Rare Book Monthly

Articles - July - 2017 Issue

July 6-17: Cowan's Online Sale of N. Flayderman & Co. Civil War material and more

Brevet Brigadier General William Miltimore McArthur Collection of Civil War Papers Incl. Letters with Heavy Battle Content

Cowan’s Auctions, based in Cincinnati and in business since 1995, has been an auction house always at the forefront of technological advances. One of the first houses to boast a website and to conduct online sales, they, along with five competitors, launched Bidsquare, a bidding platform focused on ensuring the highest levels of quality and honesty in auctions, in 2014. Cowan’s is renowned in the field for their sales of Civil War-era material, and this month, they’re hosting an online-only sale that will be conducted, of course, through Bidsquare, and of course, Civil War material is at the forefront.

Norm Flayderman of N. Flayderman & Co. passed away in May, 2013, and for over 50 years, he was known for vast expertise in the fields of antique firearms and militaria, having published 118 consecutive editions of his catalog and authored Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values. The Flayderman family ran the N. Flayderman & Co. business for several years following his death, but they have since decided to close shop and auction the remaining inventory. Significant offerings were sold by Cowan’s in February and June of this year, and this month, beginning July 6th, and ending July 16th, a timed online sale of Property from N. Flayderman & Co. will be taking bids on 300 items, the majority of which are Civil War lots.

Estimates for the sale are quite reasonable, topping out at just $1,500 and the large majority estimated under $1,000. A highlight lot from the sale includes over 1,000 papers of records relating to the 11th Massachusetts Infantry and 3rd Army Corps during the Civil War. The documents in the lot include (but are not limited to) autographed letters signed from various soldiers and officers, receipts for the 3rd Army Corps, 2nd Division 3rd Brigade, general orders, monthly reports for the sick and wounded of the 11th Massachusetts for April and June 1864, and a document recording payments for paroled prisoners in Camp Parole. All together the lot is a unique and detailed glimpse into the war-time experience of Union soldiers, and it is estimated $1,000 to $1,500.

Another lot offering as unique a view of the Civil War experience is a series of 79 papers written by or related to Brigadier General William M. McArthur of the 8th Maine Infantry—47 of which are letters written home to his father. Within these letters are descriptions of some of the most difficult times in the General’s career: the action before Petersburg and events at Bermuda Hundred and Dewry’s Bluff. In one of McArthur’s last war letters to his father, from Richmond in May, 1865, he provides perspective on the end: “The war is indeed over. How strange it seems here in the field—so quiet—no alarms—Only the soldier can appreciate peace.” The archive of McArthur papers is estimated $800 to $1,000 and is certain to please an avid collector of the war.

Collectors of American political autographs will be happy to learn of two specific lots: one being a large collection of autographs, including senators, representatives, and cabinet members, and the other a collection of U.S. Secretaries of State autographs. Both are estimated $500 to $1,000.

Cowan’s Auctions sale of Property from N. Flayderman & Co. is a timed online sale beginning at noon EDT on July 6th and closing at noon EDT on July 17th. Bidding will be done through Bidsquare. Logging in with an existing account or registration with Bidsquare is required. 

The sale can be viewed by appointment at Cowan’s Cincinnati sales room. To make an appointment or to request additional information and condition reports, please contact Katie Horstman: Katie@cowans.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby’s
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    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
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    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000
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    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
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    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
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    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
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    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
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    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
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    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
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    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.

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