Feb. 14: Icons & Images, a Sale of Photographs and Photobooks at Swann Auction Galleries
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Highlights from Swann's Feb. 14 sale of Icons & Images
As technology has transformed the world of works on paper, the value of collectible items has shifted towards things that are aesthetically pleasing. One reason for owning books—the knowledge contained within—has largely disappeared due to digitization. Maps have seen their value hold up comparatively well, and comics are enjoying a boom (though youth is a big factor). Another collectible arena falling under the aesthetic umbrella, and which toes the line separating art and works on paper, is photography. This month, on February 14th, Swann Auction Galleries is hosting Icons & Images: Photographs & Photobook, a remarkable assortment of 325 lots depicting significant people and moments in history, as well as work by well-known photographers.
The single highest estimate in the sale is lot 13, which is a selection of 50 plates from Eadweard Muybridge’s Animal Locomotion of figures in the midst of various activities like riding and jumping horses, somersaulting, and playing cricket, as well as animals such as a sloth, deer, and jaguar. These photographs come from a University of Pennsylvania-supported project between 1883 and 1886 in which Muybridge produced 100,000 pictures in his series dubbed “Animal Locomotion." They were subsequently published in sets of 100. This 50-image set is estimated $30,000 – 45,000.
The sale’s catalog cover bears the image from lot 75, entitled Portrait of Dorothy Norman, which was taken by Alfred Stieglitz in the 1930s. Though not as famous as Stieglitz, Norman was mentored by Stieglitz and is respected for her work as a photographer as well as a liberal advocate and essayist. The specific portrait being auctioned may be unique. It is estimated $20,000 – 30,000.
Another photographer that bears no need for introduction is Ansel Adams. Lot 61, Clearing Winter Storm, is a magnificent photograph of Yosemite Valley taken as storm clouds give way to clearer skies over the valley. Seeing Yosemite in person is an experience worth seeking, but seeing Yosemite through the camera of Ansel Adams is a different one entirely. That being said, visiting the national park in person is quite a bit cheaper than owning Adams’ work—this photograph is estimated $25,0000 – 35,000.
If Ansel Adams’ work is considered among the best views on the planet, then lot 285 must be considered among the best views off the planet. Thirty photographs from various NASA missions including astronauts floating in space and on the moon, and topographic views of Earth make up a truly unique set. These are the only Cibachrome (Ilfochrome) [hopefully these terms mean something to photography aficionados] prints made from the original positives and were featured at the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum beginning in 1985. More than six million people have seen them. You can have the final say on who else gets to lay their eyes on them for an estimated $15,000 – 25,000.
It wouldn’t be right to preview a sale of Icons without actually covering some. Lots 70 and 188 are two striking images that fall under this category; they are universally recognizable (at least in the states). Migrant Mother, the image taken by Dorothea Lange during the Great Depression, has come to be one of the defining images for the period and has been widely reproduced. This particular copy was printed in the 1950s and is estimated $10,000 – 15,000. The other icon that jumped out at me is an image that graced the cover of National Geographic in 1985 and may just be the most famous cover of that magazine.The image is Afghan Girl by Steve McMurry, and though the title may be unfamiliar, the picture will not. The portrait of the girl with striking eyes is estimated $10,000 – 15,000.
The catalog of Icons & Images is well worth browsing, with moments like the construction of the Empire State Building, the 1936 Olympics, and the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco shown in vivid detail, and portraits and pictures of significant figures from the last two centuries waiting to be seen again. The entire catalog is viewable online on Swann Auction Galleries’ website.
Icons & Images will take place February 14th at 1:30 eastern. Bidding is available via the usual methods of live, absentee, telephone, and internet. Registration with Swann is required for first-time bidders.
Sotheby’s Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone 25 June – July 7
Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000.
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000
Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000
Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000
Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000
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
