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:…
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The library of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg served not only as a collection of books but as a window into her intellectual world and a testament to her extraordinary career. As one of the most…
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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…
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Raptis Rare Books was recently featured in the July/August 2023 issue of The Magazine Antiques in the article: A Blueprint for Early America: Owen Biddle’s 1806 Book, The Young Carpenter’s Assistant by Benjamin Davidson and…
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Born in the mid-1700s in relative poverty, Alexander Hamilton rose to prominence as one of America’s founding fathers and the first treasury secretary of the United States. He founded the nation’s financial system, the Federalist…
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Born on January in either 1705 or 1706, Benjamin Franklin is one of the most well known Founding Fathers in American history. A polymath, Franklin was well known for both his political and scientific contributions…
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