American Historical Novels:<br>Scribner’s Catalogue 115 Revisited
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Scribner's felt good about this catalogue and rightfully so.
The Hawthorne
finds four matches ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 for copies that are not
identical.? In looking at these choices
it is useful to select the sort by "newest" to see who has been out there the
longest. ?It turns out to be the highest
priced copy suggesting that price may be holding that copy back.? The Legend of Black Rangers doesn't show up
at all.
The Fifth highest is D. P. Thompson’s The Green Mountain
Boys published in 1839 in two volumes.?
Scribner says of this book, “Of the greatest rarity in any condition”
and prices them at $165.? They must have
known that a tough copy would be available in New England
when I looked recently.? The condition of this set would not disappoint Scribner's opinion.? It’s now sitting next to me in a custom box that serves the purpose of the mask for the man in the iron mask.? At $335 net I have a fragile gem.
Sixth, Seventh and eighth are books
at $150:? William A Carruthers'
The Knights of the Horse-shoe, 1845; William Gilmore Simms" The Yemassee, 1835; and James Fenimore
Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans, 1826.
Mr. Carruthers"book is not
available on ABE in the first edition though there are three copies found in a title search of "The Knights of the Golden Horse-shoe" for a 1970's
reprint.? Mr. Simms" The Yamassee was available in a single copy of the first
printing and I bought it for $255 delivered.?
The seller indicated he had had the book for a while and had been asking
$350.? The Philadelphia
first edition of Cooper's The Last of the
Mohicans is not available but a second edition is and it is $3,500.? Wow.? I live in fear that a first will show up.?
It’s also quite possible this second edition is over-priced.
Ninth, tenth and eleventh belong to first editions priced at
$125:Robert Montgomery Bird’s Nick of the Woods, 1837; Charles Brockden Brown's Arthur
Mervyn, 1799; and Edward Everett Hale’s The Man without a Country, 1865.
There are three copies of Nick of the Woods ranging from $300 for a single volume of the two volume set to $1,650 for a copy with a “neat” repair.There are also three copies of Arthur Mervyn,
an account of Philadelphia during the yellow fever plague of 1793 priced $500 to $1,800 and six copies of The Man without a Country priced between
$950 and $1,500.
There are 217 other books in this catalogue, many of which are inexpensive. In fact ninety –eight of them are $10 or less in the original catalogue.
Within a day of starting work on this project I began to systematically look on line for most of the items. When an available copy appeared to be similar to the Scribner copy I then looked at the price difference. When this difference was small enough I tended to inquire further about the copy and the availability of a better price. In the course of a solid week I purchased about 40 of the 228 titles for about $3,000. A few of these books were among the great rarities in the Scribner catalogue and others were absolutely common but looked interesting to read. Most are of course in between. Click HERE To Access the American Historical Novels Collection No.1
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/00d5fd41-2542-4a80-b119-4886d4b9925f.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 11:</b> Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] <i>Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society,</i> Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.")
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
