Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2010 Issue

Travel, Science and History from Helen R. Kahn

All types of explorations are found in Helen Kahn's latest catalogue.


By Michael Stillman

Helen R. Kahn and Associates has released their 78th catalogue, Voyages & Travels, History & Natural History, Science & Technology. This is a catalogue filled with books about explorations, be they geographical, scientific or other, mostly antiquarian, though some being of a more recent vintage. The areas visited are as large as the world, and the languages employed varied, including English, French, Latin, German, and others of European origin. Now, we will look at a few of the books offered.

We start with what is described as an "exceptionally fine" copy of the account of one of the most exciting, and ultimately mysterious of voyages. Shortly after the time of Cook, the French navigator Jean-Francois de la Perouse set out on one the longest of travels. He left France in 1785 with two ships, on a mission to survey the various lands of the Pacific and to find a Northwest Passage from the west. He would travel to the Northwest coast of America, unsuccessfully seek the Northwest Passage from Alaska, come back to Hawaii, then to China, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, and western Russia. From there, he sent his journals back home over land. Then it was on to the Samoan Islands and Australia, where he put in to Botany Bay on January 25, 1788. He sent his most recent notes back home again and headed east. He was never heard from again. Despite missions sent to locate him, the fate of La Perouse and his men remained a mystery for 40 years. Finally, another explorer found remains of his ships that had been wrecked in the reefs off of Vanikoro. Fortunately, we have an account of all but his last days as La Perouse sent his journals back home ahead of him. Item 45 is a first edition of the Voyage de La Perouse Autour du Monde... a four-volume large paper first edition with the atlas, published in 1797. Priced at $35,000.

Pierre-Francois Charlevoix was another French explorer, though his primary occupation was that of a Jesuit missionary. Charlevoix came to New France (now known as the United States and Canada) in 1705 and again in 1720. He would travel around the Great Lakes region and the Mississippi River, all the time observing and taking down accounts of the Indian tribes he met and settlements he visited. He also attempted to learn from them whether there was a route to the Pacific, though that would have to wait until the end of the century and Mackenzie's journey across Canada. Item 15 is a 1744 first edition of the three-volume Histoire et Description Generale de la Nouvelle France... by Charlevoix. $17,500.

Not all adventures are terribly pleasant, as Robert Adams can attest. Adams was a sailor from Hudson, New York, who sailed out of Gibralter on the not-so good ship Charles in 1810. It was washed ashore by dangerous currents along the coast of North Africa. The captain was killed while the crew was made slaves. Adams was taken eastward and passed along to various masters. At one point, he became only the second or third westerner to visit the mysterious city of Timbuctoo. Eventually, he was ransomed by a British consul in Morocco, and returned to London where he wrote this book: The Narrative of Robert Adams, A Sailor, who was wrecked on the western coast of Africa, in the year 1810, was detained three years in slavery by Arabs of the Great Desert... published in 1816. Item 1. $1,700.

Item 42 is Alaska and the Polar Regions. Lecture of Gen. Thomas L. Kane before the American Geographical Society...May 7, 1868. Kane was a remarkable man, and this interest in the newly purchased territory of Alaska is just a sidelight to his career. It was likely spurred on by the career of his brother, Elisha Kane, who served on two of the unsuccessful expeditions attempting to find the lost Arctic explorer John Franklin. Kane was an active abolitionist who rose to the rank of General during the Civil War. He suffered several battlefield wounds and illnesses that finally forced him from active duty after Gettysburg. However, where Kane is best remembered is Utah, as he was probably the greatest outsider friend ever of the Mormons. He frequently defended them against a hostile government, assisted in their migration west, helped form the Mormon battalion during the Mexican War, worked to defuse tensions during the Utah War between the government and Mormon settlers, and served as a personal attorney and good friend of Brigham Young. $400.

Helen R. Kahn and Associates may be reached at 514-844-5344 or hrk@hrkahnbooks.com. The website is www.hrkahnbooks.com.

You will find many of Helen R. Kahn's books listed in "Books For Sale" on this site. Click here.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST HARRY POTTER BOOK. ROWLING, J.K. $50,000 - $80,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: NUREMBERG CHRONICLE. Liber chronicarum, 23 December 1493. $40,000 - $60,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: KEPLER, JOHANNES. Harmonices mundi libri V. Lind, 1619. $30,000 - $50,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: A MAURICE SENDAK COLOR PORTRAIT OF MOISHE THE WILD THING. $15,000 - $20,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: THE THIRD OR FOURTH BOOK PRINTED IN SOUTH AMERICA. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: RARE PUBLISHER'S PRESENTATION BINDING FOR CHILD OF GOD FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE DELISLE. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: CORMAC MCCARTHY'S WRITING DESK FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE DELISLE. $10,000 - $15,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE STOCK TRADING CLASSIC. LIVERMORE, JESSE L. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: DEDICATION COPY OF REMINGTON'S FIRST BOOK FOR JACK FOLLANSBEE. REMINGTON, FREDERIC. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: DIEGO RIVERA AND FRIDA KAHLO SKETCHES IN AUTOGRAPH BOOKS. $5,000 - $7,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: ARTIST BINDING BY PIERRE-LUCIEN MARTIN FROM THE COLLECTION OF J.R. ABBEY AND PIERRE BERES. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 31 – Apr. 10: A BABE RUTH M101-4 1916 ROOKIE CARD #151 PSA EX 5, WITH GIMBELS INK STAMP ON THE VERSO. $250,000 - $350,000
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas

Review Search

Archived Reviews

Ask Questions