Christian Post's Second Journal recalls his important mission during the French and Indian War
Item 13 has been described as "one of the greatest American view books." This is the Album of Virginia; or, Illustration of the Old Dominion. It was created by Edward Beyer, a German artist who drew scenes from all around Virginia. The book states that it was printed in Richmond in 1858, but Reese notes that it was actually produced in Dresden and Berlin. Nevertheless, it is one of the best compilations of American scenery, and Virginia in particular, ever produced. It is also very rare. $45,000.
Karl Bernhard, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach, undertook a long trip through the United States in 1825-1826. He visited many of the southern states, stopped at New Orleans, traveled up the Mississippi to St. Louis, and eventually made his way to the utopian community in New Harmony, Indiana. Perhaps the highlight of the trip for this man who appreciated fine homes more than rustic wilderness was an overnight stay with Thomas Jefferson at Monticello. Jefferson was over 80 at the time and near the end of his life. You may relive the Duke's trip through the first American edition of his book, published in Philadelphia in 1828, Travels Through North America, During the Years 1825 and 1826. Item 10. $850. If you speak German, you can read the actual first, printed the same year in Weimar. Item 9. $3,000.
Item 112 recounts an important but little known event in American history. During the French and Indian War, there was a major battle for the inland areas of America between the French and British. The ultimate victory by the British would decide who would control this land, that being, naturally, the British at first, but eventually their successors the Americans. However, for a while things were not going well for the British as the French had made allies of many of the Indians. No one was having much success at wooing over the Indians until Christian Post, a Moravian missionary, ventured into western Pennsylvania alone and at great peril to convince the natives to either support the British, or at least remain neutral. His story is told in The Second Journal of Christian Frederick Post, on a Message from the Governor of Pensilvania to the Indians on the Ohio, published in 1759. $20,000.
The website for the William Reese Company is www.reeseco.com, phone number 203-789-8081.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
