I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
(1969)
Inscribed first printing of the transformative autobiography that traces Angelou's struggles and triumphs growing up as a Black girl.
Biography & Memoir
DUKE KAHANAMOKU'S WORLD OF SURFING
(1968)
First printing of the surfing guide and memoir of Duke Kahanamoku, published the year of the Duke's death.
DUKE OF HAWAII
(1968)
First printing of this paperback original, the first biography of Duke Kahanamoku.
THE GREAT ESCAPE
(1950)
First American edition, first printing of the Australian RAF pilot's first-hand account of the biggest Allied prisoner-of-war escape attempt of World War II, the basis for the film of the same name.
"The 'Running' of Slaves: The Extraordinary Escape of Henry Box Brown and of Wm. & Ellen Crafts" [in] THE NEW YORK WEEKLY EVENING POST
1849
Rare newspaper account from one of Henry "Box" Brown's first public appearances, the Boston lecture where he received the nickname "Box," just two weeks after he mailed himself to freedom.
THE NEW MAN. TWENTY-NINE YEARS A SLAVE. TWENY-NINE YEARS A FREE MAN.
1895
First edition of this complex autobiography by a formerly enslaved man of Virginia, comparing his days in slavery and in freedom.
PAPILLON
1970
Inscribed first printing of the first edition in English of the powerful memoir of imprisonment and escape in the penal colony of French Guiana, the basis for the Oscar-nominated 1973 film starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
(1996)
Signed first printing of Clinton's book of essays on how to cultivate a society that best benefits children, published while First Lady of the US.
YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE AN HOUR AGO
(1967)
First printing of the first book-length autobiography in the history of surfing.
THE STORY OF ARCHER ALEXANDER: From Slavery to Freedom
1885
First edition of this posthumous biography of the man who served as the model for the freedman in Lincoln Park's Emancipation Memorial statue, the copy of Transcendentalist poet Christopher Pearse Cranch.
BUCANIERS OF AMERICA
1684; 1685
First edition in English of Exquemelin's illustrated history of famous pirates, the central primary source on the subject during its most famous era, with the continuation by Ringrose.
THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL
1952
Early printing, published the same year as the first printing, of the first American edition of the diary of Anne Frank.
JANE GOODALL: 50 Years At Gombe
2010
A superb association copy of this retrospective tribute to the legendary anthropologist, conservationist, and scientist, inscribed to the National Geographic Society.
84, CHARING CROSS ROAD
1970
First printing of this collection of correspondence between a "salty" American writer and the staff of an "over-mannered" London bookshop, the discovery of which has become a rite of passage for many first learning about the antiquarian book trade.
MUHAMMAD ALI
(1991)
First printing of Ali's official biography, signed by Ali.
TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION. FATHER HENSON'S STORY OF HIS OWN LIFE.
1858
Second edition, the first with Harriet Beecher Stowe's introduction, of the memoir of the famous Underground Railroad conductor and leader of the Canadian freeman settlement Dawn.
GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
1943
First edition, scarce signed issue, one of an unknown number signed by Carver on a special leaf before the half title.
CARDS AS WEAPONS
(1977)
Uncommon hardcover first printing of actor, writer, and legendary sleight-of-hand artist Ricky Jay's first book.
JAY'S JOURNAL OF ANOMALIES
1994-2000
Scarce complete run of Ricky Jay's exceptionally-produced periodical of "conjurers, cheats, hoaxters, pranksters, jokesters, impostors, pretenders, side-show showmen, armless calligraphers, mechanical marvels, [and] popular entertainments."
A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE LIVES AND ADVENTURES OF THE MOST FAMOUS HIGHWAYMEN, MURDERERS, STREET-ROBBERS, &C.
1734
First edition in this format, sumptuously illustrated, of Johnson's celebrated biographical encyclopedia of infamous criminals.
THE LIARS' CLUB
(1995)
Inscribed first printing of this candid memoir by one of the most influential contemporary artists of the form.
FROM THE VIRGINIA PLANTATION TO THE NATIONAL CAPITOL
1894
First edition of the remarkable memoir of the first Black man elected to Congress in Virginia and the great-uncle of Langston Hughes, who was named after him.
THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS
1953
Signed limited first edition, one of an unknown limitation signed by Lindbergh as a special "presentation edition," chronicling Lindberg's journey on the first successful solo transatlantic flight.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MALCOLM X
(1965)
First printing of one of the most powerful autobiographies in American literature.
ACTS OF THE ANTI-SLAVERY APOSTLES
1883
Inscribed first edition of this personal history of the abolitionist movement in New England.
