Biography and Autobiography

Bernstein, Leonard

The Joy of Music.

New York : Simon and Schuster, 1959.

First edition of Bernstein’s first collection of essays and conversations on the world of music; a national best-seller on its publication, this copy from the personal collection of his personal assistant Jack Gottleib. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece portrait of Bernstein conducting by Roy Stevens. Association copy, inscribed by Bernstein in the year of publication onContinue reading "The Joy of Music."

Buechner, Frederick

Telling Secrets.

San Francisco : Harper Collins, 1991.

First edition of Buechner’s third autobiography. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Frederick Buechner on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Michael Mabry. Photograph by Anne Merck.

Ford, Gerald R. [John Paul Stevens]

A Time To Heal.

New York : Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979.

First edition of the 38th president of the United States’ autobiography. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Gerald Ford and additionally signed by Justice John Paul Stevens. In 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Stevens to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Five years later, President Gerald Ford successfully nominated Stevens to theContinue reading "A Time To Heal."

Mandela, Nelson

Long Walk To Freedom.

London : Little, Brown and Company, 1994.

Signed limited first edition, one of 1000 numbered copies of this classic autobiography. Octavo, bound in half morocco, gilt titles to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, cartographic endpapers, illustrated. In fine condition.

Mandela, Nelson

Long Walk To Freedom.

London : Little, Brown and Company, 1994.

Signed limited first edition, one of only 250 numbered copies of this classic autobiography, this is number 121. Octavo, bound in full green morocco, gilt titles to the spine, gilt ruled to the front panel, all edges gilt, cartographic endpapers, illustrated with photographs. Fine in a fine slipcase as issued. Rare and desirable.

King Jr., Martin Luther

Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?

New York : Harper & Row, Publishers, 1967.

First edition of King’s “last grand expression of his vision” (Cornel West). Octavo, bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.

Gandhi, Mahatma K

Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth.

London : Phoenix Press, 1949.

First edition of Gandhi’s autobiography. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Fine in the rare original dust jacket, which is in very good condition. Translated by Mahadev Desai.

Washington, Booker T

Up From Slavery. An Autobiography.

New York : Doubleday, Page, 1901.

First edition of Booker T. Washington’s landmark biography with an autograph letter signed by him on his Tuskegee Institute letterhead. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of the author. Accompanied by an autograph letter signed by Washington on his The Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute letterhead which reads, “Oct. 19, 190 Mr. George A.Continue reading "Up From Slavery. An Autobiography."

Gibbon, Edward

Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon, Esquire. With Memoirs of His Life and Writings, Composed by Himself: Illustrated from His Letters, with Occasional Notes and Narrative by John Lord Sheffield.

London : Printed for A. Strahan, and T. Cadell Jun. and W. Davies, 1796.

First edition of Gibbon’s memoirs, letters, and additional works, posthumously collected and published by his closest friend, John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield. Quarto, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, engraved frontispiece portraitContinue reading "Miscellaneous Works of Edward Gibbon, Esquire. With Memoirs of His Life and Writings, Composed by Himself: Illustrated from His Letters, with Occasional Notes and Narrative by John Lord Sheffield."

Eisenhower, Dwight D

The White House Years: Mandate for Change 1953-1956 and The White House Years: Waging Peace 1956-1961.

Garden City, NY : Doubleday and Company, 1963-65.

Signed limited first editions of Eisenhower’s memoirs, each one of 1500 copies. Thick Octavo, two volumes, original tan cloth with green morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, cartographic endpapers. One of 1500 numbered copies signed by the author. Association copy, Waging Peace is an Advance presentation copy, inscribed by Eisenhower to Secretary of Defense, Thomas S. Gates,Continue reading "The White House Years: Mandate for Change 1953-1956 and The White House Years: Waging Peace 1956-1961."

Uris, Leon; Photographs by Dimitrios Harissiadis

Exodus Revisited.

Garden City, NY : Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1960.

First edition of this monograph of photographs of Uris’ visit to Israel. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Marcia and David Straus Shalom Leon Uris.” Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Sydney Butchkes. Project coordination by Ilan Hartuv.

Dunton, John

John Dunton’s Letters From New-England.

Boston : Printed For the Society, 1867.

The Prince Society edition of Dunton’s letters from New England. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt. One of twenty numbered copies printed on large paper, this is number 5. In very good condition.

Bacon, Sir Francis

The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh.

London : Printed by Stansby for Matthew Lownes and William Barret, 1622.

Scarce first edition, first issue of Sir Francis Bacon’s influential history of the reign of King Henry VII with “Highnesse” at the conclusion of the dedication and “souldiers” (3, line 12) (Pforzheimer 32; STC 1159). Quarto, bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards with tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands,Continue reading "The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh."

Garrett Fawcett, Millicent

Women’s Suffrage: A Short History of a Great Movement.

London : T. C. & E. C. Jack, [1912].

First edition of Millicent Garrett Fawcett’s history of the women’s suffrage movement. Octavo, original cloth, publisher’s advertisements at rear. English politician, writer and feminist Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett led Britain’s largest women’s rights association, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) from 1897 to 1919. In 2018, a century after the Representation of theContinue reading "Women’s Suffrage: A Short History of a Great Movement."

Fawcett, Millicent Garrett

Political Economy For Beginners.

London and Cambridge : Macmillan and Co, 1870.

Scarce first edition of Millicent Fawcett’s immensely successful work on political economy, published the year before she helped found Newnham College for women at Cambridge in 1871. Octavo, original cloth, publisher’s advertisements at rear. English politician, writer and feminist Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett led Britain’s largest women’s rights association, the National Union of Women’s Suffrage SocietiesContinue reading "Political Economy For Beginners."

Hughes, Langston and Milton Meltzer

A Pictorial History of the Negro in America.

New York : Crown Publishers, Inc, 1956.

First edition of this important compilation on the history of African Americans. Quarto, original half cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Especially for Laura and Louise Fields, as a gift at Christmas from Mabel Smythe- Sincerely, Langston Hughes New York 1957.” In near fine condition.

Gordon, George H

A War Diary of Events in the War of the Great Rebellion. 1863-1865.

Boston : James R. Osgood and Company, 1882.

First edition of the historian and Union General’s American Civil War Memoir. Octavo, original cloth. In good condition.

Wright, Almroth E

The Unexpurgated Case Against Woman Suffrage.

London : Constable and Company Ltd., 1913.

First edition of Almroth Wright’s anti-feminist treatise. Octavo, original cloth. In near fine condition with rubbing to the extremities.

Pethick Lawrence, Frederick W

Women’s Fight For The Vote.

London : The Woman's Press, [1910].

First edition of the definitive collection Pethick Lawrence’s articles promoting Women’s Suffrage. Octavo, original wrappers. In good condition. Rare.

Lytton, Constance

Prisons & Prisoners: Some Personal Experiences by Constance Lytton and Jane Walton, Spinster.

London : William Heinemann, 1914.

First edition of the remarkable autobiography of the aristocratic suffragette Constance Lytton, recounting her remarkable masquerade and imprisonment as the working-class seamstress “Jane Warton.” Octavo, original publisher’s purple cloth with WSPU motif by Sylvia Pankhurst to the front panel, illustrated with two portraits including tissue-guarded frontispiece of Lytton. In very good condition. Ownership inscription. Rare.

Valenti, Jack. [William Safire]

A Very Human President.

New York : W.W. Norton & Compan Inc, 1975.

First edition of Valenti’s intimate biography of Lyndon Johnson. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with photographs. Association copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Bill Safire – a wise and eloquent ‘old pro’ – and me dear and valued friend Jack Valenti.” The recipient, William Safire was an important American author,Continue reading "A Very Human President."

Klein, Gerda Weissman

All But My Life.

New York : Hill & Wang, 1957.

First edition of the author’s “moving personal testament to courage” memoir. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Thomas Kaufman with thanks for your work in this whole course! All my good wished Gerda W. Klein Apr. 1962.” With a letter from Ms. Klein’s assistant statingContinue reading "All But My Life."

Opinions of Women on Women’s Suffrage.

London : Central Committee of the National Society For Women's Suffrage, 1879.

First edition of this collection of Opinions on Women’s Suffrage, compiled by the Central Committee of the National Society For Women’s Suffrage and containing the opinions of English women in official positions, scientific and political careers, and principals of colleges and high schools among others. Octavo, disbound. In very good condition.

Balfour, Arthur James

Speech In The House of Commons on Women’s Suffrage.

London : Published by The Central Society For Women's Suffrage, [c.1892].

Rare printing of Lord Balfour’s speech supporting the Women’s Franchise Bill, which proposed extending the parliamentary vote to women. Octavo, original wrappers. In near fine condition.