One Hundred Plus One<br>Rare Books from Charles Wood
- by Michael Stillman
Dubois de Chemant’s teeth form an almost Picasso style face.
By Michael Stillman
From Charles Wood Bookseller comes his latest catalogue, and we can already see that, years from now, people will be collecting variants of this item. On the cover it is called “One Hundred Rare Books,” but on the title page, it is “101 Rare Books.” This is an instant collectible. Those who order the catalogue based on the cover will be pleased to discover they have received a bonus, for there are 101 listings in all.
Among the topics covered in the catalogue are art, architecture, trade catalogues, printing and coloring, as well as numerous other subjects. The greatest concentration of works is from the 19th century.
Among the unusual trade catalogues is one from the Paris firm A. Biloret & C. Mora. It is filled with various electronic and manual gadgets, some with hand-colored illustrations. Among the items sold are batteries, magnets, electric clocks, electric powered model water pumps and locomotives, ear trumpets and more. All of this in 1880. Item 5. Priced at $4,000. Item 5 is a catalogue from the Atchison Furniture Company of Atchison, Kansas. It includes styles of furniture that were popular in 1880. $1,100. Item 76 is a catalogue of druggists labels. For those druggists who prepared their own potions, rather than relying on branded medicines, they could order up a bunch of professional looking labels that could compete in stature with Lydia Pinkham. $1,400. If you had a horse, and who didn’t in 1895, you would have appreciated Moseman’s illustrated guide for purchasers of horse furnishing goods, novelties and stable appointments, imported and domestic. It had saddles, muzzles, halters, boots, bits, whips, even polo goods. Everything necessary for the well-furnished horse. Item 59. $1,350.
Item 26 is A dissertation on artificial teeth in general, exposing the defects and injurious consequences of all teeth made of animal substances… This catalogue was published by Nicolas Dubois de Chemant, a French dentist who had moved to London to promote his process for producing porcelain artificial teeth. Charles Wood describes the appliances as “very sophisticated, if terrifying.” This was 1797, so it’s hard to imagine the dentistry being anything but terrifying. However, while Dubois de Chemant’s false teeth are not remembered, he ought to get credit for his artistry. If you look at the image from his catalogue to the left, you will see he was the inventor of the artistic style adopted over a century later by Pablo Picasso. $2,500.
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.
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>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.")
