• Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 16. Blaeu's world map on a polar projection in contemporary color (1695) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 55. Illuminated lunar globe produced in East Germany (1977) Est. $750 - $900
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 594. Rare and decorative De Jode map of Africa (1593) Est. $7,500 - $9,000
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 127. The first printed map to focus on New England and New France (1565) Est. $4,500 - $5,500
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 298. Rare Texas oilfield map (1920) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 656. Bible leaf with hand-colored image of Adoration of the Magi (1450) Est. $1,800 - $2,100
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 9. Blaeu's magnificent carte-a-figures world map (1641) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 214. Rare edition of view of the world from Silicon Valley (1984) Est. $600 - $750
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 34. Fascinating Japanese satirical map published just prior to WWII (1938) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 181. German edition of Catesby's scarce and important map of the Southeastern US (1755) Est. $3,750 - $4,500
    Old World Auctions (April 22): Lot 625. Complete set of Covarrubias's "Pageant of the Pacific" (1940-39) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
  • Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 159
    Saturday April 25
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1153 Gerhard Mercator u. Jodocus Hondius. Atlas sive cosmographicae. Amsterdam, Hondius, 1606.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1378 Martin Höhlig, Collection of 100 photographs Berlin im Licht, 1928.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 192. Fragment of a late medieval liturgical music manuscript. 14th century
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 159
    Saturday April 25
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1394 Auguste Salzmann. Jérusalem. 40 salt paper prints. Paris, Baudry, 1856.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1143 Deluxe edition of Prince Waldemar of Prussia's travelogue about Sri Lanka, India and Nepal. Berlin, 1853.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1225. Koch-Gruenberg. Indianertypen (Indiantypesin the Amazon). Berlin 1906.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 159
    Saturday April 25
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 862. Cornelis Ploos van Amstel. Viro Amplissimo Nobilissimo. Amsterdam 1765.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 549. Francisco de Goya. Los desastres de la guerra. 80 Etchings. Madrid, 1923.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1033. Rösel von Rosenhof. Natural History of Frogs. Nuremberg, 1815.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 159
    Saturday April 25
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 13 Pomponius Mela. Cosmographi. Venice, Renner 1478.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 526 William Shakespeare. Hamlet. Cranach Press, 1928.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 25: Lot 1022. Eugen Johann Christoph Esper. Butterflies Leipzig, 1829-1839.
  • Doyle
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    April 16, 2026
    Doyle, Apr. 16: Twelve miscellaneous volumes on Italian history and literature. $100 to $200.
    Doyle, Apr. 16: A fine collection of Company school paintings of Mughal monuments. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Doyle, Apr. 16: A Book of Hours of Rouen with eight miniatures. $30,000 to $45,000.
    Doyle, Apr. 16: Einstein discusses General Relativity and the Unified Field Theory. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, Apr. 16: An extraordinary letter from Thomas Jefferson to Charles Willson Peale. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, Apr. 16: Extraordinary color plates of the geology of St. Helena. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, Apr. 16: The deluxe issue of Rorer's Mimpish Squinnies. $800 to $1,200.
  • Swann
    Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women
    April 23, 2026
    Swann, Apr. 23: Thomas Heywood. An Apology for Actors. London: Printed by Nicholas Okes, 1612. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Illuminated Islamic Devotional Manuscript. 19th century. Approx. 90 leaves with gilt-decorated title and 2 full page miniatures of Mecca and Medina. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Antiphonal in Latin. Manuscript on Parchment. Cologne, early 16th century. $7,000 to $9,000.
    Swann
    Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women
    April 23, 2026
    Swann, Apr. 23: Mohammed ibn Jafir Albategnius. De Scientia Stellarum Liber. Bologna: Victor Benati, 1645. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Frank Herbert. Dune. Fine First Edition. Philadelphia: Chilton Books, 1965. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Apr. 23: William Shakespeare. Five Plays from the Second Folio. London: Thomas Cotes for Robert Allot, 1632. $6,000 to $8,000.
    Swann
    Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women
    April 23, 2026
    Swann, Apr. 23: John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men. New York: Covici-Friede, 1937. First edition, first issue. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities. With an A.L.S. London: Chapman and Hall, 1859. First edition, first issue. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Ursula K. LeGuin. The Left Hand of Darkness. Inscribed First Edition. New York: Walker and Company, 1969. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Fine Books Featuring Focus on Women
    April 23, 2026
    Swann, Apr. 23: L. Frank Baum & Ruth Plumly Thompson. Five First Canadian editions including Ozma of Oz; The Emerald City of Oz; Glinda of Oz; [and others]. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Corita Kent. Different Drummer. 1967. Color screenprint; signed "Corita" in pencil on the lower edge. $1,000 to $1,500.
    Swann, Apr. 23: Bible in English. Tyndale-Taverner Translation. The Bugge Bible. The Holye Bible. London: Imprinted by John Daye and Willyam Seres, 1549. $1,500 to $2,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - September - 2016 Issue

Aug 31 - Sep 14: Rare Maps, Charts, Atlases and more at Old World Auctions

Highlight lots from Old World Auctions' Auction 159

Highlight lots from Old World Auctions' Auction 159

Old World Auctions, the online-only auction house specializing in antique maps, globes, charts, and atlases, has a sale taking place at the time of this month’s Rare Book Monthly online publishing. Running from August 31st to September 14th, Auction 159 comprises over 800 lots spanning geographies worldwide from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Old World says that the material from Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Caribbean Islands, Western Hemisphere, and the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States is particularly strong. Several dozen lots will be listed without reserve.

The following are ten very rare highlights from the forthcoming sale:

  • Broadside depicting the Battle of Portobelo of 1739, "A Perspective View of ye Harbour, Castles, & Town of Porto Bello" published by Thomas and John Bowles in 1740. Est. $800-1000.
  • Ortelius' two-sheet maps of the British Isles and Egypt, "Britannicarum Insularum Vetus Descriptio" (Est. $3500-4500) and "Aegyptus Antiqua" (Est. $1600-2000).
  • Rare atlas of Maryland and DC, "New Topographical Atlas of the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia" published by Walling & Gray in 1873. Est. $1500-1800.
  • An important Revolutionary War map of the Battle of White Plains, "A Plan of the Operations of the King's Army Under the Command of General Sr. William Howe" by C.J. Sauthier and William Faden, published in 1777. Est. $11000-14000.
  • A sea chart of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, "A Chart of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays" by Fielding Lucas, 1852. Est. $6000-7500.
  • A chart published only four months after the Battle of Cartagena, "A Plan of the Harbour Town and Castles of Carthagena..." by Philip Durell, 1741. Est. $1400-1800.
  • Map of the British Colonies just after the French & Indian War, "A New and Accurate Map of the British Dominions in America, According to the Treaty of 1763" by Thomas Kitchin, 1766. Est. $2200-2500.
  • A one-of-a-kind manuscript railroad atlas of Cincinnati, "Plats Showing the Lands of the Cincinnati & Indiana Rail Road Co. in the City of Cincinnati" published in 1869. Est. $700-850
  • A two-sheet map of Africa by William Berry, "Africa Divided According to the Extent of Its Principall Parts" by William Berry, 1680. Est. $2400-3000.
  • Waldseemuller's Ptolemaic map of Arabia, "Sexta Asie Tabula" by Waldseemuller, 1513. Est. $4000-5000.

Registration with Old World Auctions is required for first-time bidders and buyers interested in bidding, and can be done so by following this link; returning customers need only sign in with their existing login information. The sale’s online catalog is available here.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Heritage, May 13: Isaac Asimov. I, Robot. The dedication copy, inscribed to John W. Campbell, Jr.
    Heritage, May 13: Aldous Huxley. Brave New World. A fine copy, in a brilliant dust jacket.
    Heritage, May 13: Ray Bradbury. Fahrenheit 451. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author.
    Heritage, May 13: Robert A. Heinlein. Stranger in a Strange Land. A fine copy, signed by the author.
    Heritage, May 13: Jules Verne. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Exceedingly rare true first American edition, first issue.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
    Open for Bidding 2-17 April
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
  • S&D Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    Rare Maps, Prints & Art 1478-1882
    April 16, 2026
    SD Auctions, Apr. 16: Ptolemy. North Africa from Ulm edition. Unique copy. 1482-86.
    SD Auctions, Apr. 16: Blaeu. Masterpiece world map. c.1659.
    SD Auctions, Apr. 16: Unknown. Sea Flags printed on silk. Rare. c.1840.
    SD Auctions, Apr. 16: Fredrik Kolstø. Aftenstemning ved Kysten. c.1890-t.
    SD Auctions, Apr. 16: Knut Yran. OL-plakaten Oslo 1952.

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