Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - May - 2012 Issue

Antiquariats Banzhaf and Kuhn at the New York Book Fair

Banzhafny2012

An American Tapir on the Banzhaf/Kuhn catalogue.

Antiquariat Banzhaf and Antiquariat Michael Kuhn created a pocket catalogue for the recent ABAA Antiquarian Book Fair in New York. These booksellers traveled from Germany to New York to display their wares, including the 21 items contained within these pages. Offered are various pieces, books and ephemera, of European origin. Here are some examples.

Item 3 offers drawings of plants and animals as viewed under the lens of the most powerful microscopes available in the 18th century. The book is Mikroskopische Untersuchungen und Beobachtungen der geheimen Zeugungstheile der Pflanzen... (Microscopic studies and observations of the secret parts of plants... and insects), first edition, second printing from 1790. The author was Wilhelm Friedrich von Gleichen-Russwurm. He was a naturalist of sorts, more an amateur, which explains why he is not that well known. Gleichen-Russworm was a baron, born of a substantial family, but problems within that family led to his receiving a less than expected education for someone of his standing. He joined up with the military, and later worked at the court, where he befriended important people. He was a well-liked individual. It enabled him to earn a good living, and after his mother died, he inherited a substantial estate. Tired of the court life, he semi-retired and began scientific studies, notably, looking at plants and small animals under the microscope. As a self-taught scholar, he was not in a position to provide great scientific knowledge, but he had access to the best microscopes available, and provided detailed illustrations of what he discovered in his books. Priced at €6,900 (euros, or roughly $9,075 U.S.).

The image on the cover of this catalogue comes from one of eight wall panel plates depicting various animals of the world. Unsigned and undated, they come from southern Germany or Austria circa 1800. The beast on the cover is that of Tapiris Americanus, the American Tapir. Now I've lived all my life in America and never seen one of these, but there is an explanation. It does not inhabit the America that residents of the United States refer to as “America.” This tapir is now known as Tapiris Terrestris and is commonly called the South American Tapir or Brazilian Tapir. Item 1. €6,400 (US $8,405).

Item 15 is Resa til Italien, 1780, 1781, 1782 (Travels in Italy 1780-2). The author was Carl August Ehrensvärd, who lived from 1745-1800. Born in Stockholm of a military father, Ehrensvärd would fill numerous roles during his life. He is best known as an architect, but was also a painter, caricaturist, writer, member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and rose to Admiral in the Swedish Navy. He was also a traveler, as this book attests, and it contains his account and illustrations. The catalogue describes it as “a beautiful book with astonishing, quite unusual illustrations.” Offered is the second illustrated edition from 1819. €4,200 (US $5,515).

Item 20 is a treatise on a rare and unpleasant genetic disease – ichthyosis: Descriptio Ichthyosis corneae congenitae in virgine observatae. It causes dry skin with a build up of scale-like flakes, hence the ichthyo - “fish” - prefix. It is not contagious, and even today, there is only treatment, no cure. The author of this book, which provides text and illustrations about the condition, was Christoph Helwig Smith, a physician from Bremen when this treatise was published (1830). €7,000 (US $9,190).

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Sotheby's<br>The Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman Collection<br>26 May - 12 June</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "Cool Hand Luke" | Paul Newman Academy Award® Nomination Plaque. USD$2500 - $3500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "Hud" | Bound presentation script incorporating photographic stills. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "The Long, Hot Summer" | Movie Poster. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> Joseph Heller | "Catch-22," inscribed to Woodward & Newman by author. USD$500 - $800
    <b><center>Sotheby's<br>The Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman Collection<br>26 May - 12 June</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> George H. W. Bush | Typed Letter Signed, Issuing a "Pardon" to Paul Newman. USD$1500 - $2000
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> William Jefferson Clinton | Inscribed Color Photograph. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> Ken Kesey | Typed letter to “Paulnewman,” asking for further compensation for "Sometimes a Great Notion". USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "They Might Be Giants" | Costume sketches by Edith Head. USD$1000 - $2000
  • <b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>Focus On Women:<br>At Auction June 1, 2023</b>
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Sojourner Truth, <i>Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave,</i> first edition, Boston, 1850. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Jane Austen, <i>Pride and Prejudice,</i> London, 1817. $6,000 to $8,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Cindy Sherman, <i>Secretary,</i> gelatin silver print, 1978; printed 1993. $6,000 to $8,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Fanny Stevenson, Archive of Photographs & Letters, 1866-1904. $4,000 to $6,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Charlotte Perkins Gilman, <i>The Forerunner,</i> Volumes I-VII; Family Association Set; Four Volumes Signed or Inscribed by the Author, New York, 1909-16. $3,000 to $5,000.
  • <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> The West Indies, C. 1792, by Sir William Young. Colonial Watercolours, etc. A highly important group of original watercolours now on the market for the first time in approx. 230 years. €10,000 to €15,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Gould (John). <i>The Birds of Great Britain,</i> 5 vols. lg. atlas folio, Lond. (Taylor & Francis) 1873. First Edition, with 363 hand-coloured plates. €9,000 to €15,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Joyce (James). <i>Ulysses,</i> thick 4to, L. (John Lane, The Bodley Head) 1936, Signed Limited Edition No. 20 (100) Copies. €8,000 to €12,000.
    <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Rackham (Arthur) illus. <i>The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm,</i> Lg. 4to Lond. (Constable & Co.) 1909. Lim. Edition No. 128 of 750 Copies, Signed by Author. €2,000 to €3,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Arctic Travel: Hearne (Samuel). <i>A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort in Hudson's Bay…</i> Thick 8vo Dublin, 1796. First Dublin Edition. €1,250 to €1,750.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Hand-Coloured Plates: Maw (George). <i>A Monograph of The Genus Crocus,</i> Lg. 4to Lond. (Culau & Co.) 1886. First Edn. €1,200 to €1,500.
    <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Holinshed (Raphael) & Stanyhurst (R.) <i>The Historie of Ireland from the First Inhabitation thereof, unto the Yeare 1509…</i> Folio, London, 1577, First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Fine Hand-Coloured Plates: [Dalvimart (Octavien.)] <i>The Costume of Turkey, ... with Descriptions in English and French,</i> Folio Lond. (for Wm. Miller by Wm. Bulmer) 1804. First Edn. €750 to €1,250.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Astronomy: Nasmyth (James) & Carpenter (James). <i>The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite.</i> Lg. 4to Lond. 1874. First Edn. €700 to €1,000.
    <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Binding: Tennyson - <i>The Works of Lord Tennyson Poet Laureate,</i> 8vo Lond. (Macmillan & Co.) 1900. €700 to €1,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Manuscript: Green (E.) <i>Chronology and Geography by E. Green,</i> Folio manuscript, no date but c. 1800. €400 to €600.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Alexander (James Edward). <i>Sketches in Portugal,</i> During The Civil War of 1834. 8vo Lond. (J. Cochrane) 1835. First Edition. €300 to €400.

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