Every Book has a Story. This one is a mystery

Two book collecting friends from Detroit and Santa Fe were recently in town (San Francisco) and spent an easy hour talking about how books are treating us. Ryan M. Place (Detroit) spoke about his collecting and his emerging career as a festival creator while psychedelic legend William Leonard Pickard, his friend and colleague, a 79-year-old collector and author of The Rose of Paracelsus, took the opportunity to ask about a book he sold to a California dealer many years ago. He wondered what came of it and mentioned he hopes to reacquire it.

That led us to my office where Rare Book Hub is my everyday pulsing reality.

Sitting at my bank of computers, the question was, what could be learned about its present ownership.

The book in question, was both old and unusual. Here was our search.

Author: John Dee

Title: A True and Faithful Relation of what passed for many yeers…

Date of Printing: 1659

In our Transactions+, searching Dee (author), Casaubon, a term in the description, and the year 1659 (in the Advanced Search) we found 35 copies for the title and year. Among them was a record from Maggs Bros. catalogues from 1954. It turned out to be the copy he owned in the 1970’s. It could be identified because of its unusual provenance.

822-895 Magg’s Record in our Transactions+

DEE (John)

A True and Faithful Relation of what passed for many Yeers between Dr John Dee.....and some Spirits: tending (had it succeeded) to a General Alteration of most States and Kingdomes in the World.. .. As also, the Letters of Sundry Great Men and Princes (some whereof were present at some of these Conferences and Apparitions of Spirits): to the said D. Dee. Out of the original copy, written with Dr. Dee’s own Hand: Kept in the Library of Sir Tho. Colton. With a Preface confirming the Reality (as to the Point of Spirits) of this Relation.....by Meric Casaubon.

With engraved frontispiece containing portraits of Mahomet, Roger Bacon, Paracelsus, Dr. Dee, etc., and engraved Tables.

First Edition.

Folio. Original calf.

London: D. Maxwell, for T. Carthwait, 1659.

OWNED BY THE DUKE OF LAUDERDALE DURING HIS IMPRISONMENT IN WINDSOR CASTLE

Offered by Maggs Bros. in 1954 for GBP 35 with the following description:

Formerly in the possession of John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale (1616-1682) with inscription on the flyleaf: “Windsor Castle 27 Nov. 1658 [Greek quotation] Durate. Lauder-daill.”; Also bears his signature at the foot of the title-page.

In 1651 the Duke of Lauderdale followed Charles II to Worcester, and was there taken prisoner. At the time he was on terms of close personal friendship with Charles. On 17 Sept. his trial was ordered, and he was kept of prisoner, first in the Tower of London and then at Windsor and Portland, until Monck’s entry into London in March 1660. The above volume was actually in his possession during his imprisonment at Windsor as the inscription bears out.

Early Medicine, Science, Witchcraft and Magic. CATALOGUE NO 822. Maggs Bros. 34 & 35, Conduit Street, New Bond Street, London, U.K.

After tinkering the search details, we confirmed the same copy reappeared in 1968 in London at Sotheby’s bringing USD 456. This record was also found in our Transactions+.

Dee (John)

A TRUE AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF WHAT PASSED FOR MANY YEARS BETWEEN DR. DEE

DEE (JOHN) A TRUE AND FAITHFUL RELATION OF WHAT PASSED FOR MANY YEARS BETWEEN DR. DEE . . . AND SOME SPIRITS . . . also the letters of sundry great men and princes ... to the said Dr. Dee out of the original copy written with Dr. Dee’s own hand ... by Meric Casaubon, FIRST EDITION, engraved frontispiece with portraits of Dee, Paracelsus, Roger Bacon, etc., 3 engraved tables (one double-page), contemporary paneled calf, with bookplate of W. Constable, F.R.S. [Wing D811; Duveen Cat. p. 164; Osier Cat. 4708] folio D. Maxwell for T. Garthwait, 1659

*j* This copy belonged to John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale (1616- 1682), inscribed on fly-leaf “Windsor Castle 27 Novr. 1658 Oisreov ??? ????????? Durate Lauderdale”; and his signature at foot of title-page. Lauderdale was imprisoned in the Tower, Windsor Castle and Portland from 1651 to 1660 for his friendship with Charles II. Also the signature of Anthony Collins on fly-leaf (1676-1729, the deist and friend of John Locke).

Buried in the details was the buyer’s name, W. Dawson. No further information about this buyer has been confirmed. Mr. Pickard bought his copy in 1971 in London.

After owning this volume for about a decade, he remembers selling it to a dealer named John in San Francisco during the 1979-1981 period.

A few days later we checked the World Cat. The book is quite uncommon, showing 54 libraries holding a copy. None of them include a reference to the Duke of Lauderdale. This doesn’t preclude the possibility that an institution has this copy, but it’s becoming less likely. This leaves us to consider it might be on an old collector’s shelves.

To better understand who was active in that era in the Bay Area, I asked John Crichton of the Brick Row Book Shop as to which “John”s were active then. He mentioned John Scopazzi “but most likely John Howell Books."

On Sunday I called John Howell of John Howell for Books in Los Angeles, assuming that was the same person John Crichton was speaking about. He was very helpful but it wasn’t the same John Howell. He didn’t have any firsthand knowledge but immediately eliminated the Dawson’s Book Shop in LA as having any likely connection to W. Dawson. The Dawson’s of LA’s had London apprenticeships dated to the late 1950’s and 1960s.

Alternatively, he did suggest contacting Stanford University who have the records of the San Francisco dealer who shared his same name (John Howell). That Howell was a leading rare book dealer in the Bay Area during the era when Leonard Pickard sold his copy. That Howell may have played a role in what would have been a significant transaction, is quite possible.

Next, we’ve contacted Maggs for any history about their pre-1954 acquisition of this volume. Robert Harding quickly replied they didn’t.

We are now down to three mysteries; the London dealer’s full name and his firm’s name for the 1968 purchase, the San Francisco dealer who purchased and subsequently resold the book, and the current owner’s name.