Source : James D Cyr Auctioneer

Source Title
Description The Cyr Auction Company, headed by auctioneer James D. Cyr, was a popular location in Maine for many years. Its location was in Gray, just north of Portland. His specialty was antiques and collectibles, Americana in particular. However, Cyr ran into problems with the state licensing board, having sanctions imposed five times between 2003 and 2008 before having his license revoked. In 2009, he was heavily fined for conducting auctions without a license (or more exactly, using another auctioneer's license who then had his taken away). Among the charges besides operating without a license was failing to account for and remit money in a timely manner, as he used moneys generated in current auctions to try to pay consignors from earlier ones.
Scope of Text In this database are records from two auctions Cyr conducted in 2001 of the Frank Cutter Deering Library. Deering was a Maine lumber magnate, second generation of his family to be engaged in Maine's most notable land-based business. He built an outstanding, if varied collection of Americana. Indian Captivities was one of his particular subjects and his collection now forms a major portion of the Captivities collection at the Newberry Library. What was auctioned by Cyr in 2001 was clearly not Deering's best material, but it enabled collectors to own some of what he once collected for very little money.
Total Records in AED 1311
  • <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>29th January 2026</b></center> <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Plato. [<i>Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera</i>], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000 <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>29th January 2026</b></center> <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Shakespeare (William). <i>The Dramatic Works,</i> 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Joyce (James). <i>Ulysses,</i> first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Powell (Anthony). [<i>A Dance to the Music of Time</i>], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000 <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>29th January 2026</b></center> <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Chaucer (Geoffrey). <i>Troilus and Criseyde,</i> one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Borges (Jorge Luis). <i>Luna de Enfrente,</i> first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Nolli (Giovanni Battista). <i>Nuova Pianta di Roma,</i> Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000 <center><b>Forum Auctions<br>Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper<br>29th January 2026</b></center> <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Roberts (David). <i>The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia,</i> 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Blacker (William). <i>Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing,</i> Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000 <b>Forum, Jan. 29:</b> Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Plato. [Apanta ta tou Platonos. Omnia Platonis opera], 2 parts in 2 vol., editio princeps of Plato's works in the original Greek, Venice, House of Aldus, 1513. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, In Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [Southern Netherlands (probably Bruges), c.1460]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Correspondence and documents by or addressed to the first four Viscounts Molesworth and members of their families, letters and manuscripts, 1690-1783. £10,000-15,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Shakespeare (William). The Dramatic Works, 9 vol., John and Josiah Boydell, 1802. £5,000-7,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Joyce (James). Ulysses, first edition, one of 750 copies on handmade paper, Paris, Shakespeare and Company, 1922 £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Powell (Anthony). [A Dance to the Music of Time], 12 vol., first editions, each with a signed presentation inscription from the author to Osbert Lancaster, 1951-75. £6,000-8,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Chaucer (Geoffrey). Troilus and Criseyde, one of 225 copies on handmade paper, wood-engravings by Eric Gill, Waltham St.Lawrence, 1927. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Borges (Jorge Luis). Luna de Enfrente, first edition, one of 300 copies, presentation copy signed by the author to Leopoldo Marechal, Buenos Aires, Editorial Proa, 1925. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Nolli (Giovanni Battista). Nuova Pianta di Roma, Rome, 1748. £6,000-8,000
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th January 2026
    Forum, Jan. 29: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia, 3 vol., first edition, 1842-49. £15,000-20,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Blacker (William). Catechism of Fly Making, Angling and Dyeing, Published by the author, 1843. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, Jan. 29: Herschel (Sir John F. W.) Collection of 69 offprints, extracts and separate publications by Herschel, bound for his son, William James Herschel, 3 vol., [1813-50]. £15,000-20,000
  • <b><center>Sotheby’s<br>Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana<br>27 January 2026</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000. <b><center>Sotheby’s<br>Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana<br>27 January 2026</center></b> <b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000. <b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana
    27 January 2026
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana
    27 January 2026
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.