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Christies: Valuable Books and Manuscripts

Auction Reports

Auction Name Valuable Books and Manuscripts Total Sales (GBP) 4,632,750.00
Auction Date December 13, 2017 - December 13, 2017 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 2,246,800.00
Sale Number #14301 High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 3,397,700.00
Total Lots 243
Sold Lots 174 Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 3,653,800.00
% of Lots Sold 71.60% High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 5,475,900.00
Unsold Lots 69 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 84.60%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
211 DARWIN, Charles Robert (1809-1882)

On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.

 1861 GBP 300,000.00 - 500,000.00 GBP 788,750.00
22

THE RIPLEY SCROLL, an illustrated alchemical manuscript, in English and Latin, on vellum, England

 1624 GBP 200,000.00 - 300,000.00 GBP 584,750.00
50

The literary and personal archive of Brendan Behan (1923-1964).

 GBP 180,000.00 - 250,000.00 GBP 200,000.00
51 [LESSING, Doris (1919-2013)]

NOBEL PRIZE MEDAL. Nobel Prize Medal in Literature awarded to Doris Lessing in 2007.

 2007 GBP 150,000.00 - 250,000.00 GBP 187,500.00
89 PACIOLI, Luca (c.1445-1514)

Divina proportione. Ed. Antonio Capella. De l'architectura.

1509 GBP 50,000.00 - 80,000.00 GBP 175,000.00
102 COWLEY, John (fl. 1730-40)

AN EARLY ENGLISH GLASS CELESTIAL GLOBE [with:] a 3 page sales catalogue in Portuguese and English Esphera Celeste Descripçã d’esta preciosa obra d’arte do seculo XVIII Existente em Portugal.

1888 GBP 100,000.00 - 150,000.00 GBP 162,500.00
45 LISZT, Franz (1811-1886)

Autograph music manuscript, a complete draft of the orchestral and choral score for Gaudeamus igitur - Humoreske (LWV L11; R541; S.71),

 c.1869. GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 GBP 112,500.00
186 DUBOIS DE MONTPEREUX, Frédéric (1798-1850)

Voyage autour du Caucase, chez les Tcherkesses et les Abkhases, en Colchide, en Géorgie, en Arménie et en Crimée.

 1839-1843. GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 GBP 112,500.00
103 [HEATHER, William (fl.1765-1812)

The Marine Atlas or Seaman's Complete Pilot.

1796-1805. GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 110,000.00
190 PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799-1837)

Ruslan i Liudmila. Poema v shesti pesniakh. [Ruslan and Liudmila. A Poem in Six Cantos.]

1820 GBP 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 GBP 93,750.00
42 [DICKENS, Charles (1812-1870)]

A William IV mahogany library table by M. Wilson

[c. 1835]. GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 GBP 65,000.00
104 SMITH, William (1769-1830)

A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales, with part of Scotland.

1815, 1816 GBP 50,000.00 - 80,000.00 GBP 62,500.00
191 PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799-1837)

Stikhotvoreniia. [Poems.]

1826 GBP 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 GBP 60,000.00
13

BOOK OF HOURS, use of Rome, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum

 c.1460s. GBP 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 GBP 56,250.00
222 LEVAILLANT, François (1753-1824)

Histoire naturelle des perroquets.

1801-1805. GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 GBP 52,500.00
85 MANDEVILLE, Jean de (14th century)

Itinerarius.

 1483-1484. GBP 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 GBP 47,500.00
91 PFINTZING, Melchior (1481-1535)

Die geuerlicheiten und einsteils der geschichten des loblichen streytparen und hochberumbton helds und Ritters herz Tewrdannckhs.

1517 GBP 40,000.00 - 60,000.00 GBP 47,500.00
208 COOK, Captain James (1728-1779) John HAWKESWORTH (?1715-1779) COOK and James KING (c.1750-1784)

Three Voyages, comprising: [FIRST VOYAGE] An Account of the Voyages Undertaken ... for Making Discoveries in the Southern Hemisphere. [SECOND VOYAGE] A Voyage towards the South Pole, and round the World. [THIRD VOYAGE] A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean …

 1773, 1777, 1784 GBP 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 GBP 43,750.00
198 PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799-1837)

Nevskii al’manakh na 1828 god. [The Nevskii Almanac for the year 1828.]

1827 GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 GBP 42,500.00
166 POLITIANUS, Angelo Ambrogini (1454-1494)

Miscellaneorum centuria prima.

 1489 GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 40,000.00
49 EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)

Autograph letter signed ('A. Einstein') to Hermann Müntz, n.p.

 1929 GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 GBP 35,000.00
188 MUSSORGSKY, Modest Petrovich (1839-1881)

Autograph letter signed (‘M. Musorgsky‘) to [Maria Fedorova, Pavel and Sergei Naumov: ‘Dear Auntie of mine, Papchen and Sergushok’], ‘Near the Dnieper Estuary (Bul-Ingul)'

 1879 GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 GBP 35,000.00
223 NAPIER, John (1550-1617)

Rabdologiae, seu numerationis per virgulas libri duo.

 1617 GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 GBP 35,000.00
124 CORTÉS, Martin (1510-1582)

Breve compendio de la sphere y de la arte de navegar con nuevos instrumentos y reglas exemplificado con muy subtiles demonstraciones.

1551 GBP 5,000.00 - 8,000.00 GBP 32,500.00
127 DARWIN, Charles Robert (1809-1882) and Alfred Russel WALLACE (1823-1913)

'On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties.' Extract from: Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9.

 1858 GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 GBP 30,000.00
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Doyle, May 1: Thomas Jefferson expresses fears of "a war of extermination" in Saint-Dominigue. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An exceptional presentation copy of Fitzgerald's last book, in the first issue dust jacket. $25,000 to $35,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The rare first signed edition of Dorian Gray. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Van Dyck's Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The magnificent Cranach Hamlet in the deluxe binding by Dõrfner. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, May 1: A remarkable unpublished manuscript of a voyage to South America in 1759-1764. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Bouchette's monumental and rare wall map of Lower Canada. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An rare original 1837 abolitionist woodblock. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An important manuscript breviary in Middle Dutch. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An extraordinary Old Testament manuscript, circa 1250. $20,000 to $30,000.
  • 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.
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