Travels from Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Antiquarian Bookseller
S.W. Prentice and others depart in a leaky boat to seek help.
James Edward Alexander was a British visitor to America who did not share all of Beecher's views. He visited the Caribbean, North and South America in 1831, and published his Transatlantic Sketches from London two years later. He traveled from the Mississippi valley all the way to that of the St. Lawrence during his U.S. visit, but unlike the typical European visitor of the time, he was sympathetic toward slavery. He felt that slaveholders were not being treated fairly and that sudden emancipation was a bad idea. Alexander served in various military and diplomatic posts for England, mostly overseas, through a five-decade career. Item 6. €975 (US $1,281).
If you are a collector of all editions of Robinson Crusoe, here's one you may have missed: Hikajat Robinson Crusoe... This is a rare translation of the 18th century stranded-on-an-island classic published in the Malay language in 1910. €25 (US $33).
Item 17 is an 1805 broadside celebrating the British victory a few weeks earlier in the Battle of Trafalgar. This was one of Britain's greatest naval victories ever, where their forces under Lord Nelson defeated both those of the French and Spanish. England lost no ships, though they did lose Nelson, struck by a bullet. The broadside includes a hand-colored view of the fleets as well as descriptive copy. €650 (US $854).
Item 128 is an aquatint, The Departure of S.W. Prentice... Produced in 1784, it illustrates a scene after a terrible shipwreck. The crew and passengers of the St Lawrence were cast onto a deserted island off Cape Breton on December 5, 1780. The survivors managed for several weeks in the bitter cold, but after five died, Prentice and a few others left on a small and damaged boat to seek help. They sealed leaks by pouring water on them, until the water froze to ice. They were eventually found by local Indians, who went back to rescue the others, only five of whom still survived, subsisting on the bodies of their dead companions. €1,650 (US $2,169).
Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Antiquarian Bookseller may be found online at www.gertjanbestebreurtje.com. Their telephone is +31-(0)347-322548.
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.
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.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
