Printed & Manuscript Americana: <br>An Interesting Auction at Swann on December 4th.
- by Bruce E. McKinney
The Swann sale is very strong in interesting Americana.
By Bruce McKinney
On Thursday December 4th Swann Galleries in New
York, in two sessions, is offering 511 lots of
printed and manuscript Americana.For Americana
collectors there is a great deal of worthwhile material to consider.Marquee items include Samuel Colt’s copy of McKenny & Hall,
the first appearance of the Book of
Mormon and a private collection of American
almanacs.There is enough important
material that a 1524 Cortes PraeclaraFernandi, printed in Nuremberg
in 1524, is not listed among the most important items.On the auction catalogue cover is a Lincoln
assassination broadside dated April
20, 1865, offering a $100,000 reward for the murderer of the late
President.Described as “America’s
most famous reward poster issued only days after the assassination,” it is
estimated at $15,000 to $25,000.This is
an important sale.For Americana
collectors of all descriptions there is a wide variety of less expensive
material as well. Here are some representative
items.
This is the suppressed critique of New Yorkers, Gotham and the Gothamites;
a Medley.And the description reads
on, “This was suppressed and the author and publisher... both imprisoned and
fined.It is a satire on the New
Yorkers.”The date is 1823 and the
estimate $500 to $750.Does nothing
change?
There are ten Mormon lots whose aggregate high estimate is
$164,350.There is the aforementioned
first appearance of the Book of Mormon in the upstate New
York newspaper, The
Reflector of Palmyra dated January 2, 1830.On December 4th it will be offered
with an estimate of $50,000 to $75,000.There is also a copy of the first edition, in book form, of the Book of
Mormon.It is estimated $50,000 to
$70,000.
And then there are American
almanacs from the 18th and 19th centuries.In the sale they comprise lots 445 to 511 and
include, in total, 903 copies.For those
with an interest in very local material these lots represent an unusual
opportunity to obtain, in some cases, large lots of relatively obscure
material.The estimates are modest but
this is desirable material that will go higher with complete justification.
Supporters of OhioState will be interested in lot
280, Journal of the Proceedings of the
Convention...[concerning] the admission of Michigan into the Union.Columbus
history students may want to acquire this material to search for defects in the
process by which their football rivals gained admission to the Union.If you can’t beat ‘em on the football field beat ‘em
in court.
Students of Spanish and residents of Mexico
will be interested in a bound volume containing 179 royal decrees, including broadsides issued in Mexico between 1811 and 1813.This is described as “an impressive
collection of Mexican government documents” issued during the movement for
independence.It is estimated $5,000 to
$7,000.
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.")
