The Manhattan Rare Book Company

12/04/2025

View from my office window right now. The city can be very beautiful at night. Maybe it’s not so bad that it is getting dark so early!

03/17/2025

OSCAR WILDE: In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I’m pleased to present a nearly perfect copy of Oscar Wilde’s only novel “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. It appeared here, first, in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, and what a stir it caused! Victorian sensibilities certainly were not ready for Wilde’s aesthetics. For more information - and the fascinating back story - please visit “New Acquisitions” on our website.

01/07/2025

11/13/2024

Ok, I realize I’m wading into a very controversial topic here…. What’s your favorite Harry Potter book? Mine is The Goblet of Fire, and shown here is a signed first edition which I’m tempted to keep for myself… Details under “New Arrivals” on our website.

11/12/2024

ALFRED STIEGLITZ: The Steerage… Sometimes I wonder since we always have a camera ready and taking a photograph doesn’t involve film, negatives, etc., we don’t think as carefully about what we are taking. In June 1907, Stieglitz, while onboard the ship Kaiser Wilhelm II, was looking out upon the steerage class and became emotionally and artistically struck by what he saw. He saw people, yes, but also lines and complex shapes that complemented the people and contributed to his strong emotional response. He had to run back to his cabin, however, to get a camera, panicking that the scene would change. It didn’t (at least not substantially) and Stieglitz got his shot. And lucky for him, because his camera only had one plate in it. One mistake, one errant movement, and there would have been no “The Steerage”…. Very different from our experiences with cameras today! … We are currently offering the very first appearance of The Steerage. Please visit “New Arrivals” for details.

11/01/2024

The first printed use of the word “surrealism” appeared in this beautiful May 1917 program for the Les Ballets Russes. The program is like a who’s who for the Parisian avant-garde, with illustrations by Picasso, presenting Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, featuring Erik Satie’s Parade. “Surrealism” was defined in an essay in the program by Apollinaire on Parade… For (a lot) more information, please visit “New Arrivals” on our website. #

10/29/2024

Here it is - not one, not two, but THREE revolutionary papers by Einstein from 1905, including his groundbreaking paper on special relativity: “Of all the scientific journals in the world, the single most sought-after collector’s item by far is the Annalen der Physik, volume XVII, for 1905, for... Einstein published not one, but three papers in the journal, causing 1905 to be dubbed the annus mirabilis of science.”For more information please check out “New Arrivals” on our website. #1905

10/24/2024

Every great movement needs a manifesto. 100 years ago this month, surrealism had theirs… Read about this first edition inscribed by Andre Breton on our website under “New Arrivals”.

10/22/2024

RARE BOOK CHAT: Did American Literature begin with a con involving this (fictional) Dutch Historian who went missing after skipping out on his hotel bill? Hear the fascinating story behind one of the foundational works (perhaps THE foundational work) of American Literature in Episode 2 of the podcast Rare Book Chat ( ). Search for it in your podcast player or clink on the link in the linktree. Inspired by a book currently being offered by …

10/21/2024

DUCHAMP, MAGRITTE, BOBBY FISCHER: Our latest acquisition! Marcel Duchamp writes to Rene Magritte about chess and Bobby Fischer. In the letter Duchamp worries: “Young Bobby Fischer is certainly a miracle of nature but I fear that success will make his head explode and that in the end he will never become anything more than one of the 25 best players in the world.” Duchamp was a very serious chess player and intimately involved with the New York chess scene.... Read all about the letter by clicking “New Arrivals” on our website.

10/14/2024

I’m pleased to share this beautiful and unusual photograph of Albert Einstein speaking with a young boy, signed by Einstein below the photograph... Einstein’s love of children is well-documented. As his granddaughter Evelyn Einstein noted, “He respected children and liked their curiosity and fresh approach to life and therefore did not want to ignore them.” His correspondence is full of letters to children, where he answers their questions seriously and politely ... I’ve never seen this image before - I like how they seem so engrossed in the conversation and the kid seems relaxed, like, “I may be talking to Einstein, but I still have to look cool, leaning back, foot forward, hands in my pockets.” .... For more information, please see the latest “New Arrival” on our website.