August 5th: A Pirate's Bounty at the Arader Galleries Auction
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Select items from Arader Galleries' August 5th Sale of the History of the Caribbean
On August 5thArader Galleries will be holding an auction on site at their Madison Avenue location. Featuring sixty five lots, The History of Caribbean Pirates & Treasure as told through Maps, Atlases, & Natural History Watercolors and Engravings is a focused subject event. With starting bids well below low estimates, this is a sale that will appeal to both existing collectors of the Caribbean as well as those with an eye for getting into the field.
Arader Galleries is well known for its excellent cartographic material, and The History of Caribbean Pirates & Treasure is made up of about one third maps. Lot 6, a 1591 copperplate engraving of Florida and the Southeastern portion of the United States by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues is the first map to accurately represent the Florida coastline. Lot 12, Chart of the West Indies and Spanish Dominions in North America, is a very large, impressive wall map with original hand color by Aaron Arrowsmith, an important British cartographer of the 18th century. This item is his most rare map. Lot 24, an engraved map by James Edward Oglethorpe, is one of the earliest printed maps of Savannah, Georgia, dating from approximately 1735.
There are also more than a handful of depictions of views of locations and scenes from the era—most are engravings, but there are also paintings included in the mix. These are best seen with one’s own eyes (several are featured in this article’s slideshow), but the following are some of the standouts. Lot 7, Four Views: Portus Acapulco, Domingo, Pagus Hispanorum, Havana, is a set of four hand-colored engravings of bird’s-eye views of important trade cities on the Gulf Coast. Lot 23 is a hand-colored lithograph of the Explosion of the British Frigate, Guerriere, a scene from the War of 1812 depicting a naval victory for the United States over Great Britain. Lot 33, Shipping off Charlotte Amalie in the Danish West Indies, is an oil painting by Carl-Ludwig Bille, and shows the harbor of Charlotte Amalie, the main harbor of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.
Equally well-known for their collection of natural history, Arader Galleries has included sixteen natural-history items including drawings, watercolors, and engravings. The watercolors in particular are the highlights of the sale, with four by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues (lots 36 through 39), each painted during the 1560s and estimated at $90,000 or more.
The sale takes place at 5:30 p.m. eastern time at 1016 Madison Avenue in New York City. For questions regarding the auction, please contact Gallery Director Lori Cohen at loricohen@aradergalleries.com or at (215) 735-8811. Online bidding is available via LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable. Online catalogs are available at both sites as well.
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.
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.
