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Kestenbaum and Company: FINE JUDAICA: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Graphic & Ceremonial Art

Auction Reports

Auction Name FINE JUDAICA: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Graphic & Ceremonial Art Total Sales (USD) 452,647.50
Auction Date November 07, 2019 - November 07, 2019 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 349,300.00
Sale Number #85 High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) 525,100.00
Total Lots 245
Sold Lots 133 Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) 814,300.00
% of Lots Sold 54.29% High Estimate of All Lots (USD) 1,198,300.00
Unsold Lots 112 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 37.77%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
234

MARILYN MONROE’S PERSONAL MENORAH.

 American, 1950’s USD 100,000.00 - 150,000.00 USD 112,522.50
217 STRUCK, HERMANN

An extraordinary collection of c. 600 works of art and related items by Hermann Struck.

 USD 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 USD 37,500.00
128 ISAAC IBN SAHULA.

Mashal Hakadmoni [“Proverb of the Ancient”].

 1547 USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD 30,000.00
11 Mordecai, Jacob (1762-1838).

Autograph (untitled) Manuscript, written in English (with some Hebrew): Analysis and refutation of Christian readings of the Hebrew Bible. 38 pages. Incomplete at end.

 1820’s USD 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 USD 13,750.00
187 SZYK, ARTHUR

Le Statut de Kalisz.

 1932 USD 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 USD 13,750.00
4 ABRABANEL, DON ISAAC.

Perush Nevi'im Acharonim [commentary to Later Prophets]. Along with text of Bible.

 1520 USD 8,000.00 - 10,000.00 USD 12,500.00
46 BACHIAH BEN JOSEPH IBN PAQUDA

Barchi Naphshi [ethical poem]. Translated into Italian by Jochanan Altrino. Hebrew and Italian on facing pages.

 1628 USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 USD 11,875.00
51

(BIBLE, Hebrew). Complete, bound in five volumes.

 1545-46 USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 8,125.00
214

Hebrew Scroll of Esther accomplished in traditional Aschkenazi calligraphic hand on vellum. Black ink on six membranes set out in 24 columns. Slightly faded in places from use. Height of scroll: 14 inches (35.5 cm).

 Mid-17th century USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 8,125.00
100

Jüdisches Nachrichtenblatt [“Jewish News Gazette.”] Collection of 65 issues of the Vienna edition. Numbers 9-12 (Jan.-Feb. 1940) and numbers 42-105 (May-Dec. 1940).

 1940 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,875.00
107

Police d'Israel, Quartier General, 6-eme Bureau. [Complete Transcript of the Adolf Eichmann Interrogation]

 1961 USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 6,875.00
126 Domingo de Soussa.

Sermón En El Auto Público De Feé, Que El Tribunal De El Santo Officio De Nueva España, Celebró El Día Catorze De Junio De 1699 En El Real Convento De N.P.S. Domingo De México.

 1699 USD 1,200.00 - 1,800.00 USD 6,875.00
12

A Form of Prayer for the General Fast to be Read in Synagogue on the 11th August in Commemoration of the Hurricane in the Year 1831. - A Form of Prayer for Tuesday 11th August 1835 After the Morning Amidah.

 1835 USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 USD 6,250.00
109

Two Jewish iconographic motifs drawn by Moshe Perl: <<*>> Ten Commandments. <<*>> Shevithi.

 1945 USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 6,250.00
185 (SONCINO PRESS)

Introductio ad Litteras Hebraicas [“Introduction to Hebrew Letters.”]

 1510 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 6,250.00
202 BRESLAUER, LEO (JEHUDA)

(Rabbi in Fürth, Bavaria and Washington Heights, New York. 1894-1983). Significant personal, communal and scholarly archive. Contained in five book-boxes (unsorted).

 USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 USD 6,250.00
22

The Constitution and By-Laws of the Hebrew Sunday School Society of Philadelphia.

 1859 USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 5,625.00
159 (MISHNAH)

Pirkei Avoth [Ethics of the Fathers]

 (1484) USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 5,250.00
16

Seder Hagadah shel Pesach. Service for the Two First Nights of the Passover.

 1850 USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 5,000.00
65 CARDOSO, ISAAC (FERNANDO).

Las Excelencias de los Hebreos [“The Excellences of the Hebrews”].

 1679 USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 USD 5,000.00
195

Talmud Bavli. Replete with numerous commentaries.

 1880-86 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,000.00
201 EINSTEIN, ALBERT

(Theoretical physicist and Noble Prize winner, 1879-1955). Typed Letter Signed, written in German to Jesse M. Mendheim of New York City. <<*>> With: Accompanying envelope.

 1935 USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 USD 5,000.00
213

(BIBLE: BOOK OF ESTHER) Illustrated Hebrew Manuscript. Sephardic square and semi-cursive hand on paper. With Targum Sheni (Pathshegen Hakethav). Illustrated title-page with further color illustrations depicting incidents in the Esther story (ff. 45a, 50b,

 1928 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,000.00
215

Contemporary illuminated Hebrew Scroll of Esther accomplished in traditional hand on vellum. Black ink, composed on six membranes in 38 columns. Entire lower register with pictorial narrative of the Esther story, accomplished in a Persian style in <

 USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD 5,000.00
15 Rosanna Dyer Osterman.

Autograph Letter Signed, written in English to her brother in Baltimore, Leon Dyer.

 1848 USD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 USD 4,500.00
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [RUTH, George Herman “Babe” (1895-1948)]. Signed photograph. Circa 1930s. 191 x 248 mm. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HARRISON, Benjamin. Document signed (“Benj Harrison”) as governor of Virginia, certifying the service of Daniel Cumbo, a Black Revolutionary soldier. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: ONE OF THE FIRST PRINTED ANNOUNCEMENTS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: FIRST PRINTING OF LINCOLN’S IMMORTAL GETTYSBURG ADDRESS. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: HIGHLY IMPORTANT MORMON ARCHIVE. ALLEY, George. Archive of 23 Autograph Letters Signed by Mormon Convert George Alley to His Brother Joseph Alley. $10,000 to $20,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [AVIATION]. [ARMSTRONG, Neil A.] Aviation Hall of Fame Gold Medal MS64 NGC, Awarded to Neil Armstrong in 1979. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: NEWLY DISCOVERED FIRST PRINTING OF "WITH MALICE TOWARDS NONE... " FROM THE ONLY NEWSPAPER ACTUALLY ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE IN LINCOLN’S SECOND INAUGURAL PROCESSION. $4,000 to $8,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: THE MOST IMPORTANT GEORGE WASHINGTON DOCUMENT IN PRIVATE HANDS; GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF, 1775, ONE OF ONLY TWO ORIGINALS. $150,000 to $250,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: A VERY RARE ACCOUNT OF BLACKBEARD’S DEATH AND ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PIRATE ITEMS EXTANT. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    Starting 10AM CST
    April 18, 2024
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: EDISON, Thomas. Patent for Edison’s Improvements on the Electric-Light, No. 219,628. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. Patent Office], 16 September 1879. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: [VIETNAM WAR]. The original pen used by Secretary of State William P. Rogers to sign the Vietnam Peace Agreement, Paris, 27 January 1973. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Potter & Potter, Apr. 18: SONS OF LIBERTY FOUNDER COLONEL BARRÉ ANNOTATED TITLE-PAGE, “WHICH OUGHT TO ROUSE UP BRITISH ATTENTION”. $4,000 to $6,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Winston Churchill. The Second World War. Set of First-Edition Volumes. 6,000 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: A.A. Milne, Ernest H. Shepard. A Collection of The Pooh Books. Set of First-Editions. 18,600 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Salvador Dalí, Lewis Carroll. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Finely Bound and Signed Limited Edition. 15,000 USD
    Sotheby’s
    Modern First Editions
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ian Fleming. Live and Let Die. First Edition. 9,500 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter Series. Finely Bound First Printing Set of Complete Series. 5,650 USD
    Sotheby’s, Available Now: Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell to Arms. First Edition, First Printing. 4,200 USD
  • Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Piccolomini's De La Sfera del Mondo (The Sphere of the World), 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Vellutello's Commentary on Petrarch, With Map, 1525.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Finely Bound Definitive, Illustrated Edition of I Promessi Sposi, 1840.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Rare First Edition of John Milton's Latin Correspondence, 1674.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Giolito's Edition of Boccaccio's The Decamerone, with Bedford Binding, 1542.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of the First Biography of Marie of the Incarnation, with Rare Portrait, 1677.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Aldine Edition of Volume One of Cicero's Orationes, 1540.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Bonanni's Illustrated Costume Catalogue, with Complete Plates, 1711.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Important Incunable, the First Italian Edition of Josephus's De Bello Judaico, 1480.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: First Edition of Jacques Philippe d'Orville's Illustrated Book of the Ruins of Sicily, 1764.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: An Incunable from 1487, The Contemplative Life, with Early Manuscript.
    Leland Little, Apr. 26: Ignatius of Loyola's Exercitia Spiritualia, 1563.
  • Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 546. Christoph Jacob Trew. Plantae selectae, 1750-1773.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 70. Thomas Murner. Die Narren beschwerung. 1558.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 621. Michael Bernhard Valentini. Museum Museorum, 1714.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 545. Sander Reichenbachia. Orchids illustrated and described, 1888-1894.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1018. Marinetti, Boccioni, Pratella Futurism - Comprehensive collection of 35 Futurist manifestos, some of them exceptionally rare. 1909-1933.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 634. August Johann Rösel von Rosenhof. 3 Original Drawings, around 1740.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 671. Jacob / Picasso. Chronique des Temps, 1956.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1260. Mary Webb. Sarn. 1948. Lucie Weill Art Deco Binding.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 508. Felix Bonfils. 108 large-format photographs of Syria and Palestine.
    Jeschke Jadi
    Auction 151
    Saturday, April 27, 2024
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 967. Dante Aligheri and Salvador Dali. Divina Commedia, 1963.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1316. Tolouse-Lautrec. Dessinateur. Duhayon binding, 1948.
    Jeschke Jádi, Apr. 27: Lot 1303. Regards sur Paris. Braque, Picasso, Masson, 1962.
  • Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: McCarthy (Cormac). Cities of the Plain, N.Y., 1998, First Edn., signed on hf. title; together with Uncorrected Proof and Uncorrected Advance Reading Copies, both signed by the Author. €800 to €1,000.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Stanihurst (Richard). De Rebus in Hibernia Gestis, Libri Quattuor, sm. 4to Antwerp (Christi. Plantium) 1584. First Edn. €525 to €750.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Fleischer (Nat.) Jack Dempsey The Idol of Fistiana, An Intimate Narrative, N.Y., 1929, First Edn. Signed on f.e.p. by Rocky Marciano. €400 to €600.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Smith - Classical Atlas, Lond., 1820. Bound with, Smiths New General Atlas .. Principal Empires, Kingdoms, & States throughout the World, Lond. 1822. €350 to €500.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Rare Auction Catalogues – 1856: Bindon Blood, of Ennis, Co. Clare: Sotheby & Wilkinson. €320 to €450.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Mavor (Wm.)] A General Collection of Voyages and Travels from the Discovery of America to the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century, 28 vols. (complete) Lond., 1810. €300 to €400.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Mc Carthy (Cormac). Outer Dark, N.Y. (Random House)1968, Signed by Mc Carthy. €250 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Three signed works by Ted Huges - Wodwo, 1967; Crow from the Life and Songs of the Crow, 1970; and Tales from Ovid, 1997. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: The Garden. An Illustrated Weekly Journal of Horticulture in all its Branches, 7 vols. lg. 4to Lond. 1877-1880. With 127 colored plates. €200 to €300.
    Fonsie Mealy’s
    Rare Book & Collectors Sale
    24th April 2024
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: Procter (Richard A.) Saturn and its System: Containing Discussions of The Motion (Real and Apparent)…, Lond. 1865. First Edn. €160 to €220.
    Fonsie Mealy, Apr. 24: [Ashe] St. George, Lord Bishop of Clogher, A Sermon Preached to the Protestants of Ireland, now in London,... Oct. 23, 1712, London 1712. Second Edn. €130 to €180.
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