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Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - July - 2011 Issue

The Pacific from the Arader Galleries

An illustration from Gould's Birds of Australia.

An illustration from Gould's Birds of Australia.

When La Perouse went missing, the French sent out a mission to find their lost hero. In 1791, the call was given to Bruni d'Entrecasteaux to head a search party to Australia to find the missing ships. D'Entrecasteaux circled Australia twice, but found no trace of the missing explorer. Wreckage later found near a reef of an isolated Pacific island explains why La Perouse was not found anywhere near Australia. Nevertheless, d'Entrecasteaux learned much about the geography of Australia and surrounding islands. Still, the mission was doomed to more than just failure in its basic goal. Scurvy struck many of the men, with d'Entrecasteaux succumbing to the disease. Meanwhile, revolution broke out back home, splitting the men on board between officers who favored the monarchy, and ordinary sailors who favored the revolution. With their captain gone, the mission fell apart and the ships were turned over to Dutch authorities in Java. The book is entitled, Voyage de Dentrecasteaux, envoye a la recherche de La Perouse. $29,000.

 

Here is a beautiful, illustrated book with a spectacular provenance. It is John Gould's The Birds of Australia, published in eight volumes 1851-1869. Gould was well known for his works on European birds when he decided he wanted to try his hand somewhere else. He set off for Australia to create images of birds generally unknown to the outside world. Much of the time he was there, Gould and his wife stayed with the Governor of Tasmania, John Franklin. Not surprisingly, Franklin was one of the subscribers. Offered by the Arader Galleries is John Franklin's copy. It comes with an autographed letter from Franklin's aide-de-camp, Henry Elliot, dated 1877. In it, Elliot explains that he was given the set by Franklin's niece after Franklin's widow died in 1876. Gould acknowledged the assistance of both Franklin and Elliot in the book's preface. Admiral Franklin is remembered more for what he did before and after his time in Australia. He was an Arctic explorer, leading three expeditions prior to his governorship, and one two years later, in 1845. This was an attempt to find a northwest passage, unsuccessful like so many others. Unfortunately, Franklin's ships became icebound and none of the men were able to make it to rescue. All succumbed to starvation and cold. However, many missions were sent to find him, including state rescue attempts and those funded by Franklin's wife. Much information about the Arctic regions was learned through missions attempting to find Franklin. $1,200,000.

 

The Arader Galleries has locations in New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston and Denver. Questions concerning this catalogue may be addressed to Kate Hunter in New York at 212-628-3668 or katehunter@aradergalleries.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum AuctionsFine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper  17th July 2025 Forum AuctionsFine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper  17th July 2025
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.
  • Sotheby’sGeek Week2-17 July | New York Sotheby’sGeek Week2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Buzz Aldrin's FLOWN Apollo 11 Crew-Signed NASA Manned Spacecraft Center Cover. $15,000 to $20,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Lunar Surface Flown Mission Emblem Presented to Tom Stafford by John Young. $8,000 to $12,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Albert Einstein. Typed Letter Signed ("A. Einstein."), to Ann Morrisett, Affirming a Pacifist's Right to Self-Defense, March 21, 1952. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Geek Week
    2-17 July | New York
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Operating and Maintenance Manual for the BINAC Binary Automatic Computer Built for Northrop Aircraft Corporation. Philadelphia, 1949. $30,000 to $50,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 17: Steve Jobs Apple Computer Business Card, c. 1977. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Sotheby’s, July 15: Extensive Chronology of Spacecraft From Apollo to Skylab, Signed by a Member of Every Crewed Apollo Flight and the Commanders of Each Skylab Mission. $5,000 to $8,000.
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  • DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025 DOYLERare Books, Autographs & MapsJuly 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800

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