Forum Auctions, the new London-based house which held its first auctions in July, is kicking off the fall season with a 539-lot sale of Fine Books and Works on Paper taking place Thursday, September 22nd, 2016. The auction includes a selection of architectural books, prints, and drawings from the property of the late Nancy Sheiry Glaister, a bibliophile through and through with particular interests in art and architecture.
The following are five highlights from Fine Books and Works on Paper:
Lot 294. Virgilius Maro (Publius). Vergilius [Opera], Aldus Manutius, Venice, 1501. The first book in octavo format printed by Aldus, as well as the first to be printed in italic type; this is the celebrated and very rare Virgil of 1501. An outstanding copy, previously held by H.P. Kraus and included in his catalog issued to celebrate the printed masterpieces which he sold as a bookseller over five decades. Est. £60,000-80,000.
Lot 300. Pacioli (Luca). Divina Proporzione, 23ff. only, proof copy of the “Golden Alphabet,” Venice, Paganino Paganini, 1509. A proof copy of the famous alphabet from Pacioli’s masterpiece, the Divina Proporzione, a treatise on the “divine proportion,” or the “golden section” or “golden ratio.” The treatise is the first printed book to deal with the construction of the alphabet and to examine the shapes and proportions of classical Roman letters. Pacioli’s alphabet was designed after the work of his mentor Leonardo da Vinci as a model of perfection for carving epitaphs and inscriptions. Est. £25,000-35,000.
Lot 253. Mountaineering. Fellows (Sir Charles). A Narrative of an Ascent to the Summit of Mont Blanc, autograph manuscript with 11 fine original watercolors, original calf, gilt, slightly rubbed, 4to, 1827. The ascent detailed is the first of Mont Blanc by the “Corridor” and Mur de la Côte routes. The book printed based off this manuscript is extremely rare, with 50 copies privately printed. This manuscript is one of a kind. Est. £15,000-20,000.
Lot 492. Woolf (Virginia). Mrs Dalloway, first edition, 1925. Woolf’s masterpiece and most popular work is very difficult to find with a dust-jacket, which this copy includes.
Lot 291. Simplicius of Cilicia. Ypomnema eis tas deka kategorias tou Aristotelous, Venice, Editio princeps, Zacharia Kallierges for Nikolaos Blastos, 1499. In 1498 the Cretan Blastos obtained a ten year privilege in Venice to print Greek books and invited his fellow Cretan Zacharias Kallierges to join him in the project. This book is the edito princeps of the important commentary on Aristotle by the Neoplatonist Simplicius. Est. £10,000-15,000.
Fine Books and Works on Paper takes place Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 10:30am British Summer Time. The entire catalog for Fine Books and Works on Paper is available on Forum Auctions’ website here. The PDF version of the catalog includes a piece on Nancy Sheiry Glaister written by a friend, and provides some background on who the woman was behind the collection. Interested first time buyers and bidders must register with Forum; you can do so by clicking this link. Existing account holders need only sign in at the top right corner of any Forum Auctions website page to register for bidding. Bidding will be available through the traditional means: live, absentee bid, phone, and online.
A further 154 lots from the collection of the late Nancy Sheiry Glaister will be sold in an online-only auction through Forum Auctions one week after Fine Books and Works on Paper, at 3:00pm BST on Thursday, September 29th. The only catalog for this auction is viewable here.
