Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - February - 2012 Issue

French Books & Manuscripts from Justin Croft Antiquarian Books

French Books & Manuscripts.

French Books & Manuscripts.

Justin Croft Antiquarian Books has issued a catalogue of French Books & Manuscripts. Though Croft is an English bookseller, and France and England were either in hot or cold wars with each other through most of these antiquarian times, the hatchet has finally been buried (and not in each other's skull). The English can now appreciate the culture and language of their nearby neighbors as found in the items contained in this catalogue. Here are a few of them.

Item 10 offers an interesting proposition on how to increase the population of France. Declining population may not be an issue today, but at the time this work was published – 1768 – many were concerned. With all of the wars in Europe, that might seem a logical fear, though Croft points out that France's population actually increased by 30% during the 18th century. Nevertheless, the pseudonymous “Cerfvol,” in Memoire sur la population... decries the supposed declining French population and expresses the fear that eventually there will be no one left. While conceding there were various causes of the problem, from excessive taxation to women's corsets, he hones in on one – the absence of divorce laws. In 18th century France, one could not readily obtain a divorce, and this, he feels, has reduced the production of children. That may sound counterintuitive, but his theory was that in societies where divorce was permitted, men were more willing to marry and produce offspring. Where marriage is a lifetime commitment, happy or not, men avoid getting married and hence have fewer children. Of course, we have since learned that being married is not a prerequisite to having children. Priced at £600 (British pounds, or about $925 U.S. Dollars).

As long as we are looking at interesting French theories, here is one from Louis Antoine de Caraccioli, expressed in 1759 in Le livre a la mode. This book is printed in green ink, and with very good reason. Caraccioli's theory is that people will be more interested in learning if printers do away with the tyranny of black ink, substituting colors more in tune to their subject matter. While this edition was in green, the preface announces that the next edition would be in red ink (it was). While Cerfvol's theory about divorce and population decline was serious, Caraccioli's seems more tongue in cheek. While his precise aim is unclear, Croft believes this was a satire about French literary society's relentless search for novelty. Item 9. £350 (US $540).

Item 73 provides some interesting insight into 18th century French medicine. It is a group of manuscript bills, prescriptions, and other document pertaining to the illness of one Michel Soulavie. Soulavie was a valet in the household of the Marquise de Bregancon when he fell ill in the spring of 1752. The Marquise's late husband had played a role in the French court, but he was not in the upper echelons of important nobility. Nonetheless, Soulavie was provided with all kinds of medical treatment, some evidently intended to be curative, others likely for pain. He was prescribed teas of fern and violets, spermaceti from whales, and naturally enough, he was bled a couple of times. Laudanum and a syrup from poppies were probably intended to reduce his pain. It was to no avail. M. Soulavie expired within a few weeks, and the final bills pertain to his coffin, funeral mass, and burial. £250 (US $385).

Item 61 is a manuscript prison notebook kept by one Georges Piat, about whom little information seems readily available. Life was not pleasant for Piat, though the French people probably had little sympathy for his plight. He was imprisoned in 1944 for collaboration with the hated pro-German Vichy regime. When the allies liberated France, there was little sympathy for those who collaborated with Germany. Many were summarily executed, but Piat was at least spared that fate. However, conditions were very tough, Piat being moved among prisons, subjected at times to solitary confinement, chained to his bed, and enduring frequent beatings by guards and other prisoners. Along with accounts of his personal distress, Piat offers his thoughts on philosophy, politics, ethics and religion, copies extracts from other writers, offers opinions on physical exercise, and provides notes on a variety of topics from boxing to the atomic bomb. He remained in prison at least until 1948. £1,500 (US $2,315).

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
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    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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