Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - November - 2006 Issue

Illustrated Books from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books

Id

Illustrated books from Bernard J. Shapero.


By Michael Stillman

Just received from Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books is a catalogue entitled Illustrated Books 2006. This is the most difficult type of catalogue there is to describe. These are books most notable for their illustrations, and we all know that it takes a thousand words to equal just one image. It would take impossibly long to write a review to do this collection justice. So, to be concise, if you collect any sort of illustrated works, primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, you will want to see this catalogue. It covers many topics, but the common thread is the beauty of the illustrations.

Shapero is kind enough to break the collection into categories for convenience. Here they are: Art and Architecture, British Topography, Caricature, Costume and Fashion, Foreign Topography and Portraits, Natural History, Naval and Military, and Sport. As a British bookseller, the concentration of works are from England, and next Europe, though there are exceptions. Shapero specializes in the most collectible of books, and this group is no exception. Here are a few samples.

For a large collection of images of London in the early 19th century, there is The Microcosm of London; or, London in Miniature, published by Rudolph Ackermann. This three-volume folio first edition was published between 1808 and 1810. It includes 104 colored plates from around London. Ackermann's intention was to show London as it was, including churches, fairs, markets, theaters, courts, hospitals, even prisons. He shows the worlds of both the rich and poor. This was Ackermann's first major book, as he would go on to publish many more finely illustrated works. Item 20. Priced at £5,000 (British pounds, or US equivalent of approximately $9,345).

James Baillie Fraser was introducing a new world to most Londoners with his 1820 book Views of the Himala Mountains. Shapero describes this as "the finest illustrated work on the Himalayas." Fraser studied painting after traveling to India to serve as a merchant in Calcutta. In 1815-16, he visited the Himalayas where his brother William was serving as an agent for the military. William was given the task of visiting several local chiefs, so James decided to go along. His travels resulted in this illustrated folio volume. Item 82. £42,500 (US $79,476).

Item 99 is another beautifully illustrated Himalayan book: A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains by John Gould. Gould was to Europe what Audubon was to America. He would go on to illustrate numerous European birds, but this Himalayan book was his first work, published in 1832. At the time, Gould was Curator of Birds at the Zoological Society's museum. He realized this was the first collection of any size to reach Europe from the Himalayas and concluded there would be a market for a large folio illustrated work on this collection. £11,000 (US $20,575).

Rare Book Monthly

  • <b><center>Sotheby's<br>The Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman Collection<br>26 May - 12 June</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "Cool Hand Luke" | Paul Newman Academy Award® Nomination Plaque. USD$2500 - $3500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "Hud" | Bound presentation script incorporating photographic stills. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "The Long, Hot Summer" | Movie Poster. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> Joseph Heller | "Catch-22," inscribed to Woodward & Newman by author. USD$500 - $800
    <b><center>Sotheby's<br>The Joanne Woodward & Paul Newman Collection<br>26 May - 12 June</b>
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> George H. W. Bush | Typed Letter Signed, Issuing a "Pardon" to Paul Newman. USD$1500 - $2000
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> William Jefferson Clinton | Inscribed Color Photograph. USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> Ken Kesey | Typed letter to “Paulnewman,” asking for further compensation for "Sometimes a Great Notion". USD$1000 - $1500
    <b>Sotheby’s, May 26 – Jun. 12:</b> "They Might Be Giants" | Costume sketches by Edith Head. USD$1000 - $2000
  • <b><center>Swann Auction Galleries<br>Focus On Women:<br>At Auction June 1, 2023</b>
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Sojourner Truth, <i>Narrative of Sojourner Truth, a Northern Slave,</i> first edition, Boston, 1850. $10,000 to $15,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Jane Austen, <i>Pride and Prejudice,</i> London, 1817. $6,000 to $8,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Cindy Sherman, <i>Secretary,</i> gelatin silver print, 1978; printed 1993. $6,000 to $8,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Fanny Stevenson, Archive of Photographs & Letters, 1866-1904. $4,000 to $6,000.
    <b>Swann June 1:</b> Charlotte Perkins Gilman, <i>The Forerunner,</i> Volumes I-VII; Family Association Set; Four Volumes Signed or Inscribed by the Author, New York, 1909-16. $3,000 to $5,000.
  • <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> The West Indies, C. 1792, by Sir William Young. Colonial Watercolours, etc. A highly important group of original watercolours now on the market for the first time in approx. 230 years. €10,000 to €15,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Gould (John). <i>The Birds of Great Britain,</i> 5 vols. lg. atlas folio, Lond. (Taylor & Francis) 1873. First Edition, with 363 hand-coloured plates. €9,000 to €15,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Joyce (James). <i>Ulysses,</i> thick 4to, L. (John Lane, The Bodley Head) 1936, Signed Limited Edition No. 20 (100) Copies. €8,000 to €12,000.
    <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Rackham (Arthur) illus. <i>The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm,</i> Lg. 4to Lond. (Constable & Co.) 1909. Lim. Edition No. 128 of 750 Copies, Signed by Author. €2,000 to €3,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Arctic Travel: Hearne (Samuel). <i>A Journey from Prince of Wales Fort in Hudson's Bay…</i> Thick 8vo Dublin, 1796. First Dublin Edition. €1,250 to €1,750.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Hand-Coloured Plates: Maw (George). <i>A Monograph of The Genus Crocus,</i> Lg. 4to Lond. (Culau & Co.) 1886. First Edn. €1,200 to €1,500.
    <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Holinshed (Raphael) & Stanyhurst (R.) <i>The Historie of Ireland from the First Inhabitation thereof, unto the Yeare 1509…</i> Folio, London, 1577, First Edn. €1,000 to €1,500.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Fine Hand-Coloured Plates: [Dalvimart (Octavien.)] <i>The Costume of Turkey, ... with Descriptions in English and French,</i> Folio Lond. (for Wm. Miller by Wm. Bulmer) 1804. First Edn. €750 to €1,250.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Astronomy: Nasmyth (James) & Carpenter (James). <i>The Moon: Considered as a Planet, a World, and a Satellite.</i> Lg. 4to Lond. 1874. First Edn. €700 to €1,000.
    <center><b>Fonsie Mealy’s<br>Rare Book & Collectors’ Sale<br>May 30th and 31st, 2023</b>
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Binding: Tennyson - <i>The Works of Lord Tennyson Poet Laureate,</i> 8vo Lond. (Macmillan & Co.) 1900. €700 to €1,000.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Manuscript: Green (E.) <i>Chronology and Geography by E. Green,</i> Folio manuscript, no date but c. 1800. €400 to €600.
    <b>Fonsie Mealy’s, May 30 & 31:</b> Alexander (James Edward). <i>Sketches in Portugal,</i> During The Civil War of 1834. 8vo Lond. (J. Cochrane) 1835. First Edition. €300 to €400.

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions