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Bonhams: Fine Books & Manuscripts Including Highlights from Jeremy Norman, History of Science and Technology
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | Fine Books & Manuscripts Including Highlights from Jeremy Norman, History of Science and Technology | Total Sales (USD) | 802,188.80 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | June 24, 2026 - June 24, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 458,400.00 |
| Sale Number | #31882 | High Estimate of Lots Sold (USD) | 705,900.00 |
| Total Lots | 260 | ||
| Sold Lots | 167.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 856,100.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 64.23% | High Estimate of All Lots (USD) | 1,315,300.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 93 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 60.99% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 354 | Poppers Wolf Leib Katz | An Illustrated Miniature Hebrew Prayerbook Manuscript |
ca. 1750 | USD 30,000.00 - 50,000.00 | USD 43,520.00 |
| 346 | Schedel Hartmann 1440-1514 | Liber chronicarum |
1493 | USD 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | USD 40,960.00 |
| 211 | Fabrici 1537-1619 | De venarum ostiolis |
1603 | USD 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 | USD 35,840.00 |
| 348 | Walton Izaak 1593-1683 | The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative man's Recreation |
1653 | USD 12,000.00 - 18,000.00 | USD 30,720.00 |
| 212 | Bacon Francis 1561-1620 | Instauratio magna |
1620 | USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | USD 24,320.00 |
| 273 | Fermi, Enrico; Occhialini, Guiseppe | Archive of correspondence to experimental physicist Bruno Rossi |
1931-1935 | USD 15,000.00 - 25,000.00 | USD 20,480.00 |
| 203 | Fuchs Leonart | De historia stirpium |
1542 | USD 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | USD 19,200.00 |
| 334 | McGovern Melvin P. (born 1913) | Specimen pages of Korean movable types |
1966 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 19,200.00 |
| 289 | Franklin Rosalind 1920-58; Holmes Kenneth C. 1926-2015; Gosling R. G.; Klug Aaron 1926-2018; Finch John T. 1930-2017 | 7 Books, including: Tobacco mosaic virus: Application of the method of isomorphous replacement to the determination of the helical parameters |
1953-58 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 15,360.00 |
| 344 | Two illuminated initials cut from a large-format choirbook |
late 15th century | USD 10,000.00 - 20,000.00 | USD 15,360.00 | |
| 431 | Herbert Frank (1920-1986) | Dune |
1965 | USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 | USD 15,360.00 |
| 405 | Asimov Isaac | I, Robot |
[1950] | USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | USD 14,080.00 |
| 416 | Dickens Charles (1812-1870) | A Christmas Carol |
1843 | USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 14,080.00 |
| 205 | Geminus Thomas | Compendiosa totius anatomie delineatio, aere exarata |
1545 | USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | USD 12,800.00 |
| 358 | Hawkesworth John; Cook James; King James | Cook's Voyages |
1773-1784 | USD 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 | USD 12,160.00 |
| 287 | Wilkinson James H. 1919- | Progress report on the Automatic Computing Engine; Report on the pilot model of the Automatic Computing Engine |
1948; 1951 | USD 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | USD 11,520.00 |
| 349 | Venables Robert 1612-1687 | The Experienced Angler; or, Angling Improved |
1662 | USD 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | USD 11,520.00 |
| 200 | Alexander of Tralles | Practica Alexandri yatros grecium expositione glose interlinearis Jacobi de partibus et Januensis in margine posite |
1504 | USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 | USD 10,240.00 |
| 228 | Hunter William (1718-1783) | Anatomia uteri humani gravidi tabulis illustrata |
1774 | USD 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | USD 8,960.00 |
| 301 | 1 kuan note |
1368-1398 | USD 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 | USD 8,960.00 | |
| 210 | Dalechamps Jacques | Chirurgie francoise |
1569 | USD 5,000.00 - 8,000.00 | USD 8,320.00 |
| 235 | Mascagni Paolo (1752-1815) | Planches anatomiques du corps humain executes d'apres les dimensions naturelles |
1823-1826 | USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 | USD 8,320.00 |
| 263 | Wright Brothers | Flugmaschine Wright G.m.b.H. |
1909 | USD 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 | USD 8,320.00 |
| 227 | Gregory John (1724-1773) | Observations on the duties and offices of a physician; and on the method of prosecuting enquiries in philosophy |
1770 | USD 4,000.00 - 6,000.00 | USD 7,680.00 |
| 230 | Fourcroy Antoine Francois De (1755-1809) | Entomolgia Parisiensis |
1785 | USD 6,000.00 - 9,000.00 | USD 7,680.00 |
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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 -
Freeman’s, June 30. Thomas Jefferson’s “Birth of the New Nation” letter, carried to Paris with the Treaty of Peace, by a Jewish patriot. $100,000-200,000.Freeman’s, June 30. “The rockets’ red glare.” A British midshipman’s log recording the bombardment of Fort McHenry. $60,000-80,000.Freeman’s, June 30. The Critical Promotion of a Naval Hero, Oliver Hazard Perry Commission signed by James Madison, 1812. $40,000-60,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Born in the USA: First Day of Printing in the United States, July 4, 1776. $15,000-25,000.Freeman’s, June 30. One of the Earliest Printed Announcements of American Independence, in the Exceedingly Rare Original Wrappers, 1776. $10,000-15,000.Freeman’s, June 30. "The Two Big Guns of the N.Y. Yanks": A Striking Type 1 Press Photograph of Lou Gehrig's Hands. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. A Unique Contemporary Manuscript Account of Joseph Smith's Final Words to His Followers, the Day Before his Violent Death. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. The State of Minnesota Officially Certifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Of the United States. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Extraordinarily Large Manuscript Petition Signed by a Who's Who of Colonial New York to Queen Anne from the Colony of New York. $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Mickey Mantle's First Cover: The Earliest Front-Page Newspaper Image of Mickey Mantle, "Something Good from Joplin". $8,000-12,000.Freeman’s, June 30. A Call to Arms in the Months Following the Declaration of Independence: An Early Continental Army Recruitment Poster. $6,000-9,000.Freeman’s, June 30. Samuel Jones, the Statesman Behind the Newly Discovered "Jones Declaration": His Annotated Set Used in His Working Law Library. $6,000-9,000.