Valuable and Important Books and Manuscripts from the Library of Edward R. Leahy coming to auction in October
- by Announcement, Rare Book Hub staff
A few highlight items from Christie's just announced October sale of Edward Leahy's Library.
Christie’s New York is pleased to announce the auction on 6 October of 2022 of Valuable and Important Books and Manuscripts from the Library of Edward R. Leahy. Mr Leahy’s collection comprises the finest group of modern illuminated manuscripts and jeweled and other magnificent bindings since the auction of Phoebe Boyle nearly a century ago. In addition, it contains important incunabula, including an illuminated Nuremberg Chronicle and an illuminated 1474 Bernhard Richel Bible; English literature from Spenser to Tolkien with a particularly deep well of Samuel Johnson & his circle, Charles Dickens, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; works relating to Captain Bligh and the Mutiny on the Bounty; and a fine collection of horror including first editions of Frankenstein, Dracula, and a presentation copy of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Quietly assembled with taste and discernment over more than a half century, the copies are particularly noteworthy for their extraordinary condition and provenance, coming from the greatest sales of the modern era, including a remarkable fourteen lots from Phoebe Boyle's sale as well as volumes from the libraries of Jerome Kern, A. Edward Newton, Paul Francis Webster, Estelle Doheny, H. Bradley Martin, Richard Manney, William E. Self, and Cornelius Hauck.
A classic library to delight bibliophiles on both sides of the Atlantic, highlights from the collection will be on tour to London, at Christie’s King Street, from 9-12 July in conjunction with Classic Week sales there. Alongside them will be selections from The Herman Melville Collection of William S. Reese (1-14 September 2022) and an important manuscript of John Donne’s poetry from the New York Fine Books and Manuscripts sale(23 November-7 December 2022).
For more information, please contact head of sale Rhiannon Knol at rknol@christies.com.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")