AntiquarianAuctions.com is an online auction site dedicated to the sale of rare and out-of print books, maps & prints, documents, letters, ephemera and vintage photography.

All pricing is done in US$. No buyer’s premium is charged. 

Lot 1 della Croce (Vincenzo Alsario) Vesuvius Ardens Sive Exercitatio Medico-Physica Motum & Incendium Vesuvii Montis in Campania XVI Mensis Decembris, Anni MDCXXXI Published: Js. Jenkins, London, (1814-1815) 

Estimate: $1,500/2,000  

Scarce work of 1632 about Vesuvio mountain by the physician from Genoa Vincenzo Alsario della Croce (b. 1570). He was teacher of medicine in Rome for more than 20 years, and the first one describing epilepsy. Physician of the Popes Gregorio XV and Urbano VIII, Alsario was expelled from Rome for his bad character "bisbetico, litigioso, millantatore soverchio e poco prudente" 

Lot 2 Couch (Jonathan) A History of the Fishes of the British Isles Published: London, 1862-5

Estimate: $1,600/2,000 

Couch was born in 1789 in Polperro in Cornwall and died there in 1870, having spent his life being interested in more or less everything,from potatoes to pilchards, although he was by profession a doctor. A History of the Fishes of the British Islands made a valuable contribution not only to science, but to the art of angling and it was relied on as a reference work for many decades after his death. The value of Couch's contribution lay not so much in his classification and descriptions of the species, but in his paintings, which were so accurate that they were relied for reference by later biologists, even when Couch's written identification was wrong. 

Lot 183 Blaeu (Willem) Africae nova descriptio [A new description of Africa]

Published: Amsterdam, 1634/5
Estimate: $1,600/2,000 

This landmark carte-a-figure map was published in 1634/5 and made by one of the Dutch master mapmakers. The map is in the uncommon 2nd state: Blaeuw (or Blaeu) signed the map using the name Guiljelemo (William) Blaeuw, having changed his surname in 1617 from Guil. Janssonio (i.e. Janssonius), which also was the surname of his arch- rival, Johannes Janssonius. 

Lot 241 Burton (Richard Francis) Zanzibar Published: London, 1872 Estimate: $1,500/2,000 

Zanzibar served as a base for the great journeys of exploration into Africa of the nineteenth century. Burton and John Hanning Speke set off from Zanzibar in 1857 on their expedition to the Great Lakes, also with the hope of discovering the source of the River Nile. One of the most important books of early travel & exploration into East Africa. 

Lot 309 Lewis (Sinclair) The Trail of the Hawk (Inscribed First Edition) Published: Harper & Brotthers, New York, 1915

Estimate: $2,200/2,500 

The fairly scarce first edition of this early and rather unsuccessful novel by Sinclair Lewis, the first US writer to win the Nobel Prize. This was his third book and the second under his own name. From the library of Dennis Wheatley, with his ex libris (by Frank C. Pape) on the front pastedown. With a wonderful full page inscription on the front free endpaper: "To Laurence Gomme, the only man living who can make one actually buy those strange exotic luxuries, books! With Mr. Wrenn's keen gratitude, & mine, Sinclair Lewis. Aug 31, 1915”.

Lot 317 Waugh (Evelyn) Robbery Under Law Published: Chapman & Hall, London, 1939 Estimate: $600/800 

A near fine copy in the original fresh blue cloth with bright gilt lettering on the spine. Internally very clean and unmarked with mild offsetting to the endpapers and two small inoffensive abrasions on each of the front and rear pastedowns. In an about very good dustwrapper which is price- clipped and has some edge chipping, most noticeably an 8mm. deep piece missing at the top of the rear flap. 

Lot 318 Bernard (?mile) & Dubois (Urbain François) La Cuisine classique, études pratiques, raisonnées et démonstratives de l'école Française appliquée au service de la Russie.

Published: Paris, 1856 

Estimate: $600/900 

Fine copy of the authorised first edition of one of the greatest treatises of modern era cooking: this work is considered to have been “the finest expression of the Golden Age of the French grande cuisine” (Britannica), and it chronicles “a progressive step up from the style of French cookery based on the work of [Marie Antonin] Careme” (OldCookBooks.com). 

Urbain Dubois and ?mile Bernard were arguably the best known chefs of the 19th century. Dubois ran the palace kitchen of the King and Queen of Prussia, and is “credited with introducing the custom of having servants wait table” (Feret, 42). Bernard was one of France’s most talented pastry chefs, as well as Napoleon III’s personal chef. La Cuisine Classique is regarded as the most important of the six culinary works from Dubois’ hand. 

Lot 321 [Wharton (Edith) Editor] The Book of the Homeless (Le Livre des Sans-Foyer)

Published: Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1916 Estimate: $2,500/2,500 

Unique unbound, uncut and unopened copy of the limited edition: "Of this book, in edition to the regular edition, there have been printed and numbered one hundred and seventy-five copies deluxe, of larger format [all signed by Updike]. Numbers 1-50 on French hand-made paper ... Numbers 51-175 on Van Gelder paper." This copy on Van Gelder paper is numbered 65. 

AntiquarianAuctions.com is an online auction site dedicated to the sale of rare and out-of print books, maps & prints, documents, letters, ephemera and vintage photography. 

Dealers and collectors worldwide have been selling and bidding on the site since 2010. Only established booksellers who are members of major national trade associations such as ABA, ABAA, PBFA or SABDA or are of good standing in the trade are permitted to sell on the site. 

Auctions are held every five weeks and run on the model of a timed auction for one week. 

All pricing is done in US$. No buyer’s premium is charged. Next auction: Auction #69: 30 August - 6 September 2018 

It's big! Book lovers by the hundreds, will be heading to Brooklyn this Fall for what has become one of the largest and most popular literary events in the country.  Brooklyn Book Week, as it is informally known, is a week-long celebration of books both old and new. It kicks off with the return of the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair (BABF) to Greenpoint's Brooklyn Expo Center, September 8 & 9.    

The 100-exhibitor Fair is the largest regional book fair of its kind. The depth and diversity of exhibitors, talks and galleries makes it a showcase for the best of the best in vintage and rare books; prints, photos and ephemera. This is the Fair where rare book librarians from top libraries and museums mix with collectors and fair-goers of all ages.  Exhibitors, heralding from 20 states, Italy, England and Canada, will have on display and for sale over 50,000 items!    

This year the BABF features a fair-within-a-fair --The Brooklyn Print & Photo Fair, highlighting exhibitors of fine prints, vernacular and found photos. Six new gallery exhibits devoted to fine prints are featured in the new section, with works ranging from prints by such well-known artists as Milton Avery, and Paul Cadmus to Russian art that spans the early 1900s to 2007. In the exhibit room show-goers will find the largest known assembly of artwork produced by leading Swedish and Scandinavian artists of the 1960s and 1970s counterculture -- the Swedish Underground Exhibition. Exhibition organizer, Johann Kugelberg, founder of Boo-Hooray, which is known for its archival collections of pop, punk and underground art, will conduct a tour of the exhibition and a talk humorously titled, "Why is the Swedish Underground Important: I Don't Speak Swedish, Sunday at 2:00pm."  

The Fair is also celebrating a special birthday--Frankenstein is 200 years old this year! Mary Shelley's famous novel was first published in 1818 when she was eighteen and there is lots of activity surrounding the occasion. New York City's Morgan Library will mount an exhibition this coming October, titled It’s Alive! to commemorate the anniversary. The Morgan Library’s John Bidwell and New York Public Library curator Elizabeth Denlinger will present a preview of the exhibition at the BABF on Saturday at 5pm. Find out why the book's message is a relevant today as it was when it was written. 

Another Fair "first" is an exhibit of historic photo booth images compiled by film and darkroom photographer, Nakki Granin. Russian immigrant, Anatol Josepho, built the first curtain-enclosed photo-booth in 1925 and "quickie photography" took off. Goranin, author of "The American Photobooth," has brought together images from her vast photobooth collection, curated especially for this event. If you have a family album or box filled with family photos, you are certain to enjoy this exhibit.

Love learning more? Don't miss BABF’s series of exciting talks throughout the weekend. Exhibitor Lorne Bair will discuss how to collect ephemera of the 20th and 21st century social movements. Anna Jozefacka, Lyda Klich and Juliana Kreinik, authors of "The Propaganda Front: Postcards from the Era of World Wars," will cover what makes the perfect propaganda postcard, illustrated with examples from the late 19th century through WWII. On a lighter note, exhibitor Garrett Scott will present a talk, "From Aristotle to Asa K. Butts, or the Literature of Earth Closets, Troublesome Monkeys, Sex and Reform in 19th century America. Heather O'Donnell, founder of Honey and Wax Booksellers in Brooklyn, gives us a look at "New Directions in Book Collecting." Lectures and exhibits are free with pre-registration online.

And here's another new BABF feature that's sure to be popular. Been cleaning your attic or basement and want to know what that old book or document your found is worth? Bring up to three items to the Fairs' appraisal clinic in the Brooklyn Expo Center's lobby on Sunday from 11am-1pm. There is no charge for the appraisal and admission to the BABF is not required.

Don't miss the Fair's "Bagels & Books," opening preview Saturday from 10am, benefiting scholarships at the University of Virginia's Rare Book School.  It's a great way to get a jump start on all of the fun and great shopping. Tickets are $30 and available online at a discounted price at brooklynbookfair.com.  

North Adams, Massachusetts—The Artist Book Foundation (TABF) will celebrate the Hyperrealist sculptor Carole Feuerman at TABF’s Louis and Susan Meisel Gallery in Building 13 on the campus of the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). 

The exhibition: Swimmers: Recent Works by Carole Feuerman, runs from June 15 through September 29, 2018. Featured are five of Feuerman’s sculptures, both monumental and smaller works in bronze, resin, and marble, and 10 prints of diamond dust and mixed media. The exhibition features several exclusive works created specifically for The Artist Book Foundation. 

On Thursday July 26, there will be a reception and book signing with the artist from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. 

Feuerman’s hyperrealistic human-figure sculptures express a refreshing perspective on the mundane but intensely personal activities of modern life. Her powers of observation and versatility find unique expression through various materials that include marble, bronze, and painted resins, while she incorporates both ancient and contemporary methods in the creation of her works. These sculptures offer the viewer a gorgeous and shimmering glimpse at transitory, contemplative moments in time, often captured in a veil of clear resin that replicates tumbling water droplets. 

Feuerman has had solo museum retrospectives at the The Palazzo Strozzi Foundation in Florence, Italy; the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, Museum of Art, El Paso, TX; the Bass Museum of Art, Miami Beach, FL., and Art-St-Urban, St. Urban, Switzerland and the Teatro Romano e Museo Civico in Fiesole, the Venice Biennale, the Musei di Rimini, and Huan Tai Hu Museum in the Jiangsu Province among others. Her work was featured at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC; The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia, Grounds for Sculpture, Trenton, NJ. She also had a solo show in Hong Kong, in the Olympic Fine Arts exhibition at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, Palazzo Grazie in the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence. In China, she has exhibited in Hong Kong, the National Museum of China, Beijing. She has exhibited in Korea at the Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Daejeon Museum, and Suwon Museum. In Germany, she has exhibited at the Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, the Contemporary Art Museum in Aachen, and in Kassel during Documenta 14 (2017). In Spain, she exhibited at Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao and the Academia de Bellas Artes de Madrid. In Mexico, she has exhibited at Marco Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, and Denmark at the Arken Museum of Modern Art. 

Carole Feuerman’s selected collectors include the Emperor of Japan, President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Norman Brahman, the Caldic Collection, Mark Parker, Nike, Ariela Wertheimer, Robert Hurst, and Malcolm Forbes. 

The Artist Book Foundation, a 501c3 organization, believes that artist books, like the artwork that inspires them, serve as a vital source of knowledge and cultural insight for current and future generations. For more information, visit our website at artistbkfoundation.org.

New York - Doyle is pleased to auction an extensive collection of angling books assembled by Arnold “Jake” Johnson (1930-2017) of Bozeman, Montana. Comprising over three hundred books, this remarkable collection will be offered in a timed online-only auction on Doyle.com. Bidding will commence on Friday, July 13. Bidding will close on Tuesday, July 24 beginning at Noon EDT. The public is invited to the exhibition at Doyle on Friday, July 20 and Monday, July 23.

The collection offers a wide range of material, from rare works dating to the 18th century to finely produced recent publications. Fishing for trout, salmon and fly-fishing are well represented, as are deep sea and sport-fishing. Featured are copies of important titles with inscriptions or fine provenance, including books from the libraries of Dean Sage, Edward Sands Litchfield, Samuel B. Webb, C.R. Morphy, Bibliotheca Piscatoria Lynniana, and Robert Hoe. Also noteworthy are volumes signed by Zane Grey and other major anglers and artists. The sale offers books in a range of price points and presents an exciting opportunity to add to an established collection, form the foundation of a new collection, or find a unique gift for an angling enthusiast.

A true bibliophile, Johnson was an inveterate collector of rare items related to angling, travel, expeditions in India and Africa, English sporting and color-plate, 19th century big game hunting, and Western Americana. His collection comprises hundreds of rare books, hand-written accounts of hunting expeditions, striking examples of 19th century photographic travel albums, and elusive bibliographies and facsimiles of major works. The collection will offered in an ongoing series of live and online auctions.

Bidders may begin placing bids on Friday, July 13 on Doyle.com. The sale will close on Tuesday, July 24 beginning at Noon EDT. Lots will close sequentially, one lot per minute, with a soft close. Should any bids be placed in the final minute, bidding will remain open on that lot for an additional 3 minutes.

EXHIBITION
All of the books will be on public exhibition at Doyle on Friday, July 20 from 9am-12pm and Monday, July 23 from 10am-4pm. Doyle is located at 175 East 87th Street in Manhattan.

Boston, MA -  A handwritten letter from  Bob Dylan to an old Greenwich Village friend will be auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction. 

The one-page letter postmarked July 26, 1975. Letter to musician Debbie Green Andersen, in part: "Usually I write songs and put it all there so I don't write too many letters. Are you still in New York? I am. If you are, I am making a record starting Monday. You can sing on it if you want. Columbia Studios. 50th and Madison. Studio E. If not maybe next time."

The recipient, Debbie Green (1940-2017), was a talented folk musician who taught Joan Baez the guitar and later toured and recorded with her husband, singer-songwriter Eric Andersen, as part of the Greenwich Village folk scene during the 1960s. 

The couple moved to California in 1970, had a child, and then separated. In early 1975, after a dinner with Eric Kaz in the Village, Green made an impromptu vocal performance at The Bitter End in what turned out to be a surprise audition for Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue concert tour. When Green returned to her Mill Valley home for the summer, she found this letter from Dylan, who, impressed by her performance, inquired if she wanted to sing on his forthcoming Columbia Records album Desire. 

In spite of the flattering offer, Green had to refuse: ‘I couldn’t have gone on tour for that long anyway. Sari was in school and I was a mom.’ The recording of Desire pushed ahead, as did Dylan’s historic Rolling Thunder Revue tour, which played a total of 57 shows from October 30, 1975 to May 25, 1976, and was highlighted by a benefit concert for imprisoned boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter on December 8th in Madison Square Garden.

Additional featured lots include: 

Beatles fully signed 1963 Parlophone mono first pressing of “Please Please Me.” 

Paul McCartney handwritten lyrics for “Through Our Love.”

Elvis Presley’s gold and diamond ring. 

Jim Morrison handwritten poem, discovered in the famed “127 Fascination.”

Guns N’ Roses: Slash’s 1992 AMA for Favorite Heavy Metal Artist. 

Prince handwritten lyrics for the unreleased song “Go,” in purple ink.

Prince’s personally owned and worn purple shirt, circa “Purple Rain” era.

The Marvels of Modern Music from RR Auction will begin on July 12 and conclude on July 19. More details can be found online at www.rrauction.com.  

Boston, MA - Skinner, Inc. is hosting a live auction of Early English Books: A Single Owner Sale on July 20 in Boston. Interested bidders are invited to preview items and meet with specialists in person on July 18, 19, and 20 or anytime online.

Skinner’s specially scheduled July book auction features a single-owner collection from California that includes high spots of English literature, culture, religion, and history from before 1700. Early English books have been prized by book collectors since the 19th century, and this important collection, formed over decades of careful selection from the best dealers and auction houses worldwide represents a unique opportunity to acquire early books that are rarely available for sale.

A Shakespeare Fourth Folio from 1685 is a highlight of the sale, along with first edition works by Erasmus, Thomas More, Francis Bacon, John Milton, John Donne, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, Galileo, and others. Topics most don’t associate with the period are also represented; including works on hunting, falconry, cider-making, child-rearing, swimming, surveying, money exchange, and practical mathematics.

Bidders will find works related to the upheaval among the British monarchy from this period, including King Henry VIII’s re-writing of religious doctrine, and other material from the Reformation, works related to Queen Elizabeth during the turbulent time after Henry VIII’s death, and others concerned with the execution of Charles I.

The collector, a retired physician accumulated a number of early books of folk and herbal remedies that give insight to English medical practice dating back to the mid 1500’s.

Andrea Mays, author of The Millionaire and the Bard, will also be on hand at Skinner’s Boston gallery on the evening of July 19th to give a talk about Henry Folger’s obsession with collecting the works of Shakespeare and anything else he could obtain with an Elizabethan connection. The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. is his permanent monument. 

Skinner Boston is honored to have the opportunity to share this collection with its clients in New England this summer, and to celebrate culture and history with this selection of rare and important books.

Previews and Bidding

Previews for the Early English Books: A Single Owner Sale auction will be in our Boston, MA gallery on Wednesday, July 18 from 12PM to 5PM, Thursday, July 19, from 12PM to 7PM and Friday, July 20, from 9AM to 12PM. Free and open to the public, department director, Devon Eastland will be available to answer questions about the material and participating at auction. The fully illustrated print catalog may be purchased Skinner website or by phone order at 508-970-3234.

About Skinner

Skinner attracts top consignments and commands record-breaking prices in the international auction marketplace. With renowned expertise and extraordinary service, Skinner is the place for buyers, sellers and the passionately curious. Skinner appraisers are familiar faces on PBS’s 15-time Emmy Award-nominated ANTIQUES ROADSHOW. Visit us in Boston, Marlborough, New York or Miami, or online at https://www.skinnerinc.com.

Los Angeles - The J. Paul Getty Museum announced today the acquisition of the Rothschild Pentateuch, the most spectacular medieval Hebrew manuscript to become available in more than a century. The acquisition was made possible with the generous support of Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder.

“The Rothschild Pentateuch will be the greatest High Medieval Hebrew manuscript in the United States, and one of the most important illuminated Hebrew Bibles of any period,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “Its richly illuminated pages - a great rarity in the thirteenth century - make it a work of outstanding quality and importance that represents the pinnacle of artistic achievement of its day. It will be one of the most signal treasures of the Department of Manuscripts and indeed of the Getty Museum overall.”

Potts adds: “It is especially gratifying that this landmark acquisition was generously supported by our Trustee Ronald S. Lauder and his wife, Jo Carole.”

Created by an unknown artist and dated 1296, the manuscript’s pages are filled with lively decorative motifs, hybrid animals and humanoid figures, and astonishing examples of micrography--virtuosic displays of tiny calligraphy in elaborate patterns and designs. The vibrant colors and gleaming gold distinguish this manuscript from most medieval Hebrew book production, which followed a largely textual tradition. It stands apart from other medieval examples through the appeal and extent of its illustrated program. The text contains features that indicate it may have been written in France for Jewish emigres who had been expelled from England in 1290. The illumination was likely completed in France or Germany.

The Pentateuch contains the central sacred text of Judaism--the Torah in the strictest sense--comprising the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The manuscript’s lavish illumination divides the text into sections to be read weekly so that the entire Torah would be read over the course of a year. The opening of each of the five books is celebrated with monumental Hebrew initials intertwined with lively marginal figures and, in one case, a full-page illumination.

With its seemingly endless variety of illuminated motifs ranging from the imposing to the whimsical, the Rothschild Pentateuch is a prime example of the heights of originality and magnificence that Hebrew illumination achieved and stands as the most extensive illuminated program of any northern European Hebrew Bible to survive from the Middle Ages.

In a rare deviation from the rest of the manuscript’s aniconic approach, there is one illumination featuring full human figures that was added at a later date. In the second half of the fifteenth century one page was replaced with a new insertion, carefully replicating the text and commentaries. The folio can be identified as the work of Joel ben Simeon, one of the most celebrated Jewish artists known from the period. The replacement miniature represents the sole figural narrative in the Rothschild Pentateuch, but was inspired with the same kind of ingenuity that characterizes the rest of the manuscript.

“This acquisition allows us to represent the three Abrahamic religions of the period, and for the first time brings a medieval Hebrew illuminated manuscript to the Los Angeles area,” says Elizabeth Morrison, senior curator in the Manuscripts Department. “The cohesiveness of the visual program combined with its unbounded ingenuity shows how medieval artisans approached the complex problem of page design and tackled a project as ambitious as the Rothschild Pentateuch.”

The Rothschild Pentateuch was created in 1296 perhaps for a patron originally from England. It was carried through the centuries from France or Germany to Italy and Poland, and was eventually acquired by Baroness Edmond de Rothschild at some point before 1920, and then given after World War II to a German-Jewish family, who later settled in Israel, as a part of an exchange agreement.

Adds Morrison, “The storied voyage of this manuscript follows the history of the Jewish diaspora across time and space. This newest addition to our collection will allow us to present a more inclusive story of the Middle Ages at a time when the Getty is increasingly looking to a global approach in the visual arts.”

The Rothschild Pentateuch will make its debut at the Getty Center in Art of Three Faiths: A Torah, a Bible, and a Qur’an on view August 7, 2018 to February 3, 2019, an exhibition showcasing for the first time the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The practitioners of these three faiths have been called people of the book for their shared belief in the importance of divine word, rendered in medieval manuscripts in glowing gold and luminous colors on parchment. Three spectacular examples from the Getty’s permanent collection, including a Christian Bible and a Qur’an together with the newly acquired Torah, will be featured in this spotlight show.

Dallas, TX - A Star Trek poster by illustrator Bob Peak is expected to compete for top-lot honors in Heritage Auctions’ Movie Posters Auction July 28-29 in Dallas.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home by Bob Peak (Paramount, 1987) (est. $40,000-80,000) is the largest and arguably the most detailed of all Star Trek posters designed by Peak. A renowned commercial artist whose greatest acclaim comes from his developments in the design of modern movie posters, Peak’s artwork has appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, including Time, TV Guide and Sports Illustrated. The brilliant color used for the evening sky of San Francisco offers stark contrast to the Klingon Bird of Prey flying just over the Golden Gate Bridge. The 40-by-57-1/2-inch poster is done on illustration board mounted on foamcore, is signed by Peak and comes with a gold frame.

“Bob Peak was a popular and important movie poster artist who produced a number of posters for various Star Trek films, and this is as dramatic as any of them,” Heritage Auctions Vintage Posters Director Grey Smith said. “His subtle portraits of several of the film’s primary characters offer an extraordinary balance to the bold images of the sunset and the Bird of Prey. This poster is a large and striking image that would be a significant addition to any collection.”

Science fiction fans also will be drawn to The War of the Worlds (Paramount, 1953). Half Sheet (22" X 28") Style B (est. $20,000-40,000), a rare Style B half sheet that is one of the most iconic and elusive images in the genre. Featuring Martian warship imagery not included in many other posters for the original release of George Pal’s powerful adaptation of H.G. Wells’ science fiction novel.

Offered with the same $15,000-30,000 estimate are a pair of posters highlighting films featuring classic superheroes: a six sheet from The New Adventures of Batman and Robin (Columbia, 1949) and a Superman Cartoon Stock (Paramount, 1941) one sheet.

The Batman and Robin six sheet spotlights the second serial in which Robert Lowery and John Duncan play the leading roles. This series, spread over 15 chapters, pits the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder against the Wizard, a villain with a device that can control all motor-driven vehicles remotely. This is a rare poster, the first in this format ever offered through Heritage Auctions.

The Superman one sheet celebrates the decision by Paramount to create a series of cartoons, despite outside interest in making Superman into a Hollywood serial. Under the leadership of Max and Dave Fleischer, Paramount created 17 cartoons, which are widely considered some of the best work to emerge from Paramount’s cartoon division. Paramount did not issue individual one sheets for the series, opting instead to create this stock one sheet with a blank imprint area where the individual cartoon titles could be written or printed.

A massive (91-1/4-by-62-1/2-inch) full-bleed horizontal French double grande poster for From Here to Eternity carries the same $15,000-30,000 estimate. Featuring artwork by Rene Peron, this auction marks the first time Heritage Auctions is offering this rare poster for the Academy Award-winning masterpiece in this large format. Peron’s artwork captures one of the most famous scenes in film history: the passionate clench on the beach between co-stars Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.

Widely considered to be among the greatest film posters of all time, a Things to Come (United Artists, 1936) one sheet (est. $15,000-30,000) was inspired by another science fiction film based on another H.G. Wells-inspired screenplay. The film is based on his 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come and his 1931 non-fiction The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind. Among the always-rare posters for this early sci-fi epic, this one stands out in part because of the 1930s deco-designed version of the future.

A 27-by-41-inch one sheet from The Lady Eve (Paramount, 1941) highlights the transition of stars Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck from Academy Award-nominated dramatic actors into comedy. Based on the story Two Bad Hats, Preston Sturges’ adaptation ultimately led to an Oscar nomination for Best Writing: Original Story for author Monckton Hoffe. Despite minor restoration, this poster is sure to appeal to collectors of comedy posters.

A set of four Help! (United Artists, 1965) door panels (est. $10,000-20,000) was created for the Beatles’ second feature film and is among the rarest of promotional items for the Fab Four. Despite being displayed in the press book, door panels rarely were ordered by theater owners, because so few theaters had adequate space to display them. Even for those that did have the space, the panels were expensive: a full set cost $7.50, while a one sheet cost just $0.15. Sets like this were made even more hard to come by because many sets that were ordered for the film’s initial showing were broken up and given away, one at a time, to fans. In addition, Help! is the only Beatles film for which door panel sets were produced.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

·         The Jaws of Death by Unknown (Cannon, 1976) Original Acrylic Poster Artwork (est. $12,000-24,000)

·         The Wolf Man (Universal, 1941) Half Sheet (est. $10,000-20,000)

·         Creature from the Black Lagoon (Universal International, 1954) One Sheet (est. $10,000-20,000)

The Star Trek IV poster projected to lead the 927-lot auction is just one of four posters in the sale of posters designed by Peak, a collection that also includes:

·         Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan by Bob Peak (Paramount, 1982) Original Mixed Media Concept Artwork: est. $6,000-12,000

·         Rocky III by Bob Peak (United Artists, 1982) Original Mixed-Media Concept Poster Artwork: est. $5,000-10,000

·         My Fair Lady (Warner Brothers, 1964) Italian Photobustas: est. $800-1,600

Dallas, TX - History has a chance to repeat itself when Frank Frazetta Escape on Venus Painting Original Art (1972) (est. $500,000+) is expected to claim top-lot honors at Heritage Auctions’ Comics & Comic Art Auction Aug. 2-4 in Dallas, Texas.

If that ends up happening, the events will mirror those that took place at the firm’s comics auction in Chicago, which was held in May. Another Frazetta painting, Death Dealer 6, sold for nearly $1.8 million to boost the total return from that auction to just over $12 million. Each was a world record.

“Any time world records fall, that’s a tough act to follow,” Heritage Auctions Senior Vice President Ed Jaster said. “On the other hand, Frank Frazetta’s paintings are enormously popular, and is one of many exceptional lots in this auction, which has options sure to entice collectors of all levels.”

Created in 1972, Escape on Venus was used as the cover of the 1974 re-issue of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel of the same name, and also was released as a print later in the 1970s. Known for his ability to depict sensuous, strong women in fantastic environments, Frazetta loved to challenge himself, which often meant varying his technique and palette. This technique is part of the explanation for his ability to help observers direct their focus where he wanted. In this case, the brightly colored tiger, with its piercing yellow-green eyes, and the knife-wielding woman draped in jewels draw the viewer’s attention, while the trees and plants around the borders of the painting are done in more subtle, muted earth tones, which only increases the focus on the woman and tiger in the middle of the image.

A copy of Incredible Hulk #1 (Marvel, 1962) CGC VF/NM 9.0 Off-white to white pages (est. $300,000+) is such a prized Marvel key in this grade that Heritage Auctions has offered only two in a higher grade. Ranked #2 on Overstreet’s list of the Top 50 Silver Age Comics, this issue includes the origin and first appearance of the Hulk. The first issue in the original series is the only one in which the title character appeared in grey, before ultimately turning green in what is widely accepted as a continuation of the process that made Dr. David Banner turn into the Hulk. Other characters also abandoned their original grey looks: Iron Man upgraded his armor from grey to gold, while one of the original X-Men, The Beast, evolved from his original grey look to a blue and black hue.

The “Special Once-In-A-Lifetime” proclamation on the cover of Gene Colan and Bill Everett Iron Man and Sub-Mariner #1 Cover Original Art (Marvel, 1968) (est. $100,000+) is no exaggeration. Iron Man and Namor the Sub-Mariner appeared together after each had shared a title with other characters: Namor had teamed with the Hulk in Tales to Astonish, and the Hulk kept that numbering, while Iron Man had paired up with Captain America in Tales of Suspense in a series from which Captain America kept the numbering. The end result of the dual splits was Namor and Iron Man joining forces for this single-issue series, after which they split broke out into their own individual titles, so each enjoyed multiple #1 issues - one shared and one individual.

John Romita Sr. Amazing Spider-Man #55 Cover Doctor Octopus Original Art (Marvel, 1967) (est. $100,000+) offers the genesis of one of the most striking comic covers anywhere. This stunning image shows an extreme close-up image of supervillain Doctor Octopus, who is engaged in a battle with Spider-Man, who can be seen in the reflection of Doc Ock’s glasses. The image, positioned over a banner blaring “DOC OCK WINS!” is done by legendary artist John Romita, Sr., in twice-up scale in ink over graphite on Bristol board, cut and affixed to the larger Bristol board for a total image area of 13-1/4 by 20-1/4 inches.

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:

·         Detective Comics #35 Larson Pedigree (DC, 1940) CGC Conserved NM- 9.2 White pages (est. $75,000+)

·         Brian Bolland Batman: The Killing Joke Story Page 1 Original Art (DC, 1988) (est. $75,000)

·         Jack Kirby and Paul Reinman X-Men #1 Story Page 5 Original Art (Marvel, 1963) (est. $75,000)

·         Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers Tales of Suspense #75 Splash Page 1 Captain America Original Art (Marvel, 1966) (est. $75,000)

·         Wally Wood Weird Science #22 Cover Original Art (EC, 1953) (est. $75,000)

·         Dave Gibbons Watchmen #7 Nite Owl's Hovercraft Cover Original Art (DC, 1987) (est. $60,000)

New York—Swann Galleries’ auction of Vintage Posters on August 1 brings to market the largest selection of food and drink advertisements the house has ever offered, along with premier examples of Art Nouveau, wartime propaganda and resort posters.

Leading the sale is Alphonse Mucha’s exquisite quartet, Times of the Day, 1899. Four allegorical women in diaphanous gowns represent Morning Awakening, Daytime Dash, Evening Reverie and Nightly Rest. The set carries an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000. Also available are the iconic Bières de la Meuse, 1897, and Salon des Cent, 1896 (each $8,000 to $12,000). Mucha’s extremely rare poster promoting the exhibition of works from his magnum opus, The Slav Epic, at the Brooklyn Museum in 1920, makes its second appearance at auction. Printed in only two colors, this unusual work is valued between $10,000 and $15,000.

Bacchanalian advertisements for wine, food and liquor from a singular collection are led by scarce work by Leonetto Cappiello: Carnaval / Vinho do Porto, 1911. The image has been seen at auction only once before, when this exact poster was offered in 2005 and acquired by the consignor. It is estimated at $20,000 to $30,000. Another rare poster by the artist is Fêtes du Congrès International des ?tudiants, 1907, showing a female Bacchus squeezing grapes into her companion’s goblet ($8,000 to $12,000). More than 20 of Cappiello’s most famous posters will be offered, along with another 20 works by Luciano Achille Mauzan, including his cheerful Cirio / Extracto de Tomates, 1930, with an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000. Scrumptious highlights by Adolphe Mouron Cassandre, Ludwig Hohlwein, Georges Lepape, Manuel Orazi and J. Spring will also be available.

A sobering counterpoint to the festivities is a collection of 20 posters from the American Temperance Society, circa 1950s, with such taglines as Alcohol Destroys Feminine Loveliness and Alcoholic Beverages of Any Kind Do Not Mix with Football. The group is expected to sell for $2,000 to $3,000.

British and American propaganda from both World Wars includes James Montgomery Flagg’s iconic I Want You for U.S. Army, 1917, and Wake Up, America! / Civilization Calls, 1917 ($7,000 to $10,000 and $3,000 to $4,000, respectively). Britain’s iconic Keep Calm and Carry On, 1939, in excellent condition ($12,000 to $18,000) takes the opposite approach to This is the Enemy, Karl Koehler’s searing portrait of Nazi inhumanity, that won the National War Poster Competition of 1942 and is valued at $3,000 to $4,000.

A fine etching by Jean Dupas makes a rare appearance in a posters auction. The work is a detail from his 1928 painting, L’Enlèvement d’Europe, though this 1931 printing is sometimes called Le Taureau Noir. Showing two women with enormous bushels of flowers riding a bull, it carries an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000.