Item 22 is an outstanding bibliography, with one minor exception. It is The Ashley Library, eleven volumes describing the books in the collection of Thomas Wise. Published from 1922-1936, there were only 250 sets of this limited edition printed, and this is one of only 50 on hand-made paper. Now for the slight drawback. Wise is better known today for his forgeries than his collection or scholarship. A few of the antiquarian texts he created did not even exist before Wise invented them. Just as Wise sold these to unknowing collectors, he included them in the bibliography of his library, with no notation, of course, that they were fakes. $4,500.
For a more honest look at Thomas Wise, item 32 is Thomas J. Wise in the Original Cloth by Wilfred Partington. Published in 1946, this was the first critical biography of Mr. Wise, and this is a rare copy with the author's presentation. $300.
Oak Knoll Books may be reached through their website, www.oakknoll.com, or at 302-328-7232.
Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2007 Issue
Book Collectors and Their Libraries from Oak Knoll Books
Thomas Wise in his Ashley Library.
Rare Book Monthly
-
Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Reaffirms the US Treaty of Friendship and Peace with Morocco, the Longest Unbroken Treaty in US History. $50,000 – 80,000.Freeman’s, August 20. Weeks After Victory at Yorktown, Benjamin Franklin Promises Repayment of a French Loan that Funded the American Revolution. $200,000 – 300,000.Freeman’s, August 20. Rare First Edition of the Foundational Text of the Mormon Church. $100,000 – 150,000.Freeman’s, August 20. President Washington Sends the First Major Law Passed by Congress, the Tariff Act of 1789. $100,000 – 150,000.Freeman’s, August 20. A Scarce Example of Audubon's Depiction of a Brown Pelican, Plate CCLI from his Birds of America. $30,000 – 50,000.Freeman’s, August 20. The Official and First Obtainable Broadside Printing of the Lincoln's Final Emancipation Proclamation. $30,000 – 50,000. -
