Amsterdam — 2020 saw the continued development of the Catawiki Autographs and Manuscripts auction. This has grown into a weekly auction, offering a wide range of original documents and signed items.

We are starting the year with some beautiful offerings. Alongside the (now traditional) leaves from medieval Books of Hours, and vellum indentures, there are a variety of Napoleonic documents, items from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain.

Amongst the highlights in the auction is a signed postcard by Pablo Picasso from 1925. The postcard is of the work “Les Adieux du Péchéur,” from the artist’s “blue period” and is signed later in bright red ink. It comes with a provenance document.

Paris — The latest publication of Les Enluminures focuses on the Veneto Siddur-Sefer Minhagim, a Hebrew manuscript newly attributed to the artist-scribe Joel ben Simeon, made for a Jewish immigrant family from Germany probably living in Treviso. Joel ben Simeon (active c. 1440s-c. 1490) is one of the most famous figures in late medieval Hebrew manuscript production. Born in Germany, he spent most of his career in northern Italy as an itinerant craftsman.

Previously unrecorded in the extensive literature on Joel ben Simeon, the present manuscript includes the earliest known copy of this version of the Sefer Minhagim, written in 1449/1450, and more than 500 pen and ink drawings added by Joel around 14 70, thus significantly increasing the artist's corpus. Illustrated Hebrew manuscripts are exceptionally rare on the market.

Connecticut — AntiquarianAuctions.com in the U.S., sale #5: a wide-ranging sale, including a shell-book selection from the library of Richard I. Johnson; fine bindings; calligraphic material; sculpture: George Washington, and Sigmund Freud; wood printing blocks; photo albums: Atomic Power in Italy in one, an archive of material relating to H.G. Wells’ “Things To Come” in another.  The Auction runs from Thursday 7th January until Thursday 14th, ending at 12.30pm EST.

The Richard I. Johnson collection – arguably the greatest conchological library to have appeared on the market in a generation has already featured in two highly successful sales in late 2020. The present selection of about 50 lots offers a further chance to bid on some very rare works from the collection of one of the last true scientific gentleman ‘amateurs’ - in the original sense of the word.

In addition, the sale, of 260 lots, includes:

Lot 11 an unrecorded 1st edition of Lady Duff-Gordan’s Letters from the Cape printed in 1864.

Lot 12 the Norman copy of the first book on Orthodonics: Natural History of Human Teeth, 1803.

Lot 23 Ernest Shackleton’s first substantial printed work Troopin’, Troopin’, Troopin’ to the Sea “O.H.M.S.” An Illustrated Record of the voyage of the S.S. “Tintagel Castle”, published in 1900

Lots 34 Publifoto of Rome, and others. A photo album recording the construction of the Latina Nuclear Power Plant in Italy. 1958-1963, with over 320 photographs.

Lots 61 and 62 gentleman’s library accessories: A George III library book grab; and: the Shadowrock Book Block.

Lot 81 a German Bible: Biblia Das ist: Die gantze heilige Schrifft verteutscht durch Martin Luther, from 1620-1622, with over 120 Virgil Solis’s woodcuts, first issued in the 1560s.

Lot 92 a calligraphic manuscript by Gale Goodwin (1785-1810) of Middletown. 13 leaves demonstrating various alphabets.

Lot 98 Science Fiction Cinema – an album assembled by a fan of Alexander Korda / H.G. Wells' Things To Come [1936] – includes, letters, stills and candid photographs.

Lot 102 an Islamic manuscript: an Illuminated Koran, with a Persian lacquer binding

Lot 103 Henri Matisse Dessins Themes et Variations, 1943  - the copy from the Dover archives

Lot 247 WW II Battle of Tarawa – substantial collection of official photographs, many as used in published account

In addition, worth a closer look: a scattering of original wood printer’s blocks; extra-illustrated 17th-century book on London; an 18-foot folding panorama of London; a 2pp. letter from Emil Zola to a US literary impresario; two letters from Elanora Duse to a London contact; a significant number of lots containing photographs, from individual images to albums, and including a group of 18 other lots of official military photos from the same source as lot 247 (see above).

Chicago — Potter & Potter Auctions is pleased to announce this 700+ lot sale to be held on Saturday, January 30th starting at 10am CST. Given current public health regulations, the event will be held 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.  

Remarkable antique gambling accessories and devices represent many of the top lots in this auction. Some also include amazing provenance or celebrity association.

• Lot #319, an early 20th century mother of pearl casino chip set, is estimated at $15,000-25,000. Made in France, this breathtaking collection of 1,846 chips is housed in a three drawered, locked oak case with brass handles. The white, pink, yellow, and green chips are each stamped with a unique ID number and are decorated with a lion’s head on one side and the denomination on other. This fully provenanced collection was used in casinos across Mexico in the 1930s and is exceedingly rare in this quantity and state of completeness.
• Lot #357, Dai Vernon’s personally owned gaffed Faro box, is estimated at $6,000-9,000. Made in Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, this German silver example retains its period brown leather case and is accompanied by an autographed, signed note by Vernon from his sale of the item to collector Tom Blue. Vernon acquired this box in the 1930s while tracing his way across the U.S. in pursuit of the methods of crooked gamblers, specifically one that might reveal the secret to the elusive center deal.
• Lot #358, a c. 1870s gaffed German silver Faro dealing box, is estimated at $2,000-3,000. This example belonged to Frederick Adolph Will (ca. 1837-1912), the business partner of Julius Finck. Together they formed Will & Finck, the San Francisco manufacturers of knives, gambling equipment, locks, and other instruments of the middle and late 19th century.

This can't miss auction also has the upper hand in the playing card category, with over 160 examples on offer.

• Lot #115, a deck of c. 1860s unrecorded Civil War era American playing cards, is estimated at $3,000-5,000. It is illustrated with black and white men, women, and children of the South, including servants (or slaves), horseback riding, a hobo, and other domestic scenes. Our experts are not able to find any reference to this deck in any playing card reference or at auction, suggesting it is the only example extant.
• Lot #289, a brick of Jerry’s Nugget playing cards, is estimated at $3,000-4,000. Made in Cincinnati by USPC in the 1980s, this collection of poker-size cards includes six red decks and six blue decks, all advertising the Las Vegas casino. In March, 2020 Potter & Potter sold a similar brick for $3,840.
• Lot #221, a deck of Ludlow & Co. Patent Knight’s Cards & T. Wheeler Playing Cards, is estimated at $2,000-4,000. Made in London around 1806, these cards feature double-ended courts, which did not come into prominence until the mid- to late 19th century.  

This sale's comprehensive offering of unusual, century spanning poker chips is certain to catch the attention of collectors worldwide.

• Lot #645, a 19th century $100 scrimshawed ivory poker chip is estimated at $1,500-2,500. This large, American token is has “One Hundred” on one side and the Roman numeral “C” on the other.
• Lot #550, a second issue c. 1948-1951 Club Harlem $5 casino chip from Reno, NV, is estimated at $1,000-2,000. Club Harlem was primarily patronized by African Americans. According to Campiglia and Wells (4th ed.), this is the highest valued chip for Club Harlem.
• Lot #573, a collection of 200 poker chips from the Imperial Club of Galveston, TX, is estimated at $500-1,000. The set includes 25  blue; 25 red; and 150 orange chips and comes with a wooden caddy with a paper board cover.

Outstanding antique publications on poker, playing cards, and cheating are well represented in this signatures sale.

• Lot #13, a first edition of SW Erdnase's The Expert at the Card Table, is estimated at $6,000-9,000. Self-published in Chicago in 1902, this classic tome is Illustrated with 100 + drawings “from life” by Marshall D. Smith. In 2019 Potter & Potter sold a similar copy for $16,800.
• Lot #32, a first edition of Protection. The Sealed Book, is estimated at $3,000-5,000. Written and published in Milwaukee by Joseph E. Meyer in 1908, it features illustrations of crooked gambling equipment, faro and casino items, slot machines, and more. The book would see many editions over time, and become a standard reference, but first editions are very rare.   
• Lot #25, a first edition of Gambling Unmasked! Or, the Personal Experience of the Reformed Gambler by Jonathan H. Green, is estimated at $800-1,200. It was published in New York by Burgess, Stringer & Co. in 1844. Green is considered the most important early writer on gambling in America.  

Also of note in this sale are a number of fine antique gaming apparatus and coin op machines.  

• Lot #320, a set of three roulette/gaming wheels from the 1930s, is estimated at $2,000-3,000. This example, in an unusual and handsome design, consists of a trio of painted wood and glass wheels which rest on a bar within a heavy and ornately cast nickel cast iron stand, and spin freely beside a second nickel wheel with leather flap stopper.  
• Lot #321, a 1930s era H.C. Evans casino roulette wheel, is estimated at $2,000-4,000. This professional size wheel is made from satinwood and rosewood and is decorated with a stamped nickel handle and gilt painted numerals on its black, red, and green wheels. It also includes two wheels which may be switched in and out of the frame, three billiard cloth betting layouts, two roulette balls, and its original shipping crates.
• Lot #428, a Superior Confection three reel 5 cent slot machine, is estimated at $1,200-1,800. This uncommon example, made in Chicago in the 1920s, dispenses Vens mints and also features an attached side vendor.  

Antiques, ephemera, and rarities that defy standard auction categories round out this robust sale.

• Lot #469, a marked U.S. Glass “It’s a Long Time Between Drinks” gambler’s flask, is estimated at $500-700. This 19th/early 20th century example is made from clear glass and is decorated with a faux clock dial depicting playing cards for the hours.
• Lot #511, a c. 700-800 piece lobby card collection, is estimated at $3,000-5,000. This assembly includes examples from American films featuring scenes of gambling, poker and card playing, casinos, hustlers and cons, racketeers, and related images, from the silent era onward. Featured stars include Elvis Presley; Frank Sinatra; John Wayne; Johnny Mack Brown; Rock Hudson; Gene Autry; Roy Rogers; Clark Gable; Ricky Jay; and many others.
• Lot #452, a 1930s Royal Bayreuth Devil & Cards deep candy bowl, is estimated at $1,000-2,000. This blue marked rarity was made in Bavaria and is not listed in McCaslin or Raines.  

According to Gabe Fajuri, President at Potter & Potter Auctions, "This, our tenth annual auction of gambling memorabilia, is remarkable in that while the category is certainly not new to us, much of the merchandise in the auction most definitely is. Robert Eisenstadt had what was arguably the best collection of poker chips in America, and paging through our catalog proves it - over and over again. I expect the bidding will be fast and furious on January 30th."