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Swann Galleries: Fine Books and Autographs

Auction Reports

Auction Name Fine Books and Autographs Total Sales (USD) 521,273.00
Auction Date February 25, 2021 - February 25, 2021 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 259,800.00
Sale Number #2559 High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 390,350.00
Total Lots 269
Sold Lots 243 Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) 303,800.00
% of Lots Sold 90.33% High Estimate of All Lots (USD) 455,650.00
Unsold Lots 26 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 114.40%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
23 DOUGLASS, FREDERICK

DOUGLASS, FREDERICK. Autograph Letter Signed, to Sallie Holley ("Dear Sally"),

 1851 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD 112,500.00
172 HEMINGWAY, ERNEST

HEMINGWAY, ERNEST. The Sun Also Rises.

 1926 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 32,500.00
6 SMITH, JOSEPH

(MORMONS.) SMITH, JOSEPH. Document Signed, "Joseph Smith Mayor," an affidavit for Isaac P. Chase, certifying Chase's obligation to app

 1843 USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD 11,250.00
38 LISTER, JOSEPH

(MEDICINE.) LISTER, JOSEPH. Autograph Letter Signed, to "My dear Father,"

 1866 USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 USD 10,000.00
22 DEAN, JAMES

DEAN, JAMES. Photograph Signed and Inscribed, "To Mrs. [Beulah] Roth / best wishes / James Dean,"

 nd USD 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 8,750.00
27 GANDHI, MOHANDAS K

GANDHI, MOHANDAS K. Letter Signed, "MKGandhi," to Edmund Elmar Mack ("Dear Mr. Mack"), in English,

 1940 USD 5,000.00 - 7,500.00 USD 8,750.00
68 BERNSTEIN, LEONARD

BERNSTEIN, LEONARD. Autograph Musical Manuscript Signed and Inscribed, sketch for "(Marches--(Prologue))" in Exception and the Rule,

 1968 USD 2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD 8,750.00
231 Carroll, Lewis

(DALÍ, SALVADOR.) Carroll, Lewis. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

 1969 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 8,450.00
177 JOYCE, JAMES

JOYCE, JAMES. Collected Poems.

 1936 USD 5,000.00 - 7,500.00 USD 7,500.00
25 EINSTEIN, ALBERT

EINSTEIN, ALBERT. Autograph Manuscript, unsigned, in German, 11 lines of equations and three lines of text relating to a static field r

 nd USD 10,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD 7,000.00
26 EINSTEIN, ALBERT

EINSTEIN, ALBERT. Typed Letter Signed, "A. Einstein," to Dr. Isidor W. Held,

 1945 USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD 7,000.00
21 CHAPLIN, CHARLIE

CHAPLIN, CHARLIE. My Trip Abroad. Signed and Inscribed, with a small ink drawing, to cartoonist Milt Gross, on front free endpaper:

 1922 USD 3,500.00 - 5,000.00 USD 6,750.00
206 [TWAIN, MARK.] Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám

[TWAIN, MARK.] Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia.

 1878 USD 1,800.00 - 2,500.00 USD 6,750.00
142 FLEMING, IAN

FLEMING, IAN. The Man With the Golden Gun.

 1965 USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 6,500.00
41 NIGHTINGALE, FLORENCE

(MEDICINE.) NIGHTINGALE, FLORENCE. Autograph Letter Signed, to "My dear Mrs. Fowler" [wife of Dr. Richard Fowler?],

 1861 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 6,000.00
96 BYRON, GEORGE GORDON NOEL

BYRON, GEORGE GORDON NOEL. Autograph Letter Signed, “Byron,” to his Cambridge classmate William John Bankes,

 1812? USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 5,500.00
204 TWAIN, MARK

TWAIN, MARK. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

 1885 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 5,250.00
103 DISNEY, WALT

DISNEY, WALT. Watercolor and graphite drawing showing Donald Duck, Signed and Inscribed to Bernard Hobdell.

 nd USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,000.00
192 ORWELL, GEORGE

ORWELL, GEORGE. Inside the Whale.

 1940 USD 1,200.00 - 1,800.00 USD 5,000.00
256 Picasso, Pablo and Aristophanes

(LIMITED EDITIONS CLUB.) Picasso, Pablo and Aristophanes. Lysistrata: A New Version by Gilbert Seldes.

 1934 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,000.00
32 CURIE, MARIE

(MEDICINE.) CURIE, MARIE. Brief Typed Letter Signed, "M. Curie," to Otto Glasser in Cleveland, in French:

 1928 USD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD 4,680.00
89 WAGNER, RICHARD

WAGNER, RICHARD. Autograph Letter Signed, to "Dearest friend," in German,

 1863 USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD 4,250.00
191 ORWELL, GEORGE

ORWELL, GEORGE. Down and Out in Paris and London.

 1933 USD 1,800.00 - 2,500.00 USD 4,250.00
60 KENNEDY, JOHN F

KENNEDY, JOHN F. Photograph Signed and Inscribed: "For Judge Elijah Prettyman / with warm personal regards / and high esteem John Kenne

 nd USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 4,000.00
56 EISENHOWER, DWIGHT D

EISENHOWER, DWIGHT D. Crusade in Europe.

 1948 USD 2,500.00 - 3,500.00 USD 3,750.00
  • Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Piccolomini's De La Sfera del Mondo (The Sphere of the World), 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Vellutello's Commentary on Petrarch, With Map, 1525.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Finely Bound Definitive, Illustrated Edition of I Promessi Sposi, 1840.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Rare First Edition of John Milton's Latin Correspondence, 1674.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Giolito's Edition of Boccaccio's The Decamerone, with Bedford Binding, 1542.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of the First Biography of Marie of the Incarnation, with Rare Portrait, 1677.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Aldine Edition of Volume One of Cicero's Orationes, 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Bonanni's Illustrated Costume Catalogue, with Complete Plates, 1711.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Important Incunable, the First Italian Edition of Josephus's De Bello Judaico, 1480.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Jacques Philippe d'Orville's Illustrated Book of the Ruins of Sicily, 1764.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Incunable from 1487, The Contemplative Life, with Early Manuscript.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Ignatius of Loyola's Exercitia Spiritualia, 1563.
  • Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 546. Christoph Jacob Trew. Plantae selectae, 1750-1773.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 70. Thomas Murner. Die Narren beschwerung. 1558.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 621. Michael Bernhard Valentini. Museum Museorum, 1714.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 545. Sander Reichenbachia. Orchids illustrated and described, 1888-1894.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1018. Marinetti, Boccioni, Pratella Futurism - Comprehensive collection of 35 Futurist manifestos, some of them exceptionally rare. 1909-1933.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 634. August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof. 3 Original Drawings, around 1740.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 671. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1260. Mary Webb. Sarn. 1948. Lucie Weill Art Deco Binding.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 508. Felix Bonfils. 108 large-format photographs of Syria and Palestine.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 967. Dante Aligheri and Salvador Dali. Divina Commedia, 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1316. Tolouse-Lautrec. Dessinateur. Duhayon binding, 1948.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1303. Regards sur Paris. Braque, Picasso, Masson, 1962.
  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: McCarthy (Cormac). Cities of the Plain, N.Y., 1998, First Edn., signed on hf. title; together with Uncorrected Proof and Uncorrected Advance Reading Copies, both signed by the Author. €800 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Stanihurst (Richard). De Rebus in Hibernia Gestis, Libri Quattuor, sm. 4to Antwerp (Christi. Plantium) 1584. First Edn. €525 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Fleischer (Nat.) Jack Dempsey The Idol of Fistiana, An Intimate Narrative, N.Y., 1929, First Edn. Signed on f.e.p. by Rocky Marciano. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Smith - Classical Atlas, Lond., 1820. Bound with, Smiths New General Atlas .. Principal Empires, Kingdoms, & States throughout the World, Lond. 1822. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Rare Auction Catalogues – 1856: Bindon Blood, of Ennis, Co. Clare: Sotheby & Wilkinson. €320 to €450.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Mavor (Wm.)] A General Collection of Voyages and Travels from the Discovery of America to the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century, 28 vols. (complete) Lond., 1810. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Mc Carthy (Cormac). Outer Dark, N.Y. (Random House)1968, Signed by Mc Carthy. €250 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Three signed works by Ted Huges - Wodwo, 1967; Crow from the Life and Songs of the Crow, 1970; and Tales from Ovid, 1997. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: The Garden. An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture in all its Branches, 7 vols. lg. 4to Lond. 1877-1880. With 127 colored plates. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Procter (Richard A.) Saturn and its System: Containing Discussions of The Motion (Real and Apparent)…, Lond. 1865. First Edn. €160 to €220.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Ashe] St. George, Lord Bishop of Clogher, A Sermon Preached to the Protestants of Ireland, now in London,... Oct. 23, 1712, London 1712. Second Edn. €130 to €180.
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
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