• Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Roberts (David) & Croly (George). The Holy Land, Syria, Idumae, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia. Lond. 1842 - 1843 [-49]. First Edn. €10,000 to €15,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Incunabula: O'Fihily (Maurice). Duns Scotus Joannes: O'Fihely, Maurice Abp… Venice, 20th November 1497. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: An important file of documents with provenance to G.A. Newsom, manager of the Jacob’s Factory in Dublin, occupied by insurgents during Easter Week 1916. €6,000 to €9,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: WILDE (Oscar), 1854-1900, playwright, aesthete and wit. A lock of Wilde’s Hair, presented by his son to the distinguished Irish actor Mícheál MacLiammóir. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Heaney (Seamus). Bog Poems, London, 1975. Special Limited Edition, No. 33 of 150 Copies, Signed by Author. Illus. by Barrie Cooke. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Binding: Burke, Thomas O.P. (de Burgo). Hibernia Dominicana, Sive Historia Provinciae Hiberniae Ordinis Praedicatorum, ... 1762. First Edition. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: COLLINS, Michael. An important TL, 29 July 1922, addressed to GOVERNMENT on ‘suggested Proclamation warning all concerned that troops have orders to shoot prisoners found sniping, ambushing etc.’. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Scott Fitzgerald (F.) The Great Gatsby, New York (Charles Scribner's Sons) 1925, First Edn. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Yeats (W.B.) The Poems of W.B. Yeats, 2 vols. Lond. (MacMillan & Co.) 1949. Limited Edition, No. 46 of 375 Copies Only, Signed by W.B. Yeats. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of the Russian Empire, Description in English and French, Lg. folio London (S. Gosnell) 1803. First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Miller (William) Publisher. The Costume of Turkey, Illustrated by a Series of Engravings. Lg. folio Lond.(T. Bensley) 1802. First Edn. €800 to €1,200.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Dec. 12-13: Mason (Geo. Henry). The Costume of China, Illustrated with Sixty Engravings. Lg. folio London (for W. Miller) 1800. First Edn. €1,400 to €1,800
  • ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
    ABAA VBF: Holiday Edition
    November 30-December 2
    abaa.org/vbf
  • Sotheby’s
    Fine Books from a Distinguished Private Library
    28 November 2023
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Captain Thomas Brown | Illustrations of the American ornithology. £80000-120000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: William Hamilton | Campi phlegraei. £40000-60000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Nicola Zabaglia and Domenico Fontana | Castelli, e ponti con alcune ingegnose pratiche. £6000-8000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Bible, German | Nuremberg: Koberger, 1483. £40000-60000
    Sotheby’s, Nov. 28: Bible, English | King James version. £8000-12000
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Saint Jerome penitent, woodcut with contemporary hand-colouring and letterpress text beneath, [Augsburg], [Johann Froschauer], [c.1498]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Elimithar (Elluchasem) "Ibn Butlan". Tacuini sanitatis, first edition, Strasbourg, Johann Schott, 1531. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: [Missale Romanum], Latin, Incipit ordo missalis secundum consuetudinem Curiae Romani, manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 234ff. [c. 1400]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Foyle copy.- [Shakespeare (William)]. Macbeth. A Tragedy: With all the Alterations, Amendments, Additions, and New Songs. As it is now Acted at the Theatre Royal, for Hen. Herringman, 1687. £5,000 to £7,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Dickens (Charles). A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, first edition, first impression, first issue, Chapman & Hall, 1843. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Lawrence (T.E.) Revolt in the Desert, working draft typescript, 1927. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Hampstead Bindery.- Phillips (Stephen). Marpessa, exquisitely bound by The Hampstead Bindery, almost certainly P.A. Savoldelli, 1900. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Matisse (Henri).- Joyce (James). Ulysses, one of 1500 copies, this one of 250 signed by the author and artist, New York, The Limited Editions Club, 1935. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Burroughs (Edgar Rice). Tarzan at the Earth's Core, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to his son, New York, 1930. £5,000 to £7,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    30th November, 2023
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Fitzgerald (F. Scott). Tender is the Night, first edition, first printing, signed by the author, New York, 1934. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: Fleming (Ian).- Hooks (Mitchell) and David Chasman. Dr. No, British film poster, Stafford & Co Ltd, [1962]. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum Auctions, Nov. 30: America.- California.- Palou (Francisco). Relacion Historica de la Vida Y Apostolicas Tareas delVenerable Padre Fray Junipero Serra..., first edition, second issue, 1787. £6,000 to £8,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - June - 2014 Issue

Major Books, Maps and Manuscripts from Martayan Lan

Important rare books, maps and manuscripts.

Martayan Lan has issued their Catalogue 50 of Rare Books, Maps & Manuscripts. The catalogue is divided into four sections:  travel, science and medicine, arts and humanities, and objects. It is filled with early material, much from the 15th and 16th centuries. It is also a catalogue of important material, rare and often groundbreaking works. This is strictly a selection for those who collect at the highest level. Here are a few examples of what is to be found.

The Age of Discovery quickly led to the age of great atlases. For the first two centuries of that era, by far the best atlases were produced in the Netherlands. The earliest of the Dutch map and atlas makers were Abraham Ortelius and Gerard de Jode. The two began work together, but soon became competitors. From a business standpoint, Ortelius was the winner of that competition, going on to publish many editions of his atlases. De Jode’s atlases were likewise outstanding, but he was not as good at selling them. The result is that there were only two editions of his Speculum Orbis Terre. The first edition was published in 1578, the second in 1593. Item 7 is a copy of that second edition, which was greatly expanded from the first. It contains 109 maps on 83 plates, representing 33 new maps not contained in the first edition. Each is colored in a contemporary hand. The atlas contains two new world maps and new maps of the Americas, including the first separate map of North America found in a standard atlas. Priced at $650,000.

 

Item 21 is what Martayan Lan describes as a “legendary Brazil rarity,” the first edition of a book that would become extremely popular and later reprinted in a great many editions. It was written by the German adventurer, Hans Staden, first published in the German language in 1587:  Warhaftige Historia und beschreibung eyner Landtschafft der Wilden Nacketen, Grimmigen Menschfresser-Leuthen in der Newenwelt America gelegen… (history of the man-eating savages of the New World in America). Staden first sailed for Brazil in 1547, returning a year later. What he learned about local culture would serve him well when he made a return trip in 1549. His ship was wrecked on an island. He was able to make it to the continent, but was captured by the Tupinamba natives, who had a healthy distrust of the foreigner they assumed was Portuguese, their enemy. Staden tried to convince them he was French, but to no avail. He was destined for the cooking pot, or so Staden claimed, but befriended the chief. From there, he served as a translator and interpreter to the tribe, a useful service that preserved his life. He also became something of a seer to the tribe, who believed he must have some mystical, Godly powers. He was unable to win his freedom, but finally managed to escape six years later, hailing a French ship and returning to Europe. His tales of cannibalism made this book a bestseller of its time, though some have later questioned whether Staden exaggerated his account a bit. Price on request.

 

Next is a major scientific work, particularly for the field of botany:  De Plantis… by Andrea Cesalpino. Published in 1583, this book is of major importance as it was the first attempt to create a systematic botany. Prior to De Plantis, botanical books were systemized based on outside factors, plants being organized by such things as alphabetical order or their medicinal properties. Cesalpino classified them based on physical factors and tangible qualities of the plants. Linnaeus’ work several centuries later would follow from the organization Cesalpino began. Item 34 is a copy of the book carrying the provenance of Joachim Camerarius (the Younger), who lived from 1534-1598. Camerarius was a Nuremburg physician and botanist, and he has added many contemporary annotations to the margins. $115,000.

 

Item 46 is a description of an 18th century mechanical wonder:  Mechanismus der menschlichen Sprache nebst Beschreibung einer sprechenden Maschine, published in 1791. It is a talking machine, the creation of inventor Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. Von Kempelen was best known in his time for the “Turk,” a chess-playing automaton that beat most everyone it played. It consisted of a model of the upper part of a human form, dressed like a Turk, on a cabinet. Von Kempelen would open a door to the cabinet which would reveal a clock like mechanism, but a small though talented chess player would also squeeze inside. Von Kempelen admitted it was an illusion without explaining. However, his talking machine was real, though it only emitted voice-like sounds while operated by a visible human. He was not pretending the machine was initiating the speech. Von Kempelen used bellows to replace the lungs, a reed for vocal chords, a rubber mouth, and such to mimic speech. Alexander Graham Bell was fascinated by von Kempelen’s work, obtaining and translating a copy of it, as he sought means of reproducing vocal sounds. In time, as we know, he succeeded spectacularly. $9,500.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Chiswick Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th Nov. 2023
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 150
    Simpson (William). India Ancient and Modern, 2 vol., 50 chromo-lithographed plates, 1867 Est. £15,000 - £20,000
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 32
    St. James the Apostle, large historiated initial ‘A’ on vellum from a monumental Lectionary of Martyrology. [mid C.12th.] Est. £4000 - £6000
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 257
    Gill (Eric) Artist, Sculpture & Illustrator. Crucifixion. original drawing/watercolour. n.d. Est. £4000 - £6000
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 254
    Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, second impression, inc. dust jacket, 1953 Est. £4000 - £6000
    Chiswick Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    29th Nov. 2023
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 209
    Forster, (E.M.) Correspondence from Forster to Bob Buckingham’s family, with books from the library of Forster and Buckingham including presentation and signed copies. Est. £4000 - £6000
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 67
    Churchill (W.S.) Freedom of Blackpool, 7 records relating to Churchill’s Honorary Freedom of Blackpool, Sept. and Oct. 1946, with related ephemera. Est. £800 - £1200
    Chiswick Auctions, Nov. 29: Lot 104
    America.- Cator (Joseph). Manuscript account of a journey from Jamaica through North America to Boston, Mass. and to England, April—August 1764. Est. £2000 - £3000
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Samuel Augustus Mitchell, A New Map of Texas, Oregon and California with the Regions Adjoining, Philadelphia, 1846. $3,500 to $5,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: 17th–19th-century case maps of various locations. $1,500 to $2,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Andreas Cellarius, Haemisphaerium Stellatum Boreale Cum Subiecto Haemisphaerio Terrestri, celestial chart, Amsterdam, 1708. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: Vincenzo Coronelli, Set of engraved gores for Coronelli’s monumental 42-inch terrestrial globe, Venice, circa 1688–97. $18,000 to $22,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, group of four navigational charts, Antwerp, 1580s. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Thomas Bros, Block Book of Berkeley, Oakland, 1920s. $800 to $1,200.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Nieuhoff & John Ogilby, An Embassy from the East-India Company of the United Provinces, map of China, plan of Canton, London, 1673. $1,200 to $1,800.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Frederick Sander, Reichenbachia, St. Albans, 1888-1894. $5,000 to $7,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Two early illustrated works on horsemanship and breeding, Nuremberg, early 18th century. $700 to $800.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 7, 2023
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Gould, A Monograph of the Ramphastidae, or Family of Toucans. Supplement to the First Edition, London, 1834; 1855. $40,000 to $60,000.
    Swann, Dec. 7: John Pinkerton, A General Collection of the Best and Most Interesting Voyages and Travels in All Parts of the World, London, 1808–14. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Dec. 7: Oakley Hoopes Bailey, Hackensack, New Jersey, Boston, 1896. $800 to $1,200.

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions