Glen Dawson, the consummate bookman and bibliophile, has sent Part II of his collection of early Californiana and Los Angeles ephemera to
auction to be parsed, savored and sold by Johns' Western Gallery on September 29th. The sale includes 99 items from the 1874-1879 period.
Part I, comprising 100 lots brought $152,000 on December 2, 2005. The first sale was successful both for buyers and the seller as Mr. Dawson's
decades long commitment to the collection of obscure early local materials was welcomed by a new generation of collectors who appreciated the
rarity of both the material and the opportunity to acquire it. Lots in the first sale had low estimates and no reserves leaving bidders from
around the state and across the country to fight it out for the privilege of taking home a prize. Most lots fell to a Southern Californian
passing bids by phone to his attractive representative who systematically decapitated hopefuls with an upraised paddle that refused to fall.
In that sale Doug Johns, the proprietor and auctioneer, was content to let prices find their natural perches after starting at levels that let
everyone present believe they would be carrying home boxes of gems for the price of a Big Mac. Alas it didn't work out that way as one buyer
ate all the lunch.
This sale, the second of four projected, continues the deaccessioning in date order. The first sale included imprints issued between 1843 and
1873. This sale covers 1874 to 1879. The collection is the lifelong avocation of Glen Dawson and his connection adds significant cachet to
the material. For collectors, who may not otherwise covet the material, the acquisition of one or two items for their Dawson provenance may
prove irresistible. The numbering of the lots conforms to the yet-to-be published Bibliography of Southern California Imprints being prepared
by Dr. Stuart Robinson. Thus there are occasional blanks.
Here then a few examples from the sale.
Lot 111. Diagram of the Scene of the Capture of Vasquez. Typographical map composed entirely of printers' ornaments, 24.6 x 33.9
cm. Supplement to the Los Angeles Star, Vol. XI, No. 21 (May 23, 1874). Est. $1,500/2,500
Lot 114. Tiburcio Vasquez, the Notorious Bandit. 9 x 6 cm, albumen-print carte de visite with 42 lines of printed text on verso.
[Los Angeles, 1874.] Est. $500/800
Lot 138. By-laws of the California Wine-Growers' Association of Los Angeles, Incorporated March 20, 1875. 14 pp., 21.5 cm,
printed wrappers, in cloth & leather case, fold-out photograph tipped in facing title page. Los Angeles: "Mirror" Book and Job Printing
Establishment, Downey Block, Temple and Main Streets, 1875. Est. $1,000/1,500
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
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 1: Bob Dylan, his high school classmate's yearbook with his senior portrait, signed and inscribed to her, 1959. $10,000 to $20,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 1: Bob Dylan, his high school classmate's yearbook with his senior portrait, signed and inscribed to her, 1959. $10,000 to $20,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 4: Various entertainers, Group of 30 items, signed or inscribed, various dates. $1,500 to $2,500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 27: John Adams, Autograph Letter Signed to Benjamin Rush introducing Archibald Redford, Paris, 1783. $35,000 to $50,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 36: Robert Gould Shaw, Autograph Letter Signed to his father from Camp Andrew, Boston, 1861. $10,000 to $15,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 53: Martin Luther King Jr., Time magazine cover, signed and inscribed "Best Wishes," 1957. $5,000 to $7,500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 127: Paul Gauguin, Autograph Letter regarding payment for paintings, with woodcut letterhead, 1900. $6,000 to $9,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 169: Suck: First European Sex Paper, complete group of eight issues, 1969-1974. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 173: Black Panthers, The Racist Dog Policemen Must Withdraw Immediately From Our Communities, poster, 1969. $2,000 to $3,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 187: Marc Attali & Jacques Delfau, Les Erotiques du Regard, first edition, Paris, 1968. $300 to $500.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 213: Andy Warhol, Warhol's Index Book, first printing, New York, 1967. $800 to $1,200.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 215: Cookie Mueller, Archive of 17 items, including 4 items inscribed and signed. $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, Apr. 10: Lot 249: Jamie Reid, The Ten Lessons / The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle; Sex Pistols, chromogenic print with collage, signed, circa 1980. $20,000 to $30,000.
