Looking for a unique and personal gift? A rare book is a gift they will treasure for a lifetime. There are few gifts that are as lasting and appreciated as a rare book. They hold within its pages not only historical and cultural significance, but often also a personal significance to the recipient. Whether it is a beloved childhood book that turned them on to the joys of reading or a favorite title they read in high school or college, people treasure these books like a close friend.
Showing items 432-456 of 2048
New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2023.
First edition of this New York Times bestselling thriller from the author of American Psycho. Octavo, original publisher’s half-cloth. Signed by the author on the second free endpaper, “Bret Easton Ellis.” Signed three times by legendary jacket designer Chip Kidd on the front panel (in the year of publication) and second free endpaper, “Chip KiddContinue reading "The Shards."
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New York : Basic Books, 1991.
First edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning economist. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with black and white photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication, “To Harry and Helen Lipp with best wishes, Herbert A. Simon 3/15/91.” Near fine in a fine unclipped dust jacket. Jacket design by JanetContinue reading "Models of My Life."
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New York and London : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1929.
First American edition of this classic maritime adventure novel that showcases themes of duty, resilience, and individual impact during wartime. Octavo, original publisher’s full cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on front free endpaper, “Marjorie From C.S. Forester.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Rare and desirable signed.
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New York : The Macmillan Company, 1951-1952.
First editions of each volume in Hoover’s memoirs. Octavo, three volumes, illustrated with black and white photographs. Boldly signed by Herbert Hoover on the front free endpaper of The Cabinet and the Presidency, “The good wishes of Herbert Hoover.” Years of Adventure and The Great Depression are first printings, The Cabinet and the Presidency isContinue reading "The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: Years of Adventure 1874-1920; The Cabinet and the Presidency 1920-1933; The Great Depression 1929-1941."
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New York : The Penguin Press, 2004.
First edition of this landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, basis for the Award-winning Broadway play. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Ron Chernow and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda (who starred in the Broadway adaptation) on the title page. Fine in a very good jacket. Jacket design by Gabriele Wilson.
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New York : Simon and Schuster, 1986.
First edition of this biography on how six influential American statesmen shaped U.S. foreign policy and the global order during the Cold War. Octavo, original publisher’s half-cloth, illustrated with black and white photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by Walter Isaacson on the front free endpaper, “To Norm Olean, Best wishes, Walter Isaacson.” Near fine in aContinue reading "The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made."
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New York : Hanover House, 1960.
First edition of this firsthand experience of the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Octavo, original publisher’s black cloth, illustrated with black and white photographs. Boldly signed by Stirling Moss on the title page. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon signed.
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London : Frank Palmer, 1911.
First edition of Wells’ playful and inventive guide to imaginative floor-based games, a precursor to modern tabletop wargaming. Octavo, original publisher’s pictorial cloth, frontispiece, illustrated throughout. In very good condition, inscription on the front free endpaper.
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New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.
First edition of this introduction to string theory. Octavo, original publisher’s boards, illustrated with graphs and diagrams throughout. Boldly signed by the author on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by The ATTIK, NY. Author photograph by Dan Dieth.
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London : Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1913.
The Bombay Edition of Kipling’s ambitious narrative. Royal octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over cloth covered boards by Morrell with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. In near fine condition.
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Northridge, California : Lord John Press, 1980.
First limited edition of President Gerald R. Ford’s address to the Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan in 1980, inscribed by Ford to his son. Octavo, bound in full blue leather with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, frontispiece portrait of Gerald R. Ford. Betty Ford’s own personal copy as stated on theContinue reading "A Vision for America."
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New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons / David McKay Company, Inc., 1951 and 1956.
First edition of A King’s Story, King Edward’s classic autobiography. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth with coat of arms stamped in gilt to the front panel, top stain red, cartographic endpapers, frontispiece, illustrated with black and white photographs. Inscribed note by the Duke of Windsor on his official monogrammed stationary laid in, “To Harry Evans withContinue reading "A King’s Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor and The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor."
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New York : Pocket Books, 1994.
First Pocket Books edition of the second novel written by astronaut Scott Carpenter, the sequel to his 1990 debut underwater techno-thriller, The Steel Albatross. Duodecimo, original pictorial wrappers. Boldly signed by Scott Carpenter on the half-title page. In very good condition.
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London : Secker & Warburg, 1941.
First edition of H.G. Wells’ late social novel, a wide-ranging examination of English life and social change in the first half of the twentieth century. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. From the collection of British science fiction author Christopher Priest with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper. Priest’s most famous works include The InvertedContinue reading "You Can’t be Too Careful: A Sample of Life 1901-1951."
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New York : Random House, 1989.
First limited edition of Nancy Reagan’s memoirs. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, illustrated, in the original publisher’s unopened shrink wrap. One of 300 numbered copies. Boldly signed by Nancy Reagan on the limitations page. In fine condition. Written in collaboration with William Novak.
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New York : Lewis Copeland Company, 1929.
First edition of this political critique of British colonial rule in India. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth with gilt titles to the spine, vignette of India stamped in gilt to the front panel, frontispiece of Nobel Prize-winning Indian author Rabindranath Tagore, illustrated with black and white photographs throughout. Boldly signed by Mohandas Gandhi and comic actor,Continue reading "India in Bondage: Her Right to Freedom and a Place Among the Great Nations."
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New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2018.
First edition of the final installment in Anne Rice’s best-selling Vampire Chronicles. Octavo, original publisher’s boards, pictorial endpapers, with ten illustrations. Boldly signed by Anne Rice on the front free endpaper. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Illustrations by Mark Edward Geyer. Jacket design by Abby Weintraub.
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Aldershot : Gale & Polden, Ltd., [1933].
First edition of Tapp’s history of Westward Ho! College with Kipling’s The Song of the Exiles. Quarto, original boards with gilt titles to the front panel, marbled endpapers. Preface by Major-General L. C. Dunsterville. In near fine condition.
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London : W. Collins Sons & Co. LTD., 1923.
Early edition of Wells’ twentieth novel. Octavo, original publisher’s red cloth stamped in black. From the collection of British science fiction author Christopher Priest. Priest’s most famous works include The Inverted World (1974), the interconnected “Dream Archipelago” series, and The Prestige (1995), which was adapted into the 2006 Academy Award nominee film of the sameContinue reading "Marriage."
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London : Watts & Co., 1935.
The Thinker’s Library edition of this blueprint for a unified, scientifically planned world state. Duodecimo, original publisher’s cloth with titles stamped in black. From the collection of British science fiction author Christopher Priest with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper and the previous ownership crossed out. Priest’s most famous works include The InvertedContinue reading "What Are We To Do With Our Lives?"
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London : John Murray, 2012.
First edition, early printing of this biography on bestselling travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, illustrated with photographs and maps. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
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New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1960.
First edition, second printing of the first book in the Rabbit quartet. Octavo, original publisher’s blue cloth, stamp of number 23 to the top of the textblock and “Library Copy” to the bottom. Boldly signed by John Updike on the title page. Very good in a very good dust jacket with rubbing and soiling. JacketContinue reading "Rabbit, Run."
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Chicago : A.C. McClurg & Co, 1925.
First edition of the ‘Tarzan’ novelist’s Western classic. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece by Modest Stein. In good condition.
Read more![The Common Reader. [and] The Common Reader Second Series.](https://i0.wp.com/raptisrarebooks2.bvbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/RRB-151114-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C819&ssl=1 "The Common Reader. [and] The Common Reader Second Series.")
London : The Hogarth Press, 1925 & 1932.
First British editions of these classic collections of Woolf’s critical essays. Octavo, volume one in the original publisher’s pictorial half-cloth boards, volume two in the original publisher’s green cloth. Volume one in very good condition dust jacket. Volume two is very good in a very good dust jacket. Volume two jacket design is by VanessaContinue reading "The Common Reader. [and] The Common Reader Second Series."
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Biography and Autobiography
First Edition
Biography and Autobiography
First Edition
First Edition
![The Common Reader. [and] The Common Reader Second Series.](https://i0.wp.com/raptisrarebooks2.bvbeta.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/RRB-151114-scaled.jpg?fit=2048%2C1638&ssl=1)
