Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2012 Issue

Travel from Bestebreurtje Rare Books

Travel from Bestebreurtje Rare Books.

Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Rare Books has issued List 50: Travel. This is a collection of mainly 18th and 19th century travels, or material related to journeys. We will describe some of it as “related,” as there are many items pertaining to slavery, or the Dutch East India Company, not specifically about the journeys themselves, but it took long journeys in slave ships for slavery to exist, and even longer trips for residents of the Netherlands to make it to the East India Company's colonies in far off Indian and Pacific Ocean lands. Here are some of the travel items now being offered.

Item 31 is the first really thorough look at the United States after the Revolution. Voyage dans l'Amerique Septentrionale, dans les Annees 1780, 1781 et 1782 was the work of the Marquis de Chastellux. Chastellux served as a major-general under Rochambeau, assisting the Americans during their Revolution. After the war, he toured around America, from Virginia to Pennsylvania and New England. According to the commentators, nothing escaped his eye. Chastellux wrote about practically every detail he saw, “even the most trifling incidents that bad roads, inconvenient inns and distracted times usually afford” (from an early Maggs catalogue). The book also provides information about more important issues, such as the economy, social conditions, and the character of the people. He also provides commentary on events during the Revolution, and later, on a visit to Monticello to meet with Jefferson. Offered is the first complete edition (there had been a shorter, privately printed edition prior) published in 1786. Priced at €795 (euros, or around $1,068).

Item 174 is the French language account of an Englishman's visit to a part of Russia that became part of America during his travels. Sounds appropriate for a Dutch bookseller's catalogue! Frederick Whymper was an odd combination of artist and explorer. In 1865, he traveled with the Western Union Telegraph Expedition to Russian Alaska. As to why Western Union was exploring Alaska, that's a strange story. An attempt had earlier been made to lay a cable from America to Europe under the Atlantic Ocean, but that cable quickly failed. So, Western Union got the bright idea of running a cable from San Francisco, up through Oregon and Washington, British Columbia, Russian Alaska, under the Bering Sea, across Siberia, and on to Moscow, where it could hook up with existing cables running east to Europe. It was hoped that this long route, because it had much less of a distance under water, would hold up better than the Atlantic route. However, after much surveying and some initial construction, it was abandoned after a successfully working cable was run under the Atlantic. While the Overland Telegraph was a dismal economic failure, it did provide much information about Alaska, and may have played a role in America's decision to purchase the land from Alaska in 1867. Whymper writes about his travels in Alaska, where he was still present to witness the raising of the American flag over the land. The French edition of his “Travels and Adventures in Alaska,” titled Voyages et Aventures dans l'Alaska, was published in 1871. €225 (US $302).

Item 49 is a book about a most interesting American character - Walter Murray Gibson. He was likely born in the South, though he at times claimed he was born in England. Described in a 2006 article in the Honolulu Advertiser (a newspaper he once owned) as both “a silver tongued 19th-century adventurer,” and a “scoundrel of historic note,” he makes his first appearance on the public stage as a captain of a ship running guns in the Caribbean. He next set off for the Dutch East Indies, landing on Sumatra. He made his way inland, and being the “silver tongued” scoundrel he was, became friendly with various princes and nobility of the island. The Dutch were not amused. They saw him as a disruptive force and promptly threw him in prison. He was there for 15 months before managing his escape. Back in the U.S., he published this book in 1855, The Prison of Weltevreden; and a Glance at the East Indian Archipelego. It recounts the various unpleasantries he experienced at the hands of the Dutch. Gibson would go on to have an even more interesting career in the years after this book. He went to Utah, converted to Mormonism, and headed off to Hawaii as a missionary. However, within a few years, he was excommunicated by the Mormons. Seems he was using church funds to amass personal power, among other things. It did not slow down Gibson, who used his remarkable personal skills to get in the good graces of various important people, securing funding to buy the Advertiser, and then inserting himself as a voice for natives of Hawaii versus recent arrivals. In particular, he garnered the support of the King, who named him Prime Minister, and to other important offices. However, he schemed to grow Hawaii into an empire of Pacific Islands, and when this plan fell apart, he fled Hawaii for his life. A year later, in 1888, he died in San Francisco. €275 (US $370).

Rare Book Monthly

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    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
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    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
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    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
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    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
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