2009Best.-Nr. 035898NY: Knopf. 2009. The advance reading copy of the first novel by the Ethiopian-born physician and author of My Own Country: A Doctor's Story. Cutting for Stone was one of the most highly praised books of the year; the paperback edition stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for over two years. The author received a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama in 2015. Hint of a crown bump; slight glue residue lower rear cover; still very near fine in wrappers. Uncommon in the advance issue. Unless otherwise noted our first editions are first printings. First Edition. Softcover. Near Fine. Knopf paperback books
1957Best.-Nr. ULINLIN00crChannel Press 1957. Very Good. Lincoln Abraham. Lincoln's Devotional. NY: Channel Press 1957. 192pp. 12mo. Hardcover. Book condition: Very good with rubbed and bumped edges. Yellowed endsheets and page edges. Dust Jacket Condition: Good a large closed tear on foot of spine and short closed tear on rear panel. Rubbed and bumped edges. Channel Press hardcover books
1690Best.-Nr. 48858Oxford: Sheldonian Theatre; Henry Bonwick 1690. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good -. Two parts quarto published in 1690 and 1691. A-Z4 pi4 b4 Aa4 Bb/CC4 Dd-Gg4 = 124 leaves. 16 196; 4 31 1 blankpp. Text in Hebrew and Latin in parallel columns. De Turcarum liturgia with separate title page dated 1690 and pagination. Contemporary vellum neatly rebacked. Old library stamp at bottom margin title front blank endleaf detached occasional oxidation spot and mild toning else a very good copy crisp and amply margined. First Hebrew-Latin edition of the first modern Hebrew work on geography the author's most famous and important book. Abraham Farissol or Peritsol was a learned Jew from Avignon who compiled his cosmographical works at the court of the Estes in Ferrara. The present text was composed in 1524-25 and first published in Hebrew at Venice in 1586. The Latin translation and notes in the present edition were prepared by the English orientalist and librarian Thomas Hyde 1636-1703 with the assistance of R. Isaac Abendana working from a manuscript which Hyde located in the Bodleian Library. "Each of its 30 chapters deals with a certain geographical area or subject. In addition many cosmological and historical matters are also treated. The author collected all the evidence he could regarding Jewish settlements in each country. The inclusion of a description of the New World makes Farissol the first Hebrew writer to deal in detail with the newly-discovered America. The 14th chapter of Iggeret Orhot Olam which deals mainly with the settlements of the Ten Lost Tribes is of special interest. According to Farissol's introduction to this chapter it is clear that what moved him to undertake this investigation was the appearance in Italy in 1523 of David Reuveni many of whose descriptions are included in this work" EJ 6.1185. Reuveni was "an adventurer who aroused messianic hopes in the early 16th century" EJ 14.114. The appended work is a tract on Islamic customs by Albert Wojciech Bobowski a Polish Christian who converted to Islam after his capture by the Ottoman Turks. Adopting the name Ali Ufki Bey he served as translator court musician at Topkapi and as a notator of Ottoman classical music. Bell F26. Christian Hebraism Cat. Harvard 1988 no. 39. ESTC R27480. Fürst Bibliotheca Judaica 1.276. Heller 17th Century pp. 1176-1177. Sabin 60934. Smitskamp PO 372. Vinograd Oxford 4. Wing F-438. Cf. Alden European Americana 1.187 Venice 1586; Heller 16th Century pp.732-733 ed. 1586. Full title beginning in Hebrew: ×גרת ×רחות ×¢×œ× Id est Itinera mundi sic dicta nempe cosmographia. Latinâ versione donavit et notas passim adjecit Thomas Hyde. Calce exponitur Turcarum liturgia peregrinatio Meccana aegrotorum visitatio circumcisio etc. Sheldonian Theatre; Henry Bonwick hardcover books
2005Best.-Nr. ULINWIT00tpmDover 2005. Very Good. Lincoln Abraham. The Wit and Wisdom of Abraham Lincoln: A Book of Quotations. Blaisdell editor Bob. Mineola NY: Dover 2005. 90pp. 8vo. Paperback. Book condition: Very good. Dover paperback books
1953Best.-Nr. ULINCOL00mfAbraham Lincoln Association 1953. Very Good. Lincoln Abraham. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln 9 volumes. Basler Roy P. New Brunswick: Abraham Lincoln Association 1953. 519 533 555 563 554 562 551 595 377pp. Indexed. 8vo. Grey cloth. Book condition: Very good with bumped corners and lightly caved or rolled spines. Moisture stains on rear cover of volume 1. Abraham Lincoln Association hardcover books
1863Best.-Nr. RLINLET00efH. H. Lloyd 1863. Fair. Lincoln Abraham. Letters of President Lincoln on Questions of National Policy. Pamphlet. New York: H. H. Lloyd 1863. 22pp. 12mo. Pink wraps. Book condition: Fair with detached rear cover faded and stained front one-inch loss from head and two-inch closed tear in front. Pages have a few faint stains not affecting text. Contains letters to General McClellan Horace Greeley Fernando Wood the Albany Committee Governor Seymour and the Springfield Meeting. Scarce. H. H. Lloyd paperback books
1862Best.-Nr. 36662Washington 1862. 37th Cong. 2d Sess. SED65. Broadsheet octavo. 2pp. Disbound else Very Good. Lincoln refuses to mess with the currency believing that the proposed legislation would result in "the serious injury of honest trade and honest labor." Not in Monaghan. unknown books
Best.-Nr. WELLER9780997457810New. New book. unknown books
Best.-Nr. 43935Amsterdam: En Casa de Joris Trigg/ D. Efraim Bueno y Jona Abravanel 5412. Hardcover. g- to vg-. Duoecimo. 7x4.5". 478pp. Original dark brown leather with blind-stamped ruling and tooling on the covers and spine. Raised bands on the spine. Metal clasps. Red-speckled edges of the book block. An early Spanish-language edition of the complete Jewish High Holiday prayer book Machzor based on the original translation by Abraham Usque originally printed in Ferarra Italy in 1553. This edition contains some added material not previously present including most prominently Solomon ibn Gabirol's famed philosophical poem "Keter Malkhut" Royal Crown which over the years has come to be read as part of the Yom Kippur service in some Jewish traditions. Published by Dr. Efraim Bueno and Jona Abravanel to serve members of the then sizable Sephardic Jewish community in Amsterdam. A significant portion of the community were former Conversos Jews who had outwardly converted to Catholicism during the inquisition in Spain who then emmigrated and were able to reestablish their Jewish identity and thus were unable to read Hebrew hence the text's publication in Spanish. As stated in the foreword this edition includes some additions to the text not included in previous versions and omits some material deemed to have been unnecessary. The prayer book starts with the penitential prayers Selichot p.3-47 which includes decorative head and endpeices. This section is followed by the Rosh Hashanah service p.48-195 and then the Yom Kippur service including the "Keter Malkhut" p.254-289. Title page is has a decorative vignette printed in woodblock and is printed with the Hebrew date "5412". Pages 305-352 are misprinted as "321-368" with their correct numbers handwritten above in ink. All text in Spanish. Binding with some rubbing and scratches to extremities and to the covers. Front hinge starting to split slightly at the head and tail of the spine. Missing one of the metal clasps on the back cover. Starting at interior covers. Some minor to light sporadic damp staining and foxing throughout the text. Period signature of the previous owner "Silva" in ink on on the title page and p.200. Name of another previous owner in ink on the interior back cover. Book block tight overall. Binding in good- interior in very good- condition overall. Quite scarce. Dr. Efraim Ephraim Bueno aka Martin Alvarez 1599-1665 was a Portuguese-born Jewish physician in Amsterdam of the famed Iberian-Jewish Bueno medical dynasty and prominent member of the city's Sephardic community. He served for many years as the personal physician to famed artist Rembrandt van Rijn who in fact depicted Bueno in two of his works one an etching and the other a painted portrait. He received his medical education and degree in Bordeaux and was known to have practiced medicine in Amsterdam until the time of his death. In addition to his medical practice Bueno was an accomplished biblical scholar who along with Jona Abravanel published numerous Jewish works the on the bible and Jewish Law. Jona Abravanel 1593-1667 was a Sephardic Jewish poet in Amsterdam from the prominent Abravanel family. He was the nephew of Famed Portueguse-Dutch Rabbi and printer Menasseh ben Israel. Together with his uncle and Dr. Efraim Bueno he was responsible for publishing numerous works of Judiaca in the 17th century. In this edition the title page was mistaken printed with the word "Kuyper" which was then correct via a scrap of paper pasted on top. References: KAYSERLING 1890 p. 7 31 61 under Abravanel Bueno and Liturgy PALAU 1923 under 202415 with an incorrect dat of 1662 PEETERS 1933 1037. This publication follows an edition with same title also from Amsterdam in 1630 but printed by David Pardo and Salom ben Yosseph Menasseh ben Israel with different pagination. En Casa de Joris Trigg/ D. Efraim Bueno y Jona Abravanel hardcover books
2010Best.-Nr. WELLER9780375714368Vintage Books 2010. New. New book. Vintage Books unknown books
1997Best.-Nr. UYEHOPE00EEHarcourt Brace 1997. Fine. Yehoshua Abraham B. Open Heart. Bilu Dalya. San Diego: Harcourt Brace 1997. 469pp. 8vo. Paperback. Book condition: Near fine. Light rubbing to extremities. Harcourt Brace paperback books
1911Best.-Nr. UHOAFRA00JNJoseph A. West 1911. Fair. Hoagland Abraham H. Francis West of Duxbury Mass and Some of His Ancestors and Decendants sic. Ogden UT: Joseph A. West 1911. 48pp. 8vo. Gray wraps. Book condition: Fair. Wraps are soiled and chipped at edges with small pieces lacking at spine. Contents have a light stain at fore edge but otherwise good tight. Joseph A. West paperback books
1892Best.-Nr. 22436City of Washington: The Smithsonian Institution 1892. First Separate Edition. Wrappers. Very Good. First Separate Edition. 1-24 pages plus 5 plates and original printed wrappers. Folio 9 3/4 x 13 inches. Top page edges uncut an unread copy. Wrappers have been professionally restored and reattached with missing paper filled in correcting a common failing of this title. The wrappers are often chipped and/or detached with large pieces missing due to the thin almost ephemeral nature of the binding. Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge number 842. Wrappers. "Michelson was the first American citizen to win the Nobel prize for his 'precision optical instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations conducted therewith'.He was clearly recognized as one of the foremost experimental physicists of the nation." - DSB "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1907 was awarded to Albert A. Michelson "for his optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations carried out with their aid". Nobel Prize d o t org. The Smithsonian Institution unknown books
1603Best.-Nr. 322945Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius 1603. Map. Engraving with beautiful hand coloring. Image measures 14" x 18". Beautiful 1603 map by Abraham Ortelius depicting Ancient Latium including Rome from his "Parergon". It covers Latium from the Tyrrhenian Sea to Umbria with parts of Tuscany and Campania. Cities are identified as individual buildings with particular focus on Rome its walls and notable buildings like the Coliseum. Notes mountains rivers marshlands and forests beautifully illustrated in profile. The map also includes historical and mythological elements such as a reference to Pliny in the Fucine Lake adding depth to the map's depiction of the region. Three cartouches adorn the map. The first is an ornate title cartouche in the upper right quadrant. Another is a dedication to Marcus Velser Augustanus. The third contains an inset of Mount Circeo the supposed dwelling place of the mythical goddess Circe who enchanted Odysseus and turned his companions into swine. This is the second state of the map identified by the addition of a network of roads around Rome and the designation of the swamp extended in the lower right along with the letters "VOLCI". The map is in good condition with some toning and minor abrasion loss near centerfold and verso repair near bottom margin. Van den Broecke #209. Abraham Ortelius 1527-1598 was a prominent Flemish cartographer geographer and cosmographer renowned for creating the first modern atlas "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" which first appeared in 1570 and expanded over time to include 134 maps by 1592. Born in Antwerp he began his career as a map colorist and became a significant figure in cartography after being influenced by Gerard Mercator. His work was pivotal in the development of modern cartography integrating maps from various sources and reflecting his advanced geographical theories including early thoughts on continental drift. Appointed Royal Cartographer to King Philip II of Spain in 1575 Ortelius had access to extensive Spanish geographical knowledge. Despite the religious and political turmoil of his time he maintained a position of relative neutrality focusing on his scholarly and cartographic pursuits. His influential works also included "Synonymia Geographica" "Nomenclator Ptolemaicus" and "Parergon. Abraham Ortelius unknown books
1860Best.-Nr. 022510Columbus OH: Follett Foster and Company 1860. First Edition. Hardcover. Front endpaper lacking top third; pencil writing on front endpaper and blank as well as rear pastedown; light to moderate foxing heaviest to title page; gilt on spine a little dull but readable. Very Good. Early issue. Publisher's brown blindstamped cloth; iv - ads iv 268 pages. These public debates over slavery are perhaps the most consequential campaign debates in American history. The first speech in the volume is Lincoln's famous "House Divided" speech of 17 June 1858 in Springfield IL. HOWES L-338; NEW HOWES L 339 "b": "Historically the most important series of American political debates." Follett, Foster and Company hardcover books
1863Best.-Nr. 13393N.p.: Printed Not Published 1863. 48pp. Modern crimson wrappers. Large dampstain throughout first half of text text toned thereafter. Marginal pencil markings throughout including one notice of transposed lines on page 9. Overall good plus condition. A rare collection of letters by an anonymous author mostly sent to President Abraham Lincoln but also to Secretary of State William Seward Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase and other officials between October 25 1860 and February 19 1863. The author is a Unionist and a self-described "citizen" not a soldier though he has plenty to recommend to President Lincoln and others about how to prosecute the present war. He also refers to himself as "a cool observer outside the stifling atmosphere of Washington" though again he wastes no time in recommending actions and strategies for political and military improvements. The author was most certainly a political actor of some kind as he writes intimately and on friendly terms with Lincoln and others "You know my personal regard for you" to John J. Crittenden in early 1861. He writes long letters to his correspondents about a decidedly wide variety of issues including the future of slavery political intrigue the dissatisfaction of the public early in the war and more but mostly about troop levels troop movements officer appointments and other aspects and critiques of war strategy. A notable angle of the work is that the author's side of the correspondence and likely some of the return correspondence he mentions within the letters are possibly lost to history other than their presence here. The imprint reads simply "Printed Not Published" and does not include a place or date of publication. We have assumed the date of 1863 given the introductory note is dated March 8 1863. OCLC reports just six copies at Columbia the Huntington Library Harvard Brown the University of Chicago and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Printed, Not Published unknown books
1897Best.-Nr. 2411Tennessee; Kentucky 1897. Very good -. 91 11" x 8½" photocopied leaves typescript rectos only about 30000 words bound in three-hole vinyl folder. Folder very good minus with light edge wear and scuffing; remnant of penciled price to cover sheet else internally fresh with a few handwritten amendments. This is a rare and thrilling firsthand account of a soldier's experience in the Civil War transcribed by his sister's husband 30 years later from the "original copy removed from drowned body of Thomas Banta." Per the present cover page Abraham Thomas Banta was born in 1839 and "quit Bloomington University in Indiana to go to War." He died there in July 1863 "four months short of his twenty-fourth birthday." Banta's diary begins at Camp Zion Tennessee in January 1863 and soon sets the tone of his spirit: "God forbid that this war should continue any longer for it is the most degrading and demoralizing thing upon the people that ever disgraced God Almighty's green earth." Entries cover the weather general morale "portion of our boys on a high" tasks like horseshoeing guard duty and orders: "On drill as usual . . . We were ordered out here to hold the Yanks in check as they made Duke's regiment skedaddle and killed Col. Hutchison. The saddles are on our horses. The men are stretched around asleep; neither men nor horses have had anything to eat since morning . . . We may have to mount our horses at any moment." Detailed text describes the scenery camp life "one of the most irksome and burdensome yet one of the most lazy lives that mankind was ever subjected to" pickets payrolls and Banta's views on military strategy. We see his troop through Frankfort and Lexington Versailles Harrodsburg Knoxville and the capture of Elizabethtown "and several hundred prisoners." He laments the "demoralization and devastation" of "bright and intelligent youths" as well as the "cruel" effects of war on women and "the negro" - "Horrible is war in every respect!" The account goes until late June noting the perils of river crossing and terrible rain "very hard on soldiers in camp without tents." Banta perished soon thereafter. A thorough fascinating Civil War diary and incredible survival. No record was found of this account in OCLC or online. unknown books
1980Best.-Nr. 008561San Francisco 1980. Hardcover. Fine. A History of Sinai Memorial Chapel in San Francisco. Chevra Kadisha - Its Meaning and Concern in Jewish Life. Octavo. 8 ¾ x 5 ½ inches. xvi 263pp. Black & white photographic illustrations. Blue cloth lettered in gilt. Front corners lightly bumped mild foxing to edge of text-block overall a fine copy. San Francisco n.d.- c.1980. Presumed first edition. In the mid-1800's in Northern California there often was no local society funeral home or even rabbi to bury Jews in accordance with Jewish traditions. Therefore Sinai Memorial Chapel opened in 1901 in San Francisco to fill this need. This book not only covers the history of the Chapel but continues on to discuss the various rules and laws in Judaism pertaining to the deceased as well as observances during wartime in regards to military burials. hardcover books
1836Best.-Nr. 020572Halifax NS: Gossip and Coade Times Office 1836. First Edition. Hardcover. Light scattered foxing owner name on front endpaper some looseness of front cover with internal tape reinforcement. Overall Very Good. Small quarto 5-3/4" x 8-3/4" in original brown cloth rebacked with heavy brown binder's tape with most of the original spine label pasted on; xxxix 272 1 pages. Illustrated with a folding lithographic frontispiece "Parrsboro' From the Water 1836" a full-page lithograph "Cape Split 1836" and a hand-colored folding map "A New Map of Nova Scotia Cape Breton Prince Edward Island and part of New Brunswick" by C.H. Belcher with "Explanation of the Maps" bound in. Gossip and Coade, Times Office hardcover books
1868Best.-Nr. 019219Chicago: Western Bank Note & Engraving Co. 1868. First Edition. Document. Recently backed with thin paper with several professional repairs of chips and tears. Very Good . Large folio 16-1/4" x 21-3/4" finely engraved and printed on good quality paper with elaborate decorative borders with a "US" monogram to upper corners a bold calligraphic heading with "ABOLISHING SLAVERY" in prominent decorated letters; at top center is a small vignette of the pyramid and all-seeing eye above an oval vignette of a slave family with child mourning over a cameo portrait of Lincoln. This is followed by the engraved signatures of President Lincoln Vice President Hamlin Schuyler Colfax and J. W. Forney Speaker and Secretary of the Senate and 164 Senators and Congressmen. An exceedingly rare and beautiful printing of the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude . Shall exist within the United States." This elaborately engraved Reconstruction-era broadside is based on the special "souvenir" copies on parchment signed by Lincoln and the others of which only a handful are known to have been made. The Thirteenth Amendment represents the first substantive change to how America interpreted those liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights since its ratification in 1791. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed the slaves in the openly rebellious states. The Amendment effectively put an end to slavery once and for all upon its passage on 1 February 1865. Western Bank Note & Engraving Co. unknown books
1942Best.-Nr. 016635Menasha WI: Limited Editions Club 1942. hardcover. Mild soiling to the covers and light scratches to the leather spine label. Still Near Fine in a Very Good intact slipcase with some wear. John Steuart Curry. Quarto 7-1/2" x 10-3/4" bound in full butternut muslin with a gold-stamped reddish brown leather spine label 320 pages. Introduction and notes by Carl Van Doren; designed by Will Ransom. Illustrated with reproductions of watercolors by John Steuart Curry. Of a total edition of 1500 copies SIGNED by the artist on the colophon page this is one of only 15 Presentation Copies with the publisher's blindstamp attesting to such on the colophon page where instead of a number the initials "G.M." are handwritten. Acquired directly from the publisher's files and most likely the publisher George Macy's very own copy. An especially interesting copy in that it or at least its title page appears to have been used as a mock-up for the Heritage Press edition with a strip of camera-ready art with that publisher's name loosely present having once been glued over the Limited Editions Club imprint on the title page with a small stain at the place of contact. Limited Editions Club hardcover books
1979Best.-Nr. 206760New York: Viking 1979. First. hardcover. fine/very good. Soyer Raphael. Translated by Rebecca S. Beagle and Rebecca Soyer Introduction by Peter S. Beagle. Illustrated by Raphael Soyer. 17 black & white illustrations. viii 70pp. 8vo cloth d.w.; lightly worn along top edge and corners. New York: Viking Press 1979. First edition. A fine copy in a very good dust jacket. Signed by the illustrator on the half-title. Viking unknown books
1570Best.-Nr. 3381021570. unbound. Map. Engraving with hand coloring. Image measures 14 3/4" x 19 3/4" Archival frame measures 22 1/2" x 28" This stunning first state first Latin edition map by Abraham Ortelius depicts an early understanding of North and South America. At the time it was issued the coastal areas of the New World had been fairly well explored and Europeans were just beginning settlement and colonization. It is notable for depicting Spanish and Portuguese colonies in high detail for these powers were notoriously protective of their geographical surveys. As the first depiction of the Americas in an atlas this map is of fundamental importance. Abraham Ortelius 1527--1598 a Flemish cartographer and geographer is widely regarded as one of the important and influential cartographers in history. He is known for his "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" which was the first modern atlas. van den Broecke 91 unknown books
1784Best.-Nr. 151651784. BROWNING ABRAHAM SEN. 1769-1836. Two lovely ciphering books 1784 and 1789 each with attractive calligraphic page headings and the usual calculations and exercises. Each folio about 120-150 pages fully accomplished and bound in marbled pastepaper-covered wrappers each with a neat calligraphic label on front wrapper and Browning's name prominantly written inside. Both in fine clean condition and housed in a custom cloth clamshell box with leather label. On the final page of the later book Browning has boldly written: "Abraham Browning His Cyphering Book Hand an sic pen Left School March 1791." Browning would become a prominent resident of Colestown in present-day Camden County and the father of the New Jersey attorney general of the same name. From the estate of the collector S. Robert Teitelman. unknown books
1800Best.-Nr. 24611800. BISHOP ABRAHAM. An Oration on the Extent and Power of Political Delusion. Delivered in New-Haven . September 1800. . The Second Edition. Newark: Pennington and Gould 1800. 71 p. Removed. Heavily foxed title stained. Paper defect on E1 with loss of a few letters. A popular anti-Federalist diatribe originally published as Connecticut Republicanism and reprinted several times through 1801. Evans 36980; Felcone New Jersey Books 2nd edn. 186. unknown books
