“Allgemeinen molekulare Theorie der Wärme” in Annalen der Physik, 4. Folge, Band 14. Leipzig, Annalen der Physik, 1904

FIRST EDITION of Einstein’s fifth published paper, “On the General Molecular Theory of Heat” (pp. 354-362). Weil 5.

$400

“Theorie der Lichterzeugung und Lichtabsorption” [and] “Prinzip von der Erhaltung der Schwerpunktsbewegung und die Trägheit der Energie” in Annalen der Physik, 4. Folge, Band 20. Leipzig, 1906

FIRST EDITION of “On the Theory of Light Production and Light Absorption” and “The Principle of Conservation of Motion of the Center of Gravity and the Inertia of Energy.”

$1,200

“Plancks Gesetz und Lichtquantenhypothese” in Zeitschrift fuer Physik, vol. 25-26. Braunschweig and Berlin, 1924

“With their work Bose and Einstein established the field of quantum statistics one year before the appearance of quantum mechanics” (Brandt, The Harvest of a Century)

$800

Reports Regarding Sir William Thomson’s Compass and Sounding Machine. Glasgow: University Press [for Thomson], 1877

An important early offering brochure regarding the sale of the first modern compass and early navigational aids. This is a price list and an extensive collection of reports and testimonial letters from ship captains concerning Thomson’s sounding apparatus (the first to use wire instead of hemp) and compass. “The modern compass dates from 1876, when Sir William Thomson patented his dry-card compass” (Singer, History of Technology V). Thomson was deeply interested in the application of science to industry, and he apparently prepared this rare, ephemeral publication to promote his products, which helped to make him a wealthy man. This brochure includes a detailed price list for Thomson’s navigational instruments.

$350

Interstellar and Interplanetary Communication by Optical Masers. Washington, February 27, 1961

PRE-PUBLICATION RARITY. “The classic paper published in Nature that started it all” (coseti.org), this is the founding work of optical SETI. This pre-publication form is dated more than a month before the article’s publication in Nature. For years SETI research focused on radio transmissions, but the development of powerful lasers has made Optical SETI (OSETI) a highly promising area of research. Townes’s prescient proposal is even the more remarkable given the very limited power of masers and lasers at the time this paper appeared.

$8,500

Autograph letter signed to his sister [together with] “To the Sun-Set Breeze” Original printer’s proof, signed by Whitman.. Camden, 1890; 29 June 1891

In this fine, warm letter to his sister, Whitman writes, “Love to you sister dear. The day has got along & I have just time to hurry this off to catch this evng’s mail. Much the same with me— hot wave here again. Am anchor’d here at my window as usual. 2 enc’d.” The latter comment may refer to Whitman’s enclosure of the accompanying broadside (see next item). Several well-known photographs capture Whitman in his final years seated at his window at a table overflowing with his papers.

$40,000

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

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

A Collection of Three Reports on the Treasury’s Receipts and Expenditures. Philadelphia: Childs and Swaine, 1790-1793

A collection of rare Treasury reports on the finances of the United States during its earliest years.

3 items: $8,500

Space Flight … When? [and] Space Flight. Westwood, New Jersey, 1946

This rare fanzine was printed in tiny numbers. We have found traces of the 1946 number on the Internet, but the 1947 number appears to be even more rare. Each number publishes the result of the author’s survey of science fiction writers, editors, and aficionados concerning the likelihood of space travel for humans.

two volumes: $750