Christie's London in November: Cricket, Adult Material, and An Atlas of Epic Proportion
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Snapshots from Christie's upcoming November sales
This month three auctions from Christie’s London pertain to AE’s focus on books, maps, manuscripts, and ephemera. Beginning with November 5th, Two Important Sporting Libraries will take place over the course of two sessions on that day at Christie’s South Kensington location. Later in the month and moving over to their King Street address, Highlights from the Erotica Library of Tony Fekete takes place on the 18th, with Valuable Manuscripts and Printed Books following the next day on the 19th. With no two sales containing overlapping material, Christie’s footprint in November is significant.
Two Important Sporting Libraries is made up of 260 lots and strongly focuses on the sport of cricket. A significant run of John Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack is available as individual lots, and the sales two most valuable items based on estimation are both cricket-related. The first, Samuel Britcher’s A Complete list of all the Grand Matches of Cricket that have been played in the year 1801 is one of four known copies. The item is available as lot 51 and is estimated £25,000 - 35,000. The other, Frederick Lillywhite’s The Young Cricketer’s Guide [and] The Guide to Cricketers is a full 25 volume set containing the famous Lillywhite guides. As stated before, Two Important Sporting Libraries takes place on November 5th at Christie’s London, South Kensington facility. Full details of the sale including an e-catalogue may be found on Christie’s website here, as well as online registration for bidding.
Next chronologically is Highlights from the Erotica Library of Tony Fekete. Before I continue, I will copy a note from Christie’s website: WARNING: THIS SALE CONTAINS ADULT MATERIAL NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS. That should have definitely been the article title. Containing 221 lots, this sale is what I would call... more visually engaging, at least to my 28 year-old eyes. All sorts of material are present, including two erotic alphabet books (who knew typography could be that interesting), homoerotic watercolours, and good old fashioned nude photographs. The sale’s highest value items are both copies of the Marquis de Sade’s influential and infamous work Justine. Lot 179, the “very rare true first edition,” is one of perhaps less than five copies known. Estimated at £70,000 - 100,000, owning one of those copies will not come cheaply. Highlights from the Erotica Library of Tony Fekete takes place on November 18th at Christie’s London, King Street location. Full details of the sale including an e-catalogue may be found on Christie’s website here, and again, registration for bidding online is also on their website.
Valuable Manuscripts and Printed Books has the difficult task of following up an act made up in large part by nudity. However, that is rendered null by the fact this sale is the only one with an item priced with seven figures. With 87 lots, it is the smallest of the three sales, but if one particular lot sells, it will far outweigh the other two combined. Lot 45, Grazioso Benincasa’s Portolan Atlas, signed and dated by the man himself, is the sale’s crown jewel. Dated 1468 from Venice, this manuscript atlas contains seven charts, two of which are the earliest known depictions of their subjects--the west coast of Africa and Ireland. This item in question is a legendary piece for the most dedicated map collectors.The sale takes place on November 19th at Christie’s London, King Street location. Full details of the sale including an e-catalogue and auction registration may be found on Christie’s website here.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE Le Neptune Oriental
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSAS Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSINI DE THURY Carte générale et particulière de la France.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: JOUY; GARNERAY Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LA PÉROUSE Voyage autour du monde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LICENT Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY Panorama d’Athènes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PEETERS Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PÉRON; FREYCINET Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: STACKELBERG La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: VALENTINER Atlas des Sonnensystems.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
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Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
Freeman’s | Hindman Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana November 14
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14:The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.