APRIL 19, 1775: BATTLES OF LEXINGTON AND CONCORD, AND BOSTON IS UNDER SIEGE: "Last night the King's Troops marcht out from the Bottom of the common, crost over to Phip's farm marcht on till they came to Lexington where they fired and kill'd 8 of our people, and proceeded to Concord where they were sent to destroy magazines of Provisions and after doing some damage ... they halted and were soon attackt by our people, upon which they retreated ... upon their retreat they were found by a Brigade commanded by Lord Piercy who continued the retreat and were beat by our people from there down to Charlestown which fight was continued till Sunset. Our people behaved with the utmost bravery...."
JUNE 17, 1775: BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL: "The Provincials last night began an Entrenchment upon Charleston (Bunker) Hill before sunrise. Men of War & the Battery from Cops hill began a cannonade about two o'clock A.M. Genl Howe with [?] cannons and 3 Thou men landed on Charles point and marched up to the Redoubt after a great slaughter killed and wounded 112 officers...1325 of the Regulars and of the Provincials 50 killed 180 wounded ... The Garrison gave way. A constant fire from the Men of Wat &c all ye nights following."
JULY 20, 1775: NEAR-EXECUTION OF A SUPPOSED SPY BY THE BRITISH: "Mr. Carpenter was taken by the night patrole upon examination he had swam over to Dorchester and back again was tried here that day and sentence of death pronounced him and to be executed the next day. His coffin brought into the gaol yard, his hatter brought, and dressed as criminals are before execution. Sentence was appealed and few days after he was pardoned...."
AUGUST 1, 1775: THE FOOD SHORTAGE: "Very trying Scenes. This day was invited by two Gentlemen to dine upon Ratts."
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1775: THE FUEL SHORTAGE AND THE BRITISH DIGGING IN TO PREPARE FOR WINTER: "The spacious old So. Meeting House taken possession of by the Light Horse 17 Regmt ... The beautiful carved Pew with ye Silk furniture of Deacon Hubbards, was taken down and carried to [?] house by an Officer & made into a Hogg sty: the above was Effected by ye Solicitation of General Burgoyne" (October 25). "Many people turned out of their houses for the troops to enter. The keys of our meeting house cellar demanded of me by Major Sheriff, by order of General Howe. Houses, fences, trees are pulled down and carried off for fuel. My wharf and barn pulled down by order of General Revington..." (November 16).
FEBRUARY-MARCH 1776: GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HENRY KNOX'S FORTIFICATIONS ARE NEARLY COMPLETE: "From the accounts of Dr. Gilson and some other deserters from the continental army great preparations were making to attack the town, causing very alarming apprehensions and distress of the inhabitants..." (February 25). "The last night and this day the troops are very heavily employed in removing their stores and cannon, ammunition. Some of the dragoons on board...ship their goods. The selectmen write to the command officer in the earnest desire of the inhabitants and Roxbury by permission of General Howe... " (March 7).
MARCH 15-16, 1776: THE BRITISH RETREAT TO THE SEA: "The General sent to the selectmen and desired their immediate attendance which we did accordingly. It was to acquaint us that as he was about retreating from the town and it was his advice for all the inhabitants to keep in their houses and that his orders were to injure no person. He could not be answerable for any irregularities of his troops. The General told us that the Man of War would continue in the harbour loaded with Carcases & combustibles that in Case the King's Troops met with any Obstructions in their retreat; he should set fire to the Town ... that he thought it his duty to destroy much of the property in the town to prevent it being useful to the Rebel Army...."
References: Newell's journal was published by the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1852 and frequently cited thereafter. See, for example: Berger, Diary of America, 1957; Humphrey, Voices of Revolutionary America, 2011; Carr, After the Siege, 2005; Winsor, Memorial History of Boston, 1882; and more.
SOLD WITH: An oil painting attributed to Henry Sargent [American, 1770-1845], 16 by 12 inches, identified by his descendants as a portrait of Timothy Newell, with an old manuscript label on the verso.
Estimate:
US$ 50,000 - 80,000
This lot is compelling as is the entire sale.
Exhibition dates:
15 Jun 2012 10:00 am - 17:00
16 Jun 2012 10:00 am - 17:00
17 Jun 2012 10:00 am - 17:00
18 Jun 2012 10:00 am - 19:00
Contact:
Tim Tezer
1 917 206-1647
1 212 644-9007 fax
tim.tezer@bonhams.com
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 1: Bob Dylan, his high school classmate's yearbook with his senior portrait, signed and inscribed to her, 1959. $10,000 to $20,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 4: Various entertainers, Group of 30 items, signed or inscribed, various dates. $1,500 to $2,500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 27: John Adams, Autograph Letter Signed to Benjamin Rush introducing Archibald Redford, Paris, 1783. $35,000 to $50,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 36: Robert Gould Shaw, Autograph Letter Signed to his father from Camp Andrew, Boston, 1861. $10,000 to $15,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 53: Martin Luther King Jr., Time magazine cover, signed and inscribed "Best Wishes," 1957. $5,000 to $7,500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 127: Paul Gauguin, Autograph Letter regarding payment for paintings, with woodcut letterhead, 1900. $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 169: Suck: First European Sex Paper, complete group of eight issues, 1969-1974. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 173: Black Panthers, The Racist Dog Policemen Must Withdraw Immediately From Our Communities, poster, 1969. $2,000 to $3,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 187: Marc Attali & Jacques Delfau, Les Erotiques du Regard, first edition, Paris, 1968. $300 to $500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 213: Andy Warhol, Warhol's Index Book, first printing, New York, 1967. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 215: Cookie Mueller, Archive of 17 items, including 4 items inscribed and signed. $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 249: Jamie Reid, The Ten Lessons / The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle; Sex Pistols, chromogenic print with collage, signed, circa 1980. $20,000 to $30,000.
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
Bonhams, Apr. 8: First report outside of the colonies of the American Revolution, from American accounts. Printed broadsheet, The London Evening-Post, May 30, 1775. $20,000 - $30,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: Joyce, James. The earliest typescript pages from Finnegans Wake ever to appear at auction, annotated by Joyce, 1923. $30,000 - $50,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: Joyce's Ulysses, 1923, one of only seven copies known, printed to replace copies destroyed in customs. $10,000 - $15,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: ATHANASIUS KIRCHER'S COPY, INSCRIBED. Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell' Accademia del Cimento, 1667. $2,000 - $3,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: Bernoulli's Ars conjectandi, 1713. "... first significant book on probability theory." $15,000 - $25,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: Aristotle's Politica. Oeconomica. 1469. The first printed work on political economy. $80,000 - $120,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: John Graunt's Natural and political observations...., 1662. The first printed work of epidemiology and demographics. $20,000 - $30,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: William Playfair's Commercial and Political Atlas, 1786. The first work to pictorially represent information in graphics. $15,000 - $25,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: Anson's A Voyage Round the World, 1748. THE J.R. ABBEY-LORD WARDINGTON COPY, BOUND BY JOHN BRINDLEY. $8,000 - $12,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: La Perouse's Voyage de La Perouse autour du monde..., 1797. LARGE FINE COPY IN ORIGINAL BOARDS. $8,000 - $12,000
Bonhams, Apr. 8: Charles Schulz original 8-panel Peanuts Sunday comic strip, 1992, pen and ink over pencil, featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Lucy as a psychiatrist. $20,000 - $30,000
![Dominic Winter, Apr. 9: Bible [English]. [The Bible and Holy Scriptures conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament, 1562]. £3,000-5,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/e47bb03e-3f3d-4f68-9e79-b0b2739ca87c.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, Apr. 9:</b> Bible [English]. [<i>The Bible and Holy Scriptures conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament,</i> 1562]. £3,000-5,000")
