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CHRISTIE’S
Valuable Books and Manuscripts
London auction
13 December
Find out moreChristie’s, Explore now
TREW, Christoph Jacob (1695–1769). Plantae Selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini in hortus curiosorum. [Nuremberg: 1750–1773]. £30,000–40,000Christie’s, Explore now
VERBIEST, Ferdinand (1623–88). Liber Organicus Astronomiae Europaeae apud Sinas restituate. [Beijing: Board of Astronomy, 1674]. £250,000–350,000Christie’s, Explore now
PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF ALICE & NIKOLAUS HARNONCOURT. Master of Jean Rolin (active 1445–65). Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, [Paris, c.1450–1460]. £120,000–180,000Christie’s, Explore now
A SILVER MICROSCOPE. Probably by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), c.1700. £150,000–250,000Christie’s, Explore now
AN ENGLISH HORARY QUADRANT
C.1311. £100,000–150,000 -
Swann
Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
December 7, 2023Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.Swann
Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
December 7, 2023Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.Swann
Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
December 7, 2023Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.Swann
Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
December 7, 2023Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200. -
Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800
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ABAA VBF: Holiday EditionNovember 30-December 2
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Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2010 Issue
Books of Classical Antiquity from Antiquariaat Fragmenta Selecta
By Michael Stillman
Antiquariaat Fragmenta Selecta of Amsterdam has issued their Catalogue 102 Classical Antiquity (A-K). There are obviously lots of works about classical antiquity as this collection includes almost 1,600 items just to get to the letter "K." There are very few books that cost much here, lots of material designed more for learning than building a collection of expensive collectibles. Books come in many languages - English, French, German, Latin, and Greek. You are sure to be fluent in at least one (we will focus on books in our fluency - English). For a trip back in time, way back in time, there are hundreds of books awaiting you.
It's not easy to construct an intimate biography of someone who died 3,350 years ago, what with issues of access to contemporaries and the like. Nevertheless, Joan Fletcher has done a remarkable job with the challenge in Chronicle of a Pharaoh. The intimate life of Amenhotep III. Amenhotep's long reign, almost 40 years, was a time of prosperity, great art, and tranquility. Many rulers try to build their reputations through military conquests, but there seem to have been few wars during his reign, though he was said to have personally killed 100 lions with his arrows. His time is now regarded as perhaps the peak of ancient Egypt in terms of power and prestige. His rule ended with his death around 1350 BC. Fortunately, many tablets and statues from Amenhotep's time have survived (as has his mummy), enabling Fletcher to write a year-by-year account of his life. Item 905. Priced at €20 (euros, or approximately US $28).
Hannibal did not make his reputation during peacetime. He was a military leader from Carthage, and he retains the reputation as one of the most brilliant military strategists ever, even though he has been gone almost 2,200 years. Hannibal attacked the mighty Roman Empire and held it to a standstill for years, at times coming close to conquering Rome, but eventually was driven away. Still, his achievements against the mightiest empire the world had known remain a testament to his superior skills, and he would be highly respected, though unloved, by his enemy. Item 1122 is Hannibal's campaigns. The story of one of the greatest military commanders of all time, by T. Bath, published in 1981. €8 (US $11).
Item 549 is a book about Roman history and ruins near Cirencester, a town in England about 100 miles from London. In the day, it was something of a center, one of the larger Roman cities in England. Back then, it went by the name of Corinium. The title of the book is Early Roman Occupation at Cirencester, by J.S. Wacher and A.D. McWhirr. It was published in 1982, but there are still many ruins yet to be excavated in the area. €22 (US $30).
Item 169 is a copy of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. This English translation is a little closer to being contemporary than, say, a copy printed today, as it was published in 1926, only around 2,300 years removed from his lifetime, rather than 2,400. In this work Aristotle describes his standards of ethics, all logically deduced from a few basic principles. It is remarkable that such a high standard of ethics could come from such an early time, but ancient Greece was a remarkable place. €11 (US $15).
So, now that we know about Aristotle's deepest thoughts, let's get to some surface issues. What did the man look like? This is not easy with a man who died more than 2,300 years ago, or more than 2,100 years before the invention of photography. Item 935 is Fulvio Orsini's imagines and the portrait of Aristotle, published in 1960. Orsini was a 16th century historian and archeologist who built a collection of antiquities. This work describes 16th century books that contained portraits of ancient leaders and notable personalities. €8 (US $11).
Item 408 is a book about Julius Caesar by a political leader of much later times: Histoire de Jules Cesar, published in 1865-66. The author was Napoleon III, Emperor of France, and its last monarch. He was the nephew of the first French notable with the Napoleon name, President of the Second French Republic, and Emperor of the Second French Empire after staging a coup. He was something of a Caesar in his time, though at least he was able to escape to exile when overthrown, rather than being assassinated. His work does tie together two leaders who were admired by their friends, but hated by their enemies, whose careers ended in defeat. €175 (US $245).
Antiquariaat Fragmenta Selecta may be reached at +31 20 4185565 or mail@fragmentaselecta.nl. Their website is located at www.fragmentaselecta.nl.