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Biography and Autobiography

Rare Biography & Autobiography Books for Sale Online

If you are looking for rare or first edition biography or autobiography books look no further than Raptis Rare Books. Browse through our entire collection of rare biographies and autobiographies below, view details about individual books and contact us to ask a question or find out more information.

Showing items 1-24 of 1128

Odell, Samuel W

The Lives and Campaigns of Grant and Lee: A Comparison and Contrast of the Deeds and Characters of the Two Great Leaders in the Civil War.

Chicago : Star Publishing Company, 1895.

First edition of this historical study that examines the military careers and personal qualities of Union General Ulysses S. Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth with titles stamped in gilt to the front panel, marbled endpapers, frontispiece, profusely illustrated with maps and engravings throughout. In very good condition, name toContinue reading "The Lives and Campaigns of Grant and Lee: A Comparison and Contrast of the Deeds and Characters of the Two Great Leaders in the Civil War."

$475.00

Item Number: RRB-151187

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Meir, Golda

My Life.

New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1975.

First edition of Meir’s autobiography. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed on a tipped-in leaf for the 1976 United Jewish Appeal Study Conference to Abe H. Donsky and dated October, 1975. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket with toning and chipping. Jacket design by Cheryl Asherman.

$1,250.00

Item Number: RRB-151247

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Churchill, Winston S. Edited by Randolph S. Churchill

Winston Churchill’s Post-War Speeches: The Sinews of Peace, Europe Unite: Speeches 1947 & 1948, In The Balance: Speeches 1949 & 1950, Stemming the Tide: Speeches 1951 & 1952, The Unwritten Alliance: Speeches 1953-1959.

London : Cassell and Company Ltd., 1948-1961.

Rare complete first edition set of Churchill’s Post-War Speeches, each of which had a single print run and including The Unwritten Alliance, the last of Churchill’s books published during his lifetime. Octavo, five volumes, original publisher’s cloth. Each volume is near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An unusually sharp set. Churchill’s post-war speechesContinue reading "Winston Churchill’s Post-War Speeches: The Sinews of Peace, Europe Unite: Speeches 1947 & 1948, In The Balance: Speeches 1949 & 1950, Stemming the Tide: Speeches 1951 & 1952, The Unwritten Alliance: Speeches 1953-1959."

$3,500.00

Item Number: RRB-151245

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Colmache, M. [Édouard]

Revelations of the Life of Prince Talleyrand.

London : Henry Colburn, Publisher, 1850.

Second edition of this biographical and anecdotal account of the influential French diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord. Octavo, bound in three-quarters orange morocco by Bayntun with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, tissue-guarded frontispiece portraitContinue reading "Revelations of the Life of Prince Talleyrand."

$200.00

Item Number: RRB-151177

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Poincare, Raymond; Sir George Arthur [Translator]

The Memoirs of Raymond Poincaré 1912-1914.

New York : Doubleday, Page & Company, 1926-1929.

First American edition of this first-hand, detailed account of French foreign policy, diplomacy, and the events leading to World War I. Octavo, the first three volumes out of four, original publisher’s cloth with gilt titles to the spines, facsimile signature of Raymond Poincaré stamped in gilt to the front panels, tissue-guarded frontispiece to volume one.Continue reading "The Memoirs of Raymond Poincaré 1912-1914."

$250.00

Item Number: RRB-151171

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Stern, Howard

Howard Stern: Miss America.

New York : Regan Books, 1995.

First edition of Howard Stern’s second autobiography. Octavo, original publisher’s half-cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed and dated by Howard Stern in black felt tip in the year of publication. Additionally signed and dated three times in the year of publication by legendary designer Chip Kidd on the front panel of the book, theContinue reading "Howard Stern: Miss America."

$500.00

Item Number: RRB-151170

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Kroc, Ray

Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s.

Chicago : Henry Regnery Company, 1977.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original leather, gilt titles to the spine, all edges gilt, illustrated. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Allen Stults with every good wish Ray.” The recipient Allen Stults was a close business partner of Ray Kroc and a member of the Board ofContinue reading "Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald’s."

$3,600.00

Item Number: RRB-151218

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Simon, Herbert A

Models of My Life.

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."

$1,600.00

Item Number: RRB-151166

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Coolidge, Calvin

The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge.

New York : Cosmopolitan Book Corporation, 1929.

Signed limited first edition of the 30th President of the United States’ autobiography. Octavo, original quarter cloth, gilt top stain, frontispiece of Calvin Coolidge, illustrated with black and white photographs. One of 1,000 numbered copies, this is number 718. Boldly signed by Coolidge on the limitations page. In near fine condition. Housed in the rareContinue reading "The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge."

$1,800.00

Item Number: RRB-151132

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Hoover, Herbert

The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: Years of Adventure 1874-1920; The Cabinet and the Presidency 1920-1933; The Great Depression 1929-1941.

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."

$850.00

Item Number: RRB-151230

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Chernow, Ron [Lin-Manuel Miranda]

Alexander Hamilton.

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.

$1,400.00

Item Number: RRB-151238

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Isaacson, Walter; Evan Thomas

The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made.

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."

$750.00

Item Number: RRB-151134

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Windsor, Duke of [King Edward]; Duchess of Windsor [Wallis Simpson]

A King’s Story: The Memoirs of the Duke of Windsor and The Heart Has Its Reasons: The Memoirs of the Duchess of Windsor.

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."

$1,500.00

Item Number: RRB-151138

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Reagan, Ronald

An American Life.

New York : Simon & Schuster, 1990.

First edition of the 40th President of the United States’ memoir. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author in the year of publication, “For The Thomsen Family- With appreciation and Warmest Regards Ronald Reagan Nov. 21/1990” on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by RobertContinue reading "An American Life."

$2,750.00

Item Number: RRB-151285

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Bird, Larry

Drive: The Story of My Life.

New York : Doubleday, 1989.

First edition of the Celtics’ legend’s autobiography. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with photographs. Boldly signed by Larry Bird. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Foreword by Magic Johnson. Written with Bob Ryan.

$350.00

Item Number: RRB-151127

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Reagan, Nancy

My Turn: The Memoirs of Nancy Reagan.

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.

$375.00

Item Number: RRB-151137

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Wodehouse, P.G and Herbert Westbrook; Edited by David A. Jasen

Not George Washington: An Autobiographical Novel

New York : The Continuum, 1980.

First American edition of P.G. Wodehouse’s charming autobiographical novel, produced in collaboration with Herbert Westbrook and edited by David A. Jasen. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket illustraion by Nancy Stahl. Rare portrait of the author on the backflap of the jacket.

$50.00

Item Number: RRB-145021

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Badeau, Adam. [Ulysses S. Grant]

Military History of Ulysses S. Grant, From April, 1861, to April, 1865.

New York : D. Appleton and Company, 1885.

Finely bound editions of Badeau’s important “eyewitness estimation of Grant’s performance during the war,” a continuation of Grant’s Personal Memoirs. Octavo, Vols. II and III of three volumes, original publisher’s cloth stamped in gilt and black. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper of Vol. III in the year of publication,Continue reading "Military History of Ulysses S. Grant, From April, 1861, to April, 1865."

$950.00

Item Number: RRB-151234

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Woolf, Virginia

On Being Ill.

London : Printed and published by Leonard & Virginia Woolf at The Hogarth Press, 1930.

Signed limited edition and first edition in book form of this meditation on the literary possibilities of illness. One of 250 numbered copies signed by Virginia Woolf in her characteristic purple ink on the limitation page, this is number 104. Octavo, original half vellum over green silk boards, marbled endpapers. Fine in the rare original dustContinue reading "On Being Ill."

$11,000.00

Item Number: RRB-151223

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Muir, John

A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf.

Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916.

First trade edition of this travelogue chronicling the renowned naturalist’s 1867 journey on foot from Indiana to Florida. Octavo, original publisher’s green cloth with titles stamped in white, color pictorial cover label, top edge gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of John Muir, illustrated with several plates from photographs and a map. In very good condition. EditedContinue reading "A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf."

$450.00

Item Number: RRB-151030

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Boswell, James

The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Comprehending an Account of his Studies and Numerous Works, in Chronological Order…

London : Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, in The Poultry, 1791.

First edition, first issue of both volumes of the most celebrated biography in the English language, which was published on May 16, 1791 in a print run of only 1,750 copies. First issue with “gve” for “give” at line 10 of p.135 in Vol. I, where MM4 and NN1 are cancels. Vol. I with Pottle’s misprints: upon repeatedContinue reading "The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. Comprehending an Account of his Studies and Numerous Works, in Chronological Order…"

$8,200.00

Item Number: RRB-150970

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Buchan, John

Sir Walter Scott.

London : Cassell and Company Ltd, 1932.

First edition of this comprehensive and sympathetic biography of the renowned Scottish novelist, poet, and historian Sir Walter Scott. Octavo, bound in three quarters leather over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers, frontispiece portrait of Sir Walter Scott. In near fine condition.

$275.00

Item Number: RRB-151059

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Muir, John

Steep Trails.

Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1918.

First edition, early printing of this collection of two dozen of Muir’s essays documenting his travels throughout the American West between 1873 and 1902. Octavo, original blue cloth with titles and tooling lettered in black, frontispiece, illustrated with 12 plates. Edited by William Frederic Badè. In very good condition.

$175.00

Item Number: RRB-151055

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Muir, John

The Story of My Boyhood and Youth.

Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913.

First edition, first issue of Muir’s autobiography of his youth, with the biting criticism of his neighbor’s treatment of his son on p. 217: “…none was bold enough or kind enough to break the blacksmith’s jaw” (Kimes 315). Octavo, original publisher’s illustrated cloth with gilt titles and black stamping to the spine and front panel,Continue reading "The Story of My Boyhood and Youth."

$450.00

Item Number: RRB-151041

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