The Donald Heald Company joins the ranks of the Auction Houses
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Donald Heald Auctions has announced auctions have been added to the Donald A. Heald Rare Book’s marketing fix. The inaugural event has been posted to Live Auctioneers as a timed auction ending Saturday June 19th, 2021. It is available today. This initial event is offered under the title: Rare Antiquarian and Illustrated Books, 210 appealing opportunities.
The sale is described as “fresh-to-market offerings of 20th-century French color plate and illustrated books, bibliography and reference books, and rare and antiquarian books including Americana and natural history, from the 18th through 20th centuries.”
Mr. Heald, in describing his decision to add this component to his marketing mix, recently explained that both buyers and sellers are increasingly expressing a preference for market-derived prices. To that, the firm will be providing guarantees for condition and completeness as described in the lot offers.
Mr. Heald’s catalogues are widely regarded as both detailed and highly accurate. He has long offered money-back guarantees.
Dealers have been adding auction options for the past five years. To date however, Mr. Heald is singularly important to do so among dealers, suggesting the shift from retail to auction is accelerating.
Here are some highlights:
Lot 172 Cook - A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean 1785
Lot 117 Gould - Monograph of Partridges 1850
Lot 168 Lewis & Clark - History of the Expedition 1814
Lot 111 Hawaii - The Friend 1847
Lot 27 Gorky and Lebedeff - Les Vagabonds 1921
Lot 116 Greene - Parrots in Captivity 1884-87
Lot 21 Pissarro and Eragny Press - C’est D’Aucassin et de Nicolete 1903
Lot 14 Cocteau and Gross - Les Enfants Terrible 1936
Lot 151 Sitwell and Madol - Album de Redoute 1954
Lot 205 Grigson and Buchanan - Thornton’s Temple of Flora 1951
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")