Rare Book Monthly

Articles - December - 2017 Issue

Dec. 6: Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions in London

Highlights from Forum Auctions' sale of Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper

Highlights from Forum Auctions' sale of Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper

Words that have become immortalized through the HBO show Game of Thrones will ring true this month: Winter is Coming. And with the cold comes a lull in the auction season as the industry takes time to catch its breath from work and connect with family and friends over the holiday. But before the field goes on vacation, we still have several busy weeks of sales, one being Forum Auction’s Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper, taking place Wednesday, December 6th. Four hundred and ninety-two lots will be offered, and they come from a great length of time: the late 8th and early 9th centuries to the 20th.

 

Images command a significant premium, and it’s no surprise that the sale’s highlights contain quite a few. Also, age is often an important factor in determining value, but in this auction’s case, the highest estimated item is also one of the youngest. François-Louis Schmied’s Histoire Charmante de l’Adolescent Sucre d’Amour (1927) is one of the author’s rarest works, this being one of only 25 copies. “A magnificent Art Deco book,” Histoire features plates, illustrations, and decorations hand-colored by Jean Dunand. As lot 297, it is estimated £20,000 to £30,000.

 

Captain James Cook and John Webber’s Views in the South Seas (1808) is comprised of 16 hand-colored aquatint plates of views from Cook’s third voyage to the South Seas during the years 1776 to 1780. Included are views of New Zealand, the Resolution and Discovery in the ice fields, Kamchatka, Macao and Krakatoa. This first edition set is available as lot 323 for an estimated £18,000 to £22,000.

 

Shifting away from images, two important lots carry high value because of their words and historical significance alone. Lot 137 is Shakespeare’s “The Winters Tale,” extracted from the First Folio (1623), and while it’s a bit painful to reflect on the fact that this was once part of a complete First Folio, it’s impressive and rare nonetheless! Just the one play from the First Folio commands an estimate of £12,000 to £18,000. And lot 155 is A Declaration by the Representatives of the United Colonies of North-America, Now Met in General Congress at Philadelphia, Setting forth the Causes and Necessity of their taking up Arms (1775). This declaration was a necessary step in the movement for American independence; for creating the Continental Army and paving the way for the Declaration. £15,000 to £20,000 is the estimated value.

 

A wealth of varied and interesting material makes up the other 488 lots, including but not limited to a signed first edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit (lot 262), an early Italian Megillah (Hebrew scroll, lot 56), a Rodolphe Bresdin lithograph (lot 289), and a manuscript commentary on Isaiah dating from the late 8th or early 9th centuries.

 

Forum Auction’s sale of Fine Books, Western Manuscripts and Works on Paper is scheduled for 10:30am GMT on December 6, 2017 at the Westbury Hotel in London. The catalog can be viewed online here.

 

Viewing times (GMT):

220 Queenstown Road, London SW8 4LP
Monday 27th November 10.00am – 5.30pm
Tuesday 28th November 10.00am – 5.30pm
Wednesday 29th November 10.00am – 5.30pm

The Westbury Hotel, London W1S 2YF
Monday 4th December 9.30am – 7.30pm
Tuesday 5th December 9.30am – 7.30pm
Wednesday 6th December from 9.30am

 

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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
    Freeman’s | Hindman
    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
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    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.
  • 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.
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    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
    Rare Book Hub is now mobile-friendly!
  • 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

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