Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2017 Issue

July 8: Fine Books & Manuscripts at Potter & Potter Auctions including a Force Declaration of Independence

Potter & Potter Auctions, a Chicago-based house started in 2007, has historically focused on magicana—antiques and collectibles focused on magic and magicians—but they also conduct sales including paper Americana, vintage advertising, rare books, coin-op, playing cards, gambling memorabilia, vintage posters, and prints. This month, on Saturday, July 8th, Potter & Potter is holding their inaugural sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts and Other Works on Paper, an auction consisting of 575 quality items falling into the following subjects: science & natural history; continental and British books and manuscripts; militaria; printed and manuscript Americana; cartography, travel, and sporting books; comic and illustration art; literature; art and posters; and entertainment.

The section on Americana contains many of the sale’s highlights, led by a Peter Force engraving of the Declaration of Independence, a single page taken from volume I of Force’s 1837-1853 series of books The American Archives. The engraving was produced using the same copperplate made by William J. Stone in 1820 who was commissioned by John Quincy Adams to make a facsimile of the original declaration because of its deteriorating condition. Only a few hundred copies are known to exist, and the collectability of such an item is self-evident. Force’s engraving is estimated $15,000 to $20,000 as lot 132.

Another significant item under the Americana header is a partially printed document signed by an American President whose presidential autograph is quite rare. James Garfield took office March 4, 1881 and served until September 19, 1881, when he died after being shot by Charles Guiteau in early July. With less than four healthy months as President, the number of documents that Garfield signed in office are far fewer than average. Lot 145 is the Appointment of Francis W. Seeley as Postmaster General at Sake City, Minnesota, dated March 22, 1881 and is estimated $10,000 to $15,000.

One final lot of Americana that I need to mention is lot 175, an extensive archive of over 100 letters, manuscripts, documents and FBI memorabilia, most which are signed, of Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent famous for his role in the captures of outlaws such as Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Floyd, and John Dillinger in the 1930s. Purvis still has more captures of public enemies than any other agent in FBI history. Estimated $9,500 to $10,500, this archive would be equally excellent serving as the foundation for a new collecting focus or as an addition to an existing one.

Comics have been enjoying a boom in popularity and pricing for some time now, and lot 240 is a unique offering that comicphiles may find hard to resist. While first issues and particularly rare individual comics generate huge interest, the lot on offer here offers a different sort of uniqueness. Walter Gibson, author of The Shadow comic series, was tapped in 1931 to be the creator of the print version of the eponymous hero, who at that time was just a voice on the radio drama Detective Stories. Lot 240 is not only a complete run of The Shadow, from 1931 to 1944, but it is also Gibson’s personal set! It can be yours for an estimated $8,000 to $12,000.

Two final items, both from the Literature section of the sale, conclude this auction preview. Lot 298 is a pair of draft pages for James Fenimore Cooper’s final novel The Headsman. Written in Paris around 1832 or 1833, the pages are written in a small but neat script. The lot also includes a check filled out in Cooper’s hand, payable to “self” for $20. The Cooper lot is estimated $3,400 to $5,000. Another unique autograph lot, #359, belongs to Alan Ginsberg, being a five page autographed letter signed to the Symphony School, Mr. Loratz, and Students, in which the poet lists his “favorite musical compositions accumulated in ear / mind.” Similarly estimated to the prior lot, Ginsberg’s letter is estimated $3,000 to $5,000.

Potter & Potter Auctions’ sale of Fine Books & Manuscripts and Other Works on Paper is set to begin at 10 am CST on Saturday, July 8, 2017. Previews of the sale will be on July 5 through 7, from 10 am to 5 pm or by appointment. Online bidding and catalog viewing is available on BidSquare, and a PDF version, as well as a 3D catalog, are available on the Potter & Potter site. In addition to online bidding, interested bidders can bid live, via absentee bid, or by phone.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’sBooks, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to ModernNow through July 10, 2025 Sotheby’sBooks, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to ModernNow through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
  • Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly! Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
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  • DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025 DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
  • Freeman’s | HindmanWestern Manuscripts and MiniaturesJuly 8, 2025 Freeman’s | HindmanWestern Manuscripts and MiniaturesJuly 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman
    Western Manuscripts and Miniatures
    July 8, 2025
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    Western Manuscripts and Miniatures
    July 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.
  • Forum AuctionsFine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper  17th July 2025 Forum AuctionsFine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper  17th July 2025
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.

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