40 877 résultats
1783réf. 1253841783-1956. Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quarto bound in full red morocco by Riviere & Son with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands gilt presidential seal to the front panel with white and blue morocco onlays gilt arms and motto of George Washington to the rear panel with white and blue morocco onlays and his gilt signature in facsimile centerpieces within quintuple gilt ruling with star emblems at each corner blue morocco doublures with multiple gilt presidential signatures blue silk endpapers. This complete series of autographs of the first 34 Presidents of the United States contains the signature of each mounted on an album leaf opposite a loosely tissue-guarded engraved portrait of each. The collection includes: the signature of George Washington on an envelope addressed to Major General Knox as Secretary of the Society of the Cincinnati November 3 1783; a clipped signature of John Adams; clipped signature of Thomas Jefferson; the signature of James Madison on an envelope addressed to Reverend Frederick Freeman of Manayunk Pennsylvania; and inscription signed by James Monroe; the signature of John Quincy Adams on an envelope addressed to William Plumer jun. Esq. in Epping New Hampshire; a partially printed land grant signed by Andrew Jackson dated 1831 registering the purchase of 20 acres in Detroit by Peter Aldrich; clipped signature of Martin Van Buren; clipped signature of William Henry Harrison; signed inscription from John Tyler; signed inscription from James Polk; clipped signature of Zachary Taylor dated Baton Rouge March 5 1841; clipped signature of Millard Fillmore; clipped signature of Franklin Pierce; clipped signature of James Buchanan on a document dated July 18 1858; clipped signature of Abraham Lincoln; endorsement signed by Andrew Johnson as President; clipped signature of Ulysses S. Grant; card signed by Rutherford B. Hayes; inscription signed by James Garfield; large card signed by Chester A. Arthur and dated May 22 1884; autograph noted signed by Grover Cleveland declining an invitation dated November 16 1890; an Executive Mansion card signed by William McKinely; clipped signature of Theodore Roosevelt; clipped signature of William Howard Taft; clipped signature of Woodrow Wilson; typed letter signed by Warren G. Harding as President dated June 4 1923 on White House letterhead; card signed by Calvin Coolidge; White House card signed by Herbert Hoover; typed letter signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy February 15 1917. Laid in is a typed letter signed by Harry S. Truman as President June 30 1950 on White House stationery and a typed letter signed by Dwight Eisenhower. TLS as President November 13 1956 on White House stationery. In fine condition. Housed in a custom folding chemise and half morocco slipcase. An exceptional collection and presentation. The first thirty-four Presidents from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower presided over the transformation of the United States from a fragile agrarian republic into a continental power and then a global superpower. Washington established the precedents of the office including the cabinet system and the voluntary surrender of power after two terms. The early presidents from Adams through John Quincy Adams most of them Virginians or Adamses defined the limits of federal authority doubled the nation’s territory through the Louisiana Purchase and confronted the strains of the War of 1812. Andrew Jackson’s election ushered in mass democracy and a more assertive executive while the antebellum presidents struggled and largely failed to contain the sectional conflict over slavery. Abraham Lincoln preserved the Union through civil war and ended slavery and the Reconstruction and Gilded Age presidents who followed wrestled with the unfinished work of emancipation and the rise of industrial capitalism. Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson expanded the powers of the presidency in the Progressive Era and drew the nation into world affairs. Franklin D. Roosevelt then led the country through the Great Depression and the Second World War serving an unprecedented four terms before the Twenty-second Amendment limited the office to two. Harry S. Truman and Eisenhower in turn shaped the postwar order committing the United States to containment of the Soviet Union and to a standing role in international affairs. unknown
1792réf. 125388Philadelphia: Childs & Swaine 1792. Scarce printing of an early United States law providing for the funding of the national debt signed by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. Folio one page. The document which also carries the printed signatures of President George Washington Vice President John Adams and House Speaker Jonathan Trumbull was approved January 23 1792. Individual acts and bills of the first Congresses were routinely printed for public consumption. A provision was made however to print a few copies of each act for dissemination to the states and to have each copy signed by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. One of the main priorities of the federal government in the early national period was to pay down the debt of the United States. The national debt was incurred during the Revolution and augmented in 1790 when the Congress passed the Assumption Act in accordance with a plan devised by Alexander Hamilton. Because contacting the numerous and geographically dispersed holders of the debt proved more difficult than expected it became necessary to extend the time allowed by law for making the relevant financial arrangements. The present act accomplished this and made a special extension of five months for Vermont which gave the new state time to calculate the amount of debt. Despite Jefferson's vehement opposition to Hamilton's plan when it was formulated his position as Secretary of State necessitated his signature on the presentation copies of the acts that effected it. In fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco folding case. Scarce with only one other example signed by Jefferson located. American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and later served as the third President of the United States from 1801 to 1809. Prior to his presidency he was elected the second Vice President of the United States serving under John Adams from 1797 to 1801. A proponent of democracy republicanism and individual rights motivating American colonists to break from Great Britain and form a new nation he produced formative documents and decisions at both the state and national level. Jefferson was an avid bibliophile and by the end of his life had amassed a large library and wine collection. Childs & Swaine unknown books
1783réf. 1253841783-1956. Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quarto bound in full red morocco by Riviere & Son with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands gilt presidential seal to the front panel with white and blue morocco onlays gilt arms and motto of George Washington to the rear panel with white and blue morocco onlays and his gilt signature in facsimile centerpieces within quintuple gilt ruling with star emblems at each corner blue morocco doublures with multiple gilt presidential signatures blue silk endpapers. This complete series of autographs of the first 34 Presidents of the United States contains the signature of each mounted on an album leaf opposite a loosely tissue-guarded engraved portrait of each. The collection includes: the signature of George Washington on an envelope addressed to Major General Knox as Secretary of the Society of the Cincinnati November 3 1783; a clipped signature of John Adams; clipped signature of Thomas Jefferson; the signature of James Madison on an envelope addressed to Reverend Frederick Freeman of Manayunk Pennsylvania; and inscription signed by James Monroe; the signature of John Quincy Adams on an envelope addressed to William Plumer jun. Esq. in Epping New Hampshire; a partially printed land grant signed by Andrew Jackson dated 1831 registering the purchase of 20 acres in Detroit by Peter Aldrich; clipped signature of Martin Van Buren; clipped signature of William Henry Harrison; signed inscription from John Tyler; signed inscription from James Polk; clipped signature of Zachary Taylor dated Baton Rouge March 5 1841; clipped signature of Millard Fillmore; clipped signature of Franklin Pierce; clipped signature of James Buchanan on a document dated July 18 1858; clipped signature of Abraham Lincoln; endorsement signed by Andrew Johnson as President; clipped signature of Ulysses S. Grant; card signed by Rutherford B. Hayes; inscription signed by James Garfield; large card signed by Chester A. Arthur and dated May 22 1884; autograph noted signed by Grover Cleveland declining an invitation dated November 16 1890; an Executive Mansion card signed by William McKinely; clipped signature of Theodore Roosevelt; clipped signature of William Howard Taft; clipped signature of Woodrow Wilson; typed letter signed by Warren G. Harding as President dated June 4 1923 on White House letterhead; card signed by Calvin Coolidge; White House card signed by Herbert Hoover; typed letter signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy February 15 1917. Laid in is a typed letter signed by Harry S. Truman as President June 30 1950 on White House stationery and a typed letter signed by Dwight Eisenhower. TLS as President November 13 1956 on White House stationery. In fine condition. Housed in a custom folding chemise and half morocco slipcase. An exceptional collection and presentation. unknown books
1840réf. 111832New York: Published by J.J. Audubon 1840. First octavo edition of this landmark work. Octavo bound in original publisher's morocco 7 volumes gilt titles and ruling to the spine marbled endpapers complete with 500 hand-colored lithographed plates by J.T. Bowen after J.J. Audubon; woodcuts in the text. From the library of Boston businessman and Ambassador T. Jefferson Coolidge with his bookplate to the front pastedown. Coolidge was born to a prominent Boston Brahmin family and was a great-grandson of the 3rd United States President Thomas Jefferson through his maternal grandparents Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. and Martha Jefferson Randolph. His uncles were Thomas Jefferson Randolph George Wythe Randolph Andrew Jackson Donelson and a relative of Calvin Coolidge. He was an uncle to Archibald Cary Coolidge through his older brother Joseph Randolph Coolidge. He was appointed by President Benjamin Harrison as United States Ambassador to France on May 12 1892 a role his great-grandfather had held from May 1785 to September 1789. Coolidge presented his credentials on June 10 1892 and he presented his recall on May 4 1893 terminating his mission. In 1898 and 1899 he was a member of the American delegation to the commission to resolve the Alaska boundary dispute. Historian Ernest May says Coolidge was "a prototype member of what today we call the foreign policy establishment." In 1898 Coolidge donated a collection of Thomas Jefferson's personal papers to the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston. The collection contained more than 8000 items: Correspondence including 3280 letters that Jefferson had written and 4630 letters that he had received; Jefferson's garden book 1766-1824 and farm book 1774-1824; annotated almanacs from 1771-1776; account books for 1783-1790; manuscript expense accounts from 1804-1825; notes on the weather spanning the years 1782-1826; plans of American forts in 1765; law treatises 1778-1788; legal papers 1770-1772; and Jefferson's 1783 catalog of his personal library. In near fine condition. An exceptional set with noted provenance rare in the original publisher's morocco. One of the most spectacular collections of ornithological prints ever produced and a landmark attempt to document the birds of North America. "The most splendid book ever produced in relation to America and certainly one of the finest ornithological works ever printed. Audubon insisted on drawing from life never from stuffed specimens and was much in advance of his time in portraying the birds in many cases unrecorded species in their natural surroundings. The courage and faith of the Audubon family is breathtaking. This immense undertaking this unparalleled achievement was not the production of a great and long-established publishing house nor was it backed by a wealthy institution. It was the work of a man of relentless energy with no private fortune. It is a story without equal in the whole history of publishing" Great Books and Book Collectors 210-13. Published by J.J. Audubon unknown books
1787réf. 106800New York 1787. Rare first edition of the definitive and most important work in the Anti-Federalist canon; the antithesis of the The Federalist Papers. Octavo bound in the original calf over original boards with six raised bands edges speckled red. In very good condition. An exceptional example. On November 8 1787 the New York Journal began to advertise a new pamphlet entitled Observations Leading to a Fair Examination of the System of Government Proposed by the Late Convention; and to Several Essential and Necessary Alterations in It. In a Number of Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican. This pamphlet contained the first five Federal Farmer letters dated October 8 to 13. The first edition was replete with errors and a second corrected printing appeared within a week. Among the Federalists Alexander Hamilton as Publius Edward Carrington and Noah Webster acknowledged the Federal Farmer as in Hamilton's words the "most plausible" Anti-Federalist. Only one Federalist Timothy Pickering took the time to develop a complete critical response to the Federal Farmer. Though this was not published during the course of the constitutional debates it survives in a personal letter. Pickering described the Federal Farmer as "a wolfe in sheep's cloathing" and too focused on a misplaced fear of aristocracy. The work has been attributed to Richard Henry Lee a presiding officer of the Continental Congress writing under the pseudonym 'Federal Farmer'. Through these the first five letters the Federal Farmer argues that the plan of the Constitution while claimed to be a federal system and seeming to be so in some respects will in the end annihilate the states by consolidating them into one national government. This concern over consolidation was among the most important of the Anti-Federalist objections to the Constitution; they saw the destruction of state sovereignty as inimical to freedom. Honest federalists in the view of the Federal Farmer wished for the substantial preservation of the state governments but sought a federal government that was more than merely advisory. The letters indicate that the Federal Farmer ascribed to the compact theory of federalism. The Federal Farmer letters are among the best-written and convincing pieces in the Anti-Federalist canon and make regular appearances in collections of Anti-Federalist writing. "Though sometimes discursive and repetitious the letters skillfully written moderate in tone and thoughtful were perhaps the most eloquent and persuasive anti-federalist writings" Ketcham 256. hardcover books
1787réf. 106800New York 1787. Rare first edition of the definitive and most important work in the Anti-Federalist canon; the antithesis of the The Federalist Papers. Octavo bound in half calf over boards with six raised bands edges speckled red. In very good condition. An exceptional example. On November 8 1787 the New York Journal began to advertise a new pamphlet entitled Observations Leading to a Fair Examination of the System of Government Proposed by the Late Convention; and to Several Essential and Necessary Alterations in It. In a Number of Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican. This pamphlet contained the first five Federal Farmer letters dated October 8 to 13. The first edition was replete with errors and a second corrected printing appeared within a week. Among the Federalists Alexander Hamilton as Publius Edward Carrington and Noah Webster acknowledged the Federal Farmer as in Hamilton's words the "most plausible" Anti-Federalist. Only one Federalist Timothy Pickering took the time to develop a complete critical response to the Federal Farmer. Though this was not published during the course of the constitutional debates it survives in a personal letter. Pickering described the Federal Farmer as "a wolfe in sheep's cloathing" and too focused on a misplaced fear of aristocracy. The work has been attributed to Richard Henry Lee a presiding officer of the Continental Congress writing under the pseudonym 'Federal Farmer'. Through these the first five letters the Federal Farmer argues that the plan of the Constitution while claimed to be a federal system and seeming to be so in some respects will in the end annihilate the states by consolidating them into one national government. This concern over consolidation was among the most important of the Anti-Federalist objections to the Constitution; they saw the destruction of state sovereignty as inimical to freedom. Honest federalists in the view of the Federal Farmer wished for the substantial preservation of the state governments but sought a federal government that was more than merely advisory. The letters indicate that the Federal Farmer ascribed to the compact theory of federalism. The Federal Farmer letters are among the best-written and convincing pieces in the Anti-Federalist canon and make regular appearances in collections of Anti-Federalist writing. "Though sometimes discursive and repetitious the letters skillfully written moderate in tone and thoughtful were perhaps the most eloquent and persuasive anti-federalist writings" Ketcham 256. hardcover
1831réf. 87102Paris: A. Levavasseur 1831. Fine. A rare copy with no foxing A. Levavasseur Paris 1831 13.10 x 20.80 cm 2 volumes reliés First edition ""very rare and extremely sought-after"" Clouzot one of 750 copies on laid paper with title vignettes engraved by Henri Porret after Henry Monnier. Skilful restoration of a tear at the foot of a page with slight damage to a letter. A rare copy with no foxing. Green half calf binding smooth spines with arabesques stamped in gilt black title labels and volume labels; marbled paper boards spine boards and endpapers speckled edges later bindings in the Romantic style. Stendhal began writing 'Le Rouge et le Noir' under the Restoration and completed it just four months after the July Revolution of 1830. The seminal novel was published in the last weeks of 1830. All critics immediately praised the novel's exceptional qualities although even its most enthusiastic supporters were shocked by the hero's harsh judgment of society and Jacobinism. A handsome first-edition copy of this great classic of French literature. A. Levavasseur hardcover
1776réf. 96237J. Almon J.S. Jordan and J. Stockdale: London 1776-1793. Finely bound collection of the works of Thomas Paine including the rare first British editions of Common Sense and Plain Truth London: J. Almon 1776 second editions of Rights of Man Parts I & II London: J.S. Jordan 1791-1792 complete with half-titles present and a rare early printing of John Quincy Adams' response to Paine's Rights of Man London: J. Stockdale 1793 attributed to his father John Adams and written when John Quincy Adams was 26 years old. Octavo bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine red morocco spine label all edges speckled black. In near fine condition. A rare and desirable collection. One of the founding fathers of the United States Thomas Paine authored two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution which ultimately inspired the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Virtually every American rebel read Paine’s powerful pamphlet Common Sense which crystallized the American Revolution and demand for independence from Britain. John Adams asserted "without the pen of the author of Common Sense the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain. London hardcover
1569réf. 57498s. l. Grenade Granada: S. n. 1569. Fine. S. n. s. l. Grenade Granada 1569 21.50 x 30.50 cm relié ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ANONYMOUS Regla y Constitutiones de la Cofradia del Sanctissimo Sacramento de la Yglesia de San Christoval de Granada Autograph manuscript with three miniatures no publisher Granada 1569 folio 21.5 x 30.5 cm upper margin: 35 mm bottom margin: 50 mm interior margin: 30 mm exterior margin: 40 mm 31 ff. 16th-century full calf gilt Manuscript on vellum comprising 31 leaves: 50 pages of text ruled and lined and 3 full-page miniatures in colours heightened in gold. The four final leaves were numbered and partly ruled but left empty. Contemporary manuscript ex-libris on front endpaper. In Spanish throughout written in Caroline minuscule on 24 lines the text is very readable and very regular. The manuscript begins with a three-page summary covering the 24 chapters that comprise the Regla y constitutiones de la cofradia del Sanctissimo sacramento de la yglesia de San Christoval de Granada. One illuminated capital in red and blue indents and pagination in red small sketch in black ink to the inner margin. The verso of the final page of the summary has been ruled and lined in red but left blank. There follow the three full-page miniatures. The first shows a Communion scene on the recto of one leaf the second the Tree of Jesse verso of the same leaf and the third Saint Christopher bearing the baby Jesus recto of the following leaf. The verso of the miniature bears a short manuscript text explaining that these rules are those of the confraternity and brotherhood of the Holy Sacrament established in the Church of Saint Christopher of Granada on the 1st of May 1568. This is followed by the prohemio a prologue of two and a half pages in which the confraternity takes an oath; this starts with an imposing illuminated capital in red and blue. The chapters then follow on directly each with a tidy initial. The important terms are heightened in red allowing for quick navigation in the text. A long manuscript annotation to the outer margin of leaf 24. The aforementioned rules take up 23 ruled leaves ruled and lined in red. Leaf 27 bears two manuscript privileges. We have not been able to read the signature on the first dated May 1569 though quite elaborate. The second later one May 1596 is signed by Justino Antolinez de Burgos 1557-1637 at the time the Chaplain Royal charged with the inspection of ecclesiastical lodges. Long contemporary manuscript note to reverse of leaf 24. Contemporary light-brown calf spine in five compartments with gilt fillets and fleurons gilt fillet frame to boards small gilt fleurons to corner and a larger gilt fleuron to centre of covers. One clasp preserved. A few very skilful repairs and regilding practically invisible. This manuscript has three spectacular full-page miniatures in gouache heightened in gold. The first shows the Holy Communion with Christ himself establishing the Eucharist with the words This is my body this is my blood. The Apostles and Jesus with a halo blessing them are seated around a table set with bread and fish. This motif became a major theme of Christian art in the Renaissance as this miniature also shows. The second miniature shows the Tree of Jesse which symbolises the genealogy of Christ traced from Jesse Xese shown as an old man reclining. In keeping with the iconographic tradition a tree protrudes from his side the main branches of which bear some of Jesus's ancestors. Here they are: Zachary Jeremiah David an unidentified king and at the pinnacle Mary holding the Christ child within a mandorla. The third miniature presents a scene with Saint Christopher the patron of the Church in Granada to which the Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament was attached with a child on his shoulders as he was commonly represented. The iconography derives from a passage in the Golden Legend in which St Christopher helps a small b S. n. hardcover
1776réf. 96237J. Almon J.S. Jordan and J. Stockdale: London 1776-1793. Finely bound collection of the works of Thomas Paine including the rare first British editions of Common Sense and Plain Truth London: J. Almon 1776 second editions of Rights of Man Parts I & II London: J.S. Jordan 1791-1792 complete with half-titles present and a rare early printing of John Quincy Adams' response to Paine's Rights of Man London: J. Stockdale 1793 attributed to his father John Adams and written when John Quincy Adams was 26 years old. Octavo bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine red morocco spine label all edges speckled black. In near fine condition. A rare and desirable collection. One of the founding fathers of the United States Thomas Paine authored two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution which ultimately inspired the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Virtually every American rebel read Paine's powerful pamphlet Common Sense which crystallized the American Revolution and demand for independence from Britain. John Adams asserted "without the pen of the author of Common Sense the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain." London hardcover books
1862réf. 1492021862. Fine oil portrait of George Washington as General and Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army by Joseph Alexander Ames. Oil on canvas the portrait depicts Washington in profile in his Continental Army uniform. Signed and dated by the artist in the lower right corner "J. Ames 1862." Ames a self-taught artist born in 1816 in Roxbury New Hampshire was known for his portraits and genre scenes. He was influenced by Washington Allston's "old master" techniques which is evident in the rich layered colors and detailed rendering of this portrait. Ames's works were exhibited in prominent venues such as the Boston Athenaeum and the National Academy of Design. His portraits including those of Daniel Webster and Abraham Lincoln were widely recognized and reproduced during his lifetime. In near fine condition with a repair on the right side of the painting. Framed. The painting measures 30.25 inches by 25 inches. The entire piece measures 35.75 inches by 30 inches. As Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783 George Washington played a critical role in shaping the military and political outcomes of the American Revolutionary War. His leadership was marked not by tactical brilliance alone but by strategic endurance organizational discipline and an acute understanding of the symbolic and practical dimensions of command. Faced with chronic shortages of manpower supplies and financial support Washington focused on sustaining the army through long periods of adversity most notably during the winter encampment at Valley Forge. He emphasized professionalization working closely with figures like Baron von Steuben to impose standardized training and drill procedures. Washington’s decision to engage in a war of attrition rather than direct confrontation with the superior British forces reflected a broader political strategy aimed at maintaining colonial unity and prolonging resistance until foreign aid—particularly from France—could be secured. His leadership during the culminating siege of Yorktown in 1781 conducted in coordination with French forces marked a decisive turning point and demonstrated his ability to integrate diplomatic logistical and military considerations into a coherent wartime strategy. unknown
1861réf. 125637Richmond VA: Printed for Private Distribution Only 1861. First edition of the first book printed in the Confederacy. Quarto original stiff paper wrappers one of approximately 50 copies issued on regular paper. Ten being issued on thick paper and twenty copies destroyed in a fire. In very good condition reinforcement to the hinges. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box. Howes F26. Sabin 23778. Exceptionally rare. David Fanning was one of the most infamous of the Southern Tories raiding Patriots throughout the Carolinas. His guerilla warfare only paused when he was captured but following each of his multiple escapes he would quickly resume his vengeful predation. His narrative was to be the first in a series but the Civil War intervened and only this initial volume was produced. It was reprinted by Sabin in 1865 but this original edition was noted by Goodspeed's "as one of the finest of Confederate imprints. Printed for Private Distribution Only unknown
1776réf. 106523Philadelphia: Printed and sold by R. Bell in Third-Street 1776. Scarce 1776 separate edition of the Large Additions to Common Sense. The title reads in full: Large Additions To Common Sense: Addressed To The Inhabitants Of America On The Following Interesting Subjects. I. The American Patriot’s Prayer. II. American Independancy defended by Candidus. III. The Propriety of Independancy by Demophilus The dread of Tyrants and the sole resource Of those that under grim Oppression groan. Thomson. IV. A Review of the American Contest with some Strictures on the King’s Speech. Addressed to All Parents in the Thirteen United Colonies by a Friend To Posterity And Mankind. V. Letter to Lord Dartmouth by an English American. VI. Observations on Lord North’s Conciliatory Plan by Sincerus. To Which Is Added And Given An Appendix to Common Sense; Together with an Address to the People Called Quakers on their Testimony concerning Kings and Government and the Present Commotions in America. Octavo bound in three quarter morocco over boards gilt titles and five raised bands to the spine marbled endpapers. In very good condition internally very clean. Rare with only two examples appearing at auction in the last 80 years. One of the founding fathers of the United States Thomas Paine authored two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution which ultimately inspired the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Virtually every American rebel read Paine’s powerful pamphlet Common Sense which crystallized the American Revolution and demand for independence from Britain. John Adams asserted "without the pen of the author of Common Sense the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain." The 1776 Large Additions lends insight into the fascinating publishing history of the most important and popular tract of the American Revolution. After the publication of the first edition of Common Sense by Bell in 1776 in a small edition of 1000 copies Paine was greatly disappointed when Bell advised him there were no profits. He had intended to donate the proceeds to the causes of liberty and independence. Paine and Bell 44 had an immediate falling out and Paine subsequently hired Bradford to print a competing edition. This naturally infuriated Bell who included an attack on the still anonymous author in his next printing. The controversy between Bell and Paine played out in the press over the next several weeks and in no small part helped further ignite the popularity and widespread dissemination of Common Sense. Bell tried to compete against Bradford with a second unauthorized edition and gathered these additions to differentiate his work for the purpose of marketing. Nevertheless Bell could not easily compete since Paine refused to copyright the work and granted free permission for anyone to reprint it. Howes P22 states that “Paine was not the author of these Additions; they were gathered from various sources by Bell to make his edition 3 times larger than the enlarged edition issued at Philadelphia by Bradford to whom Paine had turned after his estrangement from Bell. Some copies were issued separately - and paged” as in the present example “ . to permit their being bound with the first and second editions of Common Sense. Printed and sold, by R. Bell in Third-Street hardcover
1794réf. 125183Philadelphia: Printed by D. Humphreys for M. Carey 1794. Exceedingly rare first American edition and the earliest obtainable example of the first American bestseller. Octavo two volumes bound into one in three quarter calf over marbled boards morocco spine label lettered in gilt marbled endpapers. Although the first American edition was preceded by the first English edition published in 1791 no examples of the first English edition have been traced at auction. In very good condition. Bookplate of D. Appleton to the pastedown bibliographic description tipped in. Housed in a custom cloth chemise and half morocco clamshell slipcase. Exceedingly rare with only one other example of the first American edition traced at auction in the last 75 years. Susana Rowson's best-selling novel Charlotte relates the tale of 15-year-old English schoolgirl Charlotte Temple who is lured away from her prestigious boarding school by British army officer John Montraville. While en route to New York Montraville seduces Charlotte who he swiftly abandons upon arrival to his post and after a downward spiral into remorse illness poverty and the birth of a child she dies. Seduction novels were popular in the 18th century and the widely read Charlotte Temple went through more than 200 editions. Rowson a committed republican used the success of the novel to protest the sexual double standard that ruined the lives of women like Charlotte. Later in life she wrote a sequel that was published posthumously. Printed by D. Humphreys for M. Carey hardcover
réf. 148863Rare Reach Official American League Baseball signed by a legendary group of baseball legends and Hall of Famers. Signed by Babe Ruth on the sweetspot setting the tone for one of the most remarkable gatherings of baseball legends captured on a single ball. Surrounding the "Sultan of Swat" are the signatures of Lou Gehrig Jimmie Foxx and Al Simmons — for a total of four of the five Hall of Famers famously struck out in succession by Carl Hubbell during the 1934 All-Star Game. Additionally signed by Connie Mack Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw. Crowning the collection is the autograph of Hank Aaron the man who ultimately eclipsed Ruth’s career home run record bridging two eras of baseball greatness. In fine condition. Housed in a plastic case. Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Beckett Authentication Services. Babe Ruth Lou Gehrig Hank Aaron Jimmie Foxx Al Simmons Connie Mack Lefty Grove and George Earnshaw collectively embody the pantheon of Major League Baseball legends whose careers span the sport’s formative decades and its evolution into a national institution. Each figure holds a distinct place in the game’s legacy: Ruth and Gehrig as the iconic heart of the New York Yankees’ dominance in the 1920s and 1930s; Aaron as the embodiment of consistent excellence and the breaking of Babe Ruth’s home run record; Foxx and Simmons as prolific sluggers of the Philadelphia Athletics’ golden years; Mack as the longest-serving and most storied manager in baseball history; and Grove and Earnshaw as dominant pitchers who shaped the Athletics’ championship success. Together these figures represent a cross-generational legacy that defines baseball’s golden age and its enduring mythos. unknown
1827réf. 87629Paris: chez l'éditeur boulevard Montmartre no 1Vassalet EsslingImprimeurs 1827. Fine. Princess Murat's copy chez l'éditeur boulevard Montmartre no 1 Vassal et EsslingImprimeurs Paris 1801-1827 ; 1827 pour le texte 41.20 x 27.80 cm relié Complete set of 115 copper-engraved plates with an additional plate 116 plates all printed on either laid or wove paper all hand-colored with watercolor. Two entirely different plates 39 follow each other in first issue: ""Les Titus et les cache-folies"" was published in the 1817 and 1822 sets and the other ""La Politicomanie"" appeared in 1827. This is the most complete series which also includes the 11 new plates published from 1818 to 1822 numbered 105 to 115. According to Vicaire the plates were probably all printed between 1801 and 1822 and only the text preceding the plates was reprinted in 1827. 3/4 long-grained cherry half-morocco smooth spine elaborately framed in gilt lentghwise gilt tooled center of spine gilt lettered title at head of spine framed in gilt marbled boards marbled paper endpapers and flyleaves. Minor brown spots are mainly confined to the 24 pp. of text with very few on the plates mainly on the margins and versos. A rare and famous collection of costumes genre and entertainment scenes from the French First Empire and Restoration eras with very wide margins and magnificently hand-colored at the time. A veritable encyclopedia of thrills pleasures and pageantry published by Pierre de la Mésangère leading fashion editor at the turn of the century. This copy includes two versions of plate 39 both of which are extremely scarce. These magnificent copper-engraved prints by Georges Jacques Gatine Schenker and others were based on drawings by the greatest painters of Parisian fashion: Carle Vernet Philippe-Louis Debucourt Jean-Baptiste Isabey Louis-Marie Lanté Dutailly. They were initially sold as a supplement to the successful magazine Le Journal des Modes before being published as a collection. Some plates bear the engraver's name and several the draftsmen's. This gallery of figures is singularly representative of a period of upheaval in French history in terms material but also moral and intellectual values - depicting a frivolous and daring part of feminine society eager to please and well-versed in the games of love. The ensemble perfectly combines social satire with the refinement expected of fashion engravings. It includes the famous portraits of the extravagantly dressed Directoire women called ""Merveilleuses"" and ""Incroyables"" - representations that have henceforth served as a reference. From beautiful silhouettes reclining on Greek-style beds to provocative and undressed courtesans everything is designed to illustrate the finery of these pretty coquettes often followed by a host of suitors and servants. Dresses hats and furs rub shoulders with elegant male figures in frock coats and even a few transvestites Trois grâces parisiennes no. 16. Many of the scenes have a clear erotic connotation especially the salon games featuring suggestive embraces and positions. Dancing takes pride of place: no fewer than twenty plates feature fashionable ballroom dances ""Danse du Schall"" named after the popular scarf quadrille figures such as ""La Poule"" ""La Trénis"" or more daring ones like ""La Sauteuse"" ballets or even the famous tightrope dancers Ravel and Forioso. The movement of the characters is reflected in the drapery of the large Empire muslin gowns and hair flowing in the wind. Among the dozens of hand-colored plates a great many are devoted to leisure and entertainment activities available at the beginning of the 19th century. Gastronomy games of skill sports acrobatics circus tricks music and even real sensational attractions: several plates depict the very first Parisian roller coaster installed in Belleville then at the Odeon for the 1817 Carnival. Clowns pierrots and masked figures are seen dancing in front of the structures and hurtling down steep slopes on small carriages. Anothe chez l'éditeur, boulevard Montmartre, no 1Vassalet EsslingImprimeurs hardcover
1920réf. 759331920. Fine. A priceless poetic testament from Marcel Proust's mentor hidden away and out of sight since the death of the author. s. d. ca 1920 25 x 33 cm en feuilles sous chemises The set of largely unpublished autograph poems by Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac is brought together by the Count in a collection entitled Le Dernier Pli des neuf voiles whose composition extends from his very first collection Les Chauves-Souris 1892 to his last trilogy Offrandes 1915. Set of 620 autograph leaves. 532 unpublished first draught handwritten on the recto and numbered in pencil preserved in 3 chemises in half red contemporary morocco red morocco labels with gilt author and title; the poems are then placed in the chemises with a handwritten title and a number for publication. According to a note from the author the differences in ink have no meaning mere change of copy. Rare pages from the hand of his secretary Henri Pinard: p. 20 of Huitième voile and p. 29 of Neuvième voile. 23 pages present the printed or typewritten texts of the poems and are enriched with Montesquiou's handwritten corrections. A set of printed proofs are found at the top of the first chemise as well as a pencil tracing after Aubrey Beardsley drawn by the author and accompanied by his handwritten indications. Sublime ode to dandyism to homosexuality and beauty this worldly and poetic promenade by Montesquiou embarks the reader into the decadent fin-de-siècle Paris described in In Search of Lost Time by his friend Marcel Proust. Imbued with his legendary enthusiasm for pictorial decorative theatrical and floral art the collection also delivers hundreds of mournful verses after the disappearance of Montesquiou's lover Gabriel Yturri. Thanks to this collection of poems by Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac all of which had been lost since 1986 it is now possible to complete the rehabilitation of the aristocratic poet who has long embodied and shaped the Parisian spirit. In May 1920 Montesquiou left handwritten instructions for the posthumous publication of the collection initially announced in two volumes and never produced. On his death a year later the poems were bequeathed to his secretary Henri Pinard who in turn sold them on an unknown date. Auctioned on 24 November 1986 they were mentioned in the LoWire-Littérature colloquium in 1989. This considerable manuscript by Montesquiou forms a veritable home of poetry like his famous aesthetic apartments described by Huysmans. The series of Voiles contain dozens of unpublished poems written in parallel with his previous collections. The author himself indicated the kinship of each voile with a published set of poems announcing here the total completion of his work by the addition of poems which still lay dormant in his papers. The three thick chemises contain rare and curious treasures sometimes drawn on colored sheets often pasted on larger sheets rigorously ordered while awaiting their publication. The poems are written without crossings-out they are fluid with rounded and precious handwriting and stand alongside other first-draught manuscripts: redactions and corrections also bear witness to the work in progress on the new poems; they were applied in the printed proofs of the work present at the top of the manuscript's first chemise. Some poems are taken as they are from collections already published but are slightly modified according to the explanations given by the author. Montesquiou also adds some handwritten notes detailing his intentions. The manuscript contains a poetic anthology of sacred art of extremely rare flowers and of antique furniture adorning his famous Parisian apartments around which so many legends were built Jacques Saint-Cère which fuelled the personalities of Des Esseintes Baron Charlus Dorian Gray and the vain peacock in Edmond Rostand's Chantecler. Moreover Montesquiou was overwhelmed by the features of these famous fictional ghosts of w unknown
1861réf. 125637Richmond VA: Printed for Private Distribution Only 1861. First edition of the first book printed in the Confederacy. Quarto original stiff paper wrappers one of approximately 50 copies issued on regular paper. Ten being issued on thick paper and twenty copies destroyed in a fire. In very good condition reinforcement to the hinges. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box. Howes F26. Sabin 23778. Exceptionally rare. David Fanning was one of the most infamous of the Southern Tories raiding Patriots throughout the Carolinas. His guerilla warfare only paused when he was captured but following each of his multiple escapes he would quickly resume his vengeful predation. His narrative was to be the first in a series but the Civil War intervened and only this initial volume was produced. It was reprinted by Sabin in 1865 but this original edition was noted by Goodspeed's "as one of the finest of Confederate imprints." Printed for Private Distribution Only unknown books
1776réf. 106523Philadelphia: Printed and sold by R. Bell in Third-Street 1776. Scarce 1776 separate edition of the Large Additions to Common Sense. The title reads in full: Large Additions To Common Sense: Addressed To The Inhabitants Of America On The Following Interesting Subjects. I. The American Patriot's Prayer. II. American Independancy defended by Candidus. III. The Propriety of Independancy by Demophilus The dread of Tyrants and the sole resource Of those that under grim Oppression groan. Thomson. IV. A Review of the American Contest with some Strictures on the King's Speech. Addressed to All Parents in the Thirteen United Colonies by a Friend To Posterity And Mankind. V. Letter to Lord Dartmouth by an English American. VI. Observations on Lord North's Conciliatory Plan by Sincerus. To Which Is Added And Given An Appendix to Common Sense; Together with an Address to the People Called Quakers on their Testimony concerning Kings and Government and the Present Commotions in America. Octavo bound in three quarters morocco over boards gilt titles and five raised bands to the spine marbled endpapers. In very good condition internally very clean. Rare with only two examples appearing at auction in the last 80 years. One of the founding fathers of the United States Thomas Paine authored two of the most influential pamphlets at the start of the American Revolution which ultimately inspired the 1776 Declaration of Independence. Virtually every American rebel read Paine's powerful pamphlet Common Sense which crystallized the American Revolution and demand for independence from Britain. John Adams asserted "without the pen of the author of Common Sense the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain." The 1776 Large Additions lends insight into the fascinating publishing history of the most important and popular tract of the American Revolution. After the publication of the first edition of Common Sense by Bell in 1776 in a small edition of 1000 copies Paine was greatly disappointed when Bell advised him there were no profits. He had intended to donate the proceeds to the causes of liberty and independence. Paine and Bell 44 had an immediate falling out and Paine subsequently hired Bradford to print a competing edition. This naturally infuriated Bell who included an attack on the still anonymous author in his next printing. The controversy between Bell and Paine played out in the press over the next several weeks and in no small part helped further ignite the popularity and widespread dissemination of Common Sense. Bell tried to compete against Bradford with a second unauthorized edition and gathered these additions to differentiate his work for the purpose of marketing. Nevertheless Bell could not easily compete since Paine refused to copyright the work and granted free permission for anyone to reprint it. Howes P22 states that "Paine was not the author of these Additions; they were gathered from various sources by Bell to make his edition 3 times larger than the enlarged edition issued at Philadelphia by Bradford to whom Paine had turned after his estrangement from Bell. Some copies were issued separately - and paged" as in the present example " . to permit their being bound with the first and second editions of Common Sense. Printed and sold, by R. Bell in Third-Street hardcover books
1794réf. 125183Philadelphia: Printed by D. Humphreys for M. Carey 1794. Exceedingly rare first American edition and the earliest obtainable example of the first American bestseller. Octavo two volumes bound into one in three quarter calf over marbled boards morocco spine label lettered in gilt marbled endpapers. Although it was preceded by the first English edition published in 1791 no examples of the first English edition have been traced at auction. In very good condition. Bookplate to the pastedown bibliographic description tipped in. Housed in a custom cloth chemise and half morocco clamshell slipcase. Exceedingly rare with only one other example of the first American edition traced at auction in the last 75 years. Susana Rowson's best-selling novel Charlotte Temple relates the tale of 15-year-old English schoolgirl Charlotte Temple who is lured away from her prestigious boarding school by British army officer John Montraville. While en route to New York Montraville seduces Charlotte who he swiftly abandons upon arrival to his post and after a downward spiral into remorse illness poverty and the birth of a child she dies. Seduction novels were popular in the 18th century and the widely read Charlotte Temple went through more than 200 editions. Rowson a committed republican used the success of the novel to protest the sexual double standard that ruined the lives of women like Charlotte. Later in life she wrote a sequel that was published posthumously. Printed by D. Humphreys for M. Carey hardcover books
1907réf. 579131907. Fine. ca.1907-2003 30 x 32 cm Une feuille Maurice BLANCHOT Extraordinary collection of Maurice Blanchot's original photographs taken in the family setting the only printings C. 1907-2003 272 photographs various format Blanchot challenged photographers and caricaturists of the literary press for a long-time. His 'portraits' over so many years are minimalist and rare: in 1962 in L'Express a hand holds up a book at the bottom of the page; in 1979 in Libération a blank square is in the middle of the page with only Maurice Blanchot's name and a quote from the Entretien infini as a caption: an empty universe: nothing that was visible nothing that was invisible' C. Bident Maurice Blanchot. In 1986 at the time of an exhibition of writers' portraits he requested that his photo be replaced by a text showing his desire to appear as little as possible not to glorify his books but to avoid the presence of an author who was entitled to an independent existence. A photo taken without him knowing by a paparazzi in a supermarket carpark was used as the writer's portrait for a long time before his friend Emmanuel Levinas revealed a few rare photographs of their youth. The fact that Maurice Blanchot did not oppose this release and the fact that this was his closest friend's deed could be explained by what Bident calls the spacing of worry as the revealed portraits were not up-to-date similar to the postponed publications of his books L'Idylle Le Dernier Mot L'Arrêt de mort. Only a few photographs gathered on the central pages of the Cahiers de l'Herne issue dedicated to Maurice Blanchot and published in 2014 supplement these unique shots of the 20th-century's most secret writer. In his chapter The indisposition of the secret Christophe Bident devotes several pages to the almost total absence of images of this invisible partner questioning the intellectual and psychological motivation of the writer who was aware of the inevitable future revelation of his appearance: Everything must become public. The secret must be told. The darkness must emerge. That which cannot be said must however be heard. Quidquid latet apparebit all that is hidden is that which must appear. Maurice Blanchot L'Espace littéraire In general Maurice Blanchot refused to be photographed even in private life as confirmed by the family of his sister-in-law Anna who revealed in a letter to her nephew that she had not taken any photographs of the writer thus respecting his wishes. However the photographs taken with his close family show us a perfectly willing Blanchot and one even playing very elegantly with the image of himself that he projects to the photographer generally his brother. As such we discover an elegant man posing proudly on a boat pontoon or on the banks of the Seine or more mysteriously playing with lighting effects in the corner of an empty room. Here we see a real photographic staging and a symbolic reappropriation of image particularly in a surprising seated portrait of the writer holding the Inconnue de la Seine death mask in his arms the well-known plaster head of a young woman supposedly drowned who adorned artists' studios after 1900. A true romantic legend this sculpture with a mysterious post-mortem smile is at the heart of Aragon's novel Aurélien and haunts the work of artists at the beginning of the century including Rainer Maria Rilke Vladimir Nabokov Claire Goll Jules Supervielle Louis-Ferdinand Céline Giacometti and Man Ray who produced a worrying photographic portrait of the mask at Aragon's request. Maurice Blanchot described the unknown woman as an adolescent girl with her eyes closed but full of life with a smile so slender so rich . that we could believe that she was drowned in a moment of extreme happiness. This photograph of an impervious Blanchot cradling the white mask of the Mona Lisa of suicide asserts itself as a true deconstruction of representation. It unknown
1769réf. 125438London: Printed for David Henry and sold by Francis Newbery 1769. First complete edition of "the most important scientific book of 18th-century America" and "America's first great scientific contribution" PMM. Octavo bound in full contemporary calf with gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands red morocco spine label lettered in gilt double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels. With the rarely found half-title. Advertisement & errata leaf bound in following the preface. Illustrated with 7 copper-engraved plates 4 of which are folding. This the fourth first complete and most desirable edition of Franklin's important work contains for the first time complete notes on all of the experiments as well as correspondence between Peter Collinson Franklin and several other collaborators. The earlier editions each issued in three parts as separately published pamphlets usually bound together were carelessly published. Franklin edited this new one-volume edition himself significantly revising the text adding for the first time a number of his own philosophical letters and papers introducing footnotes correcting errors and adding an index Cohen Benjamin Franklin's Experiments. In near fine condition. Expertly rebacked. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box. Franklin's most important scientific publication" Experiments and Observations contains detailed accounts of the founding father's crucial kite and key experiment his work with Leiden jars lightning rods and charged clouds Norman 830. "The most dramatic result of Franklin's researches was the proof that lightning is really an electrical phenomenon. Others had made such a suggestion before him-- even Newton himself-- but it was he who provided the experimental proof" PMM. "The lightning experiments caused Franklin's name to become known throughout Europe to the public at large and not merely to men of science. Joseph Priestley in his History of Electricity characterized the experimental discovery that the lightning discharge is an electrical phenomenon as 'the greatest perhaps since the time of Isaac Newton. Franklin's achievement. marked the coming of age of electrical science and the full acceptance of the new field of specialization" DSB. Printed for David Henry and sold by Francis Newbery hardcover books
1851réf. 150358New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers 1851. First edition first issue binding of Melville’s masterpiece. Octavo original red variant cloth BAL’s A grain covers stamped in blind with Harper’s circular device at the center of the front panel within a heavy blind ruled frame plain orange endpapers. Issued in a single volume in black green blue red purple slate or brown cloth gilt. The first state of the binding has a circular device at center of covers that is absent from the second state binding. Much has been made of whether the earliest copies bound should have orange-coated end papers but in fact there is no priority between copies with orange dark orange maroon veined in gold or marbled end papers. Of uncertain status are three copies that have been seen with plain white end papers and a copy seen with yellow-coated end papers. Copies in bindings with beaded rope-like designs or Grolier-esque strapwork borders are very likely copies that survived Harper's terrible fire of December 10 1853 which destroyed 287 copies 212 were still unbound in sheets. The first printing by Harper's in 1851 numbered 2915 copies approximately 300 copies were destroyed in a warehouse fire in 1853 and as late as 1854 copies of the first edition were still available from the publisher. A second printing of 250 copies was issued in 1855 and in 1863 the third printing of 253 copies was issued. In very good condition rebacked. Housed in a custom cloth clamshell box. Rare and desirable in the rare variant publisher's red cloth. Initially panned by critics and readers when published in 1851 "in the 20th century Moby Dick would be rediscovered and acknowledged as possibly the greatest of all American novels" Chronology of American Literature. Arguably the greatest single work in American literature Moby-Dick was initially “a complete practical failure misunderstood by the critics and ignored by the public. Nevertheless Melville’s permanent fame must always rest on the great prose epic of Moby-Dick a book that has no equal in American literature for variety and splendor of style and for depth of feeling” DAB. Harper & Brothers, Publishers hardcover
1894réf. 1307London/Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press 1894. Limited First Edition. green goatskin. Fine. 16mo: 5 13/16" x 4 1/8" x 3/4" 14.8 x 10.5 x 1.9 cm. First Printing. Printed by and sold by William Morris. Bound in fine tooled in gilt by Deborah Evetts with a diaper pattern of alternating small Kelmscott flowers and dots across covers and spine title running across top and bottom of upper cover uncut stamp-signed "DE'08" on rear turn-in. One of 20 at two guineas velum copies plus 525 at seven shillings and sixpence on paper; this copy on vellum. Colophon in red and black. iv 130 pp. Printed in black and red throughout in the Chaucer type designed by Morris for his press. Woodcut frontispiece title within a floral border and facing page with full woodcut floral page-border borders 11a and 11. Numerous 7- 6- and 3-line woodblock initial capitals all designed by Morris engraved by William Harcourt Hooper. Shoulder notes and some lines including colophon in red. A medieval French tale translated by Morris who found them in a collection of medieval romances printed in Paris in 1856 NOUVELLES FRANcAISES EN PROSE DU XIIIEME SIeCLE. The Kelmscott Press also published two other works from the same source. THE TALE OF EMPEROR COUSTANS was the source of THE MAN BORN TO BE KING in THE EARTHLY PARADISE. The second story is A TALE OF OVER SEA. Cockerell 26. Peterson A26. Walsdorf 26. Housed in green buckram drop-back box brown goatskin label titled in gilt on spine. Condition overall: Fine. Kelmscott Press
1965réf. 149476Yonkers: Educational Heritage Inc 1965. First edition of this comprehensive anthology that compiles historical documents speeches and firsthand accounts to trace the evolving struggle for African American freedom and equality. Quarto original publisher's orange cloth boards with black and white illustrations. Association copy inscribed by Martin Luther King Jr. to Sammy Davis Jr. on the front free endpaper "To my Dear Friend Sammy Davis Whose Friendship I Cherish very deeply Martin Luther King." Sammy Davis Jr. 1925–1990 was an American singer dancer and actor whose extraordinary versatility made him one of the most celebrated entertainers of the twentieth century. As the only Black member of the Rat Pack Davis broke racial barriers in entertainment while confronting segregation both on and off stage. His friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began through Davis’s activism and fundraising for King’s civil-rights efforts and deepened during the Civil Rights Movement. Davis used his fame to raise awareness and funds for King’s initiatives performing at civil rights benefits and supporting the 1963 March on Washington. In near fine condition with a small loss to the crown of the spine. Edited by Alfred E. Cain. Illustrated by Horace Varela. Housed in the original orange cloth slipcase within a custom folding chemise within a custom half morocco slipcase with gilt titles to the spine. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 through 1968. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using the tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and inspired by the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and in 1957 became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference SCLC. With the SCLC he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany Georgia and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham Alabama. He also helped organize the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. On October 14 1964 King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In 1965 he helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches and the following year he and the SCLC took the movement north to Chicago to work on segregated housing. In his final years he expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War alienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam". In 1968 King was planning a national occupation of Washington D.C. to be called the Poor People's Campaign when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday in numerous cities and states beginning in 1971 and as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington D.C. was dedicated in 2011. Educational Heritage, Inc hardcover
