Autograph letter signed to Miss Thurston. No place, [c. 1868 or possibly later]

Louisa May Alcott discusses the impact of Little Women and its place in children’s literature. She observes that “My ‘Little Women’ have much astonished their Momma by making many friends for themselves, & she can only account for it by the grain of truth that lay at the bottom of the little story.”

$38,000

The Lord of the Rings. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1954-1955

FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST PRINTINGS. This is a very attractive set of the celebrated Lord of the Rings trilogy. The size of the edition was small: The Fellowship of the Ring (3000 copies), The Two Towers (3250 copies), and The Return of the King (7000 copies).

$35,000

Autograph manuscript diagrams and text. [n.p., n.d.],

Goddard (1882-1945), the “father of modern rocket propulsion,” launched the world’s first liquid-propellant rocket on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Massachusetts, a “feat as epochal in history as that of the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk” (NASA). Goddard had a rare genius for invention and these notes suggest the endless refinement necessary to create a dependable, operational rocket engine.

$35,000

Original drawing, “3-Stage Satellite Vehicle (pitch plane)” signed and dated 1952. [Huntsville, Alabama, 1952.]

This is an original signed drawing of a space ship by Wernher von Braun, the father of the American space program. He made this drawing for his landmark Colliers series “Man Will Conquer Space Soon” (1952-54), which played a central role in inspiring a generation of rocket scientists and convincing the public of the possibility of space exploration. These essays covered seemingly every aspect of manned space flight and anticipated many developments including the enormous multi-stage vertical launch vehicle (to become Saturn V), a horizontal landing space ferry (the Space Shuttle), an orbiting space station, a lunar landing, the establishment of a base on the moon, and ultimately a manned expedition to Mars.

$35,000

The Pocket Book of Baby and Child Care. No Place, [ca. 1946.]

Spock’s book helped to revolutionize child-rearing in post-war America. Within one year of its first publication the book sold 750,000 copies, and it has since sold more than 50 million copies in ten editions and more than 40 languages. “When it appeared in 1946, the advice in Dr. Spock’s now classic book was a dramatic break from the prevailing ‘expert’ opinion. Rather than force a baby into a strict behavioral schedule, Spock, who had training in both pediatrics and psychiatry, encouraged parents to use their own judgment and common sense” (NYPL Books of the Century).

$35,000

Armstrong and Aldrin raising the U.S. flag on the Moon’s surface. NASA, [1969]

Signed by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, the first two men on the Moon. This image was taken by the Maurer Data Acquisition Camera (DAC, pronounced “dak”). The DAC made films through the Lunar Module Pilot’s window during the approach and landing of the LM and took stop motion photographs during the EVA at the rate of one frame per second.

$32,000

Apollo 11 Philatelic Cover signed by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin. [Houston], 1969

Signed by the crew of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the Moon: Neil Armstrong (commander), Buzz Aldrin (lunar module pilot), and Michael Collins (command module pilot). From the collection of Neil Armstrong.

$32,000

The French Revolution, a History. Boston: Little & Brown, 1838

First American edition. A splendid presentation copy inscribed by Ralph Waldo Emerson to his brother: “Wm. Emerson from his brother Waldo.” The inscription is in pencil in the second volume. Emerson used this intimate signature only with his immediate family. Page 270 of the first volume bears a pencil correction apparently in Emerson’s hand.

$30,000

Photograph of the Lunar Module and Buzz Aldrin deploying a scientific experiment on the moon, signed by all three crew members: Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins and by NASA Administrator Thomas Paine. NASA, 1969

A RARELY SIGNED SPACE PHOTOGRAPH, signed by the crew of Apollo 11, the first manned mission to the Moon: Neil Armstrong (commander), Buzz Aldrin (lunar module pilot), and Michael Collins (command module pilot) and by NASA Administrator Thomas Paine.

$28,000

Autograph manuscript signed, the Black-Scholes-Merton formula.. Stockholm, “Nobel Week", December 1997

In this outstanding financial manuscript, Merton writes the celebrated Black-Scholes (or Black-Scholes-Merton) formula for derivatives pricing, the basis for many of the great fortunes in finance.

$28,000