London: Methuen, 1915. First edition. A spectacular copy of the first edition. "Methuen published The Rainbow in September 1915, but it got savage reviews, most of which attacked what was understood as the book's overt sexuality, and it was withdrawn from sale. At Bow Street magistrates' court on 13 November..... Read More about The Rainbow

Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep, 1814. First edition. First edition of the definitive account of the Lewis and Clark expedition. First edition of the first authorized and complete account of the Lewis and Clark expedition, possibly the most important western expedition undertaken in U.S. history, demonstrating as it did the feasibility..... Read More about History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark to the Sources of the...

1826. Unpublished manuscript on the ancient Egyptian and Greek roots of medicine by the early American physician Charles Alfred Lee (1801-1872). Lee graduated from Williams College in 1822 and received his M.D. at Berkshire Medical College. He was connected with the Northern Dispensary of New York City, chair of materia..... Read More about "Observations on the State of Medicine & Surgery among the Ancients by Charles S. Lee....

Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1734. "Réaumur’s greatest work in natural history ... He seemed fascinated about all with insect behavior, obviously admiring the industry, dilligence, ingenuity, organization, and skill of those small creatures ... Réaumur, in short, was a pioneer in applied entomological research ... His descriptions were minute and exacting..... Read More about Memoires pour servir a l'Historie des Insectes

Most n.p. and n.d. [but Versailles]: ca. 1914. A content-rich collection of letters from the French painter and illustrator Georges Rouault (1871-1958) to the Czech publisher Josef Florian (1873-1941), who in 1914 published the first color reproductions of Rouault’s work. Regarding those reproductions Rouault gratefully writes to Florian in one..... Read More about A group of 9 Autograph letters signed (variously "Georges Rouault," "G....

1887. My Country ’Tis of Thee. Samuel Francis Smith (1808-1895) was an editor, Baptist clergyman, and author. While a seminarian, “Smith was asked by his friend Lowell Mason, an early proponent of common school music education, either to translate the lyrics of some German songbooks into English or to supply..... Read More about "America," Autograph Manuscript, signed ("S.F. Smith. Written in 1832. June 3,...

Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1914. First edition, mixed state, with "sence" on p. 19, but with p. viii unnumbered. First edition of Tarkington's most famous book, a classic of boyhood. Inscribed on the front free endpaper to the publisher, "Gladly inscribed for Russell Doubleday by Booth Tarkington..... Read More about Penrod

Paris: Ambroise Vollard 28, rue de Martigny, 1932. Rouault, Georges. First edition, no. 231 of 250 (of 355 total) copies on verge d'auvergne de la Manufacture Royale de Vidalon. Vollard's continuation of Jarry's satirical Père Ubu character, illustrated with etchings and woodcuts by Rouault made with his unorthodox technique. "It..... Read More about Réincarnation du Père Ubu

Stamford, Connecticut: 6 June 1776. A Signer Writes One Month Before the Declaration of Independence. William Williams (1731-1811), delegate for Connecticut to the continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, writes on June 6, 1776, as clerk for the Governor of the Council of Safety to the..... Read More about Autograph Document Signed ("Wm Williams, Clerk"), to Connecticut Committee of Pay Table

[Victoria, London: ca. 1903]. This portrait of a pensive W. B. Yeats was taken by London-based American photographer Sherril V. Schell (1877-1964), who during the first decades of the 20th century in his Victoria studio executed portraits of several London literary figures such as Wilfrid Wilson Gibson and, famously, Rupert..... Read More about Portrait photograph of W.B. Yeats