Auction Reports

Saffronart

Auction Info

Sale Name
Passages to India: A Journey Through Rare Books, Maps, Photographs, and Letters
Auction Date
07/24/2024 - 07/25/2024
Year of Sale
2024
Sale Number
#72424
Total Lots
93
Sold Lots
90
Lots Sold
96.8%
Unsold Lots
3
Price Unknown
0
Total Sales (USD)
779,719.00
Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
330,230.00
High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
424,275.00
Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)
338,670.00
High Estimate of All Lots (USD)
435,725.00
Total Sales as a % of High Est.
178.95%
Currency
USD
Inflation Adjusted Price in U.S. Dollars
779,719.00

Top twenty five by sale price

View All Auction Lots.
Top twenty five lots by sale price
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
93 Francois Balthazar Solvyns Les Hindous: Ou Description de Leurs Moeurs, Coutumes et Ceremonies [Rothschild Collection]

1808-1812

USD 40,965.00 - 48,195.00 137,349.00
91 Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Babasaheb Ambedkar) Constitution of India

[1950]

USD 21,690.00 - 24,100.00 57,831.00
92 Thomas and William Daniell Oriental Scenery. One Hundred and Fifty Views of the Architecture, Antiquities and Landscape Scenery of Hindoostan

1816

USD 16,870.00 - 24,100.00 37,590.00
90 James Baillie Fraser Exquisite Collection of Calcutta Prints by James Baille Fraser [Set of 17]

USD 19,280.00 - 24,100.00 27,470.00
1 Charles Wilkins The Bhagvat-Geeta, or Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon; in Eighteen Lectures; with Notes: Translated from the original, in the Sanskreet, or ancient language of the Brahmans

1785

USD 6,025.00 - 7,230.00 23,133.00
88 Emery Kelen Indian Round Table Conference [Inscribed by Nizam of Hyderabad VII]

1930

USD 6,630.00 - 7,835.00 17,349.00
51 A S G Butler The Architecture of Sir Edwin Lutyens [3 Volumes]

1950

USD 1,810.00 - 2,410.00 17,349.00
3 Robert Montgomery Martin British India: Its History, Topography, Government, Military, Defence, Finance, Commerce, and Staple Products, with an Exposition of the Social and Religious State [12 Divisons]

n.d., but 1848

USD 2,410.00 - 3,615.00 15,904.00
59 Charles Freer Andrews The Tagore Birthday Book: Selected from the English Works of Rabindranath Tagore [Signed book by Tagore]]

1928

USD 2,410.00 - 3,615.00 15,904.00
84 J Harris after Henry Martens Set of 6 prints on Sikh War

USD 9,040.00 - 10,245.00 15,904.00
89 Abanindranath Tagore Chitrakshar [Limited Edition Copy]

1924-25

USD 4,820.00 - 6,025.00 15,904.00
36 Stephen Wheeler History of Delhi Coronation Durbar Held on 1st of Jan 1903: To Celebrate the Coronation of King Edward VII, Compiled from the Original Papers by Order of the Viceroy

1904

USD 2,410.00 - 3,615.00 13,012.00
12 Captain Robert Smith Asiatic Costumes; A Series of Forty-Four Coloured Engravings, from designs taken from Life by Captain Smith, 44th Regiment: With a description to each subject

1828

USD 1,810.00 - 2,410.00 13,012.00
76 George Childs, J Picken, Thomas S Boys and W Walton after Lieutenant-Col. Alexander Jack Views of Kot Kangra and the surrounding Country [Set of Six]

1847

USD 3,615.00 - 4,820.00 13,012.00
46 Edmund W Smith Portfolio of Indian Architectural Drawings: Part I, Issued by the Government North-West Provinces and Oudh

1897

USD 3,015.00 - 3,615.00 11,566.00
82 Francois Balthazar Solvyns The Costume of Hindostan: Elucidated by Sixty Coloured Engravings; with Descriptions in English and French, Taken in the Years 1798 and 1799

1804

USD 4,820.00 - 6,025.00 10,120.00
39 Government of India Historical Record of the Imperial Visit to India 1911: Compiled from the official records under the orders of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India [Delux Edition]

1914

USD 3,015.00 - 3,615.00 9,398.00
45 William Griggs India. Photographs and Drawings of Historical Buildings. 100 Plates Reproduced By W. Griggs. From the Collection in the Late Office of Curator of Ancient Monuments in India

1896

USD 3,015.00 - 4,220.00 9,398.00
58 Rudyard Kipling Collected Verse of Rudyard Kipling [Signed and limited deluxe edition]

1912

USD 1,205.00 - 2,410.00 8,675.00
29 Alexis Soltykoff Voyages dans l'Inde [Deluxe edition of 2 volumes in a large single octavo volume]

not dated

USD 2,410.00 - 3,615.00 8,675.00
61 Rabindranath Tagore and Sakti Burman L'Offrande Lyrique [Limited Edition Copy]

1993

USD 2,410.00 - 3,615.00 7,952.00
83 Louis Henri de Rudder after Alexis Soltykoff Chir Singh [Sher Singh] Maharaja des Siks, Roi de Panjab avec sa suite/ Lahore Avril 1842

1850

USD 6,025.00 - 7,230.00 7,952.00
57 Rabindranath Tagore and Evelyn Underhill Gitanjali + Poems of Kabir

1912

USD 1,810.00 - 2,410.00 7,952.00
50 A V Yaremenko Nicholai Konstantinovich Roerich, His Life and Creations During The Past Forty Years 1889-1929

1931

USD 2,410.00 - 3,615.00 7,952.00
66 Jawaharlal Nehru Discovery of India [Signed by Nehru]

1956

USD 1,810.00 - 2,410.00 7,952.00

  • 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.
  • June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Medical Incunabula: Petit (Jean)publisher & Kerver (Thielman)printer. Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, sm. 8vo, Paris [1498]
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Hugo (Victor) [Wraxall (Lascelles)]. Les Miserable, 3 vols., 8vo, L. (Hurst & Blackett) 1862, First Authorized English Translation (copyright).
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Shelley (Mary Wollstonecraft). Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, 8vo, 2 vols. in one, L. (G. & W.B. Whittaker, Ave-Maria-Lane) 1823.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Cuisine: Anon. Cookery, Pastry, and Sweet Meats in three Books, Alphabetically Digested, 8vo 1710.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Lambert (Aylmer Bourke). A Description of the Genus Pinus, with Directions Relative to the Cultivation…, 2 vols. Sm. folio L. (Messrs. Weddell) 1832.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Botany: Curtis (William). Flora Londinensis: or Plates and Descriptions of such Plants as Grow Wild in the Environs of London, 2 vols. folio, London (B. White) 1777 – 1798.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Le Moire (J.M.) Maple Leaves, Canadian History and Quebec Scenery (Third Series) 8vo Quebec (Hunter, Rose & Co.) 1865. First Edn.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: The Earliest Extant Printed House Contents Sale Catalogue in Ireland: Baillie, Auctioneer, Abby Street. A Catalogue of the Goods and Stock of the late Edward Wingfield…
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: William III King of England. Autograph Letter Signed ("William R") to an unnamed correspondent [possibly Charles-Henri de Lorraine] discussing his strategy against the French forces during the siege of Namur.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: [Austen (Jane) (1785-1817]. Pride and Prejudice, 3 vols. sm. 8vo, L. (T. Egerton) 1813.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Heaney (Seamus). Ugolino, sm. folio D. (Dolmen) 1979, Limited Edn. No. 78/125 Copies, Signed by Seamus Heaney, Louis le Brocquy, Liam Miller and Andrew Carpenter.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Voltaire (F.M. Avouet de). Petits Ouvrages, attribues a M. de Voltaire, sm. folio manuscript, dated 1776, containing 9 works.
  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
  • 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