Recent Publications | November 18, 2019

Chicago — This fall, Assouline Publishing releases a new book that highlights one of the largest and most comprehensive movie poster collections ever privately assembled. Cinema on Paper: The Graphic Genius of Movie Posters marks the first time that the collection of Dwight M. Cleveland—widely recognized as one of the world’s most significant private holdings of movie posters, spanning more than a century of film history—has ever been the focus of a major monographic book publication. The release of Cinema on Paper follows the recent opening of a widely acclaimed exhibition of the collection at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Courtesy of Assouline

A real estate developer and historic preservationist based in Chicago, Dwight Cleveland has been collecting movie posters for more than forty years—during which he assembled what is believed to be the largest privately held and fully curated film poster archive in history, comprising more than 45,000 works. After deaccessioning this archive in 2016, Cleveland now retains personal holdings of approximately 4,750 posters, lobby cards, and “coming attraction” glass slides, the vast majority of which are unique or one of just a few works from across the scope of film history. Together with the collection’s recent showcase at the Norton Museum, the publication of Cinema on Paper offers an unprecedented look at some of the most visually engaging and historically significant works from these holdings, providing an opportunity to reconsider these promotional objects as a popular art form unto themselves—one that distinctively tracks the cultural, historical, and artistic developments of the twentieth century.

The first book ever released by Assouline to focus on film posters, Cinema on Paper includes a foreword by Turner Classic Movies Primetime Host Ben Mankiewicz (grandson of Citizen Kane screenwriter Joseph Mankiewicz), as well as an introduction by former New York Times Book Review Editor and noted design scholar Steven Heller. Mankiewicz’s essay notes that “[m]ovie posters represent what is perhaps the purest collision of art and commerce ... they are imbued with optimism and filled with the escapist thrill of what we imagine the screen holds in store for us: romance, adventure, laughter, betrayal, tragedy, justice, redemption, truth.”

The publication reproduces more than one hundred works from Cleveland’s collection, including promotions for such iconic Hollywood classics as King Kong, Casablanca, The Godfather, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as more obscure works such as the 1958 teen exploitation film High School Hellcats. Several of the American movie posters featured in the book appear alongside European or Asian editions advertising the same film, highlighting the collection’s geographic breadth and inviting readers to reflect on diverse visual approaches to movie marketing across cultural contexts. As mass- produced objects of popular art drawn from nearly every decade of the twentieth century, each poster in the collection provides a distinctive snapshot of the historical and social conditions from which it originated.

The works featured in Cinema on Paper encompass nearly one hundred years of film distribution, from posters featured in 1910s Paris through the release of the American independent film Secretary in 2002. The book includes several works that are believed to be the only extant copies in existence, including a large-scale German-language advertisement for the Oscar-winning film Grand Hotel (1932); a title card from the late silent-era classic Manhattan Cocktail (1928), directed by Dorothy Arzner; a lobby card from Hallelujah! (1929), the first African American film released by a major studio; and a lobby-card portrait of a reclining Nazimova from Oscar Wilde's scandalous Salomé (1922), which was made byan exclusively gay and lesbian cast and crew. These images are accompanied by contextual annotations that invite readers to evaluate them not as promotional objects but as freestanding works of graphic art.

“Though movie posters may serve a commercial purpose, I firmly believe that they deserve to be studied, experienced, and celebrated as an art form in their own right—at their best distilling the very soul of the movies they promote into a single, indelible image,” said Cleveland. “I hope that by making my collection accessible to a wider audience through this book and exhibition— both exceptionally well assembled by my partners at Assouline and the Norton, respectively— that I can inspire others to look more deeply at what might seem like disposable advertising products and recognize them instead as a distinguished form of popular art.”

News | November 18, 2019

Dallas, TX – Heritage Auctions, the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer is helping collector site hobbyDB document and provide values for every collector.

Designed to become the ultimate crowd-sourced database for collecting, hobbyDB offers the ability to research, track, value, buy and sell collectible objects. Collectors from around the world already come to hobbyDB to research and acquire everything from Golden Age comics to Porsche posters to Tiffany Glass and beyond.
 
Now, to the delight of hobbyDB’s millions of visitors, the hobbyDB database will be boosted by more than 5 million past lots previously sold at Heritage Auctions.
 
“As a collector myself, I believe that hobbyDB could be exactly what the collectibles world needs,” said Heritage Auctions Co-Chairman Jim Halperin. “We’re delighted to support their ambitious goal to eventually index and document 100 billion collectibles in the most accessible way.”
 
Since launching in 2014, hobbyDB has become home to more than 605,000 collectors, growing its user base 94 percent in the last 12 months alone. hobbyDB’s combined collections now have a total value of $624 million, and will increase roughly tenfold with the gradual addition of Heritage’s archive.
 
“Heritage Auctions is No. 1 for many areas of collectibles, so we are very excited about this alliance,” commented hobbyDB CEO Christian Braun, “We know that by working together, we’ll be able to bring their data to the widest possible audience and get even closer to becoming the ultimate resource for collectors worldwide.”

News | November 18, 2019
Courtesy of the Brontë Society

An autograph manuscript signed Charlotte Brontë, one of six 'little books' created by the Brontë siblings, will return to the Parsonage.

Haworth, West Yorkshire, England — The Brontë Society in Haworth has been successful in its bid to bring back home to where it was written one of Charlotte Brontë’s rare ‘little books’. The charity has purchased the book for €600,000 plus auction costs following a four week campaign that gathered support from across the world and the backing of many of today’s leading creative thinkers and performers.
 
The incredibly rare title went under the hammer at the Drouot auction house in Paris and was expected to fetch between €600,000 – 800,000. The manuscript will complete the collection already held at the Brontës’ former family home, now a museum. This is the fifth in the series of six ‘little books’ entitled ‘The Young Men’s Magazines’. Measuring just 35 x 61mm this tiny tome will join numbers 1,3,4 and 6 in the Museum’s collection; the location of number 2 has been unknown since around 1930.
 
The Brontë Society was able to acquire the manuscript thanks to a generous grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), the UK’s fund to help save treasures from being lost forever, and support from The John R Murray Charitable Trust, The Pilgrim Trust, Friends of the National Libraries, The Aurelius Charitable Trust, R E Chadwick Charitable Trust, The Kenneth Hargreaves Trust, The Gordon Black Trust and Maggs Bros. In addition the Society raised over £85k with over 1,000 supporters through the charity’s first ever public Crowdfunder campaign.
 
This is the second time that The Society has attempted to return the ‘little book’ to Haworth where its journey began. In 2011, when the book was last auctioned, the Society was outbid by a now non-operational investment scheme.
 
Kitty Wright, Executive Director of The Brontë Society, commented: “We were determined to do everything we could to bring back this extraordinary ‘little book’ to the Brontë Parsonage Museum and now can’t quite believe that it will in fact be coming home to where it was written 189 years ago. We have been truly overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from people from all over the world backing our campaign and can’t wait to have it in place with the others and on public view to the world.”
 
Ann Dinsdale, Principal Curator at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, adds: “That this unique manuscript will be back in Haworth is an absolute highlight of my 30 years working at the Museum. Charlotte wrote this miniscule magazine for the toy soldiers she and her siblings played with and as we walk through the same rooms they did, it seems immensely fitting that it is coming home and we would like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who made it possible.”
 
The exceptional, unpublished manuscript was written by Charlotte when she was just 14 years old and features three intricately hand-written stories: ‘A letter from Lord Charles Wellesley’, ‘The Midnight Song’ and ‘Journal of a Frenchman [continued]’.  The inspirational book is also viewed as an insight into the young writer and includes a scene describing a murderer driven to madness, a theme familiar to fans of her most well-known work, ‘Jane Eyre’.
 
To keep updated on when the ‘little book’ will be on display, visit www.brontë.org.uk

News | November 14, 2019
Courtesy of The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Zachariah Taylor Shugart's account book (1851-1853) listing enslaved people he helped usher to freedom, page 96-97.

San Marino, CA — The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens announced today that it has acquired two collections related to abolition and slavery in 19th-century America, including an exceptionally rare account book from the Underground Railroad.

The first group of materials includes the papers of Zachariah Taylor Shugart (1805–1881), a Quaker abolitionist who operated an Underground Railroad stop at his farm in Cass County, Michigan. The centerpiece of the collection is an account ledger which contains the names of 137 men and women who passed through Shugart's farm while trying to reach freedom in Canada; these names are recorded amid everyday details of Shugart's business life, including the number of minks he trapped and the debts he was owed.
The second collection is the archive of some 2,000 letters and accounts documenting the history of the Dickinson & Shrewsbury saltworks, a major operation founded in 1808 in what is now Kanawha County, West Virginia. The records shed light on an industry that was not plantation-based but still relied heavily on slave labor.

"These new materials provide compelling windows into the lives of those who were enslaved and those who escaped slavery, and also shed light on the politics of the times before, during, and after the Civil War," said Sandra Ludig Brooke, Avery Director of the Library at The Huntington. "They are a vivid complement to The Huntington's rich collections documenting American slavery, abolitionist movements, and the history of the American South."

The papers of the Dickinson & Shrewsbury saltworks provide insights into the lives of enslaved and free black Virginians, including the family of Booker T. Washington, who later became the president of the Tuskegee Institute (now named Tuskegee University). Many of the papers concern a protracted lawsuit that occurred as the company was dissolved in 1857, underscoring the politics and economics of slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War. The collection includes numerous bills of sale for those who were enslaved, detailed records of auctions, and records of the loans of enslaved men and women to the saltworks.

"These two important acquisitions highlight the complexities of documenting America's history of slavery," said Olga Tsapina, the Norris Foundation Curator of American History at The Huntington.

The papers of the Quaker abolitionist Shugart include an 1864 letter from Shugart's son Joseph, written just two days before Joseph was killed at age 24 at the Battle of Cedar Creek in Virginia. They also include listings of legal expenses likely incurred during lawsuits over the 1847 failed "Kentucky Raid," when slave catchers from Kentucky attempted unsuccessfully to seize runaways hiding on Michigan farms, including Shugart's. Tsapina said those running the Underground Railroad rarely kept records because they knew they were breaking federal law, making Shugart's journal especially valuable to scholars.

The journal lists 137 individuals who were escaping slavery, some with such evocative names as "North Star" or "General W. Hampton," and some denoted only by first name. Some entries include the number of children in the group, sometimes as many as five. Each entry is marked with either "S" or "W," markings that may have indicated a next stop on their northward journey.

Tsapina said the document was comparable to another important Huntington holding, the ledger of abolitionist John Brown. While Brown's account book is not related to the Underground Railroad, it is similar to Shugart's in that it contains historically valuable records of an abolitionist combatting slavery amid mundane accounts and details of daily life. These were products of an era when many people did not have funds to purchase multiple account ledgers.

The two collections, which were purchased recently at auction, are currently being cataloged and will be made available to scholars in the near future. Some materials, including Shugart's ledger, will be digitized. The new collections complement and enlarge The Huntington's large holdings in material about slavery and abolition. These include the immense collection of noted Virginia collector Robert A. Brock, which documents three centuries of the history of the American South.

The purchase of the Dickinson & Shrewsbury materials was made possible by the David Zeidberg Library Acquisitions Fund; the purchase of the Shugart material was made possible by the James & E. McClintock Kirby Acquisition Endowment.

Auctions | November 14, 2019
Courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries

Sir Isaac Newton, Opticks, first edition, first issue, London, 1704. Sold for $40,000.

New York — Swann Galleries’ Thursday, October 24 sale of Early Printed, Medical, Scientific & Travel Books saw a full auction room and active bidding on the internet and phones with particular interest in works by scientists, as well as incunabula, bibles and manuscript publications.

Isaac Newton’s Opticks, 1704, brought $40,000, followed by a 100% sell-through rate for material relating to the acclaimed scientist. Additional highlights included Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica, the third authorized edition and the last edition to appear in the Newton’s lifetime, sold for $9,375, as well as the unauthorized third edition which earned $6,500.

Further science material included a first edition of Galileo’s 1649 dialogue on the Copernican and Ptolemaic systems, establishing the validity of heliocentricity, which brought $16,900; and a second edition Georg Agricola’s De re metallica, 1561, on the first systematic treatise on mining and metallurgy, garnered $10,000.

Incunabula performed well with “one of the best and most comprehensive of the western medieval lapidaries,” Albert Magnus’s De mineralibus, 1491, realizing $17,500, and a 1480-81 illuminated manuscript by Nicolaus Panormitanus de Tudeschis selling for $11,250.

Bibles and religious texts included a Bible in Latin printed in Nuremberg in 1477 that sold for $9,375 and The Holy Byble, conteining the Olde Testament and the Newe, London, 1585, that earned $6,250. Also of note was Niccolò Circignani’s 1585 publication with 31 engraved plates of Christian martyrdom scenes by Giovanni Battista Cavalieri, after frescoes in the church of S. Stefano Rotondo in Rome, which brought $8,125; as well as the last official papal addition to the Corpus juris canonici with Pope Clemens V’s collection of decretals compiled during 1305-14, Constitutiones, Nuremberg, 1482, realizing $6,250.

Among the unique items was an unpublished Spanish manuscript version of Andrea Alciato’s 1531 Emblemata­—the first and most frequently reprinted emblem book. The late sixteenth- to early seventeenth-century Emblemas brought $11,250. Additional manuscript material featured an eighteenth- to early nineteenth-century manuscript cookbook in English that was won by an institution for $6,500.

Swann Galleries is currently accepting quality consignments for the spring 2020 season. Visit swanngalleries.com or download the Swann Galleries App for more information. 

Auctions | November 14, 2019
Courtesy of Bonhams

Original handwritten lyrics for Elton John's hit song, "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road.” Estimate: $150,000-250,000.

Los Angeles – Bonhams auction of Music Memorabilia will be highlighted by the crown jewels of the Elton John and Bernie Taupin songbook, six original handwritten lyrics for hits such as “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road”, “Candle in the Wind”, “Bennie and the Jets”, and “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”. The lyrics, from the Collection of Maxine Taupin, will be offered at Bonhams Los Angeles on December 9. Estimates range from $30,000 to $200,000.

Maxine Taupin – the inspiration for the song “Tiny Dancer” – was married to Bernie Taupin in the 1970’s and became privy to Bernie’s creative writing process. Maxine said: “When Bernie had completed an album's worth of lyrics, we would pay Elton a visit; I was always amazed how prolific they were. When I heard the finished songs, I was instantly transported to that magical place these two creative forces have been taking us all for so many years.”

Highlights in the collection include:
 
    •    Original handwritten lyrics for Elton John's “Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road”, a glam rock ballad about the trappings of fame and the title track of John's 1973 album, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (estimate: $150,000-250,000)
 
    •    Original handwritten lyrics for the Elton John song “Candle in the Wind”, written in 1973 and included on the Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road album, a song memorializing the brief, tragic life of Marilyn Monroe (estimate: $150,000-250,000)
 
    •    Original handwritten lyrics of Elton John's “Bennie and the Jets”, the third single from the Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album, and includes a second stanza that did not make it into the final song (estimate: $100,000-150,000)
 
    •    Original handwritten lyrics for Elton John's “Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting”, a raucous rock-n-roll romp whose lyrics celebrate London's brawling pub culture and remains today an anthem of the rock-n-roll thug life (estimate: $100,000-200,000)
 
    •    Original lyrics to the early Elton John hit, “The Border Song,” with annotations by Elton John, a rare example of Bernie and Elton collaborating on lyrics (estimate: $30,000-50,000)
 
    •    Original handwritten lyrics to Elton John’s “Your Song”, Elton’s first monster hit, introducing audiences to his exciting new brand of piano pop, and it remains today one of his most identifiable and best-loved songs (estimate on request)
 
Giles Moon, Bonhams Director of Music & Entertainment Memorabilia, commented: “We are so excited to offer not just one, but six original, handwritten lyrics for some of Elton John’s iconic songs. The lyrics reveals Taupin’s careful wordcraft and his famously inconsistent spelling.”

News | November 14, 2019
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Jayne Wrightsman, 2009 (G150 .A45 1820)

Chez Marcilly. L'ami des voyageurs, ou, Etrennes instructives, curieuses et nécessaires à toutes les personnes qui voyagent, soit à pied, à cheval, en voiture, ou par eau..., ca. 1820. Paris, France.

New York — The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today an exceptional bequest of over 375 works from the late Jayne Wrightsman (1919–2019), Trustee Emerita and one of the most generous Benefactors in the Museum's history. The bequest includes significant gifts to the departments of Drawings and Prints, European Paintings, and European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, as well as to the Department of Asian Art, the Department of Islamic Art, and The Watson Library. In total, Jayne and her husband Charles Wrightsman (1895–1986) have given more than 1,275 works to The Met.

Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO, states: "Jayne and Charles Wrightsman served as model patrons and standard-bearers for a generation of donors. Their legendary eye for art was exceeded in magnitude only by their unwavering dedication to The Met collection, galleries, and staff. They truly became part of the Museum's family, and we are eternally grateful for the infinite ways they profoundly impacted—and will continue to impact—this institution."

Max Hollein, Director, states: "Jayne Wrightsman's extraordinary bequest is a capstone to more than half a century's worth of inspired acts of generosity. Nearly every aspect of the Museum has benefitted enormously from the Wrightsmans' devoted patronage. They have enriched the lives of countless visitors to The Met through their gifts of rare, beautiful, and priceless works of art, and their legacy will long be remembered and celebrated by all. The Met would not be what it is today without Jayne and Charles Wrightsman."

In addition to this gift, Jayne made provisions for substantial additional funding to the existing Wrightsman Fund, of which over $80 million has already been received by The Met. The fund supports ongoing acquisitions of works of art from Western Europe and Great Britain created during the period from 1500 to 1850. The support comes at a time of financial stability for the Museum, as described in its recently released Annual Report for fiscal year 2019 (July 1, 2018–June 30, 2019). The Wrightsman bequest helped the Museum achieve a total of $211.5 million in new gifts and pledges in FY19. The bequest will also be reflected in the current fiscal year that will end on June 30, 2020, and in years to come as the Wrightsman Fund continues to receive funds that are an ongoing part of the bequest.

For over 60 years, the Wrightsmans supported The Met through their tireless involvement in the institution and through gifts of European paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, decorative arts, and rare books. Their creation of an acquisition fund enabled the Museum to make purchases of great importance, many of which stretched beyond the couple's own patterns of collecting. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Wrightsmans embarked on a project to improve The Met's French period rooms and purchased additional paneling for several new spaces. The galleries that bear their names display 18th-century furniture and furnishings, largely from their collection. The Wrightsmans were also champions of the Department of European Paintings, giving and providing funding for the purchase of masterpieces such as Johannes Vermeer's Study of a Young Woman, Peter Paul Rubens's self-portrait with his family, and Jacques Louis David's landmark portrait depicting Antoine Laurent Lavoisier and his wife, as well as supporting critical conservation efforts. Charles became a Trustee of the Museum in 1956 and was named Trustee Emeritus in 1975. Jayne, who developed a deep knowledge of French art, was elected a Benefactor in 1963 and joined the Board of Trustees in 1975. Between 1975 and 1997, she served first as a member and then as Chairman of the Museum's Acquisitions Committee.

A selection of works from Jayne Wrightsman's bequest will be on display from November 15, 2019 through February 16, 2020. The Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts will exhibit 55 small objects in Gallery 545, from a pair of 17th-century Italian porphyry urns to an 18th-century French porcelain inkstand in the form of a pomegranate. In the Robert Wood Johnson, Jr. Gallery (Gallery 690), the Department of Drawings and Prints will present works on paper from the Wrightsman Collection, including a portrait of Marie Antoinette by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and a pair of drawings by Louis de Carmontelle, alongside several exquisitely bound rare books. The Department of European Paintings will feature 22 paintings in Gallery 630—such as works by Canaletto, Eugène Delacroix, Anthony van Dyck, Théodore Gericault, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Georges Seurat, and others—and will identify these and other European paintings previously given by the Wrightsmans with a "W" on the label of each painting.

The Met has published a special online feature about the Wrightsmans' impact. In addition to archival photos and a catalogue of their contributions to the Museum's collection, it features commemorative essays written by current and former Museum staff.

Recent Publications | November 13, 2019
Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Collecting for a New World, published by D Giles Limited, London, in association with the Library of Congress, explores the story of the early Americas through treasures at the Library. The new book is a companion to the exhibition "Exploring the Early Americas."

Washington, D.C. -- A new book explores the history of the early Americas — a story of before and after, defined and divided by the pivotal moment of contact, in 1492, between Europeans and the indigenous cultures of the New World — told through the collection of early American treasures in the Library of Congress.

On the European side, this is a tale of exploration, high-stakes treasure seeking and conquest. For indigenous Americans — including the Maya, the Nahua, the Taíno, and the Wari — it is the beginning of the end, a violent saga of disease, enslavement, and the loss of languages and rituals.

Collecting for a New World, published by D Giles Limited, London, in association with the Library of Congress, relates these encounters through vivid illustrations and interpretive descriptions of more than 60 rare and priceless items.

In describing for the first time the journeys of archaeological objects, paintings, maps, rare books and manuscripts — via African shipwrecks, secret meetings on airstrips, discoveries in castle libraries and journeys into unknown archaeological sites hidden deep in the jungles of Guatemala — curator John Hessler reveals the role played by private collectors, whose knowledge, vision, and in many cases, philanthropy, contribute so significantly to the collective understanding and interpretation of history and culture.

Highlights of the book include many masterpieces of pre-Columbian ceramics, priceless jade engravings and gold objects, textiles that have survived the ravages of centuries in the mountains of Peru, and rare manuscripts written in indigenous languages. Reproduced in dramatic fashion and featuring the photography of Lee Ewing, these images bring to life the Americas before the arrival of Columbus. Items from the post-contact period include some of the rarest manuscripts written in Nahuatl, or the language of the Aztecs, like the Oztoticpac Lands map, and the recently acquired priceless Codex Quetzalecatzin.

When not searching through Maya ruins in Central America, climbing in the Alps or mountain biking through jungles, Hessler is the curator of the Jay I. Kislak Collection of the Archaeology and History of the Early Americas and a specialist in computational geography and geographic information science at the Library of Congress. The founder of the Topology Lab for Virtual Geographic Environments, his current research focuses on the use of advanced computer vision and three-dimensional modeling to solve complex problems in archaeological and cultural heritage preservation. The lab is currently working on a project that uses Markov Random Field methods, to computationally and virtually reconstruct ancient pottery from assemblages found in archaeological context.

Hessler is the author of more than 100 articles and books, including MAP: Exploring the World (2015), and his research and writing has been featured in many national media outlets.

Collecting for a New World is a companion to the Library of Congress exhibition Exploring the Early Americas. The 176-page book features 100 color illustrations and will be published Nov. 12. It is available in hardcover ($30) or in paperback ($20) from the Library of Congress Shop, 10 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C., https://library-of-congress-shop.myshopify.com/. The hardcover edition is available through book retailers worldwide.

The book was made possible by a gift from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation.

Auctions | November 13, 2019

Werewolf of London (Universal, 1935) One Sheet (estimate: $60,000-120,000) is as rare as it gets, the only known one sheet from the horror classic in this style (two styles were created).

Dallas, TX – A pair of rare Russian constructivist posters and an extraordinary Werewolf in London one sheet are capturing the attention of collectors in anticipation of Heritage Auctions’ Movie Posters Internet Auction Nov. 23-24 in Dallas, Texas.

Werewolf of London (Universal, 1935) One Sheet (estimate: $60,000-120,000) is as rare as it gets, the only known one sheet from the horror classic in this style (two styles were created). Big paper from the film is exceptionally rare, adding to the demand for this 27-by-41-inch masterpiece.

The Russian Constructivist posters are Battleship Potemkin (SovKino, R-1929) Russian Poster (estimate: $50,000-100,000) and October 1917 (Ten Days that Shook the World) (Sovkino, 1928) Russian Poster (estimate: $40,000-80,000). Constructivism is an artistic and architectural philosophy that started in Russia in 1913 by painter and architect Vladimir Tatlin, who wanted to “construct” art.

“These posters are incredibly rare – there’s fewer than a handful of each known to exist,” Heritage Auctions Vintage Posters Director Grey Smith said. “They both are from before World War II, which decimated so much of that country, including paper goods. That any survived this long, especially this condition, is pretty hard to believe.”

The Battleship Potemkin poster features artwork by Vladimir and Georgii Stenberg and is being offered through Heritage Auctions for the first time. The Stenberg brothers are known for their colorful geometric posters, and it is not surprising that they were chosen to create this poster for the 1929 reissue of what many consider to be the greatest propaganda film ever made. The brothers’ success can be traced to their skill as graphic designers, as well as their knowledge of both avant-garde theater and film history, and the fact that they fully embraced Constructivism. Battleship Potemkin remains director Sergei Eisenstein’s undisputed masterpiece.

The October 1917 (Ten Days that Shook the World) also is being offered at Heritage Auctions for the first time. The Russian Soviet government selected Eisenstein to direct one of two films celebrating and dramatizing the 10-year anniversary of the October Revolution. The faces on the poster are difficult to identify, in keeping with Eisenstein’s strong socialist beliefs; rather than casting professional actors, he cast everyday citizens who had a resemblance to historical figures.

Another unquestioned rarity is a Dracula (Universal, 1931) Jumbo Lobby Card (estimate: $40,000-80,000). Lobby cards of this size for the horror classic are undeniably scarce; this example is even more coveted because it once belonged to Bela Lugosi, the Hungarian-American actor known best for playing the film’s title role. The lobby card was printed in very limited number, and only a few have surfaced. The image on the card, of Lugosi with co-star Helen Chandler, is among the most iconic images ever distributed for the film.

After the 1931 success of Dracula, Lugosi initially agreed to play the role of Frankenstein, but backed out before filming because the character had no lines. Director James Whale replaced him with Boris Karloff, whose tall, gaunt appearance perfectly fit the role and is the dominant image on a Frankenstein (Universal, 1931) Lobby Card (estimate: $30,000-60,000). The design for the lobby card was adjusted before filming started, and the image used on this card is from the test shot just before makeup artist Jack Pierce finalized the monster’s makeup.

The sale also includes a selection of matte paintings:
Dune: Giedi Prime by Syd Dutton (Universal, 1984) Original Screen-Used Matte Painting on Board in Frame (estimate: $4,000-8,000)
Star Trek: Voyager, Ocampa Underground City by Syd Dutton (Paramount, 1995) Original Screen-Used Matte Painting on Board (estimate: $3,000-6,000)
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ventax II by Syd Dutton (Paramount, 1991) Original Screen-Used Matte Painting on Board (estimate: $2,500-5,000)
Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Teplan (Paramount, 1987) Original Screen-Used Matte Painting on Board (estimate: $2,500-5,000)

Other top lots include, but are not limited to:
Casablanca (Warner Bros., 1942). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. One Sheet (estimate: $25,000-50,000)
The Invisible Man (Universal, 1933). Fine+. Lobby Card (estimate: $25,000-50,000)
The Jazz Singer (Warner Bros., 1927). Fine/Very Fine on Linen. One Sheet (estimate: $25,000-50,000)
The Jazz Singer (Warner Bros., 1927). Fine on Linen. Three Sheet (estimate: $25,000-50,000)
Casablanca (Warner Bros., 1946). Very Fine-. First Post-War Release Italian Photobustas (2) (estimate: $20,000-40,000)
Dracula (Universal, 1931). Very Fine- . Lobby Card (estimate: $20,000-40,000)
Gilda (Columbia, 1946). Very Fine- on Linen. Style B One Sheet (estimate: $20,000-40,000)

Auctions | November 12, 2019
Courtesy of Sotheby’s

John James Audubon's "Snowy Owl" from The Birds of America, a remarkable work that sought to depict every known species of bird in the United States at actual size. Estimated to sell for $6-8 million.

New York – Sotheby’s is pleased to announce that an early subscriber’s edition of John James Audubon’s incomparable The Birds of America will be offered in a single-lot sale immediately following our Fine Books and Manuscripts auction on 18 December. Estimated to sell for $6/8 million, the work is now on public view in our York Avenue galleries through 11 November, alongside works from Sotheby’s marquee auctions of Impressionist & Modern and Contemporary Art. Extended viewing of the edition will be available 16 – 18 November, where it will be exhibited alongside work from Sotheby’s American Art auction, and from 14 – 17 December with work from the Fine Books and Manuscripts auction.

Featuring 435 magnificent hand colored etched plates depicting 1,065 life- size birds representing 489 supposed species of the then-known birds found in the United States, the present folio is an unusually large and brilliantly colored edition, with the plates in very early state. Commonly known as the Double Elephant Folio – named for the size of the paper that had to be specially made for the publication – The Birds of America has long been recognized as the most important and most beautiful color-plate book ever published, and it is universally acknowledged as one of the most important achievements in both book illustration and natural history.

Richard Austin, Head of Sotheby’s Books & Manuscripts Department in New York, commented: “We are thrilled to have this early subscriber’s edition of Audubon’s classic Birds of America on extended view at Sotheby’s before the December sale. Most people are familiar with Audubon’s iconic illustrations from single plates or later reproductions, but having the monumental four-volume double elephant folio on display is truly a remarkable opportunity for the public to experience the beauty of Audubon’s achievement and these wonderfully colored depictions of American birds in the format the artist intended. It’s nearly 10 years since Sotheby’s established the current auction record for Birds of America in London in 2010—which sold for $11,569,611 and also established the auction record for any book—and we are excited to once again offer an exceptional example of a work that has captured the public imagination for generations.”

Audubon began working in earnest on Birds of America in 1820, and the preparation and printing of the plates took from 1827 through 1838. The monumental work was sold by subscription with approximately 175 to 200 full sets issued. Just 119 complete sets of Birds of America are known to exist today, with 104 held in private institutions including universities, libraries and museums, and 15 in private hands.

For his subscription service, Audubon planned to issue 80 parts or fascicles, each containing images of five birds: one large, one of medium size, and three small species. Early in the process, Audubon was forced to change engravers, and production was further delayed since he continually discovered so many new subjects during subsequent trips back to America. The Birds of America was eventually extended to 87 parts totalling 435 engraved plates, many of which depicted more than one species. As each century of prints was completed, subscribers were sent an engraved title-page so that the volumes could be bound to their personal specifications. Audubon decided to publish descriptive texts separately from the plates, primarily to circumvent British copyright-deposit laws, and a set of the separately printed text, Ornithological Biography, accompanies the present edition.

John James Audubon was born in Les Cayes, Haiti in 1785, and lived in France from age five to eighteen. He began to truly copy nature and develop the techniques that would inform his drawings when he moved to the United States in 1803. The study of birds of America became the principal avocation of Audubon’s adult life – his portfolio of drawings expanded rapidly, and Audubon began to give serious attention to the publication of his illustrations. While his desire was for his work to be produced in America, it was rebuffed by naturalists and engravers who were irritated by his criticism of Alexander Wilson’s pioneering American Ornithology. His backwoods persona viewed as exotic and exciting, England gave Audubon the acclaim the United States withheld – in 1826, he was introduced to William Home Lizars of Edinburgh, an engraver who made his grand vision a reality, although he was soon superseded by Robert Havell, Jr. of London. Within a few months, a prospectus for the work appeared, and the first subscribers were signed up, with 100 secured by the end of 1827.

The present edition has remained in the same private collection for more than 25 years, and was previously in the collection of Joseph Verner Reed, Sr., who gifted the edition to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts upon his death. With the approval of the Reed family, Deerfield sold the volumes to help establish the Reed Arts Center at the school. Each volume in the set bears the bookplate of the Yorkshire Philosophical Society, which was the original subscriber.