Swann Printed & Manuscript Americana February 10th
- by Bruce E. McKinney
An exciting attractively estimated Americana sale.
By Bruce McKinney
There is a 358 lot auction of Americana coming up on February 10th at Swann's that should provide a fair indication where pricing in the Americana mid-market is today. This sale contains an interesting combination of known and unknown material that is the stock-in-trade of serious dealers and focused collectors. And because the selection is broad rather than deep almost everyone in the field is going to find something intriguing and possibly obscure [intellectually challenging], to consider. Even if you don't decide to bid it's an interesting catalogue to read. There are 89 lots whose high estimate is $250 or less.
For the auction house it is the high ticket material that pays the bills and there are many significant lots. Lots 28 and 29 are Sauer Germantown imprints. Both are bibles. For the collector of cookery [and related subjects] there is Susannah Carter's "Frugal Housewife, or Complete Woman Cook" printed in New York, dated 1792 [lot 51] and estimated $3,000 to $4,000. There is a copy of what may be, according to Swann, the first Plymouth imprint: Robert Cushman's "The Sin and Danger of Self-Love" printed in Plymouth in 1785 where self-love was apparently not encouraged. It's estimated at $2,000 to $3,000 [lot 61]. There are 8 lots relating to the Declaration of Independence. The high spot in this group is lot 65, a copy of the Declaration of Independence rendered as a broadside, on silk engraved by Peter Maverick in 1818. It is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000. Only one other copy on silk is known.
For the collector of important early American works there is a first edition of Webster's American Dictionary, printed in New York, and dated 1828 [lot 73]. It contains 70,000 entries and was considered to have surpassed Samuel Johnson's 1755 effort. Printing and the Mind of Man lists this title among its works of paramount importance.
Lot 80 is Nathaniel Morton's "New England's Memorial,..." printed in Boston in 1721. This is a good copy of the second edition of a usually unobtainable book that is a cornerstone of New England and early American collecting. It's estimated at $15,000 to $20,000. A small portion of the title page is in facsimile and should be examined.
Lots 79 to 113 are early American imprints. Many are 18th century and will fit into a broad range of American place and field collections. Many of these titles have low estimates and are otherwise difficult to obtain.
Lots 126 to 139 relate to Benjamin Franklin. A true polymath, he was a writer, printer, publisher, scientist, diplomat and politician. In this eclectic group of Franklin material you can start to build or add to an existing collection of Frankliniana. The aggregate high estimate for all 14 lots is $42,050.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
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…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
