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Sothebys: History in Manuscript: Letters and Documents from a Distinguished Collection - bidstart 4/4

Auction Reports

Auction Name History in Manuscript: Letters and Documents from a Distinguished Collection - bidstart 4/4 Total Sales (GBP) 721,539.00
Auction Date April 13, 2022 - April 13, 2022 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 361,500.00
Sale Number #L22424 High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 529,350.00
Total Lots 158
Sold Lots 127 Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 517,200.00
% of Lots Sold 80.38% High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 762,150.00
Unsold Lots 31 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 94.67%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
39 Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I | Letter signed, explaining her priorities in war-torn France to her new envoy to Henri IV, 1592

1592 GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 GBP 56,700.00
93 Mary, Queen Of Scots

Mary, Queen of Scots | Autograph letter signed, to Catherine de Medici, pleading pardon for the Cardinal of Lorraine

GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 52,920.00
23 China--Treaty of Tientsin

China--Treaty of Tiensin | Document outlining compensation to be paid by China, signed by the Earl of Elgin, 1858

1858 GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 44,100.00
40 Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I | Document signed, ordering her Military Commanders to take the fight to Spain, 1596

1596 GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 GBP 40,320.00
100 Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery Of Alamein

Field Marshal Montgomery of Alamein | Series of letters to Sir Edward Crowe, 1942-59

1942-59 GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 GBP 37,800.00
85 David Livingstone

David Livingstone | Autograph letter signed, to Lord Palmerston, reporting on the Zambezi expedition, 12 November 1861

1861 GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 18,900.00
105 Napoleon I

Napoleon I | Letter signed, to Admiral Ganteaume, concerning plans for the invasion of England, 1803

1803 GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 18,900.00
157 Zhou Enlai

Zhou Enlai | Letter signed, on military affairs, to J. Franklin Ray, Jr, 1946

1946 GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 18,900.00
125 Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys | Autograph letter signed, to John Evelyn, reflecting on their friendship, 1701

1701 GBP 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 GBP 16,380.00
129 Pope Pius V

Pope Pius V | Papal Bull, on the conversion of the native population of the Americas, 1571

1571 GBP 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 GBP 16,380.00
116 Napoleon--Sir Hudson Lowe

Napoleon--Sir Hudson Lowe | Autograph letter signed, criticising Sir Pulteney Malcolm's meetings with Napoleon, 1817

1817 GBP 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 GBP 15,120.00
83 Robert Dudley, Earl Of Leicester

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester | Autograph letter signed, to Queen Elizabeth I, [1584]

1584 GBP 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 GBP 13,860.00
11 Brendan Bracken

Brendan Bracken | Series of 127 letters to Lord Beaverbrook, on Churchill, British politics, and other subjects, 1925-58

1925-58 GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 12,600.00
94 Mary, Queen of Scots--Brian Cave

Mary, Queen of Scots--Brian Cave | Accounts for the supply of foodstuffs for the imprisoned queen, 1585

1585 GBP 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 GBP 11,970.00
22 King Charles I

King Charles I | Document signed, ordering the arrest of the "Five Members" who had fled Parliament, 1642

1642 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 11,340.00
51 Margaret Fox

Margaret Fox | Autograph letter signed, to her husband George Fox, the founder of the Quaker movement, 1678

1678 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 10,080.00
102 Napoleon I

Napoleon I | Autograph manuscript report on the defence of Ajaccio, 1793

1793 GBP 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 GBP 10,080.00
62 Charles De Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle | Revised typescript of his speech outlining his plans for the Free French Organisation, November 1941

1941 GBP 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 GBP 8,820.00
131 Elizabeth, Lady Raleigh

Elizabeth, Lady Ralegh | Autograph letter signed, during her imprisonment in the Tower of London, 1592

1592 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 8,820.00
137 Spanish Inquisition

Spanish Inquisition | Manuscript eyewitness account of an early auto-da-fe, Valladolid, 1559

1559 GBP 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 GBP 8,820.00
90 Jean Paul Marat

Jean Paul Marat | Autograph manuscript draft letter of resignation from the National Convention, 1793

1793 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 8,190.00
65 General C.G. Gordon

General C.G. Gordon | Series of 12 autograph letters signed, on his governership of Sudan, to Nugent, 1874-79

1874-79 GBP 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 GBP 7,560.00
68 General C.G. Gordon

General C.G. Gordon | Autograph letter signed, to Sir Richard Burton, on European explorers in Africa, 1877

1877 GBP 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 GBP 7,560.00
139 John Hanning Speke

J.H. Speke | Autograph letter signed, to Murchison, on his Nile expedition and dispute with Burton, 10 May 1860

1860 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 6,930.00
21 Catherine II, Empress of Russia

Catherine II, Empress of Russia | Autograph letter signed, to Alexei Orlov, on his defeat of the Turks, 1770

1770 GBP 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 GBP 6,300.00
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • 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
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    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
    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
    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
    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.
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