Aug 31 - Sep 14: Rare Maps, Charts, Atlases and more at Old World Auctions
- by Thomas C. McKinney
Highlight lots from Old World Auctions' Auction 159
Old World Auctions, the online-only auction house specializing in antique maps, globes, charts, and atlases, has a sale taking place at the time of this month’s Rare Book Monthly online publishing. Running from August 31st to September 14th, Auction 159 comprises over 800 lots spanning geographies worldwide from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Old World says that the material from Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Caribbean Islands, Western Hemisphere, and the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States is particularly strong. Several dozen lots will be listed without reserve.
The following are ten very rare highlights from the forthcoming sale:
Broadside depicting the Battle of Portobelo of 1739, "A Perspective View of ye Harbour, Castles, & Town of Porto Bello" published by Thomas and John Bowles in 1740. Est. $800-1000.
Ortelius' two-sheet maps of the British Isles and Egypt, "Britannicarum Insularum Vetus Descriptio" (Est. $3500-4500) and "Aegyptus Antiqua" (Est. $1600-2000).
Rare atlas of Maryland and DC, "New Topographical Atlas of the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia" published by Walling & Gray in 1873. Est. $1500-1800.
An important Revolutionary War map of the Battle of White Plains, "A Plan of the Operations of the King's Army Under the Command of General Sr. William Howe" by C.J. Sauthier and William Faden, published in 1777. Est. $11000-14000.
A sea chart of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, "A Chart of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays" by Fielding Lucas, 1852. Est. $6000-7500.
A chart published only four months after the Battle of Cartagena, "A Plan of the Harbour Town and Castles of Carthagena..." by Philip Durell, 1741. Est. $1400-1800.
Map of the British Colonies just after the French & Indian War, "A New and Accurate Map of the British Dominions in America, According to the Treaty of 1763" by Thomas Kitchin, 1766. Est. $2200-2500.
A one-of-a-kind manuscript railroad atlas of Cincinnati, "Plats Showing the Lands of the Cincinnati & Indiana Rail Road Co. in the City of Cincinnati" published in 1869. Est. $700-850
A two-sheet map of Africa by William Berry, "Africa Divided According to the Extent of Its Principall Parts" by William Berry, 1680. Est. $2400-3000.
Waldseemuller's Ptolemaic map of Arabia, "Sexta Asie Tabula" by Waldseemuller, 1513. Est. $4000-5000.
Registration with Old World Auctions is required for first-time bidders and buyers interested in bidding, and can be done so by following this link; returning customers need only sign in with their existing login information. The sale’s online catalog is available here.
Swann Printed & Manuscript African Americana March 20, 2025
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 7: Thomas Fisher, The Negro's Memorial or Abolitionist's Catechism, London, 1825. $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 78: Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers' Green Book, New York, 1958. $20,000 to $30,000.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 99: Rosa Parks, Hand-written recollection of her first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., autograph manuscript, Detroit, c. 1990s. $30,000 to $40,000.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 154: Frederick Douglass, Autograph statement on voting rights, signed manuscript, 1866. $20,000 to $30,000.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 164: W.E.B. Du Bois, What the Negro Has Done for the United States and Texas, Washington, circa 1936. $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann Printed & Manuscript African Americana March 20, 2025
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 263: Susan Paul, Memoir of James Jackson, Boston, 1835. $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 267: Langston Hughes, Gypsy Ballads, signed translation of García Lorca's poetry, Madrid, 1937. $1,500 to $2,500.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 274: Malcolm X, Collection from Alex Haley's estate, 38 items, 1963-1971. $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 367: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave, Auburn, NY, 1853. $2,500 to $3,500.
Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 402: Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, Xenia, OH, 1892. $2,000 to $3,000.
Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
Koller, Mar. 26: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung. Nürnberg, 1679; Frankfurt a. M. und Leipzig, 1683. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
Koller, Mar. 26: GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON. Faust. Ein Fragment. Von Goethe. Ächte Ausgabe. Leipzig, G. J. Göschen, 1790. CHF 7,000 to 10,000
Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
Koller, Mar. 26: BIBLIA GERMANICA - Neunte deutsche Bibel. Nürnberg, A. Koberger, 17. Feb. 1483. CHF 40,000 to 60,000
Koller, Mar. 26: HORAE B.M.V. - Stundenbuch. Lateinische Handschrift auf Pergament, Kalendarium französisch. Nordfrankreich (Rouen?). CHF 25,000 to 40,000
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
![Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/2214ca86-0dc9-47be-8bc5-99d9f1c2aa1f.jpg "<b>Koller, Mar. 26:</b> Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000")
![Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/b8b6a630-a01a-4220-ae77-38540d6c898d.jpg "<b>Koller, Mar. 26:</b> Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.")
