Let the Bunting unfurl in April: an auction for charity
- by Bruce E. McKinney
F Scott Fitzgerald, shocking
Catherine Williamson, no relation, of Bonhams has provided a list of appealing items. She assures the entire catalogue will repay a reading.
lot 521
Autograph Letter Signed of Marilyn Monroe, 8 pp, September 14, 1942, to her stepmother, giving detailed descriptions of her wedding gifts, her new apartment, and married life; and also asking about the man she believed was her natural father. $25,000/35,000
This is the letter that Charles Williamson always referred to as the best thing in his collection, and the best Marilyn Monroe letter ever. He picked it up in the late 1980s or early 1990s at the Antique Show at the Armory in NYC from a furniture dealer who didn't really know what he had. The mylar sleeve still has a sticker from the armory on it.
lot 49
ALS of F. Scott Fitzgerald to actress Ina Claire, [c.1927], inviting her to dinner at his Delaware mansion, with the promise of more. The next lot is an ALS of Fitzgerald to Claire apologizing for his boorish behavior the night before. $1500/2000 each
lot 55
Typed Manuscript Signed of Maxim Gorky, 2 pp, 1912, commenting on the effects of the 1907 Anglo-Russian treaty dividing conrol of Iran: "The conduct of Russian troops in Persia is serving to strengthen the spread of ORthodox Pan-Islamism...." $1,200/1,800
lot 97
Typed Letter Signed of Margaret Mitchell, 1 p, 1937, to George Cukor, the original director of Gone With the Wind, apologizing for having missed Talullah Bankhead's recent stage performance in Atlanta, but her MacMillan editor had thrown her a party to celebrate her Pulitzer Prize. $1500/2000
189
Autograph Letter Signed of Paul Gauguin, 2 pp, 1902, complaining about the incompetence of the colonial administration in Tahiti. $10,000/15,000
283
Autograph Letter Signed of Giuseppe Verdi, 1 p, 1853, refering to the disastrous premiere of La Traviata at the Teatro la Fenice in March of that year. $1,500/2,000
317
Autograph Manuscript Signed of Ronald Reagan, 7 pp, c.1960, proposing that General Electric Theater create an anti-Communism episode based on a report by J. Edgar Hoover about "youth riots" in San Francisco. $5,000/7,000
333
Document Signed of Lucille Ball, 11 pp, 1951, an "audition and sales option" agreement with CBS to produce a pilot for I Love Lucy. $1,500/2,000
365
Document Signed of Charlie Chaplin, 1 p, March 18, 1939, announcing his intention to continue production on The Great Dictator in spite of recent developments in Europe, specifically Chamberlain's appeasement policy. $2,500/3,500
411
Document Signed of Greta Garbo, 2 pp, January 30, 1925, her first contract with M.G.M. $3,000/5,000
449
Photograph by Cecil Beaton of Katharine Hepburn, signed and inscribed by the actress to director and longtime friend George Cukor: "To George / Everything / Kate." $1,000/1,500
579
Autograph Letter Signed of Rudolph Valentino, 2 pp, 1923, written at the conclusion of his trial for bigamy (of which he was acquitted). $2,500/3,500
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Andrews (H.C.) Coloured Engravings of Heaths, 4 vol. in 2, first edition, [1710,--94]-1802-1809-[1830]. £10,000 - £15,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- Cramer (Pierre) and Caspar Stoll. De Uitlandsche Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen…,, 5 vol., Amsterdam & Utrecht, 1779-91. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Voyages.- Darwin (Charles) and others. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, 3 vol. in 4, including Appendix to vol.2, first edition, 1839. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- de Graaf (Willem Diederik Vincent). [Inlandsche Kapellen in beeld], 170 fine original watercolours, [Enkhuizen], [1800-40]. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Dresser (Henry Eeles). A History of the Birds of Europe, 9 vol., including supplement, first edition, by the author, 1871-96. £6,000 - £8,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Zoology.- Felines.- Elliot (Daniel Giraud). A Monograph of the Felidæ or Family of the Cats, first edition, for the Subscribers, by the Author, [1878]-1883. £25,000 - £30,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Frisch (Johann Leonard). Vorstellung der Vögel Deutschlandes, 2 vol., first edition, Berlin, Friedr. Wilhelm Birnsteil, [1736]-1763. £40,000 - £60,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, by the author, 1862-1873. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Pomology.- France.- Poiteau (A.) Pomologie Française. Recueil des Plus Beaux Fruits cultivés en France, 4 vol., Paris, 1846. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- [Robin (Jean)]. Histoire des Plantes, nouvellement trouvées en l'Isle Virgine…,, 1620; with Geoffrey Linocier L'Histoire des plantes, second edition, 1619-20. £3,000 - £4,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Japan.- Siebold (P.F. von). Nippon. Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan, 7 parts in 6 vol., first edition, Leyden, [1832]-1852. £35,000 - £45,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Valentijn (Francois). Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën..., 5 vol. in 8, first edition, Dordrecht [&] Amsterdam, 1724-26. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Australia.- Redouté (P.J.).- Ventenat (Étienne Pierre). Jardin de la Malmaison, 2 vol.,, Paris, 1803-04[-05]. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 26th March 2026
Forum, Mar. 26: Book of Hours.- Heures a lusaige de Romme, printed on vellum, with 14 full-page illuminated miniatures, Paris, N. Higman for J. de Brie, [c.1521]. £20,000-30,000
Forum, Mar. 26: France.- Book of Hours, perhaps Use of the Abbey of Saint-Gildas de Rhuys, with thirteen miniatures surviving from an original cycle of at least twenty, [c. 1430]. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Milton (John). Paradise lost. A Poem in Ten Books, first edition, Pforzheimer's sixth state, S. Simmons, 1669. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Blake (William). Illustrations of the Book of Job, one of 215 first issue "Proof" copies, this one of 65 copies on "French" paper, Published by the Author, March 8, 1825 [but March, 1826]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 26th March 2026
Forum, Mar. 26: Christie (Agatha). The ABC Murders, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Halley (Edmund). Astronomiae Cometicae Synopsis, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, no. 297, pp.1882-99, March 1705. £10,000-15,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Haytham (Ibn al) [known as Alhazen]. Opticae Thesaurus...Item Vitellonis Thuringopoloni libri X..., first edition, Basel, August, 1572. £20,000-30,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Kepler (Johannes). Dioptrice seu demonstratio eorum quae visui & visibilibus propter conspicilla non ita pridem inventa accidunt, first edition, Augsburg, David Frank, 1611. £12,000-18,000
Books & Autographs Wednesday 25 March
Koller, Mar. 25: KAFKA, FRANZ, SCHRIFTSTELLER. Eigenh. Brief mit Unterschrift. Prag, 20. Oktober [19]15. CHF 30,000-40,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: EINSTEIN, ALBERT. Zwei eigenhändige Briefe an Ernst Gabor Straus, unterschrieben "A.E" bzw. "A. Einstein". [Princeton], [19]45. und [1950]. CHF 30,000-40,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS, MUTTER VON NAPOLEON III. Album aus ihrem Besitz mit 69 Aquarellen und Pinselzeichnungen in Sepia oder Grau… CHF 14,000-18,000.
Koller, Mar. 25: ZOOLOGIE - ORNITHOLOGIE - Seligmann, Johann Michael. Verzameling van uitlandsche en zeldzaame Vogelen. Teile 1-8 (von 9) in 2 Bänden. Mit 421 prächtig altkolorierten Kupfertafeln. CHF 14,000-20,000
Koller, Mar. 25: BOTANIK - Berlèse, Lorenzo und Johann Jakob Jung. Iconographie du genre camellia... 3 Bände. Mit 300 Farbstichtafeln "a la poupée.” Paris, [1839-]1841-1843. CHF 12,000-18,000.
