A very rare 18th century publication - The Birds of Great Britain with their Eggs by William Lewin - sold in Tennants Auctioneers’ Book Sale on 15th March for £11,000 (plus buyer’s premium). Despite missing two of the seven volumes in the set, the rarity of the work attracted fierce bidding in the saleroom. Beautifully illustrated with hand-coloured plates, the book was published for the author between 1789 and 1794, and only sixty sets were produced. William Lewin (1747-1795) was an English naturalist and illustrator, and this publication was the result of twenty years’ work. Over the years, many copies have been split up into individual watercolours, making existing copies all the more sought-after.

Elsewhere in the sale, strong prices were achieved for a volume of drawings made by Joseph Green depicting his voyage from England to New South Wales, Van Dieman’s Land and Bombay in 1829. Green produced this collection of sketches, ink washes and watercolours for his cousin Samuel Farmer ‘who used to be fond of drawing’, according to the inscription. This unique and personal record sold for £2,200 (plus buyer’s premium). A collection of letters written by Prince Philip to his prep school headmaster and his son were also well-contested in the saleroom. Sold as five lots, the letters achieved a combined hammer price of £4,700.

Also of note were a scientific tract - An Essay on the Food of Plants and the Renovation of Soils -  by John Ingen-Housz, which includes the first description of photosynthesis sold for £1,300 (plus buyer’s premium), and an interesting hand-written Commercial Investigator’s Journal, possibly written by Augustus Hughes, detailing his investigations into the Porto wine trade sold for £950 (plus buyer’s premium).

Maastricht — On the preview days at TEFAF Maastricht (14-15 March 2019), Dr. Jörn Günther Rare Books sold an extremely precious 15th-century Book of Hours, illuminated by the Masters of the Grandes Heures de Rohan (likely the Giac Master in particular). The Masters were possibly a family of painters who may have handed over and reinforced expertise from one generation to the other. Their distinctive style is characterized by a striking experimentation with scale, elongated figures, and a somewhat distorted perspective, together leading to an expressive and dramatic result. Characteristic motifs include long limbs, golden clouds drifting across vividly coloured skies, and fascinatingly layered patterns. They are named after their main oeuvre, the Grandes Heures de Rohan (currently at the Bibliothèque nationale de France), which was created about fifteen years after the Book of Hours that was sold at TEFAF Maastricht. The miniatures in this vividly coloured Book of Hours, including the fine figures of St. John Baptist, the Archangel Michael, or the Burial scene, anticipate the impressive, monumental compositions of the Grandes Heures de Rohan. The Masters’ bold colour choices offer a brilliant precursor to exquisitely colourful works by later generations of painters, such as Vincent van Gogh, expressionist painters like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, or Jean-Michel Basquiat. This stunning Book of Hours has been on the market for an asking price of 1,850,000 euro. The manuscript went to a private collector. 

Dr. Jörn Günther also sold a very unusual, and possibly unique, 16th-century manuscript that consists of eighty illustrated Italian proverbs related to virtues and vices. All eighty images are similarly organised and depict one or more protagonists that illustrate the essence of the saying. The style of the images is simple but quite skilful and charming. In variations, many of the proverbs are still known today. For instance, the manuscript includes 16th-century advice on minding one’s own business - with the image of a man bent forward with the world on his shoulders: “Chi gliaffanni daltrui portar si crede // Si tira il mondo adosso e non si avede. (He who believes he must bear the affairs of others will unwittingly carry the weight of the world on his shoulders).” This interesting manuscript has only recently come on the market and was presented at TEFAF Maastricht for the first time with an asking price of 66,000 euro. It went to a private collector. 

Another artwork that was bought by a private collector at TEFAF Maastricht is an exquisite single leaf from a deluxe Book of Hours. The full-page miniature depicts the Flight into Egypt. The miniature leaf comes from a French Book of Hours, one of the high-end works of the Dunois Master and his workshop.

Meanwhile, a private collector from the US bought two excellently preserved, large leaves from an Italian Antiphonal, illuminated in the circle of Fra Antonio da Monza around 1500. One of the miniatures depicts the Resurrection of Christ in the initial R, the other one the Ascension of Christ in the initial V.

In addition, four highly interesting miniatures went to an institution in Asia. Two leaves from a scroll on vellum come from Peter of Poitiers’s Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi (c. 1280), the genealogy of Christ beginning with Adam, which was created in England in the late 13th century. One of them shows a miniature of Alexander the Great, and the other one features miniatures of Moses and Aaron. Another single leaf comes from a 14th  century ferial Psalter. The profusely decorated initial S contains a wonderfully detailed image of David in waters and God in heaven - glistening with gold. The fourth miniature that will go to Asia is an illuminated leaf from a 14th century Gradual. The richly gilded initial E features an exquisite portrait of a Confessor Bishop.

New York - Coinciding with Rare Book Week in New York City, Swann Galleries’ spring offering of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books on March 7 brought bibliophiles from near and far, with breakneck bidding for a number of items, including incunabula and first editions on medicine-but it was illuminated manuscripts that took the spotlight in the sale. 

Of the impressive run of manuscripts, Tobias Abeloff, Early Printed Books specialist noted: “The market is strong for exceptional material, and we saw significant interest in printed and manuscript Books of Hours, with bidding driving prices over estimates. The biggest surprise of the day was the manuscript Qur’an that went for more than 10 times the high estimate.” The illuminated manuscript in Arabic with miscellaneous chapters of the Qur’an and associated prayers reached $35,000. 

The sale was led by an illuminated Prayer Book in Latin and French on vellum, France, 1530s-40s, which featured 35 miniatures in color and gold, and sold for $42,500. Additional decorated works included a mid-fifteenth-century Book of Hours in Latin on vellum, France, at $35,000; a mid-fifteenth-century Book of Hours in Dutch on vellum, Northern Netherlands, at $22,500; and Dala’ll al-Khayrat, a 1664-65 illuminated manuscript in Arabic by Muhammad Ibn Sulayman Al-Jazuli, at $5,250.

Scientific and medical publications included a first edition of George Agricola’s most important writings on geology, mineralogy and mining, and his monograph on ancient Greek and Roman weights and measures: De ortu & causis subterraneorum Lib. V bound with De mensuris & ponderibus Romanorum atque Graecorum Lib. V, Basil, 1546, 1550, which settled at $11,250. A first separate printing of the first of Wilhem Conrad Röntgen’s three papers announcing his discovery of x-rays, Eine Neue Art von Strahlen, Würzburg, 1895, was sold for $5,200. Andreas Vesalius’s 1604 Anatomia, Venice, a landmark treatise on human anatomy, brought $5,250. A 1737-38 first edition of Icon durae matris in concave [convexa] superficie visae, Amsterdam, by Frederick Ruysch with two color mezzotints by Jan Ladmiral earned $5,250.

Incunabula featured Marcus Valerius Martialis’s Epigrammata, Venice, 1485, with commentary of Domitius Calderinus, which brought $7,500, Quaestiones de duodecim quodlibet, Venice, 1476, by Saint Thomas Aquinas that earned $6,500, and Marcus Anneaus Lucanus’s Pharsalia, Venice, 1486, with commentary of Omnibonus Leonicenus garnered $5,000.

“The finest edition of Don Quixote that has ever been printed,” a first Ibarra edition of Cervantes’s El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha … Nueva Edición, corregida por la Real Academia Española, Madrid, 1780, in four volumes, exceeded its high estimate bringing $11,875. Additional highlights included a first edition of one of the scarcest early Italian chess manuals, and first book printed in Militello, Il Gioco de gli Scacchi, by Pietro Carrera for $10,625. The True Prophecies or Prognostications, London, 1672, a first complete edition in English of Michel de Nostradamus’s quatrains supposedly predicting historical events, garnered $5,750.

Dallas, TX - Heritage Auctions’ April 6 Photographs Auction will feature the largest group of Ruth Bernhard photographs ever to appear at auction.

Born in Berlin in 1905, Bernhard moved to New York City in 1927, where she became a photographer. In the late 1920s, she became friends with photographer Berenice Abbott and her partner, critic Elizabeth McCausland. A few years later, she started photographing women in the nude, the art form for which she eventually would become best known. Shortly after she met photographer Edward Weston in 1935, she moved to California, where he lived, before moving back to New York four years later. After eight years she moved back to California, where she remained for the rest of her life, finally settling in San Francisco where she befriended photographers Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Minor White and Wynn Bullock.

“This is the most substantial offering of Ruth Bernard photographs ever to appear for sale,” Heritage Auctions Rare Photographs Director Nigel Russell said. “This is a unique opportunity for those who have admired her timeless female nudes or thoughtful still lifes.”

Comprising 71 lots of her elegant female nude studies and sublime still-lifes, the auction offers four complete portfolios, including The Eternal Body, 1993 ($10,000-15,000). Individual prints include Classic Torso, 1952 (estimate: $5,000-7,000), In the Box-Horizontal, San Francisco, California, 1962 (estimate: $5,000-7,000) and Spanish Dancer, 1971 (estimate: $4,000-6,000).

Bernhard’s still lifes are represented by Two Leaves, Hollywood, California, 1952 (estimate: $3,000-5,000), Eighth Street Movie Theater, Frederick Kiesler-Architect, New York, 1946 (estimate: $3,000-5,000) and Angelwing, New York, 1943 (estimate: $3,000-5,000).

Classics from Ansel Adams include Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, 1941 (estimate: $30,000-50,000), Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, From Line Pine, California, 1944 (estimate: $25,000-35,000) and seven prints from Portfolio Four What Majestic Word, which will be offered as individual lots, with estimates ranging from $5,000-7,000 to $1,500-2,500.

Helmut Newton photographs include Self-Portrait with Wife and Models (Vogue Studios), Paris, 1980 (estimate: $12,000-18,000), Kiss, Bordighera, 1982 (estimate: $7,000-10,000) and Hands, Bordighera, 1982 ($6,000-8,000).

Also featured are David Yarrow’s striking The Wolf of Main Street, 2015, even more impressive in this massive 55-3/4 x 99-1/2 inches print (estimate: $20,000-30,000) and Lee Friedlander’s graphic Nude (Madonna), 1979 ($10,000-15,000).

Contemporary photography is represented by Andrew Moore Industria, Havana, Cuba, 1998 (estimate: $6,000-$8,000); Nan Goldin Suzanne with Mona Lisa, Mexico City, 1981 (estimate: $6,000-8,000) and Wim Wenders Holy Figure, Toshodaiji Temple, Nara, Japan, 2000 (estimate: $4,000-$6,000) and three prints from Thomas Ruff’s Nudes series, each of which carries a pre-auction estimate of $1,500-2,500.

Also included are six lots by Henri Cartier-Bresson including Brussels. Belgium, 1932 (estimate: $5,000-7,000), Valence, Espagne, 1933 (estimate: $3,000-5,000) and Aquila, Abruzzi, Italy, 1955 (estimate: $3,000-5,000).

Other highlights include, but are not limited to:

·         Robert Mapplethorpe’s Lydia Cheng, 1985 (estimate: $30,000-50,000)

·         A vintage print of Edward Weston’s Dunes, Oceano, 1936 (estimate: $15,000-20,000)

·         Lawrence Schiller’s Marilyn and Me Portfolio of 12 works (estimate: $20,000-30,000)

·         Seven gelatin silver photos by Andy Warhol, including Andy Warhol on a Seaplane in Montauk, 1982 (estimate: $5,000-7,000)

·         11 lots by Marion Post Wolcott, the top two of which carry a pre-auction estimate of $2,000-3,000

o   Young Boys Waiting to be Paid Off for Picking Cotton, Marcella Plantation Store, Milestone, Mississippi, 1939

o   Negro Man Entering Movie Theater by Outside Stairway (Colored Entrance), Belzoni, Mississippi, 1939

·         Six lots by Aaron Siskind and his students documenting the work of architect Louis Sullivan, including Two Views of the Wainwright Building, St. Louis, Missouri (2 works) (estimate: $2,500-3,500)

·         Four Polaroids by Andy Warhol (three of which carry an estimate of $2,000-3,000)

“Once again, Heritage Auctions is offering a diverse selection of photographs,” Russell said, “many of which rarely appear on the market.”

On-line bidding begins Friday, March 15 on HA.com. To see images and additional information about the images, visit HA.com/5409.

The Newberry Library is delighted to announce the appointment of Daniel Greene as its next President and Librarian.

Greene, who has served as Exhibitions Curator and Historian at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) since 2014 and Adjunct Professor of History at Northwestern University since 2013, will join the Newberry August 19. At that time, he will succeed David Spadafora, who has led the Newberry as President and Librarian since 2005. Spadafora announced his retirement last June, after which the Board of Trustees set in place a rigorous search process for his successor.

“An accomplished scholar devoted to the public humanities, Danny will propel the Newberry forward with both innovative thinking and a commitment to the mission that has sustained us as an institution over the past 132 years,” said David Hilliard, Chair of the Newberry Board of Trustees. “Danny’s profoundly important work with the Holocaust Memorial Museum is consonant with our own institutional priorities, and we look forward to seeing him further the Newberry’s mission to promote the humanities and forge connections among scholars and between scholars and the public.”

In 2018, Greene curated Americans and the Holocaust, a groundbreaking exhibition examining the major cultural forces—isolationism, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism—that influenced Americans’ responses to Nazism in the 1930s and 40s. Through Greene’s extensive research and vivid storytelling, the exhibition immersed visitors in a harrowing chapter in American history while illuminating the complex and painful reality of widespread ambivalence toward victims of the Holocaust.

Extending the exhibition’s themes beyond the USHMM galleries, Greene has helped develop educational programming, public events, and web resources for various audiences. He is currently curating a traveling version of the show scheduled to visit 50 libraries across the United States between 2020 and 2022, in partnership with the American Library Association. These efforts reflect Greene’s integrative approach to engaging students, teachers, scholars, and lifelong learners across platforms and using history as a lens for understanding the present.

Prior to his arrival at USHMM, Greene spent several years on staff at the Newberry, serving as Director of the library’s Scholl Center for American History and Culture and then as Vice President for Research and Academic Programs. In these previous roles at the Newberry, Greene oversaw its fellowships program, developed digital resources for scholars and teachers, and curated Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North, a major 2013 exhibition in partnership with the Terra Foundation for American Art.

“It is a privilege to return to the Newberry, a world-renowned institution whose ideals related to truth, access, and historical inquiry align so closely with my own,” said Daniel Greene. “I look forward to building upon the Newberry’s success while seeking to expand its role as a hub of learning and discovery for all.”

Greene is the author of The Jewish Origins of Cultural Pluralism: The Menorah Association and American Diversity, which was awarded the Saul Viener Prize by the American Jewish Historical Society. He is also the co-editor and co-author of Home Front: Daily Life in the Civil War North, the companion text to the exhibition he curated at the Newberry.

Greene earned his PhD in history from the University of Chicago and his BA from Wesleyan University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Dr. Greene will inherit the leadership of an institution that has just completed its second comprehensive fundraising campaign this decade, as well as a major renovation of its first floor.

London — The 1326 marriage contract between Edward III and Philippa of Hainault leads Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts Sale in London on Wednesday 27 March. It is estimated at £100,000-150,000.

The contract, written on one skin of vellum, was the decisive factor in a carefully laid plot to invade England, raise a rebellion and depose the reigning monarch, Edward II.

The prime mover of these events was Isabella, wife of Edward II who plotted to unseat her husband and replace him with their 13-year-old son, the future Edward III. Sent to France in 1325 to negotiate with her brother King Charles IV, Isabella - known as the She-Wolf of France - refused to return to London, established a court-in-exile and arranged for her son to join her in Paris. The marriage contract with Philippa - who was around 11 years old - had one purpose only: to raise the money and men with which to invade England and depose Edward. 

Isabella was motivated partly by revenge - she resented the king’s fondness for the company of Piers Gaveston and other young men - and partly by political considerations. Edward II was a weak king, and his reign was studded with disaster - the heavy defeat against the Scots at Bannockburn in 1314, the civil war with his barons, and the virtual surrender of power to one of his favourites, Hugh Despenser and his father.

Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer invaded England in September 1326 with the troops provided under the terms of the marriage contract. They met little resistance, and within a few days Edward’s reign was effectively over. By January the following year, Edward had formally renounced the throne in favour of his son, with Isabella and Mortimer appointed joint regents. Weeks later Edward II was murdered in Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire on the orders of Mortimer. Over the following two years, Isabella and Mortimer systematically abused their position to acquire estates and wealth, until Edward III asserted his authority in 1330 and had Mortimer arrested for treason and executed.

The marriage of Edward III and Philippa was happy and successful, producing 13 children and ending only with the queen’s death in 1369. Philippa was a popular figure and won admiration for persuading the king to pardon the Burghers of Calais, six civic dignitaries who had volunteered to face death in order to spare the rest of the townsfolk. Queen’s College Oxford is named in her honour.  

Historian Felix Pryor who catalogued the document for Bonhams said, “This deed is an extraordinary survival from the middle ages, and few more potent relics of English history have been offered for sale. Without it there would have been no Black Prince, nor any of his numerous siblings, the disputing claims of whose descendants were to give rise to the Wars of the Roses in the following century, curtain-raiser to the Tudors and the modern, post-feudal, age. It is also a physical embodiment of open rebellion and the invasion of England less than a month later.”

Dallas, TX - Led by The Otto Penzler Collection of Mystery Fiction and a copy of The Federalist Papers in its original boards, Heritage Auctions’ Rare Books Auction realized $1,684,038 against $993,900 in pre-auction estimates, the department’s third consecutive sale to realize more than 160 percent the estimated total.

Otto Penzler Collection of Mystery Fiction

Penzler won an Edgar Award as co-author of the Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection, founded The Mysterious Press and owns The Mysterious Bookshop in New York. His collection of mystery fiction, the first 231 lots of which were offered in this sale, is considered one of the most extensive in the world. This sale featured mostly American authors, with a focus on hard-boiled writers. The total realized for the Otto Penzler Collection was $627,213.

Among the top lots from his collection in the sale:

A rare first edition in the original first printing dust jacket of Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest prompted aggressive bidding before it finished at $75,000. The rare copy is in such exceptional condition that Penzler himself called it the world’s best copy.

Hammett’s The Dain Curse, the author’s second book and the final Continental Op novel, drew $27,500. It originally was published in four parts in Black Mask from November 1928 to February 1929.

A first edition of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, signed by the author on the front free endpaper, nearly doubled its pre-auction estimate when it brought $57,500.

Popularly referred to as The Federalist Papers, the auction’s top lot, by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay sparked a flurry of competitive bids before closing at $187,500, topping its pre-auction estimate by 150 percent. The two-volume set is considered by American historians to be the cornerstone of the new nation’s theory of government.

“These books are an important part of American history,” Heritage Auctions Rare Books Director James Gannon said. “Written as part of the effort to ratify the Constitution, it made the case for Federalism and sought to convince the citizens of the states. Only about 500 copies are believed to have been printed, and this one is still is in the publisher’s boards, which is exceedingly rare.”

Evoking memories of a favorite childhood book, Maurice Sendak’s "Moo-Reese" Tabletop Cow sold for $93,750. Drawn and painted in 2000 by Sendak, with help from Lynn Caponera, this 27-inch figurine was part of the “Cow Parade” in New York, Chicago and Zurich. In molded plaster decorated in pencil and water color with numerous characters from the popular children’s book Where the Wild Things Are, the figurine was sold in 2003 to support the Chicago Opera Theater.

Other top lots in the auction included, but were not limited to:

·         $42,500: [Frank Herbert, original novel]. Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune

·         $30,000: David Roberts. The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia

·         $25,000: Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird

·         $25,000: Ludwig Bemelmans’ 1961 Madeline in London: A Little Sunshine, A Little Rain

·         $22,500: J. R. R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, comprising: The Fellowship of the Ring

Westport, CT - Historically important letters handwritten and signed by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, Confederate States President Jefferson Davis and legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett, plus a rare patent assignment document signed by Albert Einstein, will be featured in University Archives’ next online-only auction, slated for Wednesday, March 27th.

Live bidding for the 276-lot auction is scheduled to start promptly at 10:30 am Eastern time. As with all University Archives auctions, this one is loaded with rare, highly collectible autographed documents, manuscripts, books, photos and relics. Online bidding is via Invaluable.com and LiveAuctioneers.com. 

In addition to live and Internet bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. “The March auction is highlighted by rarities, things that for one reason or another are unique,” said John Reznikoff, president and owner of University Archives. “It is also a very diverse sale, and it features one of our strongest representations to date of material regarding the Founding Fathers.” 

The Thomas Jefferson one-page letter, signed “Th. Jefferson” and dated Jan. 8, 1801, when he was Vice President and President-elect, was addressed to Richard Robinson, Jefferson’s assistant overseer at Monticello, Jefferson’s estate home in Virginia. He writes about needing help in reassembling and erecting the columns for the home’s east portico and, in doing so, references the nephew of his concubine and slave, Sally Hemings. The letter should bring $35,000-$45,000.

The Jefferson Davis letter is historically significant in that it is Davis’s acceptance letter as the Provisional President of the Confederate States. Signed (“Jeffn Davis”) and dated (“April 18, 1861”), at the outbreak of the Civil War, the letter is addressed to D.F. Jamison, president of the South Carolina Convention. In it, Davis humbly promises to fulfill his duties as the president, a position he would assume in November of 1861. The letter is estimated to hit $30,000-$35,000.

Also expected to reach $30,000-$35,000 is the one-page Davy Crockett letter, signed (“David Crockett”) and dated (“5 May 1830”). It’s a fine if somewhat frantic letter, full of misspells and largely devoid of punctuation. Heading home from Washington, Crockett had reached Maysville, Kentucky when he realized he’d lost a portrait of himself after leaving Frostburg, Maryland. He enlisted the help of Michael Sprigg of Maryland, a fellow legislator in the 20th / 21st Congresses.

The Albert Einstein offering isn’t a letter but perhaps something even better: a patent assignment document signed by Einstein and touching on his Nobel Prize-winning work on the photo-electric effect. His colleague, Gustav Bucky, also signed the typewritten, two-page document. The patent was for a “Light Intensity Self-Adjusting Camera”, an automatic camera developed five years before Kodak’s Super-Six 20. The rare document should command $20,000-$24,000.

A superb George Washington document, signed as President and dated Feb. 10, 1790, in which he appoints a port collector for North Carolina, matted with a portrait of Washington, should sell for $18,000-$20,000; while a letter written and signed by John Adams regarding the 1765 Stamp Act of Congress, to Jedidiah Morse for his Annals of the American Revolution, dated Sept. 11, 1815 and housed in a custom clamshell case, is expected to change hands for $10,000-$12,000.

A sepia tone bust portrait photograph of Irish author Oscar Wilde (1854-1900), signed as “Oscar Wilde” and dated “Jany. 23 ‘82”, depicting the long-locked dramatist in an overcoat with a wide fur collar, carries an estimate of $6,000-$7,000. Also, a two-page letter beautifully handwritten in French by the Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, World War I-dated in January 1915 and signed (as “Alexandra”), with mention of the French Red Cross, should bring $2,400-$2,600.

A small archive of autograph letter drafts, notes and documents pertaining to Lenny Bruce (1925-1966), revealing the business and personal side of the controversial comic, six pieces total, some inscribed and signed, has an estimate of $2,400-$2,600. Also, a check signed by baseball great Jackie Robinson (as “Jack R. Robinson”), in the amount of $6.50 and made out to the “Cinderella Ball Committee”, framed with a photo of Robinson at bat, should garner $700-$800.

Lots pertaining to renowned French scientists Pierre and Marie Curie are expected to attract keen bidder interest. They include a one-page letter written in French by Pierre Curie, signed and dated April 7, 1905, addressed to the Royal Society of Surgery and Medicine, with his photo (est. $7,000-$8,000); and a rare formal portrait photograph of Marie Curie, shown seated in a chair, signed on the mount as “M. Curie” and dated “November 8, 1929”, framed (est. $6,000-$6,500).

A single-page typed letter, signed by Walt Disney and dated Jan. 23, 1942, in which Disney discourses on what his studio can and can’t do to support the war effort in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, has an estimate of $3,000-$3,500. Also, a five-page letter, handwritten by Vivien Leigh and dated “Dec. 10th” (presumed to be 1939), to her agent, John Gliddon, regarding her fears of having to attend the opening of Gone with the Wind in Atlanta, should sell for $1,500-$1,700.

As with all University Archives online auctions, this one is packed with important, scarce and collectible signed documents and other items relating to some of the most famous names in all of history. The firm has become world-renowned as a go-to source for rare material of this nature.

University Archives was founded in 1979, as a division of University Stamp Company, by John 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.

New York - On Thursday, June 20, Swann Auction Galleries will hold their first Pride Sale, an exploration and celebration of the art, influence, history, and experience of the LGBTQ+ community. In the week following, the largest LGBTQ+ pride celebration his history will happen in New York City, with both WorldPride (for the first time in the United States) and events marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. 

The auction will be a landmark event, featuring archives, literature, autographs, art and photography, including works James Baldwin, Tom of Finland, Gertrude Stein, Alice Walker, Robert Mapplethorpe, and many more. 

“Swann is thrilled to be hosting its inaugural Pride Sale auction and proud to continue supporting the community through a fundraising effort alongside the auction,” says President of Swann Auction Galleries, Nicholas D. Lowry. “We see this as an important and unique event among the many happening this June, recognizing the historical, literary and artistic achievements of LGBTQ+ writers, artists and activists,” Lowry continued. “This auction will celebrate the community and give collectors, connoisseurs and the curious an opportunity to observe and bid on a range of material from the last two centuries, with manuscripts, autographs, literature, art, photography, posters and more.” 

Among the many items up for auction included are: an autograph letter signed by Harvey Milk as Acting mayor of San Francisco, March 7, 1978 (Estimate: $4,000-6,000); the iconic 1987 poster, Silence = Death, published by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) ($800-$1,200); Peter Hujar’s silver-print portrait, David Wojnarowicz: Manhattan-Night (III), 1985 ($15,000-25,000); and Sisterhood Feels Good, 1971, a cheeky poster by Donna Gottschalk published by Times Change Press ($400-600). Literary highlights feature a first edition of James Baldwin’s Go Tell It On The Mountain, 1953, ($800-1,200); a signed extra-limited first edition of The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People, 1899, by Oscar Wilde ($40,000-60,000); and a remembrance copy of Walt Whitman’s Memoranda During the War, 1875-76, inscribed by the author, “with his love,” to Pete Doyle ($50,000-75,000).

New York — The March 11 sale of The Medical and Scientific Library of W. Bruce Fye was led by De humani corporis fabrica (On the fabric of the human body) by the Flemish physician Andreas Vesalius, which realized $325,075. This book was a first edition of one of the most influential books in Western medicine, published in Basel in 1543. In addition, exceptional prices were achieved in the section of Johns Hopkins and its First Faculty, which was 98% sold by lot.

Bonhams Director of Books and Manuscripts in New York, Ian Ehling, commented: “We had a tremendous response from collectors throughout the exhibition and auction of Dr. Fye’s collection. We were so pleased with the results achieved for one of the most comprehensive medical and scientific libraries. We look forward to continuing this momentum with additional works from the collection with the online-only sale, which opens for bidding today.”

The sale of The Medical and Scientific Library of W. Bruce Fye continues with an additional 344 lots, which will be sold in an online-only sale starting on March 12 to 21.