Auctions | November 10, 2010

National Book Auctions Host Lewis & Clark

National Book Auctions, a public auction service located in Ithaca, NY, is pleased to offer at their Sunday, December 5th auction, the 1814 first printing of "Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean."  This volume contains the report of Lewis and Clarke’s landmark exploration.
 
This first English printing of the report of Lewis and Clarke’s expedition includes the all-important six engraved maps on four plates, complete with the large folding map, in excellent condition.  Many credit this folding map with launching the modern era of map collecting and this first English edition is generally considered to be superior to the first American edition, published earlier in 1814 in Philadelphia.
 
"We are pleased to offer this book," stated David Hall, Business Manager and Owner of National Book Auctions. "Like the exploration reported within its pages, this book is an important discovery. We are excited to make it available to our global community of collectors."
 
The volume is the “definitive account of the most important exploration of the North American continent" (Wagner-Camp), led by Lewis and Clark across the unexplored Louisiana Territory, spanning the entire mid-section of North America from present-day Texas and Louisiana up to Montana and North Dakota.  Derived from journal entries of the members of the expedition, including both Lewis and Clark, this work details the journey, with descriptions of various Native American tribes, the expedition to what is now Yellowstone National Park, exploration of present-day Texas and more. The estimated auction price for this book is $20,000 to $30,000.
 
Also featured at the early December auction is a 1927 first printing of the second volume of "Mein Kampf," inscribed at Christmastime in 1926 by Adolf Hitler to his close friend and resident priest at the church he then frequented in Munich. Signed editions of Mein Kampf are very rare and even more scarce with a dedicated inscription.
 
Mein Kampf was the political manifesto written by Adolf Hitler. It was his only complete book and became the scripture of National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany’s Third Reich. It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1927, and an abridged edition appeared in 1930.  This second volume, titled Die Nationalsozialistische Bewegung (“The National Socialist Movement”), was written after Hitler’s release from prison in December. The estimated auction price for this book is $15,000 to $25,000.
 
For more information, please contact National Book Auctions at 607-269-0101 or online at www.NationalBookAuctions.com.