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

Forum Auctions: Online: Books and Works on Paper

Auction Reports

Auction Name	Online: Books and Works on Paper	Total Sales (GBP)	94,246.70
Auction Date	May 21, 2026 - May 21, 2026	Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP)	65,220.00
Sale Number	#52126	High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP)	94,130.00
Total Lots	242
Sold Lots	212.0	Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP)	76,720.00
% of Lots Sold	87.60%	High Estimate of All Lots (GBP)	110,730.00
Unsold Lots	30	Total Sales as a % of High Est.	85.11%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Top Sale Price Lots
Lot Number	Author Name	Book Title	Year Published	Estimate	Actual Price
46	Hayter John	Tamehameha 2nd His Majesty the King of the Sandwich Islands; Tamehamalu Her Majesty the Queen of the Sandwich Islands; A Man of Kamtschatka	1824	GBP 600.00 - 800.00	GBP 4,064.00
119	Braun Georg; Hogenberg Franz; Habermann	3 Books, including: Civitates Orbis Terrarum	circa 1575; 18th century	GBP 150.00 - 200.00	GBP 2,794.00
135		Scenes in Agra; Bombay. Lahore. Calcutta. 1927 - December. February - 1929	?c.1910; 1927-1929	GBP 400.00 - 600.00	GBP 2,286.00
74	Petis de la Croix Francois	The History of Genghizcan the Great	1722	GBP 600.00 - 800.00	GBP 2,032.00
231	Valk Gerard; Blaeu Johannes	Novus Planiglobii Terrestris per utrumque polum conspectus	1672; c.1695	GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00	GBP 2,032.00
182	Gunst Pieter van	't Gesigt van de Portugeese, en Hoogduytse Ioden kerken, tot Amsterdam	circa 1750	GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00	GBP 1,905.00
186	Leth Hendrik de	Allerheerlykst Gezicht van de stadt Amsterdam in haar geheele uitgestrektheit langs den Scheepryken Ystroom	circa 1730	GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00	GBP 1,905.00
142	Falda Giovanni Battista	Le Fontane di Roma nelle Piazze, e Luoghi Publici della Citta	1675-89	GBP 1,500.00 - 2,000.00	GBP 1,778.00
165	Mount; Page W.J.; Michelot Henry; Adam John; Gaudy John; Bremond	The English Pilot. Part III. Mediterranean Sea	c.1750; 1795	GBP 600.00 - 800.00	GBP 1,778.00
50	Meryon Charles	San-Francisco	1855-56	GBP 800.00 - 1,200.00	GBP 1,651.00
95	Braun Georg; Hogenberg Franz	Vilna Lituaniae Metropolis	circa 1575	GBP 300.00 - 500.00	GBP 1,524.00
146	Ortelius Abraham; Hondius; Blaeu; Lotter; Homann Heirs	Collection of 17 maps of central and northern Italy	17th and 18th century	GBP 300.00 - 500.00	GBP 1,524.00
22	Masson Francis (1741-1805)	Stapeliae Novae: or, A Collection of Several New Species of that Genus	1796-97	GBP 1,500.00 - 2,000.00	GBP 1,397.00
145	Homann Johann Baptist; Covens; Mortier; Schenk; Blaeu; Rossini	Collection of 17 maps of central and southern Italy	17th and 18th century	GBP 300.00 - 500.00	GBP 1,397.00
113	Friedel Adam	The Greeks. Twenty-Four Portraits of the Principal Leaders and Personages in the Greek Revolution	1824-26	GBP 200.00 - 300.00	GBP 1,270.00
76	Staunton George	An Authentic Account of an Embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China	1797	GBP 400.00 - 600.00	GBP 1,143.00
103	Homann Johann Baptist; Munster; Braun; Hogenberg; d'Anville; Ortelius	Collection of 37 maps and views of Europe and Russia	16th to 18th century	GBP 500.00 - 700.00	GBP 1,016.00
92	Dapper Olfert	Naukeurige Beschryving der Eilanden, in de Archipel der Middelantsche Zee	1688	GBP 1,000.00 - 1,500.00	GBP 952.50
96	Blaeu Willem Jansz.; Chauchard	Atlas Novus; A General Map of the Empire of Germany, Holland, The Netherlands, Switzerland	circa 1665; 1800	GBP 600.00 - 800.00	GBP 952.50
179	Reckendorf Hermann	Al Ḳuran 'o ha-Miḳra'	1857	GBP 1,000.00 - 1,500.00	GBP 952.50
78		Annuaire de la Republique Francaise, calcule pour le Meridien du Kaire	1800	GBP 750.00 - 1,000.00	GBP 889.00
121	Graham Maria	Journal of a Residence in India	1812	GBP 200.00 - 300.00	GBP 889.00
215	Braun Georg; Hogenberg Franz	Nine double-page sheets with Spanish views	c.1575	GBP 400.00 - 600.00	GBP 889.00
222	de la Harpe Jean-Francois	Abrege de l'Histoire Generale des Voyages	1780-1801	GBP 400.00 - 600.00	GBP 889.00
2	Adanson Michel; Windus John; Thorpe Robert	120 Books, including: A Voyage to Senegal, the Isale of Goree, and the River Gambia	1759; 1725; 1815	GBP 600.00 - 800.00	GBP 825.50

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.