March 24, 2011 |
Upcoming Auctions
Largely a calendar of things to keep an eye on, with some highlights noted:
On 24 March, PBA Galleries sells Property of a Gentleman: Modern Literature, in 279 lots.
Also on 24 March, Bloomsbury London hosts a sale of books in Food & Allied Subjects, including the Cookery Library of the late Alan Davidson, Country Pursuits and Natural History, in 469 lots.
Swann will sell Printed and Manuscript Americana on 31 March, in 362 lots. Highlights include an archive of 16 documents by and related to Jonathan Edwards (est. $10,000-15,000) and a copy of Judah Monis' 1735 Hebrew grammar with early ownership notes (est. $15,000-25,000). Quite a few other pieces with interesting provenance here as well.
Christie's London hosts a Travel, Science and Natural History sale on 6 April, in 213 lots. Some really interesting globes, orreries and other scientific instruments here, including a~1690 French microscope. Several important printed books will also be sold, including a copy of Jacques Le Hay's work on Turkish dress (est. £6,000-8,000); Maarten Houttuyn's 1791-95treatise on woods (est. £3,000-4,000); and Lyell's Principles of Geology, est. £3,000-5,000.
Swann also has a Fine Books and Manuscripts sale on 7 April, in 136 lots. The top lot here is expected to be a deluxe copy of the Golden Cockerel Press Gospels, one of twelve copies printed on vellum and this copy inscribed by Eric Gill to Virginia Woolf. It's estimated at $60,000-75,000.
Heritage Auctions (which is now holding weekly online book auctions) will hold their first New York rare books sale on 7-9 April. It will include artwork from the Garth Williams estate, the Victor Gulotta collection of Charles Dickens materials, a 16th-century illuminated Book of Hours, a first edition Book of Mormon, and a Kelmscott Chaucer, among other interesting lots.
On 11 April, Sotheby's New York will sell Original Illustration Art from the Collections of Kendra and Allan Daniel, in 193 lots. The top-estimated lot is Jessie Willcox Smith's "How Doth the Little Busy Bee," which could sell for $200,000-300,000. Illustrations by Arthur Rackham, Beatrix Potter, and Edmund Dulac also feature prominently.
Also on 11 April, Swann sells Early Printed Books, including Armenian Books, in 273 lots. The top-rated lot is a 1621 Armenian manuscript of the Gospels, which is estimated at $18,000-20,000.
Bloomsbury London will hold a Bibliophile Sale on 14 April, in 384 lots.
Doyle New York will sell Books, Photographs and Prints on 20 April. Watch for my preview of this sale in the Spring Fine Books & Collections.
