Heavy. What is it? The Stuff that dreams are made of.
A postcard with chess moves signed by Humphrey Bogart while he was playing
the chess game filmed in Casablanca;
The Academy Award [Oscar] for best art decoration awarded for My Fair Lady
[1964]; [gold plated and about 12" high]
A small portfolio case with multiple photos and autographs relating to
Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, Moonfleet, Northwest Passage, Citizen Kane and
others.
A 1961 letter from Ingrid Bergmann to Michael Custiz discussing Casablanca;
Fake studio-made passports for Ingrid Bergman and Michael Cortiz similar to the
French passports used in Casablanca;
A hard cover photo album of cast photos of Casablanca and The Maltese Falcon.
A 10" x 10" masonite board with thin metal serial No. tags "FNP" and "FNR" attached with tape. This has sentimental value.
4th edition of Shakespeare Folio bound in polished full calf, many pages
remargined. Title page may be missing.
A description of this material has been posted to the ABAA Stolen and Missing Archives. The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America created, in 2003, an online database of this type of material so that dealers, collectors and libraries could efficiently disseminate information about their losses and concerned potential buyers could determine if an item has been reported missing. This is a free service. Anyone interested in looking at the current listings in this archive can go to www.abaa.org/index.html where, midway down the page is The ABAA Stolen and Missing Books Database. To report stolen material contact Ken Sanders who chairs the ABAA Security Committee. Reach him at ken@dreamgarden.com.
Anyone with specific knowledge of the whereabouts of this missing material is encouraged to contact this email address.noquestionsasked@americanaexchange.com As Peter Lorre said in the Maltese Falcon, "I am prepared to pay five thousand dollars for the figure's return. Do you have it?"
And as Woody Allan has reminded us, "It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones sleep better... while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more." Dr. Milan won't sleep well until his treasures come home. He's waiting for an email.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.