In times of distress, dealers and the collecting community in the rare books
field have made common cause to both raise the flag and raise money for
the disadvantaged. Such events tend to disappear in the miasma of uncertain
times. One such event was an occasion to voice support to the English People.
It’s date: July 3rd, 1941.
A Catalogue
Of
BOOKS AND MSS.
To be sold for
The
Distress Fund
On Aid of Booksellers who
Have suffered loss
From Bombing
Organized by
The Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association
Which Will be Sold by Auction By
Messrs.
Hodgson & Co.
(Established 1807)
At their Rooms
115 Chancery Lane
London, W.C.2
On Thursday, July 3rd, 1941
At One o’clock
More recent but long receding into dissolving memory there was an auction staged as
Literary Auction
For Peace
Autograph Letters / Manuscripts
First Editions
Inscribed and Limited Editions
Tuesday, April 23, 1968
Exhibition: 1:00 – 7:45 PM
Auction: 8:00 – 11:00 PM
Held at the
Ethical Culture Society
2 West 64th Street
New York City
Auction Hall courtesy of the
Ethical Culture Society
This sale was especially well designed. Every item’s donor was listed. Every item’s virtues were concisely described. As well, their Sponsors List was included subject to space. That list also included um-teen hyper-famous personalities.
This sale probably drew a crowd just to see the crowd.
How did the sale did? Not particularly well. Almost all lots sold but the prices were modest. What turned out to be both good politics and good investments: ? Original manuscript material.
Net net. Both of these sales remind us that authors and collectors have stepped up when the chips were down.
Il Ponte, Sep. 30-Oct. 1: BOETTI, Alighiero - Classifying the thousand longest rivers in the world. Ascoli Piceno: 1977. € 15.000 - 18.000
Il Ponte, Sep. 30-Oct. 1: GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco José - Los desastres de la guerra. Madrid: 1863. € 12.000 - 18.000
Il Ponte, Sep. 30-Oct. 1: HEVELIUS, Johannes - Selenographia sive lunae descriptio. Danzica: 1647. € 10.000 - 15.000
Il Ponte, Sep. 30-Oct. 1: REDOUTÉ, Pierre-Joseph - Douze Bouquets. Parigi e New York: [s.d., ma ca. 1835]. € 15.000 - 25.000
Koller, Sep. 17: NEWTON, ISAAC. Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica. London, Joseph Streater, "Prostat apud plures Bibliopolas", 1687. CHF 250,000 to 300,000.
Koller, Sep. 17: ORTELIUS, ABRAHAM. Theatrum orbis terrarum. 3 parts in 1 volume. Antwerpen, Plantin, 1612. CHF 120,000 to 160,000.
Koller, Sep. 17: BECKMANN, MAX. Apokalypse. Frankfurt a. M., Privatdruck der Bauerschen Giesserei, 1943. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
Koller, Sep. 17: BOISSERÉE, SULPIZ. Ansichten, Risse und einzelne Theile des Doms von Köln. AND: Ders. Geschichte und Beschreibung des Doms zu Köln… CHF 30,000 to 50,000.
Koller, Sep. 17: SCHEDEL, HARTMANN. Buch der Chroniken und Geschichten. Nürnberg, Anton Koberger, 23. Dez. 1493. CHF 25,000 to 40,000.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Ian Fleming. Casino Royale, London, 1953. First edition, first printing. $58,610.
Sotheby’s: A.A. Milne, Ernest Howard Shepard. Winnie The Pooh, United Kingdom, 1926. First UK edition. $17,580.
Sotheby’s: Ernest Hemingway. Three Stories And Ten Poems, [Paris], (1923). First edition of Hemingway’s first published book. $75,000.
Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: L. Frank Baum. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, 1900. First edition. $27,500.
Sotheby’s: Man Ray. Photographs By Man Ray 1920 Paris 1934, Hartford, 1934. $7,860.
Sotheby’s: Thomas Pennant. Zoologia Britannica, Augsburg, 1771. $49,125.