Rare Book Monthly

Articles - November - 2015 Issue

Nov. 4 and 5: Heritage Auctions' Sale for Every Book Collector

Select items from Heritage Auctions' Rare Books Signature Auction

In what is shaping up to be a typically busy November for the industry, Heritage Auctions has taken a unique approach to making their November 4th and 5th sale dubbed Rare Books Signature Auction more accessible and convenient to collectors. While the approximately half of the auction will take place in a traditional format with a live sale that includes online and phone bidding, the second half of the sale will have no live or phone bidding, and will accept bids solely through mail, fax, internet, and Heritage’s own Heritage Live internet bidding service. Additionally, pre-sale internet bidding is currently available at this very minute online on their website. Another feature differentiating Heritage’s online offering are the sorting options for finding specific types of items, such as autographed or first edition copies, or perhaps both. This should reduce the amount of time required for potential bidders to determine whether or not there are items of interest contained within the 1,071 lot sale. A significant amount of information about the sale is provided on their website which provides interesting insight for potential bidders. At the time of this writing, the sale already boasts numbers of 998 internet and mail bidders, 11,317 tracked lots by interested parties, and over 31,000 page views.

The following are the ten most popular items of the sale based on the number of page views. Current bids are listed if present, but these will change:

  1. Lot 45024. Theodore Roosevelt. The Winning of the West. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons/Knickerbocker Press, 1900. Daniel Boone edition, one of 200 numbered copies (this being copy 22) with an original leaf of manuscript in volume I. Estimated $6,000+. Current bid $3,400.
  2. Lot 45318. Ian Fleming [James Bond]. Casino Royale. London: Jonathan Cape, [1953]. First edition, first printing in first issue dust jacket with prices intact, one of an estimated 3,000 copies printed. Estimated $25,000+. Opening bid $12,500.
  3. Lot 45216. [Salvador Dali, illustrator]. Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. New York: Maecenas Press and Random House, 1969. One of 200 Deluxe copies on Rives paper, out of a total edition of 2,500 (this being copy number "LXXIV."). With original color etching and title page signed in pencil by Dali. Estimated $7,500+. Current bid $5,200.
  4. Lot 45044. Jeremy Bentham. Chrestomathia: Being a Collection of Papers, Explanatory of the Design of an Institution, Proposed to be Set on Foot, under the Name of the Chrestomathic Day School, or Chrestomathic School, for the Extension of the New System of Instruction to the Higher Branches of Learning, for the Use of the Middling and Higher Ranks in Life. London: Printed for Messrs. Payne and Foss...And R. Hunter...By J. M'Creery..., 1816. [Together with his:] Chrestomathia; Part II. Containing Appendix, No. V. Being an Essay on Nomenclature and Classification: Including a Critical Examination of the Encyclopedical Table of Lord Bacon, as Improved by D'Alembert; and the First Lines of A New One...London: Printed for Messrs. Payne and Foss...And R. Hunter, Successor to Mr. Johnson..., 1817. First published edition of both parts of Bentham's principal work on education, in which he ambitiously proposes extending suitable secondary education to the "middling classes" (the first part printed and distributed privately in 1815). Presentation copy, Volume I inscribed in ink at head of title: "To Sir Francis Burdett / from the Author." Estimated $15,000+. Opening bid $7,500.
  5. Lot 45171. Andreas Vesalius. De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem. Basel: Johannes Oporinus, June [August] 1543. First edition. "By this epoch-making work Vesalius, the 'Father of Modern Anatomy,' prepared the way for the rebirth of physiology by Harvey. More important still, he undermined the widespread reverence for authority in science and prepared the way for independent observation in anatomy and clinical medicine. The publication of this book was the greatest event in medical history since the works of Galen." - Garrison-Morton, 375. Estimated $30,000+. Current bid $15,000.
  6. Lot 45451. Henry D[avid] Thoreau. Walden; or, Life in the Woods. Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854. First edition. Estimated $6,000+. Current bid $3,000.
  7. Lot 45046. Sir Winston S. Churchill. The Centenary Limited Edition of The Collected Works of Sir Winston Churchill. [and:] The Collected Essays of Sir Winston Churchill. [London]: Library of Imperial History, [1973, 1976]. Centenary Limited Edition. Thirty-nine large octavo volumes (one of which is a duplicate copy of Volume XIII), each individually housed in a matching green gilt-stamped slipcase with the Churchill coat of arms on one side. Illustrated throughout. One of a total edition of 3,000 sets. Estimated $5,000+. Current bid $2,500.
  8. Lot 45290. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes. In The All-Story Magazine. New York: The Frank A. Munsey, Company, October, 1912. The first appearance in print of the first Tarzan novel, complete in this rare issue. Estimated $15,000+. Opening bid $7,500.
  9. Lot 45060. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In Two Volumes. London: Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell, 1776. First edition of "the first and greatest classic of modern economic thought" (Printing and the Mind of Man). Estimated $75,000+. Opening bid $37,500.
  10. Lot 45019. Col. Thomas L. McKenney & James Hall. History of the Indian Tribes of North America, With Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of the Principal Chiefs. Embellished with One Hundred and Twenty Portraits. Philadelphia: D. Rice & A.N. Hart, 1855, 1858. Estimated $10,000+. Opening bid $5,000.

As you can see from this list of items, the focus of the material is widely varied in every way possible—subject, date and locale printed, price. With over 1,000 items up for auction, it’s likely every book collector will find something piquing their interest.

Rare Books Signature Auction takes place November 4th at 2 p.m. Eastern Time with live bidding at the Waldorf Astoria, located at 301 Park Avenue, Metropolitan Suite, 18th Floor in New York, New York. A full preview of the sale is available at the same location November 2nd through the 4th. The second session with no floor or phone bidding will follow the next day, November 5th at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The online catalog with all lots is available here. If you plan on bidding at the auction in one form or another, please register at Heritage Auction’s home page for the auction. Full details of the sale are also available from that page.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • 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
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000

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