• One of a Kind Auctions
    Art, Literature, Royalty & Exploration
    Special No Reserve Auction!
    November 18, 2026
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 1 – Claude Monet ALS in Purple Ink from Giverny, with Original Envelope
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 5 – Camille Pissarro ALS from Eragny, 1894
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 340 – Space Shuttle Challenger 51-L Crew Photograph, Signed by All Seven
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Art, Literature, Royalty & Exploration
    Special No Reserve Auction!
    November 18, 2026
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 54 – Henry Fielding Signed Legal Affidavit as Magistrate, 1750
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 55 – Henry David Thoreau Autograph Manuscript Leaf, 1906 Manuscript Edition
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 56 – O. Henry ALS Signed “Sydney Porter,” Three Pages
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Art, Literature, Royalty & Exploration
    Special No Reserve Auction!
    November 18, 2026
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 57 – J.R.R. Tolkien from Oxford, 1964, with Original Mailing Envelope
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 254 – Ho Chi Minh Inscribed to a French Minister, with His Seal, 1955
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 286 – Fidel Castro, Che Guevara & Raúl Castro — Cuban Revolution Album, 1959
    One of a Kind Auctions
    Art, Literature, Royalty & Exploration
    Special No Reserve Auction!
    November 18, 2026
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 288 – Toussaint Louverture Safe Passage from the Liberator of Haiti, 1799
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 300 – Georges Picquart, the Officer Who Unmasked the Traitor — Inscribed 1900
    One of a Kind, Nov. 18: Lot 317 – William Clark Signed Receipt as U.S. Agent for Indian Affairs, 1810
  • Arader Galleries
    Extraordinary Works of Art & World History
    December 5, 2026
    Arader, Dec. 5: Audubon Havell aquatint, Brown Pelican Standing, Plate 251 – State Bird of Louisiana. $100,000 to $150,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Bateman’s Orchids of Mexico and Guatelamal – The John Roland Abbey Example. $120,000 to $150,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: A beautifully detailed manuscript Book of Hours – Use of Rome, published in Barcelona c. 1490. $100,000 to $150,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Braun & Hogenburg – The first atlas of the cities of the world with splendid original Renaissance color. $400,000 to $600,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Brookshaw’s Pomona Britannica – “One of the finest colour-plate books in existence.” $70,000 to $100,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Mark Catesby’s 2nd edition of the Natural History of Carolina… “The most famous colorplate book of American plant and animal life.” $150,000 to $200,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Gould’s Birds of Europe – The beginning of the great project. $80,000 to $120,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Joinville’s History of Louis IX – Bound for Marie de’ Medici, Queen Regent of France. $35,000 to $55,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Moran’s The Yellowstone National Park, framed in 15 parts – The foundational document of the National Park Service. $250,000 to $350,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Ortelius’ Theatrum Orbis Terrarum – From the father of modern atlas-making – The Martelli Example. $175,000 to $250,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: The Foljambe Set of Pennant’s Zoology, with the maximum complement of plates. $50,000 to $70,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Ptolemy’s Geography 1511 edition, the first atlas with maps printed in red and black ink. $120,000 to $180,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Redoute Lillies wwith the plates bound alphabetically by genus in emulation of the rare large paper issue. $400,000 to $500,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Roberts’ Holy Land – “The finest illustrated travel book of the 19th century” – The apotheosis of the tinted lithograph. $90,000 to $120,000.
    Arader, Dec. 5: Vesalius’ De Humani Corporis – The renaissance of anatomy, the anatomy of the Renaissance. $350,000 to $450,000.
  • Heritage, Nov. 18: Orson Welles. Signed Third Revised Final Draft for Citizen Kane (RKO, 1941). July 16, 1940.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Bob Dylan. Autograph manuscript working lyrics to "Man on the Street."
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Ernest Hemingway. Death in the Afternoon. Inscribed by the author to the daughter of the Spanish Ambassador.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: Jack London. The Call of the Wild. Inscribed by the author.
    Heritage, Nov. 18: John Steinbeck. East of Eden. Inscribed by 27 members of the movie cast and crew, including James Dean and Elia Kazan.
  • Pandolfini
    Books, Manuscripts and Autographs
    19 November 2026
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: [da Capoferro, Ridolfo]. Scherma. Secolo XVII. Fascinating 17th-century fencing manuscript, richly illustrated. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Lilio, Zaccaria. Orbis breviarium. Napoli, Ayolfus de Cantono, 1496. An important collection of ancient texts. €8,000 to €10,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Tolomeo. Geographia universalis. Basilea, Heinrich Petri,1540. A sought-after first Latin edition of Münster’s Geographia. €27,000 to €30,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Coronelli, Vincenzo. I palazzi di Venezia. [Venezia, presso l’autore, 1709]. Wide-margined copy of the rare first and only edition. €8,000 to €10,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Homann, Johann Baptist. Grosser atlas über die ganze Welt. Norimberga, Homann, circa 1720-30. Important 18th-century atlas. €20,000 to €25,000.
    Pandolfini
    Books, Manuscripts and Autographs
    19 November 2026
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Pigafetta, Antonio. Primo viaggio intorno al globo terracqueo ossia Ragguaglio della navigazione alle Indie orientali per la via d’occidente. Milano, 1800. €4,000 to €6,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Libro di Esther. 5491 [1730-31]. Rare example of a Megillah from the early 18th century. €3,000 to €4,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Manifattura Davide Berti e Fratelli. Mazzo di carte. Bologna, Al Mondo, [seconda metà del secolo XVIII]. A rare complete set of Bolognese cards. €5,000 to €7,000.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Allan, David. The opening of the Carnival at Rome. Paul Sandby, 1780. A complete set of four splendid engravings depicting the Roman Carnival.
    Pandolfini, Nov. 19: Borges, Jorge Luis e Arnaldo Pomodoro. Siete Poemas Sajones. Seven Saxon Poems. Verona, Plain Wrapper Press, 1974. A bibliographical masterpiece born from the meeting of Borges’s universe and Pomodoro’s art. €3,000 to €5,000.
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Auction Update Review

Passing through the Summer Doldrums

We can be thankful to the auction houses that present sales in August.  At the very nadir of annual activity a few houses seize the moment to offer material, reminding us that the hearts of both sellers and acquirers may slow but never stop.  For the week four sales were reported:  two in dollars and two in British Pounds.  One thousand nine hundred and two lots were offered and 1,356 sold for a sell-through rate of 71%.  For the lots sold that raised $651,793 the aggregate low and high estimates were $550,715 and $798,949.  The total of high estimates for all lots, sold and unsold, was $1,135,270, the percentage of total sales against the total of the high estimates 57.4%.  In some weeks, when activity is robust, total sales approach even surpass the total of the high estimates for the week.  But this is August, and while the sales continue, albeit at a slower pace, interest is distracted what with vacations, travel, and this year the world financial crises.  In a few years, for some types of book sales, the summer will become the golden moment.  In 2011 we are fighting history and habits and the habits are changing.  Houses running sales through the summer merit support.

 

For the week ahead six sales are scheduled:

 

August 8th     Australian Book Auctions:  Books, 491 lots;

 

August 9th     Australian Book Auctions:  Books, 491 lots continuing;

                        Christie’s:  Christie’s Interiors, 13 identified lots

                        Rupert Toovey:  Postcards, Photos, Autographs, Ephemera, 154 lots

 

August 11th   Bloomsbury Auctions:  Bibliophile Sale

                        Pacific Book Auctions:  Americana with Ephemera & Maps, 407 lots

 

Bruce McKinney

AE

August 7th, 2011

  • Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: The ‘Saxe-Meiningen Psalter’, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum, [northern France or adjacent southern Netherlands, second half of the thirteenth century]. £30,000 - £50,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Crescenzi (Bartolomeo). Nautica mediterranea, 2 parts in 1, second edition, with rare engraved folding map, Rome, Bartolomeo Bonfadino, 1607. £15,000 - £20,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Aristotle. [The Works], 10 vol.,, translated by Thomas Taylor, Printed for the Translator... by Robert Wilks, 1807-12. £6,000-8,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Turing (Alan).- Alan Turing's Slide Rule, engraved initials "A.M.T. Noli Hoc Furari", alongside other ephemera, housed in early 20th-century letter box, [mid.1920s-40s]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Vitruvius Pollio (Marcus). I Dieci Libri dell'Architettura, translated by Daniele Barbaro, Venice, Francesco Marcolini, 1556. £7,000-10,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Rowling (J.K.) Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, first edition, hardback issue, first printing, Bloomsbury, 1997. £50,000-70,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings, later impressions, each vol. signed by the author, London, George Allen & Unwin, 1957-58. £15,000-20,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Gould (John). The Birds of Great Britain, 5 vol., first edition, [1862]-73; plus a presentation copy of Gould's Introduction to the Birds of Great Britain (6). £35,000-45,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Galilei (Galileo). Istoria e Dimostrazioni intorno alle Macchie Solari e loro accidenti, comprese in tre lettere scritte all’illustrissimo signor Marco Velseri Linceo, first edition, Rome, 1613. £15,000-20,000
    Forum
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    Thursday 19th November
    Forum, Nov. 19: Gersdorff (Hans von). Feldtbuch der Wund-Arzney, enlarged edition, Strassburg, Hans Schotten, 1540. £20,000-30,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Kitchin (Thomas). A New Universal Atlas, first edition with maps in full original hand-colouring, Printed and Published by Robert Laurie and James Whittle, 1796. £8,000-12,000
    Forum, Nov. 19: Cassas (Louis François). Voyage Pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phenicie, de la Palestine, et de la Basse Egypte, 2 vol., first edition, [Paris], 1799. £10,000-15,000
  • Heritage, Dec. 9: Philip K. Dick. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? First edition, author Brian Aldiss’ copy.
    Heritage, Dec. 9: Robert A. Heinlein. Assignment in Eternity. First edition, inscribed by Heinlein to author “Doc” Smith.
    Heritage, Dec. 9: Frank Herbert. Dune. First edition, inscribed by Herbert to his literary agent.
    Heritage, Dec. 9: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. First edition, first impression, in an unrestored dust jacket.
    Heritage, Dec. 9: Jules Verne. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Exceedingly rare, perhaps unique variant, English sheets bound in an American Osgood binding.
    Heritage, Dec. 9: Isaac Asimov. The Naked Sun. First edition, inscribed by Asimov to Alex Berman, founder of Phantasia Press.
  • Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: L. Feininger, Collection of autograph letters to Alois J. Schardt, 1920-1955. Est: € 150,000-250,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Flemish book of hours, Ghent-Bruges School around 1480-1500. Est: € 40,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: F. de Wit, Atlas maior, around 1700. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: A. Stieglitz, Camera Work, 48 volumes, 1903-1914. Est: € 60,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. Merian & M. Zeiller, Sämtliche Topographien, 21 volumes, 1642-1736. Est: € 50,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: R. Indiana and R. Creely, Numbers, 1968. Est: € 4,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Salerno Breviarium, Latin manuscript on vellum, North Italy around 1470-1476. Est: € 40,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. S. Merian, Surinaamsche (&) europische Insecten, 1730. Est: € 30,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: M. Beckmann, Jahrmarkt, Portfolio of 10 signed etchings, 1922. Est: € 25,000
    Ketterer Rare Books
    Auction November 23
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: Justinianus, Infortiatum, 1475. Est: € 10,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: B. Besler, Hortus Eystettensis, around 1750. Est: € 28,000
    Ketterer, Nov. 23: J. Gris and P. Reverdy, Au soleil du plafond, 1955. Est: € 3,000
  • Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
    Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
    Sotheby’s
    Nelson, His Life and His Navy:
    The Clive Richards Collection of Letters and Manuscripts
    November 18, 2026
  • ALDE, Nov. 25: BERTIUS (PETRUS). Tabularum geographicarum contractarum libri septem. Amsterdam, Jodocus Hondius, 1618. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: BLAEU (WILHEM ET JOHAN). Toonneel des aerdrycx, oft Nieuwe Atlas. Tweede deel. [Amsterdam, Blaeu, vers 1650]. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: VAN NOORT (OLIVIER). Description du pénible voyage faict entour de l'Univers ou globe terrestre. Amsterdam, Cornelis de Claesz, 1602. €15,000 to €20,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: STUART (JAMES) ET NICHOLAS REVETT. The Antiquities of Athens. Londres, John Haberkorn [puis John Nichols, et J. Taylor], 1762-1816. 4 vol. €5,000 to €6,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: Description de l’Égypte, ou recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. Paris, 1820-1830. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: [MANUSCRIT ALCHIMIQUE]. AL-JALDAKI (‘IZZ AL-DĪN ‘ALĪ IBN MUḤAMMAD AYDAMIR). Kitab al-Misbah fi ‘Ilm al-Miftah [Le Livre de la Lampe sur les secrets de la Science des Clés]. 1717. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: NICOLAY (NICOLAS DE). Le Navigationi et viaggi, fatti nella Turchia. Venise, Francesco Ziletti, 1580. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: [PÉROU]. Colleción de yaravíes peruanos [Collection de yaravís péruviens]. Manuscrit daté de Lima le 8 février 1854. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: BROWN (PETER). New illustrations of zoology... Londres, Benjamin White, 1776. €2,000 to €3,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: BULLIARD (PIERRE). Herbier de la France, ou collection complète des plantes indigènes de ce royaume. Paris, A. J. Dugour & Durand, 1780-[1793]. €4,000 to €5,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: [DEZALLIER D'ARGENVILLE (ANTOINE-JOSEPH)]. L'Histoire naturelle éclaircie dans une de ses parties principales, la Conchyliologie… Paris, De Bure l'aîné, 1757. €3,000 to €4,000.
    ALDE, Nov. 25: RIEDEL (GOTTLIEB FRIEDRICH). [Tabulæ regni animalis].: Augsbourg, Negot. Academia Cæs. Franc. s.d. [1780]. €2,000 to €3,000.