Item 3 is John Hobbs' A Chart of St. George's Channel and Coasts of Ireland. This 1853 map published by Norrie and Wilson is a bit larger than one might expect today. The channel today generally refers to the narrow strip separating England and Ireland between the Celtic and the Irish Seas. In those days, it was the entire area between Britain and Ireland, encompassing the Irish and Celtic Seas as well as the current channel. However, the route remains unchanged for seafarers. £900 (US $1,716).
Item 52 is a "rare portulan" of American ports, published in Madrid in 1818. A rare what? Time for a vocabulary lesson. A "portulan" (that's more of a French spelling) or "portolan" or "portalano" (it derives from this Italian word) was once a more commonly used term among navigators. It refers to a book of charts showing routes along coasts and between ports. This book is titled Direccion de Hidrografica. Portulano de la America Setentrional. It includes 121 engraved charts which cover the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. One of these is the first printed chart of Galveston Bay, named for Spanish Governor Benardo de Galvez. In 1818, most of the gulf coast was still in Spanish hands, but a year later, Florida would be ceded to the U.S., and shortly thereafter Mexico would rise up in revolt. The title suggests that future editions might have been intended to include the American west coast, but if so, the loss of Spanish colonies may have made such editions unnecessary. £15,000 (US $28,607).
Item 64 is another chart of the Gulf of Mexico, but one that will be of interest to those who collect the short-lived Republic of Texas. This is an 1846 update of an earlier Madrid chart, and it renames Texas as "Republica de Tejas." Of course, they were too late, Texas having been admitted as a state in 1845, but news traveled slowly then. £3,000 (US $5,721).
You will find Bernard J. Shapero Rare Books online at www.shapero.com, and can reach them by phone at +44 (0)20 7493 0876.
You may view all of the items they offered for sale on line through the following link: Books For Sale.
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. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
