Rare Book Monthly

Articles - December - 2012 Issue

An Untimely Passing

David C. Copley

David C. Copley

A few years ago the James S. Copley Collection of rare books and manuscripts made news quarter after quarter as Sotheby’s systematically loaded their cannons and sent exceptional material careening through their rooms into the outstretched hands of buyers.  On November 25th the final heir of his Copley generation, Mr. David C. Copley, died of a heart attack a short block from his destination, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego.  He was 60 years old.

His family's history has long been intertwined with the history of the printed word, the family fortune rising on the growth of newspaper publishing.

In 2010 Sotheby's handled the dispersal of his father's collections in a series of four very successful sales.  Selby Kiffer of Sotheby's, remembering these sales and speaking of David said "While he was not directly involved in the building or disposition of the library we knew him to share his parents' interests and to be a great supporter of cultural institutions. We contribute in different ways."

Printed obituaries, the long established custom of the newspaper trade, are today many and prolific in their recounting of his life.  In time these details will fade.  The Copley connection to the collectible printed word will however endure for collectors appreciate that books passing through time gather the fingerprints and notes of owners, adding their connections and in time becoming part of the history of the copy.    

For the Copley family these connections will prove indelible.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby'sFine Books, Manuscripts & MoreAvailable for Immediate Purchase Sotheby'sFine Books, Manuscripts & MoreAvailable for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: Ian Fleming. Casino Royale, London, 1953. First edition, first printing. $58,610.
    Sotheby’s: A.A. Milne, Ernest Howard Shepard. Winnie The Pooh, United Kingdom, 1926. First UK edition. $17,580.
    Sotheby’s: Ernest Hemingway. Three Stories And Ten Poems, [Paris], (1923). First edition of Hemingway’s first published book. $75,000.
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: L. Frank Baum. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, 1900. First edition. $27,500.
    Sotheby’s: Man Ray. Photographs By Man Ray 1920 Paris 1934, Hartford, 1934. $7,860.
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Pennant. Zoologia Britannica, Augsburg, 1771. $49,125.
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