• Forum Auctions
    A Visual and Historical Voyage into the Ottoman World:
    The Library of a Gentleman
    14th November
    Forum, Nov. 14: Preziosi (Amedeo). Stamboul: Recollections of Eastern Life, first edition, Paris, Lemercier, 1858. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Mayr (Heinrich von). Malerische Ansichten aus dem Orient. Vues Pittoresques de l'Orient, first edition in the original 10 parts, Munich, Paris & Leipzig, [1839-40]. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Lewis (John Frederick). Illustrations of Constantinople, made during a Residence in that City &c. in the Years 1835-6, first edition, [1838]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Dodwell (Edward). Views in Greece, first edition, ordinary format, Rodwell and Martin, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Cassas (Louis François). [Voyage Pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, de la Palæstube et de la Basse-Égypte], 3 vol., first edition, [Paris], [1799]. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    A Visual and Historical Voyage into the Ottoman World:
    The Library of a Gentleman
    14th November
    Forum, Nov. 14: La Chappelle (Georges). Recueil de Divers Portraits des Principales Dames de la Porte du Grand Turc, first edition, Paris, 1648. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Fossati (Gaspard). Aya Sophia Constantinople as recently restored by order of H.M. the Sultan Abdul Medjid, first edition, ordinary format, 1852. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Pertusier (Charles). Promenades Pittoresques dans Constantinople et sur les Rives du Bosphore, 4 vol., inc Atlas, first edition, Paris, H. Nicolle, 1815-17. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Brindesi (Jean). Souvenirs de Constantinople, first edition, [Paris], [1855-60]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Nov. 14: Le Bruyn (Cornelius). Voyage au Levant, first French edition, Delft, Henri de Kroonevelt, 1700. £3,000 to £4,000.
  • Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Chronograph Wristwatches. Precious memories of the 20th Century / Cronografi da Polso. Preziose Memorie del XX Secolo, 2013. €3,000 to €5,000. Starting Bid: €10.
    Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Lanthemann, Joseph. Modigliani 1884-1920. A Catalogue Raisonné, Barcelona, 1970. €320 to €380. Starting Bid: €10.
    Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Warhol, Andy. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (from A to B and back again), New York, 1975. Signed by the author. €500 to €600. Starting Bid: €10.
    Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Vitali, Lamberto. Morandi: Catalogo Generale. I & II, Mediolan, 1983. €1,100 to €1,300. Starting Bid: €10.
    Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Goldstein, Ann. Christopher Wool, Los Angeles, 1998. €320 to €380. Starting Bid: €10.
    Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Celant, Germano. Piero Manzoni, 1989. €320 to €360. Starting Bid: €10.
    Desa Unicum, Nov. 13: Ernst, Max. Oeuvre-Katalog. Das Graphische Werk, Cologne, 1975. €420 to €480. Starting Bid: €10.
  • Doyle
    Stage & Screen
    November 14 & 15
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A studio-sanctioned Darth Vader Touring Costume from The Empire Strikes Back. $50,000 to $100,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: An original Al Hirschfeld's illustration of the cast of On Golden Pond. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: The largest trove of personal Grace Kelly letters to come to market. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: An Important Archive of Musical Manuscripts of Truman Capote and Harold Arlen's House of Flowers. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: The archive of an original Merrily We Roll Along Broadway cast member. $5,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Jerry Herman's Yamaha Model C7 Ebonized Grand Piano. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A large group of Jerry Herman musical posters. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Group of awards presented to Jerry Herman. $300 to $400.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Six pages of original art for "The MAD Game of Basebrawl," a complete story published in MAD #167, pages 31-36, June 1974. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A MAD book made for Al Jaffee, containing original art and writings from many MAD contributors. 2011. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A Jaffee-themed MAD Fold-In - "What honor should the creator of the MAD Fold-Ins be given?" $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: MAD Fold-In - "What developing news story has many Americans totally transfixed?" $800 to $1,200.
  • Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Printed Books, Maps & Caricatures
    13 November 2024
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: The Americas. Blaeu (Willem Janszoon), Americae nova Tabula, Amsterdam circa 1635. £800-1,200
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Witchcraft. Saducismus Trimphatus, by Joseph Glanvill, 2nd edition, 1688. £600-800
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Gillray (James). United Irishmen in Training, 1798. £500-800
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Printed Books, Maps & Caricatures
    13 November 2024
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Ketham (Johannes de). Fasciculus medici[n]e …, Venice: Cesare Arrivabene, March 1522. £6,000-8,000
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Bible [English]. The Byble in Englyshe of the largest and greatest volume..., 1541. £7,000-10,000
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Chaucer (Geoffrey). The Workes of Geffray Chaucer newlye printed..., 1542. £2,000-3,000
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Printed Books, Maps & Caricatures
    13 November 2024
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Bible [English]. The Newe Testament of Our Saviour Jesu Christe..., 1566. £7,000-10,000
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Hakluyt (Richard). The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques..., 1599. £4,000-6,000
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Queen Anne binding. A sammelband of 15 almanacks, 1704. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter Auctioneers
    Printed Books, Maps & Caricatures
    13 November 2024
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Jacobite Uprising. A Grand Consultation concerning the Invasion of England..., 1745. £1,000-1,500
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Holbein (Hans). Imitations of Original Drawings in the Collection of His Majesty, 1792-1800. £2,000-3,000
    Dominic Winter, 13th Nov: Wordsworth (William). Yarrow Revisited, 1st edition, presentation copy with author's corrections, 1835. £1,500-2,000

Rare Book Monthly

Articles - May - 2009 Issue

Library Book Returned... 145 Years Later

Consecutive numbers showed this to be Washington and Lee's copy.

Consecutive numbers showed this to be Washington and Lee's copy.


By Michael Stillman

We don't know whether Mike Dau read the story about the Iowa woman who spent several hours in jail over a six-month overdue library book, but we will guess not. If so, he must have approached the Washington and Lee University Library with great fear and trepidation last month. Mr. Dau was returning a book that had been removed a bit longer ago than six months. It was, in fact, 145 years, or to be precise, 52,858 days overdue. On a fairness basis compared to the lady in Iowa, he probably should have been executed, but instead he walked away a free man. He didn't even have to pay a fine, which based on the current rate of $1 per day, would amount to $52,858. Librarians (excluding those from Iowa) are a forgiving lot.

This story goes all the way back to the Civil War. On June 11, 1864, Union forces attacked Lexington, Virginia, home to what was then simply Washington University. Union soldier C.S. Gates swiped the book, volume one of the four-volume set History of the War in the Peninsula and in the South of France, by W.F.P Napier. Gates was obviously not a book collector, as it is foolish to take one volume of a larger set, and this is not a particularly valuable book anyway, not even after all of these years. However, Gates did not have time to conduct a full appraisal. A handwritten note from Gates inside the book indicates he thought he was taking it from nearby Virginia Military Institute, not Washington University, and he was probably more interested in sticking it to those rebels. Alternatively, he may have just been trying to save the book, as his note continues, "The Institution was burned by the order of Gen Hunter." Actually, Gates was only half right. Union troops did burn down the VMI library, but not the Washington from which he took the book, but with the two institutions side by side, it is easy to see how he became confused.

Gates made it back home after the war, and while we don't know whether he ever read this book, he certainly did not throw it away. Neither did his descendants. The book was handed down through generations of the Gates family, until it reached the last in the line, Myron and Isabel Gates. When Mrs. Gates died, she left it to her Lake Forest, Illinois, neighbor, Mike Dau. So explains how Mr. Dau ended up with this book so many years later.

In time, Mr. Dau concluded this book belonged with its rightful owner, and after some sleuthing, he determined that it was Washington and Lee. His conclusions proved correct when the book was matched to volume 2, still in the library's possession. In these pre-Dewey Decimal days, the library marked their books with simple numbers. Mr. Dau's volume 1 is labeled, "139," while volume 2 is labeled "140." The reunion was complete. However, it should be noted that the remaining volumes are still missing, and anyone possessing them should be forewarned that Washington and Lee might not be so forgiving of people who hold onto to their overdue books for longer than 145 years.

Legalistic Footnote: For those with a legalistic mind, it is clear that Washington and Lee University was the owner of this book, not Mr. Dau. There have been several cases lately, including one involving North Carolina's copy of the Bill of Rights, taken by a Union soldier in the waning days of the Civil War. The courts found for North Carolina over the most recent possessor, and undoubtedly would have found the same here, excepting the value of this book would not have warranted a suit, and Washington and Lee would have remained in ignorance had not Mr. Dau come forward to return the book.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Swann, Nov. 14: Stephen Sondheim, autograph musical quotation signed and inscribed, 4 bars from “Send in the Clowns,” 1986.
    Swann, Nov. 14: George Washington, autograph letter signed to Robert Morris, preparing for attack on Philadelphia, 1777.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Autograph album containing over 250 signatures by members of 29th U.S. Congress, 1845.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Charles “The Bold,” letter signed to Duke of Milan written during Burgundian Wars, 1475.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Deng Xiaoping, TIME magazine “Man of the Year” issue signed and dated, 1979.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Theodor Herzl, autograph letter signed to prospective tutor of his children, 1902.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Bourienne’s Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte extra illustrated including 1798 letter signed by Napoleon after Battle of the Nile, 1836.
    Swann, Nov. 14: George Minot, autograph manuscript signed, diary kept during European trip to claim Nobel Prize, 1934.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Thomas Jefferson, autograph letter signed, introducing George Washington’s personal secretary Tobias Lear, 1793.
    Swann, Nov. 14: Winston Churchill, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, signed in second volume, first edition, 1956-58.
    Swann, Nov. 14: John Steinbeck, late typescript drafts of 5 chapters from his posthumously published tales of King Arthur, 1959.
    Swann, Nov. 14: H.G. Wells, group of 14 of his books signed to his mistress Rebecca West or the son they had together, 1910s-40s.
  • Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 51. Ortelius' Influential Map of the New World - Second Plate in Full Contemporary Color (1579) Est. $5,500 - $6,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 165. Reduced-Size Edition of Jefferys/Mead Map with Revolutionary War Updates (1776) Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 688. Blaeu's Superb Carte-a-Figures Map of Africa (1634) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 105. Striking Map of French Colonial Possessions (1720) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 98. Rare First Edition of the First Published Plan of a Settlement in North America (1556) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 181. Important Map of the Georgia Colony (1748) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 547. Ortelius' Map of Russia with a Vignette of Ivan the Terrible in Full Contemporary Color (1579) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 85. Homann's Decorative Map of Colonial America (1720) Est. $1,600 - $1,900
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 642. Blaeu's Magnificent Carte-a-Figures Map of Asia (1634) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 748. The Martyrdom of St. John in Contemporary Hand Color with Gilt Highlights (1520) Est. $1,000 - $1,300
    Old World Auctions (Nov 6-20):
    Lot 298. Scarce Early Map of Chester County (1822) Est. $2,750 - $3,500
  • Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES. Red-Shouldered Hawk. London: R. Havell, Jr., 1829. $2,000 - $3,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: STEWART, WILLIAM DRUMMOND, SIR. Altowan; or, Incidents of Life and Adventure in the Rocky Mountain... New York, 1846. PRESENTATION COPY. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: WILLUGHBY & RAY, JOHN. The Ornithology of Francis Willughby in three books... London, Martyn, 1678. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: SUSAN B. ANTHONY. Autograph Quotation Signed, on equal rights "for men and women," Rochester, 1898. $1,000 - $1,500
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN. Autograph Letter Signed integrally to Le Comte de Milly arranging a meeting with M. Broignard, Passy, 1778. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: FRANKLIN, JEFFERSON, & ADAMS. Mansucript Signed by all three architects of the American ideal, requesting a Treaty of Amity and Commerce. $750,000 - $1,000,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: LINCOLN, ABRAHAM. Endorsement Signed, a pardon for a Confederate soldier, February 6, 1865. $4,000 - $6,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: NAPOLEON FORMALLY RATIFIES THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. Document Signed ("James Monroe," "Robt. R. Livingston" and "Barbé-Marbois"). $100,000 - $200,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: JAMES MONROE ON THE DIFFICULTIES OF JAY'S TREATY. Autograph Letter Signed to Thomas Pinckney, Paris, January 17, 1795. $15,000 - $25,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: GIDEON WELLES FIRST HAND ACCOUNT OF FORT PICKENS AND FORT SUMTER ON THE EVE OF CIVIL WAR. Autograph Manuscript, 44 pp, c.1870. $4,000 - $6,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: SIGNED BY BORGES. Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings. 1962. First book publication in English. $4,000 - $6,000
    Bonhams, Nov. 2-12: LORENZO DOW TURNER'S COPY. LOCKE, ALAIN. The New Negro: an Interpretation. 1925. $1,000 - $1,500
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana
    November 14
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.

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