Auction Highlights: Fine Books & Autographs — October 26, 2023
Autographs
The spirits of conflict and exploration are intertwined in the autographs on offer. Among the most respected explorers of the unknown are scientists, each of whom must contend with the antagonist in any scientific enterprise: ignorance. This auction contains items created by some of the best-known heroes to have enlightened the world, chief among them Albert Einstein, with a selection of autographs from the physicist.
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The sale includes an extraordinary archive of 19 letters to Melanie Serbu, a Romanian bank clerk and aspiring physicist whom Einstein had hoped to bring into the fray of scientific research. Available in a separate lot is an extraordinary letter to Serbu, written in 1937 when Einstein was revisiting his ideas about gravitational waves, showing equations demonstrating his insight about high-frequency waves generated during the deformation of bodies, which Einstein believed might make a fruitful dissertation topic for her.
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Left: Lot 21: Benjamin Franklin, Autograph Letter Signed, “BFranklin,” concerning the Massachusetts Governor’s conflict with the provincial legislature, 1773. Estimate $35,000 to $50,000.
Another remarkable autograph is that by one of the foremost American scientists, Benjamin Franklin, who wrote an autograph letter signed to a diplomat in 1773 concerning the conflict between the legislature of Massachusetts and their Governor, who seemed to show more sympathy toward England than was appropriate for the time.
What more important American conflict can we name than that of the Civil War, and this auction contains several notable autographs written by both Union and Confederate soldiers during that period. Among them is an autograph letter signed by Stonewall Jackson in 1863, hoping to enlist General Edward Johnson as his commander. Also in this sale, an autograph letter signed in 1862 by George McClellan to General Ambrose Burnside, introducing a Russian officer visiting to observe the Union Army, as well as War-dated items by Edwin Stanton, William Seward, and others. Uncommon autographs by figures in other categories include those by writers, artists, world leaders, and entertainers.
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19th & 20th Century Literature
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The 19th & 20th Century Literature portion of the sale features a first edition of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, and a set of the five Christmas books by Charles Dickens, first editions handsomely bound by Morrell. Modern first edition highspots include a superb copy of Animal Farm by George Orwell, as well as the signed, limited American edition in the scare dust jacket of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince. A run of fine bindings will be offered, including an exceptional Cosway-style by Bayntun Riviere with an Abraham Lincoln portrait, and several French Art Deco examples.
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Art, Press & Illustrated Books
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Among the highlights found within the art, press and illustrated books section are two seldom-seen titles from the Limited Editions Club: one a unique copy of Robert Motherwell and Octavio Paz’s Three Poems, representing the sole ‘Position Proof’ that includes the verse; and the complete set of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s four signed photogravures, one of sixty produced. Finally, among many appealing fine press books on offer is one of the major works from Ashendene Press, The Noble and Joyous Book entitled Le Morte d’Arthur.
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