Arader Galleries announce an auction on December 5th: Classics of Pen, Brush and Press
- by Announcement, Rare Book Hub staff
Arader Galleries announces an important auction, Classics of Pen, Brush and Press on December 5th, 2020 including icons of natural history and cartography, beautiful examples of Audubon's Birds of America, stunning European and American oil paintings, and a fine selection of rare books and atlases. The sale spans five centuries and includes many of the most seminal, iconic, and unique works of art that Arader Galleries has to offer.
The 183 lot sale begins with a curated section 23 aquatints from John James Audubon's Birds of America including some of the finest compositions and most iconic works that Audubon and Havell created such as the Male Turkey (Lot 1) and Female Turkey (Lot 2), Virginia Partridge (Lot 5), Columbia Jay (Lot 8), Canvas-backed Duck (Lot 19), Black-Bellied Darter (Lot 21), White Pelican (Lot 22) and Roseate Spoonbill (Lot 23).
Next is a selection of important natural history watercolors and oil paintings including works by John Woodhouse Audubon (Lot 24), the first Georgia Natural history artist, John Abbott (Lots 25 & 26), America's best southern 20th century ornithological artist, Basil Ede (Lots 30 & 31), Roger Tory Peterson (Lots 37-42), and the Raphael of Flowers, Pierre-Joseph Redoute (Lots 47-51). Following is a unique offering of western themed works including original drawings by Rudolph Cronau (Lots 58-60), a stunning oil by George Catlin (Lot 57) and a monumental view of The Grand Canyon by Edward Potthast (Lot 62). More paintings follow with beautiful seascapes like the View of Portsmouth, England made by a English Spy for Napolean (Lot 66); Landscapes such as three evocative cityscapes of New York painted during the city's amazing growth (Lots 88-90), as well as a section of European portraits (Lots 91-98).
Following is a selection offering fine atlases ranging from early works by greats such as Ortelius (Lot 106) and Mercator (Lot 107) to later works by Humbolt (Lot 108) and Carey & Lea (Lot 104). Finally, is a robust grouping of cartography. The sale covers everything from early Italian school maps by Forlani (Lots 116-120) and Gastaldi (Lots 121-125) to 18th & 19th century maps of Colonial America (Lot 167), Canada (Lot 159), and the American West (Lot 160) by the likes of De L'Isle and Arrowsmith (Lot 152). There are also several important manuscript maps in the sale whose uniqueness and beauty lend great value like an exceptionally fine and historically important manuscript map showing the origins of the state of Texas at the turn of the 19th century and one of the most important maps of the Gulf Coast, Texas, and Louisiana to come on the market in 50 years (Lot 176).
We look forward to bidders creating new homes for these loyal, faithful objects that have brought comfort and satisfaction over the decades, and will do so for generations to come. If you would like more information about this sale, condition reports or additional images please email [email protected] and we will be happy to assist!
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.
Leland Little, June 12: The First Illustrated Edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Leland Little, June 12: John Morton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signed Pennsylvania Land Survey.
Leland Little, June 12: The Scarce Jansson Edition of a Remarkable Early View of London.
Leland Little, June 12: Signed Limited Edition of The Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Leland Little, June 12: Faden’s Important and Scarce Map of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
Leland Little, June 12: William J. Tate (NC, 1869-1953), Archive of the "Original host to the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk.”
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.
