Source : Anderson Galleries 1604

Source Title The West, Its History and Romance (Part I of Dr. Frank P. O'Brien's Library)
Description The West, Its History and Romance (Part I of Dr. Frank P. O'Brien's Library) Rare, Curious and Important Books, Pamphlets, Broadsides and Maps Relating to the Western States from the Ohio to the Pacific including the Original Manuscripts of Sutter's Fort 1846-1847.
Scope of Text "This collection is, of course, distinguished by its possession of the greatest historical discovery that has been made for more than a generation. But, even omitting the Fort Sutter Papers from consideration, the material here embraced is unusually noteworthy for its rarity and for its value and intrinsic importance as a record of national development.

Several things have contributed to the present keen appreciation and demand for chronicles relating to the Early West and Far West. One of those elements lies in the fact that more human adventure and hardship were mingled with the western movement in America, than with a similar period in the growth of any other nation. Another reason is the realization of the relationship borne by those migrations to the present condition of the world. Still a third reason is to be found in the fact that the Middle West and Far West of to-day are filled with libraries, universities, historical societies and other institutions, to which such narratives are a necessity in order that they may possess the early records of their own neighborhoods and regions; and a fourth cause of the competition is the fact that such books, pamphlets, maps, and other productions were almost invariably printed in small editions, despite their unusual and permanent interest.

As a result of all these causes the material dealing with the Pioneer West has almost disappeared, and in the very near future is certain to appreciate greatly in value. Opportunities such as are afforded by the dispersal of this collection are, in consequence, recognized as events of importance.

No necessity exists for comment on the Fort Sutter Papers, the discovery and existence of which are of vastly wider consequence than as an item in a sale of rare historical material. Aside from those documents, the collection is rich in valuable and unusual titles, many of which here appear for the first time in the records.

From the foreword to the auction catalogue
Total Records in AED 0
  • Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: These are the Times that Try Men's Souls, Thomas Paine. $80,000-$120,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: Manuscrpit from Aboard The Discovery, Signed by George Vancouver. $80,000-$120,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: Exceedingly Rare Holograph Fragment of James Cook's Logbook. $80,000-$120,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: Colonial America: The Collection of William Nesheim: Thomas Lechford: Important First-Hand Account of Life in New England. $40,000-$60,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: The First Expanded Edition of Common Sense, Thomas Paine. $30,000-$50,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: California! The Gold Rush Collection of Bruce Maclin: Album of Exceptional California Lettersheets. $20,000-$30,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: California! The Gold Rush Collection of Bruce Maclin: An Exceptional Group of Gold Rush Letters, c. 1849-1850. $20,000-$30,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: Colonial America: The Collection of William Nesheim: Mather's King Phillips War Tract 1639-1723. $15,000-$25,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: Colonial America: The Collection of William Nesheim: The First Contemporaneous Account of the Salem Witch Trials, Cotton Mather. $15,000-$25,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: Poor Richard's Almanack 1749, Benjamin Franklin. $15,000-$20,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: California! The Gold Rush Collection of Bruce Maclin: Fruits of Mormonism by Nelson Slater. $15,000-$25,000
    Bonhams, Oct. 13-23: California! The Gold Rush Collection of Bruce Maclin, Across the Plains in '49 by Emanuel Goughnour. $12,000-$18,000
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  • Sotheby’s
    By a Lady
    1-15 October 2025
    Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Queen Elizabeth I. A queen’s defense of the realm, and the birth of the British Empire. $500,000 to $700,000.
    Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Vanessa Bell — [Virginia Woolf]. An exceptional encapsulation of the Bloomsbury Group. A striking tile created by Vanesa Bell for her sister, Virginia Woolf, ca. Christmas 1926. $25,000 to $35,000.
    Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Austen, Jane. A long and intimate autograph letter signed ("JA"), to Cassandra Austen. $300,000 to $400,000.
    Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: Austen, Jane. “Lines on Maria Beckford,” autograph manuscript signed ("Jane Austen"). $100,000 to $150,000.
    Sotheby’s, Oct. 1-15: [Austen, Jane]. Emma, the extraordinary Edgeworth-Butler copy. $250,000 to $350,000.
  • Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair
    17 and 18 Oct
    Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair
    17 and 18 Oct
    Rare Map, Book, and Autograph Fair
    17 and 18 Oct