11. Aiken, Henry David / [Hans Jonas] / Quine, W.V.O.

Typed letter, signed by German-born, American Jewish philosopher Hans Jonas, loosely inserted in Henry David Aiken’s pamphlet “God and Evil: A Study of Some Relations Between Faith and Morals”. The Essay by Aiken is inscribed and signed by Aiken in a sarcastic manner: “To God, from one of his congregation – Shem”. In the letter, Jonas reflects on two pages on an evening with Henry David Aiken and his then wife Lillian Woodworth. In his letter to Aiken, Hans Jonas reports back to Aiken after reading his essay [″God and Evil”] and calls it “a beautiful piece of work – in style and content worthy of your “master” who wrote on natural theology….”. Jonas goes on encouraging Aiken: “you are also dead wrong n not publishing a collection of your essays in ethical theory. If your pal Quine can do it “from a logical point of you [sic]”, so can you “from a moral point of view”. Jonas also mentions “that it is worth writing about the ancient problem opf a theodicy in a contemporary context”. [The Essay is n Offprint from Ethics, An International Journal of Social, Political and Legal Philosophy, Volume LXVIII, No. 2].

New York / Washington, DC, 1958. 16,8 x 24 cm. 21 pages (pages 77-97 of the Journal) plus two page-letter (on one leaf), signed by Hans Jonas Original Offprint / Original TLS (Typed letter signed). Very good+ condition. Stapled. Only minimal signs of staining. The letter also discusses a Reference for one “Ed Sayles” and Jonas suggest that Aiken writes “casual but fairly strong” to Howard R. Bartlett, professor of history and head of the Department of Humanities at MIT.

12. [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 !

13. [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.

14. [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 !

15. Allen, Fergus.

The Brown Parrots of Providencia.

First Edition. London, Faber and Faber, 1993. Octavo. VIII, 66 pages. Original Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear with some foxing.

16. Allen, Gary.

Iscariot’s Dream.

Mayfield,A Agenda Editions, 2008. 14,5 cm x 20,7 cm. 80 pages. Original Softcover. Excellent, close to new condition. Signed by author.

17. Allen, Gary.

Languages.

Hexham, Flambard Press / Black Mountain, 2002. 14 cm x 21,5 cm. 64 pages. Original Softcover. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Some very minor foxing.

18. Allsopp, Bruce / Clark, Ursula.

Historic Architecture of Northumberland.

Stocksfield, Oriel Press, 1969. Large Octavo. 96 pages with numerous illustrations. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket in protective collector’s mylar. Excellent condition with only minor signs of external wear.

19. Alonso, Dámaso.

Poesía de la Edad Media y Poesía de Tipo Tradicional. Selección prólogo, notas y vocabulario.

Buenos Aires, Editorial Losada, S.A., 1942. 24cm x 17cm. 588 páginas. Encuadernación cartoné. En buen estado, la encuadernación puede presentar signos de desgaste. La encuadernación del libro es ligeramente suelto.

20. Ancient Roman Gardens.

Farrar, Linda.

Stroud, Sutton Publishing, 1998. 18 cm x 25 cm. 237 pages. Original hardcover with original dustjacket in protective Mylar. Excellent condition with only very minor signs of external wear.