Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2014 Issue

A Sale to be Seen, Not Read About

Assorted images from the Bloomsbury's Modern and Contemporary Prints

Assorted images from the Bloomsbury's Modern and Contemporary Prints

I'm going to keep this article brief because Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions' sale of Modern and Contemporary Prints is one that words can only do so much for. Featuring prints from well-known and important artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, the 366-lot catalogue is filled with vivid images. A few of them I will include here, but the rest may be found on Bloomsbury's sale page and are worth a proper look. Do so quickly, though, as the sale takes place July 3rd in London.

With the sale being held in London, it's only right that it begin with a section of modern British Prints. Comprised of mainly individual prints, the complete portfolio of thirty etchings by Henry Moore is also offered at lot 7 for an estimated £40,000-60,000. Also worthy of note are several works by C.R.W. Nevinson, the renowned World War I artist.

Following the British prints is material from continental Europe. Big names such as Marc Chagall, Salvador Dalí, Henry Matisse, Joan Miró, Picasso, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir are all here. I'm not an art critic, therefore I submit for you their images to be judged yourself.

Contemporary prints make up the large majority of the sale, beginning at lot 121 and running to the last 366th lot. Artists from this section include:

- Banksy, the pseudonymous UK-based artist and political activist
- Joseph Beuys
- Sir Peter Blake, known for his work co-creating the sleeve design of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
- Marcel Broodthaers
- Marcel Duchamp
- Richard Hamilton, creator of some the earliest works of pop art
- Keith Haring
- David Hockney
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Takashi Murakami
- Gerhard Richter
- James Rosenquist
- Joe Tilson
- Andy Warhol

With so many artists and works of art featured, the catalogue for Modern and Contemporary Prints is a must see for collectors of modern prints. The sale is already available for viewing and will continue to be through the day of the sale. The entire catalogue can be viewed online at Bloomsbury's website here, and the PDF version of the catalogue can be viewed and downloaded here.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 11. Blaeu's Superb World Map on a Polar Projection (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 702. Munster's Largest 16th Century Edition, with Over 220 Woodcut Maps (1598) Est. $18,000 - $20,000
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 101. Rare Jo Mora "Carte" Showing a NYC-to-Seattle Route through Panama Canal (1933) Est. $900 - $1,100
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 65. The Waldseemuller/Fries "Admiral's Map" (1541) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 46. Contains all 30 Plates from Atlas Coelestis in Full Original Color (1742) Est. $16,000 - $18,000
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 129. The First Map to Name New Scotland and Cape Cod (1625) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 663. The First Printed Map Devoted to the Pacific in Full Contemporary Color (1589) Est. $7,500 - $9,000
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 629. De Jode's Rare Map of Eastern Asia (1593) Est. $7,500 - $9,000
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 171. De Bry's Influential Map of Colonial North America (1591) Est. $11,000 - $13,000
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 691. Superb Hand-Colored Image of the Holy Trinity (1502) Est. $800 - $950
    Old World Auctions (Sept 16):
    Lot 606. Important, Early Atlas of Japan with 75 Woodcut Maps in Printed Color (1837) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
  • Koller, Sep. 16: FRANZÖSISCHE REVOLUTION - ASSEMBLÉE NATIONALE - Extrait des Procès-Verbaux de L'Assemblée Nationale, Des 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 Août & premier Octobre 1789.
    Koller, Sep. 16: MOURADJA D'OHSSON, IGNACE. Tableau général de l'Empire Othoman, divisé en deux parties dont l'une comprend la Législation Mahométane, l'autre l'histoire de l'Empire Othoman [... ]
    Koller, Sep. 16: BOTANIK - Blackwell, Elisabeth. A curious herbal, containig five hundred cuts, of the most useful plants, which are now used in the practice of physick.
    Koller, Sep. 16: SCHEUCHZER, JOHANN JAKOB. Physica Sacra. Iconibus Aeneis illustrata procurante & sumtus suppeditante.
    Koller, Sep. 16: HAIMONSKINDER – Eyn schön lustig Geschicht, wie Keyser Carle der groß, vier gebrüder, Hertzog Aymont von Dordons Süne [...]
    Koller, Sep. 16: KRÄUTERBÜCHER - HORTUS SANITATIS - [H]ortus Sanitatis. De herbis et plantis. De animalibus et reptilibus. De avibus et volatilibus. De piscibus et natalibus…
    Koller, Sep. 16: GAUGUIN, PAUL, MALER (1848-1903). Eigenhändiger Brief mit Unterschrift und Couvert. An den Künstler und Freund Daniel de Monfreid in Paris.
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    24th September 2026
    Forum, Sep. 24: A Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster and Borough of Southwark, 1746 [bound with] A Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster, [c.1755]. £30,000 - £50,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Gafurius (Franchinus). De Harmonia Musicorum Instrumentorum Opus, first edition, Milan, Gotarto da Ponte, 1518. £20,000 - £30,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, first impression, 1937. £10,000 - £15,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    24th September 2026
    Forum, Sep. 24: Stackelberg (Otto Magnus v). Costumes et Usages des Peuples de la Grece Moderne, first edition, Rome, 1825. £15,000 - £20,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Piranesi (Giovanni Battista). Le Antichita Romane, 4 vol., Rome, Bouchard and Gravier, 1756. £10,000 - £15,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Henry VIII's Primer.- Church of England.- The Primer, set foorth by the Kynges maiestie and his clergie…,, first edition, by Richard Grafton printer to the Princes grace, 1545; bound with 2 others, similar. £10,000 - £15,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    24th September 2026
    Forum, Sep. 24: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, fifth edition, ink inscription in the author's hand laid down to half-title, 1869. £6,000 - £8,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Siebold (P.F. von) J.G. Zuccarini and F.A.W. Miquel. Flora Japonica, 2 vol., first edition, Leiden, for the author, 1835-70. £6,000 - £8,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Illuminated manuscript facsimile.- Constitution Of India (The), Dehra Dun, Survey of India Offices, [c. 1950]. £3,500 - £5,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    24th September 2026
    Forum, Sep. 24: Mao Tse-tung. Quotations of Chairman Mao, prototype edition, Shenyang, compiled and printed by the Political Department, Air Force Division of Shenyang Military Region, 1963. £3,000 - £4,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Richardson (John). Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the Zoology of the Northern Parts of British America, 4 vol., first edition, Norwich, Josiah Fletcher, 1829-37. £4,000 - £6,000
    Forum, Sep. 24: Mite (The), the printer/publisher's own copy with the original type and printing blocks for all three of its editions (1891, 1893 & 1896), Grimsby, Ernest A. Robinson, 1891. £3,000 - £4,000.
  • Leland Little, September 11: Kenneth Claiborne Royall (1894-1971), Large Archive with Letters from Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
    Leland Little, September 11: Harry S. Truman, Scarce Autograph Letter Signed as 33rd U.S. President.
    Leland Little, September 11: Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910), Autograph Quotation Signed.
    Leland Little, September 11: The History of North America, the Extremely Scarce Deluxe "Edition of the Presidents."
    Leland Little, September 11: Scarce First Edition of Krafft's The American Distiller.
    Leland Little, September 11: Inscribed First Edition of James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room.
    Leland Little, September 11: A Signed Limited Edition of Love in the Time of Cholera.
    Leland Little, September 11: The Extremely Scarce Limited and Extra-Illustrated Edition of The Works of Charles Dickens.
    Leland Little, September 11: A Beautifully Bound Limited Edition of Émile Zola's The Rougon-Macquart.
    Leland Little, September 11: The Elaborately Bound and Extremely Scarce The Shakespeare Gallery.
    Leland Little, September 11: Hunting, Hawking, Shooting, A Signed Limited Edition Four Volume Set.
    Leland Little, September 11: Signed Limited Edition of Salmon-Salmon with a Chapter on Iceland.
  • Sotheby’s
    Original Film Posters
    10 September 2026
    Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: The Invisible Man (1933). Extremely Rare US Leader Press One Sheet. £20,000 to £26,000.
    Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: You Only Live Twice (1967). Italian Advance Quattro Fogli. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: A Dog's Life (1918). Extremely Rare US One Sheet. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: La Belle et la Bête/Beauty and the Beast (1946). French Style A Grande. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). US Lenticular Prototype One Sheet. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Sotheby’s, Sep. 10: Théâtre d’Ombres (1897). Exceptionally Rare French Poster. £8,000 to £12,000.

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