• Heritage Auctions, June 27
    F. Scott Fitzgerald
    The Great Gatsby
    New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Mary Shelley
    Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus
    London: Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, 1818
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    J. R. R. Tolkien
    The Hobbit; or, There and Back Again
    London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1937
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Jane Austen
    Emma: A Novel. In Three Volumes. By the Author of "Pride and Prejudice," &c. &c.
    London: Printed for John Murray, 1816
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Robert Louis Stevenson
    An Inland Voyage
    London: C. Kegan Paul & Co., 1878
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Ernest Hemingway
    Three Stories & Ten Poems
    Paris: Contact Publishing Co., 1923
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
    History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark
    Philadelphia, 1814
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Emily Dickinson
    Autograph letter signed ("Emily and Vinnie"), to Mary Adelaide Hills
    Amherst, MA, Late April, 1880
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    John Keats
    Autograph letter signed ("John Keats"), to Mrs. Jeffrey
    Honiton 4 or 5 May 1818
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Samuel Johnson
    A Dictionary of the English Language: In which the Words are deduced from their Originals…
    London, 1765
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    H. P. Lovecraft
    Small archive of nine lengthy autograph letters signed variously over a period of six years to J. Vernon Shea.
    Various places, 1931-1937
    Heritage Auctions, June 27
    Izaak Walton
    The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative Man's Recreation…
    London: T. homas Maxey for Rich. ard Marriot, 1653
  • Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: [Keats, John] Spenser, Edmund: The Works of that Famous English Poet, Mr. Edmond Spenser. $50,000 - $80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: (Walton, Izaak): The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: Thomas, Gabriel: An Historical and Geographical Account of the Province and Country of Pensilvania; and of West-New-Jersey in America. $25,000 - $35,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: [Carroll, Lewis]: The Game of Alice in Wonderland. $2,000 - $3,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: Athias, Joseph, et al.: Biblia Hebraica. $7,000 - $10,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, June 25: [Warhol, Andy, and Jens Quistgaard] Dansk Designs Salesman's Presentation Catalogue. $2,500 - $3,500.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 4. Blaeu's Magnificent Carte-a-Figures World Map in Full Contemporary Color (1642) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 125. 1775 Edition of the Landmark Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia and Maryland (1775) Est. $15,000 - $18,000
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 673. Rare Frontispiece in Full Contemporary Color with Gilt Highlights (1662) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 717. Complete Tanner Atlas with Important Maps of Texas & Iowa (1845) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 3. Henricus Hondius' Baroque-Style World Map (1641) Est. $9,500 - $11,000
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 258. Complete Set of De Bry's Native Virginians & Picts from Part I of Grands Voyages (1608) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 608. Superb Work on 18th Century Russia with over 100 Maps and Plates (1788) Est. $3,500 - $4,250
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 49. One of the Most Important 16th Century Maps of the New World (1556) Est. $5,000 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 706. Superb Image of the Annunciation in Contemporary Hand Color (1518) Est. $900 - $1,100
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 123. One of the Earliest Maps to Show Philadelphia (1695) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 631. One of the Earliest Printed Maps of Afghanistan & Pakistan (1482) Est. $1,900 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (Jun 5-19):
    Lot 689. Proof Copy Engraving of the Senate Floor During the Compromise of 1850 (1855) Est. $1,500 - $1,800

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - September - 2019 Issue

Mulvihill Collection acquires celebrated Scots astronomer, Mary Somerville

- by Maureen E. Mulvihill, Guest Writer

While the Mulvihill Collection focuses mostly on pre-1700 women writers (English, Irish, Dutch), it has recently acquired a special newcomer: Mary Somerville, her 1834 classic, On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences (London, 1834; 5 plates; 10th ed., 1877). The Mulvihill copy is a deluxe, rebound second edition (1835), with Somerville's additional notes and new preface. A self-trained polymath, "Mrs Somerville" was a respected astronomer and science writer whose talents extended to painting, music, and educating the great J.M.W. Turner on Newtonian color theory. We include her self-portrait here, and we invite you to look up (and look up!) with Mary Somerville. <Click here for article>

Sign In
Posted On: 2019-09-04 19:13
User Name: chavvy@aol.com

This is as witty as it is informative and illuminating--a delightful account of the process of collecting, as well as an elegant tribute to Somerville. Especially welcome was the final image of the banknote, which brought the past into the present in an unexpected way. Would that all scholarly writing displayed such a welcome lightness of touch....
Margaret D. Stetz
Mae & Robert Carter Professor of Women's Studies and Professor of Humanities
University of Delaware

Posted On: 2019-09-05 03:11
User Name: mairin

Posting for collector, E.M. Katz:
Thank you for alerting me to this new essay, Maureen, and
I especially appreciated your good taste in selecting Dr Rosalind
Franklin, as dedicatee (and maybe the guiding Muse on your shoulder, too).
Let me know if your Somerville copy includes any ownership signatures, any
inscriptions, bookplates. And thanks, also, to Rare Book Hub, for hosting
this work. I am not a subscriber, but should be.
Keep in touch. Much admired the essay. E.M. Katz, Berlin / NYC.
___

Posted On: 2019-09-05 03:15
User Name: mairin

Posting for a collector friend in Rhode Island:
Maureen, Your passionate yet informative piece is nothing short of magical.
You have managed to shed some much needed light on the often overlooked, and sometimes forgotten, scientific contributions of such wonderful women as Mrs. Somerville.
These magnificent contributions to your collection will no doubt keep this flame burning for many years to come. Many thanks for sharing this wonderful story. Masterful.
- DJC, Collector, Rhode Island.
___

Posted On: 2019-09-05 20:11
User Name: mairin

Posting for my favorite polymath, Daniel R. Harris, Brooklyn, NY / Sarasota, FL.
__
If this subject receives further attention, best tell readers about Somerville's publisher (her only publisher): the Murray family publishers of London, originally from Scotland. (Yes, the big Murray Archive is listed in the article's Apparatus, glad to see that, an essential resource.)
Murray and the family business took good, faithful care of Somerville's writings over 4
decades -- remarkable, no? And, then, this matter: When it is mentioned, in one of the caption notes, that the telescope "gave the world to the 17th century", I'd replace "the world" with "the universe", or even "the world and the sky". (Maybe.) Otherwise, a strong delivery of useful information & images. (Incidentally, Somerville's self-portrait, on the article's Display Page, shows Turner's influence, I'd say; he was one of her circle. How could she, herself a painter, not be influenced by such an extraordinary talent?) A serious, elaborate file here, constructed over several operating systems & servers -- no simple task! Rare Book Hub served it up nicely, heroically.
- DR Harris / Words Art Music @ http://blog.danielharrismusic.com/
___

Posted On: 2019-09-11 17:17
User Name: ruricius

What a lovely erudite discussion.... but I'd have expected no less! And made all the more special after having seen and admired the liber ipse!
Ralph Mathisen
Professor of History, Classics, and Medieval Studies
University of Illinois

Posted On: 2019-09-22 19:08
User Name: alice185

A delightful essay and a fine tribute to Mary Somerville, a graceful appreciation of the well deserved serendipity of acquiring the book. It’s also a valuable reminder of current work restoring women to their place in the history of science. Very well done. Alice Browne.

Posted On: 2019-09-24 20:55
User Name: laipar2@aol.com

Much appreciated. Women collectors collecting books by women scientists!
I have recently acquired Louise Bourgeois Boursier, mid-wife to Marie de Medici, the collected works, 1626 to 1645, comprising a rare first edition of her book of secrets, all bound in contemporary vellum.
I am a scholar and a collector and find the book as object and its printing paratexts an essential aid in my research of early modern women writers.

Posted On: 2019-10-29 16:33
User Name: mairin

Posting for Bookseller, Mark Stirling, Nevada
___

As someone interested in "systems theory", I was drawn at once to
Dr Mulvihill's "Somerville" essay, announced on Exlibris-L, especially
Somerville's argument for a "connexion" among the sciences. This integrative
approach has captivated me for the last several years. The essay's images and
detailed caption notes are a portal to a more comprehensive appreciation of
many interesting subjects. And I like how Mulvihill contextualized her material,
by linking Somerville to earlier figures (Vermeer, Newton, Pepys) and also to Somerville's
contemporaries (JMW Turner, Humboldt, Darwin). The essay demonstrates new
approaches to thinking about many complex subjects. And, of course, beautifully designed,
with close attention to the physical properties and reception of this successful
early-19th-century science book.

Mark Stirling in Nevada
Up-Country Letters / www.upcole.com
____

Rare Book Monthly

  • Doyle, June 18: Stephen Sondheim's personalized Sweeney Todd asylum coat and jacket. $400 to $600.
    Doyle, June 18: Twelve Posters for Stephen Sondheim Musicals. $400 to $600.
    Doyle, June 18: Stephen Sondheim's Gold Record for the soundtrack to West Side Story. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Doyle, June 18: A manuscript musical quotation from Passion. The quotation headed "Tranquillo" above the music, the lyrics are also written out: "lov-ing you is not a choice, it's who I am..." 11 x 14 inches. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 18: Stephen Sondheim's retained set of The Sondheim Review. Comprising a complete run of Volume 1, Number 1 (Summer 1994) to Volume XXI, Number 4 (Fall 2015). $500 to $800.
    Doyle, June 18: Five amusing Victorian-era game boards, including Snakes and Ladders. $200 to $300.
    Doyle, June 18: A cased tabletop croquet set and two horse racing games. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 18: Four Posters Related to Various Sondheim Productions. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 18: The rare first American edition of The Phantom of the Opera. $100 to $200.
  • Sagen & Delås Auctions
    Towards the Poles: Accounts of Polar Exploration
    June 15, 2024
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: ROALD AMUNDSEN: PHOTO of «Fram» SIGNED by 17 members of the South Pole Expedition, Including Amundsen. €6,900 to €8,600.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: ROALD AMUNDSEN: «Sydpolen», 1912. IN PARTS. €1,280 to €2,150.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: JEAN-BAPTISTE CHARCOT: «Expédition Antarctique Francaise […] 1903-1905. », 1906. RARE, SIGNED. €2,100 to €3,400.
    Sagen & Delås Auctions
    Towards the Poles: Accounts of Polar Exploration
    June 15, 2024
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: FREDERICK A. COOK: «Through the first Antarctic Night 1898-1899. […]», 1900. First LIMITED & SIGNED edition. €2,100 to €3,400.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: JAPANESE ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION UNDER NOBU SHIRASE: «Watashi no Nankyoku Tanken-ki», 1942. Publisher's wrappers. €1,280 to €2,135.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: FRIDTJOF NANSEN: «Fram over Polhavet», 1897. LOT - 6 Variant bindings. €1,250 to €2,100.
    Sagen & Delås Auctions
    Towards the Poles: Accounts of Polar Exploration
    June 15, 2024
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: ABRAHAM ORTELIUS: «Septentrionalium Regionum Descrip», 1570. Beautiful handcoloured first state map. €2,950 to €3,800.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: SCOTTISH NATIONAL ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION: [W. S. BRUCE]: «Life in the Antarctic», 1907. 2 copies in wrappers. €85 to €250.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: ERNEST SHACKLETON: «The British Antarctic Expedition, 1907-9», 1909. Publisher's wrappers. €510 to €1,025.
    Sagen & Delås Auctions
    Towards the Poles: Accounts of Polar Exploration
    June 15, 2024
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: ERNEST SHACKLETON: «South», 1919. An attractive copy in publisher's cloth. €2,550 to €4,265.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION UNDER CHARLES WILKES (1838-1842): «Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition», 1845. €3,400 to €5,100.
    Sagen & Delås, June 15: HUBERT WILKINS: «Under the North Pole», 1931 | CONTRIBUTORS EDITION - LIMITED TO 29 COPIES. €1,280 to €2,550.
  • Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Auctions on June 19
    and June 20
    Dominic Winter, June 19: Lot 70 - Warner (Robert). The Orchid Album, 11 volumes, 1882-1897. £5,000 to £8,000
    Dominic Winter, June 19: Lot 151 - United States. Melish (John), Map of the United States with..., British & Spanish Possessions, 1816. £40,000 to £60,000
    Dominic Winter, June 19: Lot 159 - World. Speed (John), A New and Accurat Map of the World, 1676. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Auctions on June 19
    and June 20
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 503 - American Civil War playing cards. Union Cards, New York: American Card Co., 1862. £500 to £800
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 573 - Shepard (Ernest Howard), 'The Hour is Come’, original watercolour, [1959]. £10,000 to £15,000
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 922 - Wilde (Oscar). An Ideal Husband, large paper limited issue, 1899. £4,000 to £6,000
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Auctions on June 19
    and June 20
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 744 - Disney (Walt). “Sketch Book” [of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs], 1938. £700 to £1,000
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 771 - Auden (Wystan Hugh). Portrait of the head of W. H. Auden, 1970. £1,000 to £1,500
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 822 - Fleming (Ian). Goldfinger, 1st edition, signed by the author, 1959. £6,000 to £8,000
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Auctions on June 19
    and June 20
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 895 - Rowling (J. K.). A complete inscribed set of Harry Potter books plus ephemera. £8,000 to £12,0000
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 883 - Orwell (George). Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1st edition, London: Secker & Warburg, 1949. £3,000 to £5,000
    Dominic Winter, June 20: Lot 700 - Ashendene Press. T. Lucreti Cari De Rerium Natura Libri Sex, Chelsea: Ashendene Press, 1913. £4,000 to £6,000
  • Bid on iGavelAuctions.com: Heller, Joseph, Closing Time, Advance Readers Copy of Uncorrected Proof with a letter from Heller on his personal stationary
    Bid on iGavelAuctions.com: Gates, Bill, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, N Y: Knopf, 2021; first edition, with a handwritten note from Bill Gates
    Bid on iGavelAuctions.com: Heller, Joseph, Catch-22, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1961, first edition, first printing, first issue dust jacket, inscribed on the front end paper by Heller
    Bid on iGavelAuctions.com: Heller, Joseph, Something Happened, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1974, first edition, inscribed on the front end paper by Heller
    Bid on iGavelAuctions.com: Austen, Jane, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, London: John Murray, 1818, in four volumes
  • Doyle, June 20: CLAUDE MCKA. Home to Harlem. New York: Harpers, 1928. First edition. $700 to $1,000.
    Doyle, June 20: Haydn's VI Original Canzonettas, signed by the composer. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Doyle, June 20: A rare EP sleeve inscribed by John Lennon. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 20: An extremely rare 1961 concert set list and autograph letter from The King. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, June 20: Bryan Batt's copy of the Mad Men Yearbook, 2008-2014. $600 to $800.
    Doyle, June 20: An original Al Hirschfeld depicting comedian Fred Allen. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Doyle, June 20: A signed note from George Gershwin with reference to Porgy and Bess. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Doyle, June 20: An original Harold Arlen manuscript musical quotation from "Over the Rainbow.” $1,000 to $1,500.
    Doyle, June 20: A fine original Edith Head sketch for Grace Kelly's wedding trousseau. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, June 20: The poster for New Faces with inscriptions and the signature of Eartha Kitt. $200 to $300.
    Doyle, June 20: The classic "Jazz" Bowl by Viktor Schreckengost for Cowan Pottery. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, June 20: Tony Award Medallion won for "Kismet." $3,000 to $5,000.

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