For those of you whose collections lack a catalogue on asphalt, there is Seyssel natural asphalte. The only material as yet discovered capable of producing perfect streets and sidewalks. Judging by the condition of most roads and sidewalks today, no other such perfect material has been discovered since. This 1873 catalogue was published by James Callender, described as the "sole agent for the United States" for this French product. Asphalt produced from the mines of Seyssel has been used in European roads for around three centuries, but we are unsure whether Callender was successful in making many sales in America. Item 22. $135.
The Trustees of Reservations of Massachusetts is not very well known, not even in its home state, but they are an outstanding environmental organization that has purchased and set aside tracts of land to be preserved in a natural state. As a onetime member when I lived in Massachusetts, I can personally attest to their good work. Item 147 is only their Second Annual Report of the Trustees of Public Reservations, 1892. The report includes 25 pages of listings of public open spaces in the state, and seven pages of scenic pictures. $150.
Kew Gardens is the common name for the British Royal Botanical Gardens. It is both a beautiful site and home to an extensive collection of plant life. It has been a popular attraction for a long, long time. Item 105 is one of the many guidebooks that have been published for this park. From the 1860s, it is called Kew Gardens; the pleasure grounds and park. A hand-book guide for visitors. It describes many of the structures then in place at the Gardens. At the time, it cost a penny. Today, $175.
The Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland covers 285 acres and is today "home" to over 100,000 residents. It is as much park as burial ground. Among those who reside, but do not live there, are John D. Rockefeller, Eliot Ness, and the subject of this publication, President James A. Garfield. Actually, this is more a description of the huge memorial to President Garfield than the President himself. Published in 1889, eight years after he was assassinated, item 177 describes the structure, its design, and the selection process that chose this massive memorial to the once very popular president. The title is Historic and descriptive sketch of the Garfield Memorial, at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio. $125.
You may find Charles Wood Antiquarian Booksellers and an online version of this catalogue at www.cbwoodbooks.com. Their phone number is 617-868-1711.
Swann, May 15: Lot 4: Helena Bochoráková-Dittrichová, Z Mého Detství Drevoryty, Prague: Obzina, 1929. First trade edition, signed by the artist. $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 10: Nancy Cunard, Negro Anthology, with a tipped-in A.L.S. to Karl Marx's niece, 1934. First edition. $3,000 to $5,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 14: Margaret Fuller, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, 1845. First edition. $4,000 to $6,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 17: Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun, inscribed first edition, 1959. $2,000 to $3,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 28: Margaret Hill Morris, Private Journal Kept during a Portion of the Revolutionary War, for the Amusement of a Sister, 1836. First edition. $3,000 to $4,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 38: Anna Sewell, Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse, 1877. First edition. $3,000 to $5,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 43: Gertrude Stein, Portrait of Mabel Dodge at the Villa Curonia, signed presentation copy with photograph of Stein, 1912. First edition. $8,000 to $12,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 48: Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse, first edition in the scarce dust jacket, 1927. $6,000 to $8,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 54: Katherine Dunham, large archive of material from her attorney, 1951-53. $20,000 to $30,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 55: Margaret Fuller Signed Autograph Letter, New York City, 1846. $3,000 to $5,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 92: Sonia Delaunay, illus. & Tristan Tzara, Juste Present, deluxe edition with original gouache, 1961. $20,000 to $25,000.
Swann, May 15: Lot 93: Flor Garduño, The Sonnets of Shakespeare, 2006. Limited edition. $6,000 to $8,000.
Sotheby's Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
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
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli: Pietro Aquila, Psyche and Proserpina,1690. Starting price 140€
Gonnelli: Jacques Gamelin, Memento homo quia pulvis es et in pulverem reverteris, 1779. Starting price 300€
Gonnelli: Giorgio Ghisi, The final Judgement, 1680. Starting price 480€
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli Goya y Lucientes Francisco, Los Proverbios.1877. Starting price 1000 €
Gonnelli: Domenico Peruzzini, Long bearded old man, 1660. Starting price 2200€
Gonnelli: Enea Vico, Leda and the Swan,1542. Starting price 140€
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli: Andrea Del Sarto [school of], San Giovanni Battista, 1570. Starting price 25000€
Gonnelli: Carlo Maratta, Virgin Mary and Jesus, 1660. Starting Price 1200€
Gonnelli: Louis Brion de La Tour, Sphére de Copernic Sphere de Ptolemée / Le Systême de Ptolemée. Le Systême de Ticho-Brahe…, 1766. Starting price 180€
Gonnelli Auction 59 Antique prints, paintings and maps May 20th 2025
Gonnelli: Marc’Antonio Dal Re, Ville di Delizia o Siano Palaggi Camparecci nello Stato di Milano Divise in Sei Tomi Con espressevi le Piante…, Tomo Primo, 1726. Starting price 7000€
Gonnelli: Katsushika Hokusai, Bird on a branch, 1843. Starting price 100€
![Gonnelli: Andrea Del Sarto [school of], San Giovanni Battista, 1570. Starting price 25000€](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/dc0b1dc0-f7c8-40b6-a5a6-870689484c07.jpg "<b>Gonnelli:</b> Andrea Del Sarto [school of], San Giovanni Battista, 1570. Starting price 25000€")
![Dominic Winter, May 14: Roberts (Henry, after). Chart of the NW Coast of America and NE Coast of Asia ..., [1784]. £500-800](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/033cf239-2b91-4588-aca2-50ad0a9c43b3.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, May 14:</b> Roberts (Henry, after). <i>Chart of the NW Coast of America and NE Coast of Asia ...,</i> [1784]. £500-800")
![Dominic Winter, May 14: World. Ortelius (Abraham), Typus Orbis Terrarum, [1598]. £2,000-3,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/3ecbc3d4-52ef-41c5-8a8d-d4a158a51253.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, May 14:</b> World. Ortelius (Abraham), <i>Typus Orbis Terrarum,</i> [1598]. £2,000-3,000")
![Dominic Winter, May 14: Bible [English]. [The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New..., 1613]. £2,000-3,000](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/fcfb0b9a-4f59-4dc8-87fd-1dfdf90611dc.jpg "<b>Dominic Winter, May 14:</b> Bible [English]. [<i>The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New...,</i> 1613]. £2,000-3,000")
