Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2003 Issue
Sold! Auctions Review
Title page of Venegas’ Noticia de la California, Zamorano #78
Another French voyage that showed some advance on its price was lot #49, La Pérouse’s Voyage, estimated at $15,000-30,000 and selling for $17,250. In 1994, the Clifford copy, which was uncut with matching original boards even on the atlas volume, was knocked down for $11,500. Finally, lot #77, estimated at $20,000-30,000, was George Vancouver’s A Voyage of Discovery. It sold for $25,300, whereas the Clifford copy brought only $11,500 for a copy that seems to have been in comparable condition. What collecting lesson one derives from this is unclear, except for the suggestion that in the auction room uncut copies in original boards might not be the best investment.
Material in Spanish by native Mexicans or Californians met with a reception that seems somewhat undeserved in light of the historical significance of much of it. Although some of the prices were substantial, they were in some cases also stagnant. Lot #15, estimated at $15,000-30,000, was Carlos Antonio Carrillo’s Exposición, the first book about California by a native Californian. It was knocked down for $17,250, which was exactly what this very copy sold for in the Clifford sale. Lot #22, estimated at $40,000-80,000, was Miguel Costansó’s Diario histórico, which sold for $46,000. This is the same copy that fetched $34,500 in the Clifford sale. Gaspar de Portoló’s Estracto de noticias, here in lot #35, with an estimate of $45,000-90,000, was bought in, although it was a fine copy. The Clifford copy fetched $13,800. José Figueroa’s Manifiesto, here in lot 37, with an estimate of $30,000-50,000, was the first book printed in California. This copy had a long string of distinguished provenances, as well. It sold for $34,500, which was exactly the price of the Clifford copy, which had Agustín Zamorano’s signature affixed. A stronger performance was realized by lot #59, estimated at $4,000-8000: Francisco Palóu’s Relacíon histórica, sold for $7475, more than triple the $2300 fetched by the Clifford copy. Finally, lot #78, estimated at $5000-10,000, was Miguel Venegas’ Noticia de California, which sold for $12,650, more than four times the $2760 price paid for the Clifford copy.
Because this sale contained many major works by any number of definitions, several of the lots were probably watched closely just to see what prices would be realized by them. The rarest book in the sale, the so-called Yellow Bird, was lot #64, John Ridge’s The Life and Adventures of Joaquin Murieta, estimated at $75,000-$150,000. This was the Clifford copy, which sold for $69,000 in 1994 on an estimate of $60,000-75,000. At this sale, it brought $86,250, which is something of an advance for a book that is necessary to anyone completing The Zamorano 80. This is apparently the only obtainable copy, but the price seems to indicate a lack of competition for it. What might have been the highest priced book in the sale, lot #62, realized $143,750 on an estimate of $125,000-250,000. This copy of the Reglamento was probably the most historically significant item in the sale and was the priciest item in the Clifford sale at $97,750. It did not, however, achieve the heights reached by lot #41. With an estimate of $50,000-100,000, Lansford Hastings’ The Emigrant’s Guide was certainly a substantial book. It was probably a surprise to the entire room, however, when it was knocked down for $149,500, ten times the $14,950 it realized in 1994, thereby achieving the largest jump in auction value of any book in the sale. The sale ended on another notable surprise with lot #79, F. P. Wierzbicki’s California As It Is, estimated at $40,000-80,000, which went for $46,000, about double its $27,600 price at the Clifford sale, and which probably set a record for a modern book by a Polish author.
