Spivey's to Be Liquidated Beginning on January 5th
- by Bruce E. McKinney
A book buyer's Mecca for thirty years
On January 5th and 6th, 2012 Dirk Soulis Auctions is conducting the sale of the stock of Spivey’s Maps, Fine Art, Prints and Rare Books of Kansas City. This first of what is expected to be three events runs for two days. In this dispersal more than 1,800 lots are offered covering what is estimated to be 45,000 items. Over the course of three sales 85,000 items will be sold. In the initial sales typical lots include twenty-five items.
The firm was organized in 1978 by David Spivey and is the product of his interest in antiques and books. An extensive reader, he encouraged his staff to be knowledgeable in the British tradition and this lead to widespread recognition for knowledge and fastidious standards. Bidders can expect the material, while sold as is, to be generally very good.
The material covers many, probably most of the categories, into which open American bookshops divide stock:
General Fiction,
Biography
Science and technology
General History
Military history
Local history
Reference material on obscure, specialty topics
Ephemera – sold by the pound -
Prints wood block
Because the stock is extensive it’s probably best to run searches. In the search results the descriptions are spare but images are provided so that the diligent can read the spines.
Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LETTRE ENCYCLIQUE, manuscrit XIXe siècle
Gros & Delettrez, June 12: NOUVEAU TESTAMENT, Amsterdam 1668, reliure arménienne
Rose City Book & Paper Fair June 14-15, 2025 1000 NE Multnomah, Portland ROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM
Swann, June 12: Lot 3: Thomas McKenney and James Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 1848-1854. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 8: Invoice to the Town of Boston for advertising pre-revolutionary content in the Boston Post Boy, manuscript document, Boston, July 1768. Estimate $5,000 to $7,500.
Swann, June 12: Lot 13: Clairac and Nicola, L'Ingenieur de Campagne; or, Field
Swann, June 12: Lot 81: Journals of Major Robert Rogers . . . of the Several Excursions he Made . . . upon the Continent of North America, London, 1765. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 99: Photograph albums and papers from the family of W.G. Fargo, photo albums containing 442 photographs, 1865-88. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 112: Isaac Leeser, Discourses on the Jewish Religion, 10 volumes, Philadelphia: Sherman & Co., 1866-1868. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 176: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Boston, 1845. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 190: Thomas Hariot, Admiranda narratio fida tamen, de commodis et incolarum ritibus Virginiae, 1590. Estimate $25,000 to $35,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 200: Correspondence of a regimental cavalry commander in Wyoming and Utah, July 1865 to February 1866. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 226: Maturino Gilberti, Vocabulario en lengua de Mechuacan / Aqui comienca el vocabulario en la lengua Castellana y Mechuacana, 1559. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.
Sotheby's Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
Sotheby's Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
