Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - March - 2025 Issue

Brave New World (and Old Paper) from Zephyr Used & Rare Books

Brave New World.

Brave New World.

Zephyr Used & Rare Books has issued a catalogue titled Brave New World. Whether the world is brave or new is subject to debate, but the items in the catalogue are old. There is a variety of types of material, from books to just about anything on paper, and subjects are too varied to begin to describe, but Zephyr's catalogues are always filled with the exciting and unexpected. What we see is the past through the eyes of its contemporaries rather than historians. Advertising and promotional materials fill many pages, but there is much more too. We will take a look inside.

 

What must be the best-known World's Fair in America is that of 1939. The optimism displayed in the futuristic displays is juxtaposed with the reality that we were on the brink of the biggest war ever. For one last time, we could put our cares aside. Item 138 is a souvenir brochure titled Views. The New York World's Fair. It was called “The World of Tomorrow,” and displays featured the wonders we would soon experience. There were around 375 buildings, with exhibits from 62 countries and 34 American states. It would be impossible to list everything that was displayed, or to have seen it all if you were there, but this booklet should give you a good summary. Priced at $450.

 

Christiane Ritter writes about a world that was cold and dark. The book is A Woman in the Polar Night, published in 1954. She followed her husband to Svalbard-Spitsbergen when he traveled there on a scientific expedition, and then stayed to be a fur trapper. Svalbard is a Norwegian group of islands that require a long trip south just to reach the border of the Arctic circle. While ocean currents keep it milder than other places at such a high latitude, it is still by just about everyone else's standards very cold. Winter sees months of darkness, except for an eerie moonlight. Ritter describes the desolation of this land mostly covered with snow and ice. Item 13. $250.

 

There are a lot of obscure early automobile brands that disappeared years ago. One that must rank high on the list of obscurities is Victor Page Motors. This was actually from the second time Victor Page started an automobile company. He formed the Page Motor Vehicle Company before the First World War which manufactured 25 cars before going out of business. Page went off to war and worked in aeronautics in France before returning home to write a lot of automotive books and then start his second automobile company, Victor Page Motors. His second attempt ran from 1921-1924 with plans to build 300,000 cars a year. That was an ambitious goal, but Page's second automobile company fell short of the 25 cars produced by the first. They made 15. None are believed to survive, but if you find one in an old barn or junkyard, you have something special. Item 36 is a promotional album for Victor Page Aero Type Four automobiles. They featured an air-cooled engine, tilted steering wheel, disc brakes and a 30 HP 4-cylinder engine. It contains 67 leaves and 38 silver gelatin photographs. A typescript promotes the company's stock. They had four models priced $1,250-$1,750. Page exhibited his photos at the 1922 New York auto show. The introduction has been signed by Victor Page himself. This is probably your only chance to obtain his autograph. The remains of the company were tied up in court for a few years and Victor Page went on to become an aeronautical consultant. He died in 1947 without starting up any more car companies. Item 36. $1,900.

 

This brochure features a lovely young lady lying in the grass while propping herself up with one arm. She looks slyly at the camera. Oh... there it is. In the background. It's the 1958 Lincoln Continental! Zephyr says these were the longest six-passenger vehicles ever produced. They look it. You do not want to parallel park one of these babies. Item 33. $150.

 

These vehicles are even larger, but parking them is a breeze. Just bring it to a stop. Item 151 is a catalogue for Vulcan Iron Works locomotives. From 1911, it includes over 100 photographic illustrations. The engines were produced in Wilkes-Barre and Vulcan was Pennsylvania's third largest locomotive manufacturer. Vulcan's locomotives were smaller than their competitors, making them ideal for lumber mill and logging operations. They were also popular with foreign countries. At one time, Vulcan had 2,500 employees. The company was best with steam engines, but was not very competitive when it came to diesel engines. It went out of business in 1954. According to the National Park Service, there are still Vulcan locomotives in operation in Maine, Michigan, and a few other places. Item 151. $350.

 

Edna Brush Perkins grew up in a wealthy family in Cleveland. She spent much of her life advocating for women's rights, as well as causes of Margaret Sanger such as birth control. However, she took some time off to go on an adventure with her friend Charlotte Hannahs Jordan. They bravely ventured into the valley of death, better known as Death Valley. It is a deathly place if you go there in summer, but winters are quite hospitable. They traveled through the desert in an old milk wagon drawn by a horse and a mule. On return, she wrote this book, The White Heat of the Mojave: an Adventure with the Outdoors of the Desert, published in 1922. Item 63. $175.

 

Zephyr Used & Rare Books may be reached at 360-695-7767 or zephyrbook@gmail.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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