Review of the September 2011 Antiquarian Book Sale
Camden's Britannia (1695), illustrated with 46 beautifully hand coloured maps by
Robert Morden, fetched £2,200.
While the book sale may not have had quite the 'high' point of the last sale, it
did include a number of interesting collections from a variety of vendors,
with a number of exceptional prices achieved for quality individual items.
Collections of maritime, military, travel and literature all sold well, while an
unusual collection of books on agricultural subjects despite not being in the best
of condition sold with little difficulty.
There was a surprise in the literature section when a collection of five first editions
by JG Farrell, two of which were signed author presentation copies, saw two determined
bidders take the final hammer price to £1,100. Farrell is known for his historical
fiction, notably the Empire Trilogy, including The Siege of Krishnapur
which won the 1973 Booker Prize. His career was tragically cut short at the age
of 44 when he drowned in a fishing accident; consequently it is thought presentation
copies by him are rarely found.
Another collection this time in the children's section created interest, when 24
first editions in their all important dustwrappers, with many others without, of
the ever popular 'Chalet School' stories by Elinor Brent-Dyer, produced
a winning telephone bid of £920.
A magnificent set of four volumes of the Canterbury Tales all beautifully
illustrated by Eric Gill, and published at the Golden Cockerel Press in 1929, formerly
in the library of the eminent archaeologist Stuart Piggott, and including a signed
letter from Gill, predictably fetched an impressive £3,400.
Winston Churchill as ever was keenly sought after, with three of his important early
works, The River War, The Story of the Malakand Field Force, and
London to Ladysmith, appearing in two separate lots; while not in tiptop
condition they still fetched £820 respectively.
Quality topographical works seem ever popular, with a successful bid of £720
for Chauncy's Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire (1700). William Stukeley's
Itinerarium Curiosum (1776) fetching £620, and Camden's Britannia
(1695), illustrated with 46 beautifully hand coloured maps by Robert Morden £2,200.
In the travel section an important three-volume set, Sir John Marshall's, Mohenjo-Daro
and the Indus (1931), with the provenance of the Dartington Hall Trust
achieved an impressive £1,300.
Natural history books illustrated with beautiful hand-coloured plates still prove
to be a sound investment in these difficult times, with seven volumes of Jardine's
Ornithology fetching £380. John Miller's Illustratio Systematis Sexualis
Linnaei, illustrated with 108 hand-coloured plates in a fairly scruffy
state finally selling for one of the highest prices on the day: £3,100. Humphrey
& Westwood's British Butterflies and their Transformations made £380; and
Robert Warner's The Orchid Annual, despite being volume two only, but illustrated
with 48 splendid hand-coloured lithographs, selling for £680.
Mention should be made of a 17th century scientific manuscript purchased by an online
bidder for £900. With a Le Puy, France provenance, it would appear to have been
a Catholic survey of all the sciences of the period and earlier, taken from
such authorities as Kepler, Copernicus, Bonaventura, etc.
The sale ended with a fine collection of 17th century maps, including John Speed
maps of Sussex, Surrey, and Devon. However the most unusual map (illustrated on
the front cover of the catalogue) was a 1676 Robert Morden playing card map of Devon,
being the nine of diamonds. Originally published in a full pack of playing
card maps of The Countries of England and Wales, by their ephemeral nature
few still survive, so it was no surprise when this small map sold for £500.
Written by Roger Collicott (Book Specialist)
16th September 2011
- Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
- Book Sale
- Honiton
- Antiquarian Books
- Maps
- Manuscripts
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