Bauman Rare Books
Philadelphia / New York
[Browse Inventory]

Bauman Rare Books, founded in 1973 by David and Natalie Bauman, is one of the world’s largest and best-known rare book companies, with a street-level gallery on Madison Avenue in New York and main offices in Center City Philadelphia. Bauman Rare Books offers an extraordinary selection of fine books and autographs dating from the 15th through the 20th centuries, including first editions in all fields, signed and inscribed volumes, splendid color-plate books, handsomely framed autographed letters and beautifully bound leather sets. With a reputation for meticulous research, an exceptional inventory, and an expert staff, Bauman Rare Books offers an exceptional range of client services. We have built some of the finest collections in the country and we offer expert gift services to both individuals and corporations. Whatever your interests—whether you are completing a collection decades in the making or searching for a unique gift item—you are sure to find the right book at Bauman Rare Books.

We asked Brian Parkhill of Bauman Rare Books to highlight some books from their collections.

First Edition of Mckenney and Hall’s History of the Indian Tribes of North America, With Extraordinary Large Folio Hand Colored Portraits of American Indians
McKenney, Thomas & Hall, James
The rare, monumental first folio edition of one of the landmarks of American history, an excellent copy complete with 120 bright and fully hand-colored lithographic plates after Charles Bird King’s original oil paintings, “the most colorful portraits of Indians ever executed.” $175,000.00

Principia Philosophiae
Descartes, Rene
Rare first edition (the only edition published in his lifetime) of Descartes’ exposition of the general principles of physical science, including the first comprehensive attempt at a mechanical explanation of the universe. Also includes the first Latin edition of the Discourse on Method, the foundation of modern scientific and philosophical thought. Both volumes with numerous in-text woodcut illustrations, including 33 full-page woodcuts. $18,500.00

Christmas Carol
Dickens, Charles
First edition, rare trial copy with title page printed in red and green and half title printed in green. Illustrated with four hand-colored steel-engraved plates by John Leech, the only one of Dickens’ first editions to contain hand-colored illustrations. An extraordinary rarity, remarkably fine and entirely unrestored. $45,000.00

A Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure
Darwin, Charles
First edition of the account of the most famous voyage in the history of biological science and modern thought. Volume III is the first issue of Darwin’s Journal, his first published book, containing the observations and fieldwork that form the basis for On the Origin of Species. Presentation set, inscribed in three volumes by voyage commander Captain Robert FitzRoy to Admiral Sir James Gordon in three of the four volumes. $85,000.00

Democratie en Amerique
Alexis de Tocqueville
First edition presentation copy in the original French of the first two parts of Tocqueville’s classic work, inscribed (probably in a publisher’s or a secretary’s hand) in Volume I “Donne par l’Auteur, 1836.” “One of the most important texts in political literature” (PMM 358). $85,000.00