At auction no copies have come up since 1997. Between 1984 and 1997, 8 copies came up. Only two of them were the New York edition. It brought $90 in 1995 and $120 in 1994. It is listed in Howes as an a, its lowest rating. Howes USiana lists 11,600 titles of which half are rated an a. but Howes lists only 10% of the titles that Sabins Bibliotheca records. Its a good thing to be listed in Howes even with a common rating. My guess is that, at a smaller auction house, a very good copy of Latrobe will be estimated $200 to $300 or $250 to $350 and bring $300 to $375. In my view that puts the auction line on this chart at $325. Dealer prices generally start at $500 for a decent copy. On ABE recently there were 5 copies of this edition, none of which seemed exceptional.
If you buy an exceptional copy, $500 is a bargain. If you buy it in poor condition, $200 is no bargain. Remember that someday you may sell your books. Great copies sell very well and attract a strong audience. Poor copies raise doubts about your judgment. With all due respect to Mr. Latrobe, his book is common enough that to own it, it should be a great copy. Negotiate for a better copy at a better price, not a poor copy at a lower price. If you are going to settle for a poor copy, go for something that is exceptionally important or rare. That way, the books overall condition may not detract too much from the value of your collection. With many copies available you can afford to be fussy. You can also consider the first English edition or the second English edition published the following year with a map. Ultimately, to know the one edition youll learn about the others. Whatever you decide, you only need one.
My point? Latrobes book suffers from a lack of recognition but the book is actually quite good. It contains plenty of local information. It has a lot of upside because it fits into a wide variety of collecting approaches. But how much can you appropriately pay? Look for a very good copy at a price that is within range of auction realizations and only buy it if it logically fits into your collection.
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
