Rare Book Monthly

Articles - December - 2016 Issue

Books Missing Over Half a Century Found in Deceased Man's Cabinet

A Dreadful Plague in France (London Library/ABA photo).

Some very old books, overdue for a very long time, were recently discovered in the back of a locked cabinet in Wimbledon. They had been missing from the London Library since the 1950s. A spokesman for the library said they never give up on retrieving lost items, though they had no expectations that these would ever be found. The books themselves were very old, dating back to the late 17th and early 18th century.

 

The books were held by an unnamed person who recently died. The family called in Patrick Marrin of Marrin's Bookshop who quickly identified their source. These were not merely overdue books forgotten by the borrower almost 60 years ago. Attempts had been made to remove the library's identification. However, one book was an assembly of pamphlets, including one where the London Library stamp was still in place. Marrin immediately realized something was wrong because, as he explained, the London Library never sells its material.

 

The taker's intentions are unclear, and perhaps will never be known. Removing identification stamps is typical for those who plan to sell stolen books, but these were never sold in all of the years since they were removed. Perhaps he wanted to have them but hoped to disguise the books' origin in case someone else saw them. Maybe he planned to sell them but got cold feet. Their being kept in a locked cabinet reinforces the obvious – that he knew his possession was illegal. Perhaps having these books became something of an albatross as years went by, something he was uncomfortable possessing, but lacking an idea of how to get rid of them.

 

The library made clear that it would not try to punish the family in any way. They don't even want the fines for overdue books. They are just happy to have them back.

 

Seven books, or pamphlets, were discovered and returned to the London Library. A librarian said some of the books are of "considerable significance." We looked at several of the titles to try to determine their rarity and value. For sources, we looked through our own Rare Book Transaction History of over 6.8 million (mostly auction) records, AbeBooks, and generally online. We also looked at the OCLC listings for thousands of libraries, but it is often hard to tell when they have an early edition, a recent reprint, or even an electronic version. Suffice to say that while there are a few old copies around, each of these is scarce even within libraries.

 

They are all valuable, though not overwhelmingly so. Their rarity and age imply value, but being pamphlets, and not of overwhelming significance, their value is not enormous. Mid to upper hundreds of dollars seems to be where they mostly fall. They do provide interesting looks at their times, and their rarity is sufficient that we can all be gratified that these long missing books are back at their rightful home. There aren't so many copies left that we can afford to lose any.

 

Here is what we found for these various titles.

 

A Discourse on Witchcraft, occasioned by a Bill now depending in Parliament to repeal the Statute... published in 1736. The most recent auction record we can locate for this anonymously written pamphlet, arguing for repeal of the English witchcraft law on the grounds that belief in the existence of witches results from a misreading of the Bible, comes from 1920. Anderson Galleries offered a copy, noting then the title was "scarce." We do not have a price for this sale. They say the author was Justin Winsor. No copies offered on AbeBooks but we found a Maine Bookseller offering a copy for $650.

 

The Most Sacred and Divine Science of Astrology, by JBBD (clergyman John Butler), published in 1680. This argument defending astrology from attacks by others did come up for sale at Swann's in 2006, where it sold for $660. Previously, it was at Anderson Galleries in 1922. A single copy on AbeBooks is listed for £327 (US $400).

 

The Age of the World Collected in All Its Periods by JS (John Sympson) published in 1707. No auction records found in the past century, though listed in the 1864 sale of the collection of John Allan. Not on AbeBooks. A copy was offered by Edinburgh bookseller G. P. Johnston in 1881 for 5 shillings. Described as "rare" even then.

 

A Collection of Letters by His Excellency General George Monk Relating to the Restoration of the Monarchy, published in 1714. One auction record since 1900, in 2015 at Christie's. Estimated $4,000-$8,000 but was unsold. However, this copy was bound with an item pertaining to a feud between Alexander Pope and Colley Ciber which was considered the more desirable item. Not on AbeBooks.

 

The First Part of the Treatise of the Late Dreadful Plague in France, Compared with that Terrible Plague in London in the Year 1665... by H. Parker, published in 1722 (or 1721). This one is a charming plague comparative. I have found no auction records for this pamphlet, not on AbeBooks, no other copies currently for sale (other than many recent reprints).

 

The True-Born English-man. A Satyr (satire), by Daniel Dafoe, a 1708 edition of a booklet first published in 1701. This one is uncommon despite it having been printed in many editions, as many as 10 the year it was first published (mostly pirated). The most recent sale took place at Dreweatts Bloomsbury on October 16, 2016. This was for a 1707 edition. It sold for £186 (US $226). AbeBooks lists one copy for sale, a 1701 edition from James Cummins for $300. The only match I could find for a 1708 edition went for a mere $1.87, but that was back at the Brinley sale in 1893. Incidentally, this is a most timely piece despite being over two centuries old. Dafoe argues for respecting immigrants in a time of xenophobia, noting that England was composed of earlier immigrants – a timely message on both sides of the Atlantic. At the time, the English King, William III, was a Dutch immigrant.

 

The Famous History of the Seven Champions of Christendom, by Richard Johnson, published in 1696. This one appears a bit more common than the others. Most recently, it sold at Keys Fine Art Auctioneers in 2006 for £176 (US $275). That appears to be a most reasonable price as it sold for $132 at Sotheby's back in 1972. Inflation has been substantially greater than that. Two copies are currently offered on AbeBooks, priced at $650 and $1,038.  

Rare Book Monthly

  • 19th Century Shop
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    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
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
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    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
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    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
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    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
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    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.
  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
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    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
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    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • 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
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000

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