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<b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>View Our Record Breaking Results</b><b>Swann:</b> Gideon Welles, <i>Extensive archive of personal and family papers of Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy,</i> 1791-1914. Sold September 29 — $281,000.<b>Swann:</b> Charles Addams, <i>Rock Climbers,</i> cartoon for <i>The New Yorker,</i> watercolor, ink and gouache, 1954. Sold December 15 — $37,500.<b>Swann:</b> Charlotte Brontë, <i>Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell,</i> three volumes, first edition, 1847. Sold June 16, 2022 — $23,750.<b>Swann:</b> Geoffrey Chaucer, <i>The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed,</i> London, 1542. Sold October 13 — $106,250.<b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>View Our Record Breaking Results</b><b>Swann:</b> Dorothea Lange, <i>Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age 32),</i> silver print, 1936. Sold October 20 — $305,000.<b>Swann:</b> George Washington, Autograph Document Signed, with two manuscript plat maps in holograph, 1751. Sold October 27 — $37,500.<b>Swann:</b> Winfred Rembert, <i>Winfred Rembert and Class of 1959,</i> dye on carved & tooled leather, 1999. Sold October 6 — $233,000.<b>Swann:</b> M.C. Escher, <i>Relativity,</i> lithograph, 1953. Sold November 3 — $81,250. -
<b><center>Sotheby’s<br>Original Film Posters<br>27 January - 10 February 2023</b><b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27-Feb. 10:</b> Vertigo (1958), poster, US. The ultimate poster on this classic Hitchcock title, one of three known examples. £40,000 to £60,000.<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27-Feb. 10:</b> Lawrence of Arabia (1962), roadshow poster, US. £8,000 to £12,000.<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27-Feb. 10:</b> Star Wars (1977), style C poster, printer's proof, US. £7,000 to £10,000.<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27-Feb. 10:</b> The Navigator/ La Croisiere du Navigator (1924), re-release poster (1931), French. £5,000 to £8,000.<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27-Feb. 10:</b> Bullitt (1968), special test poster, US. £3,000 to £5,000. -
<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 817. Bellin's complete five-volume maritime atlas with 581 maps & plates (1764). $24,000 to $30,000.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 325. An early and important map of the Republic of Texas (1837). $11,000 to $14,000.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 45. De Bry's early map of North Pole depicting Willem Barentsz' expedition (1601). $3,500 to $4,250.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 154. Poignant map of the United States documenting lynchings (1931). $250 to $325.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 457. Extremely rare matching set of pro-German propaganda from WWI (1914). $2,000 to $2,400.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 815. Homann's world atlas featuring 110 maps in contemporary color (1751). $14,000 to $16,000.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 60. Miniature pocket globe based on Herman Moll (1785). $3,500 to $4,500.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 8. Visscher's rare carte-a-figures world map (1652). $14,000 to $16,000.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 158. Matching satirical maps of the US by McCandlish: "Ration Map" & "Bootlegger's Map" (1944). $3,000 to $4,000.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 820. One of the finest English atlases of the early 19th century (1808). $4,750 to $6,000.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 59. Important milestone in preparation for 1969 moon landing (1963). $750 to $900.<b>Old World Auctions (Feb 8):</b> Lot 805. Superb bible leaf with image of crucifixion of Jesus with gilt highlights (1518). $800 to $950. -
<center><b>Potter & Potter Auctions<br>Fine Books & Manuscripts,<br>including Americana<br>February 16, 2023</b><b>Potter & Potter, Feb. 16:</b> [KELMSCOTT PRESS]. CHAUCER, Geoffrey. <i>The Works…now newly imprinted.</i> Edited by F.S. Ellis. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1896. $100,000 to $125,000.<b>Potter & Potter, Feb. 16:</b> [EINSTEIN, Albert (1879–1955)]. –– ORLIK, Emil (1870–1932), artist. Lithograph signed (“Albert Einstein”). N.p., 1928. $10,000 to $15,000.<b>Potter & Potter, Feb. 16:</b> TOLKIEN, John Ronald Reuel. <i>[The Lord of the Rings trilogy:] The Fellowship of the Ring.</i> 1954. –– <i>The Two Towers.</i> 1954. –– <i>The Return of the King.</i> 1955. $10,000 to $15,000.<b>Potter & Potter, Feb. 16:</b> CLEMENS, Samuel Langhorne ("Mark Twain") and Charles Dudley WARNER. <i>The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today.</i> Hartford and Chicago, 1873. $6,000 to $8,000.<b>Potter & Potter, Feb. 16:</b> LOVECRAFT, Howard Phillips. <i>Beyond the Wall of Sleep.</i> Collected by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei. Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1943. $2,000 to $3,000.
Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2005 Issue
A Catalogue for the Ages from the Antiquariaat Forum
On the Threshold of Modern Times from the Antiquariaat Forum.
By Michael Stillman
This is a catalogue from another time. It is unlikely that you have seen one like this in ages, if at all. The Antiquariaat Forum has released its 107th catalogue, On the Threshold of Modern Times. It contains 463 pages, fully one and a half inches thick. Filled with thorough descriptions, historic explanations, and wonderful images, it will itself become a collectible. The catalogue is such a spectacular presentation, it is easy to forget that material is being offered within. That would be unfortunate. There are 506 items from the 17th through the 19th centuries, and they are certainly an unusual and extraordinary lot.
The Antiquariaat Forum is located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Their catalogue reflects, but is not controlled, by their location. Naturally, there is a concentration of Dutch works offered, but other lands of continental Europe are liberally represented, including some European Americana. To keep the collection from being intimidating, the catalogue has been divided into fourteen sections, each with numerous subsections. Among the main headings are sciences, travel, medicine, history, natural history, fine arts, literature, architecture, philosophy and history of the book. Looking within natural history, as an example, there is general, botany-gardening, zoology, birds-fishes-invertebrates, and stones-mining. It is easy to locate the items you will find of particular interest. Here are a few which most piqued my interest, though undoubtedly there will be others that will most appeal to you.
Christiaan Huygens was one of the greatest Dutch mathematicians and scientists. Living in the 17th century, Huygens discovered Saturn's moon Titan, which has recently been considered perhaps the most likely other place within our solar system to harbor life. The probe which landed on Titan earlier this year was named for Huygens. He also concluded that Saturn's rings were made of rocks (perhaps they are actually ice crystals), rather than being a continuous form. He promoted theories on light as waves and invented the pendulum clock. Near the end of his life, he wrote The celestial worlds discovr'd: or, conjectures concerning the inhabitants, plants and productions of the worlds in the planets. In this work he uses logic to conclude that there is life on other planets, and that this life must not be very different from life on our own. While admitting this is speculation, he deems his beliefs probable.
