Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2012 Issue

Books with Important Provenance from the William Reese Company

Provenance from the William Reese Company.

The William Reese Company has released their Bulletin 24: Provenance. Provenance refers to a book's history, not the book in general, but the specific copy. Primarily, it traces who has owned the book since it began its journey off the press. For most books, provenance is unknown, and probably wouldn't make much difference if it was. For a few books, however, particularly important ones, it can be traced. If the provenance is significant, the previous owners important, it can make a book more valuable, particularly if that owner's signature, or at least a bookplate, can be found. Occasionally, the one-time owner may have a particular connection to the book, in which case the provenance can add even further to its value.

Reese notes that there are two categories of provenance to be found in this collection. One is that of persons who lived contemporaneously with the publication of the book, perhaps presented the copy or were the recipients of a presentation. The other relates to the collectors who owned it, not people connected to its publication, but great collectors who once possessed the book. Reese specializes in Americana, the field of many of these books, and herein you find the past ownership of major names, presidents and other great American leaders, and notable collectors such as Streeter, Brinley, Siebert, and Estelle Doheny. Here, then, are a few of these books, including their provenance.

Item 7 is a copy of The History and Practice of Aerostation, a 1785 book by Tiberius Cavallo, and its provenance includes two notable names. This is an account of early aeronautical studies, including the earliest balloon flights. It is no surprise that this book would have been of great interest to Benjamin Franklin, the great scientist, American diplomat, printer, and anything else he chose to be. He served as American ambassador to France during the American Revolution and early days of independence, and while there made the acquaintance of Pierre Samuel DuPont. DuPont held several posts under Louis XVI, and participated in the negotiations for the Treaty of Paris, whereby England officially recognized America's independence. Though serving under the King, DuPont was an economic liberal, writer of the book Physiocracy, which attributed national wealth to agricultural labor. It was at this time that Franklin inscribed this book to Dupont, “To Mr. DuPont de Nemours from his obliged and obedt. Servt. B. Franklin.” Much of the material in this book covers the first balloon flights by the Montgolfier Brothers in France that Franklin witnessed. A few years later, DuPont would go on to be an initial supporter of the French Revolution, but like so many others, he would get caught up in its excesses and be condemned to the guillotine. Fortunately, Robespierre would meet his fate before DuPont met his, the latter being spared. However, when his family was caught up in later rioting, they moved to the United States. DuPont became friendly with Thomas Jefferson, and served as an informal diplomat during the era of Napoleon and a supporter of the Louisiana Purchase. In 1799, he inscribed and gave this book to a cousin in Carolina as a souvenir of “BonHomme Richard.” While Pierre Samuel may not be that well known today, his last name, DuPont, is quite familiar. It was his son who founded the DuPont chemical company, one of America's largest companies today. Priced at $55,000.

Item 1 ties two of America's early presidents together with one book. The title is The Duplicate Letters, the Fisheries and the Mississippi, Documents Relating to Transactions at the Negotiation in Ghent. It was a gift from future President John Quincy Adams to past President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson and Adams' father, John Adams, had been major rivals while each served as president, but by the time this book was produced, in 1822, they had long since buried the hatchet. The younger Adams had served as a diplomat under Jefferson's successor, James Madison, and had been called back from his post in Russia to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, the subject of this book. That was the treaty which ended the War of 1812, the last physical dispute between England and her former colonies. After receiving this gift, Jefferson wrote back to Adams expressing both his thanks and praise for the book. $65,000.

Item 32 is a Discourse, Delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1820, in Commemoration of the First Settlement of New England, and like the previous item, it too connects first and second generation American leaders. The speaker was Daniel Webster, recently elected a Congressman from Massachusetts, though already a former Congressman from New Hampshire and well-regarded lawyer. Webster would go on to be one of the giants of the senate, one of the great if not the greatest orator of his era. This speech honored the pilgrims, but even more those who participated in the American Revolution. One of those singled out for praise was John Adams. The 85-year-old Adams would read the speech and write Webster an emotional letter of praise and thanks. This copy of the speech was inscribed by Webster to Ward Boylston, a cousin of John Adams. $62,500.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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
  • 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.

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions