New York — The American West has long held a grip on the public imagination, and the work that is often credited with first defining the concept; The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah by the landscape painter Thomas Moran and the pioneering geologist Dr Ferdinand Hayden, leads Bonhams Americana, Travel and Natural History sale on Wednesday October 21 in New York. It is estimated at $150,000-250,000.
 
The work has been described as the greatest American landscape book of the post-civil war era. Its origins lie in an invitation to Moran from Dr Hayden, Director of the US Geological Survey, to accompany him on the 1871 geological survey of the until then unexplored region of Yellowstone. Moran’s astounding collection of paintings made an immediate impact and played an important role in the designation of Yellowstone as America’s first National Park in 1873. Fifteen of the paintings were published as chromolithographed plates by L. Prang & Co. of Boston in 1876 under the title The Yellowstone National Park, and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah.
 
Bonhams Director of Books and Manuscripts in New York Ian Ehling said: “Moran and Hayden's masterpiece left an indelible impression, bringing the unique majesty of the West to public attention for the first time. The printing process itself was an immense achievement, involving up to fifty-six layers of carefully registered lithographic stones to create an extraordinary depth of color and adding immeasurably to the overall impact. It is rightly regarded as the pinnacle of the art of chromolithography.”
 
The complete suite of 15 vibrant chromolithographed plates, comprises: Gardiners River Hot Springs * The Great Blue Spring of the Lower Geyser Basin * The Castle Geyser, Upper Geyser Basin * The Lower Yellowstone Range * Yellowstone Lake * Tower Falls and Sulphur Mountain * Head of the Yellowstone River * The Grand Cañon of the Yellowstone * The towers of Tower Falls * The Mountain of the Holy Cross, Colorado * The Mosquito Trail, Rocky Mountains of Colorado * The Summit of the Sierras * The Great Falls of Snake River, Idaho Territory * Valley of the Bubbling Waters, southern Utah * The Great Salt Lake of Utah.
 
The robust Americana section will be followed by the Robert and Alice Piccus Collection of fine maps, and the Robert I Johnson, perhaps the largest private collection of books and on molluscs, including titles seldom found even in research libraries, including
 
Other highlights of the sale include:
 
    •    A Journal of the Overland Route to California! and the Gold Mines by Lorenzo Aldrich. 1818/19-1851. First edition in original wrappers of one of the rarest and most interesting of the overland gold rush journals, being the first printed account of a 49'ers journey, from Albany, through Arizona to San Diego. It was published posthumously in Lansingburgh, just outside Albany, New York, by friends of Aldrich and is based on his diary and notes that he took on his trip across North America and back by ship. Estimate: US$40,000-60,000.
 
    •    The Great Voyages - America. Printed in Frankfurt 1590-1592 by Theodor de Bry. The first Latin edition of the first three part of The Great Voyages by the Dutch engraver and publisher best known for his illustrations and maps for books on European expeditions to the Americans, but who famously himself never travelled to the New World. Estimate: US$30,000-50,000.
 
    •    The Universal Conchologist, by John Martyn, Published in 1784. The “select edition” - one of a few copies for presentation with the plates finely hand-colored by Martyn to resemble original watercolors. It has been described as one of “the most beautiful of all shell books, containing exquisite renderings of shells collected on Cook’s three voyages and on other voyages”. Estimate: US$8,000-12,000.
 
    •    Auserlesne Schnecken, Muscheln und andere Schaalthiere by Franz Michael Regenfuss. The first edition, containing Regenfuss’s spectacular conchological illustrations, is one of the most important shell books. It comes in a splendid contemporary Danish armorial binding with the Royal arms on the sides. Estimate: US$15,000-25,000.

Amherst, MA -- Inhabit a joyful world where an orange elephant, a fish in a birdcage, and a snake entwined in spaghetti can spark imaginations and inspire giggles. The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art is pleased to explore its co-founder’s innate sense of humor in Eric Carle: Just for Laughs. This new exhibition features comical collages from The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975), The Grouchy Ladybug (1977), The Greedy Python (1985), The Nonsense Show (2015), and seven other titles. On view for the first time are four of Carle’s amusing illustrations for The Scarecrow Clock (1971), a little known and now out-of-print book, on loan from The Kerlan Collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries. A selection of illustrated letters and thank you notes further reveal Carle’s wit and humor in his personal relationships. Just for Laughs is on view now through February 28, 2021.

Peek into Carle’s creative process with book dummies for The Grouchy Ladybug. Laugh alongside his absurdist illustrations for The Nonsense Show. Dive into Carle’s letters for a glimpse of his mischievous side. Draw funny animals inspired by The Mixed-up Chameleon. Read books under a bright blue “sky” in the gallery’s reading corner.

Carle’s art has always had the propensity to make us laugh. “From the Very Hungry Caterpillar’s tummy ache to the topsy-turvy world in The Nonsense Show, Eric infuses his stories with humor,” says chief curator Ellen Keiter. “Little did we know when we planned this exhibition two years ago how much we would appreciate an excuse to laugh together.”

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Hsin-Yi Foundation.

Eric Carle Just For Laughs
Exhibition artworks from the following books:

The Scarecrow Clock, George Mendoza, 1971
Walter the Baker, 1972
The Mixed-up Chameleon, 1975
The Grouchy Ladybug, 1977
Watch Out! A Giant!, 1978
Twelve Tales from Aesop: Retold and Illustrated, 1980
Otter Nonsense, Norton Juster, 1982
The Greedy Python, 1985
Today is Monday, 1993
The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse, 2011
The Nonsense Show, 2015

When to Visit:
The Museum’s fall hours are Thursday and Friday, 10am-3pm, Saturday 10am-4pm, and Sunday 12pm-4pm. Visitors are encouraged to use the new registration system, choosing a morning or afternoon time slot. (Walk-ins are welcome as space permits.) In order to comply with state guidelines and to offer a safe and comfortable visit, the Museum has a number of new protocols in place:

•   There are capacity limits and new cleaning protocols for Museum spaces. Some areas may require guests to wait in a socially distanced line before entering.  
•   Visitors are required to wear face coverings. Children 2-5 are encouraged to wear face coverings. Children under 2 should not wear face coverings.   
•   All visitors must maintain six feet of distance between Museum staff and guests outside their group. Children must stay with their adult(s) at all times.  
•   The Carle Bookshop is open and offers curbside pickup.
•   The Art Studio is open to the public, but will welcome one family or group at a time. Upon arrival, visitors can sign up at the admissions desk for a specific time. For visitors who don’t take a Studio spot, art activity kits “to go” are available for pick up and can be used in Bobbie’s Meadow or to take home.
•   The Café is closed. Visitors are welcome to picnic in Bobbie’s Meadow, which is in full bloom!

Guests planning to visit should check The Carle's website for additional details and to reserve advance tickets here. Questions about visiting can be sent to info@carlemuseum.org.

Chicago — Potter & Potter Auctions' signature fall event was a best seller in every respect. When the hammer fell for the last time, 98 lots realized $750-2,499; 23 lots scored $2,500-$9,999; and four lots broke the five digit mark. Prices noted include the company's 20% buyer's premium.

Museum quality fine art, paintings, and prints took several of the top lot slots in this exciting sale.   
•    Lot #630, Pablo Picasso's Le Pigeonneau, was estimated at $10,000-15,000 and traded hands at a breathtaking $37,500. This hand colored and signed artist proof from 1939 was printed in Paris by Robert Blanchet and was accompanied by two letters of authenticity.
•    Lot #605, David Hockey's framed Ossie and Mo, was estimated at $1,000-2,000 and made $4,800 - almost five times its low estimate! This signed work was numbered 4/75, printed by Maurice Payne on Chisbrook handmade paper, and published by the Petersburg Press in 1968.
•    Lot #581, William Adolphe Bouguereau's beautifully rendered Study of the Head of a Brunette Woman, delivered $14,400. This signed, pastel on board work included its original Galerie Drouant–David and Galerie Percier Paris gallery tags

Important century and millennium spanning books also generated heated bidding and impressive results.
•    Lot #6, a second edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, was estimated at $8,000-10,000 and sold for $11,400. It was published in 1860 in London by John Murray. This example had an 1860 imprint and “fifth thousand” on title page; roughly two copies of the first issue exist with an 1859 imprint.
•    Lot #231, a copy of Gaius Julius Caesar's The Commentaries printed in London in 1712 by Jacob Tonson, realized $14,400 - more than twice its low estimate. This 560 page folio was edited by Samuel Clarke and included the double-page plate of the bison, which is usually missing.
•    Lot #13, Thomas Hawkins' The Book of the Great Sea-Dragons, Ichthyosauri and Plesiosauri…Extinct Monsters of the Ancient Earth from 1840. was estimated at $3,000-4,000 and made $7,200. This first edition was published in London by W. Pickering and featured thirty plates copied from skeletons in the author’s collection of fossil organic remains.  
•    Lot #83, an 18 volume set of The Works of Jonathan Swift, from the library of Robert R. Livingston, soared to $5,520 on its $1,00-2,000 presale estimate. These books were printed by Mrs. Mundell, et al, in Edinburgh in 1778. Each volume included Mr. Livingston's personal bookplates. One of the Founding Fathers of the USA, Livingston was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, the administrator for George Washington’s Oath of Office when he assumed presidency in 1789, and the chief negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
•    Lot #584, a boldly inscribed presentation copy of Alma Mahler's Gustav Mahler: Memories and Letters from 1946, scored $3,600 on its $400-600 estimate. Alma Mahler was a composer, author, and the spouse of Gustav Mahler. This book had six paper items laid in the volume, including an autographed letter, Western Union telegram, photo postcards, snapshots, and other ephemera.
•    Lot #67, William Cullen Bryant's two volume Picturesque America; Or, the Land we Live in: A Delineation by Pen and of the Mountains, Rivers, Lakes, Forests, Water-Falls, Shores, Canyons, Valleys, Cities, and Other Picturesque Features of our Country, sold for an astonishing $3,360 on its $250-350 estimate. This first edition, first printing set was published in New York by the D. Appleton & Company was profusely illustrated with 49 full-page steel-engraved plates, including additional title pages and frontispiece engravings, and numerous intertextual wood engravings.

Late 19th and early 20th century photographs, images, and cabinet cards were another focus of this exciting auction.
•    Lot #710, a collection of early photographs of men and women with hats, was estimated at $100-200 and topped off at $2,280. These included daguerreotypes of a wealthy man with a cane and top hat; an ambrotype of a young man smoking a cigar; and a partial real photo postcard with a seated man donning a hat and bowtie.
•    Lot #751, a group of 13 occupational cabinet cards from the 1880s, was estimated at $200-300 and worked its way to $2,040. Professions represented included a tailor, organ builder, blacksmith, chimney sweep, picture framer, glassblower, saddle makers, actors, and others.
•    Lot #779, a collection of 30+ cabinet cards and CDVs of French stage performers, writers, and other notables, was estimated at $100-200 and sold for $1,440. Most were taken by the Nadar Studio; individuals pictured include Dumas, Daudet, Bernhardt, Gustav Doré, Victor Hugo, and others.

Ephemera of all sorts, periodicals, modern editions, and other manuscripts brought this sale full circle.
•    Lot #632, a group of 35 Playboy Magazines from 1954–1958 delivered $3,600 - twelve times its low estimate.
•    Lot #644, a four volume limited edition folio on Abstract Expressionism produced by the Tiber Press in 1960, made $6,000 . This important post-war American artist book featured collaborations between four of the most influential American poets of the second half of the twentieth century, and four important second-generation New York School artists. Each publication was signed by the author and artist.
•    Lot #222, a typed French language manuscript travelogue detailing a trip China by way of the Tran-Siberian Railway in the 1913-1924 timeframe, was estimated $400-600 and sold for $3,120. The tome was lushly illustrated with post cards, snapshots, maps, and real photos mounted with photo corners and numerous annotations or captions.

According to Gabe Fajuri, President at Potter & Potter Auctions, "Strong results across the board and a 93% sell-through rate shows that demand is high for quality - but more importantly, it shows that Potter & Potter continues to deliver exceptional results in the book and manuscript market, not to mention fine art. We're thrilled with the results of the sale and already have our next auction in this category set for mid-March of 2021."

Dallas – It looks, at first glance, like a colossal ransom note or madman’s manifesto – all-caps ballpoint-scribble filling 562 pages of hole-punched loose-leaf. Whole sentences crossed out; notations in red bleeding across the scrawl. A mess, yes. But also a masterpiece.

Contained in this heap of seemingly harried handwriting is novelist James Ellroy’s fourth and final installment in the so-called L.A. Quartet: 1992’s White Jazz. The book, about a lunatic, hateful Los Angeles police lieutenant murdering for the mob until the gun is aimed at him, is almost 30 years old and set in 1958. But its description of L.A. as Shakedown City at sunset – where the cops are criminals, made-up characters commit dirty deeds for real-life figures, and everything sacred is rendered profane – remains as piercing and prescient as anything set to be published tomorrow.

“There are so many layers, so many levels at which you can read an Ellroy book,” says Otto Penzler, the bookstore owner who once edited and published the novelist. “Obviously you can look at White Jazz, or any of his novels, as crime books, but they’re so much about politics, society, history. You can know a lot about L.A. in the 1940s and ‘50s when you read James Ellroy.”

For decades, Penzler owned his dear friend’s handwritten White Jazz manuscript, stored in a slipcase with red morocco spine labels tooled and lettered in gilt. But when Penzler made the decision in 2018 to sell his celebrated collection of mystery novels through Heritage Auctions, he let it all go – including the first draft of White Jazz, which is the culmination of a rich, sprawling, seedy story told in The Black Dahlia, The Big Nowhere and, most famously, L.A. Confidential.

And so the self-proclaimed Demon Dog of Crime Fiction’s masterpiece of sparse, savage prose finds itself in Heritage’s Oct. 15-16 Rare Books Signature Auction Featuring Otto Penzler Mystery Fiction Part III. It’s a must-own not only for Ellroy fans, but for disciples of Great American Literature.

In this manuscript you can see Ellroy sharpening his prose – trimming phrases, words, thoughts, pauses deemed unworthy and unnecessary. Through the blood-red edits you can watch him gut and peel away the copy until all that remains is sinew and bone. In White Jazz, the marksman’s machine-gun writing style found its bull’s-eye.

This is the book the Los Angeles Times called “bebop noir” and “hardboiled stream-of-consciousness” and “avant-garde.” The one Less Than Zero author Bret Easton Ellis said was “so stripped-down it’s almost surreal.” The one Hollywood famously tried to tame for the big screen but never could.

“No one else in the world can have it,” Penzler says of the White Jazz manuscript coming to market for the first time. “Ellroy is one of the great writers of the last century, and certainly one of the most significant and influential. A lot of writers tried to emulate his style. Mostly they failed. But that’s not his fault. Joyce Carol Oates called him the American Dostoevsky, and it’s a quote I frequently use because it does signify his importance.”

New York — On Tuesday, October 27, Swann Galleries brings back its standalone offering of Early Printed Books, returning with Senior Specialist Devon Eastland at the helm.

The sale is led by the earliest extant edition of Christopher Marlowe’s antiauthoritarian Elizabethan play The Jew of Malta, 1633. The work is set to come across the block estimated at $40,000 to $60,000. Early imprints also include a first edition of Pascal Xavier Coste’s Monuments Modernes de la Perse, 1867 ($8,000-10,000); Francis Meres’s Palladis Tamia, 1598, which contains contemporary references to Shakespeare, including the first mention of the Sonnets, as well as the first list of plays ($8,000-10,000); and The History of Don-Quichote [Quixote]. The First [and Second] Part, London, 1620, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ($6,000-8,000).

Incunabula will feature Concordantiae Bibliorum, 1474, by Conradus de Alemania [Halberstadt the Elder] ($20,000-30,000); Conclusiones de Diversis Materiis Moralibus sive de Regulis Madatorum, 1467, by Johannes Gerson ($3,000-5,000); and Johannes Nider’s Praeceptorium Divinae Legis, sive Expositio Decalogi, 1479, in which he covers the theoretical underpinnings of the various powers of demons and the pacts they form with humans ($3,000-5,000).

Illuminated manuscripts include a mid-fifteenth-century Book of Hours from France with 16 large full-page miniatures ($15,000-25,000). Also of note is a sixteenth-century French manuscript leaf with a large Crucifixion scene, masterfully painted in full color with a gilt and lapis lazuli border ($2,000-3,000).

Scarce works on science and medicine include the first English edition of Sir Isaac Newton’s The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, 1729 ($20,000-30,000); William Molyneux’s rare work Dioptrica Nova. A Treatise of Dioptricks, 1692, the first on optics published in English ($1,500-2,500); a circa-1860 manuscript on equine veterinary cures described in narrative form ($400-600); and an 1895 cyanotype showing an anatomy class at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania working on a cadaver ($300-400).

The travel offering boasts a substantial selection of works on North American exploration with a section of Canadian travel: a fine copy of John Rae’s Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea, 1850, in original cloth ($3,000-4,000); a first edition of Sir Alexander MacKenzie’s Voyages from Montreal, 1801 ($2,500-3,500); Samuel Hearne—the first European to make an overland trek across northern Canada and arrive on the shore of the Arctic Ocean in 1771—is present with a first edition issue of A Journey from Price Wale’s Fort in Hudson’s Bay to the Northern Ocean, 1795 ($1,000-1,500); and a first edition of John Long’s Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader, 1791, which details his time in Montreal ($2,500-3,500); as well as other first edition titles by Sir George Back, Sir John Franklin, and Sir John Richardson. Further North American travels will include Philip Pittman’s Present State of the European Settlements on the Mississippi, 1770 ($10,000-12,000); the first edition in English of  Louis de Lom d’Arce Lahontan’s New Voyages to North America, 1703 ($3,000-4,000); and works by James Adair, Bartolomé de las Casas, Josiah Gregg, and Gilbert Imlay.

Limited previewing (by appointment only) will be available from October 21 through October 26, to be scheduled directly with the 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 the specialist 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.

New York — The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is pleased to make several announcements in celebration of its 40th Anniversary in 2020: the opening of its Windows for Chinatown exhibition and its new temporary space MOCA Workshop replacing the MOCA Collections and Research Center that was destroyed in the 70 Mulberry Street fire.

Boston — A rare handwritten letter by Edgar Allan Poe sold for $125,125, according to Boston-based RR Auction.

The one-page document signed "Edgar A. Poe," dated August 31, 1847. Poe's final letter to the Philadelphia lawyer and playwright Robert Taylor Conrad, editor of Graham's Magazine. In full: "It is now a month since I wrote you about the two articles I left with you—but, as I have heard nothing from you, I can only suppose that my letter has not reached you—or, at all events, that, in the press of other business, you have forgotten it and me. In it, after thanking you (as I do again most sincerely) for your late kindness to me in Phil[adelphi]a, I begged an answer in respect to the articles—mentioning $40 as the sum in which the Magazine would be indebted to me in case of their acceptance, and asking permission to draw for that amount. I owed Mr. Graham $50 (as nearly as I can remember) and the papers, at the old price, would come to 90. May I beg of you to reply, as soon as convenient." Addressed on the integral leaf in Poe's hand. The letter is accompanied by an engraved portrait and an export certificate from the French Ministry of Culture.

Not quite a month previously, on August 10, Poe had written to Conrad about the two articles he had offered to Graham's Magazine during his last visit to Philadelphia, where he had traveled to re-establish his magazine contacts. He states that he had obtained a $10 advance from Mr. Graham to pay for his return home. During this stay in Philadelphia, Poe had been taken seriously ill, and Conrad had provided assistance.

Poe had been editor of Graham's from February 1841 to April 1842, but continued to contribute after leaving the magazine's employ. It was where 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' first appeared, along with several other Poe short stories and literary reviews. Graham's eventually began rejecting Poe's submissions, and infamously passed up the chance to publish 'The Raven' in 1844.

"It's a beautifully preserved letter directly associated with Poe's career as writer and critic—an immensely desirable autograph," said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction.

Highlights from the sale include, but are not limited by:

The Surf Riders of Hawaii by A. R. Gurrey, Jr. sold for $34,440.

Albert Einstein's handwritten scientific manuscript in German sold for $28,185.

George Washington signed manuscript as president sold for $28,125.

Adam Smith signed manuscript from the Scottish economist and moral philosopher sold for $26,487.

Henry David Thoreau signed letter from June 22, 1837, sold for $18,781.

The Fine Autographs and Artifacts sale by RR Auction began on September 12 and concluded on October 7. For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.

Washington, D.C. —  The National Woman’s Party (NWP) announced the gift of its historic collection spanning women’s suffrage and the movement for women’s equality to the Library of Congress and National Park Service. This gift comes as the country celebrates 100 years of women's constitutional right to vote and ensures public access to a trove of records about the history of the women’s rights movement in the United States.

This gift builds on established relationships between the NWP and the Library of Congress and the National Park Service. The Library of Congress, already the repository for a large majority of the NWP papers and related women’s history collections, will serve as the home for the remainder of the NWP’s records — approximately 310,000 documents, 100 scrapbooks, 50 political cartoons, 4,500 photographs documenting the movement, 750 volumes of periodicals, 2,400 books from the NWP’s Florence Bayard Hilles Library, and other paper and digital materials. The records, dating from the 1860s to the 2010s, include correspondence, administrative files, minutes of meetings, reports, financial and legal records, printed material, a legislative card file, posters and broadsides and other items. The Florence Bayard Hilles Library collection, considered the oldest feminist library in the United States, includes monographs and serials dating from 1720 to 2014.

Complementing the generous donation of these materials was the Library’s purchase of 167 original political cartoons by the NWP’s lead illustrator Nina Allender. The Library of Congress’ curatorial and digitization resources will ensure wider availability of these and other materials throughout the collection.

“American history is not complete without women’s history, and the Library of Congress is honored to preserve these original records, photographs, drawings and scrapbooks that document the history of women’s rights and the fight for equality,” said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. “We will be proud to make this historic collection of the National Woman’s Party available to the nation alongside our other extensive collections of manuscripts, prints and photographs.”

The National Park Service will receive the NWP’s textiles, banners, furniture, paintings, sculpture and other artifacts. Notable examples include the banners held by women picketing the White House for suffrage; an original “Jailed for Freedom Pin” that Alice Paul gave to NWP members who served time in jail; keys to the District of Columbia jail where picketing suffragists were incarcerated; and Susan B. Anthony’s desk.

The National Park Service will continue to operate the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument, the National Woman’s Party’s historic headquarters, which was gifted to the National Park Service by the NWP in 2016 when it was designated a national monument. Much of the collection being gifted to the National Park Service is currently on display at the monument, where it will continue to be accessible to the public through the permanent exhibit and specially curated exhibitions.

“We are proud to accept this gift from the National Woman’s Party and become stewards of these priceless objects on behalf of the American people,” said Jeff Reinbold, superintendent of National Mall and Memorial Parks. “As we mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment, these furnishings and artifacts will help visitors to Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument understand the struggles of the National Woman’s Party and their critical work on behalf of women’s suffrage and equality in all walks of American life.”

“The National Woman’s Party was in the vanguard of the women’s suffrage and equal rights movements, and we are honored to gift this treasured collection to the American public so that the hard-fought battles for women’s rights are not forgotten,” said Susan Carter, president of the Board of Directors of the National Woman’s Party. “Our goal is to ensure the NWP’s history is preserved and made widely available to researchers and the public for posterity, an effort that began with designation of our headquarters as a National Monument in 2016. We are grateful to the Library of Congress and National Park Service for their commitment to preserving and sharing this iconic history.”

Founded in 1913 by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, the National Woman’s Party led the fight for women’s suffrage and later for equal rights for women. In 1923, Alice Paul and her colleagues drafted the original Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, still being pursued today. The innovative tactics by NWP members — marching, picketing, organizing and successfully changing discriminatory laws at the local, state, federal and international levels — are chronicled in the historic collection that has been carefully preserved over the last century.

New York — Swann Galleries’ Thursday, September 24 sale of Printed & Manuscript Americana brought an 82% sell-through rate by lot, totaling over $600k with at least 23 institutions purchasing a total of 93 lots in the sale. The sale was “evidence of continued stability in the book and manuscript market,” according to Rick Stattler, a Vice President of the house and specialist for the sale, “Buyers were eager and willing auction participants, with many lots selling for double or triple their estimates.”

Top lots of the sale included the guest register of the Catskill Mountain House, which served as a spiritual home of the early Hudson River School. It led the auction at $45,000, over a $5,000-7,500 estimate, just nosing out a strong order bid when it sold to a collector on the phone. A set of three studies for the famed “Unfinished Portrait” of Franklin Roosevelt by Elizabeth Shoumatoff brought $40,000, while a gripping 1865 ary of death on the Overland Trail kept by James W. Bentley brought $27,500.

Religious text featured an 1845–46 first edition of the first translation of the Pentateuch into English, which realized $10,000, and an 1841 Book of Mormon, first European edition, from the second American edition, saw $9,375.            

Among the lots which doubled their estimates were an original vellum stamp from the Stamp Act of 1765 ($15,000), an issue of the pro-Union Waterford News of Virginia ($4,759), an Iowa Civil War soldier’s diary ($4,000), and a group of Henry Moore cartes-de-visite from Hilton Head, SC ($3,250). Also besting their estimates was a collection of photographs from the first Alaskan film shoot ($5,250), a colorful broadside from an Iowa general store ($3500), as well as a pair of cartes-de-visite of a Chinese exchange student Liang Dunyan from 1878 ($4,500).

Leading the Latin American section was a 1611 Nahuatl-Spanish dictionary which brought $27,500. Additional Latin Americana works of note included a first edition of the first book of sermons in Nahuatl, which sold to an institution for $12,500.
           
The house is currently accepting quality consignments for the spring 2021 season. For the house’s most up-to-date auction schedule please visit swanngalleries.com.

Additional highlights can be found here.

Chicago — Potter & Potter Auctions is pleased to announce this 500 lot sale to be held on Saturday, October 31st 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. Mr. Deutsch's collection is considered among the finest assemblages of magic apparatus of the modern era. Potter & Potter Auctions' October, 2019 first sale of Deutsch materials realized nearly $325,000.

Astonishing, world-class illusions constructed by Rüdiger Deutsch take the top slots in this auction.
•    Lot #12, Deutsch's Visible Die Through Hat from 1999, is estimated at $6,000-8,000. This mechanical masterpiece, one of six units made based on an early 20th century German design, creates the illusion that a hat sinks down – bit by bit - through the die, as if one solid is melting through the other.  
•    Lot #5, Deutsch's c. 1995 Hofzinser Any-Card Called For Card Rise Box, is estimated at $5,000-8,000. This illusion was modeled on the original box of Johan Nepomuk Hofzinser and is one of three units constructed. Hofzinser was the inventor of many fundamental sleight-of-hand maneuvers and is widely regarded as one of the most significant conjurers of all time. With this apparatus, a piquet pack is dropped into the box, and any card of 32 is called for by the audience. At this command, the chosen card rises from the center of the box, followed by any other cards named by the audience.
•    Lot #1, Deutsch's c. 2000 one of a kind papier-mache Demon’s or Satyr Head, is estimated at $4,000-6,000. This illusion is modeled on apparatus described in Hoffmann’s Modern Magic (1876). The demon’s head, resting atop the conjurer’s table, opens and closes its mouth as its eyes scan the audience. Then, chosen cards appear from the figure’s mouth, while three more selections appear at the top of its head between its horns.    
•     Lot #39, Deutsch's Wine and Water Separation from c. 2000 is estimated at $4,000-8,000. Red and white wine are poured from separate glasses into a decanter resting on the centermost of three stands. The glasses and decanter are then concealed by three pyramid-like covers. When revealed again, the wines have vanished from the decanter and reappeared – separated – in the glasses from which they were first poured. This illusion, one of six manufactured, is modeled on a French design and exquisitely screen and hand painted.

Outstanding vintage posters and broadsides promoting famous and lesser known illusionists are also well represented in this important sale.
•    Lot #367, the poster Bellachini. Hofkünstler Bellachini Theater. Illusion. Magie printed in Hamburg in 1914 by Adolph Friedlander, is estimated at $800-1,500. This eye catching lithograph is illustrated with highlights from Bellachini’s magic show and portraits of the magician and (presumably) the theater manager. Deustch used the stage name of Bellachini, and displayed this poster at the top of the stairs leading to his attic filled with the vintage magic apparatus he designed, restored, collected, and used in his act.
•    Lot #369, an important letterpress broadside of Professor Caroline Bernhardt, is estimated at $800-1,600. This poster from c. 1851 bears a central woodblock portrait of Frau Bernhardt, in the “realm of magic,” with a wand in hand, surrounded by descriptive text, all inside a repeating ornamental border. This the earliest advertisement we have offered for a female magician.
•    Lot #388, a poster advertising magician Alois Kassner and his entourage, is estimated at $800-1,200. This piece was printed in Hamburg by Adolph Friedländer in 1935 and features Kassner, in white tie and tails, surrounded by animals from his show, and flanked by demons who aid him in performing the Any Drink Called For routine.

Seldom seen 19th century portrait prints of European and American magicians are certain to conjure up a great deal of interest at this can't-miss sales event.
•    Lot #379, a portrait of Hofzinser by Prinzhofer, is estimated at $1,000-2,000. Produced in Vienna around 1846, this three-quarter length portrait features the magician seated in an armchair, a facsimile of his signature underneath the image.
•    Lot #377, a c. 1831 lithographed half-length portrait of the Austrian magician Ludwig Döbler, is estimated at $800-1,200.  
•    Lot #378, a lithographed portrait of Herr Alexander, is estimated at $500-1,000. It was printed in 1840 in New York by Louis Nagel and features a three-quarter length seated portrait of the magician in costume, the edge of his cape clutched in one hand. It is interesting to note that Alexander’s reputation was sufficiently great as to secure him a mention in Herman Melville’s seminal work, Moby Dick.

Also available through this sale is a remarkable and unusual collection of 19th and 20th European card presses, with nearly 20 examples on offer.
•    Lot #347, a handsome and large example featuring a scalloped platen design with two large metal screws and a colored marquetry floral design in the upper plate, is estimated at $300-600.
•    Lot #354, a bronze press cast with the suit symbols at the four corners of its base, and an eagle incorporated into the design atop the handle, is estimated at $300-600. It is also detailed with gilt on its handle and base.
•    Lot #358, an unusually designed, heavy brass press decorated in bright cloisonné with suit symbols, parrots, and a scene of two women tearing at each other’s hair on the upper panel, is estimated at $300-600.

Collectors will no doubt want to drop a dime on this auction's carefully curated selections of coins and medallions.
•    Lot #478, a counter-stamped Wyman the Wizard advertising American cent token from c. 1854, is estimated at $700-1,500.
•    Lot #483, a c. 1980 Magic Circle of Germany Award Medallion in its original case, is estimated at $400-800. The obverse bears an artistic rendering of Kalanag’s levitation while the reverse is blank, intended for engraving.
•    Lot #477, a fine collection of 100+ American and European tokens for magicians, magic conventions, organizations, and various commemorative issues from the mid to late 20th century, is estimated at $300-500.   

Books, ephemera, legacy apparatus, and other remarkable magic-related antiques bring this second Rüdiger Deutsch event full circle.
•    Lot #192, Hofzinser’s silver plated mechanical “Wonderful Wand” from 1860, is estimated at $5,000-10,000. With this illusion, a borrowed ring would vanish from the performer’s hands, then reappear inside the small plunger-activated cup at the end of the wand, which splits in half when the end of the prop is pressed. This is one of but a few objects owned by Hofzinser to come to market in the last half-century.
•    Lot #40, an expertly carved c. 1780 ivory-handled cane or wand, said to be owned by the famous charlatan and magician Cagliostro, is estimated at $5,000-10,000. The handle and upper portion are carved in the shape of a skull resting atop a staff encircled by a serpent, the lowermost section of the handle terminates in a floral pattern.  
•    Lot #402, a signed copy of The Magic of Robert Harbin, is estimated at $1,200-1,800. This profusely illustrated tome was published in 1970 by the author and is number 401 of 500 copies in the first and only edition.
•    Lot #450, a massive collection of principally early to mid-20th century ephemera related to German magic house suppliers, is estimated at $500-750.  This archive fills seven bins, and includes instruction slips, price lists, and catalogs issued by Janos Bartl, Bartl & Willmann, Conradi-Horster, Manfredo, and other German dealers and manufacturers, together with magazines, photos, booklets, and other ephemera accumulated by Rudiger Deutsch.  

According to Gabe Fajuri, President at Potter & Potter Auctions, "Anyone interested in clever conjuring apparatus will not want to miss this auction - for about 500 reasons (well, in this case, lots). This second sale from Rudiger's legendary collection is perhaps more representative of his interests as a collector and abilities as a craftsman than last year's auction. The first session of the sale features many of the masterful pieces of apparatus that Rudiger crafted in his own workshop, often in a single example or in extremely limited numbers. The pride of workmanship shines through in each object, from the hand painted detailing to the clever mechanisms incorporated in to many of the props. As for the antiques in the auction, they are of every stripe and kind, including unusual and unique objects - and that's saying something when you consider how many unusual magic props we have handled here at Potter & Potter over the last 12 years."