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Sothebys: Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone
Auction Reports
| Auction Name | Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone | Total Sales (GBP) | 1,159,936.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Date | July 07, 2026 - July 07, 2026 | Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) | 589,280.00 |
| Sale Number | #L26402 | High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) | 847,520.00 |
| Total Lots | 136 | ||
| Sold Lots | 133.0 | Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) | 789,280.00 |
| % of Lots Sold | 97.79% | High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) | 1,117,520.00 |
| Unsold Lots | 3 | Total Sales as a % of High Est. | 103.80% |
Top twenty-five by sale price
| Lot Number | Author Name | Book Title | Year Published | Estimate | Actual Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Austen Jane | Pride and Prejudice |
1813 | GBP 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 | GBP 121,600.00 |
| 61 | Gluck Christoph Willibald | Autograph manuscript of part of the celebrated air 'J’ai perdu mon Eurydice' from Orphee et Eurydice |
1774 | GBP 60,000.00 - 80,000.00 | GBP 76,800.00 |
| 49 | Dickens Charles | Pictures from Italy |
1846 | GBP 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 | GBP 64,000.00 |
| 51 | Durer Albrecht (1471-1528) | The Crucifixion |
circa 1519 | GBP 15,000.00 - 25,000.00 | GBP 64,000.00 |
| 150 | Whitman Walt | Leaves of Grass |
1855 | GBP 50,000.00 - 70,000.00 | GBP 64,000.00 |
| 47 | Debussy Claude | Flots, palmes, sables |
1882 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 53,760.00 |
| 129 | Shelley Mary | Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus |
1823 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 48,640.00 |
| 130 | Shepard E.H. | Pooh and Piglet |
N/A | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 40,960.00 |
| 22 | Khayyam Omar; Fitzgerald Edward | Rubaiyat of the astronomer-poet of Persia |
1872 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 33,280.00 |
| 24 | Blake William | Illustrations of the Book of Job |
1826 | GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 | GBP 30,720.00 |
| 59 | Fleming Ian | Centenary Edition |
2008 | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 30,720.00 |
| 112 | Potter Beatrix | He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages... |
N/A | GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 | GBP 28,160.00 |
| 84 | Lennon John | Imagine |
ND | GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | GBP 25,600.00 |
| 48 | Dickens Charles | A Christmas Carol |
1843 | GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | GBP 23,040.00 |
| 106 | Zervos Christian | Œuvres de 1895 a 1972 |
1949-1978 | GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | GBP 19,200.00 |
| 154 | Hardy Thomas | Far from The Madding Crowd |
1908 | GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | GBP 16,640.00 |
| 113 | Potter Beatrix | The Tailor of Gloucester |
1902 | GBP 5,000.00 - 7,000.00 | GBP 15,360.00 |
| 35 | Burgess Anthony | A Clockwork Orange |
1962 | GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | GBP 14,080.00 |
| 27 | Boswell James | The Life of Samuel Johnson |
1791 | GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 | GBP 12,800.00 |
| 66 | Pausanias | Atticae descriptio |
c. 1500 | GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | GBP 12,160.00 |
| 76 | Master of the Dresden Prayer Book | Labours of the Month and Zodiac signs |
c.1500 | GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 | GBP 11,520.00 |
| 85 | Lucas David; Constable John | The Rainbow, Salisbury Cathedral |
1837 | GBP 600.00 - 900.00 | GBP 10,880.00 |
| 78 | Joyce James | Ulysses |
1922 | GBP 6,000.00 - 8,000.00 | GBP 10,240.00 |
| 111 | Bloch Georges; Boeck Wilhelm; Czwiklitzer Christoph; Daix Pierre; Eluard Paul; Fernandez Justino; Geiser Bernhard; Baer Brigitte; McCully Marilyn; Parmelin Helene; Picasso Pablo; Ramie Suzanne; Ramie Georges; Rodrigo Luis Carlos; Soria Georges; Waldemar G | 1000 Books, including: Pablo Picasso: Catalogue de l'oeuvre grave et lithographie 1904–1967 |
1968–1979; 1962; 1944; 1970; 1979; 1952; 1949; 1955–1996; 1993; 1964; 1937; 1932; c. 1999; 2003; 1995–2000; 1970; 1948; 1975; 1992; 1961; 1968; 1948; 1951; 1926; 1949 | GBP 8,000.00 - 12,000.00 | GBP 10,240.00 |
| 40 | Liszt Franz | F. Chopin par F. Liszt |
1852 | GBP 1,500.00 - 2,000.00 | GBP 9,600.00 |
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Sotheby’s Geek Week
14-15 JulySotheby’s, July 14: Henry De La Beche. "Awful Changes," 1830. $6,000 to $9,000.Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 11]. Flight Plan, Complete Original Printing Signed by Buzz Aldrin. $5,000 to $8,000.Sotheby’s, July 15: Thomas Alva Edison. Documents Establishing and Ending the Edison Electric Railway Company. $20,000 to $30,000.Sotheby’s, July 15: Richard P. Feynman. Feynman's Lectures on Gravitation 1-16, Including the Original Transcriptions of Lectures 12-16 by Morinigo and Wagner, With Richard Feynman's Manuscript Notations, 1971. $12,000 to $18,000.Sotheby’s, July 15: [Apollo 9]. A Group of Manuals and Mission Documents used by Stuart Roosa as a member of the Astronaut Support Crew. $5,000 to $8,000.Sotheby’s, July 15: [BYTE: The Small Systems Journal]. A collection of early foundational issues of Byte: The Small Systems Journal, with rare hardcover editions. $5,000 to $8,000. -
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