Exhibit | March 21, 2019

New York — In celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of Walt Whitman’s birth, the Morgan Library & Museum exhibits the work of the beloved American poet. In a notebook in 1859, Whitman wrote, “Comrades! I am the bard of Democracy,” and over his 73 years (1819-1892) he made good on that claim. As he bore witness to the rise of New York City, the Civil War and other major transformations in American life, Whitman tried to reconcile the famous contradictions of this country through his inclusivity and his prolific body of work. The author of one of the most celebrated texts of American literature—Leaves of Grass (1855)—came from humble origins in Long Island and Brooklyn but eventually earned a global audience that has never stopped growing. Walt Whitman: Bard of Democracy traces the development of his writing and influence, from his early days producing local journalism and sensational fiction to his later years writing the visionary poems that would revitalize American letters. 

Drawing on the Morgan’s own holdings as well as exceptional loans from the Library of Congress, the exhibition shows the landmarks of his literary career, including “O Captain! My Captain!” and the famous letter written to Whitman by Ralph Waldo Emerson commending Leaves of Grass. A notebook containing Whitman’s early experiments with free verse and the origins of the seminal poem “Song of Myself” will be on display, as well as the copy of Leaves of Grass that Whitman presented to the artist who engraved his emblematic portrait in the first edition. Also on view are documents by famous writers influenced by Whitman, such as Oscar Wilde, Hart Crane, Federico García Lorca, Langston Hughes, and Allen Ginsberg. 

Whitman’s broad-minded positions on social issues of his day made him a symbol for progressive political and civil rights movements in modern times. The uninhibited sensuality of his poetry and his pioneering contributions to gay literature have been an inspiration to the LGBTQ community as well.

Early in his writing career, Whitman wrote temperance novels and stories of walking around the city, exploring its nooks and crannies. The exhibition presents some of these fugitive publications from New York’s literary underground.

Whitman saw himself foremost as a New Yorker: he claimed that many of his poems “arose out of my life in Brooklyn and New York from 1838 to 1853, absorbing a million people, for fifteen years, with an intimacy, an eagerness, and an abandon, probably never equaled.” In the early 1850s, Whitman began writing free verse poetry and self-published Leaves of Grass in 1855. The book celebrated the first person in a way that no poetry ever had before. A portion of the exhibition examines all of the circumstances of this act of self-invention.

The show also explores his attention to the great drama of his time, the Civil War, and Whitman’s emotional bond with Abraham Lincoln. After the war, Whitman’s writing attracted a greater number of friends and visitors, including a number of gay readers and writers who saw him as a liberator and a model for their own path-breaking work. Whitman’s relationship with former Confederate soldier and streetcar conductor PeterDoyle will be another focus of the exhibition, featuring the famous photograph of the two of them together.

Even after Whitman reached the end of the road in 1892, he continued to inspire others. A final section in Walt Whitman: Bard of Democracy is devoted to his enduring global influence in the twentieth century and beyond.

In addition, the show has a strong visual element, incorporating photographs by Matthew Brady and others, significant nineteenth-century paintings, prints, and engravings, among them a depiction of a Civil War battle by Winslow Homer, paintings and drawings by Joseph Stella, Rockwell Kent, and David Hockney, twentieth and twenty-first-century artists’ books, and ephemera. 

“Walt Whitman’s poetry occupies a special place in American literature,” said Colin B. Bailey, director of the Morgan Library and Museum. “He was a New Yorker in that he not only captured the spirit of his bustling, complex, and contradictory city, but he also carved out a career path for himself through his ambition and surprisingly proactive self-promotion. We are excited to offer more insight into his inspirations, his world, and the evolution of his dynamic voice.”

“It was a joy to work with the Morgan on this comprehensive exhibit, and to see New York City all over again, through his eyes,”said Ted Widmer, guest curator and Distinguished Lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York. “It never stops moving and neither did he.” Widmer is also author of Young America: The Flowering of Democracy in New York City and many other works of history. The exhibition opens June 7 and runs through September 15.

Auctions | March 21, 2019

York, PA - Fresh-to-market original comic book art spurred a fan frenzy at Hake’s March 13-14 auction and produced a $1.26 million result, with new auction records set by several prize entries. 

Predicted to finish well in the money, Rob Liefeld’s original pen-and-ink art for Page 27 of New Mutants #98, published by Marvel in February 1991, did not disappoint. It swept past its $20,000-$35,000 estimate to settle at $40,380, making it the auction’s top lot. 

“The artboard is from the issue that introduced Deadpool, the wildly popular antihero who went on to star in countless comics, video games and films,” said Hake’s president Alex Winter. “Original page art from Issue 98 is especially rare if it actually depicts Deadpool - which was the case with the page art we sold - because he appears on only seven pages in that issue.” The artwork had been held privately since shortly after the issue’s publication and had never before been offered for public sale.

Frank Quitely’s original cover art for All-Star Superman #6 (DC Comics), from a series that ran from November 2005 through October 2008, sold for $15,575 - an auction record for any original Quitely art. The poignant scene depicts Superman standing at the gravestone of his adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, with his loyal canine companion Krypto beside him. 

Next up was the 11- by 17-inch original art for Page 33 of Sandman Vol. 2, #14 (DC Vertigo, March 1990), penciled by Mike Dringenberg and inked by Malcolm Jones III. Few Sandman pages have appeared for public sale, and the $14,280 auction-record price paid for the early seven-panel page validated the timelessness and enduring popularity of the series. 

Comic books held steady, with particular interest in Golden and Silver Age issues that debuted or provided the backstories for important characters. Amazing Fantasy #15 (Marvel, August 1962, CGC 3.0 Good/VG), introducing Spider-Man, leaped to $16,955; while Detective Comics #168 (DC, February 1951, CGC 3.0 Good/VG), which tells the origin story of The Joker (“The Man Behind the Red Hood”), was on target at $10,450.

The demand for rare, early Star Wars action figures has been insatiable since Hake’s first introduced the Russell Branton collection to bidders in 2017. Since then, the company has presented additional helpings from the fabled collection in its subsequent auctions, and did so again on March 13-14. An AFA-graded 75 EX+/NM Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Bespin Alliance 3-pack series charged past its $10,000-$20,000 estimate to reach $24,400; while an AFA-graded 85 NM+ 3-pack Android Set made $15,705 against expectations of $5,000-$10,000. From another premier Star Wars collection, an AFA-graded 80NM Luke Skywalker 12 Back-A double-telescoping figure crushed all challengers with a closing price of $25,310.

Bases were loaded as two premier sports lots stepped up to the plate to take a swing. A fantastic panoramic photo taken prior to Game 5 of the first “Negro League World Series” of October 1924, depicting 42 players (including eight future Hall of Famers), managers and owners, retired at $23,365. Also, a treasure trove of 150 Cracker Jack collector cards produced in 1914-15 was offered, including the elusive “Shoeless” Joe Jackson card. Measuring only 2.25 by 3 inches, it set a world auction record for an example of its type (PSA Good 2 condition), knocking it out of the park at $18,345.

Historical and political Americana flew high, especially an important 1860 “For President, Abram [sic.] Lincoln - For Vice President, Hannibal Hamlin” 35-star parade flag. “This flag descended through successive generations of a Connecticut family, then went into a private collection where it remained for 50 years. We were proud to have been chosen to offer it for public sale for the first time,” said Winter. It realized $19,210. 

Political buttons were hotly pursued, including an iconic 1940 Wendell Willkie/FDR “Y’r Out At Third” baseball-theme button, $9,735; and a button showing Harry Truman’s face on an 8-ball, a reference to his being “behind the 8-ball” as he headed into the 1948 presidential race, $9,475. A top Kennedy keepsake, a “Kennedy Election Night Staff” button of a type worn by staffers to gain access to the Hyannisport family compound on election day in 1960. It came with provenance from the archive of Helen Lempart, who was an executive secretary in JFK’s inner circle. Selling price: $9,410

Hake’s is currently accepting consignments for future auctions. For more information, call 866-404-9800 (toll-free) or 717-434-1600. Email hakes@hakes.com. View the fully illustrated catalog for Hake’s March 13-14, 2019 auction online at www.hakes.com.

Auctions | March 21, 2019

New York -- Swann Galleries’ Tuesday, April 16 auction of Printed & Manuscript Americana features a robust selection of Mexican imprints and manuscripts, state material and items relating to the Civil War and President Lincoln. 

Mexican material forms the cornerstone of an extensive section of Latin Americana. Among the highlights are works such as Juan Navarro’s 1604 Liber in quo quatuor passions Christi Domini continentur, the first music by a New World composer printed in the Americas (Estimate: $8,000-12,000); a 1677 first edition of Mexican poetess Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz’s Villancios que se cantaron en los maitines del gloriosissimo Padre S. Pedro Nolasco, which consists of Christmas carols to be sung in honor of the thirteenth-century saint ($30,00-40,000); and Primera parte del sermonario del tiemp de todo el año, duplicado, en lengua Mexicana, 1614, by Martín de León features sermons intended to be delivered in Nahuatl throughout the year ($20,000-30,000). Manuscripts include a 1529 royal decree from King Charles V protecting the Mexican estate of Hernán Cortés while he was in Spain trying to curry favor with the court ($12,000-18,000), and a volume of manuscript essays by the popular early-twentieth-century poet Amado Nervo ($1,500-2,500).

A Texan manuscript diary by William Farrar Smith, documenting the 1849 Whiting-Smith Expedition to form a trail from San Antonio to El Paso, leads a run of material related to Texas with an estimate of $30,000 to $40,000. The dramatic diary marks Smith’s time on the historic expedition with William H.C. Whiting in which he records the difficult terrain and various encounters with Apaches, including the widely feared Chief Gómez. While Whiting’s diary from the trek was published in the early twentieth century, this unpublished record by Smith-a true Wild West saga-is more comprehensive. Also of note is a 1760 first edition of the only early work ever published in the Pakawan language of Texas by Bartholomé Garcia ($8,000-12,000).  

Additional state-specific material includes the diary of Robert C. Dickey, a prison guard at the Rhode Island State Prison in Providence, in which he writes about the prisoners under his guard and the new warden, General Nelson Viall, and the May 6, 1775 issue of the Virginia Gazette which reports first-hand accounts of the Battles of Lexington and Concord ($1,200-1,800 and $12,000-18,000, respectively).

An extensive archive of nearly 100 letters dated August 1862 to April 1865, from Corporal John P. Staples of the 115th New York Infantry to his mother, sister and brother at home in Saratoga County, NY, is featured in an assortment of material relating to the Civil War. The letters relate the movements of the regiment and include reports on the Battles of Crater and Fort Fisher ($5,000-$7,500). Benson Lossing’s Pictorial History of the Civil War of the United States of America, Philadelphia, 1866-68, is present with an estimate of $3,000 to $4,000, as well as a large group of unused patriotic postal covers and stationary featuring printed designs, including one of Major General McCleelan, circa 1861-65, offered at $1,200 to $1,800. 

Following up on the house’s recent sale of the Holzer collection, quality Lincolniana is set to be offered, including an 1865 oil portrait of Lincoln-a copy of the last rendered from life-by Matthew Henry Wilson (Estimate: $25,000-35,000), as well as two offerings of uncut tintype sheets with photographs of the 16th president which were meant to be used as badges and tokens during the 1860 election ($8,000-12,000 and $6,000-9,000, respectively).

Unpublished photos of Al Capone and his henchmen come across the block in a scrapbook compiled by a member of the Untouchables-the famed team responsible from arresting the mob boss. The scrapbook, assembled 1926-33, features eight photographs of Capone and his associates, as well as clippings of news stories reporting on prohibition-related crime, and is expected to bring $5,000 to $7,500. Additional highlights include the first published baseball sheet music, The Baseball Polka, 1858, by J.R. Blodgett, dedicated to the Flour City Base Ball Club of Rochester by the Niagara Base Ball Club of Buffalo ($1,000-1,500). 

News | March 20, 2019

Oxford, England - The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries and the German library, Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, have announced a new collaborative digitization project that will open up repositories of medieval manuscripts from German-speaking lands. The three-year project will ensure that more than 600 western medieval manuscripts from both libraries’ remarkable collections are made freely available online to researchers and the public worldwide through a special online resource at https://hab.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/en. The project was launched at an event at the Bodleian Libraries on 19 March with the German Deputy Head of Mission, Julia Gross, in attendance.

The project, funded by The Polonsky Foundation, will have much to tell us about the European Middle Ages and about the history of Germanic monastic traditions. Through coordinated digitization and shared software and cataloguing standards, the project will open up new opportunities for research across the two libraries’ collections.  A video about the project can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZhwBfk-olA

The digitized collections focus specifically on manuscripts from German-speaking lands that originate from monasteries in the lower Saxony, Bavaria and Baden -Württemberg regions: Medingen, Braunschweig, Hildesheim, Helmstedt, Clus, Würzburg, and Eberbach. The Medingen manuscripts, from a nunnery in the area, are of particular importance and are highly illustrated. Most of the manuscripts held at the Herzog August Bibilothek were collected in the 17th century by Duke August and the Dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Wolfenbüttel while the items held in the Bodleian Libraries were brought to England by Archbishop William Laud around the same time and included 46 important Latin manuscripts.  

Richard Ovenden, Bodley’s Librarian, said: ‘Transforming these ancient documents into digital form helps transcend the limitations of time and space which have in the past restricted access to knowledge. Scholars will be able to interrogate these documents in new ways as a result of their availability in digital form. The Bodleian Libraries are pleased to have the opportunity to work closely with the Herzog August Bibliothek in this cross-cultural collaboration. We are immensely grateful to The Polonsky Foundation for their inspirational support.’

Peter Burschel, Director of the Herzog August Bibliothek, said: ‘Thanks to the far-sighted and generous support of The Polonsky Foundation, two long-established libraries in Europe will join forces in an innovative approach to digitisation driven by the actual needs of scholars and scholarship.’

Dr Leonard S. Polonsky CBE, Founding Chairman, The Polonsky Foundation said: ‘Following our support for the Bodleian's path-breaking collaboration with the Vatican Library, we are proud to support its significant collaboration with the Herzog August Bibliothek. Benefiting from the extraordinary opportunities afforded by digitisation, the project brings together the riches of Western Medieval civilisation and makes them available to researchers and the wider public in innovative and attractive ways.’

The project website (now live at https://hab.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/en) will showcase thousands of images of these rare manuscripts as well as providing detailed explanation about the texts, and their unique differences. The website will also provide background on the manuscripts’ origins via an interactive map. Visitors will be able to browse the digitized manuscripts by shelfmark, language, date and place of origin and explore highlights from the digitized collections. Both libraries will be delivering their images via the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF), which will enable side-by-side comparison and analysis, and will allow researchers to take advantage of open-source IIIF-based tools.

The manuscripts digitized through this project been chosen for the strength of the collections in both libraries and their importance for scholarship in their respective fields. The resource itself will be of interest to scholars in: religious studies, German studies, medieval studies and history, amongst others. With approximately 133,000 images from the Bodleian Libraries and 100,000 images from the Herzog August Bibliothek, the digitization effort will also benefit scholars by virtually uniting materials that have been dispersed between the two collections over the centuries.  At launch the website already features over 18,000 images of 40 objects (with eight different religious houses represented); more images and content will be added over the three-year project.

The project is led by an advisory board of academics based in Germany and the UK and student research projects around the manuscripts are also being coordinated. The project will also enable staff across both sites to share knowledge on digitization and includes conservation work on these collections across both sites.

This project is one of many cross-European projects led by the Bodleian Libraries. Recently the University of Oxford and Stiftung Preu?ischer Kulturbesitz (SPK), the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, signed an agreement which will intensify partnership based on each organisation’s globally-renowned cultural and scientific collections and scholarship (http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2018-09-10-oxford-commits-deep-partnership-germany%E2%80%99s-largest-cultural-institution) and ensure continued partnership across European borders.

Other major projects made possible by contributions from The Polonsky Foundation are the digitization of the Bodleian’s exceptional collection of over 25,000 Cairo Genizah fragments, available online at http://genizah.bodleian.ox.ac.uk and the digitization of ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew manuscripts and incunabula between the Bodleian Libraries and the Vatican Library, at http://bav.bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Auctions | March 20, 2019
www.Kestenbaum.net

The Nusach Ari Siddur, Berditchev 1818 (lot 61)

Kestenbaum and Company’s Spring 2019 auction contains ten Hebrew incunabula and thirty-five important post-incunabula. Many are of distinguished provenance, stemming from such legendary collections as: Sassoon, Schocken, Mehlman, Gradenwitz, Adler-Wineman, Gaster, Valmadonna, Delmonico, London Beth Din, etc.

Incunabula are Lot numbers: 31, 39, 55, 57, 59, 67, 72, 73, 79, 81.

Upon instruction of the District High Court of Tel Aviv and following a break of eighteen months, we continue our series of auctions from an entity that we have designated as “A Singular Collection.” Included here are a further 25 exceptional Biblical and Rabbinic manuscripts, all of which have been thoroughly researched and expertly catalogued by our consultant, the Jerusalem-based scholar, Rabbi Dovid Kamenetsky.

This auction also contains the second (and final) disbursement of property from the late Brooklyn-based bookseller and Americana specialist, Yosef Goldman. Of particular note in this regard are the many Autograph Letters and Manuscripts from his private collection, all once again knowledgably catalogued here by our consultant, the independent researcher of American history, Shimon Steinmetz.

Elsewhere in the catalogue are Autograph Manuscripts including those by Grace Aguilar, Samson Raphael Hirsch, the Aruch LaNer (see lots 93-96); a most important Chassidic book: The Nusach Ari Siddur, Berditchev 1818 (lot 61); and significant Holocaust-era documents (lots 99-112). An offering of Holy Land travel books and maps round out the sale.

 

News | March 20, 2019

New York — Book publisher 21st Editions announces the premiere of Deep Roots, a unique art object that represents the collaborative spirit in which 21st Editions has been based for twenty years. Deep Roots is a grand and monumental creation that pays homage to one of the earliest photographic processes, wet plate collodion, and will premiere at the Photography Show presented by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers. The images featured in Deep Roots are the work of photographer Timothy Duffy, an artist who has resurrected the tintype to create modern and profoundly relevant work with this archaic process. 

Born from the raw and honest partnership of photographer Timothy Duffy and luthier and sculptor Freeman Vines, Deep Roots is a modular exhibition that features a set of 25 tintypes that capture the hauntingly visceral “guitars” that Vines constructs with mostly hand tools from found wood from age-old trees of the South. 

The tintypes measure a colossal 20 by 12 inches. Each plate is coated, exposed, and developed within ten minutes. The seamless adaptation to the process by Duffy transcends the boundaries of his humanity to allow something spiritual and out-of-mind allowing him to transform the rawness of his subjects onto tin. The set of 25 is housed in five meticulously designed and handmade boxes by artisan Peter Geraty that incorporate veneers made from the remnants of the age-old wood of Vines’ guitars. The five boxes are accompanied with text written by folklorist Zoe Van Buren and are bound with multicolor goatskin inlays, all of which are presented in a custom-made, African wood cabinet by John Patriquin. 

“Freeman Vines’ instruments touch the transcendental vibrations of the metaphysical realm, in this body of work, I go there with him.” - Timothy Duffy 

Auctions | March 20, 2019

London - Ahead of the auction in London on 2 May, highlights from the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets are touring to Dubai from 19-23 March. This is a chance for discerning collectors and art enthusiasts to view the exquisite craftsmanship and diversity of works from this category. Highlights include a monumental Imperial Mamluk Qur’an, complete with the name and date of the scribe, with a hugely impressive full page dedication to Sultan Qaytbay (estimate: £500,000-800,000, illustrated above). Remarkable for its elegant script and richly gilded illumination on an extraordinarily large scale, this manuscript was commissioned for the last great Mamluk Sultan, Qaytbay (r. 1468-96) and presents a rare example of the production of opulent royal Qur’ans, characteristic of the 300 year-long reign of the Mamluk Sultans. This rare volume is fresh to the market and will be presented alongside the Pommersfelden 'polonaise' carpets, two silk and metal-thread rugs from Isfahan, which have remained together since they were first woven over 400 years ago (estimate: £600,000-800,000 and estimate: £550,000-750,000). Commissioned in the Persian court ateliers of Shah Abbas the Great (1502-1722) at the beginning of the 17th century, they entered the lavish and influential court of Augustus the Strong, Saxon Elector and future king of Poland. In 1695, they were reputedly gifted to Lothar Franz von Schönborn, Archbishop of Mainz and Arcchancellor of the Holy Roman Empire where they remained in one of the most important and illustrious German baroque collections for over three hundred years.  In astonishing condition for their age, they have never-before been seen on the open market and epitomise the very best of Safavid art.

The sale is further highlighted by an Ottoman tombak flask (Matara) from the late 15th or early 16th century (estimate: £200,000-300,000). Of superb proportions and outstanding quality, this object reflects the refined taste of the Ottoman court. Discerning collectors can appreciate the imitation stitching which runs along both sides of the upper ‘seam’, a feature deriving straight from the leather originals. A truly magnificent piece of early Ottoman metalwork, this is an opportunity to acquire a museum quality piece - there are two other known examples of this form in tombak, one resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the other in the British Museum. 

Also on view in Dubai is one of only four paintings made by the remarkable and defiantly individual Muhammad Murad Samarqandi. Produced in the early 17th century, Four Young Scholars in Discussion, bears the signature of Muhammad Murad Samarqandi, an enigmatic artist whose rare works were created at a time of profound change and development in the Iranian and Indian artistic worlds (estimate: £200,000-300,000). 

Planispheric astrolabes were generally used for charting astrological bodies, finding the direction of the qibla, and determining the times of prayer. The auction features a fine Safavid brass astrolabe from the 17th century Safavid Iran, a period which experienced a resurgence in astrolabe-making of the most ornate designs (estimate: £100,000-150,000). Superbly and accurately engraved, the present lot was made by Muhammad Zaman, a highly celebrated astrolabist and astronomer who flourished in Mashhad during the second half of the 17th century. Only a handful of astronomical instruments made by Muhammad Zaman have survived, making this example truly unique, and a true testament to the scientific knowledge and ability of the maker. 

 

Auctions | March 19, 2019
Courtesy of Sterling Associates Inc.  

Autograph booklet and ephemera archive maintained by Edna May Stewart, head stewardess of the RMS Queen Mary, during the ship’s golden era. Stewart maintained the autograph collection - which includes the signatures of 100+ celebrities and athletes, including 1950s Manchester United football players - for her daughter Patricia Ann. Estimate: $1,200-$1,800.

Norwood, NJ - Sterling Associates is known for its eclectic auctions of fine art, furniture, lighting and other quality collectibles sourced from tri-state-area estates. An integral part of Bergen County, New Jersey’s arts community for two generations, Sterling’s online-only sales are unique in that all goods may be previewed ahead of time at the company’s physical premises in Norwood. On March 20, the Sterling team will conduct its first spring 2019 event: a diverse 212-lot auction of fine art, jewelry and estate goods, with a spotlight section devoted to a unique collection of celebrity-signed ephemera and historical photographs. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com. 

A most unusual auction entry is an autograph book that was part of an archive (estimate $1,200-$1,800) maintained in the 1950s by Edna May Stewart, head stewardess of the RMS Queen Mary. The book is a veritable who’s who of British and American celebrities who crossed the Atlantic on the legendary ship. They include The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, as well as movie stars and entertainers including Gregory Peck, Billie Holiday, Rita Hayworth, Alan Ladd, Diana Dors, Jayne Mansfield, and Harry Belafonte. 

Most notable among the sports personalities who signed the book are members of the beloved “Busby Babes,” a group of talented young footballers who were recruited and coached by (Sir) Alexander Matthew “Matt” Busby to become the first-string players for the legendary Manchester United Football Club from the late 1940s through 1950s.

“The Busby Babes’ autographs are rare and historically important because eight of the players were tragically killed in the 1958 ‘Munich air disaster’ on their return home from a European Cup match in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia),” said auction house owner Stephen D’Atri. “Among the autographs in the book are those of four players who were on the ill-fated flight, two of whom did not survive. A fifth autograph is that of manager Matt Busby. The Busby Babes have never been forgotten by the Manchester club and its fans, or by football fans all across Europe. In 2018, Manchester United held a public memorial service to mark 60 years since the air disaster and to honor those who had died.

While the autograph book is a unique and very special highlight of the sale, the bulk of the 221-lot auction is devoted to categories for which Sterling Associates has a well established following, like estate art. Several bronzes are worthy of note, including a Pierre Marius Montagne (1828-1879) work titled Rastender Merkur. Standing 19 inches high, it is estimated at $1,200-$1,500. Of larger size, a Henri Godet Art Nouveau bronze titled Le Reveil de L’Aurore measures 30in high, is signed “Godet” and could likely bring $3,000-$5,000.

Christopher S. Gerlach’s (b. 1952-) realistic landscape titled Morning on Lake Lagunitas depicts an old boathouse amid lush foliage, its image mirrored on the water. An accomplished oil-on-canvas created in 1987, the northern California regional artwork measures 60 by 84 inches and is estimated at $1,000-$2,000.

Exquisite sterling silver wares from distinguished estates include a Wallace 93-piece flatware service in the revered “Grande Baroque” pattern. Ornate and substantial, this formal silver service is presented in a Guildcraft chest and carries a pre-sale estimate of $2,200-$2,400.

A rare Rare Louis Vuitton ‘Malle Fleurs’ [Floral Trunk] miniature trunk, made in the 1930s, is stamped Louis Vuitton/Made in France on its inner leather strap and also bears a serial number. Stephen D’Atri explained that diminutive trunks of this type were “modeled after the monogram canvas ‘cabin’ trunk and were presented as gifts from Louis Vuitton to loyal customers.” It measures 11 inches wide by 4 3/8 inches high by 5½ inches deep and is estimated at $8,000-$10,000.

Two antique/vintage folk art lots to watch include carved and painted animals created in the manner of Felipe Archuleta (1910-1991). A 37-inch-tall bunny, white with red accents, could hop to a winning bid of $800-$1,200, while a striking 25-inch orange, black and white painted tiger with intensely gazing eyes is similarly estimated. 

Sterling Associates’ March 20 Fine Art & Estate Auction will begin at 11 a.m. US Eastern time. Sterling Associates, Inc., is a full-service brick-and-mortar auction house. The company’s “hybrid auctions” are conducted online, just like a live auction, but without a live audience in attendance. Bidders may participate absentee, by phone or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com. All items may be previewed prior to auction day at the gallery. Also, all goods won in the auction can be picked up at Sterling Associates’ gallery, located at 537 Broadway, Norwood, NJ 07648.  

Auctions | March 19, 2019

Philadelphia - On April 10, 2019 Freeman’s will offer Across Continents: Property from the Collection of Ambassador & Mrs. Alexander Weddell | The Virginia House Museum — an important selection of fine art, furniture, antiquities, decorative arts, textiles and books from the private collection of United States Ambassador Alexander Wilbourne Weddell (1876-1948) and his wife Virginia Chase Steedman Weddell (1874-1948). The Collection is deaccessioned by the Virginia House Museum in Richmond, Virginia, and the proceeds of the sale will benefit future preservation, acquisitions and care of the Museum’s Collection. 

From the moment they met in 1921, until their tragic deaths on January 1st, 1948, the Weddells built on an eclectic, yet cohesive collection of artifacts that reflect the extraordinary and refined civilizations they explored through their numerous travels around the globe. The collection seems particularly imbued with the Weddells’ long fascination with Central and South America, which the couple discovered during Mr. Weddell’s shifting governmental duties. A graduate of George Washington University, Weddell worked in the diplomatic corps for many years before serving as US Ambassador to Argentina from 1933 to 1939, and to Spain from 1939 to 1942. 

The Weddells carefully chose paintings that both complemented and challenged the Jacobean interiors of Virginia House, their home in Richmond. Among numerous European gold-ground pictures and Mexican religious scenes, stands an impressive Jacobean portrait of an English nobleman from the Clarke family and his daughter (Lot 32), as well as a rare portrait of a female courtier by German artist Franz Kessler (Lot 78), dated 1620. During their time in Central and South America, the couple acquired several fine examples of the region’s many riches. Of particular note are a 17th century painting of the Death of the Virgin from the Cuzco School that the Weddells purchased in Lima, Peru in 1937 (Lot 260), and “Le Désenchanté,” a delicate wooden sculpture by Russian artist Stephen Erzia, whom the couple met and supported in Argentina in the 1930s (Lot 253). 

The Weddells furnished their home with taste, using period furniture and magnificent tapestries. Furniture highlights from the collection include a fine Spanish Baroque walnut and giltwood vargueño on stand (Lot 309), a rare Elizabethan marquetry oak court cupboard (Lot 24), an exceptional late Elizabethan/early Jacobean carved oak court cupboard (Lot 31), a very rare carved ivory and papier-mâché dressed statue of a Madonna retaining her original clothes (Lot 261), and a very early Nasrid-style marquetry and ivory-inlaid walnut chest, produced in Venice or Barcelona in the 15th century (Lot 149). The sale also includes a 16th century Brussels tapestry (Lot 72) and a 17th century Mortlake fragment from ‘The Horses’ series designed by Frans Cleyn (Lot 52). Also of note are a group of Himalayan bronze, copper alloy, and carved wood Buddhist works of art, collected by the Weddells on their travels in India and China. The earliest works date to the 15th century and include a fine figure of Buddha Akshobya with elaborate engraved robe (Lots 198 through 203), and two large Nepalese figures of bodhisattvas (Lots 190 and 191). Ottoman silver and tombak; Russian niello snuffboxes from the period of Catherine the Great; and English, French, American, and Mexican silver are also represented. 

Enamored of the erudite and genteel country life, Alexander also built a refined and extensive library of early manuscripts and reference texts in the gentlemanly tradition, mainly of travel and exploration influence, but also including first and inscribed editions from ?mile Zola (Lot 480), Jonathan Swift (Lots 450, 451 & 464), Guy de Maupassant (Lot 478), Voltaire (Lot 465), Gustave Flaubert (Lot 446) and Théophile Gautier (Lot 475); and a series of Russian imperial bindings, the jewel of which is a first edition, Cologne, 1700 of Mémoires de Monsieur d’Artagnan (Lot 456). Meanwhile, Virginia enthusiastically collected a very fine collection of English and Spanish embroideries, French and Italian silks and velvets, and ecclesiastical vestments to furnish their home and upholster their antiques. The highlight of this section is a group of Spanish silk and metal thread embroidered velvets, likely convent work, from the 16th through the 18th centuries. 

Virginia House was presented by the Alexander and Virginia Weddell to the Virginia Historical Society in 1929. Following the Weddells’ tragic death, the Historical Society took ownership and management of the property and for seventy years, served as a faithful steward of the house and its diverse collections and gardens as outlined by the Weddells. In 2017, the Historical Society’s board of trustees approved a plan to increase the use of Virginia House with a focus on donor stewardship, public and private events, and interpretive programs. 

In order to best care for the site and the items bequeathed by the Weddells, the Historical Society has thoughtfully deaccessioned items that had been stored onsite for decades. The items in the present sale were deemed unrelated to the mission of the Historical Society or unnecessary for the future interpretation of the site. Proceeds from the sale will be placed in a restricted fund for the preservation of the property’s historic structures and landscape features and the acquisition and direct care of collections used to interpret the site and the Weddells. 

 

Events | March 18, 2019

New York — For Passover, Les Enluminures presents a series of events that center on a remarkable medieval manuscript: a Haggadah with seventy-five watercolor paintings created in the circle of the famous artist Giovannino de Grassi (d. 1398) in Milan in the late fourteenth century. Telling the story of the flight of the Jews from Egypt based on the biblical book of Exodus, the Haggadah was - and still is - used during the Seder, the ritual meal of the first night of Passover. Its text has been richly illustrated by many artists in different countries for over seven hundred years. 

With its seventy-five illustrations, occupying the margins of almost every page, this manuscript expresses the elegant language of the Gothic International style in Lombardy. Directly related to the workshop of the renowned master builder, sculptor, and illuminator Giovannino de Grassi, who flourished under the patronage of the noble Visconti family in Milan, the present volume was probably commissioned by a wealthy Jewish individual. The presumed date of origin of the Lombard Haggadah corresponds with a period known for its wave of immigration into Lombardy of northern European Jews, who were especially welcomed by Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti. 

Last on public exhibit in the Paris World's Fair in 1900, when it belonged to a French family, the Lombard Haggadah was then sold in 1927 in London to the noted collector of Hebrew manuscripts Zalman Schocken. Little known, the manuscript has remained in private hands ever since. It survives as the earliest stand-alone Italian Haggadah. Of the greatest rarity, it is one of three illustrated medieval Haggadot still privately owned. It is for sale. 

Sharon Liberman Mintz, Curator of Jewish Art, The Jewish Theological Seminary, states "I have worked with Hebrew illuminated manu- scripts all of my professional life, and this one stands out for its fresh, charming, and sometimes unique paintings as well as its historical importance." 

Founded by Dr. Sandra Hindman more than twenty-five years ago and with locations in Paris, Chicago, and New York, Les Enluminures has forged long-standing relationships with major museums and prestigious private collections throughout the world. It exhibits at TEFAF Maas- tricht, TEFAF New York, Masterpiece, and Frieze Masters. The gallery is well-known for the level of its scholarship evident in its numerous publications but also for the diversity, high quality, and provenance of the works it offers for sale. 

"I am honored to be involved in a project of such magnitude prompted by this rare and stunning work of art," says Sandra Hindman. "Hebrew manuscript illumination is a field that has always held great interest and attraction for me. I confess to being thoroughly enchanted by the present manuscript." 

EXHIBITION 

For the first time in more than one hundred years, the manuscript will be on view for a limited period only in the New York gallery of Les Enluminures.  

Thursday April 12, 2019 to Sunday April 21, 2019 10 am to 5 pm (Easter Sunday included) 

PUBLICATION

Authors are: Milvia Bollati, Catholic University of Milan; Marc Michael Epstein, Vassar College; Flora Cassen, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Laura Light, Independent Scholar, Boston, Massachusetts. Introduction by Christopher de Hamel, Preface by Sharon Mintz. 

A full prospectus of the publication is available on request . 

LECTURES AND CONFERENCE 

The Haggadah in the Middle Ages and Beyond: A Celebration for Passover
Jewish Studies, Medieval Studies, and the Department of Art History and Music of Fordham University and Les Enluminures co-sponsor a series of events for Passover. 

LECTURE 

Wednesday April 10, 6 pm 

FordhamUniversity, McNally Amphitheater (140 West 62nd Street)
Adam Cohen, University of Toronto, "Social and Sacred in the Medieval Haggadah" 

CONFERENCE 

Sunday April 14, 10 am to 5 pm (followed by a Reception) 

Fordham University, McNally Amphitheater (140 West 62nd Street)
Morning and Afternoon Sessions on "Patronage and Collection" (morning) and "Making Hebrew Manuscripts" (afternoon) . Speakers include Evelyn Cohen, Marc Michael Epstein, Barbara Wolff, and many others. 

Full program available on request.