From Russia (and Europe) with a Short List from Simon Beattie
- by Michael Stillman
Mr. Fualdes was the victim of a gruesome murder.
Item 12 is an obscure French news-sheet concerning the Fualdes Affair in 1817. Antoine Fualdes was a former prosecutor in Napoleon's time who had his enemies on the right of the political spectrum. He was brutally murdered, bled to death, and had his body dumped in the river. The trial, which led to murder convictions, was a cause celebre in its day, watched intensely in France and much of the rest of the world as well. This sheet was printed about a month after the trial. £300 (US $417).
In the Chechen region of Russia, there have been terrorist attacks, including a terrible school bombing a few years back, as local Muslims have sought independence from Russia. This is nothing new. Over two centuries ago, a Moslem leader known as Sheikh Mansur managed to gather various tribal Moslem groups in the region to attack the forces of Catherine the Great. Mansur was obviously a charismatic leader, disrupting Russian control in the area for several years. He was captured in 1791, sentenced to life in prison in St. Petersburg, where he died in 1794. Item 20 is Sheikh Mansur, a 1787 first and only edition, taken from the Italian original, almost nonexistent today. Why Mansur's story was brought to Italy is not clear, though there appears to have been interest in him and his prophecies in that country. Almost a century later, some letters were discovered, supposedly from Mansur, claiming he was really Giovanni Boetti, an Italian monk and missionary who disappeared in Asia, only to convert to Islam and become the prophet and leader Mansur. The authenticity of these letters is debated to this day. £1,200 (US $1,666).
Poetry can be written about almost any subject. If you don't believe it, take a look at item 13: Epitre a Mr. Moreau, premier chirurgien de l'hotel-Dieu de Paris, published in 1751. Author Mr. Le Roy, an attorney, wrote this poem to honor the surgeon Jean-Nicolas Moreau for amputating his arm. Le Roy's arm was badly damaged in a hunting accident. £400 (US $555).
Simon Beattie Antiquarian Books and Music may be reached at +44 (0) 1494 784954 or simon@simonbeattie.co.uk. Their website is www.simonbeattie.co.uk.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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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. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
