Cummins and Reese Offer the Charles Cramer Archive
- by Michael Stillman
The Charles Cramer Archive.
James Cummins Bookseller and the William Reese Company have combined to produce a catalogue of The Charles Cramer Archive. It is not a typical bookseller's catalogue. It contains but one item, though that lot encompasses 40 volumes. It is an archive that was composed by the Russian diplomat and American and European traveler Charles Cramer the good part of two centuries ago. It is filled with material that provides a window on 1820-30s America, in particular, along with some views of Europe and Russia.
Charles Cramer is not a household name, but he was born to an important Russian merchant family in St. Petersburg in 1799. The family firm had trade ties to the Americas, which led to Cramer visiting North America from 1824-28 and again in the 1830s. It was during this later period that Cramer served as Russian Consul in New York. After returning home, he remained in regular contact with American scientists through his position as Secretary of the Imperial Mineralogical Society of St. Petersburg.
While Cramer wrote and collected extensively on his travels, he apparently only published one book during his lifetime, a two-volume account published in 1837-1840 in St. Petersburg in German, Etwas uber die Natur Wunder in Nord America (Something about the Natural Wonders of North America). The second volume is scarce; the first extremely rare. This book features caves, rivers and waterfalls of America. Cramer observed many natural wonders as he visited every one of the United States as of the 1830s excepting Alabama, plus parts of Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The archive includes presentation copies of this book Cramer gave to his father and his wife, including some of his autograph notes, manuscripts, an unpublished continuation, and original drawings by his wife, most of which did not appear in his book.
Along with Cramer's published book are several unpublished manuscript books he created: A General Tour thro' the United States, Scenes in America, Remembrancer of Scenes in Europe, and Scenes in Europe Second Series. The material dates from 1824-1849 (Cramer lived until 1879). What Cramer did was to assemble all sorts of visual material to accompany his narratives. He collected printed views, sketches and other ephemeral items on his journeys to include in his books. As Cummins and Reese note, "No contemporary account of travel in America is so widely illustrated." Cramer would then add his notes to the images he found, which were bound together with his texts. "Seen as a whole," Cummins and Reese continue, "the archive presents an unparalleled resource for how early nineteenth century America presented itself, and was viewed by educated outsiders. In many ways, the Cramer archive provides the visual cognate of observers such as de Tocqueville or Mrs. Trollope."
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
