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Dunbar Sloane: Rare Books

Auction Reports

Auction Name Rare Books Total Sales (NZD) 69,597.15
Auction Date April 09, 2026 - April 09, 2026 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (NZD) 62,630.00
Sale Number #1917 High Estimate of Lots Sold (NZD) 112,920.00
Total Lots 401
Sold Lots 341.0 Low Estimate of All Lots (NZD) 78,160.00
% of Lots Sold 85.04% High Estimate of All Lots (NZD) 138,240.00
Unsold Lots 60 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 50.35%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Top Sale Price Lots
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
136 Sydney Parkinson

A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas In His Majesty's Ship, The Endeavour by Sydney Parkinson

1773 NZD 7,500.00 - 12,000.00 NZD 10,710.00
178 Cook Captain James (Magra James)

A Journal of a Voyage round the World In His Majesty's Ship Endeavour

1771 NZD 2,000.00 - 4,000.00 NZD 7,140.00
380 Vincenzo Coronelli

Mare Del Sud/Mare Pacifico a large hand coloured copperplate engraved map, 1696

1696 NZD 2,000.00 - 2,500.00 NZD 2,618.00
256 Dolmetsch H

The Historic Styles Of Ornament

1898 NZD 200.00 - 350.00 NZD 2,023.00
352 Bolton James

Harmonia Ruralis (2 Volumes in 1) or, An Essay Towards A Natural History of British Song Birds

1845 NZD 1,500.00 - 3,000.00 NZD 1,785.00
305 Frame Janet

The Lagoon and other stories The Caxton Press, Christchurch

1951 NZD 750.00 - 1,000.00 NZD 1,309.00
213 Smollett Tobias George

The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (3 Vols)

1771 NZD 300.00 - 500.00 NZD 1,190.00
50 Robley Major-General

Moko or Maori Tattooing With 180 Illustrations From Drawings By The Author And From Photographs

1896 NZD 1,200.00 - 1,800.00 NZD 1,011.50
260 Palladio Andrea

The Four Books Of Andrea Palladio's Architecture

1738 NZD 600.00 - 1,000.00 NZD 1,011.50
353 Featon Mr & Mrs E H

The Art Album of New Zealand Flora Volume I Authors Edition

1889 NZD 500.00 - 800.00 NZD 952.00
47 W. D. Webster

Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographical Specimens European and Eastern Arms and Armour Prehistoric and other Curiosities

1899 NZD 500.00 - 1,000.00 NZD 773.50
198 Marchant John

Puerilia: or Amusement for the Young Consisting of A Collection of Songs

1751 NZD 100.00 - 200.00 NZD 714.00
231 Busby Thomas Lord

Costume of the Lower Orders of the Metropolis

N/A NZD 750.00 - 1,500.00 NZD 714.00
307 Dickens Charles

A Christmas Carol Being A Ghost Story of Christmas, Chapman & Hall, London

1843 NZD 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 NZD 714.00
53 White John

Illustrations Prepared For White's Ancient History of The Maori

1897 NZD 200.00 - 400.00 NZD 654.50
138 David Collins

An Account Of The English Colony in New South Wales Volume I by David Collins

1798 NZD 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 NZD 595.00
258 Pozzo Andrea

Rules and Examples of Perspective Proper For Painters And Architects

1707 NZD 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 NZD 595.00
262 James I King of England

The Workes of the Most High and Mighty Prince James

1616 NZD 800.00 - 1,500.00 NZD 595.00
386 Louis Le Breton

Entree De La Baie Des Iles (Nouvelle Zelande) c1840s

c1840s NZD 750.00 - 1,500.00 NZD 595.00
368 Taylor E Mervyn

Engravings On Wood The Mermaid Press, Wellington, first edition, 1957

1957 NZD 140.00 - 280.00 NZD 547.40
36 George Dobson Valentine

3 x 19th Century George Dobson Valentine Albumen Prints Of Mt Tarawera & Rotorua

1880s NZD 750.00 - 1,200.00 NZD 499.80
374

18th Century Chart of Cook's Strait hand coloured copper engraved map, published by Alexander Hogg, London, c1780

c. 1780 NZD 200.00 - 400.00 NZD 476.00
137 George Alexander Cooke

Modern And Authentic System Of Universal Geography (2 Vols) by George Alexander Cooke

1802 NZD 750.00 - 1,200.00 NZD 452.20
145 Walter Lawry; Elijah Hoole

Friendly And Feejee Islands A Missionary Visit to Various Stations In The South Seas

1850 NZD 350.00 - 500.00 NZD 452.20
179 Bankes, Rev. Thomas

A New And Authentic System Of Universal Geography (Complete in One Volume)

c. 1790 NZD 750.00 - 1,200.00 NZD 452.20
  • Sotheby's Book Week
    2 June - 9 July
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
    Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
  • Leland Little, June 12: The First Illustrated Edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
    Leland Little, June 12: John Morton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Signed Pennsylvania Land Survey.
    Leland Little, June 12: The Scarce Jansson Edition of a Remarkable Early View of London.
    Leland Little, June 12: Signed Limited Edition of The Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
    Leland Little, June 12: Faden’s Important and Scarce Map of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution.
    Leland Little, June 12: William J. Tate (NC, 1869-1953), Archive of the "Original host to the Wright brothers at Kitty Hawk.”
  • Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
    Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
  • June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
    Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
    June 25, 2026
    Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
    Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
    Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
    Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
    Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
  • Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
    Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950