Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2009 Issue

American Paintings and Manuscript Documents from Questroyal Fine Art

Alaskan artist Sydney Mortimer Laurence's Northern Lights.

Alaskan artist Sydney Mortimer Laurence's Northern Lights.


3. A one-page manuscript section from Mark Twain's unfinished sequel to Huckleberry Finn.

4. A letter from Davy Crockett (actually, it is signed "David Crockett") to Daniel Webster, then a senator from Massachusetts, seeking aid for the family of a late colonel in the army. Crockett's spelling is poor, but his heart is good.

5. A signed copy of Dwight Eisenhower's 1944 D-Day message to his troops (he has signed the printed page taken from his 1948 book).

6. An 1820 letter from Andrew Jackson in which he describes Secretary of the Treasury William Crawford as "a base man," noting that he has told President Monroe the same.

7. An 1862 set of instructions from Stonewall Jackson to Major General D.H. Hill on the appropriate route for his troops to take.

8. A 1795 letter from Thomas Jefferson to David Rittenhouse, requesting the latter to relay some secret correspondence to President Washington, Congressman James Madison, and Secretary of State Edmund Randolph. Jefferson also speaks of his life as a farmer at Monticello. At the time, Jefferson was between jobs, having resigned as secretary of state, but not yet elected to the vice-presidency.

9. President Thomas Jefferson writes to William Barton in 1801 thanking the latter for offering to dedicate his book on freedom of maritime commerce to the President.

10. An 1858 letter signed by Abraham Lincoln concerning a congressional election. He promotes the nomination of a candidate he feels can best draw the support of not only Republican voters but those who had voted for Know-Nothing candidate Millard Fillmore in the 1856 presidential election (while pointing out that his candidate was never a Know-Nothing himself).

Questroyal Fine Art may be reached at 212-744-3586 or gallery@questroyalfineart.com. Their website is www.questroyalfineart.

You will find many of Querstroyal Art's items listed in "Books For Sale" on this site. Click here.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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
  • Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 746. Speed's Dual Atlas of Britain & the World with 96 Maps (1676). Est. $70,000 - $85,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 9. Visscher's Superb Double-Hemisphere World Map with Representations of the Elements (1658). Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 58. One of the Most Important 16th Century Maps of the New World (1554). Est. $5,000 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 745. A Complete Example of Ortelius' Atlas of Ancient Geography (1624). Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 73. First English Map to Show California as an Island (1625). Est. $16,000 - $19,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 156. Bachmann's Dramatic View of the Mid-Atlantic Region (1861). Est. $1,800 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 741. Early Announcement of Continental Congress' Declaration of Independence (1776). Est. $9,000 - $11,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 695. The First Printed Map Devoted to the Pacific (1589). Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 733. Superb Image of the Presentation of Jesus in Hand Color (1502). Est. $700 - $850
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 52. Produced by the Psychological Warfare Branch to Encourage Surrender (1945). Est. $200 - $230
  • Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: ALDROVANDI, Ulisse (1522-1605) - [Opera omnia]. Bologna: Bellagamba, Benacci, Bonomi, Tebaldini, Ferroni, 1599-1668. €22.000-€28.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [CANALETTO] - VISENTINI, Antonio (1688-1782) da Giovanni Antonio CANAL (1697-1768, detto 'Il Canaletto') - Urbis Venetiarum prospectus celebriores. Venezia: Giovanni Battista Pasquale, 1742-51. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: LA FONTAINE, Jean de (1621-1695) - Fables Choisies. Parigi: Claude Barbin, 1668. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: MERCATOR, Rumold (1545-1599) - [I continenti] - Europa; Africa; America Sive India Nova; Asia. Amsterdam: S.d. [ca. 1633]. €2.000-€3.000

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