From the William Reese Company: A Collection of Papers: Containing the Declaration of the Independence...1783
Their website is one that is typical of abe.com’s premade webpages and is available and accessible. You can also reach them at:
c/o L. A. Chenier
1964 Main Street West, Suite 1509
Hamilton, ON Canada L8S 1J5 Phone 905-525-2095 Fax 905-525-8852
We at AE can expect to review many more such sites – this is just one of the first such reviews.
A Bouillabaisse of Catalogues
A very interesting catalogue crossed my desk a few days ago. It is Catalogue 29 RECENT ACQUISITIONS from Michael Brown Rare Books of Philadelphia. It is a very interesting catalogue for several reasons. The descriptions are very complete as are the bibliographical references. Someone reading this catalogue will learn not only a great deal about each item (89) offered but also gain a sense of the relevance of each item to various collecting realms, an essential ingredient both for dealers to build their business and for collectors to build their collections.
This catalogue is a mixture of books and documents. The least expensive item is an autograph quotation from Bayard Taylor signed New York, 1850 who the same year published Eldorado; or Adventures in the Path of Empire:... which is no. 73 of the Zamorano 80. There is a good, but not perfect, copy of William Darby’s A Tour from the City of New-York, to Detroit,...” printed in Brooklyn in 1819 for $500 and a letter to the future President of the United States, Franklin Pierce, dated 1832 for $450. The thoroughness of the presentation does not preclude reasonable prices. Forty-four of the 89 items offered are priced at $500 or less. Americana collectors will want to see this catalogue and to receive Mr. Brown’s future presentations. It’s simply interesting. His email address: mbamericana@mindspring.com.
The William Reese Company recently released Catalogue 219, American State Papers 1763 – 1861. The Reese Company takes their research seriously. This catalogue comprises 108 lots arranged in date order, mostly books, but also including some politically significant ephemera. Here are a few of the lots. No. 1. is The Definitive Treaty of Peace and Friendship... ending the French and Indian War, 1763. No. 2 is the Authentic Account of the Proceedings of the Congress..., the first British edition of Congress’ response to the Stamp Act, 1767. No. 8 is the Olive Branch Petition, “the last concerted effort to reconcile with Great Britain and prevent war.” No. 9 is an early, enlarged edition of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense..., 1776. No. 23 is The Pennsylvania Packet or The General Advertiser: Thursday, April 10, 1783
ALDE, Apr. 8: GUEVARA (ANTONIO DE). Histoire de Marc-Aurèle, Empereur Romain, vray miroir et horloge des Princes. Paris, Pierre et Galliot du Pré, frères, 1565. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: HEURES DE LA VIERGE. Horæ in laudem beatissimæ virginis Mariæ ad usum Romanum. Paris, Charles L'Angelier, 1556. €4,000 to €5,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: MONTAIGNE (MICHEL DE). Les Essais. Édition nouvelle, trouvée après le deceds de l'autheur… Paris, Abel L'Angelier, 1595. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [ROJAS (FERNANDO DE)]. Celestina, tragicomedia di Calisto et Melibea, tradotta de lingua castigliana in italiano idioma… Venise, 1531. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CAMÕES (LUÍS DE). Os Lusiadas. Lisbonne, Pedro Crasbeeck, 1613. €2,000 to €3,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Bruxelles, Roger Velpius & Huberto Antonio, 1611. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: LA FONTAINE (JEAN DE). Fables choisies, mises en vers. Paris, Denys Thierry et Claude Barbin, 1678-1694. €6,000 to €8,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: CERVANTES (MIGUEL DE). El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Madrid, Joaquin Ibarra, 1780. €3,000 to €4,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: DIDEROT (DENIS) ET JEAN LE ROND D'ALEMBERT. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Paris, 1751-1765. €15,000 to €20,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. LAMARTINE (Alphonse de). Les Laboureurs. Poème tiré de Jocelyn… Lyon, J. A. Henry, 1883. €8,000 to €10,000.
ALDE, Apr. 8: [LIVRE TISSÉ]. Livre de prières tissé d'après les enluminures des manuscrits du XIVe au XVIe siècle. Lyon, [A. Roux], 1886. €5,000 to €6,000.
Sotheby’s Books, Manuscripts & Objects from Three Important Collections Open for Bidding 2-17 April
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: [Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun]. Le Roman de la Rose, [Geneva or Lyons, c.1481], first printed edition of the most important medieval French vernacular poem. £200,000 to £300,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Castiglione. Il libro del cortegiano. [Venice], April 1528, first edition, in a magnificent binding by Jean Picard for Jean Grolier. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Jacobus de Cessolis. Schachzabelbuch, Strasbourg, 1483, von der Lasa copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: World Championship, 1972. A collection of 84 press photographs of the famed match between Spassky and Fischer. £2,000 to £3,000.
Sotheby’s, Apr. 2-17: Ben Franklin. Autograph letter signed, to Lord Shelburne, British Prime Minister, during peace negotiations, November 1782. £15,000 to £20,000.
