Based in Freehold, NY, Carlsen Gallery specializes in 18th and 19th century American furniture and other antiques such as oil paintings, porcelain and rugs. This month, their Mid-Winter Antique Auction on February 11, 2018, also includes a selection of rare books, autograph documents, posters, and etchings that members of Rare Book Hub may be interested in. Four hundred and two lots make up the sale, with a majority of the items falling under the Gallery’s focus of collectible antiques. So what falls under the umbrella of Rare Book Hub interest?
The highlight of the sale is a handwritten, autograph letter signed by Thomas Jefferson, dated September 10, 1821 and addressed to Graven Peyton, Esq., in which the former President tells Mr. Peyton that he will be paying him soon. As lot 15, Jefferson’s letter is estimated $2,000 to $4,000. Another Jefferson item precedes the letter, and this is a third edition of his Notes on the State of Virginia, estimated $100 to $300.
An 1837 edition of The Federalist is perhaps, on its own, not a particularly impressive item, but the copy being auctioned here was owned by the sons of one of the writers: Alexander Hamilton, Jr. Signed and annotated by Hamilton, Jr., this Federalist stands out from other copies. It is estimated $100 to $300 as lot 14.
Another interesting item is a framed set of autographs containing the signatures of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Julia Ward Howe (best known as the writer of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”), Lucy Stone (a U.S. orator, abolitionist, and suffragist), Mary Livermore (also an abolitionist and suffragist), and Julia Marlowe (an English-born, American actress of the 19th and early 20th centuries). The autographs are framed together and are available as lot 11 for an estimated $300 to $500.
Vintage posters are a strong suit of the sale, with circus posters being auctioned in abundance. Lots 71 through 78 are groups of circus posters with Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey included. Groups of five posters are estimated $300 to $900 while the final lot, #78 contains nine posters and is estimated $200 to $400. A vintage “Tim McCoy’s real Wild West” poster is a gem in its own right and is estimated $500 to $1,500. Lastly, a group of six American WWII posters are being offered as lot 68 for an estimated $100 to $300.
Finally, we have a Nathaniel Currier lithograph print of the “Loss of the Steamboat Swallow,” printed in Athens, NY in 1845 in its original frame and glass. As lot 183, it is estimated $200 to $500.
The catalog for Carlsen Gallery’s Mid-Winter Antique Auction is available on their website here, and I recommend using the “Groups and Categories” filter for efficient browsing. They are accepting online bids now. Live bidding will take place on Sunday, February 11 beginning at 10:30am EST.
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 26th March 2026
Forum, Mar. 26: Book of Hours.- Heures a lusaige de Romme, printed on vellum, with 14 full-page illuminated miniatures, Paris, N. Higman for J. de Brie, [c.1521]. £20,000-30,000
Forum, Mar. 26: France.- Book of Hours, perhaps Use of the Abbey of Saint-Gildas de Rhuys, with thirteen miniatures surviving from an original cycle of at least twenty, [c. 1430]. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Milton (John). Paradise lost. A Poem in Ten Books, first edition, Pforzheimer's sixth state, S. Simmons, 1669. £8,000-12,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Blake (William). Illustrations of the Book of Job, one of 215 first issue "Proof" copies, this one of 65 copies on "French" paper, Published by the Author, March 8, 1825 [but March, 1826]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 26th March 2026
Forum, Mar. 26: Christie (Agatha). The ABC Murders, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £15,000-20,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Halley (Edmund). Astronomiae Cometicae Synopsis, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, no. 297, pp.1882-99, March 1705. £10,000-15,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Haytham (Ibn al) [known as Alhazen]. Opticae Thesaurus...Item Vitellonis Thuringopoloni libri X..., first edition, Basel, August, 1572. £20,000-30,000
Forum, Mar. 26: Kepler (Johannes). Dioptrice seu demonstratio eorum quae visui & visibilibus propter conspicilla non ita pridem inventa accidunt, first edition, Augsburg, David Frank, 1611. £12,000-18,000
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Andrews (H.C.) Coloured Engravings of Heaths, 4 vol. in 2, first edition, [1710,--94]-1802-1809-[1830]. £10,000 - £15,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- Cramer (Pierre) and Caspar Stoll. De Uitlandsche Kapellen voorkomende in de drie Waereld-Deelen…,, 5 vol., Amsterdam & Utrecht, 1779-91. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Voyages.- Darwin (Charles) and others. Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle, 3 vol. in 4, including Appendix to vol.2, first edition, 1839. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Butterflies.- de Graaf (Willem Diederik Vincent). [Inlandsche Kapellen in beeld], 170 fine original watercolours, [Enkhuizen], [1800-40]. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Dresser (Henry Eeles). A History of the Birds of Europe, 9 vol., including supplement, first edition, by the author, 1871-96. £6,000 - £8,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Zoology.- Felines.- Elliot (Daniel Giraud). A Monograph of the Felidæ or Family of the Cats, first edition, for the Subscribers, by the Author, [1878]-1883. £25,000 - £30,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Frisch (Johann Leonard). Vorstellung der Vögel Deutschlandes, 2 vol., first edition, Berlin, Friedr. Wilhelm Birnsteil, [1736]-1763. £40,000 - £60,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Birds.- Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, by the author, 1862-1873. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum Auctions Natural History: The remaining stock of Antiquariaat Junk, 1899-2026 25 March 2026
Forum, Mar. 25: Pomology.- France.- Poiteau (A.) Pomologie Française. Recueil des Plus Beaux Fruits cultivés en France, 4 vol., Paris, 1846. £30,000 - £40,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- [Robin (Jean)]. Histoire des Plantes, nouvellement trouvées en l'Isle Virgine…,, 1620; with Geoffrey Linocier L'Histoire des plantes, second edition, 1619-20. £3,000 - £4,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Japan.- Siebold (P.F. von). Nippon. Archiv zur Beschreibung von Japan, 7 parts in 6 vol., first edition, Leyden, [1832]-1852. £35,000 - £45,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Asia.- Valentijn (Francois). Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën..., 5 vol. in 8, first edition, Dordrecht [&] Amsterdam, 1724-26. £8,000 - £12,000.
Forum, Mar. 25: Botany.- Australia.- Redouté (P.J.).- Ventenat (Étienne Pierre). Jardin de la Malmaison, 2 vol.,, Paris, 1803-04[-05]. £30,000 - £40,000.
