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It is one of the great near-misses in modern publishing history. In 1953 a forty-one-year-old schoolmaster named William Golding finished a short, strange novel about a group of English boys stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash, and sent the manuscript out to find a publisher. More than twenty London houses read it.…
There is a particular category of rare book that transcends the ordinary parameters of the collecting field. These are not simply early printings of significant texts they are the physical embodiments of cultural turning points, volumes whose first appearances in the world marked moments from which literature, science, and intellectual history did not return. To…
Some books exist in multiple registers simultaneously. There is The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam as a text — the collection of quatrains composed in eleventh-century Persia by the mathematician and astronomer Omar Khayyám, rendered into English verse by Edward FitzGerald in 1859, and subsequently translated, illustrated, printed, and bound in more editions than any comparable…
There is a moment every collector remembers. It might happen in a dusty antiquarian shop, at an auction preview, or while turning the pages of a catalogue. You pick up a book — really pick it up, feel the weight of the binding, study the title page — and something shifts. You are no longer…
Harcourt Bindery in Charlestown Helps Give Books New Life. The ancient art form of bookbinding is still practiced by hand at a small shop in Charlestown, Massachusetts. CBS News April 19, 2026 The Harcourt Bindery was recently featured in a segment on CBS News with lifestyle reporter Rachel Holt.
When Little, Brown published Infinite Jest on February 1, 1996, it arrived already mythologized — a 1,079-page novel with nearly 400 endnotes, written by a thirty-three-year-old from central Illinois who had spent four years on a book his editors privately feared was either genius or magnificent self-indulgence. Three decades later, that question has been settled. Infinite…
Published in 1689, John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government challenged the idea of divine monarchy and introduced a revolutionary concept: that governments derive their authority from the consent of the governed. Before this work, kings ruled by divine right, with power believed to come from God. Locke rejected that foundation entirely. He argued that individuals…
In 1776, two revolutions entered the world through the printed page. One declared political independence in North America through the publication of the Declaration of Independence. The other introduced a radically new framework for understanding economic life: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith. While the political…
In 1831, Victor Hugo changed the course of literature—and architecture—with a single novel: Notre-Dame de Paris, better known to English readers as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. That year, the world first encountered two of literature’s most unforgettable figures: Quasimodo, the cathedral’s tormented bell-ringer, and Esméralda, the captivating dancer whose fate became tragically intertwined with his.…
In February of 1798, as the young American republic stood in a period of mounting political anxiety, Elkanah Watson sent a small book to Mount Vernon. Inside, on the front pastedown, he had written simply: “From the Author to General Washington.” On the facing leaf, he added a longer, more personal message: “New York, Feb.…
In the study of rare books, age alone is seldom the decisive measure of significance. Far more consequential is provenance — the documented history of ownership that situates a volume within lived experience. A book becomes meaningful not simply because it has survived, but because it has been held, read, annotated, exchanged, and preserved within…
In 1937, a quiet revolution in storytelling began. George Allen & Unwin published a small book by an Oxford professor—The Hobbit, or There and Back Again—in a modest print run of only 1,500 copies. Every copy sold out within three months. Few could have predicted that this unassuming children’s story would redefine an entire literary…
The story above was featured on WBZ CBS News Boston on December 8th 2025.
Lauded by William Faulkner as “the father of American literature,” American writer, humorist, and publisher Mark Twain is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in American literary history. Active during the latter half of the nineteenth century, Twain fundamentally redefined the American narrative, diverging from European literary models to cultivate a distinctly…
The following article appeared in The Palm Beach Daily News on May 2, 2025: Jodie WagnerPalm Beach Daily News A rare first edition of the literary classic “The Great Gatsby” is up for sale in Palm Beach, with an asking price just shy of $1 million. Raptis Rare Books, at 329 Worth Ave., has acquired…
Eric Carle was one of the most beloved figures in children’s literature, known for his vibrant, collage-style illustrations and simple yet profound storytelling. His books have introduced generations of children to the joys of reading while sparking curiosity about nature, colors, and the world around them. Through a combination of art and storytelling, Carle’s works…
Saturday, July 20th marks the 55th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle and Armstrong became the first person to step onto the Moon’s surface. The event effectively proved U.S. victory in…
One of the rarest and most significant books in American political history, The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution remains the single most influential text in promoting the ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America. In 1787, Alexander Hamilton resolved to launch a measured defense and…
View our latest video short featuring Adrienne Raptis delving into the history of Truman Capote’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Breakfast at Tiffany’s first appeared in the November 1958 issue of Esquire Magazine. It was published only months later in book form by Random House as part of a collection of short stories. …
The following article appeared in Voyage MIA on May 24, 2023. Today we’d like to introduce you to Adrienne Raptis. She recently shared the story of how she and her husband, Matthew, started their business, Raptis Rare Books, with us below: Matthew and Adrienne Raptis are the proud proprietors of Raptis Rare Books.…
Raptis Rare Books was thrilled to partner with The Macallan on an exclusive tasting event featuring a selection of rare Macallan casks including the James Bond 60th Anniversary Release. This remarkable collection comprises six limited edition bottles inspired by each of The Six Decades of Bond, telling the story of innovation over 60 years and the…
Raptis Rare Books was proud to sponsor the West Palm Beach Library Foundation’s 2023 Food for Thought Dinner as a Corporate Benefactor. We were delighted to host the post-event cocktail reception in our Worth Avenue Gallery on January 31st 2023.
In the bustling streets of turn-of-the-century Boston, amidst the flourishing arts scene, the craft of bookbinding enjoyed a certain prominence. This was an era marked by the private press movement, with figures like Daniel B. Updike and Frederic W. Goudy making significant contributions to typography and book design. Associations such as the New England Bookbinders…
Salvador Dalí, a name synonymous with surrealism, continues to captivate art enthusiasts worldwide with his eccentricity, imagination, and unparalleled artistic vision. From melting clocks to dreamlike landscapes, Dalí’s work transcends traditional boundaries, inviting viewers into a realm where reality and fantasy collide in a mesmerizing display of creativity. Born on May 11, 1904, in Figueres,…
