• Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas
  • Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Alken (Henry). Sporting Notions, first edition, T.McLean, 1832-33. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Bardi (Lorenzo). Nuova Raccolta delle piu interessanti Vedute della Citta di Firenze…, Florence, Lorenzo Bardi, [c.1840]. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Crawfurd (John). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava..., first edition, 1829. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Dawe (George, engraver). The Life of a Nobleman, first edition, Geo. Henderson, [c.1825]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: [Doyle (John)], "H.B.". Political Sketches &c., 10 vol. including The Descriptive Key to H.B., Thomas McLean, [1829-51]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Eben (Adolphus Christian Frederick, Baron von) and Nicolaus Heideloff. Modèles de l'Uniforme Militaire Adopté dans l'Armée Royale de Suède, Rudolph Ackerman, 1808. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Geissler (J.G.G.) and Friedrich Hempel. Mahlerische Darstellungen der Sitten, Gebrauche und Lustbarkeiten bey den Russischen, Tartarischen…, 4 parts in 1, Leipzig and Paris, [1804]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Hunt (Charles). Portraits of Winning Horses...of the Derby, Oaks, & St. Leger, from the Year 1842 to 1849…, Rock Brothers & Payne, 1849. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Kunike (Adolf Friedrich). Zwey hundert und sechzig Donau-Ansichten nach dem Laufe des Donaustromes…, Vienna, Leopold Grund, 1826. £3,000 to £5,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Lasinio (Carlo). [Matrimony], Florence, 1790. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Reinhardt (Joseph). A Collection of Swiss Costumes, in Miniature, second English edition, James Goodwin, [1828]. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Wengen (Gottfried Durst von). Die Öffentliche Maskerade Bamberg am Fastnachts-Montage 1833…, Bamberg, [1833]. £2,000 to £3,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - September - 2015 Issue

A 25th Anniversary Catalogue from Back Of Beyond Books

The 25th anniversary catalogue of Back of Beyond Books.

Back of Beyond Books Of Moab, Utah, has published their Catalogue No. 15. 25th Anniversary 1990-2015. The bookseller's name comes from Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang. Abbey wrote on topics related to the American Southwest and had once worked as a ranger in nearby Arches National Park. Abbey died in 1989, and the book shop was opened the following year in his honor.

 

This is the 25-year-old bookseller's largest catalogue yet, with sections on their specialties. Most notable are books about the Southwest. Many of the titles came from the collection of Bob Trapp, who amassed a collection of almost 6,000 books focused on New Mexico and Western Americana before his death last year. Other subjects include literature and poetry, often with a Southwestern lilt, Mormon history, the American Indian, natural history and the environment, Western Americana, and miscellanea. Here are a few selections from the over 300 items offered.

 

We begin with the pioneering expedition into what is today America's Southwest: Exploratory Travels through the Western Territories of North America, by the expedition's leader, Zebulon Pike. The first part of the book covers his earlier journey up the Mississippi, but Pike's second mission to find the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red Rivers took him into the Rocky Mountains of today's Colorado. It was sort of a follow-up mission into the new Louisiana Territory following Lewis and Clark's exploration of the Northwest. Pike never made it to the deserts and canyons of most of the Southwest, though he did find the spectacular canyon at Royal Gorge, and, naturally enough, Pike's Peak. The men did get confused and for awhile and lost their way, entering Mexican (Spanish) territory, where they were captured and marched as far south as the state of Chihuahua before being freed. Ironically, this gave them a far better look at Spanish settlements, and an opportunity to gauge Spanish military strength, then if they had simply been sent home. The western mission took place in 1806-1807, and this first British edition was published in 1811 (the year following the American edition). Item 50. Priced at $6,500.

 

If the Rocky Mountains were essentially a great unknown when Pike visited them at the beginning of the 19th century, they had been thoroughly explored by the end of the century when Mary M. Marks took her photographs. The discovery of gold can do this. Mrs. Marks was obviously a skilled photographer, though she is virtually unknown. Her husband, John Marks, was an engineer for the Gold Pan and Oro Grande mines in Dillon and Breckenridge. Mrs. Marks was their official photographer. Offered is a collection of 325 glass plate negatives she took from 1899-1904. Almost nothing is known about her career, but her tackling the difficulties of photographing scenes in hard to reach mines, at times under extreme weather conditions, was very rare for a woman photographer at the time. There are many views of the mines, most including people, and others of persons at rest or being playful. John Marks was obviously a very skilled engineer, arranging for water to be piped as much as 10 miles to operate hydraulic equipment. The future looked very bright in 1899, with tens of millions of dollars worth of gold expected to be extracted. By 1904, it was concluded that the amount of gold was insufficient to justify the cost of continued operations. The source of this amazing but obscure collection is a dealer who bought it from a collector who bought it from John Marks, who worked for over 30 years from an office in Denver after the mine closed. Item 90. $35,000.

 

This idea made perfect sense for Texas and the desert Southwest. Item 15 is the Report of the Secretary of War, Communicating Information Respecting the Purchase of Camels for the Purpose of Military Transportation, published in 1857. After all, if camels were the preferred mode of transportation in the deserts of Arabia, it just made good sense to import them for use in America's hot and arid regions. This report provides detailed information about camels, their behavior, how to feed them, etc. The Secretary was an enthusiastic supporter, but for whatever reason, the idea didn't pan out. The War Secretary was Jefferson Davis, and as we now know, Jeff Davis occasionally had some bad ideas. $225.

 

Item 63 is Colorado Volunteers in the Civil War: The New Mexico Campaign in 1862, by William Clarke Whitford, published in 1906. The Colorado volunteers did much to save the Union in the Civil War, though their role is not well known today. In 1862, several thousand Confederate volunteers from Texas traveled up the Rio Grande from El Paso, overwhelming the small number of Union defenders. The army had deployed almost all of its men to the east, not expecting such an attack. The Confederates captured Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and hoped to make it to Colorado, seize gold production to finance their war, and take over California, its gold fields, and the rest of the West. They had the manpower to defeat the smaller number of Union defenders. This is where the Colorado volunteers came in, augmenting Union soldiers and making the battle a fair fight. Instead of another mismatch, the volunteers and Union soldiers held back the Confederates for three days at Glorietta Pass outside of Santa Fe. Ultimately, the Confederates won the battle, but not before Union troops snuck around behind them and totally destroyed the Confederate supply train. The Confederates had no choice but to hightail it back to Texas. Colorado and the West were saved for the Union. $100.

 

Here is a very unusual religious treatise: Compilation of Notes and Memoranda Bearing Upon the Use of Human Ordure and Human Urine in Rites of Religious or Semi-Religious Character. The author of this 1888 tract was army Captain John G. Bourke, who also authored Scatalogical Rites of All Nations. Why Bourke chose this topic is unclear, but someone had to to do it.... I think. Perhaps this will provide some guidance on which religions to consider joining, or not joining. Item 9. $215.

 

Here is a sale catalogue for an unusually named critter: Dispersion Sale: George W. Baker's Famous Herd of Anxiety Herefords, which took place on May 14, 1925. The sale of these anxious bulls and cows took place in Littleton, Colorado. What are "Anxiety Herefords?" Cows in need of psychotherapy? Evidently, it is a breed of cattle that displayed well at shows during the late 19th, early 20th century. As best I can tell, they had the advantage of maturing quickly and their meat was not too fatty. Why they were called "Anxiety Herefords" is beyond me, though I suspect the answer is something other than their psychological state. References to them seem to all go back to the early 20th century or earlier, leading me to suspect that the breed may have disappeared, but not being a cattleman, that's just a guess. Item 304. $75.

 

Back of Beyond Books may be reached at 435-259-5154 or andy@backofbeyondbooks.com. Their website is www.backofbeyondbooks.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.

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