Item 79 is a 1918 (fourth impression) issue of Eadweard Muybridge's classic AnimalsinMotion.AnElectro-PhotographicInvestigationofConsecutivePhasesofMuscularActions. Muybridge conducted rapid, sequential photographs of animals in motion, notably the horse, answering the age-old question of whether a running horse at any point has all four legs off the ground (yes). What is particularly notable of Muybridge's sequential photography is that it was a first step in the process of creating animation, pictures that moved. £498 (US $782)
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That provides a perfect segue to this next item: MoviePosters.ThePaintingsofBatisteMadalena, published in 1986. Madalena was an Italian-born artist who was hired to create movie posters by George Eastman, the developer of rolled film and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company. Eastman also operated a large theater in his firm's hometown of Rochester, New York, and Madalena was hired to create many posters on short notice to promote the then silent films being shown. He created as many as 8 a week, a total of 1,400 during his time with Eastman. Most are lost, but Madalena salvaged about 250 of them from the trash behind the theater. He remained largely unknown until his work was rediscovered in the 1980s. Item 527. £48 (US $75).
Item 103 is a complete run of the short-lived TheConnoisseurandCollector'sJournal. A monthly, it lasted for just seven issues in 1895-1896. A serious fire may have been the immediate cause of its demise. It focused on antique collectibles, including books and many other items. One issue covers the sale of Oscar Wilde's assets, noting, “The recent sale of the effects of the unhappily notorious Oscar Wilde, although attended by a large assemblage of buyers and onlookers, produced considerable disappointment and very meagre prices...” Wilde was involved in a bitter libel suit over claims of sodomy that eventually led to his being wiped out financially and sent to jail for two years. The auction was to help pay for the judgment against him. £198 (US $311).
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
