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.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
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>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
