Oct. 18: Fine Books & Manuscripts at Potter & Potter Auctions
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Later this month on October 18th, Potter & Potter Auctions out of Chicago will be hosting a 639 lot sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts. The sale is diverse, with the print and PDF catalogues broken into sections including 20th century literature, Asian books and prints, militaria, sports & entertainment, and gambling, crime & western Americana.
Estimates for the sale are reasonable, with the highest estimated item being Charles Etienne Briseux’s L’Art de Batir des Maisons de Campagne, a work on French Rococo architecture, interiors, and decoration. The copy being auctioned is a 1743 first edition and possesses a distinguished provenance—it was once part of the library of Henri François d’Aguesseau, the Chancellor of France (1717-1750) described by Voltaire as “the most learned magistrate France ever possessed.” As lot 211 it is estimated $6,000 to $8,000.
Predating Briseux’s work is Francesco Lana Terzi’s Magisterium naturae, et artis. Opus physico-mathematicum in three volumes from 1684/1692. This is a significant encyclopedic work of the physical sciences and natural philosophies, and its value is heightened by the presence of the third volume. The set is estimated $4,000 to $6,000 as lot 230.
Several lots under the umbrella term of Americana stand out. William James, widely considered the founder of modern American psychology, is here as lot 154: a first edition, first state of The Principles of Psychology in two volumes. A three-page autograph letter signed from James is tipped in. The two-volume set and ALS are estimated $3,000 to $5,000. Later on the in the sale, lot 236, Roland Clark’s Etchings, includes seventy folio illustrations, but its selling points are that this copy is number 29 of 50 signed De Luxe edition printings and it includes two original signed etchings “Bluebird Weather” and “The Morning Flight.” It is estimated $3,500 to $4,500. And lastly, an original illustration (comic story board, ink over graphite on paper) for Mad Magazine Issue No. 2 (the final page of an 8-page story entitled “Hex) by Jack Davis (story by Harvey Kurtzman) is an interesting work from an American classic. $2,500 to $3,500 is the estimate.
Potter & Potter Auctions’ sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts is set to take place on Friday, October 18, 2019, at 10AM Central time in Chicago. The online catalogue offers easy to use categories for lot filtering, making it significantly easier to maneuver through 600+ items. The entire catalogue is available here.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
