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Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: World. Van Geelkercken (N.), Orbis Terrarum Descriptio Duobis..., circa 1618. £4,000-6,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Moll (Herman). A New Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain..., circa 1715. £2,000-3,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Churchill (Winston S.). The World Crisis, 5 volumes bound in 6, 1st edition, 1923-31. £1,000-1,500Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species, 2nd edition, 2nd issue, 1860. £1,500-2,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, 6 volumes in 3, 1st quarto ed, 1855-56. £1,500-2,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Saint-Exupéry (Antoine de, 1900-1944). Pilote de guerre (Flight to Arras), 1942. £10,000-15,000.Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: Austen (Jane, 1775-1817). Signature, cut from a letter, no date. £7,000-10,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Huxley (Aldous). Brave New World, 1st edition, with wraparound band, 1932. £4,000-6,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Tolkien (J. R. R.) The Hobbit, 1st edition, 2nd impression, 1937. £3,000-5,000Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: Rackham (Arthur, 1867-1939). Princess by the Sea (from Irish Fairy Tales), circa 1920. £4,000-6,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Kelmscott Press. The Story of the Glittering Plain, Walter Crane's copy, 1894. £3,000-4,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: King (Jessie Marion, 1875-1949). The Summer House, watercolour. £4,000-6,000 -
Fonsie Mealy’s
Chatsworth Summer Fine Art Sale
18th June 2025Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.Fonsie Mealy, June 18: French Bateau Bed, exhibition piece from the Exposition Universelle—The Paris World’s Fair, 1878. Third quarter of the 19th century. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde. -
Bonhams, June 16-24: KELMSCOTT PRESS. RUSKIN. The Nature of Gothic. 1892. $1,500 - $2,500Bonhams, June 16-24: ASHENDENE PRESS. The Wisdom of Jesus. 1932. $2,000 - $3,000Bonhams, June 16-24: CHARLOTTE BRONTE WRITES AS GOVERNESS. Autograph Letter Signed, 1851. $15,000 - $25,000Bonhams, June 16-24: FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS. BRONTE, Emily. New York, 1848. $3,000 - $5,000Bonhams, June 16-24: IAN FLEMING ASSOCIATION COPY. You Only Live Twice. London, 1964. $7,000 - $9,000Bonhams, June 16-24: DELUXE EDITION WITH ORIGINAL PAINTING. BUKOWSKI, Charles. War All the Time. 1984. $3,000 - $5,000Bonhams, June 16-24: EINSTEIN'S MOST POWERFUL STATEMENT ON THE ATOMIC BOMB. Original Typed Manuscript Signed, "On My Participation in the Atom Bomb Project," 1953. $100,000 - $150,000Bonhams, June 16-24: EINSTEIN ON SCIENCE, WAR AND MORALITY. Autograph Letter Signed, 1949. $20,000 - $30,000Bonhams, June 16-24: SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. WASHINGTON, George. Engraved document signed, 1786. $8,000 - $12,000Bonhams, June 16-24: AN EARLY CHINESE-MADE 34-STAR U.S. CONSULAR FLAG. $8,000 - $12,000Bonhams, June 16-24: SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF LINCOLN WITH HIS SON TAD. 1864. $60,000 - $90,000Bonhams, June 16-24: MALCOLM X WRITES FROM KENYA. Postcard signed, 1964. $4,000 - $6,000
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Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2006 Issue
50 Fine Books from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books
by Michael Stillman
Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books has issued another one of its magnificent fifty item catalogues. A little while back, we looked at a catalogue of fifty superlative maps and atlases. This month, we review their catalogue of 50 Fine Books. In this case, "fine" is an understatement.
This is not an easy catalogue to describe. The focus is on illustrated books. Illustrated books, naturally, need to be seen to be appreciated. Words just won't do them justice. While "illustrations" is the technically correct word, we are really looking at works of art. Indeed, many of the illustrations were done by artists, and after the books were printed, those same illustrations were often colored by hand, another artistic skill. While the drawings may have at one time been intended more to inform, they are today better appreciated for their beauty. These are among the fifty most beautiful illustrated books you will find.
Here is one note of caution for collectors. These are not inexpensive books. The pricing may be reasonable for what is offered, but this is not material the average collector can readily afford. It is intended for those with the resources to collect at the highest level. That said, anyone can certainly appreciate this wonderful catalogue, and Shapero also offers many other books that are also of great interest, but are within the reach of more typical collecting budgets. Here are few items from this fabulous fifty.
Item 45 is a manuscript Royal Deed from Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. Nicholas I ruled Russia from 1825-1855, and by most accounts, was not a particularly pleasant ruler. Whereas his brother and predecessor, Alexander I, had shown some interest in reform, Nicholas was old-style conservative and authoritarian. He similarly supported the status quo in Europe against reform movements, including a harsh suppression of rebellion in Poland, reminiscent of those of the Russian Communists many generations later. Nicholas died during the Crimean War, a war he started and which became a major Russian defeat. However, for all the ugliness of Nicholas' rule, his Royal Deed is a thing of beauty. This deed, signed by Nicholas I, granted a coat of arms and title as a count to General Aleksei Nikitin in 1851. Nikitin had served his country during the Napoleonic Wars and would have been an older man with a long, distinguished record at the time. Priced at £65,000 (British pounds, or approximate U.S. equivalent of $122,862).
America has its Audubon, Britain its John Gould. Gould's The Birds of Great Britain is an ornithological masterpiece akin to Audubon's though somewhat later in time. This is a five-volume set, published from 1862-1873. While the text is informative, it is the illustrations that make this book remarkable. Item 19. £60,000 (US $113,413).