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<b>Chiswick Auctions:</b> Rowling (J.K). <i>Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,</i> FIRST EDITION, first issue, 1997. £15,000 to £20,000<b>Chiswick Auctions, seeking consignments:</b> Thornton (Samuel). <i>A Large Drought of the North Part of China Shewing…the Harbour of Chusan,</i> copper engraved map, 1711. £600 to £800<b>Chiswick Auctions, seeking consignments:</b> Stuart (Helen). Portrait of a Maori, over-painted gelatin silver print, signed and dated, 1885. £4,000 to £6,000<b>Chiswick Auctions, seeking consignments:</b> Picasso (Pablo). Minotaure vaincu, plate 89 from La Suite Vollard , signed, Paris, 1939. £4,000 to £5,000<b>Chiswick Auctions, seeking consignments:</b> Pissarro (Camille). Vachère au Bord de l'Eau, NUMBER 14 OF 100 PROOFS, etching, 1890. £800 to £1,200<b>Chiswick Auctions, seeking consignments:</b> Einstein (Albert). Copy of typewritten script of the episode "The Atom" of the TV programme "Your World Tomorrow", signed by Einstein. £2,000 to £3,000 -
<b>Christie’s Paris:</b> Blaise Cendrars and Fernand Léger, <i>La Fin du monde filmée par l’ange N.-D.,</i> Paris, Editions de la Sirène, 1919<b>Christie’s Paris:</b> André Breton, <i>Second manifeste du Surréalisme,</i> Paris, Editions Kra, 1930<b>Christie’s Paris:</b> Paul Eluard and Pablo Picasso, <i>La Barre d’appui,</i> Paris, Editions « Cahiers d’Art », 1936<b>Christie’s Paris:</b> Blaise Cendrars and Fernand Léger, <i>La Fin du monde filmée par l’ange N.-D.,</i> Paris, Editions de la Sirène, 1919<b>Christie’s Paris:</b> Hans Bellmer, <i>Die Puppe,</i> Paris, G.L.M., 1936<b>Christie’s Paris:</b> Salvador Dali, <i>La femme visible,</i> Paris, Editions Surréalistes, 1930 -
<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Ian Fleming, <i>Goldfinger,</i> first edition, inscribed to Sir Henry Cotton, MBE, London, 1959. Sold for $25,000.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Joseph Brant, Mohawk Chief, ALS, writing after pledging support to King George III against American rebels, 1776. Sold for a record $35,000.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Sonia Delaunay, <i>Ses Peintures</i> . . ., 20 pochoir plates, Paris, 1925. Sold for a record $13,750.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Diana, Princess of Wales, 6 autograph letters signed to British <i>Vogue</i> editor, 1989-92. Sold for $10,400.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Alexander Hamilton, ALS, as Secretary of the Treasury covering costs of the new U.S. Mint, 1793. Sold for $12,500.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Benjamin Graham & David L. Dodd, <i>Security Analysis,</i> first edition, inscribed by Graham to a Wall Street trader, NY, 1934. Sold for $20,000.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> George Barbier & François-Louis Schmied, <i>Personnages de Comédie,</i> Paris, 1922. Sold for $9,375.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Alphonse Mucha, <i>Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli,</i> Paris, 1897. Sold for a record $13,000.<b>Swann Auction Galleries:</b> Ralph Waldo Emerson, <i>The Dial,</i> first edition of the reconstituted issue, Emerson’s copy with inscriptions, Cincinnati, 1860. Sold for a record $3,250. -
<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini. June 27</b><b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> KENNEDY ONASSIS, JACQUELINE Typed letter signed to Oleg Cassini. $400 to $600<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> [CASSINI-KENNEDY FASHIONS] Important archives related to the development of fashions for Mrs. Kennedy… $4,000 to $6,000<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> [CASSINI-KENNEDY FASHIONS] Detailed ledger of the Kennedy White House years… $500 to $800<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> KELLY, GRACE. Four autograph letters to Oleg Cassini. $5,000 to $8,000<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini. June 27</b><b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> CASSINI, OLEG. Group of Kennedy-era original fashion sketches. $1,000 to $1,500<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> KENNEDY ONASSIS, JACQUELINE. Autograph letter signed to Oleg Cassini. $800 to $1,200<b>Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini:</b> CASSINI, OLEG. Fashion sketch titled “Mrs. Kennedy-Palais de Versailles-State Dinner.” $800 to $1,200Doyle, The Estate of Oleg Cassini: [CASSINI, OLEG - KENNEDY, JACQUELINE.] Group of approximately 130 original fashion designs… $800 to $1,200.
Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2009 Issue
Old and Rare Books About Books from Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books
The latest from Frits Knuf.
By Michael Stillman
Frits Knuf Antiquarian Books has issued a catalogue of Old and Rare Books 2009. These are primarily books in the "books about books" and bibliography field. A large number of the texts are in the French language, Knuf being located in France, but there are also many in English and other languages. The description of "old" is certainly accurate, as there are few items here that don't date back at least a couple of centuries, and "rare" is undoubtedly correct as well as there is nothing commonplace in this catalogue. Here are a few samples of the books Frits Knuf has available in this first catalogue of 2009.
Item 14 is a catalogue for the early English bookseller Richard Chiswell. It was published in 1683, a date far closer to Gutenberg than it is to today. Chiswell sold both books he printed and those issued by others. He lists his books by size, starting with 36 folios and working progressively down through smaller sizes. Chiswell was not a specialist, as all sorts of topics are offered, including several of Speed's maps. Richard Chiswell was active from 1660 to 1711, and he was one of if not Britain's most important bookseller at the turn of the 18th century. Priced at €850 (euros, or approximately $1,092 in U.S. currency).
Item 18 is another early English catalogue, but this one comes from a far less reputable bookseller. It is headed New Books Printed for E. Curll. Edmund Curll was the personification of sleaze. He didn't just settle for things like scandal, pornography, and junk, but engaged in slander, pirated works, fabricated letters, and other outright lies. What he did do well, not surprisingly, was sell books, but his lies did at one point land him in jail. Still, he never learned his lesson, or, at least, he better learned the lesson that lies and scandal make money, rather than it lands you in the pokey. This Curll catalogue, published in 1740, includes both serious books and those of the variety for which he was better known. €900 (US $1,156).
Item 53 is a 17th century work on French printing and bibliography: Histoire de l'Imprimerie et de La Librairie... It was written by Jean de la Caille, and published in 1689 (this is a first and only edition). The bulk of the book is a bibliographic dictionary of Parisian printers and booksellers up to 1689. The book also discusses the invention and early history of printing and provides a list of first books printed in various locations. €2,000 (US $2,569).
There have been many ways of keeping out of the military over the years, but here is an unexpected one. Item 58 is a legal notice headed, Loi Qui Exempte de l'Enrolement Pour les Frontieres... Published in 1792, during the French Revolution, it prohibits printers from enlisting in the army, even voluntarily, unless they can provide a certificate showing there are still enough people working in the printing plant to carry on operations. We've heard of working in an arms plant as an exemption, but working for a printing press? Obviously printing carried a bit more respect in those days. €200 (US $257).
