Doyle‘s November 25 auction of rare books includes a diverse and inviting array of material in many subject areas. As is usual with our sales, there is a strong component of Americana. This includes maps (several of the Carrington Bowles charts of America are included), as well as manuscript material. This last category includes a wealth of Western Americana, with such intriguing offerings as a fine Custer letter, an album of Pat Garrett’s retained correspondence from his time as a collector of customs at El Paso, Texas, and an exceptional range of material relating to Western outlaws and the frontier. Also included are several intriguing flags, including a cavalry guidon of Civil-War vintage with a presentation to General Grant and his wife Julia. A final component of the Americana section is an extraordinary manuscript that describes the colonization of Venezuela in 1528 by a group of conquistadors associated with the German bankers who had helped underwrite the efforts of Charles the First of Spain in his successful quest to become Holy Roman Emperor.
Early printing in the sale includes two printed Books of Hours produced in Paris during the first decade of the 16th century by Thurman Kerver and Gillet Hardouyin, respectively. A number of interesting 16th to 18th century works on the natural sciences are also included. Among these is a copy of Engelbert Kaempfer‘s rare first treatise on the natural history of Japan, published in Lemgo in 1712. A copy of Cesar Vecellio’s 1590 treatise on costume in the first edition nicely rounds out the section.
Autograph material in the sale includes several pieces by Ernest Hemingway, including a fine typed letter signed to his friend the famed Idaho sporting guide Taylor “Bear Tracks” Williams, with several fine signed photographs from the same source. Also, among the autographs is a fine typed letter signed by Albert Einstein, discussing the writings of the eminent economist Henry George, whose work Einstein admired.
Fine bindings include a copy of the Doves Press Sonnets of Shakespeare, one of 15 copies on vellum, bound by the Doves Bindery; and a magnificent copy of Shelley‘s Prometheus unbound, the first edition of 1820, in a jeweled binding by the famed London binders Sangorski and Sutcliffe. The first portion of a group of private press books that we will be offering over several sales includes a copy of the Cresset Press Apocrypha, one of the 30 copies printed on special paper with a signed suite of all the wood engravings. A small section of illustration art offers two fine Charles Addams drawings, and an early Schulz drawing for Charlie Brown, done in 1953.
A selection of literature, including some fine Samuel Beckett items, rounds out the sale.
Here's a link to it!
Edward Ripley-Duggan Vice-President, Rare Books and Manuscripts Department 212-427-4141, ext 234
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers 175 East 87th Street New York, NY 10128 Doyle.com
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) - Campi Phlegraei. Napoli: [Pietro Fabris], 1776, 1779. € 30.000 - 50.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [MORTIER] - BLAEU, Joannes (1596-1673) - Het Nieuw Stede Boek van Italie. Amsterdam: Pieter Mortier, 1704-1705. € 15.000 - 25.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: TULLIO D'ALBISOLA (1899-1971) - Bruno MUNARI (1907-1998) - L'Anguria lirica (lungo poema passionale). Roma e Savona: Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, senza data [ma 1933?]. € 20.000 - 30.000
Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: IL MANOSCRITTO RITROVATO DI IPPOLITA MARIA SFORZA. TITO LIVIO - Ab Urbe Condita. Prima Decade. Manoscritto miniato su pergamena, metà XV secolo. € 280.000 - 350.000
Sotheby's Fine Books & Manuscripts Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: Balthus, Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights, New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1993. 6,600 USD.
Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens. Complete Works, Philadelphia & London: J.B. Lippincott Company & Chapman & Hall, LD, 1850. Limited Edition set of 30 volumes. 7,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: John Lennon, Yoko Ono. Handwritten Letter from John Lennon and Yoko Ono to their Chauffer. 1971. 32,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Winston Churchill. First edition of War Speeches, Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1941. Set of 7 volumes. 5,500 USD.
Sotheby’s: Andy Warhol, Julia Warhola. Holy Cats First Edition, Signed by Andy Warhol. 1954. 30,000 USD.
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 40 Ramasvami (Kavali Venkata). A Digest of the Different Castes of India, 83 charming hand-coloured lithographed plates, Madras, 1837. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 50 Watson (John Forbes) & John William Kaye. The People of India: A Series of Photographic Illustrations...of the Races and Tribes of Hindustan, 8 vol., 480 mounted albumen prints, 1868-75. £4,000-6,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 53 Afghanistan.- Elphinstone (Hon. Mountstuart). An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, first edition, hand-coloured aquatint plates, a fine copy, 1815. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 57 [Album and Treatise on Hinduism], manuscript treatise on Hinduism in French, 31 watercolours of Hindu deities, Pondicherry, 1865. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 62 Allan (Capt. Alexander). Views in the Mysore Country,
[1794]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 76 Bird (James). Historical Researches on the Origin and Principles of the Bauddha and Jaina Religions..., first edition, lithographed plates, Bombay, American Mission Press, 1847. £3,000-4,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 100 Ceylon.- Daniell (Samuel). A Picturesque Illustration of the scenery, animals, and native inhabitants, of the Island of Ceylon: in twelve plates, 1808. £5,000-7,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 123 D'Oyly (Charles). Behar Amateur Lithographic Scrap Book, lithographed throughout with title and 55 plates mounted on 43 paper leaves, [Patna], [1828]. £3,000-5,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 139 Gandhi (known as Mahatma Gandhi,) Fine Autograph Letter signed to Jawaharlal Nehru, Sevagram, Wardha, 1942, emphasising the importance of education in rural communities. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions Online: India Ends 19th February 2026
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 140 Gantz (John). Indian Microcosm, first edition, Madras, John Gantz & Son, 1827. £10,000-15,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 146 Grierson (Sir George Abraham). Linguistic Survey of India, 11 vol. in 20, folding maps, original cloth, Calcutta, Superintendent Government Printing, 1903-28. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 195 Madras.- Fort St. George Gazette (The), No.276-331, pp.493-936 and Index to all of 1834 at end, modern half calf, Madras, 2nd July - 31st December 1834. £2,000-3,000
Forum, Feb. 19: Lot 205 Marshall (Sir John) and Alfred Foucher. The Monuments of Sanchi, 3 vol., first edition, 141 plates, most photogravure, [Calcutta], [1940]. £3,000-4,000