Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2013 Issue

An Artistic Gallery from Peter Harrington

Gallery Christmas 2013.

Gallery Christmas 2013.

Peter Harrington has issued a catalogue entitled Gallery Christmas 2013. While Harrington is primarily a bookseller, this catalogue is focused on art. Most items are various forms of printings of art work, though there are a few books, along with maps and such more readily associated with the book trade. However, these days, collectors tend to seek a broader swath of material, where the visual combines with the textual in forming collections. And, most of these items have the benefit of being suitable to hang on a wall. So, here we go with a few samples. We also note that Harrington has prepared a catalogue of books for Christmas as well, and we will review that in the next (December) issue of AE Monthly.

 

Item 17 is a book accompanied by a remarkable photograph: Montparnasse. Essays von Hans Irrek. Interviews von Ursula Trubenbach und Hans Irrek. The photograph was taken by Andreas Gursky, the subject being architect Jean Dubuisson's quarter-mile long housing block in the Montparnasse district of Paris. Built from 1959-1964, the housing is a tribute to rectangles, rectangular in shape with lots of rectangular windows. One can make their own judgments on the beauty of the building, but it, and Gursky's massive photograph, are certainly spectacular. These essays were prepared for an exhibition in 1995, and the photograph is signed by Gursky. Priced at £4,000 (British pounds, or approximately US $6,457).

 

Item 54 is one of a limited edition of 77 copies of a 1994 print of Ralph Steadman's Bats Over Barstow. If the title doesn't sound familiar, the title of the book in which it was featured and the image itself may be. The illustration was featured on the cover of Hunter Thompson's 1972 bizarre road trip novel Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. It was an unforgettable journey by Thompson and Oscar Acosta in the drug-crazed era of the 1960s. Steadman's art is as bizarre as the book. Grotesque caricatures of Thompson, behind the wheel, and Acosta, riding alongside, are seen speeding down a desert highway, bats flying above. Steadman would remain an illustrator and friend of Thompson's for the remainder of his life, and this catalogue also contains an illustration Steadman created for the first anniversary of Thompson's self-inflicted demise. £7,250 (US $11,714).

 

This next item is a copy of John Lennon's Bag One Portfolio. Lennon produced a series of 14 sketches after his 1969 marriage to Yoko Ono. The first half represented scenes from events around the time of the marriage, including their legendary “bed-in,” where Lennon and Ono spent a week in bed in an Amsterdam hotel room for peace. They gave numerous interviews promoting peace from their bed, and thanks to Lennon's celebrity, the press was there en masse. The second, later group of sketches were more erotic in nature, though depicting the same couple (themselves). Three hundred copies of the portfolio were produced for public sale, but this is one of only 45 hors commerce (not for sale) copies produced. These were intended to be given to friends and associates of John and Yoko. This one went to Edward Booth-Clibborn, who was to produce and sell posters based on the art (it didn't happen because someone surreptitiously photographed the sketches and began selling cheap copies). This item is extremely rare in the trade. John's art is passable, but one can assume this would not be nearly so desirable were it not for his other career. Item 25. £85,000 (US $137,206).

 

Item 63 is a photograph featuring two of the best known figures of the 1960's-1970's, though they were as different as two people can be. The photograph features two large canvases Andy Warhol produced of boxer Muhammad Ali. Standing in front of the images is Warhol himself. The photograph was taken circa 1977 by Houston photographer Larry E. Lent. Both subjects, Ali and Warhol, have signed the front of the photograph, while Lent has signed the back. £3,500 (US $5,649).

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).
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000

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