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Sothebys: Books, Manuscripts & Music, from Medieval to Modern
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | Books, Manuscripts & Music, from Medieval to Modern | Total Sales (GBP) | 1,363,968.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | July 09, 2026 - July 09, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) | 810,400.00 |
| Sale Number | #L26403 | High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) | 1,145,000.00 |
| Total Lots | 100 | ||
| Sold Lots | 74.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) | 1,077,400.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 74.00% | High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) | 1,538,000.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 26 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 88.69% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | The Pelican Hours |
c.1490–1500 | GBP 40,000.00 - 60,000.00 | GBP 96,000.00 | |
| 2 | Antiphonal |
1270–1280 | GBP 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 | GBP 89,600.00 | |
| 22 | Breydenbach Bernhard | Die heyligen reyssen gen Jherusalem |
1486 | GBP 70,000.00 - 90,000.00 | GBP 83,200.00 |
| 54 | Du Camp Maxime | Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. Dessins Photographiques |
1852 | GBP 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 | GBP 53,760.00 |
| 82 | Thornton John | New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus... the Temple of Flora |
[1799-] 1807 [-1812] | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 53,760.00 |
| 14 | Master of Guillebert de Mets | Book of Hours |
c.1420–25 | GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | GBP 51,200.00 |
| 71 | Mallory George Leigh | Series of c.140 letters to his mother and other family members |
1895-1924 | GBP 40,000.00 - 60,000.00 | GBP 48,640.00 |
| 84 | Tolkien J.R.R. | The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings |
1961; 1963 | GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | GBP 44,800.00 |
| 1 | Ferial Psalter |
c.1250–70 | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 40,960.00 | |
| 74 | Rowling J.K. | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
1997 | GBP 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 | GBP 40,960.00 |
| 80 | Stoppard Tom | Important collection of letters to Isabel Dunjohn |
1950s-2020s | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 38,400.00 |
| 70 | Lepsius Carl Richard | Denkmaler aus Agypten und Athiopien |
1849-1858 | GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | GBP 35,840.00 |
| 60 | Dupre Louis | Voyage a Athenes et a Constantinople |
1825 | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 33,280.00 |
| 38 | Ptolemaeus Claudius | Geographicae enarrationis libri octo |
1525 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 30,720.00 |
| 49 | Austen Jane | Mansfield Park |
1814 | GBP 24,000.00 - 32,000.00 | GBP 28,160.00 |
| 69 | Larkin Philip | 16 Books, including: A Girl In Winter |
1965; 1966; 1970; 1973; 1974; 1976; 1979; 1981; 1982; 1983; 1984; 1985 | GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 | GBP 25,600.00 |
| 27 | Cellarius Andreas | Harmonia macrocosmica seu atlas universalis et novus |
1708 | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 24,320.00 |
| 89 | Bellini Vincenzo | Norma |
1831 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 24,320.00 |
| 15 | Traut Hans | Book of Hours |
c.1500–1525 | GBP 24,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 23,040.00 |
| 40 | Scot Reginald | The discoverie of witchcraft |
1584 | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 23,040.00 |
| 83 | Tolkien J.R.R. | The Lord of the Rings |
1961 | GBP 7,000.00 - 9,000.00 | GBP 23,040.00 |
| 5 | Thomasin of Zerklaere | Der Welsche Gast |
c.1300–50 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 21,760.00 |
| 85 | Tolkien J.R.R. | The Adventures of Tom Bombadil |
1963 | GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 | GBP 20,480.00 |
| 105 | Wagner Richard | Iphigenie en Aulide |
1847 | GBP 14,000.00 - 16,000.00 | GBP 20,480.00 |
| 26 | Cassini Giovanni Domenico | Theoriae motus cometae anni MDCLXIV; Lettere astronomiche |
1665 | GBP 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 | GBP 17,920.00 |
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Sotheby’s
Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
25 June – July 7Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000. -
Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum Auctions
The Private Library:
Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers
July 9, 2026Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000 -
Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000Forum Auctions
The 10th Anniversary Sale
Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
July 16, 2026Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000