• Sotheby’s
    Fine Books & Manuscripts
    June 24-25
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Keats, John. The most significant collection of Keats’s love letters to come to market since 1885. $1,500,000 to $2,500,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Chassériau, Benoît. The “Expedicion secreta” of the Free State of Cartagena de Indias against the forts of Portobelo (Panama). $50,000 to $70,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: (Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay). "One of the new nation's most important contributions to the theory of government”. $150,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin. "the Day of the Declaration of Independence is everywhere annually celebrated". $80,000 to $120,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 24: (Johann Conrad Beissel). A Sammelband of two of Benjamin Franklin's rarest imprints. $70,000 to $100,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: [Pernambuco]. First printed work in favor of Brazilian Independence. $150,000 to $200,000.
  • June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Medical Incunabula: Petit (Jean)publisher & Kerver (Thielman)printer. Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, sm. 8vo, Paris [1498]
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Hugo (Victor) [Wraxall (Lascelles)]. Les Miserable, 3 vols., 8vo, L. (Hurst & Blackett) 1862, First Authorized English Translation (copyright).
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Shelley (Mary Wollstonecraft). Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, 8vo, 2 vols. in one, L. (G. & W.B. Whittaker, Ave-Maria-Lane) 1823.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Cuisine: Anon. Cookery, Pastry, and Sweet Meats in three Books, Alphabetically Digested, 8vo 1710.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Lambert (Aylmer Bourke). A Description of the Genus Pinus, with Directions Relative to the Cultivation…, 2 vols. Sm. folio L. (Messrs. Weddell) 1832.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Botany: Curtis (William). Flora Londinensis: or Plates and Descriptions of such Plants as Grow Wild in the Environs of London, 2 vols. folio, London (B. White) 1777 – 1798.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Le Moire (J.M.) Maple Leaves, Canadian History and Quebec Scenery (Third Series) 8vo Quebec (Hunter, Rose & Co.) 1865. First Edn.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: The Earliest Extant Printed House Contents Sale Catalogue in Ireland: Baillie, Auctioneer, Abby Street. A Catalogue of the Goods and Stock of the late Edward Wingfield…
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: William III King of England. Autograph Letter Signed ("William R") to an unnamed correspondent [possibly Charles-Henri de Lorraine] discussing his strategy against the French forces during the siege of Namur.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: [Austen (Jane) (1785-1817]. Pride and Prejudice, 3 vols. sm. 8vo, L. (T. Egerton) 1813.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Heaney (Seamus). Ugolino, sm. folio D. (Dolmen) 1979, Limited Edn. No. 78/125 Copies, Signed by Seamus Heaney, Louis le Brocquy, Liam Miller and Andrew Carpenter.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Voltaire (F.M. Avouet de). Petits Ouvrages, attribues a M. de Voltaire, sm. folio manuscript, dated 1776, containing 9 works.
  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
  • June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
    Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
    June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.

Rare Book Monthly

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Articles - November - 2013 Issue

Old World Auctions – A Cartography Specialist with an Online Auction This Month

- by Michael Stillman

The latest event from Old World Auctions will open for bidding on November 6. Old World Auctions, owned and operated by Jon and Eliane Dotson of Glen Allen, Virginia, runs its auctions strictly online. Bidding runs for two weeks, so you will be able to bid through November 20. The house specializes in maps, globes, charts, atlases and vintage graphics – cartography for short. The number of auction lots can range from several hundred to close to a thousand. Most items sell in the middle range – hundreds of dollars, though many are expected to reach the thousands and a few are hammered down below $100. Auctions are held on a quarterly basis, so the next one will come around in February.

 

Old World has been running auctions since 1978 (obviously not online back then). This latest one will be number 147. Bidding opens on November 6 and closes on November 20, with one wrinkle to prevent items from being stolen by last second “bidnapper” style bids. Items remain open for an additional 10 minutes after the close to allow additional offers after those placed at the last second. If none is received within 10 minutes, bidding is closed. If an additional bid is received during that period, the item is kept open for another 10 minutes, with this continuing until 10 minutes passes with no more bids. Then it closes.

 

Old World Auctions puts a particular emphasis on its estimates. Estimating is a science, but often the data needed can be hard to find. Some auction houses tend to estimate low, hoping to draw more bidders that way. Others may estimate high, hoping for a better price. Old World searches through past auction and other sales records to determine what is the likely price range at this time. This gets difficult for items that have not come up for sale in recent years. In that case, they will look for similar items in an attempt to figure what the market will pay for the piece. They also take into account other factors likely to affect price, such as condition, color, provenance, and edition.

 

Over 750 items are expected to be posted for the November sale. Along with maps and atlases, we are likely to see some historical books containing maps, geography books, antique prints, illuminated manuscripts, and reference books. All come with a 100% money-back guarantee on authenticity and condition as described. Old World offers material consigned by collectors, dealers and others around the world, and ships to customers in over 70 countries each year.

 

To see what is being offered this month, you can go to the Old World website at www.oldworldauctions.com.

 

To register as a bidder, you will find the form at this link: www.oldworldauctions.com/ssl/register.asp.

 

We asked Old World Auctions for some highlights for this upcoming Sale. Here are some items they suggested of particular note.

 

Apianus' popular book on cosmography with cordiform world map. Cosmographia [with] Charta Cosmographica, cum Ventorum Propria Natura et Operatione, by Peter Bienewitz Apianus, dated 1564. Estimate $7,000 - $8,500.

 

Jaillot's lavishly decorated world map in full original color. Nova Orbis Tabula, ad Usum Serenissimi Burgundiae Ducis, by Alexis-Hubert Jaillot, dated 1694. Estimate $4,500 - $5,500.

 

One of the most decorative maps of the north pole. Poli Arctici, et Circumiacentium Terrarum Descriptio Novissima, by Hondius/de Wit, circa 1715. Estimate $1,900 - $2,200.

 

The miniature Speed dual atlas. A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World [bound with] England Wales Scotland and Ireland Described…, by Speed/Kaerius, dated 1666-68. Estimate $3,750 - $4,500.

 

Scarce map of colonial northeastern United States. Nieuwe en Nauwkeurige Kaart van een gedeelte van Noord Amerika, behelzende Nieuw Engeland, New York, Pensylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, een Stuk van Virginia, Kanada en Halifax, by Peter Kalm, circa 1772. Estimate $1,400 - $1,800.

 

A seminal map of the southeast and early American cartography. Virginiae Item et Floridae Americae Provinciarum, Nova Descriptio, by Jodocus Hondius, published 1619. Estimate $2,400 - $3,000.

 

One of six maps most desirable for a Texas collection according to Streeter. Carta Esferica que Comprehende las Costas del Seno Mexicano Construida de Orden del Rey en el Deposito Hidrografico de Marina, by Direccion de Hidrografia, dated 1803. Estimate $8,000 - $12,000.

 

Superb example of Dutch cartographic design and engraving in full original color. Britannia Prout Divisa fuit Temporibus Anglo-Saxonum, Praesertim Durante Illorum Heptarchia, by Jan Jansson, circa 1646. Estimate $3,000 - $4,000.

 

Elaborate map of the holy land, illustrating the life of Abraham. Abrahami Patriarchae Peregrinatio, et Vita, by Abraham Ortelius, published 1590. Estimate $3,000 - $3,750.

 

Bold map of Japan based on Adrian Reland's map of 1715. L'Empire du Japon, Tire des Cartes des Japonnois, by Henry Abraham Chatelain, circa 1719. Estimate $1,500 - $1,700.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Palm-reading, astrology, and more. Estimate: $2,000 - 3,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Benjamin Franklin. Sammelband of 45 papers on electricity. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The basis for the whole modern electric-power industry. Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edgar Allen Poe. Poe on Mesmerism. Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Reformation - The Architect of Lutheranism on Church Unity and Dissent. Estimate: $100,000 - 150,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Rare 3-Paper Offprint Identifying the Double Helix Structure of DNA, Signed by Crick, Wilkins, Wilson, Stokes and Gosling. Estimate: $40,000 - 60,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph book and Report from the Thirtieth Indian National Congress, featuring the signatures of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Dadabhai Naoroji. Estimate: $6,000 - 8,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Illustrated Miniature Hebrew Prayerbook Manuscript. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph Working Draft of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Death Voyage. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: "Perhaps the most celebrated and most beautiful herbal ever published." Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Izaak Walton. The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A rare product of the Jaquard loom. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
  • Freeman’s, June 30. Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of the New Nation” letter, carried to Paris with the Treaty of Peace, by a Jewish patriot. $100,000-200,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. “The rockets’ red glare.” A British midshipman’s log recording the bombardment of Fort McHenry. $60,000-80,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry Commission signed by James Madison, 1812. $40,000-60,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776. $15,000-25,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000-15,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. A Unique Contemporary Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words to His Followers, the Day Before his Violent Death. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Of the United States. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster. $6,000-9,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Samuel Jones, the Statesman Behind the Newly Discovered "Jones Declaration": His Annotated Set Used in His Working Law Library. $6,000-9,000.

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