A set of the Federalist in original boards: estimated $200,000 to $300,000
More than a year ago Sotheby’s secured the opportunity to auction the James S. Copley Library and this month the third installment comes up in their New York rooms at 1334 York Avenue in Manhattan. Mr. Copley, a wealthy newspaper tycoon, acquired most of his material more than thirty years ago when material was more available and prices had yet to rise to the levels taken for granted today.
This sale contains 251 lots, the first lot numbered 812. As sales go this is an important one.
A set of the Federalist in original boards in two volumes is both highly desirable and very uncommon. Institutions own most copies and are reluctant to sell. The estimate is $200,000 to $300,000. A similar copy was sold at Heritage in 2010 for $143,400 against an estimate of $30,000. A copy of volume one in a contemporary binding in the same sale brought $71,700 against an estimate of $25,000. In the AED, in the advanced search using Federalist in Keywords and 1788 to 1788 in the date range there are 88 records. Lot 885.
Lot 937 will be of interest to bibliophiles who go to movies. The item is a wanted poster offering $100,000 reward for the MURDERER of Abraham Lincoln. The movie connection is the recently released “Conspirators”, an account of the trial of Mary Surratt. Authorities would quickly label her one of the conspirators and summarily hang her. This poster belongs on the wall of a defense attorney and many collect in the field. Estimated $30,000 to $40,000.
Lot 1001 is a group of first person accounts of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and its aftermath written by three persons. The earthquake is a collecting focus for many. The estimate is $2,500 to $3,500.
For devotees of James A. Garfield, lot 872 is an archive of materials relating to his assassination and the subsequent trial of Charles Guiteau for the crime. The materials include letters written by the defendant and the prosecutor, James K. Porter. An autograph album of notables attending the trial is also included. Estimate $50,000 to $80,000.
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…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
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.
![<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.")
