• Sotheby’s
    Fine Books & Manuscripts
    June 24-25
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Keats, John. The most significant collection of Keats’s love letters to come to market since 1885. $1,500,000 to $2,500,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Chassériau, Benoît. The “Expedicion secreta” of the Free State of Cartagena de Indias against the forts of Portobelo (Panama). $50,000 to $70,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: (Hamilton, Alexander, James Madison, and John Jay). "One of the new nation's most important contributions to the theory of government”. $150,000 to $180,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 24: Benjamin Franklin. "the Day of the Declaration of Independence is everywhere annually celebrated". $80,000 to $120,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 24: (Johann Conrad Beissel). A Sammelband of two of Benjamin Franklin's rarest imprints. $70,000 to $100,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: [Pernambuco]. First printed work in favor of Brazilian Independence. $150,000 to $200,000.
  • June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Medical Incunabula: Petit (Jean)publisher & Kerver (Thielman)printer. Regimen Sanitatis Salernitanum, sm. 8vo, Paris [1498]
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Hugo (Victor) [Wraxall (Lascelles)]. Les Miserable, 3 vols., 8vo, L. (Hurst & Blackett) 1862, First Authorized English Translation (copyright).
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Shelley (Mary Wollstonecraft). Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, 8vo, 2 vols. in one, L. (G. & W.B. Whittaker, Ave-Maria-Lane) 1823.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Cuisine: Anon. Cookery, Pastry, and Sweet Meats in three Books, Alphabetically Digested, 8vo 1710.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Lambert (Aylmer Bourke). A Description of the Genus Pinus, with Directions Relative to the Cultivation…, 2 vols. Sm. folio L. (Messrs. Weddell) 1832.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Botany: Curtis (William). Flora Londinensis: or Plates and Descriptions of such Plants as Grow Wild in the Environs of London, 2 vols. folio, London (B. White) 1777 – 1798.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Le Moire (J.M.) Maple Leaves, Canadian History and Quebec Scenery (Third Series) 8vo Quebec (Hunter, Rose & Co.) 1865. First Edn.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: The Earliest Extant Printed House Contents Sale Catalogue in Ireland: Baillie, Auctioneer, Abby Street. A Catalogue of the Goods and Stock of the late Edward Wingfield…
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: William III King of England. Autograph Letter Signed ("William R") to an unnamed correspondent [possibly Charles-Henri de Lorraine] discussing his strategy against the French forces during the siege of Namur.
    June 23rd, 24th & 25th 2026
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: [Austen (Jane) (1785-1817]. Pride and Prejudice, 3 vols. sm. 8vo, L. (T. Egerton) 1813.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Heaney (Seamus). Ugolino, sm. folio D. (Dolmen) 1979, Limited Edn. No. 78/125 Copies, Signed by Seamus Heaney, Louis le Brocquy, Liam Miller and Andrew Carpenter.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, June 23-25: Voltaire (F.M. Avouet de). Petits Ouvrages, attribues a M. de Voltaire, sm. folio manuscript, dated 1776, containing 9 works.
  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
  • June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
    Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
    June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Back

Finarte: Easy Collecting: Books

Auction Reports

Auction Name Easy Collecting: Books Total Sales (EUR) 66,814.70
Auction Date April 23, 2026 - April 23, 2026 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (EUR) 31,650.00
Sale Number #355 High Estimate of Lots Sold (EUR) 52,300.00
Total Lots 288
Sold Lots 204.0 Low Estimate of All Lots (EUR) 40,760.00
% of Lots Sold 70.83% High Estimate of All Lots (EUR) 67,550.00
Unsold Lots 84 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 98.91%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Top Sale Price Lots
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
14 Abraham de Bruyn

Illustrato - Abiti e Costumi - Abraham de Bruyn - Omnium pene Europae, Asia, Aphricae atque America gentium habitus. Habits of different nations of Europe, Asia, Africa and America, 1581

ND (c. 1610) EUR 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 EUR 3,810.00
101 Torquato Tasso

Torquato Tasso - Jerusalem Delivered, 1745

1745 EUR 1,800.00 - 2,000.00 EUR 3,048.00
90

Savoia - Militaria - Military history of Prince Eugene of Savoye, of Prince and Duke of Marlborough, and of Prince of Nassau-Frise, 1729

1729 EUR 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 EUR 2,540.00
138 Antonio Baratta

Antonio Baratta - Constantinople portrayed and described, 1840

1840 EUR 150.00 - 250.00 EUR 2,540.00
5 Plutarco

Classici - Plutarco - Vitae Plutarchi Chaeronei, 1516

1516 EUR 400.00 - 600.00 EUR 2,413.00
40

Manoscritti - Corporazioni - Statute of the University of Cordari of Rome, 1642

1642-1811 EUR 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 EUR 1,651.00
263 Paul Verlaine

Libri d'artista - Paul Verlaine - Fetes Galantes, 1928

1928 EUR 300.00 - 600.00 EUR 1,397.00
84 Piazza Armerina

Manoscritti - Piazza Armerina - Genetic Essay of the Ancient Trigona Family, 1781

N/A EUR 400.00 - 600.00 EUR 1,143.00
89 Thomas Salmon

Thomas Salmon - The present state of all countries and peoples of the natural, political, and moral world [...]. Volume XIX [...] or a description of the Milanese, Parmaese, Modenese, Mantuan, and Venetian Lombardy, 1751

1751 EUR 250.00 - 350.00 EUR 1,143.00
250 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Futurismo - Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (Alessandria d’Egitto 1876 - Bellagio 1944) - Poetry, 1908

1905-1909 EUR 80.00 - 150.00 EUR 1,143.00
57 Carlo Allioni

Botanica - Carlo Allioni - Foothill flora sive enumeratio methodica Stirpium indigenarum Pedemontii, 1785

1785 EUR 800.00 - 1,500.00 EUR 1,016.00
7 Alessandro Vellutello

Classici - Alessandro Vellutello - Petrarcha with the Exposition of Alessandro Vellutello, 1550

1550 EUR 200.00 - 500.00 EUR 889.00
13 Lucio Mauro

Guide di viaggio - Lucio Mauro - The Antiquities of the City of Rome, 1556

1556 EUR 300.00 - 500.00 EUR 825.50
27 Giacomo Zanoni

Botanica - Giacomo Zanoni - Botanical History, 1675

1675 EUR 500.00 - 1,000.00 EUR 825.50
16 Iacopo Antiquari

Milano - Iacopo Antiquari - Oratio pro populo Mediol, 1509

1509 EUR 500.00 - 700.00 EUR 762.00
18 Marsilio Ficino

Platone - Marsilio Ficino - Omnia Divini Platonis Opera , 1548

1548 EUR 100.00 - 200.00 EUR 762.00
93

Storia locale - Benacus, 1756

1756; 1757 EUR 150.00 - 250.00 EUR 762.00
136 Puccini, Giacomo

Autografi - Puccini, Giacomo - La Boheme, 1896

1896; 1898 EUR 200.00 - 220.00 EUR 762.00
39 Lipsio, Giusto

Lipsio, Giusto - De militia romano libri quinque, 1614

1614 EUR 250.00 - 350.00 EUR 698.50
50 Lorini, Bonaiuto

Storia militare - Lorini, Bonaiuto - The fortifications […] Newly reprinted, corrected and expanded with all that was missing for their complete perfection, with the addition of the sixth book, 1609

1609 EUR 400.00 - 500.00 EUR 698.50
198 Francesco de Bourcard

Napoli - Francesco de Bourcard - Customs and Traditions of Naples, 1853

1853-1858 EUR 300.00 - 500.00 EUR 698.50
31 Diogene Laerzio

Diogene Laerzio - Of the Lives of the Philosophers, 1606

1611 EUR 100.00 - 200.00 EUR 571.50
48 Veronica Fontana

Storia locale - Veronica Fontana - Statute Vallis Camonicae nuper ex deliberatione consilii, 1624

1624 EUR 200.00 - 400.00 EUR 571.50
53 Famiano Nardini

Storia - Famiano Nardini - Ancient Rome, 1666

1666 EUR 100.00 - 200.00 EUR 571.50
69 Giusto Fontanini

Giusto Fontanini - Bibliothecae Josephi Renati Imperialis, 1711

1711 EUR 150.00 - 300.00 EUR 571.50
  • Bonhams, June 14-23: Palm-reading, astrology, and more. Estimate: $2,000 - 3,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Benjamin Franklin. Sammelband of 45 papers on electricity. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The basis for the whole modern electric-power industry. Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Edgar Allen Poe. Poe on Mesmerism. Estimate: $2,500 - 3,500
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Reformation - The Architect of Lutheranism on Church Unity and Dissent. Estimate: $100,000 - 150,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: The Rare 3-Paper Offprint Identifying the Double Helix Structure of DNA, Signed by Crick, Wilkins, Wilson, Stokes and Gosling. Estimate: $40,000 - 60,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph book and Report from the Thirtieth Indian National Congress, featuring the signatures of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Dadabhai Naoroji. Estimate: $6,000 - 8,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: An Illustrated Miniature Hebrew Prayerbook Manuscript. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Autograph Working Draft of Arthur Conan Doyle's The Death Voyage. Estimate: $30,000 - 50,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: "Perhaps the most celebrated and most beautiful herbal ever published." Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: Izaak Walton. The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation. Being a Discourse of Fish and Fishing. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
    Bonhams, June 14-23: A rare product of the Jaquard loom. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
  • Freeman’s, June 30. Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of the New Nation” letter, carried to Paris with the Treaty of Peace, by a Jewish patriot. $100,000-200,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. “The rockets’ red glare.” A British midshipman’s log recording the bombardment of Fort McHenry. $60,000-80,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry Commission signed by James Madison, 1812. $40,000-60,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776. $15,000-25,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000-15,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. A Unique Contemporary Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words to His Followers, the Day Before his Violent Death. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Of the United States. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York. $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000-12,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster. $6,000-9,000.
    Freeman’s, June 30. Samuel Jones, the Statesman Behind the Newly Discovered "Jones Declaration": His Annotated Set Used in His Working Law Library. $6,000-9,000.