Framed reproduction and facsimile book

This lot of two items celebrates Ayn Rand’s historic presentation to the senior class of the United States Military Academy at West Point on March 6, 1974. “Philosophy: Who Needs It” was Rand’s audacious attempt to sell the cadets on the value of “philosophy as such.” The standing-room-only crowd of more than fifteen hundred people listened with rapt attention as Rand argued that philosophy is not an arcane subject of interest only to ivory-tower scholars but an indispensable, practical science.

Up for auction are color reproductions of pages from the Ayn Rand Archives. In a handsome frame are three typescript pages from the West Point lecture, containing Rand’s handwritten edits. Also, in a specially bound facsimile book are reproductions of the first pages of the West Point textbook that was used internally in the 1974–75 school year to introduce the subject of philosophy to seniors; the first piece in the textbook is Rand’s “Philosophy: Who Needs It” article. The book was part of a mandatory class that encouraged cadets to “reexamine their premises as they prepare to take their commissions and embark upon a military life.”

Frame: 32″ x 19.5″
Facsimile book: 9″ x 12″, 28 pages

FMV: $2,500 (for set)