Fine Books & Manuscripts: Winter 2020

At Auction February 20

Autographs

Writers & Artists

The words of authors sometimes resonate even long after their deaths, including those of Émile Zola, who has written an autograph quotation signed: “Truth is on the march / and nothing can stop it.” An autograph letter signed by Charles Dickens, written to actress and theater manager Céline Céleste-Elliott, requests last-minute tickets in order to entertain a visiting friend. Also featured: a signed autograph manuscript of a short story by Jacob A. Riis.

Walt Whitman, autograph letter signed to a Harper's editor, sending his poem Death's Valley, 1889.
Lot 157: Walt Whitman, autograph letter signed to a Harper’s editor, sending his poem Death’s Valley, 1889. $3,000 to $4,000.
Sarojini Naidu, complete galley proof of her book The Broken Wing signed and with several holograph pages and an autograph letter signed to writer Edmund Gosse, 1916.
Lot 149: Sarojini Naidu, complete galley proof of her book The Broken Wing signed and with several holograph pages and an autograph letter signed to writer Edmund Gosse, 1916. $6,000 to $9,000.

Leaders, Politicians & Public Figures

Autographs include a number of uncommon items by world leaders, including a document in which Napoleon, by adding his signature, confers the title of Cavalier upon a soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Remarkable autographs featured include a selection of items signed by Princess Diana, with a limited-edition catalogue of her own dresses sold at a charity auction, as well as a signed menu for a charity dinner held by the British Deaf Association. An image of leadership can be found in a well-known photograph of Winston S. Churchill by Walter Stoneman, signed by the statesman.

Hirohito and Nagako, Emperor and Empress of Japan, two photographs signed, showing Nagako in kimono and obi bearing the imperial seal.
Lot 44: Hirohito and Nagako, Emperor and Empress of Japan, two photographs signed, showing Nagako in kimono and obi bearing the imperial seal. $6,000 to $9,000.
Diana, Princess of Wales, group of 6 autograph letters signed to British Vogue editor Elizabeth Tilberis, accepting invitation to the Met Gala and anticipating Christie's announcement of the sale of her dresses for charity, 1995-97.
Lot 33: Diana, Princess of Wales, group of 6 autograph letters signed to Harper’s Bazaar editor Elizabeth Tilberis, accepting invitation to the Met Gala and anticipating Christie’s announcement of the sale of her dresses for charity, 1995-97. $6,000 to $9,000.

Presidential Autographs & Americana

Dated during the Battle of Gettysburg, a document with Abraham Lincoln’s signature orders the state of Massachusetts to provide troops for the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln, partly-printed document signed, call for troops issued during America's first national draft just days before the NYC draft riots, 1863.
Lot 4: Abraham Lincoln, partly-printed document signed, call for troops issued during America’s first national draft just days before the NYC draft riots, 1863. $15,000 to $25,000.
John F. Kennedy, photograph signed and inscribed to Don Campbell, portrait by Philippe Halsman.
Lot 80: John F. Kennedy, photograph signed and inscribed to Don Campbell, portrait by Philippe Halsman. $3,000 to $4,000.

19th & 20th Century Literature

First Editions of Jane Austen’s Major Novels

Literature closes this sale, with first editions of all of Jane Austen’s major novels, including her first, Sense and Sensibility, 1811, in uncommon surviving period binding. Also from the nineteenth century is a scarce, complete first edition of The Woman in White, 1860, by Wilkie Collins.

Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility: A Novel, By a Lady, three volumes, London, 1811.
Lot 181: Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility: A Novel, By a Lady, three volumes, London, 1811. $30,000 to $40,000.

Rare Arabic Edition of Arabian Nights

The Alif Laila or Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Calcutta II or the W.H. Macnaghten edition, four volumes, Calcutta and London, 1839-1842.
Lot 186: The Alif Laila or Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Calcutta II version, four volumes, Calcutta and London, 1839-1842. $12,000 to $18,000.

Graham Greene, William Faulkner & Virginia Woolf

There are over 20 inscribed first editions by Graham Greene being offered, including many important association copies, beginning with his first book, Babbling April, 1925, inscribed to his first mistress, Dorothy Glover. Equally impressive is a group of William Faulkner first editions—family presentation copies inscribed by him to his first cousin Sallie [Falkner] Burns—available for the first time. Sought-after titles by Anne Frank, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Henrik Ibsen, Friedrich Nietzsche and Fernando Pessoa, some of them signed, lend a Continental perspective.

Fernando Pessoa, Mensagem, first edition, presentation copy, signed and inscribed, Lisbon, 1934.
Lot 314: Fernando Pessoa, Mensagem, first edition, presentation copy, signed and inscribed, Lisbon, 1934. $5,000 to $7,500.
Virginia Woolf, Kew Gardens, limited edition, signed by Woolf and Bell, London, 1927.
Lot 357: Virginia Woolf, Kew Gardens, limited edition, signed by Woolf and Bell, London, 1927. $5,000 to $7,500.
Lot 245: Graham Greene, Babbling April, first edition of Greene’s first book, inscribed to the author’s first mistress Dorothy Glover, Oxford, 1925. $5,000 to $7,500.
William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust, first trade edition, family presentation copy, inscribed to Faulkner's first cousin, Sallie Burns, 1948.
Lot 229: William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust, first trade edition, family presentation copy, inscribed to Faulkner’s first cousin, Sallie Burns, 1948. $3,500 to $5,000.
Gabriel García Márquez, Cien Años de Soledad, first edition, signed & inscribed, Buenos Aires, 1967.
Lot 242: Gabriel García Márquez, Cien Años de Soledad, first edition, signed & inscribed, Buenos Aires, 1967. $2,000 to $3,000.

Art, Press, Illustrated & Children’s Literature

The sale will also contain a selection of art, press and illustrated books, including limited-edition livres d’artiste, more material from the Sackner Collection.

Les Chansons de Bilitis by Pierre Louÿs, illustrated by George Barbier and F.L. Schmied, signed by Bariber, Paris, 1922.
Lot 361: Les Chansons de Bilitis by Pierre Louÿs, illustrated by George Barbier and F.L. Schmied, Paris, 1922. $8,000 to $12,000.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, limited edition, with first state dust jacket, signed, 1943. $6,000 to $9,000.
Lot 208: Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince, limited edition, with first state dust jacket, signed, 1943. $6,000 to $9,000.

Exhibition Begins February 15

The exhibition is free to attend and open to the public. We welcome special and educational groups with advance notice—send an inquiry to rsvp@swanngalleries.com.

Exhibition Hours

Saturday, February 15 — 12 PM to 5 PM

Monday, February 17 — 10 AM to 6 PM

Tuesday, February 18 — 10 AM to 6 PM

Wednesday, February 19 — 10 AM to 6 PM

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January 3, 2020
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Category: Books & Manuscripts
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