Powell's Books - Rare and Antiquarian Books

So what's stopping you? Step inside and find yourself a treasure. With Powell's diverse selection, it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Take a look at the featured titles further down this page, browse the subsections of our RBR with the handy drop-down menu below, check out our most recent acquisitions by clicking on the "Newly arrived used titles" link, or search our rare inventory using the "Search Rare Books" field above.



	Powell's Rare Book Room is proud to unveil its latest treasure, an 1814 first printing of Lewis and Clark's History of the Expedition. It's the only copy in circulation containing a fully intact map, the oldest accurate map of the American west. Learn more and see close-up photos here.

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Newly arrived used titles in Rare Book Room

Firm orders only. These featured titles may not be placed on hold. All prices on this page are net; no further discounts will apply.

The Fun of It: Random Records of My Own Flying and of Women in Aviation by Amelia Earhart
New York: Brewer, Warren & Putnam; (1932)

This second printing is covered in brown cloth with letters stamped in white, this copy is in very good condition, having only minor edgewear and no markings left by a previous owner. The interior and the edges of the print block are beginning to darken but the text is clean and clear. Included in this volume are a charming frontis portrait of the author, 30 additional black and white photos, as well as a recording of her voice, a "Vocal Autograph," in a sealed pocket inside the rear cover. All are nicely housed in a custom, deep blue slipcase with a ribbon pull. Written in a warm, chatty style, the author chronicles her fascination with and education in flying, investing her experiences with a wonderful immediacy that includes the reader. And she gives us portraits of other women pilots, their accomplishments and the personal details that bring them to life. (Ruth Nichols, who was a transcontinental flight record holder in the 1920's, had a purple leather flying suit and helmet made to order). This engaging book is signed on the half title page in blue ink by the author.

$1300.00

That's My Story by Douglas Corrigan
E. P. Dutton (1938)

This first edition (stated) is covered in cobalt blue cloth with red stamped letters and decoration, in good+ condition, with worn, bumped corners and softening to the head and tail of the spine. The yellow top edge is clean, the spine straight, the hinges are good and the sepia toned photos, including the frontis portrait are clear. This is the memoir of "Wrong Way Corrigan," who, attempting to fly from New York to California in July, 1938, found himself in Ireland, due to a thick blanket of clouds and a seriously misread compass. Our copy of the book is inscribed, "To F...D.../Douglas Corrigan/3-1-39/ Portland," in black ink, on the front free endpaper.

$60.00

Cigarette Card Album: Zeppelin-Weltfahren (2 volumes)
Dresden (1933, 1934)

Both volumes in this two volume set are illustrated with black and white drawings and photos.

I. Buch; 265 (6x4 cm. cigarette card) black and white photos tipped in, plus a frontis portrait of Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin and four colored maps, in good+ condition, with slight rubbing and edgewear.

II. Buch; 155 photos, a frontis portrait of the Reichsminister fur Luftfahrt and a gold foil stamped page in memory of German officers who lost their lives in Zeppelin crashes, in very good condition, this volume being particularly scarce. The text is in German.

Both volumes are softbound, 33.5 x 24 cm., unpaginated, approximately 300pp. taken together; the edition, printing and publisher are not stated. They comprise a very interesting collection of images; Zeppelins in flight, views from Zeppelins in flight, Zeppelins burning, having crashed.

$600.00

Flight to Arras by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
New York: Reynal & Hitchcock (1942)

Number 123 of an edition limited to 500. One half midnight blue leather with bright gilt stamped letters on the spine, the boards covered in undyed cloth. In very good+ condition, an especially clean, sound copy, with sharp corners, a straight, unfaded spine, good hinges and unblemished pictorial endpapers, it is illustrated by Bernarde Lamotte and translated from the French by Lewis Galantiere. With the gilt top edge remaining bright and the sewn-in blue ribbon marker still firmly attached, the text and illustrations exceptionally fresh and clear, this is a seemingly unread copy. An account of this aviator's experiences during the German invasion and occupation of France in WW2, it is focused on the individual cost, in human terms, of the resulting turmoil, destruction and upheaval. In one of the last chapters, he writes, "It is easy to establish a society upon the foundation of rigid rules. It is easy to shape the kind of man who submits blindly and without protest to a master... The real task is to succeed in setting a man free by making him master of himself...The invisible path of gravity liberates the stone. The invisible path of love liberates man." This truly lovely copy of an engrossing memoir of turbulent times by the author of The Little Prince is numbered and signed by both the author and the illustrator.

$2000.00

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