Auction Reports

Christies

Auction Info

Sale Name
Printed Books, Natural History and Science including an important collection of Herbals. The Properties of Racquet & Tennis Club, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Stanford University Libraries and from various sources.
Auction Date
10/29/1992 - 10/29/1992
Year of Sale
1992
Sale Number
#7518
Total Lots
127
Sold Lots
117
Lots Sold
92.1%
Unsold Lots
10
Price Unknown
0
Total Sales (USD)
2,623,390.00
Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
1,723,900.00
High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
2,376,400.00
Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)
2,252,900.00
High Estimate of All Lots (USD)
3,101,900.00
Total Sales as a % of High Est.
84.57%
Currency
USD
Inflation Adjusted Price in U.S. Dollars
5,738,620.00

Top twenty five by sale price

View All Auction Lots.
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
30 Gart der Gesundheit.

14 August 1485

 USD 100,000.00 - 150,000.00 143,000.00
94 AUDUBON, JOHN JAMES and Rev. JOHN BACHMAN The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America.

1845-54

 USD 100,000.00 - 120,000.00 137,500.00
109 GOULD, JOHN and RICHARD BOWDLER SHARPE A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds, with Supplement.

[1880-] 1887

 USD 70,000.00 - 100,000.00 99,000.00
110 GOULD, JOHN and RICHARD BOWDLER SHARPE The Birds of Asia.

1850-1883

 USD 80,000.00 - 100,000.00 88,000.00
71 PLINIUS SECUNDUS, GAIUS Historia naturale ... tradocta di lingua latina in fiorentina per Christophoro Landino.

1476

 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 82,500.00
91 JODE, GERARD and CORNELIS DE Speculum orbis terrae.

1593

 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 77,000.00
51 FUCHS, LEONHARD De historia stirpium commentarii insignes.

1542

 USD 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 77,000.00
35 Hortus Sanitatis.

23 June 1491

 USD 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 77,000.00
92 ORTELIUS, ABRAHAM Theatrum orbis terrarum [with the Parergon and the Nomenclator Ptolemaicus].

1584

 USD 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 71,500.00
40 BRUNSCHWIG, HIERONYMUS [Kleines Destillierbuch, German].

8 May 1500

 USD 20,000.00 - 25,000.00 66,000.00
120 GOULD, JOHN A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds.

[1849-] 1861

 USD 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 60,500.00
117 GOULD, JOHN The Birds of Europe.

[1832-] 1837

 USD 60,000.00 - 80,000.00 60,500.00
22 CONRAD VON MEGENBERG Buch der Natur.

1499

 USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 60,500.00
23 Herbarius Latinus

[14]84

 USD 60,000.00 - 80,000.00 55,000.00
31 Gart der Gesundheit.

5 June 1486

 USD 60,000.00 - 90,000.00 55,000.00
113 GOULD, JOHN and RICHARD BOWDLER SHARPE The Birds of New Guinea and the Adjacent Papuan Islands, including many new species recently discovered in Australia.

1875-1888

 USD 45,000.00 - 65,000.00 52,800.00
21 CONRAD VON MEGENBERG Buch der Natur.

19 August 1478

 USD 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 52,800.00
24 Herbarius Latinus

1484

 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 52,800.00
101 ELLIOT, DANIEL GIRAUD A Monograph of the Phasianidae or Family of the Pheasants.

[1870-] 1872

 USD 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 52,800.00
104 GOULD, JOHN The Birds of Europe.

[1832-] 1837

 USD 45,000.00 - 65,000.00 52,800.00
85 VESALIUS, ANDREAS De humani corporis libri septem.

August 1555

 USD 12,000.00 - 16,000.00 49,500.00
14 EUCLID Elementa geometria [translated by Adelard of Bath, edited by Campanus of Novara].

25 May 1482

 USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 46,200.00
25 Herbarius Latinus

[14]85

 USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 44,000.00
119 GOULD, JOHN The Mammals of Australia.

[1845-] 1863

 USD 45,000.00 - 65,000.00 44,000.00
114 SHARPE, RICHARD BOWDLER Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise, and Ptilonorhynchidae, or Bower-Birds.

1891-1898

 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 42,900.00
View All Auction Lots.

  • <b><center>Heritage Auctions<br>Rare Books Signature Auction<br>December 15, 2025</center></b> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633. <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Edgar Rice Burroughs. <i>Tarzan of the Apes.</i> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> F. Scott Fitzgerald. <i>Tender is the Night. A Romance.</i> <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Bram Stoker. <i>Dracula.</i> Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897. <b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> Jerry Thomas. <i>How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…</i>
    Heritage Auctions
    Rare Books Signature Auction
    December 15, 2025
    Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Bram Stoker. Dracula. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1897.
    Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
  • <b><center>Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!</center></b>
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000. <b>Bonhams, Dec. 8-18:</b> Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
    Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
  • <center><b>Sotheby’s<br>Book Week<br>December 9-17, 2025</b></center> <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Francesco Colonna. <i>Hypnerotomachie,</i> Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Nausea. <i>De principiis dialectices Gorgias,</i> and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 17:</b> Billon. <i>Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur,</i> Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000. <center><b>Sotheby’s<br>Book Week<br>December 9-17, 2025</b></center> <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.