December 15th: Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers hosts a sale
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Though they may be known primarily as specialists in Irish material, Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers’ December 15th sale of Rare Books, Manuscripts, Literature & Maps contains more than just that. With over 700 lots, and low estimates to boot, this is a sale worth investing time and money into. Let’s take a look at some of this sale’s special lots.
Virtually anyone who has used a computer and done a search is familiar with the term Boolean Logic. But I would guess fewer people are familiar with where this name comes from (I personally had no idea). Lot 276 enlightened me with the facts, being a first issue first edition of George Boole’s An Investigation into the Laws of Thought, published in 1854 London. This rare publication eventually made possible the development of the digital computer by establishing the first practical system of logic in algebraic form. Furthermore, this specific copy is inscribed by the author. The landmark scientific book is estimated 5,000 – 7,000 EUR.
Better known than George Boole is Bond, James Bond. And for an estimated 3,500 – 5,000 EUR, a complete set of Ian Fleming’s first editions of Bond are for sale as lot 235. The novels included are Casino Royale, L. 1953; Live and Let Die, L. 1954; Moonraker, L. 1955; Diamonds are Forever, L. 1956; From Russia with Love, L. 1957; Dr. No, L. 1958; Goldfinger, L. 1959; For Your Eyes Only, L. 1960; Thunderball, L. 1961; The Spy who Loved Me, L. 1962; On her Majesty's Secret Service, L. 1963; You Only Live Twice, L. 1964; The Man with the Golden Gun, L. 1965; Octopussy and The Living Daylights, L. 1966.
It wouldn’t be write to cover a Fonsie Mealy auction without highlighting some Irish material. Lot 565, known as the First Cuala Broadsides, is a complete set of 84 monthly broadside issues with illustrations by Irish artists Jack Butler Yeats. Yeats is a respected painter, with one of his works commanding nearly £350,000 at auction in 2010. Two hundred of his illustrations are present in this lot and the set is estimated 6,000 – 7,000 EUR.
Another strength of the sale is first editions of famous literature. Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book as well as The Second Jungle Book, are available for an estimated 800 – 1,400 EUR as lot 237. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is listed under lot 621, and is a first edition as well. It is estimated 3,500 – 5,000 EUR.
Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers’ sale of Rare Books, Manuscripts, Literature & Maps takes place December 15th, 2015, at 10:15 AM GMT in the center of of Castlecomer town at the Old Cinema, Chatsworth Street, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland. Bidding will also be available through the phone as well as online through The Saleroom. Please register online if you plan to bid. The entire sale's catalog may be viewed here.
Sotheby’s, July 14: Henry De La Beche. "Awful Changes," 1830. $6,000 to $9,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 11]. Flight Plan, Complete Original Printing Signed by Buzz Aldrin. $5,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: Thomas Alva Edison. Documents Establishing and Ending the Edison Electric Railway Company. $20,000 to $30,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: Richard P. Feynman. Feynman's Lectures on Gravitation 1-16, Including the Original Transcriptions of Lectures 12-16 by Morinigo and Wagner, With Richard Feynman's Manuscript Notations, 1971. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 9]. A Group of Manuals and Mission Documents used by Stuart Roosa as a member of the Astronaut Support Crew. $5,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby’s, July 15: [BYTE: The Small Systems Journal]. A collection of early foundational issues of Byte: The Small Systems Journal, with rare hardcover editions. $5,000 to $8,000.
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000
