Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - January - 2005 Issue

Maps, Books, and Manuscripts From Asher Rare Books

Atlases, Books, Globes, Manuscripts and Maps from Asher Rare Books.

Atlases, Books, Globes, Manuscripts and Maps from Asher Rare Books.


By Michael Stillman

Asher Rare Books
has just released a new catalogue entitled "A selection of 50 interesting Atlases, Books, Globes, Manuscripts and Maps." Asher Rare Books is located in the Netherlands, so this catalogue skews a bit toward Dutch items, but there are several other European nations represented, along with one piece that is very American. Here are a few examples of items to be found in this fully illustrated catalogue of rare and intriguing works.

The first item offered is a collection of ten manuscript maps taken from a journey to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) circa 1763. They were generated either during the voyage of the ship "Oosterbeck" or upon its return to Amsterdam. Along with sea charts are seven maps of Ceylon and the adjacent Indian coast, and one each of the Comoro Islands, Seychelles, and Maldive Islands (using current names). Sadly, this area of the world has been very much in the news recently with the earthquake and devastating tsunami. A few of these maps can be seen in the picture of the catalogue's cover on this page. Item 1. Priced at (Euros) €32,500 (or equivalent US $43,517).

For those with an interest in book catalogues, here is a pair of very old ones. They were offered by Janssonius Van Waesberge in 1725 and 1727. One is a catalogue of books in Italian, Spanish, and English, the other of French books on history, geography, genealogy, mathematics, literature and more. They are bound as one and contain listings for 5,750 books. Item 22. €3,850 (US $5,154).

Item 14 is an 1831 explanation for the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights that light up the nighttime skies of places that are very cold at this time of year. The book is Der Polarschein, oder: Das Nordlicht, by Siegmund Dietmar, published in Berlin in 1831. Dietmar theorized that the phenomenon was caused by the reflection and refraction of sunlight by ice crystals high above the North Pole. That was not a bad theory considering the lack of knowledge of solar particles and winds at the time, but it was completely wrong. Nice try. €2,950 (US $3,950).

Item 19 is the one of Americana. It is Ichthyology of South Carolina by John Edwards Holbrook, published in Charleston in 1860. This is the second and expanded edition, and is called "volume 1," though there were no more. The book includes 28 hand-colored plates of fish which lived in the waters of South Carolina. Holbrook was a physician and member of the faculty at the Medical College of South Carolina. The date of this publication is of more than passing significance. It was the year in which South Carolina seceded from the Union. Dr. Holbrook, well into his 60s, would be called to serve soldiers on the battlefield for the Confederacy, while further publication of his book would cease. The Civil War left few in America untouched. €12,500 (US $16,743).

Georges Cuvier was one of the world's foremost zoologists of the early 19th century. He prepared classifications for thousands of animals, both alive and extinct. He believed that each part of an animal's body was critical to its function. Therefore, he reasoned that change, or evolution, was not possible. However, he recognized that many fossilized animals no longer existed, so he concluded that there were periodic cataclysmic events which wiped out many animals, a theory that seems to have been confirmed by recent discoveries. The follow up part of his theory, that there were new creations rather than new evolutions, has not been supported. Item 10 is Regne Animal dispose en Tableaux Methodiques... by Cuvier and Joseph Achille. Published in 1840, it includes drawings of approximately 5,000 animals, including humans of different ethnicities. €3,750 (US $5,022).

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions
    Online Sale:
    The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper
    Ending 7th November, 2024
    Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
  • Doyle
    Stage & Screen
    November 14 & 15
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A studio-sanctioned Darth Vader Touring Costume from The Empire Strikes Back. $50,000 to $100,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: An original Al Hirschfeld's illustration of the cast of On Golden Pond. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: The largest trove of personal Grace Kelly letters to come to market. $60,000 to $80,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: An Important Archive of Musical Manuscripts of Truman Capote and Harold Arlen's House of Flowers. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: The archive of an original Merrily We Roll Along Broadway cast member. $5,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Jerry Herman's Yamaha Model C7 Ebonized Grand Piano. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A large group of Jerry Herman musical posters. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Group of awards presented to Jerry Herman. $300 to $400.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: Six pages of original art for "The MAD Game of Basebrawl," a complete story published in MAD #167, pages 31-36, June 1974. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A MAD book made for Al Jaffee, containing original art and writings from many MAD contributors. 2011. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: A Jaffee-themed MAD Fold-In - "What honor should the creator of the MAD Fold-Ins be given?" $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, Nov. 14-15: MAD Fold-In - "What developing news story has many Americans totally transfixed?" $800 to $1,200.
  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
    Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana
    November 14
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.
  • Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE
    Le Neptune Oriental
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSAS
    Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    CASSINI DE THURY
    Carte générale et particulière de la France.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    JOUY; GARNERAY
    Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LA PÉROUSE
    Voyage autour du monde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE
    Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    LICENT
    Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY
    Panorama d’Athènes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PEETERS
    Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    PÉRON; FREYCINET
    Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    STACKELBERG
    La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
    Gros & Delettrez, 7 November:
    VALENTINER
    Atlas des Sonnensystems.

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