Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2003 Issue

Catalogue Reviews - An Exceptional Group

courtesy of Helen R. Kahn & Associates

courtesy of Helen R. Kahn & Associates


Item 69 seems very interesting. It is Garilo Ivanovich Davydov’s Reise der russisch-kaiserliche... in original boards, and is found in our database twice in priced dealer records. In 1944 it appeared in a Decker Catalogue for $50.00 and in 1969 in the Streeter Auction sales for $170.00. The Kahn copy is much superior to the Streeter copy. For collectors of West Coast explorations this is a rare opportunity to own a copy in original boards. Another interesting piece, and one that will be attractive to someone with a commitment (may I say addiction) to collecting a complete set of Florida materials based on the Servies Bibliographies, will find that item 43 in this catalogue is actually # 343 in the first volume of Servies. It is His Catholick Majesty’s Manifesto,... where the King of Spain patiently explains why he isn’t going to pay 95,000 pounds sterling to the King of England. Today we would just send an email. Back then they explained it in a 53 page pamphlet. It is priced at $200.00. See these pieces and many more at www.hrkahnbooks.com.

Livres Anciens - Impressions - Rares Curieuses, Exotiques issued by Librairie Rodolphe Chamonal, Paris, France Tel: 01 47 70 84 87 Email: chamonal@club-internet.fr

Rodolphe Chamonal maintains a book shop near the Drouet stop on the Paris metro that is easily enough justification (if you need any) to visit Paris. It is called Librairie Rodolphe Chamonal. There you find thousands of books that will mystify you, particularly if you don’t read French. So you thought you knew your field and here are walls of books that you haven’t seen before. Fortunately Mr. Chamonal issues catalogues and he goes to great lengths to make them interesting and understandable to those who love books but do not speak the language of love. A recent example is his general catalogue that contains 282 items of which 30 relate directly or indirectly to the new world. This material will have you scrambling for your references as it is quite different from most catalogues you use.

Although there are many items of interest the first two (1. and 2.) are quite special. The first “is an account, in Portuguese, of the capture of Fort Bull by the French, one of the events which led to their taking of Oswego...” The second “is a rather vague account, probably based on rumors reaching Lisbon, of a series of engagements in the Ohio region between the French and English beginning July 12, 1756.” Both items are 8 page pamphlets dated 1756 and can be found in the AE Database with references to the Streeter sales and Maggs Bibliotheca Americana. These rare items are:
	Relacam do Combate, que tiverao os Francezes com os Inglezes, aonde se 
	referen as proezas...  Lisboa, Dodingo Rodregues, 1756

	Noticia Certa da Grande Batalha, que houve na America entre os Francezes, 
         e Inglezes, ... Lisboa, Domingos Rodrigues, 1756
Mr. Chamonal may be reached by email at chamonal@club-internet.fr

Cold – Travel & Exploration in High Latitudes. Catalogue 220 issued by the William Reese Company of New Haven, Connecticut. (203) 789-8081, Web Address: www.reese.com

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
    Book Week
    December 9-17, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
    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.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
    Swann
    Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books
    December 9, 2025
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
    Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.

Review Search

Archived Reviews