Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2012 Issue

A Collective from Seven Booksellers

The Collective.

The Collective.

We have received an unusual catalogue, with the heading The Collective. It is not a large catalogue, and yet it contains the offerings of seven different booksellers. They have combined efforts to present a brief look at what they sell, and invite customers, old and new, to visit them at one of the two upcoming California book fairs. From February 4-5, there is the San Francisco Antiquarian Book Print & Paper Fair, and in Pasadena from February 10-12 there is the 45th California International Antiquarian Book Fair sponsored by the ABAA. Each of the seven will be exhibiting at both fairs. And, if you cannot attend, you are still invited to contact them about what they have to offer.

The seven booksellers who have created this collective are Tavistock Books of Alameda, California, Book Hunter's Holiday of San Mateo, California, Lux Mentis Booksellers of Portland, Maine, The Book Shop of Covina, California, Ken Sanders Rare Books of Salt Lake City, Utah, Anthology Rare Books of Pasadena, California, and B&B Rare Books of New York, New York. Here are a few samplings of what they offer, and undoubtedly can be seen at one of the two upcoming fairs.

From Tavistock Books, we have the manuscript from John Steinbeck for his 1949 story chronicling a young child's concerns about his absent father. It consists of four legal sheets, with 3 ½ pages filled with Steinbeck's writing. The article appeared that year in Reader's Digest under the title His Father (the text of that piece varies some from the original manuscript). The semi-autobiographical piece was written at a difficult time in Steinbeck's life. He wrote it shortly after his divorce from his second wife, Gwyndolyn. Priced at $27,500.

Book Hunter's Holiday offers an early, engraved broadside copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. Printed across the broadside is Proclamation of Emancipation, along with a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. It is followed by the text of the proclamation, and is signed in facsimile “A. Lincoln.” In very small type it states, “Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1864 by A. Kidder...” According to Eberstadt, Kidder's version was the only early reprint of the Emancipation Proclamation to feature Lincoln's image. $5,000.

Lux Mentis, Booksellers, presents Concert Room and Orchestra Anecdotes of Music and Musicians: Ancient and Modern, by Thomas Busby, published in 1825. The three volumes come in a fine, signed Root binding. The book represents forty years of the author's personal recollections and those of his friends, along with much consultation of other sources concerning music and musicians of the day, “interspersed with interesting and humorous anecdotes of these persons in public life and in retirement, amid the misfortunes that too often attend the spring-time of genius...” (The Monthly Review).

Here is a book for fans of auto travel from The Book ShopOn Sunset Highways: A Book of Motor Rambles in California, by Thomas D. Murphy. People used to ramble along California highways in the days before gridlocked freeways. Traffic was not much of a problem when this book was published in 1915. It is filled with images along the highways, presenting what The Book Shop describes as a “classic of California booster literature.” $750.

Fifth editions generally don't stack up to well in terms of desirability, but Ken Sanders Rare Books has one that is unique. This is a fifth edition (fourth American) of The Book of Mormon, published in 1842 (12 years after the first). What makes this special is that it is the only edition of The Book of Mormon published in Nauvoo, Illinois. Founder Joseph Smith and his followers had made their way from New York to Ohio and then Missouri where they found themselves almost at war with their non-Mormon neighbors. After many killings on both sides, the Mormons were driven across the Mississippi to Illinois, where they purchased a small town and renamed it Nauvoo. Life started out all right there, but in time, controversies arose involving Smith and his followers, dissidents within the Church, and outsiders. Smith was arrested and killed by a mob while in jail. His followers no longer felt safe in Nauvoo, and two years later, under Brigham Young, they began a massive exodus to Utah. The result is that this is the only edition of The Book of Mormon published in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith's final home, and the last edition published during his lifetime. $50,000.

Anthology Rare Books offers Tales of Swordfish and Tuna, by Zane Grey, published in 1927. You would expect cowboys and Indians, or gunslingers and lawmen, from Zane Grey, but swordfish and tuna? It turns out that while Grey was certainly a western man, the era of fighting Indians and invoking vigilante justice were in the past by the time Grey came along. He could write about them, and ride horses in the wild country, but Grey had another great love – fishing. He traveled all over the world to fish, and this book, signed by Zane Grey and inscribed by his youngest son, Loren, contains 86 photographs of his favorite pastime. Four original photographs used in the book are laid in. $5,000.

B&B Rare Books presents a copy of The Beautiful and Damned, the second novel (1922) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is an exceptional copy in a first state dust jacket. It is the story of a wealthy heir and his socialite wife, living the decadent life in the Roaring 20s. Some say the characters are based on Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. Certainly, the drawing of the protagonists on the dust jacket looks much like Scott and Zelda. And, the two words in the title describe the Fitzgeralds well. $28,000.

You may reach Tavistock Books at 510-814-0480 or vjz@tavbooks.com, Book Hunter's Holiday at 415-307-1046 or chris@bookhuntersholiday.com, Lux Mentis, Booksellers, at ian@luxmentis.com, The Book Shop at 800-507-7323 or brad@bookshopllc.com, Ken Sanders Rare Books at 801-521-3819 or books@dreamgarden.com, Anthology Rare Books at 626-590-3042 or anthologyrarebooks@yahoo.com, and B&B Rare Books at 646-652-6766 or info@bbrarebooks.com.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: Dürer (Albrecht) Hierin sind begriffen vier bücher von menschlicher Proportion, 4 parts in 1, first edition, Nuremberg, Hieronymus Andreae for Agnes Dürer, 1528. £30,000 to £40,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Book of Hours, Use of Rome, illuminated manuscript in Latin, on vellum, 26 fine hand-painted miniatures, 17th century dark brown morocco, [Lyon], [c. 1475 and later c. 1490-1500]. £25,000 to £35,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Brontë (Emily) The North Wind, watercolour, [1842]. £15,000 to £20,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Titanic.- Mudd (Thomas Cupper, one of the youngest victims of the sinking of the Titanic, 1895-1912) Autograph Letter signed on board RMS Titanic to his mother, April 11th 1912. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    27th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 27: [Austen (Jane)] Emma: A Novel, 3 vol., first edition, for John Murray, 1816. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Picasso (Pablo).- Ovid. Les Metamorphoses, one of 95 copies, signed by the artist, Lausanne, Albert Skira, 1931. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: America.- Ogilby (John) America: Being the Latest, and Most Accurate Description of the New World..., all maps with vibrant hand-colouring in outline, probably by an early hand, 1671. £15,000 to £25,000.
    Forum, Mar. 27: Iceland.- Geological exploration.- Bright (Dr. Richard )and Edward Bird. Collection of twenty original drawings from travels in Iceland with Henry Holland and George Mackenzie, watercolours, [1810]. £20,000 to £30,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beckford (William) [Vathek] An Arabian Tale, first (but unauthorised) edition, Lady Caroline Lamb's copy with her signature and notes, 1786. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Baudelaire (Charles) Les Fleurs du Mal, first edition containing the 6 suppressed poems, first issue, contemporary half black morocco, Paris, 1857. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Beardsley (Aubrey).- Pope (Alexander) The Rape of the Lock, one of 25 copies on Japanese vellum, Leonard Smithers, 1896. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Douglas (Lord Alfred) Sonnets, first edition, the dedication copy, with signed presentation inscription from the author to his wife Olive Custance, The Academy, 1909. £2,000 to £3,000.
    Forum Auctions
    The Library of Barry Humphries
    26th March 2025
    Forum, Mar. 26: Crowley (Aleister) The Works..., 3 vol. in 1 (as issued)"Essay Competition" issue on India paper, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1905-07. £1,500 to £2,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Rodin (Auguste).- Mirbeau (Octave) Le Jardin des Supplices, one of 30 copies on chine with an additional suite, bound in dark purple goatskin, Paris, 1902. £3,000 to £4,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Pellar (Hans) Eight original book illustrations for 'Der verliebte Flamingo' [together with] a published copy of the first edition of the book, 1923. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, Mar. 26: Cretté (Georges, binder).- Louÿs (Pierre) Les Aventures du Roi Pausole, 2 vol., one of 99 copies, with 2 original drawings, superbly bound in blue goatskin, gilt, Paris, 1930. £3,000 to £4,000.
  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 7: Thomas Fisher, The Negro's Memorial or Abolitionist's Catechism, London, 1825. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 78: Victor H. Green, The Negro Travelers' Green Book, New York, 1958. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 99: Rosa Parks, Hand-written recollection of her first meeting with Martin Luther King Jr., autograph manuscript, Detroit, c. 1990s. $30,000 to $40,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 154: Frederick Douglass, Autograph statement on voting rights, signed manuscript, 1866. $20,000 to $30,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 164: W.E.B. Du Bois, What the Negro Has Done for the United States and Texas, Washington, circa 1936. $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann
    Printed & Manuscript African Americana
    March 20, 2025
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 263: Susan Paul, Memoir of James Jackson, Boston, 1835. $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 267: Langston Hughes, Gypsy Ballads, signed translation of García Lorca's poetry, Madrid, 1937. $1,500 to $2,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 274: Malcolm X, Collection from Alex Haley's estate, 38 items, 1963-1971. $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 367: Solomon Northup, Twelve Years a Slave, Auburn, NY, 1853. $2,500 to $3,500.
    Swann, Mar. 20: Lot 402: Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South, Xenia, OH, 1892. $2,000 to $3,000.
  • Koller, Mar. 26: Wit, Frederick de. Atlas. Amsterdam, de Wit, [1680]. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Merian, Maria Sibylla. Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung, und sonderbare Blumennahrung. Nürnberg, 1679; Frankfurt a. M. und Leipzig, 1683. CHF 20,000 to 30,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: GOETHE, JOHANN WOLFGANG VON. Faust. Ein Fragment. Von Goethe. Ächte Ausgabe. Leipzig, G. J. Göschen, 1790. CHF 7,000 to 10,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: Hieronymus. [Das hochwirdig leben der außerwoelten freünde gotes der heiligen altuaeter]. Augsburg, Johann Schönsperger d. Ä., 9. Juni 1497. CHF 40,000 to 60,000.
    Koller, Mar. 26: BIBLIA GERMANICA - Neunte deutsche Bibel. Nürnberg, A. Koberger, 17. Feb. 1483. CHF 40,000 to 60,000
    Koller, Mar. 26: HORAE B.M.V. - Stundenbuch. Lateinische Handschrift auf Pergament, Kalendarium französisch. Nordfrankreich (Rouen?). CHF 25,000 to 40,000

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