• Fonsie Mealy’s
    Chatsworth Summer Fine Art Sale
    18th June 2025
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
    Fonsie Mealy, June 18: French Bateau Bed, exhibition piece from the Exposition Universelle—The Paris World’s Fair, 1878. Third quarter of the 19th century. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 567. One of the Earliest & Most Desirable Printed Maps of Arabia - by Holle/Germanus (1482) Est. $55,000 - $65,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 681. Zatta's Complete Atlas with 218 Maps in Full Contemporary Color (1779) Est. $27,500 - $35,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 347. MacDonald Gill's Landmark "Wonderground Map" of London (1914) Est. $1,800 - $2,100
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 1. Fries' "Modern" World Map with Portraits of Five Kings (1525) Est. $4,000 - $4,750
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 539. Ortelius' Superb, Decorative Map of Cyprus in Full Contemporary Color (1573) Est. $1,100 - $1,400
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 51. Mercator's Foundation Map for the Americas in Full Contemporary Color (1630) Est. $3,250 - $4,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 667. Manuscript Bible Leaf with Image of Mary and Baby Jesus (1450) Est. $1,900 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 226. "A Powerful Example of Color Used to Make a Point" (1895) Est. $400 - $600
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 290. One of the Most Decorative Early Maps of South America - from Linschoten's "Itinerario" (1596) Est. $7,000 - $8,500
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 62. Coronelli's Influential Map of North America with the Island of California (1688) Est. $10,000 - $12,000
    Old World Auctions (June 18): Lot 589. The First European-Printed Map of China - by Ortelius (1584) Est. $4,000 - $5,000
  • Forum Auctions
    A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
    19th June 2025
    Forum, June 19: Euclid. The Elements of Geometrie, first edition in English of the first complete translation, [1570]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum, June 19: Nicolay (Nicolas de). The Navigations, peregrinations and voyages, made into Turkie, first edition in English, 1585. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, June 19: Shakespeare source book.- Montemayor (Jorge de). Diana of George of Montemayor, first edition in English, 1598. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, June 19: Livius (Titus). The Romane Historie, first edition in English, translated by Philemon Holland, Adam Islip, 1600. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum Auctions
    A Sixth Selection of 16th and 17th Century English Books from the Fox Pointe Manor Library
    19th June 2025
    Forum, June 19: Robert Molesworth's copy.- Montaigne (Michel de). The Essayes Or Morall, Politike and Millitarie Discourses, first edition in English, 1603. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, June 19: Shakespeare (William). The Tempest [&] The Two Gentlemen of Verona, from the Second Folio, [Printed by Thomas Cotes], 1632. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, June 19: Boyle (Robert). Medicina Hydrostatica: or, Hydrostaticks Applyed to the Materia Medica, first edition, for Samuel Smith, 1690. £2,500 to £3,500.
    Forum, June 19: Locke (John). An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding in Four Books, first edition, second issue, 1690. £8,00 to £12,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2015 Issue

Botany, Science, Travel and More from Antiquariat Botanicum

Antiquariat Botanicum.

Antiquariat Botanicum.

Antiquariat Botanicum recently issued a selection of books for the Antiquarian Book Fair in Oakland last month. Antiquariat Botanicum was formed in 1987 with a focus, naturally enough, on botanical literature. It remains a focus, but not the only one. The Lynden, Washington, bookseller has since expanded into other scientific fields as well as areas such as travel and exploration. Topics in this selection include botany, medicine, science, travel & exploration, mathematics, natural history, and miscellaneous. Much of the work is scholarly, and there are several items of manuscript notes by students in classes taught centuries ago. Note taking was treated far more seriously then than it is today. Here are a few examples of the material offered by Antiquariat Botanicum.

 

We start with a book that employed an exceptional printing process, but one little used as it was difficult and costly: The Octavo Nature-Printed Ferns. The author of this two-volume set published in 1859-1860 was Thomas Moore, curator of the Chelsea Botanic Garden. This was actually a revamped edition of the 1855 folio book The Ferns of Great Britain. It is not so much Moore's text as the nature-printed illustrations by Henry Bradbury that make this book notable. Nature printing is a process that uses actual specimens, usually plants, with ferns being ideal, as the source of the illustration. The specimen is placed between two metal plates, one of soft lead, the other of a harder metal like steel. It leaves an impression in the lead plate which possesses a three-dimensional effect. Bradbury was the son of William Bradbury of the book's publisher, Bradbury and Evans. He had studied the nature-printing process in Vienna developed by Alois Auer, which he perfected and brought back to England. He did not give Auer credit, which led to a dispute. Bradbury became despondent and committed suicide in 1860, hence there is not a lot of work from his career. Priced at $1,250.

 

While Bradbury and Auer raised nature printing to a sophisticated level, they certainly weren't the first to print an image directly from a specimen. This next book is Species Insectorum, by the noted 18th century entomologist Johann Christian Fabricius. Fabricius studied under Linnaeus, the father of classification of plants and animals. Fabricius followed in his footsteps, except that his focus was on insects. He named around 10,000 of them. His delineations are the basis of modern insect classifications, even if most of his names are no longer used. This book describes 328 species of insects in detail. This copy of Fabricius' 1781 book is unique as it contains original drawings in the margins of volume 1. The book itself was unillustrated, but original illustrations in pen and ink of some of the species described were drawn in the margins. The second volume includes added nature prints of butterfly and moth wings. These were mounted on stiff paper and glued to the margins opposite the described species. $5,000.

 

Next up we have one of the earliest English language treatises on the heart: Observations on Some of the Most Frequent and Important Diseases of the Heart... by Allan Burns, published in 1809. Burns, oddly, did not go to medical school but was recognized as a physician as he assisted his brother, who was so trained. Burns studied the literature carefully and was an expert on dissection, so he became quite expert on the heart. His understanding was well ahead of his time, and he contributed much to the learning of the day. However, the science of healing was primitive then, and so while Burns recognized many diseases and problems with the physical structure, he was not able to come up with many cures. Serious heart surgery was still a long ways away. So, he followed some of the traditional remedies of the day, such as bleeding and chemicals we now know to be unhelpful if not downright dangerous. However, he did recommend some important preventatives. For one, he saw diet as important, believing that for the most part, treatment was useless so prevention was critical. Burns was also a believer in resuscitation, including forcing air into the lungs, which he found worked once in awhile. $950.

 

Here is an important American botanical work, written by a German immigrant, Frederick Pursh: Flora Americae Septentrionalis; Or A Systematic Arrangement and Description of The Plants of North America... This is the scarce second edition published in 1816. This was the first North American flora to include a description of plants brought back from the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the American Northwest. It is not clear why the specimens were entrusted to Pursh, whether that was the intention or whether they were meant for the better known Benjamin Barton under whom he had studied. Whatever the intentions, Lewis died before anything was published about the botanical specimens and a few years later Pursh produced his work. $5,500.

 

Next we have the final edition (1902) of Alfred Russel Wallace's Island Life, published in 1902 (first published in 1880). It was a sequel to his earlier work on the geographic distribution of animals, in this work looking at species found isolated on various islands. Wallace was the co-developer, though not nearly so celebrated, with Charles Darwin on the theory of evolution. Wallace and Darwin had independently come to similar conclusions, and their theory was first published in a joint article. In this book, Wallace explains geographic distribution of animals on certain islands and the effects of evolution on them. This copy comes with three letters Wallace wrote in 1901 to Dr. William Eagle Clarke, a British ornithologist concerning identified bird species in the Philippines for this updated edition of Island Life. $9,500.

 

Antiquariat Botanicum can be reached at 360-354-7513 or vigile@comcast.net. Their website is www.antiquariatbotanicum.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
  • Gros & Delettrez
    Livres & Manuscrits Arméniens
    Jeudi 12 juin 2025
    Paris, Francis
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: BIBLE, Venise 1733, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit daté 1606, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit début XVIIIe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1664
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1702, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: DICTIONNAIRE arménien, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle.
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: EVANGILE, manuscrit 1735-1737, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LIVRE DE PRIERES, Grégoire de Narek, manuscrit
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: GEOGRAPHIE, Ghoukas INDJIDJIAN, Venise 1802-1806
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MANUSCRIT THEOLOGIQUE, XVIe-XVIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MASHTOTS, manuscrit XVIIIe-XIXe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LETTRE ENCYCLIQUE, manuscrit XIXe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: NOUVEAU TESTAMENT, Amsterdam 1668, reliure arménienne
  • Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE / LANDINO, CRISTOFORO. Comento di Christophoro Landino Fiorentino sopra la Comedia di Danthe Alighieri poeta fiorentino, 1481. €40,000 to €50,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. La Commedia [Commento di Christophorus Landinus]. Aggiunta: Marsilius Ficinus, Ad Dantem gratulatio [in latino e Italiano], 1487. €40,000 to €60,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: ALIGHIERI, DANTE. Il Convivio, 1490. €20,000 to €25,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: BANDELLO, MATTEO. La prima [-quarta] parte de le nouelle del Bandello, 1554. €7,000 to €9,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LEGATURA – PLUTARCO. Le vies des hommes illustres, grecs et romaines translates, 1567. €10,000 to €12,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: TOLOMEO, CLAUDIO. Ptolemeo La Geografia di Claudio Ptolemeo Alessandrino, Con alcuni comenti…, 1548. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: FESTE - COPPOLA, GIOVANNI CARLO. Le nozze degli Dei, favola [...] rappresentata in musica in Firenze…, 1637. €6,000 to €8,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: SPINOZA, BARUCH. Opera posthuma, 1677. €8,000 to €12,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: PUSHKIN, ALEXANDER. Borus Godunov, 1831. €30,000 to €50,000.
    Finarte
    Books, Autographs & Prints
    June 24 & 25, 2025
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - LECUIRE, PIERRE. Ballets-minute, 1954. €35,000 to €40,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - MAJAKOVSKIJ, VLADIMIR / LISSITZKY, LAZAR MARKOVICH. Dlia Golosa, 1923. €7,000 to €10,000.
    Finarte, June 24-25: LIBRO D'ARTISTA - MATISSE, HENRI / MONTHERLANT, HENRY DE. Pasiphaé. Chant de Minos., 1944. €22,000 to €24,000.
  • Rose City Book & Paper Fair
    June 14-15, 2025
    1000 NE Multnomah, Portland
    ROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM
  • Swann, June 17: Lot 13: Arthur Rackham, Candlelight, pen and ink, circa 1900.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 28: Harold Von Schmidt, "I Asked Jim If He Wanted To Accompany Us To Teach The Hanneseys A Lesson.", oil on canvas, 1957.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 96: Arthur Szyk, Thumbelina, gouache and pencil, 1945.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 101: D.R. Sexton, The White Rabbit And Bill The Lizard, watercolor and gouache, 1932.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 127: Miguel Covarrubias, Bradypus Tridactilus. Three-Toed Sloth, gouache, circa 1953.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 132: William Pène Du Bois, 2 Illustrations: Balloon Merry Go Round On The Ground And In The Air, pen and ink and wash, 1947.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 137: Lee Lorenz, Confetti Hourglass, mixed media, 1973.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 181: Norman Rockwell, Portrait Of Floyd Jerome Patten (Editor At Boy's Life Magazine), charcoal, circa 1915.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 188: Ludwig Bemelmans, Rue De Buci, Paris, casein, watercolor, ink and gouache, 1955.
    Swann, June 17: Lot 263: Maurice Sendak, Sundance Childrens Theater Poster Preliminary Sketch, pencil, 1988.
  • ALDE, June 18: CHAPPE D'AUTEROCHE (JEAN). Voyage en Sibérie fait par ordre du Roi en 1761 contenant les mœurs…, Paris, 1768. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, June 18: HENNEPIN (LOUIS). Description de la Louisiane nouvellement découverte au Sud-Ouest de la Nouvelle France…, Paris, 1688. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LA BOULLAYE-LE GOUZ (FRANÇOIS DE). Les Voyages et Observations, Paris, 1653. €1,500 to €2,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LE BRUN (CORNELIS DE BRUYN DIT CORNEILLE). Voyage au Levant, c'est à dire dans les principaux endroits de l'Asie mineure..., Delft, 1700. €6,000 to €8,000.
    ALDE, June 18: SAINT-NON (J.-CL. RICHARD, ABBÉ DE). Voyage pittoresque ou description du royaume de Naples et de Sicile, Paris, 1781-1786. €3,500 to €5,000.
    ALDE, June 18: (CALVIN JEAN). SÉNÈQUE. Annei Senecae..., Paris, 1532. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, June 18: ADRIEN LE CHARTREUX. De remediis utriusque fortunæ, [Cologne, vers 1470]. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, June 18: GAZA (THÉODORE). [...] Introductivæ grammatices libri quatuor. Ejusdem de mensibus opusculum sanequampulchrum, Venise, 1495. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LACTANCE. De divinis institutionibus. De ira Dei. De opificio Dei. De phoenice carmen, Rome, 1468. €30,000 to €40,000.
    ALDE, June 18: LUTHER (MARTIN). Der Erste [– Achte und letze] Teil aller Bücher und Schrifften des thewren, seligen Mans Doct. Mart. Lutheri, Iéna, 1555-1568. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, June 18: POLITIEN (ANGE). Omnia opera, et alia quædam lectu Digna, Venise, 1498. €8,000 to €10,000.
    ALDE, June 18: SIDOINE APOLLINAIRE. Poema aureum ejusdemque Epistole, Milan, 1498. €3,000 to €4,000.
  • SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions
    The Øiesvold Collection
    June 14, 2025
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: HIERONYMUS MÜNTZER (1437 – 1508): (Northern and Central Europe) No title recto. Nuremberg, 1493.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: SIGISMUND VON HERBERSTEIN (1486 – 1566): «Commentari della Moscovia et partmente della Russia.» Venice, 1550.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: SEBASTIAN MÜNSTER: «Cosmographiae universalis Lib. VI in quibus iuxta certioris […]» Basel, 1559.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: SEBASTIAN MÜNSTER: «Deerwunder und seltzame Thier / wie die in den Mitnächtigen Länder im Meer […]» Basel, c. 1550.
    SD | Scandinavian Art & Rare Book Auctions, June: 14: WILLEM BARENTSZ (1550 – 97): «Deliniatio cartæ trium navigationum per Batavos, ad Septentrionalem plagem [...]» Amsterdam, 1598.

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