Swann Galleries: Printed and Manuscript African Americana
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | Printed and Manuscript African Americana | Total Sales (USD) | 763,134.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | March 19, 2026 - March 19, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 364,400.00 |
| Sale Number | #2732 | High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 547,700.00 |
| Total Lots | 366 | ||
| Sold Lots | 314.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 425,500.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 85.79% | High Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 639,600.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 52 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 119.31% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 227 | Archive of Joan Daves as literary agent for Coretta Scott King, 1958-1985 (bulk 1968-1985) |
N/A | USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | USD 55,880.00 | |
| 98 | The Bronze American National Travel Guide. |
1961 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 21,590.00 | |
| 247 | Caesar Ferrit. | Deed signed by soldier who had fought at Lexington, 1786 |
1786 | USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 | USD 20,320.00 |
| 14 | Pair of letters discussing the Underground Railroad. |
1844-1845 | USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 19,050.00 | |
| 204 | Lorraine Hansberry. | Actor Douglas Turner Ward's script for Raisin in the Sun, [1958] |
[1958] | USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | USD 19,050.00 |
| 253 | Carte-de-visite of Charles Remond Douglass in uniform. |
1864 | USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | USD 19,050.00 | |
| 317 | The Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, an American Slave. |
1850 | USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 | USD 17,780.00 | |
| 226 | I Am a Man, Memphis. |
1968 | USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 15,240.00 | |
| 140 | The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, first edition, first printing. |
1903 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 12,700.00 | |
| 242 | Don Charles Hogan. | Photographs of Malcolm X taken for an Ebony feature. |
1964] | USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | USD 10,795.00 |
| 353 | The Walker Method of Hair Culture. |
circa 1919-1925 | USD 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 | USD 10,160.00 | |
| 331 | Letter describing a shipment of 25 enslaved people from Richmond to New Orleans, 1852 |
1852 | USD 500.00 - 750.00 | USD 9,525.00 | |
| 366 | Sadie Iola Daniel. | Women Builders. |
[1931] | USD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 | USD 8,890.00 |
| 113 | Audley Moore. | Why Reparations? |
1963] | USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 | USD 8,255.00 |
| 127 | Lorraine Hansberry. | A Matter of Colour, signed by Martin Luther King and others. |
1965] | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 8,255.00 |
| 131 | Lewis Putnam. | A Sketch of Hamilton County . . . Coloured People in the City of New-York, 1847 |
1847 | USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | USD 8,255.00 |
| 144 | Photograph albums of Louisville's Presbyterian Colored Mission, circa 1898 to 1946 |
circa 1898 to 1946 | USD 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 | USD 7,620.00 | |
| 177 | W.C. Harris (The Man that Plays the Eb). |
circa 1879-1880 | USD 1,200.00 - 1,800.00 | USD 7,620.00 | |
| 9 | Lydia Maria Child. | An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans. |
1833 | USD 1,200.00 - 1,800.00 | USD 7,366.00 |
| 63 | Wanted by the FBI: Interstate Flight--Murder, Kidnaping, Angela Yvonne Davis. |
1970 | USD 600.00 - 900.00 | USD 6,858.00 | |
| 168 | Papers of actor and producer Brock Peters, |
1964-1992 | USD 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 | USD 6,858.00 | |
| 33 | Illustrated Catalogue of Religious Paintings by . . . Henry O. Tanner. |
1908 | USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 | USD 6,604.00 | |
| 301 | Farm labor agreement signed by formerly enslaved person. |
December 1865 | USD 800.00 - 1,200.00 | USD 6,604.00 | |
| 36 | Allan Rohan Crite. | Elaborately signed book, letter, and illustrated pamphlet. |
1948-1977 | USD 600.00 - 900.00 | USD 6,350.00 |
| 257 | Letters from the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry, 1864-1865 |
1864-1865 | USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | USD 6,096.00 |
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ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000. -
Sotheby’s
Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
Open for Bidding 2-17 AprilSotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.