Firsts. London's Rare Book Fair 2024
16-19 May 2024
The Saatchi Gallery, London SW3
Stand A5
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1Elementary, my dear Watson: the oldest fingerprints in the worldMesopotamian cuneiform clay tablet.Mesopotamia, early 2nd millennium BCE.
€ 8,500.00A pinkish brown clay tablet, written in cuneiform on one side. Originally pillow-shaped, but deformed by squeezing in the scribe's hand while still wet. The pronounced fingerprints left in the wet clay over 4000 years ago make these some the oldest existing fingerprints in the world.
Provenance: from a specialised collection of cuneiform texts, …
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2A foundational element in the development of written languageRoman inked wooden tablet.Roman Empire, 4th century CE.
€ 95,000.00One of the earliest extant documents in world history to be written in ink: a wooden tablet in New Roman cursive, the first true cursive script with minuscules. Succeeding the earlier, unsophisticated Old Roman cursive in the 3rd century, the style was quickly adopted as the daily script of the later Roman Empire and used widely beyond the official …
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3From the only extant papyrus codex to have survived from antiquity north of the AlpsThe Rental of the Abbey of St Martin's in Tours. (And:) St Ephraim the …St. Martin's Abbey, Tours, second half of the 7th century or ca. 700, and Egypt, 6th or 7th century.
InquireRare leaf from a major Merovingian manuscript of great historical and palaeographical importance, from the greatest centre of 7th century culture, representing the oldest manuscript of the Tours scriptorium. Its payprus reinforcements preserve part of what is by far the earliest manuscript of St. Ephraim's poem, and indeed the only papyrus witness …
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4Exceptional Timurid manuscript: the only illuminated copy, with the earliest appearance of illustrations by BihzadJam'i Jam [The Cup of Jamshid].Timurid Herat, 1459/60 CE = 863 H.
€ 750,000.00Princely Timurid manuscript: the only recorded copy of this rare text to be illustrated with miniatures, containing four full-page illustrations ascribed to Kamal al-Din Bihzad and signed by the master scribe Shir' Ali.
This rarely illustrated text is the "Jam'i Jam", or the "Cup of Jamshid", by Awhadi Maragha'i (1274/75-1338 CE). Both a mystical …
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5Indo-Persian poetry, successively owned by a Sultan and a British spy in IndiaDiwan-i Amir Khusraw Dihlavi.Indo-Persia, Timurid Empire, ca. 1460-1480 CE.
€ 150,000.00A fine manuscript of the "Diwan-i Khusraw", a highly important text of Indo-Persian poetry, owned by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II (1447-1512) and later by R. W. Rotton, a British spy in India, and copied by a renowned 15th century nasta'liq scribe, Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Baqqal.
Amir Khusraw (1253-1325), also known as "the Parrot of India", …
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7Alexander the Great in Persian tradition, with miniaturesIqbal-nama.Safavid Iran, 1562-1571 CE = 970s H.
€ 25,000.00Alexander the Great in the 16th century Muslim manuscript tradition: Nizami Ganjavi's "Iqbal-nama", comprising half of his poetic "Eksandar-nama" and illustrated with three fine Qajar miniatures showing hunting scenes and a particularly striking battle with demons or djinns. "The Alexander of the Persian romances is much more colorful than his Western …
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816th century autograph medical manuscript by a Meccan physicianMughni al-Ahibba' wa Manhaj al-Atibba' fi al-Tibb [The Enricher of the …Mecca, 10-18 August 1592 CE = 2-10 Dhu'l-Qa'dah 1000 H.
€ 140,000.00Unique autograph of this medical manual, in the author's own hand, written in Mecca in the 16th century CE.
The text comprises chapters on the composition and physical properties of medications (the various types of medicine including syrups, ointments, and pills); problems of the head such as headaches, hemiplegia, dizziness, strokes; the …
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9First English edition of the Portuguese national epicThe Lusiad, or, Portugals historicall Poem.London, 1655.
€ 25,000.00The first English edition of the great epic poem of Portuguese exploration, based by Camões on Vasco de Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India in 1497/98. "The 'Lusiads' is a synthesis of all the elements included in the reality and myth of Portugal's overseas expansion. It captures the heroism and the suffering, the glory and the disillusionment, …
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10Osman, the son of Sultan Ibrahim ILe vray portrait de frere Dominique Ottoman fils d'Hibrahim premier Empereur …No place, 1664.
€ 1,500.00Executed by the French engraver and publisher Baltasar Moncornet (1600-68), the portrait shows Osman, the son of Sultan Ibrahim I, who was captured with his mother by the Maltese fleet in 1644 and educated by the Knights of Malta to become a Dominican friar. As an adolescent he was baptized and adopted the name Dominique de Saint-Thomas on 23 February …
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11The editio princeps of the complete Bible in Arabic, owned by an 18th century Franciscan linguist in CairoBiblia Sacra arabica, Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide iussu edita. …Rome, 1671.
€ 75,000.00First edition: the editio princeps of the complete Bible in Arabic. Work on this translation began as early as 1625 under the direction of the Lebanese bishop of the Maronites, Sergius Risius (Sarkis el-Rizzi, 1572-1638), and Filippo Guadagnoli (1596-1656); it was later completed by Abraham Ecchellensis (1605-1664) and Luigi Marracci (1612-1700). …
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12Geometry in gold: illustrated astronomical manuscriptKitab al-milal wa 'l-duwal [Religions and Dynasties].Central Asia, 1716 CE = 1128 H.
€ 45,000.00A beautifully crafted manuscript of a rare and important text on historical astrology, illustrated with fifty astronomical diagrams in gold, red and black. Written in the ninth century, "Kitab al-milal wa al-duwal" ("Religions and Dynasties"), also known as "Kitab al-Qiranat" ("On Conjunctions"), explains the effects of celestial conjunctions on …
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13Over 400 plates: the ultimate reference of Enlightenment mechanical engineeringTheatrum machinarum.Leipzig, 1724-1727.
€ 25,000.00One of the first encyclopedias of technology, and the most complete and the most extensively illustrated work on mechanical engineering hitherto published, with detailed discussions of hydraulic engineering, weights and measures, the art of gold and silver assaying and analysis, mathematical instruments and scientific devices such as the barometer, …
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16The Coloured Book of HorsesFarasnama [The Coloured Book of Horses]. Hippiatric manuscript.India, ca. 1800 CE.
€ 35,000.00A late 18th century Indian manuscript copy of a celebrated treatise on horsemanship, the "Farasnama" ("The Coloured Book of Horses"). Constituting a Persian translation of the Sanskrit "Salihotra", its topics include horse-breeding, grazing, dressage, veterinary advice and horseracing.
The "Salihotra" is attributed to Durgarasi, son of Surgarasi, …
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17Awda Nagast [The Circle of the King].Ethiopia, late 18th or early 19th century CE.
€ 9,500.00A rare manuscript containing astrological and divinatory texts, including the Awda Nagast ("Royal Cycle"). Most likely created in the 15th century as a manual for diviners, an Awda Nagast consists of 16 circular tables of Ge'ez letters and numbers, each with sixteen sections representing day and night, sun and moon. Within these sections, the subject …
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18Predating Richard Burton's notorious translation of the Kama SutraLaddhat un-nisa [The Pleasure of Women].Northern India, ca. 1820s / early 19th century.
€ 18,000.00A Persian manuscript of "Lazzat Un Nisa", a famous erotic text derived and translated from the Sanskrit Kama Sutra, here featuring 30 explicit and educational miniatures, and bound with a manuscript translation of the same into English.
Drawing on the Sanskrit text, there are two separate textual traditions of "Lazzat Un Nisa" in Persian: …
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19Exceptionally rare: the Thousand and One Nights, the first complete edition in Arabic and the first edition printed in the Arab worldKitab Alf layla wa-layla. Vols. I and II.Bulaq, 1835 CE = 1251 H.
€ 285,000.00First complete edition in Arabic of the Thousand and One Nights, and the first edition printed in the Arab world. Very rare, with only seven copies located in libraries worldwide (American University Beirut, British Library, Danish Royal Library, Harvard, Huntington, and Yale); none traced in auction records. The Bulaq edition was preceded by another …
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20A glimpse into the vibrant Victorian literary worldAutograph letter signed ("EBB").No place, 13 Dec 1843.
€ 15,000.00To Richard Hengist Horne on poetry and music: a glimpse into the vibrant Victorian literary world.
Barrett Browning draws a comparison between music and poetry, probably in answer to a question about the two arts. First, she compares Horne's best-known epic poem, "Orion", to Beethoven: "Orion is something more than playing on an instrument …
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21Unique and previously unknown: a foundational document of communism before the Communist ManifestoDer Congreß an den Bund.London, 15 December "1848" recte: 1847.
€ 450,000.00The only known copy of this founding document of communism, the final stepping stone towards the Communist Manifesto. The eight-page leaflet is a circular addressed to the “Bund der Kommunisten” (“Communist League”) by the participants of its second and final congress. The League, a revolutionary, socialist secret society, had been formed …
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22The founding document of communism: unknown copyManifest der kommunistischen Partei. Veröffentlicht im Februar 1848.London, 1848.
€ 1,750,000.00The founding document of communism: a previously unknown copy of the extremely scarce first issue of the first edition, owned by a Rhenish councillor of justice in the 1860s.
Of this first printing, only 27 copies are known worldwide: the 26 enumerated in Kuczynski's census and one more, sold in Hamburg in 2001. So rare is it that Kuczynski's …
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23First printing of the demands of a not yet existing partyForderungen der kommunistischen Parthei in Deutschland.Paris, end of March 1848.
€ 180,000.00The "Demands of the Communist Party in Germany": extremely rare first printing, signed in letterpress by the committee of the "Communist League": Karl Marx, Karl Schapper, Andreas Heinrich Bauer, Friedrich Engels, Joseph Moll, and Wilhelm Wolff.
Threatened with deportation from France, Marx and Engels had relocated to Brussels in 1845, where …
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24Two overland journeys through eastern OmanAn Account of an Overland Journey from Leskkairee to Meskat and the "Green …Bombay, 1849.
€ 12,500.00Rare first edition of the 8th volume of the "Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society", containing two valuable accounts of overland journeys through eastern Oman made in November and December 1845. The longer expedition was made by Lt. C.S.D. Cole, one of the Palinurus surveyors, from al-Ashkara on the south-eastern coast to Muscat via Bidyyah, …
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25First printing of Ibn Batuttah in ArabicVoyages d'Ibn Batoutah. Texte arabe, accompagné d'une traduction par C. …Paris, 1853-1859.
InquireFirst and only complete edition of the Arabic text of Ibn Battuta's famous "Rihla" (literally, "The Journey"), the most significant eyewitness account of the Arabian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Over a period of thirty years, the Muslim Moroccan explorer Abu-‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Batutah (1304-77?) visited most of the known Islamic world, …
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26Fine British lithographs of the 1853-56 Crimean WarSketches in the Crimea, Taken During the Late War.London, 1856.
€ 9,500.00A rare volume of hand-painted lithographed plates, complete in 8 scenes on 6 leaves, the final plate a folding panorama of Sevastopol in the midst of battle. Each scene, including the lithograph title-page, has been hand-painted with delicate watercolours, particularly finely and subtly done, with bright uniforms and delicately painted skies and …
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27The harbour of Bahrain - and a summer in Al BatinahMemoir on Bahreyn. (And:) Pengelly, W. M. Remarks on a Portion of the Eastern …Bombay, 1863.
€ 15,000.00Rare first edition of the 16th volume of the "Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society", containing a detailed geographical account of island of Bahrain and the navigation of its waters, with particular attention to the Khaur-el-Bab channel, which had long been reported by pilots to be unnavigable (apparently at the direction of the Sheikh …
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28First edition, inscribed to César de PaepeDas Kapital. Kritik der politischen Oekonomie [...] Erster Band. [Author's …Hamburg, 1867.
€ 950,000.00First edition. Inscribed not quite a year after the volume's publication to César de Paepe, the leader of the International Workingmen's Association (the First International) in Belgium: "Au citoyen Cézar de Paepe / salut fraternel / Karl Marx / Londres 3 Septembre 1868". Curiously, Marx had first written "avec les compliments de Karl Marx" before …
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29George Sand's "theosophical testament""Lupo Liverani". Autograph manuscript.N. p., 1869.
€ 18,000.00Complete manuscript of George Sand's first theological text that is loosely based on Tirso da Molina's religious drama "El condenado por desconfiado" (The Doubted Damned) from 1635. Lupo Liverani first appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes on 1 December 1869 and was later integrated into the 1876 collection La Coupe. Considering the countless autograph …
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30Inscribed and signed first edition of Andersen's last novelLykke Peer. With autograph inscription signed.Copenhagen, 1870.
€ 15,000.00First edition of Andersen's sixth and final novel, "Lucky Peer". With a fine inscription to the daughter of his benefactor and friend, the great Danish physicist Hans Christian Oersted: "Kaere Froeken Mathilde Ørsted! Forrige Fredag skulde alle-rede 'Lykke Peer' have bragt Hislen og Lykoenskning, nu kommer han een Uge for seent, men han faaer vel …
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31Workers of the world, unite! The definitive edition in the original German, the basis for all later editionsDas kommunistische Manifest. Neue Ausgabe mit einem Vorwort der Verfasser.Leipzig, 1872.
€ 75,000.00The very rare, and definitive, second authorized edition, the first to appear under the now canonical title "Das kommunistische Manifest", with a new preface by the authors that would remain a standard part of the book from this date on. Second in importance only to the original 23-page edition from 1848 (surreptitiously reprinted in 30 pages, with …
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32"Behind the great events lies a streak of blackest melancholy"Autograph letter signed ("Friedrich Nietzsche").Basel, 27 Sep 1876.
€ 85,000.00To Richard Wagner, who in a previous telegram from Venice had requested Nietzsche to purchase for him "two pairs of silk vests and underpants of the finest Basel make" and send them to Bologna, where he was travelling after the financial failure of the August 1876 Bayreuth Festival. Nietzsche's response would have accompanied his shipment of these …
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33Rare Tchaikovsky manuscript, from an early period in the compositional history of the opera "The Maid of Orleans"Autograph musical manuscript. "Allegro molto", Dance of the Buffoons (from …Florence, 27 Nov. - 9 Dec. 1878.
€ 250,000.00Extremely rare musical manuscript: the orchestral score for a dance from "The Maid of Orleans". Composed in 1878-79, with a libretto by the composer, Tchaikovsky's opera in 4 acts premiered on 25 February 1881 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg; in the following year it became the first of Tchaikovsky's operas to be performed outside Russia, …
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34Inscribed by the author to a close friend of Oscar WildeTárávatí: a Tale, translated into English.Calcutta, 1881.
€ 4,500.00Only edition of this Hindu legend of Taravati, the wife of a wealthy Indian merchant, a tale originally composed by the translator's mother. Elaborately bound presentation copy, inscribed by the Indian musicologist and writer Sourindro Tagore (1840-1914) to the British patron of the arts, Constance Gwladys Robinson, Marchioness of Ripon (1859-1917), …
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35Presentation copy of the first editionStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.London, 1886.
€ 48,000.00A literary touchstone of Faustian horror for the industrial age: presentation copy of the first English edition, inscribed on both the cover and the title-page, to "William Slafford, with the Author's Compliments".
"The date upon the front cover was originally 1885, but the last figure was altered by the pen into 6. It had been intended to …
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36Building his stamp collectionCopy ledger of 378 autograph letters signed (press copies).Cairo, 1886-1902.
InquireExtensive collection of outgoing letters in French, Greek, and Italian, mostly on matters of philately, created by Alexandre Acavalos, chief accountant of the Ottoman Bank in Cairo. Clearly, Acavalos spared no cost nor effort in building his stamp collection, contacting renowned international collectors (Martin de Henry), publishers (the Senf Brothers …
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37Pamphlets from India on the brink of the fight for IndependenceVolume of ten pamphlets, including Hume's speech, The People's Cause, The …Calcutta, Lahore, Madras, Serampore, and London, 1888-1916.
€ 4,500.00A volume of ten scarce pamphlets furthering the cause of the Indian National Congress party, whose aim was initially better economic rights and access to Indian Civil Service exams for native Indians, but which would become deeply rooted in the push for full Indian independence. Ranging from the early days of 1888 to the increasingly revolutionary …
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38The "ingenious scheme" of phosphorescent light photographyAutograph letter signed ("N. Tesla").New York, 26 Jan 1894.
€ 25,000.00To his friend Robert Underwood Johnson, editor of The Century Magazine, on the first photographs taken with phosphorescent light: "From the samples your actress showed to me to-day I think that we can obtain excellent photos. This ingenious sheme of combining with the phosphorescent light a flash will no doubt succeed. I have seen some defects in …
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39Prolifically illustrated manuscript copy of the earliest work of Indian veterinary scienceShalihotra Samhita [Encyclopedia of the physician Shalihotra].Rajasthan, Northwest India, 19th century.
€ 45,000.00Magnificently illustrated manuscript of the foundational text of veterinary science in India, with a particular focus on the care and management of horses. Beautifully and prolifically decorated, including a depiction of Lord Ganesh on a lotus with mice and two chauri-bearers, the Goddess Sarasvati on a bird with a chauri-bearer and a priest with …
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40Indian miniaturesChintamani Granth.Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 19th century.
InquireA Sanskrit manuscript with eight brightly painted miniatures illustrating twenty-four numbered dohas (verses). The book of poetry is probably associated with the Ramsnehi Sect, a religious movement popularized in 18th century India by its leader and founder, Ramcharan Ji Maharaj.
The miniatures show a scene of a battle with demons, but also …
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41Kafka's gift to Hugo BergmannGeist und Körper, Seele und Leib.Leipzig, 1903.
€ 35,000.00First edition. The title-page has a presentation inscription to the 21-year-old Hugo Bergmann on the day of his doctorate in philosophy: "Zur Erinnerung an unser gemeinschaftliches Streben" ("In memory of our common endeavours"). Written in the hand of the Prague intellectual Berta Fanta, the presentation is signed by her and six other members of …
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42A trove of photographs depicting the construction of the Hejaz Railway, more than half undocumentedHejaz Railway photographs.Ottoman Empire, 1905/1906 CE.
InquireA trove of over two dozen photographs documenting the monumental effort of infrastructure engineering which resulted in the Hejaz Railway. The photographs were most likely taken by Armenian photographer J. H. Halladjian, based in Haifa and active from the 1890s to the 1910s. They show the challenges of construction in Ottoman Syria, including bridge …
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43Lickable! Stamps designed by T. E. Lawrence for the Arab Revolt[Four stamps designed by T. E. Lawrence for the Arab Revolt, with a signed …No place, 1916 CE = 1334 H.
€ 15,000.00An extraordinary document presenting examples of four stamps designed by T. E. Lawrence for the Arab Revolt, sent directly to His Majesty King George V, who has noted in his own hand: "These stamps are the new issue since the Sherif of Mecca has been on our side", signed simply "Geo". Reportedly, George V (an avid stamp collector) received around …
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44Graded "Secret"Secret. Handbook of Hejaz.Cairo, 1917.
€ 45,000.00Extremely rare copy of the Arab Bureau's intelligence manual for the Arab Revolt: the important second, expanded edition, compiled by T. E. Lawrence's mentor, D. G. Hogarth, from multiple new sources which must have included Lawrence himself. The manual was graded "Secret" and "For Official Use Only", all copies to remain "the Property of H.B.M. …
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45"The painter is not quite the artist - it is the spirit that created art"Zeichnungen - Egon Schiele: 12 Blätter in Originalgrösse.Vienna, 1917.
€ 225,000.00The only set of reproductions of Schiele drawings issued during the artist's lifetime and under his supervision: an unnumbered proof copy inscribed by the 26-year-old Schiele to his 24-year-old wife Edith (née Harms) and signed with his monogram. The inscription reads: "Der Maler ist noch nicht der Künstler, - / Es ist der Geist der Kunst geschaffen …
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46"People who are interested in modern poetry are not enamoured of my stuff"Eight autograph and typed letters, signed.Various, 3 October 1918 - 23 June 1935.
€ 15,000.00Eight signed letters by Rudyard Kipling on literary themes, to his long-time correspondent Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell (1884-1963) and long-time editor of the Cornhill Magazine. Ranging from discussions of WWI poetry and the rise of Nazism to the fickle tastes for poetry among the masses, Kipling and Barnes kept up a lively conversation for decades. …
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47Signed first editionFromme Gesänge von Theobald Tiger. Mit einer Vorrede von Ignaz Wrobel.Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1919.
€ 12,000.00First edition. Author's autograph inscription signed on inside of front cover: "Dem großen Schweiger widmet dieses beschädigte Remittendenexemplar Tiger. Wrobel. Panter. Hauser und ick! 1919."
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48One of Doyle's best ghost stories: the autograph manuscript"The Bully of Brocas Court". Autograph manuscript signed twice ("A. Conan …Windlesham, Crowborough, ca. 1920/1921.
€ 75,000.00The complete autograph manuscript of a work widely considered one of Doyle's best ghost stories. The macabre tale unites two of the author's great passions, boxing and Spiritualism, to create the tale of a sinister prize fighter whose physical brutality does not die. The present manuscript contains mostly minor edits, though a handful of pages include …
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49Editio princepsNepenthe [Nipenthi]. Poiemata vraveumena sto Philadelpheio diagonismo.Athens, 1921.
€ 8,500.00The extremely rare first edition of Karyotakis's second published book, inscribed by the author to the Greek linguist Menos Filintas (Philentas, 1870-1934), "Gia ton K[yrion] Filintan", in pencil on the upper cover. Further, the book contains two autograph annotations by Karyotakis: a commentary "sic!" to a line in the poem "Eugeneia", and an inserted …
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50Politely rejecting co-operation with the Nordic SocietyTyped letter signed ("JM Keynes").London, 22 Jun 1925.
€ 7,500.00To the secretary of the Nordische Gesellschaft (Nordic Society) in Lübeck; a reply to an invitation to participate in the economic propaganda of the Nordische Gesellschaft whose purpose was to reinforce cultural and political co-operation between Germanic and Scandinavian countries. The Nordische Gesellschaft would become a central institution for …
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51"You have assisted the human soul to triumph over brutal fate"Autograph letter signed ("Freud").Vienna, 28 Jul 1927.
€ 22,000.00In German to the American journalist and statesman Arthur Sweetser (1888-1968) on an alarming incident involving Sweetser's son, Harold, who is suffering from a "sinister illness" that recently caused him to have a seizure when playing with other children; and with thanks for the positive attitude Sweetser has nonetheless retained towards the psychoanalytic …
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52The first edition: one of 1000 copies, privately printed and signed by the authorLady Chatterley's Lover.Florence, 1928.
InquireFirst edition, number 205 of 1000 copies signed by the author. Privately printed in Italy and available by subscription only, the book was banned in England and America for obscenity for over thirty years. In notoriously frank language, the novel tells the story of the physical and emotional relationship between a working-class man and an upper-class …
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53A "blessed victory" for more humanity in times of warAutograph letter signed. ("TEShaw").No place, 2 May 1930.
€ 6,500.00To the politician Ernest Thurtle, acknowledging his success in abolishing the British Army's death penalty to punish crimes such as desertion or cowardice: "Then the Lords gave me a fright. Lord Allenby too, whom I like and admire. Surely if I had been in London, able to see him, he would at least have kept silence - if not supported you. Yet doesn't …
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54Inscribed and signed to the parents of Lucian FreudDas Unbehagen in der Kultur.Vienna, 1930.
€ 25,000.00First edition of Freud's famous study known in English as "Civilization and Its Discontents", inscribed and signed by the author to his son Ernst, an architect, and Ernst's wife, the classical scholar Lucie (Lux), née Brasch (the parents of Lucian Freud): "Seinen lieben Kindern Ernst u Lux / vom Verf.".
Provenance: from the collection of …
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55Unique ensemble with numerous autograph corrections"Das Gesetz" and "The Law". 2 typescripts with numerous autograph corrections, …New York, October 1943.
€ 20,000.00Unique ensemble of Thomas Mann's only commissioned work in the German original and the English translation, both containing numerous autograph corrections by Thomas Mann as well as a few more by George Marek, who had the typescripts bound as a personal memento of their collaboration. Thomas Mann inscribed the volume to him on 20 October 1943: "An …
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57An early version of "Chanson einer Dame im Schatten""Chanson einer Dame im Schatten". Autograph poem signed ("Paul Celan").Paris, August 1949.
€ 15,000.00An early version of Celan's poem "Chanson einer Dame im Schatten" that was first published in the 1952 poetry collection "Mohn und Gedächtnis": "Wenn die Schweigsame kommt, die die Tulpen köpft: | Wer gewinnt? | Wer verliert? | Wer tritt an das Fenster? | Wer nennt ihren Namen zuerst? | Es ist einer, der trägt mein Haar. | Er trägts wie man Tote …
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58The original manuscript famously smuggled out of RussiaDoktor Zhivago. Autograph manuscript signed in full and monogrammed twice, …No place, 1955.
InquireThe original manuscript of one of the most famous novels of the 20th century. After having been rejected by the literary monthly Novy Mir for not adhering to socialist realism, the manuscript was smuggled out of Soviet Russia by the Italian journalist Sergio d'Angelo and first published by Feltrinelli in Italy in 1957. It became an international …
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61The Beatles' first LP, inscribed by the Fab FourPlease Please Me. (Mono PMC 1202). Autographed album signed.London, Summer 1963.
€ 55,000.00The band's debut studio album, inscribed on the back cover by George: "To Moira Love and Best wishes from the BEATLES", signed "George Harrison", "Paul McCartney XXX", "Ringo Starr", and (in red ballpoint) "John Lennon XXX".
Any album signed by all four members is highly desirable; roughly 75 signed copies of this title are known to exist.
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62Presentation copy from George Harrison to Ravi Shankar, Christmas 1966The I Ching or Book of Changes.London, 1965.
€ 28,000.00The ultimate New-Age I Ching: a presentation copy from the Beatles' George Harrison to Ravi Shankar, inscribed: "To Raviji - with much love and thanks", signed by Harrison and dated Christmas 1966. The second volume also inscribed: "To Raviji - love from George Harrison".
Harrison first met Shankar in London in 1966, and soon after travelled …
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63Criticism of "unlimited democracy" by a Nobel laureate"Notes for lectures". Autograph manuscript signed ("F. A. Hayek").No place or date.
€ 12,000.00Fine notes for three lectures on political philosophy and economics prepared by the Nobel laureate Friedrich August Hayek. The first, titled "The Miscarriage of the Democratic Ideal", corresponds with the title of a chapter in Hayek's last major work of social philosophy, "Law, Legislation and Liberty" (1973-79), which laments the far-reaching powers …
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64Self-portrait by John LennonAutograph drawing signed.No place, 1977?.
€ 12,500.00A characteristic cartoon self-portrait by John Lennon with the sun shining behind a pyramid, signed and inscribed to Hilary Gerrard: "To Hillary with love as per! John".
Hilary Gerrard (1933-2023) served as business manager to Ringo Starr from the 1970s onwards. This drawing may well have been executed during, or been inspired by, John and …
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65Signed by Freddie Mercury at his heightQueen: The Complete Works. Box set with autographed sleeve, 1985, no. 004199, …No place, 1985.
€ 12,500.00One of only 600 copies of this 1985 "Queen: The Complete Works" box set, autographed by four of the greatest names in rock: the indominable Freddie Mercury (1946-1991), guitarist (and astrophysicist) Brian May (b. 1947), bass guitarist John Deacon (b. 1951), and drummer Roger Taylor (b. 1949). With 14 LPs in perfect condition, unplayed, and the sleeve …