A Christmas Carol and the other Christmas Books. London: Chapman and Hall [and Bradbury and Evans], 1843-1848

FIRST EDITIONS of all five Dickens Christmas books, including the first issue of A Christmas Carol.

$37,500

Le Juif Errant [The Wandering Jew]. Paris: Paulin, 1844-45

First edition of Sue’s The Wandering Jew.

$24,000

To the friends of the slave in the town of Smithfield. Peterboro, New York: [Smith], March 12, 1844

A fiery antislavery broadside by one of the Secret Six.

$2,500

Torat ha-Elohim. The Law of God [Five Books of Moses]. Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5605-6 (1845-46)

FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH of the Pentateuch translated by a Jew and the first American translation of the Torah. Isaac Leeser was the single most influential Jewish figure in 19th-century America. His many accomplishments include establishing the vernacular sermon as a permanent feature in the American synagogue, publishing the first successful American Jewish newspaper, and founding the first American rabbinical school.

$17,000

A collection of images associated with South Carolina physician and plantation owner Sidney Smith. South Carolina, 1845-50

A unique survival. This important collection of largely identified photographs documents the home and family of Dr. Sidney Smith and those he enslaved at Gravel Hill, his South Carolina plantation. The collection includes an extraordinary daguerreotype depicting Dr. Smith, his two daughters, and his brother, posed together with two enslaved African American men. This is one of the earliest known images—if not the very earliest photograph—of an identified plantation owner posing with enslaved African Americans.

$60,000

The Jewish Manual; Or, practical information in Jewish and modern cookery, with a collection of valuable recipes and hints relating to the toilette. Edited by a Lady. London: Boone, 1846

FIRST EDITION. The first Jewish cookery book in English, this book is a landmark in Jewish social history.

$15,000

Portrait Miniature of George and Martha Washington. American, 19th century

This American School painted ivory features a charming representation of the nation’s first president and first lady.

$2,200

Redburn: His First Voyage. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1850

“An association copy linking two of the greatest figures in American literature” (Reese), this is Nathaniel Hawthorne’s copy of Herman Melville’s Redburn. A remarkable association highlighting not only Melville’s greatest creative period but also his fall to obscurity.

$72,000

Moby-Dick; or, the Whale. New York: Harper, 1851

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. From Jonah to Jaws, the Great Fish stories have fascinated readers for thousands of years. Melville’s masterpiece is perhaps the foremost of these tales.

$42,000

Michael Faraday. Ipswich, [1851]

This is a rare early state or proof copy of this lovely portrait of Michael Faraday, the greatest figure in the history of elecromagnetism.

$2,800