71. [Aiken, Henry David] Demos, Raphael.

Collection of Five (5) Manuscript Letters from Greek-American Philosopher, Raphael Demos to Philosopher Henry David Aiken. Besides very few personal matters (Aiken rented a Lice-infested house from Demos), the letters are lengthy and full of content regarding philosophical questions. Demos thanks Aiken for his “thoughtful comments about my article on ‘Society and the Individual’ and Demos reflects on Aiken: “Now as to your point that goodwill is addressed to me which is capable of joys and sorrows and not just an angel – I will distinguish between respect and goodwill. Angels, because rational, have intrinsic worth, and so claim respect certainly. Value and respectability don’t imply capacity for feeling. But goodwill does imply that the recipient is a striving, failing, succeeding, up-ended individual, who has sorrows & grip – not just an angelic being. While the Greek identify man with his rationality, it is noticeable that common sense proceeds otherwise; when the Radcliffe girls say their Professor is so human, they don’t mean he is intellectual, they mean the opposite – that he has non-rational impulses and feelings…..” / The collection of letters originates from the personal collection of Henry Aiken and also comes with a scathing letter from American Philosopher Arthur Edward Murphy in which Murphy writes to Aiken about Raphael Demos and does not hold back in his evaluation of Demos and his Philosophy: “I just saw your remarks re Demos in the Journal. Very well done ! I think Demos is not very bright, however, and it is perhaps better not to give him too much publicity. I don’t think he will convert any one except for those already suffering from dithers & blithers. And it is a waste to refute him. Intelligent people don’t have to be convinced. And bigots like R.D. can’t be convinced. Strictly speaking, before Demos creates an obligation in others… he ought to say in plain unemotional prose what he means by such concepts as ‘God’ & ‘evidence’. It is perfectly possible that if we knew how he uses these terms, we would agree that what he says is trivially true. This discussion is presumably in the domain of logic. But discussion on that domain when one of the parties refuses to make explicit the rules of his game can never terminate in illumination. Nevertheless, I think you handled him neatly & have done yourself no harm as general opinion is concerned. He is a perfect horrible example of retrogression. Ugh ! A perfectly low grade person morally & intellectually nonregarding as a seer & defender of orthodoxy…… Have you seen Lazerowitz’s [Morris Lazerowitz] paper in Mind on Universals. It is highly provocative. I would like to discuss it with you….”.

Westport Point (Massachusetts), c.1944 – 1967. Octavo. 13 pages of letters by Raphael Demos to Aiken / [Plus:] 1 page of a manuscript letter by Arthur Edward Murphy to Aiken about Demos. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Original Letters or anything published by Raphael Demos or Arthur Edward Murphy, are very rare !

72. [Aiken, Henry David] Knopf, Alfred A.

Scathing Typed Letter signed from eminent publisher Alfred A. Knopf to Philosopher Henry David Aiken, who promised him to deliver the book “Pragmatism Revisited” two years prior and who he had already reminded twice about deadlines which had been ignored by Aiken. Knopf, famous for his lengthy correspondence, asks for the advance to be returned and expresses his disappointment in no uncertain terms: “….this makes me feel that you have lost all interest in having this book published by Knopf…..you seemed to be so friendly and so interested in our house when I did meet you in Boston that I hesitate to take this action….”. [The letter, from the personal collection of Henry David Aiken, is accompanied by an original typescript of Aiken’s apologetic response to Knopf. Acccording to our sources, this book never saw the light of day].

New York / Cambridge [Mass.],) 1964. Octavo. 2 pages. Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear.

73. [Aiken, Henry David] Sheffer, Henry M.

Manuscript Letter signed from eminent american logician, Henry M. Sheffer, to Philosopher Henry David Aiken, congratulating Aiken of being accepted to Harvard: “…..the Harvard Board of Overseers may not have O.K.‘d your appointment yet. However, I consider it final and official. Letme congratulate both you and Harvard on your joining the Emerson Hall First Floor Department. It will be a great pleasure to see you here again next Fall….”. Sheffer then continues ominously: “Then we can talk about a number of things one does not wish to put on paper”.

Cambridge (Emerson Hall), April 17th, 1946. Octavo. 1 pages. Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Original Letters or anything published by Sheffer, is exceedingly rare !

74. Ainsworth, Henry.

Two Treatises by Henry Ainsworth. The First, “Of the Communion of Saints”. The Second: “An Arrow Against Idolatry” etc. – To this Edition is prefixed, some “Account of the Life and Writings of the Author”.

Edinburgh, Printed by D.Paterson, 1789. Octavo. LXIX, 344 pages with two titlepages announcing the two titles separately. Hardcover / Original 18th century leather, professionally restored with a modern spine to the style of the period. The Volume in protective collector’s Mylar. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only. Rare edition with an early biographical account on Henry Ainsworth. Heavily annotated with contemporary comments. Annotations on pastedown, endpaper and within text are focused on crossreferencing Ainsworth’s publication with other contemporaries and their conflicting or corresponding thoughts on Idolatry (Hugh Broughton “on the consent of times” gets mentioned etc.).

75. Aitchison, Jean.

Words in the Mind. An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon.

Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1990. 24 cm. 288 pages. Illustrations, including tables, in black and white. Original hardcover. Very good condition with only very minor signs of external wear.

76. Ajax Historical Board.

The Pictorial History of Ajax 1941/1972.

Ajax, Ontario, Ajax Historical Board, No date (c.1972). 22 cm x 22 cm. 130 pages including many photographs. Original hardcover. Very good condition with minor signs of external wear. Slightly dirty/marked front and back cover. Some spotting on pages throughout. Inscription by preowner. Binding solid

77. Akademischer Senat der Stadt Wien.

Die Universität Wien – Ihre Geschichte, Ihre Institute und Einrichtungen.

Düsseldorf, Lindner Verlag, 1929. 4°. 118, IX, 53 Seiten. Umfangreich bebildert. Hardcover / Originaler Leinenband. Außergewöhnlich guter Zustand mit nur ganz geringen Gebrauchsspuren.

78. Akash, Munir. [Ed].

Jusoor: Culture and Survival / Culture et Survie. [Jusoor 2/3].

Maryland, Kitab, Inc., 1993. 15 x 23cm. 316 pages (English / French / Arabic), with illustrations throughout. Original softcover. Excellent condition, other than some pencilled text markings. [The Arab American Journal of Cultural Exchange & Thought for the Future, Spring-Summer 1993].

79. [Akhmatova, Anna] Feinstein, Elaine.

Anna of all the Russias: The Life of Anna Akhmatova.

First paperback edition. London, Phoenix, 2006. 13.5 x 21.5cm. (14), 322 pages, with black and white photograph plates. Original softcover. Excellent condition. Previous owner’s name on page I.

80. Aksyonov, Vassilii Pavlovich.

The Burn. A novel in three books (Late Sixties – Early Seventies). Translated from the Russian by Michael Glenny.

New York, Random House, 1984. 528 pages. Hardcover / Original cloth with dustjacket. First US edition of “Ozhog” – this portrait of life during the Kruschev years, whose publication in Italy forced Aksyonov to emigrate in 1980. Probably his major work to date. Near fine in very good+ dust jacket. Inscribed and signed by Aksyonov on the front free endpaper.