• Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Alken (Henry). Sporting Notions, first edition, T.McLean, 1832-33. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Bardi (Lorenzo). Nuova Raccolta delle piu interessanti Vedute della Citta di Firenze…, Florence, Lorenzo Bardi, [c.1840]. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Crawfurd (John). Journal of an Embassy from the Governor-General of India to the Court of Ava..., first edition, 1829. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Dawe (George, engraver). The Life of a Nobleman, first edition, Geo. Henderson, [c.1825]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: [Doyle (John)], "H.B.". Political Sketches &c., 10 vol. including The Descriptive Key to H.B., Thomas McLean, [1829-51]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Eben (Adolphus Christian Frederick, Baron von) and Nicolaus Heideloff. Modèles de l'Uniforme Militaire Adopté dans l'Armée Royale de Suède, Rudolph Ackerman, 1808. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Geissler (J.G.G.) and Friedrich Hempel. Mahlerische Darstellungen der Sitten, Gebrauche und Lustbarkeiten bey den Russischen, Tartarischen…, 4 parts in 1, Leipzig and Paris, [1804]. £1,000 to £1,500.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Hunt (Charles). Portraits of Winning Horses...of the Derby, Oaks, & St. Leger, from the Year 1842 to 1849…, Rock Brothers & Payne, 1849. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Kunike (Adolf Friedrich). Zwey hundert und sechzig Donau-Ansichten nach dem Laufe des Donaustromes…, Vienna, Leopold Grund, 1826. £3,000 to £5,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Colour Plate Books from the Library of Norman Bobins
    Part 2
    27th March 2024
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Lasinio (Carlo). [Matrimony], Florence, 1790. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Reinhardt (Joseph). A Collection of Swiss Costumes, in Miniature, second English edition, James Goodwin, [1828]. £800 to £1,200.
    Forum Auctions, Mar. 27: Wengen (Gottfried Durst von). Die Öffentliche Maskerade Bamberg am Fastnachts-Montage 1833…, Bamberg, [1833]. £2,000 to £3,000.
  • 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
  • Potter & Potter Auctions
    How History Unfolds on Paper:
    Choice Selections from the Eric C. Caren Collection
    Part IX
    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
    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
    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
    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.
  • Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG BEADED JUDICIAL COLLAR. $80,000 - $120,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: ONLY KNOWN COPY OF THE ONLY BOOK BY THE REMARKABLE EVE ADAMS. $8,000 - $12,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A COMPLETE RUN OF VISIONAIRE MAGAZINE THROUGH 2010. $6,000 - $9,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: LAW REVIEW OFFPRINT SIGNED AND INSCRIBED BY RUTH BADER GINSBURG. $3,000 - $5,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: META REBNER'S WORKING SCRIPT OF THE LOVED ONE. $1,500 - $2,000
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A KATHY GROVE PORTRAIT OF CYNDI LAUPER FOR THE FEBRUARY 1989 DETAILS COVER. $800 - $1,200
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A PLASTIC COAT BY MILLIE DAVID FEATURED IN SOHO NEWS STYLE SECTION, FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNIE FLANDERS. $500 - $700
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A RUTH BADER GINSBURG JEWELRY BOX. $600 - $900
    Bonhams, Mar. 22 – Apr. 2: A SET OF JONI MITCHELL LYRICS FOR "IF I HAD A HEART." $2,000 - $3,000

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - June - 2019 Issue

Australia and the Pacific Region from Hordern House

The latest from Hordern House.

Hordern House has issued a new catalogue that is lacking a title, but not much else. It is a fully illustrated, well-described collection of material that will appeal to collectors at a high level. Hordern House is located in Sydney, Australia, and most items touch on their homeland in some way. It is heavy on travels and voyages, as is generally the case with Australian material from the early 19th century or earlier. The land was still in discovery mode. Many of these travels reached other lands as well, so Pacific travels in general are well-covered here. Some went inland into the continent, but not many people were straying too far from the shore in these early days. While books are frequently found here, this catalogue also includes paintings and other artwork, manuscripts, maps, documents, and ephemeral items. We will next take a look inside at a few selections.

 

We begin with one of those sort of Australian items. It dates from way before the discovery of Australia as we know it today, a mere speck of the land once thought to exist down under. It refers to the "australe" or southern land. The author was Henri Lancelot-Voison de la Popeliniere, the title L'Amiral de France. Et par Occasion, de Celui des Autres Nations, tant Vieles que Nouvelles. La Popeliniere was a French historian, and this work was published in 1584. It would not be until almost two centuries later, after the second journey of English Captain James Cook, that the myth of there being a giant southern continent was finally put to rest. The theory was based primarily on there being far more known land in the northern hemisphere than the southern. It was believed there must be a balancing amount of land in the southern half, and since travelers had not spotted it in the more northern regions of the southern hemisphere, it must exist in the hemisphere's farther southern regions. La Popeliniere also believed that Magellan had seen the tip of this great land to the south when he passed through the Straits of Magellan. While other than this misunderstanding, no one had ever seen this great continent, la Popeliniere thought that France needed to quickly go and colonize it. This book, his second on the subject, is an attempt to get the French to expand its navy so it can get to work colonizing this mythical land. By this time, other European powers had already grabbed the New World, so this was France's last chance to take a large territory still unclaimed by her rivals. He imagined this land would be filled with riches and beauty, but even if not, France needed to be first to make the discovery. Item 31. Priced at AU $45,000 (Australian dollars, or approximately $30,870 in U.S. dollars).

 

The Beagle, a ship not a dog, participated in what, in hindsight, proved to be the most important of explorations. It was the ship's second major voyage, lasting from 1831-1836. The commander was Captain Robert FitzRoy and the mission was to survey the southern portion of South America. FitzRoy wished to have a naturalist on board and selected a young man with little experience in the field to fill this role. His name was Charles Darwin. It was the result of his observations on this trip, particularly similarities and differences between certain species based on location, that led to his discovery of the theory of evolution. No scientific discovery has ever been as important for humans' understanding of who they are than this. So, what happened to the Beagle after Darwin's voyage? The answer is the Beagle undertook one more significant voyage, this one to Australia. Here is the account of that final voyage, Discoveries in Australia... by John Lort Stokes. This voyage lasted from 1837-1843. This voyage was originally commanded by John Clements Wickham, but when Wickham took ill in 1841, command went to Stokes. Stokes was the longest serving officer on the Beagle, having served there even before its first voyage. He named several places in Australia after companions on his journeys, Port Darwin being named for Charles Darwin. The Beagle surveyed the northwest coast of Australia along with various other sections of the continent, occasionally charting rivers and inland areas as well. When Lort's mission was completed and his book published in 1846, no one yet had an inkling as to the monumentally important theory Darwin was developing, so the significance of the ship was still unknown. Item 5. AU $9,500 (US $6,520).

 

Edward John Eyre was an early inland explorer of Australia. He traveled from England to Australia at the age of 18 and settled into sheep raising. When he sold his sheep, he used the proceeds to fund his explorations inland, accompanied by an Aboriginal friend. It was a time when little was known of the interior and his expeditions involved great risk. All of this said, this next item pertains to Eyre, but has nothing to do with Australia. He would go on to serve as a lieutenant or acting governor in New Zealand and the West Indies, then acting Governor of Jamaica, and finally, in 1864, as Governor of Jamaica. In 1865, there was a rebellion by black Jamaicans which Eyre put down brutally. Over 400 blacks were killed, 600 flogged. George William Gordon was a mixed race businessman and legislator, and a critic of Eyre. When the rebellion began, Eyre had him arrested, and after a short dubious trial, had Gordon executed. Eyre had many supporters for his savage response, but also many critics, particularly in England. There was great controversy and Eyre was recalled to England in 1866. Several attempts were made to try him for murder, but his case never was brought to trial. Item 19 is a large broadside, actually two sheets were needed for it. It is headed Gordon and Eyre. It was created by Gordon's supporters. It quotes from a dispatch written by Eyre, "It is well known that Mr. Gordon was universally regarded as a bad man in every sense of the word. Reported to be grossly immoral and an adulterer, a liar, a swindler, dishonest, cruel, vindictive, and a hypocrite, such are the terms applied to G. W. Gordon, and I believe abundant proof might be adduced of all these traits." Gordon's supporters respond, "The undersigned having resided in the island for many years, and having had very considerable opportunities of knowing and forming an estimate of the late Mr. Gordon's character in his various relations in life, do hereby protest against the foregoing allegations as made by Mr. Eyre, and declare them to be utterly without foundation." It is signed by several missionaries and ministers, an attorney, a councilman, and others. Several years later, the British paid Eyre's legal expenses and gave him a pension as a former governor. He lived until 1901. In 1969, Gordon was officially proclaimed a Jamaican National Hero and his portrait was used on the $10 bill. AU $6,850 (US $4,701)

 

Are you wondering what Australian music was like before the Bee Gees? Here is an answer. Item 10 is the Australian Album, and since it was published in 1857, it is safe to say this is not a record album. It is a book produced by J.R. Clarke and Edmund Thomas. Hordern House describes it as "the first music album published in New South Wales." It contains eight musical scores and ten lithographic plates. There is an illustrated frontispiece, title page, and illustrated title page for each song. The preface describes these as all Australian songs, "an index of our education, refinement, art-feeling." Item 10. AU $6,500 (US $4,662).

 

Hordern House may be reached at [+61] (02) 9356 4411 or rare@hordern.com. Their website is found at www.hordern.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: [Langland (William)]. The vision of Pierce Plowman, nowe the seconde time imprinted..., Roberte Crowley, 1550. £8,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: [Shakespeare (William)]. [Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies], second folio edition, [by Tho.Cotes, for Robert Allot], [1632]. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Bible, Czech Biblia Bohemica, first complete Bible printed in the Czech vernacular, Prague, August 1488. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Shabthai Tzvi.- Collection of four printed and illustrated broadsides detailing the appearance, rise and fall of the false messiah, Shabthai Tzvi, Augsburg, 1666-67. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Leaf from the Beauvais Missal, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment, [Northern France (perhaps Beauvais or Amiens)], [fourteenth century (c.1310)]. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Aubrey (John). [Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme], manuscript in English, Latin and Greek, [c. 1693]. £30,000 to £50,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Poems on Various Occasions, first edition, Harriet Maltby's copy, Newark, Printed by S. & J. Ridge, 1807. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Hobbit, first edition, second impression with dust-jacket, 1937 [but 1938]. £7,000 to £10,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Blake (William).- Thornton (Robert John). The Pastorals of Virgil, 2 vol., engraved plates by William Blake, 1821. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    28th March 2024
    Forum Mar. 28: America.- Mount (William J.) & Thomas Page. The English Pilot…, [bound with] The Fourth Book, describing The West Indies Navigation from Hudson's-Bay to the River Amazones, 1721. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Oldfield (Henry Ambrose), Rajman Singh Chitrakar & others. An album of 160 photographs and 13 original artworks, (1833-1919), [c. 1850s-1880s]. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Mar. 28: Audubon (John James) [and William MacGillivray]. Ornithological Biography…, 5 vol., first edition, presentation copy inscribed by Audubon, Edinburgh, 1831-49 [i.e. 1831-39]. £10,000 to £15,000.
  • 19th Century Shop
    Catalogue 198 just published
    19th Century Shop. Darwin and Wallace, first printing of the first paper on natural selection
    19th Century Shop. Shakespeare’s Poems, first collected edition
    19th Century Shop. Walt Whitman portrait inscribed with a Leaves of Grass poem
    19th Century Shop. Major Elizabeth Barrett Browning manuscript notebook
    19th Century Shop. Spock's Baby Book, original MS
    19th Century Shop. Cellarius, Harmonia Macrocosmica, the great celestial atlas

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