Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2013 Issue

The 300th Catalogue from Americana Dealer William Reese Co.

Reese catalogue number 300.

Reese catalogue number 300.

The William Reese Company has reached a major milestone in the antiquarian book field – the printing of their 300th catalogue. That is as rare as most of the books they sell. The milestone is not easily achieved. Few have made it. Sure, there are a few English booksellers, such as Sotheran's and Maggs Bros., that have reached the thousands, but Henry Sotheran and the brothers Maggs have long since departed this planet (though Maggs is still in the family). William Reese, the person, as opposed to William Reese, the company, is still firmly in charge after all these years. All these years means 33, the first catalogue having been published in 1980 (though Mr. Reese was in business several years prior to that). He acknowledges this could not have been done alone, and recognizes the many who helped along the way. That said, time will not sit still for the New Haven bookseller, and we anticipate #301 will be arriving in another month or so.

There is another number associated with this catalogue. Its title is One Hundred Rare Americanum. Reese handles a variety of types of books and ephemera, but the firm is most known as the leader in Americana. The best in the field pass through their doors, and this catalogue is filled with the best of the best. There is nothing here you wouldn't love to have. That said, this selection is not for beginners, unless you are a beginner starting at the top. There is nothing inexpensive here, except, perhaps, comparatively to some of the other items, but books are priced in six figures because they are worth six figures. You will get what you pay for if you choose to be a buyer. Here, now, are a few of these spectacular items.

We will start with what Reese notes is “by far the greatest rarity of Presidential books...” In 1780, future President John Adams traveled to the Netherlands to seek aid for the revolutionary cause. He met with Hendrik Calkoen, a sympathetic leader of the local legal community. Calkoen had some questions, and the two men agreed he would write them down in a letter, and Adams would respond. That the Dutchman did, and Adams responded to his 29 questions in a series of 26 letters. They cover many aspects of America and its revolution. Several years later, Adams decided he wanted to preserve his answers, but he did not want them made public. So, he decided to have them published in 1786 in a very small run, for friends and associates. They were included in a book published in London, with the simple title Letters, in an unknown but small quantity. Reese has been able to locate only six others still known to exist, all but one of the others now in institutional hands. One originally went to George Washington, one to British radical politician Brand Hollis, one probably came from the Adams family, and this one was inscribed to Ward Nicholas Boylston, Adams' cousin. The provenance of the remaining copies is unknown. This privately printed collection of Adams' letters was later reprinted under the title Twenty-six Letters, upon interesting subjects, also dated 1786 but probably not printed until 1789. Item 2. Priced at $275,000.

From Adams the father and future President, we go to Adams the son and past President. John Quincy Adams served as President from 1825-1829, but after his term was over, he did something no other president before or after has done – returned to Congress. He served in the House of Representatives from 1831 through his death in 1848. During those years his views evolved, and he became a passionate leader of causes he mostly ignored during his presidency, protection of the first amendment right to petition the government, and the need to bring an end to slavery. Those issues would come together in 1836 when the House passed the “Gag Rule.” This forbid the reading or discussion of petitions from constituents that opposed slavery. This particularly upset Adams as he was the one most vocal in presenting these petitions to the House. Item 4 is a letter Adams wrote to a friendly constituent back home in 1837. He covers a few subjects, including Revolutionary War pensions, of particular interest to the recipient. Most significantly, Adams admits that at one time he was not particularly interested in the subject of abolition. “I have perhaps some apology to make to the warm hearted and well-meaning abolitionists, whose zeal for the suppression of an enormous evil has been more fervent than my own. I have certainly none to make to the Ruffian slaveholder, who would burn me at the stake or send me to the Penitentiary, for asking the question, whether among the rights of human nature, of which the American slave is robbed by his master is included the right to Petition to Congress.” He goes on to note that he has been a sole voice fighting for the right to petition against the “Gag Rule.” It would take some time, but Adams would finally succeed in putting together a coalition to repeal this odious rule in 1844. $125,000.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Peter Max, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore (Versions 1,2, 5, 6), 2001. Estimate $10,000-15,000
    DOYLE: The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimate $5,000-8,000
    DOYLE: The Mary Tyler Moore Show by Al Hirschfeld. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Annie Leibovitz presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke for Vanity Fair. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Al Hirschfeld presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in the CBS Wednesday Night Lineup. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Richard McKenzie, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore. Estimate $1,000-2,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Three Original Bill Hargate Costume Designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Estimate $600-800
    DOYLE: The famous Bonnie and Clyde "Wanted" broadside. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE: Ticket to the Final Episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show Estimate $400-600
  • 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
  • One of a Kind Auctions
    Rare Autograph and Documents
    Ending May 29th, 2025
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: George Washington Three Language Ship's Paper West Indies Trade Voyage.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: An Extraordinary Archive of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry: Over 60 Historic Documents, Naval Commissions, Family Papers, and Photographic Material Spanning the 19th Century.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Abraham Lincoln Appointment for Vice-Consul of Russia.
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Rare Autograph and Documents
    Ending May 29th, 2025
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: John Adams Signed Mediterranean Scalloped Top ship's passport.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Thomas Jefferson and James Madison Signed Ships Paper.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Herman Melville RARE -ALS (Moby Dick Author).
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Rare Autograph and Documents
    Ending May 29th, 2025
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Apollo 10: Flown Flag and Patch Display with Crew-Signed Covers from the Collection of NASA Engineer Clark C. McClelland.
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: James Garfield Rare Signature as President - Possibly the largest Autograph as President almost 6 inches long!
    One of a Kind Auctions, May 29: Walt Disney Autograph over 7 inches in Length.
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th May 2025
    Forum, May 29: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, first edition, John Murray, 1859. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Forum, May 29: Astronomy.- Apianus (Petrus). Cosmographicus Liber a Petro Apiano Mathematico Studiose Collectus., first edition, Landshut, 1524. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum, May 29: Bound for Jean Grolier.- Negri Stefano. Stephani Nigri Elegantissime è Graeco authorum subditorum translationes, uidelicet., first edition, first issue, Milan, 1521. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, May 29: Gill (Eric). Eve, number 1 of 50, hand-coloured wood-engraving, signed at foot in pencil, [1926]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th May 2025
    Forum, May 29: America.- Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, Dickinson & Co., 1848. £25,000 to £35,000.
    Forum, May 29: Wodehouse (P.G.) Psmith USA, autograph manuscript of his novel "Psmith Journalist", signed and dated at end and dated "11 November 1909, Hotel Earle, 103 Waverley Place". £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, May 29: Women.- Wollstonecraft (Mary). A Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects, first edition, uncut in original boards, 1792. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, May 29: Mathematics.- Whitehead (Alfred North) and Bertrand Russell. Principia Mathematica, 3 vol., first editions, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1910-13. £20,000 to £30,000.
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
    Ketterer, May 26: PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000

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