Rare books from Jay Dillon Rare Books + Manuscripts

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, and the first separate edition in any Western language. Excessively rare.

One page oblong 12mo, fifty-five words signed "Roger Bannister", written in blue ink on Bannister's headed cardstock, verso blank, accompanied by the original autograph envelope.

First edition (only edition), the FIRST AMERICAN TRANSLATION of Sun Tzu on The art of war, little known and very scarce on the market. The translator was George Henry Rankin Gosman (1876–1958), MD, of Brooklyn (New York), US military attaché at Tokyo 1911–15. This was the only American translation of Sun Tzu for two generations, till 1963. The present copy belonged to the AGF library under Lesley McNair, whom Marshall called "the brains of the army". —— Collation (volume 56, offered complete): [i–iv], [1]–408 pages. Collated perfect. Binding: Red buckram lettered in gilt. Condition: Very good. —— Provenance: (1) US Coast Artillery School (1907–46) library, at Fort Monroe (Hampton, Virginia), accession no. 29155, typical stamps; (2) US Army Ground Forces (1942–48) library, Army War College (Washington, DC), accession no. A7343, bookplate, spine label.

First edition; containing the first picture of a Christmas tree published in America. Sabin 6176, Faxon 769, Grolier/Elliott 37. Scarce.