AT : How much of your collection is represented in this exhibit?
WHH: There are 183 or so items on display in this exhibit; my personal collection on the subject of quackery consists of thousands of pieces.
AT: I see from the press kit that your career was in the pharmaceutical industry. Can you elaborate more on your background?
WHH: Yes, you’ve done your homework. I was in the pharmaceutical industry at Merck for many years.
AT: Did your work in any way inspire or influence your collecting choices? Or in other words, how did your collection get started?
WHH: Yes, I guess it did. My collection began in the 1950s. What inspired it is that I went to the Barnes Collection and got the idea to start to buy prints. One day I found a print from a British book dealer with a pharmaceutical subject for five pounds. I bought it and decided to continue buying on that theme. I just wanted to find a focus, otherwise your collection is all over the place. Then in addition to prints I began to buy advertising material and ephemera and books and pamphlets.
AT: Five pounds: that’s quite a deal. Did the fact that the price was so inexpensive influence the direction of your collection?
WHH: Well, when I first started collecting, prices overall were relatively affordable, especially if you weren’t going after the top 100 American books or something like that. Everything was cheaper to collect in the 1950s. I got into my area or niche because I was interested in it and it was inexpensive. It’s more fun to collect that way as well. You need to find an angle where you can afford it, and a subject that you can see importance and value in.
AT: What’s the state of your collection today? Are you still adding to it?
Rare Book Monthly
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Australian Book Auctions
Books, Maps, Modern Literature
May 14 (US) / May 15 (Australia)Australian Book Auctions, May 14/15: ORWELL, George. ANIMAL FARM. London, Secker & Warburg, 1945. $8,000 to $12,000 AUD.Australian Book Auctions, May 14/15: MILNE, A.A. THE HOUSE AT POOH CORNER With decorations by Ernest H. Shepard. London, Methuen, 1928. Deluxe limited edition. $3,000 to $4,000 AUD.Australian Book Auctions, May 14/15: TWAIN, Mark. THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade). New York, 1885. $1,000 to $1,500 AUD.Australian Book Auctions
Books, Maps, Modern Literature
May 14 (US) / May 15 (Australia)Australian Book Auctions, May 14/15: RAND, Ayn. ATLAS SHRUGGED. Random House, New York, 1957. First edition. $800 to $1,200 AUD.Australian Book Auctions, May 14/15: [BAUM, L. Frank]. PICTURES FROM THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ By W.W. Denslow… Chicago, [1903]. $400 to $800 AUD.Australian Book Auctions, May 14/15: HELLER, Joseph. CATCH-22. London, Jonathan Cape, 1962. $400 to $600 AUD. -
Gonnelli
Auction 51
Antique prints, paintings and maps
May 14st 2024Gonnelli: Leonard Bramer, The descent from the cross, 1634. Starting price 3200€Gonnelli: Gustav Hjalmar de Morner Karel, Rome’s Carnival, 1820. Starting price 1000€Gonnelli: Various Authors, Mater Dolorosa, 1700. Starting price 200€Gonnelli: Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Carcere Oscura, 1790. Starting price 180€Gonnelli: Jan Brueghel, Marine fauna view, 1620 ca. Starting price 28000€Gonnelli: Ippolito Scarsella, Mary and Christ with Sant Rocco and Arch-Angel Michele,1615. Starting price 8000€Gonnelli: Hans Sebald Beham, Adam and Eve, 1543. Starting price 600€Gonnelli: Francesco Burani, Baccanale, 1630. Starting Price 280€Gonnelli: Giuseppe Maria Mitelli, Plance from Ventiquattr’ore, 1675. Starting price 800€Gonnelli: Giuseppe Angeli, Livorno’s Plan, 1793. Starting price 240€Gonnelli: XIV Century Artist, Capital “N” letter, 1350 ca. Starting price 340€ -
Sotheby’s
Modern First Editions
Available for Immediate PurchaseSotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USDSotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USDSotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USDSotheby’s
Modern First Editions
Available for Immediate PurchaseSotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USDSotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USDSotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD