Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2016 Issue

July 13-14: Forum Auctions' First Sale, spanning six centuries of material

Highlight lots from Forum Auctions' first sale, Fine Books and Works on Paper

Highlight lots from Forum Auctions' first sale, Fine Books and Works on Paper

Last month, my Dad Bruce wrote about a new London-based auction house called Forum Auctions, a venture by Stephan Ludwig, the founder of Bloomsbury Auctions. Forum describes themselves as London's specialist auction house for antiquarian books and manuscripts, 20th century literature, modern & contemporary art and editions, Old Master prints and drawings, photographs and other works on paper. This month marks their maiden sale, a two-day event dubbed Fine Books and Works on Paper, with 189 lots for sale on Day One, July 13th, and another 175 lots coming on Day Two, July 14th.

Day One is all about modern publishing, with sections for literature and illustrated books. The sale opens with one of the finest and most complete collections of English writer Evelyn Waugh ever to come to market, which includes the first edition of every book published by him, many of which are inscribed to close friends, as well as numerous limited editions and unpublished letters. The standout lot here has to be lot 30, an inscribed first edition of A Handful of Dust (1934), one of the author’s greatest works. This copy has the rare dustjacket, as well an inscription of extra rarity with no recipient, reading, “Do read this if you have time. I think it is better than the others.” The estimate is £10,000-15,000.

Two other lots I want to bring your attention to under literature are lots 84 and 88. Eighty-four is a first edition of Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung [Metamorphosis] (1916), one of the most important and influential novellas of the 20th century and also one of the few works by Kafka published during his lifetime. It’s estimated £3,000-4,000. And while Kafka’s work is appealing, lot 88 is on a different level when it comes to rarity. Eighty-eight is the autograph manuscript of Vladimir Nabokov’s final and unfinished novel, The Original of Laura, albeit in a format you might not expect unless you are a studied collector of Nabokov manuscripts. Forum explains in their description that the author’s preferred method of composing a novel was by writing on index cards as they allowed him to easily move sections around. This manuscript is composed on 135 cards. Included under the estimate of £60,000-80,000 is also a first English edition of the published work (2009).

Day One closes with modern illustrated books, featuring another private collection with books from several of the leading private presses, with contributions from important 20th century artists such as Paul Nash, Eric Gill, Eric Ravilious, and Kyffin Williams. Major works from the Doves and Ashendene presses, as well as unique designer bindings by the bookbinder Lester Capon, are also for sale. One highlight of the section is lot 120, Sir Thomas Browne’s Urne Buriall and the Garden of Cyrus, considered the masterpiece of the Curwen Press. The book is significant because of artist Paul Nash’s contributions with 32 pochoir plates and illustrations. This limited copy (182 of 215) is estimated £3,000-5,000.

Day Two of the sale offers antiquarian books and works on paper across a range of disciplines. The financial meat of the sale lies here, with several lots printed by Aldus in the late 15th and early 16th centuries carrying estimates reaching six figures. These lots are:

  • Lot 205, Pietro Bembo’s De Aetna dialogus (1495), an extremely rare first edition, which is also the first Aldine printed in Latin only. Estimated £100,000-150,000.
  • Lot 212, Francesco Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (1499), a first edition of the most famous illustrated book of the Renaissance. Estimated £80,000-120,000.
  • Lot 255, Marcus Tullius Cicero’s Epistolae familiares (1502), one of four known copies on vellum, also extremely rare. Estimated £150,000-200,000.

Rounding out the books section are first editions of Voltaire’s Candide (lot 276, est. £20,000-30,000) and Descartes’ Discours de la Methode (lot 269, est. £35,000-45,000), three illustrated editions of Aesop (lots 208, 214, and 228), and a first edition of Jean de La Fontaine’s Fables Choisies (lot 248, est. £40,000-60,000).

The sale closes with Old Master prints from a private collection featuring four works by Albrecht Dürer (lots 337, 338, 339, and 340), an early proof impression of Robetta’s Adoration of the Magi (lot 342, est. £2,000-3,000), and an exceptional copy of Michele Marieschi’s etched views of Venice (lot 343, est. £40,000-60,000). Other highlights include Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo’s Picturesque Ideas on the Flight into Egypt (lot 364, est. £40,000-60,000), and an impressive set of seven engravings by William Blake illustrating Dante’s Inferno (lot 374, est. £30,000-50,000).

Forum Auctions has set the bar high with their first upcoming sale by acquiring some very rare and important material for sale. The two-day event for Fine Books and Works on Paper begins on July 13th at 2 PM British Summer Time at the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair, London. The second day of the auction also begins at 2 PM on July 14th. Catalogs for the two days are separately listed online:

Fine Books and Works on Paper: Day One

Fine Books and Works on Paper: Day Two

If you plan on bidding, whether it be live in person, online, over the phone, or by absentee bid, registration is required.

Please refer to Forum’s website for any further questions or to get in touch with the auction house.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 962. Baird. United States Exploring Expedition. Philadelphia 1858.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 772. Edith Holland Norton. Brazilian Flowers. Coombe Croft 1893.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 49. Petrarca. Das Gluecksbuch, Augsburg 1536.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 1496. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 8. Augustinus. De moribus ecclesie. Cologne 1480.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 17. Heures a lusaige de Noyon. Paris 1504.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 13. Schedel. Buch der Chronicken. Nürnberg 1493.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 957. Donovan. Insects of China. London 1798.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 123. A holy martyr. Tuscany, Florence, mid-14th century.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 438. Dante. La Divine Comédie. Paris 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 602. Firdausi. Histoire de Minoutchehr. Paris 1919
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 994. Westwood. Oriental Entomology. London 1848.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.
  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.

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