FINE BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS
TO BE OFFERED AT SKINNER NOVEMBER 19TH
BOSTON, Mass. - November 6, 2006
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www.skinnerinc.com - Skinner's fall auction of Fine Books and Manuscripts will be held on November 19th at 11:00 a.m. in the Boston gallery, located at 63 Park Plaza. The sale opens with a selection of manuscripts, followed by a broad selection of rare books, maps and atlases.
Manuscripts
The opening section of manuscripts in the sale includes an important Abraham Lincoln autograph letter signed, March 30, 1865, to Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, concerning General Grant's movements and "a furious Cannonade" (lot 68, est. $35/50,000): "I begin to feel that I ought to be at home, and yet I dislike to leave without seeing nearer to the end of Gen. Grant's present movement. He has now been out since yesterday morning, and, although he has not been diverted from his programme, no considerable effort has yet been produced so far as we know here. Last night, at 10:15 P.M., when it was as dark as a rainy night without a moon can be, a furious Cannonade, soon joined in by a heavy musketry fire, opened near Petersburg and lasted about two hours. The sound was very distinct here, as also were the flashes of the guns up in the clouds. It seemed to me a great battle, but the older hands here scarcely noticed it, & sure enough this morning it was found that very little had been done." This letter, written at City Point, where Lincoln had gone to consult with Grant, was composed only days before his assassination.
Also highlighting the section is an important archive of seventeen signed letters by J.D. Salinger, comprising thirty-eight pages of mostly single-space typewritten text, March 10, 1980 through August 9, 1982. The lot features an extensive array of thoughts, theories, and comments on a variety of issues including Salinger's extensive experience and interests in astrology, his thoughts on the press, baseball, his devotion to homeopathic treatments, the women's liberation movement, the personal travails of the recipient, and movies. The author is very forthright in his assessments of all of these subjects and quite thoughtful concerning parental issues and his own relationship with his family. The lot will be sold together with copies of the letters sent to Salinger and the People magazine article which prompted the initial letter (lot 100, est. $40/50,000). Other offerings include additional signed documents by Abraham Lincoln, including a fine autograph letter to the Honorable David Davis requesting that the judge arrange a bond for his son Robert, then attending Harvard (lot 66, est. $20/30,000), and an autograph letter signed, to the Honorable Julius Rockwell, concerning the signing of a blank bond to his son Robert, sold together with an autograph letter from Robert T. Lincoln, thanking him for signing the bond (lot 64, est. $15/20,000).
A most unusual lot, and of interesting historical note, is lot 96, an important pen and ink drawing by Major John Andre (1751-80), depicting a country farmhouse with fence and landscape, signed faintly in the lower right, the reverse inscribed "This drawing is the last drawing of Major John Andre/Thos. P. Cope, Phila. 1852/I hope you keep it and remember me always/this is the farm and the past. He spent his last days there" (est. $10/15,000). In 1775, Andre was captured and sent to Lancaster, Pennsylvania as a prisoner of war. In Lancaster, the enlisted prisoners were kept in barracks, while captured officers were housed at their own expense in local inns. Andre was among those officers allowed to reside with a local family. He moved in with the Caleb Cope family. The Copes developed a real affection for Andre, who gave art lessons to their eldest son. Further, in this German-speaking Lancaster community, Andre's fluency added to his popularity. During the now infamous conspiracy with Benedict Arnold, Andre had felt that wearing his British uniform was too dangerous. He donned an American uniform for the treacherous trip. It was in that last distance, while traveling alone and believing himself out of danger that Andre was stopped by a trio of American freelancers, dressed in British uniform. Andre commanded them to give way. They revealed themselves and immediately searched Andre, discovering Arnold's papers hidden in his boot. Andre was immediately arrested. It was assumed that he possessed stolen papers. What followed was a sequence of improbable coincidences and near-misses that led to the recognition that Arnold was a traitor and to his escape. Arnold learned that his treason was discovered and escaped downriver to the "Vulture" at the same time that Washington was arriving unexpectedly at West Point – and all on the very day that the fortress was to have been surrendered to the British. Andre was imprisoned at Tappan, New York, and on September 29, 1780, was found guilty of being behind American lines "under a feigned name and in a disguised habit." He was hanged as a spy at noon on October 2, 1780.
Additional lots in the auction include a collection of approximately thirty-six autograph letters signed, 1844-82, all from the Honorable David Davis to the Honorable Julius Rockwell of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, including approximately eighteen dating to the Civil War, commenting extensively on politics, legal matters, war matters, Lincoln, and family matters (lot 34, est. $8/12,000). Rounding out the highlights in this very interesting portion of the sale is an autographed letter signed in the third person by Thomas Jefferson, responding as Secretary of State for George Washington (lot 57, est. $6/8,000), and two Thomas Jefferson signed documents (lots 58 and 58, est. $3/5,000 and $4/6,000 respectively), as well as a collection of over 1500 Massachusetts stampless covers from the 18th and 19th centuries, formerly in the collection of John Hart (lot 106, est. $4/6,000).
Rare Books
The book section of the sale features a wide range of 16th through 20th century titles and a selection of important illustrated plate books. Most notable of these is Edwin Hale Lincoln's truly gorgeous WILD FLOWERS OF NEW ENGLAND PHOTOGRAPHED FROM NATURE, published by Lincoln in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1910-14, comprising sixteen parts in eight volumes, each volume containing fifty stunning plates. The work is divided as follows: Parts I & II: Flowers of Early Spring; and Honeysuckle, Dogwood and Saxifrage Families; Parts III & IV: Rose Family; and Rose and Heath Families; Parts V & VI: Lily, Iris, Violet and Convolvulus; and Aquatic Plants Pink, Crowfoot and Madder Families; Parts VII & VIII: Orchid Family; and Mint and Figwort Families; Parts IX &X: Flowers of Mid-Summer; Pulse Parsley, Milkweed and Composite Families; Parts XI & XII: Composite Family; Flowers and Fruits of Autumn; Parts XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI: Supplementary Series. All are in very good condition (lot 172, est. $70/90,000). Also featured is an extremely rare first edition and issue of The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon, upon Plates taken from the Plates of Nephi (Palmyra, New York: printed by E. B. Grandin, 1830) in the original calf, with a two-page preface and two pages of testimonials from three and eight witnesses (lot 477, est. $50/70,000). Additional highlights include very rare first editions of Lucy Maud Montgomery's perennial childhood favorite, Anne of Green Gables (lot 299, est. $15/25,000), and Jane Austen's EMMA: A NOVEL, in three volumes, by the author of PRIDE & PREJUDICE, & C. & C. (London: John Murray, 1816) (lot 149, est. $10/15,000). Unusual and intriguing finds in the sale also include Robert Treat Paine's copy of Richard Price's Observations on the Nature of Civil Liberty… (London: Printed by T. & J. Fleet, Boston, 1776), a work quite poignant in regard to American Revolutionary War history, with a title page annotated "RT Paine's 1776" in the upper right (lot 414, est. $6/8,000). Selected works by John James Audubon include a first edition of his "The Birds of America from Drawings Made in the United States and their Territories" in book form, 1840-44 (lot 147, est. $40/60,000), as well as his presentation copy of the QUADRUPEDS OF NORTH AMERICA (New York: V. G. Audubon, 1854), in three volumes, with each half title inscribed "Mr. O. B. Graham, with the compliments of J. A." (lot 146, est. $7/9,000). Also featured are several works by Sir Walter Scott, including a fine collection of first editions by the author, 1814-1832, including twenty-seven titles in seventy-four volumes, uniformly bound (lot 457, est. $4/6,000). Other selections include James Joyce's ULYSSES, illustrated and signed by Henri Matisse, New York: Limited Editions Club, 1935 (lot 385, est. $6/8,000); Porgy and Bess: An Opera in Three Acts, New York: Random House, 1935, one of 250 signed by George Gershwin, Du Bose Heyward, Ira Gershwin, and Rouben Mamoulian (lot 410, est. $3/5,000); a Baskerville imprint, THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (Cambridge: John Baskerville, 1760), with a painting of Hereford Cathedral on the fore-edge (lot 291, est. $3/5,000); and a leaf removed from the first folio edition (London, 1623, pages 101-102) of the first scene and first act of William Shakespeare's MUCH ADOE ABOUT NOTHING (lot 471, est. $8/1,200).
Maps and Atlases
The auction also features a fine and varied selection of maps and atlases, including PLAN DE PARIS: COMMENCE L'ANNEE 1734, by Louis Bretez, 1739, comprising twenty engraved double-page city views and a large folding plan of Paris with extensive vignette and legend (lot 565, est. $7/9,000); and a William Faden map, "A Plan of The Town of Boston, with the Entrenchments & c. of His Majesty's Forces in 1775 from the Observations of Lieut. Page," October 1st, 1777 (lot 578, est. $2,5/3,500). The selection of atlases is marked by a first edition of Carey's General Atlas (Philadelphia, 1796), with all forty-five maps (lot 554, est. $10/15,000); and L'Atlas Curieux ou Le Monde Represente dan des Cartes Generales et Particulieres de Ciel et de la Terre (Paris: Nicholas de Fer, 1705-17) (lot 549, est. $3/5,000), among others.
Catalog and Preview Information
Previews for the auction will be 12 to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, November 16-18, and 8 to 10 a.m. Sunday, November 19. Illustrated catalog #2341 is available by mail for $32 ($39 for foreign requests) from the Subscription Department at 978-779-6241 ext. 240. It is also available at the gallery for $29. For more information, call 978-779-6241, or visit Skinner's web site at www.skinnerinc.com. Skinner's site also allows users to view all lots in the auction, leave bids, and order catalogs online. Prices realized will be available at www.skinnerinc.com during and after the sale.
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About Skinner
Skinner, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading auction houses for antiques and fine art and the only major auction house headquartered in New England. With expertise in over 20 specialty collecting areas, Skinner draws the interest of buyers from all over the world and its auctions regularly achieve world record prices. Skinner provides a broad range of auction and appraisal services, and it is widely regarded as one of the most trusted names in the auction business. Skinner’s appraisal experts regularly appear on the PBS-TV series,
Antiques Roadshow, and its specialty departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographic Art, and Discovery. Skinner galleries are located in Boston and Bolton, Mass. For more information on upcoming auctions and events, visit Skinner's web site
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