Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2018 Issue

July 10 & 11 at Forum Auctions: The Rothamsted Collection: Rarities from the Lawes Agricultural Library

Editor's note: Rupert Powell, the International Head of Books at Forum Auctions, has been part of the book world since 1985 (longer than I've been alive). After a long career at Bloomsbury, he has been with Forum since its founding in 2016. He provides below a far more in-depth and expert preview of an upcoming sale than I ever could.

Tom McKinney

 

Since it was announced in late April, there has been a growing buzz around the book world regarding the now-imminent auction of one of the world’s finest institutional holdings of agricultural books, The Rothamsted Collection. Over 3400 volumes have been divided into 815 lots and the sale takes place in three sessions over 2 days (July 10 and 11). The door-stop catalogue is arranged chronologically with a handy index to assist with cross-referencing the numerous works on offer by the same author. 

The printed books from the library, which date from 1471-1840, are therefore preceded by 3 fine medieval manuscripts – a near-complete copy of Walter of Henley’s Hosbondrye written in Anglo-Norman and dating to the early 14thcentury (lot 1, est. £10,000-15,000) and two early 15th century manuscripts of Palladius – along with Cato, Varro and Columella, one of the four great Roman writers on agriculture – one in Latin (lot 2, est. £10,000-15,000) and the other in Italian vernacular (lot 3, est. £8,000-12,000). 

The first printed book on agriculture, the 1471 edition of Crescentiis’ Ruralia commoda, is offered as lot 4, here in a splendid copy previously owned by the Marquis d’Adda, a great Italian collector, and subsequently by Charles Fairfax Murray, whose magnificent library was sold at auction in 1917. This copy was acquired for Rothamsted by director Sir John Russell, the driving force behind the creation of the Lawes Library, in 1923 and now carries an estimate of £60,000-80,000.

There are some 20 other editions of Crescentiis’ work on offer, six of which are incunables, including the first edition printed in Italy (lot 6, est. £8,000-12,000) and the first illustrated edition, printed by Peter Drach in Speyer c.1490-95, with over 300 woodcuts and some of these coloured by a contemporary hand (lot 13, est. £20,000-30,000).

The provenance of many of the Rothamsted books is often of great significance – several books were previously owned by Richard Schwerdt, the great collector and bibliographer of works relating to Hunting and other rural pursuits; and others by André Simon, the equally revered collector and bibliographer of books on food and drink.

As well as the incunables and other early printed continental books, the collection is particularly rich in English 16th and 17th century works. A few of these are unique examples (i.e. the Rothamsted copy being the only one known); many are known in a handful of institutional copies only; and many more appear only very infrequently on the open market.  By way of example, lot 38 is a copy of the first book on farming printed in England, John Fitzherbert’s The Boke of Husbandry, c.1534. But not only is this seemingly the only copy known, it also bears the ownership signature of William Lambarde, the author of the first work of British topography (Perambulation of Kent, 1576) and, significantly, an early translator into English of Walter of Henley. The copy is estimated to fetch £4,000-6,000. 

Other notable early English works include Mascall’s A Booke of the Art and Maner, how to Graffe all sortes of Trees, first edition, 1569 (lot 100, est. £4,000-6,000); Thomas Tusser’s Five Hundreth Points of Good Husbandry, 1573 (lot 111, est. £2,000-3,000); Reginald Scot’s A Perfite Platforme of a Hoppe Garden, 1576 (lot 118, est. £4,000-6,000); Heresbach’s Foure Bookes of Husbandry, 1577 (lot 126, est. £1,500-2,000); and Thomas Hill’s The Gardeners Labyrinth, 1586 (lot 144, est. £4,000-6,000).

There are two important early works relating to food which catch the eye – lot 133 is Monardes’ Joyfull Newes out of the Newfound World, 1580, a rare work of American significance with mention of Christopher Columbus in the opening sentence and descriptions of the cultivation of rhubarb and ginger (as well as tobacco, quinine and cassava), estimated at £10,000-15,000; and the following lot entitled Here beginneth the Booke, named the Assise of Breade, c.1580, the only recorded copy, which bears an estimate of £6,000-8,000.

One of the most curious works is Leonard Digges’ A Prognostication everlasting of Righte Good Effecte…to Judge the Weather by the Sunne, Moone, Starres…, 1576. This legendary rarity is highly important because it contains the first translation into a vernacular language of the ground-breaking cosmological section of Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium. Only three copies are recorded in institutional libraries and although the Rothamsted copy lacks the folding plate, it is still estimated to make £15,000-20,000.

There are several other books in the sale which can lay claim to be the “first” in a particular field or genre: Pena and l’Obel’s Stirpium adversaria nova, 1571 (lot 104, est. £800-1,200) contains the first published illustration of the tobacco plant (and another illustration of a man’s head smoking a long pipe); lot 313 comprises four separate works bound together in one volume and includes Forster’s England’s Happiness Increased…, the first book devoted exclusively to potatoes (est. £3,000-4,000); also featured are the first agricultural bibliography (lot 127); the first bibliography of hunting (lot 510); the first known illustration of a specially adapted case for transporting cut flowers (lot 315); the first gardening book for Scottish gardeners, sometimes also regarded as the first Scottish cookery book as the second part includes recommendations of seasonal dishes and drinks (lot 368); and lot 464, which includes the first detailed description in English of wine-making in the Champagne region of France.

The full catalogue is available online at www.forumauctions.co.uk, where you will also find images (often multiple) of every lot, plus information regarding extended viewing times in their Battersea offices as well as The Westbury Hotel in Mayfair (where the sale itself takes place), registration, bidding etc.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 546. Christoph Jacob Trew. Plantae selectae, 1750-1773.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 70. Thomas Murner. Die Narren beschwerung. 1558.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 621. Michael Bernhard Valentini. Museum Museorum, 1714.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 545. Sander Reichenbachia. Orchids illustrated and described, 1888-1894.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1018. Marinetti, Boccioni, Pratella Futurism - Comprehensive collection of 35 Futurist manifestos, some of them exceptionally rare. 1909-1933.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 634. August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof. 3 Original Drawings, around 1740.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 671. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1260. Mary Webb. Sarn. 1948. Lucie Weill Art Deco Binding.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 508. Felix Bonfils. 108 large-format photographs of Syria and Palestine.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 967. Dante Aligheri and Salvador Dali. Divina Commedia, 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1316. Tolouse-Lautrec. Dessinateur. Duhayon binding, 1948.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1303. Regards sur Paris. Braque, Picasso, Masson, 1962.
  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: McCarthy (Cormac). Cities of the Plain, N.Y., 1998, First Edn., signed on hf. title; together with Uncorrected Proof and Uncorrected Advance Reading Copies, both signed by the Author. €800 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Stanihurst (Richard). De Rebus in Hibernia Gestis, Libri Quattuor, sm. 4to Antwerp (Christi. Plantium) 1584. First Edn. €525 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Fleischer (Nat.) Jack Dempsey The Idol of Fistiana, An Intimate Narrative, N.Y., 1929, First Edn. Signed on f.e.p. by Rocky Marciano. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Smith - Classical Atlas, Lond., 1820. Bound with, Smiths New General Atlas .. Principal Empires, Kingdoms, & States throughout the World, Lond. 1822. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Rare Auction Catalogues – 1856: Bindon Blood, of Ennis, Co. Clare: Sotheby & Wilkinson. €320 to €450.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Mavor (Wm.)] A General Collection of Voyages and Travels from the Discovery of America to the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century, 28 vols. (complete) Lond., 1810. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Mc Carthy (Cormac). Outer Dark, N.Y. (Random House)1968, Signed by Mc Carthy. €250 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Three signed works by Ted Huges - Wodwo, 1967; Crow from the Life and Songs of the Crow, 1970; and Tales from Ovid, 1997. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: The Garden. An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture in all its Branches, 7 vols. lg. 4to Lond. 1877-1880. With 127 colored plates. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Procter (Richard A.) Saturn and its System: Containing Discussions of The Motion (Real and Apparent)…, Lond. 1865. First Edn. €160 to €220.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Ashe] St. George, Lord Bishop of Clogher, A Sermon Preached to the Protestants of Ireland, now in London,... Oct. 23, 1712, London 1712. Second Edn. €130 to €180.
  • 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
  • Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Piccolomini's De La Sfera del Mondo (The Sphere of the World), 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Vellutello's Commentary on Petrarch, With Map, 1525.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Finely Bound Definitive, Illustrated Edition of I Promessi Sposi, 1840.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Rare First Edition of John Milton's Latin Correspondence, 1674.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Giolito's Edition of Boccaccio's The Decamerone, with Bedford Binding, 1542.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of the First Biography of Marie of the Incarnation, with Rare Portrait, 1677.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Aldine Edition of Volume One of Cicero's Orationes, 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Bonanni's Illustrated Costume Catalogue, with Complete Plates, 1711.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Important Incunable, the First Italian Edition of Josephus's De Bello Judaico, 1480.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Jacques Philippe d'Orville's Illustrated Book of the Ruins of Sicily, 1764.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Incunable from 1487, The Contemplative Life, with Early Manuscript.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Ignatius of Loyola's Exercitia Spiritualia, 1563.

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