Joel Munsell, the mid-19th century Albany, New York printer has recently reappeared thanks to the keen eyes of De Wolfe and Wood, of Alfred, Maine. In their recent offers were imprints associated with Franklin B. Hough who spent his last years identifying and selecting what would become known the Bradford Club Series of educational imprints (1859-1867), 8 reprints related to American history.
The Bradford Club enjoyed the support of many of the most famous men in their era.
The printing of this series was done by Joel Munsell. Over the years, these publications were alternatively shown as printed by Munsell & Rowland (1858), Privately Printed (1860), or simply listed as New York (1865). What unifies them is that they are all listed in Mr. Munsell’s history of his printed works called Munselliana. Simply stated, he printed them and they are some of his best work, all uniformly bound, a few of them associated Franklin B. Hough, his friend, a doctor and writer.
These are the imprints offered by De Wolfe & Wood.
Munsell Imprints. Pg. 92. Hough, F. B. Proclamation for Thanksgiving, Issued by the Continental Congress, President Washington, by the National and State Governments on the Peace of 1815, and by the Governors of New York since the Introduction of the Custom; with those of the Governors of the several States in 1858; with an Historical Introduction and Notes. 1858. Royal 8vo, pp. xvii, 183. 200 copies. In Transactions+ we have one auction record, dated 1905.
Munsell Imprints. Pg. 105. Croakers, by Joseph Rodman Drake and Fitz-Greene Halleck; first complete edition. 1860. 8vo, viii. 191. 150 copies. In Transactions+, we have 134 auction records.
Munsell Imprints. Pg. 136. Hough, Franklin B. Bibliographical List of Books and Pamphlets containing Eulogies, Orations, Poems, or other Papers, relating to the Death of General Washington, or to the Honors paid to his Memory. 1865. 8vo., pp.59. 25 copies. We have 13 references in Transactions+.
This copy is Franklin B. Hough’s, including his distribution list.
There is another version of this book (printed by another printer) that is available and I have offered to buy it.
Munsell material has long encountered an uncertain market. His strength, or his weakness, was he found early success by creating rarities, simply by stating a print run limitation. His problem was, if he stated the print run was small, it occasionally created great demand for those imprints. Unfortunately, he occasionally succumbed to high demand by creating additional copies. He probably assumed he wouldn’t be caught.
Note: The size of these copies are unusually large: 10.625 x 7.25 inches. They were printed on larger sheets and custom bound.
For collectors, these irregularities has made Munsell imprints an interesting pursuit. I highly recommend it.
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.
