• <center><b>Swann Auction Galleries View Our Record Breaking Results</b>
    <b>Swann:</b> Charles Monroe Schulz, <i>The Peanuts gang,</i> complete set of 13 drawings, ink, 1971. Sold June 15 — $50,000.
    <b>Swann:</b> Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Family Archive of Photographs & Letters. Sold June 1 — $60,000.
    <b>Swann:</b> Victor H. Green, <i>The Negro Motorist Green Book,</i> New York, 1949. Sold March 30 — $50,000.
    <b>Swann:</b> William Shakespeare, <i>King Lear; Othello;</i> [and] <i>Anthony & Cleopatra;</i> Extracted from the First Folio, London, 1623. Sold May 4— $185,000.
    <center><b>Swann Auction Galleries View Our Record Breaking Results</b>
    <b>Swann:</b> William Samuel Schwartz, <i>A Bridge in Baraboo, Wisconsin,</i> oil on canvas, circa 1938. Sold February 16 — $32,500.
    <b>Swann:</b> Lena Scott Harris, <i>Group of approximately 65 hand-colored botanical studies, all apparently California native plants,</i> hand-colored silver prints, circa 1930s. Sold February 23 — $37,500.
    <b>Swann:</b> Suzanne Jackson, <i>Always Something To Look For,</i> acrylic & pencil on linen canvas, circa 1974. Sold April 6 — $87,500.
    <b>Swann:</b> Gustav Klimt, <i>Das Werk von Gustav Klimt,</i> complete with 50 printed collotype plates, Vienna & Leipzig, 1918. Sold June 15 — $68,750.
  • <b><center>Case Auctions<br>Fall Fine Art & Antiques Auction<br>October 6-7, 2023</b>
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> John Speed 1676 Map of Virginia, Maryland, and Chesapeake Bay. $1,000 to $1,200.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Andrew Jackson Coffin Handbill and Political Cartoon. $800 to $900.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Three Andrew Jackson Bank War Cartoons, incl. Way to Arabay. $800 to $900.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Three Andrew Jackson period Political Cartoons inc. Petticoat Affair. $500 to $600.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Cdre. Jesse D. Elliott ALS and Sarcophagus Print, Andrew Jackson & USS Constitution elated. $500 to $600.
    <b><center>Case Auctions<br>Fall Fine Art & Antiques Auction<br>October 6-7, 2023</b>
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Presidential Autographs & Portrait Prints incl. Eisenhower Photo, 18 items. $400 to $500.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Group of three Robert E. Lee Cabinet Card Photographs, Miley Studio. $400 to $500.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Eight Fugitive Writer related books incl. Andrew Lytle, R.P. Warren, J.C. Ransom, Allen Tate. $400 to $500.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Group Early Southern and Civil War Era Sheet Music. $300 to $350.
    <b>Case Auctions, Oct. 7:</b> Henry Miller, <i>Insomnia or the Devil at Large;</i> Signed; Loujon Press 1970. $500 to $600.
  • <b><center>Australian Book Auctions<br>Voyages, Natural History &c.<br>October 4, 2023<br>9:00 AM Australian Western Time</b>
    <b>Australian Book Auctions, Oct. 4:</b> PURCHAS, Samuel (circa 1577-1626). <i>HAKLUYTUS POSTHUMUS OR PURCHAS HIS PILGRIMES…,</i> London, 1625-1626. First edition. $40,000 to $60,000 AUD
    <b>Australian Book Auctions, Oct. 4:</b> GOULD, John. <i>THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA,</i> Volume IV. Folio, 104 fine handcoloured lithographed plates. London, 1848. $20,000 to $30,000 AUD
    <b>Australian Book Auctions, Oct. 4:</b> REICHENOW, Dr. Ant. <i>VOGELBILDER AUS FERNER ZONEN, abbildungen und beschreibungen der Papageien.</i> Kassel, 1878-1883. Folio, 33 hand-finished chromolithograph plates. $3,000 to $5,000 AUD
    <b>Australian Book Auctions, Oct. 4:</b> WALLIS, <i>E. WALLIS’S ELEGANT AND INSTRUCTIVE GAME exhibiting the Wonders of Nature, in Each Quarter of the World.</i> Handcoloured view, 26 numbered scenes. $400 to $600 AUD.
    <b>Australian Book Auctions, Oct. 4:</b> GREENAWAY, Kate. <i>ALMANACK FOR 1883</i> [and following years]. Twenty-two volumes, including six duplicates in variant bindings. $1,400 to $1,800 AUD.
  • <b><center>Sotheby’s<br>Bibliotheca Brookeriana: A Renaissance Library<br>Magnificent Books and Bindings<br>11 October 2023</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 11:</b> Francesco Colonna, Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. $300,000 to $400,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 11:</b> Leonardo da Vinci, Trattato della pittura, manuscript on paper, [Rome, ca. 1638–1641], a very fine pre-publication manuscript. $250,000 to $300,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 11:</b> Paradis, Ung petit traicte de Alkimie, [Paris, before 1540], contemporary morocco by the Pecking Crow binder for Anne de Montmorency. $300,000 to $350,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 11:</b> Capocaccia, Giovanni Battista, A wax relief portrait of Pius V, in a red morocco book-form box by the Vatican bindery, Rome, 1566–1568. $250,000 to $300,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 11:</b> Serlio, Il terzo libro; Regole generali, Venice, 1540, both printed on blue paper and bound together by the Cupid's Bow Binder. $400,000 to $500,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 11:</b> Tiraboschi, Carmina, manuscript on vellum, [Padua, c. 1471], the earliest surviving plaquette binding. $280,000 to $350,000.
    <b><center>Sotheby’s<br>Bibliotheca Brookeriana: A Renaissance Library<br>The Aldine Collection A–C<br>12 October 2023</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 12:</b> Anthologia graeca, Venice, Aldus, 1503, printed on vellum, Masterman Sykes-Syston Park copy. $150,000 to $200,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 12:</b> Castiglione, Il libro del cortegiano, Venice, Aldus, 1528, contemporary Italian morocco gilt, Accolti-Landau copy. $200,000 to $300,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 12:</b> Castiglione, Il libro del cortegiano, Venice, Aldus, 1545, contemporary morocco for Thomas Mahieu, Chatsworth copy. $200,000 to $300,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 12:</b> Cicero, Epistolae familiares, Venice, Aldus, 1502, printed on vellum, illuminated, Renouard-Vernon-Uzielli copy. $200,000 to $300,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 12:</b> Colonna, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Venice, Aldus, 1499, Gomar Estienne binding for Jean Grolier, Spencer copy. $400,000 to $600,000.
    <b>Sotheby’s, Oct. 12:</b> Crinito, Libri de poetis Latinis, Florence, Giunta, 1505, Cupid's Bow Binder for Grolier, Paris d'Illins-Wodhull copy. $250,000 to $300,000.

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - October - 2019 Issue

150 Years of American History 1730-1880 from the William Reese Company

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American History 1730-1880.

The William Reese Company has issued their 365th catalogue, American Panorama, 150 Years of American History 1730-1880. It contains 150 items, one for each year. As they explained, the catalogue is "comprised of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, prints, maps, and photographs...helping to tell the story of the development of the area that became the United States." Here are a few of these 150 stories.

 

We begin with the first and oldest item in the collection. Item 1 is A New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain on ye Continent of North America... by Herman Moll, published in 1730. It displays what became the Atlantic states, from New England to Carolina, Atlantic Canada, and some parts of French Canada. The boundaries between French and British Canada are generously drawn in favor of British claims. The map notes Indian tribes, the fur trade, and postal routes, earning it the attribution of being the first American postal map. This is the third of five states, and the first to show the Carolina inset divided into counties and parishes. Other insets include Florida and the Deep South, and Niagara Falls. The Niagara Falls inset gave the map its familiar appellation as the "Beaver Map." The artist didn't have the greatest sense of depth, so the beavers being in the foreground makes them appear very large. Priced at $22,000.

 

This is one of those early "Indian Captivities." It has been described as the most popular of all. Certainly, the protagonist author sold a lot of books describing his travails. The title is French and Indian Cruelty, Exemplified in the Life and Various Vicissitudes of Fortune of Peter Williamson, a Disbanded Soldier. Containing a Particular Account of the Manners, Customs and Dress of the Savages... According to Williamson, the "savages'" manners were very bad. He was born in Scotland, where, at the age of eight, he was kidnapped and sold into indentured servitude in America. Fortunately, his master was kind, and left him money to buy a farm when he died. He settled on the Pennsylvania frontier, got married, and became a farmer. It was here that he was again taken from his home, this time by Indians. He describes conditions of mistreatment and torture. After three months captivity, he escaped, only to find his wife had died. He enlisted to fight in the French and Indian War, only to be captured again. This time, he was released in a prisoner exchange, sent back to England, and he returned to his native Scotland. He would go on to write his popular book, tour dressed as an Indian selling copies, open a coffee shop, then a tavern, become a printer, and win lawsuits against those who kidnapped him as a youth. Some scholars have challenged the accuracy of Williamson's account, with opinions ranging from containing much useful information to total fabrication. Whatever it is, Williamson was certainly a good story-teller. Item 29 is a stated "third edition, with considerable improvements," published in 1758, a year after the first edition. $9,500.

 

To most Americans, often blind to their own shortcomings, Indians were "savages." A few were able to see more. Quakers, in general, were more appreciative of people different from themselves. Anthony Benezet was a Quaker, and item 32 is his book, An account of a visit lately made to the people called Quakers in Philadelphia, by Papoonahoal: an Indian Chief, and several other Indians, chiefly of the Minisink Tribe, published in 1761. Papoonahoal was a chief who had developed his own moral system, which led him to free three white prisoners and return some stolen horses his tribe had purchased from a rival. He was seen by whites as a wise leader, undoubtedly in part due to his willingness to accept Christian doctrines. While he was a wise and moral man, so was author Anthony Benezet. Benezet would later be known as one of the most important early American abolitionists. $11,000.

 

Americans like Benezet would certainly have been reading bibles, but they wouldn't have been ones printed in America. Prior to the Revolution, the Royal Printer had a monopoly on printing English language bibles. Bibles were printed in America as far back as over a century earlier, but these were editions printed in Indian languages, used for conversions by missionaries, and later, German editions for German-speaking immigrants. Once the Revolution was won, naturally, the British monopoly was over. Item 53 is The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments, printed and published by Robert Aitken in Philadelphia in 1781-1782. This is the first complete bible in English printed in America. Aitken secured the official endorsement for his bible from the Continental Congress. This copy belonged to, and was signed in 1783 by, Joshua Coit. He was a Harvard graduate and a congressman from Connecticut from 1793-1798, when he died. $150,000.

 

Here is another American first, but this one is not about God. No, it's about the bad guy from the Garden of Eden - the serpent. Technically, we can call this a treatise on American herpetology. It is the first book about snakes printed in America. Benjamin Smith Barton's book, printed in 1796, was printed for private distribution only, so it is extremely rare. The title is, A Memoir Concerning the Fascinating Faculty which has been Ascribed to the Rattle-Snake, and Other American Serpents. Speaking of fascinating faculty, Barton was one of the first professors of natural history in America, teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. He was also a physician and renowned botanist. This copy was given by Isaac Hays, ophthalmologist and one of the founders of the American Medical Association, to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Item 67. $6,500.

 

Here is a book of historic illustrations, Chicago Illustrated 1830-1866. Literary Descriptions by James W. Sheahan Esq. Illustrations by the Chicago Lithographing Co. It contains 52 tinted lithographic plates, published 1866-1867. What makes it particularly historic is that it was published a few years before the Chicago Fire of 1871. So much of what is depicted was destroyed in that great conflagration. Thank you, Mrs. O'Leary's cow. This copy also includes the prospectus, stating that it would provide "striking evidences of the City's improvement and enterprise." It was to be issued in 25 parts, each with at least four views, for a total of 100. However, only 13 parts were issued, so it contains only 52 such plates. It was not the fire which caused its premature conclusion since printing stopped four years before the Great Fire. Ironically, one plate depicts the "Great Fire on Lake Street," which occurred in 1866. Item 138. $40,000.

 

The William Reese Company may be reached at 203-789-8081 or amorder@reeseco.com. Their website is www.williamreesecompany.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • <center><b>Potter & Potter Auctions<br>Nobu Shirase and the Japanese Antarctic Expedition: the Collection of Chet Ross<br>October 12, 2023</b>
    <b>Potter & Potter, Oct. 12:</b> [BYRD]. VEER, Willard Van der and Joseph T. RUCKER, cinematographers. The 35mm motion picture Akeley camera that filmed the Academy Award-winning documentary “With Byrd at the South Pole”. $30,000 to $50,000.
    <b>Potter & Potter, Oct. 12:</b> [SHIRASE, Nobu, his copy]. RYUKEI, Yano. <i>Young Politicians of Thebes: Illustrious Tales of Statesmanship.</i> Tokyo(?), 1881-84. $15,000 to $20,000.
    <b>Potter & Potter, Oct. 12:</b> SHACKLETON, Ernest H. <i>The Antarctic Book.</i> Winter Quarters 1907-1909 [dummy copy of the supplement to: <i>The Heart of the Antarctic</i>]. London, 1909. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Potter & Potter, Oct. 12:</b> [USS BEAR]. The original auxiliary deck wheel from the famed USS Bear, 1874-1933. “PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS SHIP IN THE HISTORY OF THE COAST GUARD” (USCG). $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Potter & Potter, Oct. 12:</b> HENSON, Matthew. <i>A Negro Explorer at the North Pole.</i> With a forward by Robert Peary. Introduction by Booker T. Washington. New York, [1912]. $3,000 to $4,000.
  • <center><b>Gonnelli: Auction 46 Books<br>Autographs & Manuscripts<br>Oct 3rd-5th 2023</b>
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Tilson - Zanotto, Il vero tema. 2011. Starting price 150 €
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Munari, Storia di un filo. Starting price 400 €
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Debord, Contre le cinéma. 1964. Starting price 150 €
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Futurism books and ephemera
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Travel books
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Medicine books
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Levaillant, Histoire naturelle des perroquets. 1801-1805. Starting price 52.000 €
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Carrera, Il gioco de gli scacchi. 1617. Starting price 3200 €
    <b>Gonnelli:</b> Vergilius, Opera. 1515. Starting price 800 €
  • <center><b>Jeschke Jadi Auctions Berlin<br>Rare Books, Prints, Historical Photography<br>29 September 2023</b>
    <b>Jeschke Jádi, Sep. 29:</b> Jan Theodor de Bry. <i>Anthologia magna sive Florilegium novum.</i> 1626. 9,000 €
    <b>Jeschke Jádi, Sep. 29:</b> John Locke. <i>Epistola de tolerantia ad Clarissimum Virum T.A.R.P.T.O.L.A.</i> 1689. 9000 €
    <b>Jeschke Jádi, Sep. 29:</b> F. T. Marinetti, Boccioni, Pratella, Carrà, a.o. <i>Collection of 35 Futurist manifestos.</i> 1909-1933. 7000 €
    <b>Jeschke Jádi, Sep. 29:</b> Johann Elert Bode, Rare engraved celestial globe. (1804). 6000 €
    <b>Jeschke Jádi, Sep. 29:</b> Sebastian Brant (ed.). <i>Tertia pars huius operis in se continens glosam ordinariam cum expositione lyre litterali et morali.</i> 1498. 5000 €
  • <center><b>Christie’s<br>Charlie Watts: Literature and Jazz<br>London and online auction<br>15–29 September</b>
    <b>Christie’s, Explore now:</b><br>F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940). <i>The Great Gatsby.</i> New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. £100,000–150,000
    <b>Christie’s, Explore now:</b><br>Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930). </i>The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes.</b> London: George Newnes, 1902. £70,000–100,000
    <b>Christie’s, Explore now:</b><br>Agatha Christie (1890–1976). <i>The Thirteen Problems.</i> London: for the Crime Club Ltd. by W. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., 1932. £40,000–60,000
    <b>Christie’s, Explore now:</b><br>Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961). <i>The Maltese Falcon.</i> New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930. £30,000–50,000

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