Rare books from Johnson Rare Books & Archives

New York: Wilfred Funk, Inc, 1940. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Good. An advance copy of the author's first book, with a printed presentation card from the publisher laid in. The published version of a thesis written by future U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917-63) during his senior year at Harvard College. It examines the failures of the British government to take steps to prevent World War II and is notable for its uncommon stance of suggesting instead that an earlier confrontation between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany could well have been more disastrous in the long run, rather than castigating the popular appeasement policy that the British government then pursued - and Kennedy's father, as United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, supported during the late 1930s. Introduction by Henry R. Luce. Octavo. Original red cloth binding, with blue and white stamping. A bit of wear to the bottom corners. The dust jacket is moderately edgeworn, with a scuff to the front panel and some… Read More

New York: Berkley Publishing Corporation, 1976. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Fine. Inscribed by Frank Herbert to Portland, Oregon bookseller Chuck Garvin on the title page. Garvin and his partner, Jeff Levin, opened a book shop on Burnside Street in the late 1970s featuring a wide selection of science fiction and fantasy literature. The third in Herbert's Dune series of six novels. Nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1977, it was also the first hardcover best-seller ever in the science fiction field. Octavo: 444 p. Original rust cloth binding, with gilt titles. A bit of rubbing along the spine of the dust jacket; else very good or better.

New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1925. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated in the year of publication by Wendell Endicott on the front flyleaf. An avid sportsman, Endicott (1880-1954) attended Harvard University (1899-1901) and served as a director of Sears, Roebuck and Company in Chicago during the 1920s and '30s. This book includes his reminiscences of battling the "Silver King" (Atlantic tarpon) and other game fish along the Florida Keys, as well as a selection of fishing facts and suggestions. Octavo: 273 p. with 80 illustrations from photographs by the author. Original dark green cloth-covered boards over a light green spine, with gilt stamping. Just a hint of foxing to the prefatory and concluding pages, with some faint evidence of moisture along the top edge of the last three dozen pages. Tiny period bookseller's label to the front flyleaf. The spine is a touch faded, with some rubbing to the corners and tips; else about very good.

London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1887. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Inscribed by the author on a prefatory blank leaf. "Inglis was a missionary stationed in the New Hebrides Islands; he was based at Aneityum. His book covers every aspect of life on the islands, from observations on the terrain to local ceremonies and festivities. Also included are biographical sketches of some of the missionaries who first brought Christianity to those islands" (Hill 866). Octavo: xvi, 352 p. with a map and a portrait plate. The erratum is tipped in before the rear flyleaf. Original blue cloth binding, with gilt titles and ruled borders. Faint label shadow to the front flyleaf, with some general dust staining to the top edge. The spine is lightly sun faded, with a bit of wear to the corners and tips and some minor spotting; otherwise very good.

Honolulu: Published by the authors, 1980. First Edition. Trade paperback. Near fine. The first book on the history of the 'ukulele, accompanied by A Tradition in Hawaiian Music: The 'Ukulele (1980), the guide to the 'ukulele exhibit at Honolulu's Bishop Museum - the first museum exhibition devoted to the 'ukulele. Despite its iconic status in Hawaiian music, the 'ukulele was never the subject of a book until the 1979 centennial of the arrival of the Madeiran machete (the immediate ancestor of the 'ukulele) in Hawai'i prompted the Bishop Museum exhibit and this book. The driving force behind both was Leslie Nunes (1916-98) of Waialua, a great-grandson of Manuel Nunes (1843-1922), one of the three original Madeiran 'ukulele makers in Hawai'i. Leslie Nunes assembled an important collection of early Hawaiian 'ukulele and other instruments, some of which are featured in this book and served as the basis for the Bishop exhibition. Short on text and long on photographs, The 'Ukulele was followed by more… Read More

Philadelphia: P. Blakiston, Son & Company, 1898. Second Edition. Hardcover. Very good. The first textbook on the subject published in the United States. A native of Ohio, Lane (1828-1902) "ranks among the giants of nineteenth-century California medical history and education," according to historian John David Smith. He graduated from Philadelphia's Jefferson Medical College in 1851, studied in Europe, served as an assistant surgeon in the U.S. Navy for four years, then settled in San Francisco, where his uncle Elias A. Cooper had established the first medical college on the Pacific Coast. In 1870, Lane reorganized and took over leadership of his uncle's medical school; his extensive financial support led the school to be renamed as the Cooper Medical College in honor of his uncle. The school merged with Stanford University in 1909 (the Cooper campus in San Francisco served as the Stanford Medical School clinical campus until 1959). Ten years in the making, Lane's textbook was intended to be the… Read More

San Francisco: D.E. Appleton & Co, 1858. First Edition. Wraps. Very good. 16mo: 64 p. Original printed paper wrappers. Tiny bit of edgewear to the front panel; else a remarkably fresh example. Cowan: p.599; Wheat 162. Stone had published two California songsters, and their popularity induced him to publish this, the third in a series. Topics include mining, the rowdiness (and loneliness) of life in the camps, longing for home, and the comeliness of California girls - anticipating The Beach Boys by more than a century! The final two pages contain a list of "Mining Localities Peculiar to California".

London: G. Bell and Sons, Ltd, 1931. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Reprinted from the Fourth Edition (1730), with a foreword by Prof. Albert Einstein, Nobel Laureate, and an introduction by Prof. E.T. Whittaker, F.R.S. Small octavo: xxviii, [2], 414 p. with textual figures. Original blue cloth binding, with gilt titles. Mild foxing along the edges, with some light edgewear to the dust jacket; otherwise very good. First published in 1704, Newton's Opticks provides not only a survey of 18th century knowledge about all aspects of light, but also countless number of the author's unique scientific insights.

Chicago, Illinois: 1893. A group of eight cabinet cards. Albumen photographs [12 cm x 9.5 cm] on dark brown cardstock mounts [13 cm x 10.5 cm] with pencil annotations on the verso. Photographer unknown. Unique collection of amateur photographic images taken at the World's Columbian Exposition, also known at the Chicago World's Fair, staged in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the New World in 1492. Shown in the images are Fisheries Building, Mac Monies Fountain, the Illinois State Buildings, and more. One image shows a sign for an attraction on the Midway. For 10 cents, visitors could see "one girl from every civilized nation in the world." Another image shows crowds of people filling the walkways and is captioned: "From 'Golden Door' of Transportation Building to Liberal Arts showing rear of 'Mines and Mining' and of 'Electricity.'".See this item at the Rare Books LAX live book fair, October 14-16 at The Proud, just minutes from LAX. For more details and… Read More

New York: Dutton's Children's Books, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Inscribed by Paul Zelinsky on the title page. Winner of the 1998 Caldecott Medal. A retelling of the German folktale in which a beautiful girl with long golden hair is kept imprisoned in a lonely tower by a sorceress. Colorfully illustrated throughout. Quarto. Original pictorila boards. Light foxing to the top edge; else fine in a fine dust jacket.See this book and other children's books at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, October 8-9 at the Seattle Center. For more information and tickets, visit: www.SeattleBookFair.com

San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Near fine. Signed, with an original drawing, by Audrey Wood and illustrator Don Wood on the front flyleaf. Despite please from his court, a fun-loving king refuses to get out of his bathtub to rule his kingdom. A Caldecott Honor book, colorfully illustrated throughout. Quarto. Original tan cloth binding, with gilt stamping. A near fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.See this book and other children's books at the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, October 8-9 at the Seattle Center. For more information and tickets, visit: www.SeattleBookFair.com

Lincoln: Woodruff Printing Company, 1940. First Edition. Wraps. Fine. A serious attempt to present information about the state's African American population. The preface acknowledges Fred D. Dixon and Albert J. Burks, two African American employees of the Nebraska Writers' Project, for their invaluable research. Octavo. 48 p. with drawings by Paul Gibson. Original printed orange paper wrappers. Just a hint of toning along the extremities; otherwise fine.

Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Co, 1884. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. A captivating look at fishing and outdoor sports in late 19th century Florida. Henshall (1836-1925) was popularly known as the "Apostle of the Black Bass", the acknowledged authority on this game fish, as well as an enthusiastic yachtsman. Octavo: xvi, 248, 12 p. advertisements with wood engraved plates and illustrations. Original green cloth binding, with pictorial gilt and black stamping. Period previous owner's ink signature to a prefatory blank leaf. Some general dust staining to the top edge. The spine and front panel are darkened a bit, with moderate wear to the corners and tips and a few minor stains; else very good. Bruns H149, calling it very scarce.

Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Inscribed by Robert A. Hill on the front flyleaf in the first volume, and signed and dated by him on the front flyleaf in the second volume. The first two volumes in "a monumental ten-volume survey of thirty thousand archival documents and original manuscripts from widely separated sources, brought together by editor Robert A. Hill to provide a compelling picture of the evolution, spread, and influence of the UNIA." Small quartos: 579 p. and 710 p., respectively, with illustrations. Original burgundy cloth bindings, with gilt titles. Mild sun fading along the spines and extremities of the dust jackets, with a faint stain along the top edge of the first volume; otherwise very good.

New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1887. Hardcover. Near fine. Third edition, with a Wilport Press cancel on the title page. Laid in is a one sheet (4 ½" x 7") with instructions for measurements used in the book; for example, one wine glass is equivalent to four ounces or half a water tumbler. 12mo: 130 p. with textual illustrations. Original brown cloth binding, with black stamping. A remarkably fresh copy. Near fine. Considered the father of American mixology, "Professor" Jerry Thomas (1830-85) published the first edition of this guide in 1862. It was the first cocktail book published in the United States and contained the first written accounts of many cocktails such as the Fizz, Brandy Daisy, and the Sour. Thomas updated the guide several times, and in this edition, which was published two years after his death, he introduced the Martinez, which is understood to be the precursor to the martini. It calls for one pony of Old Tom gin, a glass of vermouth, two dashes of Maraschino, and a dash of Boker's… Read More