April Catalogue Review Book Collecting: Seeking a Southern Exposure
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And for those who prefer more traditional Americana...
1812
THE FIRST VIEW OF SAN FRANCISCO
47) LANGSDORFF, GOERGE HEINRICH.. Bemerkungen auf einer reise um die welt in den jahren 1803 bis 1807…. Frankfurt, Friedrich Williams, Verlag, 1812.
Two volumes; first volume: portrait + 28 plates (one folding, one double-sided); second volume: portrait + 16 plates. With the explanatory text for the plates present in each volume (usually missing). All the plates of vol. 1 bound at the end with the explanatory text after each engraving. Contemporary binding, rebacked, new labels.
Rare first edition of this fine travel book; Langsdorff accompanied Krusenstern on the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe as far as Kamchatka. On the way out they stopped in Brazil and the coast of South America. At Kamchatka, Langsdorff and Rezanov left the expedition for Alaska to investigate the Russian-American Company at Sitka and report to the Czar. The following year Langsdorff sailed with Rezanov and Davydov to San Francisco to obtain supplies for the Russian colony. The 2nd volume describes Langsdorff´s journey to the Northwest Coast with Rezanov. Almost seventy pages of this volume are devoted to their stay in San Francisco. An edition in English of Langsdorff was published in London in 1813--1814 (TWS lot 3506). The German edition is more desirable, however, since it contains the first view of San Francisco. This plate was not reproduced in the English edition.---TWS (E04C000025)
* Sabin 38895; Borba de Moraes, p. 388; Streeter 3504.
U$ 6750
Finally, there is Robert Hoe’s copy of a book that was bound at the New York Club Bindery.
1876
A FINE BINDING FROM THE NEW YORK CLUB BINDERY-
HOE´S COPY
74) (Binding) MERIMEE, P. Chronique du Regne de Charles IX par…illustres de trente - une compositions dessinés et gravées a l´eau forte para Edmond Morin.. Paris, Imprimé por les Amis des Livres, par Georges Chamerot, 1876. 2 vols; 4to; Nr 99 of 115 copies; levant morocco gilt by the Club Bindery, finished by Leon Mallard; Robert Hoes´copy, with his ex-libris and monogram.
The classical work of Merimeé in its best edition, sumptuously bound by the New York Club Bindery, which was set up by a group of rich bibliophiles, most of them members of the Grolier Club in New York. (B01A000303) U$ 5800
In other words, there is something here for every taste.
The entire Libreria de Antano catalogue may be viewed online at www.abebooks.com/home/BREITBOOKS. Copies in person may be obtained at the New York Book Fair. To contact Gustavo Breitfeld by email the address is books@millic.com.ar
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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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>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<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.")
