Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - August - 2012 Issue

75 Fine Books from Peter Harrington

75 fine books.

75 fine books.

Peter Harrington has issued their 84th catalogue, Seventy-Five Fine Books. These are every bit as fine as the title says. This is a collection of important books, in top condition, in first or other important editions. There are not many you won't recognize. They range from early printings of antiquarian works to science, travel, literature and other fields. Many types of books are represented, with importance being the common thread. Here are a few.

In 1663, Robert Hooke placed some tiny specimens under his new, compound microscope. He was amazed by what he saw. Within a few years, so would the rest of the world. He began to see things invisible to the naked eye. He began placing everything under the microscope, and drawing what he saw. His drawing of a flea, the size of a bird, is probably the most famous, not to mention horrible sight he drew. The flea is not a handsome creature. He also gave us mosquitoes and fungi, but what was most important is that he gave us our first look at cells. He was the first to describe these basic units of tissue as being a “cell.” Item 12 is a first edition, first issue copy of Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses, published in 1655. It contains 38 plates of what Hooke saw. Priced at £65,000 (British pounds, roughly $101,780 U.S. dollars).

Item 42 is a very special copy of a work that is performed as a play every Christmas all over the world. That, naturally, is Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. There is no need to recount the plot line as everyone knows it. This copy is unique as it contains Dickens' inscription to “George Cattermole from his friend Charles Dickens, Eighth November 1845.” Cattermole was an artist and illustrator who illustrated a couple of Dickens' books. However, he was more than that. He was a close personal friend of the great writer. Dickens possessed a couple of his friend's paintings, and when Cattermole died, Dickens worked “tirelessly” to raise money to support his widow and children. This is a copy of the 1844 edition. £50,000 (US $78,230).

There is probably no greater book in western literature, certainly in English literature, than this one. Item 10 is a copy of Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. This was only the second appearance of his works, what is generally referred to as the Second Folio, published in 1632. After the playwright's death in 1616, it was likely that all of his great works would soon disappear. His plays had been performed, but they were not published. Fortunately, a group of his friends, realizing something needed to be done to preserve them, published this collection in 1623, in the edition known as the First Folio. Two more folio editions would be published in the 17th century, and then with the 18th century, countless editions of his various works would roll off of presses. The first edition is extremely difficult to find now, and all four folios are highly collectible. £385,000 (US $602,500).

Item 5 is the great work of the 16th century scientist William Gilbert. If you are wondering who gave electricity its name, it was Gilbert. That comes from the Greek word for amber, from which Gilbert created static electricity. Gilbert was particularly focused on magnetism, and concluded that the earth itself was a large magnet, that being the explanation for the working of a compass. He also was a strong supporter of the Copernican theory of the universe, long before Galileo's support of the same got him in serious trouble with ecclesiastical authorities. The title of Gilbert's book, published in 1600, is De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure. £30,000 (US $46,975).

Rare Book Monthly

  • Gros & Delettrez
    Travel: Books & Cartography
    6 February 2025
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: MUNSTER (Sebastian). Cosmographiae universalis lib. VI. Basilea
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: ORTELIUS (Abraham). Typus Orbis Terrarum. [Antwerp, 1587]
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: BRION DE LA TOUR (Louis). Atlas Monde. Paris, Desnos ou Jaillot, [1783 - An XIII-1799].
    Gros & Delettrez
    Travel: Books & Cartography
    6 February 2025
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: ORTELIUS (Abraham). Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. Anvers, Christophe Plantin, 1579.
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: VISSCHER (Nicolas Joannes). Theatrum praecipuarum urbium [...]
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: DE BRUYN (Cornelis). Voyage au Levant.
    Gros & Delettrez
    Travel: Books & Cartography
    6 February 2025
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: AZARA (Félix de). Voyages dans l'Amérique Méridionale.
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: JOUTEL (Henri). Journal historique du dernier voyage que feu M. de la Sale […]
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: LA SALLE (René Robert Cavelier de) ; TONTI (Henri de). Dernières découvertes dans l’Amérique Septentrionale
    Gros & Delettrez
    Travel: Books & Cartography
    6 February 2025
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: NOLIN (Jean-Baptiste) ; CORONELLI (Vincenzo). L'Amérique septentrionale, ou, la partie septentrionale des Indes Occidentales […]
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: [Caroline du Sud]. A large draft of South Carolina from Cape Roman to Port Royal.
    Gros & Delettrez, Feb. 6: PÉRON (François) ; FREYCINET (Louis de). Voyage de découverte aux terres australes.
  • Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 746. Speed's Dual Atlas of Britain & the World with 96 Maps (1676). Est. $70,000 - $85,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 9. Visscher's Superb Double-Hemisphere World Map with Representations of the Elements (1658). Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 58. One of the Most Important 16th Century Maps of the New World (1554). Est. $5,000 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 745. A Complete Example of Ortelius' Atlas of Ancient Geography (1624). Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 73. First English Map to Show California as an Island (1625). Est. $16,000 - $19,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 156. Bachmann's Dramatic View of the Mid-Atlantic Region (1861). Est. $1,800 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 741. Early Announcement of Continental Congress' Declaration of Independence (1776). Est. $9,000 - $11,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 695. The First Printed Map Devoted to the Pacific (1589). Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 733. Superb Image of the Presentation of Jesus in Hand Color (1502). Est. $700 - $850
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 52. Produced by the Psychological Warfare Branch to Encourage Surrender (1945). Est. $200 - $230
  • Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: ALDROVANDI, Ulisse (1522-1605) - [Opera omnia]. Bologna: Bellagamba, Benacci, Bonomi, Tebaldini, Ferroni, 1599-1668. €22.000-€28.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [CANALETTO] - VISENTINI, Antonio (1688-1782) da Giovanni Antonio CANAL (1697-1768, detto 'Il Canaletto') - Urbis Venetiarum prospectus celebriores. Venezia: Giovanni Battista Pasquale, 1742-51. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: LA FONTAINE, Jean de (1621-1695) - Fables Choisies. Parigi: Claude Barbin, 1668. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: MERCATOR, Rumold (1545-1599) - [I continenti] - Europa; Africa; America Sive India Nova; Asia. Amsterdam: S.d. [ca. 1633]. €2.000-€3.000
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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