Doyle Auctions: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps May 1st!
- by Announcement, Rare Book Hub staff
Quality and well described complexity
Doyle will hold an auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 10am. The sale offers a broad range of material ranging from the 12th to 20th centuries. The first thirty-five lots comprise a diverse group of early printed books, English and Continental, with a number of items of Shakespearian interest (lots 3-6) in the first category, and a fine copy of Van Dyke’s Icones (lot 24), an exceptional collection of portraits of artists, patrons and collectors, heading the Continental portion. Following this, lots 35-46 are an exceptionally interesting selection of text and illuminated manuscripts. This group includes the Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier, a 15th century manuscript with extensive illumination (lot 38), as well as a 15th century vernacular breviary in Middle Dutch, likely written at a Delft convent, with elaborate penwork initials (lot 42) and a 14th century Rules of St. Augustine from an English priory near the Welsh border (lot 44). Succeeding this are bound sets and individual fine bindings, lots 47-61. These are highlighted by a remarkable extra-illustrated set of Shakespeare from the library of Irving Berlin (lot 57), and a set of the classic Art deco fashion periodical, the Journal des Dames et des Modes (lot 61).
Following this comes a change of theme; lots 62-106 are all focused on natural history. These include the ornithological library of Ken Harte. There are many important color plate books here, including those by Audubon (lots 64-66), Dresser (lots 78-80), Elliot (lot 81) etc. This section also has some interesting travel, including Henderson and Hume’s Lahore to Yarkand; the succeeding work from the second mission (lot 105); Pollen and Van Dam’s travels to Madagascar (lot 93) etc. From there the sale moves on to maps and travel (lots 107-139). These incorporate Bouchette’s great wall map of Lower Canada (136) and other maps of American appeal. Lot 108 is a significant unpublished manuscript account of South America travels in 1759-1764, written by a French traveler.
Private press and book arts are the next section, lots 140-152, and these include the Cranach Press Hamlet (lot 143) and some interesting Rockwell Kent volumes (lots 148-151). Then comes literature and children’s books, lots 153-219, with A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh books, both in signed and unsigned state (lots 194-198), an inscribed work by the elusive Thomas Pynchon (lot 200), a Tolkien calligraphic quotation (lot 210) and much else of appeal.
Americana comprises lots 220-227, which includes a copy of Marshall’s Life of Washington annotated by Washington’s aide-de-camp James McHenry with an account of the Battle of Monmouth (lot 227). The important Rotondaro collection of material pertaining to slavery and emancipation and books on the Black experience extends from lots 228 through 269. This is aptly followed by lot 270, an extraordinary Thomas Jefferson letter written as President, in which Jefferson writes on Toussaint Louverture and expresses his fears of “a war of extermination” on Saint-Domingue, now Haiti. Accompanied by two related letters, this occupies the following two lots (lots 271-272). Then follows a selection of American presidential signatures (lots 273-299). General autograph material comes next (lots 300-317), with some attractive Churchill pieces (lots 303-306) and a signed Einstein (lot 307). A selection of costume designs by Edith Head runs from lots 318 to 326, and the sale concludes with a selection of 19th and 20th century art and architecture, lots 327-356.
Edward Ripley-Duggan Vice-President, Rare Books and Manuscripts Department
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.
