Experiments and Observations in Soaring Flight. Offprint from: Journal of the Western Society of Engineers 8 [misprinted “III” on front wrapper], no. 4 (August, 1903). [Chicago], [1903]

FIRST EDITION, offprint issue. Presentation copy with the stamp of the Wrights’ advisor, mentor, and chief promoter, aviation pioneer Octave Chanute. Chanute was the most important figure in aviation from 1890 to 1910

$44,000

A Complete Set of Schirra’s Flight Log Books documenting his entire career as a Navy pilot and a NASA astronaut. Various places, Jan 1947—Feb 1953; Mar 1953—Jan 1954 (‘duplicate’); Mar 1953—Sep 1958; Oct 1958—May 1967; Jun 1967—Jun 1969

This is a complete set of Wally Schirra’s official flight log books, meticulously maintained by him over more than two decades from his earliest days in training through his fabled career as a fighter pilot, a military test pilot, and one of the “Original Seven” American astronauts.

$28,500

Typed letter signed to Dr. Joseph F. Rorke.. Houston, NASA, 15 January 1970.

In this historic letter Armstrong details the history of the Apollo XI in-flight cancellation of the “First Man on the Moon” stamp and of the die famously carried to the moon by Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins

$27,000

Autograph Letter Signed to Lawson Tait. Down, 17 January [1877]

CHARLES DARWIN ON SEXUALITY AND THE TRANSMISSION OF HEREDITARY CHARACTERISTICS.

$22,500

Two albums of watercolors of British wildflowers and garden flowers. Chetwode, 1838 - 1840 and 1841 - 1873

These delightful albums contain 142 finely executed full-page watercolors of British flowers.

$12,000

“Leaving For The Moon” in LIFE Magazine. LIFE, July 25, 1969

This issue of Life magazine is signed by Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. The cover photograph captures the dramatic scene of a self-assured Armstrong—dressed in his full space suit—waving to a crowd of on-lookers just prior to commencing the historic Apollo 11 mission. This issue of Life includes “Apollo’s Leap for the Moon” by reporter Loudon Wainwright, “Moon Shot—Spectacle at the Cape” and “Nixon’s First Six Months” as well as and photographs of the astronauts’ wives. The issue suggests the eagerness of the public for any news dealing with Apollo 11 and the moon landing. This is the issue of Life that was on the newsstands as the Apollo 11 astronauts hurtled through space toward the moon.

$10,000

A Trip to the Moon. New York: F. M. Lupton, September 9, 1893

Signed by Neil Armstrong, first man to walk on the moon. This classic of science fiction, turned into scientific fact by Armstrong and the Apollo 11 mission, was first published as De la Terre à la Lune in 1865.

$10,000

Reports to the Evolution Committee of the Royal Society. Reports I–V.. London: Royal Society, 1902-1909 [1910]

FIRST EDITIONS. A splendid association copy, from the library of Caroline Pellew with her signed inscription:  “C. Pellew  Ink corrections taken from W. Bateson’s corrections in his own copy.”

$10,000

Autograph Letter Signed to C. C. Maxwell. No place, Sept. 26, 1857

In this wonderful letter Faraday discusses the famous experiment in which Galileo is said to have dropped spheres of different masses to show that their time of descent was independent of their masses. Though said by some to have been a thought experiment, this was one of the most famous demonstrations in the history of science. The experiment disproved Aristotle’s theory of gravity and helped usher in the era of modern science.

$9,500

The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. London: John Murray, 1871

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with the uncorrected text in Vol. I and with the list of errata on the verso of the title-page in Vol. II. Freeman observes that “there are important textual differences” between the two issues of the first edition. One of these, later rectified with the removal of long passages from the second issue, is pointed out in the first issue’s inserted slip referring to “a serious an unfortunate error, in relation to the sexual differences of animals.”

$9,500