Auction Reports

Christies

Auction Info

Sale Name
Printed Books and Manuscripts including Americana.
Auction Date
11/20/1992 - 11/20/1992
Year of Sale
1992
Sale Number
#7574
Total Lots
330
Sold Lots
300
Lots Sold
90.9%
Unsold Lots
30
Price Unknown
0
Total Sales (USD)
3,208,850.00
Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
1,363,400.00
High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD)
1,835,640.00
Low Estimate of All Lots (USD)
1,430,250.00
High Estimate of All Lots (USD)
1,927,490.00
Total Sales as a % of High Est.
166.48%
Currency
USD
Inflation Adjusted Price in U.S. Dollars
7,019,320.00

Top twenty five by sale price

View All Auction Lots.
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
283 LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President Autograph manuscript signed ("Abraham Lincoln")

USD 300,000.00 - 400,000.00 1,320,000.00
219 COLUMBUS, CHRISTOPHER [The Columbus Letter] Epistola Christofori Colom: cui etas nostra multu[m] debet: de Insulis Indie supra Gangem nuper inve[n]tis ... in latinum co[n]vertit.

after 29 April 1493

 USD 300,000.00 - 400,000.00 330,000.00
268 LEE, ROBERT E.; General, C.S.A. Autograph letter signed ("R E Lee") to his son Col. George Washington Custis Lee, "Camp Fred[ericksbur]g

11 May 1863

 USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 110,000.00
262 JEFFERSON, THOMAS, President Autograph letter signed ("Th:Jefferson") as President, TO GENERAL JOHN STARK

19 August 1805

 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 70,400.00
170 COLONNA, FRANCESCO Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.

December 1499

 USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 59,400.00
311 SHERMAN, WILLIAM TECUMSEH, Major General Autograph letter signed ("W.T. Sherman") to Philemon Ewing ("Dear Phil"), "Head Qrs. 5 Divn.

USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 49,500.00
324 WASHINGTON, GEORGE, President Autograph letter signed ("Go:Washington") as Commander-in-Chief

USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 46,200.00
213 BOUDINOT, ELIAS President of the Continental Congress, Director, U.S. Mint.

USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 38,500.00
233 FRANKLIN, BENJAMIN, Signer Autograph letter signed ("B Franklin") TO SILAS DEANE in Toulon

7 April 1778

 USD 25,000.00 - 35.00 33,000.00
205 WILDE, OSCAR Autograph manuscript signed (at end) of his short story "The Model Millionaire," collected in Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories (1891)

USD 30,000.00 - 40,000.00 33,000.00
207 ADAMS, JOHN, President Autograph letter signed ("J. Adams") as U.S. Minister to the Netherlands

See illustration

 USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 30,800.00
60 GREENE, GRAHAM Typescript of The Lawless Roads, his book about Mexico.

late 193

 USD 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 27,500.00
209 ADAMS, JOHN, President Autograph letter signed in full to "John [i.e., Jean] Luzac, Professor of Grecian Literature in the University of Leyden," Quincy, Mass., 2 October 1793.

USD 9,000.00 - 12,000.00 26,400.00
261 JEFFERSON, THOMAS, President Autograph letter signed ("Th:Jefferson") to Wilson [Cary] Nicholas

1 November 1790

 USD 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 26,400.00
210 ADAMS, JOHN, President Autograph letter signed in full to W[illiam) S[tephens] Smith, his son-in-law, Quincy, [Massachusetts]

USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 24,200.00
289 MADISON, JAMES, President Autograph letter signed ("James Madison Jr.") on behalf of the Virginia delegates in Congress, to an unidentified correspondent [Governor Benjamin Harrison]

20 May 1783

 USD 4,500.00 - 6,500.00 24,200.00
300 PRESIDENTS.

USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 22,000.00
40 CRANE, WALTER Sketchbook containing approximately 80 pencil drawings

USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 20,900.00
208 ADAMS, JOHN, President Autograph letter signed in full as United States Minister to Great Britain, TO ELBRIDGE GERRY, Grosvenor Square, Westminster [London], 6 July 1785.

6 July 1785

 USD 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 19,800.00
281 LINCOLN, MARY, First Lady Autograph letter signed in full and with initialled postscript at top of first page, to Caroline R. Wright ("My Dear Mrs. Wright"), Executive Mansion

15 February 1865

 USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 19,800.00
320 WASHINGTON, GEORGE, President Letter signed ("G: Washington") as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army

USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 19,800.00
316 STUART, JAMES EWELL BROWN, Major General, C.S.A. Two autograph letters signed ("J. E. B. Stuart") to his wife in Lynchburg, Va.; Camp Von Borcke, 18 August 1863 and Wigwam, 16 April 1864.

USD 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 18,700.00
272 LINCOLN, ABRAHAM, President Autograph letter signed ("A. Lincoln") to Richard Yates, Springfield, Illinois, 30 September 1857.

USD 14,000.00 - 18,000.00 17,600.00
176 DODGSON, CHARLES LUTWIDGE, Lewis Carroll Double-sided drawing signed, consisting of ink drawings in nine panels

n.d. [1871]

 USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 17,600.00
222 DAVIS, JEFFERSON, President, C.S.A. Autograph letter signed ("Jeffers Davis") to an unidentified correspondent, Briarfield, Mississippi, August [no. day] 1857.

August [no. day] 1857

 USD 4,500.00 - 6,500.00 15,400.00
View All Auction Lots.

  • <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.
  • <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.