The Historical Auction Series No.2 The H. Bradley Martin Sale 1989-1990
A few copies are still to be found in attics.
Top selling lots from the Americana part of the Martin sale included Lot 2553, a very fine printing of the Declaration of Independence; estimated at $400,000/600,000, this went for $1,595,000 to “Ralph Newman/Chicago Dealer”, breaking sale records in printed Americana in the process; and Lot 2548, George Washington’s copy of The Federalist, estimated at $250,000/400,000, sold for $1,430,000 to an “Anonymous American Private”, breaking records for the sale of association copies in the process. Other top selling Americana lots included William Alexander’s Lord Sterling, a collection of 220 Alexander manuscripts; a work by Prince Maximilian Alexander Phillip zu Wied-Neuwied which was described as “the finest work on American Indian Life and the American Frontier;” a presentation copy of the Lincoln-Douglas debates inscribed and signed by Lincoln; and George Catlin’s North American Indian Portfolio: Hunting Scenes and Amusements of the Rocky Mountains and Praries of America.
Sotheby’s “After-Sale Report” goes on to comment on the Americana Part VII Martin sale:
According to Selby Kiffer, an expert in Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts department in New York, “Bradley Martin’s small but select collection of Printed and Manuscript Americana contained several lots of enormous importance which sparked enthusiastic competition among collectors. The sale demonstrated a continued interest in American manuscripts and a renewed interest in printed Americana. The prices achieved for the first printing of the Declaration of Independence and Washington’s copy of The Federalist indicate a strong market for works of the greatest rarity.” [Sotheby’s New York, “After-Sale Report” for Part VII Americana, January 31, 1990, graciously passed on to this author by Sotheby’s and quoted with permission.]
Because the Martin sale also took place only 13 years ago, we are lucky in that there are still many book men and women around who vividly remember aspects of it. I’d like to take advantage of this living history now by quoting and/or paraphrasing selectively from some of the book people I was able to interview about the environment and the historic impact of the Bradley Martin sale:
Excerpts and paraphrases from an interview about the H. Bradley Martin sales with Bill Reese of the William Reese Company, New Haven, CT., conducted 7/29/03:
[On what he remembers about the Martin sale:] The first thing that I would remember about the [Martin] sale is that it spanned quite a period of time, and it also spanned an economic backslide which had an effect on the sale towards the end. The sale started in 1989, during a period of boom. In 1990, when it ended, the U.S. was in a period of economic ups and downs that had a definite effect on the sale…
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.
