Views of Society and Manners in America: in a Series of letters from that Country to a Friend in England during the Years 1818, 1819, and 1820. By an Englishwoman. - Rare Book Insider
Views of Society and Manners in America: in a Series of letters from that Country to a Friend in England during the Years 1818

[WRIGHT, Frances].

Views of Society and Manners in America: in a Series of letters from that Country to a Friend in England during the Years 1818, 1819, and 1820. By an Englishwoman.

Longman Hurst Rees Orme and Brown, London: 1821
  • $2,500
TP + [iii]-iv = Dedication + [v] = Advertisement + [vii]-x = Contents + [1]-523. Octavo. First Edition. An account by an altogether original feminist's and first utilitarian philosopher's initial visit to America. Praised by lovers of America, it was published locally in the United States, France, Holland and Sweden. The book went through a series of editions and brought Wright into contact with four American Presidents, General Lafayette in Paris, along with Jeremy Bentham and a host of other famous and influential figures in England. Wright was scandalized by the contradiction of racial slavery in the US and ends this work by claiming that the President of the United States had assured her in 1820 that "the day is not very far distant when a slave will not be found in America." (p. 523)Her second visit to America in 1825 was with the 61-year-old General Lafayette and caused a different kind of notoriety. By the end of that second visit, she had become an American reformer with the mission of ending slavery and pushing the United States into the fullness of its promise that "all men were created equal." Original publisher's green boards with a ½ brown cloth spine with the original spine label almost perfectly preserved (the "S" from "Society" is worn off). The edges of the spine are lightly split a several places. With an old owner's name (W. Newsome) in black ink to the top right corner of the front free endpaper. An absolutely lovely untrimmed, wide-margined copy of this important and interesting work by Wright. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Der Teufel und seine Grossmutter (The Devil and his Grandmother).

1 leaf with publisher's device + TP + [1] = Dedication page + [3]-59 + [60] = Inhalt + [61]-[64] = Publisher's advertisements. Octavo. First Edition. A First Edition of Lou's Only Published Play"The Devil and His Grandmother" merges sexuality with religion, encapsulating three ages of woman-from the child, to a lost soul (and the Devil's bride), to the Devil's Grandmother. Written in charmingly convoluted dialogue, this work has a cinematic, fanciful feel to it.Salomé wrote this blank verse play in 1915 - after having studied with Freud and towards the beginning of her successful career as a psychoanalyst. Finally published in 1922, this is one of three plays that she wrote around this time but the only one published. It is comprised of several unnumbered acts and an epilogue. This is one of the most interesting and philosophically complex of her fictional works, as it not only successfully integrates and addresses the thematic issues from all periods of her literary career but does so in a form and style altogether new for her.As expressed here, Salomé's psychoanalytic theories, though adhering closely to Freud's, also incorporate much of her philosophical background; and her views on religion, sex (in both senses of the word), and art in their relation to the human psyche. As revealed in this play, those ideas are anything but derivative and pointedly reflect her distinctive ability to operate between apparently contradictory positions (i.e. art and science, religion and sexuality), synthesizing them to generate new meanings.Salomé's Devil is bored in hell and resentful of humans, who have life and creative ability on Earth. He also disdains all the angels and God in heaven, who he feels are hypocritical for shunning him. When another little soul arrives in hell, he decides to amuse himself with it, first turning it into a child and then into his bride. In their marriage scene (which takes place onscreen in a scene from a silent film) the Devil rapes and dismembers his bride. After this brutal violation, however, he seems to regret his actions, and, in order to revive the Poor Little Soul, the Devil visits his grandmother, who embodies the entire universe and is the source of all being. The Devil's grandmother returns the soul to life, and the Devil is redeemed, when he sacrifices himself for the sake of humanity.In this characterization of the Devil and others, Salomé develops her ideas on the split subject and its lifelong drive to return to an (imagined) unified state. She relates this feeling of lack caused by individuation to the experience of desire, specifically to erotic desire, which she sees as an expression of the wish to return, through the other/lover, to the undivided state in the mother's womb. Salomé correlates the wish for this primal experience with the death drive, and thus, every attempt to regain the imaginary ideal, whether through artistic, religious, or erotic creation, is also an expression of this unconscious drive. Original publisher's graphic-laden front cover black and green and the publisher's device printed on the rear cover which shows some light but obvious dampstaining. The spine has been professionally restored. There is a former owner's 4-line stamp to the upper right corner of the front flyleaf. Ovewrall, a very nice copy of Lou's only published play. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Friedrich Nietzsche in seinen Werken (Friedrich Nietzsche in his Works).

1 blank leaf with a portrait of Nietzsche on the verso + TP + [i] = Dedication page + [iii] = Inhalt + [v] = Portrait of Nietzsche + [vii-viii] = Facsimile of a Nietzsche letter + half title + [3]-263, Octavo. First Edition.An "Up Close & Personal" View of Nietzsche with an Early Attempt at PsychoanalysisFriedrich Nietzsche in seinen Werken is a rare, first-hand portrait of Nietzsche, an insightful and accessible study of the poetic, psychological, religious and mystical aspects of his philosophy. Sensitive yet knowledgeable, fabricated yet informing, this book supplies an intimate psychological profile, a glimpse into the mind of one of the most influential modern philosophers. Here, Salomé - who was intimately involved with Nietzsche for seven months in 1882 - offers her personal explanations of Nietzsche's philosophy and her understanding of its relationship to his psychology. It is a bold and intriguing attempt. The main argument raised by Salomé is that Nietzsche's personality was dualistic, which resulted in a dualistic philosophy. In Nietzsche's own life, this dualism was presented in the opposition between his fabricated, pretended outer shell and a genuine, forbidden inner element. She argues that he was so wholly immersed in this dualistic personality that it was embodied in physical features; health was only attained by means of illness, his self-affirmation achieved by means of self-injury. Although some argue that he reveled in this "dividuum," Salomé leaves the reader with the conclusion that these mental conflicts were the primary cause of his later insanity and death. This provocative conclusion generated considerable controversy. Nietzsche's sister, Elisabeth Forster-Nietzsche, dismissed the book as a work of fantasy. Yet the philosopher's longtime acquaintance Erwin Rohde wrote: "Nothing better or more deeply experienced or perceived has ever been written about Nietzsche."Despite the content being solely about another person and his philosophy, it was a pivotal work in Salomé's career. It added to her credibility as a philosophical author and it was among the first books to conflate the ideas of psychology and philosophy, examining the relationship between the two. According to Freud's daughter Anna, Salomé anticipated psychoanalysis with this book. She successfully illuminated not only Nietzsche as a person, but offered personal insights into the origins of his ideas. Contemporary ¾ leather with brown marbled boards and gilt lettering on the spine. The left side of the spine label with the author's name is missing and the spine tips have been professionally repaired. Otherwise, a clean, bright and tight copy. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Die Erotik (The Erotic).

[i]-[xvi] = Publisher's advertisements for the 36-volume series, Die Gesellschaft + half title with series TP on verso + TP + 5-69 + [70]-[72] = publisher's advertisements. Octavo. First Edition. Lou Salomé Boldly Explores Her Ideas of Sex, Love and Human IdentityPublished in 1910 as the twenty-third volume in Martin Buber's "Society" series, Lou wrote Die Erotik in direct response to a specific request from Buber resulting in this masterful exploration of sex, love, and human identity. On first reading the work, Buber admired it unreservedly, claiming, "This is no mere 'contribution,' but a pure, powerful, essential piece of work!" It was even well received by more conservative writers, such as feminist Gertrud Baumer, who was inspired by its "unembarrassed and joyfully acknowledged urge to life." Yet, unlikovee Salomé's typically bolder works, this book adopts a slightly more restrained tone appealing to a wider audience while still offering a deeply informative text.In Die Erotik, Salomé focuses on three main themes: individualization, idealization, and womanhood. While exploring the themes of individuality relative to love and sex, Salomé describes a conceptual pyramid that encompasses everything from the convoluted nuances of human individuality down to the broader love shared by all living creatures. At the base of this pyramid lies the common uniting love that flows between all organisms, but as one progresses from general speciation up to a finite individuality, a need for novelty and variety grow increasingly stronger. Salomé contends that the more individual a person is, the more fastidious their choices become, nurturing a narcissistic mindset that detaches and distances an individual from society. Thus, Salomé argues, higher development and individuality do not bring happiness, but rather selfishness and isolation. Given this scenario, Salomé delineates the inherent dangers of individuality when trying to achieve a fulfilling relationship, sexual or not, with another person.She then expands her vision to encompass the notion of idealization in a sexual relationship. This notion she contends is an ultimate primeval act, even more so than the procreative instinct itself. Elaborating upon that idea, she details the preliminary joy that precedes sex. This idealization, she says, is the basis for the sexual drive; this fantasizing of another individual is the elusive power that facilitates sex, fosters love, and strengthens the romantic bonds between two individuals. According to Salomé, the phenomenon of idealization is the most urgent and dynamic stage of a sexual relationship, functioning as the procreator itself.Lastly, in Die Erotik, Salomé details the influence sexuality has on womanhood and vice versa. She proposes that female identity is derived from sexuality and psychosexual differentials. Femininity, sexuality, and our psychological hardwiring are entangled and fortified during the sexual experience. She goes on to argue that the woman is elevated during sex because she is more closely intertwined with the experience. Furthermore, the woman gains a certain liberation where restrained energies can be reabsorbed and transmuted into a power as they are explosively released. However, she notes that this gained power in a woman is a threat to society. Thus sex, she claims, has been systematically excluded from the social and political conversation as a way to further deny women any sort of social or political power. Publisher's original heavy card with ornate black and red art deco lettering and designs to the front cover and the spine with the publisher's device on the rear cover. The covers and spine (lightly restored on top) are just a bit darkened with age, but otherwise this is a lovely copy of this delicate book - one that is difficult to find such good condition as this. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift af Johannes Climacus (Concluding Unscientific Postscript by John Climacus).

1 blank leaf + TP + [III]-VI = Forord + [VII]-X = Indhold + [1]-480 + [481]-[484] = Kierkegaard's unpaginated Post-Script to the Post-Script, Octavo. First Edition (Himmelstrup 90).Arguably His "Greatest Work and Crowning Achievement" and "His Last Major Philosophical Statement"Arguably Kierkegaard's greatest work and crowning achievement, and certainly intended as his last major philosophical statement. An exhaustive elaboration not only of the Philosophical Fragments (a work perhaps 1/10 its size, but to which it serves as 'postscript') but of his aesthetic-philosophical work to that time. The Postscript's primary purpose is once again to expose the misguided efforts to come to terms with existence and with Christianity through objectivity, speculative reason, natural science or dogmatics. A sustained attack on Hegelianism, rationalism and idealism marking the historical turn of philosophy away from the system and toward individual subjectivity, away from 'being' and toward 'existence', and thus ushering into existence the modern age in philosophy long before the fact would ever be registered by the world at large. One of the liveliest philosophical treatises of such magnitude ever penned." (Wronoski, p. 19) Contemporary ¾ leather binding with marbled boards. The spine with gilt decorations and title. The front free endpaper has a small k signature in the upper right-hand corner. The blank leaf in the front has three lines of inked writing to the top third of the page with an ornate stamped bookplate design for "Jacob Ræder" in the middle of the page. The first few leaves - including the title page - are lightly foxed. Overall, a well-preserved contemporary copy of this important philosophical work by the great Danish philosopher. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Der Fall Wagner (The Case of Wagner).

TP + [i]-[iv] = Vorwort + half title + [1]-57 + [58] = Printer's information, Octavo. First Edition (Schaberg 54).His Final Attack on Richard Wagner - One of only 500 copies printedNietzsche had 1,000 copies of this work privately printed but 500 of them were falsely marked "Second Edition" so there were originally only 500 copies in this first edition, first issue state.During February and March of 1888, Nietzsche and Gast exchanged a series of letters regarding Richard Wagner's music which once again roused Nietzsche's active interest in the composer. By late April, he reported that he was "hard at work from early morning until evening on a little pamphlet on music."Elisabeth has introduced another of her little bits of disinformation by suggesting an alternative source of inspiration for the Wagner book. She claims that Hans von Bülow in a letter-to herself or to some other unidentified third party-had indirectly encouraged her brother to write about Wagner: "Friedrich Nietzsche really ought to write an explanation of his departure from Bayreuth. I am sure that we should learn a great deal from such an explanation. I myself intend to deal with a kindred theme." This is clearly contradicted by one of Nietzsche's letters to Naumann just one week before the publication of The Case of Wagner: it states that "I have just learned that Hans von Bülow has written a piece which covers this same topic." On 26 June, Nietzsche sent the manuscript to Naumann with several specific requests for the format of the printing-the most unusual of which was his suggestion that they use German block lettering for the printing, although this idea was quickly dropped. Two days later, several additions to the pamphlet were sent off, and three days later Nietzsche mailed yet more revisions. All of these required the publisher to insert numerous paragraphs and words into their proper place in the manuscript, and Naumann was so confused by this hodge-podge that he finally rejected the whole mess:"When it comes to the many changes you want incorporated into the manuscript, it will be very difficult to identify the correct places for the inserts so I am taking the liberty of sending the entire manuscript back to you and asking you to organize the additions very carefully so it will not be necessary to make extra corrections later on."When Nietzsche saw the state of the manuscript he could only agree: "even I myself find it unreadable . . . As soon as my strength returns I will begin to rewrite the entire thing in a more legible form but I cannot give you any definite timetable." Although Nietzsche implied that poor health might keep him from completing this task for some time, he had a new faircopy ready to ship in just four days. Elisabeth claims that "several alterations" were made during this transcription. Then, two weeks later on 2 August, Nietzsche-so recently chastised for creating confusion with his constant insertions-sent his publisher an addendum in the form of two "Postscripts" which he requested be put at the end of the book.Naumann was sending proof sheets to both Nietzsche and Gast as usual and Nietzsche finished his corrections on the main part of the text by the 9th of August. He sent them off to Naumann saying that although they were marked "ready for printing" it might be best to forward them to Gast since "he reads my handwriting better than I do myself." No sooner had Nietzsche received the printers' proofs for the "Postscripts" than he sent Naumann an entirely new manuscript entitled "Epilogue," which he wanted to appear following the "Postscripts." Corrections of the "Epilogue" were completed by 24 August and Nietzsche requested that Gast make the final revision.(Schaberg, The Nietzsche Canon, pp. 156-158 period style half leather with dark grey marbled paper. The spine with gilt decorations in each compartment and the title in gilt on a green field. A very pretty and presentable copy of this rare work. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE
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Letters concerning the English Nation.

1 blank leaf + TP + [i]-[vii] = Preface + [viii]-[xii] = Contents + [xiii]-[xiv] = Publisher's ads + 1-253 + [255]-[272] = Index + 1 blank leaf, Octavo. First Edition.Voltaire Lauds the English and Disparages the French (along with the first telling of the "Newton and the Apple" story)This is the true first edition of the work which Voltaire originally wrote in English. The French translation was not published until the following year of 1734. Containing Voltaire's observations on a wide variety of subjects on the English which he praises lavishly in contrast to their French counterparts. Including chapters on the Quakers and other religious issues along with his observations on government and trade, but most famous for his appraisals of Locke, Bacon, Newton (where the story of the apple makes it first appearance in print), and his disparagement of French thinkers, most especially, Descartes. The book is an exuberant celebration of empiricism and of English science in contrast to the worshipful regard for rationalism that was still so dominant in France.This is a famous and important book of the Enlightenment in France where it gained a wide readership and stirred up considerable resentment because of Voltaire's favorable view of the English and his disparaging comparison of them with the French. "Inspired by Voltaire's two-year stay in England (1726-8), this is one of the key works of the Enlightenment. Exactly contemporary with Gulliver's Travels and The Beggar's Opera, Voltaire's controversial pronouncements on politics, philosophy, religion, and literature have placed the Letters among the great Augustan satires. Voltaire wrote most of the book in English, in which he was fluent and witty, and it fast became a bestseller in Britain. He re-wrote it in French as the Lettres philosophiques, and current editions in English translate his French." (Nicholas Cronk in his Introduction to the 1999 Oxford's Classics edition) Contemporary full paneled leather with five raised bands on the spine. The author title appear in the second compartment in gilt lettering with elaborate gilt designs in all the other compartments. With the ornate bookplate ("Data Fata Sequutus" i.e. "Following His Fate") of Henry Streatfeild of Chiddingstone Castle in Kent. He has also written his name at the top of the title page and noted that he paid "4-6" for the book in 1736 on the verso of the front free endpaper. With a lovely green bookmark ribbon currently residing at page 190. This is a really beautiful copy of this important work by Voltaire. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Alcoholics Anonymous.

Half-title + TP + v-vi = Contents + vii-viii = Foreword + half-title + 1-400 + 1 blank leaf, Octavo. First UK Edition, First Printing.The TRUE First Printing of the First UK Edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics AnonymousThere is no publication date noted on the title page but the verso carries the notation "First Printing in England 1954" appearing beneath a list of all the US printings of the book from the first in "April, 1939" to the fourteenth in "July, 1951".The binding of the book is similar to contemporary American printings except that this UK binding has blue boards that are textured with a woven pattern rather than the uniformly smooth blue boards used in the 1950s American printings of the book. The front cover has the embossed words "Alcoholics Anonymous" (similar to the US version) and the words "Alcoholics Anonymous" printed in gilt at the top of the spine. If the book comes with a dust jacket - as this copy does - it is one that is blank on all of the outside surfaces: i.e. there is no printing on the front, rear or spine of the dust jacket. The only printing on the jacket occurs on the inside front and rear flaps - which has two quotes from the book and notes the price of 25s in the text found on the inside front flap.The change of name from Works Publishing to Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing did not happen in the USA until the fifteenth printing of January, 1954 (where it appeared on the title page, but not in the contact information supplied on page 398 - which still said Works Publishing) and in the sixteenth printing of August, 1954 (which says Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing in both places). This securely places the printing of this first UK edition in 1954, but provides no indication of what specific month it might have been printed in that year. [See below for evidence that the book was published in December of that year.]Strangely, the verso of the title page to this first UK edition notes the existence of only fourteen printings of first edition having been printed in the USA - without mentioning either the fifteenth printing of January, 1954 or the sixteenth of August, 1954. The type, text and spacing of this book are all identical to that found in the last four printings (13th, 14th, 15th & 16th) of the American edition. However, this first UK edition has a footnote on page 25 stating that "A.A. is now composed of 3500 groups (1950)." This version of the footnote only appeared in the 13th and 14th US printings of the Big Book [the 15th and 16th printings both say "5,000 groups (1954)]. Taken together, this evidence confirms the stated publication date of 1954 for the first UK edition of the Big Book. NOTE also that in the third printing of this UK edition - using exactly the same text internally - notes on the verso of the title page: "First Printed in England 1954 / Second Impression 1956 / Third Impression 1958." We know this to be the very first printing of the book in the UK from two sources. First of all, there is a copy identical to this in Bill Wilson's personal library, currently housed at his home, Stepping Stones, in Bedford Hills, NY. That catalog listing reads:Alcoholics Anonymous 1939, First Printing in England, by Works Publishing and Alanon Publications, 1954. Dark blue cover; plain book jacket with printing only on inside. Inscribed: To Bill Wilson, In humble gratitude for the things which have come to us through God and the channels He has used. Bill Hopper, Joe Tomkins, Bob Bauld, Alan Booth. Dec. 1954.This would place the printing of this book in December - after the 15th and 16th printings of the US edition noted above.A copy similar to this is also identified and talked about in the official GSO Archives publication, Markings, Your Archives Interchange, noting that "it is believed that there were only 200 copies of the British First Edition/first printing, of the Big Book published in Great Britain, and the same four people [who were responsible for producing this UK edition] appa
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Ecce homo (Behold the Man).

1 leaf + TPs + 7-154 + [155] = Inhalt + [157] = "Exemplar" page, Square Quarto. First Edition. Schaberg 61b. Nietzsche's Self-Congratulatory Masterpiece Explaining: "Why I Am So Wise"Copy # 476.Released in an edition of 1,250 copies: 150 on Japanese velin and 1,100 on parchment. Double-spread art nouveau title page illustrated by Henry Van de Velde. "Van de Velde developed all his decorative elements from the logic of the curve and reverse curve and by covered surfaces and plain surfaces. This brings the text and the decorations into an ideally close connection with each other" (Hofstatter, Art Nouveau, p. 100). Copies were so expensive that it was dubbed the "bank director's edition" (Schaberg, The Nietzsche Canon, p. 185). First edition of Nietzsche's apologia, written as a pre-emptive defense against his interpreters, though not published for almost twenty years after it was written, due to the machinations and the fears of his sister. "I have a terrible fear that one day I will be pronounced holy: you will guess why I publish this book before; it shall prevent people from doing mischief with me. I do not want to be a holy man; sooner even a buffoon Perhaps I am a buffoon." To his future followers, he offers the following: "You say you believe in Zarathustra? But what matters Zarathustra! You are my believers - but what matter all believers! You had not yet sought yourselves, and you found me. Thus do all believers; therefore all faith amounts to so little." Original half vellum and grey boards with embossed circular title on the front cover gilt and again in gild on the spine. One of 1,100 copies printed on parchment, this one being numbered 476. The front cover is slightly bowed outward (as is usual with this volume). With a bit of foxing to the vellum spine area, but otherwise a lovely, well preserved, clean, and bright copy. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Thus spake Zarathustra.

1 blank leaf + half-title ("The Works of / Friedrich Nietzsche" with publisher's ads and information on this being the sole authorized translation on the verso) + TP + [v]-vii = Contents + half title + [xi]-xxiii = Introduction (by Alexander Tille) + 3 half-titles + [1]-488. Octavo. Second Issue in English.Second English Issue of Thus spake Zarathustra - Nietzsche's Most Famous BookThis first English translation of Zarathustra was done by Alexander Tille and published simultaneously by Henry and Co. in London and Macmillan in New York in 1896. Henry and Co. was unfortunately a new and woefully underfinanced imprint that had been selected by C.G. Naumann and Nietzsche's cousin, Dr. Richard Oehler, over the protests of the English translators. Almost predictably, after publishing two titles (This book and The Case of Wagner) in 1896, the firm went bankrupt leaving two unpublished works (The Dawn of Day and The Genealogy of Morals) in the hands of the translators. The remainered Henry stock was bought (the company reported the sales of just 257 copies before June 30, 1897) by Fisher Unwin and rebound with their own title page and reissued in 1899. The text block here is identical to the Henry issue. Nietzsche's most radical and most famous book, Zarathustra is the one he considered his masterwork and his highest single achievement. Like Zarathustra, Nietzsche the philosopher goes down among men again in this prophetic masterwork, exhorting them to recognize and attend to what is best in them. "I teach you the Overman" says Zarathustra in his first speech to the people, "Man is something that should be overcome. What have you done to overcome him?"Zarathustra is more poetry than prose, more vision than reasoned insight, more didactic exhortation than playful intellectual fencing, more prophecy than psychological observation. The four books are an elaborate riddle seamlessly blending elements of Nietzsche's philosophy, his psyche, and his personal life into a seductive invitation to dance - and the vast literature they have generated is ample testimony to the complexity and the depth of the work. (Schaberg, The Nietzsche Canon, p. 87).It is, moreover, the critical or destructive aspect of his philosophy that has made a significant mark on the mind of sophisticated man. He emphasized the important part in all spheres of human thought and activity played by self-deception, illusion and prejudice, and it is his stark insistence on the necessity to recognize and ruthlessly to uproot these sinister and treasured falsities that has made him appear unsympathetic to some. In this main aspect of his outlook and in its reception, similarities with Freud are plainly observable. "Thus Spake Zarathustra" glorifies the Uebermensch (superman). It is a long philosophical prose poem and the most widely known of his works. (Printing and the Mind of Man 370). Publisher's original dark blue cloth binding with gilt lettering and embossed publisher's device to the front cover and the spine. The front and back covers show some minor "bubbles" in the finish. With a former owner's elegant bookplate to the side front cover. Another former owner's name and date (Sept 1903) in pencil to the first blank leaf. There is a booksellers ticket pasted to lower right corner of the inside of the rear board. Untrimmed, with wide margins as issued. A beautiful copy! ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Vom Ursprung und Ziel der Geschichte (The Origin and Goal of History).

Half title + TP + [5]-[6] = Vorwort + [7]-11 = Inhalt + half title + [15]-349 + [351] = Publisher's list of Jasper's books, Octavo. First Edition [with] Half title + TP + [5] = half title + [6] = Vorwort + [7]-12 = Inhalt + half title + [15]-360, small Octavo. First Edition.Announcing the Axial Age - Mankind Evolves to the SpiritualPublished simultaneously in Munich and Zürich, both books qualify as first editions although the German imprint is frequently granted priority based on the presumption that the German edition somehow deserve that priority (based on Jaspers residency in Germany?). Karl Jasper's brilliant elucidation of "The Axial Age" - a phrase that he coined for the period between 800 BC and 200 BC - when mankind turned a profound and significant evolutionary corner, discovering for the first time a deeply self-reflective attitude towards existence and awakening to the concept of the transcendent. It was during those six hundred years that spiritual and intellectual sophistication were born across the Eurasian continent: Confucius and Lao-tse emerged in China along with modern Hinduism and Buddhism in India, while the prophets spoke in Israel and the Hebrew Bible was complied, and Socrates, Plato and Aristotle spread the gospel of rationality throughout the Greek world. This revolution in the realm of ideas and of the spirit fostered an irreversible effect on several major civilizations and then on human history as a whole. The Axial Age thinkers and teachers bequeathed us not only with a sense of the world that went beyond mere experience - inviting us to investigate, envision, and alter the world through human thought and action - they also placed a revolutionary emphasis on human morality and individual responsibility while creating several different pathways to transcendent salvation. Surely, this book qualifies as one of the truly great historical and evolutionary insights of the 20th century! Piper Edition: Original publisher's orange cloth with gilt lettering on the front cover and the spine. In the original light tan dust jacket with dark brown and red lettering on the front panel and the spine. The dust jacket has two very small nicks at the top and bottom of the spine. A very pretty copy of this revolutionary book. Artemis Edition: Original publisher's dark red cloth with gilt lettering and device on the spine. In the original light tan dust jacket with dark brown and red lettering on the front panel and the spine. There is one small closed tear to the rear panel of the dust jacket. Overall, a gorgeous copy of this revolutionary book. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Le Pragmatisme (Pragmatism).

Half-title + TP + Dedication page + 1-16 = Bergson's Introduction + [17]-19 = Préface de L'Auteur + [21]-312 + [1]-8 = Publisher's advertisements. small Octavo. First French Edition.First French Edition of William James "Pragmatism" with a Glowing Introduction by Henri BergsonWith the translator E. Le Brun's six-line inscription "A 'mon bon Pierre" to the half title. And, in what appears to be the same hand, a quote from William James ("Un nom nouvaeu, pour des idées qui ne sont pas nouvellez. W. James" - i.e. 'A new name for ideas that are not new') handwritten to the front wrap and again on the title page. This was one of James' most controversial publications which raised an immediate storm of debate when released and became the single work with which James' philosophical theory was most closely identified.In this first French translation, Bergson's Introduction opens with glowing praise for his friend and frequent correspondent, William James:"How can one speak about pragmatism after William James? And what would we be able to say that has not been already said, and said better, in that enthralling and charming book of which we have here such a faithful translation? We would hesitate to speak at all if James's thoughts were not so often diminished, or altered, or distorted by the interpretations we impute to them. Surely many ideas that circulate risk interference between the reader and the book, as well as the imposition of an artificial obscurity upon a work that is the epitome of clarity." Publisher's original orange wraps with a handwritten French rendition of a James quote to the front cover and again to the title page (most likely the translator's hand) along with a handwritten inscription by the translator to the half title. The wraps are lightly rubbed but otherwise this is an amazingly well-preserved, partially uncut copy of this first introduction of William James' Pragmatism to his French-reading public. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Pragmatism.

1 blank leaf + 1 leaf with book ads on verso + half-title + TP + Dedication page + vii-[ix] = Preface + xi-xiii = Contents + half-title + 3-[309] + 1 blank leaf, Octavo. First Edition (McDermott 1907-11).First Edition of James' Most Complete Statement of American PragmatismThis book belonged to William Herman Hopkins whose name along with "Berkeley. 1907" is neatly written on the front fly leaf in pencil. Hopkins graduated Berkeley that year and went on the Union Theological Seminary in New York City to become a minister. He served as the pastor or First Presbyterian Church in Albany, NY for the remainder of his active life in the church. James first used the word "pragmatism" in a talk entitled "Philosophical Conceptions and Practical Results" that he delivered at Berkeley in August of 1898. Eight years later, he finally gave a full presentation of this new way of "doing" philosophy in a set of lectures at the Lowell Institute in Boston in 1906 and then repeated at Columbia University in 1907. While James' Psychology (1890) is still admired and referenced for his thoughts on consciousness and The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902) continues to be a touchstone work in the field of religious studies, this book, Pragmatism, is easily his most famous and most influential contribution to philosophy and certainly his most eloquent expression of our native "American" perspective on philosophy. The preface distinguishes between "pragmatism" and "radical empiricism" and contains multiple references to other writers illustrating the pragmatist tendency. James offers his pragmatic method as a technique for clarifying concepts and hypotheses. He claimed that if we do this, ancient metaphysical disputes that appear to be irresoluble quickly dissolve. For instance, when philosophers suppose that free will and determinism are in conflict, James responds that once we compare the practical consequences of determinism being true with the practical consequences of our possessing freedom of the will, we find that there is no conflict worth considering.James explained his pragmatic method through examples rather than by giving a detailed analysis of what it involves. He did very little to explain exactly what 'practical consequences' are; it simply was not an issue for him. He also made no claim to originality: 'Pragmatism represents a perfectly familiar attitude in philosophy, the empiricist attitude', although he acknowledged that it did so "in a more radical and in a less objectionable form than it has ever yet assumed" (Pragmatism, p. 31). It shared with other forms of empiricism an "anti-intellectualist tendency" and it recognized that theories (and presumably concepts) should be viewed as "instruments, not answers to enigmas". We identify the "practical consequences" of a theory, concept or hypothesis by describing its role as an instrument in thought, in inquiry and in practical deliberation. This was one of James' most controversial publications which raised an immediate storm of debate when released and became the single work with which James' philosophical theory was most closely identified. Publisher's original brown boards with lighter colored cloth spine which has been lightly sun-darkened. The spine label is just a bit worn, but 100% readable. As noted above, this book belonged to Wm Herman Hopkins and has his scription on the front free end paper. Overall, a very pretty copy of this important book by William James, America's foremost proponent of the pragmatic theory. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Essays in Radical Empiricism.

1 leaf with book ads on verso + TP + iii-[xiii] = Editor's Preface + [xv] = Contents + 1-[283] + 1 blank leaf, Octavo. First Edition (McDermott 1912-1) First Edition of William James' Essays in Radical EmpiricismSelected Before His Death to Present a Systematic Outline of His Theories"Edited, with a Preface, by Ralph Barton Perry. The title and the contents of this volume were virtually selected by the author himself several years before his death. It was his aim to present systematically, the outlines of the doctrine of 'Radical Empiricism' which he regarded as of not less importance than 'Pragmatism'" (McDermott. p. 853).This collection includes James's groundbreaking essays "Does Consciousness Exist?" and "A World of Pure Experience" in which he explains one of his fundamental ideas: that mind and matter are both aspects of, or structures formed from, a more fundamental stuff - pure experience - that (despite the fact that it is called "experience") is neither mental nor physical. Pure experience, James explains, is "the immediate flux of life which furnishes the material to our later reflection with its conceptual categories " William James at his finest on his psychological theories! Original publisher's green covers (remarkably well preserved) with paper label to the spine which is very lightly worn and 100% readable (a rarity with James' books). A near fine copy of this final work prepared by William James as a systematic presentation of this ideas. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
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Leviathan, sive De Materia, Forma, & Potestate Civitatis Ecclesiasticaæ et Civilis (Leviathan, or the Matter, Form & Power of a Commonwealth, Ecclesiastical and Civil).

HOBBES, Thomas. TP + [i]-[ii] = Dedication + 1-365 + [366]-[368] = Index Capitum + [369]-[378] = Index + [379] = Scripturæ Sacræ & Erratum + 1 blank leaf, small Quarto. First Separate Latin Edition (MacDonald & Hargreaves #45). The Important First Separate Latin Edition of Leviathan with all of Hobbes' Final RevisionsThis is the first separate edition of this book (M&H #45) from 1670. This Latin text first appeared two years earlier in the Opera Philosophica also published by Joannem Blaeu (M&H #104) which contained eight different works by Hobbes. During an age when English was little spoken and rarely read across the Channel, this Latin version is tremendously significant because it made Hobbes' most important and controversial work (first published in 1651) finally accessible to European readers. This Latin edition was, then, essential to the dissemination and understanding of Hobbes' ideas within the scholarly community of his day. Over and above that important distinction, this volume contains an entirely new Appendix - presented in a "Question & Answer" format - with sections devoted to the Nicene Creed, to Heresy and Replies to Objections. Moreover, as MacDonald and Hargreaves note in their Addendum, "The Latin version of Leviathan differs considerably from the English: it is the Latin versions in which Hobbes really expressed his opinions In his Latin version he was less concerned with personalities" (M&H, p. xvi). Contemporary full calf binding with five raised bands and a red field with gilt lettering for title and author to the spine. The corners and edges are all pretty uniformly worn, but this is a sound and solid binding. Overall, a lovely copy of this important work by Hobbes and his major contribution to what Johnathan Israel has termed The Radical Enlightenment. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $4,250
  • $4,250
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Méditations Cartésiennes, Introduction a la Phénoménologie (Cartesian Meditations, An Introduction to Phenomenology).

HUSSERL, Edmond. Half-title + TP + [V]-VII =Avertissment + [1]-136. Large octavo. First Edition in Original Wraps. Madinier's First Edition Copy of Husserl's Meditations CartesiennesFrench Philosopher Gabriel Madinier (1895 - 1958) has signed his name in pencil to the top corner of the half title. His most important book was Consciousness and Movement (1938) a spiritual evaluation of French philosophy from Condillac to Bergson. His professed understanding of "self" might best be summarized by the following: "The subject is best reflected in what can be called spiritual experience. There he becomes aware of his true being by a conversion towards that principle and thereby enjoys the unity glimpsed from that experience. In every spiritual experience, the subject feels enriched, open and uplifted by forces that go beyond him, and he discovers there the immediate certainty of meanings that are valid in themselves.The true first edition of this work appeared in French in 1931. It is Husserl's main work of transcendental phenomenology and it had a profound impact on French philosophy for several decades afterwards. This seminal work is based on the lectures Husserl gave at the Sorbonne in 1929. Over the next couple of years, he, together with his assistant Eugen Fink, expanded and elaborated upon the text of the lectures and then had Emmanuel Lévinas and Gabrielle Peiffer translate them. Husserl was always partial to this translation of his work which is to his phenomenology using Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy as a starting point for discussion - showing how Descartes discovered the "transcendental" perspective which is essential to any genuine philosophy.INSERTED into this copy is a mimeographed sheet sent by the Societe francaise de Philosophie explaining the arrival of this important book to subscribers, but DO TO SPACE LIMITATIONS ON ABE THE TEXT IS NOT INCLUDED HERE - PLEASE EMAIL FOR THIS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.: Original tan wraps which are lightly soiled with black lettering front and back. The spine has perished and been professionally replaced with a near perfectly matching blank replacement. Housed a custom green clamshell box with a black calf label. An amazingly well-preserved copy of this notoriously rare, important and delicate work by Husserl. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $2,250
  • $2,250
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Versuch einer Critik aller Offenbarung (Attempt at a Critique of All Revelation).

FICHTE, Johann Gottlieb. TP + [1]-182, Octavo. First Edition, First Issue. (Lauth/Jacob 2a; Baumgartner/Jacobs A1.2?x)First Edition of Fichte's First Book - Popularly Attributed to Kant as his Fourth CritikFichte's first work, which was published anonymously. With the title-vignette by Johann Wilhelm Meil. The first printing of the first edition appeared without the author's name on the title page and without the introduction. Fichte was impressed by Kant and strongly influenced by his transcendental philosophy. He went to meet the great philosopher in person but was initially received very cooly. In response, he wrote the present work in five short weeks applying Kant's ethical theory of duty to the interpretation of religion and submitted it to Kant as a way of gaining the philosopher's favor. The book met with Kant's approval and he found a publisher for the manuscript. By mistake, Fichte's name and the preface were omitted in the first printing and the book was popularly attributed to Kant. It was thought that this was Kant's fourth Critik, a fact that helped gain Fichte a wide and admiring readership. Subsequently, the work was reviewed favorably in the "Jenaische Literaturzeitung" - the critic claiming that Kant's style was unmistakable. This prompted Kant to publish a statement on July 3, 1792 naming Fichte as the real author, who became instantly famous. Among those who admired the book was Goethe who in 1794 secured Fichte a position teaching philosophy at the University of Jena in Weimar. Contemproary leather with gilt decorations around the edges of the front and rear boards. Spine with the author and title gilt on a red field with gilt decorations covering the rest of the spine. An absolutely gorgeous copy of Fichte's first book. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $2,500
  • $2,500
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Das System der Sittenlehre nach den Principien der Wissenschaftslehre, (The System of a Theory of Morals as Based on the Science of Knowledge).

FICHTE, Johann Gottlieb. TP + [I]-XVIII = einleitung + [XIX]-[XX] = Publisher's notices + [XXI-XXII] = Inhalt + [1]-494, small Octavo. First Edition (Lauth/Jacob 36; Baumgartner/Jacobs A1.36x).The Foundation of the Practical Side of Fichte's System"The practical [side of his system] was expounded in the 'Foundation of Natural Right', c. 1796, and the 'System of a Theory of Morals', 1798" (PMM, p. 147). But Fichte was very far from concentrating exclusively on the theoretical deduction of consciousness. He laid great stress on the moral end of the development of consciousness or, in more concrete terms, on the moral purpose of human existence. And we find him publishing in 1796 the Basis of Natural Right (Grundlage de Naturrechts) and in 1798 The System of Ethics (Das System der Sittenlehre). Both subjects are said to be treated 'according to the principles of the theory of science'. But the works are much more than mere appendages to the Wissenschaftslehre. For they display the true character of Fichte's philosophy, that is, as a system of ethical idealism." (Copleston, 7, I, p. 52) Contemporary brown speckled boards ¾ leather with gilt ruled compartments on the spine with the title and author in gilt on a red field in the second compartment. The top of the spine is very lightly chipped and the corners are a bit worn. With a former owner's (Erik Furas Bok) bookplate to the inside front cover. Overalll, this a well preserved and very presentable binding. Internally it is bright, tight and clean making it, overall, a very attractive copy. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $750
L'écriture et la Différence (Writing and Difference).

L’écriture et la Différence (Writing and Difference).

DERRIDA, Jacques. Half-title with the author's other works noted on the verso + TP + [7] = Quote page + 9 - 439 + [440] = Printer's information. Octavo. First Edition. A Lovely Copy of Derrida's Seminal Writing and DifferenceWriting and Difference is a collection of Jacques Derrida's essays written between 1959 and 1966 which has become a landmark of contemporary French thought because it clearly presents Derrida's deconstructive approach and was designed to accompany the other two works that he published in the same year-De La Grammatologie and La Voix et le Phenomene.Here we find Derrida at work on his systematic deconstruction of Western metaphysics. The book's first half, which includes the celebrated essay on Descartes and Foucault, shows the development of Derrida's method of deconstruction. In these essays, Derrida demonstrates the traditional nature of some purportedly nontraditional currents of modern thought-one of his main targets being the way in which "structuralism" unwittingly repeats metaphysical concepts in its use of linguistic models.The second half of the book contains some of Derrida's most compelling analyses of why and how metaphysical thinking must exclude writing from its conception of language, finally showing metaphysics to be constituted by this exclusion. These essays on Artaud, Freud, Bataille, Hegel, and Lévi-Strauss have served as introductions to Derrida's notions of writing and différence-the untranslatable formulation of a nonmetaphysical "concept" that does not exclude writing-for almost a generation of students of literature, philosophy, and psychoanalysis.Writing and Difference reveals the unacknowledged program that makes thought itself possible. In analyzing the contradictions inherent in this program, Derrida goes on to develop new ways of thinking, reading, and writing-new ways based on the most complete and rigorous understanding of the old ways. Readers from all disciplines find Writing and Difference to be an excellent introduction to perhaps the most challenging of contemporary French thinkers-challenging because Derrida questions thought as we know it. Publisher's original printed wraps. The spine is lightly creased from reading, but otherwise this is an excellent copy which shows no signs of wear, tear or use. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $450
La condition ouvriere (The Working Conditions).

La condition ouvriere (The Working Conditions).

WEIL, Simone. Half title with publisher's advertisement on the verso + TP + [7]-56 + tipped in facing pages reproducing two pages from her famous "Factory Journal" + 57-273 + [275] = Table + [276] = Printer's information [dated September 12, 1951]. Tall octavo. First Edition (Little Aa9).Weil Reports on the Horrible Working Condition of the French ProletariatNobel Prize Winner, Saint-Leger's CopyFrom the library of Alex Saint-Leger who wrote under the pseudonym Saint-John Perse and won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1960. With his underlined initials (A. S. L.) to the front free endpaper in pencil. Accompanied by E. Wharton & Co.'s original description of the item and Priscilla Juvelis' handwritten note to famed collector Lord Eccles attesting to the validity of the provenance. Weil's meditations on the mechanization of labor and the increasingly hazardous and inhumane conditions of the working class. During her factory years (1934-1935) Weil endeavored to personally experience the "proletarian condition" by enlisting as a manual laborer in various factories throughout suburban Paris. During her time in the factories, she rendered detailed accounts in her journal of the workers' daily struggles, including the grueling hours, the monotonous work, and their merciless treatment amidst the dangerous machines and equipment. Publisher's original wraps with green lettering to the front and back covers and the spine. Showing just the mildest bit of aging to the covers and spine. A remarkable association copy of Weil's work, which remains a penetrating meditation on life, work, and fulfillment the modern West. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $800
Seven Articles in Cahiers du Sud.

Seven Articles in Cahiers du Sud.

WEIL, Simone. Seven issues, each in the original wrappers. A Superb Collection of Seven Essays by Simone Weil Published in Les Cahiers du Sud between 1941 and 1947This collection of Weil's contributions to Les Cahiers du Sud stands as an enduring testament to her revolutionary genius and vision-a vision that soared well beyond the confines of her short but very active life. Les Cahiers du Sud was an avantgarde, ultraliberal review that published poetry, essays, literary criticism, and cultural commentary from Marseille between 1925 and 1966. Jean Ballard, its founder and editor-in-chief, never turned away the works of writers who, for political reasons, could not find publishers elsewhere, among them Weil, Georges Bataille, Paul Valéry, Walter Benjamin and Antonin Artaud. Weil published eight articles in the magazine between 1940 and 1943, many of them under the pseudonym "Emile Novis," which was a loose anagram of her name (and likely a disguise of her Jewish surname). Following her death in August of 1943 at the age of thirty-four, the magazine continued to publish her works. This collection includes her essays "A propos des Jocistes" ("About the Workers"), "La Philosophie" ("The Philosophy"), "L'Avenir de la Science" ("The Future of Science"), and "Reflexions à propos de law Théorie des Quanta" ("Reflections on Quantum Theory"), and "L'Iliade ou le Poème de la Force" (The Iliad or the Poem of Force), among others published both before and after her death. During her days spent among the writers and editors of the magazine in Marseilles, Weil filled detailed notebooks with material for future articles and essays. Although her works were little known during her lifetime, they were posthumously assembled, published, and celebrated throughout the world in the years after her death - leading many to identify her as a modern saint.Despite this informal canonization, these works show her more secular side, highlighting her intellectual sensitivity to the turbulence of the world around her: included are her detailed reports on the status of local workers coalitions, criticisms of philosophical trends, and numerous complex attempts to grapple with the nearly incomprehensible tragedy of World War II - all of which demonstrate her immense skill as a writer and sophistication as a thinker. PLEASE SEE OUR CATALOG 23 "20th Century Women Philosophers" for a complete description of all seven of these rare publications. There is a small "Specimen" stamp to the covers of the April and May 1941 issues; minor toning throughout; more pronounced toning to the wrappers of the 1943 issue, with pages uncut, and glassine wrap over wrappers. This collection assembles many, but not all, of the articles and essays known to have been published by Simone Weil, some under her pseudonym, "Emile Novis," in the pages of the French literary magazine Les Cahiers du Sud. An amazingly well-preserved set of these delicate war and post-war publications. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
  • $3,000
  • $3,000