From Russia (and Europe) with a Short List from Simon Beattie
- by Michael Stillman
A large, short list.
Simon Beattie Antiquarian Books and Music has issued Short List 3, a very large catalogue for a small number of items. This is a 26-page large folio presentation, containing large photographs and extensive small print descriptions. Beattie has described his favorite subjects as German, Russian, and music, and those who collect in these fields won't be disappointed. There is a particularly heavy concentration in Russian related material, which can be both tsarist and soviet era, though the subjects can be a Russian ambassador in Britain, or a Russian émigré in New York. Beattie combines unusual cataloguing with uncommon material to provide lists that are intriguing as well as entertaining to read. It is definitely worth getting on his mailing list if this is the sort of material you collect. Here are some items from this latest short list.
Item 22 is a first edition by an extremely popular Russian author, Mark Twain. Okay, Twain was not a Russian author, but he was an extremely popular author in Russia. Surprisingly, he was not only popular in tsarist Russia, but continued to be popular even after the anti-American communist regime came to power. In 1941, Russian scholar Albert Parry wrote, "…in a period of three recent years Mark Twain's works sold over a million and a half copies printed in the various languages of Soviet peoples…" One suspects that despite the sales, Twain's estate didn't get a lot of royalties. Offered is Prints I nishchii, the 1884 first Russian edition of The Prince and the Pauper. Beattie notes that the Russian National Library catalogue shows over 100 editions of this book. Priced at £3,500 (British pounds or $5,655 U.S. dollars).
Not all American books were welcome in Soviet Russia. So there developed a tradition known as samizdat books. These were Russian translations copied and distributed privately, its "publishers" hoping to evade the eyes of the censors and the punishments they might face if caught. Item 7 is a samizdat translation of Nik Cohn's 1969 Pop from the Beginning (in America Rock from the Beginning). It covers rock from Bill Haley to Jimi Hendrix. The "publisher" typed up the translation and then mimeographed the copies. He has added a list of top singles from 1950-1968 and a section on rock films. Item 7. £2,750 (US $4,444).
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
