May 4-11: Fahrenheit 451 and other signed material at AntiquarianAuctions.com
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Highlighted material from AntiquarianAuctions.com's US sale #11
AntiquarianAuctions.com, an online rare book auction house, has been in business since 2010 under the leadership of antiquarian bookseller Paul Mills. In spring 2020, just as the pandemic was prompting a global shutdown, the American side of the business, led by Adam Langlands, launched with the objective of hosting sales with material specifically geared towards American collectors’ interests. With now ten auctions completed, their US Auction #11 opens at 2:30 pm eastern time on May 4th and bidding concludes at 12:30 on May 11th.
There’s a nice variety of material included here, with many signed editions and reasonable estimates. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights.
A signed, limited issue (this is copy #4 of a stated 200), first edition of Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451 is the headline item of the sale. Being sold now by the original owner, this copy was purchased in 1953 via mail order. AntiquarianAuctions describes it as an “enigma” because this limited issue carries with it several unanswered questions about its origin:
Who came up with the idea?
How many were actually printed? The current count is 215 copies!
As the issue was not widely advertised, how, if at all, was it marketed?
A very interesting first edition to say the least, this copy of Bradbury’s most famous work is estimated $13,000 to $18,000 as the first lot of the sale. If this item is out of your price range, another Bradbury first edition, Dark Carnival, is being sold as lot #3 with an estimate of $1,200 to $1,800.
I’m personally only familiar with L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, because I have a friend who finds cults fascinating. Certainly a polarizing figure during his lifetime, he is evidently also collectible. Up for sale as lot #2 is a signed, first edition of Slaves of Sleep, a science fiction novel that appeared originally in an 1939 issue of the magazine Unknown. It is estimated $1,500 to $2,500.
Pivoting to a completely different genre of material, Indian Heroes and Great Chieftains is another interesting, signed and inscribed first edition being auctioned. Written by Dr. Charles A. Eastman in 1918, the author had a fascinating life. Born in a buffalo hide tipi in Minnesota in 1858, he seemed destined to participate in the final Sioux uprisings of the 1870s. However, fate and his father intervened, and he eventually graduated from Dartmouth College and Boston University’s medical school. I highly recommend reading the longer biography included in the lot’s description. As lot 33, Dr. Eastman’s work is estimated $1,500 to $2,000.
The last highlight of this preview is a complete suite of the 158 prints, the frontispiece, and the title page from the limited edition of Henri Matisse’s artist’s book Dessins, Themes et Variations. The text leaves with several illustrations, being Louis Aragon’s accompanying essay, are missing from this sale. This particular set was used as the artwork for the reproduction issued by Dover Publications in 1995, so the plates have been annotated in the margins. They are, however, suitable for framing. As lot 171, Matisse’s prints are estimated $2,000 to $4,000.
Where information is available, AntiquarianAuctions.com goes above and beyond in providing lengthy and detailed descriptions for the items they auction. Two hundred and forty-nine lots make up Auction #11, and they are well worth your time in perusing. The entire catalog is available for preview here. If you plan on bidding, please ensure that you register beforehand.
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
Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
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.
