Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2008 Issue
First Editions, History, Science and More from The Manhattan Rare Book Company
Charles Darwin - still controversial after all these years.
It was August 20, 1940, when Winston Churchill strode before the House of Commons to give this speech. The Blitz of London was underway, virtually all of Europe had fallen to the Nazis, and Britain stood alone. To anyone else it may have looked hopeless, but Churchill would rally his people, presenting an honest assessment, unshakable determination, and absolute confidence that right would win out, no matter how long it might take. His words are inspirational still today. "[W]hen we are doing the finest thing in the world, and have the honour to be the sole champion of the liberties of all Europe, we must not grudge these years or weary as we toil and struggle through them." Churchill was right. Time was on his side. Item 68 is A Speech by the Prime Minister...August 20, 1940. $1,600.
Manhattan describes The Grapes of Wrath as "Steinbeck's masterpiece." There will be no quarrel here. It is the quintessential story of the Great Depression, a time of great misery, only to be followed by the agony Churchill spoke of. Item 62 is a first edition, first issue of the masterpiece. $6,500.
Most people think Bambi is as American as Walt Disney, but the young buck was actually born in the forests of Austria. His creator was Felix Salten, and item 48 is a first edition in English of Bambi. A Life in the Woods. Salten was a prolific writer, but nothing else ever quite reached the same level of mass appeal as his story of the orphaned deer. Five years after this edition was published, Salten sold the film rights, which made their way to Disney and his movie in 1942. $1,600.
The Manhattan Rare Book Company is found online at www.manhattanrarebooks.com, telephone 212-326-8907.
