Rare Book Monthly

Articles - June - 2018 Issue

Lord John Kerr (1927-2018)

Editor's Note: The following remembrance of Lord John Kerr has been prepared by his friend and colleague, Rupert Powell.

 

 

Lord John Kerr, one of the true doyens of the antiquarian book world, died peacefully at his home in Oxfordshire aged 90 on 3rd May.

 

After briefly serving with the Scots Guards from 1944-48, Lord John read English at Oxford and then, following a brief flirtation with insurance at Lloyds of London, decided to join the antiquarian book world and was employed by Jaques Vellekoop at E. P. Goldschmidt. He owned Sanders of Oxford from 1958 to 1963 and was then persuaded by Anthony Hobson to move to the “other side” of the trade and join Sotheby’s. He ran the enormously successful Book Department there for some 18 years before founding Bloomsbury Book Auctions in 1983 with ex-Sotheby’s colleagues Frank Herrmann and David Stagg. This remarkable triumvirate presided over a much-loved and respected firm for 17 years – Frank providing the commercial brains, Lord John the gravitas and knowledge, and Stagg the drive and energy. Lord John was also a brilliant auctioneer, a point acknowledged by numerous members of the trade who wrote glowing tributes to him in an Album Amicorum, produced in the style of a Bloomsbury orange catalogue, on his retirement in 2002. His quiet authority in the often-frenzied atmosphere of an auction was reassuring and persuasive, committing many a bidder to go “just one more” with a tilt of his head and a charming smile. He was unflappable, courteous and quick with dryly humorous remarks when appropriate. In the days when buyers’ names were announced on the fall of the hammer, to one frustrated trade bidder who did not know the buyer of a string of lots and loudly challenged Lord John on the rostrum: “Who’s that? Blackrock?”, the gentle but firm reply came: “Barkworth, sir.” And then, a fraction later, ”His bark worth than his bite.”

 

At one auction in the 1970s Lord John was tasked with introducing the (then 10%) buyer’s premium to the book world and, as a result, the entire ABA membership present staged a theatrical walk-out from the saleroom. He duly conducted the sale to a much-depleted room, the trade members having left a few discreet sentinels to observe proceedings and, more importantly, to execute commission bids on their behalf!

 

Bloomsbury was a vibrant and happy ship, sailing under the watchful eye of the snuff-taking, bewhiskered “Admiral”, Lord John. It was also a family affair, with his beloved wife Isabel (who pre-deceased him by a few years) running the subscriptions and mailing lists, and son Andrew (of Bennett & Kerr) lending his support with weekly attendance to catalogue and assist on sale days. The ultimate testament to Lord John’s influence over his staff is the fact that many of them still work together and, most significantly, in a similarly blended atmosphere of scholarship, kinship and fun.

 

I like to think that Lord John has now joined Frank and Stagg in that great auction-house in the sky. As Lord John sidles up to the other two, Stagg looks up, glances at his watch, and then says sarcastically, “Oh, there you are.”

 

Many of us owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for the kindly and erudite way he introduced us to and helped us grow in the book world. Even more will remember him with the utmost respect and affection. RIP Lord John.

 

Rupert Powell,

Deputy Chairman Forum Auctions

Rare Book Monthly

  • Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN'S EXTREMELY RARE FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT. "Scene af: Røverne i Vissenberg i Fyen." in Harpen, 1822.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST ISSUE OF THE FIRST THREE FAIRY TALE PAMPHLETS, WITH ALL INDICES AND TITLE PAGES. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: THE FIRST FAIRY TALES WITH A SIGNED CARTE DE VISITE OF ANDERSEN AS FRONTIS. Eventyr, fortalte for Børn. 1835-1837.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: KARL LAGERFELD. Original pastel and ink drawing in gold, red and black for Andersen's The Emperor's New Clothes (1992), "La cassette de l'Empereur."
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY OF THE SIXTH PAMPHLET FOR PETER KOCH. Eventyr, Fortalte For Børn, Second Series, Third Pamphlet. 1841. Publisher's wrappers, complete with all pre- and post-matter.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN RARE AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED IN ENGLISH from "The Ugly Duckling," c.1860s.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: HEINRICH LEFLER, ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR FOR ANDERSEN'S SNOW QUEEN, "Die Schneekönigin," 1910.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: FIRST EDITION OF ANDERSEN'S FAIRY TALES IN ENGLISH. Wonderful Stories for Children. London, 1846.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: ANDERSEN ON MEETING CHARLES DICKENS. Autograph Letter Signed ("H.C. Andersen") in English to William Jerdan, July 20, 1847.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR EDGAR COLLIN. Nye Eventyr og Historier. Anden Raekke. 1861.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: DOLL HOUSE FURNITURE BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSON, DECORATED WITH FANTASTICAL CUT-OUTS, for the children of Jonna Stampe (née Drewsen), his godchildren.
    Bonhams, Apr. 21-29: PRESENTATION COPY FOR GEORG BRANDES. Dryaden. Et Eventyr fra Udstillingstiden i Paris 1867. 1868.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Books & Collectors’ Sale
    April 30th & May 1st
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Taylor (Geo.) & Skinner (A.) Maps of the Roads of Ireland, Surveyed 1777. Lond. & Dublin 1778. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Messingham (Thos.) Florilegium Insulae Sanctorum seu Vitae et Acta Sanctorum Hibernia, Paris 1624. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus). The Haw Lantern, L. (Faber & Faber) 1987, First Edn., Signed and dated. €225 to €350.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Valencey (Lt. Col. Chas.) Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, Vols. I-IV, 4 vols. Dublin 1786. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Powerscourt (Viscount). A Description and History of Powerscourt, Lond. 1903. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Moryson (Fynes). An Itinerary ... Containing His Ten Yeeres Travel Through the Twelve Dominions of Germany, Bohermerland, Sweitzerland…, Lond. (John Beale) 1617. €700 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: After Buffon, Birds of Europe, c. 1820. Approx. 120 fine hd. cold. plts., mor. backed boards. €125 to €250.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Dunlevy (Andrew). An Teagasg Criosduidhe De Reir Ceasda agus Freagartha... The Catechism or Christian Doctrine by Way of Question and Answer, Paris (James Guerin) 1742. €400 to €700.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: The Georgian Society Records of Eighteen-Century Domestic Architecture in Dublin, 5 vols. Complete, Dublin 1909-1913. €500 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Scale (Bernard). An Hibernian Atlas or General Description of the Kingdom of Ireland, L. (Robert Sayer & John Bennet) 1776. €625 to €850.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: [Johnson (Rev. Samuel)]. Julian the Apostate Being a Short Account of his Life, together with a Comparison of Popery and Paganism,L. (Langley Curtis) 1682. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Nichlson (Wm.) Illustrator. An Almanac of Twelve Sports, Lond. 1898. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) trans. The Light of the Leaves, 2 vols., Mexico (Imprenta de los Tropicos/Bunholt) 1999. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Fleming (Ian). Moonraker, L. (Jonathan Cape) 1955. €1,500 to €2,000.
    Fonsie Mealy’s, Apr 30-May 1: Heaney (Seamus) & Egan (Felim) artist. Squarings, Twelve Poems, D. (Hieroglyph Editions Ltd.) 1991. €1,750 to €2,250.

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