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Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: World. Van Geelkercken (N.), Orbis Terrarum Descriptio Duobis..., circa 1618. £4,000-6,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Moll (Herman). A New Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain..., circa 1715. £2,000-3,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Churchill (Winston S.). The World Crisis, 5 volumes bound in 6, 1st edition, 1923-31. £1,000-1,500Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: Darwin (Charles). On the Origin of Species, 2nd edition, 2nd issue, 1860. £1,500-2,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Roberts (David). The Holy Land, 6 volumes in 3, 1st quarto ed, 1855-56. £1,500-2,000.Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Saint-Exupéry (Antoine de, 1900-1944). Pilote de guerre (Flight to Arras), 1942. £10,000-15,000.Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: Austen (Jane, 1775-1817). Signature, cut from a letter, no date. £7,000-10,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Huxley (Aldous). Brave New World, 1st edition, with wraparound band, 1932. £4,000-6,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Tolkien (J. R. R.) The Hobbit, 1st edition, 2nd impression, 1937. £3,000-5,000Dominic Winter Auctioneers
June 18 & 19
Printed Books & Maps, Children's & Illustrated Books, Modern First EditionsDominic Winter, June 18-19: Rackham (Arthur, 1867-1939). Princess by the Sea (from Irish Fairy Tales), circa 1920. £4,000-6,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: Kelmscott Press. The Story of the Glittering Plain, Walter Crane's copy, 1894. £3,000-4,000Dominic Winter, June 18-19: King (Jessie Marion, 1875-1949). The Summer House, watercolour. £4,000-6,000 -
Fonsie Mealy’s
Chatsworth Summer Fine Art Sale
18th June 2025Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.Fonsie Mealy, June 18: William IV, c1830, oversized slope-top Rosewood Davenport Desk, Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde.Fonsie Mealy, June 18: French Bateau Bed, exhibition piece from the Exposition Universelle—The Paris World’s Fair, 1878. Third quarter of the 19th century. With Provenance to Oscar Wilde. -
Bonhams, June 16-24: KELMSCOTT PRESS. RUSKIN. The Nature of Gothic. 1892. $1,500 - $2,500Bonhams, June 16-24: ASHENDENE PRESS. The Wisdom of Jesus. 1932. $2,000 - $3,000Bonhams, June 16-24: CHARLOTTE BRONTE WRITES AS GOVERNESS. Autograph Letter Signed, 1851. $15,000 - $25,000Bonhams, June 16-24: FIRST AMERICAN EDITION OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS. BRONTE, Emily. New York, 1848. $3,000 - $5,000Bonhams, June 16-24: IAN FLEMING ASSOCIATION COPY. You Only Live Twice. London, 1964. $7,000 - $9,000Bonhams, June 16-24: DELUXE EDITION WITH ORIGINAL PAINTING. BUKOWSKI, Charles. War All the Time. 1984. $3,000 - $5,000Bonhams, June 16-24: EINSTEIN'S MOST POWERFUL STATEMENT ON THE ATOMIC BOMB. Original Typed Manuscript Signed, "On My Participation in the Atom Bomb Project," 1953. $100,000 - $150,000Bonhams, June 16-24: EINSTEIN ON SCIENCE, WAR AND MORALITY. Autograph Letter Signed, 1949. $20,000 - $30,000Bonhams, June 16-24: SOCIETY OF THE CINCINNATI. WASHINGTON, George. Engraved document signed, 1786. $8,000 - $12,000Bonhams, June 16-24: AN EARLY CHINESE-MADE 34-STAR U.S. CONSULAR FLAG. $8,000 - $12,000Bonhams, June 16-24: SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF LINCOLN WITH HIS SON TAD. 1864. $60,000 - $90,000Bonhams, June 16-24: MALCOLM X WRITES FROM KENYA. Postcard signed, 1964. $4,000 - $6,000
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Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - September - 2007 Issue
Ethiopia from Michael Graves-Johnston
By Michael Stillman
Recently issued was Catalogue 98 from Michael Graves-Johnston, Ethiopia. A catalogue of books concerning Ethiopia and the surrounding countries of Eritrea and the Somalilands. Ethiopia, or Abyssinia, as it was once called, has a remarkable history. Located on the horn of Africa, it is in the area where humankind likely originated. Fossils place humans on the land millions of years ago (compared to maybe 10,000 years for America). Ancient civilizations on the land are believed to have traded with the Pharaohs of Egypt.
By the fourth century, much of Ethiopia had been converted to Christianity. Most contact with Europe was lost during the Dark Ages, but relations were re-established, notably with Portugal, during the 16th century. During the 19th century era of colonization, when most of Africa fell to the control of European powers, Ethiopia maintained its independence.
Ethiopia had several notable strong leaders who preserved its independence. The somewhat erratic Theodore II in the mid 19th century consolidated central authority, Menelik II fought off an Italian invasion late in the 19th century, routing the European invaders. However, no one is more closely associated with Ethiopia in the West than Haile Selassie. In 1935, the Italians attacked from their neighboring colony of Eritrea. This time, the Ethiopians were overrun, despite Selassie's attempts at defense. However, the Ethiopian Emperor became a world figure when, in exile, he spoke before the League of Nations, asking help for his nation. Little was given, and the world's non-response to Italian Fascists would send the wrong message to Mussolini and his German allies in the years ahead.
With British help, Selassie returned to Ethiopia in 1941 and would rule for another three-plus decades. He became a widely respected world leader, but on the heels of a serious famine, he was overthrown by Communist rebels in 1974 and died under questionable circumstances the following year. Worse famine, brutality, and war with Somalia would follow until the Communists were overthrown in 1991. Finally, there would be the war for Eritrean independence in the 1990s before the relative calm of today.
Graves-Johnston's catalogue includes 669 items pertaining to this long history of Ethiopia and neighboring lands, many written by 19th century visitors when Europe was colonizing most of Africa. However, you will find items from most periods of the land's history. Here are a few examples.
For its opening to the West, item 18 is a Narrative of the Portuguese Embassy to Abyssinia: During the Years 1520-1527 by Father Francisco Alvarez. This was translated and printed by the Hakluyt Society in 1881. Priced at £125 (British pounds, or approximate U.S. equivalent of $249).