• Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 962. Baird. United States Exploring Expedition. Philadelphia 1858.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 772. Edith Holland Norton. Brazilian Flowers. Coombe Croft 1893.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 49. Petrarca. Das Gluecksbuch, Augsburg 1536.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 1496. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 8. Augustinus. De moribus ecclesie. Cologne 1480.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 17. Heures a lusaige de Noyon. Paris 1504.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 13. Schedel. Buch der Chronicken. Nürnberg 1493.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 957. Donovan. Insects of China. London 1798.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 123. A holy martyr. Tuscany, Florence, mid-14th century.
    Jeschke Jádi
    Rare Book Auction 155
    Saturday April 26, 2025
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 438. Dante. La Divine Comédie. Paris 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 602. Firdausi. Histoire de Minoutchehr. Paris 1919
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 26: Lot 994. Westwood. Oriental Entomology. London 1848.
  • Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 124: Henri Courvoisier-Voisin, et alia, [Recueil de Vues de Paris et ses Environs], depicting precursors of the modern roller coaster, Paris, [1814-1819?]. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 148: Pablo Picasso & Fernando de Rojas, La Célestine, First Edition, Paris, 1971. $30,000 to $40,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 201: Omar Khayyam & Edward Fitzgerald, Rubaiyat, William Bell Scott's copy of the First Edition, London, 1859. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 223: Charles Dickens, Great Expectations, First Edition, extra-illustrated with hand-colored plates by Palinthorpe, London, 1861. $7,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 248: L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, First Edition, inscribed by the illustrator, Chicago & New York, 1900. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 305: Tycho Brahe & Pierre Gassendi, Tychonis Brahei Vita, Paris, 1654. From the Collection of Owen Gingerich. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 338: Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Almagestum Novum, two folio volumes, Bologna, 1651. From the Collection of Owen Gingerich. $8,000 to $10,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 350: Tobias Cohn, Ma'aseh Toviyyah, first edition, Venice, 1707-8. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Swann, Apr. 22: Lot 359: Alan Turing, Computing, Machinery, and Intelligence, first edition, Edinburgh, 1950. $3,000 to $5,000.
  • 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

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2017 Issue

Magnificent Books, Manuscripts & Photographs from the 19th Century Shop

Magnificent Books & Photographs.

Magnificent Books & Photographs.

The 19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop has released a catalogue of Magnificent Books & Photographs. We might add that the catalogue is magnificent as well, but nothing less would make sense for the type of material found within. There are books and photographs, as one would expect, along with numerous manuscripts. The names are largely familiar – Lincoln, Roosevelt, Hamilton, Jefferson, Shakespeare, Twain, Wilde, Locke, Whitman, Poe, Newton, Darwin, Watson & Crick, Armstrong, Freud, Muybridge, and many more. Others are related to such things as places rather than specific people. These are amazing items, for collectors at the top end of the market. Here are a few.

 

We begin with a remarkable photographic portrait, one which includes Abraham Lincoln in what may have been the last happy days of his life. It was taken in Springfield, in 1860, before his journey to lead his country through four years of terrible strife. Five years later, he returned in a casket. This picture shows Lincoln standing on the porch of his Springfield home. It is the only house he ever owned. Standing next to Lincoln is his third son, Willie, with his youngest, Tad, mostly obscured by a post. Willie would return to Springfield the same way as his father, dying at the age of 11, while Tad outlived Abe, but died shortly after his 18th birthday. There was much tragedy ahead for this family, but it was not apparent on what looks to have been a nice day. Priced at $18,000.

 

Next is a photograph of the grisly conclusion to the sad Lincoln history. It is a gallows, with a group of people standing on it. Four of them were about to be executed. They were Mary Surratt and three men, all convicted of participating in the assassination of Lincoln or attempts to assassinate the Vice-President and Secretary of State the same day. The trial took seven weeks, and the verdict had to go to President Johnson for approval. He approved it on July 5, 1865, and to the surprise of the defendants, they were hanged the next day. In the photographs, attendants are in the process of putting hoods over the heads of the soon-to-be executed. $20,000.

 

Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain (we'll call him Twain for convenience) is noted for his many humorous stories, but he could be serious on occasion. We can see some of the serious side, humor intermingled, in The Love Letters of Mark Twain. It's hard to imagine that Twain wanted his love letters published, but he had little say in the matter. He had been dead for 39 years when they were published in 1949. The letters span the years of Twain's romance with his beloved wife Livy, from their initial courtship in 1868 until her death in 1904. Livy had rejected his initial entreaties, so he wrote her of his disappointment. In a plaintive cry, he says he can accept her decision since his life has had its share of "grief, disaster & disappointment." "So, I shall bear this last & bittersweet, even though it break my heart." It worked. A couple of months later, they were engaged, and married in 1870. This book has been signed by Twain, both as Twain and Clemens. You might wonder how Twain signed a book 39 years after he died. Good question. Many years earlier, Twain had signed numerous blank leaves for a planned book, but he died before it could be published. Harper & Brothers had these sheets hanging around all these years when Love Letters was published. One was tipped in to each of the 155 copies printed. $12,500.

 

If there was a sense of being a bit overdramatic in that entreaty, this next Twain writing is dark and filled with the deepest despair. It was very real. In 1896, his daughter Susy, just 24 years old, died. Twain suffered multiple tragedies in his later years, outliving his wife and three of his four children. Twain wrote this manuscript in 1902 of In Memory of Olivia Susan Clemens, 1872-1896. It was perhaps a catharsis for the despondent Twain. He intended it to be printed only for private circulation. He wished no one but his closest friends ever to see it. Ultimately, that private edition was never printed. Herein, Twain laments an apparent meaninglessness of life. He writes, "...men are born, they labor and sweat & struggle for bread, they squabble & scold & fight, they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them, infirmities follow; shames and humiliations bring down their prides and their vanities; those they love are taken from them & the joy of life is to aching grief: the burden of pain, cares, misery grows heavier year by year; at length ambition is dead, pride is dead, vanity is dead, longing for release is in their place; it comes at last, the only unpoisoned gift earth ever had for them & they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence, where they achieved nothing, where they were a mistake & a failure & a foolishness, where they have left no sign that they have existed; a world which will lament them a day & forget them forever. Then another myriad takes their place." Very dark. No humor here. Eventually, this memorial was published posthumously as part of Twain's Autobiography in 1924. Price on request.

 

There are but a few finalists for the most important science text ever written. This is one of them: Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. This is Isaac Newton's Principia, a first edition, published in 1687. This copy is the first state, or English edition (some copies were printed for distribution in England, others for Europe). Printing and the Mind of Man best expressed its significance with, "Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler had certainly shown the way, but where they described the phenomena they observed, Newton explained the underlying universal laws." Up to that point, it was believed that the laws governing what went on in the sky were different from those that applied on earth. Newton established that they were the same, with gravity and the laws of motion being the forces that determined what went on throughout the universe. $850,000.

 

Who was the earliest born person to have his likeness preserved in a photograph? It is unclear as birth dates in the 18th century were often uncertain, but this man is one of if not the first born. Baltus Stone was a veteran of the American Revolution, and not even one of its younger participants, when he was photographed 1846. He was a common man, one who described himself in 1820 when applying for a veteran's pension as an indigent day labourer unable to work because of decrepitude and infirmity. The inscription on the photograph gives his date of birth as 1744. His obituary listed 1743, his pension application 1754, a family bible as 1747. Other than a slave with an uncorroborated birth year of 1737, 19th Century was unable to find anyone else who was photographed with a birth year listed prior to 1745. Stone died a few months after this daguerreotype was taken. $50,000.

 

There is much more of importance and interest to be found here. There is a Shakespeare Second Folio, Curtis' massive North American Indian photographs, Poe's Raven and Other Poems, the earliest photograph of John D. Rockefeller (as an 18-year-old bookkeeper), the first printed sheet music of the Star Spangled Banner, a Darwin family photo album, pre-earthquake photographs of San Francisco buildings by a Vanderbilt family owner, a large photograph of 19th century Siamese twins Chang and Eng, and much more.

 

The 19th Century Rare Book & Photograph Shop can be reached at 410-602-3002 or info@19thshop.com. Their website is found at www.19thshop.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • University Archives
    Rare Autographs, Books & Photos; Abraham Lincoln Collection
    April 23, 2025
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Best Image of Abraham Lincoln: "Closest… to ‘seeing' Lincoln… A National Treasure" Original Hesler/Ayres Interpositive. $800,000 to $1,000,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Einstein, 3pp of Unified Field Theory Equations: “I want to try to show that a truly natural choice for field equations exists.” Formalizing His Final Approach, Association to Theory of Relativity. $80,000 to $120,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Marilyn Monroe's Best Personally Owned & Annotated Script for Unfinished Last Film, "Something's Got to Give" (1962). $75,000 to $100,000.
    University Archives
    Rare Autographs, Books & Photos; Abraham Lincoln Collection
    April 23, 2025
    University Archives, Apr. 23: David Ben-Gurion ALS: "The Jewish people have attained the epitome...the State of Israel is born," 1 Day After Signing Israeli Declaration of Independence, Best Ben-Gurion Ever! $80,000 to $100,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Lincoln ALS to Youth: "A young man, before the enemy has learned to watch him...votes... shall redeem the county" Evocative of Famous "Work" Letter. $70,000 to $100,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Lincoln Appointment for Cabinet Member With Largest, Boldest, Full Signature! Important Content: Detente with England. $10,000 to $15,000.
    University Archives
    Rare Autographs, Books & Photos; Abraham Lincoln Collection
    April 23, 2025
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Abraham Lincoln Rare Signed Check To Law Partner W.H. Herndon, Perhaps Unique as Such! $20,000 to $25,000
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Tokyo War Crimes Files of Prosecuting Attorney For POW Camp Atrocities, 500+ Pages, Unpublished Court Documents, Photos and More. $25,000 to $35,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: 1698 South Carolina Slavery Archive Huguenot Planters Earliest Rare Plat Maps for Plantations 41 Docs 107 pp. Most Colonial. $25,000 to $35,000.
    University Archives
    Rare Autographs, Books & Photos; Abraham Lincoln Collection
    April 23, 2025
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Adam Smith ALS While Revising “The Wealth of Nations” - A New Discovery Documenting Meeting with Influential Editor. $18,000 to $24,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Margaret Mitchell Rare ALS to Her Editor as Epic Film "Gone With the Wind" Gains Heat "Forgive this scrawl. I haven't written a letter in long hand in years and I've almost forgotten how it's done." $3,000 to $4,000.
    University Archives, Apr. 23: Einstein 1935 TLS, Hopes to Warn Non-Jews of "The true nature of the Hitler regime.” $8,500 to $10,000.
  • Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: BELLEFOREST (François de). La cosmographie universelle de tout le monde. €12,000 to €15,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: DESNOS (Louis Charles). Mappe-monde, ou Carte Generale de la Terre. €5,000 to €6,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: BLAEU (Willem Janszoon & Joan). Theatrum Sabaudiae. €18,000 to €20,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: LINASSI. Ferdinando Ie Maria Anna Carolina nel Litorale in Settembre 1844. €4,000 to €5,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: AMBROSOLI (Francesco). Monumento a Francesco Primo in Vienna. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: Plano de la plaza de Mesina y de su ciudadel y castiglios. €5,000 to €6,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: ROCKSTUHL (Alois Gustav), GILLE (Florent A.). 78 Lithographies du Musée de Tzarskoe-Selo. €1,000 to €1,500.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: Chtchedrovski, Ignatiy Stepanovitch. €2,000 to €3,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: DE BRUYN (Cornelis). Voyage au Levant. €3,000 to €5,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: ABI ISHAQ AHMAD B. IBRAHIM AL-THAʿLABI (M. 1035) : TROISIÈME VOLUME DU KASHF WA-L-BAYAN ʻAN TAFSIRI AL-QURʼAN. €3,000 to €5,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: DESNOS (Louis Charles). L’Afrique. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: DE BRUYN (Cornelis). Voyages de Corneille Le Brun par la Moscovie, en Perse, et aux Indes orientales. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: DESNOS. (Louis Charles). Amérique septentrionale et Méridionale. €4,000 to €5,000.
    Gros & Delettrez, Apr. 23: ÉLIOT (J.B.) ; MONDHARE (Louis Joseph). Carte du théatre de la guerre actuel entre les anglais et les treize Colonies Unies de l'Amérique Septentrionale. €5,000 to €6,000.
  • Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 748. Second volume of Blaeu's atlas featuring 89 maps of the Americas and Asia (1642) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 12. A world map with popular cartographic myths and unique embellishments (1788) Est. $3,000 - $3,750
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 30. One of the most sought-after charts from Cellarius' work (1708) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 38. Anti-Vietnam War persuasive cartography on a velvet poster (1971) Est. $350 - $425
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 43. Ortelius' influential map of the New World - second plate (1584) Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 95. Scarce German map illustrating the French & Indian War (1755) Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 149. Bachmann's dramatic view of the Mid-Atlantic region (1864) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 373. De Jode's very rare map of Europe with costumed figures (1593) Est. $6,000 - $7,500
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 674. De Bry's Petits Voyages, Part VII with all plates and map of Sri Lanka (1606) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 704. The first printed map devoted to the Pacific in full contemporary color (1589) Est. $7,500 - $9,000
    Old World Auctions (April 23):
    Lot 734. Superb hand-colored image of the Tree of Jesse (1502) Est. $700 - $850

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