Exceptional catalogues: <br>Livres Anciens and Livres Precieux
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Many fine book dealers are located near Librairie Thomas-Scheler.
Those beginning Florida collections will be interested in the Laudonniere's 1586 L'Histoire notable de la Floride situee es Indes Occidentales...[Item no. 23] You might as well start at the top. Of the early Florida books this one comes up very occasionally. Here is what the Servies have to say about this title:
"A compilation of the narratives of four different French expeditions: Ribaut's voyage in 1562, Laudonniere's in 1564, Ribaut's second voyage in 1565, and that of Gourges in 1567. The first three are described by letters of Laudonniere; the last is an anonymous account, perhaps by Basanier, the editor of the collection. The dedication to Sir Walter Raleigh (containing of the earliest mentions of Virginia in any printed book) is dated Paris, March 1st, 1586...." No. 52 in A Bibliography of Florida by James A and Lana D. Servies. Vol. 1. This important, and very rare book, is 100,000 euros.
For those who collect the early circumnavigations of the globe here is the second Dutch success at what was then a very hazardous enterprise: Speculum Oriententalisque Indiae navigationum... by Joris van Spilbergen, Leyde, 1619 [lot 30]. This exploration accomplished the discovery of a passage at the tip of South America that was named Le Maire in honor of another Dutch explorer. This copy is 45,000 euros.
And then there are two copies of Champlain's Les Voyages de la Nouvelle France occidentale,...one printed in 1632 and the other in 1640. These books contain important maps. Collectors of the New World and in particular Canada can count these books as highly important. They are each priced at 280,000 euros.
Of course there is more. There are 60 lots in all.
Such catalogues offer the opportunity to acquire specific examples of important and collectible books that now become forever linked to these exceptional catalogue presentations. Dealer provenance matters. In the years ahead, assuming the dealer history is carefully maintained, these copies will fetch premiums to whatever market pricing then prevails.
Congratulations to both firms and thank you to the Clavreuil family for permitting us to add this catalogue to the AED.
Here is the search box to the entire Chavreuil catalogue.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Darwin and Wallace. On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties..., [in:] Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Vol. III, No. 9., 1858, Darwin announces the theory of natural selection. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue, inscribed by the author pre-publication. £100,000 to £150,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 11: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Autograph sketchleaf including a probable draft for the E flat Piano Quartet, K.493, 1786. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 156: Cornelis de Jode, Americae pars Borealis, double-page engraved map of North America, Antwerp, 1593.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 206: John and Alexander Walker, Map of the United States, London and Liverpool, 1827.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 223: Abraham Ortelius, Typus Orbis Terrarum, hand-colored double-page engraved world map, Antwerp, 1575.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 233: Aaron Arrowsmith, Chart of the World, oversize engraved map on 8 sheets, London, 1790 (circa 1800).
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 239: Fielding Lucas, A General Atlas, 81 engraved maps and diagrams, Baltimore, 1823.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 240: Anthony Finley, A New American Atlas, 15 maps engraved by james hamilton young on 14 double-page sheets, Philadelphia, 1826.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 263: John Bachmann, Panorama of the Seat of War, portfolio of 4 double-page chromolithographed panoramic maps, New York, 1861.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 265: Sebastian Münster, Cosmographei, Basel: Sebastian Henricpetri, 1558.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 271: Abraham Ortelius, Epitome Theatri Orteliani, Antwerp: Johann Baptist Vrients, 1601.
Swann Maps & Atlases, Natural History & Color Plate Books December 9, 2025
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 283: Joris van Spilbergen, Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae, Leiden: Nicolaus van Geelkercken for Jodocus Hondius, 1619.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 285: Levinus Hulsius, Achtzehender Theil der Newen Welt, 14 engraved folding maps, Frankfurt: Johann Frederick Weiss, 1623.
Swann, Dec. 9: Lot 341: John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot, Plate 26, London, 1827.