• 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.
  • 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.
  • 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

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2019 Issue

Latin Americana from the William Reese Company

Latin Americana.

The William Reese Company's latest catalogue is devoted to Latin Americana. Reese is noted as a premier dealer in Americana, but that usually refers to areas settled primarily by the British. These books range from Mexico south, all the way to Patagonia. Some of them go back to the earliest days of the Spanish conquistadors who seized virtually all of South and Central America (except for the eastern portion, Brazil, reserved for the Portuguese). Later material comes from the 19th century, the days when natives of the region finally overthrew their Spanish conquerors and set about the difficult task of resolving their own differences. Here are a few of the items you will find in this collection of Latin Americana.

 

The conquerors of the New World were not known for their humanitarianism. Rather, they were noted for their brutality. It led to a few voices in protest, most notably Father Bartolome de las Casas. He found the treatment of the land's natives so cruel and unchristian that he reported it to the Spanish King. The result was the two ordinances printed in this book in 1543, Leyes y Ordenancas nueuame[n]te hechas por su Magestad, pa[ra] la gouernacio de las Indias y bueno trataniento y conseruacio de los indios (laws and ordinances, made by their Majesty, for the governance of the Indies and good treatment and conservation of the Indians). Promulgated by Charles V, these were the first printed laws pertaining to the New World. One of the ordinances was designed to insure better treatment of the natives; the other to prevent the Spaniards from wholesale taking and dividing up among themselves the Indians' land. It represented good intentions by the King, but unfortunately, we know what paves the road to Hell. The Spanish who had taken the land were not about to sacrifice their own self-interest for the sake of treating the natives humanely. They rebelled and the King was forced to greatly reduce the demands made upon the conquerors in these ordinances. Item 24. Priced at $125,000.

 

Once the Spanish got past this temporary blip of humanity, it was a return to business as usual. It went on this way for several centuries. However, in 1749, brothers Juan and Antonio Ulloa reported to King Ferdinand VI on conditions in South America. Item 121 is a copy of that report, Noticias Secretas de America. The report attacks not only the cruelty of government and private individuals, but the conduct of priests and missionaries as well. According to Sabin, “These secret memoirs, in which everything concerning the manners, government, and state of defence of that portion of America which once belonged to Spain, is accurately described, are written with that truth, impartiality and good judgment which distinguished the informants. The benevolent and virtuous Las Casas has been accused of exaggeration and falsehood in his account of the cruelties of the Spaniards to the Indians, but these revelations, which have lain in the archives of Madrid for over half a century, exhibit so monstrous a system that it is difficult to realize that the revelations are true.” This report remained hidden in Spanish archives until 1826 when Peru achieved independence. It was found in the Spanish archives, and taken to London where it was printed. $9,500.

 

Britain is not often associated with attempts to colonize South America, but from time to time they had their designs. Several times they considered an attempt to seize Buenos Aires, but these did not get off the drawing board until the early 19th century. Spanish authority was already weakening in their colonies when the British attacked Montevideo and Buenos Aires in 1806. They temporarily seized Buenos Aires that year, but were pushed out by local militias. They tried to recapture the city in 1807, but this invasion proved to be a disaster. Item 6 is an account of this battle, A Narrative of the Expedition to, and the Storming of Buenos Ayres, by the British Army, Commanded by Lieutenant-General Whitelocke. By an Officer, Attached to the Expedition. The identity of that officer is unknown. Published in 1807, it recounts the defeat of Whitelocke's forces by a citizen army of peasants and Creoles commanded by Santiago de Liniers. Whitelocke was forced to withdraw British forces from the area. On his return home, he was court-martialed and removed from service. However, his nemesis, Liniers, fared worse. Three years later, he led a small counter-revolutionary force in the revolution of 1810, was captured and executed. $2,750.

 

A decade later, Spanish rule of South and Central America quickly fell apart, the failed revolutions of 1810 replaced with success. The most notable leader of this revolutionary period was Simon Bolivar. He became known as the “George Washington of South America.” Unfortunately, Bolivar had to deal with far more dissenting factions then did the revered Washington. After the success of the revolution, he became the founder and President of Gran Colombia, comprising today's Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and part of Peru. Facing attacks from his rivals who accused him of attempting to become a dictator, Bolivar strategically tendered his resignation. Item 16 is an 1827 broadside offering his resignation to Congress, A.S.E. El President de la Honorable Camara del Senado. Writes Bolivar (translated), “In vain do I invoke the example of Washington to defend myself...” Congress refused his resignation, as Bolivar wished, but continued infighting led him to declare himself dictator for life the next year, though he had no intention of remaining as such. He was attempting to maintain power so he could hold his country together. Ultimately, it did not work out. Bolivar died in 1830 and Gran Columbia broke apart in 1831. $17,500.

 

In the 1820s, the British were dealing with their own revolutionary tide. In this case, it was unhappy slaves in their colonies. There was a rebellion in Demerara, now British Guyana. Rev. John Smith, a Methodist missionary sent by the London Missionary Society to minister to the slaves, was too sympathetic to their plight than pleased authorities. He was ordered to join the local militia but refused. Smith was put on trial for promoting “discontent and dissatisfaction in the minds of negro slaves.” On November 24, 1823, he was sentenced “to be hanged by the neck until dead.” Not surprisingly, this led to outrage among abolitionists, missionaries, and others. Item 110 is The London Missionary Society's report of the proceedings against the late Rev. J. Smith, of Demerara, minister of the gospel, who was tried under martial law, and condemned to death, on a charge of aiding and assisting in a rebellion of the Negro slaves, published in 1823. It claims the trial was unfair and Parliament did not receive evidence favorable to the defendant. The Society and others sought to have Parliament rescind his conviction. Unfortunately, before Parliament could act, Smith died in prison of an apparent heart attack. Nonetheless, his conviction was overturned, and this case helped fuel the abolitionist movement which succeeded in ending slavery in the British colonies within a decade. $1,000.

 

The William Reese Company may be reached at 203-789-8081 or amorder@reeseco.com. Their website is www.williamreesecompany.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • 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
  • 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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