At the recent ABAA Fair in San Francisco desire and logic met head on when I saw a very nice copy of Burr’s New York Atlas. It is apparently the 3rd or 4th edition that has the Ithaca, New York indicia with an 1840 imprint on the title and some maps inside dated 1841. The spine has been replaced and the atlas is described by the seller as “otherwise an exceptional copy.” It is very clean and bright and a natural inclusion in my collection of the Hudson Valley in the 19thcentury. I have been looking for one of the early issues for some time and Bernard Shapero, the London dealer called me about this copy when he saw it at the Miami Map Fair a year ago. At that time another dealer was looking on my behalf and I didn’t seriously consider it. The first edition is very desirable as Rosenbach testified in his famous catalogue – The Sea in 1938:
ORIGINAL EDITION OF ONE OF THE FINEST AND MOST SUMPTUOUS STATE ATLASES EVER ISSUED. There are fifty-two colored maps, the map of New York City being in two parts, each with a page of text giving the statistics of the county portrayed. On the half-title appears the signature of John S. Van Rensselaer. A FINE COPY OF THE BEST ATLAS OF NEW YORK STATE. $150
On AE, using our current valuation software, the value of the Rosenbach copy today is estimated at $7,720. The copy offered at the book fair, a third edition, is available at $18,500. The Rosenbach copy is a first edition with an important provenance. The six copies that have sold at auction since 1996 have an estimated current value of $12,137. One of those records, the Babinski copy in 2005, brought $29,900 at Swann. That record aside, the other five sales I examined suggest a current valuation of $9,301 and a probable reappearance at auction within three years. Third editions are rarely worth more than firsts.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Ellis Smith Prints unsigned. 20” by 16”.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: United typothetae of America presidents. Pictures of 37 UTA presidents 46th annual convention United typothetae of America Cincinnati 1932.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec signed Paper Impressionism Art Prints. MayMilton 9 1/2” by 13” Reine de Joie 9 1/2” by 13”.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Aberle’ Ballet editions. 108th triumph, American season spring and summer 1944.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Puss ‘n Boots. 1994 Charles Perrult All four are signed by Andreas Deja
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Specimen book of type faces. Job composition department, Philadelphia gazette publishing company .
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: An exhibit of printed books, Bridwell library.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur Court By Mark Twain 1889.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 1963 Philadelphia Eagles official program.
High Bids Win Rare Books, Catalogs, Magazines and Machine Manuals December 24 to January 9
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: 8 - Esquire the magazine for men 1954.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: The American printer, July 1910.
High Bids Win, Dec. 24 – Jan. 9: Leaves of grass 1855 by Walt Whitman.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare. The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
Sotheby’s: William Golding. Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll. Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
Sotheby’s: John Milton. Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD
