Leyburn, North Yorkshire, UK -- Tennants Auctioneers’ Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Photographs Sale on 18th November saw impressive results. Whilst the sale took place behind closed doors with no public viewing, online bidding facilities and extra imaging provided by Tennants helped the sale exceed the pre-sale estimate and achieve a 94% sold rate.

Lots relating to children’s literature are a strong theme amongst the highlights of the sale. A small pen and ink sketch of Christopher Robin by E.H. Shepard was one of the top lots, selling for £3,800 (plus buyer’s premium). The sketch, in which Christopher Robin faces away, is signed by the artist and is accompanied with a manuscript note on headed paper reading ‘with [heart] and xx from Christopher Robin’. Both the sketch and the note are mounted in an autograph book compiled by Miss Joyce Cartmell from 1937.

A fine first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling sold for £2,900; a second impression, the volume contained a label for Rowling’s agent – Christopher Little Literary Agency – to the half title page. Strong results were also seen for a 1926 first edition of Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne (sold for £1,700), and a numbered limited edition copy of Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince from 1913 that was signed by the illustrator Charles Robinson (sold for £1,000).

Top lots of classic fiction included a first edition, second issue of Anne Bronte’s Tenant of Wildfell Hall from 1848, which sold for £5,400, and a third edition of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre: An Autobiography from 1848, which sold for £3,600.

Interesting non-fiction highlights included Transactions of the Guild and School of Handicraft, Vol. 1, 1890, with manuscript inscriptions by the volume’s editor and founder of the Guild C.R. Ashbee. Ashbee, one of the leading figures of the Arts and Crafts movement, inscribed on the flyleaf a verse from Rudyard Kipling’s The Conundrum of the Workshops (sold for £2,100).

Photographic lots saw strong bidding, with a volume of sixty collotype plates of Korea, Japan and China photographed by Isabella L Bishop circa 1897 selling for £750. An outstanding collection of 47 early aviation photographs recording what is believed to be the first aviation meeting in Africa, which was held at Heliopolis in Egypt in 1910, sold for £1,400. Aircraft both on the ground and airborne are shown in the photographs, as well as scenes of spectators.

Finally, a collection of 1920s catalogues, brochures and price lists, mostly from Fortnum & Mason, sold for £2,100 against an estimate of £60-80. Featuring colourful graphic design of the era, interesting items in the collection included the brochure ‘Fortnum and Mason make Entertaining easy in your own home’.

Tennants are currently accepting lots for the next Book Sale on 10th March 2021, please contact them on 01969 623780 or enquiry@tennants-ltd.co.uk for details.

Dallas, TX — An extremely rare letter written and signed by composer Ludwig van Beethoven sold for $275,000 to lead Heritage Auctions' Historical Manuscripts Auction to $1,762,995.50 in total sales Nov. 12.

The Ludwig Autograph Letter Signed "Beethoven" roared past its pre-auction estimate of $60,000+ to reach its final result, which was the most paid for a Beethoven-signed document in the last decade. In a short letter to a Mr. von Bauman, Beethoven requests the return of a piano trio and writes he will return soon with a violin sonata.

"It came as a complete surprise because it's beyond the norm for what his letters sell for," said Sandra Palomino, director of Rare Manuscripts at Heritage Auctions. "He [Beethoven] rarely comes on the market, but people got excited about this because he was talking about his music."

The letter was bought by a musician who has researched and given lectures on Beethoven, and intends to donate the letter to the music school at which she studied. The buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said the letter was especially appealing to her because "it refers to a trio sonata, which I played so I knew where he was coming from."

"It was my idea that I am getting older and, besides enjoying in enormously, I am going to give it to my alma matter in my will," the collector said. "This was a last-minute purchase, but I feel it is something that will be important for young people to feel.

"It means a lot to me, and Germany has always been so welcoming to me. and Beethoven was my refuge growing up."

Also climbing above and beyond expectations was a John Adams Autograph Letter Signed "J. Adams" that sold for $81,250, against a pre-auction estimate of $25,000+. The letter was written by Adams to his good friend, Philadelphia physician and fellow signer of the Declaration of Independence Benjamin Rush, renewing a correspondence between the two men that was suspended for several years due to a misunderstanding. During the 1800 presidential election, which Adams lost to Thomas Jefferson, Rush allegedly claimed that Adams favored monarchy over democracy, which Rush denied. Adams took great offense at what Rush allegedly said and stopped their correspondence.

A Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel Legal Document Signed "Ben Siegel" as President of the Nevada Project Corporation found a new home at $45,000. The legal document marks the transference of the Flamingo Hotel project from William R. Wilkerson to Siegel, who signed the bottom of the document. The second page, also dated March 19, 1947, is a signed statement by the Los Angeles, California Notary Public, N. Joseph Ross. Siegel is popularly thought to be the impetus behind large-scale development of Las Vegas. Siegel returned to Nevada and began working on his dream to construct a hotel-casino complex on what later would become known as the Las Vegas Strip, an establishment called the "Flamingo," a project started by Los Angeles businessman and Hollywood Reporter publisher Billy Wilkerson, who turned the project over to Siegel after running short of funds. This signed document is the evidence of this deal, which was completed in 1947.

A George Washington Autograph Letter Signed "Go: Washington" nearly tripled its pre-auction estimate when it drew a winning bid of $40,000. The letter commends Colonel David Humphreys, his former aide-de-camp, for a position, either as secretary of foreign affairs or as a minister to another country. In a letter to Washington, Humphreys reported that Continental Congress president Thomas Mifflin indicated that a position may be available to him. Humphreys suggested that a letter from Washington would be more effective in helping him a position. Thus, Washington wrote the letter offered here.

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

$37,500: A William Harvey Autograph Document Signed

$35,000: A Steve Jobs "Fortune" Magazine Cover Signed "steve jobs"

$30,000: A George Washington Revolutionary War Letter Signed "Go: Washington"

$30,000: A Mary Queen of Scots Document Signed "MARIE R."

$27,500: A Benjamin Franklin Document Signed "B. Franklin Presdt" as President of Pennsylvania

$27,500: A Franz Schubert Autograph Letter Signed "Schubert"

Minneapolis — As part of our 35th anniversary celebration, Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) is proud to announce that the winner of the 2020 MCBA Prize is Sara Langworthy for her artist’s book, Sidereal. Acclaimed curator, writer, and historian Betty Bright selected Sidereal from an ever-narrowing pool of 158 submissions, 32 finalists and five finalists.

The MCBA Prize was founded in 2009 as the first honor to recognize contemporary book art from across the field and around the world. Along with a cash prize of $2,000, Langworthy also received an essay written by Betty Bright which examines the beauty, skillfulness, and relevance of her work. In the essay, Bright praises Langworthy’s book for illuminating a painful analogy between close-seeming (yet ever distant) stars and human relationships.

The word sidereal dates to the seventeenth century and refers to distant stars; sidereal time is based on the Earth’s rate of rotation measured relative to the fixed stars (Wikipedia).

Langworthy, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, began “accidental research” for the project in 2017, ahead of the total solar eclipse in the United States. Interested in the sky and browsing old astronomy textbooks, Langworthy happened upon The Heavens (1873) by Amédée Guillemin. As Juror Betty Bright writes, she recognized “the bones of poetry” in Guillemin’s prose. Langworthy excerpted and reshaped this language to explore questions of distance and perspective:

We draw a map,
to bridge the immensity of this abyss
to measure and express the fearful distance.

“Visually the book is stunning, replete with openings of coruscating starscapes,” Bright writes, explaining how Langworthy built the book’s “velvety imagery” by combining relief-printed collagraph blocks and pressure printing, layering the inks until stars slowly emerged.

Due to safety precautions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the planned in-person exhibition shifted online. All 158 submissions, including the 32 semi-finalists, four finalists, and the winning work, are on view at mcbaprize.org. Images of the artwork—and, in the case of the winner and the four finalists, video—are contextualized with artist statements and bios.

According to Bright, the four finalists also “explore and express the tenor of today” with an authentic voice.

Finalists for the 2020 MCBA Prize each receive a $500 award:
    •    Hyewon Jang, Urtod
    •    Ravikumar Kashi, ‘Everything will be remembered’ a palimpsest.
    •    Veronika Schäpers, A Darkened Boat
    •    Peng Wu and Jammo Xu, Arriving Ashore – a memorial for the lives lost in the forceful migrations

The winner was announced at the virtual MCBA Prize Reveal & Live Artist Talk on Friday, October 23, 2020, which also featured a brief first-hand account of our 35-year history from Betty Bright, who helped start MCBA. After the winner announcement, guests were treated to an artist talk between Bright and Langworthy, a participatory Q&A, and a toast to MCBA’s anniversary with a special “MCBA 35” cocktail. A recording of the event is viewable here. 

New to this year’s award categories is the People’s Book Art Award. The winner—chosen by you, the people—also receives $500. We invite you to cast your ballot for the People’s Book Art Award at mcbaprize.org by January 10, 2021.

London — The British Library announces it has acquired the Lucas Psalter, an important and hitherto unknown copy of the Psalms dating from the second half of the 15th century.

Made in Bruges for an English patron, the late medieval manuscript is known as the Lucas Psalter after the added arms of Thomas Houchon Lucas (1460-1539) of Suffolk, the secretary to Jasper Tudor and Solicitor General under Henry VII.

Featuring eight large finely painted initials, the manuscript is a previously unknown example of the work of the Master of Edward IV, one of the most influential artists of the late Middle Ages. This Psalter is an unusual example of his painting in a sacred text, which might have originally formed part of a breviary volume or set of volumes. The artist is known for his contributions to manuscripts made for Edward IV, the majority of which are now in the Royal collection in the British Library.

London — Christie’s Classic Week presents Quentin Blake: 200 Drawings, open for browsing from 25 November and bidding from 2 to 16  December. With estimates ranging from £100 to £2,000, the online auction is the latest collection of works offered directly from the artist’s studio, sold to benefit House of Illustration, the UK’s only gallery and education space dedicated to illustration and graphics. Proceeds from the sale will support the charity’s ongoing projects, which include the redevelopment of New River Head in London into the renamed Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, the world’s largest public arts space dedicated to illustration. Set to open in 2022, the centre will be a new cultural landmark for the UK that will become a permanent home for the archive of the organisation’s founder, Sir Quentin Blake, with selections from his archive of more than 40,000 works on permanent display.

Quentin Blake said of 200 Drawings: “There are very few days of the year on which I don’t produce drawings; in addition to originals for publication, there are alternative versions, sequences of drawings exploring themes that appeal to me, experiments with unfamiliar implements and sometimes a drawing simply because I feel the need to. Christie’s auction means for me, delightfully, that all kinds of people actually get to take these drawings home to look at and that is a pleasure enormously enhanced for me by the knowledge that their money contributes to the development of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, which, when it opens 2022, is going to be an extraordinary new cultural destination.”

Following the success of Quentin Blake: Not in Books in 2019, 200 Drawings will showcase the wide variety of work undertaken by Sir Quentin in recent years, from drawings for publications to designs for public artwork and large-scale works for installation.

Highlights of the sale can be viewed here. Lots are offered without reserve, with the sale open for browsing from 25 November and bidding from 2 to 16  December.

New York — Fine Books & Manuscripts are at Swann Galleries Tuesday, November 17, with standout material amongst autographs, nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature, as well as art books.

Autographs from important moments in American history include Revolutionary War material, with a 1777 partially-printed document signed by John Hancock as President of the Continental Congress issuing an uncommon privateer commission giving “Licence and Authority . . . to attack, seize, and take the Ships and other Vessels belonging to the Inhabitants of Great-Britain . . . to some convenient Ports in the . . . Colonies . . .” ($6,000-9,000); and a 1792 autograph letter signed by Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, helping the bank of the United States to quell the Panic of 1792—America’s first financial crisis ($8,000-12,000).

U.S. presidents are present with a 1794 partially-printed document signed by George Washington, as President, and countersigned by Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State ($15,000-25,000); an 1863 partly-printed document signed by Abraham Lincoln ordering New York to furnish 2,050 troops, signed in the weeks following the New York City draft riots ($15,000-25,000); a striking portrait of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a young man, probably taken during his service as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, signed and inscribed to a friend, dated 1920 ($800-1,200); and a United States Senate Restaurant menu signed and inscribed by John F. Kennedy ($1,000-1,500).

Also of note are items from Brigham Young, and a photograph postcard signed by Blackfoot chief Two Guns White Calf with his pictogram. Authors Ezra Pound, Antone de Saint-Exupéry, George Bernard Shaw, and others, as well as material from artists Alexander Calder, Grandma Moses, René Magritte, and more round out the selection of autographs.

Following the success of Jane Austen first editions in a February sale, the house will be offering first editions and scarce early printings of all of Austen’s major works. Most notably Sense and Sensibility, 1811 ($30,000-40,000), and Pride and Prejudice, 1813 ($20,000-30,000). Virginia Woolf is well represented with several signed limited-edition copies: A Room of One’s Own, 1929, limited large-paper edition ($3,000-4,000), and Kew Gardens, 1927, signed by both Woolf and Vanessa Bell ($1,500-2,000). A first edition Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, with a signed and inscribed leaf laid in loose,1960 ($4,000-6,000) also features.

Additional nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature include a first edition of Charles Dickens’s American Notes for General Circulation, 1842—a presentation copy from Dickens’s first American tour inscribed the day after publication to Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (an American lawyer, politician from Massachusetts, and author of the memoir Two Years Before the Mast) ($30,000-40,000). A first edition of John Keats’s third and last book published in his lifetime, Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, 1820 ($3,000-4,000); and Lord Byron’s Don Juan, Cantos I-XVI, 1823–24, complete in six volumes ($2,000-3,000) are available. Early George Cruikshank original drawings, many signed, feature as well.

Among art and illustrated books is the deluxe issue of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, 1922, illustrated by Elihu Vedder—one of just 100 produced ($3,000-4,000); Art Institute of Chicago: 100 Masterpieces, 1978, signed by Willem de Kooning, Georgia O’Keeffe, Joan Miro and Ivan Albright, and signed and inscribed by Marc Chagall, one of 100 signed copies ($3,000-4,000); Alexandre Raymond’s rarely seen complete L’Art Islamique en Orient, first edition, two volumes, 1922–24 ($3,000-4,000), and La Rue Norvins à Montmartre, 1952, by Maurice Utrillo ($2,000-3,000).

Limited previewing (by appointment only) will be available through November 16, 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.
 
Additional highlights can be found here.

New York — Aperture, in partnership with Fundación ICO, announces the release of Danny Lyon’s The Destruction of Lower Manhattan, first published in 1969 and now republished in this facsimile edition.

Lyon’s visual essay is a singular, lasting document of the demolition of nearly sixty acres of downtown, mostly nineteenth-century New York architecture. Aperture’s reissue retains the power of the original, while bringing a chapter of New York history back to life at a time when the city begins to reimagine itself once more. In 1966, after completing his series The Bikeriders, Lyon settled into a downtown loft, becoming one of the few artists to document the historic changes taking place in downtown Manhattan. Development plans included the construction of the World Trade Center, an access ramp to the Brooklyn Bridge, expansion of Pace University, and growth of new businesses and housing.

The photographs Lyon took represent a fierce, irreplaceable report of doomed facades and empty interiors. Intermingled with the architecture are portraits of individuals and the demolition workers who, despite their assigned task, emerge as the surviving heroes. Through his striking images and accompanying texts, Lyon paints a portrait that still appeals to our emotions.

Compiling panoramic images, architectural views, and humanistic portraits of demolition workers, Lyon’s series serves both as document of and a tribute to a transitional moment in the history of New York City. Fifty years later, Lyon’s work continues to resonate with moral power.

An exhibition of The Destruction of Lower Manhattan will be on view at Museo ICO in Madrid until January 17, 2021.

Berkeley, CA – PBA Galleries will present an auction of Rare Books & Manuscripts on November 19th. The sale will feature 222 lots of rare, important, attractive, and at times, amusing lots of printed books and manuscript material covering a broad range of subjects. Included are early printed books and religious tomes; works on the history of America, California, and the West; manuscript and printed cookbooks from Mexico; travel and exploration including rare English color plate books; science, medicine and mathematics; illustrated books; finely bound sets; landmarks of literature; original documents from the Napoleonic Wars; and more.

Articles, letters, and other ephemera capture landmark historical moments. One of these is the earliest American publication announcing the invention of art and photography: “Pictorial delineations by light…,” an important article in The American Journal of Science and Arts, 1839, will be up for auction in the rare original wrappers (Estimate: $1,500-$2,500). An autograph letter from one of Napoleon’s most notable generals, Marshal Ney, to Minister of War Marshal Berthier (1811) recommends an officer be promoted to general. The letter is housed in a deluxe custom leather case, with an original brass shako plate (Estimate: $2,000-$3,000). Bidders will be interested in a manuscript cookbook from Mexico (1909), containing instructions for creating a varied array of ice creams, drinks, flans and other assorted confections, with many of the recipes quite involved and detailed (Estimate: $2,000-$3,000).

Rare literary works are expected to draw spirited bidding. A rare incunabula edition of Antonio de Nebrija’s Introductiones Latinae, cum commento (1495) is an important work by the influential Spanish humanist most noted for his contributions to grammar and lexicography (Estimate: $10,000-$15,000). John Ogilby’s important translation of Homer His Iliads (1660) will be presented in a large folio edition with 52 copperplate engravings, a nobleman’s copy in early paneled calf (Estimate: $7,000-$10,000). John Ross’ Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-West Passage (1835) includes the rare separate Appendix, a nice set of the first edition with the full complement of lithographs, mezzotints and maps, in modern half morocco binding (Estimate: $2,000-$3,000).

Striking illustrations, photographs, and engravings are present throughout the sale. Views in Greece from drawings by Edward Dodwell (1821) is up for bidding: This large folio displays 30 fine hand-colored aquatint plates printed on thick paper, from drawings by the author and the artist Simone Pomardi, who accompanied him on his travels (Estimate: $7,000-$10,000). Salvador Dali’s striking folio illustrated edition of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of 2500 copies (1969), with 12 color plates and the text set in morocco and linen drop-back box, as issued, signed by the artist (Estimate: $6,000-$9,000). Florida Architecture of Addison Mizner (1928) with 184 plates from photographs, is finely bound in full red morocco and one of 100 copies in the “Edicion Imperial” and signed by Mizner ($7,000-$10,000).

PBA continues to safeguard the health of employees and clients by remaining closed to the public. PBA will limit live auction participation to online or phone bidding. For more information about upcoming sales or to schedule a Zoom preview or phone bidding for a future auction, please contact the galleries at 415.989.2665 or pba@pbagalleries.com.

Amsterdam — This weekend, Catawiki launched a selection of high value lots across the platform. This has been called the “Exclusive Selection”  Readers can find the full range of items in this collection by entering #exclusiveselection into the search box. This will offer viewers several hundred items, in every category that Catawiki offers.

Some highlights from the Exclusive Books & Manuscripts Selection:

Our inaugural “Exclusive Selection” books and manuscripts auction will find something to fascinate everyone.  
 
One favourite is the Original Summons issued to Emile Zola. Zola had written the article “J’accuse” in connection with the Dreyfus case, and was convicted of defamation. He appealed against his conviction, and this original document is the summons to hear the verdict. A fascinating piece of French and Jewish history.

Another fascinating lot is the François Bédos de Celles - L'art du facteur d'orgues - A landmark French study on organ building, with some beautiful engravings.

And which home is complete without a Complete copy Diderot et d'Alembert’s Encyclopedia or Reasoned Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts? This is the first edition from 1751 with more than 2,600 plates

Here you can view the Exclusive Book & Manuscript Collection. It is open for bids now, and bidding closes on Sunday 15th November at 20.00 Central European Time.

Some highlights from the Exclusive Cartography & Globes Selection:

We have several pocket globes including this rather lovely A Correct Globe with the new Discoveries. Probably produced in London in circa 1770, it is one of the first to show Cook’s 1770 voyage.

There are also Planetarium’s, world maps, city plans and country maps. Of particular interest to Fine Books' American readers, will be this c. 1760 map of New York State, published in Augsburg in 1761.

Here you can view the Exclusive collection: Cartography & Globes. It is open for bids now, and bidding closes on Sunday 15th November at 20.00 Central European Time.

“I am very pleased to present these two auctions. They represent some of the finest books, manuscripts and cartographic objects that we have yet offered. This is an exciting start to our programme of regular, exclusive auctions.” — Marc Harrison, category manager Books, Manuscripts & Cartography at Catawiki

London -- Following the success of the June and September editions of Firsts Online, the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (ABA) has announced the third staging of its online fair series, scheduled to run Friday 27th November to Wednesday 2nd December on a new dedicated website www.firsts-online.com.

Due to the cancellation of the Chelsea and Edinburgh Rare Book Fairs due to take place this autumn, the winter-staging of Firsts Online will provide an opportunity to highlight ABA booksellers who would historically exhibit at these events. The November edition of Firsts Online will welcome booksellers from the ABA and the International League of Booksellers (ILAB), with each exhibitor showcasing up to 20 rare books respectively. Visitors to the online fair will be able to search books by title, author, keywords or categories and equally visit each bookseller’s virtual booth to view their highlights. Visitors can expect to see a variety of items including rare manuscripts, prints and illustrations, modern literature, and first or early editions.

Responding to the need for a digital fair platform, the ABA alongside their Official Fair Partner Biblio have launched a separate website exclusively for the online fairs, www.firsts-online.com. The forthcoming November fair will be hosted on the new site, and has been developed with user experience in mind and improved based on exhibitor feedback.

The June and September editions of Firsts Online each brought together an impressive average of 120 dealers from over 15 countries, representing an excellent diversity of specialisms and driving several large five and six figure sales across the two fairs. Visitors to the website peaked on both opening days, with over 65,000 pageviews on the first day and totalling approximately 140,000 over the five-day periods.