A few short lines scrawled, according to popular legend, on scratch-paper and the backs of envelopes, the Gettysburg Address ultimately became one of the most revered and brilliant documents in the history of the United States. On November 19, 1863, Lincoln arose after Edward Everett’s two hour
dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg and “delivered the ‘few appropriate remarks’ requested of him, and in ten sentences did unforgettable justice to the thousands of young Americans who had struggled with incredible bravery” (Bruce Catton). We are pleased to offer the rare first book-form appearance of Lincoln’s magnificent Gettysburg Address in original wrappers for $42,000.
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Arguably Jefferson was the most famous of all American book collectors; his library and its meticulous organization have been called “a blueprint of his own mind.” A tireless book lover, he had built a library of 6700 volumes by 1815—easily the most significant library formed by an American at that point. In a letter to a friend, Jefferson wrote that he “spared no pains, opportunity, or expense” on his collection.

After the original Library of Congress was destroyed during the War of 1812, Jefferson sold his entire library to Congress to ensure that American government had access to the best books of the day. Almost 200 years have passed and his library still stands as a testament to the man and his distinctive taste: his pride in America, his fascination with modern science, and his emphasis on the importance of preserving knowledge. His library remains a reflection of his identity.

What pieces of history will you preserve? Browse our current books on and about Jefferson.

Throughout the history of book collecting, among the most sought after copies have been those inscribed and presented by their authors. The list of what one could dream of acquiring is endless. The first edition of Leaves of Grass that Whitman presented to Thoreau. The copy of The Great Gatsby that Fitzgerald inscribed to T. S. Eliot, from “his enthueusiastic worshipper” (Fitzgerald was renowned for his poor spelling). The publisher Sylvia Beach’s copy of Ulysses, inscribed to her, with poem, by Joyce: “in token of gratitude.”

For the collector, the significance of the inscribed copy is tremendous; not only do we have proof that this copy was actually once in the author’s hands, but it shows a personal glimpse as well — a phrase, a quote, an intimate message, a beautifully written script or an illegible scrawl. View our current selection.

TRAVEL. EXPLORE. DREAM.
“I had ambition not only to go farther than any man had ever been before, but as far as it was possible for a man to go.” —Captain James Cook
Homer dreamt of travel—and Odysseus set out across the sea. Lewis and Clark explored a continent—with well-thumbed books in their pockets. Mark Twain saw hope in a nation’s restless genius and swept Huck out into the swift currents of the Mississippi. Ernest Shackleton braved frozen worlds in a testimony to the human spirit. These stories are recorded for all time in the pages of great books. They are the legacy of those who dared to dream.

Join the adventure. Let us at Bauman Rare Books help you to build a collection of exceptional and valued books that will let you see into the past and dream of the future. Browse our current Rare Book Travel inventory.

An officer in His Majesty’s Secret Service during World War II, Fleming burst onto the literary scene in 1953 with the first in his series of spy novels, thrilling readers for over fifty years.

007 is the ultimate man of action, his high-stakes missions propelling him to exotic locales where he seduces exceptional (and exceptionally named) women. He bests some of literature’s most sinister masterminds and he does it all mixing glamour and grit, subterfuge and style.

The first editions of Bond’s adventures, like diamonds, are forever. And you don’t have to be richer than Goldfinger to start a collection. Call or visit us today to begin building a library whose value will never be shaken—but whose contents will surely leave you stirred. Browse our current Fleming selection.

Some have led us into battle; others have guided nations and empires through their births, in their darkest hours, or to their greatest moments. And some have led by example, whether by persevering through adversity in the Antarctic or by quietly defying injustice on a Montgomery bus. Their courage has inspired us; their ideas have changed history.

Now it’s up to you to help pass on their legacies. Build a collection around the leaders who most inspire you. Our expert staff can help you to rediscover their courageous voices, captured in books and documents that will last for generations.

The items listed in our mini catalogue represent just a small selection of our offerings. Download our catalogue to begin building a valuable and enduring monument to history’s finest men and women: your own library.

“Zealous in their work, often regardless of danger, and at all times handicapped by the vexing difficulties of the photographic process of that day,” pioneering photographer Mathew Brady and his assistants created an unprecedented photographic record of war, capturing “scenes of actual conflict, others of places devastated by gunfire, of troops on the march or in bivouac, and of individual officers and men” (DAB).

The photographers depicted the soldiers and their leaders, the forts, the camps, the marches, the battlefields where the Blue met the Gray… and the horrendous aftermaths. In 1911 Francis Trevelyan Miller’s renowned Photographic History of the Civil War brought together over a thousand of Brady’s dramatic images—many previously unpublished—in ten large quarto volumes, with contributions from distinguished historians as well as veterans of both Confederate and Union forces. We have in our collection a fine first edition of this vital and indispensable photographic history. Browse our current inventory.

On an August night in 1943, Lieutenant John F. Kennedy’s patrol boat PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer and burst into flames. Badly wounded, Kennedy saved a fellow crewman in a rescue that earned him a Purple Heart and the Navy and Marine Corp Medal “for extremely heroic conduct.” A decade later Kennedy spent six months recuperating from surgery for a spinal injury suffered that night. Strapped to a board and immobilized, Kennedy turned to history for perspective on that test he had survived and, most importantly, for a guide to the challenges he faced as a newly elected senator. As Arthur Schlesinger recalled in A Thousand Days, “it was the tension between means and ends which fascinated and bothered Kennedy… Profiles in Courage represented his most sustained attempt to penetrate the moral dilemmas of the political
life.” In his notes for the book, Kennedy observed: “Politics is a jungle.”

In Profiles in Courage Kennedy looks at eight American senators, including John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster and Sam Houston, whose lives provide a path through the challenges of political life and toward America’s future. Here is Kennedy’s tribute to those who best inspire faith in “the cause of principle… that is the basis of all human morality.” We are pleased to offer a rare inscribed copy of Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work in the scarce original dust jacket and housed in a custom clamshell. Browse our current selection.