Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2008 Issue

Antiquarian Books and Ephemera from Samuel Gedge Rare Books

A strip almanac on the cover of Samuel Gedge's latest catalogue.

A strip almanac on the cover of Samuel Gedge's latest catalogue.


By Michael Stillman

Samuel Gedge Ltd. Rare Books of Norwich, UK, has issued their Catalogue V (as in 5). Gedge provides a variety of material, not just by topic, but by type. So, along with books, you will find such items as the strip almanac shown on the cover, a fan-shaped printed paper, an early 19th century bookseller's pocketbook, and other unusual items. The common thread is that these items are related to books, printing, manuscripts or bookselling, and all qualify as being antiquarian - 19th century or earlier. Here are a few of the items Gedge is offering in their latest catalogue.

Item 19 is the psalm book of a man who surely needed atonement, though he may not have appreciated this point. The 1793 book is entitled A new version of the psalms of David... by N. Brady. The owner was Thomas Staniforth, the Mayor of Liverpool, and his imprint, title, and the year 1797 are placed on the cover. Staniforth's parents died by the time he was 15, but a brother-in-law set him up as an apprentice to a wealthy businessman, Charles Goore. The wise Staniforth married Goore's daughter, and after the latter's two sons died, the daughter became Goore's only heir. Staniforth managed Goore's business, which included the miserable field of trading in slaves. Other aspects of his business, whaling and trading tobacco, would not meet with much favor today either. Staniforth was highly regarded in his hometown and a noted philanthropist and family man, though evidently blind to the sufferings of the souls in which he traded. He died in 1803. Priced at £350 (British pounds, or US equivalent of $512).

Item 1 is a commission from the Company of Merchants appointing John Hope Smith as the Governor of Cape Coast Castle in 1816. Cape Coast Castle, located in what is today Ghana, was one of the most notorious of the "castles" along the African Gold Coast. It contained one of the large dungeons in which slaves captured on the continent would be held until the slave ships arrived. Over 1,000 people could be crammed into the dank cells in its basement - miserable, unsanitary places. Probably the only worse conditions imaginable were what came next for the slaves, the even more crammed and unsanitary slave ships. Fortunately, the British had abolished the slave trade a decade earlier, so the old castle was used as a site for trade by the time Smith arrived. A year later, at the young age of 30, Smith was appointed as the overseer for all of Ghana. £950 (US $1,392).

Item 93 is the strip almanac shown on the cover: An almanac for the year 1688, by John Pack. These manuscript strips, in this case wound into a turned bone casing, were popular in the 16th century. It notes the phases of the moon and important Christian holidays. The later date of this strip almanac is unusual as they were far more popular during the preceding century. £3,500 (US $5,133).

Here is an item of interest to American Civil War collectors. Item 47 is the naval logbook of a tour of H.M.S. Racer, commanded by Algernon McLennan Lyons, during 1861-1862. This British ship was assigned to patrol the Atlantic coast of the United States during its civil war. The logbook recounts its journeys along the coasts of Virginia and the Carolinas, particularly Charleston, and return trips to British bases in Halifax and Bermuda. The British stayed out of America's internal dispute, but needed to keep apprised of what was going on. This log was kept by E.S. Dugdale, a naval cadet. £2,750. (US $4,032).

Rare Book Monthly

  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Th. McKenney & J. Hall, History of the Indian tribes of North America, 1836-1844. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Biblia latina vulgata, manuscript on thin parchment, around 1250. Est: €70,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. Beckmann, Fanferlieschen Schönefüßchen, 1924. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: A. Ortelius, Theatrum orbis terrarum, 1574. Est: €50,000
    Ketterer, May 26: M. S. Merian, Eurcarum ortus, alimentum et paradoxa metamorphosis, 1717-18. Est: €6,000
    Ketterer, May 26: PAN, 9 volumes, 1895-1900. Est: €12,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Breviarium Romanum, Latin manuscript, 1474. Est: €15,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Quran manuscript from the Saadian period, Maghreb, 16th century. Est: €10,000
    Ketterer, May 26: E. Hemingway, The old man and the sea, 1952. First edition in first issue jacket. Presentation copy. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction May 26th
    Ketterer, May 26: Flavius Vegetius Renatus, De re militari libri quatuor, 1553. Est: €3,000
    Ketterer, May 26: K. Marx, Das Kapital, 1867. Est: €30,000
    Ketterer, May 26: Brassaï, Transmutations, 1967. Est: €6,000
  • Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Peter Max, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore (Versions 1,2, 5, 6), 2001. Estimate $10,000-15,000
    DOYLE: The iconic screen-used wall-mounted "M" from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Estimate $5,000-8,000
    DOYLE: The Mary Tyler Moore Show by Al Hirschfeld. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Annie Leibovitz presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke for Vanity Fair. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Al Hirschfeld presents Mary Tyler Moore and Dick Van Dyke in the CBS Wednesday Night Lineup. Estimate $4,000-6,000
    DOYLE: Richard McKenzie, Portrait of Mary Tyler Moore. Estimate $1,000-2,000
    Doyle
    The Collection of Mary Tyler Moore
    June 4, 2025
    DOYLE: Three Original Bill Hargate Costume Designs for The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Estimate $600-800
    DOYLE: The famous Bonnie and Clyde "Wanted" broadside. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE: Ticket to the Final Episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show Estimate $400-600
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR

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