Christina Geiger: Appointed Head of Books and Manuscripts at Christie's, New York
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Christina Geiger has been appointed to one of the storied positions in the auction world: head of the rare books and manuscripts department at Christie’s in New York. It’s a role in which several men have risen to prominence: Stephen Massey, Francis Wahlgren, and Tom Lecky. Christina is the first woman to take the helm. She leads a team of four other specialists: Senior Americana, Books, and Manuscripts Specialist Peter Klarnet; Junior Specialist Rhiannon Knol; Associate Specialist Heather Weintraub; and her own soon-to-be-appointed replacement as Senior Specialist in Books and Manuscripts.
Christina has spent her entire career in the auction world. A few months after graduating from Williams College in 1996 she became an administrator at Christie’s, working in the image archives. She transitioned to the rare book department four years later—first at Christie’s East and soon afterwards at the then-new offices at Rockefeller Center. In 2002, she moved home to California for a spell, cataloguing and appraising books at PBA Galleries in San Francisco for four years. She was subsequently hired by Bonhams Auctioneers to open their Book Department in New York and led their inaugural New York auction of Fine Books & Manuscripts in December 2006. In 2010, she was principal specialist for the most valuable sale in that department’s history: The American Experience: 1630-1890 consigned by yours truly, Bruce McKinney. After a busy, full decade of auctions at Bonhams, she came back full circle to where she started—at Christie’s New York.
She reflects, “At every stage of my career, I have felt lucky to have one of the most privileged jobs on earth—to handle those special books and manuscripts which speak to the human spirit and human achievement, and to befriend the collectors who share a passion for them. Now, however, I simply cannot imagine it getting any better than this. I am grateful for the incredible legacy of my predecessors in this role, for the powerful resources and leadership currently at Christie’s, and for the support of our inspiring clients. My view is that by continuing to work with diligence, integrity, and love for the property, the team and I will be rewarded with the honor of handling the most interesting material that comes to market. I am deeply looking forward to many years of seeing ‘what is next’ at Christie’s.”
What is next at Christie’s New York in the near future are the three auctions in June 2019 which will mark Christina’s official debut:
Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts including Americana on June 12, for which she is currently inviting consignments
The first ever Online sale to be conducted by the New York Books Department: Write Me and Tell Me Your Heart: Leonard Cohen’s Letters to Marianne. June 5 – June 13.
A Single Lot auction also on June 12, TBA
Christina Geiger lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, the documentary cinematographer Liam Dalzell, their ten-year-old son Henry Dalzell, and their dog (beagle-mix), Julie.
Her contact details are:
Christina Geiger
Head of Department
Books & Manuscripts CHRISTIE'S 20 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10020 Phone: 212-636-2667 Email: cgeiger@christies.com
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 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.
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.
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