Sometimes the connections in collections are obscure
By Bruce McKinney
Building a focused collection is always a matter of discipline and luck. It helps to know what you are looking for but it's impossible to know all the material that logically fits. I personally believe that only about 40% of older material is currently documented in ways that easily identify it as relevant to a collecting focus; in my case the Hudson Valley in New York State. It seems counter-intuitive that so much material would be undocumented but I'm certain this is the case. Because so much material has been well described and the reputations of many bibliographers so established, it is easy to overlook the difference between the world of books in the past and now. Today there is an emerging transparency about printed material. We are not only finding more versions of the same titles. We are also finding more titles. And we are uncovering the speeches, pamphlets, newspapers and magazines that often contained the seeds that later germinated in the books that have entered the canon of printed materials. This material is not less interesting or important. It has simply been very difficult to identify. It now looms on the horizon and AE's MatchMaker is currently the best tool for exploring this nether world.
Recently I wrote about a book I added to my Hudson Valley collection: "Memoirs of the Rev. John H. Livingston, D.D.S.T.P." that is in the AED and comes up in "Poughkeepsie" searches because the AED includes some of the records of Lathrop Harper, who in 1905 described it as "Memoirs (with account of his settlement in New York city, from September, 1770, to 1776, and Albany, Poughkeepsie, etc., to the close of the Revolutionary War), by Alex. Gunn." The copy I obtained from George S. MacManus of Bryn Mawr for $75, is in original boards and was printed by an obscure printer, William A. Mercein, in 1829. It is an interesting book that I will read one of these days. It's also one of the books that falls outside the documented 40% but is nevertheless visible because a dealer thoroughly described and the AED recorded it. In fact dealers and auction houses routinely document material that would otherwise be invisible and it's why it's important for those who are serious about printed materials to carefully follow these emerging information sources. Those who do see first hand the discovery and illumination of the dark side of the moon, a side that is and will remain for some time, larger than the illuminated portion.
Great tools aside sometimes a great find also requires some luck. Six months ago Mike Stillman, in reviewing a catalogue from western specialist Gene Baade, brought a Hudson Valley item to my attention. It's My Life East and West by William S. Hart, the silent firm star and movie director who it turns out was born in Newburgh, New York on December 6th, 1864 and soon after moved a thousand miles west to Illinois to live what would be, for most people, a full life [life expectancy was 49.2 in 1900] after which, at age 49, he upped and headed off to southern California, there to become a legendary silent movie star in which he appeared in 65 films. Later still he had a distinguished career as a director. Seemingly marginal, this is another of the books that falls outside the documented 40% and therefore isn't on anyone's screen as a Hudson Valley item. Give Mr. Baade credit for mentioning Newburgh. It got my attention.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE Le Neptune Oriental
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSAS Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSINI DE THURY Carte générale et particulière de la France.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: JOUY; GARNERAY Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LA PÉROUSE Voyage autour du monde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LICENT Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY Panorama d’Athènes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PEETERS Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PÉRON; FREYCINET Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: STACKELBERG La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: VALENTINER Atlas des Sonnensystems.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
RareBookBuyer.com Specialized in Purchasing Institutional Collections & Deacccessioned Books
RareBookBuyer.com We Buy Librairies & Rare Books Nationwide ABAA Dealer
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
Freeman’s | Hindman Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana November 14
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14:The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.