Back
Hansons: The Library Sale (Presented by Rare Book Auctions)
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | The Library Sale (Presented by Rare Book Auctions) | Total Sales (GBP) | 78,767.50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | May 20, 2026 - May 20, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) | 37,650.00 |
| Sale Number | #52026a | High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) | 59,730.00 |
| Total Lots | 252 | ||
| Sold Lots | 156.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) | 110,970.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 61.90% | High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) | 154,900.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 96 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 50.85% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | J. K. Rowling | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
1997 | GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 | GBP 21,250.00 |
| 3 | D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) | Autograph Letters Signed to Frederic Moulder regarding Lady Chatterley's Lover |
1929 | GBP 800.00 - 1,200.00 | GBP 5,375.00 |
| 132 | Emanuel Bowen | Atlas of the World |
c. 1744 | GBP 400.00 - 600.00 | GBP 4,625.00 |
| 2 | D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930) | Autograph Letter Signed to Frederic Moulder regarding Lady Chatterley's Lover |
1929 | GBP 700.00 - 1,000.00 | GBP 4,500.00 |
| 59 | J. R. R. Tolkien | The Fellowship of the Ring; The Return of the King; The Two Towers |
1954-55; 1965 | GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | GBP 4,250.00 |
| 1 | Jane Austen | Mansfield Park |
1816 | GBP 2,500.00 - 5,000.00 | GBP 3,875.00 |
| 5 | Alexander Harvey | The Toe and other Tales |
1913 | GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | GBP 1,875.00 |
| 11 | Eugene Jolas | Transition; This Quarter |
1927-1938; 1929 | GBP 600.00 - 900.00 | GBP 1,687.50 |
| 46 | Arthur William Johnson (1920-2004) | The Thames and Hudson Manual of Bookbinding |
1978 | GBP 600.00 - 900.00 | GBP 1,250.00 |
| 141 | CHAMBERLAIN B. H. | Aino Fairy Tales: No. 1. The Hunter in Fairy-Land; No. 2. The Birds' Party; No. 3. The Man Who Lost His Wife |
1887-89 | GBP 300.00 - 500.00 | GBP 1,062.50 |
| 258 | Henry Barth | Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa |
1857-1858 | GBP 800.00 - 1,200.00 | GBP 1,000.00 |
| 45 | Arthur William Johnson (1920-2004); Tobolka Zdenek | Kniha |
1949 | GBP 600.00 - 900.00 | GBP 937.50 |
| 47 | Arthur William Johnson (1920-2004); Hartnoll Phyllis | The Grecian Enchanted |
1952 | GBP 600.00 - 900.00 | GBP 937.50 |
| 50 | William Golding (1911-1993); Sam Neill; Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008); Laurie Lee (1914-1997); Sam Wanamaker (1919-1993); Beryl Cook (1926-2008); Glenda Jackson (1936-2023); Bill Tidy (1933-2023); Tony Benn; Dora Bryan; Joan Bakewell; Barry Fantoni; Jos Ac | Archive of source material for Yours Faithfully, Letters From the Famous About God and Celebrities' Favourite Books |
1986; 1988; 1990; 2009 | GBP 600.00 - 800.00 | GBP 937.50 |
| 14 | Henry Miller | Tropic of Cancer |
1934 | GBP 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 | GBP 875.00 |
| 23 | Edmund Burke | Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London |
1790 | GBP 300.00 - 500.00 | GBP 875.00 |
| 78 | V Sackville-West | Solitude |
1938 | GBP 400.00 - 600.00 | GBP 750.00 |
| 6 | James | The Workes of the Most High and Mighty Prince, James, By the Grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith |
1616 | GBP 400.00 - 600.00 | GBP 687.50 |
| 13 | Gertrude Stein; G. Quitter-Allatini | Dix Portraits; Reves De Gloire, Prague la Ville D'Or |
c.1930; 1938 | GBP 80.00 - 120.00 | GBP 687.50 |
| 217 | Caroll Lewis Charles Lutwidge Dodgson | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
1867 | GBP 600.00 - 800.00 | GBP 625.00 |
| 83 | David Hockney; Brothers Grimm | 7 Items, including: Hockney Paints the Stage |
1985; 1993; 1982; 1970 | GBP 200.00 - 300.00 | GBP 550.00 |
| 114 | Paolo Giovio; Bartolome Carranza | Elogios o Vidas Breves, de los Cavalleros Antiguos y Modernos, Ilustres en Valor de Guerre; Summa Conciliorum et Pontificum |
1568; 1600 | GBP 80.00 - 120.00 | GBP 550.00 |
| 137 | MAITLAND Charles | Mr. Maitland's Account of Inoculating the Small Pox Vindicated, from Dr. Wagstaffe's Misrepresentations of that Practice, with some Remarks on Mr. |
1722 | GBP 500.00 - 800.00 | GBP 525.00 |
| 226 | 1000+ Books, including: The Courier |
1787-1803; 1791-1816; 1831; 1897; 1934 | GBP 600.00 - 800.00 | GBP 525.00 | |
| 60 | J. R. R. Tolkien | The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King |
1965 | GBP 400.00 - 600.00 | GBP 500.00 |
-
Sotheby’s
Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
25 June – July 7Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000. -
Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000 -
Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000