• 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
  • 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
  • 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.

Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - April - 2022 Issue

The Fairy-Land of Science from Underground Books

The first catalogue from Underground Books.

We just received the first rare book catalogue from Underground Books. Underground Books is located in downtown Carrollton, western Georgia, and while the catalogue is new, they have been in business for 11 years. It is owned by the husband and wife bookselling team of Megan Bell and Josh Niesse.

 

The topic of this catalogue is one of Megan Bell's specialties, The Fairy-Land of Science. That is a strange sounding title, fairies and science not often thought of together, sort of like mythical nonfiction. Pick one or the other. It turns out fairy stories were very popular around the turn of the previous century. They were often used to instruct readers in the sciences, by constructing tales that were part mythical but partly science based. Perhaps the concept is similar to Dr. Seuss using the Lorax to teach environmental awareness. There were numerous writers who ventured into this field, and what we see here is they were mostly women writers. They understood the appeal of adding fantasy to what might otherwise be dry teaching. After all, science is fantastic. Here are a few selections from this unusual collection of instructive, semi-scientific books, and some more traditionally scientific ones.

 

We start with a pair of books from A.L.O.E., which is not a medicinal plant but abbreviation for A Lady of England. That doesn't tell us much but Underground Books informs us she was Charlotte Maria Tucker. She was a prolific writer, primarily for children, and while she here focuses on science, she also conveys her moral lessons. She developed fervent religious beliefs, spending most of the final two decades of her life as a missionary in India. She died there in 1893. The books are Fairy Know-A-Bit, Or, a Nutshell of Knowledge, and Fairy Frisket; Or, Peeps at Insect Life, from 1890 and 1893 (later editions). Fairy Know-A-Bit, who lives in a library, teaches a “spoilt little boy” about such things as the sun and stars, and steam engines, but also has some moral lessons about slavery and emancipation. Fairy Frisket is Know-A-Bit's sister, but unlike her brother, who moved to the city, she resides in the countryside. So she teaches the boy about caterpillars, butterflies, ants and such. Item 7. Priced at $225.

 

Speaking of ants, item 51 is Solomon's Little People: A Story About the Ants, by James Crowther, a first edition published in 1882. This also mixes science with religion, teaching about ants and other insects, but with morals espoused by its publisher, the Sunday School Union. It describes the ant as “an insect which has attracted the attention of the curious ever since the wise king of Israel directed every sluggard to go to it for wisdom.” How so? Underground Books explains, ants and some other insects such as bees “exhibit such qualities as cooperation, charity, perseverance, and courage through aspects of ant biology and behavior like transformative life cycles, antennal communication, division of labor, and colony architecture and organization.” I now have a newfound respect for ants but still don't like them. We might add ants do exactly what they are supposed to, no disobedience or rebellion from them. They would make an ideal flock for a church, if ants formed flocks instead of colonies. $165.

 

“There are forces around us, and among us, which I shall ask you to call fairies, and these are ten thousand times more wonderful, more magical, and more beautiful in their work, than those of the old fairy tales.” So said Arabella B. Buckley, who combined fairies with science without having to abandon the latter. Writing primarily for children, she described scientific phenomena such as gravity, electricity, and sound waves as being fairies, but more magical than those of traditional fairy tales. Item 1 is her The Fairy-Land of Science, the edition of 1890. Her devotion to science is not surprising as for 11 years, until his death, she served as the secretary of the great 19th century geologist Charles Lyell. It was Lyell's theory that geologic changes happen at a constant rate over time (slowly). That meant the earth was far older than literal interpretations of the Bible. It enabled Charles Darwin to come up with his theory of evolution by natural selection, which requires a great deal of time. Lyell was a close friend of Darwin, and sort of accepted his theory of evolution, but could never quite get comfortable with it. It went against some of his religious beliefs. Buckley had no such reservations, being a follower of Darwin with whom she too was friendly. $265.

 

Here is a fairly land filled with all sorts of monsters and strange creatures. It is a “world quite as strange as the fairly-land of Grimm or Lewis Carroll.” However, this one is scientific, it is real, not made-up. It is the world of antiquity, the age of dinosaurs and such fantastic creatures. “Everything you will see here is quite true. All these monsters once lived. Truth is stranger than fiction; and perhaps we shall enjoy our visit to this fairy-land all the more for that reason,” writes author Rev. H. N. (Henry Neville) Hutchinson. His book is Extinct Monsters: A Popular Account of Some of the Larger Forms of Ancient Animal Life, this being a first edition published in 1892. Hutchinson was a clergyman, amateur naturalist and photographer. Item 15. $325.

 

These are some strange creatures from the plant world, but these too are real and this item is more straight science. The book is Mushrooms in Their Natural Habitats, by A. H. (Dr. Alexander Hanchett) Smith, a 1949 first edition. Smith was a mycologist (a biologist specializing in fungi). He served as Director of the University of Michigan Herbarium. He described his book as being a specialist to accompany people when searching the woods for mushrooms, observing their beauty, or feasting upon them (but be sure to pick the right kind). This book comes in two volumes, but the second volume isn't really a book, though it looks like one. It's a case like a book safe. Inside are 33 stereoscopic reels and a View-Master. The reels contain 231 images of mushrooms. The images were the work of William Gruber himself, the man who invented the View-Master. Gruber had once considered becoming a mushroom farmer and later made a hobby of photographing them. Item 38. $1,295.

 

This is a second edition (1877) of the first collection of fairy tales by Mary De Morgan. The title is On a Pincushion and Other Fairy Tales. It is a series of stories told among three pins on a pincushion. They are fantastic tales such as elves stealing the reflection of a vain woman and a fire princess and water prince who fall in love. True to the form, there are lesson herein to be learned. Her brother was artist and writer William de Morgan, a close friend of William Morris. These stories originated at a Christmas party when she told stories to the children of Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, and their cousins, which included the young Rudyard Kipling. Item 23. $450.

 

Underground Books can be reached at undergroundbooksllc@gmail.com. Their website is found at www.UndergroundBooks.net

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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