Back

Christies: Books, Manuscripts, Photographs: from the Middle Ages to the Moon - bidstart 4/14

Auction Reports

Auction Name Books, Manuscripts, Photographs: from the Middle Ages to the Moon - bidstart 4/14 Total Sales (GBP) 1,143,000.00
Auction Date April 28, 2021 - April 28, 2021 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 598,300.00
Sale Number #20382 High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 890,900.00
Total Lots 212
Sold Lots 167 Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 834,000.00
% of Lots Sold 78.77% High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 1,250,700.00
Unsold Lots 45 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 91.39%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
23 Hartmann Schedel

Liber chronicarum.

1493 GBP 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 GBP 68,750.00
5

Lives of Saints and devotional readings, in Coptic, decorated manuscript on paper

15th or 16th century] GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 GBP 60,000.00
8

Four Gospels, in Armenian, illuminated manuscript on vellum, Marunan, Sos (New Julfa, Isfahan)

1703 GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 60,000.00
25 Hartmann Schedel

Liber chronicarum German:] Das Buch der Croniken und Geschichten. Translated by Georg Alt (c.1450-1510).

1496 GBP 5,000.00 - 8,000.00 GBP 60,000.00
12 Joseph Severn

Portrait of John Keats at Wentworth Place on the day of his composing 'Ode to a Nightingale'

GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 GBP 50,000.00
31 Gaspare Tagliacozzi.

De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem.

1597 GBP 35,000.00 - 45,000.00 GBP 43,750.00
57 Jan Huygen Linschoten

Histoire de la navigation de Jean Hugues de Linscot Hollandais et de son voyage es Indes Orientales.

1610 GBP 12,000.00 - 16,000.00 GBP 37,500.00
91 Charles Robert Darwin — Robert Fitzroy

Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle.

1839 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 30,000.00
29 Bartosz Paprocki

Ogrod Krolweski The Royal Garden].

1599 GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 27,500.00
14 Henri Matisse

Important series of approximately 30 autograph letters (of which 25 signed, ‘Henri’, ‘H. Matisse’ or with initials) to his wife, Amélie (‘Mélo’), almost all

1912 GBP 25,000.00 - 35,000.00 GBP 25,000.00
120 Sangorski & Sutcliffe, binders, calligraphers and illuminators – Edmund Spenser

Epithalamion.

c.1920 GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 25,000.00
3

Book of Hours, use of Troyes, in French and Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum

late 15th century GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 GBP 23,750.00
159 William Anders [Apollo 8]

First Earthrise seen by human eyes, December 21-27, 1968

1968 GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 GBP 21,250.00
196 Harrison Schmitt; Ronald Evans [Apollo 17]

The “Blue Marble”, first photograph of the full Earth seen by human eyes, December 7-19

1972 GBP 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 GBP 21,250.00
39 Luigi Galvani.

De viribus electricitatis in motu musculari commentarius. In: De Bononiensi Scientiarum et Artium Instituto atque Academia Commentarii, vol. VII, pp. 363-418].

1791 GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 GBP 15,000.00
84 Matthew Flinders

A Voyage to Terra Australis; undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in his Majesty's Ship the Investigator.

1814 GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 GBP 15,000.00
18 Johannes Duns Scotus

Quaestiones in primum librum Sententiarum Petri Lombardi, edited by Antonius Trombetta (1476-1517/18?).

1472 GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 GBP 13,750.00
64 Jan Commelin and Caspar Commelin

Horti Medici Amstelodamensis rariorum tam orientalis, quam Occidentalis Indiae, aliarumque peregrinarum Planaturm magno studio ... Beschryvinge en curieuse Afbeeldingen van rare vreemde Oos- West-Indische en andere gewassen.

1697-1701. GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 GBP 13,750.00
76 Captain James Cook – William Bayly

The Original Astronomical Observations made In the course of a voyage to the northern Pacific Ocean, for the discovery of a North East or North West Passage… By Captain James Cooke sic] ... published by order of the Commissioners of Longtitude.

1782 GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 13,750.00
117 Daniel Defoe.

The Fortunate Mistress: Or, A History of the Life and Vast Variety of Fortunes of Mademoiselle de Beleau, Afterwards Called the Countess de Wintselsheim, in Germany, Being the Person known by the Name of the Lady Roxana, in the Time of King Charles II.

1724 GBP 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 GBP 13,750.00
34 Galileo Galilei [and Marin Mersenne].

Les nouvelles pensees de Galilei ... oùpar des inventions merveilleuses, & des demonstrations inconnuês iusques à present, il est traittéde la proportion des mouvements, tant naturels, que violents, & de tout ce qu'il y a de plus subtil dans les mechaniqu

1639 GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 12,500.00
66 Jean Baptiste Du Halde.

Description Géographique, Historique, Chronologique, Politique et Physique de l'Empire de la Chine et de la Tartarie Chinoisie.

1735 GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 GBP 12,500.00
21 Dante Alighieri

La Commedia. Commentary by Christophorus Landinus (1424-1498) and edited by Piero da Figino (15th century). – ps-DANTE. Il Credo.

1491 GBP 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 GBP 11,250.00
22

HORAE, use of Rome, in Latin and French.

after 1492 GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 11,250.00
24 Thomas Aquinas

Commentaria in omnes epistolas Sancti Pauli. Edited by Petrus Bergomensis.

1495 GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 GBP 11,250.00
  • 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.
  • 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.
Ask Questions