Rare Book Monthly
How much Green is there in the White Mountains?
Lot 137: A early American relief map
According to the auctioneer Leif Laudamus, the material is generally in very good condition, and when it is not, it is noted in the description. The more difficult issue to understand is relative condition. Some items are never found in good condition, others are commonly superb. Dealers, who tend to see the same items over decades, develop a sense for this and many collectors give their bids to experienced dealers to gain access to this perspective. As well, some collectors prefer perfect copies while others love a bargain even if the book is incomplete or the map torn. In the world of books, manuscripts and ephemera there is room for both perspectives. In any event, for every item you consider, ask about condition if there is any question.
In this sale some items are quite common. There are fifteen copies of Samuel Drake's The Heart of the White Mountains [lot 78] available on Abe. They range in price from $40 to $250 and include a wide ranging tour of available defects. This lot may encounter tough sledding as it moves above $100.
And then there is lot 137, Snow & Bradlee's relief Map of the White Mountains, N. H. It is an early American relief map, produced in Boston, in 1872. What is a relief map? It is a raised map with ridges and contours that roughly approximate the terrain. This printed color map is small, measuring about 8.5 by 10.5 inches and is about half an inch in height. In America this is an early example although in Europe the manufacturing technique had been perfected decades earlier. This example is the map only without the printed wrap-around boards. In 1990 Charles Wood catalogued for $600 and quickly sold a similar example [also without the outer boards]. Seventeen years later, an identical item, in a later frame, is estimated $125 to $175. This seems very cheap. Ten times the low estimate seems more like it. See my note at the end of this article
Among the more expensive items is an example of Belknap's three volume "The History of New Hampshire." The first volume is a second edition and the second and third volumes first editions. It's priced well below a matched set of firsts at $600 to $900 but hard to figure.
There are three examples of William Oakes' Scenery of the White Mountains [1848]. Each contains 16 lithograph plates after drawings by Isaac Sprague. On Abe there are four comparables priced $1,500 to $2,750. The NEBA examples, lots 152-4, are estimated $400-$600, $300-$500 and $250-$350. Howes rates this item a "b," suggesting a higher value. With three copies up for sale both the quality of the items and the depth of interest will be tested. Images have been doing very well generally so there should be upside.
