it be sent to several people in England, boldly signed. Together with a presentation copy of the book, inscribed by JFK on the front free endpaper in the month of publication: "For Mr. Sherrill, with the greatest appreciation for all of his thoughtfulness, from Jack Kennedy, May 1945." Together with the publisher's typed mailing list and an archive of correspondence and other related materials. $27,500.

SIGNED BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN

LINCOLN, Abraham. Document signed. Washington, January 22, 1862.

Civil-War era document signed by President Lincoln and countersigned by Secretary of State William Henry Seward, appointing George S. Gideon to be the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police of the District of Columbia. $21,000.

“FIRST IN WAR, FIRST IN PEACE AND FIRST IN THE HEARTS OF HIS COUNTRYMEN”

KENDE, Geza. Portrait. No place, no date.

Handsome large full-length oil portrait of George Washington. $18,500.

"SYMBOL OF THE FREE PRESS AS A BULWARK AGAINST TYRANNY"

(ZENGER, John Peter). Case and Tryal of John Peter Zenger of New-York. London, 1738.

Second English edition (first published in New York in 1736) of the landmark trial of John Peter Zenger that produced "one of the famous decisions in legal history," pivotal to "the creation of the Bill of Rights and freedom of the press… had a lasting impact on the development of a libertarian ideology in both England and America," soundly viewed as "one of the famous decisions in legal history, establishing the epochal doctrine of the freedom of the press"—"one of the most important events of colonial times," a splendid copy, handsomely bound. $16,000.

"THE MOST FAMOUS AMERICAN BOOK OF COLONIAL TIMES AND THE INDISPENSABLE SOURCE FOR COLONIAL SOCIAL HISTORY"

MATHER, Cotton. Magnalia Christi Americana. London, 1702.

The exceptionally rare and exceedingly significant first edition of Cotton Mather's salvation history of colonial Massachusetts, the "most important 18th-century American book" (Howes M391), including the earliest 18th-century general map of New England (often not present). $15,000.

ENGLISH LIBERTIES “HAD MORE TO DO WITH PREPARING THE MINDS OF AMERICAN COLONISTS FOR THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION THAN… COKE, SIDNEY AND LOCKE”

CARE, Henry. English Liberties. Providence, Rhode-Island, 1774.

1774 American edition of Care's immensely influential English Liberties, preceded only by the 1721 Boston edition, issued not long after the Boston Tea Party and the same year as the First Continental Congress, with printings of the Magna Charta, the Habeas Corpus Act (1769)—"a second Magna Charta"—and foundational texts on jury trials, "principally designed for America," containing printing of the preface to the 1721 edition proclaiming "when liberty is once gone, even life itself grows insipid," with rear list of Subscriber's Names. $13,500.

"YOURS IN THE BOND, 'DUTCH'"

REAGAN, Ronald. Eureka College Yearbooks. Eureka, Illinois, 1930-31. Two volumes.

A pair of yearbooks from Eureka College for 1930 and 1931, featuring images of and commentary on a young Ronald Reagan, inscribed by him in the 1931 book next to a picture of him with the football team, "Best of luck & success to the Roommate. Remembering the stock of glassware. Yours in the bond, 'Dutch.'" $12,500.

"WE THE PEOPLE… DO ORDAIN AND ESTABLISH THIS CONSTITUTION": RARE ASSOCIATION COPY OF THE SECRET PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, ONE OF 1000 COPIES

(CONSTITUTION) UNITED STATES CONGRESS. Journal, Acts and Proceedings of the Convention. Boston, 1819.

First edition of the Journals, Acts and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, held May 14 to September 17, 1787, one of only 1000 copies, printed by order of Congress, breaking the "seal of secrecy" and revealing publicly for the first time "the Secret Journals of the Acts and Proceedings, and the Foreign Correspondence," the first and earliest obtainable account of the Constitutional Convention. This exceedingly rare association copy contains the owner signature on the title page of Caesar Augustus Rodney, the nephew and namesake of Caesar Rodney, signer of the Declaration of Independence and prominent leader of the Stamp Act Congress, an exceptional copy in contemporary sheep, housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. $10,500.

"SATAN SEEMED TO BE MORE LET LOOSE, AND RAGED IN A DREADFUL MANNER"

EDWARDS, (Jonathan) Revd. A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God. Boston, 1738.

First American edition of this important account of the beginning of "The Great Awakening" by one of the most famous American religious figures, creator of "the first great religious revival of modern times" (ANB). Bound with Edwards' Discourses on Various Important Subjects, a collection of five sermons. $10000.

RARE DOCUMENT SIGNED BY SAMUEL ADAMS, 1796

ADAMS, Samuel. Document signed. Massachusetts, November 28, 1796.

Document signed by founding father and signer of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, in 1796 as Governor and Commander in Chief of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, affirming that William Donnison has taken "the oaths and the declarations prescribed by the Constitution of this Commonwealth" and appointing him to the Court of Common Pleas in the county of Suffolk. $9500.

DELUXE EDITION OF THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF THOMAS PAINE

PAINE, Thomas. Life and Writings of Thomas Paine. New York, (1908). Ten volumes.

Deluxe illustrated "Independence Edition" of the Centenary Issue of the writings of Thomas Paine, number 166 of only 500 numbered sets, signed on the limitation page by editor Daniel Edwin Wheeler. $8800.

"THE MYSTIC CHORDS OF MEMORY": LINCOLN’S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS, 1861

LINCOLN, Abraham. Inaugural Address. Washington, March 8, 1861.

Rare second printing of Lincoln's important first inaugural address, printed by order of the Senate four days after its delivery. $8800.

"AMERICANS! IN YOUR CONGRESS AT PHILADELPHIA… YOU LAID DOWN THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES… LIFE, LIBERTY AND PROPERTY"

[ADAMS, John]. Discourses on Davila. A Series of Papers. Boston, 1805.

First edition in book form of Adams' controversial essays on the dangers of unbridled democracy, a key work of the Federalist period and central to ongoing disputes between Jefferson and Adams. $8800.

SIGNED BY JIMMY CARTER, GERALD FORD, RICHARD NIXON, AND RONALD REAGAN

REAGAN, Ronald; NIXON, Richard; FORD, Gerald R.; and CARTER, Jimmy. Photograph signed by 4 presidents. Washington, 1981.

Original color photograph of Presidents Carter, Ford, Nixon, and Reagan at the White House prior to leaving for Anwar Sadat's funeral, signed by all four presidents. $8500.

"I WISH THE FUTURE PRESIDENT ALL THE LUCK IN THE WORLD AND HOPE HE WILL MAKE ME COMMANDING GENERAL"

PATTON, George S. Autograph letter signed. West Point, New York, May 15, 1907.

Autograph letter signed by Patton addressed to his future wife, Beatrice Ayer, while he was still a cadet at West Point. $8000.

"IT DEPENDS ON THE STATE ITSELF… WHETHER IT WILL CONTINUE A MEMBER OF THE UNION"

RAWLE, William. A View of the Constitution of the United States of America. Philadelphia, 1825.

First edition of Rawle's groundbreaking study of the Constitution—the "first authoritative interpretation" of the right of state secession—a powerful influence on "subsequent leaders and supporters of the Confederacy, although in fact Rawle opposed secession. $8000.

"THE GREATEST THREAT TO AMERICAN LIBERTIES": RARE FIRST EDITION OF CONTINUATION OF THE PROCEEDINGS, 1770, ISSUED IN BOSTON SAME YEAR AS THE BOSTON MASSACRE, DOCUMENTING THE "CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS" PROVOKED BY LT. GOVERNOR THOMAS HUTCHINSON

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION) (HUTCHINSON, Thomas) (ADAMS, John) (ADAMS, Samuel) (HANCOCK, John). Continuation of the Proceedings. Boston, 1770.

First edition of the momentous work that documents powerful legal and philosophical debates in a stand-off between Boston patriots and Hutchinson over his command to remove the Massachusetts Court from Boston amidst fury over the recent Boston Massacre, causing colonial leaders, chief among them Samuel and John Adams, to rage against "the most valuable of our Liberties from being wrested from us," this rare edition "almost certainly a major cause" of the Declaration of Independence "accusing the King of calling 'together legislative bodies at place… distance from the repository of their public records for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance." $8000.

THE AMERICAN BLACKSTONE

KENT, James. Commentaries on American Law. New York, 1826-30. Four volumes.

First edition of one of the most important legal treatises in American history, handsomely bound. $7800.

“A PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON REVOLUTIONARY IDEOLOGY”

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION) (GORDON, Thomas) (TRENCHARD, John). Cato's Letters. London, 1755. Four volumes.

1755 sixth edition of Trenchard and Gordon's famed essays, a major influence on the American Revolution—"ranked with the treatises of Locke as the most authoritative statement on the nature of political liberty and above Locke as an exposition of the social sources of the threats it faced" (Bailyn). A direct and important influence on many of the founding fathers and major writings of the American Revolution, including writers such as Franklin, Dickinson, Livingstone, John Adams and Zenger, and such seminal works as the Federalist, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. $7500.

“I HAVE BEEN… WITNESS TO TWO OTHER REVOLUTIONS… I SEE THE ARDOR FOR LIBERTY CATCHING AND SPREADING… THE DOMINION OF KINGS CHANGED FOR THE DOMINION OF LAWS…”

PRICE, Richard. Discourse on the Love of Our Country. London, 1789.

First edition, first impression, of one of Price's most important and famous works, his controversial and incendiary sermon on the revolutionary progress of human rights from England's 1688 Glorious Revolution to the American and French Revolutions. The first edition sold out within days and ignited the British pamphlet war over the French Revolution known as “the Revolution Controversy.” The work provoked Edmund Burke's strong attacks on Price in Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) and eloquent defenses of Price in Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Men (1790) and Paine’s Rights of Man (1791). $7500.

"THAT THESE AMERICAN STATES MAY NEVER CEASE TO BE FREE"

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION) ADAMS, Samuel. Oration delivered at the State-House. Philadelphia Printed; London, Re-printed for, 1776.

First edition of a fascinating Revolutionary work of deliberate political misdirection, misattributed to Samuel Adams, firebrand of the Boston Tea Party, published in the wake of the Declaration "to show that the colonies were bent on independence," issued in London despite the imprint of a fictional Philadelphia printing. $6750.

SIGNED BY FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AS PRESIDENT

ROOSEVELT, Franklin D. Democratic Book 1936. No place, 1936.

Signed limited first edition, number 539 of an unknown limitation signed by President Roosevelt, with illustrated title and limitation pages, 19 full-page portraits, dozens of in-text half-tones and illustrations, and a facsimile of the Constitution. $6200.

"LOVED LIBERTY AS WELL AS DID PATRICK HENRY… DESERVED IT AS MUCH AS THOMAS JEFFERSON"

(DOUGLASS, Frederick) (GRIFFITHS, Julia). Autographs for Freedom. Boston / Cleveland / London, 1853.

First edition of a powerful volume of nearly 40 works by leading abolitionists, together in print for the first time, co-edited by Frederick Douglass and Julia Griffiths, containing the first publication in book form of Douglass' novella, The Heroic Slave, his only work of fiction, invoking the defining leadership of fugitive slave Madison Washington in the 1841 successful slave rebellion on the Creole, a core event in the history of the "revolutionary Black Atlantic." With engraved frontispiece and two full-page engraved illustrations, especially rare in original unrestored cloth. $6000.

"IN POLITICAL ECONOMY I THINK SMITH'S WEALTH OF NATIONS THE BEST BOOK EXTANT" (THOMAS JEFFERSON)

SMITH, Adam. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London, 1791. Three volumes.

Sixth edition of Smith's landmark work, the first published after his death—"the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (PMM 221)—handsomely bound. $5600.

“THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL DECISION OF THE CENTURY, AND PERHAPS IN THE HISTORY OF THE SUPREME COURT”

(DRED SCOTT CASE) HOWARD, Benjamin. C. Dred Scott v. Sandford. Washington, D.C. 1857.

First edition of the complete report of the landmark Dred Scott decision that divided a nation, became “a prominent cause” of the Civil War, and ultimately generated the 14th Amendment, with complete opinions of all nine judges, including that of Chief Justice Taney. $5200.

"AT CERTAIN DISTANCES, DANGER AND PAIN ARE DELIGHTFUL"

(BURKE, Edmund). A Philosophical Enquiry Into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime. London, 1757.

First edition of Edmund Burke's influential work on "themes that dominated Burke's thinking," a touchstone in the development of British Romanticism and the theoretical foundation for his celebrated 1790 work, Reflections on the Revolution in France, scarce in contemporary calf. $5200.

"THE BUSINESS OF ALL POWER IS TO DEFEND THE LIVES, LIBERTIES AND PROPERTY OF THE PEOPLE"

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION) WEBSTER, Samuel, A.M. Sermon Preached Before… House of Representatives of the State of the Massachusetts-Bay… May 28, 1777. Boston, 1777.

First edition of Webster's electrifying 1777 Sermon delivered barely ten months after America's Declaration of Independence, invoking God's wrath to put the British "to flight speedily… make them quake with fear… and so return to their own lands… let them have neither credit nor courage, to come out any more against us." $4800.

FIRST EDITION OF CUSTER’S CLASSIC ACCOUNT OF MY LIFE ON THE PLAINS

CUSTER, George A. My Life on the Plains. New York, 1874.

First edition of this classic of western Americana, illustrated with eight full-page wood-engravings by A. Roberts, including a portrait of Custer and four portraits of chiefs, a very nice copy in the original cloth. $4800.

"I WAS AN ACTOR WHO KNEW HOW TO GIVE A GOOD SPEECH"

REAGAN, Ronald. Speaking My Mind. New York, 1989.

First trade edition of Reagan's selected speeches, inscribed by him on the dedication page, "To Dr. R— F— with Very Best Wishes & Regards. Ronald Reagan. March 22, 1990." $4500.

INSCRIBED BY PRESIDENT REAGAN

REAGAN, Ronald. American Life. New York, 1990.

First edition of the 40th President's autobiography, inscribed by him on the colophon leaf, "To L— A—. Aug. 11 - '93 Ronald Reagan." $4500.

FOUNDING FATHER JOHN DICKINSON'S POWERFUL 1765 ATTACK ON THE STAMP ACT

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION) (DICKINSON, John). Late Regulations. Philadelphia printed, London Re-printed, 1765.

First English edition of the seminal Revolutionary work by Dickinson—"one of the leaders of the opposition to the Stamp Act"—a rare copy of his influential attack on the 1765 Stamp Act, printed in London immediately after the Philadelphia first edition "on the order of Benjamin Franklin," who was then in London. $4500.

"THE RIGHT OF THE MOTHER COUNTRY TO IMPOSE SUCH A DUTY UPON HER COLONIES… CANNOT BE QUESTIONED"

(STAMP ACT) (WHATELY, Thomas). Regulations Lately Made concerning the Colonies… London, 1765.

First edition of the anonymously issued Regulations by secretary of the Treasury Whately—an "arch-foe" of American patriots—proclaiming Britain's right to tax Americans in the same year's infamous Stamp Act, also importantly drafted by Whately, here sparking colonial outrage and a key opposing work by America's Daniel Dulany, putting the "colonies on the road to revolution." $4500.

“DANGEROUS TO THE LIBERTIES OF THE PEOPLE”

ADAMS, Samuel. Massachusetts Resolution on Presidential Elections. Boston, 1796. Scarce 1796 official broadside of the controversial Massachusetts resolution on the upcoming presidential election that placed John Adams in office and named Jefferson his Vice-President, signed in print by Massachusetts Governor Samuel Adams, influential architect of the 1780 Massachusetts Constitution and signer of the Declaration of Independence. $4500.

"THE OFFICIAL WHISTLE-BLOWER OF THE HORRORS OF TRANSATLANTIC SLAVERY": EXCEEDINGLY SCARCE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF THOMAS CLARKSON'S FIRST WORK, ESSAY ON THE SLAVERY AND COMMERCE OF THE HUMAN SPECIES, 1786

(CLARKSON, Thomas). Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species. London, Printed: Philadelphia, 1786.

First American edition of Clarkson's extremely scarce first published work, preceded by the same year’s first English edition, his “famous prize essay”” on the abolition of slavery,” igniting the campaign “for one of the fundamental rights of man” (PMM 232). $4500.

SCARCE SHIP’S PAPERS BOLDLY SIGNED BY ULYSSES S. GRANT AS PRESIDENT, 1871

GRANT, Ulysses S. Document Signed [Ship's Papers]. New Bedford, MA, September 26, 1871.

Ship’s papers granting permission to Charles S. Holt, commander of the ship "Hunter," to depart from the port of New Bedford “laden with Provisions, and stores for a whaling voyage” to the Pacific Ocean. President Grant and Secretary of State Hamilton Fish have both boldly signed this document. With the fragile affixed paper seal of the United States present. $4500.

SIGNED BY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

OBAMA, Barack. Audacity of Hope. New York, 2006.

First edition, first printing, signed on the title page by President Barack Obama. $4500.

AMERICANS, "TO COMPLETE OUR POLITICAL HAPPINESS… SHOULD VOLUNTARILY RISE UP"

(AMERICAN REVOLUTION) SHUTE, Daniel, A.M. Sermon Preached before His Excellency Frncis Bernard…. May 25th, 1768. Boston: New-England, 1768.

First edition of Shute's provocative Sermon delivered in the aftermath of the Stamp Act and other punitive British legislation, asserting the basis for "political resistance" against violation of Americans' "natural and civil rights," affirming historians' view of colonial rebellion as fueled by clergy such as Reverend Shute, demonstrating "religion was a fundamental cause of the American Revolution." $4000.

"IT IS, SIR, AS I HAVE SAID A SMALL COLLEGE, AND YET THERE ARE THOSE THAT LOVE IT": 1819 LANDMARK DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE

(DARTMOUTH COLLEGE CASE) FARRAR, Timothy. Report of the Case of the Trustees of Dartmouth College. Portsmouth, N.H. 1819.

First edition of one of the most significant and influential of the early cases appearing before the Supreme Court, very scarce uncut and largely unopened in original paper boards. $4000.

“MY FIRST INTELLECTUAL CONTACT WITH THE THEORY OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE”

THOREAU, Henry David. Yankee in Canada. Boston, 1866.

First edition, first printing, containing the first book appearance of Thoreau's widely influential essay "Civil Disobedience." One of only 1500 copies printed, in original cloth. $3600.