H.P. Kraus Reference Library<br>At Auction This Month
- by Michael Stillman
Page from Item 44 by Guglielmo Libri. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.
Under “bookbinding,” there are many combined lots, grouped either by country or personality. For example, Lot 25 includes nine items pertaining to Jean Grolier, including a few published by his namesake Grolier Club. Estimated price is $500-$700. Lot 44 is an interesting work by Guglielmo Libri. Libri’s work contains 60 plates of bindings of books that the not-too-honest author evidently stole from various French libraries. $1,000-1,500. Collector’s of Thomas J. Wise may be interested
There are many wonderful resources in American bibliography available. For example, lot 62 is a collection of 14 references on American Indians. Included are bibliographies from Field, Pilling, two of Indian captivities, and the Ayer collection. $600-$800. Lot 95 is Clarence Brigham’s History and Bibliography of American Newspapers 1690-1820, published by the American Antiquarian Society in 1947, along with three other related titles. $400-$600. Lots 102 and 103 are each 13-item collections of various state bibliographies.
For subscribers to the Americana Exchange Database (ÆD), there is an opportunity to pick up printed copies of several of the important bibliographies contained within that database. Lot 100 is Joseph Sabin and Wilberforce Eames’ Dictionary of Books Relating to America, signed by Eames. $1,000-$1,500. Lot 76 is Charles Evans’ American Bibliography. $1,000-$1,500. Lot 82 contains 27 volumes of the rare American Imprints Inventory. Published during the Depression at the behest of the WPA (1937-1942), these contain bibliographies of various states. The project was discontinued after Pearl Harbor as even bibliographers went off to war. $2,000-$3,000.
Other ÆD items include The Celebrated Collection of Americana formed by the late Thomas Winthrop Streeter (and two other items) - $800-$1,200; numerous Edward Eberstadt catalogues along with many others pertaining to western Americana - $400-$600, and the aforementioned Field and Pilling bibliographies.
The heading of “Cartography Reference” finds many items for those with an interest in maps. For example, lot 131 presents 47 separate pieces published by the Hakluyt Society. $2,000-$3,000. The category of Manuscript Reference rounds out the first session on Tuesday morning.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
