The title page from Edward Beyer's Album of Virginia.
For music collectors, item 48 is a collection of Civil War songs (along with a couple of 1880s songs from a Massachusetts gubernatorial election). Over 225 broadside songs have been bound into a volume, though each was printed separately. These are songs from the Union side, although different points of view are expressed, some being abolitionist, others Northern but anti-abolition. Some commemorate battles; others speak of mothers' and soldiers' sorrows. A few are even humorous (Jeff in Petticoats), while others are written in dialect, both black minstrel and Irish styles. Most of the songwriters are anonymous, though a few notable names appear, such as Stephen Foster and Oliver Wendell Holmes. These songs were usually meant to be sung to the melodies of familiar old songs. $12,500.
Item 74 is the major American scientific work of the 18th century, Benjamin Franklin's Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America, by Mr. Benjamin Franklin, and Communicated to Mr. P. Collinson, Esq; of London... Franklin had written his friend Peter Collinson of London about his discoveries, and the latter was so impressed by the findings that he took it on himself to publish Franklin's discoveries. Offered is the extremely rare first edition of 1751 of Franklin's breakthrough work, published without his permission. Franklin would add further notes to later published editions. $67,500.
Item 21 is described by Reese as "one of the greatest American view books," Album of Virginia; or, Illustration of the Old Dominion, by Edward Beyer. This 1858 work includes forty tinted lithograph plates, along with a title page containing five vignettes. $45,000.
Item 164 is a broadside auction notice from Augusta, Georgia, to be held August 14, 1860. The headline explains why, with no progress yet made toward the elimination of slavery, the Civil War was virtually unavoidable. The heading says it all: Sale of Negroes, Mills, Mules, Hogs, Farming & Mining Tools, Wagons and Carts. $3,750.
The William Reese Company may be contacted at 203-789-8081 or amorder@reeseco.com. Their website is located at www.reeseco.com.
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. 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.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
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…
![<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.")
