Early Continental Books from Libreria Antiquaria Rappaport
- by Michael Stillman
Antiquarian European works from Rappaport.
This month we received our first catalogue from LibreriaAntiquariaRappaport,their Catalogo195. Their catalogues may be new to our reviews, but Rappaport has been selling books for over a century. They are located in Rome, Italy, in a building appropriate to their focus, a quite old Italian structure. The bookseller primarily features early continental books, from incunabula through the 19th century. The heaviest concentration of books is in the Italian language, but we find many in other languages, including Latin, French, and English. The catalogue itself is in Italian, but there are numerous notes in English that will enable an English-speaker to make their way through its pages. Here are some of the antiquarian works we found.
Item 74 is a guidebook to the ruins of ancient Rome from a time that is now fairly ancient itself. The author was Bartolomeo Marliano, born in 1488, who came to Rome after his years as a student. He wrote several books, but this one is his best known: AntiquaeRomaeTopographia,libriseptem. Published in 1534, it is a guide to the ancient structures of Rome, compiled both from the works of others and his own archeological observations. Several more editions and translations to other languages would appear in the following years of this popular book, but this is the first edition. Priced at €2,000 (euros, or approximately $2,533 U.S. Dollars).
Italy is noted for producing some of the greatest works of science, architecture, and art, but children's books? You may not think of Italy as the source of this sort of book, and yet, here is one everyone knows, even in lands far across the sea: LeavventurediPinocchio.Storiadiunburattino. This is, of course, the story of Pinocchio, the wooden puppet who came to life, but suffered from a certain mysterious condition that made it hard to disguise when he told a lie. The author of this tale was Carlo Lorenzini, though he is better known by his pen name of Carlo Collodi. First published in 1883, this is the 1890 fifth and final edition issued under Collodi's control, the author dying that year, his character's coming international fame not yet known. Item 27. €2,500 (US $3,168).
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.")
