Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2018 Issue

From Black Sea to China Sea from Shapero Rare Books

From the Black Sea to the China Sea.

Shapero Rare Books has published a catalogue entitled, From Black Sea to China Sea. New Acquisitions in Asia 2018. That may be only a single continent, but this catalogue will take you from the edge of Europe to the Western Pacific. Shapero has divided the continent into five regions to make it easier to find what you want. They are: (1) Turkey, the Levant, Holy Land, and Arabia; (2) Central Asia; (3) Indian Subcontinent; (4) South-East Asia; and (5) China & Mongolia. If your collecting focus is east of Europe and west of America, you will surely find material of significant interest. These are a few selections.

 

The western end of Asia was the source of much our knowledge of the earliest modern societies. It was, after all, the "Cradle of Civilization." Heinrich Schliemann was an amateur archaeologist who devoted much of his time (and fortune) to making discoveries in the ancient world. Though a German, he made his fortune in Gold Rush California, and still more in Russia. With that, he headed to what he correctly identified as the location of ancient Troy. Schliemann believed that ancient Greek writings were based on historical fact, and his research helped to establish his point. While Schliemann's excavations were not conducted as carefully as one would want today for preservation, standards were not that well understood in the 1870s and 1880s. Item 31 is an account of his excavations in Troy in 1862, Troja. Results of the Latest Researches and Discoveries on the Site of Homer's Troy and in the Heroic Tumuli and other Sites, made in the Year 1882. It was published in that same year. Priced at £850 (British pounds, or approximately $1,177 in U.S. dollars).

 

Paulo Emilio Botta was another 19th century researcher determined to unravel the ancient past. Botta was appointed French Consul to Mosul in 1842, an appointment he made the most of to search ancient sites in the area. He published his findings in 1849-50 in Monument de Ninive. Botta thought he found the ancient site of Nineveh. He didn't, but no matter. It was the palace of Sargon II, a magnificent structure built around 710 BC. Sargon was the leader of Assyria, who conquered Babylon and Israel, capturing both land and wealth. He died as he lived, in battle. Botta excavated a complex of rooms and discovered numerous carved and inscribed gypsum slabs, and colossal winged bulls with human heads that look like genetic engineering gone terribly awry. Some of these sculptures were shipped to the Louvre where they became very popular. Botta's book contains numerous plates of illustrations along with descriptions of the excavations. The book was highly costly, 2,000 francs, which put it out of reach of many other scholars. Item 45. £30,000 (US $41,559).

 

Joseph Dalton Hooker was one of Britain's most famous botanists, a contemporary, best friend, and supporter of Charles Darwin. Darwin asked Hooker to help prepare his botanical notes after his return from South America, and ran his conclusions past his friend as he developed his theory of evolution. Hooker was one of the first to know, and first to defend Darwin's theory once it was made public. Hooker undertook several expeditions himself to study plants. In this case, he climbed high in the Himalayas gathering specimens. If that sounds cold, Hooker was prepared, having earlier done the same on Ross' Antarctic expedition. He spent 1848-50 in the Himalayas, climbing to 19,000-20,000 feet. At the time, it was the highest any European had climbed. Hooker's account is entitled Himalayan Journals, published in 1854. Item 83. £2,500 (US $3,463).

 

Next we have another man associated with cold climates, though he managed to stay away from them himself. The northernmost point in the United States, Point Barrow, Alaska, is named for him. Sir John Barrow spent most of the final four decades of his life in the Admiralty, and as such, he promoted British exploration of the Arctic. He later wrote about these explorations. However, this is an account of an earlier voyage, to a much warmer place, one in which he was a participant. Item 98 is A Voyage to Cochinchina, in the Years 1792 and 1793. Cochinchina is now the southern part of Vietnam. Barrow accompanied a mission to the Emperor of China as an interpreter, but the voyage made several stops along the way, including Madeira, Rio, and Batavia. Barrow provides an account of the voyage, along with much information on Cochinchina taken from a manuscript by French naval officer Captain Barissy. £2,750 (US $3,810).

 

This is the rare and beautiful A Panoramic View of the Holy City of Benares. Benares, more often known as Varanasi, is the holiest of cities to Hindus. It is also one of the oldest cities. Located in India, it is a site of pilgrimages, with many believing that those who die there will be freed from the unending cycle of birth and rebirth. This panorama by John Dalrymple was printed and published in Calcutta in 1827. When opened, it measures 9 ½" x 126". £22,500 (US $31,171).

 

Shapero Rare Books may be reached at +44 (0)20 7493 0876 or rarebooks@shapero.com. Their website is www.shapero.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
  • 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
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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

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