It's rare for AE to feature an auction preview where the headlining item isn't considered part of books, maps, or ephemera, but Bonhams New York's History of Science on October 22nd is one such sale. The sale contains many items that will be added to the AE Database once its results are posted--everything on paper. However, those items are not the reason why the sale has been featured in the news recently.
The reason this sale is particularly significant is lot 286, which is a functioning motherboard for the Apple I computer, the first pre-assembled personal computer to ever be sold. This began the modern computing era. You can see a neat video hosted on Bonhams website of the Apple I in action by clicking here. You could buy many brand new modern day Apple computers for the estimated price of the Apple I ($300,000-500,000), and they'd be faster and more capable by light years, but this computer is truly a piece of history. Working Apple Is have sold for huge amounts recently.
The range of topics covered in this general sale of science is broad. The following are highlights and interesting items available for bidding.
Astronomy
Lot 58w, being an archive of pioneering astronomer, photographer and telescope designer George Willis Ritchey. Contained within the lot are hundreds of photographs of the universe as well as glass slides, and books on astronomy. Estimated $450,000-550,000.
Lot 48, Johannes Kepler’s last publication, Tabulae Rudolphinae, quibus Astronomicae scientiae, temporum longinquitate collapsae Restauratio continetur, which was later called “the foundation of all planetary calculations for over a century” by Ruth Sparrow in her Milestones of Science.
Natural History
Lot 74, Nathaniel Wallich’s Plantae Asiaticae Rariores, or, Descriptions and Figures of a Select Number of Unpublished East Indian Plants. Contains 295 full page hand-colored lithograph plates. Estimated $35,000-55,000.
Lot 78, an exhibition broadside entitled “Great American Mastodon!! Now Exhibiting at the Hall”, circa 1846. Estimated $2,000-3,000.
Anatomy
Lots 128 through 132 are superb prints of human muscles by Arnauld-Eloi Gautier D’Agoty. Each of them estimated $1,200-1,800.
Lot 142, for those interested in plastic surgery, an untitled article on Hindu rhinoplasty is the first Western reference on the pratice that would later take LA by storm. Estimated $800-1,200.
Autograph Letters Signed
Lot 80, ALS by Charles Darwin containing questions about the reproductive act among barnacles. Estimated $20,000-30,000.
Lots 256, 257 and 259, being autograph letters and postcards signed by Albert Einstein. Estimated $5,000-8,000; $2,500-3,500; $3,000-5,000.
Lots 276-278, being an autograph letter, photograph and document signed by Thomas Edison. Estimated $1,500-2,000; $1,500-2,000; $1,000-1,500.
Bidding for the sale begins on October 22, 2014 at 1pm EDT. The sale's catalogue is available for viewing in its entirety on Bonhams' website. Bidding is available in person, over the phone, and over the internet. Prospective bidders using Bonhams' website must register prior on their site, direct link to registration here.
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: 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.
