Ulysses S. Grant: Vellum Document Signed

Washington: 1873

SIGNED BY ULYSSES S. GRANT AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Partly-printed vellum document signed, “U.S. Grant,” as president. Military commission appointing H. Schuyler Ross a First Assistant Engineer in the Navy. Countersigned by George M. Robeson as Secretary of the Navy. Washington, 1873. Approximately 19 1/2x16 inches; slightly faded signature, usual folds, minor soiling, seal intact.

$1,700

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The New and Complete Book of Martyrs, Now Revised, Corrected and Improved By Paul Wright

Folio. Full blind-paneled reversed calf, 6 raised bands on spine, hinges weak, engraved frontispiece, 81 fine engraved plates, subscriber's list, double-column text, clean and tight.

$1,250

Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis: non illae quidem Romanae, sed totius fere orbis summo studio... conquistae

FIRST EDITION of the first comprehensive collection of Latin inscriptions from the press of Apianus. Inscriptiones Sacrosanctae was commissioned by the German banker Raimund Fugger whose own collection of antiquities, together with the collection of Peutinger, provide the basis of the majority of Apianus's study. This work gathered inscrptions from all over Europe and, for the first time, arranged them geographically. Folio. Contemporary full vellum. Title printed in red & black, with large woodcut after Durer. Woodcut arms of Raimund Fugger (dedicatee), approx. 180 woodcuts in the text, most pages with ornamental woodcut borders, printer's device at back. Elegant early owner inscription on title. A lovely copy with only very minor occasional spotting. Rare.

$7,500

Histoire De l'Art Chez Les Anciens

FIRST EDITION IN FRENCH of this most important work in art history and criticism.“Winckelmann’s History had a remarkable impact for a scholarly antiquarian publication. It presented a comprehensive synthesis of available knowledge about the visual artefacts of the ancient world... Four main sculptural traditions were discussed in detail – the ancient Egyptian, Etruscan, Greek and Roman. What particularly caught the imagination of Winckelmann’s contemporaries, however, and still assures the book a place among the classics of art history, is what Winckelmann himself envisaged as its core, the eloquent and hugely ambitious attempt to redefine the history and aesthetics of the ancient Greek tradition.” –Alex Potts, Flesh and the Ideal: Winckelmann and the Origins of the History“[Winckelmann’s] magnum opus is in a class apart, for it completely revolutionized the study of art by treating it organically (Winckelmann was the first to do so) as part of the growth of the human race” –E.M. ButlerOctavo.Two volumes bound as one. Recent crushed morocco, rebacked with the original spine laid down, marbled endpaper. Illustrated throughout. A handsome copy.

$1,000

Roma Sotterranea or some Account of the Roman Catacomb especially of the Cemetery of San Callisto

First Edition. This work is based on De Rossi's celebrated Roma Sotterranea (1864-77). Octavo. Original blind stamped purple cloth with gilt decoration to front board and spine. Spine quite faded with minor wear at head and heal; Bookplate to front pastedown. Text clean and complete with folding atlas inserted in pocket at rear; 20 chromolithographs and numerous woodcut text illustrations. An attractive, solid copy.

$650

The Naked and the Dead

FIRST EDITION of Mailer's masterpiece, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY MAILER TO PAUL BARTEL: "To Paul, with the best / recollections of / how he came forward / with the best / advice for Chapter Five / Salutations / Norman Mailer / Feb '92." Written when Mailer was just twenty-five, The Naked and the Dead is one of the classic novels of World War II. Both a critical and commercial success (it remained at the top of The New York Times best-seller list for eleven weeks), it launched Mailer's career and remains one of the most influential American novels of the century. Paul Bartel was a writer, actor, and director best known for his 1982 film, Eating Raoul. Octavo, original cloth, original dust jacket; custom box. An outstanding, fine copy, extremely rare in such good condition.

$7,000

The Recognitions

FIRST EDITION, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY GADDIS on front free endpaper: "Martin / Cove ab homine (ut?) / unius libri (The Recognitions) / (and with every best wish.) / (ergo / (I mean, a child among / you taking notes / W. Gaddis".“As the most important precursor of many postmodernist novels about travel or movement, The Recognitions signals a change in the function of travel in fiction that is echoed in later nonfiction about travel... Since its appearance in 1955, Gaddis’ first novel has been in and out of print, initially ignored or misunderstood but subsequently praised as a central work of contemporary American fiction" (Alison Russell, Crossing Boundaries: Postmodern Travel Literature).Original cloth, original dust jacket; custom half-morocco box. Book fine, dust jacket near-fine with very minor edgewear.

$2,500

Sleeping by the Mississippi

Pre-publication edition, SIGNED by Soth. Number 26 or 30 numbered copies. With original Inkjet prints bound into cloth covers. Gilt stamped brown cloth with an original photograph mounted on front cover. Fine copy.

$12,000

The Fables of Aesop and Others Translated into Human Nature

"The Design which forms the Frontispiece to this book, and which is therefore presumed to be somewhat typical of the intention of Fable, represents Man tried at the Court of the Lion for the ill-treatment of a Horse. It will be seen that Man has the worst of it..." Quarto. Hand-colored wood-engraved frontispiece, title and 22 plates by Swain after Charles Bennett. Finely bound in near-contemporary maroon calf. Light wear to spine and extremities; internally clean and nearly fine. A handsome and very appealing copy.

$450

Outside Over There

FIRST EDITION OF SENDAK'S THIRD BOOK, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY SENDAK. Gilt lettered red cloth, original dust jacket ($12.95 on front flap). Outside Over There is Sendak's story of Ida, a pre-adolescent girl who must contend with sibling jealousy, new responsibilities and goblins who kidnap her young sister. A splendid copy, with Sendak's enchanting illustrations.

$275

For Whom the Bell Tolls

First edition of Hemingway's finest novel. Original cloth, original dust jacket. An excellent copy.

$1,200

The History of the Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of Antonio Solis' exceedingly popular and quite romantic version of the conquest of Mexico. "It has been translated into the principal languages of Europe; and such is the charm of its composition, and its exquisite finish as a work of art, that it will doubtless be as imperishable as the language in which it is written..." – William H. Prescott. Folio. 18th century panelled calf, elaborately gilt spine in 7 compartments, red spine label. Armorial bookplates on front pastedown. Engraved portrait of Cortes by G. Vertue, 8 engraved plates and maps including the folding panorama of Mexico City. Sabin 86487.Joints cracked but firm; corners lightly bumped. Light paste-action in margins of first and last leaves; engraved portrait lightly toned. A fresh and appealing copy, clean throughout. Provenance: Henry Duke of Kent (bookplate); Thomas Philip Earl de Grey (bookplate).

$4,000

Observations upon the prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John

FIRST EDITION of Isaac Newton's posthumously published theological interpretation of the Biblical prophecies."It has generally been assumed that the work was a product of his old age, as the treatise published was. Nevertheless, references to the prophecies filled his early theological notebook. Already in the 1670s, he believed that the essence of the Bible was the prophecy of human history rather than the revelation of truths beyond human reason unto life eternal. Already at that time he believed what he asserted later about Revelation: 'There [is] no book in all the scriptures so much recommended & guarded by providence as this.' He put that belief into practice by composing his earliest theological study. It proved to be more than a passing interest. His first full discourse contains many insertions in later hands, showing that he referred to it frequently. He composed numerous revisions of it, one of which was probably the last thing on which he was at work when he died more than fifty years later." (Richard Westfall, The Life of Sir Isaac Newton). Quarto, period style boards. Uncut, a superb copy.

$5,000

Grant, Ulysses S.