English & European Books Pre-1800 From John Windle
English and European Books Printed Before 1800 from John Windle.
By Michael Stillman
John Windle, Antiquarian Bookseller, of San Francisco, has issued his 38th catalogue. It is entitled "English and European Books Printed Before 1800." While this catalogue has a definite old world orientation, collectors with a focus on the new will also find books of interest. After all, even the U.S.A. was still a colony of the old world almost to the end of this period. Here are a few samples of the items you will find (and with the caveat that we have focused mostly on the English language books in a collection that includes many in French, German and Italian).
In 1764 Benjamin Franklin was still a loyal subject of England. At the time, he was an agent for Pennsylvania, whose legislature was unhappy with the English proprietorship then in place. On their behalf, Franklin petitioned the King to assume control of the colony himself. Franklin still envisioned a great English empire with America a leading force. Over the next few years, he would lose faith in England as a result of its treatment of the colonies. Here is Franklin's earlier plea, Cool Thoughts on the Present Situation of Our Public Affairs. Item 78. Priced at $3,750.
Just 12 years later, the colonies would be in open rebellion. In a letter attributed to Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson, to a dumbfounded British Lord who did not understand why, an explanation is provided in Strictures upon the Declaration of the Congress at Philadelphia. In a Letter to a Noble Lord. Hutchinson, no friend of rebellious colonists, justifies the taxes England imposed, but questions the wisdom of applying them under the current conditions. Item 97. $2,250.
Francis Bacon's Of the Advancement and Proficience of Learning: or Partitions of Sciences was a major step in the formulation of the scientific method. This is a first English edition from 1674 of a book originally published in Latin in 1605. Bacon promotes the scientific method, using experimentation and observation to draw conclusions. This process is a given now, but at this time the standard was to reach conclusions through logic and philosophy, the facts be damned. Item 14. $975. Unfortunately for Bacon, he was convicted of accepting a bribe in his political persona in 1621 and disgraced. In 1622, he published The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry The Seventh. This may have been an attempt to get back in the good graces of Henry's descendant, King James I. Item 13. $1,250.
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. 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>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.")
![<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.")
