The personal collection of William [Bill] S. Reese is to be sold by Christie's beginning in May, 2022
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Bill Reese, who passed away in 2018, was both a rare book dealer and a collector of Americana, other books, prints, and art. It was a great privilege for me to be his client for a decade. In 2002, Bill Reese became the very first member of Americana Exchange (now RareBookHub). In 2022 his exceptional personal collection will be sold at Christie's and it will be a monumental event.
The collection, acquired over decades, will be dispersed in a matter of days and hours: his fourteen thousand days in the field, converted into "May I have an opening bid? On the left, yes in the back and on the right!" The sales are going to be memorable.
Although auctions - no matter how important - are brief events, auction houses have long known how to convey long-term significance. In this era, the cataloguing and photography will be remarkable. The auction catalogue will live on to become a valued reference, taking its place alongside those of George Brinley, Robert Hoe and Thomas Streeter. Bill's personal selections will be accorded respect. And virtually every item will then be forever remembered as "Bill Reese's copy" or "the Reese copy." Such formalities are well understood but are rarely consistently applied. I have no doubt Christie's will convey a sense of homage. He earned it.
Auction Announcement provided by Christies
Across the latter decades of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, few individuals contributed so greatly to the field of American rare books as William Sherman Reese (1955-2018). The founder of the eponymous William Reese Company of New Haven, Connecticut, he was a seminal figure in antiquarian Americana—a man whose expertise and intellect left an indelible impact on both his trade and the nation’s most important rare book collections. For William Reese, rare books and manuscripts existed at the intersection of what he described as “text and icon, appealing to us in both an intellectual and physical sense.” For nearly half a century, Reese embodied the curiosity, engagement, and passion for history at the heart of both text and icon. He left a legacy in connoisseurship that continues to grow.
It is our great honor to announce that the Private Collection of William S. Reese will be sold in a series of four dedicated auctions in 2022, at Christie’s New York, Rockefeller Center.
In counterpoint to Reese’s extraordinary renown as a bookdealer and philanthropist, the extent of his personal collecting has been relatively little known. When the books, paintings, manuscripts, prints, and artefacts are shown at Christie’s next spring, it will be the first time in over 30 years that any portion of the current collection has been publicly exhibited—with the exception of one volume in the “Grolier Club Collects II” exhibition in 2016. The book Reese selected then was acquired by him in the late 1980s: a presentation copy of Herman Melville’s Typee, 1865, given by the author to Henry Smythe, collector of the Port of New York.
However, Reese’s fascination with the world of printed things began with birds and John James Audubon, pre-dating his Melville and other author collections. The several fine prints from Audubon’s Birds of America are among the items which were probably acquired the earliest. Reese shared an enthusiasm for these prints with his father and the two made collecting trips together from Havre de Grace, Maryland to Philadelphia and New York when Bill Reese was a teenager. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the more recent items acquired is a July 1776 broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence—likely the first printed in Massachusetts—which was won at the James Copley auction in 2010. The Reese Collection is as strong in colonial, Revolutionary, and Federal Americana as it is in American color-plate and Western Americana.
Indeed, across all categories of printed Americana—plus Melville, natural history, travel, and literature—William Reese’s private collection is every bit as inspiring an achievement as his life and career. We deeply look forward to presenting it to the public over the coming months.
Auction Schedule
MAY 2022
THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM S. REESE: PART ONE
Evening sale devoted to New World Exploration and Americana to 1814
THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM S. REESE: PART TWO
Day sale with morning session of Americana after 1814 and the “Best of the West”; afternoon session of Natural History, Travel, and Literature
THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM S. REESE: ONLINE
Online auction with diverse subjects including favorite authors, Yale, American practical arts including architecture, and bibliophily
SEPTEMBER 2022
THE HERMAN MELVILLE COLLECTION OF WILLIAM S. REESE
The Collection will be presented in three fully-illustrated and cloth-bound auction catalogues. Advance orders are recommended and can be made online at the Christie’s Catalogue Shop.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9:The New-England Primer Improved. For the more easy attaining the true reading of English. Boston: Printed and Sold by John Boyles, 1770. EXTREMELY RARE AMERICAN PRIMER.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Lansford W. Hastings. The Emigrants’ Guide to Oregon and California. Cincinnati. George Conclin, 1845. THE VERY RARE FIRST EDITION IN THE SCARCE ORIGINAL PRINTED WRAPPERS.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. D. Salinger. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston, 1951. first edition, a fine copy, in an unrestored first issue dust jacket.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. London: Chapman & Hall, 1843. THE VERY FINE A.E NEWTON COPY.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. K. Rowling. Only known complete set of full unbound imposed sheets for the First Edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility: A Novel in Three Volumes. By a Lady. London: for the author by C. Roworth and published by T. Egerton, 1811. FIRST EDITION IN A CONTEMPORARY BINDING.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. First Editions, First Impressions. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1954-1955. A VERY FINE SET.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Declaration of Independence. In: The Pennsylvania Ledger: Or the Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New-Jersey Weekly Advertiser. Philadelphia: James Humphreys, No. LXXVII, 13 July 1776.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: William Shakespeare. Mr. William Shakespear's Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies. London, 1685. THE FOURTH FOLIO.
Heritage Auctions, May 8-9: Frank Herbert. Dune. Philadelphia and New York: Chilton Books, 1965. FIRST EDITION, SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR.
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.
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.