Raptis Rare Books

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. First edition. Octavo, original half black cloth. Inscribed by the author to Massachusetts Senator Leverett Saltonstall, “To Senator Saltonstall- with the very highest regards of his colleague John Kennedy.” Leverett Saltonstall was the senior senator of Massachusetts while, John Kennedy was the junior senator. An excellent copy in a bright near fine dust jacket. Saltonstall served as Republican Whip from 1949-1957 and as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1953-1955. Saltonstall attended the wedding of John Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier in 1953, and the two served together in the Senate from 1953 to 1960. Saltanstall and Kennedy worked together closely over the course of several years, as evidenced of one of their constituents thought the two had an even closer relationship, mistakenly assuming Saltonstall to be Kennedy’s uncle. “If you are ready to admit it,” Kennedy kidded in a 1963 letter, “I am.” Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An excellent association linking these two statesmen. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book was written when Kennedy was the junior senator from Massachusetts, and it served as a clarion call to every American. The inspiring accounts of eight previous heroic acts by American patriots inspired the American public to remember the courage progress requires. Now, a half-century later, it remains a classic and a relevant testament to the national spirit that celebrates the most noble of human virtues. Kennedy relates these heroisms to sketches of American politicians who have risked their careers for principle. "A man does what he must," he wrote, "in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures-and that is the basis of all human morality."

London: George Allen and Unwin, 1954-55. First editions, first printings of each title comprising the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Octavo, original red cloth, 3 volumes. The Fellowship of the Ring has some minor offsetting to the endpapers, near fine in a bright near fine dust jacket with one small closed tear. The Two Towers has some offsetting to the endpapers, near fine in a near fine dust jacket. The Return of the King has some minor offsetting to the endpapers, near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional set, rare in this condition. The Lord of the Rings began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II in letters to his son, "and finally, having polished it to his own satisfaction, published it as a trilogy from 1954 to 1955, a volume at a time, impatiently awaited by a growing audience It is considered] one of this century’s lasting contributions to that borderland of literature between youth and age It seems destined to become this century’s contribution to that select list of books which continue through the ages to be read by children and adults with almost equal pleasure." (Eyre, 134-35) It has went on to become the third best selling novel of all-time with 150 million copies sold.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1929. The Memorial Edition, one of 90 copies bound with an original Mark Twain manuscript page. Octavo, 37 volumes, bound in half morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, plates. The lightest minor shelf wear to some extremities and along very bottom edges of a few volumes. The leaf paged “43” includes notes regarding a “whisky conspiracy” against soldiers’ health and morals, among other ink jottings. "To understand America, read Mark Twain. No matter what new craziness pops up in America, I find it described beforehand by him He was never innocent, at home or abroad" (Garry Wills). "High and fine literature is wine," Twain once wrote, "and mine is only water; but everybody likes water." This beautiful edition of Twain's complete novels, essays and sketches attests to the enduring popularity and power of his works—many of which, despite their author's protestation to the contrary, have come to be regarded as among the finest vintage American literature offers. Among other classics, the set includes A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Life on the Mississippi, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.