Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2010 Issue

Travel, Americana, and Natural History from Donald Heald Rare Books

From the Seattle Book Fair.


By Michael Stillman

Donald Heald Rare Books recently printed A Selection of Fine Books for their participation in the Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair. The New York bookseller specializes in fine and important books. This collection is divided into three categories: Voyages & Travel, Americana, and Natural History & Miscellany. Here are some samples covering each of these fields.

Captain James Cook's final journey was a combination of success and failure, triumph and disaster, but it left us with a much greater understanding of the world we inhabit. His major goals included returning the South Sea islander, Omai, earlier taken to England, back to his home, and finding the elusive Northwest Passage. He succeeded at the former, failed at the latter. Along the way, he succeeded in charting much of the American Pacific coast and discovered Hawaii. That also proved his undoing, as Cook was killed by Hawaiian natives in a dispute over a boat, and his replacement, Charles Clerke, succumbed to illness a short time later. Item 3 is A Voyage to the Pacific… by Cook and Captain James King, who had to complete the narrative. Offered is the second and technically superior edition, published in 1785. Priced at $27,500.

Finding a northwest passage to the Orient was long an obsession in England. In the days before the Suez and Panama Canals, the journey was extremely long and arduous, requiring rounding either the African Cape or traversing the dangerous Magellan Straits below the tip of South America. A northwest passage, north of the Canadian mainland, would cut thousands of miles from the journey. Unfortunately, it is very cold up there, and even where there is water, it is often covered with impenetrable ice. Item 13 relates to what was the first of many attempts to find this passage by an Englishman: A vindication of the conduct of Captain Christopher Middleton, in a late voyage on board His Majesty's ship the Furnace, for discovering a north-west passage to the western American ocean, published in 1743. Middleton searched for an outlet from Hudson Bay, eventually going as far north as Repulse Bay, before being turned back by ice. He concluded there was no passage. Technically, he was wrong, but the long frozen winters have never made this a practical route to this day (though warming temperatures have finally begun to open the route for longer periods of time during the summer). Middleton's conclusion was not well received by Arthur Dobbs, a wealthy Irishman who had a competitive interest in finding such a route. Dobbs attacked Middleton, thinking the latter's conclusion would stop further searching for a route, to the Hudson's Bay Company's competitive advantage. He thereby accused Middleton of misconduct and accepting bribes from the Hudson's Bay Company. This is Middleton's response. $12,500.

Of course, there was always another way to travel America east to west - overland, by foot. Item 25 is the first account of America's greatest overland expedition by an actual participant: A Journal of the Voyages and Travels of a Corps of Discovery under the command of Capt. Lewis and Capt. Clarke [sic]… by Patrick Gass, published in 1807. Gass was an important member of the expedition, lifted to the rank of sergeant during the journey when another died, who had been commanded to keep a journal. What he was not supposed to do was publish his journal prior to the official account. That journal's publication dragged on for years, but Gass released his version early, the first published account by an eyewitness. $17,500.

Item 42 is the first octavo edition (1824-26) of what Heald describes as "perhaps the most celebrated flower book ever published," Pierre Joseph Redoute's Les Roses. Originally published in a folio edition, Redoute's work blurs the boundary between science and art. His aim was to accurately reproduce the roses he saw, but his drawings are so perfect and beautiful they are generally more recognized as works of art. Text, and many of the roses depicted, were supplied by Claude-Antoine Thory, a botanist and rose collector. $25,000.

Item 46 is the memoirs of Louis Comfort Tiffany (written with Charles De Kay): The Art of Louis C. Tiffany. Tiffany's stated purpose of the book was to enable his children to know more about their father's career, though he made copies available to friends and important clients. The book was an expensive production, worthy of the Tiffany name. His father founded the jewelry firm that bears the family name, but Louis was more of an artist, his specialty being stained glass. It is from his contributions that the company is also known for Tiffany glass. Along with his glass, Louis Tiffany was noted for architecture and interior design, once redesigning several rooms at the White House on behalf of President Chester Arthur. $12,000.

Donald Heald Rare Books may be reached at 212-744-3505 or info@donaldheald.com. You may visit their website at www.donaldheald.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Doyle, May 1: Thomas Jefferson expresses fears of "a war of extermination" in Saint-Dominigue. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An exceptional presentation copy of Fitzgerald's last book, in the first issue dust jacket. $25,000 to $35,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The rare first signed edition of Dorian Gray. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The Prayer Book of Jehan Bernachier. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Van Dyck's Icones Principum Virorum Doctorum. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, May 1: The magnificent Cranach Hamlet in the deluxe binding by Dõrfner. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, May 1: A remarkable unpublished manuscript of a voyage to South America in 1759-1764. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, May 1: Bouchette's monumental and rare wall map of Lower Canada. $12,000 to $18,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An rare original 1837 abolitionist woodblock. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An important manuscript breviary in Middle Dutch. $15,000 to $25,000.
    Doyle, May 1: An extraordinary Old Testament manuscript, circa 1250. $20,000 to $30,000.
  • Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Piccolomini's De La Sfera del Mondo (The Sphere of the World), 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Vellutello's Commentary on Petrarch, With Map, 1525.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Finely Bound Definitive, Illustrated Edition of I Promessi Sposi, 1840.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Rare First Edition of John Milton's Latin Correspondence, 1674.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Giolito's Edition of Boccaccio's The Decamerone, with Bedford Binding, 1542.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of the First Biography of Marie of the Incarnation, with Rare Portrait, 1677.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Aldine Edition of Volume One of Cicero's Orationes, 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Bonanni's Illustrated Costume Catalogue, with Complete Plates, 1711.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Important Incunable, the First Italian Edition of Josephus's De Bello Judaico, 1480.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Jacques Philippe d'Orville's Illustrated Book of the Ruins of Sicily, 1764.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Incunable from 1487, The Contemplative Life, with Early Manuscript.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Ignatius of Loyola's Exercitia Spiritualia, 1563.
  • Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 546. Christoph Jacob Trew. Plantae selectae, 1750-1773.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 70. Thomas Murner. Die Narren beschwerung. 1558.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 621. Michael Bernhard Valentini. Museum Museorum, 1714.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 545. Sander Reichenbachia. Orchids illustrated and described, 1888-1894.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1018. Marinetti, Boccioni, Pratella Futurism - Comprehensive collection of 35 Futurist manifestos, some of them exceptionally rare. 1909-1933.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 634. August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof. 3 Original Drawings, around 1740.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 671. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1260. Mary Webb. Sarn. 1948. Lucie Weill Art Deco Binding.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 508. Felix Bonfils. 108 large-format photographs of Syria and Palestine.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 967. Dante Aligheri and Salvador Dali. Divina Commedia, 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1316. Tolouse-Lautrec. Dessinateur. Duhayon binding, 1948.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1303. Regards sur Paris. Braque, Picasso, Masson, 1962.
  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: McCarthy (Cormac). Cities of the Plain, N.Y., 1998, First Edn., signed on hf. title; together with Uncorrected Proof and Uncorrected Advance Reading Copies, both signed by the Author. €800 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Stanihurst (Richard). De Rebus in Hibernia Gestis, Libri Quattuor, sm. 4to Antwerp (Christi. Plantium) 1584. First Edn. €525 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Fleischer (Nat.) Jack Dempsey The Idol of Fistiana, An Intimate Narrative, N.Y., 1929, First Edn. Signed on f.e.p. by Rocky Marciano. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Smith - Classical Atlas, Lond., 1820. Bound with, Smiths New General Atlas .. Principal Empires, Kingdoms, & States throughout the World, Lond. 1822. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Rare Auction Catalogues – 1856: Bindon Blood, of Ennis, Co. Clare: Sotheby & Wilkinson. €320 to €450.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Mavor (Wm.)] A General Collection of Voyages and Travels from the Discovery of America to the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century, 28 vols. (complete) Lond., 1810. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Mc Carthy (Cormac). Outer Dark, N.Y. (Random House)1968, Signed by Mc Carthy. €250 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Three signed works by Ted Huges - Wodwo, 1967; Crow from the Life and Songs of the Crow, 1970; and Tales from Ovid, 1997. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: The Garden. An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture in all its Branches, 7 vols. lg. 4to Lond. 1877-1880. With 127 colored plates. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Procter (Richard A.) Saturn and its System: Containing Discussions of The Motion (Real and Apparent)…, Lond. 1865. First Edn. €160 to €220.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Ashe] St. George, Lord Bishop of Clogher, A Sermon Preached to the Protestants of Ireland, now in London,... Oct. 23, 1712, London 1712. Second Edn. €130 to €180.

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