Auctions | October 30, 2020
Courtesy of Swann Galleries

Paul Gauguin, Mahna No Varvua Ino, color woodcut, 1893–94. Estimate $20,000-30,000

New York — Swann Galleries’ Old Master Through Modern Prints sale on Thursday, November 12 will include masters of printmaking from the sixteenth through the twentieth centuries.

The auction is led by Louis Lozowick’s scarce circa-1925 Art Deco lithograph New York, of which only three other impressions have been seen at auction in the past 30 years ($40,000-60,000). Edward Hopper is available with Night Shadows, etching, 1921 ($20,000-30,000): the work is the only commercial etching printed by Hopper and was created for The New Republic, New York, and published in a limited edition portfolio for their December 1924 issue. Additional works by American printmakers include color woodcuts by Gustave Baumann, classic views of New York City by Martin Lewis, and the important Regionalist lithographer Thomas Hart Benton.

Latin American stalwarts include Wifredo Lam with Pleni Luna, a 1974 portfolio with complete text and 10 color lithographs ($6,000-9,000); Mixografias by Rufino Tamayo: Personajes con Pajaros, 1988 ($4,000-6,000), and Hombre en la Ventana, 1980 ($5,000-8,000); as well as impressions by Diego Rivera, Leopold Méndez, David A. Siqueiros and Roberto Matta.

Old Master works include woodcuts, etchings and engravings by Albrecht Dürer, most notably a 1498 engraving Hercules, or the Effects of Jealousy ($30,000-50,000), and a 1498 woodcut The Adoration of the Lamb. Rembrandt van Rijn is present with the etchings The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate, 1633, and A Beggar Seated on a Bank, 1630, a likely early self-portrait (both $30,000-50,000), as well as Christ before Pilate: Large Plate, 1635–36, which also features a self-portrait of the artist ($20,000-30,000). Pieter Bruegel, Francisco José de Goya, Giovanni B. Piranesi and Martin Schongauer also feature in the section.

A superb selection of modern prints is anchored by a strong group of nineteenth-century artists, ranging from James A.M. Whistler to Paul Gauguin, and Impressionist stalwarts like Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt. A run of Whistler etchings includes Venus, 1859 ($7,000-10,000); one of only six known impressions of The Hangman’s House, Tours, 1888, ($8,000-12,000); and The Kitchen, 1858 ($4,000-6,000). Paul Gauguin is represented by an early color woodcut Mahna No Varua Ino, 1893–84 ($20,000-30,000); while Edgar Degas’s ballerinas make an appearance with the 1888–89 lithograph A la Barre ($10,000-15,000). A strong selection of drypoints by Mary Cassatt feature The Crocheting Lesson, circa 1902 ($12,000-18,000), Margot Wearing a Large Bonnet, Seated in an Armchair, circa 1904 ($10,000-15,000), and Reflection, circa 1890 ($8,000-12,000).

Twentieth-century European masters include signature works by Pablo Picasso with Buste au Corsage à Carreaux, lithograph, 1957 ($25,000-35,000); Henri Matisse with Nu au Bracelet, linoleum cut, 1940 ($12,000-18,000); and Joan Miró with La Femme Toupie, color etching, 1974 ($35,000-50,000), Série Noire et Rouge, color etching, 1938 ($25,000-35,000), among others prominent Modernists.

Limited previewing (by appointment only) will be available from through November 11, to be scheduled directly with a specialist in advance and conforming to strict safety guidelines. Swann Galleries staff will prepare condition reports and provide additional photographs of material on request. Advance order bids can be placed with a specialist for the sale or on Swann’s website, and phone bidding will be available. Live online bidding platforms will be the Swann Galleries App, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers. The complete catalogue and bidding information is available at www.swanngalleries.com and on the Swann Galleries App.
 
Additional highlights can be found here.

Auctions | October 30, 2020
Courtesy of RR Auction

Bob Dylan hand-annotated 1971 interview transcript, from the collection of musician and writer Tony Glover.

Boston — RR Auction's latest Marvels of Modern Music sale is led by the collection of blues musician and writer Tony Glover, a personal friend of Bob Dylan.

Tony Glover (1939–2019) was a musician, writer, and critic, who befriended Bob Dylan in the Minneapolis coffeehouse scene where they would, on occasion, share the same stage. He was one of the few hometown friends that Dylan stayed in touch with after going to NYC. Dylan dedicated his prose-poem contribution to the 1963 Newport Folk Festival program to Glover, calling him a 'best friend in the highest form.’ 

Among the top items are early 1960s letters from Bob Dylan to Tony Glover; included is a Dylan signed letter to Glover from January 1962. The one-page handwritten letter thrice-signed from Bob Dylan, with the original hand-addressed mailing envelope, postmarked January 20, 1962, with Dylan striking through the 'Book of the Month Club' address field and writing: "Bob Dylan, Earle Hotel, New York." Letter to blues musician Dave Glover, in part (spelling and grammar retained): "Back now in that city and thinking of all that whistling harmonica music you are making back there in that dungeon hole...Seen ol Dave Ray and sorta introduced him around. We went one time to see John Lee Hooker paying his dues to the blues at Folky City...I was up in Schenectady last week playing and singing—I spent so much money that I went in the hole and had to play an extra nite just to get back to New York... I'm a gonna take Dave Ray to see Gary Davis sometime soon—Dave then would automatically be 10 times better...If you wanna write me—send a letter to Bob Dylan—Earle Hotel—Washington Square North—New York, N.Y. That's about all for now I guess I'm starting to play poker sometimes to pass my worries away—I got about 25 dollars worth of worries now...O.K. S. B. Williamson—if you got time drop a line or something like that." Dylan concludes with a famous quote from Woody Guthrie—" This world is yours, take it easy but take it, Woody Guthrie"—and then adds a signed postscript: "My girlfriend says that you don't sign your full name to friends so􏰃Me, Bob."

Bob Dylan February 1962 subject-rich handwritten letter from a month before releasing his debut album.  The one-page letter signed "I, Me, Bob—161 West 4th Street Apt 3A," February 16, 1962, with the original 'The Normandie, San Juan, Puerto Rico' mailing envelope, addressed by Dylan who adds an arrow pointing to the return address and playfully writes: "That's me all right." Letter to blues musician and close friend Dave Glover, written roughly a month before the release of his self-titled debut album (spelling and grammar retained): "Work out a new tuning on the guitar you gotta hear it to believe it—Big Joe Williams start at Folk City next Tuesday for two weeks. So the Minor Flea or Bee or key or something like that somewhere huh?...There aint much work around here now I aint workin, I'm writing a lot and bummin around—This here place we got got a couch in one room I'd sure like to know when you're a comin'... Times aren't too awful good anywhere right now Rote a new song called The John Birch Paranoyd Blues Dave Ray's still working down the Gaslight hole—times aint too good down there neither...bring a piles load of money with you fill yer trunk up we can use for wood to burn when you get wood's expensive as hell nowadays." He close with a quote from Woody Guthrie: "('Sometimes I feel like a piece a dirt walkin')." This particular quote appears to be unpublished, and was most likely gleaned from lyrics shown to Dylan by Guthrie's wife, Marjorie, when Dylan visited their Rockwood Park home in Queens.

Also included are transcripts of an unpublished 1971 interview hand-annotated by Dylan himself. Included is a typed 37-page transcript of Bob Dylan's interview with Tony Glover on March 22, 1971, extensively annotated by Dylan. On 36 pages, Dylan strikes through passages and pens new thoughts as he revises his own story. The upper right corner is annotated in felt tip by Tony Glover, "BD, D - Corrected, 1st Correction." It also includes an original, uncorrected copy of the transcript.

Among the numerous topics discussed here are critical assessments of his craft—about which he writes, "My work is a moving thing"—early musical influences while growing up in Hibbing, his identity, meeting Woody Guthrie in 1961, the recording of his first albums with producer John Hammond, writing 'Blowing in the Wind' and 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall,' coverage in the media, the Ali-Frazier fight, walking on the moon, drugs, 'going electric' at Newport in 1965, his motorcycle accident, and his influence on popular music.

After playfully reflecting on changing his name from Robert Zimmerman to Bob Dylan—"I mean it wouldn't've worked if I'd changed the name to Bob Levy. Or Bob Neuwirth. Or Bob Doughnut. It wouldn't of worked.” The archive also includes audiotapes of interviews with Dylan, Hendrix, and The Doors.

Other highlights of the sale are a stage-worn Bob Marley shirt, stage-used guitars of Ace Frehley and Roy Buchanan, a remarkable archive of Johnny Cash letters, a multitude of Beatles pieces, a rare handwritten John Lennon letter lashing out against "Jesus Freaks," and much more.

Online bidding for The Marvels of Modern Music Auction from RR Auction will begin November 12 and conclude November 19. For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.

News | October 29, 2020
Credit: Dylan Thomas Collection, Harry Ransom Center

Photograph of Dylan Thomas by an unidentified photographer. Undated.

Austin, TX — A digital collection of manuscripts and photographs related to Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas will soon be available online thanks to an international collaboration.

Manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks, drawings, financial records, photographs, proofs, and broadcast scripts of the famous Swansea-born poet, whose works include the poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, and the play Under Milk Wood, among many others, will be made available worldwide through a collaboration that includes the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas, Swansea University, and the Dylan Thomas Trust.

“This initiative promises to deepen our understanding of Dylan Thomas’ creative process and lead to new insights into his poetry and other writings,” said Stephen Enniss, Betty Brumbalow Director of the Harry Ransom Center. “We are grateful for this collaboration with Swansea University and grateful, too, to the Dylan Thomas Trust which has made it possible for us to share the collection with his readers everywhere.”

Collections related to Dylan Thomas are held by multiple institutions internationally, and the Ransom Center holds the world’s largest collection, which includes manuscripts, letters, and photographs that trace the origins of his major works and the evolution of a young writer. This project involves digitizing everything in Thomas’ hand, from letters and manuscripts to sketches and works of art. The collection also features notebooks, screenplays, radio broadcasts and radio plays.

Thomas was born on October 27, 1914 in Uplands, Swansea, and died on November 9, 1953 in New York City. During his lifetime he wrote many great poems, including Fern Hill, The Hunchback in the Park and, of course, Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. He also is well-known for writing the play for voices Under Milk Wood, and the collection of stories, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.

“The Dylan Thomas Trust is delighted to partner with the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas and Swansea University in order to realize this ambitious and hugely significant project,” said Hannah Ellis, Thomas’ granddaughter and Manager of the Dylan Thomas Trust. “The digitized archive will help people to further understand the meticulous craft that my grandfather put into his work.”

Swansea University’s Richard Burton Archives holds the "lost" fifth notebook, working manuscripts of the poems Unluckily for a Death and Into Her Lying Down Head, and rare proof copies of several of his works. Its annual Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, one of the most prestigious international awards for young writers, is awarded to the best published literary work in the English language written by an author aged 39 or under.

Peter Stead, founder and president of the Swansea University Dylan Thomas Prize, said: “Dylan Thomas’ spell-binding words and performances conquered London and North America and identified him as one of the most influential writers of the mid twentieth century. The Prize established in his name has captured the imagination of writers internationally.”

Professor Martin Stringer, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Swansea University, said: “As the custodians of some significant material relating to Dylan Thomas, and reflecting our commitment to increasing the role of Thomas’ work in education, we are honoured to be part of this collaboration that seeks to make the world’s largest Dylan Thomas collection more globally accessible.”

By the end of next year, an online repository of Thomas materials housed at the Ransom Center will be available to the public through a digital collections portal on its website for use by researchers and for the enjoyment of Dylan Thomas enthusiasts around the world.

Book Fairs | October 29, 2020
Courtesy of IOBA

Just in time for your holiday shopping!  The Independent Online Booksellers Association offers its second virtual fair, running November 20-22 online at https://www.iobabookfair.com.

More than 80 IOBA members from the United States and a number of other countries will be offering a wide range of books, ephemera, manuscripts, photographs, autographs, and maps over the three-day fair, including much that will be fresh-to-market.
 
Visitors will get the chance to view offerings of many dealers they may not have encountered before; for some dealers, this is their first fair.
Plan on visiting often as exhibitors will add more material each day, with many new listings on the final day offered at lower price points. Exhibiting dealers do not pay extra to participate in the fair -- it’s a benefit of their IOBA membership -- so they can offer material at lower prices, unlike other fairs that charge exhibitors to participate.

As with a live fair, no one will be able to see it all with one pass through the fair. Collectors will also be able to learn more about exhibiting dealers by visiting their IOBA profile pages at https://www.ioba2020.org, where many will offer additional items for sale. In addition, the fair will feature entertaining and instructive videos and articles on November 21-22.

The fair will open at Noon EST (New York time) on Friday, November 20, and will run until 5 p.m. EST on Sunday the 22nd.  The Philadelphia Rare Books and Manuscripts Co. (PRB&M/SessaBks) is the exclusive sponsor of the fair.

About IOBA: Founded in 1999, the Independent Online Booksellers Association is a trade organization representing rare and antiquarian booksellers worldwide. Its members adhere to a Code of Ethics mandating fairness and integrity in all dealings. For more information on IOBA, please visit our current site: http://www.ioba.org, and for a sneak peek at the coming face of IOBA, please visit https://www.ioba2020.org.

Auctions | October 28, 2020
Courtesy of University Archives

Book on contemporary French politics from Napoleon Bonaparte’s St. Helena library, stamped and inscribed by his librarian on the title page. Estimate: $3,000-4,000

Westport, CT – A black and white photograph of Marilyn Monroe signed and inscribed “to Joe” (possibly Joe DiMaggio), a one-page letter written in 1796 and signed by George Washington on the eve of his retirement, and 25 lots relating to Napoleon Bonaparte (mostly from an important single-owner collection) are all part of University Archives’ next online-only auction slated for Wednesday, November 11th. The auction will begin at 10:30 am Eastern time.

The full catalog, showing all 289 lots, is up for bidding and viewing now, at the newly revamped University Archives website (www.UniversityArchives.com), as well as the online platforms LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. The sale contains rare and highly collectible items from multiple specialty categories.

These include presidential (Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, JFK, both Adams, FDR and Teddy Roosevelt, others); early American (Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and others); Civil War (Jefferson Davis, J.E.B. Stuart, Jackson, McClellan, Pickett, others); foreign (Napoleon, Oliver Cromwell, others); and Supreme Court (John Marshall, Roger Taney, Warren Burger, others). Space collectibles will also be offered (Apollo XI and XV, Neil Armstrong, cosmonauts, etc.).

“Nearly 300 lot of rare and outstanding pieces will cross the block, representing the very best of Kennedyiana, Napoleoniana and the Jack Kerouac estate, as well as exceptional items from the early American, presidential and Civil War categories,” said John Reznikoff, the president of University Archives. “The November sale is not to be missed. We hope everyone can join us.”

The sultry black and white photo of blonde bombshell Marilyn Monroe, signed and inscribed by her as “To Joe / Love & Kisses / Marilyn Monroe” is significant, not only because of its unusually large size (11 inches by 14 inches), but also because it may have been dedicated to Monroe’s second husband, Joe DiMaggio. The photo has a pre-sale estimate of $20,000-$25,000.

The one-page letter signed by George Washington just a few months prior to his retirement from his second presidential term, on Oct. 12, 1796, is expected to bring $13,000-$14,000. Written from his Mount Vernon home in northeastern Virginia, the letter conveys Washington’s thanks to well-wishers from a West Virginia town that had once competed to be named the nation’s capital.

The 25 lots relating to Napoleon Bonaparte (mostly from the Nicholson Napoleon Collection) include a book on contemporary French politics from Napoleon’s St. Helena library, stamped and inscribed by his librarian on the title page (est. $3,000-$4,000); a piece of his trousers associated with the Moscow campaign of 1812 (est. $2,200-$2,400); and a velvet swatch from the “assist strap” of Napoleon’s carriage abandoned after the famed Battle of Waterloo (est. $3,000-$4,000).

A fine example of the rare full signature of the Swedish diplomat and humanitarian Raoul Wallenberg, dated Sept. 26, 1944 and documenting his efforts to help Ungar Imrene Urno to survive the Holocaust, should breeze to $9,000-$10,000. This Official Schultz-Pass document, issued in Budapest, Hungary, bears the original ink stamp of the Royal Swedish Legation.

An attractive document signed by Benjamin Franklin as President of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, authorizes the sale of land near the Alleghany River to the two sons of Colonel James Burd, Sr., a French & Indian War veteran (est. $8,000-$9,000). Also sold will be a sepia-colored silver gelatin photo of the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud boasting a signature measuring over four inches in length (est. $8,000-$9,000).

A military appointment signed by Abraham Lincoln on August 17, 1861, promoting an Irish-born officer named Patrick Collins, who would later fight in the Battles of Second Bull Run and Antietam, should fetch $4,000-$5,000; while a sizable (over 8” x 10”) fragment of an American flag that decorated Lincoln’s funeral train as it traveled between Indiana and Springfield, Illinois, with direct provenance from an Indiana farm family, has a pre-sale estimate of $2,400-$2,600.

An autograph letter signed with rank by the flamboyant Confederate cavalry commander J.E.B. Stuart, penned just two months before his death at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in April 1864, is addressed to Charles Lownes. In the letter, Stuart seeks Lownes’ assistance in helping his wife purchase a home, and commends Lownes on his active military service (est. $10,000-$12,000).

November will see more items from the estate of Father Ronald Hoskins (1949-2020), the noted assassinologist and collector of JFK memorabilia, with 40 lots relating to JFK and Jackie Kennedy, JFK Jr., Lee Harvey Oswald, Jack Ruby and others. John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s signed Manhattan District Attorney’s office badge will be sold (est. $500-$600), as will his personally owned "Piper" brand baseball cap recovered from his Saab in the days following his plane crash.

Also from the Hoskins collection is a 1962 letter signed by Lee Harvey Oswald, sent to his mother from the Soviet Union, discussing the upcoming Texas gubernatorial election that would place Oswald’s unintended Dallas motorcade victim John Connally in office (est. $4,000-$5,000); and two lots of Jack Ruby signed colorful and mesmerizing geometrical drawings, sketched by him while incarcerated at the Dallas County Jail in Texas (each est. $1,000-$1,200).

A fascinating and enormous archive documenting the journalist Arthur Ruhl’s incredible career from 1898-1934, totaling nearly 1,000 pages and ranging in subject matter from early aviation and the Wright Brothers to World Wars I and II, is estimated to reach $6,000-$7,000. Also, literary aficionados will enjoy a lengthy autograph letter written in Italian (and translated in full), signed by British author Mary Wollstonecraft (Frankenstein), writing of her travels in Europe in the 1840s (est. $4,000-$5,000).

A single-page letter written by Oliver Cromwell, signed “Oliver P” as the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, dated Jan. 27, 1654, in which he readies the Summer Guard to defend British shipping from Barbary pirates, should garner $4,000-$5,000. Also, four pieces of dishware from the World Trade Center’s “Windows on the World” restaurant (a salad plate, a dinner plate, a dessert plate and charger), spared the September 11th attack, carry an estimate of $1,000-$2,000.

A one-page handwritten letter signed by actor William Shatner (no place or date), in which he offers his recollections on the bumpy release of the first Star Trek movie in 1979, saying “it went on a little too long,” is estimated to go for $2,000-$3,000; and a book club edition copy of the book First on the Moon (Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1970), boldly signed on the half title page by astronaut Neil Armstrong, with a letter of authenticity, should bring $1,800-$2,000.

A collection of 37 books, all of them signed by former President Richard Nixon – including hardcovers and softcovers, some of them inscribed – with “Library of Lawrence E. Miller” blindstamps to the rear pages, should sell for $3,000-$3,500. Also, a drawing by the legendary cartoonist Charles Schulz of Snoopy as the Flying Ace, with a scarf around his neck and goggles on his forehead, signed by Schulz on Christmas stationery, is estimated to sell for $800-$900.

University Archives has become world-renowned as a go-to source for rare items of this kind. It is actively seeking quality material for future auctions, presenting a rare opportunity for sellers. Anyone who has a single item or a collection that may be a fit for a future University Archives auction may call John Reznikoff at 203-454-0111, or email him at john@universityarchives.com.

University Archives was founded in 1979, as a division of University Stamp Company, by 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.
 
For more information about University Archives and the Wednesday, November 11th online-only Rare Books, Manuscripts & Relics Auction, please log on to www.universityarchives.com.

News | October 28, 2020

San Francisco — The Book Club of California congratulates the recipients of the 2020 Oscar Lewis Awards: John Briscoe for his contributions to Western History, and Mary Austin & Kathleen Burch for their contributions to the Book Arts.

2020 Oscar Lewis Award for Western History—John Briscoe, author of Crush: The Triumph of California Wine

John Briscoe is a poet, author, restaurateur, San Francisco lawyer, and board member of the Historical Society of the United States District Court in San Francisco. His historical publications include two books, Tadich Grill: The Story of San Francisco’s Oldest Restaurant and Crush: The Triumph of California Wine. He has also written and published scholarly essays on historical California figures such as Garret W. McEnerney, Stefan A. Riesenfeld, and Louis F. Claiborne, and he contributed to the definitive history of the San Francisco District Court, the oldest federal court in the West.

Crush is the vividly told story of how California wine gained global recognition. Briscoe recounts wine’s usual relationship with California from the very first vintage through multiple calamities to its startling triumph at a blind tasting in Paris in 1976. Through this innovative perspective, Briscoe profiles the larger story of California. Briscoe has, through verve and a distinctive flair for writing, made California’s past accessible to a broad audience. Crush has won numerous awards and is destined to become a classic not only of wine literature but also of California’s history, people, and culture.                                                                                                                            

2020 Oscar Lewis Award for the Book Arts—Mary Austin & Kathleen Burch, co-founders of the San Francisco Center for the Book

In 1996, Mary Austin and Kathleen Burch co-founded the San Francisco Center for the Book. Its letterpress and bookbinding studios, workshops, exhibitions, and events serve thousands of students and book workers each year. Austin, an Ohio native, graduated from Wellesley College in 1982 and helped start The Museum of Printing History in Houston, TX and the San Francisco museum Explore Print!, which she also directed. Austin has been an advocate of fine printing and the book arts for over 35 years. She is an artist, book collector, philanthropist, and proprietor of the Underground Press. Burch, a native of Vallejo, CA, graduated from Mills College in 1973 and founded Burch Typografica, a San Francisco type and design studio, in 1979. A past president of the BCC, she serves on the board of the Internet Archive and was a Xerox PARC artist-in-residence. She is active in the keepsake culture of California and designed the BCC’s Centennial programs of 2012 and the M.F.K. Fisher keepsake of 2008, both major Book Club keepsakes.

These two women have built a community of book arts training and appreciation that is truly unequalled. Countless people in the Bay Area and beyond are endlessly grateful to them for what they have so generously created.

Auctions | October 27, 2020

New York — As fall marks the beginning of a new auction season, Swann Galleries, a family-owned firm founded in 1942 and New York’s preeminent specialized house for books and works of art, appoints Nigel Freeman and Rick Stattler as Vice Presidents, and Alexandra Mann-Nelson as Chief Marketing Officer. The appointments come as Swann has undergone a period of growth in recent months, and follows the news of the expansion of their fine art offerings with the addition of a Modern & Post-War art department, headed by Harold Porcher, and as Devon Eastland and Deborah Rogal step into their roles of senior specialist for early printed books, and director of photographs and photobooks, respectively.

“Auction houses are in a state of transition amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but Swann’s ability to remain agile throughout the past tumultuous year has been heartening,” says Alexandra Mann-Nelson who has worked within the Swann communications department since 2011, and served as the director since 2015. “It’s exceptionally rewarding to help steward the next phases of the business as we develop new technologies and ways of reaching collectors, and see important collections on the horizon.”

Nigel Freeman founded the African American Art department at Swann Galleries in 2006. The department has a longstanding track record for high auction prices for established artists, as well as bringing to market new artists. As director, Freeman has handled The Art Collection of Dr. Maya Angelou, The Golden State Mutual Life African-American Art Collection, and African-American Art from the Johnson Publishing Co. Swann remains the only major auction house with a department specializing in the category. “I greatly appreciate this recognition of my contributions. My career at Swann has been a wonderful partnership for over twenty years and I look forward to continuing to develop Swann’s offerings of African American art, as well as advance the sales of fine art at the house as we move into a new era,” noted Freeman.

Rick Stattler joined Swann in 2007 and has served as the director of books and manuscripts since 2014. “Books and manuscripts have been central to Swann's business since the house was founded back in 1942. Playing a part in that ongoing journey has been a great adventure. The company has proven its ability to pivot quickly without forgetting its commitment to quality and customer service, and we hope to reach even greater heights in the years to come,” noted Stattler of the change. Stattler regularly produces the house’s Americana auctions and has facilitated the sales of numerous important collections, including Revolutionary War letters, archives relating to slavery and the Underground Railroad, American Indian photographs, Theodore Roosevelt books, Abraham Lincoln portraiture, and numerous early editions of the Book of Mormon.

“It is hard to imagine a time when good news is as welcome as it is now, and so I am delighted to be able to announce several wonderful, exciting and well-deserved transitions within Swann. Unified by a passion for what we do and a new found unity of purpose brought about by the pandemic, throughout which we have been able to even more closely focus on our professional priorities, Swann is continuing to provide for our clients exceptional and thoughtfully catalogued material even as we being to slowly broaden our focus to embrace new areas of interest,” concluded Swann President, Nicholas D. Lowry of the appointments.

Swann is currently accepting consignments for the spring 2021 season. For more information visit swanngalleries.com or download the Swann Galleries App.

Auctions | October 26, 2020
Courtesy of Nate D. Sanders Auctions

Los Angeles – An anti-Semitic letter by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Philipp Lenard regarding Albert Einstein and the Jewish people will be auctioned by Nate D. Sanders Auctions on October 29, 2020.

Lenard provided content on both his scientific work, and his rival Albert Einstein, who Lenard often dismissed as the leader of ''Jewish Physics.'' The letter was dated July 22, 1927 from Heidelberg, Germany. Lenard wrote to fellow Nobel Prize winning physicist Wilhelm Wien, who he believed shared his anti-Semitic views.

Lenard begins the letter by referring to his upcoming publications on ''Phosphorescence'' and the ''Photoelectric Effect,’’ and suggested ''the so-called Compton Effect'' would need to be covered more extensively in the article. He complained about Albert Einstein's recent acceptance into the prestigious Bavarian Academy of Sciences based in Munich. The anti-Semitic content continued, as Lenard believed Jews dominate the Academy, and that Max Planck ''is being pushed upwards because he is a patron of the Jews.’’ Later in the letter, Lenard even gave a chilling ironic prediction, wondering if future generations, when they read this letter, will even live in a world where non-Jews are still alive. At this time, in 1927, Munich was actually one of the more dangerous cities in Germany for Jews, with Einstein even refusing to visit it on his speaking tour a few years prior. The Nazi party was also rising in power, with Lenard (who coined the term ''Deutsche Physik'' or ''Aryan Physics''), one of its early supporters.

The letter in German reads in part, “…The Munich Academy - and probably I am not telling you anything new or anything improper or unfriendly on my part - with its Einstein action, which is still in the newspapers (even now, when the deception is very clear), has given somewhat unexpected testimony of its domination by Jews (Sommerfeld, Willstatter, as far as I know). Actually, only during rare glory days, even in the past, were academies (and thus universities as well) something better than they are today. A special center of the shallow intellectuality, by the way, is always Planck; he is being pushed upwards because he is a patron of the Jews, and thus the Jews are coming back up again as well…You probably will not want to write anything about this to me; but it is hardly necessary anyway; I think I know that you do not see any of this differently. If you preserve this letter, however, then perhaps later years will be able to judge from a newly won perspective (provided any non-Jewish persons are still alive then), whether at our time things were different from how I describe them…”

Bidding for the letter begins at $16,000.

Additional information on the letter can be found at: https://natedsanders.com/Philipp_Lenard_Autograph_Letter_Signed_Regarding_A-LOT58800.aspx

Auctions | October 26, 2020
Courtesy of Quinn's Auction Galleries

Two volumes titled The History of Japan by Engelbertus Kaempfer, printed for the publisher and sold by T. Woodward and C. Davis (London, 1728). Estimate: $2,000-3,000

Falls Church, VA – Quinn’s Auction Galleries will present an online, phone and absentee auction of rare and illustrated books, works on paper, Americana and signed books and documents on Thursday, October 29, starting at 2 p.m. ET. The auction catalog is packed with more than 250 first editions, fine bindings, early 20th-century illustrations, photography and maps and atlases.

Expected top lots include a signed John F. Kennedy baseball, an extensive run of The Gardener’s Chronicle (1841-1970), and a signed Chuck Close photographic portrait of supermodel Kate Moss. Notable books include first editions of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (1883) and Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises (1926). Civil War highlights include autographs and a letter from Ulysses S. Grant to Abraham Lincoln.

Noteworthy among the many illustrated books are: Abstract Impressionism by Tiber Press; Alice In Wonderland, signed and illustrated by Salvador Dali; and Limited Edition Press’ Ulysses by James Joyce, signed and illustrated by Henri Matisse. A NASA collection features items signed by Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, as well as space-flown flags presented to former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver.

A baseball signed by John F. Kennedy passed by descent from the estate of Edna Kelly, who served as a Member of the U.S. Congress from New York from 1949-1969, and as a colleague of then-Congressman Kennedy from 1949-1953. The ball is one of many items from her professional career that were inherited by her family. Its auction estimate is $10,000-$12,000.

Carrying the same lofty estimate is a 2005 photograph of Kate Moss (British, b. 1974-) taken by artist and photographer Chuck Close (American, b. 1940-). Titled Portrait of Kate Moss, it is numbered 5/25 and pencil-signed by Close on the margin. A daguerreotype camera was used in taking the shot, which was part of a series commissioned by W Magazine.

A copy of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published in 1969 and illustrated by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali (1904-1989). It is numbered 1331/2500 and signed by Dali on the title page, with an original etched frontispiece in four colors signed in the plate, plus 12 color heliogravures, each with an original remarque. The book was published by Maecena Press and Random House (Paris and New York) and is expected to sell for $4,000-$6,000.

The highest-estimated Civil War lot, a letter from General Ulysses S. Grant to Abraham Lincoln, dated Feb. 8, 1863, is believed to have been dictated by Grant and written by another hand as a retained (or field) copy. The letter urges the promotion and transfer of Captain R. B. Hatch, as recommended by General Prentiss to his command. The letter comes to auction with a $4,000-$6,000 estimate.

A first-edition Confederate-issued map of Virginia from 1862, uncolored and based on the seminal Lewis von Buchholtz map of Virginia published in 1858, carries an estimate of $3,000-$5,000. The map illustrates the counties, principal towns, railroads, rivers, canals and internal improvements of Virginia at that time. It is bound in the original black paper boards with the Virginia Seal.

An 1883 first edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island was published by Cassell & Company (London, Paris and New York) and has a $2,500-$4,000 estimate. Also, a first U.S. six-volume edition of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, translated from the original French version and published in 1862 by Carleton (New York), should reach $700-$900.

A four-volume set of books titled Abstract Expressionism (Tiber Press, 1960) is an outstanding post-World War II American artist book featuring collaborations of four of the most influential American poets of the second half of the 20th century and four important second-generation artists, all of whom lived in New York City. Numbered 110/200, it has a pre-sale estimate of $3,000-$5,000.

The four volumes are as follows: 1 - John Ashbery, The Poems, with prints by Joan Mitchell; 2 - Frank O’Hara, Odes, with prints by Michael Goldberg; 3 - Kenneth Koch, Permanently, with prints by Alfred Leslie; and 4 - James Schuyler, Salute, with prints by Grace Hartigan. Each volume contains three full-page color silkscreen prints and an additional silkscreen on the title page and upper cover. Each volume is signed by the poet and artist on the limitation page.

A two-volume set of books titled The History of Japan by Engelbertus Kaempfer, printed for the publisher and sold by T. Woodward and C. Davis (London, 1728), is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Translated from the original manuscript, the books give an account of the ancient and present state and government of Japan, with a description of the Kingdom of Siam.

A black and white photograph of Neil Armstrong, taken at a President’s Dinner for the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and boldly signed by the legendary astronaut circa 1969, will cross the auction block with a $600-$800 estimate. The photo was taken by Robert Keller, a photographer who was often hired by the Beverly Hilton Hotel during that period of time. The photo comes to auction directly from the family of Mr. Keller.

Quinn’s Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020 auction will start at 2 p.m. ET. There will be no in-person floor bidding; all bidding will be by phone, live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com or Invaluable.com; or absentee prior to auction. In-person previews available by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, request a condition report about any item in the auction, or to discuss consigning to a future Quinn’s auction, call Jennifer Sweetapple at 703-532-5632, ext. 573; or email jennifer.sweetapple@quinnsauction.com. Visit Quinn’s online at www.quinnsauction.com.

Auctions | October 26, 2020
Courtesy of Potter & Potter

Corroboree / Australia poster (1934). Estimate: $1,000-1,500

Chicago — Potter & Potter Auctions is pleased to announce their nearly 800 lot Vintage Posters, Prints & Works on Paper Sale to be held on Saturday, November 14th starting at 10am CST. Given current public health regulations, the event will be held entirely online and live streamed from the company's gallery. All bidding will take place through the company's website at www.potterauctions.com. Phone and absentee bids are also welcome. All items are available for in-person preview now, by appointment only.

Premier, mid-20th century posters for iconic domestic locations and events take several of the top slots in this can't miss mid-fall event.
•    Lot #279, a handsome poster illustrated with a bird's eye view of NYC's Rockefeller Center for New York Central Lines is estimated at $4,000-8,000. This lithograph was rendered by artist Leslie Ragan (1897-1972) and produced in Long Island City, NY by Latham Litho. & Ptg. in 1936.
•    Lot #191, a mid-1960s David Klein (1918-2005) New York World's Fair/Fly TWA Jets poster is estimated at $1,500-2,500. This is one of the rarest New York World’s Fair posters, and is decorated with with fireworks and the fair’s giant globe on a bright orange background.
•    Lot #241, a 1945 poster for Monterey, CA by Jo Mora (1876–1947), is estimated at $1,000-1,500.  This map of California comes to life and tempts visitors with numerous colorful illustrations.

Posters promoting destinations across Europe, Russia, and the Far East add a touch of foreign intrigue to this sale.
•    Lot #220, a color lithograph London Underground poster printed by Waterlow & Sons in 1934 is estimated at $2,500-3,500. It is illustrated by Sybil Andrews (1898-1992); from 1925 to 1935, Andrews designed nine posters for the London Underground, working under the pseudonym of Andrew Power as “a tribute to Cyril Power, with whom she shared a studio and collaborated at the time."
•    Lot #295, a colorful stone lithograph depicting an Aboriginal dance ceremony by Gert Sellheim (1901–1970), is estimated at $1,000-1,500. Designed for Corroboree/Australia and printed in Melbourne by F.W. Niven in 1934, this premier example is one of the first to focus on the continent’s indigenous culture and history.
•    Lot #161, a stunning lithograph for Soviet Armenia by Sergey Igumnov (1900–1942), is estimated at $1,000-2,000. Produced in 1935 in the USSR by Intourist, this poster touts the Soviet’s engineering skills and advanced modern machinery of the period.

Posters promoting entertainers, venues, and films take a starring role in this sale as well.
•    Lot #681, a large, one sheet style "Y" broadside for Warner Brothers' Rebel Without a Cause is estimated at $800-1,200. This 1955 classic featured James Dean and Natalie Wood in the lead roles.
•    Lot #668, a set of 8 lobby cards for United Artists' From Russia With Love is estimated at $600-800. This film from 1964 was the second in the James Bond franchise.
•    Lot #675, a silk screened movie poster for RKO's King Kong, is estimated at $600-800. This groundbreaking thriller starred Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, and Robert Armstrong who are featured on this broadside.

This sale offers a strong selection of posters promoting consumer products - including beverage, apparel, and automobile examples - with many representing legacy and still popular brands.
•    Lot #430, a c. 1908 lithograph for La Raphaelle Bonal liqueur, is estimated at $1,400-1,800. It was published in Paris and depicts the beverage being dropped from an airplane and a laughing moon.
•    Lot #397, a pre-WWII large German Coca–Cola two sheet advertisement poster, is estimated at $1,200-1,500. It is illustrated with a young man drinking from a cooler full of bottled Coke.  
•    Lot #270, a c. 1933/34 color lithograph poster advertising the French oil brand of Antar is estimated at $1,500-2,500. It was published in France by Vox and features a cherry red racecar zooming through the cliffsides of Monte Carlo.

Important works, prints, and drawings from some of the 20th century's most recognized artists make a strong showing in this auction.
•    Lot #624, Red Grooms' (American, b. 1937) Moon Under Miami/Twenty Dollars watercolor gouache on heavy card stock from 1995, is estimated at $2,000-3,000/ This framed and archivally mounted work was signed by both Grooms and playwright John Guare for their collaboration on the play that premiered at the Remains Theatre in Chicago.  
•    Lot #563, Marc Chagall's (1887-1985) color litho Springtime in the Meadow, from Daphnis and Chloe, is estimated at $2,000-3,000. This work is from an edition of 250, is set in a gilt wooden frame with linen matting, and bears a gallery label of Phillip E. Freed to its verso.
•    Lot #603, a set of three color lithographs with pochoir by Joan Miró (1893–1983) is estimated at $1,500-2,500. The mid-century trio are printed on wove paper, unsigned, and measure 13"x 40” each.
•    Lot #562, a drypoint etching by Mary Stevenson Cassatt (1844-1926), is estimated at $500-750. This work from 1908 is titled Antoine Holding Her Child and is matted and framed.

This signature sales event rounds out with wall to wall selections of historical, cause-related, and propaganda posters, as well as other exciting ephemera.
•    Lot #489, a Give/United Jewish Appeal photographic lithograph from the 1940s is estimated at $800-1,200. It was published in New York by Amalgamated Lithographers of America and features a forlorn, barefoot child against a gritty, ghetto background.
•    Lot #522, a 1942 propaganda poster by Jean Carlu (1900–1997) depicting a gauntlet clad hand applying a torque to a bolt signaling Americans to mobilize and end the war, is estimated at $1,500-2,500. Produced in Washington DC by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1942, this image is one of the most iconic of WWII.
•    Lot #766, a collection of 700+ Black Americana postcards housed in four full binders, is estimated at $1,500-2,500. This wonderfully curated collection includes images of babies and young children, watermelon eating, cotton picking, leather postcards, French advertisements, trade cards, servants, chicken thieves, and many others.

According to Gabe Fajuri, President at Potter & Potter Auctions, "This is our most diverse offering of vintage posters to date, and I'm excited at the prospect of bringing fine art in to the mix in this sale, too. If the recent results of our October auction are any indication, this should be another strong sale."