Voyages and Travels from<br>The William Reese Company
- by Michael Stillman
One of the joys of vacationing in the Philippines (see item 160).
Lieutenant Thomas Craven kept a journal of his travels at sea from 1832-1834. This unpublished manuscript, headed Journal of a Cruise on board the U.S. Ship Peacock & Schooner Boxer, recounts his adventures as they traveled to such places as Liberia, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Sumatra, Java, and Brazil. Craven wanted to sail with the Peacock, but at first had to settle for the cramped Boxer. He disliked the ship and its captain and makes frequent satirical comments about them. Eventually, he was assigned to the Peacock, although he would again return to the Boxer for his final journey from Brazil home. Craven would go on to have a long naval career, including service with the Wilkes expedition, suppression of the slave trade, and service on the Mississippi during the Civil War, before retiring as a rear admiral. Item 29. $4,000.
Alexander Dalrymple was a scholar who gathered information about early travels and who believed a southern continent would be discovered in the time before Captain Cook’s voyages. Dalrymple had hoped to lead the expedition that was eventually assigned to Cook. In 1775 he published A Collection of Voyages Chiefly in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. In it, he proposes a constitution to be established in a colony in newly discovered lands. Among the proposed laws which were way ahead of their time was “Women are not debarred from public office, but may enjoy their rights in the public assembly on the same footing as men.” And, in a rule that would probably be very popular today, he proposes “No person shall exercise the Profession of Law, by counsel or otherwise, for hire or fee, on penalty of forfeiture of all his property and perpetual imprisonment.” Who would argue against that? Item 34. $21,000.
Frequently we find books by Europeans who visited America in its early days. Here’s a reversal. It’s by an American who visits Europe, including England, during the early years of the Revolution, 1776-1777. Called The American Wanderer, through Various Parts of Europe… by an author who uses only the name “A Virginian,” he seems more interested in the ladies than more weighty issues. Item 166. $850. And, in another reversal of the norm, instead of a book by American missionaries to far off places, we have one by a Hindu missionary to America, Sketches of a Tour Round the World by P.C. Mozoomdar. The author describes much of what he saw during his visit in 1883. As Reese points out, “Needless to say, travel descriptions of America by Hindu missionaries are rare.” This is certainly the first I’ve seen. Item 118, printed in Calcutta in 1884. $600.
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.
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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.
![<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.")
