Early Printed Books Auction Coming Up
Swann Galleries will hold an important auction of early printed books on April 12, 2010. They are located here: SWANN GALLERIES, INC., 104 East 25th Street, New York, New York 10010 Tel. 212-254-4710, Fax. 212-979-1017.
EARLY PRINTED BOOKS Features a private collection of Baskerville imprints comprising nearly two-thirds of the 18th-century Birmingham printer's output, as well as a diverse selection of emblem, fable, and other illustrated books. Some books go back as far as the 16th century and anticipated sale prices appear quite reasonable. You don't really know what books will sell for until they sell, obviously.
This sale is an excellent way for collectors to add very rare books to their collections. If you contact Swann early and set up an account, you may place bids in advance via telephone, fax, mail, or e-mail, and their staff will bid on your behalf. You can also make advance arrangements to bid by telephone during the auction.
Swann Gallery describes the auction in this way: An unusually large group of Baskerville imprints features a superb copy of the 1763 Holy Bible ($4,000 to $6,000) and less common titles such as Richard Gardiner's 1762 Account of the Expedition to the West Indies ($800 to $1,200) and the 1765 Vocabulary, or Pocket Dictionary, attributed to Baskerville himself ($800 to $1,200).
Among the many emblem, fable, and miscellaneous illustrated books in the sale are Andrea Alciati, Omnia . . . Emblemata, Lyon, 1566 ($1,500 to $2,000); Cesare Ripa, Iconologia, Amsterdam, 1644 ($800 to $1,200); Christoffel van Sichem, Bibels Tresoor, Amsterdam, 1646 ($800 to $1,200); and Het Groot Tafereel der Dwaasheid, [Amsterdam?], 1720, a satire on the European stock market meltdown that year.
Notable items in a section of travel literature are John Hawkesworth, A New Voyage Round the World . . . Performed by Captain James Cook, New York, 1774, first American edition, with a frontispiece by Paul Revere ($8,000 to $12,000); Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Voyages from Montreal . . . through the Continent of North America, to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, London, 1801 ($2,500 to $3,500); and Vincenzo Maurizi, History of Seyd Said, Sultan of Muscat, London, 1819, the first European book on Oman ($2,500 to $3,500).
Other sale highlights include, St. Augustine, De civitate Dei, Venice, 1489/90 ($4,000 to $6,000); St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentum in octo libros Physicorum Aristotelis, Venice, 1492 ($6,000 to $9,000); Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, London, 1755 ($8,000 to $12,000); Uri Tsvi Rubinstein, Limudei . . . ha-sehok ha-nikra shakhshpil, Lemberg, 1809, an early Hebrew chess manual ($2,000 to $3,000); and a bound volume containing 3 pamphlets on electrodynamics by André-Marie Ampère, one of them inscribed and signed, Paris, 1822-26 ($5,000 to $7,000).
As you can see by the summary of a portion of the auction items, this is going to be a wonderful and important auction. You can visit the auction site by going to Swann Galleries An auction catalog can be found HERE There is also a 3D catalog that I found quite interesting (though it takes a while to load). You can find it HERE
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