A Catalogue of Colonial Americana<br>From the William Reese Company
- by Michael Stillman
East Florida, a bit north of Disney World
While they were planting rice in Carolina, New Englanders had bigger issues to deal with, like witches. A refutation of the horrific practices of this dark period comes from Bishop Francis Hutchinson. In 1718 he published An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft. With Observations upon the Matters of fact; Tending to Clear the Texts of the Sacred Scriptures, and Confute the Vulgar Errors about that Point. Hutchinson distrusted the accusatory testimony of children, and recognized that “confessions” elicited under deprivation and duress were not confessions at all. Unfortunately, Hutchinson was in England while the lunatics were running wild in the colonies. Item 80. $1,200.
An intriguing book is Robert Lade’s Voyages du Captaine Robert Lade…, a narrative of his voyages to Africa and America. What makes Lade’s work so interesting is that there is no evidence the gentleman ever existed. The book is supposedly a French translation of an English edition, but that does not exist either. It’s “translator” was one Abbe Antoine Francois Prevost, who produced a compilation work of voyages, so suspicions are he used this background to create the travels of the imaginary Mr. Lade. Item 91. $1,350.
If you don’t have time to read any of William Penn’s books, at least read his titles. They are entertaining in themselves. Item 126 is Truth Rescued from Imposter. Or a Brief Reply to a Meer Rapsodie of Lies, Folly, and Slander… This pamphlet is a reply to an opponent who served as a judge in an unsuccessful trial against Penn. $3,500. And in case there was any doubt of Penn’s certainty of the correctness of his beliefs, there’s Truth Exalted; In a Short, but Sure, Testimony Against All Those Religions, Faiths, and Worships that have been Formed and Followed in the Darkness of Apostacy. – And for that Glorious Light which is now Risen, and Shines Forth in the Life and Doctrine of the Despised Quakers, as the Alone Good Old Way of Life and Salvation. No wonder they were despised, with an attitude like that. In fairness to Penn, he was a much more tolerant person than this early work suggests. Item 127. $3,500.
Considering his extensive governmental and diplomatic roles, it’s easy to forget the breadth of Benjamin Franklin’s scholarship. Here’s a copy of his Experiments and Observations on Electricity, Made at Philadelphia in America… This book contains a description of his famous experiment with a kite and key in a lightening storm. Item 63. $9,500. And then we find Franklin involved in the founding of the first hospital in the colonies. Some Account of the Pennsylvania Hospital… reports on the founding and early operation of the Pennsylvania Hospital. Franklin printed the work and is believed to have written the first part. Item 59. $12,500.
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