June 12: Landmark works 'Summa de Arithmetica' and DNA's double-helix discovery at Christie's New York
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Highlights from Christie's June 12 sales in New York
Normally, a sale featuring multiple six figure estimates, including a signed prepublication of the DNA double-helix discovery, a letter by George Washington addressing the Whiskey Rebellion, and another written by Lincoln during the Civil War, would demand all the attention of a preview like this. However, these and other lots are part of Christie’s second sale in New York on June 12. Before them is a single lot sale: Summa de Arithmetica: The Birth of Modern Business. This one item is the first appearance at auction in over fifty years of a first edition, originally bound Somma di arithmetica, geometria, proporzioni e proporzionalità by Luca Pacioli, a work renowned for being the first in many important respects. These include:
- The first published description of double-entry bookkeeping.
- The first print appearance of the plus and minus symbols in math.
- The first printed work to illustrate the finger symbolism of numbers.
- The first print appearance of the name Fibonacci and many of his ideas.
- The first appearance of the “rule of 72” — a simple method for calculating compound interest still taught today.
- The first popular mathematics book.
Christie’s has provided a detailed introduction, background, and history on Pacioli and his work, including the author’s relationship and influence on Leonardo da Vinci and the book’s impact on capitalism, business, and mathematics. You can find the writeup here. Math and business history evidently does not come cheaply—the Somma is estimated $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
The second sale of the day is nothing to scoff at either! Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts Including Americana features 232 lots of high-quality material ranging from $300 on the low end of estimates all the way to $250,000.
I will not pretend to be versed in complex science, but the work of Francis Crick and James Watson is known worldwide, though maybe their names are slightly less familiar than the subject matter: these are the men who discovered the double-helix structure of DNA. Lot 25 is the only known prepublication copy of their 1953 paper “Molecular structure of nucleic acids: A structure for deoxyribose nucleic acid.” It is signed by both and features two annotations. $180,000 to $250,000 are the estimates. The following lot, number 26, is another signed, galley proof paper, this time following up on the implications of their original groundbreaker. This one might come at a slight discount: $120,000 to $180,000.
As a US history buff, I’m turning my focus now to two of the most influential men in that sphere: Washington and Lincoln. Important and interesting letters from both are coming up for bidding. Washington’s letter from October 8, 1794 expresses his concerns about the Whiskey Rebellion—what Christie’s calls “the first great test of federal authority.” For anyone who has seen Hamilton or simply knows the early history of the US, the Whiskey Rebellion was a response to Hamilton’s whiskey tax—the first federal tax on a domestic product. This letter immediately precedes the federal army’s march and show of force (without a shot fired) in western Pennsylvania and the end of the rebellion. Washington’s letter is lot 126 in the sale and is estimated $100,000 to $150,000. As for Lincoln, his letter of December 21, 1861, is addressed to Major General John Charles Frémont, a man whom Lincoln had dismissed from command in November for his failure to support exposed Union forces under Nathaniel Lyon at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek. The letter is both an admonishment and critique of Frémont, though Lincoln treads carefully because of his target’s political strength. As lot 144, the letter is estimated $80,000 to $120,000.
The online catalog for Christie’s New York’s sale of Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts Including Americana can be browsed here. Summa de Arithmetica leads off the bidding at 2pm eastern time, followed immediately by the 232 lots of Fine Printed Books.
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
