In times of distress, dealers and the collecting community in the rare books
field have made common cause to both raise the flag and raise money for
the disadvantaged. Such events tend to disappear in the miasma of uncertain
times. One such event was an occasion to voice support to the English People.
It’s date: July 3rd, 1941.
A Catalogue
Of
BOOKS AND MSS.
To be sold for
The
Distress Fund
On Aid of Booksellers who
Have suffered loss
From Bombing
Organized by
The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association
Which Will be Sold by Auction By
Messrs.
Hodgson & Co.
(Established 1807)
At their Rooms
115 Chancery Lane
London, W.C.2
On Thursday, July 3rd, 1941
At One o’clock
More recent but long receding into dissolving memory there was an auction staged as
Literary Auction
For Peace
Autograph Letters / Manuscripts
First Editions
Inscribed and Limited Editions
Tuesday, April 23, 1968
Exhibition: 1:00 – 7:45 PM
Auction: 8:00 – 11:00 PM
Held at the
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street
New York City
Auction Hall courtesy of the
Ethical Culture Society
This sale was especially well designed. Every item’s donor was listed. Every item’s virtues were concisely described. As well, their Sponsors List was included subject to space. That list also included um-teen hyper-famous personalities.
This sale probably drew a crowd just to see the crowd.
How did the sale did? Not particularly well. Almost all lots sold but the prices were modest. What turned out to be both good politics and good investments: ? Original manuscript material.
Net net. Both of these sales remind us that authors and collectors have stepped up when the chips were down.
Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LETTRE ENCYCLIQUE, manuscrit XIXe siècle
Gros & Delettrez, June 12: NOUVEAU TESTAMENT, Amsterdam 1668, reliure arménienne
Rose City Book & Paper Fair June 14-15, 2025 1000 NE Multnomah, Portland ROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM
Swann, June 12: Lot 3: Thomas McKenney and James Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 1848-1854. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 8: Invoice to the Town of Boston for advertising pre-revolutionary content in the Boston Post Boy, manuscript document, Boston, July 1768. Estimate $5,000 to $7,500.
Swann, June 12: Lot 13: Clairac and Nicola, L'Ingenieur de Campagne; or, Field
Swann, June 12: Lot 81: Journals of Major Robert Rogers . . . of the Several Excursions he Made . . . upon the Continent of North America, London, 1765. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 99: Photograph albums and papers from the family of W.G. Fargo, photo albums containing 442 photographs, 1865-88. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 112: Isaac Leeser, Discourses on the Jewish Religion, 10 volumes, Philadelphia: Sherman & Co., 1866-1868. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 176: Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Boston, 1845. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 190: Thomas Hariot, Admiranda narratio fida tamen, de commodis et incolarum ritibus Virginiae, 1590. Estimate $25,000 to $35,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 200: Correspondence of a regimental cavalry commander in Wyoming and Utah, July 1865 to February 1866. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, June 12: Lot 226: Maturino Gilberti, Vocabulario en lengua de Mechuacan / Aqui comienca el vocabulario en la lengua Castellana y Mechuacana, 1559. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.
Sotheby's Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
Sotheby's Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
