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Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2010 Issue

Rare Books in Travel, Science, Arts and Humanities from Martayan Lan

The rare catalogue of the auction of Robert Hooke's library.

The rare catalogue of the auction of Robert Hooke's library.


Progress is not always in a straight line. Sometimes there are reverses. Item 50 is Dubitationes in dialogum Galilaei… by Claudio Berigard. It is a response to Galileo's Dialogue, the first such published response (it was published in 1632, a few months later in the same year Galileo published his work). In his book, presented as a dialogue between supporters of two positions, Galileo makes the case for Capernicus' heliocentric (sun-centered) universe, and the older Aristotelian earth-centered view. Many, including the Catholic Church, did not believe the dialogue was objective; that it favored Copernicus' view. Berigard, in this response, attacks the heliocentric view, arguing that Galileo did not provide a proper defense of the traditional view, and making his case for the popular, acceptable, but incorrect theory on the subject. $45,000.

Item 68 is a very rare copy of one of the earliest great library auctions. Its title is Bibliotheca Hookiana, and it presents the April 29, 1703, London auction of the great scientist, Robert Hooke. Hooke had died the previous year. Robert Hooke was one of the leading scientists of his time, proposing theories of gravity and elasticity, as well as doing early observations with a microscope, perfecting watches, and more. His interests were broad, and the library he built matched his interests. It also included a section on architecture, another field in which Hooke was expert. This catalogue, with over 3,000 volumes, displays what a brilliant mind of the 17th century would read. $49,500.

You can reach Martayan Lan at 212-308-0018 or info@martayanlan.com. Their website is www.americanaexchange.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections
    Open for Bidding 2-17 April
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.

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