Press Releases

Boston -- Forty documents from the turbulent making of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam epic film, Apocalypse Now, will be auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction.

'My film is not a movie. My film is not about Vietnam. It IS Vietnam. It’s what it was really like—it was crazy. And the way we made it was very much like the way the Americans were in Vietnam. We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane.'—Francis Ford Coppola, Cannes, 1979.

On March 20, 1976, director Francis Ford Coppola and dozens of cast and crew descended into the Philippine jungle, into madness, into their Vietnam. The film opens sans credits, the whirling of Huey helicopters in a hellfire landscape interspersed with the whirring of a ceiling fan in the hotel room of Captain Benjamin L. Willard, played by Martin Sheen. He lies contemplatively, cursed by memories, as The Doors' 'The End' plays in the background. A handgun, an empty glass of cognac, a smoldering cigarette. Willard rises, peers through the blinds, and exclaims: 'Saigon…sh*t. I'm still only in Saigon. Every time, I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle.'

Coppola foregoes Hollywood's standard opening formula by eschewing both title cards and credits (this is not a movie), resulting in immediate immersion for the viewer (it IS Vietnam). His artistic vision is mirrored in this comprehensive archive of 40 documents, which range in date from 1976 to 1979, and predominately consist of one-page screen credit release waivers signed in 1977; these forms, submitted to Coppola Cinema Seven, waive all rights "to receive credit on the screen for…services rendered in connection with the film entitled 'Apocalypse Now,'" with the understanding that director Francis Ford Coppola intends "to provide credit on a printed program rather than on the screen in certain showings of the Film"; an example of this program is included.

The primary documents that deviate from this waiver format are signed by Marlon Brando and George Lucas: the four Brando documents (with a combined total of five Brando signatures) discuss and consent to various matters related to his screen credits (e.g. "Martin Sheen's name may appear above the title, in third position, after my name and that of Robert Duvall" and "In connection with 'Apocalypse Now,' I agree that the 'Directed By' and 'Produced By' credits to Francis Coppola may be combined and appear above mine, so long as my credit still appears on a separate card on screen"), while the George Lucas document is an employment agreement for his "consulting and editing services." Lucas had originally been slated to direct the picture, but his passion project—Star Wars—drew him away early on. Harrison Ford played the role of 'Colonel Lucas' in a nod to the departed director, and he, too, would be swept into the Star Wars saga—by the time Ford signed the present document (October 31, 1977), Star Wars had been in theaters for five months and made him a superstar overnight.

The highlights of this archive are the documents signed by the principal actors/filmmakers: Marlon Brando (four documents, with one twice-signed), Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Frederic Forrest (adding: "provided you use my good side in the scene where my head is cut off, with Marty"), Albert Hall, George Lucas (also signed by Coppola), Francis Ford Coppola (a TLS about permission to use the Playboy Bunny logo), and screenwriter John Milius; and by the musicians who provided the memorable soundtrack: one signed by John Densmore and Robby Krieger of The Doors, one signed by Ray Manzarek of The Doors, and one signed by Flash Cadillac & The Continental Kids (Warren Knight, Sam McFadin, Linn Phillips III, Kris Moe, Dwight Bement, and Paul Wheatbread).

In addition to the principal signers, the archive includes documents signed by background players and uncredited bit parts: Joseph Sheen, Herb Rice, Charlie Robinson, Ben Piazza, Colleen Camp, Linda Carpenter, Mark Jenkins, Glenn Walken, Damien Leake, Ken Wolger, Jack Thibeau, William Upton, Tony Cummings, Frank Villard, David Olivier, Christian Marquand, Chrystel Le Pelletier, and Aurore Clément; and producers and crew assistants: Gray Frederickson, Fred Roos, Jerry Ziesmer, and Joe Lowry.

Like the nightmare that was the Vietnam War, the production of Apocalypse Now went sideways nearly as soon as it started. It was originally scheduled for 16 weeks of shooting beginning in March 1976, a timeline that spiraled out of control: borrowed helicopters were recalled by the Philippine military to fight rebels; tropical disease wreaked havoc; payroll was stolen; and monsoon rains destroyed sets and equipment. Marlon Brando arrived in September, overweight and unprepared, having learned none of his lines. He refused to work with wild-and-crazy Dennis Hopper, forcing their scene together to be filmed on alternate nights. Fed up with Brando's antics, Coppola ultimately turned over the filming of his scenes to Assistant Director Jerry Ziesmer (who is represented in these documents, and who uttered one of the film's most memorable lines—'Terminate, with extreme prejudice'—after Coppola failed for months to find a suitable actor).

Year's end brought the fun 'Hau Phat U.S.O. Bunny Show' sequence, shot on December 3, 1976, that delivered Playboy Playmates Cyndi Wood, Linda Carpenter, and Colleen Camp to the set (Carpenter and Camp are included in this archive, as well as Coppola's letter expressing concern about the use of Playboy's famous logo, which appears throughout the scene). Trouble returned in early 1977, when the 36-year-old Martin Sheen collapsed from a serious, near-fatal heart attack. During Sheen's six weeks of recovery, his look-alike, sound-alike younger brother, Joe Estevez—present in this archive as "Joseph Sheen"—filled in on set; Estevez would also provide the necessary voiceovers during post. Filming finally wrapped on May 21, 1977, after a combined 238 days of tumultuous shooting over a two-year span. Coppola addressed the crew at day's end: 'I've never seen so many people so happy to be unemployed.'

Post-production met with similar delays, due to setbacks in creating the stereo soundtrack (which would include 'The End' by The Doors and Flash Cadillac's cover of 'Suzie Q') and re-working the film while editing the material. After fits and starts, Apocalypse Now finally debuted—as a 'work in progress'—at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1979, where it was awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or. Laurence Fishburne was just 14 years old when production started, and had lied about his age to secure the role of 17-year-old Tyrone 'Mr. Clean' Miller (when he signed the present document in September 1977, he was still just 16); by the time the film premiered in American theaters in August 1979, Fishburne was 18 and could have joined the Army himself.

Coppola revisited his masterpiece with the revised and extended version, Apocalypse Now Redux, released in 2001. The significant re-edit added 49 minutes to the original's runtime, among them a long French plantation sequence in which five of the signers in this archive—Villard, Olivier, Marquand, Le Pelletier, and Clément—appear on screen, who are not seen in the original 1979 version.

In addition to its eight Academy Award nominations (winning Oscars for 'Best Cinematography' and 'Best Sound'), Apocalypse Now's cinematic legacy has been enhanced by the Emmy-winning 1991 documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, which chronicled the 'magic and madness' of its production. It now takes a place among the top films of all-time, and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being 'culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.'

“As a one-of-a-kind, extensive archive of documents signed by the prominent and obscure figures involved with the legendarily difficult making of Apocalypse Now, this is a truly remarkable lot,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction.

The Pop Culture Auction featuring Woodstock will conclude on Thursday, August 15. For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.

New York -- Swann Galleries’ summer sale of Vintage Posters on Wednesday, August 7 was a lively event with active bidding across all platforms. “Many of the auction's niche collecting categories saw heated competition for trophy pieces, including sections on propaganda, sports and auto racing, as well as beach and summer resort posters,” noted Nicholas D. Lowry, Vintage Posters Director and house President. The sale saw six record prices and brought a number of posters to market for the first time.

The house’s most extensive selection of automobile posters to date saw competitive bidding from car aficionados. Highlights included a 1970 ad for Porsche prominently featuring actor Steve McQueen, which earned a record $7,000 over a high estimate of $1,200; and Ludwig Hohlwein’s 1914 Mercedes poster in German, which brought $10,000.

Sergio Trujillo Magnenat’s advertisements for the first Bolivarian Games in 1938 proved to be successful in his market debut, with all of the four works on offer finding buyers. His designs promoting track-and-field events—javelin, and discus—earned $4,160 apiece, while the designs for tennis and polo were won for $4,000 and $2,470, respectively.

War and political propaganda included William Sanger’s 1936 campaign poster for Roosevelt and Lehman, a first at auction for the image and a record for the artist at $7,250. James Montgomery Flagg was present with his iconic 1917 image featuring Uncle Sam, I Want You for U.S. Army, and his circa 1918 call to join the marines featuring a soldier riding a leopard ($4,940 and $5,500, respectively). Howard Chandler Christy’s Aviation / Fly with the U.S. Marines, 1920, rounded out the selection at $6,750.

The sale was led by Alphonse Mucha’s The Seasons, four decorative panels on silk, 1900, at $14,300. Also by Mucha was Lance Parfum Rodo, 1896, an early work by the artist denoted by the muse’s hairstyle which would become much more ornamental and flowing in later works ($6,750). Further Art Nouveau highlights included Adrien Barrère’s circa 1909 movie poster, Cinéma Pathé / Tous y Mènent Leurs Enfants!, at $8,750, and Francisco Tamagno’s 1909 Terrot & Co. cycle advertisement, which brought a record for the image at $4,160.

Beach and summer resort highlights featured record prices for Boris Artzybasheff’s Bermuda by Clipper / Pan American World Airways, 1949, at $5,750, and Alfred Lambart’s Newquay on the Cornish Coast, 1937, at $4,000.

Further records included Günther Kieser’s 1968 concert poster for The Doors and the Canned Heat at $5,250 and Erik Nitsche’s USS Nautilus / General Dynamics, 1955, at $5,000.

The next auction from the Vintage Posters department will be Rare & Important Travel Posters on November 14. Visit swanngalleries.com or download the Swann Galleries App for catalogues, bidding and inquiries.

Dallas, TX – A group of 481 rare book lots from the personal collection of a giant in the New York literary community are expected to be among the top draws in Heritage Auctions’ Rare Books Auction Featuring the Otto Penzler Collection of Mystery Fiction Part II Sept. 5 in New York City.

The collection belongs to Otto Penzler, who has spent most of his life collecting prized first editions and opened the Mysterious Bookshop in Midtown Manhattan in 1979; the store became a can’t-miss destination for like-minded fiction fans and helped fuel Penzler’s passion for acquiring literature.

“Otto Penzler is an icon among American collectors of literature,” Heritage Auctions Rare Books Director James Gannon said. “His collection is a combination of quantity and quality that few can match. A main focus of this group is English mystery and crime fiction, and it features some exceedingly popular authors, like Agatha Christie, Charles Dickens and G.K. Chesterton.”

One of the top lots from Penzler’s collection is Graham Greene. Brighton Rock London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1938 (estimate: $40,000), a first edition so rare there is only one other copy known to have made it to the auction block, and that one had a restored jacket; to find a copy in this condition and with an unrestored jacket is almost unheard of. This copy is housed in custom green cloth chemise in green cloth slipcase with gilt-stamped green morocco spine labels. The novel effectively secured Greene’s place in 20th-century literature, was adapted multiple times for television and film, and appears on the Haycraft Queen Cornerstone list, which is billed as “the definitive library of mystery fiction.”

Also from the Penzler Collection is Wilkie Collins After Dark, 1856 (estimate: $10,000), a first-edition presentation copy that is inscribed, “To W.S. Herrick / from / Wilkie Collins / February 1856.” In two volumes, After Dark is Collins’ first collection of short stories, all but one of which were published in Charles Dickens’ Household Words before being collected in this work. Herrick not only is personalized in the inscription, but also is named by Collins in the preface: “I must also gratefully acknowledge an obligation of another kind to the accomplished Mr W. S. Herrick, to whom I am indebted for the curious and interesting facts on which the tales of 'The Terribly Strange Bed' and 'The Yellow Mask' are founded." Herrick, a portrait painter, left his ownership signature on the front free endpaper of the second volume.

The Mysterious Mr. Quin, by Agatha Christie, is a 1930 first edition of the author’s third short story collection, and the first appearance in book form of Harley Quin, Christie’s scarcest and most enigmatic detective. The volume is done in publisher’s full black cloth, with the front and spine stamped in red, housed in the original illustrated dust jacket.

Other top lots from Penzler’s collection include, but are not limited to:

·         G. K. Chesterton "The Fairy Tale of Father Brown" Typed and Holograph Manuscript (estimate: $5,000+)
·         Daphne du Maurier Rebecca (estimate ($4,000+)
·         E. C. Bentley. Trent's Last Case (estimate ($4,000+)

James Joyce. Ulysses. Paris: Shakespeare and Company, 1922. First edition (estimate: $38,500) is an exceedingly rare first edition of the novel, based on Homer’s Odyssey, that takes place over the course of a single day in Dublin. This volume is from the first printing of the first edition, a run that was limited to just 1,000 copies (of which this is one of 750 copies of the trade edition). A classic of English-language literature, the book played a central role in the history of American publishing. It was initially censored in the United States after being deemed obscene, and copies that were discovered being brought into the country were seized and destroyed. A friend of the author began smuggling copies, but only one or two at a time. Shortly thereafter, Random House Publishing brought the book into the country with the intention of getting it seized in order to start a legal trial with the goal of getting the obscenity rating removed. The plan, which Random House took on in exchange for publishing rights, led to the book being named as the defendant in the “United States v. One Book Called Ulysses” case. The book was defended in court by attorney Morris Ernst, who later founded the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Arthur Rackham In Did Come the Strangest Figure (estimate: $15,000) is a 1934 image in pen, ink and watercolor by the English book illustrator who is recognized as one of the leading literary figures of the Golden Age of British book illustration. The 8-3/4-by-6-inch image, from The Pied Piper of Hamelin, is signed “Arthur Rackham” on the lower left. This is one of 50 lots in this auction from The Arthur Rackham Collection of Nita and Frank N. Manitzas; a wonderful grouping of both original paintings and drawings by Rackham, as well as excellent examples of most of Rackham’s signed limited editions in deluxe vellum bindings.

[Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay] The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, as Agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787 (estimate: $15,000) is the second of two volumes. Hamilton invited Jay and Madison to join him in writing the 85 essays published as The Federalist to meet the immediate need of convincing the reluctant people of New York State of the importance of ratifying the newly proposed Constitution of the United States. The essays, under the pseudonym “Publius,” were designed as political propaganda, not as a treatise of political philosophy. Volume II contains essays No. 37-85, as well as the complete text of the Constitution, headed “Articles of the New Constitution; as agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787.”

William Faulkner Go Down, Moses. And Other Stories. New York: Random House, [1942] (estimate: $12,500) is an incredibly rare and coveted first edition, signed by Faulkner on a special limitation page. This copy is No. 34 of just 100 printed, making it the smallest limitation of any Faulkner title.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

Jack Schaefer Shane Houghton Mifflin Company, 1949 First Edition, in proof jacket (estimate: $10,500)

Arthur Rackham The Oval Portrait (estimate: $10,000)

Herman Melville. Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1851 (estimate: $10,000)

James Joyce. Finnegans Wake, 1939 (estimate: $8,500)

Westport, CT — A letter typed in English and signed by Albert Einstein in which he talks about his theory of universal gravitation, a document signed in 1776 by John Hancock having to do with taxation without representation, and a letter written and signed by Thomas Jefferson six weeks before his death are expected top lots in University Archives’ online auction, August 28th.  

The auction will begin at 10:30 am Eastern time. Live bidding has already been posted online and bidding is available via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. The auction is packed with sensational historical documents, autographs and books, including a large science collection – 255 lots in all. Folks can visit the website, at www.UniversityArchives.com.

“This scintillating sale includes a science grouping that’s sure to attract collectors and dealers like electrons to protons,” mused John Reznikoff, president and owner of University Archives. “The seismic collection of manuscripts, autographs and books document the history of science. The greatest geniuses from all of physics, chemistry, genetics, engineering, computing, medicine, psychology, aviation and space exploration are represented, from Albert Einstein, Antoine Henri Becquerel and Enrico Fermi to Gregor Mendel, Thomas Edison, Charles Babbage and others.”   Mr. Reznikoff added, “The sale is also strong in documenting literary and artistic figures as well as athletes. We have superlative Romantic authors and modern greats. Our selection of original art ranges from comic art to a Norman Rockwell signed artist’s proof. Sports fans can find incredible signed photos and other memorabilia from 20th-century baseball and boxing legends.”   He continued, “As always, collectors of Declaration Signers, presidential, Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Americana will not be disappointed with our vast and diverse selection. Of special note are a 1776 letter by John Hancock, a great George Washington, a superb Thomas Paine letter, and even a Paul Revere signed item. There are several Jeffersons and many Lincolns, too.”

The Einstein letter – typed in English on Nov. 2, 1953, signed and addressed to George Aristotle Solounias in Athens, Greece, references “the validity of Newton’s theory” using a “clock-time” illustration. Einstein writes: “Your hypothesis is not impossible logically but it is contrary to facts.” The letter, on Einstein’s embossed stationery, with envelope, should hit $10,000-$12,000.

The manuscript document showing John Hancock’s bold and familiar signature, executed Oct. 1, 1776, just a few months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, has a pre-sale estimate of $8,000-$9,000. The important resolution urges the complete representation of all the states regarding taxation by the British. It is nicely matted and comes with an image of Hancock.

The handsome single-page letter handwritten by Thomas Jefferson on April 18, 1826 (six weeks prior to his death on July 4th), is matted in a stunning slate blue suede mat and framed together with a lovely engraved portrait of Jefferson to a finished frame size of 24 ½ inches by 29 inches. The letter concerns Jefferson’s ongoing debt problems and is expected to reach $7,500-$8,500.

A soldier’s discharge document signed by then-General George Washington, dated June 8, 1783, for Private Isaac Osterhout, who was conned out of his rights by a man later convicted and sent to prison for life, has an estimate of $12,000-$14,000. Also, an invitation signed by the poet Walt Whitman to his lecture on Abraham Lincoln, delivered at the Chestnut Street Opera House in Philadelphia on April 15, 1886, should realize $2,000-$2,400. Whitman greatly admired Lincoln.

A fine example of the very rare full signature of the Swedish diplomat and humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg, documenting his efforts to help a Levai Miksa to survive the Holocaust, dated Aug. 22, 1944 and issued in Budapest, has an estimate of $9,000-$10,000. Also, a one-page document written in German and signed by Gregor Mendel (1822-1884), the “Father of Modern Genetics”, very rare, penned in what is now the Czech Republic on Sept. 1876, should make $5,000-$6,000.

A manuscript letter signed by Spain’s King Ferdinand (as “Yo el Rey”, or “I the King”) and Queen Isabella (as “Yo la Reyna”, or “I the Queen”), on an 8 ¼ inch by 12 inch page dated Oct. 12, 1499, in Spanish with a full English translation, is expected to gamer $8,000-$9,000. Also, a signed black and white photo of the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, dated (“9.55”), has an estimate of $3,000-$3,500. Ho Chi Minh is a self-adopted name; it means “Bringer of Light”.

A one-page typed letter signed by Walt Disney (1901-1966), regarding an exhibition of Fantasia for Pan-American Union attendees’ children, dated July 7, 1941 and typed on Disney’s Fantasia letterhead, with a portrait photo of Disney, should finish at $3,000-$3,500; and an achievement award signed in 1985 by history teacher-turned-astronaut Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986), just one year prior to her tragic death in the Challenger disaster, carries an estimate of $500-$600.

University Archives has become world-renowned as a go-to source for rare items of this kind. It is actively seeking quality material for future auctions, presenting a rare opportunity for sellers.

“We can offer up to a 100 percent cash advance and a highly competitive commission structure,” Reznikoff said. “We’re only able to do this owing to our position in the industry as the premier auction house for signed historical documents, letters and manuscripts. Our reputation is rock-solid worldwide and has been earned over a period of four decades. People respect us globally.”

Anyone who has a single item or a collection that may be a fit for a future University Archives auction may call Mr. Reznikoff at 203-454-0111, or email him at john@universityarchives.com.

University Archives was founded in 1979, as a division of University Stamp Company, by Mr. Reznikoff, who started collecting stamps and coins in 1968, while in the third grade. Industry-wide, Reznikoff is considered the leading authenticity expert for manuscripts and documents. He consults with law enforcement, dealers, auction houses and both major authentication companies.
 
For more information about University Archives and the Wednesday, August 28th Internet-only auction, please visit www.universityarchives.com. For phone bidding, please call 800-237-5692.

Austin, TX — Letters, books and manuscripts by authors such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Stéphane Mallarmé, James Joyce, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Joseph Conrad and others from the private collection of Annette Campbell-White, a pioneering venture capitalist and rare book and manuscript collector, will be the latest exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Modernist Networks: The Annette Campbell-White Collection traces the connections and creative influences among the modernists across generations, disciplines and continents. The exhibit opens Aug. 24.

“The Ransom Center is renowned for its deep holdings of modernist authors, and these collections played an important role in inspiring and stimulating Annette Campbell-White’s own collecting,” Brumbalow Director Stephen Enniss said. “It is highly fitting that the Center now share with the public her extraordinary collection of rare and unique works of modernist authors, much of which has never before been on public view.”

Campbell-White founded and served as the senior managing partner of MedVenture Associates, a biomedical venture capital firm, from 1986 to 2015 and is a founding member of the Wikipedia Endowment Advisory Board. Throughout her career, she has nurtured a second passion — collecting works by modernist writers.

With her childhood spent in remote mining camps throughout the British Commonwealth, Campbell-White first discovered a vocation as a book collector after she moved to London. Later, she began her extraordinary career as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley, experiencing many highpoints. She was the first biotechnology analyst on Wall Street, the first female partner at Hambrecht & Quist, the founder of MedVenture Associates and the Kia Ora Foundation, and she appeared multiple times on the Forbes Midas List.

Throughout, books sustained her, affording her a “material embodiment of that dream of a home which had eluded me all of my life,” she writes in her forthcoming memoir. “…I had created my own parallel imaginary world to which I could retreat when the noise of the real world became too overbearing.”

She recalls the impulsive purchase of the first book in her collection, T.S. Eliot’s “A Song for Simeon,” and her pursuit of rare editions of all 100 titles listed in Cyril Connolly’s The Modern Movement. It was her encounter with the Ransom Center’s 1971 exhibition that inspired her to assemble her first collection of all 100 of Connolly’s key texts.

Campbell-White sold the Connolly titles she spent more than 20 years assembling, and, regretting that decision, immediately began to build a new collection that would ultimately delve even deeper into the personal lives of significant modernist authors.

The exhibition at the Center features highlights from this substantial private collection. Visitors will have an exceptional opportunity to see original manuscripts and correspondence by Virginia Woolf (“To The Lighthouse,” “A Room of One’s Own”) and other members of Britain’s Bloomsbury Group; works by French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (“The Little Prince,” “The Aviator”); and original materials crafted by Polish-born British novelist Joseph Conrad (“Heart of Darkness,” “The Shadow-Line”).

Selections by French symbolist poets such as Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud will be on view, as well as those by prominent American authors such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

“I think visitors to the exhibition will be fascinated by the personal stories revealed in the documents Annette Campbell-White has collected,” said Cathy Henderson, the Ransom Center’s associate director of exhibitions and education. “They reveal the modernist writers as they were establishing their careers, sometimes struggling to create, enjoying success, or suffering diminished expectations.”

The exhibition at the Center coincides with the publication of a personal memoir, Beyond Market Value: A Memoir of Book Collecting and the World of Venture Capital (UT Press, 2019), offering a detailed and compelling backstory to this selection of highlights from her collection. President Emeritus Thomas A. Goldwasser of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America calls her memoir an “…insightful view of collecting in the world of literary modernism.”

The Modernist Networks: The Annette Campbell-White Collection exhibition will be on view in the Ransom Center’s galleries through Jan. 5, 2020. Galleries are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, with extended hours until 7 p.m. on Thursdays, and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends. Docent-led tours are offered every day at noon, with additional evening and weekend tours. Admission and tours are free. More information online at www.hrc.utexas.edu.

Washington, DC — When photography was introduced to the world in 1839, society and culture were poised to undergo profound change. In the 180 years since the French invention of the daguerreotype and the rival British photogenic drawing, the medium has undoubtedly created new ways of seeing, experiencing, and understanding the world. The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art explores the range of subjects that photographers embraced during the medium's first 50 years through a selection of some 140 photographs from the Gallery's rich holdings of 19th-century photographs, one of the finest collections in America. On view in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art from September 8 through December 1, 2019, the exhibition presents more than 80 recent acquisitions, many not previously on view, including a large group acquired from the collection of Charles Isaacs and Carol Nigro.

The exhibition begins with the earliest examples of photography—daguerreotypes and photogenic drawings and salted paper prints by William Henry Fox Talbot—and continues with thematic sections ranging from portraiture to landscape. Featured photographers include Anna Atkins, Édouard Baldus, Lewis Carroll, Gustave Le Gray, Charles Marville, George Barnard, Roger Fenton, Francis Frith, Amélie Guillot-Saguez, Hill and Adamson, Viscountess Jocelyn, John Moran, Eadweard Muybridge, Charles Nègre, Andrew Russell, Augustus Washington, and Carleton Watkins.

"Today photography is so omnipresent in our lives that it can be hard to imagine a world without it. This exhibition takes us back to the exciting nascent years following the birth of the medium, and the many ways that early practitioners explored its possibilities," said Kaywin Feldman, director, National Gallery of Art, Washington. "The Eye of the Sun is possible due to a series of recent strategic acquisitions of 19th-century photography, allowing us now to offer a deep view of work from this period."

Exhibition Support

The exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Trellis Fund.

Exhibition Organization and Curators

The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

The exhibition is curated by Diane Waggoner, curator of 19th-century photographs, with Kara Fiedorek Felt, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, both National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Exhibition Highlights
Photography's early use for portraiture and self-presentation is the focus of the first gallery of the exhibition, which opens with William Edward Kilburn's Queen Victoria and Children (1852). The daguerreotype is the second of two that Kilburn took of the Queen and family in the garden of Buckingham Palace in January 1852. Unhappy with her appearance in the first, she chose to pose in profile with a bonnet obscuring her face when she was photographed two days later. This section also presents a group of four photographs by Talbot, including the recently acquired Winter Trees, Reflected in a Pond (1841-1842) as well as a large selection of daguerreotypes by both French and American photographers such as Augustus Washington, one of the few known African American daguerreotypists.

A section on landscape photography includes three cloud studies—Cloud Study over the Pantheon, Paris (1856) by Charles Marville; Brig on the Water (1856) by Gustave Le Gray; and Sunset at Sea (1860s) by Colonel Henry Stuart Wortley—which illustrate early experiments in photography's ability to capture light and reflections. The section on the urban environment and industrialization examines the use of photography to document architectural and industrial innovations such as Hyacinthe César Delmaet and Louis-Émile Durandelle's Workers on Girders of Auditorium, New Paris Opera (c. 1867) and Philip Henry Delamotte's Steam Engine near the Grand Transept, Crystal Palace (1851).

Cameras enabled photographers to share the world with an accuracy of detail that had not previously been possible. A section on travel abroad includes photographs of extraordinary places, from John Murray's Taj Mahal from the East (c. 1858–1862) to Dunmore and Critcherson's The Arctic Regions: No. 36 (1869). Other photographs like Carleton Watkins's Piwyac, Vernal Fall, 300 Feet, Yosemite (1861) revealed the wonders of western America. Photographers also documented the realities and horrors of war. In addition to portraits of soldiers, such as Gayford & Speidel's image of an African American soldier, Christopher Anderson (1860s), the exhibition includes images of the war's aftermath: Alexander Gardner's A Sharpshooter's Last Sleep, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863 (1863) and Andrew Joseph Russell's Stone Wall, Rear of Fredericksburg, with Rebel Dead (May 3, 1863).

The Eye of the Sun closes with examples by photographers who explored the artistic potential of the medium. Still-lifes like Roger Fenton's Fruit and Flowers (1860) and Henri-Victor Regnault's Nature Morte (c. 1852) are joined by nude studies such as Frank Chauvassaigne's Nude (c. 1856) and Guglielmo Marconi's Nude Study (1870s), and works by Victorian art photographers Julia Margaret Cameron, Oscar Gustaf Rejlander, Lewis Carroll, and Henry Peach Robinson. The exhibition concludes with an 1888 photograph of a fishbowl taken with the Kodak, the first snapshot camera, which brought photography to the masses.

Los Angeles — Throughout the Middle Ages (about 500-1500), texts and images were disseminated primarily through handwritten and hand-drawn materials. In the 15th century, with the invention of new printing technologies, a revolution swept through Europe giving rise to a rich cross-fertilization between mechanical innovation and painterly tradition.

Including both printed and illuminated masterpieces, Blurring the Line: Manuscripts in the Age of Print (on view from August 6 through October 27, 2019 at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center) challenges the assumption that printed media immediately replaced the production of handmade books, revealing instead a convergence of technology and artistry during the Renaissance.

“An innovation of the medieval world, print was a medium that grew and changed in response to those who created and consumed it,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “This is especially evident in the medieval and Renaissance periods, but the dynamic interaction between technology and artistic change is timeless—as we see in the transition from painting to photography, film to digital, and paper books to eReaders.”

In a world before print, text and images were manually copied in books and on panels by skilled artists, inevitably introducing variations. Exact replication was associated with divine intervention, perceived as a miraculous transfer of likeness through a saintly intermediary. The printed image opened new and more straightforward possibilities for precise reproduction while drawing heavily on medieval conventions of composition, such as iconography, two-dimensionality, added color, and portable size.

Just as many different technologies overlap in today’s world, printing did not immediately eclipse all other forms of book art in the 15th century; it was a much more complex relationship. Printers and illuminators readily shared ideas, frequently borrowing compositions from one another. Printers recognized the importance of enhancing their new products by imitating the craftsmanship in illuminated manuscripts, a form associated with wealth and prestige. Nevertheless, the illuminator’s skill continued to be valued by those with the means to commission luxury handmade books. As a result of the competition and coexistence of these two media, the 15th century saw an expansion of pictorial literacy and a new era of affordable images at the same time the art of illumination was pushed to new levels of creative achievement.

The exhibition includes a selection of handmade books produced in the centuries after the introduction of the printing press. Though production of illuminated manuscripts slowed, handmade books were valued for their specialized craftsmanship and the prestige of the tradition they represented. They were treasured in religious, courtly, governmental, and other exclusive circles. Such personalized, made-to-order books attested to the wealth, high social status, and good taste of their patrons and owners. While print increasingly became the dominant mode of book production, illuminated manuscripts were preserved and reinvented in the post-medieval era.

According to Larisa Grollemond, assistant curator in the department of Manuscripts and curator of the exhibition, “The late 15th century is a fascinating moment in terms of artists experimenting with manuscript illumination and print, often fusing the two media in the same book. We tend to think that when print was introduced in Western Europe, illumination became a thing of the past. There’s actually a really complex artistic negotiation between these two forms that I think is similar to what’s happening today between digital and print media. I hope that visitors will be able to find some (perhaps surprising) parallels between the 15th and 21st centuries!”

Blurring the Line: Manuscripts in the Age of Print will be on view August 6 through October 27, 2019 at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Related programming will include gallery talks, lectures, and more. Additional information can be found at getty.edu/360.

Chicago — Potter and Potter Auctions' midsummer sales event was one hot ticket indeed. After a dramatic and exciting day of bidding, 75 lots realized $500-1,000; 19 lots made $1,001-$1,999; and eleven lots broke the $2,000 mark. Prices noted include the company's 20% buyer's premium.

This auction offered a world series caliber selection of baseball cards and related sports merchandise, with several lots taking MVP status. Lot #551, a 1951 PSA VG 3 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie card, No. 253, was estimated at $1,000-2,000 and made $5,040. Lot #611, a storage box of NY Yankees cards including 98 autographed cards from the 2004 Upper Deck Classic Scripts; 100+ autographed cards from the 2003 Upper Deck Yankees Signature Series; and 44 autographed cards from the 2000 Upper Deck Chirography series was estimated at $500-1,000 and traded hands at $2,880. Lot #565, a 1968 PSA NM—MT 8 Topps Mets Rookies Jerry Koosman / Nolan Ryan card, No. 177, was estimated at $1,000-2,000 and sold for $3,120. Lot #616, a 2000s storage box of 250+ NY Yankees cards loaded with relic and limited-edition inserts from Upper Deck, Donruss, and Topps was estimated at $300-500 and rose to $2,640. And lot #615, a 2000s—2010s a Topps NY Yankees baseball card collection, individually sleeved and neatly organized by year or series, was estimated at $300-500 and realized $2,400.  

Fine selections of pop culture ephemera also left a lasting impression on bidders. Lot #658, A "Yellow Submarine" production pencil drawing signed by all four members of the Beatles reached its crescendo at $7,800. Lot #721, a collection of seven 1939 World’s Fair pornographic Tijuana bible booklets was estimated at $50-100 and made $330.  They were illustrated by Wesley Morse, an American artist best known as the creator of ‘Bazooka Joe’ for Topps’ chewing gum as well as the creator of the Copa Girl which is still the logo for the New York City nightclub Copacabana. And lot #524, five pulp issues of PEP/Ginger Stories - published in Wilmington, Delaware by King Publishing from 1929-1932 - sold for $300 on their $50-100 preauction estimate.

Shifting into fifth gear, this sale produced extraordinary prices on a number of pristine Corgi character vehicles. Lot #276, The James Bond Aston Martin DB5 #261A, in perfect condition, had a number of determined bidders chasing it to $1,146. Lot #277, a Rocket Firing Batmobile #267 in its original box traded hands at $960. Lot #278, a Bat-Boat and Trailer #107 in its original box made $720. Lot #279, A beautiful Monkeemobile #277A was driven to $480, while another favorite, lot #283, the Chatty Chatty Bang Bang #266A finally landed at an impressive $420.  

Vintage comic books were another key category in this seriously impressive sale. Lot #405, Fighting Yank, number 23 from Nedor, battled its way to $1,680 on its $250-350 estimate. Lot #356, Batman number 65 from DC Comics, made $780 on its $150-250 estimate. And lot #412, Iron Fist number 1 from Marvel Comics, put the pedal to the metal. This comic, featuring the epic fight between Iron Fist and Iron Man, accelerated to $300 on its $50-100 estimate.

Entertainment posters and works of art framed this sale in the best possible way. Lot #49, a matted and signed Stan Lee print of Peter Parker turning into Spider-man was estimated at $50-100 and sold for $270. All eyes were on lot #66, a Jimi Hendrix “Flying Eyeball” Concert Poster from 1968. This example, one of the most desirable images from the ‘60s psychedelic era of Rock & Roll, sold for $1,020 -  over five times its low estimate. And collectors went ape over lot #102, a three sheet color lithograph for King of Jungleland from 1949. Estimated at $50-100, this poster, featuring a gorilla and Clyde Beatty AKA the “World’s Greatest Animal Trainer," made $360.

Potter & Potter's midsummer Pop Culture event closed the loop with exciting selections of archives, scripts, cels, mascots, and other items that defied, or transcended, collecting categories. Lot #220, two signed Jerry Mahoney character hand puppets from 1966 sold for $270 on their $50-100 estimate. Lot #680, a Paul Reed Smith “Corazon” SE Santana solid body electric guitar, signed by Carlos Santana, hit its high note at $2,400.  And lot #969, a library of astronaut signed books and photographs from the 1960s/2010s shot the moon at $5,040. This extraordinary archive included signatures of all twelve astronauts who have walked on the moon, the first American woman in space, the first African-American woman in space, and other notable astronauts, as well as an official NASA photograph taken and signed by Neil Armstrong showing Buzz Aldrin descending the ladder of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module on July 20, 1969.

According to Tom Miano, Director of the Toys and Pop Culture Department at Potter & Potter Auctions, "This was my first opportunity to work with the Potter & Potter crew, and they overdelivered on every level. Every person is smart, dedicated, and absolutely team focused. They made this sure that every aspect of this huge sale's preparation and execution was seamless. I am proud of many of the prices we achieved for our consignors, with strong bidding across so many categories. We are already accepting quality items for our Spring 2020 sale. Please contact me right away if you are considering selling one fine item or even an entire collection - this sale is certain to fill up quickly!"

Boxborough, MA — Flamingo Eventz is pleased to announce the return of the popular Boxborough Paper Town – The Vintage Paper, Books & Advertising Collectibles Show. This is the original Boxborough Paper Show where you’ll find all things Paper – from classic Ephemera to Books, Board Games, Postcards, Advertising, Classic Vinyl, and more! A long time favorite of both dealers and customers, we continue to make changes and improvements to ensure continued growth and success. We’re bigger, better, more diverse, and with lots of new dealers…this is the paper show to attend for the rare, unusual and hard-to-find treasure!

Scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2019 at the Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center in Boxborough, MA, and proudly featuring members of the Southern New England Booksellers (SNEAB), exhibitors from across the Northeast will gather to present an outstanding array of fine, rare & unusual old books, maps, postcards, autographs, prints, posters, advertising, and much, much more. Plus, we have appraisals by well-known appraiser John Bruno, star of the PBS series Market Warriors, and guest appraisers from 12-2pm. Interested parties – both dealers & customers – should contact Flamingo Eventz at 603.509.2639 / info@flamingoeventz.com.

Exhibitor Specialties include: Advertising Covers, African American, Americana, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Auctions, Autographs, Aviation, Baseball, Books, Bibles, Black History, Black Power, Calendars, Calling Cards, Christmas, Circus, Civil War, Cook Books, Charts, Children’s Books, Cocktails, Design, Dogs, Die Cuts, Documents, Engineering, Engraving, Ephemera, Erotica, Esoterica, Fantasy, Fashion, Fishing, Floridiana, Folklore, Folk Music, Foreign Language, Furniture, Games, Gardens & Horticulture, Graphics, Historic Documents, Horses, Hunting, Illustrated Books, Interior Design, Japan, Judaica, Letters, Logbooks, Manuscripts, Maps, Maritime, Medicine, Middle East, Military, Modernism, Music, Native American, Natural History, Nautical, Naval, New York City, New York State, New Jersey, Novelties, Olympic Games, Pacifica, Photographs, Photography, Pochoir, Polar, Pop-Ups & Moveable Books, Poetry, Postcards, Posters, Presentation Copies, Presidential Archives, Press Books, Prints, Pulitzer Prize Winners, Psychedelica, Puppetry, Puzzles, Railroad, Reference, Revolutionary War, Russia, Scholarly, Science, Science Fiction, Sports, Sporting, Technical, Theatre, Theology, Trade Cards, Trade Catalogues, Travel & Exploration, Travel Brochures, Typography, U.S. Coastal History, Vanity Fair Prints, Valentines, Voyages, Watercolors, Whaling, Wine, Yachting. These, and many other specialties, will be found at this event. Be sure to check our website, FlamingoEventz.com, for complete details and easily downloaded Discount Coupons.

Date/Hours: Saturday, September 21, 2019, 9am-3pm
Location: The Boxboro Regency Hotel & Conference Center, 242 Adams Place, Boxborough, MA 01709. Directly off I-495, exit 28.
Admission: Adults: $7 ($1 Discount with Ad or Website Coupon), Young Collectors 12-21: $4, plenty of free parking.
Appraisals: By John Bruno, Star of Market Warriors, and guest appraisers 12-2pm at $5/Item.
Directions: I-495 Exit 28, East on Massachusetts Ave (Rt. 111), right on Adams Place to Hotel. Check our website: flamingoeventz.com for easily downloaded maps.
Miscellaneous: Food & refreshment available at the Hotel restaurant during show hours.
Information: For Dealer or Customer information, please call or click 603.509.2639 / info@flamingoeventz.com

Background: Flamingo Eventz, LLC presents the finest, most innovative, successful, and respected Book & Ephemera Fairs, Antiques Shows, and Vintage Flea Markets in the Northeast. The Brunos have over 35 years experience as antique dealers and over 25 years experience as professional show promoters. They are members of the Antiques & Collectibles National Association (ACNA), and John Bruno is an antiques appraiser and television personality who can be seen on the PBS series Market Warriors.

New York — Swann Galleries is poised to offer a rare look at Herman Melville’s personal library in a timely sale announced on the eve of the author’s bicentennial. Two volumes of Greek & Roman classics owned—and heavily annotated—by Melville are set to come across the block in Fine Books & Manuscripts on October 10.

In March of 1849, a year prior to Moby Dick’s publication, Melville purchased a 37-volume set of classics from the publishing company Harper and Brothers. Here, making their market debut, are Euripides, Juvenal and Persius, in the only two known surviving volumes from the set once owned by the author. Melville’s autograph can be found in the volume containing Juvenal and Persius, and all are marked with numerous annotations illuminating which passages were of interest to the author. Also featured throughout are brief observations, most notably his annotation to Samuel Johnson’s The Vanity of Human Wishes, an imitation of the Tenth Satire in Juvenal, which reads: "Prose is uncertain, verse still more so. But the meaning here would seem to be—Virtue, tired with contempt, gives it up, and latches herself for self-support to Pride & Prudence; but fails here; i.e., perishes, probably, on the gallows—of slander, most likely."

Possibly the most interesting revelation from the volumes is that the author brought them shipboard on an 1860 New York­–to­–San Francisco trip aboard the Meteor. The names of places often appear in the books Melville traveled with. The present classics are annotated with the initials C.H and C. Horn., marking his time as he rounded Chile’s Cape Horn. From his letters we know that Melville occupied his time during the long trip with the study of poetry, the marginalia found within the volumes provides a more complete understanding of the author and the poetic literature that became the focus of his later works. Expected to bring $40,000 to $60,000, the discovery is the first works from Melville’s library to come to auction in more than a decade.

The full catalogue, which in addition to Autographs will feature 19th & 20th Century Literature and Art, Fine Press & Illustrated Books, will be available in September. Exhibition opening in New York City October 5. For further information visit swanngalleries.com or download the Swann Galleries App.