An Interesting Americana Auction PBA Sale #264: Held May 29th
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Here are a few of the interesting lots.
Author: Hastings L[ansford] W[arren] Title: A New Description of Oregon and California: Containing Complete Descriptions of Those Countries, Together with the Oregon Treaty and Correspondence, and a Vast Amount of Information Relating to the Soil, Climate, Productions, Rivers, and Lands, and the Various Routes Over the Rocky Mountains. Place: Cincinnati Publisher: Geo. Conclin Date: 1849 Item # : 133054 – Lot No. 128 Description:
[3], 168 pp. Wood engraving on the title-page. 8¼x5¼, modern ¾ morocco & cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Sixth Edition.
Enlarged edition (from the original 152 pages) of the first California guide book, which was first published in 1845 and is notorious as being the guide which led the Donner Party over the so-called Hastings Cutoff, so delaying their arrival at the passes of the Sierra Nevada that they were imprisoned by the early snowfall and reduced to cannibalism for their survival. Lansford Hastings participated in the great Oregon immigration of 1842, but was little impressed by the Willamette Valley, and the following year ventured down to California, returning to the United States after several months. He became one of the great boosters of pre-Gold Rush California, undoubtedly envisioning himself as one of the leading citizens of a California populated by Americans, and his Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California, the first edition of the present work, is as much propaganda as guide book. The work consists of narratives of his trip to Oregon and California, a discussion of different routes to the Pacific Coast, and recomendations as to trail conduct, equipment, supplies, and methods of travel. The travel sections are interspersed with descriptive essays on Oregon and California. Wagner-Camp espouses the belief that "the larger importance of the Guide lay in its powerful appeal generated by its fanciful picture of California and its promise of `as much land as you want.' Emigrants who might otherwise have chosen to go to Oregon, where the homestead laws in effect limited the amount of land that could be allotted to one individual, were thus influenced to go to California instead...." The final 8 pages of the present edition comprises Col. R.B. Mason's report on the California Gold Region of Aug. 17, 1848. (Cowan p.270); (Paher 802); Howes H288; (Streeter 3142); Wagner Camp 116:6; (Zamorano Eighty 41). Condition:
The original wrappers were not retained when rebound, foxing to contents, pencil underlining of the title, else very good. Price Realized: (Estimated $1,500-2,500). Actual: $3,737
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.")
